(Headline USA) President Donald Trump said that U.S. negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, lifting hopes of extending a ceasefire set to expire this week even as Washington and Tehran remain locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
The prospect of talks on the horizon, which Iran did not immediately confirm, came as ships remain unable to transit the critical waterway amid threats from Iran and a U.S. blockade on ships heading to and from Iranian ports.
Iranian officials said earlier on Sunday that they remained open to negotiation, but held firm that ships wouldn’t pass the strait while the U.S. blockade remained in effect.
“It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Iranian parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf said in an interview aired on state television late Saturday.
In his post announcing official travel for another round of talks, Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire by firing at ships passing the strait and threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran, if it doesn’t take the deal that the U.S. is offering.
“If they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” Trump wrote.
He didn’t detail which officials that the U.S. would be sending to a second round of in-person talks with Iran is Islamabad. The White House and office of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of talks, didn’t immediately respond to messages Sunday morning.
It remained unclear whether either side had shifted their stances on unresolved issues that derailed the last round of negotiations, including Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Qalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, said before Trump’s latest comments that Iran still was seeking peace despite the blockade and deep-seated distrust of Washington.
“There will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy,” he said, acknowledging that the gap between the two sides remained wide.
Iran had announced the strait’s reopening after a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon took hold on Friday. But after Trump said that the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States, Iran said it would continue enforcing its restrictions in the strait.
After a brief uptick in transit attempts on Saturday, vessels in the Persian Gulf held their positions, wary after two India-flagged ships were fired on mid-transit and forced to turn around. Their retreat returned the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes, to its pre-ceasefire status quo, threatening to deepen the global energy crisis and push the parties toward renewed conflict as the war entered its eighth week.
With days until the ceasefire in place between the U.S. and Iran runs out, Iran on Saturday said it had received new proposals from the United States, and Pakistani mediators were working to arrange another round of direct negotiations in the coming days.
Pakistani authorities began tightening security in the capital, Islamabad. A regional official involved in the mediation efforts said that mediators were finalizing the preparations and that U.S. advance security teams were already on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the preparations with the media.
For the Islamic Republic, the strait’s closure — imposed after the U.S. and Israel launched the Iran war on Feb. 28 during talks over Tehran’s nuclear program — is perhaps its most powerful weapon, threatening the world economy and inflicting political pain on Trump. For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy and pressures its government by denying it long-term cash flow.
Though the ceasefire has held, the standoff in the strait threatens to plunge the region back into a war that has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.
(Headline USA) President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers—but which also have serious safety risks.
Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government’s most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs. The Republican president said his directive will help “dramatically accelerate” access to potential treatments. “If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it’s going to have a tremendous impact,” he said.
Veteran organizations and psychedelic advocates have long contended that ibogaine, which is made from a shrub native to West Africa, has great promise for hard-to-treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid addiction.
Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, under this historic Executive Order, @HHSGov will accelerate research, approval, and access to new mental health treatments, including psychedelic therapies such as ibogaine. pic.twitter.com/ZiUl5IaoBL
Trump’s announcement follows pledges by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other administration officials to ease access to psychedelics for medical use, an issue that has won rare bipartisan support.
Joining Trump in the Oval Office were his top health officials, conservative podcaster Joe Rogan and Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy SEAL whose memoir about a deadly mission in Afghanistan was the basis of the film “Lone Survivor.” Rogan said he texted Trump information on ibogaine and the president responded: “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.”
“You’re going to save a lot of lives through it,” Luttrell told Trump during the ceremony. “It absolutely changed my life for the better.”
The Food and Drug Administration next week will issue national priority vouchers for three psychedelics, which the agency’s commissioner, Marty Makary, said will allow certain drugs to be approved quickly “if they are in line with our national priorities.” The vouchers can cut review times from several months to a period of weeks. It is the first time the FDA has offered that fast-tracking to any psychedelics.
The FDA is also taking steps to clear the way for the first-ever human trials of ibogaine in the U.S.
Trump’s action surprised many longtime advocates and researchers in the psychedelic field, given that ibogaine is known to sometimes trigger potentially fatal heart problems. The National Institutes of Health briefly funded research on the drug in the 1990s, but discontinued the work due to ibogaine’s “cardiovascular toxicity.”
“It’s been incredibly difficult to study ibogaine in the U.S. because of its known cardiotoxicity,” said Frederick Barrett, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. “If the executive order can pave the way for doing objective, scientific research with this compound, it would help us understand whether it is truly a better psychedelic therapy than others.”
No psychedelic has been approved in the United States, but a number of them are being studied in large trials for various mental health conditions, including psilocybin, MDMA and LSD. All those drugs remain illegal, classified as Schedule I substances alongside drugs such as heroin. Two states — Oregon and Colorado — have legalized psychedelic therapy with psilocybin.
Ibogaine was first used by members of the Bwiti religion in African nations like Gabon during their religious ceremonies.
In recent years, U.S. veterans have reported benefiting from the drug after traveling to clinics in Mexico that administer it.
Backing from veterans groups and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry led to a law last year providing $50 million for ibogaine research in that state. Perry, who co-founded a group called Americans for Ibogaine, recently appeared on Rogan’s podcast, making the case for reducing federal limits on the drug. It was his second time talking about ibogaine on the popular podcast in the past two years.
Trump’s order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to direct at least $50 million to states that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illness. It’s described as a federal-state partnership to provide funding, technical assistance and data sharing.
Ibogaine is known to cause irregular heart rhythms and has been linked to more than 30 deaths in the medical literature, according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit that conducted some early studies in patients outside the U.S.
The group’s co-executive director, Ismail Lourido Ali, said Trump’s order might encourage other states to follow the Texas model.
“The stigma around Schedule I drugs is significant,” Ali said. “It feels like this would give pretty substantial cover for Republican governors and legislatures to step into the ring in terms of funding research programs at their universities.”
Owners of ibogaine clinics said the impact of the order will not be immediate.
“There will be no insurance coverage, it will still be considered unapproved and non-covered care,” said Tom Feegel of Beond Ibogaine, which operates a clinic in Cancun, Mexico. “But what it does mean is that ibogaine shifts from being fringe and underground to being federally acknowledged.”
Feegel says his clinic treated 2,000 people with ibogaine last year for between $15,000 and $20,000 per person. The company also gave free treatment to about 100 veterans.
Clinics that use the drug typically monitor patients’ heart readings and have emergency medical equipment on hand.
One of the only recent studies conducted by U.S. researchers found that veterans treated with ibogaine showed improvements in symptoms of traumatic brain injury, including PTSD, depression and anxiety. The Stanford University study was small — enrolling 30 veterans who received the drug in Mexico. It did not include a placebo group for comparison, an essential feature of rigorous medical research. Patients in the study received a combination of ibogaine mixed with magnesium intended to reduce heart risks.
(Headline USA) The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalated again Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
The strait is closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as cooperation with the enemy” and be targeted.
New attacks on the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, threatened to deepen the global energy crisis and push the countries into renewed conflict as the war entered its eighth week.
A fragile ceasefire is due to run out by Wednesday. Iran said it had received new proposals from the United States, and Pakistani mediators were working to arrange another round of direct negotiations.
Iran’s joint military command earlier said “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.”
Revolutionary Guard gunboats opened fire on a tanker and an unknown projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some containers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. India’s foreign ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador over the “serious incident” of firing on two India-flagged merchant ships, especially after Iran earlier let several India-bound ships through.
For Iran, the strait’s closure — imposed after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28 during talks over Tehran’s nuclear program — is perhaps its most powerful weapon, threatening the world economy and inflicting political pain on President Donald Trump. For the United States, the blockade keeps up pressure and could strangle Iran’s already weakened economy.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued defiant remarks on Saturday, saying the navy stands “ready to inflict bitter defeats on its enemies.” He has not been seen in public since being elevated to the post following his father’s death in Israel’s opening barrage.
(Headline USA) A trail of damaged homes and buildings dotted a wide swath of the U.S. on Saturday after a burst of destructive winds and reported tornadoes tore off roofs, uprooted trees and rendered rural roads impassable with debris.
No deaths were reported following Friday’s storms that barreled through the Upper Midwest and delivered the latest round of severe weather to batter the region. Officials braced residents for a long recovery in some rural communities.
“We are extremely fortunate that this storm did not result in loss of life or serious injury,” Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall said of the storm that hit Lena, Illinois, on Friday.
Officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota echoed those sentiments.
🌪️ Captan el momento en que un tornado tocó tierra en Lena, Illinois, #EEUU.
El evento dejó a su paso importantes daños estructurales, con varias viviendas destruidas.
Reportes preliminares indican al menos 4 personas fallecidas, mientras continúan las labores de revisión por… pic.twitter.com/WjxlVtoAL5
In central Wisconsin, a reported tornado that tore through the cities of Kronenwetter and Ringle left behind damaged homes and some residents briefly trapped in their basements, Ringle Fire Chief Chris Kielman told reporters.
Marathon County Sheriff Chad Billeb said he had not seen this much devastation during his 34 years in law enforcement.
“A lot of people are going to need a lot of help,” Billeb said of the Wisconsin storms.
In Kronenwetter, neighbors were helping each other clear debris from their properties, and Wisconsin Public Service is working to restore power. Police Chief Terry McHugh said Saturday that it could be a lengthy process.
He noted that the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin has partnered with United Way of Marathon County to help residents whose homes were damaged.
In Olmsted County, Minnesota, sheriff’s officials said tornadoes caused “multiple levels” of damage. At least 30 homes were damaged in Marion Township, with a number of those sustaining damage that was described as significant. Officials went door to door in the community to check on residents.
The National Weather Service said the damage was likely caused by tornadoes and that surveys of the affected areas would be conducted over the weekend.
On Friday in Illinois, Leo Zach, 14, had just gotten to the high school band room for a music competition when the building started shaking and the power went out. He said the room was packed with students and some were very scared and had panic attacks.
“I’m definitely on the luckier side of how that could’ve happened,” he said. “I was just trying to stay calm, help other people.”
When they got outside, they found some of the windows blown out in the gym and part of the school’s roof ripped off.
Photos and video posted online showed a garage totaled, bricks torn off of buildings and fences demolished.
Lena is a village of nearly 3,000 people, located about 117 miles (188 kilometers) northwest of Chicago.
Rachel Nemon had been going to pick up her stepson from Lena’s middle school when she had to pull into a car wash to take cover from the storm. She watched a large tree get ripped from the ground and sparks fly feet in front of her.
“This is something that you see online, not in real life, especially in a small town in Illinois,” she said.
(Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com) President Trump declared on Friday, shortly after the start of the Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire, that Israel was absolutely “PROHIBITED” by the United States from carrying out any strikes on Lebanon because “Enough is enough!!!” Mere minutes after that declaration was posted on social media, the first strike was reported.
An Israeli drone in Beit Yahoun, in southern Lebanon, attacked and killed an unidentified man on a motorcycle. Three people were also wounded in the strike. Beit Yahoun’s timing was particularly noteworthy, but post-ceasefire strikes had been happening already.
Israel had already launched airstrikes against the residential areas of Sidon, another city in Lebanon’s coastal south. Two women were reported killed in that incident. Further incidents were reported elsewhere across the south, with artillery strikes notably targeting ambulances belonging to the Islamic Health Organization.
In the immediate lead-up to the ceasefire announcement, Israeli ground troops launched a last-minute offensive to seize Cristofani Ridge, a position that, like other territory the IDF has seized, they show no signs of withdrawing from.
Substantial casualties, multiple strikes, and questions on the ground about the continuing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanese territory, however, don’t appear to be distracting a lot of major international media outlets, who are declaring the ceasefire to be “holding” despite the lack of a full cessation of fire, and the reality to what is happening may only be a 10-day semi-pause of the conflict.
(Headline USA) The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz quickly escalated again Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade choking off Iranian ports.
Confusion over the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict. The ceasefire between them is due to run out by mid-next week, and Pakistani mediators were working to put together a new round of direct negotiations to keep the truce going.
Iran’s joint military command said Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
Revolutionary Guard gunboats on Saturday opened fire on a tanker transiting the strait and an unknown projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some of the containers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said without identifying the vessels. TankerTrackers.com reported that two Indian-flagged vessels were forced to turn around after being fired on by Iran, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil.
The renewed escalation resulted from attempts by both sides to maintain leverage amid negotiations over an ultimate deal to end the war and address Iran’s nuclear program.
For the United States, the blockade is a key tool to keep up pressure on Iran, short of resuming bombardment. By cutting off much of Iran’s exports and imports, it could strangle an already crippled economy.
For Iran, closure of the strait — imposed after the U.S. and Israel launched their surprise war on the country on Feb. 28 — has proven to be perhaps its most powerful weapon in the confrontation, causing oil prices to spike, threatening the world economy and inflicting political pain on Trump.
Progress threatens to unravel
On Friday, Iran announced the reopening of the strait to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was sealed between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The reopening triggered a fall in oil prices. Iran’s closure of the strait since has triggered an energy crisis that has roiled the global economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump, however, said that even with the reopening, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S. Trump imposed the blockade, halting all shipping to and from Iranian ports as the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S was announced last week to keep pressure on Iran to make a deal in Pakistan-brokered talks to end almost seven weeks of war.
His comments triggered immediate outcry from Iranian officials, calling the blockade a violation that would prompt a re-closure of the strait.
“Americans are risking the international community, risking the global economy through these, I can say, miscalculations,” referring to the blockade, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press on Saturday.
“Everybody must understand to what extent American side is risking the whole ceasefire package,” he said, speaking after a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, said that the strait was “returning to the status quo,” which he had earlier described as ships requiring Iranian naval authorization and toll payment before transiting.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval.
U.S. forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, U.S. Central Command said on X.
Pakistan pushing for progress toward new deal
The renewed standoff over the strait came hours after Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the forum in Antalya that his country’s diplomats were working to “bridge” differences between the US. and Iran.
Pakistani officials were fanning out for talks with senior players. Its army chief met senior Iranian officials in Tehran while its prime minister held talks in Antalya with Turkey’s president and Qatar’s emir. Pakistan is expected to host a second round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. early next week.
But Khatibzadeh said the Iranians were not ready for a new round of face-to-face talks with the U.S. because the Americans “have not abandoned their maximalist position.”
He also said Iran will not hand over its stock of 970 pounds of enriched uranium to the United States, calling the idea “a non-starter.” Khatibzadeh did not address other proposals for what to do with the material, saying only, “we are ready to address any concerns.”
On Friday, Trump said the U.S. will go into Iran and “get all the nuclear dust,” referring to the enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under nuclear sites badly damaged by U.S. military strikes last year.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued defiant remarks on Saturday, saying Iran’s navy stands “ready to inflict bitter defeats on its enemies.”
In a message celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of Iran’s army, he hailed Iran’s drone strikes that targeted Israel and the U.S. interests across the region during the past seven weeks of war. Khamenei has bot been seen in public since he was elevated to supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in Israel’s opening barrage of the war on Feb. 28.
Questions linger about Lebanon truce
French President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier was killed and three others injured on Saturday morning during an attack on U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. “Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron wrote on social media.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
This week’s declaration of a ceasefire in Lebanon was seen as a boost to efforts for an Iran agreement. Pakistani Foreign Minister Dar said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had been a key sticking point in U.S.-Iran talks last weekend in Islamabad.
Still, it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a truce it did not play a role in negotiating, especially when it leaves Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
(Ken Silva, Headline USA) FBI Director Kashyap Patel’s lawyer said Friday that they intend to sue The Atlantic for publishing a story that portrays Patel has a slovenly drunkard.
Patel’s lawyer, Jesse Binnall, posted a letter that he sent to The Atlantic before the article’s publication. The letter denied numerous allegations in the report, including that Patel drinks “to the point of apparent intoxication,” that he has difficulty walking when he’s wasted, and that his behavior is threatening public safety.
The letter also denied the claim that Patel’s intoxication affected his decision making the Charlie Kirk assassination case. Patel essentially live-tweeted the FBI’s investigation, and was later revealed to have dined at the New York City Italian restaurant Rao’s the night Kirk was killed.
However, Binnall said alcohol had nothing to do with Patel’s behavior.
“They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway,” Binnall said on Twitter/X when he posted the letter. “See you in court.”
This is the letter we sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick BEFORE they published their hit piece on FBI Director @FBIDirectorKash. They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway.
The Atlantic’s story isn’t the first piece to draw legal threats from Patel. Last June, he sued former agent and current MSNBC contributor Frank Figliuzzi for saying on air that the FBI director “has been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building.” MSNBC retracted Figliuzzi’s comment.
Patel’s girlfriend, conservative influencer Alexis Wilkins, has also sued several social media figures, including former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, for claiming that she’s an Israeli agent. Like Patel, Wilkins is represented by Binnall’s law firm.
Figliuzzi and Seraphin both have motions to dismiss pending in their respective lawsuits.
While Patel is using the legal system to vigorously defended his reputation, he’s also been caught drinking on camera. In February, for instance, he was pictured chugging beer with the U.S. hockey team after it won the gold medal in the Olympics. Patel’s antics reportedly displeased President Donald Trump.
“Trump — who does not drink — told Patel he was unhappy not only with that scene, but also with Patel’s use of government aircraft for the trip to Milan,” NBC reported last month.
A source sent me this video of FBI Director Kash Patel partying with the US Men's Olympic Hockey team. pic.twitter.com/egjmdhOAF6
Additionally, Patel has faced criticism for his personal use of the FBI jet. According to an FBI whistleblower, his personal travels even delayed the FBI’s response to the assassination of Kirk.
If all that weren’t enough, Patel has directed FBI agents provide round-the-clock protection for his girlfriend, Wilkins, who doesn’t even live with him. The New York Times reported last month that Wilkins is escorted in her travels by Special Weapons and Tactics team members drawn from FBI field offices around the country.
An FBI spokesman said Wilkins needs the protection due to death threats.
Along with using taxpayer resources for personal benefit, Patel has reversed his position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Patel previously expressed support for implementing warrant requirements for FISA 702, but he abandoned that position during his confirmation hearings—meaning he supports warrantless surveillance of Americans.
Patel also has yet to live up to promises such as that he’d release all the FBI’s files on notorious sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
(Money Metals News Service) In the latest Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey welcomed back veteran market analyst Gregory T. Weldon for a sweeping discussion on precious metals, the U.S. dollar, geopolitics, inflation, and the growing disconnect between financial markets and economic reality.
Although the two last spoke in January, Greg Weldon joked that the time since then had felt like “a whole year of trading,” thanks to relentless volatility and the speed of market-moving events.
A major focus of the episode was the recent correction in gold and silver, even as war fears involving Iran intensified. Maharrey pointed to gold trading in a rough range between $4,500 and $5,000, while silver had fluctuated between $70 and $80.
Weldon said he was not surprised by the metals’ behavior. In Weldon’s view, if military action against Iran became more than a one-off strike, the dollar was likely to rally, and that would pressure gold and silver because both markets were already technically set up for a pullback.
(Interview Starts Around 9:14 Mark)
Trading Is as Much Psychological as Technical
Weldon spent time emphasizing that trading success is not just about chart patterns or macro calls. It is also about mastering the psychological struggle that comes with taking profits and living with imperfection.
Drawing on 42 years in the markets, he said one of the hardest things any trader can do is exit a winning position. Nobody consistently sells at the exact top, and every decision carries the risk of regret.
He illustrated that point with silver. He said he got out around $98 and then watched it run to roughly $115, which naturally felt frustrating. But when silver then dropped to about $75 in a matter of days, that earlier sale suddenly looked smart.
For Weldon, that emotional back-and-forth is simply part of the business. Human nature, he said, never changes, even if markets, technology, and information flow do.
Why the Dollar Matters More Than the War
Technically, Weldon argued that both gold and silver had been tracing out classic ABC-style corrections. He said silver breaking below $65 marked what he had previously called a “back the truck up” moment, even though he admitted he had not expected it to trade under that level.
In hindsight, he said the move lined up with a double bottom, a Fibonacci target, and a broader corrective low.
Still, he repeatedly returned to the same core point: the real driver is the U.S. dollar. In his view, the war with Iran did not fundamentally change the larger setup. Instead, it temporarily bailed out the dollar at a critical technical point. He described the greenback as resting on a long-term trend line tied to the 2011 low, the 2008 double bottom, and the secular pattern that reaches back to the 1985 Plaza Accord era.
Weldon believes the dollar remains in a secular bear market. The war merely sparked a position-driven rally in a heavily shorted market.
Once investors become convinced that any ceasefire is real and likely to hold for a period of time, he expects a renewed selloff in the dollar and the beginning of the next bull leg higher in gold and silver.
The Bigger Geopolitical Shift Is Toward China
From there, Weldon broadened the conversation into a much larger geopolitical critique. He argued that the United States has alienated key allies, including NATO partners, the U.K., Canada, Spain, and Italy, while simultaneously pushing some countries into closer economic alignment with China. In his view, that has serious long-term consequences for the dollar’s role in the global system.
He tied that theme back to 2018, when China launched Shanghai crude oil futures. Weldon said he saw that moment as the start of the end for the petrodollar system. He argued that one of the biggest trades of the year remains long positions in the Chinese renminbi and in commodity-linked currencies connected to Chinese demand, including the South African rand, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, and Australian dollar.
Weldon also highlighted what he sees as an underreported political development in Taiwan. He pointed to opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, whom he described as highly educated, with ties to Wellesley, Temple Law School, and Cambridge.
According to Weldon, she helped block a move that would have expanded Taiwan’s budget deficit to 5% of GDP and enabled a major purchase of U.S. weapons. He then cited her remarks, stressing Taiwan’s deep cultural and historical ties to mainland China.
For Weldon, that development carries enormous implications because it could strengthen Beijing’s position without a shot being fired.
Stocks Look Strong, but the Disconnect Is Growing
Maharrey next turned to the stock market, posing a question from Mike Gleason: Can stocks just remain elevated forever?
Weldon said, “No,” even though markets often seem to act as though that is exactly what will happen. He compared the current environment to the periods before the 1987 crash and the 2008 financial crisis, two years he said were among the most profitable of his career because the warning signs were so obvious.
In the near term, Weldon still sees a path for stocks to rally if the dollar falls. A weaker dollar, he said, could lift equities along with gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. He added that he sees value in both precious metals and crypto, dismissing the argument that investors must choose one or the other.
In his mind, there is room for both digital assets and tangible hard assets in a portfolio.
But beneath that possible rally, he sees a much deeper problem. He said the market’s optimism is detached from the condition of the consumer and from the broader economy. That disconnect, he believes, will eventually close.
Weldon’s Case That Stagflation Is Already Here
Weldon’s economic outlook was especially bleak when he turned to labor market data and inflation. He argued that stagflation is no longer a future risk but a present reality. He pointed to a March payroll gain of 170,000 jobs, which sounded solid at first glance, but said the internals told a far more troubling story.
The number of unemployed fell by 339,000, yet payrolls rose by only 170,000 because 488,000 people dropped out of the labor force in that same month. Over the last 12 months, Weldon said 2.4 million people have exited the labor force, while the 12-month rolling net gain in nonfarm payrolls was only 260,000. That pushed the labor force participation rate down to 61.9%, a level not seen outside the pandemic period since 1977.
He argued that if the 2.14 million people who effectively disappeared from the labor count were added back into official unemployment figures, the unemployment rate would be 5.6% instead of 4.3%. In his view, that would dramatically change how investors and policymakers think about labor market strength.
Consumers Are Getting Squeezed From Every Direction
Weldon said the consumer is already under major stress. Average hours worked fell. Earnings fell. Inflation-adjusted weekly take-home pay also fell for the month. At the same time, he said gasoline prices posted the largest single-month increase in CPI history, going back to 1967.
He added that credit card debt remains above personal savings, credit card delinquency rates are the second highest since 2008, and subprime auto loan delinquencies are at record highs. Even households earning more than $100,000, based on Fed survey data he cited, now expect income growth to only match inflation. More consumers are also saying they intend to cut spending, which he said is not something the Fed’s surveys typically show in normal times.
On the inflation front, Weldon argued that the Fed is nowhere near victory. He said that of the 81 services CPI indexes he tracks, 32% are still running above 5% year over year, and 26% are above 6%. Fully 65% are above 3%, leaving inflation far from the Fed’s 2% target.
Maharrey added that M2 money supply has been rising rapidly, while the Fed’s balance sheet is expanding again, reinforcing the concern that inflation pressures may intensify rather than fade.
A Personal Story About Silver
Toward the end of the interview, Maharrey shifted gears and asked Weldon about his first personal investment in gold or silver.
Weldon recalled that his father gave him a collection of silver bars from bullion banks in the 1970s when he was around 12 or 13 years old. He said that the gift left a lasting impression, especially because he had always been drawn to math, science, and big-picture systems.
Most of that collection was later stolen from his New Jersey home and never recovered. But one piece remains: a Bank of Ireland silver bar that he now uses as a card protector when he plays poker in World Series and World Poker Tour events.
The anecdote gave the conversation a more personal close and underscored how early exposure to hard assets can shape a person’s financial worldview for life.
The Overlooked Wild Card: Weather and Water
Before wrapping up, Weldon flagged one more major theme that he believes is being ignored: weather. He said western U.S. snow cover is at the lowest level on record, Arctic sea surface ice has fallen below the 2012 low, and NOAA sees a one-in-four chance of the worst El Niño ever. Those conditions, he warned, could have major implications for food crops and therefore for inflation.
He also mentioned water as an increasingly important issue, noting that AI data centers are heavy water users and that water-focused ETFs such as PHO and PIO have been performing well. In his telling, weather, water, and agriculture represent another powerful inflationary wildcard that is not yet fully priced into the broader market narrative.
The Bottom Line
Weldon’s message throughout the interview was consistent. He believes the next major move is a weaker dollar and higher prices for gold and silver. But that call sits within a much darker macro framework, one defined by consumer strain, sticky inflation, labor market weakness, and growing geopolitical realignment away from the United States.
For investors, the episode offered more than just a metals outlook. It was a warning that beneath the surface of strong stock indexes and resilient market sentiment, the economic foundation may be far shakier than it appears.
(Kyle Anzalone, Libertarian Institute) President Donald Trump said Congress must extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) even if it means giving up “rights and privileges.” Section 702 allows for the collection of Americans’ data without a warrant.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged House Republicans to reject any amendments to the legislation that would extend Section 702. “I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor,” he wrote. “We need to stick together when this Bill comes before the House Rules Committee today to keep it CLEAN!”
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie attempted to introduce three amendments to the legislation that would have required law enforcement to obtain a warrant before collecting Americans’ data. His amendments were rejected.
Trump argued that he and Americans should be willing to sacrifice their 4th Amendment right to privacy in exchange for security. “While parts of FISA were illegally and unfortunately used against me in the Democrats’ disgraceful Witch Hunt and Attack in the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA Hoax, and perhaps would be used against me in the future, I am willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country!” He added, “Our Military Patriots desperately need FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield.”
Congress last voted to extend Section 702 in 2024. If Congress does not pass a new extension, the government’s Section 702 powers will expire on Monday. The House is currently considering an 18-month extension.
During the debate in 2024, Trump, who was then a Republican Presidential candidate, demanded Congress terminate FISA. “KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!” Trump wrote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is seeking to fulfill Trump’s demand to extend Section 702 before the deadline. However, he is struggling to pressure enough Republicans to vote for the legislation without amendments. Capitol Hill sources told Politico that a vote is unlikely to happen this week as Johnson does not believe enough Republicans will vote for the bill.
This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.
“The U.S.A. will get all the nuclear ‘dust,’ created by our great B2 bombers – no money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
It is unclear whether the agreement to hand over the nuclear materials is part of a finalized deal with the Islamic Republic.
The president confirmed the agreement is separate from the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, pausing Israeli forces targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s largest terror proxy.
“This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, and deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner. Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are prohibited from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!” Trump added.
The announcement comes shortly after the president and Iranian officials said the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened, following Iranian officials’ confirmation that the reopening was due to the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Iran closed strait shortly after the beginning Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, leading to a halt of commercial shipping traffic, including oil shipments.
After the announcement of the reopening Friday morning, the price of crude oil dropped over 10%, to just over $81 a barrel. Oil had reached its peak on April 6 at $112 per barrel.
The announcements come as the clock is ticking on the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and as Trump maintains the two countries are close to a deal, underscoring that Iran must commit to not producing nuclear weapons.
The president indicated that talks in Pakistan may resume over the weekend after Vice President JD Vance failed to produce a deal last weekend. The White House has yet to announce a second round of talks; however, Trump has said he has been in direct contact with Iranian officials.
On Monday, Trump announced a total blockade of Iranian ports in an effort to squeeze the regime economically.
In a second Truth Social post Friday morning, the president confirmed the naval blockade on Iran remains in effect “until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”
Trump added, “the process should go very quickly in that most of the points are already negotiated” in relation to reaching a final deal with the Islamic Republic.
In addition to no nuclear weapons, Trump has insisted the deal must also include Iran ceasing support for terror proxies, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis.
