The Yemeni Houthis announced early Monday they would impose a “complete ban” on Israeli sea vessels from passing through the Red Sea, a partial blockade that risks hitting global trade with a “two-front crisis” as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, several outlets reported.“We declare a complete ban on enemy navigation in the Red Sea and we consider any Zionist movements to be military targets for our forces,” said Houthi spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Al Saree in a televised statement released on Monday, according to the United Arab Emirates news outlet The National.“We will respond to escalation with escalation and our operations will intensify in line with the battle and in conjunction with the axis of jihad and resistance."The announcement comes in response to Israel’s strikes on Iran Sunday, itself a response to Iranian strikes on northern Israel as retaliation for Israel’s siege on Beirut, Lebanon.While not as critical to global trade as the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea is still a major shipping waterway, with around 12% of global trade passing through the channel, “including 30% of global container traffic,” according to The Guardian. Together, disruptions to both shipping waterways would likely further exacerbate supply shocks sparked by President Donald Trump’s deeply unpopular war against Iran.“The two waterways together carry an estimated 30% of global container shipping and approximately 22% of the world's seaborne oil supply, according to analysis by The Middle East Insider,” reads a report from Insurance Business Magazine. “A combined disruption places an estimated US$10 billion per day of global trade at risk.”YEMENI HOUTHIS ANNOUNCE NAVAL BLOCKADE ON ISRAEL IN THE RED SEA pic.twitter.com/AWSP9pEgvI— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) June 8, 2026
LIVE FIRE CEASEFIRE: Iran attempted to use its leverage with President Donald Trump — who is anxious to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran — to protect its proxy forces in Lebanon from Israeli retaliation, after Iran struck Israel with a wave of missile attacks over the weekend. Trump told Axios he would call Israeli […]
President Donald Trump said that Israel and Iran are once again negotiating a ceasefire as violence in the Middle East escalated over the weekend. Iran launched a missile strike against Israel Sunday morning in retaliation for Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon earlier in the weekend. Israel responded Monday morning with a strike against […]
President Donald Trump said the US would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports until there is a deal to end hostilities in the region after demanding Israel and Iran stop military action.
President Donald Trump publicly pleaded with Israel and Iran to halt their fighting early Monday as the two countries traded their worst strikes since the April truce, threatening to collapse the peace deal Trump had declared was days away from completion."Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting,'" Trump posted on Truth Social at 5:36 a.m. Eastern. "President DONALD J. TRUMP."The all-caps signature did not appear to have the desired effect. By morning, Israel was defending fresh waves of Iranian missiles — with CNN's Oren Liebermann reporting interceptions visible over Jerusalem — while Iran threatened to target all oil and gas facilities associated with the U.S. and Israel if attacks on its energy infrastructure continued.The escalation unraveled a week of optimistic diplomacy. Trump had told the Financial Times just days earlier that negotiations were "very close" and predicted a deal would be announced this week. He had also told Netanyahu to hold off on retaliating against Iran, according to a U.S. official — an instruction Netanyahu appeared to ignore.The sequence: Iran fired close to 30 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the IDF, with Yemen's Houthi rebels launching two more in the first such attacks since April. Israel responded with two waves of strikes on Iran, targeting aerial defense systems in the first wave and a petrochemical facility in the second. Iran then struck petrochemical infrastructure in Haifa, with footage showing missiles bearing the message in three languages: "You will regret this."Iran's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. "bears responsibility" for Israel's actions as a party to the April ceasefire. Iran also called "absurd" any suggestion that frozen Iranian assets could be redirected to compensate U.S. allies for war damages.The financial fallout was immediate. Brent crude surged nearly 5 percent to $97.52 a barrel. Asian stock markets tumbled, with South Korea's KOSPI plunging more than 8 percent.Pope Leo XIV, speaking at the Spanish parliament in Madrid on a peace-focused visit, called war "a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate" as the strikes unfolded. Israel's military said it was preparing for at least several days of fighting and the possibility of a prolonged campaign.Trump told Fox News the Iranian attack "certainly is not going to help negotiations" and called on Iran to "get back to the table and make a deal." He had previously told the Financial Times that Israel "would have to accept any deal" the U.S. reaches with Iran, saying "I call all the shots."On Monday morning, that bold claim was being tested in real time.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump’s, broke ranks with the president Sunday night after openly defying his foreign policy agenda – and urging a foreign nation to do the same.On Sunday, Israel pounded Lebanon’s largest city amid its ongoing occupation of the Middle East nation, which has sparked a humanitarian crisis and killed more than 3,400 Lebanese since early March. Trump claimed he was “not happy” about Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon, which risked jeopardizing ongoing peace talks between Washington and Tehran.Iran responded to Israel’s attack on Lebanon with a series of strikes of its own Sunday, after which Trump reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “tell him not to retaliate,” according to Axios’ Barak Ravid.Instead of supporting Trump’s apparent de-escalation attempts, Fine, who is endorsed by Trump and previously said he didn’t believe there was a single thing he disagreed with Trump on, moved to call for open defiance of the president’s efforts.“Israel has every right to respond to rockets being fired at its civilians exactly as we would. Bombs away,” Fine wrote Sunday night in a social media post on X.Israel ultimately defied Trump and launched strikes on Iran, triggering a cascade of retaliatory moves: Yemen launched its own strikes toward Israel, and the Houthis announced a partial blockade of the Red Sea. Like the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea is another critical shipping waterway through which significant global trade flows.Former Director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, who resigned from the Trump administration in protest of the U.S. war against Iran, hit back at Fine for his remarks.“This statement is only true if Israel can do it on their own. As of now, they cannot and they are not,” Kent wrote in response. “Currently, Israel is only able to take action with our support and our resources – because of this, we should be calling the shots. We aren’t, and that’s the crux of the issue.”Fine has long been a strong supporter of Israel and has frequently sparked controversy for remarks that mirror those made by far-right Israeli officials. Last year, for instance, Fine said Gazans should ‘starve away’ until all Israeli hostages were returned, a remark made in response to reports about rising famine deaths of Gazans amid Israel’s aid blockade. And in 2021, in response to a social media user who shared a photo of what appears to be a Gazan infant buried in rubble with the question “how do you sleep at night,” Fine responded “quite well, actually,” and “thanks for the pic!”This statement is only true if Israel can do it on their own. As of now, they cannot and they are not. Currently, Israel is only able to take action with our support and our resources—because of this, we should be calling the shots. We aren’t, and that’s the crux of the… https://t.co/RTSzaiGyQe— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) June 8, 2026
President Trump called Monday for Israel and Iran to lay down their weapons in his first public comments since the Middle Eastern enemies traded attacks overnight.
Either the nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump believes a cognitive test is an intelligence test or he's lying about his mental health. I don't think there's a gray zone here. If it's the first, he's demented. If it's the second, he's hiding something (probably dementia). Either way, it's bad.It happens too frequently to ignore. The president brags about passing a cognitive test to the point where he seems to believe it's a measure of his IQ. In public remarks, he often puts special emphasis on the word "cognitive" as if to stress that it demonstrates his intelligence. Here's what he told the New York Post after a third trip in a year to Walter Reed. "I do physicals because I think I have an obligation to do it. I took a cognitive test and I got 100 percent on it. The doctors told me very, very few people can ace it. It's actually a tough test."That's only the latest iteration. I went to the Bluesky feed of Aaron Rupar, founder of Public Notice. Aaron watches most of Trump's public appearances. I searched for "cognitive."On May 22, during a rally, Trump said: I said, how many presidents have taken [a cognitive test]? "None." I said, well, is it tough? "It’s a tough test. It starts off easy, then it gets very, very tough." I said well, you know what? I’m gonna take that test. ... This was in my first term. I took it and I aced it. ... So the first question was, you have a bear, a snake, an elephant and a horse. "Name the horse." That’s the horse. ... The New York Times story ... only use[s] the first question that you go into. The other questions they didn’t go into. ... It had a question like "pick a number, sir, any number." Okay, 203. "Multiple by 9. Divide by 2. Add on 1,324. Subtract 1,292. Sir, multiply it out one more time by 19. What is the answer, sir?" I got it right. And the one doctor said, "I've been doing this test for 20 years. I've never seen anybody ace it."On May 4, during a presser, Trump said:In my opinion, anybody running for president or vice president should take a cognitive test. No president has ever taken one, except me. I’ve taken three and I’ve aced each one. One in the first administration, two over here. And whenever they get a little sassy like, "Does he still have what it takes?" I say, all right I’ll take another one. They are hard. There are many people in this room I know that are smart. They’re not gonna ace them. The first question is very easy. You have a lion, a bear and alligator and a squirrel. "Which is the squirrel?" ... The first four or five questions, they get a little more difficult. By the time you get to the end, I don’t wanna be insulting, I’m not gonna do what Gavin Newsom [did] ...On May 1, during a speech, Trump said:I took three of them. Aced all of them. ... I’m the only president to take a cognitive test. I don’t think Obama could pass it. ... Well, Biden – give me a break. The first question is very easy. It’s a lion, a giraffe, a bear and a shark. Which one is the bear? It's a very standard test, but very tough around those 10 questions. ... I’m in a room of brilliant people, but a lot of you wouldn’t have been able to answer. When I got the score of the test, the doctor said "wow." ... I’ve had different phases. They’ve said "he’s a mad genius" and I didn't mind that too much. They said "he’s a horrible human being" and I didn't like that much. Then they said "he’s really not a smart person at all." I really hated that, so I took a cognitive test. ... Dr. Ronny ... had a whole team of doctors at Walter Reed. I said, should I do it? He said, "well, it’s a tough exam, actually. Those last 20 questions they get tough. A lot of people can’t do them." ... I said, I do well on things, so let’s do it. I got every one right.On March 26, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:I’m the only president that ever took a cognitive test. I took it three times. It’s actually a very hard test. It wasn’t hard for me, but it’s a cognitive test. It starts off with an easy question and by the time you get to the end ... very few people can answer those questions. They get very tough, mathematical equations and things. I took it three times. I aced it all three times. ... Doc Ronny told me ... "if you take it, it’s Walter Reed ... and if you do badly, it’s probably gonna get out." But I aced it. I got them all right. One doctor said "I’ve never seen anybody get them all right. I’ve been doing the test for 20 years." ... I would love to see anybody that’s a president or a vice president ... take a cognitive test.On December 2, 2025, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:They said, "would you like to take a cognitive test?" I said, is it hard? They said, "yes." ... I said, who is the last president to take one? "No president has ever agreed to take one." When you get into the mid questions, meaning, question No. 10, 11, 12, 28, 30, they get harder and harder. ...
There is nothing like spending well over a decade of life satiating the Left's unending "id" only to then corner fast and navigate having to talk politics "nicely," a duty one undertakes when doing consulting for candidates that somehow have to retain every Democrat in a district, while also reaching out to that 15-20% that voted for Trump but ah... isn't happy. There is great news to be had in that the 20% exists, and they've never been unhappier. The bad news is that, like many victims of traumatic abuse, even though they "see" the objective landscape, they've absorbed so much of their abuser's personality that the dynamic is now one more of "identity" than a set of beliefs, more feel than fact, less character than it is a culture. Take a dare. Have a friend or co-worker approach you and say, "But they said 'America-First' and that they'd bring costs down... " And try not to respond by screaming some variation of "The fact that he campaigned alongside Elon Musk didn't tip you off at all? The fact that Trump's made his fortune ripping people off didn't... Did you recently hit your head, you stupid piece of... " It is really, really, hard.But before you pat yourself on the back for being so sophisticated as to have seen all this coming, I would like you to list the top three to four biggest K-pop songs ever, or name the best second baseman in baseball, take a shot at telling us why someone was robbed of a Nobel prize recently. Yes, national politics should and does transcend most niche cultural ecosystems, but not by a lot, and — again, we're only talking about 10 to 20 percent of the people out there. Oh, and our group has never attended a rally, doesn't scoff at red hats, or know Trump is making a boatload of money for himself. Sadly, never doubt, they do watch Fox News because, of course, they do.My point is, a lot of these people are cops, coaches, nurses, farmers, the type that sits beside you at a football game and isn't the worst person on earth. They live around you and are not horrible or lost, no matter how much of your entire situational awareness overlaps with knowing just how horrible and lost their votes have been. This is not the hat-wearing crowd.So where do you even begin? Well, first, throw Donald Trump aside entirely because he's irrelevant at this point; no, that's not said facetiously, nor with a hint of smugness. Yes, Trump can still oust a Massie or Cornyn in red state primaries, that's fine — that's the section of committed MAGA voters that we cannot reach. On a broader, more practical landscape, with moderates, we're long past individual issues, even individual names, one being Trump. We're now doing nothing more than traversing the red to blue voting spectrum, picking up survivors along the way. One has to give them permission for "being taken advantage of and being lied to," not just because it's good politics and that saves them from being lectured to, but it also happens to be the truth. To someone without robust political experience and sophistication, especially if the media is all funneled appropriately, it was a lie and well-told. So who lied? Again, don't just simply point to Donald Trump and Mike Johnson because then you're back to that voter's "identity" in some sense, and that's still a sore spot. It is much easier to simply note, "Same as it always was, the billionaires controlled it from the beginning. No one, and I mean no one, has ever had it better than the globe's billionaires." That will get a knowing nod. Even Fox News can't hide that reality.You just established a beachhead. Without regard to literally anything else in the world, neither you nor the voter is a billionaire — an objective fact. Just as obvious, the billionaire has more overwhelming political power than ever. Moving forward on the "non-billionaire" platform, note that the price of gas has taken a significant slash out of our coach-nurse-cop's disposable income. That extra $25 to fill the gas tank is the difference between takeout and frozen in a lot of people's lives, something that matters, so turn and ask, "When was the last time a billionaire looked at a gas gauge, never mind prices?"Eyes wide.Now you're really moving because your moderate voter has a better chance of dancing to K-pop than actually envisioning life as a billionaire. "So, if a person sets aside 'what things cost' as a concern on any level, don't you see how something like a world shortage of oil might look as less of a concern for those in power? " (Resist it, resist it, it's right about there where you're going to feel a strong urge again to just start beating down on someone that just saved a life in the ER.)Because a world without consequences to one's lifestyle is a vastly different world than that of you and me. It is the only world in which a red congresscritter like mine can literally write the AI Deregulation bill and vote to support Trump's tariffs, despite the fact that such votes destroy the folks back home.