THE WAR ROOM: Two oil tankers were left burning off the coast of Iraq, further disrupting the world oil supply as Iran refuses to surrender to the US. Energy facilities in Bahrain and Oman also were destroyed

  The Iranian military is not quitting. Their attacks hit three ships in the strait of Hormuz, which is largely closed to traffic. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on state television that the country is prepared for “a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy, and will cause all of its military capabilities to be eroded to the point of destruction.”

  President Trump, on the other hand, told Axios over the telephone that the war would end “soon,” because there was “practically nothing left to target” in Iran. “Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump said.

  The Pentagon announced that the first week of the war cost the US $11.3 billion. 

  A significant number of US casualties occurred in the opening hours of the war when an Iranian drone hit a tactical operations center in Kuwait. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says the operations center was fortified, but the number of casualties calls that to question.

  While seven service members were killed, others suffered brain trauma, shrapnel wounds, and burns. At least one soldier had to have a limb amputated. More than 30 of those wounded are still in hospitals in Germany, Texas, and Washington.

UNFRIENDLY FIRE: The Tomahawk missile strike that hit a girls school in Tehran killing 168 children and teachers in the opening hours of the war was carried out by the US military, according to the preliminary investigation of the incident.

  The initial report says the strike may have been the result of a targeting mistake confusing the school with a nearby naval facility.

  President Trump tried to blame Iran and Defense Secretary Hegseth has deflected for nearly two weeks, saying the attack was “under investigation.”  But the US Navy is the only force using Tomahawks in the war and the Pentagon had to know immediately that the fault was theirs. 

SLIPPERY SITUATION:  The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that its member nations would release a total of 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to ease the market disruption caused by the Iran war. The IEA controls about 1.8 billion barrels and the world burns about 100 million barrels a day.

  The US also announced the release of 172 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserves. 

  The price of oil hovered around $70 a barrel before the war, rocketed to nearly $120 Sunday night, then fell to around $90 in recent days.

THE REGIME:

— The majority of Americans oppose the Iran War and so does the influential right wing podcaster Joe Rogan, who called the war “crazy” and said it had left Americans feeling “betrayed” by President Trump. “He ran on no more wars,” Rogan said. “End these stupid, senseless wars. And then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it.” 

  Rogan’s adoration gave Trump a boost in the 2024 election.

— Following threats from drug cartels and critics of her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Attorney General Pam Bondi has relocated to a military base in the Washington. 

— The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for permission to end a program shielding roughly 350,000 Haitians from deportation.

— President Trump told FIFA, the world soccer body, that Iran is welcome to play in the World Cup in the US this year. But Iran’s sports minister said that, “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup.” 

THE WAR AT HOME: Back in Washington President Trump is fighting members of his own party for passage of his “Save America Act,” his hodgepodge bill that would require voter identification and ban gender surgery on minors, what he calls, “mutilization.” Trump calls it the most popular bill he has ever proposed.

  Standing in the way is Senate Minority leader John Thune, who refuses to alter the filibuster rules to make it harder for Democrats to block the bill. Thune says the Republicans just don’t have the votes, but Trump is not a man stopped by reason. He claims that Democrats plan to steal the midterm elections, which has nothing to do with gender treatment for minors.

  Thune said this week, “For better or worse, I’m the one who has to be the cleareyed realist about what we can achieve here.”

  Knuckling under though is Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who’s seeking Trump’s endorsement in a nomination runoff to hold his seat. Cornyn said he would vote to change the filibuster rules. “On these critical issues, at this critical hour, the old procedures no longer align with the core American principles we must defend,” Cornyn said in an op-ed published in the New York Post.

THE SPIN RACK: One-third of Americans, roughly 82 million people,  say they skip meals, drive less, and even borrow money to pay for healthcare, according to a new survey. — Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is putting out spectacular spouts of lava again.  

BELOW THE FOLD:  Sorry, old boy. The British parliament is kicking the lords out of its House of Lords.

  The tradition has been that British aristocrats and nobility inherited their seats in the unelected House of Lords. But the House of Commons voted to eject dozens of dukes, earls, and viscounts who their seats along with their titles.

  It’s amazing that the House of Lords has continued with this old world system to this day. Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said:

“Our parliament should always be a place where talents are recognized and merit counts. It should never be a gallery of old boys’ networks, nor a place where titles, many of which were handed out centuries ago, hold power over the will of the people.”

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