THE WAR ROOM: Iran rejected the US peace proposal with public statements that the war would end only on Tehran’s terms.

  Iran’s state-run English broadcaster quoted a senior official saying his country would not allow President Trump “to dictate the timing of the war’s end.” The official said Iran wants reparations for war damage and recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital passage for oil shipping. 

  At the same time, Iranian officials signaled that they were willing to talk.

  The US is building up a force of about 7,000 Marines and paratroopers in the region in an escalation of threat. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, posted that Iran was “closely monitoring all U.S. movements in the region, especially troop deployments.” He said, “Do not test our resolve to defend our land.”

  Israel said today it had killed Iran’s top naval commander.

  As the war continues, President Trump is blaming Democrats for the public’s misgivings as the conflict causes collateral damage in the US economy. He posted on his Truth Social; “The Radical Left, Country Hating Democrats are trying to create inner chaos to take away from the great military achievement we are having in Iran. They hate seeing us WIN so completely and decisively, but the American public sees what is going on. AMERICA FIRST!

BY THE NUMBERS: The number of American dead in the Iran conflict stands at 13.

  Iran’s UN ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in his country since the war began, a figure that is two weeks old.

  Almost 1,100 people in Lebanon have been killed under Israeli bombardment, according to authorities there. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. 

ADDICTION TREATMENT: In what may be a landmark case, a Los Angeles jury found that  the social media juggernaut Meta and the video streaming service YouTube harmed a young user with addictive features that led her to mental distress. The companies were ordered to split a $6 million award for compensatory damages for pain, suffering, and financial burdens. 

  It’s the second time this week that a jury has found meta liable for addictive programming.

  The case against Meta and YouTube was based on legal theory similar to the $206 billion settlement with Big Tobacco in 1998 in which the companies agreed to stop marketing cigarettes to children.

  The social media case was brought by a now 20-year-old woman identified as “KGM who accused social media companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos. The jury’s decision could lay groundwork for many cases to come against the social media companies.

 The jury of seven women and five men still has to determine what punitive damages the companies must pay for malice or fraud.

JUST WAIT: Republicans and democrats yesterday rejected each other’s  proposals for ending the impasse over funding for Homeland Security that has lasted for five weeks causing long lines to pass through airport security.

  The fight is over Democrat demands for changes in tactics and practices by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  Democrats rejected the Republican offer to simply remove money for immigration enforcement from the homeland security spending bill. The Republicans rejected a Democratic proposal that would have included their enforcement restrictions. 

  In short, they made no progress.

  President Trump posted the lie that, “The Democrats don’t want to make any deal unless Amnesty and Citizenship is given to millions of Criminals who have entered our Country illegally, many of whom have been convicted of serious crimes.”

THE REGIME: 

— The Justice Department is paying former national security  adviser Michael Flynn $1.25 million to settle his wrongful prosecution lawsuit even though he twice pleaded guilty to misleading the FBI about conversations he had with a Russian diplomat before Trump was inaugurated the first time.

— Top administration housing official Bill Pulte issued two new criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James alleging “suspected homeowners insurance fraud.” The referrals involve insurance applications in Illinois and Florida.

  This seems to be an attempt to revive a case against one of President Trump’s declared enemies. James successfully brought a civil fraud suit against Trump in New York and a similar criminal real estate case against her was dismissed in the Eastern District of Virginia last year. 

— Another strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean killed four people, according to the Pentagon. That brings the total killed to 163.

THE OBIT PAGE: Chip Taylor, who in 1966 wrote the #1 hit “Wild Thing” for the garage band The Troggs, has died at age 86. He was the brother of actor John Voight and uncle of actress Angelina Jolie.

  He also wrote “Angel of the Morning” and songs for Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny , and Janis Joplin.

  But it was “Wild Thing” that introduced a raw offbeat and sexuality to top 40 radio. 

“Wild thing, you make my heart sing
You make everything groovy, wild thing
Wild thing, I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
Come on and hold me tight
I love you”

THE SPIN RACK: Police in Utah are investigating a third domestic violence allegation against “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul. CBS cancelled this season’s “Bachelorette” after the release of a video showing Paul attacking her now ex-boyfriend. — The chief executive of Air Canada is being scorned for delivering regrets about Monday’s fatal accident in New York solely in English in his bi-lingual country. En français: Le directeur général d’Air Canada est critiqué pour avoir exprimé ses regrets concernant l’accident mortel de lundi à New York uniquement en anglais dans son pays bilingue. 

BELOW THE FOLD: First Lady Melania Trump appeared at The White House yesterday with a humanoid robot suggesting that such machines could one day be used as teachers. She knows a lot about robotics. Just watch her documentary, “Melania.”