Vice-president says Israeli cabinet members shouldn’t attack the country’s ‘only powerful ally’ left; Iran says it will impose fees on strait of Hormuz – key US politics stories from Thursday 18 JuneJD Vance has sharply rebuked Israeli government critics of the US deal with Iran, saying the cabinet members should remember that two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel “have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars”.The US vice-president, asked about a report that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming over the agreement, told reporters at the White House: “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.” Continue reading...
Fox News cut away from former President Barack Obama's historic remarks at the opening of his presidential library on Thursday to go to political analyst Reince Priebus.The abrupt switch came during Obama's dedication speech at the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park, where three former presidents and a roster of A-list performers had gathered for an invitation-only ceremony.Obama was mid-sentence when anchor Sandra Smith pulled the plug."Hard things are hard," Obama told the crowd. "And that's especially true in a big, raucous, diverse, argumentative democracy like the United States of America. Everybody's got an opinion. And that means getting stuff done involves reconciling the demands of a couple hundred million people.""Alright," Smith said, cutting him off. "You've been listening live to former President Barack Obama there in Chicago at the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center."Co-anchor John Roberts offered a brief recap — noting that former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were in the audience and remarking that Bono "still looks pretty good" — before pivoting hard to Iran."JD Vance becoming a public face to the Trump administration's deal with Iran and what could be a moment that shapes a potential 2028 White House bid," Roberts said. "Reince Priebus is standing by."Priebus, a Fox News political analyst and former Republican National Committee chairman, then held forth on the Iran memorandum of understanding, calling it "a sixty-day trial run.""Americans care more about $5 gasoline than they do staying in a war with Iran," Priebus said. "That is an unpleasant thing for some people out there to live with, but it's true."President Donald Trump was not invited to the ceremony. Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said the event was reserved for those who supported Obama's journey.The center opens to the public on Friday.
A California proposal that would implement a one-time tax on the state’s wealthiest residents has qualified to appear on the ballot in November, according to Secretary of State Shirley Weber.The so-called billionaire tax exceeded the required signature threshold Wednesday and is expected to be certified by Weber on June 25. The health care union behind the proposal, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, still has the option to withdraw the proposal before the confirmation deadline.‘I’ll do what I have to do to protect the state.’If enacted, the proposal would impose a tax of up to 5% on the net worth of California billionaires, with the full rate applying to those worth more than $1.1 billion, retroactive to anyone with primary residency in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. Certain exemptions exist, including directly held real estate and qualifying retirement accounts.The proposal also requires that 90% of the collected revenue be spent on health care, with the remaining 10% divided between education and food assistance spending. The estimated revenue that would be raised is $100 billion. Supporters of the tax claim the money would assist in covering budget shortfalls caused by federal funding cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature budget legislation that was passed last year. The proposal’s website says it would prevent the closure of hospital emergency rooms and nursing homes across the state. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have been avid supporters of the tax, believing it will reduce wealth inequality, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he is “perfectly fine” with paying the tax. The Tax Foundation estimates that Huang would potentially owe $8.5 billion to the state. RELATED: Gavin Newsom cries political witch hunt — but are feds focused on an alleged $1.5M nonprofit pipeline to wife's business? Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesHowever, many notable Democratic officials and organizations have come out in opposition to the tax. Governor Gavin Newsom told the New York Times, “This will be defeated,” adding, “I’ll do what I have to do to protect the state.” Even the California Teachers Association and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California are not supporting the proposal. Critics argue that the tax will further repel job creation and investment, worsening the exodus of wealthy residents and corporations from the state.Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have already moved portions of their assets and business structures out of California, and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel reportedly has been considering leaving the state as a result of the tax proposal.Come November, the proposal would require only a simple majority to pass, if certified next week.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Do you like to smoke marijuana? Do you also enjoy firearms? If so, the Supreme Court has great news for you. On Thursday, the Supreme Court held in United States v. Hemani that the federal government may not categorically forbid an “unlawful user” of marijuana from possessing a gun. Hemani also has fairly broad implications […]
A Texas man who told federal agents he smokes marijuana every other day just walked away from the Supreme Court with his gun rights intact.Federal agents had descended on Ali Hemani's Dallas-area home in 2022, chasing a terrorism lead that ultimately went nowhere.‘To state the analogy is to expose its deficiency.’What survived the raid was a confession. Hemani, who has American and Pakistani dual citizenship, surrendered his gun, showed agents the marijuana, and admitted in a voluntary interview that he used it every other day.Texas treats simple possession as a low-level misdemeanor. Instead, federal prosecutors argued that Hemani's single admission — regular marijuana use — was enough on its own to support a felony charge carrying up to 15 years and a lifetime firearms ban.It just collapsed at the Supreme Court.Justice Neil Gorsuch made the gap explicit in the majority opinion: "No matter that the government did not assert Mr. Hemani was a drug addict. No matter that it did not contend his drug use had ever led him to pose a danger to himself or others."The justices affirmed the dismissal 9-0 on the bottom line. The reasoning split 7-2.RELATED: Intruder allegedly breaks into Florida home, threatens mother and her children, refuses to leave — but victim has her gun Jabin Botsford/Washington Post/Getty ImagesTheir holding: Charging Hemani under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3) — the law barring "unlawful users" of controlled substances from owning guns — violated the Second Amendment.The government tried to justify the ban by analogy to historical "habitual drunkard" laws that once restricted gun rights for chronic alcoholics. The seven-justice majority rejected it for three reasons:Those laws targeted people practically incapacitated by drink. Today's law requires only that someone use drugs regularly — a much lower bar.They aimed to protect people and their families from ruin, not to prevent violence — the purpose the government claims here.They came with process — a conviction, a guardianship hearing, and a magistrate's review — before anyone lost a right. Section 922(g)(3) strips gun rights the instant someone becomes a regular user, automatically.Handing the government that kind of unchecked power, the court warned, would risk letting it "quickly swallow" the Second Amendment.The ruling is narrow. It leaves the law untouched for addicts, people currently intoxicated, and felons.Two concurrences hinted at larger fights ahead.Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he doubts the broader gun-ban statute "could be an exercise of Congress's Commerce Clause powers as an original matter" — a favorite line for federalists, a headache for federal prosecutors.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, called the court's current Second Amendment framework "unworkable" — though for the opposite reason than conservatives might assume. Jackson wants courts to give the government more room to regulate guns, not less.Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, also wrote a separate concurring opinion.The ruling affirms the Fifth Circuit's decision.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Vice President Vance told the press President Trump’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran is “bearing fruit” as oil starts moving through the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices are coming down. He defended the deal as a “win-win” for the U.S. “If the Iranians don’t change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program…
President signs memorandum at Palace of Versailles where Germans were humiliated after losing first world war. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 17 June at a glanceThe Trump administration declared a “major win” but likewise the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, proclaimed a “great victory” as the text of the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding became public.Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.” Irna, Iran’s official state news agency, released a photograph of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, holding up a Persian-language document apparently showing his signature alongside that of Trump. According to Reuters, Ghalibaf told state TV: “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable.” Continue reading...
