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June 22, 2025

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U.S. stocks are on the cusp of a very impressive breakout to all-time highs, but are still missing one key ingredient. They need help in the form of a semiconductors ($DJUSSC) breakout of its own. When the DJUSSC reached its all-time high on June 20, 2024, one year ago, a nasty bearish engulfing candle printed on extremely heavy volume, I wrote an article, “The Semiconductors Have Topped; Look Elsewhere for Opportunities”. Simply put, it was buyers’ exhaustion”. I looked for a 20% drop in the index, providing this chart at the time:

There’s now been a lengthy period of sideways consolidation on the semiconductors as you can see from this updated chart as that 20% drop immediately occurred:

Semiconductor leadership has been held firmly in check by the overhead price resistance just below 22000. Until that resistance is cleared, the QQQ has a lid on it.

Let’s keep in mind that the QQQ, an ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100 index, can be broken down into its top 2 industry groups, as follows:

  • Semiconductors ($DJUSSC): 21.65%
  • Software ($DJUSSW): 19.11%

More than 40% of the QQQ is comprised of semiconductors and software. Here’s what the longer-term, 5-year software chart looks like:

Software’s relative strength is powerful and we’ve recently seen an absolute price breakout – an awesome combo. On a 5-year weekly chart of semis, it’s quite apparent that when the semiconductors break out, they carry the NASDAQ 100 on their shoulders higher and we’re close to a breakout now:

We just saw a relative strength breakout on the DJUSSC, there’s only one thing missing – that absolute breakout and it’s coming fairly soon, in my opinion.

Market Outlook

A big part of what happens over the next 6-12 months will be highly dependent on the two industry groups above. There are over 100 industry groups and this may be oversimplifying stocks a bit, but make no mistake about it. Higher growth prospects and lower interest rates can result in flying PE ratios and these two groups are home to companies that can expand their businesses very rapidly.

Market Manipulation

I’ve discussed the role of market makers and their manipulation of the stock market many times over the past several years and there’s no doubt in my mind we were just exposed to another massive dose of it in the first half of 2025. At EarningsBeats.com, however, we’ve become experts at spotting it and pointing it out. I discussed the importance of being in cash back in late January and in February before the massive Wall Street ripoff started and I also wrote about the importance of getting back in early. Remember my article in the second week of April, “The Bottom is Here or Rapidly Approaching”? These are real-time articles, folks. You need to see the tops and bottoms before they occur. It does little good to talk about it now. We don’t get a “do over.”

Or do we?

What do I mean by that? Well, we’ll have plenty more chances to spot tops and bottoms in the future, but you need to learn from this year’s mistakes RIGHT NOW. Don’t let these big-money, Wall Street crooks do it to you again. We have one MASSIVE advantage on our side vs. these big Wall Street firms. We can enter and exit stocks in seconds. It takes them days and weeks.

If you want to be better-positioned to see this nonsense AHEAD OF TIME the next time it comes around, I’d suggest that you join me on Saturday, June 28th at 10:00am ET for a 100% free event, “Trading The Truth: How Market Manipulation Creates Opportunity”. CLICK HERE to register and learn more about the event! This is a MUST-ATTEND event and seating is limited. Be sure to save your seat and learn how to protect your hard-earned money for the rest of your financial future!

Happy trading!

Tom

This week, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI’s once tight alliance showed signs of strain, while Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) continued to source artificial intelligence (AI) talent from rival companies.

Meanwhile, SoftBank’s (TSE:9434) CEO is considering a new chip and robotics venture in Arizona, and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is looking to bring AI solutions to American cities.

Read on to dive deeper into this week’s top tech stories.

1. OpenAI and Microsoft partnership faces tension

Microsoft and OpenAI’s once-close partnership is reportedly entering a tense period of renegotiation as OpenAI restructures into a public-benefit company and seeks more autonomy.

According to sources for The Information, recent negotiations have centered on reducing Microsoft’s long-term revenue share in exchange for a 33 percent stake in the newly formed entity. Additionally, OpenAI would like to limit Microsoft’s access to future models such as Windsurf, which OpenAI acquired in May.

The company has competitive concerns with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, according to the people.

Tensions have risen enough that some OpenAI executives are even weighing antitrust action against Microsoft, according to sources for the Wall Street Journal. In a joint statement, both companies maintained they want to continue working together; however, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday (June 18) that if they can’t reach an agreement, Microsoft is prepared to walk away and rely on its existing contract with the startup, which extends until 2030.

2. SoftBank floats trillion-dollar robotics hub in Arizona

SoftBank is reportedly interested in a trillion-dollar infrastructure project and has reached out to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM) as a potential collaborative partner.

Sources for Bloomberg revealed on Friday (June 20) that SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has approached the Taiwanese chipmaker to play a “prominent role” in a manufacturing park in Arizona codenamed “Project Crystal Land,” which may serve as a major production facility for AI-powered industrial robots.

The sources said SoftBank has also approached Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and other companies with the idea. SoftBank officials have reportedly engaged in discussions with federal and state government officials, including US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, to explore potential tax incentives for companies onshoring high-tech manufacturing.

In other semiconductor news, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) said on Wednesday that it will spend more than US$60 billion building seven new semiconductor facilities across the US. Meanwhile, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced over the weekend that it will invest AU$20 billion to expand data center infrastructure in Australia by 2029.

3. Intel reportedly planning sizeable layoffs

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is reportedly set to implement substantial layoffs, impacting 15 to 20 percent of its factory workforce, according to an internal memo distributed on Saturday (June 14) and obtained by the Oregonian.

This move comes amidst continuing efforts to overhaul a company lagging behind its peers.

For some time, Intel’s offerings have struggled to compete effectively against those of key rivals in the highly competitive market of AI products and chip divisions. In a concerted effort to address this gap and reinvigorate its innovation pipeline, Intel has also been actively recruiting top-tier engineering talent.

On Wednesday, Intel expanded its sales and engineering leadership team to include experienced professionals from Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google.

These strategic hires are intended to inject fresh perspectives and expertise into crucial engineering departments, directly contributing to the company’s ambitious plans to develop more competitive and advanced AI solutions.

4. Google partners with Conference of Mayors for city AI strategies

On Friday, Google announced that it has partnered with the US Conference of Mayors to help speed the adoption of city-wide AI strategies. With the announcement, the company released a playbook titled A Roadmap for America’s Mayor that provides a framework for city leaders to develop and host an “AI Adoption Workshop,’ which would be structured to help cities identify and explore how AI can support specific needs, drawing on experiences from other communities.

The roadmap suggests cities conduct a general survey to tailor workshop content by gathering information on current AI usage, as well as concerns and ideas for AI applications. Various approaches are suggested for drafting the strategy document, including a dedicated working group, an appointed lead drafter, a hybrid model or engaging external expertise, with a recommended deadline of four to six weeks post-workshop for the first draft.

5. Meta hires top AI talent

Sources for the Information indicated on Wednesday that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is bringing Daniel Gross, CEO of Ilya Sutskever’s startup Safe Superintelligence, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman onboard.

According to the report, Gross and Friedman will both join Meta, with Gross leaving his startup to focus on AI products at Meta and Friedman taking on a broader role. Both are expected to work directly with Zuckerberg and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, who signed a US$14.3 billion deal to join Meta last week.

In exchange, Meta will get a stake in NFDG, the venture capital firm co-owned by Gross and Friedman that has backed companies such as Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), Figma, CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), Perplexity and Character.ai.

On the most recent episode of his brother’s “Uncapped” podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that Meta has also offered signing bonuses as high as US$100 million and large compensation packages to OpenAI employees.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Gold was on the decline this week, closing just below US$3,370 per ounce, after tensions in the Middle East pushed it past the US$3,430 level toward the end of last week.

All eyes were on the US Federal Reserve, which in a widely expected move left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday (June 18) following its two day meeting. The central bank cut rates in December 2024, but has kept them steady for its last four gatherings.

US President Donald Trump wasn’t pleased, calling Powell ‘too late’ in a Thursday (June 19) post on Truth Social. While speculation that Trump will fire Powell has died down, the president did recently say he intends to announce his next pick for the Fed leader position ‘very soon.’

Of course, Fed meetings are never just about rate decisions — experts often look to Powell’s post-meeting commentary to read between the lines of what’s said (and not said).

Tariffs were definitely in focus this time around, with Powell emphasizing that it’s still soon to tell how much of an impact they will have and how the Fed should react.

‘We have to learn more about tariffs. I don’t know what the right way for us to react will be. I think it’s hard to know with any confidence how we should react until we see the size of the effects’ — Jerome Powell, US Federal Reserve

Chris Temple of the National Investor, who offered another perspective on Powell’s comments.

He noted that while Powell didn’t say the Fed is going to abandon its 2 percent inflation target, it may be leaning in that direction. This is what he said:

The consensus still — although it was extremely close — is barely still for two 25 basis point rate cuts in the balance of 2025. Whether we get them or not, who knows, (but) that’s the current snapshot, which may well change. But that’s against a backdrop of admitting for the second SEP, summary of economic projections … in a row that inflation is going to continue to move back higher — that we’ve seen the best numbers for inflation — at the same time that GDP slows a bit.

So okay, you just told us that your favored inflation number, which is a lot of smoke and mirrors to begin with, is going to go back up to north of 3 percent, which is what they said yesterday. And yet you still — the consensus is you’re going to lower interest rates twice in 2025? So he did everything but come right out and admit that the 2 percent inflation target isn’t going to be reached.

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel for the full interview with Temple.

Bullet briefing — Silver hits 13 year high, SPUT raising US$200 million

Is silver’s price rise real?

Gold has stolen the precious metals spotlight in 2025, but this month silver is shining.

The white metal has been on the rise since the beginning of June, and this week it broke the US$37 per ounce mark for the first time in 13 years.

While silver is known to lag behind gold before playing catch up, it’s also known for its volatility. Its move has created excitement, but market participants are also wary of a correction.

When asked what factors are driving silver, Peter Krauth of Silver Stock Investor he said he sees a ‘perfect storm’ emerging. Here’s how he explained it:

You’ve got the macroeconomic picture that is I think certainly bullish for silver, like it is for gold and a lot of the other commodities. But I think at the same time you’ve got the market kind of coming to terms with the fact that silver is in a deficit, (and) it’s unlikely to be able to rectify that deficit for several years — in fact, the Silver Institute thinks we’re going to see record deficits at some point over the next five years.

And silver supply is unable to grow. We saw a peak 10 years ago in mined silver, and overall silver supply is essentially flat.

So flat supply, growing demand — demand that’s nearly 20 percent above supply — and our ability to meet those deficits is shrinking because we’re tapping into these aboveground stockpiles that have shrunk by about 800 million ounces in the last four years, which is the equivalent of an entire year’s mine supply. So it’s the perfect storm, it’s really all coming together. And I think that the market’s realizing that.

But does that necessarily mean silver is ready for a big breakout? Krauth has a target of US$40 by the end of 2025, but said silver could potentially go 10 percent above that.

For his part, Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group attributes the silver price boost to increased demand from investors, especially when it comes to exchange-traded funds and wholesale products.

He’s projecting a bumpier path forward for the metal:

You also have — the last time I looked it was like 490 million ounces of open interest in the July Comex futures contract. And that’s two weeks from first delivery. So most of the people (who) have those shorts – those are hedges of their physical inventories. They keep those hedges in place, but they roll them forward. So they’ll be buying back their Julys and selling September futures to keep that hedge in place with the next active futures contract. That buying back of the Julys could push silver prices higher.

So if you really want to talk granular prices, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the price of silver fall to US$33, US$34 an ounce, and go up to US$40 an ounce and then back to US$33 an ounce over the next four weeks.

Click the links above to watch the interviews with Krauth and Christian.

SPUT raising US$200 million

The uranium spot price made moves this week after the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX:U.U,OTCQX:SRUUF) announced a US$100 million bought-deal financing on Monday (June 16).

It was bumped up to US$200 million the same day due to strong demand.

Spot uranium has been in a consolidation phase since hitting triple-digit levels in early 2024, creating frustration among those who are waiting for the industry’s strong long-term fundamentals to be better expressed. This week’s move past US$75 per pound has helped reinvigorate investors.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Co-sponsors of the War Powers Resolution, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., were quick to criticize President Donald Trump for greenlighting attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran Saturday night. 

‘This is not constitutional,’ Massie said, responding to Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran. 

The bipartisan War Powers Resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives this week as strikes between Israel and Iran raged on, and the world stood by to see if Trump would strike. 

Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that both House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., were briefed on the strikes ahead of time. 

‘Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war,’ Khanna said. 

This week, lawmakers sounded off on the unconstitutionality of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution

The War Powers Resolution seeks to ‘remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran’ and directs Trump to ‘terminate’ the deployment of American troops against Iran without an ‘authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.’

As Trump announced his strikes against Iran – without congressional approval – Khanna said representatives should return to Capitol Hill to prevent further escalation.

And in the upper chamber, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced his own war powers resolution ahead of the bipartisan duo in the House. While the resolution had been gaining steam with his colleagues, momentum could be stalled due to the strikes. His resolution is privileged, meaning that lawmakers will have to consider it. The earliest it could be voted on is Friday.

Kaine argued in a statement that ‘the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. waging war on Iran.’

‘And the Israeli Foreign Minister admitted yesterday that Israeli bombing had set the Iranian nuclear program back ‘at least 2 or 3 years,” he said. ‘So, what made Trump recklessly decide to rush and bomb today? Horrible judgment. I will push for all senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.’

This week on Capitol Hill, Massie, the conservative fiscal hawk who refused to sign onto Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ built an unlikely bipartisan coalition of lawmakers resisting the U.S.’ involvement in the Middle East conflict. 

‘This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,’ Massie said. 

Massie, whom Trump threatened to primary during the House GOP megabill negotiations, invited ‘all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.’ By Tuesday night, the bipartisan bill had picked up 27 cosponsors, including progressive ‘Squad’ members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Across the political aisle, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., signaled her support, writing that Americans want an affordable cost of living, safe communities and quality education ‘not going into another foreign war.’

‘This is not our fight,’ Greene doubled down on Saturday night, before Trump’s Truth Social announcement. 

The bill’s original co-sponsors also include progressive Democrat Reps.Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who called it unconstitutional for ‘Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump would make his decision about whether to bomb Iran within two weeks. 

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’ Trump said Saturday night. 

Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders last week, which the Islamic Republic considered a ‘declaration of war.’ Strikes between Israel and Iran have raged on since, as Trump said he was considering whether to sign off on U.S. strikes against Iran. 

The Jewish State targeted Iran’s nuclear capabilities after months of failed negotiations in the region and heightened concern over Iran developing nuclear weapons. 

But Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to Geneva, said Iran ‘will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes,’ as Israel, and now the U.S., have issued strikes against Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

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Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, slammed Iran’s UN representative as ‘a wolf disguised as a diplomat,’ during a fiery session of the Security Council on Saturday, hours before the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran. 

Following the US strike on nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which President Donald Trump said had been ‘totally obliterated,’ Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani demanded another ’emergency meeting’ of the Security Council calling for condemnation ‘in the strongest possible terms’ of the US actions and for it not to go ‘unpunished.’

‘The Islamic Republic of Iran urgently requests the Security Council to convene an emergency meeting without delay to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression,’ Iravani wrote in a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres.

Iravani called the US strikes ‘premeditated, and unprovoked,’ and said it was a ‘flagrant violation of international law.’

Earlier, Danon, in response to similar allegations against Israel, highlighted the council’s hypcoricy, callilng the Iranian representative a ‘wolf disguised as a diplomat.’ 

‘How dare a representative of a regime that finances, arms and orchestrates terrorism all over the world, ask for compassion from this Council?’ Danon said during a council session on Saturday. ‘You are not a victim. You are not a diplomat. You are a wolf disguised as a diplomat, and we are done pretending otherwise.’ 

Following the US strike on Iran, which included five to six bunker buster bombs dropped on Fordow nuclear site and some 30 Tomahawk missiles fired against sites in Natanz and Isfahan, Danon told Fox News Digital that ‘after decades of ignoring the International community, Iran is trying to play victim and ask for sympathy from the Security Council.’ 

‘Sec Gen Guterres should be thanking President Trump for taking action and making the world a safer place — instead of condemning the U.S. for promoting peace through strength,’ Danon told Fox News Digital.

‘After years of the UN’s incompetence that allowed Iran to accelerate its dangerous nuclear weapons program, the U.S. has acted forcefully to prevent a destructive nuclear Iran from threatening Israel, the U.S. and the free world,’ he said. 

‘I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security,’ Guterres said in a statement.

‘There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,’ he added, calling on UN member states to ‘de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.’

An Iranian missile attack on Israel on Sunday, hours after the US struck nuclear facilities in Iran, scored direct hits in the cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Nes Ziona, causing widespread destruction but no immediate fatalities, Israeli authorities said.

Images shared by Israel’s first responders showed multistorey buildings with their sides blown away and windows shattered and single-family homes in ruins, as rescue crews searched the debris for survivors.

Israel’s first aid agency, Magen David Adom, said there were no initial reports of fatalities but dozens were injured and evacuated to hospital.

In a press briefing, Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai said the damage in his city was ‘very extensive but in terms of human life, we are okay.’

‘Houses here were hit very, very badly,’ he said, adding that ‘fortunately, one of them was slated for demolition and reconstruction, so there were no residents inside. Those who were in the shelter are all safe and well.’

In Nes Ziona, a town just south of Tel Aviv, a house was directly hit by a missile and the surrounding buildings destroyed, but, according to Israeli media reports, the families were in their shelter.

Israel’s home front command on Sunday put the country back onto emergency footing, days after some of the restrictions on commercial centers and larger gatherings had been eased.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was delivering remarks at a ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ rally in Tusla, Okla., on Saturday night when President Donald Trump announced the United States had successfully attacked three nuclear sites in Iran. 

An aide interrupted Sanders’ remarks to deliver the message Trump had just blasted off on Truth Social. 

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,’ Trump said in the post. 

Sanders read the piece of paper with Trump’s Truth Social post to his supporters, shaking his head as the socialist senator processed what the president had just announced. ‘No more wars!’ the crowd chanted. 

Trump added in the post: ‘All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.’

Sanders nodded along as the crowd continued to chant, ‘No more wars!’ before responding to the news in real time. 

He said the news was not only ‘alarming,’ but ‘so grossly unconstitutional.’

‘All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress. The president does not have the right,’ Sanders shouted. 

Sanders joins the bipartisan coalition in Congress who have called out the ‘unconstitutionality’ of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. 

A bipartisan War Powers Resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives this week as strikes between Israel and Iran raged on, and the world stood by to see if Trump would strike. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution

The War Powers Resolution seeks to ‘remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran’ and directs Trump to ‘terminate’ the deployment of American troops against Iran without an ‘authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.’

‘The American people do not want more war, more death!’ Sanders said. ‘It might be a good idea if we concentrated on the problems that exist in Oklahoma and Vermont rather than getting involved in another war that the American people do not want.’

But Sanders told the crowd not to give up on their vision for America’s future. 

‘In this moment in American history, what we have got to do in Vermont and Oklahoma, in Texas, all over this country, is stand up and fight back, and tell them this is our country!’ Sanders said. 

Sanders has been a vocal opponent of the United States joining Israel in its war against Iran as Trump weighed striking its nuclear facilities. 

‘Netanyahu is not the President of the United States,’ Sanders said on social media earlier this week. 

‘He should not be determining U.S. foreign and military policy. If the people of Israel support his decision to start a war with Iran, that is their business and their war. The United States must not be a part of it,’ he added. 

The democratic socialist has been a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Gaza since Israel retaliated following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. 

After Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities last week, Sanders said it was ‘just his latest violation of international law,’ likening Netanyahu to a ‘war criminal.’

The Vermont senator was speaking at his second rally of the day, part of his southern swing of the ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour that Sanders started in response to Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda. 

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Tx., and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tx., are slated to join the Vermont senator at his rallies in Texas on Sunday. 

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined Sanders on his Western swing of the tour earlier this year. 

The tour targets deep red districts currently held by Republicans, a strategy picked up by Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who hosted town halls in Republican congressional districts, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) through their ‘People’s Town Halls’ across the United States. 

Sanders also held a rally in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s hometown of Shreveport, La., on Saturday. 

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A top expert on the Iran nuclear program believes the regime’s atomic program has been obliterated by Saturday night’s strikes by the United States.

‘The nuclear program is no longer,’ Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a ‘national security and foreign policy’ think tank, told Fox News Digital.

‘Sources in Israel report with high confidence that this chapter is over. Responsible parties must still remove nuclear materials from the facility in Isfahan. But that appears to be the final page to turn,’ he continued. 

President Donald Trump said during his address on Saturday night that ‘Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.’ 

Fox News reported earlier on that Isfahan was ‘the hardest target,’ according to a senior U.S. official.

‘Everyone was talking about and focused on Fordow, but Isfahan was actually the hardest target,’ the official said on background. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to carry out the mission.

A senior U.S. official also told Fox News that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu communicated after the strikes and that Israel had been informed ahead of time.

Lisa Daftari, Iran expert and Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital, ‘Both Israeli and U.S. officials understand that anything less than total destruction of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will only result in a temporary pause, not a permanent end. But to truly end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. and its allies must commit to a campaign—beyond these targeted strikes—backed by sustained pressure, intelligence, and the credible threat of further action if Iran attempts to rebuild.

‘To ensure the eradication of the regime’s nuclear weapons capability, the U.S. must maintain persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to detect any attempts by Iran’s regime to disperse, hide or rebuild its nuclear infrastructure. This would be coupled with continued diplomatic isolation and strict multilateral sanctions blocking the regime’s access to nuclear technology, materials and financing,’ she said.

Trump announced that the U.S. had struck nuclear sites in Iran – a major development amid rising tensions in the region, as Israel and Iran continued to launch airstrikes against each other.

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday night.

‘All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’ he continued.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity said on Saturday night that President Donald Trump had given him details on the U.S. strikes in Iran. According to the ‘Hannity’ host, the U.S. used six bunker-buster bombs — each of which weighs 15 tons — in its strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The bombs were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers.

During a press conference on Sunday morning, the number of bunker busters used was updated to 14 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

‘President Trump took decisive leadership and action to eliminate the last vestiges of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, after Israel’s sustained strikes, which seriously damaged the atomic weapons supply chain from uranium conversion to enrichment, and all the way to weaponization,’ Andrea Stricker, FDD’s Director of Nonproliferation and Biological Weapons told Fox News Digital. 

‘While Tehran’s program is likely set back by years, the United States and Israel need to ensure the regime’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles and all secret advanced centrifuges are fully recovered and destroyed — which means more work ahead,’ she added.

Fordow had two entrances and one ventilation shaft, which likely served as the entrance points for the Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs).

Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities. There is speculation that the missiles were shot from an Ohio Class Submarine, but there has been no confirmation.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa, backed President Donald Trump’s decision to have the United States attack three of Iran’s most fortified underground nuclear sites amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East and intensifying Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iranian targets. 

Fetterman called the move ‘correct’ in a post on X just minutes after Trump shared the news on Truth Social. 

‘As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,’ Fetterman said. ‘Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.’ 

Trump declared the operation a ‘very successful attack’ targeting Iran’s key nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, incluidng Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,’ Trump wrote in the announcement. ‘All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this.’

He concluded his statement with a call for de-escalation: ‘NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.’

The overnight strike against Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility involved six bunker buster bombs, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Saturday night. Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. submarines in the attacks on Natanz and Isfahan facilities. 

The strike, marking a major escalation in an already volatile landscape, comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel to eradicate Iran’s offensive missile capabilities. 

The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure so far remains unclear. 

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

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