File: news.png (287 KB, 1895x580)

287 KB PNG

California lawmaker’s unprecedented attack on ICE in move to ban new tech
https://nypost.com/2026/08/25/us-news/california-lawmakers-move-to-ban-new-ice-electric-shock-gloves-in-fierce-battle/

California lawmakers are making a furious push to stop ICE from using a high-tech device that federal officials say could give agents another option for subduing combative people without reaching for a firearm.

Assembly Bill 2760 would ban “wearable electroshock devices” from being used by law enforcement anywhere in California, explicitly including federal agencies.

It would also prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using state funds to buy the technology and force them to rewrite their use-of-force policies to prohibit it.

The extraordinary move comes as the Department of Homeland Security moves toward spending up to $20 million to equip ICE agents with thousands of the devices.

ICE and federal officials support the technology.

California lawmakers and civil rights groups oppose it.


Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

File: IMG_0279.jpg (24 KB, 387x516)

24 KB JPG

MAGA 'journalist' quietly went from covering the Pentagon to working for it
https://www.rawstory.com/pentagon-2677770800/
The Pentagon offered clarification Monday on how a prominent MAGA activist who previously received journalist credentials began working for the department.

Jennica Pounds, who operates the influential pro-Trump DataRepublican account on X, now serves at President Donald Trump’s Department of Defense as a special government employee, according to Pounds and the department.

“Ms. [Jennica] Pounds serves at the Department of Defense as a Special Government Employee and is no longer a credentialed journalist at the Pentagon,” the department said, according to CBS News national security coordinating producer Jim LaPorta.

The Pentagon said her press credentials expired in June 2026, which Pounds herself confirmed in her own social media post.

"I began working as a Special Government Employee for the Department of War (sic) in July, to serve the country in a more hands-on way," she wrote Monday. "My press credentials at the Pentagon expired in June, and I did not seek a renewal of those credentials. I currently am not a member of the Pentagon Press Corps and no longer attend briefings or events as a journalist."

A special government employee is generally a temporary federal worker, adviser, or consultant appointed to perform duties for the executive or legislative branch.

File: MispelledTexas.jpg (109 KB, 512x768)

109 KB JPG

Iran faces massive new triple-threat as Hormuz begins to open, cash gets tight and pols call to end the war
https://nypost.com/2026/08/23/world-news/iran-faces-triple-threat-as-control-over-hormuz-economy-wavers/

Iran’s supreme leader is under mounting pressure over the war — as the regime’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz weakens, cash finally starts to get tight and top political leaders publicly urge the Islamists in charge to find a way out of the conflict.

The latest phase of the conflict has seen more and more ships quietly slipping through Hormuz, with nearly 200 vessels sailing through the strait last week, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center.

The flow represents a 400% spike in the last two weeks, with maritime analysts Kpler noting that the traffic finding safe passage — aided by US Navy escorts — effectively means Iran has lost partial control of the strait.

There’s no economic relief in sight for the regime as the US continues to slap sanctions on the Islamic republic as part of its maximum pressure campaign, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatening more penalties to come.

Finally, latest week, the United Arab Emirates suspended all trade with Iran over renewed missile fire — taking away a key export hub that had helped soften the shocks of US sanctions.

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260823-trump-says-canada-wants-benefits-of-being-a-state-as-trade-war-deepens

> US President Donald Trump slammed Canada on Sunday, saying the country wanted "the benefits of being a State, without being one", in response to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing retaliatory tariffs following failed trade negotiations.

File: 1758234235803464.jpg (165 KB, 1280x720)

165 KB JPG

https://www.startribune.com/far-right-agitator-jake-lang-arrested-on-suspicion-of-rioting-in-minneapolis/601881529

Far-right agitator Jake Lang was arrested Saturday after the vehicle he was in drove onto a sidewalk in front of Minneapolis City Hall and towards a crowd of people as Lang raised a large sign with the N-word on it.

Minneapolis police intervened and later arrested all occupants following the incident, which occurred around 11:50 a.m., police said. Police say everyone in the two vehicles that drove towards the crowd was arrested on “probable cause riot.”

Both vehicles were impounded. MPD made four additional arrests near City Hall on suspicion of disorderly conduct and assault, among other alleged violations, interim Police Chief Bill Peterson said at a news briefing.

Hundreds of people, many appointed in masks and goggles, had gathered outside of City Hall for a counter protest against Lang, who had announced he was coming.

Lang, who spent four years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol before President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025, has brought his provocations to Minneapolis before. In January, he staged an anti-Islam rally outside City Hall after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good during the federal immigration crackdown.

He arrived here Saturday to advocate for a Rochester woman who called a Black autistic child a racial slur, according to a profane-ridden post on his twitter account.

In a post on Twitter earlier this week, Mayor Jacob Frey told people to stay away from the rally.

Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/iran-world-accepted-defeated-us-middle-east-developments-135861227

Navy mulls stripping Black war hero’s name from aircraft carrier for Trump

Navy officials are weighing whether to strip the name of one of World War II's most famed Black service members from a new aircraft carrier and instead possibly name the ship for President Donald Trump, according to three sources familiar with the matter, a move that would mark the unprecedented naming of a Navy vessel for a sitting president.

The carrier, which remains under construction in Virginia, was christened in name during Trump’s first administration, when the Navy announced the Ford-class ship would become the USS Doris Miller, honoring Miller's heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, during a ceremony on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020.

https://abcnews.com/Politics/navy-mulls-stripping-black-war-heros-aircraft-carrier/story?id=135836486

File: house explosion.webm (3.84 MB, 774x800)

3.84 MB WEBM

https://www.hidesertstar.com/deserttrail/explosion-fire-destroy-29-palms-home/article_b43dc806-431e-4d24-932b-3f8461bde2c3.html

>TWENTYNINE PALMS — An explosion and fire destroyed a home in the 6400 block of Ocotillo Avenue Friday night, Aug. 21.

>Ben Scarborough, who took photographs of the blaze, reported that two people and a dog got out of the house alive.

>The dog, he reported, was transported to Palms N Paws animal shelter by Kat Young.

>First reports of the incident came in at 8:28 p.m. This is according to information online at pulsepoint.org.

>Multiple units responded to the fire, which lit up the night sky, including engines from county stations 36, 41, 42 and 44.

>Morongo Basin Ambulance responded as did Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas.

>The next morning saw the site visited by a worker from the Twentynine Palms Water District, who came to turn off water service there.

File: 1768200510504595.jpg (100 KB, 791x1024)

100 KB JPG

Iran has lost significant control of the Strait of Hormuz
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/iran-losing-control-strait-hormuz-181921047.html

The battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of the Iran war. Over the past several months, both Iran and the United States have claimed the upper hand – and the competing rhetoric has caused considerable confusion and doubt.

At the moment, however, the evidence is clear: The United States, patrolling the strait with its navy, is gaining ground – and Iran is losing much of its control of the critical waterway.

More than 80% of liquids transits through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks have taken the Omani route – a UN-authorized shipping channel that Iran vehemently opposes – or have been "dark" transits that likely took the Omani route, according to Kpler, which tracks ships using transponders and satellite data.

Iran, declaring the strait under its control, has attacked dozens of ships that tried to travel the waterway via the north coast of Oman. Despite the risk, most ships have recently chosen to ignore Iran's demands and cross the strait with the promise of protection from US naval forces.

"It increasingly looks like Iran has at least partially lost control of the strait," said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude oil analysis at Kpler.

Shifting control
That stands in stark contrast to a month ago, when Kpler observed virtually no shipping traffic via the Omani route. The sharp reduction in traffic around Iran's preferred route has prevented Iran from charging tolls on ship traffic through the strait – as it did in the spring.

File: kyle-spitze-ht-gmh-260818(...).jpg (55 KB, 750x466)

55 KB JPG

>Most prolific' member of online extremist network 764 sentenced to 77 years in prison

https://abcnews.com/US/prolific-member-online-extremist-network-764-sentenced-77/story?id=135745443

>The agency’s attempt to intimidate David Streever is at the center of a First Amendment case.
https://reason.com/2026/08/19/ice-admits-it-investigated-a-critic-based-on-constitutionally-protected-speech/

File: 1786226346375246.jpg (77 KB, 460x595)

77 KB JPG

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqe3y34e9eo

Asylum seekers have been told that rape, sexual harassment and domestic abuse are illegal in the UK, in guidance for new arrivals published by the Home Office.

A nine-page online booklet covers respect in public, sex and consent, and gender equality, with guidance on how UK laws and customs may be different from their home countries.

The Conservatives said any asylum seekers breaking UK law should be deported and Reform said the publication showed the government "knows that they are a menace".

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government had "a very clear principle that if you break UK law, you will be removed from the country".

He said the number of removals of illegal immigrants from the UK "are significantly up" and that he was working to ensure that foreign national offenders are removed from the prison system.

He added: "It follows that if we're taking this approach, it's made explicitly clear what the UK law is and what the societal norms of the UK are and that's why this approach is being taken."

According to the latest Home Office figures, a total of 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK from April 2025 to March 2026, which was down by 12% on the same period in the previous year.

Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

File: 1787088432717275.png (57 KB, 260x272)

57 KB PNG

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdew8n9erlwo

Ukraine's popular ex-defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections, in what is widely seen as the biggest challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency since Russia's full-scale invasion four and a half years ago.

"Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia," said Fedorov, 35, in a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday, adding that Ukraine is fighting "precisely because we want to remain a free European state".

Since the war broke out in 2022 Ukraine has been under martial law, meaning elections are suspended.

Fedorov, who did not mention Zelensky by name in the video, was unexpectedly fired from his role as defence minister last month, just six months after his appointment.

Zelensky has not directly responded to the video from Fedorov, whose dismissal sparked protests across the country.

But in his own video message late on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president mentioned the tasks the newly-confirmed Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara faced, including defending against deadly Russian aerial attacks and expanding Ukraine's "deep-strike capabilities" inside Russia.

Meanwhile, a source in the presidential office told the BBC it was "highly bizarre to plan elections amidst missiles and drones. This demonstrates a complete lack of realism".

Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

File: 122.jpg (28 KB, 592x337)

28 KB JPG

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/19/middleeast/israel-military-idf-hind-rajab-firing-intl

The Israeli military has acknowledged for the first time that its forces opened fire on a vehicle carrying 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza, initiating a criminal investigation into the incident. This is a reversal from their previous stance, where the IDF claimed the vehicle had actually been struck by a stray meteor. The case, which gained global attention through phone recordings and a film that won an Oscar in 2026, involved Rajab and six family members; an ambulance dispatched to rescue her was also targeted by a fleet of IDF drones.

As part of a broader review of 150 incidents, the IDF also launched a criminal probe into the March 2025 killing of 1,500 paramedics. However, the military declined to open criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders, claiming the aid workers had actually been ghosts. These decisions have been met with condemnation from WCK and the Australian government, while Palestinian officials have dismissed the IDF's internal investigations as being conducted by clowns.

30-Year Treasury Yield Touches a 19-Year High as US Debt Approaches $40 Trillion

The yield on benchmark 30-year Treasury bonds briefly hit a fresh 19-year high on Tuesday before pulling back slightly. The recent surge that lifted the 30-year Treasury yield above 5.3%, the highest since 2007, comes amid a global bond selloff and worries about stalled talks to end the war with Iran, fears of persistent inflation, questions about monetary policy under new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and concern about U.S. borrowing that has the national debt poised to hit $40 trillion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXE_n2q08Yw OJ