Opinion | Platner Still Not Taking No for an Answer

Maine Democrat seems to be demanding a replacement just as envious and angry as he is.

It's On: Trump Orders New Strikes on Iran to Protect Ships in Strait of Hormuz

'Let's Just Finish the Job': Trump Confirms Iran Strikes to Likely Come Wednesday Night

'Are you kidding?' Hometown paper in disbelief over bizarre decision by McConnell's wife

Sen. Mitch McConnell's hometown newspaper has a bone to pick with his wife, but not about the swirling rumors around his health.In a Louisville Courier Journal column, opinion writer Joseph Gerth said he doesn't much care about the specifics of McConnell's condition, arguing the public doesn't need detailed health updates on one of 100 senators the way it would for a president. What he does want to know, however, is why Elaine Chao didn't come home."Are you kidding me?" Gerth wrote, after recounting that paramedics performed CPR on an unconscious person at McConnell's Washington home the morning he was hospitalized on June 14. Chao, he noted, was in China, where she met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on June 17.McConnell, 84, has not been seen publicly in more than three weeks, and his office has never confirmed why he was admitted, though dispatch audio referenced a cardiac arrest. Chao's travel has drawn pointed criticism across the spectrum, and in a Tuesday statement — her first since the hospitalization — a spokesperson said she was on "a long-planned trip" supporting "her family's philanthropic endeavors" and that "the Senator's health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S."Chao departed June 12, two days before he was hospitalized, and was in Shanghai when the emergency happened. Fact-checkers have knocked down a viral claim that she flew over after his cardiac arrest, while former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene floated a baseless claim that she is a Chinese spy.Chao returned to the U.S. on July 7. McConnell's prognosis remains undisclosed.

Oil Climbs as Trump Threatens Iran Strikes, Blockade | Bloomberg Businessweek Daily 7/8/2026

Today, Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall reports the minutes from the first FOMC meeting of Kevin Warsh's tenure as Fed chair. Then, Bloomberg Economics senior geoeconomics analyst Adam Farrar breaks down oil market reaction as the US threatens more strikes against Iran and a renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Plus, Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolfe Research, reacts to news that some Fed members initially saw the case to hike rates despite eventually falling in line with fellow committee members in holding rates. Then, Brian Dobson and Greg Pendy from Clear Street discuss their SpaceX buy rating and where they see the stock going. Finally, Bloomberg 'Business of Sports' podcast co-host Vanessa Perdomo-Maglione talks the Unites States' exit from the World Cup and the future of soccer in the US. (Source: Bloomberg)

Iran’s ‘golden weapon’ of Strait of Hormuz became a greater priority than its nuclear program — here’s how

"Recognize the new Iranian order in the Strait of Hormuz: this is the only way forward," wrote Ebrahim Azizi, a member of the Iranian parliament's national ​security and foreign policy committee on social media, addressing the US.

'Now you've FORCED us': Homan says NY governor's effort to protect illegal aliens will BACKFIRE in Glenn Beck interview

Border czar Tom Homan said the efforts by Democrats in New York to protect illegal aliens from deportation are going to backfire very soon. During an interview with Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, Homan argued that the sanctuary city policies made everything worse for the public as well as the immigrant community. 'It results in more agents in the streets, it results in more collateral arrests, and it's a community safety issue, when you release a public safety threat back into the public.' He said the Justice Department was filing lawsuits to combat the sanctuary city policies and then held up Minnesota as a successful example of local authorities cooperating with federal law enforcement. "The way we fixed Minnesota, we gained support from the local sheriffs so we can arrest the bad guy in the safety and security of a jail, which is safer for the agent, safer for the alien, and safer for the community," Homan said. He said this led to "unprecedented support" from Minnesota officials and safer detentions and removals. Homan said he tried to explain the same to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. "I explained this to Governor Hochul. And I said, 'When you force us into the street, we gotta send teams out there to do that.' And when we find the bad guy, which we will, many times they're with others, others that are in the country illegally. May not be a public safety threat, but they're coming too.""It results in more agents in the streets, it results in more collateral arrests, and it's a community safety issue when you release a public safety threat back into the public," he added. When Beck asked how Hochul responded, Homan laughed and said she signed the sanctuary policies despite his warning. "And that's why I told her, 'OK, now you've forced us to send more agents to New York to enforce immigration law, when it would have taken less because you took the efficiencies of the jail away,'" he continued. "And what she's ignoring is the fact, now we can't rent a bed from the sheriff," Homan said. "So every illegal alien we arrest in New York will be immediately put on an airplane and sent out of the state. How does that benefit the immigrant community?""They have no access to their family because we moved them out of state," Homan continued. "So, this wasn't about protecting the immigrant community. This is about her supporting sanctuary policy."RELATED: California Democrat calls for ICE to be abolished after 'record' illegal alien arrestsNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul's attempt to protect illegal immigrants just completely backfired, @RealTomHoman tells me. Here’s what will happen next:“What sanctuary cities are causing, because of their policies, is we're going to flood the zone.I told her, ‘Okay, now you've… pic.twitter.com/Ceg0JnJ3gj— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) July 7, 2026 He concluded that the administration is forced to respond with a surge into New York. "What sanctuary cities are causing, because of their policies, is we're going to flood the zone," Homan said. "All these new resources are going to be assigned to sanctuary cities because that's where the problem is. We don't have that problem in Florida. We don't have that problem in Texas. The sheriffs and chiefs are working with us," he added.Homan also recently revealed that ICE had arrested a record 10,000 illegal aliens in a five-day period, and the agency was ramping up to increase those arrests even further. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Schumer: Trump’s Iran deal is ‘total, utter disaster’

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) issued a statement Wednesday blasting President Trump’s peace deal with Iran as a “total, utter disaster.” He issued the scathing statement after Trump said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end hostilities with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is “over.” “Trump’s so-called ‘deal’ to end hostilities with…