CENTCOM commander will present plans for possible military action: 'Short and powerful' wave of attacks

'Short and powerful' wave of attacks, taking over Hormuz: The plans that will be presented to Trump

ynet

Amid the deadlock in negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected on Thursday to receive a briefing on new plans for possible military action in Iran from the commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, sources familiar with the matter told Axios. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also expected to attend the briefing.

According to the report, CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes against Iran, likely including infrastructure targets, in the hope of breaking the stalemate in the talks and bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table with greater flexibility on the nuclear issue.

Another plan expected to be presented to Trump focuses on taking control of part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping, a move that could also involve ground forces. A further option previously discussed and possibly to be raised in the briefing is a special forces operation to recover the roughly 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% that Iran holds

CENTCOM commander Cooper gave Trump a similar briefing on February 26, two days before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran. A source close to Trump said that briefing contributed to his decision to go to war.

Since declaring a ceasefire on April 7, Trump has not appeared eager to renew the war. After threatening to destroy Iranian civilization, he has repeatedly chosen the diplomatic path. Still, he is seeking to increase economic pressure on the Iranian regime so it will yield to his central demand: dismantling its nuclear program.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that Iran needs to surrender and say, “We give up,” because of the naval blockade imposed by the U.S. on Iranian ports, but he did not say whether further bombing would be necessary. He added that there would be no deal between the sides unless Tehran gives up nuclear weapons. “We’re having talks now. The negotiations are by phone, instead of flying 18 hours each time. Iran has come a long way, but the question is whether it will go far enough,” he said.

Trump spoke at the White House after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the conversation between Netanyahu and Trump, officials in Israel assessed that the president wants to continue the naval blockade of Iran and believes it will lead to Tehran’s surrender. Speaking at the White House, Trump praised the idea: “The blockade is genius. It is 100% airtight, and it shows how good our navy is. Militarily, we wiped out Iran. They have no army left, the navy is at the bottom of the sea, and the air force will never fly again.”

On Wednesday night, it was reported that the president had also held a discussion with senior U.S. oil company executives about a blockade lasting months. Alongside that assessment, Trump ordered the military to prepare for a significant military strike if the blockade fails — and Israel is accordingly preparing for several scenarios.

In-Depth: How Will You Respond To The Book of Revelation’s Warning?

In-Depth: How Will You Respond To The Book of Revelation’s Warning?

Tim Moore

The Book of Revelation opens with great encouragement and unflinching affirmation of Jesus Christ as Lord of all. He is “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” who loves us so much that He “released us from our sin by His blood” (1:5). The book is presented as His own revelation, “which God the Father gave Him to show His bondservants the things which must soon take place” (1:1).

Grace and peace are offered “from Him who is and who was and who is to come” (1:4).

John faithfully recorded the vision he had on the island of Patmos as well as the seven letters Jesus dictated for distribution to seven churches in Asia (modern-day Turkey) late in the first century. Chapter 4 opens with a “rapture in type” as John is told to “Come up here” and whisked away into Heaven (4:1). The throne room scene climaxes when a sealed book is produced that “no one in Heaven or on the Earth or under the Earth was able to open” (5:3)—until Jesus steps forward to take the book and open the seals.

John’s description of Jesus conveys the perspective of fulfilled prophecy. Jesus is called “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah,” “the Root of David,” “a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God” (5:5-6). The assembled host of Heaven rightfully breaks out into song and worship, celebrating the beloved Son of God, very God of very God. Their chorus should fill the heart of every follower of Christ who longs for His coming: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (5:12-13).

If the book of Revelation ended at chapter 5, we would have ample reason to praise the Lord. His encouragement and admonition to the Church were clearly conveyed in chapters 2 and 3, and His worthiness to receive everlasting praise was affirmed once again. We could rest assured that His plan for the ages is proceeding according to His will and serve knowing that we will eventually join the throng gathered around His throne in Heaven.

But Jesus’ charge to John in 1:18 was to write the things which he had seen (chapter 1), the things which are (chapters 2 and 3), and “the things which will take place after these things.” With that revealed outline, what follows the throne room scene of chapters 4 and 5 is clearly meant to offer a glimpse into the not-too-distant future. With that in mind, if it was important enough for Christ to choose to reveal what lies ahead in human history, we can rightfully understand that He expects us to heed His words as we would any other.

Lest there be any doubt about His expectation to that effect, we are told just that in chapters 1 and 22—“Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book” (22:7). The urgency of our heeding is made clear at the outset of the book: “for the time is near” (1:3).

A Divergence of Options

The book of Revelation is clearly addressed to a specific audience: the bondservants of Jesus Christ (1:1). The initial recipients were the Christians in the Seven Churches listed in the text: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:11). The specificity of the letters obviously touches on attributes (both positive and negative) of those particular churches. But the affirmation and/or reproach each one was given finds application in local bodies of Christ throughout the Church Age—and even to time periods within the Church Age.

It is hard to envision non-believers finding application to their situation in the first five chapters of Revelation, other than a general desire to be among those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation who have been purchased for God by Christ’s blood and given a promise to reign alongside Him on the Earth (5:9-10).

But in chapter 6, the narrative takes a dramatic turn. As one after another seal is broken, the action in Heaven unleashes a great calamity on Earth. 

In a series of terrors that run through the Seal, Bowl, and Trumpet Judgments, the stark contrast presented in John 3:36 is glaringly apparent: those who believe in the Son are already glorying in the joy of eternal life with the Savior, while those who reject His offer of salvation experience the wrath that abides on them from the day they were conceived.

It is that contrast that presents the either/or, black-or-white, diametrically opposed options that every person faces during this life. It really is simple enough to be summed up in bumper-sticker starkness: “Know Christ, know peace. No Christ, no peace.”

Those two statements may seem trite, but as my friend Paul Wilkinson would say, they convey a beautiful simplicity of options. With that in mind, let’s take a longer glance behind Door # 1 and Door # 2.

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The Grid Wasn’t Built For This

The US Grid Wasn’t Built For This

Tejasri Gururaj

Global data center power demand is projected to hit 84 GW by 2027—a 50 percent jump from 2023 levels—with AI workloads accounting for 27 percent of that total, according to Goldman Sachs Research.

The grid is strained by increasing demand from electricity-hungry data centers and electric vehicles.Getty Images

The grid cannot keep up with AI. For decades, electricity demand grew slowly and predictably, giving utilities comfortable margins to plan capacity years in advance. That model broke almost overnight. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, utilities’ five-year summer peak demand forecasts jumped from 38 GW to 128 GW, a more than threefold increase in a single planning cycle.

Unlike traditional server loads, which are relatively flat and predictable, AI inference and training jobs generate sharp, near-instantaneous power spikes. Large-scale GPU clusters can produce fluctuations of hundreds of megawatts within seconds.That’s a load behavior utilities have no historical model for.

Energy companies are no longer treating hyperscale data centers as large customers to be served from the grid, but rather as anchor infrastructure to be co-built with.

What follows is a look at what that shift actually demands at the systems level — why natural gas is currently the only tool that can fill the gap at the required speed and scale, what that means for emissions commitments already being made today, and what the longer path to balancing this with storage, transmission, and cleaner alternatives realistically looks like.

Power grids are engineered for predictability. Seasonal peaks, industrial cycles, and population growth are modeled to plan generation capacity for the future. Fitting AI into this picture requires much more than just scaling.

Training a large language model means thousands of GPUs running simultaneously, sustaining enormous power draws for days or weeks, then dropping off sharply. These spikes are unpredictable and can be extreme. Dispatch curves determine which plants run when, whereas reserve scheduling ensures backup capacity is always available. AI workloads stress both in ways utilities have no historical model for. The forecasting crisis this has created is visible in the numbers, with a threefold increase in peak demand between 2023 and 2024

Developers routinely file speculative interconnection requests for projects that never get built, flooding queues with phantom demand. ERCOT, Texas’s grid operator, developed an entirely new Adjusted Large Load Forecast methodology to account for exactly this — the gap between projected data center load and what actually materializes.

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Your Car Will No Longer Be Your Own - New Vehicles Will Soon Have AI Kill Switch

Your Car Will No Longer Be Your Own - New Vehicles Will Soon Have AI Kill Switch

MICHAEL SNYDER

Imagine that you just received a very alarming phone call and you are in a panic to get home. Unfortunately, since your eyes are wide and full of alarm because of the phone call that you just received, the AI kill switch in your vehicle will not allow you to drive anywhere. 

This is not a scenario which may or may not happen someday. This is already federal law. Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed by Joe Biden directed the NHTSA to establish permanent standards for impaired driving safety equipment on all new vehicles within three years. 

Fortunately, Congress gave the NHTSA some more time in 2024, but now another deadline is looming. If Congress does not act, very soon all new vehicles in the U.S. will come equipped with systems that determine who gets to drive and who does not get to drive.

Automakers are arguing that the technology still isn't ready because it makes way too many mistakes.

Some drivers just naturally have eye or head movements that make them appear to be impaired in some way.

Some drivers just naturally have eye or head movements that make them appear to be impaired in some way.

Of course others are extremely upset about this dystopian law because of how extremely intrusive it is.

Do we really want AI to track our eye and head movements every time we enter our vehicles?

Unfortunately, even though it has been on the books since 2021, most Americans have never even heard about this very alarming law...

The measure, often referred to as the Halt Drunk Driving Act, anticipated that as early as this year, auto companies would be required to roll out technology to "passively" detect when drivers are drunk or impaired and prevent their cars from operating. Regulators can choose from a range of options, including air monitors that sample the car's interior for traces of alcohol, fingertip readers that measure a driver's blood-alcohol level, or scanners that detect signs of impairment in eye or head movements.

Once the NHTSA sets the final rules, there is no going back.

At that point, it would take an act of Congress to overturn the law.

Recently, there was an effort to remove funding for the implementation of this measure, but that effort was soundly defeated...

A Republican-led effort to remove the Halt Act's funding was defeated in the U.S. House last month by a 268-164 vote. Another bill to repeal it entirely awaits a committee vote.

Most of the opposition has stemmed from suggestions that the law would require manufacturers to equip cars with a "kill switch". That would essentially allow them to "be controlled by the government," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on the social platform X, drawing comparisons to George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984."

The goal of the law is to reduce the number of accidents caused by impaired drivers, but they are attempting to do this in the most dystopian way possible...

Tucked into a broader federal safety initiative is a requirement for impaired-driving detection technology in all new vehicles. The goal sounds simple enough: reduce crashes caused by drunk or fatigued drivers. It's a problem that has been around for decades, and lawmakers are trying to address it with new technology.

To do that, automakers will need to install systems that monitor drivers in real time. These systems rely on cameras and sensors that track things like eye movement, head position, and overall attentiveness. It's not just observing -- it's constantly analyzing what the driver is doing.

Some of us are easily distracted.

And some of us are often tired because we work all the time.

Does that mean that we are too "impaired" to drive our vehicles?

Under the new rules, AI will get to decide that.

In other words, you may be the one making payments on the vehicle, but a computer will decide whether you get to drive it or not...

If the system detects what it believes is impairment, it doesn't just issue a warning and move on. In some cases, it could prevent the vehicle from starting or limit how it operates once you're already driving. That means the car itself becomes the decision-maker, not the person in the driver's seat.

For many drivers, that raises immediate concerns. It introduces a scenario where a machine decides whether you're allowed to use something you own, based on its interpretation of your behavior.

The way that this law is written, each one of us has to pass a test each time we want to operate a vehicle.

That is insanity.

The good news is that even supporters of this new law expect the NHTSA to put off any final decisions until next year, and once the rules are permanently established automakers are expected to get at least a couple of years to fully implement them...

Communism’s Comeback – and America’s Amnesia

Communism’s Comeback – and America’s Amnesia

Jeffrey Ludwig

With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the Cold War virtually disappeared. Further, In the 1990s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Under Deng Xiaoping (premier of China, 1978–1992), the PRC had begun to set up empowerment zones and allowed capitalist multinational corporations to operate within their borders. McDonald’s has some nice fast food outlets in China, and many of our medicines as well as our Barbie dolls are manufactured there. Chinese restrictions on child-bearing won the hearts of Western liberals, who are convinced that over-population combined with climate change (formerly “global warming”) is the cause of poverty on our planet. “Sustainable” use of resources became a new mantra. For many, sustainability means capitalism and communism working together side by side. How else can we arrive at the fulfillment of the Marxist principle “from each according to his ability to each according to his need”?

The highly educated of the West neatly combined all these avenues of discourse — climate change, population control, compatibility of communism and capitalism — with the widely accepted utilitarian doctrine of the greatest good for the greatest number (believed by most if not all of Western Civilization). Our own left-wing/liberal elite easily accepted John Stuart Mill’s belief that the “greatest good” could best be discerned by the more educated, informed classes of people. What a neat package!

The only snag is that it leaves out of the equation two important dimensions of the problem. Dimension One: What happens to the individual in this process, and in particular, what happens to the liberty of the individual?  Dimension Two: What is the role of God and of individual morality in this collective vision? Does subjecting oneself to the decisions of the new experts of the greatest good (sic) become a “new morality”?

There is one paradigm of capitalist economics where private ownership and management of one’s assets is justified, and another opposing paradigm where ownership, product design, prices, wages, and uses of goods and services are governmentally regulated and/or controlled. There is one paradigm where God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, is mainstream, and there is the more recent paradigm, where the human caretaker model — taking care of society and nature — is the end-all and be-all.

Those, like this writer, who grew up before 1991 were brought up in a world that was anti-communist. The majority view, held by both our major parties, emphasized private ownership of property and individual liberty restrained by Judeo-Christian morality. Despite the banning of prayer in our schools in 1962, faith in God was perceived as legitimate (varying on an individual-by-individual basis), and not as a somewhat out-of-date interest merely to be tolerated. We had “rights,” and those in the USSR didn’t. We had prosperity, and the commies did not. We were good guys, and they were bad guys. People wanted to become citizens and emigrate to the USA, and nobody wanted to go to commie countries. We were in a fight against those who sought to disrupt all the positives of the USA and looked to the Soviets for leadership in doing so

However, once the USSR collapsed, it seemed that the idea of two sides in the world also evaporated from American consciousness. A paradigm shift began to take place. Now we are struggling through a great identity crisis between leftist programs and policies and programs and policies based on private property and liberty. The left, following the example of Mao’s Long March, has kept pushing forward, pushing forward, and now has taken over one of our two major parties.

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