00:00The United States launched fresh waves of airstrikes against Iran Wednesday,
00:04while Tehran is threatening to shut down not just the Strait of Hormuz,
00:07but other major energy shipping routes across the Middle East.
00:11The latest U.S. strikes began early Wednesday morning and again Wednesday afternoon,
00:15with Central Command saying American forces targeted Iranian military capabilities
00:19that are used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
00:22The escalation comes just one day after the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
00:27According to the Pentagon, two commercial vessels attempting to leave Iran have already been intercepted.
00:33Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed
00:37until what it called the end of America's evil.
00:40The regime also warned it could target other critical energy corridors,
00:44including the Bab el-Mandev Strait near Yemen,
00:47a vital shipping lane that handles about a trillion dollars in global trade each year.
00:51On top of all that, the rhetoric inside Iran is growing even more aggressive.
00:54A former Iranian foreign minister and current member of parliament called for a ground assault
00:59on a U.S. military base in the region to capture 100 American service members
01:03and take them back to Iran as hostages.
01:06Meanwhile, the back and forth in the Strait of Hormuz continues.
01:09The U.S. says Iran attacked seven commercial ships in the past week,
01:13leaving multiple mariners dead, missing, or injured.
01:16Iran, for its part, says it fired warning shots at ships that did not use the routes it approves.
01:21The renewed fighting has sent oil prices higher once again,
01:25raising new concerns about global energy supplies and the risk of an even broader regional conflict.
01:31President Trump addressed all things Iran and a whole host of other topics
01:35at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit on Wednesday.
01:38He was asked by Fox Business about Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
01:42and whether they're the ones standing in the way of finally ending this war.
01:45You came to the conclusion that you couldn't negotiate with the IRGC.
01:49Does that mean that you might wipe them out like you did ISIS?
01:52Yeah, it does.
01:54We will see what's happening.
01:55We received a call just as I was coming here that they want to meet.
01:59They always want to meet.
02:00They're nasty people, but they want to make a deal.
02:03I can tell you they want to make a deal.
02:05The Post's White House reporter Emily Gooden was at the event
02:08and filled me in on what else the president had to say.
02:10He started with some really tough talk on Iran,
02:13saying that they needed to end this fighting soon and reopen the strait
02:18or he was going to finish things for them.
02:21He's been growing increasingly aggressive when talking about Iran,
02:25a sign that he really wants this war over.
02:27It's been going on about five months now,
02:30and he originally said this would be a four-week war.
02:33But Trump had some other thoughts.
02:35He talked about the state's governor, Josh Shapiro,
02:37who many see as a potential Democratic presidential candidate.
02:41He said Shapiro was, quote, overrated,
02:45and he endorsed the Republican in that governor's race.
02:48That's going on this year.
02:50A leftist Canadian woman accused of slapping a teenager at the Jersey Shore
02:54over the teen's pro-Trump clothing has now been detained by ICE.
02:58And in a twist that's hard to make up,
03:00she's being held at the very same detention center
03:03her husband has spent several months attacking on social media.
03:0633-year-old Caitlin Tracy is being held at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey,
03:10after her arrest this week.
03:12Now, she's accused of confronting two teenage girls
03:14on the Point Pleasant boardwalk over the 4th of July weekend
03:17because of what police described as their patriotic colored clothing,
03:21allegedly slapping one of them.
03:23Tracy, a Canadian citizen, has been living in New Jersey
03:26since entering the U.S. in 2024.
03:28She now faces multiple charges,
03:30including endangering the welfare of a child,
03:32simple assault, harassment, and obstruction.
03:34Her husband, Matthew Gironi,
03:36has posted videos online asking for help to get her released,
03:39even if that means back to Canada.
03:41The situation has also drawn attention
03:43to some of Gironi's previous social media posts.
03:46Recently, videos criticizing Delaney Hall,
03:48portraying anti-ICE protesters as peaceful
03:50while mocking law enforcement.
03:52Older posts have also resurfaced.
03:54In one video, he wished cancer on the entire Trump family,
03:58including the president's children and grandchildren,
04:00and another referencing an assassination attempt.
04:02Gironi has also been soliciting donations online
04:05to help pay for his wife's legal defense
04:07and immigration attorney as her case moves forward.
04:10For more on these stories
04:11and everything else you could possibly want to know,
04:14check out the New York Post in print or online.
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