The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been unable to confirm the whereabouts or condition of Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium since Israel’s airstrikes on the country’s nuclear facilities during June’s 12-day war, according to a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog warned that the matter “needs urgently to be addressed,” noting that without updated data from Tehran, it cannot assure member states that Iran’s nuclear material remains in peaceful use.
In its last public assessment in September, the IAEA reported that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — just a short technical step from the 90% threshold required for weapons-grade material. Director General Rafael Grossi cautioned in an interview that such a stockpile could be enough for roughly 10 nuclear weapons, though he emphasized that there is no indication Iran has built one.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is strictly civilian, while Western intelligence agencies and the IAEA assert that Tehran operated an organized nuclear weapons effort until 2003.
Under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA, Iran must issue a “special report” following significant incidents such as military attacks or natural disasters, detailing the condition and location of all nuclear material and facilities. The agency stressed that this report is “indispensable” for verifying that none of Iran’s safeguarded sites or materials have been diverted to non-peaceful purposes.
Tehran halted cooperation with the IAEA after the June conflict, which also saw U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Although Grossi reached a temporary inspection deal in early September with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during talks in Cairo, the agreement collapsed later that month when the U.N. reinstated sweeping sanctions on Iran.
The sanctions were reimposed by European powers through the U.N. “snapback” mechanism after Tehran refused to engage in direct talks with Washington, failed to restore full IAEA cooperation, and did not clarify the fate of its highly enriched uranium.
Iran remains legally bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to permit IAEA oversight of its nuclear activities.
{Matzav.com}
War Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Wednesday that the Trump administration will continue using military force to target drug-running vessels in South American waters, insisting that Washington has full legal authority to act. “We got lawyers on lawyers, all the authorities necessary to do so, treating these terrorists like the al-Qaida of the Western Hemisphere,” Hegseth declared during remarks at a defense industry conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The statement came as America’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier entered the Southern Command’s area of operations — a region that has already seen deadly U.S. airstrikes sink numerous suspected smuggling boats. Military officials estimate that at least 75 people aboard those vessels have been killed in recent strikes.
The heightened naval presence has intensified talk that President Trump may be weighing more aggressive action in the hemisphere, possibly targeting Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, who remains wanted in the United States on narcoterrorism charges.
Efforts by Senate Democrats to restrict Trump’s ability to launch a military operation against Venezuela were struck down by Republicans, leaving the White House with broad latitude to continue its campaign in the region.
{Matzav.com}Russia announced its willingness to return to peace negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, according to a statement reported Wednesday by the state-run TASS news agency. The Kremlin says the initiative for restarting dialogue lies entirely with Kyiv, as the war grinds toward the end of its fourth year.
The last direct encounter between the two sides took place on July 23 in the Turkish city, marking the first attempt in months to revive diplomatic communication. That session, which lasted only 40 minutes, ended without progress.
During that brief meeting, Ukrainian officials suggested arranging a summit in August between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of breaking the deadlock. The Kremlin later declared that Putin was open to such a meeting — but insisted it take place in Moscow, a demand Ukraine flatly rejected.
TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexei Polishchuk as saying that Turkey has consistently encouraged both parties to return to the table. “The Russian team is ready for this, the ball is in the Ukrainian court,” he said, framing Moscow as prepared to engage whenever Kyiv agrees.
Ukrainian officials, however, have dismissed Moscow’s narrative, maintaining that Russia’s ongoing aggression and refusal to withdraw troops are the real reasons talks remain frozen. They argue that the Kremlin’s statements are merely an attempt to shift blame for the stalled peace efforts.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump’s initiative to phase out the penny — once dismissed as a symbolic gesture — has rapidly reshaped the nation’s cash economy, leaving retailers, banks, and consumers grappling with the sudden absence of the one-cent coin.
The administration began winding down penny production earlier this year, framing it as a move toward fiscal efficiency. In February, Trump had declared his intention to “rip the waste out of our great [nation’s] budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” That message set off a chain of actions at the Treasury Department and U.S. Mint, culminating in the official end of penny circulation this week.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to the Philadelphia Mint to strike the final batch of one-cent coins for general use, bringing closure to a chapter in U.S. monetary history that began with the Coinage Act of 1792.
Although collectors will still be able to obtain special-edition pennies in small quantities, the Mint’s massive penny-making machinery — responsible for more than 3.2 billion coins in the last fiscal year — is now being retired. Yet, the process has underscored how deeply the penny remains ingrained in daily commerce. Transitioning away from a coin that’s been part of American life for over two centuries has proved anything but simple.
Retailers, grocers, and gas stations have been scrambling for months to adapt. By early September, reports of shortages were already mounting, and since Labor Day, the scarcity has intensified across the country. The Federal Reserve, which manages coin distribution, has temporarily halted penny orders at more than half of its regional distribution centers, with more expected to follow.
“People didn’t realize how quickly this was going to spread,” said Austen Jensen, senior executive vice president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents some of the nation’s largest retail chains.
Treasury officials are now weighing the release of guidance to help businesses adjust — including how to round cash prices and manage transactions without the one-cent coin. Still, many trade associations argue that a consistent, national policy is essential.
Groups representing retailers, restaurants, and banks are urging Congress to pass a federal law standardizing how cash transactions are rounded to the nearest nickel. Without such legislation, they warn, companies could face lawsuits under state consumer protection laws from customers claiming to have been shortchanged.
Efforts to pass that measure have been delayed by the ongoing government shutdown. Although a bipartisan bill establishing a national rounding rule cleared the House Financial Services Committee in July, it has not advanced to the full House, which was out of session for much of the fall.
Banks, too, are caught in the uncertainty. Steve Kenneally, senior vice president of payments at the American Bankers Association, said many financial institutions have been rounding check-cashing transactions in customers’ favor but need official guidance to avoid regulatory pitfalls. “We want to make sure banks don’t suffer any inadvertent regulatory mishaps, because we’re trying to do the right thing and round in favor of the customer,” he said. “We would like to have something, whether it’s from a regulator or legislation, that gives us guidance and that makes it a consistent customer experience everywhere. Having different businesses have different policies just doesn’t feel right.”
The American Bankers Association has also criticized the Federal Reserve’s decision to stop accepting penny deposits at many coin terminals, a policy that prevents banks with surplus coins from redistributing them efficiently. “This policy is accelerating the slowdown of penny circulation drastically,” the group warned in a recent letter to Treasury and the Fed.
A Federal Reserve spokesperson responded that “coin distribution locations accepting penny deposits and fulfilling orders will vary over time as localized inventory is depleted at certain coin distribution locations.”
According to Treasury estimates, ending the penny will save the government roughly $56 million each year. The U.S. Mint reports that manufacturing a single penny now costs 3.69 cents — more than triple its face value — due to rising metal and production costs. Officials concluded that “ongoing increases in production costs and the evolution in consumer habits and technology” have made the penny “financially untenable.”
Bessent’s move followed a formal finding that the one-cent coin was “no longer necessary to meet the needs of the United States,” a first in Treasury history.
While an estimated 300 billion pennies remain in circulation, the Treasury Department has clarified that all existing coins “remain legal tender and will retain [their] value indefinitely.” The penny, though no longer being minted, will continue to exist as a reminder of a bygone era in American currency — one that, for now, is ending a cent at a time.
{Matzav.com}
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Wednesday that the Biden administration is preparing major steps to ease costs on consumer staples such as coffee, bananas, and other imported goods not produced domestically.
Speaking on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” Bessent said Americans should expect “substantial announcements” in the coming days designed to bring prices down rapidly. “Very quickly,” he emphasized, predicting that by the first half of 2026, “Americans would start feeling better about the economy.”
Bessent also addressed a key part of President Donald Trump’s proposed economic relief initiative — a $2,000 rebate check for households earning under $100,000 annually. He noted that the payments would be funded through tariff revenues but clarified that “no decisions had been made” yet regarding final implementation.
{Matzav.com}
Chicago has seen a sharp and unprecedented drop in violent crime since the Department of Homeland Security initiated “Operation Midway Blitz,” a Trump-directed effort to dismantle networks of violent illegal aliens shielded by Illinois’ sanctuary laws.
Fresh DHS data shows that shootings have plunged by 35%, reaching their lowest level in four years. Robberies are down 41%, and carjackings have fallen a striking 48% since the campaign began in September. Homicides have decreased by 16%, while transit-related offenses have dropped 20% — a turnaround the agency called “a historic win in the fight against violent criminal illegal alien crime.”
“I am proud to announce that Chicago, Illinois, despite all of the radical opposition and obstruction we have from the Mayor and Governor, has seen Car Theft, Shootings, Robberies, Violent Crime, and everything else drop dramatically,” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, listing the improved statistics.
He continued, “And this is with just a small initial Federal Force, not the full ‘surge’ we have done in … Memphis. As we ramp up more assets, these numbers will continue to drop.”
Trump credited the success to federal resolve in the face of what he described as open hostility from local leadership. “This has been achieved despite the extraordinary resistance from Chicago and Illinois Radical Democrat ‘Leadership,’ and the constant Violent Leftwing Terrorism against ICE Officers and Federal Agents that Insurrectionist Democrat Officials refuse to stop or prosecute, including constant physical assault and attempted assassination,” he wrote.
The operation was named in memory of Katie Abraham, an Illinois resident who lost her life in a hit-and-run accident caused by an illegal alien. The initiative’s central goal was to apprehend violent offenders who had been shielded from deportation under policies supported by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“For decades, sanctuary policies exasperated the crime crisis in Chicago,” explained DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin. “Now, thanks to our brave DHS law enforcement, Chicago is experiencing a historic drop in violent crime. It’s common sense — when you remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country, crime rates plummet.”
Reports surfaced this week that Gregory Bovino, the senior U.S. Border Patrol official overseeing Operation Midway Blitz, might soon be reassigned. According to Reuters, Bovino could be transferred first to Charlotte, North Carolina, and later to New Orleans, where similar federal crackdowns are reportedly in development.
When asked by Newsmax whether Bovino’s departure from Chicago was imminent, DHS declined to comment. McLaughlin, however, dismissed talk that the initiative was ending.
She wrote on X: “We aren’t leaving Chicago.”
{Matzav.com}
The U.S. State Department delivered a blistering condemnation of Iran’s leadership, warning that decades of corruption, theft, and negligence have pushed the nation toward total collapse. The statement, issued in Farsi on the department’s official X account, painted a grim picture of a country unraveling under economic chaos and a spiraling environmental disaster.
“Iran is collapsing under the weight of the regime’s corruption and mismanagement. Economic instability, soaring inflation, and now a growing water crisis have led to nationwide water rationing, placing millions of families in Tehran at risk of potential evacuation,” the message declared.
The department accused Tehran of choosing to fund terror instead of feeding its own people. “Instead of responding to these urgent needs, the regime has this year smuggled $1 billion in hard currency to its terrorist proxy group Hezbollah. For this regime, financing terrorism and sowing instability in the region take precedence over meeting its people’s basic needs,” the statement continued.
It concluded with a scathing rebuke of Iran’s rulers, saying, “The Iranian people deserve leaders who care about their health, prosperity, and future – not a regime that sacrifices their well-being for its destructive aims.”
The warning comes amid one of the worst environmental emergencies Iran has faced in modern history. Nearly half of Tehran’s water reservoirs have been drained, forcing officials to cut water pressure each night to conserve supplies. President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned that unless substantial rainfall arrives by December, the capital could face formal water rationing — and even partial evacuation of residents.
At the Amir Kabir Dam, one of Tehran’s primary water sources, levels have fallen to a mere 8% of capacity. Other key reservoirs across the country tell a similar story. At least 19 major dams are now considered functionally dry, leaving major cities such as Mashhad and Isfahan struggling with dangerous shortages.
The crisis has been decades in the making, fueled by mismanagement, corruption, and poor long-term planning compounded by climate change. Officials have focused on short-term fixes, encouraging households to buy private storage tanks and limiting public water use. Critics, however, say these measures are cosmetic at best, accusing the regime of ignoring structural reforms and appointing unqualified political loyalists to oversee critical infrastructure.
While the government scrambles for emergency solutions, growing anger among Iranians reflects a deeper sense of despair — a belief that the regime’s obsession with exporting revolution has left its own citizens literally running dry.
{Matzav.com}
