THE WAR ROOM: Iran is negotiating for a five-year suspension of nuclear development while the US is insisting on 20, according to news reports. President Trump has said that it’s an absolute that Iran will never have a nuclear bomb even though he appears to be considering something short of that.

  Peace talks broke down with no deal over the weekend but Trump said yesterday, “We’ve been called by the other side, they’d like to make a deal very badly.”

  A US naval blockade of Iranian shipping went into effect yesterday with the US military saying it will block ships “entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas” while allowing other vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump is trying to squeeze the Iranian oil economy to force them back to negotiations and acceptance of American terms.

  Trump blustered on social media, “Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED.” 

  Trump says every day that he has utterly defeated the Iranian military yet he is unable to get Iran to kneel before him. A spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that Iran would respond to the blockade with “new methods of warfare that opponents would have limited ability to counter.”

  The President so far is out there alone on his blockade despite declaring “that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this.” So far, none have shown up.

  With continued uncertainty, oil prices rose to $102 a barrel yesterday before settling at just over $99.

JESUS WEPT: After instigating an uproar among religious Americans … and even the non-religious … President Trump took down a meme from his Truth Social account that portrayed him as Jesus in a white robe surrounded by a divine light and tending to a sick man with a god-like luminous touch. He is surrounded by a soldier, a nurse, the Statue of Liberty, flying eagles, jet fighters, and a woman with her hands clasped in prayer.

  Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the image “blasphemy.” Comedian Jimmy Kimmel said, “This is what happens when you sell Bibles instead of reading them.”

  Nothing is sacred to the President who claims to be a Bible-reading believer. After the death of Pope Francis last year Trump posted a photo of himself as pope and joked that he would like to fill the pontiff’s shoes.

  Then over the weekend he attacked Pope Leo for being a critic of the Iran war, calling him weak on crime and bad for foreign policy, as if that should be a concern of the pope.

  Trump told reporters yesterday that he believed the image he took down portrayed him as a doctor and only the fake news media could have thought he was made to look like Jesus. 

  “I thought it was me as a doctor,” he said. “I make people better.”

CLEANING HOUSE: Two members of Congress, a Democrat and a Republican, announced they will resign ahead of likely votes for their expulsion on charges of sexual misconduct. 

  Democrat Eric Swalwell of California has been accused of rape and other sexual assaults. Republican Tony Gonzalez of  Texas is accused a coercing into a sexual relationship a staff member who later killed herself.

   Swalwell announced his resignation after backing out of his state’s race for governor following multiple accusations. At least one unidentified former staffer accuses him of raping her.

  Swalwell had been considered to be the rising frontrunner to replace Gavin Newsom as governor. He has said in more than one statement that he did nothing wrong and, “I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me.”

  He has admitted though, without outright saying it, that at the very least he has stepped out on his wife.  “I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” he said.  

INFINITE SCROLL:

— Even though his hands are full with the Iran war, President Trump renewed his threats to Cuba yesterday, calling it a “failing nation” while speaking to reporters at the White House. He said, “We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this.” 

— An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the US last year to re-kindle a 1960s romance is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they are rounding up “le pire du pire.”

THE SPIN RACK: A Texas man has been charged with travelling to the Bay area to firebomb the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and attempting to burn down the company headquarters. The Justice department said Daniel Moreno-Gama was arrested while in possession of an “anti-AI” document that appeared to list the names of AI chief executives. — Brian Hooker of Michigan has been released in the Bahamas after being held as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife off a yacht dinghy. Hooker told authorities his wife Lynette, 55, was swept way in a strong current. Her body has not been found. — Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, is reported to be on the brink of retiring after his Washington Capitals play the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. — No one has come forward to claim a $78 million Texas Lottery win, which will be forfeited in a month. 

BELOW THE FOLD: During a police standoff with a grand theft suspect yesterday, a CBS Los Angeles crew spotted a Riverside Couty Sheriff’s deputy scrolling through a dating app on his telephone.