The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-5 Thursday to hold former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during testimony on his pandemic-era actions. The contempt resolution heads next to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, with Sen. Rand Paul vowing an immediate DOJ referral for prosecution. Fauci's attorney dismissed the vote as "a crude political stunt."
With fewer than 90 days until the midterms, Republicans are facing a painful reversal: the kitchen-table cost-of-living issues that swept them into power in 2024 are now working against them. Gas has climbed to $4.15 a gallon nationally — up nearly 30% year over year — and Trump's approval on inflation sits at just 30.5%. Democrats have unified their midterm message around affordability, while GOP groups scramble to counter with tens of millions in new messaging spending.
In a 90-minute livestream Wednesday, Tucker Carlson unveiled a detailed platform for a new political movement outside the GOP and Trump's MAGA coalition, centering it on opposition to the Iran war and what he called a "recommitment to fairness." He joins a growing circle of conservatives — including Marjorie Taylor Greene and outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie — openly exploring a formal break from the Republican Party. Carlson says he does not want to run for president himself, but 2028 speculation is already building.
The Trump administration's ongoing confrontation with Smithsonian Institution leadership has drawn attention to a broader dynamic: career curators at multiple federally funded museums have been systematically resisting White House directives to reorient exhibits and programming. The clash raises a foundational question about who controls the national cultural narrative told inside America's most prominent public institutions.
President Trump said this morning that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is within reach, predicting the war with Iran "will end pretty soon" as negotiations conducted through Oman enter what Iranian officials call a final stage. The emerging framework would have Iran overseeing inbound vessel traffic and Oman managing outbound ships. With gas averaging $4.15 nationally, Trump expects prices to drop once a deal is formalized.
Israeli forces resumed military operations in southern Lebanon Thursday after negotiations in Rome with Lebanese government representatives stalled without meaningful progress. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and four wounded by an explosive device in the south. The IDF says Hezbollah continues to operate under direct Iranian direction, and there is no indication either side is prepared to stand down.
A new analysis warns that China is methodically acquiring ports, logistics hubs, and manufacturing infrastructure in Morocco and near Spain's Canary Islands — a corridor controlling Atlantic sea lanes vital to NATO operations and trans-Atlantic commerce. Chinese investment has turned Tangier Med into Africa's busiest container port, and Beijing now holds stakes in facilities positioned to project power into the open Atlantic. The piece's conclusion, aimed squarely at Washington: America is fast asleep.
Oklo Inc.'s small modular reactor in Texas has achieved criticality, with a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction now underway, putting the company on course for commercial power generation. The milestone is the latest in a remarkable summer run: four separate American microreactor designs hit criticality between June and August, surpassing a Trump administration goal tied to the nation's 250th birthday. Los Alamos National Laboratory's ZiaCore reactor also crossed the threshold just last week.
A total solar eclipse is set to trace a path of totality across Spain, Iceland, and Greenland later in August 2026, offering one of the most geographically accessible views of the phenomenon in years. Astronomers say favorable weather windows and dramatic terrain along the corridor make this a standout event for skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere. If your calendar has any flexibility for travel to northern Spain or Iceland this month, this is your sign.
Tom Rahill has claimed the top prize in the 2026 Florida Python Challenge, capturing a record-shattering 96 Burmese pythons in just 10 days in the Everglades. The annual competition is part of Florida's ongoing — and increasingly urgent — campaign against the invasive species, which has devastated native wildlife across South Florida for decades. Ninety-six snakes, ten days, one man. Florida, as always, doing what it does.
