1 Iran Conflict: US Launches More Strikes On Targets In Iran
The U.S. military launched a new round of airstrikes on targets inside Iran early this morning local time, a day after President Trump vowed to hit Iran "hard" and hours after he suggested talks were going nowhere. CENTCOM said in a post on X that it struck "multiple targets in Iran in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression." The strikes, which officials described as self-defensive, targeted ammunition depots, command-and-control nodes, and military warehouses. The overnight strikes followed a round yesterday where the U.S. hit nearly 20 Iranian targets in retaliation for Iran's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait earlier this week. Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran has "taken too long to negotiate a deal" and "now they will have to pay the price." The Trump administration continued to maintain that the ceasefire announced in April remains nominally in effect, though both sides have exchanged fire repeatedly since then.
2 President Trump Says "I Love The Inflation" As Annual Rate Hits Three-Year High
President Trump gave what might be one of the year's most politically damaging sound bites yesterday when he told reporters in the Oval Office he actually loves rising inflation. When asked if he was concerned by new government data showing May's annual inflation rate hit 4.2-percent, the highest since April 2023, Trump didn't just brush the question aside. "No, I love it," he said. "I love the inflation. You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, it's going to come down like a rock." He then made a surprising disclosure, saying the U.S. has "been taking out millions of barrels of oil" from Iran in covert nighttime operations. Energy prices, driven by the Iran war's disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, accounted for more than 60-percent of the overall monthly increase in yesterday’s Consumer Price Index report. Gasoline is up 40.5-percent year-over-year, electricity rose 5.9-percent, and natural gas 3-percent.
3 Southern Baptist Convention Votes Overwhelmingly To Ban Churches With Female Pastors
Thousands of Southern Baptist Convention delegates voted 3-to-1 yesterday at their annual meeting in Orlando to advance a constitutional amendment formally banning churches with women pastors from the denomination, with the 6,028 to 2,026 vote exceeding the required two-thirds majority. The amendment would require the expulsion of any church that "affirms, appoints, or endorses a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer." It will need a second two-thirds vote at next year's annual meeting to become part of the constitution. The SBC already has a faith statement opposing women pastors and has expelled churches for it, but this would enshrine the ban structurally.
