June 16, 2026
Vol. 15, No. 2301

THE ENEMIES LIST: The Department of Justice and FBI have opened an investigation into California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely Democratic candidate for president, and his wife, Jennifer.

  Newsom announced in a video that federal agents have been interviewing friends and associates in what he said is an effort to punish a political enemy. He said the investigation appears to focus on his wife, a former actress, and her involvement with nonprofit groups.

  Newsom said; “In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees. Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one.” He said, “Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt President in American history. He has turned the levers of government into his own personal power ministries to reward cronies and to try to jail his opponents”.

  The DOJ has already gone after former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney Gen. Letitia James, and former National Security Adviser James Bolton.

  Newsom said, “To get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen. A public servant. A woman who has dedicated her life to supporting women and girls.” 

  As a footnote, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, before she married the governor, was a victim of sexual assault by the predator movie producer, Harvey Weinstein.

THE WAR ROOM: The terms of a deal signed yesterday by Iran and the US remain secret, leaving Americans and the world in the dark about what is described as a preliminary resolution of the war.

 Most of what is publicly known seems to be that they have agreed to stop the shooting and allow the Strait of Hormuz to open for shipping. The war has not accomplished the stated goals of regime change and … so far … the end of Iran’s aspirations to have a nuclear bomb.

  Nevertheless President Trump posted that, “Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon! Also, the story that the U.S. is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!”

  Trump also said passage through the strait would be “toll-free,” but Iran said there would be unspecified fees for services they did not reveal. Ships may also be leery about transiting the strait until it’s certain there are no naval mines lurking in the water. 

  The agreement is at the least a framework for talking and arriving at a more detailed agreement. Tehran says further talks will begin Friday.

  Whatever has been agreed to is a test for President Trump’s promise that gasoline prices and the general cost of living elevated by the war will immediately drop. The average cost of gasoline is over $4 a gallon nationally, according to AAA, lower than its mid-war peak but still about $1 more a gallon than a year ago.

  Prices of everything are not like to go down, if at all, as quickly as they went up. But Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said in a statement that, 

“President Trump has consistently maintained that oil and gas prices — and thus overall inflation — will plummet once the Iran situation is resolved.”

CASUALTIES OF WAR: Ukraine has lost a lot of antiquities during its war with Russia, particularly churches and their contents.

  A cathedral at one of the oldest and holiest sites in Eastern Orthodox Christianity burned early yesterday following a Russian bombardment of Kyiv with missiles and drones.  The Dormition Cathedral, with its towers and onion domes, is part of the Pechersk monastery complex, founded in the 11th century.

  As the cathedral’s roof burned, priests and monks managed to remove items of religious and historical value. 

INFINITE SCROLL: 

— After a $14 million renovation in which President Trump had the bottom of the National Mall reflecting pool painted American flag blue, the pool is now green with algae.

— President Trump posted on his Truth Social that, “Sadly, if you import people from Third World Countries, you quickly become a Third World Country — And there’s not a thing you can do about it.”

COURTSIDE: Sisters Venus and Serena Williams will play in the women’s doubles as a wild card entry at Wimbledon for the first time in four years. Serena is 44, and Venus, 45. They have won the  Wimbledon title six times as a pair, and the singles title 12 times between them.

THE SPIN RACK: Eight people died yesterday when a B-52 bomber crashed and burned on takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave desert. — Britain will ban children under 16 from major social-media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube by next spring, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday. “It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” Starmer said. “This will make our children safer, will make our children happier, will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up.” — Noted extreme athlete Andy Lewis, a BASE jumper and slackline walker, died along with a client in a tandem jump off a 350-foot cliff in Utah yesterday.  The client died instantly and the 39-year-old Lewis was alive when reached by rescuers. —  Marius Borg Høiby, 29, the oldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday after being convicted of rape. — UFC boss Dana White denounced the declaration at the White House by heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit that  “Michele Obama is a man,” even though that’s exactly the kind of character and behavior that White promotes to make money. 

BELOW THE FOLD: The FBI says it thwarted an elaborate plot to attack the area around the White House with drones during Sunday’s UFC cage matches on the South Lawn.

  FBI Director Kash Patel said the plot involved 23 people.

  No doubt President Trump will say this is why the White House needs a bomb proof ballroom.