A behind-the-scenes rivalry between Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could be coming to a head as Republicans seek someone to blame for the Iran war and the party’s disastrous showing in the midterm elections.
The election aftermath has seemingly put Vance and Hegseth on opposite sides of a Republican Party that is increasingly split over the Iran conflict, which will be a central issue in the 2028 presidential primary.
Vance is widely expected to run for president. Hegseth has been mentioned as a possible contender, though he has denied any intention of seeking the White House. Publicly, the two have gone to great lengths to downplay any friction.
President Trump is standing by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang over his affair with a suspected Chinese spy, a contrast to the criticism he levied on former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was caught up in a similar scandal.
Speaking with reporters this week, Trump repeatedly praised Huang as a “high-quality person” and “amazing guy,” despite the unfolding scandal.
The president’s sympathetic response is in contrast with his years of mocking Swalwell. The California Democrat came under scrutiny after revelations that Christine Fang a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, cultivated a relationship with him as part of an effort to gain access to American politicians.
Huang has become a close adviser to Trump, advocating policies that would allow his company greater access to China’s enormous technology market. Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO early Thursday.
American drivers are finally getting a break at the gas pump.
The average price per gallon dipped below $4 earlier this week and fell by more than 3 cents in a day to $3.94 — the biggest one-day drop in 18 years, according to AAA.
The average price of gasoline is down 18 cents from a week ago and about 40 cents from a month ago, though it’s still far above the $3.07 average Americans paid at this time a year ago.
Two things are driving the plunge. An increasing amount of oil is flowing through the Middle East. And stations are selling winter-blend gasoline, which is cheaper.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman will face at least one challenger in the 2028 Democratic primary, Ahmed Moor, a Gaza-born, self-described “anti-Zionist.”
Moor says ending U.S. aid to Israel does not go far enough to punish those who prosecuted the war in the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel.
He has called for war crimes tribunals and criminal charges targeting officials from the U.S. as well as Israeli officials and soldiers, citing tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza since the fighting began.
And finally … Iranian boxer Mohammad Javad Va-fa-ei Sani will not be in London to accept his Outstanding Human Rights Activist Award from the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign.
He remains on death row in his home country for protesting the government.
The ceremony will go on without the 30-year-old, who has been sentenced to death three times since his arrest after the 2019 protests targeting the Iranian government. The sentence was overturned twice before the nation’s Supreme Court upheld it in 2025.
Appeals from boxers, human rights advocates and his family have had no impact on Iranian officials, who have ramped up executions of their own citizens in recent months.
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