Posts on Wednesday, June 17, 2026

President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran has received a lot of flak from both sides of the spectrum for its supposed shortcomings. Is it a failure before it’s even finalized? No, but that won’t stop the angry backbiting over an agreement that looks like it could significantly weaken Iran’s ability to cause trouble in the Middle East. Let’s be clear: If Trump’s deal leads to a non-nuclear Iran, a freer flow of oil to the global economy, and a more stable Mideast, that will be a net gain for everyone concerned. For the record, no, we’re not entirely satisfied, either. We didn’t want Trump to give an inch to the mullahs.

Renewable energy may be “green,” but it’s not bulletproof, and now America’s wind warriors are in open legal combat with the Pentagon. Renewable energy trade groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon, arguing that the Department of War has effectively frozen national security reviews for new onshore wind farms on private land. Renewable energy groups are suing the U.S. military because they say national security reviews for new wind farms on private land have been effectively frozen for months. The groups say this logjam jeopardizes $47 billion in investments and thousands of jobs in 21 states. President Donald Trump has frequently talked about his hatred of wind power and

Luigi Mangione will assert a psychiatric defence in his state murder trial over the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, a judge confirmed at a hearing on Wednesday, as the case that captivated the world moves closer to its September trial date. Mangione, 28, faces state murder charges in New York in connection with the killing of Thompson, 50, who was shot dead on the streets of New York City in December 2024. The killing sparked a days-long international manhunt that ended with Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to help a 98-year-old judge facing seemingly unlawful efforts to suspend her from the federal bench. The revelation was disclosed in the high court’s Monday order list, in which the justices rejected a request by Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to take up and hear arguments in her case (Newman v. Moore). There were no noted dissents, and no explanation was given for the decision. As The Federalist recently reported, Newman was first suspended from the bench in 2023 by Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly Moore and the court’s Judicial Council over alleged concerns about her mental and physical health.

President Trump’s deal with Iran has received a lot of flak from both sides of the spectrum for its supposed shortcomings. Is it a failure before it’s even finalized? No, but that won’t stop the angry backbiting over an agreement that looks like it could significantly weaken Iran’s ability to cause trouble in the Middle East. Let’s be clear: If Trump’s deal leads to a non-nuclear Iran, a freer flow of oil to the global economy, and a more stable Mideast, that will be a net gain for everyone concerned. For the record, no, we’re not entirely satisfied, either. We didn’t want Trump to give an inch to the mullahs.

The FBI released an affidavit Tuesday regarding a foiled alleged terror plot on Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship 250 event at the White House, which perpetrators were allegedly planning to attack with explosive-laden drones and snipers. At least five people have been arrested, and agents are working to identify as many as 18 others who appear to be involved in the planning on encrypted chats communicating with the alleged plotters, officials said. The affidavit identified three of the five apprehended suspects, including 19-year-old Tycen Proper, who was arrested in Ohio and charged with attempted murder and several firearms violations after he allegedly admitted to helping plan the attack.

Businessman Rick Jackson, pumping millions of his money into the campaign, easily defeated presidentially endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to win Georgia's Republican gubernatorial primary runoff. Major outlets began calling the race about 15 minutes before 10 p.m. Jackson led Jones by nearly 37,000 votes, unofficially, with 85% of precincts reporting. Jackson will go on to face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, who defeated seven candidates to win her primary without a runoff. Jones posted a "thank you" to his supporters on social media before some media outlets officially called the race.

Alabama GOP Rep. Barry Moore won his party's nomination Tuesday night for Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's Senate seat, the Associated Press projected, which comes after he secured President Donald Trump's endorsement. The president endorsed Moore last month, praising the Republican as a "totally reliable MAGA warrior," as Tuberville runs for governor. Tuberville is hoping to replace Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who must retire because of state term limits. Moore first won election to Congress in 2020 and represents a large swath of southern Alabama.

Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans have criticized Major League Baseball (MLB) for warning players against wearing Bible verses during Pride Night.As Breitbart News reported, the MLB issued a warning to three San Francisco Giants pitchers after they displayed Bible verses on their hats during Pride Night. The incident occurred last Friday when Giants right-hander Landen Roupp displayed “Gen 9:12-16” on his Pride Night hat, which was followed by relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also featuring Bible verses on their official Pride Night hats.

With everything else that is happening right now, it’s easy to forget that there are elections happening all over the place, too. Tonight in Georgia and Oklahoma, Trump-backed candidates won Republican primary races. Good news all around. The midterms are coming up fast. The GOP needs good people in these races. In Georgia, Mike Collins pulled out a win.Georgia GOP Rep. Mike Collins is expected to win his party’s nomination for Senate in a special runoff election Tuesday night, which comes after he secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Trump endorsed Collins over the weekend while Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., has been campaigning with Collins’ GOP primary opponent, Derek Dooley.

I have to hand it to Vice President JD Vance. He ventured into the lion's den, going for an interview on the virulently anti-Trump, liberal enclave of "The View" on Tuesday. You knew it was likely to have some fiery moments.Perhaps surprisingly, Vance was met by a lot of cheers. He joked about how the panel was made up of "MAGA Republicans." Then Vance proceeded to dismantle a variety of the hoaxes/false beliefs that liberals have about President Donald Trump and his administration, starting with the "affordability hoax." Joy Behar said Trump was pouring money into things like the ballroom, the Reflecting Pool, and the UFC Freedom 250 event.

Imagine one day, you're parading around, pretending to be the "president" of an important oil-rich South American nation. You're living a lavish life, while everyone around you starves or gets locked up for daring to complain. The most powerful country in the world is threatening your very existence, but you're mocking it, dancing to a techno song made up of your own broken English. "No crazy wars." "Peace forever." "Yes peace." A few days later, the joke's on you. The United States military swoops in and grabs you out of bed and flies you to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, where you still sit to this very day.

RedState reported earlier on the disgraceful warning Major League Baseball issued in the aftermath of three San Francisco Giants baseball players (pitcher Landen Roupp, along with relievers J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker) refusing to bend the knee to "Pride Night" by writing Bible verses on their rainbow-themed hats during their Friday game against the Chicago Cubs.As my colleague Rusty Weiss noted, these were "Bible verses, mind you, that explain the true symbolism of the rainbow—God's covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature after the great flood." The verses were Genesis 9:12-16:

What took them so long? Reports are surfacing that White House aides are suddenly alarmed over the likelihood that top secret conversations on national security were taped and leaked to the New York Times. Axios quotes an administration source as saying that, “We’re afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded, and we have no idea which ones.” The outlet also writes that, “We hear President Trump is furious about the blow-by-blow accounts.” The president has every right to be furious, but he shouldn’t stop there. Situation Room meetings are classified, and the mere possibility that details of conversations,

Reliable electricity is always important, but especially on the hottest days of summer. That’s why the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is still relying on natural gas and coal to secure electricity grids. On June 11, the DOE issued an order under Federal Power Act Section 202(c) related to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (“DEC”) and Duke Energy Progress, LLC (“DEP”), which together are known as Duke Energy. The order instructs the energy company to operate certain units at maximum capacity, even if that would violate rules about air quality or other standards established at the federal, state, or local levels.

Watching Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters take turns dismantling Jessica Tarlov's talking points on The Five is one of my not-so-guilty pleasures. But Tuesday delivered something even better: Vice President JD Vance stepped into the ring himself, and within seconds, he exposed a glaring blind spot in how the left thinks about loving your own country. Tarlov tried to explain away a brutal new NBC News poll on American patriotism by chalking it up to simple political math. "Some of it is obviously partisan," she said, arguing that pride in the country naturally dips "when your party's out of power." "I don't think that's right," Vance said.

As I write this only 57% of the vote has been tallied in the Georgia GOP Senate runoff between Mike Collins and Derek Dooley. As Ed pointed out earlier, Collins was endorsed by Trump while Dooley was endorsed by Gov. Kemp. At the moment, Collins has a decent lead which seems to be growing as more rural votes come in. In any case, Decision Desk has seen enough. They called the race for Collins shortly after 8 pm. There are once again a bunch of stories about whether or not Trump's endorsements have any impact on these races, but so far the answer seems to be yes.

Washington DC is poised to elect a democratic socialist as its next mayor, on a direct collision course with Donald Trump, who has threatened to federalise the capital if voters choose a candidate he disapproves of. With more than 60 per cent of votes counted in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Janeese Lewis George was holding just above 50 per cent, with her main rival, former city council member Kenyan McDuffie, on 36 per cent.