Trump says Iran not ready to make ‘right deal,’ boasts of ‘total control’ over Hormuz
Times of Israel · LC · trust 32/100
A roughly 25-year-old man was shot on Route 40 near Kiryat Gat overnight and was rushed to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center in serious condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
Police say an investigation has been launched and southbound traffic has been halted on Route 40 from the Plugot Interchange, where the man was shot.
The shooting is of a “criminal” nature, rather than nationalist, police say.
US Central Command says it has redirected 68 commercial vessels in an update on its blockade of Iranian ports.
CENTCOM says its forces have also “disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure compliance” with the blockade.
U.S. Sailors observe an MH-60R Sea Hawk landing on the flight deck aboard USS Ross (DDG 71). Ross is one of more than 20 warships supporting the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of Aug. 21, U.S. forces have redirected 68 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure… pic.twitter.com/kpNJ8TzEqC
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 21, 2026
WASHINGTON — The US government has notified Congress of its plans to pay $850 million of the several billion it owes to the United Nations, the largest payment the Trump administration would make to the world body since it demanded sweeping reforms in exchange for continued support as its largest donor.
The State Department laid out its plans to transfer $725 million as part of its dues to the regular UN budget and $125 million toward UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to notifications sent to lawmakers this month and obtained by The Associated Press.
The US is behind on about $5 billion in dues related to its UN membership, with more than $2 billion owed toward the regular budget and $3 billion for peacekeeping operations, the United Nations says.
In February, the Trump administration made a single payment of $160 million shortly after UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the institution was facing “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules were overhauled or all 193 member nations paid their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas court slashes a $50 million judgment that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over his false claims that one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history was a hoax.
The Infowars founder can only be forced to pay about $6 million, the Texas Third Court of Appeals rules in a unanimous opinion, citing state laws that limit lawsuit damages.
The ruling does not affect a separate $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, where he was also found liable for defaming and causing emotional distress to relatives of the 20 first-graders and six educators killed in the Newtown shooting.
The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction, and led to him leaving his Infowars platform. For decades, he used the platform to push conspiracy theories about the United Nations, the federal government, gun control, and more.
Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has waged lengthy appeals in state and bankruptcy courts as his company faces liquidation. He remains on air after moving onto new websites and streaming platforms.
US President Donald Trump says he did not think that Iran was ready to make the “right deal,” and that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.
“It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump tells reporters when asked if US military options with Iran were limited.
“We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it, the land areas. So, they would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump adds.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down from his role by the end of the year after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Reuters cannot immediately verify the report.
Driscoll’s departure would leave the Army without a Senate-confirmed leader as the US looks to resolve a war it began alongside Israel nearly six months ago.
It would also add to upheaval at all levels of leadership at the Pentagon under President Donald Trump’s second term, including the firing of US Army Chief of Staff Randy George in April, the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the chief of naval operations and Air Force vice chief of staff.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Driscoll and his family this summer moved out of the house reserved for the Army Secretary.
Driscoll’s spokesperson does not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria says it had requested to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons on the anniversary of a 2013 chemical attack on a suburb of the capital Damascus.
In a joint statement with France, Syria announces its bid to join the partnership of dozens of countries, launched by Paris in January 2018, a day after reports of another chemical weapons attack in an area held by rebels fighting against former ruler Bashar al-Assad.
France welcomes the step as “a clear demonstration of Syria’s commitment to strengthening accountability and justice and combating impunity” following its more than decade-long civil war.
In August 2013, the Syrian army under Assad was accused of using chemical weapons to target areas then under rebel control.
According to US intelligence and rights groups, more than 1,400 men, women and children died as a result.
With Syria at the height of its civil war, the Assad government denied responsibility, but agreed to hand over its chemical arsenal in order to avert…
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