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 My son has narrated the last book I wrote.
Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click on Book Cover) World & Nation Tanker attacked as it tried to sneak through Hormuz via US-protected route hit — after Iran vowed retaliation for sanctions An oil tanker was attacked and disabled near the Strait of Hormuz overnight — as Iran vowed to retaliate against the US over the latest sanctions and economic threats slapped against the regime. The tanker was operating off the coast of Oman, where ships have been sneaking through the strait under US protection, when an unknown projectile hit the vessel, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The blast damaged the ship’s engine room and left the tanker inoperable in the waters, but no casualties were reported. UKMTO issues warning after second ship struck in Strait of Hormuz The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) issued a warning Thursday after an oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman. "Local authorities have reported a tanker has been hit by an unknown projectile causing fire to the vessel which has since been extinguished," the organization wrote in its warning. "All crew are reported as safe and accounted for and there has been no report of environmental impact," the warning continued. Netanyahu Says No Iran Deal Possible, Told Trump 'Savages' Can't Be Trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he doubts a diplomatic agreement can be reached with Iran’s leadership, recounting a recent conversation with President Donald Trump in which the two discussed the possibility of diplomacy, military action and increased economic pressure on Tehran. Netanyahu said he discussed the options with Trump during their July 28 meeting at the White House and expressed doubts that negotiations could produce an agreement with Iran’s current leadership. Recounting that conversation at an event Tuesday night, Netanyahu said he told Trump he was skeptical that an agreement could be reached with Iran.
No Negotiations With Iran, All Options on Table The United States and Iran are not currently holding talks to end the war, as Washington focuses on increasing economic pressure on Tehran. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump continues to keep all options “on the table.” Speaking to Fox News, Leavitt said Trump’s main objective remains preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. She said the administration had used “Operation Epic Fury” to target Iran’s military and was now pursuing “Operation Economic Outcast” to weaken the country’s economy.
Pete Hegseth under fire as Pentagon 'drama' erupts over his own army Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing fresh scrutiny after a new Army policy on academic standards for future officers was abruptly withdrawn just days after being announced. The reversal has raised questions about decision-making inside the Pentagon and added to reports of tension between Hegseth and senior Army officials. The dispute comes as the Army is already dealing with significant leadership uncertainty. With Army Secretary Dan Driscoll now reportedly expected to leave his post by the end of 2026 and Gen. Christopher LaNeve serving as acting Army chief of staff, the latest policy fight has placed renewed attention on Hegseth's relationship with the service he oversees. Ukraine-Russia talks possibly including US may be held in September, Zelensky’s top aide says Talks between Ukrainian and Russian teams could be held in September and include US representatives, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov said on Thursday. Budanov said Ukraine was aiming to revive the talks, with further developments likely next month. The US-led peace talks stalled this year as Ukraine refused Russian demands to cede more territory and as Washington became increasingly preoccupied with the conflict with Iran. Florida becomes first state to block welfare cash for tattoos, vapes and more Trump administration urges states to follow Florida’s new first-in-the-nation welfare-spending limits Florida is becoming the first state to impose sweeping new limits on how welfare cash can be spent, blocking recipients from using cash-assistance benefits loaded onto EBT cards for purchases like tattoos, theme park tickets, video games, vaping products and other items not generally considered "basic needs" under a plan the Trump administration is urging other states to emulate. Florida’s cash-assistance program, known as Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), is funded through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It is separate from SNAP, the food-assistance program, though families may receive both types of benefits through separate balances on the same EBT card. The Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) determined Florida’s updated TANF plan to be complete Thursday in a letter sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis and obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter praised the Sunshine State governor for putting "common-sense restrictions" on what it calls inappropriate, luxury and non-essential purchases. Experts zero in on likely cause of deadly Nepal mudslide, with more than 1,300 missing The disaster was initially attributed to a 4.4 magnitude earthquake before satellite imagery revealed a debris flow The catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet that have killed at least 273 people were triggered by a massive glacier collapse and debris flow that registered as a magnitude 5.2 landslide, according to the U.S. Geological Service (USGS). The USGS originally pinpointed the cause of the mudslides as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake but later updated its analysis after observing data from nearby seismic stations, long period seismic waves and satellite imagery. That data suggested that no earthquake had occurred. Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development told The Associated Press that Wednesday’s flash floods were likely triggered by a glacial avalanche. Ruthless exclusive: Pentagon CTO reveals reasoning for Anthropic removal Pentagon official tells 'Ruthless' that it found Anthropic contract too binding for defense Pentagon's Emil Michael tells 'Ruthless' why department removed Anthropic AI In an exclusive interview with the "Ruthless Podcast," Emil Michael, the under secretary of war for research and engineering and Department of War chief technology officer, explained why Anthropic was removed from the Pentagon. "I got the [artificial intelligence (AI)] portfolio," Michael said in an interview released Thursday morning. "Six months into the job, I read the [Anthropic] contract. ‘You can't use AI for battlefield management.’ I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ 'You can't use AI to defend yourself from a missile attack.' What?’" This spring, the Pentagon froze its relationship with the AI company while signing new contracts with competitors SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. CIA Chief Warned Moscow Against NATO Escalation CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday was intended to warn Russia not to use its stalemated war with Ukraine as a reason to escalate tensions with America’s NATO allies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Politico reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Ratcliffe also pressed Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, Politico reported, citing one of the people familiar with the matter and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip. All three sources were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. News of the trip sparked widespread speculation in Washington and Europe because it marked the first known visit to Russia by a CIA director since 2021 and the first during either of President Donald Trump’s administrations. Saskatchewan Sets 50 Percent Tariff on US Alcohol Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on Wednesday his province would impose a 50% tariff on American alcohol, in response to Canada's deepening trade war with the United States. Saskatchewan and Alberta are the only provinces that still sell American wine, beer and spirits. Every other province has removed U.S. alcohol from its shelves, a source of irritation to U.S. President Donald Trump. Moe said he supported Prime Minister Mark Carney’s retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. products and that the U.S. will continue to be Saskatchewan’s biggest trading partner. The province produces grain, potash and uranium.
How Putin’s Black Sea food fight puts the world — and your grocery bill — at risk By Peter Doran
The oil war in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine is turning into a food fight — with potentially disastrous implications. Moscow, fuming at strikes on its “shadow fleet” of sanctions-evading oil tankers, is refusing to halt attacks on peaceful food shipments in the Black Sea. That will mean famine in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as higher US grocery bills in the coming months — unless Washington steps up pressure on the Kremlin. Russia and Ukraine feed the world: Together, they provide close to 30% of global wheat and barley exports. The catch? They typically send around 90% of that cargo through the Black Sea. Hasan Piker’s radical rhetoric is becoming Democrats’ 2026 brand Hasan Piker is from the extreme left, and the record is full of his inanities and his outrages By Hugh Hewitt
Social media influencer Hasan Piker wears his Mao jacket and hoses his Twitch audience down with absurd political takes that do not betray any evidence that Rutgers University obliged him to read even a book or two of serious history before he graduated in 2013. Rutgers is a fine school and anyone can get a great education there, but Piker’s "body of work" shows us that serious study there is quite obviously not obligatory. Piker uses social media to monetize the worst impulses of the extremes in American politics. In the course of doing so, he has become the face of the Democratic Party in the 2026 midterms and has personally carried the most radical major-party candidate in memory — Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — to his party’s nomination for United States Senate. Piker has now gone so "supernova radical" that some Democratic leaders and elected officials have had to rebuke him without naming him — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Elissa Slotkin — and others, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, have slapped Piker down by name. |
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