Salem News Channel

Trump says US not looking to 'settle' with Iran

President Donald Trump says the United States is “not looking to settle” with Iran amid the ongoing conflict, emphasizing that Washington currently has no interest in negotiating a peace deal. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that while Iranian leaders might want to negotiate, the U.S. is focused on maintaining leverage and pressing its military campaign. Trump’s remarks came as U.S. and Israeli operations against Iranian targets continue for a second week, with the president describing the campaign as an “excursion” and insisting that military pressure is key to U.S. goals. He rejected early diplomatic overtures and suggested that Iran’s leadership would need to change its stance before any talks could take place. Steve Witkoff, a top U.S. envoy involved in earlier discussions with Iranian officials, said Tehran’s leadership was not “very amenable” to negotiating before strikes began.

Explosive Device Found Outside NYC Mayor's Home

New York City police say a device thrown during an anti-Islam protest outside the home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani was a real improvised explosive. Investigators report the object contained nuts, bolts, screws, and a hobby fuse. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that the bomb squad determined the device was not a hoax or smoke bomb, but a life-threatening explosive. Two counterprotesters are in custody, and charges are pending. Authorities are also investigating a second suspicious device found nearby. The protest was organized by far-right activist Jake Lang, who called the demonstration “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.” Police say the investigation is ongoing, and the area remains under heightened security.

US strike kills 6 on alleged drug boat in Pacific

The U.S. military says six people were killed in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The operation is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against what it calls “narcoterrorists” at sea. U.S. Southern Command said the strike targeted the vessel along a known smuggling route. The military released video footage showing the small craft being destroyed, but did not provide evidence that the boat was carrying drugs. The strike marks one of more than 40 U.S. operations against suspected maritime traffickers since September, raising questions about the scope and oversight of the campaign.

Global Oil Prices Sharply Higher As Middle East Conflict Disrupts Supply

Global oil prices have spiked sharply as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt energy production and key shipping routes in the Middle East. Brent crude and U.S. benchmark prices recently climbed above $110–$115 a barrel — levels not seen since 2022 — amid escalating conflict and supply concerns. The surge comes as Iran has launched new attacks on energy infrastructure across the region, intensifying fears over the stability of oil supplies. One of the most critical factors driving prices higher is the near standstill of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 15–20 million barrels of oil per day — about a fifth of the world’s oil — normally flows. Many commercial tankers have halted transits amid threats and attacks, tightening global supply. The disruption has also rattled global financial markets, with major stock benchmarks in Asia and Europe sliding as investors price in prolonged supply risks. Efforts are underway among international officials to consider emergency measures, including possible releases from strategic oil reserves, in hopes of easing price pressures.

Iran names Khamenei's son as new supreme leader

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge in Tehran. The announcement comes more than a week after his father was killed in one of the first airstrikes in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, according to Iranian media. Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with considerable influence, served as a key figure within Iran’s security forces and acted as his father’s “gatekeeper,” consolidating his power over the years. His appointment is expected to heighten tensions with the United States. President Donald Trump has publicly stated that he believes the U.S. should have a say in the selection of Iran’s next leader, a demand that Tehran has firmly rejected. Trump told ABC News on Sunday, “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.” Ahead of the announcement, Israel warned it would target whoever was chosen. Fighting has intensified in the more-than-week-long U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, with Israel expanding strikes to fuel depots and Bahrain blaming Iran for an attack on a desalination plant. Trump has called for an “unconditional surrender,” but Tehran’s parliamentary speaker said Iran is not seeking a ceasefire and will punish aggressors. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue strikes on Iran “without mercy.” Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he is not pursuing negotiations to end the conflict and warned, “At some point, I don’t think there will be anybody left maybe to say, ‘We surrender.’” The escalation has sent global energy prices higher, disrupted business, and caused widespread travel delays.

Trump Fires Noem As Homeland Secretary, Taps Sen. Mullin As Replacement

President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after months of controversy, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis and lawmakers' questions over a $220 million advertising contract. The Republican president will tap Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her by the end of the month, he said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. The appointment would require U.S. Senate confirmation. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, became one of Trump's most high-profile Cabinet secretaries with social media posts that portrayed immigrants in harsh terms, highlighted alleged criminal offences and used vitriolic language. Her departure, after emerging as the face of an aggressive immigration crackdown that had grown unpopular according to recent polling, could allow Trump to reset his approach on immigration policy, a centerpiece of his agenda. Shortly after Trump announced Noem's replacement, she posted on X: "We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again." During congressional hearings this week, Democrats and some Republicans criticized Noem for her approach to immigration enforcement and management of her department, including concern over a $220 million advertising campaign that featured Noem heavily and had been awarded to two longtime Republican operatives without a standard bidding process. Noem's personal life also came under scrutiny, with a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday asking whether she had a sexual relationship with top aide Corey Lewandowski. Both are married. Noem called the question from U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove "tabloid garbage." Lewandowski did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he did not sign off on the ad campaign, which prominently featured Noem and included a scene of her on horseback at Mount Rushmore, in her home state of South Dakota. In one congressional hearing this week, Noem told Republican U.S. Senator John Kennedy that Trump had approved the ad campaign. Noem is the first Senate-confirmed member of Trump's Cabinet to be removed this term. In Trump's 2017-2021 term in office, 14 confirmed Cabinet appointees, who serve in the line of succession to the presidency, quit or were fired. Noem faced criticism in January when she quickly accused two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis of "domestic terrorism." Videos that emerged after the deaths undercut the assertion by Noem and other Trump officials that the two deceased - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - were violent aggressors. The public backlash over the deaths led the Trump administration to adopt a more targeted approach on immigration enforcement in Minnesota, after months of sweeps through U.S. cities that sparked violent clashes between federal agents and residents who opposed the crackdown. Two Trump administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter, said the fallout over the fatal shootings, the $220 million contract, the mismanagement of DHS and the allegations of the affair all contributed to her firing. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives moved to impeach Noem, and at least two Republicans in Congress called for her to lose her job after the shootings in Minnesota. Trump said on Truth Social that Noem would be appointed envoy to a planned summit in Miami to reinforce his Western Hemisphere policies. Within minutes of Trump's post about her replacement, Noem spoke at a law enforcement event in Tennessee for 40 minutes but did not mention her departure. Noem was aware she would be removed before she spoke at the event, one of the officials and another person familiar with the matter said, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. They added that Lewandowski was also expected to leave the department. DHS and the White House did not immediately comment when asked about Lewandowski's future. Mullin, who spent a decade in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, also supports Trump's hardline immigration agenda. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mullin said he had not been expecting the call from Trump. He described Noem as a friend and said he had not had a chance to call her yet. "She was tasked to do a very difficult job," Mullin told reporters. Democrats in Congress have blocked funding for DHS since mid-February, saying federal immigration enforcement must be reformed. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Noem's firing would not be enough to break the stalemate. "The problems at ICE transcend any one person," he told reporters. "The president has to end the violence and rein in ICE." Trump's immigration approach lost popularity as agents detained U.S. citizens and tear-gassed streets in an attempt to drive up deportations, which last year fell short of the administration's goal of 1 million per year. While Noem, 54, served as a prominent proponent of Trump's agenda, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump aide, controls Trump's immigration policy. Noem was quickly confirmed to lead the 260,000-employee department in January 2025 after Trump took office. On social media, she referred to immigrants convicted of crimes as "scumbags" even as the number of non-criminals arrested by immigration authorities rose under Trump. She joined immigration enforcement operations on the ground in New York City and visited a maximum-security prison in El Salvador where Venezuelan immigrants deported by the Trump administration were being held without charges or access to lawyers.

DOJ eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats 'friendly takeover'

The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover" of the communist-run island. Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort. It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring. The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.” The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership. Emboldened by the U.S. capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down. “They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership. While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles. The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former U.S. Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s. In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles. In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft. “We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.” While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime. The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the U.S. considers state sponsors of terrorism. The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of U.S. fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.

Central U.S. Braces For Intense Storm

Severe storms are sweeping across the central U.S., and forecasters warn tornadoes could turn dangerous across several states. On Thursday night, storms ripped through Oklahoma, and video from near the town of Fairview shows a large funnel lit by lightning. Authorities say a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter died in a crash that appears to have been tornado-related. Storms could be even more intense Friday, as more than 7 million Americans are at the highest risk of severe weather in an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska.

US to send anti-drone system to Middle East after successful use in Ukraine

An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster U.S. defenses against Iranian drones, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday. While the U.S. has used Patriot and THAAD missile systems to take down Iranian missiles successfully, there are limited effective anti-drone defenses now in the Middle East, according to a U.S. defense official, one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. The U.S. response to countering Iran's Shahed drones has been “disappointing,” the other U.S. official said, particularly because the drones fired by Iran are a much more basic version of the same drone that Russia is continuously refining and updating in its war in Ukraine. The effort to bolster U.S. anti-drone capabilities in the Middle East underscores concerns about the planning for an Iranian retaliatory response across the region to the American and Israeli strikes. Persian Gulf countries have complained they were not given adequate time to prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their territory. The system that is being sent, known as Merops, flies drones against drones. It is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed. Drones are hard to pinpoint on radar systems calibrated for spotting high-speed missiles and can be mistaken for birds or planes. The Merops system is designed to spot them and take them down. Crucially, the system also is cheaper than firing a missile that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars at a drone that costs less than $50,000. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said this week that “we’re pretty good at taking missiles down. What is much more problematic for us is the huge inventory of Iranian drones, which are hard to detect and hard to take down.” Himes said the drone attacks present a “math problem” in that the U.S. cannot keep relying on expensive military interceptors, like Patriot systems, to down the quickly and cheaply made Iranian drones. “It’s really, really expensive to take down a cheap drone,” he said. “A giant missile going after a tiny little crappy drone.” Merops was deployed in NATO nations Poland and Romania in November after Russian attack drones repeatedly entered NATO airspace. The U.S. defense official says America has learned lessons from the deployment of the system and others like it in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that the U.S. asked for his country's help in combating Iran's Shahed drones, which Russia has used in huge numbers in Ukraine. Zelenskyy did not specify the type of assistance Ukraine would provide, but the U.S. defense official said the Merops system is a part of it. When asked about Zelenskyy’s comments, Trump told Reuters on Thursday: “Certainly, I’ll take, you know, any assistance from any country.” In the Middle East, Merops will be deployed to various locations, including where U.S. forces are not present, the defense official said. Most of the systems will be sent directly by Perennial Autonomy — the manufacturer backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt — and will not affect defenses in Europe, the official said. Perennial Autonomy did not immediately respond to questions about the use of Merops in the Middle East. Pentagon officials conceded this week in closed-door briefings with lawmakers they are struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran, leaving some U.S. targets in the Gulf region vulnerable. “This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters this week. Michael Robbins, president and CEO of AUVSI, a drone industry group, said lessons from the Middle East and Ukraine show that the U.S. must accelerate deployment of sophisticated counter-drone technologies, so “our forces can defend bases and populations without spending a million dollars to stop a $50,000 threat.”

Jasmine Crockett Makes Bizarre Claim!

Donald Trump Is Remaking The Geopolitical Map

On today’s show, Josh discusses the latest developments in Iran and how the country appears to be struggling internally, with some leaders resisting while others continue to support the current regime. He also examines the lack of meaningful support Iran is receiving from Russia and China and highlights polling that shows a majority of Americans support taking action against Iran. Josh also reacts to comments from President Trump suggesting that attention could soon turn to Cuba once the current conflict with Iran is resolved. Later, Josh discusses the removal of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. While acknowledging her role in addressing the surge of illegal immigration at the border, Josh explains why he believes the decision to replace her was ultimately the right move for the administration.