#1Jack Smith Read Texts From 44 Lawmakers, Senate Panel Reveals
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley dropped a bombshell Tuesday, revealing that DOJ records show Jack Smith's investigators read private text messages from 44 members of Congress — including Grassley himself — during the January 6 probe, bypassing a required filter-team review and potentially violating the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause. A DOJ Public Integrity attorney warned Smith's team the surveillance could be unconstitutional; they pressed ahead anyway. Grassley is now demanding Smith appear before the committee for a formal interrogation. Source: The Daily Caller — https://dailycaller.com/2026/07/14/unearthed-records-reveal-scale-of-jack-smiths-arctic-frost-text-message-spying-spree/
#2Trump Scraps Hormuz Toll, Offers Gulf States Trade Deals Instead
President Trump announced Tuesday he is abandoning the proposed 20 percent U.S. reimbursement fee on Hormuz cargo, replacing it with what he called "massive" trade and investment deals from Gulf states — citing "highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership." The policy pivot came even as CENTCOM simultaneously reinstated its naval blockade of Iranian ports at 4 p.m. ET, preserving the military pressure while sweetening the diplomatic offer to U.S. allies. Source: The Epoch Times — https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/trump-says-he-will-replace-20-percent-strait-of-hormuz-toll-with-trade-deals-6061523
#3Kagan to Congress: Threats Against Justices Have Come "Very Close Indeed"
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before a Senate panel Tuesday seeking a $230 million security budget increase, with Kagan delivering a sobering warning that threats against justices have come "very close indeed." The Court's police force is tracking a 38 percent spike in serious threat incidents this year, following a 25 percent increase last year — a trend both justices called urgent and alarming. Source: Fox News — https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/supreme-court-justices-congress-testifying-security-threats-july-14
#4Trump: Graham's Aortic Dissection Was "Almost Undetectable"
President Trump addressed the death of Senator Lindsey Graham Tuesday, saying the aortic dissection that killed him was "almost undetectable" — a condition that can prove fatal before physicians have a chance to intervene. Graham had returned from Kyiv just one day before his death, where he met with President Zelenskyy to discuss a new Russia sanctions package. Trump's remarks came alongside reports the White House is monitoring questions about a potential FBI examination of the circumstances surrounding Graham's passing. Source: Fox News — https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-lindsey-graham-heart-condition-almost-undetectable-questions-fbi-role-probe
Top World Stories
#5Iran Kills Indian Crewman in Missile Strike on UAE Supertankers
Iran fired cruise missiles at two Emirati supertankers operated by Abu Dhabi's national energy company in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight others, six of them also Indian nationals. India's foreign ministry lodged a "strong protest" with Tehran over the casualties as both vessels suffered significant damage and onboard fires. The deadly attack triggered the latest round of U.S. retaliatory strikes and marked the first confirmed crew fatality of this phase of the conflict. Source: Breitbart — https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2026/07/14/iran-launches-deadly-attacks-on-civilian-ships-killing-indian-crewman/
#6US Strikes Military Targets in Bushehr — Home to Iran's Only Nuclear Plant
CENTCOM confirmed Tuesday that the fourth consecutive day of U.S. airstrikes targeted military installations across Iran including in Bushehr — the city housing Iran's only known functioning civilian nuclear power plant — striking coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities with precision munitions. The UN's nuclear chief swiftly warned the campaign was approaching "the reddest of lines," while Iran threatened to halt all oil and gas exports from the region. CENTCOM said the reactor itself was not targeted, but the proximity sent a clear message. Source: Breitbart — https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2026/07/14/u-s-bombs-irans-bushehr-home-to-its-only-known-nuclear-power-plant/
#7Ukraine Reaches 870 Miles Into Russia, Hits Gazprom Petrochemical Complex
Ukraine announced Tuesday that overnight drone strikes hit the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining complex in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, one of the largest petrochemical facilities in the Russian Federation, located roughly 870 miles from Ukrainian territory — among the farthest-reaching drone attacks of the war. The facility produces approximately 10 million tons of oil per year and supplies fuel directly to Russian military operations. On the same night, a Russian ballistic missile and 25 drones pierced Ukrainian air defenses, hitting 17 locations including a school in Kyiv. Source: The Epoch Times — https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/ukraine-says-it-hit-russia-petrochemical-giant-870-miles-away-with-long-range-drones-6061541
Science & Technology
#8NASA Chief: Agency Has Filmed UFOs — "We Don't Know What It Is"
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman publicly confirmed the space agency has captured imagery of unidentified aerial objects it cannot explain, stating plainly: "We don't know what it is." Isaacman said the agency has found no alien bodies or crashed craft, but has documented real unexplained phenomena that it is now being more transparent about under the Trump administration's push for UAP disclosure. Source: Fox News — https://www.foxnews.com/us/nasa-chief-confirms-agency-unexplained-ufo-imagery-dont-know-what-it-is
#9Pentagon Drops Fourth UAP File Batch — F-16 Shoot-Down Video, "Message From Space" CIA Destroyed
The Pentagon released its fourth tranche of declassified UAP files, comprising 19 videos, 14 documents, four audio clips, and three images. Among the most striking: infrared footage from 2023 showing a U.S. F-16 shooting down a diamond-shaped unidentified object over Lake Huron, and documents referencing a "message from space" that the CIA reportedly destroyed. The files also include documented unexplained aerial objects spotted near U.S. military operations in Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Greece. Source: The Epoch Times — https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/key-revelations-from-4th-batch-of-pentagon-ufo-files-6060126
Wildcard
#10Will Ferrell Bombs the Home Run Derby; Fans Beg Netflix for a Mute Button
Netflix's high-profile MLB Home Run Derby broadcast took an unexpected detour Monday night when comedian Will Ferrell joined as a guest commentator — and flopped spectacularly, with fans flooding social media demanding a mute button and calling his "I don't understand sports" shtick painfully cringe-worthy. The routine, which leans on pretending not to know what sport you're watching, was widely panned as falling flat for a live baseball audience. It was not the splashy debut Netflix was hoping for on its new MLB deal. Source: Fox News / OutKick — https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/will-ferrell-bombs-mlb-home-run-derby-baseball-fans-torch-netflix-broadcast
