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X’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has begun rolling out its first beta version of Grok 4.20, which Elon Musk and X say will provide not only better performance and new features but also the least ‘politically correct’ platform in terms of liberal bias.  Over the past week, users on X, including Musk, have been touting search results from Grok showing ‘non woke’ answers to questions about popular cultural issues and figures compared to results from...

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a defensive measure, saying, ‘Israel was determined to act with or without us’ following a classified briefing on Monday evening. Johnson told reporters after the briefing that Israel viewed Iran’s capabilities as an existential threat and was prepared to conduct operations regardless of U.S. participation. He said Israel’s assessment shaped American deliberations, and it was ‘determined to act in their own defense here,...

Iran is conducting ‘indiscriminate’ targeting of vessels across the Gulf of Oman and the wider Persian Gulf following the launch of U.S.-Israeli strikes under Operation Epic Fury, according to a maritime intelligence firm. Windward AI noted the sanctioned Palau-flagged tanker Skylight was hit as the conflict across the Middle East entered its second day, with the tanker also holding Iranian nationals among the crew and ties to the regime. ‘Analysis of vessel affiliations, targeting patterns,...

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that some traditional U.S. allies are ‘hemming and hawing about the use of force’ as Washington presses forward with its campaign against Iran, raising fresh questions about NATO cohesion at a moment of escalation. Spain has refused U.S. permission to use certain bases for strikes on Iran, calling for de-escalation and adherence to international law. Turkey has criticized the operation and warned of broader regional destabilization, while President Recep...

As Democrats line up to denounce President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint strikes on Iran’s ruling regime, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is doing the opposite, forcefully defending the operation and rebuking members of his own party who call it reckless. The Pennsylvania Democrat, who has increasingly staked out unapologetic pro-Israel positions, has openly questioned why critics from both the far-right and far-left are making hay over the strikes, arguing the operation...

The Islamic Republic’s opaque and fractured governing system following the killing of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, selected radical cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council on Saturday. Ben Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Israel, said, ‘His name was brought up in the last two or three years. He is not a kind of politician but is part of exporting the revolution from the propaganda...

First lady Melania Trump presided over the United Nations Security Council meeting Monday, declaring that the United States ‘stands with all of the children throughout the world,’ in a historic speech calling for ‘peace through education,’ amid the U.S. military involvement in Iran. The speech marked the first time a first lady from any country — and the first time a sitting U.S. first lady — presided over the Security Council as its members consider education,...