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At least 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Russian attacks on the Kyiv region, which also hit a train station and other civilian infrastructure, according to emergency services. Photo: Evgen Kotenko/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260805/f9bd2e18-99a4-4baa-b188-516e29cd5cf0/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

At least 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Russian attacks on the Kyiv region, which also hit a train station and other civilian infrastructure, according to emergency services.

Kyiv Region Hit by Deadly Russian Missile and Drone Strikes

WSJ's Rachel Bachman explains how FIFA President Gianni Infantino created a crisis for the soccer federation—just weeks after a successful and lucrative World Cup in North America. Photo: Johnny Fidelin/IconSport-FR/ZUMA Press

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260806/1d6a99b4-1fa0-4681-97bc-d2593c6ae118/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

WSJ's Rachel Bachman explains how FIFA President Gianni Infantino created a crisis for the soccer federation—just weeks after a successful and lucrative World Cup in North America.

How FIFA’s $20 Billion Private-Equity Plan Nearly Broke Soccer

It was the most lucrative World Cup in history, but FIFA soon found itself in a crisis.

FIFA is arguably the most powerful sports federation in the world, and this proposal rocked it to its foundations.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino faced a global backlash after a proposal to commercialize future tournaments backfired.

Breaking news now because FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that he is scrapping plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.

So what's next for FIFA? In late July, FIFA unveiled a proposal for the FIFA Forward Enterprise. Under the plan, FIFA would spin off the commercial rights to its major tournaments into a private company.

So FIFA's commercial rights include mainly broadcast rights and sponsorship rights. And so whoever controls those rights can stand to make a lot of money as their value increases.

Then it would sell a roughly 20% stake to an investor group led by Thrive Capital for $4.2 billion. Thrive is run by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. This new private venture would be valued at $20 billion. Also, FIFA's proposal offered each of its 211 member associations up to $40 million in extra funding over the next four years.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he merely wants to share more of the international soccer wealth with every country that FIFA governs. He also wanted to strike when the iron is hot.

FIFA is projecting that the 2026 World Cup generated $15 billion in revenue, exceeding its initial estimate of $11 billion.

By all means, this World Cup has exceeded all expectations.

And once that plan became public, all hell broke loose.

Absolutely shameless. There's just a naked, obvious sense of greed from one person.

The Union of European Football Associations has told Infantino to go UEFA yourself.

Europe's soccer governing body called an emergency meeting. All 55 member nations unanimously voted to boycott FIFA competitions. That would've included the next World Cup.

We've been pushed into this by a proposal that was so damaging, it could have dismantled the whole infrastructure of the game.

The soccer confederations of North and Central America and the Caribbean and Asia soon joined in rejecting the proposal.

This debate quickly shifted to the question of who owns soccer. And many leaders around the world are saying FIFA does not own soccer. It's not FIFA's to sell.

Just days after FIFA unveiled the proposal, one of Infantino's key advisors resigned. He wrote that he opposed the plan unequivocally, and that it was a bad deal for FIFA's member associations, football, and the long-term future of the game. Other FIFA officials distanced themselves from the plan.

Now, FIFA has acknowledged the backlash it's gotten over this saying, "Nobody is selling football."

Following the backlash, FIFA canceled the plan, and senior executives reaffirmed their full support for Infantino after an emergency meeting. FIFA said in a letter to member associations that there are always lessons to be learned, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes in light of this experience. FIFA made some big changes to the 2026 World Cup.

This was the most commercialized World Cup in history. It had hydration breaks, it had a halftime show, and it had the highest ticket prices by a wide margin in history. And that was mainly because FIFA used dynamic pricing.

The success emboldened Infantino to further monetize tournaments, but the opposition has been swift and strong.

I do not believe that he is the right man to lead football forward on the world stage. Certainly, I don't have confidence in Mr. Infantino after this point.

Infantino is set to run unopposed for reelection in 2027. Several soccer associations have officially withdrawn their support for Infantino. FIFA presidents need a simple majority, or 106 votes to be elected.

There have been other sports that have had private equity investment. This is not new, but the difference with soccer is the soccer world really does feel like the game belongs to everybody. The outrage in this whole controversy came from the notion that FIFA owned football, and that it could sell part of it off. And the public has really responded with its feeling that absolutely not. FIFA does not have ownership of football to sell, and that the game belongs to everybody.

Most of the migrants who stormed into the Spanish enclave have now left. WSJ’s Roberto Ferdman explains what sparked the influx and what lies ahead for border policy. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images

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Most of the migrants who stormed into the Spanish enclave have now left. WSJ’s Roberto Ferdman explains what sparked the influx and what lies ahead for border policy.

Tens of Thousands of Migrants Surge Into Ceuta: What You Need to Know

This is the moment hundreds of immigrants crossed into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa. The mass crossings coincided with the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants, who swam into the enclave over the past week. Authorities estimate that at least 50,000 people streamed into Ceuta, a place that only has about 84,000 residents. Spain's government said it had reached a tentative agreement with Morocco to return those who had entered. My colleague, Benoit Faucon, traveled to Ceuta on August 1.

The Spanish government said yesterday that everything was pretty much under control and everyone had returned home in Morocco. And you can see the crowd behind me, you can see the police behind me. Clearly there's still some action. Actually, I'm seeing also a lot of people leaving in the crowd that was just detained. So obviously a lot of military deployments, a very surreal place, great quiet. But at the same time, lots of armored vehicles, men in camouflage, not a normal solution for that city, which I'm sure.

The unprecedented mass crossing has ignited fears of a much broader immigration crisis, and raised questions about what prompted it in the first place. The sudden influx of migrants came after Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's recent visit to Algeria, a country which has long rivaled Morocco for influence in the region. Some analysts believe that the crossings were orchestrated by the Moroccan government. The influx also follows a recent change in Spanish law. Previously, authorities could immediately turn most people back, but a July ruling has made it harder to return immigrants if they arrive by sea. While Prime Minister Sanchez has taken a much more lenient approach to immigration than many other European leaders, he described the crossings as an attack and a violation of Spain's territorial sovereignty. The crossing is the largest since 2021, when roughly 8,000 people entered Ceuta during a period of diplomatic tension between Morocco and Spain. This one was magnitudes larger, and threatened a humanitarian crisis breaking out. All of this has ignited fierce backlash from anti-immigration leaders, both within and well beyond Spain's borders.

If we're not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small-time.

Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, announced that she was temporarily reintroducing air and maritime border controls with Spain. Ceuta, along with Melilla, another Spanish enclave in Northern Africa, are considered part of the European Union, meaning they are subject to laws that allow freedom of movement. But internal Spanish rules require a border check for people traveling from Ceuta to the rest of the country. So most undocumented migrants would not be able to travel onwards to Europe.

Russian strikes killed at least eight people and injured more than 50 across Ukraine, Ukrainian emergency services said, hours after Volodymyr Zelensky returned from talks with President Trump. Photo: Roman Baluk/Reuters

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Russian strikes killed at least eight people and injured more than 50 across Ukraine, Ukrainian emergency services said, hours after Volodymyr Zelensky returned from talks with President Trump.

Deadly Russian Strikes Hit Ukraine After Zelensky-Trump Talks

Deadly Russian Attacks Hit Ukraine After Zelensky-Trump Talks

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh told reporters that he wants to receive an 'unfiltered message' from financial markets. Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Shutterstock

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Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh told reporters that he wants to receive an 'unfiltered message' from financial markets.

Warsh Answers Questions After Fed Decides to Hold Rates Steady

What message are you getting from the markets as to where policy oughta be right now?

The message from markets is the message from markets. What I've really been trying to do, Steve, as I think you appreciate and your colleagues appreciate, is getting an unfiltered message from markets, getting a direct message, letting buyers and sellers meet at prices for treasuries, for the foreign exchange value of the dollar. And then trying to judge for ourselves, what does that mean about our REMED? How are we doing on inflation? How are we doing on employment? We're trying not to interfere with that market signal. That's part of the reason why we've been somewhat spare in our words. We've pulled back from forward guidance. So they're reacting to events, I would say much more directly over the 42 days since we last met. This is a good thing. As I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we've seen the material tightening, not just at nominal rates, but in real rates too. And we're observing it. We're trying to stay out of that because many of you might be interested in our reaction function. We're interested in the reaction of financial markets.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government scientist who became the face of the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment amid questioning on Capitol Hill. Photo: Allison Robbert/Associated Press

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government scientist who became the face of the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment amid questioning on Capitol Hill.

Fauci Repeatedly Invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate Hearing

Have you refused this pardon, or do you have any reason to believe this full and unconditional pardon, this grant of immunity would somehow require you to plead the Fifth Amendment?

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

Based on the facts presented, I'm going to direct you to answer the questions. The committee has issued a valid subpoena. They have requested your presence here. The questions are very pertinent to your decision-making as head of NIAID, as well as a chief advisor to the president. Do you still refuse to answer the questions?

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during his appearance in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Photo: Douliery Olivier/Abaca/ZUMA Press

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260729/e5f93277-0508-4c8f-b669-1763c6f6a8eb/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during his appearance in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Key Moments From Fauci’s Senate Hearing

Instead of an apology, you have for years avoided responsibility. Regarding the lockdowns, you argue that you did not personally issue every lockdown order, close every school, or impose every mandate, but officials across the country invoked your authority to justify these decisions. And you presented your recommendations, not as judgments open to debate, but as dictates of science itself.

Can you do me a favor, in the audience, and stand up if during the time of the COVID pandemic, you were called a racist for calling the virus a Wuhan virus or the China virus? If you thought the six-foot rule was total crap, if you thought the vaccine wasn't something that you should take, if you though it was outrageous the way the mask policy was rolled out, if you were fired from your job for not taking that vaccine, including members of the military, if you thought closing schools was catastrophically stupid, and that you thought that during these times, saying these things made you somehow a lesser human being. Dr. Frederick, can you just turn around and look at the people behind you? You're not willing to do that? It's not a question. It's not a question. To your lawyer, it's not a question. It's a request. All you have to do is look up from your lawyers and look at the people who were absolutely shamed for saying what we know now to be the truth. You can't even look at them?

Dr. Fauci has saved lives, as have public health officials in the United States and throughout the world. And today we are demeaning and degrading their life-saving service.

Well, nothing says honesty like taking the Fifth, huh, doc? Let's try something. What day of the week is it today?

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

What color tie are you wearing?

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

What color is the carpet in front of you?

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the death toll from the July 28 earthquake in southern Japan has risen to 13, with many more people injured as rescue efforts continue. Photo: Kyodo/Kyodo/Reuters

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the death toll from the July 28 earthquake in southern Japan has risen to 13, with many more people injured as rescue efforts continue.

Rescuers Race to Find Survivors After Japan Earthquake

Fox News Host Sean Hannity gave remarks at Lindsey Graham’s funeral, noting Graham’s support for Israel with Prime Minister Netanyahu in attendance. Photo: Evan Vucci/Reuters

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Fox News Host Sean Hannity gave remarks at Lindsey Graham’s funeral, noting Graham’s support for Israel with Prime Minister Netanyahu in attendance.

Sean Hannity: ‘Lindsey Graham Had Moral Clarity’ on Peace in Middle East

Lindsey desperately wanted and talked to the president about a lasting peace in the Middle East. He wanted every country in the region on that path to peace. That was Lindsey's dream. If people would only listen to what he had been saying. His greatest gift in life, from my perspective, was Lindsey had moral clarity. He understood right from wrong, good from evil. And he knew, as President Trump knows, as Israel knows, as I know, there can be no path to peace until evil is defeated. Evil, in this case, embodied in a death cult, an ideology, the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Thanks to the partnership of the president, the prime minister, and many other allies, I pray their days are numbers, and I pray that Lindsey's dream of a lasting peace becomes realized soon.

Aerial footage showed buildings on fire, an overturned train and a shopping mall heavily damaged by an apparent explosion. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260728/75e668a5-1b7c-4bab-8765-d0b4ad3fc910/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Aerial footage showed buildings on fire, an overturned train and a shopping mall heavily damaged by an apparent explosion.

Japan Struck by 6.8-Magnitude Quake

Police are investigating a shooting at a food festival in Seattle that left at least three people dead and wounded four others, including a young child. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260727/c4501c05-e4c0-47fa-a42d-596509f69ce5/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Police are investigating a shooting at a food festival in Seattle that left at least three people dead and wounded four others, including a young child.

At Least 3 Killed In Seattle Shooting

At 6:01 PM, gunshots were heard. We had officers in the area, in the immediate area when these gunshots went off. Officers responded and addressed one of the shooters. That person gave up and was taken into custody. There was another person that we believe that was also involved that fled the scene, and officers began an active search for that person. There were a total of seven victims that suffered gunshot wounds at the scene, and we have a total of three fatalities out of those seven victims. There were two people who we believe were shooting at each other. This is gonna be an ongoing investigation. We're gonna be out here for several hours trying to figure out exactly what happened tonight. Right now, we believe that we have no outstanding threat to the community. We do have one suspect that is being interviewed. We've recovered two guns. It's one thing to note, one of the four victims that was taken to the hospital was a toddler.

Happened here today at the Seattle Center was an unbelievable tragedy and a horrific act of violence. My heart right now is with the victims and their families, and with everyone in our community who is reeling from what happened here today.

Well, I'm one of the vendors inside and we suddenly heard some firecrackers, what I though were firecrackers, and people started yelling, "Shooter, shooter." And there was like a stampede of people just running. There was a lot of food on the floor, and there were people on the floor, there were kids' strollers.

Saw at least one individual with a switch semi-automatic. I saw another one that was too. That's when I heard over that there was shots fired, that's when I took off around the corner.

Yeah.

I heard that there's... I saw at least one person go down. I know it was a mom that went down. I'm not sure who else was injured.

Unreleased documentary footage obtained by WSJ shows Sen. Lindsey Graham laughing loudly and cheering the U.S. strikes on Iran in February. In the clip, Graham says President Trump 'loves blowing stuff up.' Photo: Uncredited

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Unreleased documentary footage obtained by WSJ shows Sen. Lindsey Graham laughing loudly and cheering the U.S. strikes on Iran in February. In the clip, Graham says President Trump 'loves blowing stuff up.'

Unreleased Footage Shows Lindsey Graham Cheering U.S. Strikes on Iran

Donald: Virtually everything they have has been knocked out now. Their missile count is going way down. Amazingly that any country .

Lindsey: Look what we've done here.

Participant: I know.

Lindsey: I almost cried.

Participant: Yeah.

Lindsey: I mean, like, how long have we been pushing this?

Participant: I mean, you've been pushing this for years, right?

Lindsey: Right. It's here. I talked to Trump this morning.

Participant: It's literally-

Lindsey: Oh, he's jacked.

Participant: Yeah.

Lindsey: He's the best thing I've ever done. He loves blowing stuff up. So, you know, there are a lot of people inside didn't want to do it, so I've had my challenges. But President Trump, when he gets into the zone, he listens, he asks good questions, you know, no tweeting. He has done nothing, he hasn't tweeted much at all. No drama. He's been a great wartime president. I said last night that Trump and Bibi are like Roosevelt and Churchill. I mean, they're the right two guys to confront this evil.

New U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham rose through the ranks of the Labour party to become Prime Minister without winning a single General Election. So how did he do it? Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260720/a3c5bdbe-f750-4c4a-9c6d-b33fd8e8a08b/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

New U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham rose through the ranks of the Labour party to become Prime Minister without winning a single General Election. So how did he do it?

Who Is the U.K.’s New Prime Minister?

Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.

Britain has got yet another prime minister. Andy Burnham has entered Downing Street to become Britain's sixth prime minister in seven years, but actually relatively little is known about what he intends to do.

We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years.

So who is Andy Burnham? Andy Burnham likes to paint himself as an outsider, a man who built his political career up north in Manchester where he served as a mayor. But in reality, he's from Westminster, here, where he started his career as an advisor to both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Burnham is a lifelong politician. He entered Westminster in his 20s and he was a bag carrier for various Labour MPs before rising up the ranks. He then himself became a cabinet member, including serving as the health secretary for a brief time and then tried twice unsuccessfully to become leader of the Labour Party.

I have a very clear vision of how I want to rebuild Labour. People haven't drifted away from Labour. Labour has drifted away from them.

Jeremy Corbyn's rivals already knew the result as they came into the hall. Andy Burnham, unable to disguise his disappointment.

Jeremy Corbyn. 251,000.

And it was only then that he decided that he needed to step away from Westminster and head north to Manchester. There he was successfully elected as the mayor of Manchester where he served for numerous years, riffing on his persona as something of an anti-establishment hero who would champion left behind areas of Britain. His most famous moment in Manchester was during the pandemic when the government announced a bunch of funding for furlough schemes up there, which he said was not enough.

It is wrong to place some of the poorest parts of England in a punishing lockdown without proper support for the people and businesses affected.

That made him popular with voters up there and gave him something of an anti-establishment sheen, which he's taken down now to Downing Street.

We will bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen. It is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down. This is Manchesterism.

He now returns to Downing Street with that mantra. He says he wants to redistribute power away from parliament. Notably, he wants to move part of Downing Street to Manchester. That has raised eyebrows amongst some civil servants who question whether Burnham really can be both in Manchester and London and run the country, but it's for him a very symbolic move which shows power being taken out of London and put back into the regions. So Burnham's main challenge is actually a very simple one, growth. The UK economy is growing at about 1% a year and frankly, it needs to grow faster than that to pay for welfare. So Burnham faces a very difficult challenge. He either has to cut spending or raise tax or do both. A key issue is immigration. The UK saw an unprecedented wave of immigration post-pandemic. It's come down a lot, but it's still very high and that will entail difficult trade-offs for economic growth. The second problem is illegal immigration. There are still thousands of people arriving on the south coast of England on dinghies sailing from France. And that's been a very powerful message, which anti-immigration party, Reform UK, have lept on and that has arguably pushed them to the top of the polls here. Burnham has never really held a international role in the UK government. So his views on international affairs remain something of a mystery. However, he has been outspoken about President Trump and has said it is time for the UK to take a firmer line with Trump and speak out about the differences with the US administration.

Yeah, know about who?

The new incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

I don't know anything. I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town. I hear he's extremely liberal.

So how did we get here? Burnham got elected as a local lawmaker, which opened the path for him to challenge the deeply unpopular Keir Starmer. Such was his victory in that local election that the Labour Party though that there's no point in anyone standing in his way. This is a highly unusual situation in the UK because normally there's a general election to choose another prime minister or at least a leadership election where contestants vie off against each other. But in this case, that hasn't happened. So what we've seen here is a coronation of sorts. There's been very little scrutiny from the party about what he really stands for, intends to do, or how he would deal with the many difficult trade-offs that he will face when in office. Burnham so far has faced down calls to call an immediate general election. The irony here is that nearly all the political parties in the UK are unpopular with voters and there's no guaranteed winner. Labour has a big majority in parliament after it won an election in 2024 and it has no desire to try and put that at risk by holding a vote soon. However, there will be a question as to what policies Burnham can introduce to the UK without an electoral mandate. So that pressure will build and that does raise the prospect that there could be an election here before 2029.

Oil shocks from the war with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have left the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1983. WSJ’s David Uberti explains how we got here. Photo Illustration: Grace Shin

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260717/ce1ffdde-ca8b-42c1-afc4-ef13c8c38932/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Oil shocks from the war with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have left the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1983. WSJ’s David Uberti explains how we got here.

 U.S. Emergency Oil Reserve Hits Lowest Levels Since 1983: Why It Matters

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level since 1983 and it's expected to drop further. The Iran War unleashed the largest physical supply disruption in the history of the oil market.

Earlier today, the International Energy Agency agreed to coordinate the release of a record 400 million barrels of oil from various national petroleum reserves around the world.

The Trump administration agreed to release 172 million barrels of oil from the US stockpiles. These reserves are a series of salt caverns stretching across Texas and Louisiana and they hold hundreds of millions of barrels of oil designed to blunt the effect of supply disruptions to the oil market. And when those disruptions occur, like the Iran war, officials essentially pump water into the bottom of these salt caverns, pushing oil upwards into pipelines and eventually into the global oil market. The SPR has become a political football in recent years, both because Congress is using the SPR as a piggy bank to pay for many US domestic policy programs. And at the same time, the Biden administration authorized the largest drawdown in US history to help blunt the impact of the supply shock from the Ukraine war. That left the SPR at some of its lowest levels and even after the Biden administration bought back some oil on the open market, the US SPR was at a pretty low level.

This country needs to regain its independence from foreign sources of energy and the sooner the better.

The SPR was created in the 1970s after a series of oil supply shocks hammered the US economy. When the SPR was conceived, the US is a huge importer of oil. Now, the US is the largest oil producer in world history. And that really raises a question of to what extent the reserves should be rebuilt after the war with Iran concludes. Essentially, the US government is loaning oil companies crude oil from the US SPR that they will then have to return after the end of the exchange program. This will be a slow process. Analysts that I've spoken to believe that the exchange program will take one if not multiple years in order to bring some of that oil back to the SPR, which also raises an additional question about the future ways in which the government could use this resource. When an individual site is actually adding oil to the stockpile, it can't release oil at the same time. So if the SPR is taking back oil in these exchange programs, it may not also be able to release oil if there is a subsequent geopolitical shock.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States remains open to diplomacy with Iran, but that it has to be a deal that Iran is ‘willing to live by’. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Pool/Associated Press

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20260720/6246e839-3795-44a9-902c-e87f2153ddc0/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States remains open to diplomacy with Iran, but that it has to be a deal that Iran is ‘willing to live by’.

Rubio on Iran Deal: ‘Their Behavior Has to Change’

I think we're always open to diplomacy. It has to be real. It has to be a deal that they're willing to live by. Look, Iran a week ago was supposed to put out a statement saying that the Strait of Hormuz would be open, that they would no longer attack shipping. And instead of doing that, they attacked three ships. We dealt with last Friday or Saturday. So I mean, their behavior has to change in order for ours to change. Well, they're not complying with it. I mean, the straits are supposed to be open, free of tolls, free of attack, free of all the things they're doing against these ships. So they can't have an MOU that's alive if they're violating the terms of it. What I will say is that the United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution. We've tried multiple times with Iran and we'll continue to try it. If that door opens, we'll be happy to see it open. And they continue to send signals that they want to talk, that they want to negotiate, but their behavior is what we're responding to. And their behavior is they're launching missiles and drones against ships, including tonight. So we are basically providing the service of protecting these ships on behalf of the world and we're the only ones doing anything about it. So what the president is basically raising the point is at some point, the countries and the nations benefiting from the shifting through the straits should be able to step forward and provide at least financial assistance to the cost of providing this very valuable service.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced questioning from Sen. Thom Tillis (R., North Carolina) about how to end the fund for good. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced questioning from Sen. Thom Tillis (R., North Carolina) about how to end the fund for good.

Blanche Says DOJ Would Help Write Legislation to Kill 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund

I wanna stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 Fund. And you've said that it's moot. I've had colleagues here, attorney, I'm not an attorney. I'm a business consultant. I see a problem, I wanna solve it. This is a problem. It should never be paid out. You've said it's gonna be moot, that it's moot. Others, these smart attorneys that I'm surrounded by, think that the courts are probably gonna deal with it, but why should we waste the court capacity on this issue if I could walk to the Senate floor with an agreed to piece of text coming from the administration that just renders this whole thing dead, gone? I don't need approach language, I don't need a statement from the administration. All I need is language to say everybody around here said it's over. So why can't we agree to language that I could walk down to the Senate floor and get a UC and dare the Democrats to oppose ending this, and dare a Republican too if the president supports it? Why is that a bad strategy?

It's not, I mean, certainly the Department of Justice and the White House has worked with you and your colleagues to come up with language. We do not object that path or including it in some other.

I wanna make.

During his confirmation hearing, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced questioning about the settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS. Photo: Eric Lee/Getty Images

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During his confirmation hearing, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced questioning about the settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS.

Blanche Says ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund is Dead

Let's talk a little bit about the settlement agreement and the release. First of all, I believe you have said that the Weaponization Fund is a moot issue. Is that your position?

Yes, it is a moot issue, meaning there is no Weaponization Fund. The Weaponization Fund is dead. It's not moving forward.

Well, I would refer you to the settlement agreement. Do you happen to have a copy of that in front of you?

I do not.

Okay, well, you probably know what's in it.

I'm familiar with it, yes.

I'm sure you are. On page four, "This settlement agreement may be modified only upon the written agreement of the parties." Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?

No, the settlement fund's just not moving forward. There's no modification. It never started. No money went from the treasury to any other account. There's no commissioners. It's not moving forward.

Well, so the settlement agreement remains as it was originally, but I hear what you're saying. Is the settlement agreement enforceable as a contract by the parties?

Well, yes, it's an enforceable document. So I suppose if President Trump's council sought to enforce it, that they potentially could.

Including the Weaponization Fund.

Well, they could try to enforce the contract. They can't force the Department of Justice to move forward with the Weaponization Fund. They could potentially say that, I suppose, that we breached by not moving forward. They haven't done that and I'm not aware that they're planning on doing that.

In her opening remarks, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan paid tribute to the late senator for ‘sealing the deal’ of her confirmation. Photo: Eric Lee/Getty Images

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In her opening remarks, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan paid tribute to the late senator for ‘sealing the deal’ of her confirmation.

Justice Kagan Remembers Lindsey Graham at Senate Hearing

I was nominated to the court by a Democratic president. It is not very often that a Republican votes for a nominee from a Democratic president. Similarly, it's not very often that a Democratic Senator votes for a nominee of a Republican president. Those are the times we live in. And it's especially uncommon when such a cross party, if you will, votes come from somebody in a deep red or deep blue state. And not withstanding that, Senator Graham voted for my confirmation to be a Supreme Court justice and I was very grateful for that and I was enormously impressed by the respect with which Senator Graham treated me throughout the process, the seriousness with which he took the process. And as I say, grateful for his vote at the end of the process. But Senator Hagerty, you referenced something, you know, in this last day or so, everybody has been talking about how funny Senator Graham was. But it's harder to make somebody else look funny than to be funny yourself. And I have to say that day, Senator Graham made me look funny. And that conversation that we had about what I was doing on Christmas one year is the conversation that I was told by many people afterwards sealed the deal on my confirmation. So I was very thankful to Senator Graham for that.

When speaking about the ICE-involved shooting in Texas, Rep. Sylvia Garcia said that she also 'probably wouldn't have stopped' if she was being followed by an unmarked black SUV. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

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When speaking about the ICE-involved shooting in Texas, Rep. Sylvia Garcia said that she also 'probably wouldn't have stopped' if she was being followed by an unmarked black SUV.

Texas Congresswoman: ICE Agents in Shooting ‘Did Not Have Body Cameras’

The director described the operation as a targeted enforcement action resulting in a vehicle stop. There's been some discrepancy between whether it was targeted, whether they were just stopping traffic, so it was actually both. None of the ICE agents were wearing body cameras and none of the vehicles had dashboard cameras that captured the shooting. I really pressed them on this because, quite frankly, I would have to ask the community, you know: What would you do if you're just being followed by someone? And the cars were unmarked. They did not have a siren, they did not have lights or noise. I really did press the ICE director that they should reconsider their policy of unmarked cars and that they should have something, so that the public can know that if they're being followed, that they know who it is. Because I know that if I'm followed by a black SUV and I don't know who it is, I, too, would be scared and I, too, probably would not have stopped.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Trump said Iran wants to make a deal ‘so badly,’ as the U.S. struck targets including missile and drone sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press

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Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Trump said Iran wants to make a deal ‘so badly,’ as the U.S. struck targets including missile and drone sites near the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Says Iran Wants Deal as U.S. Hits Military Targets

We just hit them very hard. And I'd say we hit them 20:1, every time they hit us, we're gonna hit them 20. And we did it last night. They did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night. And when they hit, we hit back much harder. But we have many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily, they have very little left. And they wanna make a deal so badly, they called a little while ago, they wanna make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal, I don't know if they're gonna honor the deal, that's the problem. They're sort of crazy, to be honest with you, they're sort of crazy. They're a little bit out of control, but they wanna make a deal badly.

In a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump announced that he is giving Ukraine the ability to manufacture Patriot missiles, a key air-defense weapon. Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press

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In a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump announced that he is giving Ukraine the ability to manufacture Patriot missiles, a key air-defense weapon.

Trump Says He'll Let Ukraine Manufacture Patriot Missiles

A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we'll give them the right to make Patriots. We'll show them how to do it. It's very complex actually, but you'll figure out the complexity quickly. And we're talking about that. And we'll, the company that makes them, which is building now four plants, you know, all of our companies will be able to do this in two to three months. If you order a Patriot, now you have to wait a long time for them. Same thing with Tomahawks. We have a lot of certain equipment, but with the, they call it the elite equipment, and you don't need elite equipment necessarily for a war. But so one of the things we're gonna be talking about is we're gonna give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right?

Very cool.

This way you can't complain that we're not giving them enough. I said, make them yourself. We haven't informed the company of that yet, but that'll work out all right. You know, I'm sure they'll be thrilled. But, you know, they'll be able to do it. You'll be able to figure that out. Most countries couldn't do that.

In a press conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will "probably" strike Iran again Wednesday night. Photo: Filip Singer/Pool/Reuters

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In a press conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will "probably" strike Iran again Wednesday night.

Trump Says U.S. Will 'Probably' Attack Iran Tonight

We knocked out 28 boats last night. Little ones. That's all they have is little ones.

Are you going to try to take out more tonight?

Will we go tonight? You know, normally I wouldn't tell you. I wouldn't tell you, but you know what? There's not a thing they can do about it. So the answer's probably.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended the latest U.S. airstrikes on Iran, accusing Tehran of violating the cease-fire and saying it was crucial that Washington ‘forcefully react’. Photo: Necati Savas/EPA/Shutterstock

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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended the latest U.S. airstrikes on Iran, accusing Tehran of violating the cease-fire and saying it was crucial that Washington ‘forcefully react’.

NATO’s Rutte: New U.S. Strikes on Iran ‘Absolutely Necessary’ 

Well, I think it was absolutely necessary, because when you have a ceasefire, and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, and we've seen what happened yesterday with ships being attacked, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully reacts. I also expect allies today to discus Iran. I expect allies today to reconfirm that Iran should never ever get its hands on a nuclear capability. And secondly, that the principle of the freedom of navigation, so the Strait of Hormuz completely opening up again, is a sine qua non, is crucial for all 32 allies. We know that there's disappointment on the American side when it comes to Iran that has to do with isolated cases. At the same time, we see up to 5,000 sorties from European bases. It's implementing all the bilateral basing agreements. It is again, Europe as one big platform of power projection for the United States, and that's happening. And when it comes to the money and the spending, I mean, Europe is now equalizing with the United States. It is this president who encourage us to do this, very forcefully. Of course, there's also the Russian threat, which forces us to do this on European side of NATO. And I think this is a big win for the American president.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that a 38-story building in Midtown Manhattan and the surrounding area was evacuated after first responders found structural damage. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that a 38-story building in Midtown Manhattan and the surrounding area was evacuated after first responders found structural damage.

Watch: Manhattan High-Rise Evacuated After Structural Columns Buckle

At about 8:00 AM, FDNY received reports that bricks were falling from a building under construction on East 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. And first responders have found structural issues on the 21st floor, so this is where two structural columns have buckled at this time. Additionally, multiple cracks and sagging floors were found at the 21st floor. Now, luckily, there have been no injuries to report at this time. All workers are accounted for. The building has been evacuated. A number of tall buildings in the area are also being evacuated at this time. A school with about 400 children has also been evacuated. And as a result of all of this, most of 42nd Street and 43rd Street between 1st and 3rd Avenues have been shut down to pedestrians and to vehicles, and all of this is a reflection of the fact that our top priority right now is the safety of those who live in this area, the safety of those who work in this area, and DOB inspectors and engineers are on-site, working quickly to secure the site as well as that surrounding area.

Watch regime supporters pack the streets of Tehran to mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the U.S. and Israel at the start of their war against Iran. Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

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Watch regime supporters pack the streets of Tehran to mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the U.S. and Israel at the start of their war against Iran.

Massive Funeral Procession for Iran's Slain Supreme Leader

The strikes come as Ukraine grapples with a shortage of interceptors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to ask for more at the NATO summit, which begins on Tuesday. Photo: Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters

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The strikes come as Ukraine grapples with a shortage of interceptors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to ask for more at the NATO summit, which begins on Tuesday.

Deadly Russian Strikes Bombard Kyiv Ahead of NATO Summit

President Trump spoke at the White House and described a call he had with leadership at FIFA to review a red card received by striker Folarin Balogun. Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg News

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President Trump spoke at the White House and described a call he had with leadership at FIFA to review a red card received by striker Folarin Balogun.

Trump: "I Didn't Think It Was a Foul."

So I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well. And that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. You can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot when you're going. No, these were two great athletes that got tangled up and this referee who is a little bit suspect if you check his past; I don't want to say that because I don't like to create controversy, but very suspect. If you'd like, I'll provide you with the past. He made a call that nobody could believe, you know? Because when you see it in fast motion, it will look like two guys collided which is really what happened. They got sort of entangled. But how do you penalize them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair. You can't do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. All I did, all I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul.

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