US Debt Crosses $40 Trillion Mark for the First Time

US debt has more than doubled since January 2017, as rising entitlement spending, widening deficits and mounting interest costs intensify pressure on Washington’s fiscal outlook.

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Israel Knew There Was No Turkish Buildup at Syrian Airbase, It Attacked Regardless

Damascus explicitly told Israel that Abu Al-Duhur was being rehabilitated for Syrian use and would not host Turkish military, but Israel struck the airbase anyway.

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Bessent:

We've got a spike in oil prices today that I don't really understand.

The U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on Hezbollah, re-designating it under a terrorism authority to emphasize its ties to Iran’s IRGC-Quds Force.

Washington also sanctioned 10 people accused of smuggling cash for Hezbollah.

BREAKING: SDF chief Mazloum Abdi declares the integration of SDF and Asayish forces into Syria’s Defense and Interior Ministries complete.

BIG: The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $4.5 billion sale of up to four KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft and related equipment to Qatar.

The package includes eight PW4062 turbofan engines, radar warning receivers and other equipment.

Federal authorities arrested Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, accusing her of planning to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill state senators.

According to the FBI, Bowie pledged allegiance to ISIS, repeatedly surveilled the Capitol, sought help making explosives, and discussed disguising a bomb in a food-delivery bag.

She is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

US Army Scraps Futuristic Drone Assault Battalion in Favor of Airborne Infantry

The Army will end its dedicated drone-assault mission of a 600-soldier battalion created in January to test unmanned warfare, returning to its core airborne infantry role.

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The USS Abraham Lincoln began its journey home to San Diego on Thursday after a nine-month deployment, much of it supporting U.S. operations against Iran.

Its roughly 5,000 sailors spent nearly all of the 272-day deployment at sea, amid reports of supply shortages, water and plumbing problems, and worsening conditions aboard the carrier.

The Japan-based USS George Washington has replaced the Lincoln in the Middle East.

The Lincoln now faces a roughly 13,000-mile journey home, expected to take four to five weeks.

Source: NYT

British Zoologist Accused of Plotting to Cover Up Covid-19 Lab Leak

Peter Daszak, who worked on bat coronaviruses in Wuhan when the pandemic broke out, plotted with a US health official to bury the Covid-19 lab-leak narrative, court documents allege.

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Avoid Being Alone With Kubasik: L3Harris Had Complaints on CEO Years Before Exit

Female employees warned about Chris Kubasik’s conduct years before his removal; one even filed a harassment complaint that wasn't disclosed to all L3Harris board members.

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Netanyahu is holding a high-level security meeting with defense and intelligence chiefs to discuss potential developments, with a particular focus on Syria and tensions with Türkiye.

Source: i24

NEW: Ukrainian intelligence confirms Russia has received North Korea's heavier Hwasong-11C (KN-30) ballistic missile for the first time.

As of July, Russia held approximately 50 North Korean missiles of three types: KN-23, KN-24, and now the KN-30.

A North Korean missile crew of roughly 90 personnel has deployed to Russia's Voronezh Oblast to operate up to six launchers.

North Korea claims the KN-30 carries a 2,500 kg warhead, though analysts consider this likely exaggerated.

JD Vance on Iran:

If we can get enough oil and gas out to give some Americans some ease at the pump, some ease on energy prices, meanwhile, the Iranians are punished for shooting at commercial ships.

That just applies a lot of economic pressure to them and that changes their calculus for, you know, what kind of a deal they want to make, what kind of arrangement they want to have with the United States of America.

Do they want to have their economy strangled for the rest of time or do they want to have a better relationship with the West?

That's always been the option that the president has put to these guys.

JD Vance on Iran:

We're kind of now in a new phase where the most effective tool that we have is the economic pressure that we can apply to them.

And this is a delicate dance because we apply economic pressure to them. They're going to try to apply economic pressure to us.

But what has been true over the last couple of weeks is they felt a lot more pressure than we have.

We're going to keep that going because we think that's the best way.

JD Vance on Iran:

We have to go back to the very beginning. The president said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Well, their nuclear facilities are destroyed, but the question is, do they try to rebuild them?

And so, fundamentally, what we're trying to do is create a changed reality on the ground where not just we can say with confidence their facilities have been destroyed, but we can also say with confidence they're never going to try to rebuild.

JD Vance on Charlie Kirk:

Mikey, who was Charlie's chief of staff, was the person who called me and told me that he thought Charlie actually had a chance when he was in the hospital.

You know, of course, that didn't work out.