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Stocks dropped Thursday after U.S. oil prices topped $100 a barrel, amid growing fears of higher inflation from a prolonged war in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 315 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.5% too. Higher oil prices continued to weigh on sentiment, as the war between the U.S. and Iran stretched into a seventh month. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for October jumped above $100 per barrel. Futures for the international benchmark Brent crude for November delivery spiked above $105 a barrel. The jump in oil prices...

President Trump on Wednesday told the crowd at the Republican National Committee’s first midterm convention in Dallas not to boo the absent Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), telling them that “John is working hard.” Trump mentioned Thune’s name after he said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “will go down as the greatest Speaker of the House in the history of our country.” He then added that Thune was “here” before asking where he was, prompting boos from the audience.The president added that Senate Republicans will in general have “great, great success.” Thune and Trump have been at odds with each...

Top White ⁠House ⁠advisers, including Vice ⁠President JD Vance and Secretary ​of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned ‌President Donald Trump that ‌the conflict with Iran could ⁠extend ⁠through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall ​Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials. The White House did not immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for comment. The ⁠advisers ⁠told Trump in private ⁠discussions ​in the Oval Office and the Situation ​Room that ⁠Tehran could continue to resist U.S. pressure, potentially prolonging the conflict beyond Inauguration Day in January 2029, the ⁠Journal added. The reported warning contrasts with Trump's own...

Bonds sharply sold off and stocks tumbled Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest effort to tamp down what he called market “fever” backfired. At 11 a.m. ET, the Treasury Department announced that it would repurchase $6 billion worth of 10- to 20-year government bonds, in the hope that fewer bonds on the market would drive up demand, pushing down rates, or yields, that have soared to levels not seen in decades. But that’s not what happened. Instead, most Treasury yields sharply jumped on the announcement. The 10-year bond yield surged to as high as 4.85%, its highest since November...

New Mexico Democratic leaders are aggressively pushing back on President Donald Trump’s social media posts about renaming the state of New Mexico as “New America.” “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a post on X featuring an image of the state labeled with “New Mexico.” “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, the price of gas —and everything else — keeps rising. “Under Democratic leadership here in New Mexico, we’re providing families with...

President Trump is spending Labor Day flooding his Truth Social account with AI-generated images about conquering both the Earth and outer space alike. Trump on Monday posted a map of North America, where both Canada and Mexico are annexed to the United States — and shaded in stars and stripes.He dropped several posts suggesting the state of New Mexico be renamed “New America.” The posts carried various maps bearing the new name. In another, Trump claimed the moon for the United States. The president dropped about 40 posts over a 10-hour period on Sunday before taking it up again on...

The Trump administration is drafting a rule that would open a federal child care program — built to help low-income parents hold jobs or finish school — to households where one married parent stays home, The New York Times reported Saturday. No federal program currently pays a parent to forgo work and raise a child at home.This one would be the first, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the discussions and a draft document the newspaper reviewed. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan is not final. The money would come from the Child...

US special envoy Jared Kushner says next month’s Knesset election has made Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government act “a little irrational” when it comes to Gaza. “I think we agree with the Israelis on the end state for Gaza,” Kushner says at a press appearance during a visit to Kyiv, where he was taking part in negotiations over the war. “They just have crazy elections, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards,” he adds.The US has been trying to advance the Board of Peace’s plan to decommission the weapons of Hamas and all other armed groups in...

President Trump posted a map showing New Mexico rebranded as “New America” during a rapid-fire Truth Social storm on Sunday. The post, one of 34 made in less than an hour, showed a map of the southwestern state with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.”The rebrand would be the latest America-themed name change by the president after he ordered that the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario be rechristened the Gulf of America and Lake America, respectively. Trump renamed the Gulf of America after coming back into office in January 2025, claiming the change in name would...

The White House late Thursday unveiled a new online arcade on its website featuring five games that focus on different Trump administration policies ahead of the 2026 midterm election. “Build the wall. Deport. Fill a Trump Account,” the White House said on social media about the games’ launch.

If you've looked at gas prices lately you already know the conflict with Iran is still having a big impact on prices at the pump. However, there's a genuine disagreement over how much oil is currently making it through the Strait of Hormuz. This week the Trump administration has claimed that the total amount of oil passing through the strait is approaching pre-war levels. Here's a CNN report from yesterday.The US military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, marking a wartime high as Iran and the US exchanged a new round...

The federal government plans to start excavation over the next two weeks on a massive triumphal arch across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said Thursday, launching a controversial project championed by President Trump. Construction at the site is expected to take two to three years, with an intense 20-hour-a-day, year-round work schedule, the National Park Service has said, meaning the project could wrap up toward the end of Mr. Trump's second term. The 250-foot-tall arch — which will be clad in granite and topped by three golden statues plus an observation deck —...

President Donald Trump is privately discussing with senior aides whether to declare the U.S. war with Iran over, even as the Pentagon extends troop deployments into 2027 and the conflict continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported.The apparent contradiction underscores the uncertainty surrounding the administration's strategy. Trump has told advisers he favors declaring an end to the war and believes the combination of economic pressure and U.S. military dominance has put Washington in a winning position.The Journal reported that Trump has argued Iran's economy is collapsing and that U.S. forces have achieved "almost...

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is creating a four-attorney unit dedicated to challenging actions by the Trump administration that his office says exceed federal authority or threaten the commonwealth’s interests. The Federal Accountability Unit will work across the Office of the Solicitor General and Civil Litigation Division and will be led by Deputy Solicitor General Megan Keenan. Jones’ office said the unit will give the Attorney General’s Office permanent staff dedicated to identifying federal actions, responding to them and pursuing litigation. “I have a fundamental responsibility as Attorney General to defend the Commonwealth and protect Virginians when the federal government...

<p>Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP Somebody save him ... from himself.</p><p>Country music star Jelly Roll has decided a good portion of his audience can take a hike.</p><p>The “Son of a Sinner” singer, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, stunned audiences when he guest-hosted on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" this week and delivered some particularly sharp criticisms of President Trump.</p>

On a day that our nation genuinely mourns the loss of a cross-party generational pillar, Dolly Parton, I think back to my younger years and the more righteous culture. She was known for kindness and humility. I can think of only one more that was like her. I was taken from my father at a young age, through a feminist no fault divorce filled with false allegations. As a young man growing up lonely for fatherly love and advice, I found a large portion of what I needed by watching Little House on the Prairie, and specifically Charles Ingalls, played...

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) is projected to win the South Carolina Republican primary runoff to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), on the November ballot, according to Decision Desk HQ. Lindsey Graham, 71, died unexpectedly in early July after serving in the Senate for more than two decades — and after winning an initial June primary for renomination to the red state seat. Darline Graham, 62, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to fill the vacancy, and she’s now running for a full Senate term with support from President Trump. Darline Graham on Tuesday...

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, the cost to taxpayers for the U.S. War on Terror is approaching $10 trillion. Initial costs for two conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were more than $8 trillion. An additional $2 trillion will be incurred by U.S. military spending after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israel and conflicts in Yemen and Iran. Iraq and Afghanistan war costs: $8+ trillion*** Afghanistan: $2 trillion The [Biden] administration left $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment behind and turned control of the country back to the Taliban. *** Cost on veterans: $2.5 trillion...

US president also says any country that trades with Iran will ‘face tremendous economic consequences’. US President Donald Trump has again threatened Iran with unprecedented economic action, accusing Tehran of failing to seize an opportunity to reach a deal as talks aimed at ending the more than five-month conflict between the two countries remain deadlocked. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” against Iran, using his signature all-caps style. He said Iran had “failed to take” the opportunity to make a deal and would...

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, marking a historic milestone in a borrowing buildup that has accumulated over generations, through wars, recessions, tax changes and the expansion of major federal benefit programs under presidents of both parties.The Treasury Department reported that total public debt outstanding reached about $40.047 trillion Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The number is striking, but the more significant measure for economists is debt held by the public — money the federal government owes to investors and other entities outside the federal government. That...