Author: Press Room

The military operation against Iran entered its twelfth day on Wednesday. All eyes turn to the international energy markets as multiple cargo ships were attacked in the critical Strait of Hormuz supply chain chokepoint off the coast of Iran, while leaders of the world’s major economies are set to meet later today to discuss the largest ever release of emergency oil reserves. **** **Wednesday’s live updates below. All updates in Eastern time** 8:50 PM: EU sanctions Iranians The European Union’s top diplomat, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, announced on Wednesday that the bloc will levy sanctions against 19 Iranian…

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “The Bottom Line,” former Trump Economic Adviser Stephen Moore said he would favor “a temporary, maybe four-week reduction in the gas tax. There are other things, by the way, that could be done. We could change some of the refinery rules, get rid of the ethanol mandate, just for four weeks or so. You could take a bunch of steps that could lower the price of the gas at the pump by about 50 cents a gallon” in the wake of issues around oil supply. Moore said, “I don’t like taxes either. The…

Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Republicans will have “disastrous” midterms if the military action in Iran was ongoing. Paul said, “We currently spend more on our military than the next ten countries combined. So while there are threats we face around the world, and while we should combat and check China around the world, we spend, you know, four times more than they do, but we spend more than the next ten countries combined. So our military budget is not inadequate, it is enormous. But to increase it by 50% in one fell…

Congressional Republicans aren’t allowing President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act ultimatum to uproot their legislative agenda ahead of the midterms. Lawmakers made clear Tuesday they’re eager to wash their hands of the partisan elections legislation the day after Trump told lawmakers he needs that bill on his desk before he agrees to sign anything else. House Republicans gathered for their retreat in Doral, Florida, quickly called this a Senate problem, then continued to talk about their policy ambitions for the remainder of 2026. Now Senate GOP leaders are moving fast to show Trump that passage of the SAVE America Act…

Heavy transport activity has been reported at a major American military hub in Asia South Korea has voiced opposition to the redeployment of US air defense assets from its territory to the Middle East but is not in a position to block the move, Seoul has said.With the US-Israeli war with Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on American assets in the region entering their 12th day, some media reports alleged that air defense systems used by Gulf nations were running “dangerously low” on interceptors.Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung addressed reports that some American…

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Turkey on Wednesday as part of what his office calls an “annual Ramadan solidarity visit,” where he is joining fasting Muslims while calling for the world to “eradicate the scourge of Islamophobia from every country and community.” “As you know, every year, the secretary-general undertakes a Ramadan solidarity visit. This year, he will travel to Turkey, to the capital, Ankara, to pay tribute to the extraordinary generosity of the Turkish people over many years,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news conference. The trip is part of a long history of support given by the veteran…

Adam Smith, long treated as the patron saint of free trade, argued in a letter written after The Wealth of Nations that tariffs could help strengthen domestic production by pushing native industry to improve quality. The January 3, 1780 letter to British politician William Eden complicates the standard picture of Smith as an unqualified opponent of import duties. In the letter, Smith defended “moderate and reasonable duties” while criticizing outright prohibitions on imports. “A prohibition,” Smith wrote, “can answer no purpose but that of monopoly.” A duty, by contrast, could still allow foreign goods into the market while changing the…

A criminal illegal alien has been charged with voter fraud in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the news coming as President Donald Trump urges Republican lawmakers to safeguard United States elections by passing the SAVE America Act. The suspect was identified as Mahady Sacko of Mauritania, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him and DHS noted: Sacko has been illegally voting in this country since 2008. He entered the U.S. near Miami, Florida and an Immigration Judge ordered him removed. Sacko exhausted all appeals, and the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld his removal on November…

The US president has been increasingly vague on his endgame as the conflict drags on Democratic lawmakers say they fear US President Donald Trump could deploy troops to Iran, after classified briefings with administration officials left senators with what they described as significant unanswered questions about the war’s objectives and scope.Speaking after a closed-door briefing with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal said the administration appears to be moving toward the possibility of sending US forces into Iran.“We seem to be on a path toward deploying American troops on the ground in Iran to…

HBO host Bill Maher is taking aim at the New York Times for portraying Donald Trump’s actions in Iran as a “bad war.” Maher brought up the subject on his recent Club Random podcast featuring neuroscientist Sam Harris. The show was recorded a few days after Trump launched his sorties against Iran’s radical, Islamist Mullahs, and during the segment Maher and Harris began to talk about the media’s portrayal of the military actions that had only just started. “As we’re talking now, the Iran [war], the new Iran war, and The New York Times headline was, you know, ‘U.S. troops…