Lindsay Clancy Trial, Iran’s Economic D Day, Netanyahu’s Assassination Claim | Your News Talk America Dr. Graceffo and Dr. James Robbins Join Jake Today. | August 25, 2026
Your News Talk America
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 · Jake Smith · 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET
9:00 AM · The Lindsay Clancy Trial Nears Its End
Lindsay Clancy was back in court Monday for the fifth week of her high profile murder trial for strangling her three young children. Closing arguments could begin as early as this week, with jury deliberations potentially starting soon after.
A psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Clancy in late 2022 testified this week that the Massachusetts mother repeatedly asked to change her medications despite concerns about sticking to a treatment plan. Rebecca Jollotta, of South Shore Hospital's perinatal behavioral health program, said Clancy sought near daily changes to a plan treating her anxiety, depression, and insomnia, citing intrusive thoughts, insomnia, and numbness, and expressing fear about becoming dependent on benzodiazepines.
Prosecutors are currently presenting a rebuttal case to counter defense testimony that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible because she was allegedly in the grip of severe postpartum psychosis and hearing voices when she killed her children.
Discussion questions: Has this trial come down to whether Clancy killed or murdered her children? What do you make of the conflicting testimony from psychiatrists? What was your reaction to the number of medications she was prescribed? Was she properly treated for her mental health problems? Did the combination of drugs she was prescribed lead to the killing of her three children? What have we learned from this case?
Source: New York Post
Panelist: Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, former FDA medical officer and current CEO and Medical Director of TaperClinic. Dr. Witt-Doerring is a board certified psychiatrist who has been closely following this case. TaperClinic.com
9:20 AM · Economic D Day Drops on Iran. Now What?
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sweeping new sanctions against Iran dubbed Operation Economic Outcast. Bessent said Treasury has mapped every node, facilitator, and network Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions, and that the new actions will cut off potential sources of revenue for the IRGC and the regime. He added there will be no room for the regime to rebuild its capacity to fund terror, and that any nation still financing Iran's ambitions is making a mistake.
How effective will these actions be, and how do they differ from decades of previous sanctions on Iran? Is the Trump administration willing to confront Russia and China over their business ties with Iran?
Source: The Gateway Pundit
China says its cooperation with Iran should not be disrupted, with a foreign ministry spokesperson saying Beijing will take necessary measures to safeguard its own rights and interests.
Separately, the United States on Monday formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio said clears the final major barrier to investment and economic recovery in the country. What about last week's Israeli strike in northern Syria? Has that complicated the agreement?
Source: Fox News
Panelist: Dr. James S. Robbins, Senior Vice President for Research and Business Development at the Institute of World Politics, national security columnist for USA Today, and Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council. Full bio
9:35 AM · Canada Set to Announce Retaliatory Tariffs
Canada is set to announce details of retaliatory tariffs against the US on Tuesday, after relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply Monday. President Donald Trump warned Canadian leaders to fall in line or face consequences far worse than existing tariffs, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the US government of trying to subordinate Canada.
The US imposed new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods including wine, furniture, and dairy, while Carney said US trade demands proved Washington wants to weaken major Canadian industries including autos, steel, and aluminum. Trump also threatened new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts, and steel beginning January 1, 2027.
Canada has already cozied up to Beijing, and now threatens closer ties with the EU. Canadians have stopped buying American bourbon. Should US consumers respond in kind?
Source: Fox Business
Panelist: Dr. Jeffery L. Degner, Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. Full bio
10:00 AM · Iran's Currency Collapse, Netanyahu's Revelation, and the Houthis
What is the reaction to Operation Economic Outcast? Iran's currency is now essentially worthless, with the rial dropping to a record low of more than 2 million rial to the dollar. Would Israel step in with humanitarian support, as it has in Gaza?
In a striking revelation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons. Netanyahu made the comments in a call with Channel 14 military correspondent Noam Amir, without saying which son was targeted or providing further detail. Separately, billboards in Tehran have reportedly named Barron Trump as a target.
Following last week's Israeli strike in northern Syria, roughly 45 miles from the Turkish border, the Trump administration has reportedly tried to broker an agreement between Erdogan and Netanyahu to lower tensions. How likely is that to hold?
Source: Axios
The Houthis have resurfaced. Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras warned countries against participating in US sanctions on Iran, urging them not to become tools of what he called unjust measures against the Iranian people. Does Israel get involved to confront the Houthis?
Panelist: Joan Leslie McGill, Executive Director for the U.S.-Israel Education Association, where she helps shape the organization's strategic initiatives to inform and educate senior US policymakers about Israel. Full bio
10:30 AM · Putin "Panicked" as Ukraine Marks Independence Day Under Bombardment
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Carrie Filipetti, now executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, says Vladimir Putin is panicked and gets anxious when put in a corner as the war intensifies. What is the latest from what some are calling the forgotten war? Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries continue, triggering gasoline rationing in Russia while India ships gasoline to Moscow.
The war continues to escalate, with lethal Ukrainian drone strikes hitting oil facilities deep inside Russian territory. Two people died and several were wounded when drones struck the Afipski refinery in the Krasnodar region and another refinery in the Rostov region, underscoring the threat to energy infrastructure as the war grinds on.
Source: Sunday Guardian Live
Can you describe the recent Russian attacks on Kyiv? Is Putin now targeting Ukrainian shopping centers rather than military assets? Ukraine's Independence Day fell on Saturday. Was there a renewed sense of unifying spirit to keep fighting?
Beyond the war itself, NATO and Europe remain heavily dependent on the United States. Ukraine's air defense is running short of Patriot interceptors, and Europe has not been able to close the gap on its own. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine has only about a tenth of the interceptors it needs from the United States.
Chatham House reports the Ukraine Contact Group of European states pledged $4 billion for Ukrainian air defense in June 2026, including more than $1 billion earmarked for Patriots, but it remains doubtful the United States will supply the missiles. Europe does not build the Patriot system itself, and analysts estimate it would take 18 to 24 months to establish even a pilot production line domestically.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
Panelist: Dr. Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China MBA, economist and national security analyst focused on China and Russia, a graduate of American Military University, and a reporter for The Gateway Pundit. Connect on LinkedIn · Writing portfolio · ChinaEconGroup · See Antonio's books at Amazon
11:00 AM · Supreme Court Clears Trump's Mail In Voting Order
The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Trump's executive order restricting mail in voting to move forward ahead of the midterms, lifting a lower court injunction in a 6 to 3 decision along ideological lines. The order does not decide the underlying legality of the president's plan, and further legal challenges are expected before November. How important is this decision, and how much does it help ensure a free and fair election if national voter ID requirements remain unresolved?
Separately, how significant a problem is noncitizen voting in US elections? A Chinese national was arrested for allegedly casting a fraudulent ballot in the 2024 presidential election by impersonating a lawful permanent resident, then reporting the victim to federal authorities for illegally voting.
Panelist: Don Palmer, Senior Legal Fellow for Election Integrity at the Heritage Foundation. Full bio
11:30 AM · Should America Begin Reading Plato Again?
What would an ideal world actually look like? Can humanity move beyond endless conflict? Author John C. Adams' new novel The Third Phase grapples with these questions, reconciling historical arguments from Plato to Nietzsche. Drawing from classical philosophy's most influential work on justice, the book offers both inspiration and a roadmap, blending the ancient wisdom of Plato's Republic with the political intrigue of Orwell's 1984.
The novel follows a fictional protagonist's journey from Olympic champion to world leader, spanning decades of personal, political, and spiritual transformation, as he confronts corrupt cartels and authoritarian regimes while asking whether love can conquer fear and wisdom can defeat nihilism.
Discussion questions: What challenge from your daughters over a decade ago inspired you to write The Third Phase? Why write it as a political thriller instead of straightforward nonfiction? What does the title mean, and who should read the book? What does it say about democracy, politicians, and the world map as we see it today? How did your decades in global M&A prepare you to write it and think through solutions to the world's hardest problems? How did writing the book change you, and what role do faith and spirituality play in the story? What's the single most important takeaway?
Panelist: John C. Adams, author of The Third Phase.
11:50 AM · Salute the Troops
Jake closes the show honoring the men and women of the US armed forces.
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