"But we had to put out that flame. We had to put out that horrible flyer, really, that was taking place in Iran. We had to do it. Otherwise, you want to see a problem, give them a nuclear weapon, they'd use it the first day. You want to see a problem, it would use it the first day. It's not going to happen," Trump said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that the Strait of Hormuz "will not remain open" if the US naval blockade of Iran continues.
"The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, and all seven claims are false. With such falsehoods, they did not win the war, and they certainly will not achieve anything through negotiations either," Ghalibaf wrote on X. In addition, he reiterated that the traffic through the waterway will be possible only via Iran's designated route and its permission. "Whether the Strait is open or closed, and the rules governing it, will be determined in the field—not on social media," he declared.
"The media war and the shaping of public opinion are an important part of the conflict, and the Iranian nation will not be influenced by these tactics," Ghalibaf concluded. Earlier today, Iran reopened the strait to commercial shipping after the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-threatens-Hormuz-closure-if-US-blockade-stays/66096108
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk freight index, which monitors rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, surged to its highest in more than four months on Friday and logged a weekly rise, as vessels across the board gained.
• The main Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up 44 points, or 1.7%, at 2,567, its highest level since early December 2025.
• The index was up for the eleventh straight session and rose 16.6% for the week. This is its biggest weekly rise since the end of January.
• The capesize index added 102 points, or about 2.5%, to 4,128, its highest level in more than four months. The index logged a 24.4% weekly rise.
• Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes, including iron ore and coal, were up $920 at $33,932.
• Dalian iron ore futures edged higher on Friday, as investors weighed potential supply disruptions in Australia against tempered demand stemming from China's environmental curbs in a key steel-making province. [IRONORE/]
• "Freight markets show Pacific-led strength in Capesize," Kpler said in a note dated Wednesday.
• The panamax index added 5 points, or around 0.3%, to 1,975, marking the highest level since early March and logging a 6.5% weekly gain.
• Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, increased by $43 to $17,773.
• The supramax index gained 17 points, or 1.2%, to 1,415. It posted a weekly rise of 8.2%.
https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/baltic-index-rises-over-four-month-high-gains-across-vessel/
The sky-high cost of living in San Diego has forced some local workers to rent home across the border in dirt-cheap Tijuana while commuting between the two cities.
Amy McEfee, who’s employed as a warehouse stock clerk in San Diego, used to pay $1,200 a month for a room in a house with four roommates in the Southern California city.
Now, she pays just $400 for a one-bedroom apartment in the Mexican border town — commuting each day back into the US for work.
“I’m not like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have a better life here,'” she told journalist Helen Zhao of her decision to relocate to Tijuana.
“I’m [also] not like, ‘My gosh, the phone bill’s due, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for it.’ Yeah, those days are gone.”
McEfee wakes up each workday and takes an Uber to the U.S.-Mexico border, which she crosses on foot before riding the San Diego Trolley to her job.
The 40-something clerk said the transition has made her less anxious.
“When I was living in San Diego, it was a constant,” she said. “I was always worried about my car breaking down. I was worried about having gas to get to work.”
Vered Familiar, who works as a shipyard safety technician in San Diego, used to fork over $2,100 for a one-bedroom apartment in the city.
Now, she pays just $550 for a five-bedroom spread in Tijuana.
“I was trying not to get in debt,” said Familiar, 27, who grew up in Tijuana and moved back this year. “I was trying to live in the bare minimum and I couldn’t do it.”
Zachary Gabriel, a manufacturing technician, said he starts his commute at 2 a.m. each workday so he can avoid the long lines at the border to make it to work in San Diego by 6 a.m.
He said he had no choice but to make the move to Tijuana.
“This is survival for me. I am the sole provider for my wife and my children at a minimum,” the 35-year-old said. “I have nobody to lean back on.”
The median rent in San Diego is $3,100 per month, with prices topping out at $7,500 in tony enclaves like Jolla. It ranked as the ninth-most expensive city in the country last year.
Meanwhile, Californians in general pay top dollar to live in the Golden State — making it the most expensive for cost of living in the US, according to US News & World Report.
Despite low rents in Tijuana, the surrounding state of Baja California is under a level 3 travel advisory from the State Department, which advises travelers to reconsider traveling there due to threats “terrorism, crime, and kidnapping.”
Tijuana itself is known for having one of the highest murder rates in the world, recording 1,807 homicides in 2024. San Diego recorded just 71 homicides the same year.
The deaths or disappearances of 11 top US scientists and researchers is a matter of urgent national importance, a member of the House Oversight Committee insisted Friday.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said his office had already been eyeing some of the “too coincidental” disappearances a year before President Trump told reporters Thursday that he had ordered an investigation.
The lawmaker argued the fate of the scientists is almost “certainly” linked to the access some had to classified aerospace, defense and UFO information — and may involve bad actors from China, Russia or Iran.
“This is a rallying call to pay attention to this issue and make sure that our nation’s top scientists are safe and secure,” Burlison told “Fox & Friends.”
“This is too coincidental, and so we have to be investigating this. We need to have our nation’s top investigators, the FBI and every agency looking into this matter.”
Some of the scientists, Burlison noted, “literally just disappeared” without a trace — including Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, who vanished in February after Burlison said he tried to contact him twice about his research into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) — government-speak for UFOs.
Investigators claimed McCasland had experienced “mental fog” before disappearing from his home in Albuquerque, NM.
The retired general had worked in top positions pertaining to space research and acquisition, with his name even appearing in the WikiLeaks dump of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails, with former Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge claiming to have conversed with him about UAPs.
In many cases, the congressman continued, these scientists “felt some form of threat” and “left all of their devices at home” before they dropped out of sight.
“This is not normal,” Burlison said on Fox. “These are some of the most advanced scientists, researchers in our nation, some of the most important people for national security efforts. And they all just mysteriously disappeared.”
Burlison’s call for “bipartisan support” for a federal probe into the concerning cases comes after another scientist’s mysterious death came under scrutiny Thursday, NewsNation reported.
Amy Eskridge, 34, who was involved in extensive research into anti-gravity technology, UFOs and extraterrestrial life, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at her home in Huntsville, Ala. in 2022, according to the Daily Mail.
Her death was ruled a suicide and no public information was released.
Before her death, Eskridge had launched a research company, “The Institute for Exotic Science” in order to create a “public-facing persona to disclose anti-gravity technology.”
She chillingly said that she had started the company because “if you stick your neck out in private… they will bury you, they will burn down your house while you’re sleeping in your bed and it won’t even make the news.”
Eskridge revealed in a 2020 interview that she had plans to disclose information about UFOs and extraterrestrials to the public — and was receiving threats as a result.
“I need to disclose soon, man. I need to publish soon because it’s like escalating. It’s getting more and more aggressive,” she said.
“This has been going on for like four or five years, and over the past 12 months, it’s been escalating, like more aggressive, more invasive digging through my underwear drawer and sexual threats.”
Eskridge partnered with retired British intelligence officer Franc Milburn to investigate the alleged harassment, according to the Daily Mail.
Milburn, who submitted his findings to Congress in 2023, concluded that Eskridge did not kill herself and at one point was attacked by a “directed energy weapon” that burned her body with microwaves.
The other missing or dead scientists include:
While widespread theories about the researchers and their fate have spread online, officials have not identified any connection between those deaths and disappearances.
Trump announced Thursday that his administration would provide the public with answers in the next few days.
“The White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X Friday.
“No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them.”
A National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) spokesperson told the Post it “is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter.”
