Author: Press Room

Oman has reportedly devised a plan, endorsed by other Persian Gulf states, to “manage” traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in partnership with Iran — and for both nations to collect “voluntary fees” from ships that use the vital waterway. Of course, Iran has demonstrated its willingness to launch murderous attacks against civilian vessels in the strait to enforce its will, so it is highly dubious that any “fees” extracted from shipping companies would be truly “voluntary.” Iran has long pushed for itself and Oman, the country on the other side of the strait, to control access and extort fees…

Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by five percentage points in a survey of likely Texas voters released Tuesday, marking a shift from earlier polling that showed the attorney general narrowly ahead or tied in the U.S. Senate contest. Texas Public Opinion Research found Talarico leading Paxton, 45 percent to 40 percent, “marking the Austin state representative’s largest lead in any public poll taken during the general election period,” the Texas Tribune reported. The group surveyed 1,048 likely voters from July 15 through July 17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.…

The White House offered only a brief comment about the “productive” Oval Office talks, which were closed to the press President Donald Trump hosted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office on Tuesday, with US officials sharing no details about what was discussed during the roughly hour-long meeting behind closed doors.Trump himself had posted nothing about the meeting on Truth Social more than six hours after the talks ended.The only official White House comment came in a brief post by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said “both meetings were positive and productive,” referring to Trump’s sit-downs with Zelensky and Israeli…

The US Senate on Tuesday evening in a 51-47 vote confirmed Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. Clayton was the former SEC Chairman and former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). President Trump congratulated Jay Clayton. “Congratulations to the Great Jay Clayton on his confirmation by the United States Senate, to be the next Director of National Intelligence. Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director! President DONALD J. TRUMP” Trump said. Earlier Tuesday, outgoing Acting DNI Bill Pulte executed his 5th round of Deep…

German police have discovered what is believed to be a video confession from the terrorist who attacked a gay pride parade in Berlin on Saturday, in which he is reported to have pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. Abdul Ballout, the 21-year-old Lebanese-heritage Islamist who used a van to ram into revellers at the Christopher Street Day pride parade in Berlin on Saturday, is said to have recorded a confession on his phone shortly before the attack, which took the life of a 65-year-old Polish mother and injured 31 others. According to Bild, Ballout recorded the video inside the vehicle while wearing…

Look Tuesday on FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” President Donald Trump said Pickaxe Mountain would pbe targeted if Iran refuses to make a deal. Host Ainsley Earhardt said, “Netanyahu is going to talk to you about ongoing excavation at Pickaxe Mountain with construction vehicles entering and exiting and exiting tunnels, paving new access roads. Satellite imagery and intel indicates that Iran is actively constructing and fortifying Pickaxe Mountain. How will we respond?” Trump said, “Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved. I mean, we have to find out…

Multiple ballistic missiles targeting American forces in Jordan were reportedly intercepted Iran has launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East in what the US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as an attempted “surprise attack.” A senior US official told Axios that the missiles were targeting an American base in Jordan. CENTCOM did not identify the targeted facilities or mention Jordan, saying only that the missiles had been aimed at US forces “based in the Middle East.”“At 5:45pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based…

“ICE Conducts a Fugitive Operation Targeting Criminal Aliens Across Florida” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public Domain Mark Two married Mexican pastors who entered the United States on religious visas that expired more than four years ago were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at McAllen airport last week as they tried to board a flight to a Billy Graham marriage conference in North Carolina. Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo, 36, and his wife Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, 34, serve as assistant pastors at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel Church in Edinburg, Texas. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Religion News…

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) on Monday announced that the country will hold its first presidential elections in a decade in December. Haiti has not held any kind of election since the November 2016 presidential election that resulted in the victory of late President Jovenel Moïse, who postponed 2019’s legislative elections and was ruling by decree until his assassination in July 2021. Moïse’s death led to violent gangs overrunning the nation and taking control of large swaths of territory, including areas of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. A new surge of gang violence halted initial efforts to hold an election this year, prompting Acting…

Come for the Discount, Stay for the Bread Line at Mamdani’s Grocery Stores New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores has begun to take shape. The mayor said on Monday that the Mamdegas would sell produce, meat, and a host of other kitchen staples at a 30 percent discount to what privately owned grocers offer in the city. The stores will not be run by the city directly. Instead, private operators are being invited to bid for contracts to run five city-owned stores, one in each borough. The city will pay for…