by Sydney Carruth | Jul 25, 2026 | Business, Iran, News, White House
As his new tariffs went into effect and gas prices climbed on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he’s not ruling out a full-scale war.
In a phone interview with French journalist Sonia Dridi, Trump said he’s “absolutely” considering resuming full-scale war with Iran if the U.S. doesn’t “get 100% of what we want.”
The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday the U.S. is “talking” to Iran, adding that he believes Iran is “getting more and more serious as the days go by” but “that doesn’t mean we get there.” Friday night was the first in 13 consecutive nights that the U.S. did not strike Iran.
The national average gas price rose slightly Saturday to $4.11 a gallon as Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries threatened to heap further financial strain on Americans ahead of the midterms. The reporter said when she asked Trump whether he would follow through with his threat to levy “substantial” new tariffs on the European Union, which he has accused of “robbing” American tech companies, he declined to comment.
The tariffs, which took effect Friday and have already been challenged in court, could cost American households an extra $1,100 annually, according to an analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University. That comes at a time when consumers are already shelling out more for necessities, including gas and groceries, as the Iran war drives inflation and energy prices upward.
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Politico: 46% say high gas prices will impact their vote
July 24, 2026 / 06:43
Gas price averages in the United States surpassed $4 a gallon on July 20 for the first time in more
by Zeeshan Aleem | Jul 24, 2026 | Business, Opinion, White House, World
The Strait of Hormuz remains at a virtual standstill because of President Donald Trump’s foolish war, and now, in what represents a new global energy price nightmare, Houthi militants in Yemen have begun to block a separate corridor that is critical for global oil shipping. On Thursday, oil surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since May in response to the news that the war with Iran is on the brink of expanding to a new front. And Trump’s promise to bomb the Houthis should they continue is unlikely to improve the situation.
Those Houthi militants, who are allied with and supported by Iran, announced Monday that they would were enacting a blockade in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait against Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said their blockade is retaliation for airstrikes against a Yemeni airport intended to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. (Yemen’s Saudi-backed government claimed credit for the attack.) On Thursday, the Houthis said they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers and successfully warned 10 more to turn back. (Saudi Arabia’s official news agency confirmed at least one tanker was hit.)
Should the Houthis continue to attack ships, Trump ought to be concerned; his record fighting the scrappy militia is not impressive.
The Houthis’ blockade is a huge deal. Before the Iran war, about a fifth of the world’s oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Now it’s effectively closed. Saudi Arabia, which had transported the bulk of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, started moving oil west through a pipeline. From there, Saudi Arabia was sending its oil out through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea
by Ja'han Jones | Jul 18, 2026 | Business, Opinion, White House
A dozen states are suing to thwart a merger that would give Paramount Skydance executives ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery – and effectively give outsize media control to the pro-MAGA Ellison family.
On Friday, a judge heard arguments as the case kicked off, with Variety reporting that the judge “suggested at one point that Paramount had conceded that it will not suffer harm if a temporary restraining order is granted, which would put the merger on hold for up to 28 days.”
Paramount has been central to President Donald Trump’s authoritarian visions of wielding media control. And that’s necessary context for any potential approval of this merger.
Paramount agreed to pay $16 million last year to settle a bogus lawsuit Trump filed over a “60 Minutes” interview involving his 2024 presidential opponent, Kamala Harris. Paramount platforms have been used to promote the president’s cryptocurrency ventures, and Trump has boasted about MAGA-friendly changes instituted at CBS after his administration approved the Paramount-Skydance merger.
In addition, the overtly pro-Trump chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — who authored a chapter in the far-right playbook Project 2025 — has even depicted Paramount-Skydance’s control of CBS as one of Trump’s “wins” over the media.
Trump even seemed to allude to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger last weekend, when he snapped at CNN’s Jake Tapper: “We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path. And we’ll do that.”(CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)
From the proposed merger’s likely negative impacts on quality and competitiveness in the media to its brazen usefulness to a corrupt administration, there’s plenty not to like about the deal. And the ethics, or lack
by Akayla Gardner | Jul 17, 2026 | Business, News, White House
Trump Media & Technology Group, a company owned by President Donald Trump, is offering Wall Street firms access to a new speciality service that rapidly delivers and curates market-moving posts from the president’s preferred social media platform.
Truth Social, which launched in 2022, has become the platform where the president offers high-impact statements and announces major decisions. Among those statements, Trump has frequently unveiled changes to U.S. tariff policy; discussed meetings with world leaders, like Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin; and, in recent months, provided updates on the ongoing war with Iran.
The service, announced Thursday, has been dubbed “Truth API.” An API, or application programming interface, allows software applications to communicate with each other.
“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” said Kevin McGurn, interim chief executive offer of TMTG, in a statement. “As adoption grows, we expect Truth API to become a meaningful, ongoing source of revenue for the company, creating lasting value for shareholders.”
Trump is the majority stakeholder of Trump Media, which positions him to profit from the company’s new revenue stream. The White House has said that while he is in office, Trump’s assets are held in a trust that is managed by his children.
While the company says the new service will include posts from high-ranking accounts, Truth Social is mostly an echo chamber for the president, his allies and his supporters. Aside from Trump’s own profile, other accounts rarely produce impactful news or information. That raises questions about whether the president will weigh how the service could benefit him financially when he posts on the platform.
The White House and TMTG did not respond to MS
by Ja'han Jones | Jul 8, 2026 | Business, Opinion, White House
A public hearing began this week as the Trump administration looks to reinstate one of the most widely hated policies of the president’s second term.
Democratic officials are calling the whole thing a sham. And for good reason.
Tuesday marked the opening of a three-day hearing at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on the administration’s proposal to hit dozens of countries with new tariffs on grounds that these countries have failed to combat forced labor. The Trump administration adopted this approach after the archconservative Supreme Court overruled its previous rationale for tariffs.
The administration outlined its newly proposed tariffs in a report last month, accusing numerous countries of hurting American workers by inadequately fighting the scourge of forced labor. Several of these countries and the European Union have denied the claims.
As I explained at the time, there’s ample reason to question the administration’s true commitment to stemming the crisis of forced labor and human trafficking — in part because of the whole Epstein files thing, as well as the fact that many federal programs that fight forced labor and human trafficking have been gutted in President Donald Trump’s second term.
In other words, these new tariffs seem like a ploy to restore Trump’s old tariffs, which polling showed Americans broadly detested and said had cost them money.
On Monday, 22 Democratic state attorneys general submitted a public comment to Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, that all but assures the tariffs will face a legal challenge if the Trump administration tries to impose them. The officials — including AGs from New York, California, Arizona and Michigan — said the tariffs unlawfully use “sham” unfair
by Mychael Schnell | Jun 26, 2026 | Business, Congress, News
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer subpoenaed billionaire investor Leon Black on Friday, saying he had refused to answer questions about allegations that he signed nondisclosure agreements with women tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
One subpoena is for Black to appear for a deposition under oath on July 16 and the other is for the NDAs he allegedly signed with women in Epstein’s orbit, said Comer, R-Ky.
The chairman announced the subpoenas during Black’s voluntary interview with the committee regarding his long relationship with Epstein. The announcement immediately derailed the interview, with Black departing just an hour into it.
Black told lawmakers he would not answer questions about the terms and substance of the NDAs, on the advice of counsel, according to a person familiar with the interview. Another person familiar with the details told MS NOW that, when he was asked about it, Black’s attorney said, “We are not going to get into NDAs,” noting that the interview was voluntary and not a subpoena.
The people spoke to MS NOW on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closed-door proceedings publicly.
Black is one of several people believed to have signed NDAs with women who have accused Epstein and his associates of sexual misconduct. Comer said prior to Black’s interview that the committee was “pretty confident” that the financier signed NDAs with some of Epstein’s victims.
Black was handed the subpoenas near the end of committee Republicans’ first hour of questioning. He took an extended break, then departed the building shortly after, bringing the interview to an abrupt end before Democrats had their turn at questioning.
Afterward, Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, dismissed
