The dismal sight of the Royal Navy's last
ageing Gulf minesweeper being towed into
Portsmouth days before Iran 'mined the
world's busiest oil shipping lane' and
prices soar
Posted By: sunset, 3/12/2026 1:16:13 PM
Battered and unseaworthy, HMS Middleton was dragged by tugs into Portsmouth naval base on Sunday. The Hunt class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) returned to the home of the Royal Navy on March 8 after being brought back from the Gulf by a heavy-lift ship. The ignominious piggy-back was cheaper than letting the more than 40-year-old ship make the 6,200-mile journey back from Bahrain under her own power and freed her crew to join other ships. But her return meant the end of the Royal Navy's anti-mine vessel presence in the Middle East after almost 50 years. Only unmanned drone systems are left, according to the Navy.
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Battered and unseaworthy, HMS Middleton was dragged by tugs into Portsmouth naval base on Sunday. The Hunt class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) returned to the home of the Royal Navy on March 8 after being brought back from the Gulf by a heavy-lift ship. The ignominious piggy-back was cheaper than letting the more than 40-year-old ship make the 6,200-mile journey back from Bahrain under her own power and freed her crew to join other ships. But her return meant the end of the Royal Navy's anti-mine vessel presence in the Middle East after almost 50 years. Only unmanned drone systems are left, according to the Navy.
The future of travel may soon include flying taxis—and Texas is now one of the federal government's testing grounds. The Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced eight proposals selected for a new Advanced Air Mobility initiative, the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). Under the program, Texas will work with federal regulators and private aviation companies to test air taxi operations connecting major cities across the state. The aircraft being tested are known as electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs
The United States Navy has destroyed 16 Iranian boats suspected of preparing to lay naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz, marking one of the most direct maritime confrontations in the ongoing Gulf War. According to the United States military, the vessels were targeted after intelligence suggested they were equipped for mine-laying operations in the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. Officials from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the strike on Tuesday and released unclassified footage showing several Iranian vessels being destroyed during the operation.
The French Navy will send eight frigates and two amphibious assault ships to the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea, joining aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), following an Iranian drone attack on a Cyprus-based joint operating installation. “While the crisis in Iran – the war in Iran – is affecting the entire region, it is important for me to come here alongside you, along with the Prime Minister of Greece, to tell you that when Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked, and that the defense of Cyprus is obviously a crucial issue for your country, (snip) but also for France and, with it, the European Union,”
Oil plunges 10% as Trump warns to hit
Iran ‘twenty times harder’ if it blockades
Strait of Hormuz 7 replies
Iran ‘twenty times harder’ if it blockades
Strait of Hormuz 7 replies
Oil prices plunged 10% Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would be hit “twenty times harder” if it attempted to halt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, while also signaling that the conflict with Iran could end soon. International Brent crude was down nearly 11% at $88.36 per barrel at 9.25 p.m. ET Monday. U.S. crude oil
fell over more than 10% to $85.17 per barrel. The declines come after oil surged past $100 Monday. Located between Oman and Iran, the Strait is a vital transit route. Roughly 13 million barrels passed through the waterway in 2025, accounting for about 31% of global seaborne oil flows,
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new policy that would ban foreign nationals and non-citizens from accessing its loan services — a continuation of efforts to refocus federal resources to ventures that align with American prioritization.
"The Trump SBA is committed to driving economic growth and job creation for American citizens," SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement on Friday.
The requirement will apply to its Surety Bond and Microloan programs and is an expansion of changes made in February to the SBA’s 504 and 7(a) programs — loans for small businesses looking to finance working capital, equipment or acquisitions.
The Pentagon on Sunday announced that U.S. forces have carried out a lethal strike on a vessel allegedly carrying suspected narco-traffickers in the Eastern Pacific, killing six people on board.
The U.S. Southern Command said it conducted "a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" at the direction of the new leader of the Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan of the Marine Corps, who took over in January.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the Southern Command said in a press release.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., will retire at the end of his current term and is backing San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond to succeed him, he confirmed to Fox News Friday.
Issa’s seat is in California’s newly redrawn 48th District, which has been reshaped to favor Democrats under the state’s Prop 50.
"Today I’m announcing my enthusiastic endorsement of Supervisor Jim Desmond for Congress to represent California’s new 48th district," "Jim is not only a personal friend, he’s a true patriot, a Navy veteran, a successful businessman and has a 20-year record of public service. He understands this community, was born and raised here and will make a terrific Congressman."
Just one year after Iran unveiled its first drone carrier, the Shahid Bagheri — designed to carry multiple squadrons of drones and operate helicopters — the U.S. military said it struck the vessel, which is now burning. In a statement issued overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, the commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, said American forces had sunk or destroyed more than 30 vessels during the campaign. He added that in the past several hours, U.S. forces had also struck an Iranian drone carrier roughly comparable in size to a World War II–era aircraft carrier. The Shahid Bagheri features a runway allowing drones to take off and land.
In the aftermath of the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran, American allies in the Persian Gulf are hearing a sound that Ukrainian soldiers have long come to dread: the foreboding hum of the Shahed-136 ‘kamikaze’ drone.
First designed in Iran, the Shahed has already become a fixture of modern warfare, with Tehran’s strategic partner, Russia, utilizing the technology in its years-long invasion of Ukraine.
Now, the drones — the most advanced of which is the long-ranged Shahed-136 — have become central to Iran’s retaliation strategy against the U.S. and its regional allies, with thousands unleashed so far.
The US has delivered “overwhelming and unprecedented” strikes into Iran in the first 100 hours of "Operation Epic Fury", the US commander in charge of combat operations in the region said. To put things in perspective, Admiral Brad Cooper said the initial 24 hours of the February 28 Iran strikes were double the scale of “Shock-and-Awe” strikes on 2003 in Iraq. “We continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran from seabed to space and cyberspace,” Cooper said. "In simple terms, we're focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us... We're also sinking the Iranian Navy, the entire navy."
Spain has denied the US permission to use their shared bases to launch attacks against Iran. The country's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned Israel and the US for striking Iran and killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain wanted 'democracy, freedom and fundamental rights for the Iranian people', but it would not allow its bases to be used in the ongoing military action. The decision puts Spain at odds with its European partners including the UK, France and Germany, who on Sunday said they would defend their interests in the region through defensive action to destroy Iran's capability to fire missiles and drones.
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NYC teens rip out cashier’s hair, slap
security guard in supermarket brawl: ‘They
came to fight’ 19 replies
security guard in supermarket brawl: ‘They
came to fight’ 19 replies
A pack of wild teenagers went on a rampage at a Bronx supermarket — accosting customers, punching a security guard and even ripping the hair out of a female employee’s head when she tried to stop them, The Post has learned. The uncontrollable kids went on the terrifying spree of violence at the Allerton Key Food at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday — and are still at large after a melee that sent customers scrambling for safety. “This is a supermarket. You come here to shop and you leave. I’m not supposed to have a customer covering her baby’s eyes,” Miguel Garcia, the store’s owner, told The Post.
An imam told worshippers at a Twin Cities mosque that Muslims are the “replacement” for those who once held positions of privilege in America, declaring during a sermon that “this is our moment.”
Imam Abdul Malik delivered the remarks on Jan. 23 at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, where he urged Muslims in Minnesota to seek positions of influence across American institutions — including mayor, police chief, congressional leadership and even the presidency.
“Those that are in opposition to Islam, they’re watching the growth and the development of the Muslim community, and it scares them. You know why? Not because you’re a threat. No,”
“Islam is largely alien to American history—it certainly didn’t come into the United States on the Mayflower,” freshman Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Tex.) observed last month. Gill continued: “It’s something that we deliberately imported as a matter of immigration policy into our country.”
Quite right. But who, exactly, is the “we” who implemented such a reckless—indeed, suicidal—act of mass cultural importation? It’s a frustratingly difficult question—and one we ought to be asking, especially in light of recent events.
For two years after the Hamas pogrom of Oct. 7, 2023, keffiyeh-clad Muslim students did their best Hitler Youth impressions on American university campuses, clamoring to eliminate the State of Israel and “globalize the intifada”
‘Experts’ Know Less than They Think
15 replies
Occasionally I hear credentialed professionals with prestigious titles whine about the so-called “war on expertise.” It really bothers people who see themselves as “experts” that a growing share of society ignores them. A psychologist might intuit something revealing from the lack of self-confidence plaguing our “expert” class. If all the fancy degrees, voluminous curricula vitae, and lofty career positions have failed to instill a resilient modicum of self-esteem, then perhaps all those things are not the true measures of a person’s worth.
“Experts” do not like to be challenged. They say things such as, “I have a PhD in this,”
A ruthless “robbery crew” in Northern California turned a high-end Fremont jewelry store into a smash-and-grab wasteland, escaping with a staggering $1.7 million in merchandise in just over a minute.
Shocking surveillance footage released recently by the U.S. Department of Justice shows the precision of the heist, which occurred on June 18, 2025 at Kumar Jewelers in Fremont. Described by authorities as a “mob-style takeover,” the video shows a fleet of vehicles screeching to a halt in front of the storefront, and a crew of nearly two dozen masked suspects in dark hoodies swarming in like a tactical unit.
Armed with picks, hammers and carrying backpacks, the chaos that ensued inside
Let me begin by putting all my cards face-up on the table. No one wishes the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo-ID in order to cast a ballot, to become law more than I.[snip] The argument against the SAVE Act is one of the more absurd cases to make, and it has not resonated at all with the American public, regardless of political party. [snip] President Trump said yesterday on the White House lawn that the SAVE Act is probably the most popular piece of legislation he's submitted to Congress, and he's correct.
The Trump administration swiftly removed former Miss California USA winner Carrie Prejean Boller from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after officials accused her of attempting to “hijack” a hearing on antisemitism to advance a personal political agenda.
The dramatic fallout has quickly turned into a public feud, with Prejean Boller launching a blistering attack on President Donald Trump and members of the commission after her removal.
According to Fox News, the decision to remove Prejean Boller was praised by multiple religious leaders and conservatives who argued that the commission’s purpose is to defend religious liberty, not serve as a platform for controversial personal activism.
Judge blocks subpoenas against Fed Chair
Jerome Powell, citing 'essentially zero evidence' 11 replies
Jerome Powell, citing 'essentially zero evidence' 11 replies
A federal judge on Friday said he was blocking subpoenas that the Justice Department served to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a probe purported to be about the management of the central bank's renovation."A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge on the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., wrote in a court filing.
Boasberg continued: "On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated
An investigation by CBS News has discovered massive Medicare fraud at more than 700 out of 1,800 licensed hospice providers in Los Angeles County.
The scam utilizes stolen Medicare numbers to fraudulently enroll healthy seniors in hospice with fake terminal diagnoses, billing Medicare an average of $29,000 per patient without delivering care, to the tune of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. About 31 percent of hospice and home health companies in the U.S. are registered in L.A. County but when investigators visited the addresses listed, they found no clinics, patients or healthcare workers.
Instead they found multiple red flags, including multiple hospices in one building,
If you have followed Operation Epic Fury closely, you know why the United States has been blowing up Iran's military power, its leadership, and has allied itself with Israel to devastate the Iranian regime.
Yet, according to several polls, Americans aren't sure why Trump initiated the operation, and are mostly unaware of how incredibly successful it has been. Aside from the decapitation strikes' successes, people are led to believe that Iran is doing pretty well out of the war. There were a couple of striking findings in the poll, but the one that stands out is that Americans are confused about why we are at war in the first place.
Presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom has been taking time away from destroying my state that he governs to hit the 2028 campaign trail, and he made a bit of short-lived news with his stop in Atlanta to have a discussion with Mayor Andre Dickens and a crowd largely comprised of black attendees to promote his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry.
“I’m not trying to impress you,” he said, “I’m just trying to impress upon you … I’m like you, I’m no better than you. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy,” and he continues by saying that he never reads his speeches because he “can’t read.”
During breaking news coverage of the Michigan synagogue attack on Thursday, MS NOW host Katy Tur decided to connect the attack to the Republican Party in multiple instances of the first hour, including a placement of blame of “Donald Trump’s war in Iran.” Additionally, Near the end of her first hour, Tur turned to talk about anti-Semitism on the far-right in the midst of the synagogue attack with fellow MS NOW host, All In’s Chris Hayes. Katy Tur Reports was in continuation of MS NOW’s breaking news coverage that started around 1:30 PM Eastern after a driver rammed into Temple Israel near Detroit. In her first instance,