🎥This #PointBlank episode examines whether viral content, foreign‑hosted platforms and opaque algorithms can turn genuine public grievances into wider unrest. It explores calls for greater accountability from Meta and other social-media companies, the use of facial-recognition technology during protests, data protection, freedom of speech, and whether India needs local servers or stronger domestic digital platforms to resist information warfare without curbing democratic dissent.
Tune in for 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗚𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗮'𝘀 analysis 👇
https://t.co/imcKR2qdq8
@aayeshavarma
Daily Marijuana Use Now Surpasses Daily Drinking and Smoking in the US
About 21.4 million Americans aged 12+ reported using marijuana daily or nearly daily in 2025, compared with 17.2 million who drank alcohol that frequently and 19.9 million who smoked cigarettes regularly, according to the federal National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
Global Youth Unemployment Rises as AI Threatens Entry-Level Jobs
Global youth unemployment rose to 12.4% in 2025, up from 12.3% in 2023, leaving about 67 million people aged 15–24 without work, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Trump said the United States has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, warning that Iran could be “blown away” if it takes further action. “I do not trust Iran. I am the last person to trust Iran. They lied to me constantly,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They do not have control, we have control, we own it,” he said.
Trump added that the United States was “in a very good position” and said Iran was no longer “the bully of the Middle East.”
“At some point they might do something and they get blown away, but right now we are in a very good position,” he said.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States has “total” control over the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington and Tehran remain at an impasse over arrangements for reopening the vital waterway.
“Iran is going fine, doing just absolutely fine. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz, we have control over it. Nobody else, just us,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“Our Navy is unbelievable and things are going great for our country,” he added.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States has “total” control over the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington and Tehran remain at an impasse over arrangements for reopening the vital waterway.
“Iran is going fine, doing just absolutely fine. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz, we have control over it. Nobody else, just us,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“Our Navy is unbelievable and things are going great for our country,” he added.
Iran will soon become a member of the New Development Bank, the BRICS-backed financial institution, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Tuesday.
“The most important outcome of cooperation among BRICS member states is the establishment of the New Development Bank, and our country will soon become a member of this bank,” Hemmati said, according to IRGC affiliated Tasnim News.
Hemmati said Iran also begun expanding cooperation with India in monetary, banking and digital economy fields.
A Chinese rocket exploded in a massive fireball shortly after launch, with eyewitness video capturing the dramatic failure in real time.
The Long March 7A rocket was carrying a communications satellite when officials said it encountered a problem during flight.
The mission was declared a failure, and Chinese officials are investigating what went wrong.
Iran is shifting from a defensive military doctrine toward an offensive one, with its forces being prepared to conduct operations beyond the country’s borders, Mohammad Reza Naghdi, an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Tuesday.
“Whenever conditions require and an order is issued, we must have the capability to take operations to the enemy’s territory and conduct operations away from our own territory,” Naghdi said in an interview with state television.
Naghdi described Iran’s recent war with the United States and Israel as a “real exercise” that allowed its forces to assess their adversaries’ military capabilities in actual combat.
“The latest directives to Iranian commanders emphasized hybrid warfare, which is a mix of coordinated use of military, diplomatic, economic, social and media capabilities,” he added.
“Our production of ballistic missiles exceeds the number being launched. In other words, we are producing more missiles and making them available to our forces than are being fired on the battlefield. We also have a production capacity for drones that exceeds their rate of use and launch, and we have significant production capacity,” Naghdi said.
“Production of this equipment will continue, and even if the war lasts for several years, ballistic missiles will still be produced and fired at the enemy on the final day of the war,” he added.
Earlier today, CENTCOM forces disabled the steering gear of Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova as the cargo vessel attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman and violate the U.S. blockade against Iran by sailing toward an Iranian port.
A U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two hellfire missiles into the Vela Nova’s engine room after the ship’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade, which remains in full effect.
As of Aug. 11, CENTCOM has redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, and boarded 2.
U.S. forces operating in the Middle East are highly vigilant, lethal, and ready.
The President has assented to the #VandeMataram Amendment, passed without discussion in Parliament, which requires the singing of the National Song in full at the start and ending of any official function, in addition to the National Anthem.
As one who greatly respects both, and can sing the first two stanzas of the former (but not the other four, which were never required till now) as well as the entire anthem, i would like to point to just one practical consideration our zealots appear to have overlooked: human nature.
"Jana Gana Mana" requires audiences to stand respectfully and focus their attention for a reasonable 52 seconds. The National Song in full takes 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Tamil Nadu has just decided that both will be preceded by the State Song in Tamil for another 2 minutes. Do we really expect audiences to stand still and respectfully for six minutes before and after every function, a total of 12 extra minutes? Can respect and patience be legislated?
I fear that the intent of the Bill, to promote greater respect for the National Song , will not be achieved, but its opposite may well be....
U.S. FORCES FIRED ABOUT 50 PATRIOT INTERCEPTORS IN A SINGLE DAY DURING LAST MONTH'S IRANIAN ATTACKS ON BASES IN JORDAN — ROUGHLY $200 MLN IN ONE DAY AT ABOUT $4 MLN PER INTERCEPTOR — WITH IRAN USING COURSE-CHANGING MISSILES TO FORCE HEAVY EXPENDITURE AND DEPLETE SCARCE PATRIOT STOCKS - NYT
TRUMP ON TRUTH SOCIAL:
I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME! In a well known Media story, Robert was imprisoned in Russia in 2022, during the Biden Administration. After my discussions with President Vladimir Putin, Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis. We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place. Robert will land at Andrews Air Force Base, in Washington, D.C., tonight, where my Representatives, some of whom are on the plane with him, will welcome Robert back to THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! I just spoke to him, and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands. I will take care of that! During my Administration, we have prioritized bringing home Americans Detained Abroad, and have done so at a level never seen before, returning hundreds of people to their families. We have also freed many non Americans who were under capture in different countries throughout the World. Robert Gilman has been reunited with his wonderful mother, Nancy, who is also on the plane with him, and will soon get to see all of his loved ones. Thank you to my incredible Team, including Special Envoy for Peace Missions, Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Hostage Response, Adam Boehler, Senior Director for Counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka, Jared Kushner, and the many others who made this possible. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP