Senator Mitch McConnell hospitalized on Sunday morning

  Senator Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital Sunday morning and is receiving excellent care, according to a spokesperson.

No details have been released about why he was admitted or his current condition.

McConnell was previously hospitalized in February after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Over the years he has had several reported falls at the Capitol, including one that kept him away from the Senate in December 2024.

https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/14/senator-mitch-mcconnell-hospitalized/

'Iran’s joint military commander says forces ready to strike enemy'

 

Iran’s joint military commander Major General Ali Abdollahi said the country’s armed forces were “finger on the trigger” and ready to strike “the heart of the enemy,” state news agency IRNA reported.

Abdollahi said Iran’s combat, defensive, missile, naval, drone and air defense capabilities had been upgraded under the orders of the country's supeme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

“The sacred ideal of the liberation of Jerusalem and revenge for the blood of Ali Khamenei will never be forgotten," Abdollahi said.

He added that Iran was waiting for the “smallest mistake” from the enemy to “teach them an unforgettable lesson.”

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202606139149

'Iran's Quds Force chief says Hezbollah victory is near'

Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force commander said Hezbollah was nearing a major victory over Israel.

"The people of the world recognize Lebanon's independence through the greatness of Hezbollah's sacrifices, not through the dependence of some rulers," Esmail Qaani said in a message published by Iranian media.

"Let the whole world look with more open eyes. The victory of the great resistance of the heroic Hezbollah over the vile Zionists is near, God willing," he added.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202606139149

IDF says it killed senior Hezbollah commander Ali Musa Daqduq

 

The Israeli military said it killed senior Hezbollah commander Ali Musa Daqduq, whom it accused of playing a central role in attacks and combat operations against Israel and its forces.

The Israel Defense Forces said Daqduq had held five senior positions in Hezbollah.

The military said Daqduq orchestrated the kidnapping and killing of five American soldiers in 2007.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202606139149

Iran MPs seek vote on any possible US agreement

 

A spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s health committee said lawmakers insist that any possible agreement between Iran and the United States be submitted to parliament and approved after expert and legal reviews.

Salman Eshaghi said any possible agreement must be submitted in accordance with the constitution.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202606139149

Gonorrhea Rates Soaring In NYC, Mamdani Rushes Free Chocolate Condoms To Citizens Of Big Apple!

 by Eric Utter via American Thinker,

So what's the priority of New York City's Mamdani administration these days?

FrontPage Magazine reported:

Gonorrhea rates in New York City have more than doubled in a decade and syphilis is ‘surging’ statewide. Mamdani’s Department of Health has responded to this crisis by rushing a free supply of lubricant and chocolate flavored condoms.

Beam me up, Scotty.

FPM quoted NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga as stating,

“Providing high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare services is a priority for the Mamdani Administration. Making safer sex products more accessible to the most affected and vulnerable communities is a critical public health need.”

Well, it’s good to have priorities. But are chocolate-flavored condoms safer than regular old garden-variety ones? I’m guessing not, but I couldn’t tell you from experience.

FPM again:

Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, a Mamdani ally, explained that the free chocolate flavored condoms were necessary because "inequities persist among women, low-income households, and Black and Latino New Yorkers.

Women, low-income households, and black and Latino New Yorkers are adversely and disproportionately affected by a relative dearth of chocolate-flavored condoms? Is New York a den of iniquity inequity?

Unfortunately for virtue-signaling do-gooders, the free chocolaty condoms are coming from Karex, a Malaysian company that is apparently the largest manufacturer of condoms on Earth.

Why is this unfortunate?

According to The Telegraph, some Karex workers said they are put up in cramped and undignified conditions, with as many as a dozen housed in damp and unhygienic dormitories.

Workers at one site are allegedly granted just half of a steel bunkbed, with no mattress — and only have access to a filthy, broken toilet. And for these “amenities,” about 12 dollars a month is deducted from their wages. The Telegraph reported that one Karex employee said “sometimes poisonous snakes come in” to the dorms.

Not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.

“Forget the crime! Forget the fact that the city is broke! Chocolate condoms for everybody!” does not seem like a winning slogan for Mamdani … but what do I know?

Ask not what you can do for the city, ask what Mayor Mamdani can do to — I mean for -- you!”

I’m sure someone in the Mamdani administration will tout the mayor’s actions thusly: “These delectable prophylactics will be generously distributed, free of cost, to all genders with a penis … and to all those that love them! Mayor Mamdani is hard at work to make your lives better!”

Considering the shape the city is in, this may be the biggest cover up in the history of the Big Apple.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/gonorrhea-rate-are-soaring-nyc-mamdani-rushes-free-chocolate-condoms-citizens-big-apple

UK Intercepts 'Russian Shadow' Fleet Vessel in Unprecedented English Channel Commando Boarding

 British Royal Marine Commandos conducted a high-stakes midnight raid in the English Channel on Sunday, boarding and seizing a sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker.

The elite UK forces conducted a fast-roping raid onto the massive crude carrier in the dead of night and into the morning daylight hours. While there's nothing new in terms of an 'illicit' Russian tanker seizure in European waters, it is rare or even unprecedented that such an action occurred in the English Channel, so close to Britain's shores.

UK military image: the Smyrtos boarding

According to the UK Ministry of Defense, it was a  six-hour operation and a massive display of force involving a flotilla of navy vessels - including the frigate HMS Sutherland - and a fleet of aircraft, most notably heavy-lift Chinook helicopters.

The target has since been identified as the Smyros - a vessel allegedly flying under the radar in an effort to bypass Western embargoes.

According to the MoD statement, it was indeed a significant first:

"In the first U.K.-led operation of its kind, the vessel SMYRTOS was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia's best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fueling its barbaric war with Ukraine."

France has been involved in several of these interdictions and boardings, but not yet the UK, until now. The captured vessel now being escorted to an anchorage off the south coast of England, where it will remain under heavy guard and surveillance.

The UK defense ministry in follow-up sated that "Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin's illegal war." The statement added that this was done in "close coordination" with French authorities.

Russian "shadow fleet" methods have relied on constantly switching registries and disabling AIS transponders to avoid tracking.

The last several seized tankers - done by France which is up to four captures at this point - were flying flags of African nations, and these interdictions have stretched back through last year. 

Watch: Royal Marine Commandos board the sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tanker SMYRTOS in the Channel, in the first UK-led operation of its kind, backed by HMS Sutherland, HMS Ledbury and an RAF P-8. The vessel is now held off the south coast as investigations continue. pic.twitter.com/omTnGlh3gk

— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) June 14, 2026

In some instances, Russia has been sending military escorts - which of course has seen French and European militaries hold off executing any action. But unprotected ones are clearly exposed, and European militaries can taken action on these at will.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uk-intercepts-russian-shadow-fleet-vessel-unprecedented-english-channel-commando