Author: Press Room

Facing a struggle for survival, Iran is making world’s entire energy economy its battleground By March 19, 2026, the pattern is unmistakable. What began as a war centered on Israel, Iran, Lebanon, and the waters around the Strait of Hormuz has now spilled decisively into the infrastructure heart of the Gulf monarchies.The most firmly established Iranian strike on Gulf energy infrastructure so far is the missile attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial complex, the largest LNG hub on earth, carried out after Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field. At the same time, earlier Iranian retaliatory waves had already hit…

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Wednesday unveiled a discussion draft of her legislative framework to establish one, national framework for AI regulation that would combat “woke AI” and anti-conservative bias in AI systems. “Instead of pushing AI amnesty, President Trump rightfully called on Congress to pass federal standards and protections to solve the patchwork of state laws that has hindered AI innovation,” Blackburn said in a written statement. “Now, Congress must answer his call to establish one federal rulebook for AI to protect children, creators, conservatives, and communities across the country and ensure America triumphs over foreign adversaries in the…

Stocks at U.S. wholesalers shrank in January, the second consecutive monthly decline, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. Inventories at merchant wholesalers were down 0.5 percent compared with the prior month, according to the seasonally adjusted figures. In December, inventories contracted by 0.1 percent. The measure of inventories is a key element in the government’s assessment of economic growth. Following the release, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNOW forecast for first-quarter GDP growth was revised down from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent. Inventories of durable goods–products made to last longer than three years–were flat in January after rising 0.2 percent in December. Wholesale…

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said that the DHS shutdown could end and TSA can be funded, “All that needs to be done is for the Republicans and the President to simply say, you know, you’re right” and do what Democrats want. Co-host John Berman asked Garamendi about his response to President Donald Trump blaming Democrats for the situation at airports and “What responsibility do you think Democrats have to get TSA funded?” Garamendi responded, “Let’s just go back about a month and consider what was going on in Minneapolis. Let’s consider what the…

A group of lawmakers are set to introduce legislation Thursday to examine the use of artificial intelligence in federal courts, according to bill text obtained by POLITICO. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), along with Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), are preparing to unveil the bipartisan, bicameral Research and Oversight of Artificial Intelligence in Courts Act of 2026. The bill would establish a 15-member task force to study the use of AI-powered speech-to-text and speech recognition tools, with a focus on privacy, civil liberties and accuracy. The panel would include federal judges, prosecutors, court clerks and other judicial experts…

Mexican authorities working with U.S. federal agents arrested a man wanted for a double murder in Washington State. The fugitive had been on the run for almost two years and was hiding in Mexico. His arrest came a little over an hour after the FBI added him to their Most Wanted List and listed a $1 million reward for his capture. Samuel Ramirez Jr. had been living in Culiacan, Sinaloa, in an attempt to hide from U.S. authorities in connection with a 2023 shooting where he allegedly killed two women and injured a third person. The shooting took place in…

“President Trump’s decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said. “This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days, and the Administration remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains,” she added. As CNBC notes, the Jones Act was enacted over 100 years ago: The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, requires that…

Democrats bungled their chances to disseminate Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) record in Congress, instead opting to turn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary nominee’s confirmation hearing into a debate with Republicans over the agency’s ongoing shutdown, the 2020 election, and the legitimacy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Wednesday, as Mullin fielded attacks from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Senate Democrats pressed him on the 2020 election, whether he had traveled overseas while in Congress, and statements made by President Donald Trump’s senior advisor Stephen Miller, among other things. In one bizarre line of questioning, for instance, once-rising Democrat…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested Thursday the Senate will not go on recess as planned at the end of next week if the Department of Homeland Security isn’t funded by then. “We need to get this resolved and it needs to get resolved, you know, by the end of next week,” Thune said. “I can’t see us taking a break if the [department’s] still shut down.” Thune’s comments to reporters come as a bipartisan group of senators, including members of the Appropriations Committee and a clutch of Democrats that helped negotiate the end to the last shutdown, meet privately…

Tehran has effectively acknowledged Ukraine as a legitimate military target. Ibrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, made this statement in a post on X. The next day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of involvement in the conflict. In diplomatic terms, this indicates that Tehran aligns Kiev’s actions with those of the aggressors: the US and Israel. Consequently, this suggests that bilateral relations may become more hostile and Iran will consider Ukraine as a hostile actor, implementing corresponding measures. When neutrality collapsedIran’s stance toward Ukraine has undergone a significant transformation in recent years – from…