Tag: Lebanon

Peace Out

Former Presidents Biden, Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton (as well as former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton) were among attendees of the Grand Opening Ceremony at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago Thursday. Not invited: President Trump, Vanilla Ice.

•Our contributing pundits offer short takes on the US-Iran MOU in our Right and Left columns. Also do not miss Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s detailed analysis/commentary in The Gray Area.

JUNETEENTH 2026

UPDATE: Ceasefire in Lebanon -- Israeli Defense Force spokesman Brigadier Gen. Effie Defrin confirms in a statement that Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah are in a ceasefire (per BBC). "We are in a ceasefire," Defrin's statement says. "The IDF is prepared to continue fighting if called upon to do so."

Vance Grounded – Oil tankers have begun moving through the Strait of Hormuz, but potential fall-guy Vice President JD Vance has called off his Friday trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, to meet with Iran’s negotiators, The New York Times reports. Key issue for those talks during the 60-day ceasefire MOU signed by President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities, often stated as the reason the Trump administration with Israel started the war in late-February.

“If it works out, I’m taking the credit,” Trump said to reporters about the since-delayed negotiations in Switzerland (per NPR’s Morning Edition). “If not, I’m blaming you, JD. You’d better watch out.”

Or Trump could blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said ahead of the signing that Israel would not withdraw from Lebanon, one of the key Iranian demands in negotiation of the MOU.

Friday Lebanon’s National News Agency reported at least 16 Lebanese were killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon (per The Guardian), while Hezbollah reported it sees intense fighting there and Netanyahu said Israeli Defense Forces will stay “for as long as necessary.” A four-soldier IDF tank crew, including a battalion chief, was killed by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, The Times of Israel reports.

Analysis by a Haaretz journalist called the MOU “an incredibly bad document” from an Israeli standpoint. 

It might be an incredibly bad document from Vice President Vance’s point of view, as well.

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At Least the Strait is Open – Fuel prices continue to drop, with the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular at $3.973 Friday, the AAA reports. That’s 2.6 cents less than Thursday and just 99.8 cents higher than February 28. Diesel is down 3.4 cents to $5.095, up $1.28 from late February. – TL

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THURSDAY 6/18/26

Crux of the MOU – President Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the peace deal, or memorandum of understanding, or 60-day ceasefire, Wednesday. Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles where he enjoyed an elegant state dinner with French President Emmanual Macron, after the G7 summit. Pezeshkian presumably signed in Tehran.

Israel is delegated to one of the US’ allies in the opening paragraph of the memorandum of understanding triggering a 60-day (“permanent”?) ceasefire between the US and Iran. 

“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war by signing this MOU declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operations against each other, and to refrain [from] the threat or use of force against each other and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.” [Via The New York Times.]

That unnamed ally, formerly known as the co-sponsor of the 15-week war on Iran with the United States, might not be on-board, according to The Times of Israel, which scoops Thursday that “Israel is not backing down on keeping troops in southern Lebanon …” Officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say Israel is holding “stubborn” talks with the US on the matter.

Is Netanyahu getting the US stuck in the sort of quagmire Trump promised to avoid?

6-7 … Paragraph six of the MOU develops “a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least $USD 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran, to be finalized within 60 days, which sounds suspiciously like another attempt to develop luxury seaside resorts, as floated by the Trump administration in Israel’s war on Gaza last year, or the Jared Kushner/Ivanka Trump plan to develop an island off the coast of Albania.

Paragraph seven terminates “all types of sanctions against Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions and IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] Board of Governors resolutions and unilateral US sanctions.” (Hat tip to Military Times.)

Nukes in 8 … “Iran reaffirms that it shall not pursue or develop nuclear weapons” and the US and Iran “have agreed to resolve disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon” in paragraph seven.

The MOU “sidesteps” the reasons the Trump administration went into Iran, The Wall Street Journal reports in its analysis, and “makes no demands on Tehran over its militias or huge arsenal of missiles.”

Trump 45’s vice president, Mike Pence, says the deal “smacked of appeasement,” the BBC reports.

•••

No Appeasement Here – The Federal Open Market Committee under new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh voted to keep interest rates steady Wednesday, in the 3.5% to 3.75% range. Not what President Trump wanted from his hand-picked chairman, but perhaps what he was asking for with a jump in inflation to 4.2% thanks mostly to the war on Iran. 

Unless that Consumer Price Index number comes down quickly, you can expect a likely rate hike or two in the second half of the year. Eight FOMC members anonymously project the Fed will hold that interest rate range, but nine see room for an increase while only one of the members sees room to cut, USA Today reports.

•••

Less Than $4 – With the signing of the US-Iran MOU/peace deal, the national average price of a gallon of unleaded regular has dropped to $3.999 Thursday, down 2.6 cents from Wednesday and up $1.024 from February 28. Diesel is down 3.3 cents to $5.129 per gallon, up $1.314 from late February. – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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THURSDAY 6/18/26

US Loses 92K Jobs

The US economy lost 92,000 jobs in February largely attributed to lower employment in health care ‘reflecting strike activity,’ according to the Labor Department, though even accounting for that, the number was worse than economists expected. Health care job growth has been propping up employment gains in recent months. The economy continues to lose information sector and federal government jobs. The unemployment rate inched up 0.1 points to 4.4%. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 3/6/26

Israel Hits Beirut – After mass evacuations in Lebanon’s capital, Israel has launched its heaviest air strike on Beirut since its 2024 war with Iranian-backed militias, The New York Times reports early Friday. Israel also is hitting Tehran while air defenses battled incoming missiles from Iran.

Choose the leader we want … After admitting most of his administration’s favored candidates for replacing the late Ayatollah Khamenei were killed in the initial US-Israeli air attacks last Saturday, President Trump encouraged the Iranian people to choose their new leaders. Then on Thursday, Trump told Reuters in an exclusive phone interview: “We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future.”

Fuel prices … Gas and diesel prices have been steadily rising since the US-Israeli war on Iran began nearly a week ago. The AAA reports the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $3.32, up from $2.982 February 27. Diesel – used in trucks that deliver much of the goods we buy, as Trump reminded us during his 2024 campaign -- averaged $4.33 a gallon, up from $3.757.

“If they rise, they rise,” Trump said. The president says he has no intention of tapping the national strategic reserves, currently 57% full, according to APR’s Marketplace, which reports most economists agree with Trump that the increases are temporary – so long as the war is short-lived.

•••

Gonzales Out – Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) was headed for Texas’ May 26 runoffs after “The AKA Guy” Brandon Harris edged him out in Tuesday’s GOP primary, 43% to 42%. That changed late Thursday when Gonzalez announced he is dropping his re-election bid, leaving the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23rd District to YouTuber and gun manufacturer Harris, Punchbowl News reports. 

Herrera will face Democratic candidate Kathy Padilla Stout for Texas’ 23rd District seat, which includes Uvalde. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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FRIDAY 3/6/26

In Normandy

D-DAY+80, 2024

Bannon to Prison -- A federal judge has ordered former Trump administration advisor and MAGA acolyte Steve Bannon to prison by July 1, The Hill reports. Bannon is appealing his 2022 conviction on contempt of Congress charges for failing to appear for a deposition ordered by the since-disbanded House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.

•••

From WWII to Today – The allied effort of the U.S. and the rest of NATO to stand up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “direct extension” of the battle for freedom throughout Europe during World War II, President Biden observed at the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Omaha Beach (per The New York Times). Biden’s speech was held next to the burial site where 9,388 American military are buried, most of whom were part of the invasion. 

"Democracy is not guaranteed," Biden told the crowd, which included among world leaders attending, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but not Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, "and every generation must fight for it."

•••

Fighter Jets Hit UN School – As Israel’s fight with Hezbollah threatens to spill into southern Lebanon, there are reports of Israeli fighter jets attacking a United Nations school overnight in Central Gaza, killing at least 35 people, according to The Washington Post, which quotes Phillipe Lazzarini, commissioner of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. 

Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner countered Thursday, saying 20 to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters had been using a compound from inside the school.

•••

Biden Slipping? – Some Democrats and others who have worked with President Biden recently say the 81-year-old “appears slower now, someone who has both good moments and bad moments,” according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday. The report, which says Biden “spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him” in a January meeting in the West Wing with congressional leaders to negotiate a deal to fund Ukraine, no doubt jolted his party’s leaders.

Sources who were quoted anonymously included “(s)ome who have worked with him … including Democrats and some who have known him back to his time as vice president…” It quotes former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) saying; “I used to meet with him when he was vice president. I’d go to his house … He’s not the same person.” The WSJ notes that “White House officials dismissed many of the accounts … as motivated by partisan politics.”

But the story got little attention elsewhere Wednesday, except for News Corp. sibling Fox News, until The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, on which the host coupled The Wall Street Journal’s story with news about its recently retired CEO, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch, marrying for his fifth time.

•••

Final Four? – Senators J.D. Vance (OH), Marco Rubio (FL) and Tim Scott (SC), and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are the four finalists vying to become presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump’s running mate, per Forbes magazine. The running mate-race remains fluid, however, and could change before the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, July 15. 

There could be extra weight added to Trump’s choice, as the RNC begins four days after the ex-president is to be sentenced for his falsified business records/hush money conviction July 11.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/5/24

Border Politics – “Why now?” is the question NPR’s Michel Martin repeated several times to Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas on Morning Edition, asking about President Biden’s executive order meant to restrict crossings at the southern border. Mayorkas, fresh off a Senate impeachment acquittal stressed the need to “properly fund” Homeland Security and the enforcement of border laws. 

Biden’s executive action Tuesday restricts the number of migrants seeking asylum and allows border officials to stop processing claims when illegal crossings surge, as they have, as we approach the November 5 elections. Capitol Hill Republicans, who in the House killed off a bipartisan border bill earlier this year, attacked the White House’s “weak” response to the crisis.  

“To protect America as a land that welcomes migrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now,” Biden said Tuesday.

Until then-President Trump referred to “shithole countries” during his administration, no one would have admitted to the glaring reason behind much of immigration restriction in the U.S. over the centuries, that of discrimination against minorities from Italians and Irish to Latinos, Hispanics and Muslims. Beside angst over criminal activities that data on undocumented aliens constantly prove to be unfounded, there are two underlying concerns: First, that undocumented immigrants will take entry level jobs from Americans – they do, but largely at minimum wage or less, and Second, the one primarily for Republicans, that the undocumented will become Democrats after they become citizens. 

•••

Has Modi’s BJP Peaked? – We would be remiss if we ignored national elections in the world’s largest democracy and fastest-growing economy, India, where nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain prime minister, but his BJP party lost significant ground to the Congress party. 

The results are considered a shock and/or jolt to Modi and the BJP. The Election Commission of India announced Tuesday that Modi’s BJP won 240 parliamentary seats to Congress’ 99, The Times of India reports. While this might seem a pretty good result for the incumbent, that’s down from 303 seats the BJP won in 2019 elections, which was on an upward trend from 284 seats secured in the 2014 elections. We’ll keep you posted on what this means for democracy in India and around the globe, going forward.

•••

MAGA Republican Defeated in New Jersey – Trump-endorsed Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner lost the New Jersey GOP primary for Bob Menendez’s U.S. Senate seat Tuesday to real estate developer Curtis Bashaw, The Hill reports. Bashaw had the influential support of most the county Republican Party organizations in the state and faces Democrat nominee Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ). 

Menendez, the Democratic senior senator from New Jersey who is under indictment with his wife on bribery charges, has said he is running for re-election as an independent.

Primaries were also held Tuesday in Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington, D.C.

--TL

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TUESDAY 6/4/24

Border Policy by Exec Order – President Biden gathers border-city mayors at the White House Tuesday -- three months after the House scuttled a bipartisan immigration bill to keep the issue alive for GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump -- with plans to sign an executive order that would greatly reduce the number of asylum-seekers allowed into the U.S., NPR’s Morning Editionreports. Although no details were leaked ahead of the announcement, the executive order is expected to significantly cut the number of immigrants allowed, according to NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martinez Beltrán, who notes that Mexico has been cracking down on border crossings from its side at the request of the U.S.

•••

Fauci Faces Conspiracy Theoryfest – Erstwhile top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called “simply preposterous” Republican allegations that he had tried to cover up the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic at a House subcommittee hearing Monday. Leading the questions based on a litany of conspiracy theories was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) who refused to address Fauci as a doctor and later called for him to be locked up as a “mass murderer.”

All this prompted Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to apologize to Fauci, according to the HuffPost.

“They’re treating you, Dr. Fauci, like a convicted felon,” Raskin said of such MAGA Republicans as MTG. “Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon. They treat convicted felons with love and admiration.”

•••

Hunter Biden Trial, Day Two – Jury selection was completed Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, with opening statements to begin Tuesday in the criminal trial of the president’s son, Hunter Biden. He has been charged with lying on a 2018 gun license application on which he stated he was not addicted to illegal drugs.

--TL

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MONDAY 6/3/24

Trump Conviction Bump? – Down-ballot Democrats have been running better in the polls than President Biden for this November’s elections, but the expected bump in Donald J. Trump’s popularity after his 34-count conviction last week may help some of his most fervent supporters running for congressional seats, according to David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report. 

“This conviction might have some slight upside for down-ballot Republicans, not in a major way,” with a bump in turnout among pro-MAGA voters, elections analyst Wasserman told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition Monday. That could be good news for Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, but not for heretofore never-Trumper and Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan.

Be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s take on Trump’s remorse (or lack thereof) and House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) response, now in the right column.

Hunter Biden’s turn… Trial of the president’s son on charges he lied on a 2018 gun-purchase application begins in Wilmington, Delaware, Monday. The younger Biden allegedly claimed he was not addicted to illegal drugs when he filled out the paperwork.

•••

Cease-Fire, Or Not – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givr and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to resign if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza cease-fire agreement as outlined by President Biden Friday afternoon, The Hill reports. Their resignations would force new Israeli elections, as suggested by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) weeks ago. That’s something Netanyahu, whose leadership hangs from a string, does not want.

“This is a reckless deal, Ben-Givr said, “which constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel.”

By Saturday Netanyahu already reiterated that Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as long as Hamas retained governing and military power, The New York Times reported Sunday. By Monday, NPR reports that Netanyahu has said privately he backs the proposal.

Biden said Friday the proposal would begin with a six-week cease-fire during which Hamas would release women, the elderly and wounded Israeli hostages it has held since its October 7 attack. Israel would withdraw from major population centers in Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinian hostages and allow at least 600 trucksful of humanitarian aid per day. 

•••

Mexico’s New President – Just as a U.S. president in his late 70s or early 80s is inevitable after November’s elections, Mexicans went into voting booths Sunday to inevitably elect its first female president. Climate scientist and ex-Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum took between 58.3% to 60.7% of Sunday’s vote, The Guardian reports, easily beating Xóchitl Gálvez. Though counted as a liberal, Sheinbaum’s mentor is authoritarian-leaning outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 

Mexican presidents are limited to a single six-year term.

•••

Putin ‘Controls’ China – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend criticized China for attempting to put thekabosh on a peace summit to be held June 15-16 in Switzerland by pressuring other countries not to attend, the Financial Timesreports. 

Zelenskyy said China is “in the hands” of Russian President/Dictator Vladimir Putin and he criticized China, once Ukraine’s biggest trade partner, for supplying Russia with dual-use equipment that the U.S. says is being used to rebuild Moscow’s defense industry.

•••

Fauci on the House Grill – A 15-month House Select Subcommittee investigating the coronavirus pandemic has failed to connect Dr. Anthony Fauci, the retired immunologist and government scientist, to the beginning of COVID-19. He faces testimony to the subcommittee beginning Monday, (The New York Times), anyway, where pro-MAGA Congress members will try to shift blame for the slow response and inevitable need for shutdowns across the country away from the Trump administration. 

The subcommittee also has uncovered emails from Fauci aides that appear to state concerns over Fauci’s public image as the agency he led for 38 years, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, faced scrutiny over funding questions.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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