Iran War Escalation, War Powers Showdown, SCOTUS Beer Forfeiture Case | Your News Talk America

Your News Talk America July 23 2026 show card: Iran escalation, War Powers, election integrity with Jake Smith

Your News Talk America with Jake Smith

Show Notes for Thursday, July 23, 2026 · 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET

Today's Guests

Judge Andrew Napolitano joins for two segments today. He is Senior Judicial Analyst at Newsmax and host of the Judging Freedom podcast. His latest opinion piece is The American Presidency and Perpetual War. More at judgenap.com.

9:00 · Show Open: US Escalates on Iran

The US has stepped up its Iran campaign with what sources describe as the first B-1 bomber strike since the conflict resumed.

  • Sources tell the Jerusalem Post the US launched its first B-1 bomber strike since fighting resumed, signaling a major escalation.
  • B-1 bombers can carry two dozen 2,000 lb bombs or dozens of cruise missiles, which Axios reports marks a significant expansion of the US military campaign.
  • Per an Axios report, the deployed B-1 began its mission from a base in the United Kingdom.
  • US Central Command did not mention the B-1 in its statement on the overnight strikes against Iran.
  • The US flew several B-1 missions between February and April during Operation Epic Fury, hitting missile bases, command centers, weapons storage sites, and air defenses.

Guest: Brady Knox, Foreign Affairs Reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Sources: Jerusalem Post · Washington Examiner

9:20 · US Surges Forces Toward the Middle East

The US is moving forces, weapons, and medics toward the Middle East to widen President Trump's military options against Iran.

  • The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the US is repositioning forces, weapons, and medics to give President Trump broader options.
  • Officials say the surge comes as Trump weighs widening the conflict against Iran.
  • Special operations forces have deployed to the region from their US bases, according to flight tracking data and US officials.
  • Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East.
  • Bomber aircraft at bases in the US and UK are on high alert to ramp up operations, one official told Fox News.

Guest: Lt. Col. Darin L. Gaub (Ret.), combat veteran, strategist, and servant leader. Over a 28 year military career he served as an infantryman, helicopter pilot, strategic planner, and task force commander. He is the author of Veritas Vincit, Latin for "Truth Prevails."

Sources: Wall Street Journal · Fox News · Veritas Vincit (book)

9:35 · Monologue: Taking Stock

Jake's monologue, Taking Stock.

9:45 · Election Integrity on the Ballot

Several states are set to vote on major election related ballot measures this year.

  • Citizenship verification: seven states will consider constitutional amendments clarifying that only US citizens may vote (AK, AR, AZ, KS, SD, WV).
  • Voter ID: voters in several states will weigh proposals on voter identification requirements (AZ, CA, CO, NC, NV, OH, OK).
  • Ranked choice voting in Alaska: voters will decide whether to repeal the state's ranked choice system, one of the most closely watched reform battles in the country.
  • Restoration of voting rights in Virginia: voters will consider expanding voting rights for people convicted of felonies, raising questions about eligibility and administration.

Guest: Don Palmer, Senior Legal Fellow for Election Integrity at the Heritage Foundation.

Source: Heritage Foundation

10:00 · Who Holds the War Power?

One of the defining failures of modern American government has been the steady erosion of Congress's constitutional authority over war.

  • The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Congress decides to go to war; the president wages it.
  • Over recent decades, presidents of both parties have increasingly treated military intervention as an executive prerogative rather than a congressional requirement.
  • Is the War Powers Act constitutional?
  • Where was the War Powers Act when President Obama was bombing Libya? Selective enforcement?
  • Can a president simply veto a War Powers resolution?
  • What is the difference between legislation and a resolution?

Guest: Judge Andrew Napolitano (see Today's Guests). Latest opinion piece: The American Presidency and Perpetual War.

Source: judgenap.com

10:20 · SCOTUS Takes the Beer Forfeiture Case

The Supreme Court agreed to hear whether an airplane was improperly seized over a six pack of beer.

  • The justices added Jouppi v. Alaska to the 2026 to 2027 oral argument docket through a regularly scheduled summer order list.
  • Alaskan bush pilot Ken Jouppi is challenging the forfeiture of his $95,000 airplane, which prosecutors sought on the theory that he must have known a passenger was bringing a six pack of beer into a village where alcohol is prohibited.
  • Jouppi argues the forfeiture violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines.
  • Also on deck: can President Trump impose tariffs on Canada?

Guest: Judge Andrew Napolitano (see Today's Guests).

Sources: SCOTUSblog · Jouppi v. Alaska case page · OT2026 term · Summer order list (PDF) · CSIS on Canada tariffs

10:30 · New Jersey, ERIC, and Noncitizen Voters

New Jersey joined the ERIC system, which does not report whether a person is a noncitizen, while 24 states are not using the federal SAVE system to verify voter eligibility.

  • New Jersey is one of many states that do not use the free federal SAVE system to check for illegal aliens in their voter registrations or existing rolls.
  • The Gateway Pundit reports that illegal aliens then began voting.

Guest: Jim Hoft, Editor of The Gateway Pundit.

Source: The Gateway Pundit

10:50 · The Myth of Birthright Citizenship

The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment seems simple, yet it sits at the center of one of the most contentious constitutional battles of our time.

  • In The Myth of Birthright Citizenship, Richard Epstein argues the common belief that the clause grants citizenship to anyone born in the US is profoundly wrong.
  • He contends citizenship requires being "subject to the jurisdiction" of a sovereign, offering loyalty in exchange for protection, not merely being born within a state's jurisdiction.
  • His evidence draws on close textual analysis, the overlooked Naturalization Acts from 1790 to 1870, and writers such as William Blackstone and Emmerich de Vattel.
  • The book also examines how earlier birthright debates shaped constitutional doctrine on voting rights, segregated schools, takings, and taxation, and it addresses responses to President Trump's January 20, 2025 executive order on birthright citizenship.

Guest: Richard Epstein, author of The Myth of Birthright Citizenship: What the Fourteenth Amendment Really Says.

Source: The Myth of Birthright Citizenship (book)

11:00 · Reconciliation and the Deficit

An update on reconciliation and why a new bill must contain spending offsets.

  • A new reconciliation bill must contain spending offsets to address the deficit.
  • The deficit continues to grow.

Guest: Brittany Madni, Senior Fellow for Fiscal Policy at the National Taxpayers Union and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

Sources: NTU analysis · Brittany Madni (bio)

11:20 · What Is Going On With Tesla and SpaceX?

A look at SpaceX's rocky market debut and renewed talk of a Tesla merger.

  • Elon Musk's SpaceX has struggled since its stock market debut last month.
  • After peaking near $225 just days after its IPO, SpaceX stock has slid to a new low of $120, well below its $150 debut price.
  • The reporting cited in the show notes says the slide erased roughly $1 trillion in market value and cost Musk his short lived trillionaire status.
  • Could a merger of SpaceX and Tesla be next?

Guest: Dr. Paul D. Mueller, Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. His latest opinion piece: The Myth of the Free-Riding Billionaire: Ray Madoff's The Second Estate.

Sources: Mashable · Mashable (Musk) · Yahoo Finance · Paul Mueller (bio)

11:30 · Mind Viruses: America's Irrational Obsessions

Author John Leake on why America's decline owes less to outside threats than to irrational beliefs that spread like contagions.

  • America's slide from Cold War victor to "a house divided against itself" is driven not by external threats but by irrational beliefs that spread like contagions.

Guest: John Leake, a nonfiction author with a lifelong interest in medical history, psychology, and criminology. He studied history and philosophy with Sir Roger Scruton and wrote his master's thesis on Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. Since 2021 he has worked closely with Dr. Peter McCullough and was the primary author of their New York Times bestseller Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality, as well as The Courage to Face COVID-19.

11:50 · Mamdani, ASEAN, and Russia's Role

Dr. Antonio Graceffo on Mamdani, the ASEAN summit in Manila, and new accusations against Russia.

  • Writing in The Gateway Pundit, Graceffo argues that Mamdani's antisemitism is the glue holding his coalition together.
  • Is anything significant expected from the ASEAN summit in Manila this week?
  • Russia is accused of providing coordinates for US targets to the Iranians in Jordan, which resulted in the deaths of three US servicemembers.

Guest: Dr. Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China MBA, an economist and national security analyst focused on China and Russia, a graduate of American Military University, and a reporter for The Gateway Pundit.

Sources: The Gateway Pundit · China Econ Group

11:50 · Salute the Troops

We close the program by honoring the men and women who serve.

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