Hegseth:

There was a lot of intentional propaganda about the USS Abraham Lincoln, but 80% of that carrier strike group signed up to reenlist.

Hegseth:

We just launched the Office of Religious Affairs. We're going to elevate the Chaplain Corps because I do believe that spiritual fitness is just as important as physical fitness.

Trump:

If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate, I’m going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America, $5,000. Republicans can do it, and Democrats can’t.

BIG: New NYT/Siena polls show Democrats highly competitive in five traditionally Republican Senate states a month before the midterms.

Democrats lead by 7 points in Alaska, 6 in Texas and 3 in Ohio. Kansas is tied, while Republicans lead by 1 point in Iowa.

The polls point to dissatisfaction with Trump, the Iran war, high gas prices and the cost of living as major factors.

Egyptian President el-Sisi:

I’m positive that the 21st century will be an African century, par excellence, if we effectively engage in joint action.

British and U.S. officials believe the men arrested near RAF Fairford were connected to an Iran-backed operation linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps or a separate military headquarters in Tehran.

Source: NYT

Mélenchon might be the most "against things" politician in Europe.

Anti-NATO. Anti-EU. Anti-nuclear. Anti-Macron. Anti-Israel. Anti-billionaire. Anti-Fifth Republic.

Wants out of NATO, retirement at 60, a 90% top tax rate, and a new constitution.

Fringe? He got 7.7 million votes last time and he's running again.

Senior Iranian MP Ebrahim Azizi:

Out of Afghanistan.

Fleeing from Iraq.

Next: total expulsion from West Asia.

Mark the day; it is near.

Zelensky:

We have to respond in any way to their attacks on our energy. We have to respond on their energy — first of all, oil refineries, etc., what gives them money for this war.

But we will not respond, of course, just like them, against civilian objects. We can’t do so, because we are another people.

We saw documents, and we know that they allow them to attack infrastructure.

Zelensky:

They attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially in the cities, in the villages — everywhere: roads, schools, hospitals — to pressure people to leave the capital, leave different cities.

This is the goal of their operation.

Israel received the passenger and crew list for the FlyDubai flight 48 hours in advance, including the Omani citizenship of the co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash the plane.

Security sources said the Transportation Ministry’s security division and Mossad were supposed to review foreign flight crews and flag potential threats.

The Tax Authority confirmed the list was received, but the Transportation Ministry would not say whether it had examined it.

A 2023 law created a system for passenger and crew data to be shared with police, Shin Bet and Mossad.

Source: Haaretz

Netanyahu invites the Indian pilot of the Flydubai plane and Modi to Israel to light a ceremonial flame.

The pilot tells Netanyahu the story of the attempted hijacking.

Pete Hegseth reportedly hit 9 of 10 three-point attempts in one take at the Air Force Academy’s Clune Arena.

Hegseth:

Iran wants to play games with things like the Strait of Hormuz, they don't control it, we do.

They have literally gotten nothing through.

Our blockade has been ironclad, and we're running almost at pre-war levels every single night through that.

Q: Is the USS Roosevelt going to replace one of the two carriers that are there, or are there going to be three carriers in the region?

Hegseth: It’s a fair question, but I’ll never answer it.

Trump’s going to have options. Let’s put it that way.

Hegseth on Iran:

We can hold the blockade as long as we need to.

Trust me, we can adapt that as necessary.

Hegseth on Iran:

Now is the moment where they can decide to give it up the way that they should, without any leverage that they have, or it may have to happen the hard way.

Two Iranian diplomats were expelled from the U.S. after ignoring repeated State Department orders to leave following the UN General Assembly.

One left New York on Friday night and the other on Saturday morning, according to a U.S. official.

Source: Axios

Ted Cruz called JD Vance “insecure” after the vice president accused him of already positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run.

Cruz denied focusing on 2028, saying his priority is helping Republicans win the 2026 midterms.

Source: POLITICO

Trump on Iran:

We have a decision that I’ll make about Iran. We’ll have it the easy or the hard way.