Thursday, August 20, 2026
Trump: Iran Will Face 'Most Crushing Economic Operation' Ever
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country,” warning that nations, financial institutions, and businesses that help Iran could face severe economic consequences. “I AM ANNOUNCING THE MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, according to Reuters. Trump said the effort would amount to an “ECONOMIC D-DAY” and warned countries against providing Iran with a financial lifeline. “I am also announcing that any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, etc. to provide any lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” Trump said, according to Reuters. Trump did not immediately provide details about the measures he was announcing. The administration said it was prepared to intensify its economic pressure campaign against Tehran. Newsmax reported on Wednesday, citing CNN, that Trump was moving away from seeking a quick resolution to the war and toward a more deliberate strategy of sustained economic pressure on Iran. That strategy could include additional sanctions on Iranian oil networks and financial channels, as well as pressure on foreign companies and banks that continue doing business with Tehran. Reuters reported Sunday that Trump had vowed to hit Iran hard economically after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would impose measures against Tehran that had “never been seen” as soon as the following week. Reuters reported that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 people, vessels, and aircraft since Trump began his second term. Recent U.S. measures have targeted Iran's oil network, shipping insurers, entities involved in weapons procurement, and digital exchanges, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that the administration could impose additional sanctions on Chinese “teapot” refineries that buy Iranian oil or on Chinese financial institutions involved in processing Iranian funds. China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler cited by Reuters, making Chinese companies a potentially important target for any expanded pressure campaign. Trump has previously said he could either allow Iran's economy to deteriorate or “hit them really, really hard,” according to Reuters. In an Aug. 11 interview, Trump said Iran was already suffering economically and that the United States had control over Iranian assets that had been frozen. The administration's economic pressure comes as Iran faces significant domestic economic difficulties. Reuters reported Monday that Iran entered the war with high inflation, a weakening currency, energy shortages and structural economic problems and is now dealing with damaged infrastructure, disrupted trade, and lost production. Iran's annual inflation rate reached 66% in July, while consumer prices were 87.9% higher than a year earlier, according to Iran's Statistical Centre, Reuters reported. Trump has repeatedly made preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon a central objective of his policy toward Tehran. His latest announcement indicates that economic pressure is likely to remain a major component of the administration's strategy, with the potential for U.S. action to extend beyond Iran to foreign banks, businesses and governments that help keep Tehran's economy functioning. © 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved. |
Why Were They Getting Them in the First Place? Bessent Cracks Down on Tax Credits for Illegal Aliens
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Sometimes you read about a crackdown on benefits received by illegal aliens and think to yourself, “Wait, how were they getting these things in the first place? I thought they were here illegally?” That’s what first occurred to me when I read about these “refundable tax credits,” but the good news is that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is nipping them in the bud and aiming to save American citizens $3 billion.
The proposed move is aimed at four benefits that should be reserved for Americans:
The four tax credits named are refundable, which means people with a larger credit than the taxes they owe get a refund. On Treasury’s official website, the Internal Revenue Service head said in a statement titled “Treasury, IRS Propose Rules to Protect Refundable Tax Credits from Abuse by Illegal Aliens,” that the credits were intended to help American families, not people here unlawfully.
Approximately one million illegals would be affected and would therefore be ineligible to take advantage of the credits. MORE: Nothing to See Here Folks — Except 24,000+ Noncitizens Voting in the 2020 Election Trump Has a Nasty Surprise Waiting for Mexican Illegal Aliens – and 'Mexico Is Not Happy' The proposed regulations are available here, but here’s the breakdown of who will be eligible if the regulations are approved:
On the internet, numerous posters are wondering the same thing I did: why on earth were they getting them in the first place? Rome wasn’t built in a day, however, and fundamentally altering how we deal with illegal aliens takes time. This is another solid brick in the wall. |
Field Trip to Mamdani's Socialist Supermarket Goes Hilariously Wrong
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to open five government-controlled grocery stores – one for each borough! – is going about as well as you'd expect a taxpayer-funded socialist supermarket experiment would go. Not great. On Wednesday, city officials took a group of prospective vendors to tour the site of the Harlem store, dressing them up in hardhats and high-visibility vests. Everyone was ready for a muddy-boots tour of the construction site, hyped to be wowed by this socialist utopia coming to life. They were greeted by an empty parking lot with no construction whatsoever. Even worse, there was trash blowing across the vacant lot and nary a sign to suggest Mamdani’s socialist supermarket was arriving anytime soon.
The vendors didn't seem one bit impressed by what they saw, with some voicing doubt about participating in Mamdani's scheme. Others left the door open, but there are conditions that need to be met.
One local reporter who tagged along on the field trip talked to one prospective vendor who said he was happy that the mayor was doing something about rising food prices, but said he wouldn't like to be put in the position of competing with the government-run stores. Of course he wouldn’t. Private grocers and bodegas have to cover expensive things like rent, property taxes, payroll, utilities, insurance, and the full cost of their inventory; they then price their goods to cover those costs and maybe make a profit. Mamdani’s Socialist Safeways, by contrast, would have their costs absorbed or subsidized by taxpayers, allowing them to price their wares low and force competitors out of business. The mayor's office is trying to ease the fears of Big Apple grocers by promising them – via the "lead official for Mayor Mamdani's NYC Groceries" – that there will be taxpayer money and free stuff for them, too. Everyone gets a handout! This vow by the city to "come alongside" them doesn't seem to be easing the minds of immigrant-owned grocery stores. A coalition of them plan to sue to stop the city from using taxpayer dollars to bankroll competitors that can offer artificially low prices while avoiding the costs private grocers have to absorb to keep their doors open. That empty lot strewn with garbage is an apt metaphor for Mamdani’s grocery scheme: a socialist dream with a big price tag and not much reality underneath it. |
Good Riddance to John Cornyn and His Democrat Staffers
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In perhaps the least surprising revelation of this campaign cycle, besides the epiphany that the guy with a Nazi tattoo turned out not to be very nice to women, was that the Deputy Legislative Director for nominally Republican Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) just enlisted in the legions of blasphemous, demonic Democrat James Talarico.
For any Texans wondering if, in retrospect, they should’ve given Ken Paxton a shot instead of sticking with the incumbent, you’ve got your answer: Hell yes. This turncoat, one Jacob Smith,
had a central role in developing policy for an allegedly Republican senator, yet he slid seamlessly into the camp of the imp pushing the gender mutilation of children, socialism, DEI, open borders, and gun control. But then again, Sen. John Cornyn would be on a smooth glide path to another term as a senator if he had ever done anything to stop the gender mutilation of children, socialism, DEI, open borders, and gun control — his record on these ranges from AWOL to active collaboration with the Democrats. So, but for Ken Paxton,
Texas’s non-Cruz senator would’ve had the same policies, whether it was John Cornyn or Pete Buttigieg’s Mini-Me. This is why we Republican voters sometimes have to take the risk of dumping the weakhearts, the losers, and the toe-shrimpers of the ruling class and their regime media overlords in favor of the based. Talk about proving us right. Cornholio has already been reveling in the strange new respect bestowed by the Washington Post and others following his utter humiliation by the Texas GOP. The sorest of sore losers, a man offended by the uppity voters refusing to obey, he’s refused to do anything to support the Republican nominee, blocked Trump’s initiatives, and passively aggressively tweeted stuff that’s 180 degrees from the conservative Republican promise he ran on. That’s not surprising because John Cornyn is not a member of the Republican Party. He’s a member of the John Cornyn Party, and the John Cornyn Party’s platform consists solely of John Cornyn being the senator and getting all the perks, prestige, and posterior-kissing that come along with it. Texas GOP voters saw him for the phony he is, and now he hates them even more than he did before the primary — and he hated them a lot. And he’s so bad at this. That’s one of the things that you often see with hacks like Cornyn and fellow travelers like Bill Cassidy and Thom Tillis.
They’re not even good at being phonies. The first problem is they get high on their own supply, buying into what the Wormtongues are whispering in their ears, that they are great Solons, wise elder statesmen who have and deserve the respect of their lessers. Their lessers are, of course, you, me, and everybody else. To the pompous princes, elections are an unseemly imposition, and voters are impudent children who should be ignored for the first five years of their terms and then mollified with cowboy hats and cheesy ads during the election year. When I was in Texas before the primary, every other ad was about how much Cornie loved Donald Trump, how he was standing by Donald Trump, how he was the best friend of Donald Trump, and how he was kissing Donald Trump’s feet as eagerly as Dick Morris with a shoeless escort. But nobody fell for it. Nobody believed it. Thanks to the Interwebs, we could see the truth. When he went on Spanish-language media and started talking about amnesty, we heard about it. And when he supported the Democrats’ gun control proposals, you bet we heard about it. Even now, when he tries to explain why one of his key policy advisors eagerly joined the staff of a leftist Democrat, he’s unbelievably tone-deaf. What kind of idiot would go with this word-splooge of a rationalization? “John, only in authoritarian countries does someone else get to decide where you work. Not in Texas. Those concerned might want to channel their energy into broadening R outreach to a coalition of voters rather than just those already converted.” Yeah, the big problem is the fascist notion that perhaps it’s not a great idea for a policy principal of a reportedly conservative Republican to not only be able to, but to choose to, fit right in on the staff of a hard-left Democrat who pushes every weird, creepy, and heretical pinko policy. How dare people try to stop this innocent staffer from getting a new job! What’s more Texas than treachery? And take that, all you Republicans who don’t want a broadened Republican outreach by embracing the DSA-approved policies of James Talarico! Fight the power, John Cornyn! Keep standing up for the rights of Republican staffers who are actually Democrats. That’s what Texans sent you to Washington for — that, and to open our borders to all Third World aliens plus to help Democrats take our guns. There’s pathetic, and there’s stupid, and then there’s John Cornyn. Let’s talk about the race itself. Is this Benedict Arnold maneuver going to change the electoral calculus? No. Democrats will despise the guy for working for a Republican. Remember when Kamala Harris got Liz Cheney to endorse her? You get that same Never Trump energy going here. Everybody hates a traitor, including the side to which the traitor defects. Certainly it isn’t going to switch any Republicans. Do they imagine a thought process along the lines of “Well, some generic staffer for John Cornyn went over to Talarico and, of course, political functionaries are virtuous paragons who we should look to for moral guidance. After all, no Senate staffer would ever do anything wrong, like being caught on video after hours performing acts of unnatural love in a hearing chamber.” It’s unlikely that some anonymous flunky switching jerseys is going to make Texas Republicans decide to vote for the guy who hates meat, loves trans kids, and imagines that God is non-binary and that They mandated abortion in the Bible. This incident also casts light on the recent stories in the regime media about older Republican staffers bewailing how young Republican staffers are all “groypers,” “fascists,” and all sorts of other designated epithets. Apparently, the real problem is that these younger staffers believe in the things that Republican voters believe in, and the old guard of phony Republican functionaries just can’t handle that. These faceless flunkies do the real work behind the scenes in Congress, and accumulate power accordingly to influence their members. Along the way, they often imagine that they themselves are important, rather than interchangeable. That’s why they probably think this is a big deal, and we just think it’s yet another routine RINO betrayal. Now, where does this leave the Texas race? Well, if you listen to the regime media, Texans are apparently clambering to elect the least Texan person conceivable — you couldn’t have created a less Texan homunculus in a lab using advanced AI and black magic. But let’s look at a few data points. The polls are presumptively crap, but they’re tightening, and Ken Paxton is coming in ahead sometimes. Jasmine Crockett still hasn't endorsed Talarico, and he’s got real problems with the black vote. In fact, he’s going to have to devote millions upon millions of precious dollars to try to salvage it. Then there’s anecdotal evidence. I was in Texas last week, in a fairly liberal area, and saw seven signs for the little creep; when Beto was running, the place was plastered with them. Though not scientific, my most compelling evidence is the uniform analyses from multiple connected friends who are in touch with what’s happening in the Lone Star State. None of them — none of them — thinks this guy is going to win. In fact, they don’t think he’s going to do anywhere near as well as Beto did against Ted Cruz. Yikes. Imagine your political epitaph being “He’s no Beto.” Oh, it’s still going to be a fight. Of course, right now people are just dancing around and positioning themselves. The real fight starts after Labor Day, and then you’re going to see a dump of opposition research on Talarico that will curl your toes. I’m not going to get specific, but you take one look at the guy, and you know it’s going to be ugly. But this is all going to take a lot of money, and that’s a problem. The D.C. Republican establishment is still mad at Paxton for daring to dump their friend, and their short-sighted, petty, girlish anger may keep them from supporting Paxton to the extent they need to. It would be nice not to have to spend heaps of money in a Republican state, but you know what would be nicer? If we had had a Republican senator who didn’t trust his policy work to people who, at the flip of a switch, can become the deputy policy director for a hard-core leftist who embraces socialism, perversion, and blasphemy. That’s not too much to ask of Republican politicians, though it was apparently too much to ask of John Cornyn. Regardless of how this turns out, at least we will be rid of him come January. He will not be missed. |
Here's the Tweet That Best Captures This Scummy, Weird Media Obsession With a Top Trump Aide
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I truly don’t understand this story: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and other liberals make baseless accusations that President Trump is having inappropriate relations with a top aide, Natalie Harp, and the media is off to the races trying to find something. You’re seeing in real time how the Russian collusion hoax became a chronic media fiasco — they’ll buy anything, hook, line, and sinker. I don’t see the story here. Is it that presidents have top aides who are around them often? They’re trying to shift this into a national security issue, but please — the foundation of this story was sex. And then CNN dug up Harp’s estranged lefty brother to get into her psyche.
It was bizarre. Chuck Ross had the perfect tweet that captured this media frenzy: Here’s a simple breakdown of Ms. Harp, who survived bone cancer, by the way (via WSJ):
So, again, what the hell is going on here? What are we doing here, people? The great pivot is this security clearance development, which I now couldn’t care less about: it was dredged up based on sexual innuendo, and we all know the media’s initial goal here was to engulf the White House in a sex scandal. So, please, stop with the ‘look, we found out this, that and the other’ line somewhere else. Security clearance issues were not the target here.
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Sen. Cruz slams Nike's ‘woke’ campaigns amid massive stock declines
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Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz bashed sportswear brand Nike for its “woke” campaigns in recent years, amid a dramatic drop in the company’s stock price, which the senator argued is a direct result of their “America-Hate” marketing. After dropping nearly 50% over the past year to $40.10 per share, Nike’s shares are now down 78% from their record peak of $179.10 in November 2021, according to financial services company, Robinhood. In an X post on Tuesday, Cruz (R-Texas.) wrote that Nike’s decline in value is both “sad and predictable.”
Mackey argued further that Nike’s financial slide stems from several high-profile controversies. He pointed to the brand featuring activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a major marketing campaign, partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, and severing ties with NBA star Kyrie Irving due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The comments from Cruz and Mackey come as Nike faces worsening news for investors, with the Oregon-based athletic brand seeing its stock fall to a 12-year low on Monday. Critics also point to a decline in product quality and innovation, noting that Nike has relied too heavily on retro releases over high-quality classics. |
Top NIAID Adviser Pleads Guilty: COVID Cover-Up Exposed
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On August 19, 2026, former senior NIAID adviser Dr. David Morens
formally pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by plotting to conceal federal records tied to COVID-19 research, a development that exposes the rot beneath years of official talking points and obfuscation. This is not a garden-variety paperwork case — it is the criminal admission of a top public-health insider who used private channels to hide the trail of what Americans deserve to know. The allegations laid out in court are damning and specific: prosecutors say Morens relied on private email accounts to avoid FOIA scrutiny, boasted that colleagues taught him “how to make emails disappear,” and even accepted gifts and favors from outside actors while steering research decisions. Those are not the actions of a public servant acting in the public interest; they are the actions of insiders shoring up a narrative and covering their tracks. Republican investigators who spent years pressing for answers were vindicated by this plea, which comes amid the GOP-led House probe into the pandemic’s origins and federal response. Morens faces sentencing on November 12 and up to five years behind bars, a stark reminder that when the political establishment protects its own, the American people pay the price. Dr. Anthony Fauci himself was not charged in this case, and he has repeatedly declined to answer questions from congressional panels — invoking his constitutional rights while a preemptive presidential pardon for certain pandemic-era actions was issued in January 2025. Those facts raise uncomfortable questions about accountability and whether the highest levels of the public-health bureaucracy were effectively insulated from scrutiny. For hardworking Americans who watched schools and businesses shutter while elite voices issued mandates and shaded inconvenient truths, this plea is confirmation of long-held suspicions: too many decisions were made behind closed doors and too many records were treated like secrets instead of public property. Conservatives ought to channel that outrage into a principled demand for permanent reforms — real transparency, enforceable public-records rules, and an end to the revolving-door cozying between government scientists and special-interest actors. This moment is a call to action for lawmakers who promised oversight and for citizens who care about a government that serves them, not itself. Keep pushing, keep asking for documents, and keep insisting that justice and transparency apply equally to every official, no matter how celebrated or well-connected they may be. |
Greg Kelly Takes Down AOC's Hollow Policies on Newsmax
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A recent segment promoted under the headline provided by a Newsmax outlet shows Greg Kelly taking aim at Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, arguing that her celebrity and media-ready image can only carry her so far in delivering real policy results. Kelly’s prime-time platform has become a place to call out what conservatives see as theatrical political posturing rather than accomplishment. Walk the line between the headlines and the Hill and you find a simple truth: AOC mastered the art of attention, from viral interviews to high-profile endorsements, but converting that spotlight into durable law has been a different story. Her signature push — the Green New Deal — is bold theater and a rallying cry for the left, yet it remains largely aspirational rather than a roadmap that Congress has enacted into sweeping, practical reforms. Hardworking Americans care about results: reliable energy, affordable housing, safe streets, and an economy that rewards work, not just applause lines. Conservatives have every right to call out policies that promise the moon and land taxpayers with the bill while producing little measurable benefit. That’s not mean-spirited criticism — it’s accountability. Greg Kelly and his show have made a habit of putting a spotlight on this contrast between performance and production, and his viewers expect him to press for specifics rather than accept slogans. Night after night, Newsmax’s programming aims to translate those grievances into political pressure and to remind voters that style without substance is a poor bargain for the American family. Look beyond the cable noise and you’ll see the test voters will apply in 2024 and beyond: who can actually deliver? Democrats have elevated messaging and spectacle, and figures like AOC thrive in that environment, but the country is tired of theatrical posturing while gas prices, open borders, and crime eat away at household stability. Conservatives should keep the focus laser-sharp on what policies put more money in people’s pockets and more safety in their neighborhoods. If conservatives sound harsh, it’s because defending American workers and families demands blunt language. We should applaud anyone who fights for real, implementable solutions, and we should mercilessly expose those whose primary product is attention rather than achievement. The choice for voters is simple: whose record shows results when the cameras are off? In researching this story I reviewed Newsmax’s program listings and podcast archives for Greg Kelly’s show and checked public records on Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s major policy initiatives; Newsmax lists Greg Kelly Reports as a nightly program but I was not able to locate an independent full transcript from Newsmax or an official Newsmax article that reproduces the exact quoted wording from the YouTube headline you supplied. Public sources confirm AOC’s prominent role in advancing the Green New Deal as a policy proposal, while fact-check and legislative trackers note that many of her high-profile proposals have not translated into sweeping enacted law. This means the clip’s promotional language frames a broader debate conservatives are right to press: substance over spectacle. |
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
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