At 1:04 this afternoon, Donald Trump landed in Arizona aboard Qatari Air Force One. By 1:22, he was surrounded by bulletproof glass, preparing to tell the crowd that his followers would be okay if he murdered someone, that he “aced” his latest cognitive exam, that Canada will “end up being the 51st state because it's the only way it works,” and that he thought leakers and, by extension, reporters should be shot. That was just the beginning of the President’s very disturbing day and another painful reminder that everything the Presidency of the United States of America used to stand for is completely gone.
At 78 now, I still appreciate historical articles and stories of men and women who were spies or resistance fighters during wars fought in other countries. I've realized, with horror, that No Kings rallies, aiding our neighbors in resisting ICE attrocities (and they are atrocities) many of us are joining those resistance fighters. Words and actions and refusing to be silenced are our arms and ammunition.
I used to be proud of our country and what it stood for. Trump and his worshipers have dragged us into the sewers. They need to be ousted. VOTE. I will be doing so today. I see Trump, his Cabinet and Musk as the new enemies of our democracy. Vote them gone.
Who are the people who turn up in their red hats - are they paid
Are they stupid or do excited to take a phone recording of a mad man on a podium ?
How would they be if a member of their family was dragged off the streets by masked men and disappeared or got beaten up by a crowd shouting ridiculous slogans at a sick man. Where has kindness and compassion gone with these very delusional fanatics
WHERE ARE THE GROWN UPS?
Where are the ex presidents, the congressmen, the lawmakers who know what is being said is so wrong on every level, why are they not coming out and shouting from the rooftops.
This man is threatening to shoot people bomb countries, take over countries because he feels he can. He put out a video of himself fighting a tiger and winning, after a young man who was very sick got killed by a tiger after entering the enclosure. The family are devastated and grieving and Trump makes a joke of it.
2 and a bit weeks to go guys, I am scared and exhausted and too far away to help, and Heather you must be on your knees tired but this lunatic has to be toppled along with his cohort.
He cannot go on claiming other people’s counties and land or bullying Ukraine into compliance by helping Putin murder Ukrainians. All of us stand tall and let’s see a better world rise up out of the horrendous mess that Trump and Putin have created. And get the Epstein files into the open. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸
I quite agree Charlotte. I was very disgusted at Trump posting the video of the young man killed by a tiger and then posting an AI image of himself with a tiger. The man has no shame.
Thank you, Heather, for continuing to expose the damaging behavior of a madman in control of @ 30% of the electorate - who also is in control of the nuclear codes and is Commander-In-Chief of our Armed Forces.
It is horrendous that he has the criminal intent to point at members of the Free Press and basically instruct his followers to shoot them as he has provided a rationale for them to do so.
Thankfully, no one took him up on conducting such a perverse act - however, now, every member of the press has a target on their back - and anyone who is the weakest link in the MAGA world will feel justified in carrying out his command.
I asked Gemini to summarize what actions - shy of impeachment - are available to members of Congress to rein in a renegade President.
Here’s the response:
“Outside of impeachment, members of Congress possess several powerful constitutional tools, institutional mechanisms, and legislative strategies to check or "rein in" a president's actions.
1. Power of the Purse (Financial Control)
The Constitution grants Congress the exclusive authority to fund the government. Congress can use this leverage to restrict executive actions by:
• Defunding specific initiatives: Congress can write provisions into appropriations bills that explicitly prohibit federal funds from being spent on certain presidential policies, military actions, or executive orders.
• Shutting down or restructuring agencies: Congress can withhold funding from entire executive departments or offices to force compliance from the administration.
2. Oversight and Subpoena Power
Congressional committees have the authority to investigate the executive branch. This power allows Congress to expose wrongdoing and pressure the administration through:
• Public Hearings: Committees can call administration officials to testify under oath, bringing executive conduct into the public spotlight.
• Subpoenas: Congress can issue legally binding demands for internal White House documents, emails, and communications.
• Contempt Citations: If executive officials refuse to comply, Congress can vote to hold them in contempt, which can lead to legal battles in federal court to enforce compliance.
3. Legislative Countermeasures
Congress can pass new laws to actively restrict or override executive power:
• Overriding Vetoes: If a president blocks a bill passed by Congress, a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate can override the veto, making it law without the president's signature.
• Clarifying or Narrowing Statutes: If a president uses broad statutory language to claim expanded executive power (such as declaring national emergencies), Congress can amend those specific laws to narrow the president's authority.
4. The Senate's "Advice and Consent" Power
The Senate holds significant leverage over the personnel running the executive branch:
• Blocking Confirmations: The Senate can refuse to confirm the president’s nominees for Cabinet positions, federal judgeships, ambassadors, and military leaders.
• Leveraging Holds: Individual senators can place "holds" on nominees, delaying confirmations to extract policy concessions from the White House.
5. War Powers Resolution
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress can check the president's power as Commander-in-Chief. While presidents often dispute its constitutionality, the law requires the executive branch to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids forces from remaining for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.
6. Public Shaming and Political Pressure
Bipartisan condemnation from congressional leadership can severely damage a president's political standing. Congress can pass formal resolutions of censure or disapproval. While these are symbolic and carry no legal penalty, they damage the president's approval ratings, weaken their influence over their own party, and hurt their chances of passing future legislation.”
In my view, nothing of consequence will happen - except for a few Republicans and most, if not all, Democrats - Trump will continue being the danger we have to live with.
Unlike natural disasters, however - as you’ve pointed out - we can vote out this unnatural disaster - and members of his political party as soon as possible.
Thank you Heather for your writing this morning. This is a little longer.
There’s a level of depravity that words cannot describe this Felon.
One of those lion and tiger vile videos that this putrid cretin posted, was of a young man in Yorkshire England who suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years who was heavily medicated for years for his illness visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster this past Saturday and was attacked after entering into the tigers animal's pen. He was pronounced dead at the scene. This is our President. No sense of grief or even respect for any suffering, pain for his family members, friends, neighbors... Absolutely void of any humanity….
Is this entirely what we’ve come to expect from a man who appears to be in a race to the very bottom; from what use to be “Our House” which is no longer - it’s his White House, his regime that he is so cruel and so callous that he thinks nothing of sharing footage of a man’s death to farm clicks.. Just like chained human beings with the sounds of the clanking metal as his regime deports them to CECOT and places unknown.. The breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
Since this abhorrent Felon has turned his back on Ukraine and of course cozied up to his Putin buddy as any good puppet does and that ketamine-fueled repugnant Musk decided to flip a switch… Once again, the breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
Donated to the official fundraising platform of Ukraine launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It directs funds into defense and demining, medical aid, rebuilding Ukraine, education, and science. Donations can be made via credit card, PayPal, and wire transfer.
Ukrayina zavzhdy v moyemu sertsya… "Ukraine is always in my heart”
Going to let this gentleman do his speaking. For myself it’s the sheer entitlement of the behavior displayed, the privilege that always goes unchecked always excused and even cheered on. Is it even a thought process as to how the Cornell 7 went scott free and the victim never received justice. How about all those Epstein victims any justice underway or the remainder of those Trump-Epstein Files being released… No Justice.. Once again, the breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
—Let's #talk about the #woman at the #Trump #rally in #ohio a collaboration with Melinda Fulton
One could say that this Felon’s brain is of cottage cheese which is showing clear signs of mold, bad smells, and texture changes.. This Julius Caesar complex is ratcheting up.. Those lions and tigers mauling human beings posted on that Lie Social. Having an already scheduled live stream execution of a Muslim in a wheelchair to now planning additional ones who may be considered “leakers”. As Julius Caesar had a month of the year commemorated in his name, “July”, we currently are privy to him wanting his name on everything. An ostentatious ballroom along with a 250ft Triumphal Arch that is outfitted with sniper nests. Banners displayed everywhere in DC so similar to those Hakenkreuzflagge hanging on the buildings in the 1930s in another country in Europe. Traveling around now with two young blondes with possibly blue eyes, isn’t that the expectations. Having hundreds of year old trees cut down for his lavish golf course in DC all the while having no real policies to actually help the people. No policies to reduce costs, stop the war, only the policy is to team up with his buddy Putin leaving the Ukrainians out to dry just as much as every American. Frankly wouldn’t be surprised if a golden laurel wreath doesn’t make an appearance at the top of that Mango-colored face.
To add just a little more to the stress levels. A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday.
The United Nations set up a taskforce in March to facilitate passage of fertilizers through the strait. It is yet to implement the mechanism it drew up, but United Nations Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva said this could be activated within 7-10 days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
“It’s absolutely crucial to get the deal in the next few weeks. Otherwise, we will miss the planting season,” he said in an interview in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings. In response to questions from Reuters, a US State Department spokesman said the US military has assisted thousands of commercial vessels with transiting the strait.
Beyond the Hormuz crisis, a deteriorating situation in the Black Sea region, where cargo vessels have come under attack, and an offensive by Iran-backed Houthi militants along a key Red Sea shipping route are compounding the threat to global food security.
“What we are witnessing now is a concentration of factors,” Moreira da Silva said. “Climate crisis, simultaneous disruption of maritime chokepoints on the Black Sea, on the Red Sea and on Hormuz.” Failure to activate Hormuz Strait fertilizer plan could trigger a world wide food crisis per a UN official.
The ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis is keeping a geopolitical premium in oil markets but energy infrastructure has not been attacked in the last several days. However, shipping remains under threat in the Strait of Hormuz with two vessels sinking over the last 24hrs. US forces have reported the destruction of an Iranian-linked ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, while Tehran has claimed that a naval mine sank a container ship. Reports also indicate that Iran is using small boats to track US warships and commercial vessels.
A cargo ship has sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said. It was the first time Iran has reported a ship sinking after hitting a mine during the war. There were few details, including about the fate of the crew. State TV quoted a Guard statement saying the ship was travelling on what it called an illegal and dangerous route when it hit the mine Wednesday morning. It said the ship was carrying 2,500 containers when it first caught fire. Iran has repeatedly warned ships against trying to transit the strait without its approval.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has intercepted and destroyed an incoming drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X. The Houthis have claimed they targeted a Saudi military aircraft, a Eurofighter Typhoon, with an air-to-air missile in the airspace over Yemen’s Saada governorate. Two regional officials say offices belonging to senior executives with Saudi oil giant Aramco were hit in an overnight Houthi strike on the company’s headquarters, in the latest demonstration of the Iran-backed rebels’ ability to attack high-profile targets even after issuing warnings that they would do so.
In Yemen, the Houthis are reportedly developing a new ballistic missile system using Chinese components. A Houthi official told The Associated Press that powers including Russia and China have reached out to the rebels to assist.
Have a granddaughter who was wounded and is in a Saudi Arabia rehab center with her unit. Have a grandson on a Navy destroyer off the Strait of Hormuz so as every night find the news from abroad. Not just in the Middle East but in Europe, Australia pretty much around the world.
The inhabitants in other nations have given the majority of Americans a little slack, because they were aware that not all of us as Americans are in favor of this regime. Yet it’s been close to 21 months, in fact it’s been exactly 632 days that he’s been back like the plague. However, in the comment sections of the world news those comments are changing. There is not the grace given for all of us who are not in acceptance of all his and his regimes fascist actions. Maybe it’s the turncoat actions towards Ukraine or all the other things that is coming to a crescendo. We have just this one chance..
If you are hearing pundits saying the Democrats are going to win come the Midterms, Please, Do Not Listen to Them…
Let me be clear - Vote - Vote early because lines are forming, am driving everyday taking people to their voting locations for them to joyfully apply that Voting sticker.
If you are also beyond disgusted and nauseated by this Felon, all in his regime and these Republican politicians they all need to go… The Supreme Court justices can be dealt with after the Congress is Flipped.
Am talking both chambers the House and Senate. Make this the Blue Tsunami that it deserves. When it comes to this MAGA cult, it needs to be placed on a ship and sent out to sea…
I feel like without exaggeration every thing in the world that is wrong is his fault
There is no part of anyone’s life at home or abroad that his evil narcissistic tentacles have not touched
Every word you have said Heather is true and I hope that beacons of truth like yours join up to form a beautiful bright light eliminating the shadows of evil and take the important first step by voting in the mid terms and setting America back on its rightful path as a respected member of the world community
Thank you Heather and all other brave Americans who are resisting the regime. I’m watching from over here in Sweden, hoping that the USA can someday become our friend again.
It can only get worse much worse . Midterm in view, maybe? With fascist nazi bonker musk pouring hundred of millions to cheat any election. Thanks to all government contracts he gets. Fuck them all. America remains deeply corrupt. And they wanted to teach the world about free and fair? And they wanted to be "trusted allies"? So insane and ridiculous. A rogue state it is and very costly it will be. Sorry but you shall reap what you sow. Maybe somewhere within this damned fake christians maga morons admin a few will remember those bible words. Lmao
All good, necessary, accuracy, for which thanks. But every column ought also, imho, to target his enablers. Vance in particular needs to be told repeatedly that his hopes to be president are being daily ruined by his cowardly inaction. The Cabinet and spineless Republicans are likewise being disgraced for life and legacies—self destruction. None of them is insane, all are criminally responsible for allowing and enabling Trump to continue his increasing insanity.
Heather, while you have become one of my favorite morning journalists, you have also encouraged a return to bed, pillow, and pup.
This reminder, “In the past, something like this would have prompted immediate hearings and investigations. Congress would be demanding answers, and the country would be outraged if the President of the United States started suggesting that reporters deserve to be shot simply for doing their jobs.”
How is this Trump language any different from the garbage disposed from his mouth every day of his administration. Yes, I agree he’s gotten worse. He likely thinks, “I can say whatever I want. No one has the guts to stop me.”
But in Trump’s deranged mind he doesn’t see his solution to the uninvited remarks of journalists problematic: Why not firing squad while it’s trendy?
In the photo that accompanies your writing, the scene of an audience sporting Trump caps is distressing, frightening, and questionable. Did they gather this group from folks just out for a walk? Ply them with promises of money? Then top their noggins with his atrocious headwear? And then did the caps do their job of turning each wearer into a turncoat. Preferring Trump to Democratic sanity?
Who can we blame for your observation that “the White House has fallen. We are now either under the control of Russia or, at the very least, aligning ourselves with them as something resembling partners. And Donald Trump isn’t even trying to hide it. He is doing it right out in the open.”
I am grateful for your words, “This is on every member of Congress who has enabled and defended him, abdicating their responsibility to their constituents and the Constitution. This is on the Supreme Court for its decision granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. And this is on members of our communities who have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by this corrupt man and dragged onto the wrong side of history.”
You have identified and judged them all. I pray daily that those you have identified above will wake up one day and cry out, “What the hell have I been doing? Why have I sided with the evilest man in American? Will God ever forgive me”
Thankyou, Heather and those like you, for your bravery. I read your post, just now, in Australia, just shaking my head all the way through, learning about the latest abomination. It is difficult to read about this nightmare and I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you, living amongst it. I can only send my best wishes to you.
At 78 now, I still appreciate historical articles and stories of men and women who were spies or resistance fighters during wars fought in other countries. I've realized, with horror, that No Kings rallies, aiding our neighbors in resisting ICE attrocities (and they are atrocities) many of us are joining those resistance fighters. Words and actions and refusing to be silenced are our arms and ammunition.
I used to be proud of our country and what it stood for. Trump and his worshipers have dragged us into the sewers. They need to be ousted. VOTE. I will be doing so today. I see Trump, his Cabinet and Musk as the new enemies of our democracy. Vote them gone.
From Australia.
Who are the people who turn up in their red hats - are they paid
Are they stupid or do excited to take a phone recording of a mad man on a podium ?
How would they be if a member of their family was dragged off the streets by masked men and disappeared or got beaten up by a crowd shouting ridiculous slogans at a sick man. Where has kindness and compassion gone with these very delusional fanatics
WHERE ARE THE GROWN UPS?
Where are the ex presidents, the congressmen, the lawmakers who know what is being said is so wrong on every level, why are they not coming out and shouting from the rooftops.
This man is threatening to shoot people bomb countries, take over countries because he feels he can. He put out a video of himself fighting a tiger and winning, after a young man who was very sick got killed by a tiger after entering the enclosure. The family are devastated and grieving and Trump makes a joke of it.
2 and a bit weeks to go guys, I am scared and exhausted and too far away to help, and Heather you must be on your knees tired but this lunatic has to be toppled along with his cohort.
He cannot go on claiming other people’s counties and land or bullying Ukraine into compliance by helping Putin murder Ukrainians. All of us stand tall and let’s see a better world rise up out of the horrendous mess that Trump and Putin have created. And get the Epstein files into the open. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸
I quite agree Charlotte. I was very disgusted at Trump posting the video of the young man killed by a tiger and then posting an AI image of himself with a tiger. The man has no shame.
Thank you, Heather, for continuing to expose the damaging behavior of a madman in control of @ 30% of the electorate - who also is in control of the nuclear codes and is Commander-In-Chief of our Armed Forces.
It is horrendous that he has the criminal intent to point at members of the Free Press and basically instruct his followers to shoot them as he has provided a rationale for them to do so.
Thankfully, no one took him up on conducting such a perverse act - however, now, every member of the press has a target on their back - and anyone who is the weakest link in the MAGA world will feel justified in carrying out his command.
I asked Gemini to summarize what actions - shy of impeachment - are available to members of Congress to rein in a renegade President.
Here’s the response:
“Outside of impeachment, members of Congress possess several powerful constitutional tools, institutional mechanisms, and legislative strategies to check or "rein in" a president's actions.
1. Power of the Purse (Financial Control)
The Constitution grants Congress the exclusive authority to fund the government. Congress can use this leverage to restrict executive actions by:
• Defunding specific initiatives: Congress can write provisions into appropriations bills that explicitly prohibit federal funds from being spent on certain presidential policies, military actions, or executive orders.
• Shutting down or restructuring agencies: Congress can withhold funding from entire executive departments or offices to force compliance from the administration.
2. Oversight and Subpoena Power
Congressional committees have the authority to investigate the executive branch. This power allows Congress to expose wrongdoing and pressure the administration through:
• Public Hearings: Committees can call administration officials to testify under oath, bringing executive conduct into the public spotlight.
• Subpoenas: Congress can issue legally binding demands for internal White House documents, emails, and communications.
• Contempt Citations: If executive officials refuse to comply, Congress can vote to hold them in contempt, which can lead to legal battles in federal court to enforce compliance.
3. Legislative Countermeasures
Congress can pass new laws to actively restrict or override executive power:
• Overriding Vetoes: If a president blocks a bill passed by Congress, a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate can override the veto, making it law without the president's signature.
• Clarifying or Narrowing Statutes: If a president uses broad statutory language to claim expanded executive power (such as declaring national emergencies), Congress can amend those specific laws to narrow the president's authority.
4. The Senate's "Advice and Consent" Power
The Senate holds significant leverage over the personnel running the executive branch:
• Blocking Confirmations: The Senate can refuse to confirm the president’s nominees for Cabinet positions, federal judgeships, ambassadors, and military leaders.
• Leveraging Holds: Individual senators can place "holds" on nominees, delaying confirmations to extract policy concessions from the White House.
5. War Powers Resolution
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress can check the president's power as Commander-in-Chief. While presidents often dispute its constitutionality, the law requires the executive branch to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids forces from remaining for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.
6. Public Shaming and Political Pressure
Bipartisan condemnation from congressional leadership can severely damage a president's political standing. Congress can pass formal resolutions of censure or disapproval. While these are symbolic and carry no legal penalty, they damage the president's approval ratings, weaken their influence over their own party, and hurt their chances of passing future legislation.”
In my view, nothing of consequence will happen - except for a few Republicans and most, if not all, Democrats - Trump will continue being the danger we have to live with.
Unlike natural disasters, however - as you’ve pointed out - we can vote out this unnatural disaster - and members of his political party as soon as possible.
"The White House has fallen." 😲
Thank you Heather for your writing this morning. This is a little longer.
There’s a level of depravity that words cannot describe this Felon.
One of those lion and tiger vile videos that this putrid cretin posted, was of a young man in Yorkshire England who suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years who was heavily medicated for years for his illness visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster this past Saturday and was attacked after entering into the tigers animal's pen. He was pronounced dead at the scene. This is our President. No sense of grief or even respect for any suffering, pain for his family members, friends, neighbors... Absolutely void of any humanity….
Is this entirely what we’ve come to expect from a man who appears to be in a race to the very bottom; from what use to be “Our House” which is no longer - it’s his White House, his regime that he is so cruel and so callous that he thinks nothing of sharing footage of a man’s death to farm clicks.. Just like chained human beings with the sounds of the clanking metal as his regime deports them to CECOT and places unknown.. The breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
Since this abhorrent Felon has turned his back on Ukraine and of course cozied up to his Putin buddy as any good puppet does and that ketamine-fueled repugnant Musk decided to flip a switch… Once again, the breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
Donated to the official fundraising platform of Ukraine launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It directs funds into defense and demining, medical aid, rebuilding Ukraine, education, and science. Donations can be made via credit card, PayPal, and wire transfer.
Ukrayina zavzhdy v moyemu sertsya… "Ukraine is always in my heart”
https://u24.gov.ua/
Going to let this gentleman do his speaking. For myself it’s the sheer entitlement of the behavior displayed, the privilege that always goes unchecked always excused and even cheered on. Is it even a thought process as to how the Cornell 7 went scott free and the victim never received justice. How about all those Epstein victims any justice underway or the remainder of those Trump-Epstein Files being released… No Justice.. Once again, the breath escapes and a feeling of pure nausea should overtake every American, but alas it doesn’t…
—Let's #talk about the #woman at the #Trump #rally in #ohio a collaboration with Melinda Fulton
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14m8ZqC8KWd/?mibextid=wwXIfr
One could say that this Felon’s brain is of cottage cheese which is showing clear signs of mold, bad smells, and texture changes.. This Julius Caesar complex is ratcheting up.. Those lions and tigers mauling human beings posted on that Lie Social. Having an already scheduled live stream execution of a Muslim in a wheelchair to now planning additional ones who may be considered “leakers”. As Julius Caesar had a month of the year commemorated in his name, “July”, we currently are privy to him wanting his name on everything. An ostentatious ballroom along with a 250ft Triumphal Arch that is outfitted with sniper nests. Banners displayed everywhere in DC so similar to those Hakenkreuzflagge hanging on the buildings in the 1930s in another country in Europe. Traveling around now with two young blondes with possibly blue eyes, isn’t that the expectations. Having hundreds of year old trees cut down for his lavish golf course in DC all the while having no real policies to actually help the people. No policies to reduce costs, stop the war, only the policy is to team up with his buddy Putin leaving the Ukrainians out to dry just as much as every American. Frankly wouldn’t be surprised if a golden laurel wreath doesn’t make an appearance at the top of that Mango-colored face.
To add just a little more to the stress levels. A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday.
The United Nations set up a taskforce in March to facilitate passage of fertilizers through the strait. It is yet to implement the mechanism it drew up, but United Nations Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva said this could be activated within 7-10 days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
“It’s absolutely crucial to get the deal in the next few weeks. Otherwise, we will miss the planting season,” he said in an interview in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings. In response to questions from Reuters, a US State Department spokesman said the US military has assisted thousands of commercial vessels with transiting the strait.
Beyond the Hormuz crisis, a deteriorating situation in the Black Sea region, where cargo vessels have come under attack, and an offensive by Iran-backed Houthi militants along a key Red Sea shipping route are compounding the threat to global food security.
“What we are witnessing now is a concentration of factors,” Moreira da Silva said. “Climate crisis, simultaneous disruption of maritime chokepoints on the Black Sea, on the Red Sea and on Hormuz.” Failure to activate Hormuz Strait fertilizer plan could trigger a world wide food crisis per a UN official.
The ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis is keeping a geopolitical premium in oil markets but energy infrastructure has not been attacked in the last several days. However, shipping remains under threat in the Strait of Hormuz with two vessels sinking over the last 24hrs. US forces have reported the destruction of an Iranian-linked ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, while Tehran has claimed that a naval mine sank a container ship. Reports also indicate that Iran is using small boats to track US warships and commercial vessels.
A cargo ship has sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said. It was the first time Iran has reported a ship sinking after hitting a mine during the war. There were few details, including about the fate of the crew. State TV quoted a Guard statement saying the ship was travelling on what it called an illegal and dangerous route when it hit the mine Wednesday morning. It said the ship was carrying 2,500 containers when it first caught fire. Iran has repeatedly warned ships against trying to transit the strait without its approval.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has intercepted and destroyed an incoming drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X. The Houthis have claimed they targeted a Saudi military aircraft, a Eurofighter Typhoon, with an air-to-air missile in the airspace over Yemen’s Saada governorate. Two regional officials say offices belonging to senior executives with Saudi oil giant Aramco were hit in an overnight Houthi strike on the company’s headquarters, in the latest demonstration of the Iran-backed rebels’ ability to attack high-profile targets even after issuing warnings that they would do so.
In Yemen, the Houthis are reportedly developing a new ballistic missile system using Chinese components. A Houthi official told The Associated Press that powers including Russia and China have reached out to the rebels to assist.
https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/News/middle-east/2026/10/15/failure-to-activate-hormuz-strait-fertilizer-plan-could-trigger-food-crisis-un-official
Have a granddaughter who was wounded and is in a Saudi Arabia rehab center with her unit. Have a grandson on a Navy destroyer off the Strait of Hormuz so as every night find the news from abroad. Not just in the Middle East but in Europe, Australia pretty much around the world.
The inhabitants in other nations have given the majority of Americans a little slack, because they were aware that not all of us as Americans are in favor of this regime. Yet it’s been close to 21 months, in fact it’s been exactly 632 days that he’s been back like the plague. However, in the comment sections of the world news those comments are changing. There is not the grace given for all of us who are not in acceptance of all his and his regimes fascist actions. Maybe it’s the turncoat actions towards Ukraine or all the other things that is coming to a crescendo. We have just this one chance..
If you are hearing pundits saying the Democrats are going to win come the Midterms, Please, Do Not Listen to Them…
Let me be clear - Vote - Vote early because lines are forming, am driving everyday taking people to their voting locations for them to joyfully apply that Voting sticker.
If you are also beyond disgusted and nauseated by this Felon, all in his regime and these Republican politicians they all need to go… The Supreme Court justices can be dealt with after the Congress is Flipped.
Am talking both chambers the House and Senate. Make this the Blue Tsunami that it deserves. When it comes to this MAGA cult, it needs to be placed on a ship and sent out to sea…
— Vote —
I feel like without exaggeration every thing in the world that is wrong is his fault
There is no part of anyone’s life at home or abroad that his evil narcissistic tentacles have not touched
Every word you have said Heather is true and I hope that beacons of truth like yours join up to form a beautiful bright light eliminating the shadows of evil and take the important first step by voting in the mid terms and setting America back on its rightful path as a respected member of the world community
Thank you Heather and all other brave Americans who are resisting the regime. I’m watching from over here in Sweden, hoping that the USA can someday become our friend again.
Same, same, from Australia.
It can only get worse much worse . Midterm in view, maybe? With fascist nazi bonker musk pouring hundred of millions to cheat any election. Thanks to all government contracts he gets. Fuck them all. America remains deeply corrupt. And they wanted to teach the world about free and fair? And they wanted to be "trusted allies"? So insane and ridiculous. A rogue state it is and very costly it will be. Sorry but you shall reap what you sow. Maybe somewhere within this damned fake christians maga morons admin a few will remember those bible words. Lmao
All good, necessary, accuracy, for which thanks. But every column ought also, imho, to target his enablers. Vance in particular needs to be told repeatedly that his hopes to be president are being daily ruined by his cowardly inaction. The Cabinet and spineless Republicans are likewise being disgraced for life and legacies—self destruction. None of them is insane, all are criminally responsible for allowing and enabling Trump to continue his increasing insanity.
“Abomination” is the word I’ve been looking for!
Heather, while you have become one of my favorite morning journalists, you have also encouraged a return to bed, pillow, and pup.
This reminder, “In the past, something like this would have prompted immediate hearings and investigations. Congress would be demanding answers, and the country would be outraged if the President of the United States started suggesting that reporters deserve to be shot simply for doing their jobs.”
How is this Trump language any different from the garbage disposed from his mouth every day of his administration. Yes, I agree he’s gotten worse. He likely thinks, “I can say whatever I want. No one has the guts to stop me.”
But in Trump’s deranged mind he doesn’t see his solution to the uninvited remarks of journalists problematic: Why not firing squad while it’s trendy?
In the photo that accompanies your writing, the scene of an audience sporting Trump caps is distressing, frightening, and questionable. Did they gather this group from folks just out for a walk? Ply them with promises of money? Then top their noggins with his atrocious headwear? And then did the caps do their job of turning each wearer into a turncoat. Preferring Trump to Democratic sanity?
Who can we blame for your observation that “the White House has fallen. We are now either under the control of Russia or, at the very least, aligning ourselves with them as something resembling partners. And Donald Trump isn’t even trying to hide it. He is doing it right out in the open.”
I am grateful for your words, “This is on every member of Congress who has enabled and defended him, abdicating their responsibility to their constituents and the Constitution. This is on the Supreme Court for its decision granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. And this is on members of our communities who have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by this corrupt man and dragged onto the wrong side of history.”
You have identified and judged them all. I pray daily that those you have identified above will wake up one day and cry out, “What the hell have I been doing? Why have I sided with the evilest man in American? Will God ever forgive me”
“No,” he/she/they answer. “Never forgiven.”
Thankyou, Heather and those like you, for your bravery. I read your post, just now, in Australia, just shaking my head all the way through, learning about the latest abomination. It is difficult to read about this nightmare and I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you, living amongst it. I can only send my best wishes to you.