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‘There is no one dirtier than Trump’: Some Iranians urge strong response after US strikes

Large crowds gathered at the Enqelab Square in central Tehran on Sunday evening, protesting the strikes. Footage published by the state-affiliated Fars News Agency showed people waving Iranian flags and punching the air, carrying signs that read: “Down with the USA, down with Israel.”

Hamid Rasaee, a politician, said even people critical of the regime were protesting.

Trump ordered attacks on three of Iran’s most important nuclear facilities early Sunday morning – a move that has placed the US in the center of the conflict between Israel and Iran.

This man told CNN he believed US President Donald Trump was acting in his own interest when he ordered the strikes.
CNN
This woman in Tehran told CNN she believed Iran was trying to defend itself.
CNN

Iranians had faced the possibility of US intervention ever since Israel launched its strikes on nuclear and military targets last week – but many believed any action was days away.

That’s in part because Trump said Thursday he would decide whether to strike Iran within two weeks, seemingly opening a window for negotiations. That all changed early Sunday, when American bombers dropped more than a dozen massive “bunker buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, and Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea struck Isfahan.

“We do not have nuclear weapons, so why does he strike us?” he added, alluding to the Iranian regime’s insistence the country’s nuclear program is peaceful. Trump has claimed Iran was weeks away from acquiring a nuclear weapon, dismissing assessments from his own intelligence community that Iran was still years away from a weapon.

Qom residents slept through the attacks

While Trump has claimed the three sites struck by the US were “totally obliterated,” his defense secretary has said the full impact is still being assessed. And unlike the strikes by Israel in recent days, some of which targeted densely populated areas, the US attacks were concentrated in locations off-limits to most civilians.

Residents of Qom, a city some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Fordow nuclear site, woke to the sound of emergency vehicles’ sirens and the news that the secretive complex had been bombed a few hours earlier.

Five people living in Qom said they were surprised to learn what had happened when they got up, having heard nothing overnight.

Qom does not have an aerial attack warning system, so residents would have had no warning before the strikes.

People protest the United States and President Donald Trump in Tehran on Sunday.
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People at Sunday’s protest in Tehran brought posters criticizing US President Donald Trump.
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Qom is considered a holy city, home to Iran’s largest and most famous Shia seminary. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei studied at the Qom Seminary, as did several of Iran’s former presidents.

Similarly, people living in a village some 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the Natanz facility said they heard nothing overnight.

In Tehran, far from the targeted nuclear sites, many were calling for Iran to respond with force. Fars released a compilation of short interviews with people on the streets of the capital Sunday.

Each of the eight people featured urged a retaliation – with most saying Iran should strike US bases in the region and close down the Strait of Hormuz on Iran’s southern shore, through which a third of global seaborne oil trade passes.

In Iran, signs of dissent tend to be quickly quashed, making it dangerous for people to express disagreement with the regime.

But Mohsen Milani, an Iranian scholar who has lived in the US for decades, said the US attack on Iran could spark more genuine support for the regime.

“It could ignite a new wave of nationalism, damage the future of U.S.-Iran relations more than the 1953 coup, accelerate Tehran’s pivot to Russia and China, and fundamentally reshape Iran’s defense, deterrence, and nuclear posture,” he said in a post on X.

Some of this sentiment was already on show in Tehran on Sunday.

“I will stay here and I will sacrifice my life and my blood for my country,” she said.

Everywhere around her, people were protesting the US, many holding anti-Trump signs and posters. Some of the posters ended up on the ground, where people stamped on them.

“We were living our normal lives and they attacked us. If someone strikes the United States, would they not answer? Of course they would,” she said.

Another person living in Tehran said they believed the regime was greatly weakened by the US strikes – because its opponents would now be able to call its bluff.

“The claims that the Iranian regime has always made – that it will attack all American bases and close the Strait of Hormuz – they made all these claims and the whole world saw that (the US) came and easily hit the Fordow and Natanz sites … but Iran was completely silent and no fighter planes took off and (it) used no defenses or missiles,” the person said, adding that if there is no response in the coming days, the regime’s supporters could abandon it.

“No sane person will stand by someone who is in a weak position, not even their own supporters,” they said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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Recovered Bayesian superyacht transferred to Sicilian port after being raised from seabed

A British-flagged luxury superyacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch and six others, completed its final trip to the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese Sunday, a day after recovery crews finalized the complex operation to lift it out of the water.

The white top and blue hull of the 56-meter (184-foot) Bayesian, covered with algae and mud, was kept elevated by the yellow floating crane barge off the port of Porticello, before being transferred to Termini Imerese, where it docked in the early afternoon.

On Monday, the delicate recovery operation will be concluded, as the vessel will be transported to shore and settled in a specially built steel cradle.

Then it will be made available for investigators for further examinations to help determine the cause of the sinking.

The Bayesian sank Aug. 19 off Porticello, near Palermo, during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the US on fraud charges. Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef.

Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.

The vessel was slowly raised from the seabed 50 meters (165 feet) deep over three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.

The Bayesian is missing its 72-meter (236-foot) mast, which was cut off and left on the seabed for future removal. The mast had to be detached to allow the hull to be brought to a nearly upright position that would allow the craft to be raised.

British investigators said in an interim report issued last month that the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and couldn’t recover.

The report said the crew of the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (81 mph) at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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Make Alberta Great Again:In this Canadian province, separatists see Trump as an ally

It’s a Monday night in June and hundreds have braved the haze of Canadian wildfires to gather in a cavernous sports facility in the city of Red Deer, Alberta.

An Alberta team, the Edmonton Oilers, are taking on the Florida Panthers in a National Hockey League finals game tonight. The atmosphere is heavy with anticipation.

But these people aren’t here for hockey. This is a rally for Alberta independence.

It might be hard to believe, given Canadian sports fans’ recent booing of “The Star Spangled Banner,” but not all Canadians took offense to US President Donald Trump’s questioning of their country’s sovereignty.

In oil-rich Alberta, where a movement for independence from Canada appears to be gathering steam, many see in Trump a powerful and important ally whose haranguing of their former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was as welcome as his calls to “drill baby, drill.”

Though some see US statehood as a step too far, many in the Red Deer crowd believe the US president – as a fellow pro-oil conservative – would recognize a breakaway Alberta should a vote on independence go their way.

“Donald Trump is not the savior of the world,” says Albert Talsma, a welding contractor from Bentley. “But right now he’s North America’s best asset.”

With their “Make Alberta Great Again” hats, “Alberta Republic” T-shirts and posters declaring “Albertans for Alberta!” it’s not hard to see parallels to the US president’s MAGA movement and the forces that inspired it.

Separatists here have long argued that Canada’s federal system fails to represent their interests; that the federal government’s efforts to stymie climate change are holding back Alberta’s lucrative oil industry (the largest in Canada); that they pay more than they get back through federal taxation; that their conservative values are drowned out by the more liberal eastern provinces.

“Alberta hasn’t been treated fairly since 1905, when we joined Confederation. They basically used the west as a colony, to take wealth from the west to support the east,” says Kate Graham, a singing grandmother from Calgary.

She opens the rally with a rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Mercedez Benz,” the lyrics modified to promote independence. Like Janis, she sings it a cappella, before spending much of the rest of the event at a booth by the door, selling merch emblazoned with the slogan “I AM ALBERTAN.”

Similar disenchantment is voiced by a steady stream of Albertans, each venting against their mother country on a stage flanked by a large provincial flag strung across a soccer goal.

“They want to stifle our (oil) industry,” says Mitch Sylvestre, a businessman from Bonnyville and one of the rally’s chief organizers, his hoarse voice echoing over the PA system.

“We have cancer. We have a problem,” says Sylvestre. “We have it large.”

Hopes for a vote in ‘one of God’s treasures’

In a strange twist, the push to get Alberta out of Canada has gained momentum just as much of the country has united in patriotism in the face of Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation.

Soon after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment to win the 2025 federal election in April, the Alberta Legislature passed a law making it easier to organize a referendum on independence.

Under the new law, petitions for a province-wide vote now require just 177,000 signatures – down from 600,000 previously – and those signatures can be gathered over a period of four months rather than three. The province is home to nearly 5 million people, according to Statistics Canada, representing more than a tenth of the population of the entire country.

One of the most vocal advocates for a referendum is Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer and co-founder of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), which organized the Red Deer rally.

Rath, well over six feet tall in a cowboy hat and boots, has a ranch just outside of Calgary. He raises race horses there and follows the sport closely, especially the Kentucky Derby – where this year, he notes with a grin, “’Sovereignty’ beat ‘Journalism.’”

“If you wanna know what’s special about Alberta, just look around, right?” Rath says with a sweep of his hand.

The view from the rise above Rath’s horse pasture is superb: quaking aspen, white pine and green rolling hills.

“It’s one of God’s treasures on earth. And the people here are very distinct people that have a very distinct culture and that are interested in maintaining that culture.”

In Rath’s eyes, Trump’s attitude toward Canada is an opportunity. His group is counting on US government support in the event of success at the ballot box.

“Trump’s election has given us a lot of hope,” Rath says. “If anybody is going to have the guts to recognize an independent Alberta, (it) would be the Trump administration.”

Western alienation

Separatism is not new in Canada, but it’s only had real political power in the predominantly Francophone province of Quebec, which has numerous pro-independence parties and voted in two referendums on independence in the past 50 years, rejecting it by a 60/40 margin in 1980 and by around one percentage point in 1995.

In Alberta, enthusiasm for separation has waxed and waned for decades, fueled initially by “Western alienation” – resentment felt in western Canada against a federal system dominated by the more populous eastern provinces. More recently, the movement has attracted Albertans who were angered by federally mandated lockdowns during the Covid pandemic. Among them was Rath, who has in the past faced controversy for suggesting government officials should face murder and negligent homicide charges over what he claims are the ill-effects of the Covid vaccine.

A recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute found about a third of Albertans currently support independence, though that support does not break down equally throughout the population.

Some of the loudest critics of the idea come from Alberta’s indigenous communities, whose treaties with the Canadian crown are older than the province itself. Under pressure from that community, the government added a provision to the referendum bill that guarantees their treaty rights whatever the result.

While Smith’s party proposed the referendum bill, she says she is against separation herself, preferring to “get Alberta to exert its sovereignty within a united Canada.”

“We have had, from time to time, these kinds of initiatives flare up,” says Smith. “And they’re almost always in response to a federal government that’s out of control. But they have all subsided when the federal government got back in its own lane.”

“I think that it’s a notice to Ottawa that they’ve got to take this seriously,” Smith adds. “The question is, what can we do to address it?”

The 51st state?

One of the more explosive questions surrounding secession is whether an independent Alberta might join the United States.

In February, a billboard appeared along the highway between Calgary and Edmonton, with text urging onlookers to tell Premier Smith that Alberta ought to “Join the USA!” superimposed over a picture of her shaking hands with Trump.

“I don’t think Albertans are very keen to trade a bad relationship with Ottawa with a bad relationship with Washington,” Smith says when asked about the possibility.

But others, like construction worker Stephen Large of Czar, Alberta, feel it would be good to have the might of the US on their side – particularly if negotiations fail in the event of a “yes” vote for independence.

“The minute something happens here toward independence, our federal government is going to be furious,” says Large, who wears a red “Make Alberta Great Again” cap.

“They will pull out all the stops, military and police and whatever they can find to lock us down, lock us in.”

Large points to how former Prime Minister Trudeau briefly invoked the Emergencies Act when Canadian truckers blockaded downtown Ottawa to protest cross-border vaccine mandates in 2022.

The statute, which had never been used before, allowed Canadian law enforcement to take extraordinary measures to restore public order – including freezing the bank accounts of certain protesters and banning public assembly in parts of Ottawa. The law also allows the government to deploy troops within Canada to enforce the law, though Trudeau did not invoke that part of the provision in 2022.

“We’re gonna need some support from somewhere, and the only place on Earth that is worthy of their support is the United States military,” Large says.

A woman sitting in front of Large overhears him and turns around, nodding in agreement.

“I’m with him,” she says, introducing herself as Evelyn Ranger of Red Deer. “I’m not sure that Alberta or the western provinces, even together, can make it on their own. So, the States is still the better way to go, because you’ve got the military, you’ve got the trade and everything already set there.”

For his part, Rath refuses to consider whether the federal government might invoke the Emergencies Act or use other measures to put down his movement if it were to unilaterally declare Alberta independent in the event of a “yes” vote.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but we don’t see that happening,” Rath says.

Asked if he would be up for an interview at that point, he grins.

“Yeah,” Rath replies, before letting out a laugh. “It might be from a jail cell.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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Bride shot dead at wedding party in French village

A 27-year-old bride was shot to death as she left her wedding celebrations in a small French village in the early hours of Sunday.

Authorities have not released the woman’s name. Her husband, 25, and a 13-year-old child were also seriously wounded in the attack, which took place at 4.30 a.m. local time (10.30 p.m. ET Saturday), according to a statement from local prosecutor Florence Galtier, published Sunday.

The couple were married on Saturday and celebrated with around 100 guests, before getting into a car to leave the venue in Goult, a village to the east of the city of Avignon in southeastern France.

“A vehicle pulled in behind them, blocking their way, with a number of hooded individuals on board,” the statement from the prosecutor said.

“These people then got out of the vehicle and started shooting in the direction of the victims, with what appear to be have been various different kinds of weapons,” it continues.

One of the assailants died in the attack, while the rest fled the scene on foot, according to the statement, which adds that another wedding guest was also slightly injured.

Prosecutors said autopsies are scheduled to be performed at the beginning of the week, and that they have launched an investigation on charges of murder committed by an organized criminal group and attempted murder as part of an organized criminal group.

“Goult is a quiet village, which has never experienced events of this type. Twenty-four hours later, we are still in shock (…), it is above all anger that drives us today,” he said.

BFMTV also reported that a third person died overnight into Sunday in a separate shooting in Avignon, but it is not clear whether the two incidents are connected.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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White House office tells agencies to apply ‘Gold Standard Science’ to depoliticize research, restore trust

The White House Office of Science and Technology on Monday directed federal agencies to implement ‘gold standard science’ principles to depoliticize science and restore public trust, Fox News Digital has learned.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios sent guidance to federal research agencies Monday morning, incorporating President Donald Trump’s executive order on ‘Restoring Gold Standard Science.’

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the guidance sent to federal agencies.

President Trump, in May, signed an executive order to restore ‘Gold Standard Science’ as the cornerstone of federal scientific research.

‘Gold Standard Science’ is ‘reproducible, transparent and falsifiable,’ according to the order. 

It is also ‘subject to unbiased peer review; clear about errors and uncertainties; skeptical of assumptions; collaborative and interdisciplinary; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and free from conflicts of interest.’ 

The executive order reinstated ‘the scientific integrity policies’ of the first Trump administration and ‘ensures that science is no longer manipulated or misused to justify political ends.’ 

‘President Trump’s Gold Standard Science EO will transform the conduct and management of federal science, from research design to public communication, in order to strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the U.S. continues to be the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science,’ Kratsios told Fox News Digital. ‘But federal agencies are only one part of our nation’s research ecosystem.’

Kratsios added, ‘American universities, scientific journals, industry and philanthropic leaders all have a crucial role in improving the overall quality of research, and we encourage this executive action to serve as a model for the entire scientific enterprise.’

Kratsios sent the memo to federal agencies Monday morning to provide guidance to federal departments and agencies on implementing gold standard science ‘in the conduct and management of all aspects of their scientific activities, from research design to public communication.’

‘By adopting these standards, agencies will strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the United States continues as the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science,’ the memo states.

Kratsios said that ‘Gold Standard Science’ represents a ‘commitment to the highest standards of scientific integrity, defined by nine core tenets: reproducible; transparent; communicative of error and uncertainty; collaborative and interdisciplinary; skeptical of its findings and assumptions; structured for falsifiability of hypotheses; subject to unbiased peer review; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and without conflicts of interest.’

‘These tenets ensure that federally-supported research and research used in federal decision-making is transparent, rigorous, and impactful, enabling federal decisions to be informed by the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available,’ Kratsios wrote in the guidance.

But ‘Gold Standard Science’ is not limited to science, Kratsios said, saying that it is critical for tackling complex challenges in energy innovation and national security as well.

‘In an age of rapid technological progress and heightened public scrutiny, federally-funded and federally-performed science, and its use in Federal decision-making, must be beyond reproach,’ he wrote.

As for conducting science ‘without conflicts of interest,’ Kratsios said it is imperative to ensure that ‘research is designed, executed, reviewed, and reported free from financial, personal, or institutional influences that could bias outcomes or undermine objectivity.’

‘This approach is important for generating trustworthy and credible new knowledge, as it upholds scientific integrity, fosters public confidence, and ensures that results reflect evidence rather than external agendas,’ the memo states. ‘Maintaining freedom from conflicts of interest requires researchers, reviewers, and managers to disclose all relevant affiliations, funding sources, and relationships relevant to the science conducted, adhering to stringent ethical standards supported by strong institutional oversight, transparent reporting systems, and independent expert review mechanisms.’

Kratsios said agencies must ‘prioritize conducting and managing scientific research free from conflicts of interest to advance unbiased science,’ and must ‘require disclosure of all relevant conflicts of interest by researchers, reviewers, and agency officials involved in the funding or performance of Federal research.’

‘These efforts include requiring comprehensive, standardized disclosure of all financial, personal, or institutional interests in research proposals, publications, peer and merit reviews, and data repositories, with clear and standardized protocols to identify, mitigate, and manage potential biases,’ the memo states. ‘Agencies should mandate the use of independent oversight approaches and enforce strict conflict-of-interest policies.’

Agencies have 60 days to outline ‘Gold Standard Science’ implementation plans, including plans for training and resources to ensure agency personnel understand the new policy, and the use of artificial intelligence-driven tools when practical.

After Trump signed the May executive order to restore gold standard science, a senior White House official said there had been a decline in ‘disruptive research’ and investments in biomedical research, along with ‘serious cases’ of fraud and misconduct and the inability to reproduce scientific methods for the purpose of restoring public trust.

The official also blamed policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘woke DEI initiatives’ for endangering the public’s trust in government scientists.

Now-retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci was repeatedly denounced for flip-flopping and obfuscating during his time engineering the federal response to COVID-19, leading many, particularly on the right, to disregard and dismiss the legitimacy of federal health authorities outright.

That order cites the fact the Biden administration included political edits from teachers’ unions in school-reopening guidance, instead of leading with any scientific evidence.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital in April, Kratsios echoed Trump, saying the U.S. is in the ‘golden age’ and that this special moment in time is ‘underpinned by unbelievable science and technology.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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SENATE MAJ. LEADER THUNE: A generational opportunity for strength, prosperity

All eyes will be on the United States Senate this week as we endeavor to pass the shared Republican agenda of American strength, security, and prosperity.

With the Republican reconciliation bill, we have the opportunity to deliver. It is one that doesn’t come around often, and our country stands to benefit greatly by Republicans seizing this moment and getting this bill across the finish line.

In large part, this bill is the culmination of President Trump’s campaign promises and the promises that Republican senators have made to our voters. Chief among them is keeping the American people safe through strong border security and a military strong enough to deter threats and conflicts around the world before they begin. 

President Trump has achieved remarkable success in ending the Biden border crisis and removing the criminal illegal aliens that President Biden let walk into our country – but it hasn’t been cheap, and the administration has told us that resources are running out. This bill will fully fund the border wall and President Trump’s successful policies for the entirety of his presidency, removing any possibility that Democrats will hold those resources hostage to try to increase other government spending.

This same principle also applies to defense funding. Recent conflicts around the world should make clear the need to have a modern and lethal fighting force that can keep the American people safe. This means smart, generational investments like President Trump’s Golden Dome for America to defend against advanced drones, missiles, and hypersonics, as well as prioritizing building new ships and unmanned vehicles.

A nation cannot prosper unless it is secure, and with our borders and defense capabilities bolstered, the next key pillar of this bill is creating prosperity in America.

We do this through permanently extending President Trump’s signature achievement in his first term, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The American people are facing a hefty $4 trillion tax increase at the end of the year, the largest in American history. If we fail to act, the average family of four making the median income in the United States will face a $1,700 tax increase. Not only does this bill prevent that tax increase, it makes the TCJA’s low rates permanent – meaning Democrats can never again try to use a pending expiration as leverage for advancing wasteful government spending. 

The bill locks in the TCJA’s small business provisions for all time, which is crucial for economic growth, and it also delivers on President Trump’s tax promises: No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, relief from Social Security taxes for seniors, and no tax on interest for vehicles made in the United States.

In the wake of the Biden administration and Democrats exploding the growth of government spending on programs like Medicaid, we will make commonsense reforms to return to a fiscally sustainable path. That means kicking illegal immigrants off of health programs and introducing work requirements that even 50% of Democrats agree with – all to ensure that programs like Medicaid are strengthened and able to deliver for the American citizens the programs were designed to benefit.

Senators have worked to develop this bill for well over a year now. Now it is time to act. Border resources are drying up. National security needs have never been more apparent. And with each passing day, we move closer to reaching both our nation’s debt limit and the largest-ever tax increase on the American people. 

 Senators return to Washington today and we will remain here until this bill is passed. We know that Democrats will fearmonger and misrepresent our efforts, and we expect them to drag this debate long into the night with unrelated issues. However, I am confident we will get this bill across the finish line.

 On the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate our freedoms and the work of previous generations to keep this great American experiment going. By placing this historic bill on the president’s desk by the Fourth of July, Republicans will be ensuring that future generations of Americans can live in safety and prosperity.

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SCOOP: House Republicans target ‘vulnerable’ Democrats for voting against tax cuts in ‘big, beautiful bill’

The House Republican campaign committee is taking aim at congressional Democrats whom they charge are ‘pushing the largest tax hike in generations.’

As part of their aggressive messaging following the passage last month of the GOP’s landmark spending and tax cut bill – dubbed by President Donald Trump as his ‘big, beautiful bill’ – the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is launching ads on Monday against 25 House Democrats who likely face challenging re-elections in the 2026 midterms.

‘Democrats jacked up inflation, making life more expensive for all of us. We need help. Now, they’re pushing the largest tax hike in generations,’ charges the narrator in the digital ads, which were shared first with Fox News.

The narrator argues that the Democrats being targeted in the ads are ‘completely out of touch’ and urges viewers of the spots to tell the Democratic lawmakers to keep their ‘hands off your hard-earned money.’

The bill passed the House of Representatives last month by just one vote, along partisan lines. And Trump is pushing for a July 4 deadline for the measure to pass through Congress and land on his desk at the White House.

The GOP-crafted measure is stuffed full of Trump’s campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. It includes extending his signature 2017 tax cuts, which are set to sunset this year without action by Congress – and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. 

But the measure, if signed into law, would likely even further fuel the nation’s massive budget deficit. The national debt currently sits at $36,215,397,741,847.76 as of June 18, according to FOX Business’ National Debt Tracker. 

The spots, backed by a modest ad buy, are targeting California Democrats Josh Harder (9th District), Adam Gray (13th), George Whitesides (27th), Derek Tran (45th) and Dave Min (47th), and Florida’s Darren Soto (9th) and Jared Moskowitz (23rd).

Also included are Reps. Frank Mrvan (1st) of Indiana, Jared Golden (2nd) of Maine, Kristen McDonald Rivet (8th) of Michigan, Don Davis (1st) of North Carolina, Nellie Pou (9th) of New Jersey, Gabe Vasquez (2nd) of New Mexico, Dina Titus (1st), and Susie Lee (3rd), and Steven Horsford (4th) of Nevada.

The NRCC ads also take aim at Reps. Tom Suozzi (3rd), Laura Gillen (4th) and Josh Riley (19th) of New York, Marcy Kaptur (9th) and Emilia Sykes (13th) of Ohio, Henry Cuellar (28th) and Vicente Gonzalez (34th) of Texas, Eugene Vindman (7th) of Virginia, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (3rd) of Washington state.

Democrats are working to win back control of the House in next year’s midterms, as the GOP defends its razor-thin majority in the chamber.

‘Out of touch House Democrats lit the fire of inflation and tried to slap Americans with the biggest tax hike in decades, all to fund their radical agenda. Voters won’t forget this betrayal – not now, not next November,’ NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella claimed.

A memo last month by the NRCC encouraged House Republicans to make the tax cuts a priority as they defended their votes on the tax and spending bill, and to take aim at Democrats for pushing to raise taxes on average Americans.

The memo highlighted that the bill ‘prevents tax increases to put more money in every American’s pocket.’

As Democrats attack the bill, they’re highlighting the GOP’s proposed restructuring of Medicaid – the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans.

The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation’s major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

Democrats have relentlessly attacked Republicans over what they say will be ‘huge cuts’ to Medicaid if the bill becomes law.

But the NRCC pushes back, saying in its memo that it is ‘protecting Medicaid by removing illegal immigrants and eliminating fraud.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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‘Mofo…in the White House’: Jasmine Crockett attacks Trump, praises Massie in anti-Iran strike rant

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, launched another tirade against President Donald Trump over the weekend, while offering rare praise for one of her House GOP colleagues who is currently at odds with the commander in chief.

The Democratic firebrand took to Instagram Live late Saturday to criticize Trump’s strikes on Iran, while giving a ‘shout out’ to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., over his bipartisan resolution to rein in the president’s ability to conduct such operations.

‘So long story short, for those of you that are unaware, the mofo that resides in the White House has unilaterally, in my estimation, declared war,’ Crockett said in the video.

‘Mofo’ is often used as a shorthand term for the curse phrase ‘motherf—er.’

Crockett, an outspoken progressive, is part of the chorus of voices on the left accusing Trump of wrongly bypassing Congress in his military operation against Tehran’s nuclear sites.

Trump officials have maintained that they are in compliance with the War Powers Act.

‘We are living in this time in which there is someone who is occupying the White House who does not care about any rules, any norms, any laws, nor the Constitution. And we cannot be a civilized country if there is no law and order,’ Crockett said.

She then launched an attack on Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, accusing him of doing more harm with his strikes on Iran.

‘I know that they may claim, ‘We law and order, blah blah blah. So go get the undocumented people and let’s try to ship them out.’ Let me tell you something – they are not the people that are putting us in harm’s way,’ Crockett said.

‘It is him and his administration that is putting us in harm’s way.’

Crockett called on her supporters to confront Trump supporters, adding, ‘I literally need you to wake them the f— up, because everything since he has stepped into office has done nothing other than put us in harm’s way.’

Later in the roughly 20-minute video, Crockett asked her supporters living in Republican-held districts to reach out to their representatives in Congress.

‘We need action now, and that is going to take a few Republicans, like, getting on the right page,’ she said. 

‘And right now there’s only one Republican that I know I can count on for sure doing the right thing. And that’s going to be Thomas Massie. The rest of them, it’s a little bit questionable.’

Foreign entanglements, particularly when the U.S. military is involved, are an issue that’s made for strange political bedfellows in the past.

When the House passed emergency foreign aid last year in separate packages by region, each passed with bipartisan support – while also seeing ‘no’ votes from dovish progressives and conservatives wary of U.S. involvement overseas.

Trump’s weekend strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities are no different. While the move gained wide support from Republican leaders and some pro-Israel Democrats, a small group of conservatives has expressed varying levels of concern.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X that she could ‘support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started.’

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, commended the ‘strength and precision’ of the strikes to Fox News Digital on Sunday but argued Congress needed to regain its ‘war powers.’

‘While President Trump has legal precedent on his side, the legal reality underscores how far we’ve drifted from the constitutional order,’ Davidson said.

Massie, who has been one of the most consistent lawmakers in Congress regarding his skepticism of foreign entanglements, is leading a resolution alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to limit Trump’s war powers on Iran.

He told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he hoped to force a vote on the bipartisan measure and signaled cautious optimism that it could succeed.

‘I think it could [pass the House], because we have such a tight majority. And the Democrats aren’t very consistent about war, but when there’s a Republican in the White House, they find their religion, their anti-war religion again,’ Massie said.

When reached about Crockett’s video the White House pointed Fox News Digital to comments by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

‘The last time I checked, Jasmine Crockett couldn’t dream of winning such a majority of the public as President Trump did. And the America First movement, which President Trump has built, is filled of hardworking patriots, the forgotten men and women, business owners, law enforcement officers, nurses, and teachers. And middle America – as we all know, you know, from where you all grew up, outside of this beltway – that’s who makes up this president’s movement,’ Leavitt said. ‘Jasmine Crockett should go to a Trump rally sometime, and she can see it for herself.’

Meanwhile, a White House official told Fox News Digital, ‘The fact Jasmine Crockett is siding with Massie tells you everything you need to know about both of them!’

Fox News Digital also reached out to Massie’s office for comment on Crockett’s video.

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Politics

Russia claims US strikes on Iran have opened a ‘Pandora’s box’ and could lead to global ‘nuclear catastrophe’

Russia’s United Nations ambassador is claiming the Trump administration’s devastating airstrikes on Iran have opened a ‘Pandora’s box’ and could lead to a global ‘nuclear catastrophe.’ 

Vassily Nebenzia, speaking during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Sunday, said Russia ‘vehemently condemns the irresponsible, dangerous, and provocative actions taken by the USA against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is a sovereign country and a U.N. member state.’ 

‘Through its actions, the U.S. has opened Pandora’s box, and no one knows what new consequences this may lead to,’ Nebenzia said. 

‘I think it is obvious to everyone in this chamber that unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a large-scale conflict, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security architecture. And the whole world could find itself on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe,’ he added. 

Nebenzia also accused the Trump administration of being ‘completely unconcerned about either the radiological consequences or the threat to the lives and health of a huge number of civilians, including women and children, in the region and beyond’ following the airstrikes Saturday on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer. 

‘We have persistently offered our American colleagues our mediation services so as to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to the contradictions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. But it appears that diplomacy is not what our U.S. colleagues currently need. Responsibility for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American leadership,’ Nebenzia said, calling for ‘all parties to exercise restraint and return into the fold of international diplomacy and negotiations.’ 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi also said Monday, ‘Given the explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred’ at Fordow. 

‘At the Isfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit, with the U.S. confirming their use of cruise missiles,’ he added. ‘Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit.

‘At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions,’ Grossi said.

‘Iran has informed the IAEA that there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,’ he added. 

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Investing

Thick zones of HM mineralisation observed across Douala HM Project

DY6 Metals Ltd (ASX: DY6, “DY6” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the initial visual estimations from the reconnaissance exploration program at the Douala Basin HMS Project, Cameroon. Desktop studies incorporating detailed geological mapping, geophysics, and known mineral occurrences, were used to define initial, high priority targets for ground- truthing. The reconnaissance programme, which consisted of hand auger and channel sampling, was successful in identifying high estimated concentrations of heavy mineral (HM) mineralisation across all the six tenements that make up the project. Additionally, the Company’s consultants have observed the presence of natural rutile grains within panned concentrates.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Company’s reconnaissance auger and channel sampling programme has been completed at the Douala Basin HMS Project
  • Reconnaissance sampling undertaken across the 6 Douala Basin tenements has identified thick zones of high estimated concentrations of heavy minerals (HM) as well as natural rutile
  • Work at the Douala Basin Project followed up on historical HM occurrences identified by previous Eramet drilling, as well as priority areas identified through the Company’s internal reviews
  • Samples collected from the reconnaissance program are due to be submitted for laboratory analysis in the coming weeks, with results expected in the September quarter
  • At Douala Basin, exploration will transition to a detailed campaign of auger drilling

Samples collected from this initial exploration programme are currently being prepped for dispatch to the Company’s laboratory for analysis in South Africa, with results expected in the September quarter.

Technical Consultant, Cliff Fitzhenry, commented:“While the Company’s primary focus is on the Central Rutile Project, where we have recently reported the presence of wide-spread residual natural rutile mineralisation, we believe that the Douala Basin HMS project has significant potential. The reconnaissance programme has over the last few weeks demonstrated the potential of the area, with the identification of high concentrations of visible heavy mineral sands across the project tenements through a mixture of auger, channel, and soil sampling work. Pleasingly, we have also observed natural rutile grains at Douala Basin.

We look forward to the assay results of the reconnaissance programme in the coming months.”

Reconnaissance exploration at the Douala Basin HMS Project

As announced on 5 June 2025, the Company commenced reconnaissance auger and grab sampling programmes at the Central Rutile and Douala Basin HMS projects, Cameroon. At the Douala Basin project, the Company has completed 12 hand auger drill holes (refer Figure 1), collecting 53 samples in the process, as well as collected 38 channel samples from 11 surfaces for analysis (refer Tables 1 & 2).

Cautionary Statement:

The Company cautions that, with respect to any visual mineralisation indicators, visual observations and estimates of mineral abundance are uncertain in nature and should not be taken as a substitute or proxy for appropriate laboratory analysis. Visual estimates also potentially provide no information regarding impurities or deleterious physical properties relevant to valuations. Assay results from the drilling and sampling programmes will be required to understand the grade and extent of mineralisation. Initial assay results are expected in August 2025.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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