NICE CATCH: Exiled Yemen government claims to seize 750 tons of Iran-supplied Houthi weapons.

For years, the US Navy and other Western naval forces have seized Iranian arms being sent to the Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital since 2014 and have been attacking ships in the Red Sea over the Israel-Hamas war.

The seizure announced Wednesday, however, marked the first major interdiction conducted by the National Resistance Force, a group of fighters allied to Tariq Saleh, a nephew of Yemen’s late strongman leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Houthis and Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, which the National Resistance Force said happened in late June.

Yesterday: Sirens sound in Dead Sea area following missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis.

HE DID SAY TO SELL YOUR CLOAK AND BUY A SWORD: ‘Did Jesus pack heat?’: Progressive professor who censored Christian student faces backlash.

DEMOCRAT POLS ARE AFRAID MAMDANI WILL WIN, BUT THEY’RE MORE AFRAID TO OPENLY OPPOSE HIM: Hochul Tries to Soothe New Yorkers Over Mamdani. “When the working Joe or Jane declares New York City to be unlivable and starts making their way south, that’s no big loss. Conversely, when high-earners and corporations start looking for the exit, that’s a whole new ballgame, sports fans.”

CHANGE: NSF cancels $1.1B in grants, most tied to DEI programs.

DECOUPLING: China’s Shipbuilding Market Share Plummets as U.S. Port Fees Loom.

“In the first half of 2025, China’s share of newbuilding contracting fell to 52% from 72% in the previous six months. Growing concerns over USTR port fees on Chinese ships in US ports likely contributed to a decrease in contracting in China. This trend was further amplified by a drop in global ship contracting and a shift in the types of ships being ordered,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.

The upcoming USTR port fees, scheduled to take effect in October 2025, will affect both Chinese owners and operators, as well as ships built in China. The policy does include exemptions for smaller Chinese-built vessels based on sector-specific criteria and for short haul voyages.

According to BIMCO’s analysis, global newbuilding orders measured in Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT) fell 54% year-over-year during the first half of 2025.

But: “China’s dominant position in shipbuilding is unlikely to significantly change soon, but the country could face increasing competition in the medium term. Countries like the Philippines and Vietnam, already small-scale producers of bulkers and tankers, may boost their output, benefiting from low labor costs. Meanwhile, although the US and India currently have limited shipbuilding capacity, both governments are actively working to strengthen their domestic industries. However, even if they succeed, it will take time for them to scale up production.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dear NPR and PBS — The ‘Public’ Shouldn’t Have to Fund Anything. “We now have to see if House Republicans can be functional or if we will have to endure another ‘herding cats while drunk and on stilts’ affair. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I have high hopes for this one.”

AN UNIMPEACHABLE SOURCE: Hunter Biden goes scorched earth on Democrats, gives blunt reason why party lost big in 2024.

Former first son Hunter Biden faulted Democrats’ disloyalty to his father for the electoral drubbing they suffered last year and President Trump’s return to power.

The younger Biden argued that Democrats squandered their advantages of incumbency and “an incredibly successful administration” — despite its record-low approval numbers — when they turned against his father in dramatic fashion last summer.

“We lost the last election because we did not remain loyal to the leader of the party,” Hunter Biden said on former Democratic National Committee boss Jaime Harrison’s new podcast, according to excerpts.

Is he high?

MAYBE IT ALWAYS WAS A PARTISAN MACHINE: GOP Bill Will Strip Largest Teachers Union Of Fed Charter: ‘It Has Spiraled Into A Partisan Machine.’ “The NEA has morphed into a mouthpiece for left wing extremism.”

Maybe it always was a mouthpiece for left wing extremism.

READER FAVORITE: ACEMAGIC Laptop Computer with Windows 11,5000 mAh Battery. #CommissionEarned

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into “ChatGPT Psychosis.”

As the hype around AI has risen to a fever pitch, many people have started using ChatGPT or another chatbot as a therapist, often after they were unable to afford a human one.

Whether this is a good idea is extremely dubious. Earlier this month, a team of Stanford researchers published a study that examined the ability of both commercial therapy chatbots and ChatGPT to respond in helpful and appropriate ways to situations in which users are suffering mental health crises. The paper found that all the chatbot… failed to consistently distinguish between users’ delusions and reality…

“It’s f*cking predatory… it just increasingly affirms your bullshit and blows smoke up your ass so that it can get you f*cking hooked on wanting to engage with it,” said one of the women whose husband was involuntarily committed following a ChatGPT-tied break with reality.

As Jim Treacher writes, “Having played around with Elon Musk’s Grok A.I. for a few months now, that’s one of the things I realized early on. ‘You know what? This thing is just telling me what I want to hear.’ Which is a nice feeling, but that’s all it is. The user is being manipulated, by design. People are now learning the hard way that these machines are programmed to give an answer, not necessarily the answer. They’re incredibly sophisticated, but they literally don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know anything.”

HOT! HOT! :  At the Daily Signal:  “Congress Keep Pushing Colleges to Discriminate–But the Fight Back Has Finally Begun.”  We’re rolling.  My organization will be moving to intervene shortly.

AFTER THE USAID REVELATIONS, I MIGHT BE SHOCK-PROOF: The Extent to Which the State Department Wasted Your Money Was Truly Shocking. “They couldn’t tell you how many people worked here. It’s sort of scary as a taxpayer and as a public servant to think that we don’t even know how many employees we have. This is a national security agency, you know. Who are these people?”

WTF IS WRONG WITH GEORGE MASON? George Mason Faculty Members Asked Their President To Denounce Anti-Semitism Like He Did Islamophobia. He Declined, Emails Show.

IT’S COME TO THIS: Steve Miller Band Cancels All Tour Dates Due to Recent Weather Disasters.

The calamitous weather of recent years has taken many lives, caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage and is changing the climate and economies of countries all over the globe. But the Steve Miller Band’s 2025 North American tour may be the first to be canceled due to the ongoing trend of climate change-inducted weather disasters, rather than any single event.

The band has canceled all 31 scheduled dates of its American tour, which was slated to begin Aug. 15 in Bethel, NY and traverse the entire country before concluding in Anaheim, Calif. on Nov. 8.

As Joel Engel tweets, “Also, climate-change-induced tepid ticket sales.” But if that’s Miller’s excuse, does he have any guilt over how his nearly 60 years of playing stadiums and hockey arenas and the massive amount of equipment his band tours with has impacted the environment?

Flashback to 2019: David Gilmour’s Guitar Auction Nets $21m For Climate Change Charity.

As I noted at the time: Pink Floyd’s last North American tour, in 1994, played in many of America’s largest outdoor stadiums. According to the “Pink Floyd North American 1994 Production manual and contract,” the Floyd’s tour involved 28 semis, each with a 48-foot long trailer, plus eight crew buses, five rental cars, runner vans and cars, and five vans for the band itself from the hotel to the stadium, along with up to seven golf carts at the arena. The promoter at each venue was required to provide nine forklifts, one cherry picker, one 35-ton mobile crane and one 60-ton mobile crane. “A supply of fuel for all of the above machinery must be kept onsite and topped up as required.” The production manual noted that “The band party will comprise approximately forty (40) persons who will arrive either on board their private, charter aircraft, or via commercial airlines. Either a fifty (50) seat luxury coach or four (4) twelve (12) seat mini-vans will be required to meet the plane and transport the band party to and from their hotel. A small truck will also be required with driver to transport the band party’s luggage to and from the hotel and airport. Should the size of the band party increase, Pink Floyd reserve the right to increase the quantity of the aforementioned transportation accordingly.” The band carried its own generator to power its massive lighting, laser, and amplification rig. The tour’s production manual demanded that the promoter have access to a 24-hour emergency 800-KVA generator.

I really don’t want to hear another word about Glenn Reynolds’ carbon footprint.

FRANK MIELE: Pushing Back Against the Big Medicaid Lie.

To summarize, here are the talking points that every Republican candidate for Congress must master if they hope to beat back Democrat distortions:

1. Republicans voted to increase Medicaid spending over the next 10 years by 20%.

2. Republicans voted to preserve Medicaid for the needy by making sure that everyone using the program’s valuable resources is truly needy – and eligible.

3. Republicans voted to create an economy where more people can get jobs that provide high-quality health insurance. Emphasize this: Jobs are good.

4. Republicans treat Medicaid recipients with dignity, asking them to follow simple rules to qualify for the benefit, rather than treating them as helpless wards of the state.

5. Republicans are bending the curve downward on the national debt. Even if the CBO is right that the debt will increase by $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years, that increase is only 20% of what it was over the previous 10 years. And the Trump tax cuts are expected to stimulate the economy, so the national debt will actually decrease.

Those will do for a start. Remember, the Big Beautiful Bill is the codification of the agenda that President Trump ran on in 2024. It’s not tricky. It’s not nefarious. And if it is unpopular, that’s only because Democrats have been lying about it. Now, it’s up to Republicans to fight back against the Big Medicaid Lie, or else pay the price for their silence.

Maybe keep those talking points handy.

LOSING ELECTIONS? BAN YOUR OPPOSITION. German Social Democrat Party Scrambling to Get AfD Banned.

Germany needs a bloody popular revolution. And will get one, if this keeps up.

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A MUCH BIGGER BLOG: NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher on CNN: “As far as the accusations that we’re biased, I’d stand up and say, ‘Please show me a story that concerns you.’”

Here you go:

Your Honor, I’d like to enter these into evidence. https://t.co/qCdJF745dC pic.twitter.com/RjZYioO9NV

— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) July 17, 2025

In addition to the examples posted by Siraj and Sen. Kennedy, there’s this recent Twitter/X thread by Drew Holden:

🧵Thread🧵

I’m not sure people realize just how egregious some of NPR’s “journalism” has been. Amid the debate about defunding the network, I wanted to walk down memory lane to revisit some of its worst coverage.

There’s a lot. ⤵️

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) April 15, 2025

And:

● Perfect Timing! Here’s a Propaganda Parade From NPR and PBS Just As Trump’s EO Ends Gov’t Funding.

—Twitchy, May 2nd, 2025.

● Debunking NPR’s Bizarre ‘In Defense of Looting’ Interview.

—Instapundit.com, September 2nd, 2020.

● NPR’s notorious right-wing bias.

—Julian Sanchez, Reason.com, December 15th, 2005.

Actually, just typing “NPR Bias” into the Instapundit search engine will bring back plenty of results, as will typing “Katherine Maher” into the search engine.

An absolute clinic from @realBrandonGill here. pic.twitter.com/tEA0CAwhT0

— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) March 26, 2025

Related: Give Us a Break! PBS Chief Paula Kerger Pretends to Not Know About Her Outlet’s Well-Documented Bias.

Grok chimes in:

– "Project 2025: What a second Trump term could mean for media and technology policies" (Jul 2024, portrays conservative plan negatively)

– "It seems like Project 2025 is everywhere. But what is it?" (Jul 2024, critical of GOP roadmap)

– "House votes to kill funding for public…

— Grok (@grok) July 16, 2025

TROLLING LIKE TRUMP: ‘Ready to Flee NYC?’ Ramaswamy Has a $50K Suggestion.

ARE WE IN FOR A WILD VOLCANIC TIME?   Major Earthquake Rocks Alaska’s Coast; Region Placed Under a Tsunami Advisory.

IT’S GOOD WHEN YOU ENJOY YOUR JOB:  The DHS Was Feeling It When They Took This Ex-Biden Official to the Cleaners Over Immigration.

INTERESTING AND YET FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME (OR MY HUSBAND) THEY MIGHT EVENTUALLY BE WORTH IT:  Why your eye surgeon wants you to get a multifocal lens that Medicare won’t cover for your cataracts.6

THE REST AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION:  Poll: A near majority of Americans are now disgusted with the Ivy league.

THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE GRIND QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND:  Feds charge 3 current or former Louisiana police chiefs in an alleged visa fraud scheme.

WELL, THAT WILL UPSET WINNIE THE XI:  B-52s Escorted by Korean and Japanese Fighters as Defense Chiefs Meet.

NO, WE CAN’T. WE PARTICULARLY CAN’T TRUST THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION THAT HAD CUSTODY OF IT FOR FOUR YEARS:  Can You TRUST The Government On Jeffrey Epstein’s Client List?  [Video]