Happy Monday, Patriots! This Saturday marks this nation's semiquincentennial. Which is a fancy way of saying 250 years of being better than everyone else. My family's roots in this country trace back to North Carolina in the mid-17th century. Curious: if you've traced your own lineage, when did your first ancestor arrive?

Trump ordered a second wave of U.S. Strikes on Iranian targets Friday after Iran attacked a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios. The president publicly threatened to "complete the job" if Iran doesn't stand down.

The timing is damaging for Tehran. These strikes follow an earlier U.S. Military action just 24 hours prior, which Axios reports were the first since the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding declaring an end to hostilities. Iran violated that agreement almost immediately by firing on commercial ships near the strait and attacking U.S. Bases, per the Daily Wire. Iran's regime isn't interested in peace. It's interested in leverage.

The Strait of Hormuz is not a side issue. Roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply moves through that waterway. Iran knows that. Threatening to choke it off is how the regime buys time, extracts concessions, and funds proxy wars across the Middle East. It's the same playbook they've run for decades as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Trump isn't playing along. The back-to-back strikes signal a willingness to impose real costs, not just issue warnings. Vice President Vance, who helped lead the MOU negotiations, now faces the harder question of whether diplomacy can survive Iran's bad faith. The answer so far is no.

On the same day, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement brokered by the Trump administration after four days of Washington talks. It's a genuine diplomatic win, though its durability depends on whether Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy, can be disarmed. That's unlikely without sustained pressure on Tehran.

Congress needs to give Trump the resources to finish this. Iran's regime is weakened, its proxies are under pressure, and its people are protesting in the streets demanding an end to Ayatollah rule. This is the moment to press the advantage, not negotiate from a position of restraint.

Sources: Axios · Axios · Axios · The Daily Wire

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John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to one count of unauthorized possession of a national defense document, admitting he emailed more than 1,000 pages of classified material, including top-secret intelligence, to family members who had no clearance to receive it.

The plea agreement reported by Fox News dismisses the remaining 17 counts at sentencing. Bolton, 77, faces up to five years in prison, a $2.25 million fine, three years of supervised release, up to 100 hours of community service, and the loss of his federal pension. His attorneys say they'll push for no jail time. Sentencing is set for October 28.

The documents Bolton kept after leaving government included material classified as top secret, covering covert action programs, human intelligence sources and methods, and foreign military threats. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Bolton "knowingly transmitted top-secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house, all in direct violation of federal law." The FBI raided Bolton's home and office on August 22.

Trump responded on Truth Social within hours of the plea, calling Bolton "a very dumb, unbalanced, and unskilled former representative" and adding, "Hopefully, he will be dealt with harshly." The two have been publicly at odds since Bolton's 2019 departure, a split that deepened after Bolton published his 2020 memoir criticizing Trump's presidency. The administration tried and failed to block that book's publication.

Patel pushed back directly on claims the prosecution was political payback, telling Fox News the case was built on "meticulous work from dedicated professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor." Bolton's own guilty plea makes that argument harder to dismiss.

The October 28 sentencing is the number to watch. A federal judge, not the White House, decides whether Bolton walks or serves time, and the $2.25 million fine alone sets a precedent for how seriously courts treat classified document violations by senior officials.

Sources: The Hill · Fox News

⚖️ Judge Keeps Death Penalty in Tyler Robinson Case

A Utah judge ruled Friday that Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard violated a gag order by publicly stating prosecutors were confident they could prove Tyler Robinson guilty in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Judge Tony Graf held Ballard in civil contempt but refused to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option, which is what Robinson's defense team was pushing for. The ATF analysis of the bullet used to kill Kirk was inconclusive, neither confirming nor ruling out a match to Robinson's rifle.

⚖️ Texas Judge Wins $640K After Refusing Same-Sex Ceremonies

Waco, Texas Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley was disciplined for declining to officiate same-sex weddings on religious grounds and has now won $10,000 in damages plus $630,000 in attorneys fees. The payout is a significant legal win for religious liberty claims by public officials who argue their faith prevents them from performing certain ceremonies.

✝️ Senate Candidate Talarico Claims Black Churches Outshine White Churches

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said in a September 2024 podcast that white churches have a distorted understanding of Jesus and that black churches hold a "deeper and more accurate" grasp of what following Jesus means. Talarico, a Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, argued too many white churches focus on the afterlife rather than "freeing the oppressed." He has also told The New Yorker that Christianity is the "most violent" religion, a statement that is now drawing fresh scrutiny as his Senate campaign gains attention.

💰 Rep. Gill Exposes Big Soda's Ties to SNAP Advocacy Group

During a House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday on waste and fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) pressed Gina Plata-Nino, director of policy and advocacy for the Food Research and Action Center, on whether SNAP dollars should pay for soda. After she defended the practice, Gill revealed that FRAC receives funding from Big Soda companies that profit directly from EBT spending. SNAP is a $100 billion program serving more than 40 million Americans, and the exchange is drawing wide attention online.

🗳️ Massie Turns Tables on Fox Reporter After Affair Allegations

Rep. Thomas Massie, who lost his Kentucky House seat in the May 19 Republican primary to pro-Trump businessman Ed Gallrein, was confronted by a Fox News reporter over allegations made by former congressional staffer Cynthia West. West claims Massie boasted about a sexual relationship with Rep. Lauren Boebert shortly after his wife's death and allegedly offered West $5,000 to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit against Rep. Victoria Spartz. Massie denied the allegations, then pointed his phone at the reporter and asked whether the reporter watched gay pornography.

✝️ Talarico Calls Christianity the Most Violent Major Religion

Texas state Rep. James Talarico told an interviewer this year that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are different seasons of the same show, and characterized Christianity as the "most violent" of the three major religions, also claiming it caused "damage" to Islam. Talarico is currently running for U.S. Senate in Texas as a Democrat. The comments are resurfacing alongside his remarks about white and black churches, and together they are shaping up to be a central issue for voters evaluating his fitness for statewide office.