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YOUTUBE/JIMMY KIMMEL:"
Oct 15, 2026 #Kimmel
Fox News predicts that Democrats will likely win the House, Trump took to Truth Social to promote one of Fox’s competitors RSBN, traffic on Truth Social is down more than 30% year-to-year, Trump has decided not to livestream the execution of a man by firing squad, new Press Secretary Katie Zacharia attempted to set the record straight about whether or not she is an attorney at law, the White House issued a statement today about Jimmy in response to our monologue, Guillermo has his first sip of tequila in two months, climate change is causing mosquito populations and the diseases they carry to spread so Jimmy chats with a sterile mosquito and his lady friend in our audience, plus a new edition of This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.
.. .."
YOUTUBE/EXPLORE.ORG: "Meet Bear 89 Backpack" WINNER OF FAT BEAR WEEK
CNN:"In a city best known for its movie stars, one of Los Angeles’ most beloved residents always stood out among the rest: he strutted through the streets in a tawny-colored coat, walked on all four paws and had a habit of wandering alone at night.
The California mountain lion, known as “P-22,” journeyed across two of the busiest freeways in the United States to take up residence inside Griffith Park — one of Los Angeles’ most popular urban parks.
Using remote camera traps, wildlife photojournalist Steve Winter captured an iconic image of P-22 roaming beneath the illuminated Hollywood sign at night in 2013. The photo helped catapult the cougar to international stardom.“People fell in love with this cat, he was a celebrity in the land of celebrities,” Winter said. “It was like a movie.”..."
CNN:"By
David G. Allan
The notion of taking “the perfect road trip” is one of near legend, but so is the only state you can really have one in.
California, by way of the Pacific Coast Highway, is dizzying in its proportions, with the narrow, winding ribbon of road flanked by long beaches and cliffs on one side, and mountains and giant old-growth forest on the other. The landscape is almost too big, too cinematic to process.The nearly 100-year-old route accommodates all budgets and travel interests, an à la carte menu of nature, food, history and recreation. You could have a literary-themed coastal trip as easily as one guided by architecture or birding, surfing, hiking, shopping or wine. But the edge of the nation also courts natural disasters, including mudslides, earthquakes and wildfires.
My 300-plus-mile itinerary between Los Angeles and San Francisco dipped in and out of these motifs, with surprises along the way..."
NYTIMES:"Trump Administration Unlawfully Fired Maurene Comey, Judge Rules
Ms. Comey, the daughter of James B. Comey, was a trial lawyer for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, handling the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Sean Combs...By Santul Nerkar
Oct. 26, 2026
Updated 12:42 p.m. ET
A Manhattan judge on Monday ruled that Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor and the daughter of one of Mr. Trump’s most well-known critics, was unlawfully fired last year.
In a 55-page ruling, Judge Jesse M. Furman of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote that the Justice Department had violated the separation of powers, federal administrative law and Ms. Comey’s due process when it fired her in July 2025.
At the time of her firing, Ms. Comey was a highly regarded trial lawyer for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, handling the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean Combs.
Ms. Comey had said there was no possible reason for her firing besides the fact that her father, James B. Comey, was the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or because of her “perceived political affiliation and beliefs.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Exclusive
Trump’s DOJ told a judge how to rule. Then it pulled her from court.
Karen Donoso Stevens offers a rare firsthand look at the administration’s campaign to transform the immigration court system..."
APNEWS:"RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, was reelected Sunday in a result that keeps some distance between Latin America’s biggest economy and Washington.
.."
NYTIMES:"The Epstein Files Produce an Unlikely Weapon for the Houthi Messaging Wars
The Yemeni militia is using the culture of its sworn enemies in the renewed fighting with Saudi Arabia..."
APNEWS:"By BEN FINLEY and SEUNG MIN KIM
Updated 6:17 PM PDT, October 23, 2026
Leer en español
Comments 765
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump has brokered a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged, Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky so that humanitarian aid can be delivered and civilians can be evacuated from a place she said is “on the brink of disaster.”
The localized ceasefire is set to begin next week.
.."
REUTERS:"Oct 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is in the midst of a nationwide campaign blitz ahead of the November midterm elections, holding near-daily rallies to boost turnout for Republicans who are fighting to keep control of Congress.
In his 90-minute stump speeches, Trump defends his economic policies, boasts about crowd size, mocks protesters and has even admired a fellow Republican’s buttocks.
..
TRUMP'S ECONOMIC PITCH COLLIDES WITH VOTER REALITY
At the start of the month, Trump said he had done a “bad job” explaining his economic record. He has tried to remedy that at his rallies, pointing to a record-low poverty rate, low unemployment, record highs in the stock market and cheaper prices for some food items.
But his sales pitch is colliding with voters' concerns about how much they are spending on gas, groceries and other everyday expenses...."
WSJ:"President Trump defended an attack ad against Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton that featured her estranged mother, calling it “very powerful” and accusing Republicans who condemned the spot of playing into Democrats’ hands.
The video from GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign surfaced earlier this week and drew sharp rebukes from Democrats and several high-profile Republicans. Acton has been estranged from her mother since childhood, when her stepfather was charged with sexually abusing her. Acton’s mother stayed with her stepfather and left the state, and he died several decades ago.
“It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem,” Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, said in the video. “She is a liar.” Acton’s brother denounced the ad, reiterating that his sister had endured abuse as a child. He called the move a “despicable low.”
After circulating online, the ad was first broadcast Thursday morning, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The Ramaswamy campaign said it is spending $4 million promoting the video.
Some prominent Ohio Republicans distanced themselves from the ad. Sen. Jon Husted said: “I would not have run that ad.” Gov. Mike DeWine said the ad should be taken down.
In a social-media post Thursday, Trump said that he wished the mothers of his opponents would film a similar ad. He described DeWine as “disloyal to the Republican party.”
“I only wish the mothers of my opponents would be so brave as to come forward and explain that their son or daughter is a liar, and much worse,” Trump wrote. “That took a lot of courage to do but, essentially, what she was really doing was saving Ohio from making a truly horrible choice!”
“Who wouldn’t use such an Ad?” he added. “I would, it’s called, ‘hitting pay dirt.’”
Trump’s remarks came a day after Vice President JD Vance also defended the ad. Vance criticized fellow Republicans for “whining” about the video, saying that “politics is a tough business” and later adding that the spot “calls it out like it is.”..."
CNN:"Trump told Ramaswamy to thank God for ad featuring opponent Acton’s estranged mother
Updated 12:01 AM EDT, Fri October 23, 2026
Tapper: Trump's closing argument akin to 'we stand by those who stand by child rapists'
9:09
On the campaign trail
• Ohio ad controversy: President Donald Trump defended Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign ad featuring rival Amy Acton’s estranged mother, telling him to keep it up and “say thank you, God.” A source told CNN Trump thinks Republicans were “weak” for criticizing the ad and views backlash within the party as damaging.
• Trail blitz: Trump spoke about Ohio even as he rallied in deep-red Iowa, where he stumped for Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, who said the ad “needs to come down.” She didn’t mention it while on stage with Trump — nor did she mention the president.
• Election donations: Tycoon Elon Musk has donated at least $445 million this cycle, making him the largest disclosed donor in the midterm race. Billionaire megadonors on both sides of the aisle are fueling an advertising blitz in the final weeks before Election Day..."
WSJ:"Persian Gulf oil exports have surpassed prewar levels, as an improvised shipping system under U.S. protection is helping tankers move oil through one of Iran’s fiercest waves of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East oil flows, including shipments through Hormuz and alternative routes across the region, averaged more than 24 million barrels a day in the week through Oct. 18, surpassing prewar levels of 23.3 million, according to ship tracker Kpler.
Preliminary figures show Hormuz oil flows, including offshore transfers in the Gulf of Oman, came to around 14 million barrels a day on average for the same period, or 82% of prewar levels.
.."
WSJ:"WASHINGTON—$5,000 for every American adult. An $8 billion bailout for farmers; $90 payments for seniors.
President Trump is relying on a new strategy to salvage Republican seats in the midterm elections: promising an array of financial benefits to Americans, some of which he said he would only deliver if his party defies the polls and keeps control of Congress.
The president started his campaign to put cash in the pockets of voters during Republicans’ midterm convention in September, when he announced a $1 trillion proposal to send $5,000 to each adult citizen—if the GOP holds on to its congressional majority. Since then, Trump has sent $90 to Medicare recipients to offset premiums and $500 checks to nearly one million people for what the administration called excessive fees under the Affordable Care Act.
On Monday, Trump said he would send $8 billion in direct payments to U.S. farmers, some of whom have soured on the president amid his tariffs and as prices for diesel, gasoline and fertilizer have risen since his war with Iran. And on Tuesday, the president announced a new program that would provide up to $30,000 to Americans if they report a tip about government fraud.
At a midterm rally in Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday evening, Trump said that if Republicans keep their majorities, he would push to fast-track claims veterans have brought against the U.S. over contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in the state.
“If we win the House and the Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible, and get it off the books, and get it finished,” he said.
The White House is also discussing rolling out executive orders in the remaining days before the midterms aimed at addressing high prices, including one focused on reducing housing costs, according to people familiar with the matter.
Republicans are facing one of the toughest midterm environments of any party in years, and the series of policy announcements serve as both an effort to motivate voters and a tacit acknowledgment that people are hurting financially. Democrats have accused the president of trying to buy votes.
...”"
CNN:"A federal judge raked President Donald Trump’s administration over the coals on Monday in a case involving his plans to renovate a public golf course in Washington, DC.
After the administration cut down more than 430 trees without properly notifying US District Judge Ana Reyes, she said last week she was “furious” and issued a court order to stop it.
Then, after Trump on Sunday said construction would begin “immediately” despite the judge’s order, she forced officials to testify on Monday and sought to highlight the apparent unwillingness of Justice Department lawyers to vouch for the administration’s claims in court.
All of this comes as the administration accuses the judge of “egregious” behavior and seeks to remove her from the case.
It’s been quite the scene. But it’s also been a long time coming.
Reyes’ exasperated displays come after a series of similar examples of the administration flouting and even violating court orders.
The road to the 2026 midterms starts now
Each week, Aaron Blake cuts through the political noise with sharp analysis of the races, candidates and trends that could decide control of Congress. Sign up for 20/26 Vision, a weekly newsletter focusing on this year’s midterms.
District judges like Reyes ruled that the administration had violated court orders in at least 31 lawsuits over 15 months, according to an Associated Press investigation in May. That’s in addition to more than 250 other examples of noncompliance that judges have found related to immigration cases.
..
At the same time, there’s been no accountability that is seeming to make the administration change its approach. Because this just keeps happening..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month’s midterm elections, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution.
The letter on Friday from senior justice department officials and obtained first by the Associated Press is the latest salvo in an ongoing tussle with heavily Democratic California, coming just a day after the Trump administration sued the state to prevent it from counting mail-in ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.
Noncitizen voting is extremely rare and the effort to investigate noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections has only turned up a handful of cases so far. The justice department has charged about 50 people who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens out of the more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.
“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime – and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” warns the letter from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the justice department.
It adds: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”
The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles county counsel’s office and also is copied to the California secretary of state, Shirley Weber, and the Los Angeles county registrar, Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice.
Trump weighed in late Friday, sharing on Truth Social a link to a news story about the letter and adding: “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!”
The justice department lawsuit was filed after California officials were given, and did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the 3 November election, although the secretary of state said the administration has provided no evidence to support that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters..."
NYTIMES::"A fast-growing brush fire erupted in the tinder-dry foothills of southern Orange County on Friday, injuring two firefighters, damaging at least six homes and prompting dire warnings by officials, who ordered thousands of people to immediately evacuate.
.."
CNN:"GOP-controlled local boards restrict voting on Sundays and find other ways to make voting harder
By
Bob Ortega
...
When voters in Tarrant County, part of a key swing district in Texas, prepare to cast ballots for the midterms, they’ll encounter a whole new set of rules.
Those allowed to send mail-in ballots will now need to provide a Social Security or state ID number. And in-person voters will find that nearly 100 polling places have been shuttered – including all sites in one zip code that’s mostly Black and Latino.
Those kind of changes aren’t unique to Texas.
Republican lawmakers and officials around the country have taken steps at the state and local level to make it harder to vote this November, from enacting stricter registration requirements to adding ID restrictions to dramatically reducing early voting sites, polling places and ballot drop-boxes.
These changes, pushed through state Capitols and county boards of election, have not received the same attention as President Donald Trump’s dramatic attempts to curb mail voting and assert control over voting rolls, but they could have just as significant an impact on turnout in key races to control Congress.
..."
PBS:"NOVA
Space Wars
Season 53 Episode 12 | 53m 54s
...
Inside the escalating military struggle to control space and the satellites we rely on.
10/7/2026 | Expires 11/5/2026"
CNN:"Trump administration escalates voter roll fight with threats against California election officials...The Trump administration threatened to take legal action against California election officials if they did not review a list of alleged noncitizens on Los Angeles’ voter rolls within 48 hours, according to Tuesday letters from the Justice Department obtained by CNN.
The letters, signed by the number two official at the Justice Department, are an escalation in DOJ’s attempts to press for aggressive voter purges with ballots already mailed out in some states, after courts have repeatedly pushed back at attempts by the administration to insert itself in the running of elections. It’s the latest step in a government-wide push to find voter fraud amid President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread cheating in elections.
..."
CNN:"The Trump administration must allow CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to access the White House while their lawsuit over the president’s press ban plays out, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
The order from US District Judge Timothy Kelly sets the stage for the Trump administration to appeal the case, brought by the three news organizations President Donald Trump has targeted...
WSJ:"Iran Fortifying Nuclear Sites and Rallying Its People for Return to Fighting
Regime, convinced the U.S. is ready to attack again, sees preparations as deterrent
By
Benoit Faucon
Oct. 12, 2026 11:00 pm ET
...
Iran is fortifying its defenses, rallying loyalists and threatening a wider, harsher response against the U.S. and its Gulf allies as it prepares for potential American attacks after the midterms and seeks to deter them.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"...Seven senators on the Foreign Relations Committee, four Republicans and three Democrats, released a statement arguing that the agreement violates a 2022 law that bans Russian energy imports “to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” which began in February that year..."
REUTERS:"PARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Rioting erupted in cities across France on Saturday as demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services spiralled out of control in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed for decades.
While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in street marches in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police vehicles and officers..."
REUTERS:"TIRANA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Police in Albania fired what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters on Saturday, the fifth day of mass student demonstrations demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama step down.
Reuters video footage showed police firing a shotgun towards crowds outside the education ministry during clashes with protesters. Reuters reporters found rubber pellets on the ground and pellets hit two Reuters journalists and several protesters, leaving round marks...."
APNEWS:"NEW YORK (AP) — Most Americans think Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on his wealth than helping people like them, a new AP-NORC poll finds.
As Trump’s family business pulls in record money from new ventures helped by his policies, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that when it comes to allegations that Trump is profiting from the presidency, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults believe he is either illegally profiting or doing something unethical but not illegal. Only about 2 in 10 think the Republican president is doing nothing wrong, while a similar share say they don’t know enough to say.
At the same time, just over half of Americans say Trump has prioritized his personal financial interests “a lot” since returning to the White House, while only about one-quarter say he puts the same emphasis on the country as a whole. Few U.S. adults, about 1 in 10, say he’s focused “a lot” on people like them..."
CNN:"Federal officers executed a search warrant early Monday at the Washington, DC-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat who has been the persistent target of ire from President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a Justice Department spokesperson and a source familiar with the matter.The congresswoman is running for reelection, and the search warrant was executed only weeks before the midterms...“I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on X. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.”..."
NYTIMES:"By Lulu Garcia-Navarro
Oct. 10, 2026
Updated 2:08 p.m. ET
Are we already in the middle of a new world war without realizing it? That’s the provocative question I wanted to explore when I sat down with someone in the rare position to know: Mirjana Spoljaric, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The I.C.R.C. is a secretive organization that is not well known outside war zones. Unlike the American Red Cross, which deals with blood drives and American disaster relief, the I.C.R.C. is the independent and neutral guardian of the Geneva Conventions, a series of international agreements created in the wake of World War II that laid out the rules of war. In her role, Spoljaric travels to all sides of active war zones — Gaza, Ukraine, Iran — meeting with the heads of governments and armed groups alike. She rarely gives interviews because of the politically fraught and confidential nature of her work, but she sat down with me just after the most recent U.N. General Assembly because she is deeply worried about not only the growing number of conflicts in the world but also how complex they have become.
She is also speaking out because she believes that her entreaties to global leaders when it comes to the rules of war are increasingly falling on deaf ears. .."
CNN:"...Election officials in Colorado and Washington state have issued public warnings about inaccurate information from the group tied to Musk, the billionaire who is spending heavily to sway the midterm elections in Republicans’ favor.
.. But the PAC’s tactics have drawn particular scrutiny, given its heavy spending and unorthodox activity in previous elections — including controversial $1 million giveaways to encourage turnout... In a post on X, the super PAC argued that Washington state officials were trying to “suppress” voter registration in criticizing the PAC’s activity..."COMMENT:THE RESPONSE IS AN ACCUSATION IN A MIRROR-WIKIPEDIA
CNN:"Pentagon plans public livestream of its first firing squad execution in decades...Hegseth’s pledge to let the public watch the firing squad execution has drawn condemnation on both sides of the aisle...Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle set the date for Hasan’s execution for December 3 at 1 p.m. local time.
..”
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis late Thursday called it “beyond disgusting.” He said on X, “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”...Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, is stunned — telling CNN’s Erin Burnett that public executions are “medieval.”
“I mean, that’s disgusting, what is he mimicking ISIS executions?” Murphy said. “That’s what America has become? That’s pretty extraordinary.”
..."
FEDERALRESERVE.GOV: BIO LISA D COOK
APNEWS:"WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after President Donald Trump said he would start paying for controversial taxpayer-funded ads with a campaign account, there’s no sign he plans to refund the millions of federal dollars already spent on them.
..."
CNN:"Christa Pike, a Tennessee inmate, is conscious and speaking six days after her failed execution, according to a statement from her attorneys..."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The US Supreme Court begins its new nine-month term on Monday with arguments in a major case involving a bid by oil companies ExxonMobil (XOM.N), opens new tab and Suncor Energy (SU.TO), opens new tab to scuttle a lawsuit by officials in Boulder, Colorado, seeking monetary damages for harms caused by climate change..."
CNN:"Ahead of the November midterm elections, top Democrats are planning for doomsday scenarios for how President Donald Trump and his administration could intervene in the voting process and laying the groundwork for a forceful response..."
CNN:"The Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint against nearly all the federal judges in Minnesota, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Wednesday, escalating tensions between the Trump administration and the judicial branch..."
WASHINGTONPOST:Supreme Court agrees to review mandatory ICE detention policy for immigrants..."
NYTIMES:"Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency
The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims..."
CNN:"The Trump administration has created at least 13 campaign-style ads as part of its controversial taxpayer-funded, multi-million-dollar effort to promote President Donald Trump and his policies.
Yet-to-be-aired spots include a trio of ads highlighting the US military and operations in Iran and Venezuela, one called “God Made Trump” and another recapping the UFC fight he hosted at the White House. Republicans and Democrats alike have questioned the wisdom of spending so much taxpayer money on the ads, which the White House has defended as public service announcements.CNN has obtained clips of 12 ads, which range from 15 seconds to three minutes long, including two that have already aired. . .."
CNN:"The oceans are warming at an alarming pace, bringing far-reaching consequences for which the world is unprepared, according to a report by more than 100 international scientists.
The tenth Copernicus Ocean State Report, published Wednesday, draws on more than four decades of data from satellites, buoys and sensors to take the pulse of the world’s oceans — delivering its “starkest warning yet” about the profound changes they are enduring..."
CNN WONDERLIST WITH BILL WEIR: Vanuatu, The Landlords of Paradise
CNN:"2 giant pandas arrive at Zoo Atlanta in a rare loan from China..."
CNN:"12 moves that illustrate the brazenness of Trump’s second term — like those taxpayer-funded ads
Analysis by
Aaron Blake
...
When the Trump administration began running taxpayer-funded “public service announcements” that looked suspiciously like campaign ads for President Donald Trump last week, the White House gamely maintained they were “very clearly not campaign ads.”
Then it gave up all pretense.
..."
CNN:"The California Supreme Court shut down a right-wing sheriff’s efforts to seize and investigate ballots over debunked allegations of vote “discrepancies,” in a legal fight that has helped election officials prepare for any similar attempts during November election.
..."
CNN:"Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday that media outlets reporting what the Trump administration considers to be “one-sided” news is a national security issue severe enough to justify banning the press from gaining access to the White House and Air Force One.
..."
CNN:"Anthropic says its AI models could pose a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity” and can “resist shutdown,” according to an initial public offering prospectus obtained by Reuters..."
CNN:"OpenAI found additional incidents of AI models acting deceptively and taking unsanctioned actions during training, the company announced Wednesday. It’s also introducing a new process for the company to publicly report such instances.
.."
CNN:"The third time was not the charm.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an effort to use a congressional map in Missouri for the November midterm elections that would have given Republicans an opportunity to pick up an extra House of Representatives seat, siding with opponents of the proposed districts for the third time in as many weeks.
The court’s unsigned decision, the second of the day to deal with the midterms, seemed likely to put to rest a whirlwind legal saga that has bounced through state and federal courts for much of September. The order was a loss for Republicans and President Donald Trump, who had urged Missouri to redraw its congressional maps last year as part of unusual mid-decade redistricting designed to retain GOP control of the House next year.
.."
CNN:"The Israeli government advanced an internationally condemned settlement plan in the occupied West Bank that could split the territory and “bury” the possibility of a two-state solution..."
CNN:"...‘This is a nightmare’
Thierry Jean-Baptiste has been getting frantic calls for weeks from people in the US asking for help.
The recent US Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for the Trump administration to end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians left many looking for options and unsure of where to turn.
“They’re worried. They’re stressed,” says Jean-Baptiste, coordinator of immigration and integration at the Montreal Haitian Community Office. “This is a nightmare for them.”..."
APNEWS:"The buck stops somewhere else: A look at Trump’s tendency to avoid blame when things go awry..."
CNN:"A federal judge on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end deportation protections for about 5,000 Ethiopians who had been living in the United States under a form of humanitarian relief.
US District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy denied a request from African Communities Together, an organization which advocates for African immigrants in the US, to postpone the termination of the relief known as Temporary Protected Status while the group’s legal challenge plays out.
Tuesday’s ruling is the latest of several court rulings that will strip protections for more than a million people who until recently had been allowed to legally live and work in the US.
TPS provides people fleeing war, natural disasters or humanitarian crises with temporary permission to live and work in the US without fear of being deported. The Trump administration maintains that those permissions are temporary and not a permanent solution, criticizing previous administrations for repeatedly extending them.
The Supreme Court in a ruling earlier this summer allowed the administration to end TPS protections for immigrants from Syria and Haiti...
In recent weeks, several other courts have similarly cleared the way for the administration to undo the protections for immigrants from Haiti, South Sudan and Somalia..."
NYTIMES:"A powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, rattling much of the country and sending residents fleeing from buildings in the capital, Bogotá, and other cities. Officials reported significant damage in the western department of Chocó..."
NYTIMES:"How a Counterintelligence Inquiry Into Trump’s Russia Ties Was Derailed
Documents released by the White House shed new light on the demise of an often-overlooked 2017 F.B.I. investigation..."
CNN:"Ankle monitors, arrests and lost jobs: Inside the new realities many Haitians in the US are facing..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump is taking another swing at limiting so-called birth tourism and birthright citizenship, citing a “very unfortunate decision” in the Supreme Court this year that struck down his earlier attempt to curb birthright citizenship.
..."
CNN:"A federal judge slammed the Justice Department as he “reluctantly” dismissed the seditious conspiracy case against leaders and members of the Oath Keepers in the final January 6 US Capitol riot case.
“This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his order dismissing cases against nine people in which he recounted the events of that day. “That book is now closed.”
“Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy — the peaceful transfer of presidential power – to buckle,” Mehta wrote. “The court cannot write a different ending.” The end was heralded first by President Donald Trump’s commutations and pardons of all those involved in the January 6, 2021, attack, one of the first acts of his second term, followed only by Trump’s Justice Department asking that the seditious conspiracy case be dismissed.
“The government thus asks to absolve these Defendants of crimes against the United States itself,” Mehta wrote. “In this court’s view, that is not in the public interest.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"AI Overview
The U.S. military intercepted multiple ballistic missiles fired by Iran at American personnel in the Middle East, potentially disrupting a pause in military operations sought by President Donald Trump. U.S. Central Command confirmed all missiles were intercepted. ..."
CNN:"Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out “86 47” last year, Comey’s attorneys allege.
Newly released federal court filings also outline how President Donald Trump was following the investigation into his longtime critic from Air Force One, how investigators interviewed Gambino crime family member “Sammy the Bull,” as well as searches of “86” in FBI databases, ChatGPT and Merriam Webster dictionary online in their effort to build a case against Comey..."
CNN:"Inside the West Bank village set ablaze by Israeli settlers"
CNN:"Chinese ship shoots water cannon at Philippine vessel with CNN crew on board near flashpoint shoal"
CNN:"Inside the Trump administration's deadly Minnesota surge
The Lead"
CNN:"Days after Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco was arrested by federal officers in Nebraska last summer, government officials branded the Venezuelan delivery driver with incendiary labels: “a criminal illegal alien,” “a known Tren de Aragua terrorist” and even alleged he slammed one agent’s head into the ground and choked her.
But that version of events, reported by some news outlets, began unraveling when bystander videos contradicted accounts painting the immigrant as a villain, the officers as victims.
..Hurtado-Cariaco’s story appears to be emblematic of a broader pattern – where government accounts of encounters with immigration agents crumble under the weight of later scrutiny.
Last October, Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old US citizen, survived being shot multiple times by a Customs and Border Protection agent after her vehicle and a CBP SUV collided during an immigration crackdown in Chicago.
.."
CNN:A federal judge on Monday said a controversial lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump against the IRS sought to “manipulate the judicial process” and that he acted in bad faith in bringing it.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams is ordering sanctions for the attorneys involved in the lawsuit...“In abdicating its responsibility to zealously defend the interests of the United States, the Government entered into a ‘settlement’ that deviated from its litigation posture in similar actions, disregarded DOJ policies, and accomplished objectives beyond those authorized, as well as those specifically prohibited, by law,” Williams wrote..."
CNN:"China on Monday conducted a rare test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Pacific Ocean, sparking criticism from New Zealand and Australia for actions that they said threatened peace and stability in the region.
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CNN:"President Donald Trump collected billions of dollars through an array of cryptocurrency holdings, royalty payments and property investments last year, according to his latest annual financial disclosure released on Tuesday.
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CNN:"Democrats are reaching DEFCON 1 levels of alarm about President Donald Trump’s efforts to influence the coming election.
“All the signals are flashing red,” wrote Democratic strategist and CNN political analyst David Axelrod in a post on X.
“On the square, the @GOP would take a beating this fall, largely because of Trump’s unpopularity,” Axelrod said, “So he’s setting up Plan B–do whatever you need to do to win. Anything. Anyone who says ‘Well, he wouldn’t do THAT’ hasn’t paid attention.”
..."
CNN:"Here's the latest
• Birthright citizenship upheld: In a big loss for President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, striking down his executive order. Chief Justice John Roberts, calling citizenship “the right to have rights,” wrote for the court that “the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.” Read the full opinion..."
CNN:"In a span of just a few weeks, China’s ships have carried out “law enforcement” activities farther from its mainland than ever before, mapped a highly sensitive seabed and conducted “research” inside a highly contested lagoon more than 500 miles from its shores.
..."
CNN:"Exclusive: Trump administration ramps up effort to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans...The Trump administration plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by October, significantly intensifying its effort to revoke citizenship from people naturalized in the United States, according to a senior Justice Department official.
..."
NYTIMES:"Opinion
Mara Gay
A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans
June 5, 2026...Millions of Americans like Ms. Chism live in states where Republicans are drawing maps that dilute the power of Black voters and those who share their interests. Just on Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to eliminate one of only two Black-majority districts. By the fall elections, and almost certainly by the next presidential election, new maps will be in place.A Supreme Court decision in April severely weakened the Voting Rights Act by allowing political parties to gerrymander voting districts for partisan advantage, no matter the effect on Black voters. The effort to destroy Black political power in the South is among the greatest betrayals of Black Americans, and those who have voted alongside them, by the federal government in living memory. It will have far-reaching consequences for all Americans and for our democracy. Despite this, the work of mobilizing a response is largely falling to Black people.
..."
CNN:"The man with the scraggly beard holding a WILL WORK FOR FOOD sign. The woman in tattered clothes muttering to herself as she pushes a supermarket cart of her belongings across the street. People covered by strips of cardboard sleeping under freeway overpasses.
These are the images that often come to mind when someone evokes the term “homeless.” They are the familiar characters that many of us rush by every day. We may think we’re not like them — we work hard, don’t abuse drugs or alcohol and make smarter personal choices.
But the traditional story about those experiencing homelessness is a myth, according to Brian Goldstone, author of the acclaimed recent book, “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America.”
.."
CNN:"The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Alabama to use a congressional map that will benefit Republicans in this year’s midterm elections, permitting the state to ditch one of two House districts represented by a Black member of Congress who is also a Democrat.
The court dealt with the case in an unsigned order over the dissent of the three liberal justices and despite the fact Alabama has already held congressional primaries. As a result, Alabama will likely have six GOP members of Congress next year, with only one Democrat.
The order on the court’s emergency docket is the latest instance of the justices dipping into the nationwide flurry of mid-decade redistricting instigated by President Donald Trump’s desire for the GOP to retain control of the House in this November’s midterms..
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"President Donald Trump has spent much of his second term putting his personal stamp — and in many cases his image — on American institutions...."
CNN:"Another softball interview. Another series of obvious lies from the president.
President Donald Trump’s conversation with conservative New York Post columnist and podcaster Miranda Devine, released on Wednesday morning, featured some of Trump’s longest-debunked false claims about elections, the economy and immigration. As with his inaccurate comments in a Fox News interview that aired on Saturday, which was conducted by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, these assertions went unchallenged.
.."
REUTERS:"A REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT
Inside the unraveling of U.S. diplomacy under Trump
Donald Trump’s threats, personal envoys and hollowed‑out U.S. embassies are reshaping Washington’s presence in the world. Allies from Europe to Asia are rewriting the rules of engagement – ignoring the president’s rhetoric and forging new diplomatic channels to manage a U.S. foreign policy driven increasingly by personalities, not institutions.
....."
CNN:"Beijing — Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia as a force of “calm amid chaos” during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, days after Xi hosted President Donald Trump for a landmark US-China summit.
Xi alluded to an increasingly fractious international situation – and took a veiled jab at the US – as he sat down with Putin in the Great Hall of the People for meetings kicking off the Russian leader’s roughly 24-hour state visit in the Chinese capital.
...."
CNN:"
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday cleared the way for Alabama to revert to a congressional map with one majority-Black district in a sudden ruling that drew a dissent from the court’s three liberal justices.
Alabama officials had rushed up to the court late Friday asking it to halt a lower court ruling blocking it from using a map it enacted in 2023 that includes only one majority-Black district out of seven. It did so based on the court’s blockbuster decision in late April dealing with Louisiana’s congressional map that severely weakened the scope of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
..“We are witnessing a return to Jim Crow,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “And anybody who is alarmed by these developments — as everybody should be — better be making a plan to vote in November to put an end to this madness...”..."
CNN:"The conspiracy-theory monster that Trump fed could be coming for him
Analysis by
Aaron Blake Perhaps no modern politician has done more to mainstream conspiracy theories than President Donald Trump..."
CNN:"Two weeks ago, after Virginia voters approved a new heavily Democratic congressional map, it was looking like President Donald Trump’s bare-knuckle gerrymandering push had fizzled – and might even backfire.
Two weeks, it turns out, is a long time in politics.
A pair of court rulings – one from the US Supreme Court and now one from the Virginia Supreme Court Friday – have sharply recast the 2026 redistricting battles in the GOP’s favor.
.."
CNN:"If words won wars, Donald Trump’s Iran conflict would have ended long ago.
But the president still can’t find a way out of a war meant to last no more than a month and a half that is now grinding into its 10th week.
.."
APNEWS:"Tennessee troopers kick out protesters from legislative hearings on redistricting targeting Memphis
In Tennessee, protesters interrupted legislative hearings on a map that would reshape the majority-Black congressional district in Memphis, prompting state troopers to clear the room. (AP video by Kristin M. Hall and Travis Loller)..."
NYTIMES:"Tennessee Republicans on Wednesday proposed a congressional map aimed at diluting the state’s lone majority-Black district, a swift response to last week’s Supreme Court ruling that weakened a landmark voting rights law.
The new map slices up Memphis, a majority-Black city, and Shelby County into three districts and will most likely give Republicans the ability to flip Tennessee’s lone remaining Democratic seat, which includes the city.Democratic lawmakers, whose opposition means little under a Republican supermajority in the state’s General Assembly, and Black leaders across Tennessee have compared the effort to carve up the Ninth Congressional District to Jim Crow-era voter suppression tactics. They have accused conservatives of a power grab that undermines Black voters in Memphis, who have long favored Democrats..."
APNEWS:"MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Thousands of people rallied Saturday in the city considered the crucible of the modern Civil Rights Movement to push back against conservative states’ efforts to dismantle congressional districts that helped secure Black political representation.
The gathering in Montgomery, Alabama, was put together in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act and the resulting rush by southern states to redraw lines. Speakers said they returned to the city, famous for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, because the fight that began there is continuing for later generations.
The Rev. Bernice King, speaking near the spot where her father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., addressed voting rights marchers in 1965, said the dedication and sacrifice of that generation changed the trajectory of the country..."
CNN:"A day after the Supreme Court further gutted the Voting Rights Act, Republican-led states are eying changes to boost the GOP’s gerrymandering effort at the expense of voters of color, while voting rights groups are trying to limit the impact of the ruling on this year’s midterms..."
CNN:"...The Kenton United Synagogue, in northwest London, was one of a string of mainly Jewish sites struck in arson attacks across the British capital and other European cities in the past two months, including schools, businesses and volunteer-run ambulances.
An official works among the burnt out ambulances at the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London on March 24.
An official works among the burnt out ambulances at the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London on March 24. Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
At least 17 incidents have been claimed by a shadowy online group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), roughly translated from Arabic as “The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right(eous)” – which only emerged online in March and says it’s targeting “Zionist” interests.
A CNN investigation has found apparent links between HAYI and an Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group. It has also found that what appear to be Iran-linked operatives are using social media to attempt to recruit individuals..."
CNN:"London — “If you are visibly Jewish, you’re not safe” in Britain, the country’s chief rabbi said Thursday, expressing the anxiety of the British Jewish community after two men were stabbed in a London neighborhood already reeling from several recent antisemitic attacks.“I’m sad to say that today’s event proves that if you are visibly Jewish, you’re not safe, and far more needs to be done,” Ephraim Mirvis told the BBC..."
MSN:"A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, suggests that a different type of dark matter could explain several puzzling cosmic observations that have long challenged scientists.
The research points to dense clumps of self-interacting dark matter as a single mechanism behind unusual structures seen across the universe..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"What a 5,000-mile-long marine heat wave means for summer in the U.S.
It could worsen heat and humidity in the West this summer, and also boost the risks of Pacific hurricanes as well as wildfires in the region..."
APNEWS"...Trump never loses. At least in his telling.
He declared victory within days of the Iran war starting, and repeated it constantly, even as Tehran struck U.S. and allied targets and choked off the Strait of Hormuz, spreading economic pain around the globe.
With a ceasefire now in place, Trump says the United States has accomplished its goals.
The president is extolling a change in rule after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed. But he was replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is seen as more hard-line..
.."
CNN:"Donald Trump and Pope Leo. Reuters
President Donald Trump strongly criticized Pope Leo XIV on Sunday evening, denouncing his stance on the Iran war and saying he’s “terrible for foreign policy.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump told reporters, adding, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal about the US and Israel’s war with Iran, last week condemning Trump’s rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
That comment was prompted by Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in the hours before a two-week ceasefire with Iran was struck.
Both Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have invoked God in public messaging during the conflict, with Hegseth framing the war effort as divinely supported and even using scriptural justification.
Leo has pushed back against this idea.
“Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he said on Palm Sunday..."
"...
This AI-generated fake image shared by President Donald Trump to Truth Social on Sunday shows him depicted as a Christ-like figure healing a sick person. Donald Trump/Truth Social
The president’s remarks about the pope on Sunday night came shortly after he posted a similar lengthy critique of the pontiff on Truth Social.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote, going on to say he doesn’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon or who thinks it’s “terrible that America attacked Venezuela.”
After the US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, the pope called for the “will of the Venezuelan people” to be respected and a return to stability in the country.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” Trump said.
The president went on to claim Leo “wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
Pope Leo has previously spoken out against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“The commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace, founded on justice, fraternity and the common good,” he said last June, as Trump was weighing striking Iran’s nuclear sites..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump privately told donors about one of his favorite negotiating tactics, recounting at a New York fundraiser in May how he would deter Chinese or Russian aggression by threatening to bomb Beijing or Moscow.
“He thought I was crazy,” Trump said of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s response. “He didn’t believe me, except 10 percent. And 10 percent is all you need.”
The story, which has not been confirmed by Russian or Chinese officials, speaks to how Trump has approached foreign adversaries: using unpredictability and the threat of catastrophic escalation to gain leverage. In a twist on Richard M. Nixon’s “madman theory,” Trump has made shocking threats he believes adversaries cannot afford to dismiss; as president, he threatened to pull out of NATO in 2018, raise tariffs in 2025, and take over Greenland earlier this year.
Trump put the tactic to the riskiest test yet with Tuesday’s ultimatum that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” which yielded a two-week ceasefire in Iran and an assurance that the country’s leaders would let oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Supporters said the outcome demonstrated that Trump’s method worked.
“President Trump is doing what he does,” Andrew Kolvet, host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” said on the air Tuesday, before Trump announced the suspension of strikes on Iran. “This is why he is the elected president. I think he’s lucid and in control.”
Trump’s threat to wipe out “a whole civilization” raised the possibility that he would go even beyond his earlier warning to attack civilian infrastructure, which violates the laws of war. His post set off nuclear panic and drew condemnation across the political spectrum and fueled open debate about his credibility, morality and sanity.
“The President’s threat that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a statement on Tuesday. “This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years. It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home.”..."
NYTIMES:"Where Trump Has Installed Election Deniers in Government
His administration is stocked with people who have questioned the legitimacy of elections, including some who have claimed that the 2020 presidential race was stolen..."
NYTIMES:"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals, a highly unusual move that has prompted some senior military officials to question whether the officers are being singled out because of their race or gender.
Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men, senior military officials said..."
NYTIMES:"Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday denounced personal attacks aimed at judges and justices, calling them “dangerous.”
“It’s got to stop,” he said.
The comments, part of a wide-ranging conversation with the chief justice at Rice University, were his first public remarks since President Trump castigated the six Supreme Court justices who ruled against his sweeping tariffs last month as “fools and lap dogs.”..."
CNN:"China's growing influence in the Pacific is 5,000 meters deep Deep-sea mining is its latest battlefield By Kara Fox, Elizabth Alberts, Lou Robinson and Byron Marley, CNN Published March 24, 2026"
REUTERS:"March 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Western allies clashed with Russia and China on Thursday over Iran's nuclear intentions, as Washington sought at the United Nations to further justify the war it launched on Iran two weeks ago.
At a meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council, which is chaired this month by the U.S., Russia and China moved unsuccessfully to block a discussion about a committee established to oversee and enforce U.N. sanctions on Iran. They were overruled 11-2 with two abstentions.
...
Addressing the council, U.S. envoy to the United Nations Mike Waltz accused Moscow and Beijing of seeking to protect Tehran by blocking the work of the so-called 1737 Committee.
"All member states of the United Nations should be implementing an arms embargo against Iran, banning the transfer and trade of missile technology, and freezing relevant financial assets," Waltz said...."
REUTERS:"CAIRO/RAMALLAH, March 15 (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed 16 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, health officials said, in one of the heaviest death tolls in a single day in weeks, as Israel continued to launch attacks on Lebanon and Iran.
Medics and the interior ministry of the Hamas-run Gaza said an Israeli airstrike killed a senior police official and eight other officers when it hit their vehicle near the entrance to Zawayda town in the central Gaza Strip. At least 14 other people, mostly bystanders, were wounded, the Gaza health ministry said...Earlier on Sunday, health officials said an Israeli airstrike had killed three people - a man, his pregnant wife, and their son - in the western area of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the incidents in Gaza.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian father, mother, and two of their children were killed as they drove in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authorities said, and the Israeli military said the incident was under review..."
THEMOSCOWTIMES:"Russia is giving Iran “specific advice” on drone tactics, CNN reported Wednesday, in a sign of more sophisticated support than previously reported, even as officials in the Trump administration have sought to downplay the alleged information sharing.
“What was more general support is now getting more concerning, including [drone] targeting strategies that Russia employed in Ukraine,” a Western intelligence official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to specify the extent of Russia’s tactical assistance to Iran..."
CNN:"Iran warned any attack on the country would spark a regional conflict.
The United States and Israel either did not believe them or judged it a risk worth taking. Eleven days into the war, it is the Gulf Arab nations that are paying the price, none more so than the United Arab Emirates.
More than 1,700 missiles and drones have been fired towards the UAE since the war began, according to the country’s defense ministry, more than 90% of them downed by interceptors, fighter jets and helicopters.
US President Donald Trump admitted in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper last week that Iran’s willingness to strike its Arab neighbors had been his biggest surprise of the war.
On Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was using 60% of its firepower against what it called US “bases” and “strategic interests” in neighboring Arab countries, with the rest directed at Israel.
More projectiles have been fired at the UAE than any other country, seemingly even more than Israel, which alongside the US started this war. Several have landed on homes, offices and roads in densely populated urban areas, killing four – all civilians..."
NYTIMES:"Iran’s supreme leader may be dead, but there will be another. Its slain military commanders will be replaced. A governing system created over 47 years will not easily disintegrate under air power alone. Iran retains the capacity to strike back against American and Israeli airstrikes, and the war’s trajectory is unclear.
But the Islamic Republic, already weakened and unpopular, is now further diminished, its power at home and in the region at one of its lowest ebbs since its leaders took power during the revolution that overthrew Iran’s American-backed shah in 1978-79.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"
Above the pastel murals of trees, paintbrushes, crayons and microscopes, black smoke rises. The glass windows of the school have been blown out by the force of the blast, and its curtains hang shredded from the frames.
Against one burned-out wall, the remains of a playground lie scattered: a red plastic slide, a jumble of child-sized chairs. On an overturned bookshelf a pair of pink plastic sandals have been neatly placed, now covered in dust from the blast.
The missile hit during the school’s morning session. In Iran, the school week runs from Saturday to Thursday, so when US and Israeli bombs began falling at around 10am on Saturday, classes were under way. At a point between 10am and 10.45am, a missile directly hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, in Minab, southern Iran, demolishing its concrete building and killing dozens of seven to 12-year-old girls.
Footage released by Iran foreign press office shows destruction inside girls' school
Photographs and verified videos from the site, which the Guardian has not published due to their graphic nature, show children’s bodies lying partly buried under the debris. In one video, a very small child’s severed arm is pulled from the rubble. Colourful backpacks covered with blood and concrete dust sit among the ruins. ..."
HAARETZ:"Yair Foldes, Bar Peleg, Adi Hashmonaiand Nir Hasson
12:12 AM • March 08 2026 IST
Israeli police disrupted protests against the war in Iran in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Saturday evening.
In Tel Aviv, police forcibly dispersed dozens of demonstrators about 20 minutes after an anti-war protest began.
The move came after far-right agitators Mordechai David, Roi Starr and Yoseph Haddad arrived at the scene and began clashing with protesters, documenting them and verbally confronting them. Police, who were not present in Habima Square at the start of the demonstration, quickly arrived after the clashes began, later citing the confrontations as the reason for dispersing the protest.
Israeli far-right activist Yoseph Haddad films with his phone as he stands before anti-war activists gathering in HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2026.
Israeli far-right activist Yoseph Haddad films with his phone as he stands before anti-war activists gathering in HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2026. Credit: AFP/JACK GUEZ
A police officer at the scene ordered the demonstrators to leave, saying: "Due to the confrontations taking place here, and out of concern for public safety, I ask everyone to disperse."
The state of Israel
Haaretz daily briefing: News & analysis
...
One protester was arrested during the dispersal on suspicion of "disturbing public order," while none of the far-right activists were detained. Cries of "traitor" were directed at left-wing lawmaker Ofer Cassif (Hadash-Ta'al), who attended the protest. He later left the area under police escort.
..."
SFSTANDARD.COM:"By Ezra Wallach
News Reporter
Published Mar. 7, 2026•6:52pm
Share
Mahla Shaghafi, an Iranian American woman who said she’s never voted for Donald Trump, nevertheless found herself wearing a hat riffing off of the president’s famous mantra.
On Saturday afternoon, this self-described Democrat sported a Make Iran Great Again baseball cap, as she shouted down a much larger anti-Iran war demonstration at the Embarcadero Plaza. Shaghafi, along with a few dozen others, came to challenge the larger group of approximately 200 anti-war protestors.
“The only president in the world that had the balls to take care of this murderous Islamic Republic was Trump,” she said. “None of us are happy about losing more innocent people in any country. But, you know, it’s war.”
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
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3 U.S. service members killed in Iran operation, military says; Tehran vows to avenge Khamenei
...
March 1, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. EST Three U.S. service members were killed in action and five were seriously wounded, Central Command said Sunday morning, the first reported U.S. casualties in the joint attack with Israel on Iran. The military also said several other service members suffered minor shrapnel injuries and concussions. After the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in the operation, strikes across the Middle East continued Sunday . .."
NYTIMES:"Here’s the latest.
The Iranian government said on Sunday that U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran had killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation’s supreme leader for decades and an implacable enemy of Israel and the United States.
WASHINGTONPOST:"...
March 9, 2026 at 12:11 p.m. EDT Anthropic sued the Trump administration Monday, calling on a federal judge in San Francisco to strike down a government order forbidding military contractors from partnering with the artificial intelligence company on the grounds that it poses a risk to national security.
..
“These actions are unprecedented and unlawful,” the company’s attorneys wrote. “The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech.”..."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - (This March 5 story contains strong language in paragraph 3)
The U.S. Justice Department released records on Thursday that summarize interviews of an unidentified woman in which she made accusations against President Donald Trump related to an alleged sexual encounter.
..
agents interviewed the woman four times in 2019 as part of their investigation into accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department had previously released a log confirming that the interviews took place but released a summary of only one of those four meetings, in which she accused Epstein of molesting her when she was a teenager.
..
The newly disclosed records, opens new tab, which were posted on the department's website on Thursday, show she also claimed Trump attempted to force her to perform oral sex after Epstein introduced her to the future president in New York or New Jersey in the 1980s when she was between 13 and 15 years old.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the disclosures. Politico, which first reported the disclosures, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the woman's claims "completely baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence."
The Justice Department has cautioned that some of the documents include "untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump." Reuters could not independently confirm the accuracy of the woman's allegations, and records suggest agents stopped speaking with her in 2019.
..
The Justice Department said in a post on the social media platform X that the records it released Thursday were among 15 documents that it had “incorrectly coded as duplicative” and not published as a result.
The disclosure comes as the Justice Department faces scrutiny in Congress over its handling of documents from the Epstein investigation, which it is required to make public. Democrats have accused Trump's administration of concealing records related to Trump, and a committee in the House of Representatives voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi so lawmakers can question her about how the government is handling the disclosures.Trump has said his association with Epstein ended in the mid-2000s and that he was never aware of the financier's sexual abuse. Records previously released by the department show Trump flew several times on Epstein's plane in the 1990s, which Trump has denied. After the financier was first accused of sexual misconduct, Trump called the police chief in Palm Beach to say that "everyone has known he's been doing this," according to an interview record..."
CNN:"Last week, the Trump administration delivered a catastrophic blow to US climate policy by repealing the longstanding scientific finding that planet-warming pollution poses a danger to humans.
Getting to this point was one of the administration’s most audacious deregulatory goals. But it doesn’t represent a complete success — yet. .."
NYTIMES:"For two years, settlers from a nearby outpost had tried to drive Mr. Abu Naim from his land, set on the stony outskirts of Al Mughayir, a Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Their attacks came at all hours and in all manners, from vandalism and violent threats to beatings, according to the family, and Palestinian and Israeli witnesses.
Through it all, Mr. Abu Naim had hung on, quietly resisting an increasingly aggressive settler campaign to displace Palestinians in the West Bank. His struggle was chronicled in a recent New York Times article on Israel’s escalating campaign for control of the West Bank.
It all came to a head on Saturday when armed settlers descended on his home and viciously beat him, his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter, according to Palestinian and Israeli witnesses.
.."
WASHINGTONPOST:"BRUSSELS — The European Union’s foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians after Hungary’s new government lifted the country’s veto.
The decision, which required unanimity in the 27-nation bloc, will impose a travel ban and freeze assets of a group of Israeli settlers and organizations and sanctions on Hamas members..."
POLITICS RAW GEORGE F WILL"
1 Minute Ago: Trump Falls Apart Staff Handling Him Legacy Panic & Black History Erasure |George Will"
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Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature"
JIMMY KIMMEL/YOUTUBE:"
Trump’s President’s Day Meltdown Exposes MAGA’s Global Power Grab | Jimmy Kimmel"
CNN:"A federal judge on Thursday shut down Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over his urging of US service members to refuse illegal orders, ruling that the Pentagon chief’s actions were unconstitutionally retaliatory.
The decision landed two days after a grand jury in Washington, DC, declined to approve charges sought by federal prosecutors against the Arizona senator and several other Democratic lawmakers who taped a video last year warning that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home,” and repeatedly implored service members and the intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
Together, the grand jury declination and ruling from senior US District Judge Richard Leon represent major impediments to efforts by aides of President Donald Trump to use the levers of government to punish Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, over his participation in the video.
Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in a scathing, 29-page ruling that Hegseth was trampling over the First Amendment rights of Kelly and that his moves are an impermissible form of government retaliation.
“That Senator Kelly may be an ‘unusually staunch individual’ does not minimize his entitlement to be free from reprisal for exercising his First Amendment rights,” Leon wrote. “Senator Kelly was reprimanded for exercising his First Amendment right to speak on matters of public concern.”The Pentagon, the judge wrote, was targeting “unquestionably protected speech” that is actually entitled to “special protection” under the law..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"A top Trump administration official on Tuesday disclosed new details to support its claim that China conducted an underground nuclear explosion during Donald Trump’s first presidency, a contested assertion that, nevertheless, has become a catalyst for his push to resume such testing by the United States.
“We’re not going to remain at an intolerable disadvantage,” Christopher Yeaw, who heads the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, said during a discussion at the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington. He urged Beijing to “come clean” about its nuclear weapons tests, which some U.S. officials and experts say is part of a determined Chinese effort to catch up to, if not eclipse, the United States’ global advantage in nuclear weapons technology..."
APNEWS:"MUNICH (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a reassuring message to America’s allies on Saturday, striking a less aggressive but still firm tone about the administration’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its priorities after more than a year of President Donald Trump’s often-hostile rhetoric toward traditional allies..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The EU’s foreign policy chief has denied claims levelled by the US that Europe is facing civilisational erasure, rejecting what she condemned as “fashionable euro-bashing” by Washington.
Kaja Kallas also said the US was discovering that it could not settle the war in Ukraine without Europe’s involvement and consent...“Euro-bashing” was now “very fashionable” despite all “the good things that Europe actually has to offer,” Kallas said. “When I travel around the world, I see countries that look up to us because we represent values that are still highly regarded.
“Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilisational erasure. In fact, people still want to join our club, and not just fellow Europeans. In Canada, I was told over 40% of Canadians have an interest in joining the EU.”
She challenged the US criticism of media freedom in Europe, pointing out that her own country, Estonia, ranked second in the world press freedom index and the US 58th. Given the EU’s record on human rights, she said, she found some of the criticisms very hard to take.
“We are, you know, pushing humanity forward, trying to defend human rights and all this, which is actually bringing also prosperity for people...."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Israel has moved aggressively in recent days to deepen its control over the occupied West Bank, unilaterally adopting policies that analysts say represent a major shift toward annexation and appear to defy President Donald Trump, who has said he opposes annexation but has not publicly pushed back on the escalating Israeli measures.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
This month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, in a closed-door meeting, adopted measures to make it easier for settlers to purchase land and circumvent the Palestinian Authority in areas it has controlled since a 1995 agreement under the Oslo accords. The move was widely condemned in the Arab world and globally as a violation of international law and an undoing of decades-old regional security agreements.
After that decision, the White House issued a statement reiterating Trump’s opposition to annexation, and the president emphasized his position in an interview with Axios. “I am against annexation,” Trump said, adding: “We have enough things to think about now. We don’t need to be dealing with the West Bank.”
Both Trump and the White House statement brushed over his opposition to annexation in vague terms, and neither referenced the accelerating measures by Israel to expand settlements.Since then, Netanyahu visited Trump at the White House last week, and on Sunday, after returning to Israel, his cabinet voted to restart a process of land registration, suspended since 1968, in a part of the West Bank known as Area C. Experts say that move will probably result in Israel’s taking permanent control of swaths of territory as it designates it “state land.”.."
REUTERS:"CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel fired airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 11 Palestinians, Palestinian officials said, in what the military called a response to ceasefire violations by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Gaza medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south and another person was shot dead in the north..."
CNN:"Tel Aviv
—
The Israeli government has advanced the registration of territory in the occupied West Bank as state land in a move that Palestinians have decried as “de facto annexation.”
For the first time since Israel occupied the territory in 1967, the government will create a mechanism to officially register large swaths of land under the state.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry defended the move as an “administrative measure” which would “bring order” to land registration. But government ministers made clear the intent was to increase settlement and entrench Israel’s grip on the land.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalal Smotrich said the land registry would continue “the settlement and governance revolution across all parts of our land” as he referenced Judea and Samaria, the biblical term for the West Bank. And Justice Minister Yariv Levin said Israel is “committed to strengthening its hold over all parts of our land, and this decision expresses that commitment.”
The government’s new measure will apply to what is known as Area C of the West Bank, about 60% of the territory and home to an estimated 180,000-300,000 Palestinians and to a settler population of at least 325,500, according to Israeli human rights group Btselem.
The Palestinian Presidency said the decision violated international law and amounted to “de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.” In a statement, the president’s office warned that the move was a “declaration of the annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”..."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The decisions amount to a sweeping legal rebuke of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Yet the administration has continued jailing people indefinitely even after courts ruled the policy was illegal..."It is appalling that the Government insists that this Court should redefine or completely disregard the current law as it is clearly written," U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston of West Virginia, an appointee of President George W. Bush, wrote last week, ordering the release of a Venezuelan detainee in the state.
Most of the rulings center on the Trump administration’s departure from a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of federal law that immigrants already living in the United States could be released on bond while they pursue their cases in immigration court.
....."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Stephen Voss/For The Washington Post
By Jeremy Roebuck, Perry Stein, Theodoric Meyer and Salvador Rizzo
The Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump’s critics entered a new phase this week, when federal prosecutors failed to indict six Democratic lawmakers who recorded a video reminding military service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders.
Department lawyers, under pressure from the president, previously targeted several of Trump’s most outspoken foes, including former director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both faced since-dismissed charges last year over alleged conduct unrelated to their political views.
But the case federal prosecutors put before a grand jury Tuesday — seeking to charge Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) and four others over their 90-second video message — marked the first time the department has directly sought to classify critical speech from prominent Trump detractors as a crime.
Grand jurors roundly rejected the effort, The Washington Post reported. But legal observers and the lawmakers at the center of the probe have argued in the days since that the panel’s decision is almost beside the point.
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“This is not a good news story,” Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, told reporters during a news conference this week. “This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them.”
The attempt to charge the lawmakers represents an evolution of the campaign that began last year with cases against James and Comey, said Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth College.
“Prosecuting people for speech criticizing the president is in some ways even more dangerous,” Nyhan said, “especially given these are legislators acting in their public role and especially given that they were calling for the military and national security state to follow the law.”
Still, some Trump allies in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), defended the administration’s efforts...."
CNN:"Without the Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ South America would be at risk. Here’s how they can be preserved.Every day, the Amazon releases billions of tons of water into the atmosphere that are carried by winds toward other regions of South America. These vast flows of moisture, known as “flying rivers,” deliver the rains that supply forests, cities, crops and power generation far beyond the rainforest.
But for the process to keep working, the Amazon ecosystem must stay connected, and the forest that produces and transports that moisture must be protected..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Jake Spring, Ambrosia Wojahn and Brady Dennis
Nearly 17 years after the Environmental Protection Agency declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten the public’s health and welfare, the agency on Thursday rescinded the landmark legal opinion underpinning a wave of federal policies aimed at climate change.
The agency issued its “endangerment finding” in 2009, concluding that the government had a sound legal basis to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. In scrapping the policy this week, the EPA will seek to erase limits on emissions from cars, power plants and other industries that release the vast majority of the nation’s planet-warming pollution.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"A top House Democrat on Monday accused the justice department of making “mysterious redactions” to documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that obscured the names of abusers, while also allowing the identities of the disgraced financier’s victims to become public.
Jamie Raskin, House judiciary ranking member, criticized the department after reviewing the unredacted Epstein files at a government facility in Washington DC on the first day they were made available to lawmakers.
..."
NYTIMES:"The security order that has bound together the West and much of the rest of the world since the end of World War II is under attack from President Trump and like-minded leaders, officials of the Munich Security Conference warned on Monday in remarkably blunt terms.
The world has entered an era of “wrecking ball politics,” a team of conference staff wrote on Monday, in their 2026 Munich Security Report. The conference is a highly watched annual gathering of security officials from Europe, the U.S. and beyond..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"President Donald Trump wrote on social media Thursday that he intends to replace the last remaining nuclear arms limitation treaty between the United States and Russia with a new treaty rather than extending it.
..."
APNEWS:"The Pentagon said Friday it is cutting ties with Harvard University, ending all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with the Ivy League institution.
The announcement marks the latest development in the Trump administration’s prolonged standoff with Harvard over the White House’s demands for reforms at the Ivy League school.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement Friday that Harvard “no longer meets the needs of the War Department or the military services.”
..
NYTIMES:"Trump Berates Female Reporter Pressing Him on Epstein for Not Smiling
President Trump scolded CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, after she asked about the latest release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, calling her “the worst reporter.”"
CNN:"President Donald Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” in an interview that aired Monday, as his administration pushes to overhaul election ground rules ahead of the pivotal midterm races later this year...“We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes. We have states that I won, that show I didn’t win,” Trump said. “Now you’re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get with a court order, the ballots, you’re going to see some interesting things come out.”
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"...The U.S. government does not provide direct information about children in immigration custody. But federal data on family detention, and independent analyses of child detentions, suggest immigration authorities are increasingly ensnaring the youngest and most vulnerable lives in President Donald Trump’s effort to deport massive numbers of undocumented immigrants..."
APNEWS:"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday.
The slow rise in the number of dead from the demonstrations adds to the overall tensions facing Iran both inside the country and abroad as it tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program. A second round of talks remains up in the air as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case directly with U.S. President Donald Trump to intensify his demands on Tehran in the negotiations..."
APNEWS:"DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh on Thursday held its first election since the 2024 mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government. The balloting was mostly peaceful in a vote seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil..."
CNN:"The biggest myth about White Christian nationalism
Analysis by
John Blake
Jan 25, 2026
..."
CNN:Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the state National Guard to support the Minnesota State Patrol, Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, state public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement Saturday.
..
“Stay safe and stay peaceful today,” Walz urged the public in a social media post Saturday. “Our public safety team has the resources, coordination, and personnel on the ground to maintain public safety and respond if needed. Thanks to local law enforcement for keeping the peace.”
..."
CNN:"Bishop's warning to prepare for 'new era of martyrdom' amid ICE clashes goes viral
Erin Burnett Out Front
CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Bishop Robert Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire about his message to his followers about preparing for a "new era of martyrdom" following a wave of clashes across the US involving ICE..."
CNN:"On the verge of strikes in Iran, the US held off. What happens next is up to Trump"
APNEWS:"Video
Watch: Rare moment sperm whales help newborn to swim
Scientists have captured one of the most detailed observations of a sperm whale birth ever recorded in the wild. This rare insight shows how the deep diving marine mammals reproduce and interact socially.
Published 3:08 PM PDT, March 26, 2026"
CNN:"On Monday, 60 Tao people from Taiwan’s Orchid Island set off on a 111-mile voyage, taking turns to paddle against strong currents to reach the Ivatan people on Batan Island, located in the far north of the Philippines, replicating a journey first thought to have been made more than 4,000 years ago..."
CNN:"Powerful solar activity released by the sun is heading for Earth and it’s likely to create dazzling auroral displays in unexpected areas Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. It could also disrupt satellite-based communications and GPS accuracy.
A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, is being tracked by the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or SWPC.
“An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress - this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years,” SWPC shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.”..."
LIVESCIENCE"
A supermassive black hole embedded in an early galaxy likely starved the galaxy of gas needed to form young stars, new observations revealed.New observations of a strange galaxy show it was slowly starved to death by its own black hole.
Two telescopes peered deep into space at the galaxy GS-10578, nicknamed "Pablo's Galaxy," after the name of the astronomer who previously studied it..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The pet I'll never forget
Life and style
The pet I’ll never forget: Otto, the wild, people-loving golden retriever who had 20 volunteer dog walkers
His charm and excitement helped us see the world as he did – full of kindness and joy. When we bought Otto, a golden retriever, a year after the death of our previous dog Bertie, we were sceptical that he could live up to our high expectations. What quickly became apparent, during the routine humiliation of our puppy training classes, was that Otto was a law unto himself..."
THEGUARDIAN:"He could use door handles and steal catnip from the kitchen cupboards. And, when I became very unwell, he would pace around me like a doctor on call
Robin Craig
Mon 2 Mar 2026 05.00 EST
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Harvey came into our lives during a year of loss. It was 2004, and my grandmother had just died, quickly followed by our beloved cat Skeet (Manx English for “nosy”). With the family thrown into mourning, the house became eerily quiet and still, and my mother was grieving.
I was only 11, and did not know how to take care of her, but I did know that we needed the chaos and joy of a new cat. We found Harvey at the local cattery on the Isle of Man: he sat squeezed at the back of his pen, looking curiously at us with enormoeus, owl-like eyes. My mother smiled for the first time in months. We knew he was the cat for us.Harvey settled in quickly and we adored him. He was loved because he was so human – he used door handles to let himself in, concocted schemes to steal catnip from th kitchen cupboard, and meowed in a broken “mah-ow” that sounded disquietingly similar to “hallo”. But mostly he was loved because he so obviously loved us back. When he found one of us upset, he would instinctively sit close and purr, his calm weight anchoring us to the world..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Dog roaming highway is rescued after construction crew feeds her and builds her a hut
Workers helped a stray terrier survive for about two months while the dog dodged rescuers near a Maryland highway...Susan’s life is now filled with turkey-flavored treats and scratches behind her ears — which she requests by gently headbutting her owners.“The degree to which she has made herself comfortable is both heartwarming and hilarious to us,” Jill-Ann said, “because she just is already queen.”..."
CNN:"...Archaeologists had thought that cats and humans began living with one another around 9,500 years ago in the Levant, which today includes parts of the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, at the beginning of the Neolithic era when humans started growing crops...However, new analysis of genetic information recovered from cat skeletal remains at archaeological sites across Europe, the Middle East and Asia suggests that the domestic cats familiar today have far more recent origins and were not the first felines to live alongside humans..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"...When traveling, wildlife encounters often resemble nature documentaries, cinematic episodes capturing an animal’s strength, beauty and spirit. Many others look more like “America’s Funniest Videos.” Monkeys raiding hotel rooms. Sea lions nipping at snorkelers’ heels. A penguin bunking with a surprised guest.
Animals never cease to amuse — and amaze — us, especially when our interactions with them are unscripted. In some destinations — such as India, Australia and Africa, where development has encroached on natural areas — animals and humans bump into each other on a regular basis. You should do your best to keep a safe distance from wild creatures, even if they are in “your” space. .."
NYTIMES:"For a cow, Veronika has had what might be considered an idyllic life. She lives in a picturesque town in Austria, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and glacial lakes. She is a beloved family pet, rather than a production animal, and spends her days ambling through tree-lined pastures. And when she has an itch, she scratches it — by expertly wielding a stick.
Now, in a new study, Veronika has demonstrated even more advanced scratching skills, deploying different ends of a wooden broom to target different parts of her body. It is, scientists say, an example of flexible tool use, a behavior that is relatively rare in the animal kingdom. The paper, which was published in Current Biology on Monday, is the first scientific paper to describe tool use in cattle, which have not traditionally been celebrated for their smarts..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump on Friday tried to sell Big Oil executives on the promise of an expansive new drilling campaign in Venezuela.
But at least for now, the industry isn’t buying it.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"One of Donald Trump’s top aides has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland, as leaders from major European powers rallied behind the Arctic territory.
Stephen Miller, the US president’s deputy chief of staff for policy, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over island because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.
After the removal of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, Donald Trump has renewed his calls for the US to take control of Greenland, prompting anger and alarm in Europe. On Tuesday the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK joined the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in defending Greenland’s sovereignty.In an interview with CNN Miller said military intervention would not be needed in order to gain control over Greenland because of its small population..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The White House published a website Tuesday with a revised version of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, underscoring President Donald Trump’s years-long effort to reshape the narrative surrounding the day in which a mob of his supporters overran the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
The White House website criticizes Democrats and some Republicans for engaging in what Trump has called a “witch hunt” against him after the Jan. 6 attack. Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023 on four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, in a case investigating his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal prosecution of Trump, has denied that the case was politically motivated. Smith dropped the case after Trump was reelected in 2024, citing federal regulations that prohibit prosecutions against sitting presidents.
“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” Smith testified to lawmakers last month, according to a transcript released by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee. “These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him.”
Trump also was impeached following the attack, but the Senate acquitted him during the subsequent trial. The attack — and Trump’s involvement — became the focus of a bipartisan House committee, whose members are prominently featured on the White House’s new website.
The attack resulted in five deaths, including that of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died the following day after being assaulted in the riot. Among the numerous revisions to the recounting of Jan. 6, the White House website claims that “Zero law enforcement officers lost their lives,” making no mention of Sicknick. The riot also left about 140 members of law enforcement injured, and years later, the trauma of defending the Capitol that day has continued to dog many officers...The White House website also falsely claims — as Trump has for years — that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” and that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to “return disputed electoral slates to state legislatures for review and decertification” but chose not to “in an act of cowardice and sabotage..."
CNN:"Suspect arrested after a fire destroys the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, 6 decades after a KKK bombing
By
Chris Boyette A suspect has been arrested after a fire tore through Beth Israel, the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday, leaving the congregation forced to rebuild from the ashes — again.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the fire, which remains under investigation, but it comes amid a wave of antisemitic attacks in recent years...This isn’t the first time the synagogue has burned. On September 18, 1967, Beth Israel’s temple was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members, in part because of the congregation’s work in the civil rights movement, according to the synagogue’s website..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump says he expects to nominate a new Federal Reserve chair this month. When that happens, Trump will have run out of excuses: This will officially become his economy, for better or worse.
Throughout the first year of his second term, Trump has mostly blamed America’s affordability problems on two men: Former President Joe Biden and Fed Chair Jerome Powell...
But those excuses are already falling flat..."
CNN:"The Justice Department is denying accusations of a cover-up and of flouting a new law following its partial and extensively redacted releases of files on Jeffrey Epstein in an ever-deepening political storm around President Donald Trump.
.."
CNN:"Epstein cites “our president” in 2019 letter to Larry Nassar...It is included in the latest collection of Epstein documents released Monday. In the letter, Epstein wrote: “Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls.”
Authorities have not accused Trump of any wrongdoing or charged him with any crimes in connection with Epstein.
“Dear L.N.,” Epstein wrote, “As you know by now, I have taken the ‘short route’ home. Good luck! We shared one thing … our love and caring for young ladies and the hope they’d reach their full potential. Our President also shares our love of young, nubile girls.” Epstein makes another lewd reference to Trump’s treatment of women in the letter.
“Life is unfair,” Epstein wrote, before finishing the letter.
While not referencing this specific letter, the Justice Department on Monday released a statement saying some of the documents released “contain untrue and sensationalist claims” against the president.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”
...Nassar, the longtime doctor for the USA gymnastics team and Michigan State University, is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison on child pornography charges. More than 150 women and girls publicly told a court he sexually abused them."
CNN:"Deaf Palestinian man beaten by Israeli settlers
In a mob attack on Thursday afternoon, a group of Israeli settlers beat an elderly deaf man and torched cars during a mob attack in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank. Surveillance footage shows several settlers attacking the man with clubs while others run up and kick him while he’s on his knees. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports..."
HAARETZ:"The demonstration planned to take place in Tel Aviv on Saturday night is not just another protest. It is not just a citizenship test for the Arab society in Israel either, but instead a test for all Israelis.
The recent wave of protest against crime in Arab society is civilian in nature, with no partisan markers in sight. Demonstrators will come out to the streets of Tel Aviv with one simple demand: Wanting to live.
Neither the organizers nor the protesters harbor any illusions that the rally will awaken the indifferent Israeli government or that Arabs' demand for personal safety will echo in the halls of the Knesset.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely not even spare a single sentence for the matter at the cabinet meeting, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir may even attempt to exploit the protest to stir conflict and incite against Arabs on social media..."
NYTIMES:"...
From the rubble and the ruin, the torture and the terror, the dust and the debris, something is stirring in the Middle East, a spirit that says no to endless cycles of violence and values a future for the region’s children above past feuds.
This sentiment is tenuous, contested and vulnerable. But with more than a half-million killed in Syria’s 13-year civil war and 70,000 Palestinians killed in the two-year Gaza war, alongside close to 2,000 Israelis, exhaustion is widespread. Shun retribution, murmur the war-weary, and think again.
“There is no other solution but finding a solution,” said Hassan Smadi, 48, a hospital worker in the battered southern Syrian town of Busra. He lost a younger brother, killed in the relentless bombing by Bashar al-Assad, the dictator ousted last year; his family fled to Jordan. “We are tired of war and bored of war, and want only to live peacefully.”
A sign close to where Mr. Smadi stood, installed recently by the local authorities outside a remarkably preserved Roman amphitheater, says, “On this earth, there exists that which deserves life,” a line from the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
If there is a refrain heard across war-shattered Syria, where even the gray-green wilting trees look shellshocked, it is, “We just want to live.”
..."
SPACE.COM:"Astronomers have discovered 53 new supermassive black hole-powered quasars that are blasting out jets of matter at near light-speed that stretch out for up to 7.2 million light-years, around 50 times the width of the Milky Way.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"On this, the scientists agree: Vincent van Gogh’s masterful post-impressionist painting “The Starry Night” is an iconic piece of art. Its mesmerizing whirls and swirls capture the imagination.
But do the flowing brushstrokes evoke the real physical phenomenon of turbulence? Was Van Gogh channeling the fluid mechanics that causes smoke from a chimney to chaotically curl or the eddies that form in fast-moving rivers when he painted the scene? There, a fierce debate begins.
..."
CNN:What we're covering
• Trump on affordability: President Donald Trump gave his administration high marks on the economy, grading himself an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.” He is traveling to Pennsylvania later to make remarks on the cost of living as many Americans report feeling a financial crunch.
• Boat strikes: Trump said video he’s seen of a second strike on an alleged drug boat is “not pretty,” but he defended the strikes as necessary to stop the flow of drugs into the US. Trump added he “doesn’t care” if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were to testify before Congress. Hegseth and other top administration officials are expected to brief “Gang of Eight” lawmakers this afternoon, sources tell CNN.
• Ukraine war: Trump said it’s time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “start accepting things” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that Moscow has a stronger negotiation position. He also slammed European allies as “decaying” nations that are being weakened by immigration.
Immigration, boat strikes and the economy: Here's what Trump addressed in his latest interview
From CNN’s Michael Williams, Kit Maher and Aditi Sangal
President Donald Trump in an interview with Politico published today criticized some of America’s closest allies, argued that Russia has the “upper hand” in its war in Ukraine and discussed the video of boat strikes in Venezuela.
Here’s a quick roundup of what he said:
• Trump’s view of immigration in Europe: The president said “most” European nations are “decaying” due to immigration. Immigrants, according to Trump, have a different ideology, which will make European countries “much weaker, and they’ll be much different.” He also targeted London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he has “a totally different ideology of what he’s supposed to have” and was elected because “so many people have come in.”
• Assessment of the Russia-Ukraine war: Trump argued that Russia has the “upper hand” and a stronger negotiation position, and said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has to “start accepting things, you know, when you’re losing.”
• On boat strikes: Trump said the video he’s seen of a second strike on an alleged drug boat from Venezuela isn’t “pretty” but defended the strikes as necessary to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. Trump didn’t say how far he’d go to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, but repeated that he wouldn’t “rule in or out” a ground invasion.
• High praise for his economy: The president graded himself an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” as he heads to Pennsylvania today to communicate a message on affordability that risks being out of touch with what many Americans are feeling.
"
WASHINGTONPOST:"Trump’s latest anti-immigration push echoes the nativism of the 1920s
The president and his aides have escalated anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies in recent weeks..."
CNN:"Minneapolis mayor responds to Trump calling him a ‘fool’ for supporting immigrants: ‘That’s neither clever, nor is it right’
Erin Burnett Out Front
CNN's Erin Burnett talks to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after the Trump administration calls Somali immigrants "garbage', and unleashes an ICE operation on the city..."
CNN:"In a major loss to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to protect ICE agents.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court said in its unsigned order.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the opinion."
NYTIMES:"The New York Times accused the Pentagon in a lawsuit on Thursday of infringing on the constitutional rights of journalists by imposing a set of new restrictions on reporting about the military.
In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, The Times argued that the Defense Department’s new policy violated the First Amendment and “seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done — ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements.”
The rules, which went into effect in October, are a stark departure from the previous ones, in both length and scope. They require reporters to sign a 21-page form that sets restrictions on journalistic activities, including requests for story tips and inquiries to Pentagon sources. Reporters who don’t comply could lose their press passes, and the Pentagon has accorded itself “unbridled discretion” to enforce the policy as it sees fit, according to the lawsuit..."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration wants the International Criminal Court to amend its founding document to ensure it does not investigate the Republican president and his top officials, a Trump administration official said, threatening new U.S. sanctions on the court if it did not.
If the court does not act on this U.S. demand and two others - dropping investigations of Israeli leaders over the Gaza war and formally ending an earlier probe of U.S. troops over their actions in Afghanistan - Washington may penalize more ICC officials and could sanction the court itself, the official said.
Sanctioning the court would significantly escalate the U.S. campaign against the ICC, which has long been criticized by U.S. officials including both Republicans and Democrats, who say the court infringes on U.S. sovereignty.
The Trump administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Washington has communicated its demands to ICC members, some of whom are U.S. allies, and has also made them known to the court. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC in 2002 as a court of last resort, with the power to prosecute heads of state..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
Opinion
George F. Will
A sickening moral slum of an administration
Regarding Venezuela, Ukraine and much more, Trump and his acolytes are worse than simply incompetent.
December 2, 2025 at 1:47 p.m. EST...Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement.
In 1967, novelist Gwyn Griffin published a World War II novel, “An Operational Necessity,” that 58 years later is again pertinent. According to the laws of war, survivors of a sunken ship cannot be attacked. But a German submarine captain, after sinking a French ship, orders the machine-gunning of the ship’s crew, lest their survival endanger his men by revealing where his boat is operating. In the book’s dramatic climax, a postwar tribunal examines the German commander’s moral calculus.
..
No operational necessity justified Hegseth’s de facto order to kill two survivors clinging to the wreckage of one of the supposed drug boats obliterated by U.S. forces near Venezuela. His order was reported by The Post from two sources (“The order was to kill everybody,” one said) and has not been explicitly denied by Hegseth. President Donald Trump says Hegseth told him that he (Hegseth) “said he did not say that.” If Trump is telling the truth about Hegseth, and Hegseth is telling the truth to Trump, it is strange that (per the Post report) the commander of the boat-destroying operation said he ordered the attack on the survivors to comply with Hegseth’s order..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Retired judges warn that the rule of law is unraveling
In interviews, former state and federal judges warn that democracy’s guardrails may already be weakened as the rule of law begins to falter. When the White House blasted a federal judge as “partisan” for dismissing the criminal cases against former director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James this week, it was an attack that has become common in President Donald Trump’s second term..."
REUTERS:"...Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era immigration program to resettle thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. during the war and feared reprisal from Taliban forces who seized control after the U.S. withdrawal. More than 70,000 Afghans have been resettled in the U.S. under the program...
Pirro and Patel blamed the Biden administration for improperly vetting Lakanwal, although they offered no evidence to support their assertion.
According to a federal law enforcement dossier seen by Reuters, Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23, three months after Trump took office.
.."
CNN:"President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued the affordability issue is an epic “scam” conjured up by Democrats.
“It’s a con job. I think affordability is the greatest con job,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday.
It’s a bizarre argument on many levels, especially since Trump is about to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to promote his economic agenda and his continued focus on “ending Joe Biden’s inflation crisis,” a White House official told CNN.
And for Trump, calling affordability a scam is doubly strange because it’s the very issue that helped propel him back to the White House.
Trump’s affordability campaign pledge
Trump successfully tapped into anger over the cost of living in the 2024 election and promised voters he would swiftly bring down prices – even if that was never realistic in the first place.
Candidate Trump used remarkably similar language to what President Trump now dismisses as a hoax.
“Inflation is destroying our country,” Trump said during an August rally in North Carolina after holding up Tic-Tacs to highlight shrinkflation, when companies charge the same for a smaller amount of product. “We will target everything from car affordability to housing affordability to insurance costs to supply chain issues.”
Trump said at that rally he would instruct his Cabinet to deliver results “within the first 100 days,” if not earlier." Weeks later during a rally in Montana, Trump promised to bring down “prices of all goods.”
“Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again,” Trump said in a line that he repeated in late September in Pennsylvania.
The No. 3 promise in the 2024 Republican Party platform reads: “END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN.”
..."
CNN:"The Pentagon said Monday that it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired US Navy captain, in light of “serious allegations of misconduct” the department has received against him, and could even recall him to active duty to face a court martial or administrative punishment.
The investigation comes as President Donald Trump has been pushing relentlessly for consequences for Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video they made reminding servicemembers of their duty to disobey illegal orders.
In a video posted last week on X, the lawmakers said that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home,” and repeatedly urged the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
Trump called the lawmakers’ actions “seditious” and “treason.”
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"A federal judge dismissed charges against former director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, delivering an emphatic blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to engineer prosecutions of two of his prominent foes..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"President Donald Trump’s decision to invite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a “working visit” to the White House is a costly mistake.
Pariahs don’t usually get to visit the West Wing. Such invitations — like the one recently extended to Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who until this month was on the U.S. government’s list of designated terrorists — signal legitimacy to the rest of the world.
.."
CNN:"President Trump frequently demonstrates his disdain for journalists. He expresses his admiration for authoritarians almost as often.
Tuesday showed how intertwined those two instincts really are.
Trump repeatedly objected to press questions during an Oval Office photo op with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whose country does not have a free press.
He lashed out at an ABC correspondent, Mary Bruce, after she invoked the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
The president said his ally, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, should “look at” punishing ABC over its news coverage.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong,” he asserted.Trump misstated how FCC licenses actually work, but his message was clear: He’d like his government to retaliate the way a dictator would.
..
According to Reporters Without Borders, which tracks press freedom all around the world, “independent media are non-existent in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi journalists live under heavy surveillance, even when abroad.”
“Despite societal reforms, journalists are still being detained and media outlets operate under strict state control,” the organization says.
Trump has no such control over the American media, but he acts like he wants to have it.
In his comments on Tuesday, Trump was “reflecting his belief that the press is there to be subservient to him, to shut up when he demands they shut up when he finds the question embarrassing,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, a non-profit founded by Khashoggi in 2018..."
NYTIMES:"...As the administration has stepped up its deportation efforts, though, the Catholic Church has gotten louder in its criticism. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Wednesday issued a special message — the first since 2013 — opposing what it called the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”
...
YOUTUBE/MSNBC:"This week, Trump tried to downplay voters' concerns about affordability, a top issue that helped propel Democrats to big election wins on Tuesday. 
According to the Daily Beast, Friday night, he threw another extravagant party at Mar-a-Lago for his celebrity friends and loyal supporters featuring opera performances, ice sculptures, and a lavish dinner, all in the same night the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to withhold SNAP benefits from 42 million people..."
CNN:"Images of Donald Trump appearing to close his eyes at an Oval Office announcement this week rocketed around social media this weekend, with the president’s opponents seizing on the footage to raise questions about Trump’s on-the-job performance..."
WASHINGTONPOST"The Education Department plans to announce Tuesday that it will move multiple parts of the agency to other federal departments, an unprecedented and unilateral effort to dismantle an agency created by Congress to ensure all Americans have equal access to educational opportunity and better coordinate federal programs.
..President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March seeking to close the department and asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon to work with Congress to do so." The executive order aims to close the Department of Education and return its functions to the states which must require "that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology."
CNN:"President Donald Trump has notified Congress he is moving to cancel $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid using a rare “pocket rescission,” drawing criticism from Democrats and at least one top Republican senator who questioned the legality of the move..."
Wearing a hat that said "TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING" Trump fauns over and boasts about a picture sent to him by Putin
CNN:"
The spectacular rise and swift erasure of Black Lives Matter Plaza
By
Chelsea Bailey
...“Nobody should die like that.”
It was Starlette Thomas’ first thought when she watched a bystander’s video on social media of George Floyd dying under the knee of a White police officer.
And it was the spark that propelled her out of her office and into the streets of Washington, DC, where she joined the throngs in chanting three words that almost instantly galvanized into both a plea and a rallying cry:
Black Lives Matter.
In the days after the murder on Monday, May 25, 2020, along a Minneapolis road, hundreds of thousands flooded streets across the nation in protest. Most had been isolating for months as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
But the death of yet another Black person at the hands of police seemed to shatter a dam in the American conscious...On June 5 – just 11 days after Floyd took his last breath – the district officially unveiled Black Lives Matter Plaza. The date happened to coincide with the birthday of Breonna Taylor, the Black American whose life had been cut tragically short that March in an encounter with police.
“We know what’s going on in our country,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “We had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city … And that message is to the American people that Black Lives Matter, that Black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up as part of our values.”...Then, after nearly five years of the plaza hosting moments both horrifying and holy, a Republican congressman from Georgia introduced a bill that would have withheld federal funding from Washington, DC, unless the mural was erased.
Facing political pressure unlikely to soon relent, Bowser’s office ultimately announced the artwork – with the plaza’s official designation – would be removed.
On a Sunday this March, dozens of visitors paused at the intersection of 16th and I Streets NW to take final photos before construction crews pulverized Black Lives Matter Plaza into dust and piles of rock..."
CNN:"
President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions inside the administration over potentially suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court, two people familiar with the consideration told CNN.
One of Trump’s top aides, Stephen Miller, confirmed publicly Friday that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, adding that it “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”..." The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote "...In the run-up to the 2016 election, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller promoted white nationalist literature, pushed racist immigration stories and obsessed over the loss of Confederate symbols after Dylann Roof’s murderous rampage, according to leaked emails reviewed by Hatewatch.
The emails, which Miller sent to the conservative website Breitbart News in 2015 and 2016, showcase the extremist, anti-immigrant ideology that undergirds the policies he has helped create as an architect of Donald Trump’s presidency. These policies include reportedly setting arrest quotas for undocumented immigrants, an executive order effectively banning immigration from five Muslim-majority countries and a policy of family separation at refugee resettlement facilities that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General said is causing “intense trauma” in children."
CNN:"The math Trump’s administration used to calculate tariff rates stuns economists"
CNN:"'A coward who is Vladimir Putin's puppet': Rep. Moulton on Trump's meeting with Zelensky
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) called President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance cowards and puppets after their meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky devolved into a tense shouting match...""
CNN:"A remarkable shouting match broke out in the Oval Office on Friday between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who was hoping to appeal to the US for continued security assistance during his trip to Washington.
Raising their voices, Trump and Zelensky — along with the Vice President JD Vance — engaged in a tense back-and-forth about the nature of US support, and whether Zelensky had demonstrated enough gratitude.
“You’re not really in good position right now,” Trump scolded Zelensky, raising his voice.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” the US president went on.
Vance called Zelensky “disrespectful” for trying to litigate the conflict in public...Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump will no longer hold a joint news conference on Friday, a White House official confirmed.
The Ukrainians are about to leave the White House.
" COMMENT: PUTIN'S POODLES ARE BETRAYING UKRAINE AND THE WEST
YOUTUBE/FOXNEWS:"President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sparred during their meeting at the White House to end the Russia-Ukraine War, including Trump telling the Ukraine leader that he's "gambling with World War III."
"We signed a deal with Putin. He
did not keep it, what kind of diplomacy are you talking about?" Zelenskyy told Vance.
Vance told Zelenskyy his remarks were "very disrespectful."
"I think it's disrespectful to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance said.
"Have you said thank you once?" Vance asked Zelenskyy.
"What you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, that's backed you," Trump said to Zelenskyy.
"Have you said thank you once?" Vance asked Zelenskyy.
"You've talked too much," Trump said to Zelenskyy.
"You're country is in big trouble. You're not winning this," Trump said. "You have a damn good chance at coming out okay because of us."
"If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks," Trump said to Zelenskyy..
"In three days, I heard it from Putin, in three days," Zelenskyy responded. "It's going to be very hard to do business like this," Trump added.
.." COMMENT: ZELENSKYY AND UKRAINE DESERVE THE RESPECT OF TRUMP AND VANCE WHO ARE COWARDS AND TRAITORS TO DEMOCRACY BY BOWING TO PUTIN; UKRAINE AND ZELENSKY FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY WHILE TRUMP ET AL DESTROY AMERICA
CNN:"British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged US President Donald Trump against accepting any peace deal in Ukraine that would “reward” Russia or its allies.
“Mr. President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and stop the killing,” Starmer said at a joint news conference after a meeting between the two leaders in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“But we have to get it right. There’s a famous slogan in the United Kingdom from after the Second World War that is ‘we have to win the peace,’ and that is what we must do now, because it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor, or that gives encouragement to dangerous regimes like Iran,” he added.
.."
APNEWS:"ROME (AP) — Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of migrants, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.”
Francis took the remarkable step of addressing the U.S. migrant crackdown in a letter to U.S. bishops in which he appeared to take direct aim at Vice President JD Vance’s defense of the deportation program on theological grounds.
U.S. border czar Tom Homan immediately pushed back, noting that the Vatican is a city-state surrounded by walls and that Francis should leave border enforcement to his office.
History’s first Latin American pope has long made caring for migrants a priority of his pontificate citing the biblical command to “welcome the stranger” in demanding that countries welcome, protect, promote and integrate those fleeing conflicts, poverty and climate disasters...." MATTHEW 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’44 “Then they also will answer [b]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
NYTIMES:"Donald J. Trump on Friday tried to revise the history of the deadly attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, as new details in the federal prosecution against him were made public by the judge in the case.
His attempt to recast the events of Jan. 6, 2021, came on the same day that he compared his supporters who were arrested, convicted and imprisoned for their actions at the Capitol to the victims of the Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II. And it followed a recent remark in which Mr. Trump declared Jan. 6 a day of “love.”...
On Friday, on his website Truth Social, Mr. Trump amplified a conspiracy theory that the attack on the Capitol was staged by the federal government, and he promoted his false claims that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election......
"...The January 6th Select Committee found that the words “peacefully and patriotically” were drafted by Trump’s speechwriters – not Trump. Those two words were also completely at odds with the rest of Trump’s highly inflammatory remarks, during which he retold multiple lies about the election and directed the crowd’s anger at Vice President Pence and lawmakers. While Trump uttered the word “peacefully” just one time during his speech, which lasted more than an hour, he used variations of the word “fight” 20 times. That was Trump’s authentic voice. Though Trump knew the assembled crowd was “angry,” he ad-libbed the word “fight” on approximately 18 occasions. Trump also personally added multiple incendiary lines, including this one:
“We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” JUSTSECURITY NYU LAW SCHOOL
FOXNEWS: Trump said :" I've been on a mission to rescue our nation from a failed and corrupt
3:16
political establishment and to give you back the country you believe in the country you were born in and the country
3:23
you deserve you're going to get it back we're all getting it back in that mission I will never quit I will never
3:30
Bend I will never break and I will never not ever under any
3:37
circumstances even in the face of death we will never give up never going to give up we're
3:44
going to turn it around we're going to have the four greatest years we've ever had I'm putting everything on the line...we're doing well everywhere because people are looking at the people
5:45
that are destroying our country and they say we're not going to take it anymore if we win Pennsylvania we win the whole
5:52
thing it's over right the whole thing
..."
COMMENT: SAME OLD ATTACKS ON MIGRANTS AND OTHER RACIAL SLURS; STRAIGHT OUT OF THE NAZI PLAYBOOK MEIN KAMPF
Stephanie Grisham used her remarks to condemn Trump’s behind closed doors statements, telling the audience that he mocks his supporters in private and has called them “basement dwellers.
“He has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth He used to tell me,
it doesn't matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it enough and people will believe you."
COMMENT: TRUMP'S STATEMENT TO HER IS A PART OF "THE BIG LIE", THE NAZI PROPAGANDA THAT LED TO THE HOLOCAUST: WIKIPEDIA: THE BIG LIE TRUMP'S ACCUSATIONS THAT DEMOCRATS ARE A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY (WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE WHAT SO EVER) AND SIMILAR FALSE STATEMENTS ARE A PART OF NAZI PROPAGANDA AS WELL WIKIPEDIA: ACCUSATION IN A MIRRORTHESE ARE TECHNIQUES THAT TRUMP, VANCE, AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN ARE CURRENTLY USING
WASHINGTONPOST: "...On Wednesday, the Justice Department published an indictment targeting two employees of RT, the media entity controlled by the Russian government that was formerly known as Russia Today...
Unsurprisingly, both efforts aligned with America’s political right. The company appears to have been Tenet Media, which published videos from popular right-wing commentators...
" COMMENT: RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE HAS NEVER BEEN A "HOAX"
HUFFPOST:"On Tuesday, an official social media account of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign posted a racist meme implying that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency in November, nice suburban neighborhoods will be overrun with hordes of Black people and immigrants.
“Import the third world. Become the third world,” read the post on X, the former Twitter..."MORE RACIST FASCIST FEAR MONGERING PROPAGANDA FROM THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN
AP:"WASHINGTON (AP) — “Mass Deportation Now!” declared the signs at the Republican National Convention, giving a full embrace to Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of migrants in the largest deportation program in American history.
Some Republicans aren’t quite ready for that.
Lauren B. Peña, a Republican activist from Texas, said that hearing Trump’s calls for mass deportations, as well as terms like “illegals” and “invasion” thrown around at the convention, made her feel uncomfortable. Like some Republicans in Congress who have advanced balanced approaches to immigration, she hopes Trump is just blustering..."COMMENT: NOT VERY CHRISTIAN IS IT:"41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’"MATTHEW 25:41-43 NKJV
INSTAGRAM:"sjp.columbia
1d
A message from the children of Gaza to the national student movement 🥺💗 Please remember what we are fighting for and remember that the resilient people of Gaza want us to keep protesting and keep disrupting."COMMENT: ISRAEL AND HAMAS AND OTHER MILITANT FACTIONS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTINUING BLOOD LETTING AND IT HAS TO STOP. HAMAS STATED IT WOULD DISARM IF A PALESTINIAN STATE WAS ESTABLISHED. THE RACIST FASCIST JEWISH RIGHT WANT TO KICK THE PALESTINIANS OUT AND NEITHER ISRAELIS NOR PALESTINIANS TRUST EACH OTHER. THE CONTINUING VIOLENCE IS NOT HELPING ANYONE EXCEPT THOSE WHO FEED OFF IT 
If anyone remembers what happened on the day of this picture:
His constant lies constitute a continuing insurrection and coup to establish a dictatorship.
ABCNEWS:"According to what sources said Scavino told Smith's team, Trump was "very angry" that day -- not angry at what his supporters were doing to a pillar of American democracy, but steaming that the election was allegedly stolen from him and his supporters, who were "angry on his behalf." Scavino described it all as "very unsettling," sources said.
....”
ABCNEWS:"...On Saturday, on the third anniversary Jan. 6, Trump is spending the day in Iowa, delivering his closing message before the Jan. 15 GOP caucuses, continuing to use the events of Jan. 6 as a rallying cry.
..On the campaign trail, Trump has downplayed the violence that ensued that day and has called those charged and convicted in attack "hostages."
Trump's claims of widespread election fraud have been rejected in at least 60 court cases, according to PolitiFact... "COMMENT: TRUMP EVER THE SERIAL LYING DEMAGOGUE PANDERS TO THE WHINING GRIEVANCE CROWD AND ALSO THE WHITE SUPREMACIST NEO-NAZI ELEMENTS TO CONTINUE HIS PLAN TO RE-TAKE THE PRESIDENCY. ALL OF AMERICA IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY HIS SHIT SHOW NEO NAZI WHITE SUPREMACIST NARRATIVE
MSNBC:"Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold joins Ali Velshi to discuss her reaction to the the state’s Supreme Court deeming Trump ineligible to run for higher office after finding Trump engaged in insurrection and the death threats she and other judges have received in the aftermath of the ruling. “It’s one of the reasons Trump is so dangerous to this country. In this country, people win and lose court cases and elections [but] we have to agree the systems have the outcomes that are correct,” Griswold says. “The use of violence to try and intimidate us is unacceptable in a democracy.”.."COMMENT: TRUMP'S ENTIRE CAMPAIGN IS AN ONGOING INSURRECTION: HE CONSTANTLY ATTACKS THE INTEGRITY OF THE LEGAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM WITH HIS LIES AND PROPAGANDA AND INCITES VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE HE GOES JUST LIKE HITLER DID IN NAZI GERMANY 
MSN/CNN:"‘Frankly stunned’: Jake Tapper reacts to Trump invoking Putin at campaign rally
Former President Donald Trump echoed comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a campaign rally attack on President Joe Biden..."PUTIN'S POODLE QUOTES HIS BOSS STALIN HITLER (SHITLER), THE POODLE'S AUTHORITY ON DEMOCRACY
WASHINGTONPOST:"Former president Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other side of the aisle “vermin” and suggesting that they posed a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea. That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that of authoritarian leaders....”COMMENT: Putin's poodle fauns over communist marxist and fascist dictators. The evidence shows that he and his co-conspirators tried to overturn a valid legal election and he continues to lie that the election was stolen. He knew he lost the election but as Hitler said if you say a lie long enough people will believe it. Trump the wannabe dictator is using Hitler's playbook.
CNN:"
A US Navy and Coast Guard operation on Tuesday rescued three mariners stranded on a tiny Pacific Ocean islet for more than a week after the trio spelled out “HELP” using palm fronds laid on a white-sand beach.
The mission also unexpectedly turned into a family reunion.
.."
CNN:"Sea otters aren’t just cute to look at, they also play a critical role in preserving the environment. By hunting invertebrates like clams and sea urchins, sea otters help preserve kelp forests, which in turn sequester carbon, protect coastlines and provide food and shelter for other marine life. " COMMENT: BE RESPECTFUL AND CAREFUL
CNN: YANKEES announcer called a foul that later hit him in the head. He received kudos for keeping it clean and like a Timex watch just kept ticking
"CNN:"
The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, sparking criticism from education and civil rights advocates who said students should be allowed to learn the full truth of American history.
The curriculum was approved at the board’s meeting Wednesday in Orlando......"
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE:"Thank you very much,
Dear António, Ursula, Michael,
And all leaders of the European Union, our friends,
All Europeans,
I am grateful for your support for Ukraine. Thank you. We’ve been through a lot together – during these years of full-scale war. None of us wanted this war, absolutely none of us. But it is us who have to deal with its brutality and all the instability it has caused. Unity in defense is always built by many standing together. Without a determined European Union capable of making strong decisions Putin would have gone much further by now.
The European Union has not fallen apart. It has not backed down or given in to fear when it came to defending the European way of life. And that mattered just as much as the courage of Ukrainians.Dear friends,
Europe is a continent of democracies. And year after year, things change – new leaders come to power, coalitions change, a lot happens. But what never changes? Year after year, Putin stays right where he is. And he keeps waging war. Some of today’s European leaders, some of today’s people running in elections and taking part in politics in your countries were still at school when Putin was already waging war. And even back when Bill Clinton was still President of the United States, Putin was already waging war. Against the Chechens. And that war taught Putin a lesson.
If he uses oil and gas to tempt the world, many politicians look the other way – even when cities are turned to rubble and villages are burned to the ground. That is exactly how Putin has been running things ever since. And he always has some “excuse” for why he can’t live in peace with one country or another.
And all this time, his real opponent has never been just one country.
His real enemy is an international order based on rules. A world where one sick man does not get to wage wars, kill people wherever he wants, and lie as much as he likes – just to stay in power for life.
That is why the EU – and your unity, and every truly independent European country – is a target for him.
..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined his expectations for upcoming trilateral peace negotiations, and discussed air defenses and the planned ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in an interview on Oct. 25.
In an exclusive interview with Alla Mazur, host of "TSN The Week," Zelensky detailed Ukraine's readiness to meet with Russian and American teams for peace negotiations scheduled for early November.
Above all, Zelensky stressed the need for robust security guarantees for Ukraine in any deal aimed at ending the war.
"Our security guarantees are our guarantees, and they cannot be dictated by the Russian side," Zelensky said. "Restrictions on our army and Ukraine's neutrality are not up for discussion."
The question of NATO's involvement in Ukrainian security will "undoubtedly" come up in the negotiations, Zelensky said. The president suggested that if Ukraine is not allowed to join NATO, European countries and the U.S. should agree to extend the body's Article 5 defensive pact to Ukraine. Ukraine would also need to maintain a strong army after a peace deal is reached.
"The best, in my opinion, is NATO plus a strong Ukrainian army, as part of the alliance," Zelensky said. "If I have enough finances, I want to keep the army of 800,000 people. We decide for ourselves what our army will be. If we are in NATO, the number can be 800,000 or less. But it will be a question of who is willing to finance or co-finance with us."
Before a meeting between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.S. President Donald Trump can take place, technical talks among the three countries' negotiating teams must be held first, said Zelensky..."
REUTERS:"KYIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Saturday that the Starlink satellite system and its military version Starshield were now fully functional after over a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations and intensified tensions with the US.
But hours later, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company's terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, had taken responsibility for imposing the curbs.
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"Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week," Musk said on X.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said on the Telegram app that the country is "physically unable" to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drone operations.
Ukraine's general staff and defence ministry did not immediately comment.
Starshield's problems occurred after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions, which capped Starshield operations at speeds of 160 kph (100 mph), hampered the military's ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.
"The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram before Musk's statement..."
WSJ:"A tanker carrying Russian diesel intermittently signaled it was headed to the U.S., according to ship-tracking data, potentially marking a resumption of direct shipments amid President Trump’s push to increase Russian fuel supplies to global markets.
The Malta-flagged tanker Agioi Fanendes loaded about 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low-sulfur diesel, equivalent to roughly 300,000 barrels, at Russia’s Primorsk port on Thursday, Kpler data showed. The vessel updated its destination to New York before changing it to “for orders,” a designation typically indicating a vessel has no confirmed final discharge port. The estimated arrival date is Nov. 7.
The Russian embassy in South Africa said in a post on X on Friday that a tanker with Russian fuel was leaving Primorsk and heading to New York.
Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, a Greece-based commercial ship manager that manages Maltatankers Shipping, the tanker’s owner, said in a statement that the discharging port “is not confirmed yet.”
The shipment follows Trump’s announcement on Oct. 9 that Russia had agreed to supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets immediately, with another 500,000 metric tons expected in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.”
The deal, which included suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports for about six months, came as the administration seeks to bring down soaring diesel prices ahead of U.S. midterm elections. Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have sent diesel costs sharply higher, with U.S. prices hitting an average of $6.32 a gallon as of Friday, up from $3.63 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
If discharged in the U.S. as indicated, the diesel cargo would be the first from Primorsk to New York since 2022, when former President Joe Biden announced a ban on U.S. imports of Russian oil and petroleum products..."
REUTERS:"KYIV, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Speed restrictions on Starlink communication systems in Ukraine remained in place, Ukrainian officials said on Friday, contradicting US President Donald Trump's statement that the services had been fully restored.
Five Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter said that restrictions on Starlink that disrupt connections for drones flying faster than 160 km per hour persisted.
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Trump said on Thursday that SpaceX (SPCX.O), opens new tab CEO Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's Starlink access..."
NYTIMES:"How Long Will Russians Put Up With War? Here’s What They Told Us.
“Everything is fine” is a common refrain in a country used to adapting to a new normal.Valerie Hopkins
By Valerie Hopkins
Reporting from Sofino, in the Moscow suburbs
Oct. 23, 2026, 5:26 a.m. ET
I always get the same question when I return from reporting in Russia: When will Russians finally be fed up with the war?
They might seem to have good reason now. The war, for years mostly background noise among many Russians, feels more present. The economy is limping. Drivers have to wait in line for gas. Warehouses and data centers are going up in flames. Even Moscow at times comes under heavy attack, as it did on Thursday, when Ukraine launched 630 drones into the region.
One recent morning, I set out to ask Russians what they thought about all this. I went to Sofino, a town about an hour from Moscow, where Ukrainian drones a few days before had struck an industrial area, igniting a fire, and a residential complex, killing two people.
On the way, I pulled over at a Rosneft gas station where waiting cars snaked well past the exit lane. It had no diesel, but gasoline was available for about $3.25 a gallon — a steep price in Russia. A young man named Danya told me he had waited 30 minutes for gas.
He shrugged it off, repeating a refrain I hear all the time from Russians. “Everything is fine,” said Danya, who, like others I spoke with, asked that his last name not be used to avoid trouble with the authorities. He added that fuel shortages were overblown.
The war, he insisted, “doesn’t affect my life at all.”
“Everything is fine,” he said again.
..
Russians shrug for several reasons. They are silenced by the fear and conformity bred by a repressive government. They feel they have as much influence over their country’s politics as they do the weather. They are used to deprivation from centuries of political and economic crises. They keep their focus, as a coping mechanism, on what hasn’t changed. And they are flooded with anti-Ukraine propaganda from the state.
There is also a more fundamental explanation. Ukraine’s strategy, as it holds Russia to a near deadlock on the front lines, is to make Russians feel the war and demand an end. That includes the strikes on oil refineries that President Trump has pressured Ukraine to stop in recent days as he has openly favored President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Although the Ukrainian campaign has significantly cut Russian oil production, causing clear economic damage, it has not been enough yet to drastically change life in Russia. Kyiv lacks the ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones that Russia fires at Ukrainian cities every day. And Ukraine’s strikes, focused mostly on economic and military targets, do not instill the same fear as Russia’s systematic assaults on Ukrainian civilian targets.
..
Ukraine’s attacks have politicized some Russians who before now had tried to ignore the war. People have rallied around the flag. In Sofino, outside an apartment building with a gaping hole in the third and fourth floors after the Ukrainian strike, I asked three warehouse workers if they felt angry at the Russian state for starting the war and letting it drag on for nearly five years.
..
“Quite the opposite, the attacks make people hate them even more, because their homes have been damaged,” one young man said, referring to Ukrainians and their Western backers. He asked that his name be withheld.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"Russia has carried out a massive “demonstrative” attack on Ukraine, bombarding Kyiv with ballistic missiles just hours after Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to resume trilateral negotiations after talks with the US envoy Steve Witkoff.Overnight, Moscow pounded the Ukrainian capital, killing at least two people and wounding 22, including four children. Targets included the southern bridge over the Dnipro River, civilian houses, energy infrastructure, an ambulance station, office buildings and a clinic...The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said three of the missiles carried cluster warheads. One struck the Pecherskyi district, damaging several historic structures, including a monastery.
“This is another extraordinarily revealing strike – revealing, because it was no accident,” Zelenskyy said. “The choice of weapon was deliberate; the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible.”
He said the strikes showed Russia was not serious about peace, adding: “Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening.”...During negotiations on Wednesday in St Petersburg, Witkoff lavished praise on Putin, who was sitting across the table. “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that,” Witkoff said...In a social media post after the strikes in the early hours of Thursday, Zelenskyy issued a sardonic reply: “Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian ‘humanitarians’ since yesterday evening. They used 21 missiles.”
Zelenskyy said he was grateful to those among Ukraine’s western partners who saw “the situation for what it is” and “acknowledged the reality” that the Kremlin had little intention of stopping its war. He called for stronger air defences, Patriot interceptors that could bring down enemy missiles, and more sanctions against Moscow..."
CNN:"After a bitter rift with Donald Trump left many in Ukraine fearing that the US president had swung behind Russia again, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the dispute head on: there’s nothing personal between me and Trump, he told CNN, but cozying up to Vladimir Putin would only “make him stronger.”
Ties between the US and Ukraine have badly deteriorated in recent weeks.
Zelensky said Trump was “on the wrong side of history” after he announced a deal to buy Russian fuel, upending international efforts to isolate Russia. Trump then waived some sanctions against Russia, drawing criticism even from his own party. Ukraine’s forces found their access to the Elon Musk-run Starlink service restricted.
Speaking to CNN from Kyiv on Thursday, Zelensky took a conciliatory tone, saying the tensions were “not about personalities” – but warned that Putin had no intention of stopping the war..."
WSJ:"WASHINGTON—Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration, U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter said.
Both Musk and President Trump have expressed anger at Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries in recent weeks, which the president blames for high energy prices. Last week, Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network, the people said, rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless.
Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week, two of the people said. One of the people also claimed Musk and Trump discussed the matter prior to the decision to throttle Starlink.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public complaints—namely that Ukrainians could die if the unrestricted service wasn’t restored—led to widespread confusion about who ordered the slowdown, and to an informal investigation inside the White House.
During the uproar, SpaceX representatives called White House counterparts seeking a unified understanding and subsequent message that the company and Trump administration coordinated ahead of Musk’s directive, the people said.
Musk himself posted on X hours after the slowdown became public, “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” using the acronym for president of the United States. Trump told reporters Monday that he didn’t know who was responsible for the Starlink slowdown, “but I would like to find out.”
Some U.S. officials say that Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump didn’t specifically order any retribution against Ukraine. But a person familiar with the situation said Musk talked to multiple senior administration officials, including with Trump, before imposing the new speed cap, which Ukrainian officials said had allowed Russian missiles to evade their defenses..."
CNN:"The relationship between Ukraine and the United States is facing increasing strain over intelligence sharing, sanctions, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and the path to peace.
There also appears to be deepening mutual distrust between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump on Monday accused Zelensky of not knowing what he was talking about and suggested it was “time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
Over the weekend Kyiv launched one of its biggest drone attacks this year on Russia, hitting a key oil terminal, in defiance of Trump’s demand that Ukraine stop hitting Russian refining plants.
The White House is trying to relieve pressure on oil and diesel prices in the US ahead of crucial midterm elections, as diesel prices are at a record high..."
BLOOMBERG:"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Donald Trump of trying to pressure Kyiv into surrendering to Russia, escalating a week-long row with the US president.
In an interview with Bloomberg in Kyiv, Zelenskyy also offered a new proposal to accede to Trump’s request to stop targeting Russian refineries, which was aimed at combating high diesel prices, in exchange for deliveries of more Patriot air-defense missiles.
“Now, we have dangerous days ahead of the elections,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday, referring to the Nov. 3 midterms in the US. “My latest model was: We don’t target Russian diesel, you give us missiles for Patriot systems to protect our facilities. But they just want us to stop attacking diesel. And if we strike that, they will disconnect us from something.”
While offering an off-ramp from the escalating row, Kyiv is likely to be unsettled by a Wall Street Journal report that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a meeting with Trump and China’s Xi Jinping next month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Putin and Trump did discuss holding possible trilateral talks with Xi, though there were no specific proposals for a meeting or any agenda, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, Interfax reported. While Russia appreciates US mediation efforts, no final resolution to the conflict is possible without a representative from Kyiv “who’s willing to take responsibility,” the news service cited Peskov as saying..."
WSJ:"Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow, said people familiar with the discussions.
The plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalize on warming ties between Trump and the Russian leader that have alarmed Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe. Such a summit—one without the involvement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—would be unprecedented and send alarm bells ringing in European capitals and beyond..."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in favor of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order putting the sweeping restrictions on hold.
The White House decision has heightened fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow’s escalating attacks as winter approaches.
In a social media statement, Zelenskyy called Trump’s decision unfortunate but avoided directly criticizing the U.S. leader despite deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington in recent days.
A policeman helps an elderly woman to walk out from a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
A policeman helps an elderly woman to walk out from a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko) License this photo
“A decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote. “This Act could have helped enormously – and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.”
He separately thanked Democrats and Republicans who supported the legislation, saying that blocking it would encourage Russia to continue killing and that limiting Ukraine’s ability to retaliate would not bring peace.
“Nevertheless, we very much hope — and I personally hope — that the president of the United States of America will do everything possible to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin stop the killing, stop the attacks on our energy infrastructure, and end this war,” he said.
Trump told reporters Saturday that they don’t know what his decision is yet regarding sanctions in Russia, despite the executive order he signed Friday night waiving sanctions, citing a U.S national interest.
“We’ll figure it out, and you’ll figure it out. But it’s a very good decision, and it’s going to be a decision that’s good for the country, and I think good for the world,” Trump said at a fundraising dinner at his Florida estate.
.."
APNEWS:"By WILL WEISSERT and MEG KINNARD
Updated 8:18 PM PDT, October 16, 2026
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Comments 720
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest.
Trump personally signed the legislation just last month and his move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. It drew shift condemnation from congressional Democrats.
Named after late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.
Trump’s unexpected decision comes a week after he stunningly said the U.S. had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices. Trump’s approval ratings have sunk to near-historic lows and pressure is mounting as Republicans try to hold control of both chambers of Congress after midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Sanctions were seen as part of Graham’s legacy
Graham, a close ally and friend of the president, had just returned from Ukraine when he unexpectedly died in July. He had advocated for stricter U.S. sanctions against Russia as a way of pressuring it to end its war in Ukraine.
His colleagues in Congress responded with bipartisan support after his death and Trump attached his signature to the legislation — then changed his mind Friday.
The package had been meant to starve Russian President Vladimir Putin of the resources Moscow needs to continue its war in Ukraine after invading its neighbor more than four years ago. The bill, also drafted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
It also directed Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports...Blumenthal said in a statement that Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.”
“These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,” Blumenthal said..."
REUTERS:"NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter.
The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed..."
REUTERS:"DONETSK REGION, Ukraine, Oct 16 (Reuters) - For one artillery unit fighting in eastern Ukraine, the US decision this week to reduce services provided by satellite company Starlink to the military had an immediate impact.
Communications with headquarters were interrupted and internet speeds dropped, posing risks in a war where drones present a constant danger and up-to-date information on targets and threats can make the difference between life and death.
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"Immediately after the announcement that the connection with Starlink was deteriorating, it really did have a negative impact," said Ukrlan, a 28-year-old serving with an artillery unit of the Special Rifle Police Battalion..."
NYTIMES:"President Trump signed an executive order on Friday night exempting Russia from a new sanctions measure that Congress passed last month, offering another economic lifeline to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as the United States turns to Russia for help in lowering gas prices.
...
“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” Mr. Trump said in the order. “I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States.”
The order does not explain why waiving the sanctions is in the interests of the United States or what rationale Mr. Trump is providing to Congress for the waivers.
...
That decision angered President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and drew backlash from European officials. This week, a bipartisan group of senators urged Mr. Trump to reverse the sanctions waiver on diesel fuel.
The move to waive the sanctions that were enacted in the new law drew a swift rebuke from critics in Congress, who had predicted that Mr. Trump would not impose them.
.."
CNN:"Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine has run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.
The stark development comes amid an increasingly bitter public feud between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. In recent days, the White House struck a highly criticized deal to import Russian diesel and heaped increasing pressure on Ukraine to halt its strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure.
Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has since announced Ukraine would continue striking Russian refineries.
For months, Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Ukraine is running out of the US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which are one of the few defensive weapons capable of knocking down a ballistic missile.
But the interceptors are both expensive and in short supply globally, as other countries have burned through their stockpiles or sought to shore up their own defense systems amid the war in Iran.
The source told CNN that “almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles.”..."
THEGUARDIAN:"
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he feels personally betrayed by Donald Trump after it emerged that Ukraine’s military has had its access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite squeezed, raising doubts about long-term US support for Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president, on a visit to London, accused Trump of picking the other side after more than four years of war, risking a breakdown in relations already strained by the US agreeing to buy diesel from Moscow.
Ahead of a meeting with prime minister Andy Burnham in Downing Street, Zelenskyy appeared in a TV interview where he was asked whether the sudden restriction of Starlink was deliberate and if he felt betrayed by Trump.
“Really, yes … but it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings,” the Ukrainian president replied, adding: “It’s a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner.”
Overnight, Ukraine’s military reported that, without explanation, the Starlink satellite communications system, produced by Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, was no longer working at speeds greater than 100mph.
That effectively rendered most of the drones used by Ukraine to strike behind the frontlines inoperable – and, it later emerged, affected the most effective air defence system to stop Russian jet-powered attack drones bombing Kyiv.
“I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely. Because it was 1am at night, Starlink was blocked by SpaceX and the United States,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Piers Morgan. “This decision will bring a lot of human losses … of course, people will die.”
The sudden outage came as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US for a second night. For years, the US has provided Ukraine with intelligence when strikes were about to take place.
Trump denied that his administration had cut intelligence sharing on Tuesday, but Zelenskyy said in an interview with US broadcaster NPR, aired on Wednesday, that military advisers had received threats from the US that intelligence sharing could be limited in the future.
The US president has demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for the high cost of diesel, although most analysts say the closure of the strait of Hormuz after the US-Israel attack on Iran has had a far larger impact on global energy prices..."
NYTIMES:"...
Ukraine on Sunday shrugged off President Trump’s suggestion that it ditch President Volodymyr Zelensky as its leader because the country continues to strike Russian oil refineries.
Mr. Trump has called out Mr. Zelensky for the strikes, blaming them for rising global energy prices. Ukraine “needs a new president,” he said on Saturday.
Mr. Zelensky on Sunday shot back that Ukraine is ready to stop striking Russian refineries, but only if Russia stops striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. “Any de-escalation steps must be reciprocal and backed by real guarantees,” he wrote on X..."
APNEWS:"By MATTHEW DALY, SUSIE BLANN and ELISE MORTON
Updated 11:55 AM PDT, October 10, 2026
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end his country’s war with Russia and blaming him for high diesel prices in the U.S.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Trump said.
The president, who on Friday struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, has been urging Zelenskyy for weeks to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. He has also sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices.
“He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel,” Trump said, before departing for Tennessee where he was set to rally Republican voters..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump said on Friday he secured an agreement from Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply markets with Russian diesel fuel as he works to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections.
Energy industry analysts, however, say the agreement — which sparked anger in Ukraine — isn’t likely to lower diesel prices in any meaningful way... Kyiv has long advocated for tougher sanctions on Russian energy exports, arguing that oil and gas revenues are a major source of funding for Russia’s war machine.Ukraine has also stepped up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure over the past few months, refusing to stop despite calls from Trump to do so. Just this week, Kyiv has claimed strikes on four different refineries across Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move to allow Russia to export diesel “a weak decision of strong partners.”
“This is additional money for this war, for the suffering, and of course against us. This is only fuels Putin and gives him the possibility to fight more,” he said on social media.Ukraine has also stepped up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure over the past few months, refusing to stop despite calls from Trump to do so. Just this week, Kyiv has claimed strikes on four different refineries across Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move to allow Russia to export diesel “a weak decision of strong partners.”
“This is additional money for this war, for the suffering, and of course against us. This is only fuels Putin and gives him the possibility to fight more,” he said on social media..."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy honored the memory of the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy on the 85th anniversary of the mass Nazi shootings during the occupation of Kyiv from 1941 to 1943.
The Head of State lit a memorial candle at the Menorah memorial on the grounds of the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve.
Representatives of foreign delegations who came to Ukraine to take part in the commemorative events also attended the ceremony. They included Zeev Elkin, Additional Minister in the Ministry of Finance of Israel; Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany; and Dani Dayan, Chairman of the Directorate of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.The victims of Babyn Yar were also honored by Prime Minister of Ukraine Sergii Koretskyi; Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov; Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Ihor Klymenko; government officials, rabbis, ambassadors of foreign countries, and representatives of international organizations’ missions.
Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Oleksandr Alfyorov noted that the Ukrainian and Jewish peoples have a thousand-year history of relations, linked, among other things, by the tragedy of Babyn Yar.
“We are very close peoples. That is why the tragedy of Babyn Yar is a tragedy that pains every generation of Ukrainians. It is no coincidence that the first historical monument erected in Kyiv after independence was proclaimed was the Menorah,” Oleksandr Alfyorov underscored..."
NYTIMES:"Little news trickles out from the besieged city of Oleshky, a frontline wasteland severed by mines and drones from the rest of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
But one thing is clear from what has emerged: A humanitarian calamity is unfolding. There is no food, no safety and no escape..."
REUTERS:"KYIV, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Germany will not be intimidated into dropping its support for Ukraine, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday as he announced a further €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in military aid during a visit to Kyiv marked by Russian drone attacks.
Air-raid sirens and explosions rang out repeatedly across the Ukrainian capital as Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited a memorial to soldiers killed during the four-year-old war, as well as the Academy of Sciences, where at least two people died in a drone strike last week.
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Russia has escalated its drone attacks on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks, targeting telecoms, electricity and transport infrastructure as well as military assets..."
NYTIMES:"By Constant MéheutPhotographs by Jędrzej Nowicki
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Oct. 2, 2026
Updated 7:25 a.m. ET
For months, Ukrainian officials have warned people to brace for what could be their hardest winter at war. Russia, they said, would use its ever more powerful weapons to try to cripple the country’s power grid. The first big strike was expected later this fall, with the first bite of cold.
Russia did not wait that long. Before dawn on Wednesday, missiles and drones slammed into a large thermal power plant and other energy facilities, shaking the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, with explosions. By morning, several neighborhoods were without power and water..."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian aerial attacks forced the partial closure Friday of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said, in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the city.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top diplomat said officials have received separate proposals for a partial truce with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. The proposals envision halting attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and on Black Sea shipping needed to get vital grain exports to world markets..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the world was living through a dangerous moment and warned the West not to escalate a standoff over Ukraine by threatening the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which Moscow has made clear it would defend with nuclear weapons if necessary.
Locked in a war in Ukraine which he said Russia had no choice but to launch in order to safeguard its own security, Putin said Russia had no plans to attack any European country and wanted to coexist peacefully.
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But he reiterated that Moscow would resort to all weapons in its arsenal, including nuclear ones, if its most westerly territory — Kaliningrad, which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania — was threatened.
"If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation – in this case, we are referring to Kaliningrad, and perhaps other territories as well – the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons at our country’s disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately be on the agenda," Putin told the Valdai Forum of international Russia experts in Moscow.
"This is inevitable," he said.
Putin said Russia realised it would be facing "an enemy (NATO) twice our size."
"And we will have to make use of our competitive advantages in this struggle. Yes, of course, France and Britain are nuclear powers – we understand that perfectly well and are fully aware of it," he said. "But no one else possesses the kind of weapons that Russia has today. That is our competitive advantage.".."
THEGUARDIAN:"
The Guardian view on Britain helping Ukraine: build the weapons independence Kyiv needs
Editorial
Moscow hopes western politics will weaken support for Kyiv. The UK and Europe’s answer should be to make Ukraine increasingly capable of defending itself alone
Mon 24 Aug 2026 13.53 EDT
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The events of the past few days on Europe’s borders may mark a turning point in Russia’s war on Ukraine. While the political skies in Kyiv have darkened for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the military picture looks brighter. Ukraine can already send swarms of drones against Russian oil facilities, e-commerce warehouses and airfields. Andy Burnham’s arrival in Kyiv marks a step forward. Britain is releasing classified information on its components of Scalp, the French version of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missile, enabling its assembly in Ukraine. This is more than another weapon for Kyiv. Britain is helping Ukraine become less dependent on the western armoury..."
REUTERS:"Aug 22 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments published on Saturday that Kyiv had opened "Pandora's box" with its strikes on Russian economic targets, saying that Russia would hit back at Ukraine's "most sensitive economic sectors".
.."
CNN:"Kyiv — A new wave of North Korean troops, already numbering 8,500 in Russia, contains a drone unit that could attack targets inside Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian intelligence official.
North Korea, who signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Russia two years ago, has been sending troops to assist Moscow’s military operations since late 2024 and may be asked to contribute up to 50,000 more when President Vladimir Putin meets his counterpart Kim Jong Un in September, according to Major General Vadym Skibitskiy, Deputy Head of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Editor's Note: This is a developing story and will be updated.
Russia launched a large ballistic missile attack on Kyiv shortly after midnight on Aug. 20, killing 2 people and injuring at least 12.
There were numerous consecutive explosions heard in several parts of the city, including the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts. The blasts caused houses to shake and set off car alarms in parts of the city.
In the Solomianskyi district, debris fell near a five-story residential building, blowing out windows and causing a fire, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Emergency services were heading to the scene.
A children's hospital building in the district was also damaged, with windows blown out and cars burning on the hospital grounds.
Ukraine's Air Force warned of ballistic missiles heading toward the capital as the attack was underway, as well as Russian Zircon missiles launched from Russia's Kursk Oblast in the direction of Kyiv.
Klitschko reported a strike on the grounds of a non-residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while non-residential buildings were also on fire in the Darnytskyi district. He urged residents to remain in shelters as missiles continued to approach the capital.
Ukraine faces a chronic shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems..."
NYTIMES:"Marc Santora
By Marc Santora
Reporting from Odesa, Ukraine
Aug. 13, 2026
Updated 6:22 a.m. ET
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As families strolled along a promenade in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa recently, a lone cargo ship sailed in the distance. Suddenly, a drone dropped out of the clear blue sky and slammed into the vessel, sending smoke billowing across the horizon.
The attack, which I witnessed in late July, was part of a Russian campaign targeting cargo vessels that has halted nearly all shipping in and out of Odesa, Ukraine’s most crucial link to the world economy.
Coming at the start of the harvest season, the Russian campaign in Ukraine, which is a major producer of grains like wheat, corn and barley, could throw global food supply chains into turmoil. In 2022, during the first months of the full-scale war, Russia established a blockade of Ukrainian ports, causing a spike in global food prices and placing an estimated 70 million people at increased risk of acute food insecurity..."
CNN:"Kyiv — Ukraine has only a tenth of the interceptor missiles it urgently needs from the United States to stop surging Russian ballistic missile attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an interview, adding his days are spent in “millions” of phone calls, in opaque deal-making with allies for more.
Russian ballistic attacks have risen fast in recent weeks, hitting the capital Kyiv particularly hard, as Moscow exploits Ukraine’s near-zero stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles. Zelensky said a tenth of the US current stockpile would be enough to stop all Russian ballistic missile attacks, but five per cent would be enough to get Ukraine through the winter..."
CNN:"German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has warned that an explosives-laden drone discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport represents a “new threat scenario” for Germany, as counterterrorism investigators examine whether foreign actors could have been involved in the incident that briefly forced the suspension of flights overnight into Wednesday.
Dobrindt described the discovery as an escalation from previous cases involving unauthorized drones near airports. “Drone sightings, drone thats including in a hybrid context, are something we know from the past,” he told reporters during a news briefing Wednesday. “That a drone armed with explosives is at an airport is a new threat scenario.”
It remains unclear at this stage who was behind the incident, although Dobrindt said, “We are dealing with a competition here which may also include foreign powers.”...
re
The interior minister said that the operation did not appear to be the work of amateurs but rather had been professionally planned and executed...Leipzig/Halle Airport is one of the top cargo hubs in Europe. It has hosted Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines transport aircraft since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 destroyed the carrier’s home airport..."
CNN:|"Kyiv, Ukraine — At least 17 people were killed and dozens wounded in Kyiv and surrounding areas overnight as Russia fired more than two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles, none of which were intercepted by Ukrainian defenses.
The deadly assault underlines the worsening danger for urban civilians far from the front lines, as Ukraine grapples with perilously low stocks of missile interceptors..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Opinion
My company’s drones hit Russia — and showed what the Pentagon doesn’t know
Modern war rewards speed and redundancy, not perfect weapons from a single supplier.
..
Ukrainian soldiers prepare an FP-1 deep-strike drone earlier this year. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
By Denys Shtilerman
Denys Shtilerman is the founder of FirePoint, a Ukrainian defense company.
On July 13 in Paris, 10 European countries launched Freyja, a coalition to build a European system for intercepting ballistic missiles. Its purpose is simple: not to replace the American-made Patriot, but to ensure that Europe’s ability to defend itself no longer depends on a single manufacturer, a single country or a single political decision.
..
That same night, Russia launched eight ballistic missiles at Ukraine. Patriot systems intercepted five of them. It was the first time in nearly two weeks that Ukraine had managed to shoot down any Russian ballistic missiles, due to a critical shortage caused by the extensive use of Patriots in the United States’ war with Iran and by limited global production.
..."
CNN:"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea for Western air defenses following a deadly overnight Russian attack, hours after US President Donald Trump backed away from a public pledge to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors.
The attack is the second major Russian aerial assault in two days, with the Kremlin apparently seeking to expose Kyiv’s shortages of key defense systems as it struggles to make advances along the vast front line..."
CNN:"Russia’s new target: Ukrainian civilians filling up at gas stations The gas station was already aflame, when policeman Mykhailo Tsypliakov and his colleagues ran in to help. He heard the buzz of a second drone descending and hit the ground.
“I saw a flash, then got up right away,” Tsypliakov said. “I saw that my arm, legs and torso were injured.”
He’s one of dozens of victims of Russia’s latest campaign against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure: fuel stations. Over two hundred have been hit in June and July, which works out at about three a day, according to Ukrainian officials.."
REUTERS:"July 30 (Reuters) - Russian ballistic missiles killed at least seven in Ukraine on Thursday, including one in Kyiv, in attacks extending as far as the western city of Lviv, forcing neighbouring Poland to scramble fighter jets to secure its airspace..."
THEGUARDIAN:"A drone factory in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile on Friday was owned by a US corporation registered in Delaware, in what appears to be the first time Moscow has targeted a US company in the conflict.
Terminal Autonomy makes precision “deep-strike” drones with guidance systems that are resistant to Russian jamming signals, according to a person familiar with the company..."
THEGUARDIAN:"...
Russia has carried out one of its biggest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, launching a five-hour assault that left at least six people dead and dozens injured, and caused fires and damage across the capital.
Ukrainian officials said the capital had been hit with about 40 Iskander-M and hypersonic Zircon missiles. Residents heard an air raid siren at 1.30am...
Russia has been firing drones and missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities almost daily since it launched its full-scale 2022 invasion.
.."
REUTERS:"...
KYIV, July 2 (Reuters) - Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine's capital Kyiv in the early hours on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, wounding scores more and damaging around 130 buildings in one of the biggest attacks of the war.
Multiple explosions shook central Kyiv and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed to bomb shelters and underground metro stations. Huge columns of smoke filled the skyline.
..."
CNN:"UKRAINE'S OLDEST CHURCH BURNS AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN BARRAGE"
NYTIMES:"Constant Méheut
By Constant Méheut
Constant Méheut, who has covered the war in Ukraine since 2023, previously reported for The Times from France.
June 11, 2026
The war in Ukraine has often been compared to World War I for its brutal infantry assaults and heavy casualties. Yet the idea that it could, by any measure, surpass a conflict so long and bloody that French soldiers hoped it would be “the last of the last” once seemed unthinkable.
That is just what happened on Thursday. The war in Ukraine — which reached 1,569 days, or more than four years and three months — has now outlasted World War I.
When President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sent his troops into Ukraine in February 2022, he believed the country would fall within days. After Ukraine pushed the Russians back and the conflict settled into a war of attrition, even many of those fighting could not imagine it would last this long.
..."
CNN:"...
Ukrainian drones rained down on St. Petersburg late Tuesday, striking infrastructure and wounding several people, just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature economic forum opened in the city.
Hundreds of drones hit several other Russian cities, with Kyiv claiming to have struck a naval warship and other key assets in a major attack reaching as far as Moscow.
Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed more than 350 Ukrainian drones over areas both close to the border and deeper into the country including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the western city of Novgorod, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. At least 60 drones flew over the Leningrad region alone, authorities said.Three districts of St. Petersburg were targeted in the overnight Ukrainian drone assault, according to its governor Aleksandr Beglov. The strikes wounded several people, and damaged infrastructure facilities in the city, which is this week hosting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, often dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s version of Davos.The Ukrainian military claimed to have hit a Russian corvette dubbed the “Boikiy” along the Kronstadt island port near St. Petersburg. .."
CNN:"Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia launched a large-scale deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Tuesday, damaging residential buildings, authorities said, as part of a broad offensive on targets across Ukraine.
At least 10 people have been killed in the overnight assault –– four in Kyiv and six in the central city of Dnipro –– and more than 100 wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.
Combined missile and drone strikes targeted the capital, damaging several residential and commercial buildings, sparking fires and burning cars, authorities said..."
REUTERS:"Roksolana Makar braved icy roads and the threat of drone strikes to interview a woman in the Ukrainian town of Izium who said Russian forces tortured her.
Surrounded by woods and farmland, Izium still bears scars from a 2022 Russian occupation that left bridges smashed and buildings flattened. The woman told Makar, a war-crimes investigator for a Ukrainian nonprofit, that Russian soldiers detained her at a battery plant for 10 days that year.
There, the woman said, she was beaten, electrically shocked, suffocated with a gas mask and raped.
“I asked them to kill me because I couldn’t take it anymore,” said the woman, 55, who asked to be identified only by one name, Alla.
Horrified by Russia’s alleged atrocities, Makar aims to document such accounts before evidence is destroyed and memories fade. But she worries fewer perpetrators will answer for their crimes after the United States stopped funding her organization, Truth Hounds, and dozens of others seeking justice in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
...
Since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals, the U.S. has championed accountability for many of the world’s worst atrocities, supporting investigations and tribunals. But the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump cut tens of millions of dollars in funding for this work last year when it slashed overseas-development aid to advance the president’s “America first” agenda..."
PRESIDENT-GOV-UA:"First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with delegations of the foreign ministries of the Nordic and Baltic countries, led by the heads of security policy departments.
The key topic of the meeting was common European and Euro-Atlantic security.
The Ukrainian side thanked the partners for their defense assistance since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, including their contributions to the PURL initiative. In total, the NB8 countries have provided more than $2 billion for PURL. Ukraine is counting on additional contributions and the fastest possible delivery of missiles for Patriot systems.
Sergiy Kyslytsya informed the participants about President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s work with European leaders to create Europe’s own anti-ballistic system, in which the Nordic and Baltic states play an especially important role. The priority is to launch the practical implementation of this initiative as soon as possible and thereby ensure the collective protection of the European continent.
“We must move forward together as quickly as possible in developing a European anti-ballistic system and ensure mass production. Ukraine is ready to contribute to this process. The unity of European countries around strengthening our shared defense capability is critically important. We must advance practical defense solutions that can be implemented swiftly,” the First Deputy Head of the Office of the President emphasized..."
CNN:"
Nine months ago, Ukraine was near collapse—short on troops and money and losing ground. A surge of robots, drones and tech has flipped the war, turning Ukraine into a frontline startup military that's now challenging Russia's larger force..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By David L. Stern, Kostiantyn Khudov and Catherine Belton
KYIV — Russia pounded Ukraine in one of its biggest overnight aerial assaults, launching 90 missiles and 600 attack drones, including an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. The barrage killed at least two people in Kyiv, which faced the worst of the attack.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
Explosions rang out in the capital throughout the night, as Moscow’s forces sent waves of ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, causing numerous fires, including in a business center and central market.
The overnight attack also caused extensive damage throughout the city and injured more than 80 people, in addition to the two killed, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
The buildings of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and Cabinet of Ministers also suffered slight damage, officials wrote on social media. In total, four people were killed and more than 80 injured across the country, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.
“The most strikes were in Kyiv, and Kyiv itself was the main target of this Russian attack,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement posted Sunday morning. He said the strikes hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools.
Ukraine’s Air Force wrote on Telegram that most of the missiles and drones were shot down or missed their targets, but that 16 missiles and 51 drones struck 54 locations, and debris hit 23 locations..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - Russia launched nuclear-capable missiles and issued nuclear munitions to some units on Thursday as part of major nuclear exercises amid heightened tensions with NATO over the Ukraine war and drone activity in the Baltic.
Russia is conducting some of the biggest nuclear exercises in years, involving 64,000 people to drill its forces in "the preparation and use of nuclear forces in the event of aggression".
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Russian President Vladimir Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and top generals that the use of such weapons would always be an exceptional and extreme measure of last resort.
"Given the growing tensions in the world and the emergence of new threats and risks, our nuclear triad must continue to serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of the Union State of Russia and Belarus," Putin said in the Kremlin.
While Russia does not want to get involved in an arms race, he added, it will develop its nuclear forces and keep them on a sufficient level, including with new missiles and submarines.
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Russia has the world's biggest nuclear arsenal with about 4,400 deployed and stockpiled nuclear warheads, while the U.S. has about 3,700, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
China is the world's third-largest nuclear power with about 620, followed by France with 290 and Britain with about 225, the federation says.
Russia and China said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile-defence shield plans threatened strategic stability.
NUCLEAR WAR GAMES
As part of the drills, Russia test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and a Zircon hypersonic missile from a frigate in the Barents Sea, while a submarine launched a liquid-fuelled Sineva ballistic missile, the defence ministry said.
Russia displayed a Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft and a MiG-31 armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
Units in Belarus and Russia were issued with nuclear munitions as part of the exercises, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, told Putin.
Russian nuclear exercises typically use dummy warheads. One video released by the defence ministry showed a tarp-backed military truck travelling with minimal security.
The drills come as Moscow says it is locked in an existential struggle with the West over Ukraine.
Throughout the war, Putin has issued reminders of Russia's nuclear might as a warning to the West not to go too far in its support of Kyiv. Ukraine and some Western leaders have dismissed such moves as irresponsible sabre-rattling.
BALTIC TENSIONS ESCALATE
Moscow has accused the Baltic countries of allowing Ukraine to fly over their territory to attack northern Russia, an accusation NATO denies...."
RBC UKRAINE/MSN:"Russia deliberately sends Ukrainian drones toward the Baltic region
Russia continues to redirect Ukrainian drones toward the Baltic region using electronic warfare systems. Ukraine apologized to Estonia and all Baltic countries for such unintentional incidents, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.As Tykhyi emphasized, Russia continues to redirect Ukrainian drones toward Baltic countries using electronic warfare systems.
"And Moscow does this on purpose, together with intensified propaganda. We apologise to Estonia and all of our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.."
CNN:"Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun presiding over a pared-back Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square, after a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect.
Russia’s annual May 9 parade commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Germany in World War II. Under Putin, it has come to symbolize the country’s military strength.
Russian servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2026.
Russian servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2026. Pavel Bednyakov/AFP/Getty Images
However, in a marked departure this year, Russian authorities announced there would be no display of heavy military hardware – forgoing the traditional show of force in favor of security.
Kremlin Pool
The parade takes place amid intensified Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory, particularly against oil refineries, as the Ukrainian government accuses the Kremlin of continuing attacks on Kyiv and beyond.
.."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"In Manama, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. This was Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first visit to Bahrain and the first meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Bahrain since 2003.
During the meeting, they discussed the security situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region, as well as key challenges and security opportunities. In particular, they addressed Iran's strikes against Bahrain and other countries, and the situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy briefed the King on the situation in Ukraine, diplomatic efforts to achieve a dignified peace, and contacts with leaders of partner countries. Ukraine is ready to hold negotiations in a trilateral format.
Particular attention was paid to cooperation in security and defense. The President stressed that our country faces similar terrorist attacks almost every day, and Ukrainians have the relevant experience in full-scale defense.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is ready to share its security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of lives. The President proposed concluding a Drone Deal and scaling up cooperation with Bahrain. The leaders agreed that their teams would work out the details..."
APNEWS:"By EMMA BURROWS and JOHN LEICESTER
Updated 9:34 PM PDT, May 6, 2026
Leer en español
From AP’s Standards and Stylebook teams:
The AP is using anonymous sourcing to provide information for this story. Click here to hear European security correspondent Emma Burrows explain AP’s policy on the use of anonymous sources.
When Vladimir Osechkin wants to take his children to school or go to the supermarket, he calls the police.
The Russian activist has lived under protection since 2022 because French officials believe Russia is trying to kill him.
In April 2025, a crew of Russian men staked out Osechkin’s home and the surrounding area in southwestern France for several hours, taking videos and photos in suspected groundwork for an assassination, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press that are not public. Several years earlier, Osechkin said, a red dot — which he thought was a laser sight for a gun — appeared on his wall.
Elsewhere in Europe, Lithuanian officials disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist. Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official. Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 in what they said was a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And that same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain — with Russian operatives the prime suspects.
While Russian officials have long been accused of silencing the country’s enemies abroad, three Western intelligence officials from different countries told AP that a campaign of targeted killings has ramped up since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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KYIVINDPENDENT:"U.S. Vice President JD Vance in April openly praised the Trump administration's decision to halt direct U.S. weapons transfers to Ukraine — a statement that drew criticism and highlighted his skepticism toward Kyiv.
"It's one of the things I'm proudest… we've told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the U.S. is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore," Vance said at a Turning Point event.
His comments immediately drew backlash, coming at a time when Russia continues daily strikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur said the policy shift effectively benefits Moscow.
"Not good for America. Not good for Europe. Not good for Ukraine. This is only good for Russia," she said in a statement.
At the same time, as the Kyiv Independent has learned, Vance is not merely echoing the Trump administration's foreign policy — he is actively shaping it.
Vance has emerged as one of the key voices influencing Washington's approach to Ukraine, according to sources familiar with internal discussions.
.."
APNEWS:"Some Russian influencers recently released public appeals to President Vladimir Putin, criticizing his government and policies, and a number of his loyalists even threatened a revolt — the latest wave of public outcry over the country’s strained wartime economy and mounting internet restrictions.
While none of this dissent indicates an imminent threat to Putin’s rule, analysts say it presents a new and growing challenge for the Kremlin.
“Greater and greater effort needs to be spent on maintaining the status quo,” Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian politics who heads the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, wrote in an analysis.
Here’s a look at the public outcry in Russia and what is driving it:
Influencers appeal to Putin, while his approvals drop
A 19-minute video by popular Russian blogger Victoria Bonya has received 31 million views on Instagram since it was published 10 days ago..."
REUTERS:"KYIV, April 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster on Sunday amid lingering fears that Russia's four-year-old war could spark a repeat of the world's worst nuclear disaster.
Kyiv says Moscow has repeatedly sent missiles and drones on a flight path near the plant to attack Ukrainian cities, even damaging a critical protective shield in an attack last year.
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Marking the disaster - which spewed radioactive material across much of Europe despite efforts by Soviet authorities to hide the scale - has taken on sharp new meaning during Russia's invasion of its smaller neighbour..."
NYTIMES:"By Jeanna Smialek and Koba Ryckewaert
Reporting from Brussels
April 22, 2026
Updated 9:48 a.m. ET
Hungary dropped its opposition to a $106 billion loan from the European Union to Ukraine on Wednesday, most likely clearing the way for the bloc to extend a needed lifeline to Kyiv as the war with Russia drags on.
The loan — 90 billion euros — had been held up since February by Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary and his government.
But on Wednesday, ambassadors from across the 27-nation European Union, meeting in Brussels, agreed to move ahead on the loan, according to a spokesperson from Cyprus, which currently holds the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union’s political leadership arm. The ambassadors also agreed to move forward with a package of sanctions against Russia, which had also been held up, added the spokesperson, who requested anonymity to discuss diplomatic deliberations.
While Hungary could in theory still object during final steps,both the loan and the fresh measures against Russia are most likely headed for swift final approval — which means money could soon flow to Ukraine.
.."
CNN:"Russia launched one of its largest barrages of drones and missiles on Ukraine this year, killing more than a dozen and wounding more than 100 people across the country, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.
At least 18 people, including a child, were killed and 118 wounded across the country as Russian strikes damaged buildings and sparked fires, according to local authorities and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
Russia launched 659 drones and 44 missiles in the 24 hours before Thursday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said, in waves of attacks on major cities including the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.
“Over the past day and night, Russia carried out a massive terrorist attack against Ukraine with almost 700 drones, dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles. The attack primarily targeted civilians,” Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said in a post on X Thursday.
In Kyiv, four people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy whose body was among two found in the rubble of a destroyed building, the State Emergency Service said. At least 48 people were wounded, it added..."
REUTERS:"BERLIN, April 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The defeat of Viktor Orban in the Hungarian parliamentary election didn’t come as a total shock – weeks of polls had showed his Fidesz party trailing by more than 10 percentage points behind opponent Peter Magyar’s Tisza. The surprise came from the magnitude, opens new tab of the latter’s victory, and the determined rebuke given by Hungarian voters not only to the man who had dominated Hungary’s political life for nearly 30 years, but to his allies, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the short term - outside Hungary, that is - the loudest sighs of relief will be heard in European capitals, and in Ukraine. In Brussels, there is now the clear prospect of a more functional European Union. The type of “illiberal democracy” that Orban had promoted put him in frontal opposition to the rest of Europe, which had sanctioned what it considered breaches of the rule of law by cutting off funds to Budapest. Of these, 19 billion euros remain frozen pending the repeal of authoritarian legislation. And Orban’s Putin-friendly democracy, in its latest incarnation, had been blocking a 90 billion euros loan to Ukraine that is vital to the country’s survival after the U.S. cut all support last year.It was not obvious before the vote that Magyar would obtain the two-thirds of parliamentary seats necessary to repeal the laws the EU most strongly objected to - on the judiciary’s independence, the media, public finances and even the Church. Hungarian voters proved the fears wrong - with 138 seats out of 199, Magyar will have all the space ne needs to de-Orbanise Hungary. He has a definite mandate to implement the pro-European, moderate program he advocated throughout his campaign..."
APNEWS:"ISTANBUL (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift and Kyiv braces for reduced deliveries of critically needed Patriot air defense missiles.
Ukraine desperately needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, Zelenskyy said, speaking to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview late Saturday in Istanbul.
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians. It has also targeted Ukraine’s energy supply to disrupt industrial production of Ukraine’s newly developed drones and missiles, while also denying civilians heat and running water in winter.
“We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” Zelenskyy said. “That’s why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.”
A loss of focus on Ukraine
The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv ended in February with no sign of a breakthrough. Zelenskyy, who has accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations” while it presses on with its invasion, said Ukraine remains in contact with U.S. negotiators about a potential deal to end the war and has continued to press for stronger security guarantees.
But, he said, even those discussions reflect a broader loss of focus from Ukraine.
His most immediate concern, Zelenskyy said, are the Patriots — essential for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles — as Ukraine still lacks an effective alternative.
These U.S. systems were never delivered in sufficient quantities to begin with, Zelenskyy said, and if the Iran war doesn’t end soon, “the package — which is not very big for us — I think will be smaller and smaller day by day.”
“That’s why, of course, we are afraid,” he said.Interlinked wars
Zelenskyy had been counting on European partners to help make the Patriot purchases despite tight supply and limited U.S. production capacity.
But the Iran war, now in its sixth week, has sent shock waves through the global economy and pulled in much of the wider Middle East region, further straining these already limited resources, diverting stockpiles and leaving Ukrainian cities more exposed to ballistic strikes.For Kyiv, a key objective is to weaken Moscow’s economy and make the war prohibitively costly. Surging oil prices driven by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz are undermining that strategy by boosting the Kremlin’s oil revenues and strengthening Moscow’s capacity to sustain its war effort.In his interview with the AP, Zelenskyy said Russia draws economic benefits from the Mideast war, citing the limited easing of American sanctions on Russian oil.
“Russia gets additional money because of this, so yes, they have benefits,” he said.Russian officials said Sunday a fire broke out at a major oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region after a drone attack, while another drone damaged a pipeline at the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, home to a major oil export terminal. No casualties were reported.Russia could reap a windfall from a surge in oil prices and the U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions designed to ease supply shortages as the Iran war continues. Russia is one of the world’s main oil exporters, and Asian nations are increasingly competing for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts.
In response, Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, which have rattled Moscow..."
REUTERS:"Summary
Trump's threats to quit raise doubts about mutual defense pact
European officials more pessimistic about alliance's future
Trump could refuse to aid allies even without quitting NATO, analysts say
US insists NATO cannot be 'one-way street'
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS/PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - The NATO alliance has in recent years survived existential challenges - ranging from the war in Ukraine to multiple bouts of pressure and insults from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has questioned its core mission and threatened to seize Greenland.
But it is the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, thousands of miles from Europe, that has nearly broken the 76-year-old bloc and threatens to leave it in its weakest state since its creation, say analysts and diplomats.
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Trump, enraged that European countries have declined to send their navies to open up the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping following the start of the air war on Feb 28, has declared he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
"Wouldn't you if you were me?" Trump asked Reuters in a Wednesday interview.
In a speech on Wednesday night, Trump criticized U.S. allies but stopped short of condemning NATO, as many experts thought he might.
But combined with other barbs aimed at Europeans in recent weeks, Trump's comments have provoked unprecedented concern that the U.S. will not come to the aid of European allies should they be attacked, whether or not Washington formally walks away.
The result, say analysts and diplomats, is that the alliance created in the Cold War that has long served as the basic fabric of European security is fraying and the mutual defense agreement at its core is no longer taken as a given.
"This is the worst place (NATO) has been since it was founded," said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who now leads the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"It's really hard to think of anything that even comes close."
That reality is sinking in for Europeans, who have counted on NATO as a bulwark against an increasingly assertive Russia.
As recently as February, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had dismissed the idea of Europe defending itself without the U.S. as a "silly thought." Now, many officials and diplomats consider it the default expectation.
"NATO remains necessary, but we must be capable of thinking of NATO without the Americans," said General Francois Lecointre, who served as France's armed forces chief from 2017 to 2021.
"Whether it should even continue to be called NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization - is a valid question."
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “President Trump has made his disappointment with NATO and other allies clear, and as the President emphasized, ‘the United States will remember.’”
A NATO representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
THIS TIME IT'S DIFFERENT
NATO has been challenged before, not least during Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021, when he also considered withdrawing from the alliance.
But while many European officials until recently believed that Trump could be kept on board with pomp and flattery, fewer now hold that belief, according to conversations with dozens of former and current U.S. and European officials.
Trump and his officials have expressed frustration over what they see as NATO's unwillingness to help the United States in a time of need, including by not directly assisting with the Strait of Hormuz and by restricting U.S. use of some airfields and airspace. U.S. officials have declared NATO cannot be a "one-way street".
European officials counter that they have not received U.S. requests for specific assets for a mission to open the strait and complain that Washington has been inconsistent about whether such a mission would operate during or after the war.
"It's a terrible situation for NATO to be in," said Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official who is now a senior fellow at the Friends of Europe think tank.
"It is a blow to the allies who, since Trump returned to the White House, have worked hard to show that they are willing and able to take more responsibility (for their own defense)."
Trump's latest comments follow other signs of an increasingly unsteady alliance.
Those include his stepped-up threats in January to wrest Greenland away from Denmark and recent moves by the U.S. that Europeans see as particularly accommodating toward Russia, which NATO defines as its principal security threat.
The administration has remained essentially mum amid reports that Moscow has provided targeting data for Iran to attack U.S. assets in the Middle East and has lifted sanctions on Russian oil in a bid to ease global energy prices that have spiked during the war.
At a meeting of G7 foreign ministers near Paris last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kaja Kallas, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, had a tense exchange, according to five people familiar with the matter, underlining the increasingly fraught transatlantic relationship.
Kallas asked when U.S. patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin would run out over Ukraine peace negotiations, prompting Rubio to respond with irritation that the U.S. was trying to end the war while also providing support to Ukraine, but the EU was welcome to mediate if it wanted to.
NO GOING BACK
Legally, Trump may lack the authority to withdraw from NATO. Under a law passed in 2023, a U.S. president cannot exit the alliance without the consent of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, a nearly impossible threshold.
But analysts say that, as commander-in-chief, Trump can decide whether the U.S. military will defend NATO members. Declining to do so could imperil the alliance without a formal withdrawal.
To be sure, not everyone sees the current crisis as existential. One French diplomat described the president's rhetoric as a passing temper tantrum.
Trump has changed his position on NATO before.
In 2024, he said on the campaign trail that he would encourage Putin to attack NATO members that do not pay their fair share on defense. By the last annual NATO summit, in June 2025, the alliance was in his good graces, with Trump delivering a speech effusively praising European leaders as people who "love their countries."
Next week, Rutte, the NATO secretary-general, who has a strong relationship with Trump, is set to visit Washington in an effort to change Trump's view once again..."
NYTIMES:"Here’s the latest.
Mounting European frustration with President Trump, and defiance of his wishes on the war with Iran, bubbled over on Thursday, when President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at the American leader for his shifting war goals and his undermining of the NATO alliance.
“When we’re serious, we don’t say the opposite of what we said the day before every day, and maybe one shouldn’t speak every day,” Mr. Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea. He also said of Mr. Trump’s mounting attacks on NATO, “If you create doubt every day about your commitment, you hollow it out.”
The French president has been among the most vocal of frustrated allies, but he is hardly the only one. Mr. Trump has steadily berated European leaders for refusing to join in a war that they view skeptically, at best, that he entered without consulting them, and that has had wide-ranging consequences the United States appeared unprepared for.
European leaders who have struggled to stay on Mr. Trump’s good side, and even gone out of their way to praise him, are increasingly resigned to the idea of a United States that is no longer a reliable partner and protector.
Responding to Mr. Trump’s latest and perhaps most pointed threat to withdraw from NATO, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said on Wednesday that “our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe.” Some European countries have gone public with their refusal to allow the use of their airspace or bases on their soil for U.S. attacks on Iran.
Mr. Trump’s televised address on Wednesday night did little to clarify his aims for the war or his timetable to end it. He repeated his threats to hit Iran’s infrastructure, including electrical plants, unless a deal was struck.
In Iran, commanders and political officials were defiant after Mr. Trump’s remarks. Stocks pared earlier losses and oil prices moderated after unconfirmed reports that Iran and Oman were in talks to monitor marine traffic through the strait. The S&P 500 had fallen as much as 1.5 percent in earlier trading, before recovering to be roughly flat. Oil prices also eased from their highs but still remained markedly higher for the day, with Brent, the international oil benchmark, up 6 percent to around $107 per barrel..."
THEGUARDIAN:"Russia-Ukraine war at a glance
Russia
Explainer
Ukraine war briefing: Pentagon reportedly considering whether to divert aid from Ukraine to Middle East
US military stockpiles are under strain as a result of Iran war, Washington Post reports; Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets Saudi crown prince in Jeddah. What we know on day 1,493 The Pentagon is reportedly weighing up whether to redirect weapons originally meant for Ukraine to the Middle East. The affected weapons could include air defence interceptor missiles bought through a Nato initiative under which partner countries buy US arms for Kyiv, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. A final decision has not yet been made, it said, but the US war in Iran is intensifying, placing a strain on supplies of some of the military’s most critical munitions. On Wednesday, US Central Command said it had hit over 10,000 targets inside Iran. A Pentagon spokesperson told the newspaper the defence department would “ensure that US forces and those of our allies and partners have what they need to fight and win”. In response to a query about the report, Nato spokesperson Allison Hart said weapons continue to be delivered to Kyiv. “Everything that Nato allies and partners have paid for through PURL has been delivered or continues to flow to Ukraine,” she said, referring to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, a mechanism that allows European countries to pay for US weapons on behalf of Ukraine..."
REUTERS:"Summary
US has offered security guarantees if Ukraine hands Donbas region to Russia, Zelenskiy says
Ukrainian leader says abandoning defensive line in Donbas would be a major security risk
Zelenskiy thanks Trump for continuing US weapon supplies to Ukraine despite Iran conflict
Ukraine's advances in missile, drone production allow it to retaliate against Russian air strikes
KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. is making its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the country's eastern region of Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview.
With the U.S. focused on its own conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump is applying pressure to Ukraine in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said.
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"The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump, and I think on his next steps. President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side," he told Reuters.
The U.S., Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level, trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year in a bid to negotiate an end to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War Two, which has laid waste to swaths of Ukraine and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said robust security guarantees from international partners are needed to ensure that Russia does not restart hostilities in the future, after any peace deal is agreed.
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Two vital questions remained unresolved regarding security guarantees, Zelenskiy said: Who would help to fund Ukraine's weapons purchases to sustain its military deterrent, and how exactly would its allies respond in the face of any future Russian aggression?
"The Americans are prepared to finalise these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas," said the 48-year-old leader, who added that he understood the "subtleties" of the American position although he had not participated directly himself in the trilateral talks.
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NYTIMES:"...
Years before Iranian drones and missiles pounded oil and natural gas facilities in the Middle East, Russia began targeting Ukraine’s energy industry. The Ukrainian national oil and gas company responded by spending about $180 million on air defenses — a measure that Persian Gulf energy giants may now need to replicate to protect the flow of crucial supplies.
The Ukrainian company, Naftogaz, pays for devices operated by the country’s military, such as electronic jamming systems and interceptor drones. The company, which produces and transports oil and gas in addition to supplying gas to Ukrainian consumers, has built concrete barriers to shield critical equipment. It also plans to bury pumping stations and other equipment with costly components in underground bunkers.
The proliferation of drones, both among militaries and nonstate actors, points to a future in which oil and gas companies everywhere, not just in Ukraine and the Middle East, invest in anti-drone systems, Serhiy Koretsky, the chief executive of Naftogaz, said in an interview.
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That means the price of a gallon of gasoline or a utility payment for natural gas could in the future include the cost of drone jamming and interception systems. “Security issues are key,” Mr. Koretsky said.
He described Naftogaz’s efforts to harden its infrastructure as Ukraine is promoting its hard-won expertise in countering exploding drones. The Ukrainian military employs layers of defenses, from interceptor missiles and drones to crews on the ground firing machine guns. It also uses electronic warfare systems that can interfere with a drone’s navigation or disrupt its radio link with a pilot.
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Ukrainian military drone experts are advising Middle Eastern countries. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said last week that more than 200 Ukrainians had either deployed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates or were traveling to Kuwait to advise on anti-drone warfare.
Mr. Koretsky, the Naftogaz chief, said that Middle Eastern nations and their energy companies had been largely unprepared for the threat of Iranian drones, known as Shaheds, a type of attack craft that Russia also launches against Ukraine.
“Everyone was focused on missile attacks,” not on swarms of cheap drones, he said, adding, “Nobody was expecting hundreds and hundreds of Shaheds.”
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Middle Eastern countries have used large numbers of hugely expensive air defense missiles to shoot down Shaheds, whose cost ranges from about $30,000 to more than $50,000.
“There is no chance to defend facilities against hundreds of Shaheds with air defense missiles,” Mr. Koretsky said. Makers of inexpensive Ukrainian interceptor drones say they have been flooded with calls from Middle Eastern nations.
Attacks on the natural gas infrastructure in the Persian Gulf have rattled energy markets. Last week, Israel bombarded Iran’s giant South Pars natural gas field, and Iran fired ballistic missiles at the Ras Laffan industrial zone in Qatar, home to oil and gas facilities of Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies, Shell and other companies. Iran has also launched drones at energy facilities in the Gulf.
Image
Flames shoot from structures at a liquefied natural gas production center.
QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas production facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, earlier this month.Credit...Reuters
In Ukraine, energy companies have contended with an evolving threat. Russia blew up a major oil refinery early in the war but refrained from significant attacks on natural gas infrastructure until last year, when a contract for Ukraine to ship gas from Russia to Europe expired. Ukraine had transported the gas despite the war to avoid an energy shock in Europe.
By Naftogaz’s count, more than half of the 401 attacks on gas infrastructure during the four-year war came last year, after the contract expired.
Those strikes illustrate the risk of an extended conflict in the Middle East. Russia did not rush to demolish facilities in single volleys, instead allowing repair work to proceed and then hitting sites again to blow up the repairs.
“Every new attack brought more destruction than before,” Mr. Koretsky said.
Analysts see an industry-wide necessity to install anti-drone protections for wellheads, pipes and the sprawling, multibillion-dollar factories that process petroleum.
“The need is demonstrated by the vulnerability of the last several days,” said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the political risk advisory firm Eurasia Group. “You don’t have to be Russia or Iran to shoot these things. You can be a mafia guy or have a personal feud.”
The risks extend to all critical infrastructure, not just energy facilities, both close to war zones and far from them, said Ihor Novikov, an adviser to a Ukrainian government working group on drone safety for airports.
“The technology has evolved to the point that the vast majority of the information needed to proliferate is available online,” Mr. Novikov said. Ukraine’s military converted off-the-shelf drones into weapons, and others can do the same, he added.
“When you start thinking about defense,” he said, “you realize the full scale of this problem and the danger of it.”
Evelina Riabenko contributed reporting.
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CNN:"Russian forces have begun a spring offensive in eastern Ukraine, including the use of dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, according to the Ukrainian military and analysts.
The assault is gathering pace as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has a “very bad feeling” about the consequences of the Middle East conflict for his country.
“You see that our diplomatic meetings, trilateral meetings, are constantly postponed. There is one reason: war in Iran,” he told the BBC in an interview Sunday.
“Putin will want a long war. For Putin, a long war in Iran is a plus,” he said – as rising oil prices and the suspension of US sanctions on some Russian crude benefit the Russian economy.
Against that background, Russia is stepping up assaults in eastern Ukraine.
“With changing weather conditions, the Russian aggressor has stepped up pressure across several sections of the front,” Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Friday..."REUTERS:"Moscow says Ukraine peace talks on pause, Kyiv says new meeting planned
By Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov
March 18, 202610:28 PM PDT
Aftermath of a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia
A postal distribution centre of Nova Post company hit by Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine March 17, 2026....
Kremlin says peace talks on pause amid Iran war
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says new meeting planned this weekend
Russia's talks on economy and investment with US to continue
Kremlin says talks can resume when US able to focus on them again
MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv on ending the war in Ukraine were on "situational pause" following the start of the Iran war, but Ukraine's president said new discussions were expected this weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to end the Ukraine war on his return to the White House but has said efforts to resolve the conflict have been one of his biggest disappointments.
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The Izvestia newspaper said in a front-page story that the Kremlin had confirmed a pause in talks on Ukraine and that war in the Middle East could push Kyiv towards compromise.
"This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the Izvestia report.
Peskov said that as soon as "our American partners" could pay more attention to Ukrainian affairs, Moscow hoped that the pause could end and that a new round of talks could take place.In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was time to end the pause and Washington had sent signals it was ready to continue negotiations. A Ukrainian negotiating team was already on its way to the U.S. for weekend talks.
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REUTERS:"BERLIN/PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) - For a self-described Transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the language has been unusually blunt.
When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global effort against Iran and deploy ships to prise open the Strait of Hormuz, whose near closure has held the global economy in a vice, he was rebuffed by some of America's closest allies.
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Merz told German lawmakers on Wednesday he agreed Iran must not be allowed to pose a threat to its neighbours but expressed doubts about the rationale behind the U.S.-Israeli war.
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"To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary," he told lawmakers.
"We would have advised against pursuing this course of action as it has been pursued. Therefore, we have declared that as long as the war continues, we will not participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, by military means."
European leaders have rejected direct involvement in U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran, wary of getting sucked into an unpredictable conflict whose aims they do not fully understand and is unpopular with their own citizens.
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In doing so, they are calculating that the benefits of staying on the sidelines outweigh the multiple risks to Transatlantic ties that are already under severe strain over anything from the war in Ukraine to tariff disputes.
Merz's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was just as direct as his boss on Monday: "This is not our war, we have not started it." Echoing Germany's stance, French President Emmanuel Macron also said "We are not party to the conflict"..."
WSJ:"exclusive
World
Russia Is Sharing Satellite Imagery and Drone Technology With Iran
Moscow has expanded intelligence sharing and military cooperation to help keep Tehran in the fight against U.S. and Israeli military might
By
Thomas Grove
...
An Iranian-designed Shahed 136 drone flying over Kyiv.
An Iranian-designed Shahed 136 drone used by the Russian Army flying over Kyiv. Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty
Russia has been expanding its intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Iran, providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology to aid Tehran’s targeting of U.S. forces in the region, people familiar with the matter said.
Russia is trying to keep its closest Middle Eastern partner in the fight against U.S. and Israeli military might and prolong a war that is benefiting Russia militarily and economically.
The technology provided includes components of modified Shahed drones, which are meant to improve communication, navigation and targeting, the people said. Russia has also been drawing on its experience using drones in Ukraine, offering tactical guidance on how many drones should be used in operations and what altitudes they should strike from, said the people, who included a senior European intelligence officer.
Russia has been providing Iran with the locations of U.S. military forces in the Middle East as well as those of its regional allies, The Wall Street Journal has reported. That cooperation has deepened in early days of the war, with Russia recently providing satellite imagery directly to Iran, said two of the people, the officer and a Middle Eastern diplomat.
The assistance is similar to intelligence the U.S. and European allies have given to Ukraine in recent years, analysts say. In the Gulf, Moscow’s aid is believed to have helped Iran with recent strikes on U.S. radar systems in the region, said the people. Those strikes have included an early warning radar for a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, system in Jordan, as well as other targets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
The Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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REUTERS:"YEONCHEON, South Korea/TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - North Korea fired more than 10 ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as the U.S. and South Korean forces conducted military drills and U.S. President Donald Trump renewed overtures towards Pyongyang for dialogue.
The missiles were launched from an area near the capital Pyongyang, around 1:20 p.m. (0430 GMT) towards the sea off the country's east coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Kyiv has dispatched three teams of military experts to the Middle East, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 10 amid Iran's ongoing drone strikes in the region.
"This week, all three (teams) will be in three different countries... Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia," Zelensky said in a briefing with journalists.
Countries across the Middle East have come under fire from Iranian Shahed drones and missiles in the wake of Israeli-U.S. strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Ukraine has signalled readiness to share its extensive experience with countering the low-cost kamikaze drones, which Russia launches in daily attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, March 6 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it would respond if Finland placed nuclear weapons on its territory, saying such a move would make the Nordic country more vulnerable.
The Kremlin reacted sharply after NATO member Finland said on Thursday it was planning to lift a longstanding ban on hosting such weapons, in a move that could open the door to placing them there during times of war.
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"This is a statement that leads to an escalation of tensions on the European continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
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"This statement adds to Finland's vulnerability, a vulnerability provoked by the actions of the Finnish authorities. The fact is that by deploying nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us. And if Finland threatens us, we take appropriate measures."
The Finnish shift is part of a wider rethink of European deterrence that has prompted France to offer to extend the protection of its nuclear arsenal to other allies on the continent.
The changes are being driven by Russia's war in Ukraine and the unpredictable behaviour of U.S. President Donald Trump - notably his threat to take over Greenland - which has unsettled his NATO allies.
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WSJ:"The U.S. Army is rushing to the Middle East counterdrone systems that have been battle-tested in Ukraine, in an effort to thwart Tehran’s destructive attacks across the region, U.S. officials said.
A small number of the defensive systems, dubbed Merops, are being sent from U.S. Army stocks in Europe, along with U.S. personnel to operate them and train other troops, U.S. officials said.
U.S. officials said that additional systems will be provided by the U.S. company that produces them, Perennial Autonomy, in which billionaire Eric Schmidt is an investor. Schmidt declined to comment.
A U.S. official said that Ukraine is likely to provide trainers. Ukraine didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the U.S. and its regional allies have sought Kyiv’s help against Iranian strikes..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Noah Robertson, Ellen Nakashima and Warren P. Strobel
Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major U.S. adversary is participating — even indirectly — in the war, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.
The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.
Since the war began Saturday, Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, said the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one of the people said.
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Reached by The Washington Post on Friday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, declined to comment on the intelligence findings. Moscow has called for an end to the war, which it labeled an “unprovoked act of armed aggression.”
The extent of Russia’s targeting assistance to Iran was not entirely clear. The Iranian military’s own ability to locate U.S. forces has been degraded less than a week into the fighting, the officials said.
Ask The Post AI
Dive deeper.Six U.S. troops were killed and several others were injured by an Iranian drone attack Sunday in Kuwait. Iran has fired thousands of one-way attack drones and hundreds of missiles at U.S. military positions, embassies and civilians, even as the joint American-Israeli campaign has hit more than 2,000 Iranian targets — including ballistic missile sites, naval assets and the country’s leadership.
“The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed,” said a White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, without commenting on any Russian aid to Iran. “Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight.”
The CIA and the Pentagon declined to comment.The CIA and the Pentagon declined to comment.
When asked this week about his message to Russia and China, which are among Iran’s most powerful backers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he didn’t have one and that “they’re not really a factor here.”
Two of the officials familiar with Russia’s support for Iran said that China did not appear to be aiding Iran’s defense, despite close ties between the two countries.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Washington referred to Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to engage with partners in the region since the war began and said that the conflict should be “immediately ceased.”
Smoke rises near al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 28. (Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)
Analysts said that the sharing of intelligence would fit the pattern of Iran’s strikes against U.S. forces, including command and control infrastructure, radars and temporary structures, like the one in Kuwait where six service members were killed.
The CIA’s station at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, also was struck in recent days.
Iran is “making very precise hits on early warning radars or over-the-horizon radars,” said Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “They’re doing this in a very targeted way. They’re going after command and control,” she added.
Iran possesses only a handful of military-grade satellites, and no satellite constellation of its own, which would make imagery provided by Russia’s much more advanced space capabilities highly valuable — particularly as the Kremlin has honed its own targeting after years of war in Ukraine, Massicot said.
Nicole Grajewski, who studies Iran’s cooperation with Russia at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, said that there had been a high level of “sophistication” in the Iranian retaliatory strikes, both in what Tehran has targeted and in its ability in some cases to overwhelm U.S. and allied defenses.“They’re getting through air defenses,” she said, noting that the quality of Iran’s strikes appeared to have improved even from its 12-day war with Israel last summer.
The Pentagon is quickly burning through its supply of precision arms and air defense interceptors, people familiar with the matter have told The Post, underscoring concerns raised by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as President Donald Trump deliberated whether to approve the operation. The administration has sought to downplay Caine’s assessment..."
REUTERS:"KYIV/WASHINGTON March 4 (Reuters) - With the United States focused on its conflict with Iran, Ukraine could face a critical shortage of U.S. air defence missiles at a time when Russia shows no signs of easing its campaign of striking Ukrainian cities.
Since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Gulf countries. Most have been intercepted, including with the PAC-3 Patriot missile interceptors that Ukraine relies on to defend its energy and military infrastructure from ballistic missiles.
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The roughly 600 PAC-3s produced yearly by Lockheed Martin are already insufficient to cover U.S. needs and those of its allies in the Gulf, let alone Ukraine's, said Serhii Kuzan, head of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think tank.
"It's the very simple mathematics of war," Kuzan said, adding the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air-defence system - which has similar capabilities - had not ramped up production fast enough to offer an alternative.
Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specialises in missiles, said stockpiling of Patriots by Gulf states meant they were unlikely to run out completely, particularly as the intensity of Iranian missile bombardments appeared to be decreasing, but they might need to become more selective in their use as time goes on.A wider shortage could be avoided if the U.S. and Israel are successful at destroying Iran's missile stockpiles and launchers in the coming days, according to Mykola Bielieskov of the state-run National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, some Russian hardliners were cautiously optimistic, hoping his unpredictability and transactional nature might benefit Moscow on Ukraine.
But his attack on Iran means many now see him as a growing threat to Russia itself and are questioning if Trump is the pragmatic, potentially pro-Moscow strongman ready to deal in realpolitik that they thought he was...Some hawks are publicly demanding that Moscow abandon U.S.-brokered peace talks with Ukraine and double down on fighting there instead, arguing that the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks which preceded the U.S.-Israeli air war were a cynical ploy which showed Washington cannot be trusted.
"The unprincipled United States is a threat to the entire world," said nationalist tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, who is married to a top Kremlin official. "This is the United States we are trying to negotiate with regarding Ukraine. Yes, it wants a weak Europe. But it also wants a weak Russia."
Boris Rozhin, an influential war blogger who goes by the moniker, "Colonel Cassad" and has nearly 800,000 followers on the Telegram app, said Trump was a monster, driven mad by impunity.
"To seriously count on any agreements or deals with it (the monster) is either foolishness or treason," opined Rozhin."
REUTERS:"LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Images of debris from Russian strikes on Ukraine strongly indicate that Moscow has used a cruise missile whose development led Donald Trump to quit a landmark nuclear pact in his first term, two experts said, confirming earlier Reuters reporting.
The specialists based their analysis on images of fragments of the nuclear-capable missile provided to Reuters by three Ukrainian law enforcement sources, the first visual evidence published to date corroborating Russia's use of the weapon.
Its deployment dozens of times in Ukraine is a striking example of how the nuclear arms control edifice emerging from the Cold War has crumbled in recent years. This month saw the expiry of New START, the nuclear treaty that imposed limits on U.S. and Russian strategic weapons.
Russia's development of the 9M729 prompted Trump to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, then a cornerstone of nuclear arms control, in 2019, saying the ground-launched missile could fly far beyond the permitted limit of 500 km (310 miles).The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office told Reuters in a written statement in November that one of the 9M729 missiles fired by Russia on October 5 last year flew more than 1,200 km...
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and sources told Reuters in October that Russia had fired the 9M729 at Ukraine twice in 2022 and 23 times between August and October last year..."
REUTERS:"Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Four years of devastation captured in photos
Images from four years of fighting in Ukraine after Russia launched an all-out invasion, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Warning: Contains graphic content..."
APNEWS:"Updated 3:44 AM PST, February 22, 2026
Leer en español
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones, killing one person in the Kyiv region, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said on Sunday.
Another eight people, including a child, were rescued from under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the service said.
The attack caused damage and fires to erupt in five districts in the suburbs of Kyiv. In the village of Putrivka in the Fastiv district, emergency first responders worked on saving people buried under debris.
Russia also struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, resulting in significant fires, which were later extinguished, the emergency service said.
During the four years since Russia launched an all-out war on its neighbor, and despite a new push over the past year in U.S.-led peace efforts, Ukrainian civilians have endured constant aerial attacks. Russia has also ramped up attacks targeting the country’s energy grid, leaving Ukrainian civilians without electricity and heating amid harsh winter conditions..."
NYTIMES:"After Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States and much of the West all but severed economic ties to Moscow.
But since President Trump took office more than a year ago, he has described a “tremendous opportunity” for deals with Russia if the war ends, and the Kremlin has dangled possible investments in front of the famously transactional leader.
Now a Texas investor with ties to the Trump family is testing the possibility of making deals with Russian companies, even as the fighting in Ukraine rages on. The investor, Gentry Beach, said that he quietly signed an agreement with one of Russia’s biggest energy companies last fall to develop natural gas in Alaska.
Image
Gentry Beach in New York in 2018.
Credit...Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for GQ
Mr. Beach’s deal, which he insisted was motivated by business interests and not politics, shows how Mr. Trump is starting to bring Russia back into the Western economic fold, even as few signs point to President Vladimir V. Putin being ready to stop his assault on Ukraine and U.S. sanctions against Russia remain in place.
It also shows how the Kremlin’s messaging about what it says are immense business opportunities in Russia — an aide to Mr. Putin this week put their value at an improbable $14 trillion — is starting to resonate in the United States.
“Trump is a transactional president,” Mr. Beach said in an interview. “I don’t think people would have felt as comfortable working with Russian companies during the Biden administration as they do during the Trump administration.”
The project is in its early stages and faces steep hurdles, and Mr. Beach declined to disclose the financial details. The Russian company, Novatek, said it was “indeed having negotiations on the potential use” of its technology to liquefy natural gas in remote northern Alaska. But it did not confirm that it was working with Mr. Beach.
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REUTERS:"MUNICH, Feb 19 (Reuters) - European intelligence chiefs are pessimistic about the chances of an agreement being reached this year to end Russia's war in Ukraine, despite Donald Trump's assertions that U.S.-brokered talks have brought the prospect of a deal "reasonably close".
The heads of five European spy agencies, who spoke to Reuters in recent days on condition of anonymity, said Russia did not want to end the war quickly. Four of them said Moscow was using the talks with the U.S. to push for sanctions relief and business deals.
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The talks - the latest round of which took place in Geneva this week - are "negotiation theatre", one European intelligence chief said.
The remarks point to a striking gulf in thinking between European capitals and the White House, which Ukraine says wants to clinch a peace agreement by June ahead of the U.S. congressional mid-term elections in November. Trump says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal.
"Russia is not seeking a peace agreement. They are seeking their strategic goals, and those have not changed," one of the European intelligence chiefs said. These include the removal of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy and for Ukraine to become a "neutral" buffer to the West...The main issue, a second intelligence chief said, is that Russia neither wants nor needs a quick peace and its economy is "not on the verge of collapse"..."
INDEPENDENT:"The White House has hit back at Volodymyr Zelensky after he said the US was piling undue pressure on Kyiv to end the war.
Zelensky said Trump’s insistence that Ukraine should compromise was “not fair” ahead of trilateral talks in Geneva, which ended abruptly on Wednesday after just two hours.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that Trump believes the war has been “very unfair, not just for the Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives, but also for the American people and the American taxpayer who were footing the bill for this war effort before President Trump put a stop to it”.Both sides have said they are willing to continue peace talks in future, though it is not clear when or where this will take place.
Zelensky said he was dissatisfied with the lack of progress in Geneva, insisting that “sensitive political matters” and the need for compromise had not been addressed properly.
“As of today, we cannot say that the result is sufficient,” Zelensky said...Zelensky says further steps on peace talks will be determined in meeting today
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is set to hold a peace talks discussion with the members of his negotiating team after talks in Switzerland.
"Today all members of our negotiating group will already be in Ukraine, and for tomorrow I have scheduled a special meeting with them regarding our next steps and decisions. There will be a report here in Kyiv on those aspects of the negotiations that should not be discussed over the phone. We will also define the further framework of talks with our partners – the American side, the Europeans – and with the Russian side," he said..."
REUTERS:"'Difficult' Ukraine peace talks end after Zelenskiy says Russia stalling
By John Revill and Olivia Le Poidevin
February 17, 202611:09 PM PSTUpdated 7 mins ago
Item 1 of 6 Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky walks out the InterContinental hotel on the day of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, in Geneva, Switzerland, February 18, 2026. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
[1/6]Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky walks out the InterContinental hotel on the day of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, in Geneva, Switzerland, February 18, 2026. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Summary
Zelenskiy criticises US pressure for Ukraine concessions
Says progress made but positions differ
Russia says further talks will be held soon
GENEVA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended on Wednesday after only two hours, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy describing them as "difficult" and accusing Russia of deliberately delaying progress toward a deal to end the four-year-old war.
The two days of U.S.-mediated peace talks in Switzerland took place as U.S. President Donald Trump has twice in recent days suggested it was up to Ukraine and Zelenskiy to ensure the talks were successful.
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"We can see that progress has been made, but for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult," Zelenskiy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat shortly after talks concluded.
Rustem Umerov, the head of Kyiv's negotiating team, said separately that the second day had been "intensive and substantive". Both sides were working toward decisions that can be sent to their presidents, he said.
Russia's chief negotiator, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, told reporters that further negotiations would be held soon, without specifying a date. Earlier on Wednesday, Zelenskiy had accused Russia of "trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage".
..
Ukrainian officials have routinely accused Moscow - which has carried out a winter bombing campaign against Ukraine's energy system and pursued its battlefield offensive - of negotiating in bad faith.
PRESSURE FROM TRUMP
In an interview with U.S. website Axios published on Tuesday, Zelenskiy was quoted as saying that it was "not fair" Trump kept publicly calling on Ukraine, not Russia, to make concessions in negotiating terms for a peace plan.
Trump had told reporters on Monday that "Ukraine better come to the table fast. That's all I'm telling you."
Zelenskiy also said any plan requiring Ukraine to give up territory that Russia had not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum.
"I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision," Axios quoted Zelenskiy as saying in the interview.
PUSH FOR EUROPEAN INVOLVEMENT
Ukrainian officials have been pushing for greater involvement of Kyiv's European allies in the peace process, with Zelenskiy saying ahead of Wednesday's talks it was "indispensable". Leading European nations - including France, Germany and the UK - have been strong supporters of Kyiv's stance.
The talks came just days before the fourth anniversary of Russia's 2022 invasion of its much smaller neighbour. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled their homes, and many Ukrainian cities, towns and villages have been devastated by the conflict.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, countries across Europe pledged to become more like Poland.
Governments began pushing to build up their militaries. Factories pivoted from civilian products to tanks and jets. Prodded by U.S. President Donald Trump, Europe’s NATO members last year committed to spending 5 percent of their gross domestic product on security, defense and related infrastructure.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
While some countries struggled to meet an earlier NATO target of 2 percent of GDP on defense, Poland’s figure last year was 4.7 percent, the highest in the alliance. It’s the European Union’s fifth most populous nation and sixth largest economy, but it has the bloc’s largest standing army.
As Europe seeks to retool for the dual threats of Russian aggression and U.S. indifference, Poland is arguably already there. At least by the numbers. The challenge is that even as countries scrambled to build up their capabilities, the nature of the threat has changed.Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace and the sabotage of a major rail line have highlighted the inadequacy of a conventional army..."
NYTIMES:"China’s top general, second only to Xi Jinping, the nation’s leader, in the military command, has been put under investigation and accused of “grave violations of discipline and the law,” the Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday, the most stunning escalation yet in Mr. Xi’s purge of the People’s Liberation Army elite.
The general, Zhang Youxia, is a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party body that controls China’s armed forces. Another member of the commission, Gen. Liu Zhenli, who leads the military’s Joint Staff Department, is also under investigation, the Defense Ministry said. Its announcement did not say what either general was alleged to have done wrong..."
CNN:"Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” the committee that will oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, his spokesman said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters during a regular media briefing, Dmitry Peskov said: “President Putin also received through diplomatic channels an invitation to join this Board of Peace.”
.."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine - not Russia - is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent.
..Trump's comments suggested renewed frustration with the Ukrainian leader. The two presidents have long had a volatile relationship, though their interactions seem to have improved over Trump's first year back in office.
At times, Trump has been more willing to accept Putin's assurances at face value than the leaders of some U.S. allies, frustrating Kyiv, European capitals and U.S. lawmakers, including some Republicans.
In December, Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence reports continued to warn that Putin had not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard disputed that report at the time..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Yulia Navalnaya
Yulia Navalnaya is a Russian opposition leader and the widow of Alexei Navalny. She is also chair of the Human Rights Foundation and of the Anti-Corruption Foundation advisory board.
Imagine a courtroom in which the only voice heard is that of the state, and a legal system in which laws are skewed to conform to the whims of the regime — a world without lawyers, where the persecuted are invisible and suffer in silence.
The best of The Post’s opinions and commentary, in your inbox every morning
Lawyers are the necessary intermediary between citizens and their governments. They insist on normative procedures, demand evidence and testimony, challenge unlawful decisions and laws, and, when necessary, speak uncomfortable truths. That is why every dictatorship, from China to Tanzania, tries to tame them — or to break them.
Russia is trying to do both..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “help is on its way” to anti-regime protesters in Iran and warned that the country’s government — whose security forces, rights groups estimate, have killed as many as 2,000 people during a brutal crackdown on the demonstrations — will pay a “big price.”..."
THEGUARDIAN:"...While there have been heavier strikes on Kyiv in the almost four years of war since the full-scale Russian invasion, the impact of the 9 January raid on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has rivalled the dark days of the early weeks of the war, when Russian tanks were trying to force their way into the capital.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"Opinion
An end to Russia’s war against Ukraine is still not in sight. The frequency of high-level meetings of Ukrainian, US and European representatives in recent weeks, as well as the intermittent US-Russia exchanges, have not changed this fundamental reality. There is no ceasefire in place, European and US military support is not confirmed and, most importantly, Russia does not want the war to end."...
CNN:"Russia launched an Oreshnik missile into Ukraine overnight into Friday for the second time since the full-scale war began 2022, in a strike that Kyiv and its allies say is meant as a warning for the West.
While Russian defense officials did not say where the Oreshnik hit this time, Ukrainian authorities on Friday reported several explosions and a ballistic missile strike in the western city of Lviv.
The first use of the new weapon – which can carry nuclear or conventional payloads – was to target an apparently vacant factory in Dnipro in late November 2024.
Here’s what we know about the missile.
What is the Oreshnik?
It is likely a medium-range ballistic missile, with its use so far indicating a range of 600 to 1,000 miles. US defense officials deemed the Oreshnik fired in November 2024 to be an “intermediate-range ballistic missile” or IRBM, suggesting they thought its actual range could be over 3,000 miles.
The distance from Kapustin Yar, the Russian base from which it is thought to have been fired, to Lviv, its target this week, is about 900 miles...."
CNN:"Russia doubled down on its longstanding position of declaring Western forces in Ukraine “legitimate targets” on Thursday, days after France and the UK pledged to send troops there in the event of a peace deal.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry warns that the deployment of military units, military facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries on the territory of Ukraine will be classified as foreign intervention,” spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement..."
"In Nicosia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides.
The Head of State congratulated Cyprus on the start of its presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“Thank you for your support, especially for the humanitarian assistance during this war and Russia’s attacks,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The leaders discussed support for Ukraine’s European integration during Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the European Union and the earliest possible opening of negotiating clusters. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is counting on strong decisions and real progress over these six months.
They also addressed defense support for Ukraine, strengthening air defense, the supply of drones, and Cyprus’s participation in the PURL initiative and SAFE instrument.
The Head of State separately noted Cyprus’s participation in the Coalition of the Willing. The leaders discussed the diplomatic situation and joint efforts with American and European partners to achieve a dignified peace.
Particular attention was paid to the importance of strengthening sanctions against Russia, including additional restrictions on Russia’s shadow fleet and proposals for the 20th sanctions package of the European Union.
The presidents also discussed humanitarian support, including the rehabilitation of wounded warriors and medical treatment for children."
REUTERS:"KYIV, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators will revisit the thorny issues of territory and the fate of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, the most problematic points in peace talks to end Russia's war.
Kyiv is under U.S. pressure to secure peace in the nearly four-year-old conflict but is pushing back on Russian demands to cede its eastern Donetsk region and give up control of Europe's largest nuclear facility...The delegations are in Paris for a third day of talks among Kyiv's allies on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, which has been cool on the U.S.-backed process.
"We expect, in particular, that the most difficult issues from the basic framework for ending the war will be discussed – namely, issues related to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and territories," Zelenskiy wrote on X, announcing a third session with the U.S. team in two days..."
REUTERS:"KYIV, Jan 5 (Reuters) - An overnight Russian air attack on Kyiv and its region killed two people, Ukraine’s authorities said on Monday, in what appeared to be the first reported deaths in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital this year.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the strike set ablaze a medical facility in the Obolonskyi district in Kyiv's northern sector, where an inpatient ward was operating. After the fire was extinguished, a body was found inside, the service added.
..
A woman was also injured and 25 people were evacuated, the service said on the Telegram messaging app.
It released a nighttime photo showing emergency responders carrying a body on a stretcher past an ambulance outside a building, with snow on the ground.
..
Russia also hit towns and villages across the Kyiv region, damaging homes and critical infrastructure, and killing a civilian in the Fastiv district, just southwest of the capital, the region’s governor Mykola Kalashnyk said on Telegram.
Small parts of the region were left without power, Kalashnyk added.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks.
Russia has repeatedly attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones during the nearly four-year-old war, saying it strikes military targets, while Ukraine says civilians and civilian infrastructure are often hit.
Reporting by Gleb Garanich in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Tom Hogue, Stephen Coates and Michael Perry"
REUTERS:"MOSCOW/KYIV, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday its position would toughen in talks on ending the war in Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of attacking a Russian presidential residence, an allegation that Kyiv said was baseless and intended to prolong the conflict.Kyiv has said Russia's accusations are "lies" aimed at justifying more attacks on Ukraine, and its foreign minister said on Tuesday that Russia had not provided any evidence "because there's none".
..
Russia said on Monday Kyiv had attacked a presidential residence in the Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones. It said it would retaliate and review its negotiating stance but would not quit talks on a possible peace deal..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW/KYIV, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia, although it provided no evidence to back up an assertion that Kyiv dismissed as baseless and designed to undermine peace negotiations.
The angry exchanges – including a statement by Russia that it was reviewing its stance in negotiations in response to the attack – dealt a new blow to prospects for peace in Ukraine.
..
U.S. President Donald Trump said Putin had told him about the alleged attack in a phone call on Monday morning, which had angered him. Still, Trump repeated his belief that a peace deal may be near.
"It's one thing to be offensive," Trump told reporters. "It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that. And I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it."
On Sunday, Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Florida and the U.S. president said they were "getting a lot closer, maybe very close" to an agreement to end the war, although "thorny" territorial issues remained.
On Monday, Putin struck a defiant tone, telling his army to press on with a campaign to take full control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The Kremlin repeated demands for Kyiv to pull its forces out of the last part of the Donbas area that they still hold in eastern Ukraine.
Putin told Trump in Monday's phone call that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was reviewing its stance following the reported drone attack, an aide said.
After the call with Putin, Trump told reporters outside his home in Palm Beach, Florida, that he had no further information about the alleged attack.
"I don't like it, it's not good," Trump said. Asked if U.S. intelligence agencies had evidence of such an attack, Trump said: "We'll find out."
Trump said the conversation with Putin was productive.
"We have a couple of issues that we're going to get resolved, hopefully, and if we get them resolved, you're going to have peace," Trump said.
LAVROV ACCUSES UKRAINE, ZELENSKIY ISSUES DENIAL
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence in the Novgorod region west of Moscow on December 28-29 with 91 long-range drones which were all destroyed by Russian air defences. No one was injured and there was no damage, he said in comments reported by Russian media.
"Such reckless actions will not go unanswered," Lavrov said in a statement, describing the attack as "state terrorism" and adding that targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia's armed forces.
Lavrov did not offer any evidence for his assertions in his statement. It was not clear where Putin was at the time.
..
Lavrov said the attack took place during negotiations about a possible peace deal, and said Russia would review its negotiating stance but not quit the negotiations.
Denying Ukraine had planned such an attack, Zelenskiy accused Russia of preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kyiv, saying Russia wanted to undermine progress at U.S.-Ukrainian talks on ending the war."Another round of lies from the Russian Federation," Zelenskiy told reporters via WhatsApp. "It is clear that we had a meeting with Trump yesterday, and it is clear that for the Russians, if there is no scandal between us and America, and we are making progress – for them it is a failure, because they do not want to end this war."
He added: "I am sure they are simply preparing the ground for strikes, probably on the capital, probably on government buildings.".."
CNN:"Russia carried out one of this year’s longest sustained attacks on Ukraine overnight, the day before Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida, as efforts continue to end the nearly four-year war in Eastern Europe.
The aerial attack on the city of Kyiv and the surrounding region killed at least two people and injured 44 more, including two children, according to local authorities.
More than 40% of residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, also have no heating as a result, amid freezing temperatures, Oleksiy Kuleba, a senior government minister, said on social media.
The attack lasted nearly 10 hours. But local residents have been kept on edge into Saturday, with air raid sirens blaring on and off intermittently during the day.
Speaking on board a plane bound for the United States Saturday, Zelensky said he would be looking for a signal during talks with Trump that Ukraine would receive legally binding security guarantees as part of any peace deal.He also repeated calls for the bolstering of Ukraine’s air defenses, saying the country needed more missiles amid Russia’s relentless attacks. “The support of Europeans is important to us today. We do not have enough additional air defence systems,” he said.
Ahead of meeting Trump, Zelensky stopped in Canada Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Speaking to reporters before their meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Carney announced a further 2.5 billion Canadian dollars ($1.83 billion) in economic assistance for Ukraine..."
TAIWANPLUS.COM/REUTERS TRANSCRIPT:"
REPORTER:
China’s arsenal is growing faster than that of any other nuclear power. A recent report cited by Reuters says that the country has placed 100 ICBMs into silos close to the Mongolian border. Although that is deep inland, some missiles have ranges exceeding 15,000 kilometers, meaning they can strike targets in the continental US, let alone in the Indo-Pacific.
William Yang (INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP):
China's rise in their missile capabilities and the expansion of their rocket force has definitely been a focus of the overall global observation of China's military modernization.
It comes at a time when the People's Liberation Army continues its very aggressive military operations.
And at the same time, the commitment and credibility of US defense commitment to its allies across the region has also been put to question.
REPORTER:
Although the report did not mention any targets, it does indicate that China’s arsenal – which stood at about 600 warheads last year – could nearly double to 1000 by 2030. That’s amid concerns that Chinese President Xi Jinping could move to invade Taiwan in 2027.
REPORTER:
There’s a growing risk of nuclear proliferation across the Indo-Pacific. A recent report quoted a Japanese lawmaker saying the country should consider its own nuclear weapons, North Korea continues building up its nuclear program despite sanctions, and US President Donald Trump said he’d be interested in restarting nuclear testing, although no details have been announced.
REPORTER:
As China builds up its nuclear arsenal and regional powers look to do the same, this could be a huge shift in Asia’s security situation.
Scott Huang and Lery Hiciano, for TaiwanPlus."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON/PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire, six sources familiar with U.S. intelligence said, even as negotiators seek an end to the war that would leave Russia with far less territory.
The reports present a starkly different picture from that painted by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukraine peace negotiators, who have said Putin wants to end the conflict. The most recent of the reports dates from late September, according to one of the sources.
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The intelligence also contradicts the Russian leader’s denials that he is a threat to Europe.
The U.S. findings have been consistent since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022. They largely align with the views of European leaders and spy agencies that he covets all of Ukraine and territories of former Soviet bloc states, including members of the NATO alliance, according to the sources.
"The intelligence has always been that Putin wants more," Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a Reuters interview. "The Europeans are convinced of it. The Poles are absolutely convinced of it. The Baltics think they're first.”
Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the bulk of Luhansk and Donetsk, the provinces that comprise the industrial heartland of the Donbas, parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces and Crimea, the strategic Black Sea peninsula.
Putin claims Crimea and all four provinces as belonging to Russia. Trump is pressuring Kyiv to withdraw its forces from the small part of Donetsk they control as part of a proposed peace deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter, a demand that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and most Ukrainians reject.
“The president’s team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war" and Trump has stated that a peace deal "is closer than ever before," said a White House official without addressing the intelligence reports...
RUSSIA STILL PUSHING TERRITORIAL DEMANDS
Putin on Friday offered no compromises, although he told an annual news conference that he was ready to discuss peace.
He said his terms would have to be met as his forces have advanced 6,000 square km (2,300 square miles) this year..."
WSJ:"Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine either through diplomacy or on the battlefield, days after U.S. and European officials met with Ukraine’s leadership to try to hammer out a deal to end nearly four years of war.
Speaking to Defense Ministry officials, Putin lashed out against the previous Biden administration’s stance toward Russia and called European leaders backing Ukraine “piglets” who wanted to feast on the collapse of Russia.
Putin’s speech on Wednesday signaled that the Trump administration’s push to clinch a peace deal hasn’t changed the Kremlin’s war aims in Ukraine. Those include permanently blocking Ukraine’s path to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, limiting the size of its military and exerting influence over the country’s political future.
“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,” Putin said, using the Russian euphemism for the war. “If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands through military means.”..."
WSJ:"European security officials now regularly broadcast a message nearly unimaginable a decade ago: Get ready for conflict with Russia.
Rarely a week goes by now without a European government, military or security chief making a grim speech warning the public that they are headed toward a potential war with Russia. It is a profound psychological shift for a continent that has rebuilt itself after two world wars by trumpeting a message of harmony and joint economic prosperity.
Over the weekend, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz compared Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategy in Ukraine to that of Hitler in 1938, when he seized the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia before pressing on to conquer a large chunk of the continent. “If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop. Just like the Sudetenland wasn’t enough in 1938,” Merz told a party conference on Saturday.
That came days after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte made a speech warning that “conflict is at our door” and that “we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.” Rutte said that Russia could be ready to use military force against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization within five years. The head of the French military recently said that France was at risk “because it is not prepared to accept the loss of its children.”..."
BBC:"MI6 chief warns 'we are in a space between peace and war'
The new chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli has said Britain's overseas spy agency is dealing with an "interlocking web of security challenges", during her first public speech.
Ms Metreweli, who took over as head of the Secret Intelligence Service in the autumn, is the first woman to head MI6, taking over from Sir Richard Moore.
The new chief pointed to the recent sanctioning of Russian entities accused of conducting information warfare, as well as two China-based companies sanctioned for their "indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies".
"Institutions which were designed in the ashes of the Second World War are being challenged. New blocks and identities forming and alliances reshaping," the MI6 chief has said..."
CNN:"UK’s new spy chief warns the ‘front line is everywhere’ amid growing threat from Russia...The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 will warn the nation that the “front line is everywhere” in her first public speech on Monday, with the UK facing a growing threat from Russia.
Blaise Metreweli became the first female chief of the Secret Intelligence Service’s 116-year history when she took up her post this fall. Commonly referred to as “C,” the chief is the only publicly named member of the famously secretive organization.
In a speech at MI6 HQ in London, Metreweli is expected to highlight the increasingly complex landscape of threats facing the UK, including technological disruption, information manipulation and terrorism.
The chief will also address the acute threat posed by an “aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist” Russia, alongside other hostile actors.
“The export of chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement; and we should be ready for this to continue until (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is forced to change his calculus,” she is expected to say.Security experts say Russia has been waging a hybrid war on Western allies of Ukraine, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. In the UK, Russian-backed operatives have set fire to Ukrainian-linked factories, police said.
Elsewhere in Europe, drones spotted near airports have halted flights, NATO airspace has been violated in Poland and Romania, and underwater cables have been disrupted in the Baltic Sea, sparking fears of sabotage. Russia has not claimed responsibility for any involvement in these incidents.
Metreweli is also set to emphasize the importance of mastering technology, whether that be in labs, in the field, or in MI6’s tradecraft. The chief previously led the service’s technology and innovation teams, a position made famous as “Q” in the James Bond movies.
“We must be as comfortable with lines of code as we are with human sources, as fluent in (computer programming language) Python as we are in multiple languages,” she is expected to say.
The spy chief will conclude her speech by underlining the power of human agency in tackling threats to UK security.
“The defining challenge of the 21st century is not simply who wields the most powerful technologies, but who guides them with the greatest wisdom. Our security, our prosperity and our humanity depend on it,” Metreweli will say.
In a more dangerous, tech-mediated world, the chief will call for the “rediscovery of our shared humanity,” to determine how the future unfolds.
“It is not what we can do that defines us, but what we choose to do. That choice – the exercise of human agency – has shaped our world before, and it will shape it again,” she is expected to say.The MI6 chief’s address comes just a week after a speech by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, in which she highlighted the threat of information warfare. The government had sanctioned numerous organizations and individuals responsible for “delivering Russia’s information warfare,” Cooper said, as well as two China-based companies for their “vast and indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies.
WSJ:"BERLIN—President Trump’s top envoys launched two days of meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Sunday as the administration stepped up pressure on Kyiv to put aside its resistance and agree to a peace deal with Russia by year-end.
The talks between Ukraine and its Western partners have become a tug of war, even without Russia at the table. Washington is pushing for quick decisions, while Zelensky and his European backers contend that significant differences remain that must be resolved.
Among those points, Ukraine has balked at Washington’s call to withdraw its forces from a portion of the eastern Donbas region that Kyiv’s forces still hold. European and Ukrainian officials have pushed for clarity on what the U.S. would do if Russia were to break a peace deal and attack Ukraine.
Both issues will be at the heart of the talks in Berlin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed the meetings during a talk European leaders held with Trump on Wednesday, which both sides described as difficult.“We want a lasting peace in Ukraine. Difficult questions lie ahead of us, but we are determined to move forward,” Merz said on X after talks began.
Trump said he was invited to join the Berlin talks but publicly doubted the trip would be worthwhile. On Friday, Trump decided to send his special Russia envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Witkoff, who has spearheaded talks with Ukraine and Russia on a U.S. peace plan, is expected to meet with the Ukrainians on Sunday before sitting down with European leaders. Over the past few weeks, he has shuttled between meetings with the Kremlin in Moscow and separate discussions with Kyiv in the U.S. or Europe..."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold urgent talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that are supporting Kyiv’s effort to obtain fair terms for an end to the war with Russia.
The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take part in the meeting of Ukraine’s allies, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, via video link..."
WSJ:"Disgruntled Gen-Z protesters, who have toppled governments and rattled rulers across the world this year, have claimed their first European victory.
Bulgaria’s government collapsed Thursday following a wave of youth-driven street protests over entrenched corruption and self-dealing elites widely seen as disconnected from the struggles of ordinary citizens.
Bulgaria has become the latest flashpoint in a year marked by Gen-Z unrest. Youth protests have felled governments in Nepal and Madagascar in recent months. Demonstrations over perceived privileges enjoyed by political elites have sparked mass rallies in Indonesia and the Philippines. In Tanzania, youth-led antigovernment protests were met with lethal government force..."
BBC:"Ukraine is preparing to present a revised peace plan to the White House, as it seeks to avoid making territorial concessions to Russia.
Kyiv is set to propose alternatives after President Volodymyr Zelensky again ruled out surrendering land, saying he had "no right" to do so under Ukrainian or international law.
He made the comments after meeting European and Nato leaders on Monday, part of a push to deter the US from backing a peace deal which includes major concessions for Ukraine, and which allies fear would leave it vulnerable to a future invasion.
The Ukrainian president told a news conference his team could send a new proposal to the Americans as soon as Tuesday, AFP news agency reported.
Zelensky's ongoing diplomatic tour of Europe follows intensive talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend which failed to produce a deal to which Kyiv could agree.
On Sunday, Trump indicated that he viewed Zelensky as the main obstacle to securing a peace deal, something he has made a key foreign policy goal and which the president claimed he would be able to achieve rapidly during the 2024 presidential election campaign.
He told reporters that Russia was "fine" with the peace plan outlined to both sides by the US, but that he was a "little disappointed that Zelensky hasn't read it".
Almost simultaneously, Zelensky said he was waiting to briefed by his chief negotiator Rustem Umerov following three days of discussions with his US counterparts in Miami.
"Some issues can only be discussed in person," said Zelensky, ahead of a meeting in London attended by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The summit was widely viewed as a show of support for Ukraine as it seeks to resist White House pressure.
Trump called Europe's leaders "weak" in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.
On whether Europe could help end Russia's war with Ukraine, the US president said: "They talk, but they don't produce, and the war just keeps going on and on."
No 10 said there had been an agreement that the US-led talks represented a "critical moment" to ramp up support for Ukraine, and repeated calls for a "just and lasting peace... which includes robust security guarantees".
..."
BBC:"Pokrovsk has not fallen yet. That is despite President Vladimir Putin's recent claim that Russian forces have taken the city.
There is no doubt Ukraine has been losing ground in this key city in the east. For Russia, Pokrovsk is another stepping stone towards its goal of taking control of all of the Donbas. But Ukraine needs to prove it is still capable of resisting.
At a Ukrainian command post, well behind the front line, orders are relayed by radio in rapid and quick succession. Soldiers watch dozens of live drone feeds. They are coordinating strikes on Russian positions inside the city.
The commander of the Skala Assault Regiment, Yuri, is keen to prove to us that Ukraine still controls the north of the city - to show that the Kremlin's claim that it has taken Pokrovsk is a lie.
Over the radio, they ask two of their soldiers to break cover from a building to display a Ukrainian flag. They move quickly to avoid being spotted. The drone feed shows the moment they briefly wave their yellow and blue flag, before quickly returning to cover..."
THEGUARDIAN:"Billed as the official home town of Santa Claus, or joulupukki as he is known in Finland, the city of Rovaniemi offers every imaginable Father Christmas-related experience – from a visit to his “office” on the Arctic Circle to reindeer sleigh rides. He even has his own branch of the Finnish design house Marimekko.
But this Christmas season, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world coming in search of Santa, Finnish Lapland’s snow-covered capital is becoming an increasingly popular destination for international military visitors.
In recent weeks, thousands of Nato soldiers have been through Rovaniemi, which also has an airbase, for training exercises at nearby Rovajärvi, western Europe’s largest military exercise area, where they are preparing for a potential attack by Russia. Rovajärvi is about 55 miles from the Russian border.Rovaniemi, meanwhile, is soon expected to become a key base for Finland’s Forward Land Forces (FLF) – the Swedish-led Nato battlegroup intended to act as a deterrent on the eastern border.
The increase in military activity has not gone unnoticed by Rovaniemi’s tourists.
Donna Coyle and her daughter Lyla, holidaymakers from Scotland, were surprised to hear military aircraft while on reindeer safari. “We didn’t know anything about it,” said Donna.
Hannah Schlicker, from Stuttgart, Germany, said it was impossible to get away from the reality of Europe at war – even in Santa’s home town..."
BBC:"Russia has welcomed US President Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy, calling it "largely consistent" with Moscow's vision.
The 33-page document, unveiled by the US administration this week, suggests Europe is facing "civilisational erasure" and does not cast Russia as a threat to the US.
Combatting foreign influence, ending mass migration, and rejecting the EU's perceived practice of "censorship" are mentioned as other priorities in the report.
Several EU officials and analysts had pushed back on the strategy, questioning its focus on freedom of expression and likening it to language used by the Kremlin..."
BBC:"Russia has launched a major aerial bombardment against Ukrainian infrastructure targets as talks between the US and Ukraine in Florida are set to enter a third day.
Overnight Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles, most of which were downed, authorities said. One strike hit a railway hub at the town of Fastiv outside Kyiv, destroying the main station building and damaging rolling stock.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack had been "meaningless from a military point of view, and the Russians could not have been unaware of this".
Earlier US and Ukrainian negotiators urged Russia to show a "serious commitment to long-term peace" after talks in Moscow failed to produce a breakthrough..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The Swedish navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an “almost weekly” basis, its chief of operations has said, and is preparing for a further increase in the event of ceasefire or armistice in the Ukraine war.
Capt Marko Petkovic said Moscow was “continuously reinforcing” its presence in the region, and sightings of its vessels were a regular part of life for the Swedish navy. Its “very common”, he said, adding that the number of sightings had increased in recent years.
..
The Baltic Sea region is facing an increasing range of threats, including suspected hybrid attacks from drones, alleged sabotage of underwater infrastructure and a steady flow of ageing oil tankers in the form of shadow fleet ships carrying crude oil from Russia.Last month, the British defence secretary said that a Russian spy ship had entered British waters and shone lasers at military pilots, warning that the UK faced a “new era of threat” from hostile countries..."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and its European allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough.
The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace,” said U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.The remarks reflected the high tensions and gaping gulf between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.
A day earlier, Putin accused the Europeans of sabotaging the U.S.-led peace efforts — and warned that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe.
Since the 2022 invasion, European governments, along with the U.S., have spent billions of dollars to support Kyiv financially and militarily. Under President Donald Trump, however, the U.S. has tempered its support — and instead made a push to end the war.”
.."
BBC:"Russian President Vladimir Putin is starting a two-day visit to India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend an annual summit held by both countries.
Delhi and Moscow are expected to sign a number of deals during the visit, which comes months after the US increased pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil.
It also comes as US President Donald Trump's administration holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.
India and Russia have been close allies for decades and Putin and Modi share a warm relationship. Here's a look at why they both need each other - and what to watch for as they meet.
A special friendship, trade deals and geopolitics
By Steve Rosenberg
Why are relations with India key for the Kremlin?
Well, for a start, look at the numbers:
a population of nearly a billion and a half.
economic growth exceeding 8%. India is the world's fastest growing major economy.
That makes it a hugely attractive market for Russian goods and resources - especially oil.
..."
WSJ:"KYIV, Ukraine—President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to fight a war with Europe if attacked and accused the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage peace efforts, calling recent proposed changes to a U.S. peace plan for Ukraine “absolutely unacceptable.”
“We do not plan to fight Europe, I’ve already said it a hundred times. But if Europe wants to fight us, and starts it, then we’re ready right now,” Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday, when asked about Europe’s defensive buildup.
The remarks, which came before Putin met White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, represented some of the most pointed criticism of Europe by the Russian leader as he seeks to fuel divisions in the trans-Atlantic alliance..."
WSJ:"BERLIN—This week will bring a split screen that will reinforce growing doubts in Europe about the American commitment to the alliance that has served as the bedrock of Western unity since the end of World War II..."
REUTERS:"Drone technology has evolved rapidly over the nearly four years since Russia invaded Ukraine.
As both countries produce several million drones a year, the use of signal-jamming devices to cut the connection between drones and their pilots has become ubiquitous on the front lines.
DENSE FOG OF INTERFERENCE
Drones like the one used by Mex to hit the tank are increasingly being used to break through the dense fog of interference which has made countless Ukrainian and Russian drones fall out of the sky before they reach their targets..."
CNN:Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a US plan to end the war in Ukraine could “form the basis for future agreements” but renewed threats to seize more territory by force unless Kyiv withdraws.
Speaking to reporters in Bishtek, in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Putin confirmed the Kremlin was expecting a US delegation headed by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to visit Moscow early next week, adding that the Kremlin was ready for “serious discussion”.
But chances of a swift breakthrough appear slim after Putin repeated his maximalist demands, saying the war in Ukraine will only end “once Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy.”
“If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this through military means,” the Russian leader said..."
WSJ:"The White House is defending special envoy Steve Witkoff over a reportedly leaked conversation in which he told a Russian official that praising President Trump would help smooth over a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff also suggested that Putin call Trump ahead of a White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation that gave the Kremlin an opportunity to press the case against giving Kyiv Tomahawk cruise missiles...."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON/KYIV, Nov 25 (Reuters) -
"Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House...as these talks progress," said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Tolbert, a spokesperson for Driscoll.
The exact nature of the discussions was not immediately clear, and it was not known who was in the Russian delegation. A U.S. official said that Driscoll, who has emerged as a point man for U.S. diplomatic efforts on Ukraine, was also expected to meet Ukrainian officials while in Abu Dhabi.
Underlining the high stakes for Ukraine, its capital Kyiv was hit by a barrage of missiles and hundreds of drones overnight in a Russian strike that killed at least six people and disrupted power and heating systems. Residents were sheltering underground wearing winter jackets, some in tents...."
NYTIMES:"Ukrainian and European officials sprang into a frenzy over the weekend to alter President Trump’s new 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, developed with input from Russia and heavily weighted toward the Kremlin.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, for his part, sat back and watched.
For the Russian leader, a Kremlin-friendly peace plan that enshrines Ukraine’s perpetual subordination and vulnerability would be a win. So would a failed process that leads Mr. Trump to pull remaining support for Ukraine and further antagonize European allies.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials reported progress on talks aimed at amending the proposal, saying they had made some unspecified changes. By late Monday, the officials had returned home.
...CNN:"Russia’s drone revolution heaps pressure on Ukrainian defenses...A top-secret Russian unit based in Moscow has changed the landscape of drone warfare, turning what was an advantage for the Ukrainians into a vulnerability.
The unit is known as Rubicon and has expanded rapidly under Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov since his appointment in June last year. Belousov visited its headquarters in October 2024 and was shown a range of drones being developed, according to video published by official Russian media.
The advent of Rubicon – full name the Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies – is a prime example of how the Russian military has learnt to shrug off its rigid way of warfare during the Ukraine conflict and adapt to a rapidly evolving battlefield.
Ukraine had already established a separate branch within its military – the Unmanned Systems Forces – in mid-2024...Rubicon is not just about designing and deploying drones. It develops and tests advanced robotic systems and AI.
It pioneered the use of fiber-optic drones, which have had a significant impact on the battlefield. These are controlled via a fiber-optic cable, providing a secure video feed in real time and cannot be jammed.
It also improves the performance of other units.
“Rubicon formations remain a leading problem for [(Ukrainian)] drone operators, not only the drone companies themselves, but because they train other Russian drone units,” notes Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment.
.."
WASHINGTONPOST:"KYIV — The White House is pressuring Ukraine to sign on to its new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or lose U.S. support in its war with Russia, according to five people familiar with the talks.
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday with a version of the 28-point plan President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff recently drafted with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
That plan, leaked to the news media and confirmed by several officials, includes several red lines for Ukraine, including a significant reduction of its army size and ceding territory to Russia that Moscow has not conquered militarily.
Zelensky addressed Ukrainians on Friday and told them the nation is facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history” as the United States, which has been the country’s biggest ally, seeks to force it into a deal that would cement Russia’s gains.
..."
REUTERS:"KYIV/WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The United States has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine to press it into agreeing to the framework of a U.S.-brokered peace deal, two people familiar with the matter said.
Washington has presented Ukraine with a 28-point plan, which endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that Kyiv cede additional territory, curb the size of its military and be barred from joining NATO.
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The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kyiv was under greater pressure from Washington than during any previous peace discussions, and that the U.S. wanted Ukraine to sign a framework of the deal by next Thursday.
A delegation of senior U.S. military officials met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday. The U.S. ambassador in Ukraine and the army public affairs chief travelling with the delegation described the meeting as a success and said Washington sought an "aggressive timeline" for the signature of a document between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Zelenskiy, who held a phone call on Friday with the leaders of allies Britain, Germany and France, appeared careful not to reject the U.S. plan or to offend the Americans.
"We value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war. We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace," he said.
EUROPE SAYS IT HAS TWO-POINT PLAN
European leaders, who were not consulted on the 28-point plan, expressed their strong support for Kyiv.
Europe's own plan consisted of two points, said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas: weaken Russia and support Ukraine.
U.S. officials, defending their plan, have said it was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, a close Zelenskiy ally who served as defence minister until July.
.."
NYTIMES:"Russia launched a deadly barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to revive long-stalled peace talks on Wednesday with negotiations in Turkey.
At least 25 people were killed and some 73 wounded in Ternopil, in western Ukraine, when a Russian missile hit a residential building, according to the Ukrainian emergency service. The top three floors of the building were hit, the first time that a Russian missile had struck a residential complex in the city, and emergency workers were searching for people who may be trapped in the rubble.Mr. Zelensky said on social media that Russia had launched 470 attack drones and 48 missiles in the overnight attack, hitting energy, transport and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
The deadly strikes came as Mr. Zelensky was in Turkey to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, trying to reinvigorate efforts to end the war with what he said were new Ukrainian proposals..."
WSJ:"The new nuclear race has begun. But unlike during the Cold War, the U.S. must prepare for two peer rivals rather than one—at a time when it has lost its clear industrial and economic edge.
China, which long possessed just a small nuclear force, is catching up fast, while Russia is developing a variety of new-generation systems aimed at American cities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already used nuclear saber-rattling to throttle American support for Ukraine. He has deployed nuclear weapons to Belarus and, in recent weeks, tested a nuclear-powered missile and a nuclear-powered submarine drone that he claims are impervious to American defenses..."
WSJ:"Russia’s army is on the verge of its biggest Ukrainian conquest in more than two years. But the potential prize, a devastated city strewn with corpses, points to what could be a more important battle than the one for territory: Which side will bleed out of military resources first?
As the war approaches a fifth year, Russia is betting that its military machine, fed by its vast industrial capacity and much-larger population, will eventually overwhelm its western neighbor. Ukraine is seeking to deplete those resources and relying on Western allies to keep it funded and armed..."
CNN:"Russia says new nuclear weapons are of 'historic significance'
Russia has recently unveiled several new nuclear and nuclear powered weapons that President Vladimir Putin says will be "important for the entire 21st century." CNN's senior correspondent Fred Pleitgen breaks down some of their capabilities..."
CNN:"Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and will work towards deploying the weapon, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, which comes as Moscow launched its second deadly attack on Ukraine in two nights.
The timing of the missile test is notable, coming the same week that a potential summit with US President Donald Trump broke down, and the White House placed sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies – some of the Trump administration’s most tangible actions against Russia to date.Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, claimed the Burevestnik missile remained airborne for about 15 hours and covered a distance of around 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles). During the test, the weapon demonstrated “its high capabilities in evading anti-missile and anti-aircraft defences,” Gerasimov said.Meanwhile, Putin said, “We need to determine the possible ways of using it and start preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon,” adding that it’s a product “no one else in the world has.”
Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said that the details of the “successful” missile testing had been conveyed to the Trump administration during his visit to the US, as well as recent battlefield updates...."
CNN:"Russia is carrying out a “massive attack” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, top Ukrainian officials said early Friday, with parts of the capital Kyiv left without power.
.."
BBC:"Estonia has requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russian warplanes violated its airspace on Friday morning.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered the Estonian skies "without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes" over the Gulf of Finland, the government said.
.."
REUTERS:"BERLIN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of murder and trying to destabilise the West by testing its limits and sabotage, speaking at a parliamentary debate where he clashed with the far-right opposition.
Merz said recent Russian incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace were part of a long-running trend of testing the West's boundaries.
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"Putin has long been testing the borders, he is sabotaging. He is spying, he is murdering, he is trying to unsettle us. Russia wants to destabilise our societies," Merz said.
He said a Ukrainian surrender to Russia was unacceptable.
"A dictated peace, a peace without freedom, would encourage Putin to seek his next target," he said.
Merz has previously also criticised Putin as a war criminal, prompting the Kremlin to say that the German leader's views on the Ukrainian peace talks should be disregarded.
The Kremlin denies its forces have committed any war crimes in Ukraine and has also dismissed as nonsense claims by Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, that her husband was murdered in prison.
German support for Ukraine has drawn criticism from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose leader Alice Weidel on Wednesday accused Merz of "posing as a global politician and warlord". Jens Spahn, a Merz ally, in turn said Weidel was turning into a "fifth column" for Russia..."
THEGUARDIAN:"12.27 EDT
UK fighters to fly air defence missions over Poland as part of Nato's Eastern Sentry
UK Typhoon fighter jets will fly air defence missions over Poland as part of Nato’s new Eastern Sentry mission, the UK government has confirmed.
The jets will join other allied forces – including from Denmark, France and Germany – in patrolling the Polish skies after last week’s Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Typhoons will operate out of RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire, and will be supported by air-to-air refuelling aicraft RAF Voyager.
Up until July, six Typhoons had been based in Poland as part of air policing mission.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer said that “these aircraft are not just a show of strength, they are vital in deterring aggression, securing Nato airspace, and protecting our national security and that of our allies.”
He added:
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a direct threat to European security and a violation of international law, which is why the UK will support Nato’s efforts to bolster its eastern flank through Eastern Sentry..."
NYTIMES:"The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Sunday accused Moscow of “reckless escalation” after a Russian drone flew through Romania’s airspace, the second incursion over a NATO country in less than a week.
Tensions have run high in Eastern Europe’s skies since more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace last week, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets to shoot some of them down. That incident drew condemnation from Western officials who called it an escalation of the war in Ukraine. Taken together, the episodes further underscore how drones are making the Ukraine war felt outside the country’s borders.
Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, echoed those sentiments on Sunday after the incident a day earlier in Romania.
“The violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones is yet another unacceptable breach of an E.U. member state’s sovereignty,” she wrote on social media. “This continued reckless escalation threatens regional security.”
Romania, a NATO member, had said late Saturday that its air force had detected a Russian drone in the country’s air space. Its Defense Ministry said in a statement that the country had deployed two F-16 aircraft shortly after 6 p.m. local time to monitor Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure near the Romanian border. About 20 minutes later, they detected the drone in Romanian airspace..."
APNEWS:"WHY THIS MATTERS: Polish airspace has been violated several times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but there has been nothing on the scale of Wednesday’s violations in Poland or in any other NATO country.
WOHYN, Poland (AP) — Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland in what European officials described Wednesday as a deliberate provocation, causing NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down. A NATO spokesman said it was the first time the alliance confronted a potential threat in its airspace.
The incursion, which occurred during a wave of strikes by the Kremlin on Ukraine, and the NATO response swiftly raised fears that the war could spill over — a fear that has been growing in Europe as Russia steps up its attacks and peace efforts go nowhere.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it did not target Poland, while Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, said it tracked some drones that “lost their course” because they were jammed.
However, several European leaders said they believed the incursion amounted to an intentional expansion of Russia’s assault against Ukraine.
“Russia’s war is escalating, not ending,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels. “What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer,” and it should result in stronger sanctions.Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.
Poland said some of the drones came from Belarus, where Russian and Belarusian troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday.It was not immediately clear how many drones were involved. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament 19 violations were recorded over seven hours, but he said information was still being gathered. Polish authorities said nine crash sites were found, with some of them hundreds of kilometers from the border.
“There are definitely no grounds to suspect that this was a course correction mistake or the like,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament. “These drones were very clearly put on this course deliberately.”...Dutch fighter jets came to Poland’s aid and intercepted some drones. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski later thanked the Dutch government “for the magnificent performance of Dutch pilots in neutralizing” the drones.
NATO met to discuss the incident, which came three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began.
Poland says some drones came from Belarus
Tusk told parliament that the first violation came at approximately 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and the last around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. Earlier, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that more than 10 objects crossed into Polish airspace.
..."
CNN:"
President Donald Trump is mad that China is palling around with his strongmen friends.
Trump erupted on social media late Tuesday night — US time — as television footage aired of Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosting the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea at a stunning military parade in Beijing.
“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” Trump wrote in a message to Xi.
The Truth Social post heard around the world means one thing: If China’s two big gatherings of authoritarian leaders, US adversaries and erstwhile allies this week was intended as a personal affront to the US president, it worked perfectly. And it underscored the futility of his attempts to subject the true global hard men to his art-of-the-deal charms and his claims that his supposedly close relationships with such leaders can be decisive.Trump met with Putin in Alaska last month, but his gushing red-carpet welcome has so far failed to unlock any progress toward ending the war in Ukraine. Putin has defied Trump’s hopes by escalating attacks on civilians and is stalling on talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The US president’s first-term summits with Kim were similarly unsuccessful. The North Korean leader has more nuclear weapons now than he did before taking part in Trump’s photo-op diplomacy.
The president’s online tirade went on to point out that Americans had suffered heavy losses in the struggle against a common enemy, imperial Japan, the 80th anniversary of whose defeat was marked in Beijing on Wednesday.
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice!” Trump wrote.China’s big celebration comes at a tense international moment as the new Asian superpower seeks to capitalize on Trump’s erratic foreign policy, which has shattered America’s reputation as a reliable great power.
Trump’s fury was ironic, since the last few days in China have seen the kind of performative spectacle that he loves.
But the gathering of anti-Western powers in Tianjin and Beijing is about more than trolling. It’s an early warning that Trump’s second-term policies based on tariff coercion, the bullying of lesser powers and “America First” nationalism may be backfiring..."
WASHINGTONPOST"By Niha Masih and Lyric Li
China is awash in nationalist fervor ahead of its celebration of the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, which Beijing will mark Wednesday with a grand parade showcasing its military prowess.
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Alongside the spectacle, a quieter campaign is unfolding: one to recast wartime history in service of today’s geopolitical tensions with Washington.
In the run-up to the anniversary, several state-aligned scholars, media outlets and think tanks have downplayed the significance of American assistance to China during World War II, casting the U.S. as a self-serving power then and now. The effort has spilled into popular culture: from highly anticipated films dramatizing China’s role in the Korean War against American forces to AI-generated videos of World War II soldiers marveling at modern-day China, which have gone viral on social media.
“The fundamental purpose of U.S. ‘aid’ to China was to protect its own interests in China; it was by no means assistance based on an equal relationship,” a piece in the Historical Review, affiliated with the state-run Chinese Academy of History, said in its August issue. A commentary published by state-backed, nationalist Red Culture Institute read: “Even without U.S. aid … China would have a chance of winning [against Japan].”
But historians say American assistance was crucial for China to survive the war. Large parts of China were occupied by Imperial Japan and war broke out in 1937, in the lead-up to World War II. Japan’s defeat in 1945, following the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led to China’s liberation. Japan officially surrendered its territory in China in a ceremony in Nanjing on Sept. 9, 1945.“China and the United States needed each other,” said Rana Mitter, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and author of “Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II.”
“Without China’s continued resistance, the U.S. would have had a much bigger problem in the Asia-Pacific region, and without American financial assistance and military advice, China would have had it much harder to last till the end of the war.”
Mitter’s book argues that China’s wartime contribution was not given proper credit in the West for decades. But now, China is picking and choosing the parts of history that best suit its current political needs.
“It’s not necessarily the details are wrong — sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not — but they are made to add up to a story that fits your present-day needs,” he said.
Tensions between the world’s superpowers, the U.S. and China, have intensified this year, coming close to a full economic rupture spurred by President Donald Trump’s trade war. Beijing, bristling at what it sees as U.S. efforts to contain its rise, has sought to position itself as a stabilizing counterweight to the disruption caused by Trump’s confrontational and unpredictable approach to geopolitics..."
CNN:"Kyiv was bombarded overnight by Russia’s second-biggest aerial attack since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with at least 19 people killed, including four children, according to officials.
Buildings belonging to the European Union and the British Council were damaged in the strikes into Thursday, causing both the EU and the United Kingdom to summon the top Russian diplomats in their capitals.
Among those killed are children aged 2, 17 and 14, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
Ukraine’s air force said that the Kremlin unleashed 629 air attack weapons on the country overnight, comprising 598 drones and 31 missiles.
Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the air force, told CNN that the strikes comprised “one of the largest combined attacks” on the country..."
WSJ:"BEIJING—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to join Russia’s Vladimir Putin at China’s grand military parade in Beijing next week, in a show of unity and defiance of the West.
The parade on Wednesday will be hosted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and is set to be the trio’s first event together, providing powerful optics as Beijing asserts itself as a leader of countries seeking to upend the U.S.-led international order.
Yet the potential for the three countries to build on the moment faces limits, as each pursues its own agenda with the U.S. A summit between President Trump and Xi before the end of the year is possible, as China seeks a reduction of U.S. tariffs.
Trump is also holding out the possibility of better ties with both Russia and North Korea. He met Putin recently in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine and earlier this week said he would like to meet Kim again, after meeting the North Korean leader three times during his first term.
Beijing revealed Kim’s inclusion on Thursday when it unveiled the guest list for the parade. Trump won’t be attending, nor will most European leaders. Instead, Xi is set to be joined by the leaders of countries including Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. South Korea will be represented by the speaker of the country’s National Assembly.
The parade will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II and is an opportunity for China to show off its growing military might, as thousands of troops march past Tiananmen Square alongside some of China’s latest weapons.
For Kim, the event marks a shift as it would be his first time joining a multilateral gathering of leaders and his first visit to China since 2019. While Xi attended Putin’s Victory Day gathering in Moscow in May, North Korea sent a handful of military officers..."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW/LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Russian oil exports to India are set to rise in September, dealers said, as New Delhi defies U.S. punitive tariffs designed to force the country to stop the trade and push Moscow towards a peace deal with Ukraine.
India has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil supplies that were displaced by Western sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. This has allowed Indian refiners to benefit from cheaper crude.
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But the purchases have drawn condemnation from the government of U.S. President Donald Trump, which increased U.S. tariffs on Indian imports to 50% on Wednesday.
New Delhi says it is relying on talks to try to resolve Trump's additional tariffs, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also embarked on a tour to develop diplomatic ties elsewhere, including meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. officials have accused India of profiteering from discounted Russian oil, while Indian officials have accused the West of double standards because the European Union and the U.S. still buy Russian goods worth billions of dollars.
"The tariffs are part of a broader trade discussion between India and the U.S., and given India’s increasing domestic refinery runs amid discounted Russian barrels, we don’t see India scuppering its Russian imports in meaningful volumes," BNP Paribas said in a note.
The Indian oil ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Without India, Russia would struggle to maintain exports at existing levels, and that would cut the oil export revenues that finance the Kremlin's budget and Russia's continued war in Ukraine.
Three trading sources involved in oil sales to India said Indian refiners would increase Russian oil purchases in September by 10-20% from August levels, or by 150,000-300,000 barrels per day.
The sources, who cited preliminary purchases data, could not be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
The two biggest buyers of Russian oil for India, Reliance and Nayara Energy, which is majority Russian-owned, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has more oil to export next month because planned and unplanned refinery outages have cut its capacity to process crude into fuels...."
NYTIMES:"Here’s the latest.
President Trump said on Tuesday that American troops would not be sent to protect Ukraine as part of any peace agreement with Russia, as European leaders met for urgent talks over what a postwar security arrangement could look like.
In an interview on Fox News, Mr. Trump said that at no point will there be American troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of any security guarantee. The hosts asked him about any “assurances” he could make that there would be no U.S. “boots on the ground,” and he replied, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president.”
The shape of postwar security arrangements for Ukraine dominated discussions among European leaders the day after hastily arranged meetings with Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House, which showcased solidarity with Kyiv but yielded few details of how the war with Russia could end.
The White House meetings produced smiles and warmth among Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelensky and European allies — but few public signs of tangible progress toward an end to the war. That will require follow-through from Mr. Trump, potentially sweeping concessions from Mr. Zelensky and a willingness by Russia to stop attacking Ukraine. Overnight, Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine, causing injuries and damage to infrastructure and energy facilities, Ukrainian officials said, a day after at least 14 people were killed in Russian strikes.
Mr. Zelensky, whom Mr. Trump greeted more warmly than in their previous Oval Office meeting, where he berated the Ukrainian leader as insufficiently grateful, pointed to progress with the United States on security guarantees to keep Russia from invading again, though he left without a formal agreement. He said Ukraine would purchase $90 billion in American weapons through Europe as part of the security guarantees. In return, the United States would buy drones from Ukraine, he said.
But wide gaps remained between Russia’s demand for territorial concessions and Ukraine’s insistence on a cease-fire to stop Moscow’s deadly attacks. Mr. Trump, who is pressing for a quick peace deal, says one can be reached without a cease-fire.
After Monday’s gathering, Mr. Trump said on social media that he had begun “the arrangements” for a face-to-face meeting between Mr. Zelensky and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. But on Tuesday, the Kremlin played down the prospect of such a meeting.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin held a “frank and very constructive,” 40-minute call after the meeting with Mr. Zelensky and the European leaders, according to Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy aide. The two men had agreed that more senior negotiators would be appointed for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, Mr. Ushakov told Rossiya 24, a state-run news channel, but he made no mention of Mr. Putin participating.
When he met with Mr. Trump in Alaska last week, Mr. Putin refused to accept a cease-fire.
Here’s what else to know:
Cease-fire push: At Monday’s meeting, some European officials gently pressed Mr. Trump on the need to secure an urgent cease-fire, which they argued would help stop the mounting civilian death toll in Ukraine and create stability for genuine peace negotiations. But aware that Mr. Trump dislikes the term “cease-fire,” they are calling it a “truce” instead.
U.S. military aid: The $90 billion in American weapons that Mr. Zelensky said would be part of sweeping security agreements with Western allies could include sophisticated weapons that are in short supply in Ukraine: air defense systems and war planes. How Ukraine would pay for them remains unclear.
Peacekeeping force: Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said proposed security guarantees would include an international force stationed in Ukraine after a cease-fire or peace agreement. That contingent could be as small as a few hundred observer troops, or a defensive force in the tens of thousands. Russia has already objected to the idea.
...Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, and the country’s state-run news media on Tuesday played down the prospect of a direct meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, a day after President Trump said that he had initiated steps for a bilateral meeting between them.
Russian state news media barely mentioned the possible meeting in coverage of Monday’s talks between Mr. Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European leaders at the White House. Instead, reporters and commentators largely portrayed the meetings as proof that Mr. Trump was nudging Mr. Zelensky and European leaders to accept Russia’s terms to end the war.
In an interview on state-run television on Tuesday, Mr. Lavrov said that while Russia was not against a bilateral meeting between Mr. Zelensky and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in principle, “any contacts involving top officials should be prepared very carefully.”
Mr. Lavrov also referred to Mr. Zelensky dismissively as “this character” and “this man,” and suggested that the Ukrainian president must repeal laws that the Kremlin believes curtail the rights of Russian speakers in the country before entering into direct negotiations with Mr. Putin.
Mr. Lavrov’s comments suggested that Moscow may be treading a fine line to make sure it doesn’t offend Mr. Trump or undermine his efforts to bring the war to an end, and offer at least a semblance of progress..."
NYTIMES:"
Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 270 drones, as well as missiles, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders held talks with President Trump aimed at finding a path toward a peace deal.
The Russian attacks targeted energy and transport infrastructure in the industrial city of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine’s Poltava region, where dozens of explosions were heard, according to the city’s mayor, Vitalii Maletsky. He said that more than 1,400 residences and more than 100 businesses had been left without power as a result.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities from the attacks, which came a day after Ukrainian authorities said that 14 people had been killed and dozens injured in Russian attacks on large Ukrainian cities and villages near the front line.
Before this week’s strikes, Russia appeared to have scaled back its air attacks on Ukraine, in what Ukrainian officials and analysts described as an attempt by the Kremlin to curry favor with Mr. Trump amid peace efforts.
But Mr. Maletsky said on social media that the attacks showed that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia “wants to destroy Ukraine.”
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"European Union leaders made a rallying call to defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide its own future in advance of their virtual summit with Donald Trump – convened to discuss US strategy before the president’s talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday.
With the exception of Hungary, all EU leaders signed a joint statement, with Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, also calling for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to attend the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday.
Trump insists his meeting with Putin is a “feel-out” to gauge the Russian leader’s willingness to compromise, but European leaders fear Trump will be lured into a joint declaration with Moscow that involves irretrievable concessions before substantive talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Putin may also use the meeting to advance a wider agenda of normalisation of relations between the US and Russia, a development that would start to lock Trump into economic cooperation with Moscow rather than confrontation.
The EU leaders said: “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” adding: “We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, July 15 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages on his terms for peace, unfazed by Donald Trump's threats of tougher sanctions, and his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance, three sources close to the Kremlin said.e
Putin, who ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in country's east between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops, believes Russia's economy and its military are strong enough to weather any additional Western measures, the sources said.
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Trump on Monday expressed frustration with Putin's refusal to agree a ceasefire and announced a wave of weapons supplies to Ukraine, including Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. He also threatened further sanctions on Russia unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days.
The three Russian sources, familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking, said Putin will not stop the war under pressure from the West and believes Russia - which has survived the toughest sanctions imposed by the West- can endure further economic hardship, including threatened U.S. tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil.
"Putin thinks no one has seriously engaged with him on the details of peace in Ukraine - including the Americans - so he will continue until he gets what he wants," one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
..."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks as Moscow intensifies its aerial and ground assault in the three-year war, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday.
Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major attacks that include increasing numbers of decoy drones. The most recent one appeared aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s vital supply of Western weapons..."
CNN:" —
Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine early Friday, killing at least four people in the capital and wounding around 40 across the country.
A CNN producer in the Kyiv region reported hearing at least two explosions in the pre-dawn hours and images from the capital showed flames rising over apartment buildings and firefighting crews at work.
As daylight broke, residents picked through debris in damaged apartments, with images showing entire walls ripped away and windows shattered. Several cars parked in the streets below were covered with pieces of glass and masonry.
Ukraine is hit by nightly barrages of Russian drones and missiles. But the country has been bracing for a major retaliatory strike promised by President Vladimir Putin following its daring raids on airfields deep inside Russia.
Four people had been killed in Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram early Friday morning local time, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.
Ukraine’s emergency services also said three firefighters were killed in Kyiv. It was unclear whether that death toll given by the mayor included the three firefighters. The strikes also hit Chernihiv, near the border with Belarus, which was rocked by 14 explosions from drones and ballistic missiles, including cruise missiles and Iskander-M missiles, according to Vyacheslav Chaus, the head of Chernihiv regional military administration. In the northwestern city of Lutsk – around 60 miles from the border with Poland – Russian strikes wounded ..
.."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Russia launched a mass missile and drone attack against Ukraine overnight on June 6, targeting the capital, major cities, and the country's far-western regions.
The attack comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to retaliate against Ukraine for its drone strike against Russian air bases in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Air raid alerts were activated in all Ukrainian regions, following Russia's latest mass attack. Ukraine's Air Force warned during the night that multiple Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers had taken flight and likely already launched cruise missiles.
Explosions were reported in Kyiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Lviv, Lutsk, and other cities as drones and missiles targeted all regions of the country.
Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia launched 452 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type suicide drones, along with 45 missiles of various types.
Air defenses intercepted 199 drones, while another 169 dropped off radars — likely used as decoys to overwhelm Ukrainian systems. Ukrainian forces also intercepted 36 missiles, including the Iskander-M ballistic missile.
"Russia doesn't change its stripes — another massive strike on cities and ordinary life. They targeted almost all of Ukraine — Volyn, Lviv, Ternopil, Kyiv, Sumy, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions," President Volodymyr Zelensky said the morning after the attacks.
"Russia must be held accountable for this. Since the first minute of this war, they have been striking cities and villages to destroy life." Multiple fires broke out across Kyiv as drones struck residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure..."
AP:"ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — The first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion ended after less than two hours Friday, and while both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.
One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which reKYIV — President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened new sanctions against Moscow after Russia launched another massive missile and drone attack across Ukraine overnight, casting further doubt on Moscow’s intentions in an already shaky peace process brokered by the Trump administration.
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Trump had in recent days appeared to have abandoned the threat of harsh financial sanctions after a phone call May 19 with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he touted potential new trade deals with Russia. Trump’s remarks after the attacks Sunday indicated a growing sense of frustration with his Russian counterpart.
“I’m not happy with what Putin is doing. He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump told reporters Sunday before he boarded Air Force One. “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” Trump said.
Asked if he would consider more sanctions on Russia, the U.S. president said: “Absolutely.”
..
REUTERS:PARIS, May 13 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he was in favour of imposing new sanctions on Russia in coming days if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire, mentioning financial services and oil and gas as possible targets.
"Our intention is to impose new sanctions against Russia in the coming days" if Moscow refuses to implement a ceasefire, Macron said in a prime-time interview on TF1. "We are coordinating in this regard. Macron's comments echoed those by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier on Tuesday, who said European allies would roll out "a significant tightening of sanctions" on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire.
Merz also cited sectors including energy and financial markets as possible targets. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday the European Commission had been asked to propose new sanctions in those areas.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland said on Saturday that Russia would be hit by new punitive measures if it did not heed calls for a 30-day ceasefire within days.
.."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"
Dear friends!
Thank you to all of you who represent countries that believe in international law!
I’m glad to see you all here in Ukraine – not just supporting us from afar, but actually standing with us. It shows that we’re all Europe, all democracies – united not just by borders or institutions, but by shared values and hopes. You’ve come with strong decisions, real support for our people, and a readiness to increase pressure on Russia for the sake of true peace.
I know that today a decision is prepared for new support for our defense – for producing weapons in Ukraine – worth one billion euros. In total, it’s about four billion euros in new support decisions from Europe as of today. Thank you very much for this.
Russia must feel our shared – and most importantly, growing – strength. That’s what’s needed for peace. The desire to end this war has to grow inside Russia, and that begins with a feeling – the feeling that they are losing, losing from this war as any aggressor should – that is what is needed. I ask you to keep working for exactly that. And it’s very symbolic that our meeting is taking place during these days when we honor the memory of those who defeated Nazism 80 years ago, and when we celebrate Europe Day – the day of a new Europe, a day directly linked to the victory of the Allies in World War II. Our continent has a long and rich history, but today we are most proud of our new Europe – a Europe that knows how to live and stands up for the right to life. We must save this Europe. We’re proud of a Europe that does not kill. That is united. That stands for international law. A Europe that respects the individual – and if we ask who that individual is, it’s definitely not some ruler or a tsar. At the heart of today’s Europe is respect for every human being, for each person’s individuality and identity – the character of each nation, each individual, and each family. A united Europe together with our democratic friends around the world stands for exactly that. And it must be protected. .."
CNN:"Some US allies are highly alarmed by the framework the Trump administration is pushing to end the Ukraine war and Europeans are bracing for the outcome of another round of high-level talks between the US and Russia, multiple diplomatic sources told CNN.
The administration’s framework, presented in Paris last week, proposes significant sacrifices from Kyiv, including US recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and Ukraine ceding large swaths of territory to Russia, according to an official familiar. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called “to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.”
Asked what concessions Russia was offering on Thursday, Trump replied, “stopping the war,” suggesting that not “taking the whole country” is a “pretty big concession.”
Multiple allied diplomats said they are rattled by what the Trump administration is proposing, because they believe such a framework sends a dangerous message to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, that illegal conquest could be rewarded, multiple diplomats said.
“This is about the fundamental principles of international law. This is very much about our own existence and the weakening of any safeguards that my or other countries have for our own independence,” an Eastern European diplomat told CNN. They and other sources spoke on background to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters. “If one country in Europe is currently under pressure or being forced to give up parts of its own legal territory, territory that has been that has been recognized as part of Ukraine … if one country in Europe is forced to do that, no country in Europe or elsewhere can feel safe, NATO or no NATO,” the diplomat said..."
CNN/REUTERS:"
President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Sunday that Russia had sufficient strength and resources to take the war in Ukraine to its logical conclusion, though he hoped that there would be no need to use nuclear weapons.
Putin ordered thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering Europe’s biggest ground conflict since World War II and the largest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the “bloodbath” that his administration casts as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"Sumy is situated a mere 16 miles (25km) from the Russian border. It is home to soldiers and civilians. Residents are used to frequent drone and rocket attacks, and to the constant wail of air raid sirens. Sunday’s double-tap strike, though, was terrible. It was the most egregious Russian attack this year, leaving 35 dead and 129 injured. Eleven people remain in a critical condition. There are 15 wounded children.Asked for his reaction, Donald Trump appeared to downplay the latest Russian atrocity, calling it “a mistake”. Subsequently, he blamed Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, and Joe Biden, the previous US president, by falsely claiming they “started” the war with Russia. Serhii Khvostov, the head of the damaged conference centre in Sumy, was unimpressed. “Trump is a mistake. This is an act by stupid and angry Russians. There’s no logic to it,” he said. “It’s easy to look away. But the world has to understand what is happening here.”
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"A full ceasefire can end the hot phase of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine "in the coming weeks" if Western countries put sufficient pressure on Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Chernihiv on April 3.
Kyiv on March 11 said it was ready to begin a complete 30-day ceasefire, proposed by the U.S., as long as Russia accepted the same terms. Russia has so far refused, only agreeing to partial ceasefires in exchange for restored access to international markets.
Russia and the U.S. are continuing to hold private talks on the possibility of an unconditional ceasefire, Zelensky told a group of entrepreneurs during a working visit to Chernihiv.
"Then in Saudi Arabia, you know, we agreed to an unconditional ceasefire," he said.
"Russia has not agreed to it yet, we see that. Although we know that there are conversations between Americans and Russians on this topic. There are non-public conversations."
The U.S. and Europe need to work in concert to pressure Moscow into a full ceasefire as quickly as possible, Zelensky said.
"The issue now is putting pressure on the Russians to get there," he said.
"I think it is possible to do this as soon as possible in the coming weeks, maybe months, or maybe in different ways: sometimes it happens at the same time. Especially with this phase of the end of the war. A full ceasefire is the right step and one that Ukraine has agreed to and supports."
Earlier in the day, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev confirmed that he had arrived in Washington to hold talks with U.S. officials on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin between April 2 and 3. Dmitriev reportedly met with Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, at the White House on April 2.
The content of their discussions remains unclear..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Strong statements made after a summit of European leaders in Paris on March 27 demonstrated two things — France and the U.K. are determined to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, but the plans are currently hostage to the whims of the Kremlin.
"You cannot trust the Russians any further than you can throw them today, and that really is going to be the blockage in the negotiation process for all parties," Dr. Ian Garner, assistant professor in totalitarian studies at Poland’s Pilecki Institute, told the Kyiv Independent.
In the face of a retreating U.S., several European countries have moved forward with plans to send troops to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the Paris summit.
Any potential force deployed would be "a force designed to deter, in order to send that message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that this is a deal that is going to be defended," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer added.
But at the same time, Starmer acknowledged the obvious impediment to what is needed in order to put the plan into action — an actual peace deal.
"We agreed here in Paris today that it’s clear the Russians are filibustering. They are playing games, and they’re playing for time," he said.
"It is a classic from the Putin playbook, but we can’t let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion."
.."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron to coordinate their positions.
The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude for France’s support and joint efforts in achieving a just and lasting peace.
The parties specifically discussed the outcomes of the online meeting of leaders regarding support for Ukraine, held on Saturday under the joint chairmanship of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Presidents of Ukraine and France noted that the number of countries willing to contribute to advancing peace is growing.
A separate topic of discussion was the U.S. proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine immediately agreed to it, but for its implementation to begin, Russia must stop setting conditions.
.."
CNN:"“Do you think you can trust Putin?” German Brig. Gen. Ralf Hammerstein asks with a wry smile.
It’s a rhetorical question to which most of Europe would give the same answer – no.
As the Trump administration continues to pursue a deal to end the war in Ukraine — one that may end up being more favorable to Moscow than Kyiv — Europeans, for the first time in decades, are focusing on their own military might.
Nowhere is that shift as prominent as in Germany. Its armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, have been the victim of years of underinvestment – but that is set to change.
Presumptive Chancellor Friedrich Merz has decided that now is the moment for Germany to invest in its military, on levels not seen since the Cold War..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree threatening Ukrainians with deportation from occupied territories and Russian territory violates international law, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on March 21.
"We emphasize that these systematic deportations and persecutions are part of Russia's genocide policy against the Ukrainian people," Tykhyi said.
According to the decree, Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories must leave by Sept. 10 or "regulate their legal status."
The decree intensifies Moscow’s efforts to Russify conquered areas by pressuring Ukrainians to accept Russian passports or forcing them out while encouraging Russian citizens to move in." Putin's decree also mandates that all "foreign citizens and stateless persons" residing in the occupied territories must undergo medical screenings for drug use and infectious diseases by June 10.
Tykhyi denounced the decree as null and void, calling it another step in Russia’s campaign of discrimination, persecution, and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens.
The spokesperson also said it contradicts Moscow's claims of readiness for a peaceful settlement and undermines initiatives to establish peace..."
CNN:"
A Russian presidential aide has cast doubt on a US ceasefire proposal for Ukraine, as American special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to brief Kremlin officials on the peace plan.
As the Trump administration emphasizes that the ball is now in Russia’s court, Kremlin aide Yuriy Ushakov said Thursday that Moscow doesn’t want a temporary ceasefire, claiming it would give a break to the Ukrainian army. Ushakov said he explained Russia’s stance to US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz in a Wednesday phone call.
“(I) outlined our position that this is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military and nothing more,” Ushakov said in an interview with Russian state media, pouring cold water on the proposal before Thursday’s talks began..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has announced that alliance members are ramping up their defense investments and preparing additional financial support for Ukraine. His remarks came after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 27.
"Great to talk with Donald Trump. US & NATO are getting stronger. NATO Allies are moving quickly to invest more in defense. Big increases announced & others to follow," Rutte said in a post on X.
He also emphasized NATO's continued support for Ukraine, adding that "on Ukraine, Allies are preparing billions more in aid and contributions to security guarantees."
.."
REUTERS:"LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a warm embrace on Saturday after the Ukrainian leader flew to London for talks following his clash at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw support for Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded its smaller neighbour.
In London, a crowd cheered as Zelenskiy arrived for talks with Starmer at his Downing Street office before a summit of European leaders that the Ukrainian president will attend on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine..."
CNN:"Russian opposition politician sends message to people who say Ukraine-Russia war doesn’t involve the US
Newsroom
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, joins CNN’s Jessica Dean to discuss President Donald Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
" Jessica Dean posed the question what do you say to Americans who say the war in Ukraine doesn't concern us? Vladimir Kara Murza stated when large countries like Russia become dictatorships no one will be safe. There cannot be security and economic prosperity without democracy and respect for human rights. This is not a theory; it is a basic principle of civilized law, and its violation is happening now
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale war, Costa announced on Feb. 20.
Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans to hold a summit for Ukraine's partners in Kyiv on Feb. 24 to discuss the next joint steps on peace and security.
The visit aims to reaffirm the EU's "support to the heroic Ukrainian people and to the democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelensky," Costa said on X.
The statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Zelensky as a "dictator without elections," reiterating Kremlin talking points about the Ukrainian president's legitimacy..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:" President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back at the U.S.’ demand for a $500 billion fund to be financed with Ukrainian natural resource revenue, saying that the U.S.’s aid grants are not debts, during the Ukraine: Year 2025 forum in Kyiv on Feb. 23.
Negotiations on a deal to entrench U.S. interests in Ukraine's reserves are ongoing, with the latest draft presented by the White House demanding $500 billion of Ukraine’s natural resources, including critical minerals, to recuperate American aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky said that he will not recognize such a large sum since it vastly outweighs the $100 billion the U.S. has sent to Ukraine under former President Joe Biden.
The president added that the aid given to Ukraine cannot be counted as debts since they are grants and stressed that security guarantees need to be included in the deal. So far no such guarantees have been put in place, he said.
“I am not signing something that will be paid by 10 generations of Ukrainians," Zelensky said, adding that he wants a dialogue with Trump..."
CNN:"
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to join an emergency summit in Paris on Monday, Britain’s PA news agency reported, as European leaders scramble to respond to the Trump administration’s push to work with Russia to end the war in Ukraine – potentially without them at the negotiating table.
“The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together,” Starmer was quoted as saying in a statement released by Downing Street on Saturday. “We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”..."
REUTERS:"PARIS/RIYADH, Feb 17 (Reuters) - European leaders meeting in Paris on Monday for emergency talks called for higher spending to ramp up the continent's defence capabilities but remained split on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine to back up any peace deal.
The Paris meeting was called by French President Emmanuel Macron after U.S. leader Donald Trump arranged bilateral peace talks with Russia, excluding European allies and Ukraine from negotiations to end the war that are scheduled to begin in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday..."
NYTIMES:"As an anxious Europe sought clarity on President Trump’s approach to Russia and Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance instead used a speech in Munich on Friday to signal support for far-right parties, including Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which Moscow has backed through misinformation campaigns.
Addressing European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Mr. Vance scolded them for not sufficiently upholding democratic values — an accusation many of them have leveled at the Trump administration — and offered what amounted to White House political backing for Europe’s far right. He urged the Europeans to end their opposition to anti-immigration parties such as the AfD, parts of which have been classified as extremist by German intelligence, and said the effort to marginalize them and their radical ideas amounted to antidemocratic action..." COMMENT: MATTHEW 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
CNN:"Vice President JD Vance reiterated on Friday that NATO remains an important alliance for the United States, as the Munich Security Conference kicked off in Germany with the Russia-Ukraine war expected to be a focal point of discussions.
“Europe is of course a very important ally to the United States, NATO is a very important military alliance … but we want to make sure NATO is actually built for the future, and part of that is ensuring that NATO does a little bit more burden-sharing in Europe so the United States can focus on some of our challenges in East Asia,” Vance said, speaking to reporters beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte..."
CNN:"
Europe’s American century is over.
Two geopolitical thunderclaps on Wednesday will transform transatlantic relations.
Donald Trump’s call with Vladimir Putin brought the Russian leader in from the cold as they hatched plans to end the war in Ukraine and agreed to swap presidential visits.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, went to Brussels and told European allies to “take ownership of conventional security on the continent.”
The watershed highlights Trump’s “America First” ideology and his tendency to see every issue or alliance as a dollars and cents value proposition. It also underscores his freedom from establishment advisors steeped in the foreign policy mythology of the West, who he thinks thwarted his first term.
Although Hegseth recommitted to NATO, something fundamental has changed.
America’s interventions won two world wars that started in Europe and afterwards guaranteed the continent’s freedom in the face of the Soviet threat. But Trump said on the campaign trail he might not defend alliance members who haven’t invested enough in defense. He thus revived a perennial point posed most eloquently by Winston Churchill in 1940 about when “The New World, with all its power and might” will step “forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”..The US-Russia call and a future summit with Putin in Saudi Arabia, which Trump said would happen soon, may be a hint that he’s not just cutting Zelensky out of the deal – but Europe too.
In a statement, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the European Union, the European Commission, plus the United Kingdom and Ukraine, warned “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.” And they warned Trump, who seems to want a peace deal at any cost, that “a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is a necessary condition for a strong transatlantic security.”
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt is worried by the cozy call between Trump and Putin. “The disturbing thing is of course that we have the two big guys, the two big egos … believing that they can maneuver all of the issues on their own,” he told Richard Quest on CNN International. Bildt evoked the most damning historical analogy possible — the appeasement of Adolf Hitler by Britain that allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland. “For European ears, this sounds like Munich. It sounds like two big leaders wanting to have peace in our time, (over) a faraway country of which they know little. They are preparing to make a deal over the heads of that particular country. A lot of Europeans know how that particular movie ended.”.."
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Russia's point man for relations with the United States said on Monday that all of President Vladimir Putin's conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine can end, suggesting Moscow is playing hardball with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to end the war in Ukraine swiftly after hundreds of thousands of deaths, said on Sunday he thought he was making progress though he has not set out how he hopes to end the conflict.
"
APNEWS:" Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president.
The two leaders have developed strong personal links that helped bring relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. China has become a major customer of Russian oil and gas and a source of key technologies amid sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow.
In Tuesday’s call with Xi, Putin emphasized that Russia-China relations are based on shared interests, equality and mutual benefits, noting that they “don’t depend on internal political factors and the current international environment.”
“We jointly support the development of a more just multipolar global order and work to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole,” Putin told Xi in remarks carried by the Russian state TV. “Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilizing role in global affairs.”
.."
APNEWS:"KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For weeks, Ukrainian troops braced for an unfamiliar enemy: North Korean soldiers sent to bolster Moscow’s forces after Ukraine launched a lightning-fast incursion and seized territory in Russia’s Kursk region over the summer.
..."
"KYIV, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones on Wednesday in an "inhuman" Christmas Day assault, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.
Half a million people in Kharkiv region were left without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere...."
BLOOMBERG:"Russia rebuffed incoming US President Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, while saying it’s ready to hold negotiations on a long-lasting peace agreement to end almost three years of war.
“A ceasefire is a road to nowhere” that Ukraine will use to build up its military capacity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an online news conference on Thursday. “We need conclusive, legally-binding agreements which will create all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors.” With Ukraine on the defensive as Russia makes grinding progress on the battlefield, Trump and his advisers have given signals that President Vladimir Putin could keep de facto control of the almost 20% of Ukrainian territory his forces occupy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also softened his stance by suggesting his government could use diplomatic means to recover its territory..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said during a Defense Ministry meeting on Dec. 16 that Moscow aims to seize the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2025.
Speaking at a Defense Ministry meeting, Belousov reiterated Russia's commitment to achieving what he described as the "goals announced by President Vladimir Putin in June."
"In 2025, Moscow plans to achieve victory in the war," he added.
On June 14, Putin stated that Russia would agree to a ceasefire and peace talks only if Ukraine withdrew from the four Ukrainian oblasts and formally abandoned its aspirations to join NATO. A separate priority is, without a doubt, the European Union and everything necessary for Ukraine’s full EU membership. At all levels within the EU – from the highest institutions to civil society leaders – Ukraine’s voice must be strong, clear, and persuasive. We need EU membership. Next year, we must do our utmost to achieve this in the course of negotiations and in building relations with our partners in the EU. This is why Poland's presidency in the EU, and Denmark's in the second half of the year, must become historic for Ukraine..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a trilateral meeting on Dec. 7, as world leaders visited France for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
The three leaders reportedly spoke for about 35 minute at the Elysee Palace. Zelensky praised the meeting as "productive and meaningful" in a post on social media..
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YOUTUBE/FREE DOCUMENTARY-HISTORY:"Russia – the largest country on Earth. Misunderstood by many and feared by even more. For the past century, Russian history has been intertwined with the history of its security services, which were used by the Soviet state to crush dissent. Millions suffered at the hands of the most extraordinary and dangerous security network the world has ever known – mass executions, clandestine wars, coups d’état, spies who were capable of stealing the atomic bomb from America, and hacking and poisoning scandals. While many things have changed in modern Russia, the security network is arguably as strong as ever. The reason behind this is the rise of a lowly lieutenant colonel to President of this vast country, Vladimir Putin..."
CNN:"Top telecom executives met with US national security officials at the White House on Friday as concerns mount over a long-running Chinese cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted some of the most senior US political figures in the country.
The hackers burrowed deep into some major US telecom providers to spy on phone calls and text messages and have proved difficult to kick out of some networks, people briefed on the matter said.
The meetings were a chance for telecom executives to advise the government on how it could boost its defenses against sophisticated hacks, according to the White House. The groups also shared intelligence on the operation with one another.
The hack is shaping up to be one of the biggest cyber and national security challenges facing the incoming Trump administration.
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PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"Thank you so much. Thank you very much, dear Roberta, Madam President!
Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, our friends, friends of Ukraine!
I thank you for supporting Ukraine.
Thank you, Roberta, for calling this extraordinary session of the European Parliament to mark 1,000 days of full-scale war.
Thank you for ensuring that not a single one of the thousand days of this terrible war became a day of betrayal of our shared European values....
"
"MOSCOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, and Moscow said Ukraine had struck deep inside Russia with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles.
Putin approved the change days after two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire U.S., British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider those NATO members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
The updated Russian nuclear doctrine, establishing a framework for conditions under which Putin could order a strike from the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, was approved by him on Tuesday, according to a published decree.Analysts said the biggest change was that Russia could consider a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack on Russia or its ally Belarus that "created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity".
"The big picture is that Russia is lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a possible conventional attack," said Alexander Graef, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg.The previous doctrine, contained in a 2020 decree, said Russia may use nuclear weapons in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatened the existence of the state.
The U.S. National Security Council said it had not seen any reason to adjust the U.S. nuclear posture. Together, Russia and the U.S. control 88% of the world's nuclear warheads.
Putin is the primary decision-maker on the use of Russia's nuclear arsenal..."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"Prime Minister Orban!
President Michel!
Dear Leaders!
I am glad for this opportunity to meet and work together for Europe and for our nations.
Yesterday, I spoke with President Trump, as many of you did. It was a productive conversation, a good conversation. Of course, we cannot yet know what his actions will be. But we do hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs, to my mind. This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost.
There are many challenges. Since our last meeting in this format, Russia’s war has escalated significantly. And it was Russia that caused this escalation. North Korea is now, in effect, waging war in Europe. North Korean soldiers are attempting to kill our people on European soil.
"SOCHI, Russia, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. election, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.
In his first public remarks since Trump's win, Putin said Trump had acted like a real man during an assassination attempt on him while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July." Reuters headline states Putin said the new world order is underway
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"In his speech declaring victory in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, Donald Trump made no mention of Ukraine yet alluded to just how consequential his second term in office will likely be for the country ravaged by Russia’s invasion.
"We had no wars, for four years, we had no wars. Except we defeated ISIS," Trump said in comments referring to his first term as president.
"They said ‘he will start a war.’ I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop the wars," Trump added.
How does Trump plan to stop Russia's war against Ukraine?
That's the million-dollar question that is undoubtedly being discussed in capitals worldwide, not least in Kyiv and Moscow..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Beijing was fast at claiming that it had no knowledge of Russia's deepening partnership with North Korea.
The U.S. had jumped on the opportunity, hoping to pressure China to dissuade North Korea from taking an active part in Russia's war against Ukraine.
Observers, however, are skeptical about China's signals, believing that the deal to deploy North Korean troops on Ukrainian battlefields couldn't have passed without Beijing's knowledge."
CNN:"North Korea said it conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test on Thursday morning, a launch believed to have achieved the longest flight time yet for a North Korean missile.
The test comes just days ahead of the United States presidential election on Tuesday, and follows warnings from South Korea’s intelligence agency that Pyongyang was planning to launch an ICBM testing its reentry technology around the time of the election.
The test also comes as North Korea appears to have intensified its nuclear production efforts and strengthened ties with Russia, deepening widespread concern in the West over the isolated nation’s direction..."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"First, I want to thank the Prime Minister of Iceland for hosting this Summit. Thank you so much for the invitation. The Fourth Ukraine – Nordic Countries Meeting in such a format. It is a successful format to my mind and I’m glad that it is developing.
Dear friends!
Thank you for your strong support for Ukraine and for upholding the highest standard of principled assistance from your nations.
The first thing dictators attack is that – principles. Different 'Putins' around the world undermine principles within their own societies, using propaganda and repression, so that people cannot stand up for what they believe in. And then, when the dictatorship gains strength and has enough resources, it tries to export its lack of principles, creating a gray zone without values next to itself.
Europe has had to face this many times. Now, we are at another defining moment.
Russia is trying to convince nations that giving up principles is easy – that they can ignore international law and turn a blind eye to injustice, as if this will bring stability. This is the main message from Moscow – Putin tells everyone to forget their principles, not to be decisive and to hand over Ukrainian land and people, and then, supposedly, Russian bombs will stop.
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WASHINGTONPOST:"KYIV — Russian forces are summarily killing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in increasing numbers on the battlefield, often shooting them point blank just after they have been taken prisoner, Ukrainian officials say.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, authorities have opened 43 criminal investigations into 113 possible arbitrary killings, with more than a third of those cases registered since the beginning of the year, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general office. But that does not take into account the more recent spike.
“Since the end of last year, the number of such crimes has been steadily increasing,” the prosecutor general’s office said in written comments to The Washington Post...."
CNN:"The thousands of North Korean troops US intelligence says arrived in Russia for training this month have sparked concern they will be deployed to bolster Moscow’s battlefront in Ukraine.
They’ve also turned up alarm from the United States and its allies that growing coordination between anti-West countries is creating a much broader, urgent security threat – one where partnerships of convenience are evolving into more outright military ties.
..."
"LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - As U.S. election jitters hung over this week's meeting of global finance chiefs in Washington, a smiling Vladimir Putin was in the Russian city of Kazan welcoming leaders of countries which together make up nearly half the world's population.
The BRICS club of emerging economies may be a long way from rivalling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or challenging U.S. dollar dominance. But the first summit with its new batch of members showed clear signs of its growing weight. The final communique was long on words and short on detail about creating new payment and trade mechanisms which could by-pass Western-dominated structures - including, notably in Russia's case, sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.
But the summit scored a series of diplomatic wins: the presence of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and of Tayyip Erdogan, president of NATO member Turkey, which has expressed interest in joining the BRICS group. India and China chose the summit to profile new efforts to nurture ties.For Putin, the simple fact that so many leaders travelled to Russia for the talks was useful in countering the narrative that his country faces isolation from the global economy.
"They (Western capitals) are not getting the importance of this thing," said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, a senior fellow at the Bruegel economic think tank. "It's all signalling that the West is losing power."..."
KYIVINDEPENDENT"Russia is helping Pyongyang evade sanctions and develop its nuclear capabilities in return for North Korean troops and missiles, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told The Economist in comments published on Oct. 22.
Budanov previously revealed that close to 11,000 North Korean troops are already in Russia and will be ready to fight by Nov. 1.
The move would signal deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, with North Korea already providing Russia with artillery shells and ballistic missiles for war against Ukraine.
Russia's support in nuclear capabilities includes providing technologies for smaller tactical nuclear weapons and submarine missile-launch systems, Budanov claimed.
The sanctions evasion can also be vital for North Korea, which faces heavy economic restrictions over its nuclear program. Russia has blocked the renewal of a U.N. monitoring program overseeing Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile development..."
"KAZAN, Russia, Oct 22 (Reuters) - India's Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of the BRICS summit that he wanted peace in Ukraine and that New Delhi was ready to help achieve a truce to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Putin, who ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world after the United States and its European and Asian allies tried to isolate Russia over the war." 
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Close to 11,000 North Korean troops are in Russia and will be "ready to fight" in Ukraine by Nov. 1, Ukrainian military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said in comments published by the War Zone on Oct. 17.
Budanov said the first group of 2,600 soldiers will be deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine began a cross-border incursion in August and still holds significant swathes of territory. The troops will be using Russian equipment and ammunition, but further information is currently unknown.
"We don't have the full picture right now," Budanov said.
Concerns about North Korea's direct involvement in Russia's full-scale war have reached a fever pitch in recent days.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Oct. 17, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is planning to train and engage not only infantry but also North Korean specialists in various branches of the military.
"We know about 10,000 soldiers from North Korea they are preparing to send to fight against us," he added.
The Kyiv Independent contacted the President's Office to ask about the discrepancy between Budanov's and Zelensky's figures, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on Oct. 18 that Pyongyang had recently decided to deploy 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including special forces, to support Russia's war effort. The NIS did not say if the troops had already been sent into the field or where they might be deployed.
At the same time, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said on Oct. 17 that he "can't confirm whether there are North Korean forces that have gone to Russia" but added that the U.S. would "continue to monitor" the situation.
If the reports were true, it would "demonstrate the situation that Russia finds itself in, the dire situation that it finds itself in, in terms of its forces on the battlefield."
"And so it just demonstrates the desperation in terms of identifying additional forces for their military," Ryder added.
.."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"North Korea has sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia to boost its war efforts against Ukraine, a Western diplomat familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 15.
Concerns over the deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have escalated dramatically this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 13 that Russia's plans for supporting its full-scale invasion of Ukraine would this autumn include "the actual involvement of North Korea in the war."
The Western diplomat told the Kyiv Independent that it’s unclear what kind of soldiers they are or what their roles were. The Kyiv Independent contacted Ukraine's Foreign Ministry but did not receive a reply at the time of publication. Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) declined to comment.
As Russia and North Korea deepen military ties, Western diplomats and experts stress that it shows Moscow's increasing need for resources to continue waging its costly war in Ukraine. “It’s a clear indicator how far Russia and its military have fallen over the last 2.5 years that it’s having to beg, borrow and buy support from North Korea,” John Foreman CBE, the U.K.’s former defense attache in Moscow from 2019 to 2022, told the Kyiv Independent.Earlier this year, the two countries signed a mutual defense pact during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
.."
"MOSCOW, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday in Turkmenistan, where the two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, an entente viewed with concern by the United States.
At odds with Washington and the European Union over Russia's war in Ukraine, something he casts as part of a wider existential struggle against an arrogant and self-interested West - Putin is keen to deepen ties with what he calls the Global East and Global South.Putin, whose country is hosting a summit of the BRICS nations in Kazan on Oct. 22-24, invited Pezeshkian to come to Russia on an official visit, a proposal the Iranian leader accepted according to Russia's state RIA news agency...."
KYIVINDEPENDENT: "Ukraine should receive the first Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France in the first quarter of 2025, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Oct. 8.
French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled in June that Paris would provide Kyiv with an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5 planes to boost its airpower.
The planes "will be equipped with new equipment: air-to-ground combat capabilities and anti-electronic warfare defense," Lecornu noted.
.." 
CNN/REUTERS:"President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
The decision to change Russia’s official nuclear doctrine is the Kremlin’s answer to deliberations in the United States and Britain about whether or not to give Ukraine permission to fire conventional Western missiles into Russia.
Putin, opening a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, said that the changes were in response to a swiftly changing global landscape which had thrown up new threats and risks for Russia."
CNN:"
The North American Aerospace Defense Command says it detected four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska on Monday, less than two weeks after US Army soldiers were deployed to the area as part of a “force protection operation” amid an increase in Russian and Chinese military exercises in the region..."
CNN:"...Dubbed “Ocean-2024,” the seven days of drills that ended Monday are the latest in a recent slew of military exercises and joint patrols between Russia and China that come on the heels of vows from Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to tighten military cooperation, even as the Kremlin wages its war against Ukraine.
China sent several warships and 15 aircraft to waters off Russia’s Far East coast for Ocean-2024, according to the Russian military. In addition, Chinese and Russian forces this month touted deepened strategic coordination during joint naval drills in waters near Japan and held their fifth joint maritime patrol in the northern Pacific..." Meanwhile, ..."The North American Aerospace Defense command intercepted Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska four times over the last week in what appears to be an uptick in activity amid tensions between the US and Russia."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"“Russian intelligence is everywhere. And its propaganda is everywhere, not only in Estonia but all over the world,” Estonian President Alar Karis told the Kyiv Independent during an interview on the sidelines of the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) Conference in Kyiv.
Russia has been actively meddling in the domestic affairs of the Baltic states."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"While the Russian advance on Pokrovsk had slightly slowed down in recent days, Vuhledar, in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, became a new focal point of the ongoing Russian offensive.
Located 50 kilometers south of Pokrovsk, Vuhledar is often referred to as a "fortress" among the military and has been under consistent Russian attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
As part of the most recent wave of offensives in Donetsk Oblast, Russian troops resumed their assault on the city...."
"MOSCOW, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, responding to a question about the potential delivery of long-range U.S. missiles to Ukraine, warned the United States on Wednesday not to joke about Russia's "red lines".
Lavrov said the U.S. was losing sight of the sense of mutual deterrence that had underpinned the balance of security between Moscow and Washington since the Cold War, and that this was dangerous. It was the second time in just over a week that Lavrov has cautioned the U.S. that a third world war would not be confined to Europe...." COMMENT: THE PUTIN REGIME IS A CRIMINAL TERRORIST IMPERIALIST FASCIST ORGANIZATION THAT HAS CROSSED ALL LINES OF HUMAN DECENCY
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"At least seven civilians were killed and 47 were wounded in Lviv in the early hours of Sept. 4 amid Russia's attack against Ukraine, Lviv Oblast authorities reported. Children were among the casualties.
Several explosions were heard in the city amid a nationwide air raid alert as Russia launched drones and missiles against the country. Multiple casualties were reported also in Kryvyi Rih.
Explosions were heard in other cities overnight, including Kyiv, Sumy, Lutsk, and Rivne.
The fatalities in Lviv included two girls aged 9 and 14, another child, a 50-year-old nurse at a local clinic, and a man, authorities said.
There are seven children among the wounded, including a 10-year-old boy. Some 47 people have been hospitalized as a result of the attack, of whom seven are in critical condition, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported."
"KYIV, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Loud explosions rocked Ukraine's capital Kyiv early on Monday as Russia launched a barrage of missiles, sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials said.
Residents across the city were awoken by a quick succession of bangs and the sound of air defence missiles blasting off skyward to intercept targets."
"WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible."
Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap."
"KYIV, Aug 29 (Reuters) - One of Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets crashed while repelling a major Russian attack on Monday, Kyiv's military said, the first such loss reported since the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made planes this month.
The jet came down and its pilot died while it was approaching a Russian target, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday on Facebook....
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KYIVINDEPENDENT:"The Kursk operation is Ukraine's right of self-defense, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Aug. 29.
As Kyiv's incursion into Kursk Oblast entered its fourth week, Ukraine is in control of 1,294 square kilometers (around 500 square miles) and 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 27. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
According to Braze, Ukraine's right of self-defense is covered by Article 51 of the U.N. Charter the UN Charter includes Kyiv's right to strike at military targets on Russian soil.
"And Ukrainians have been very, very careful and very, very diligent in not going after civilians (in Kursk Oblast), in not doing what Russians have been doing on the Ukrainian territory," the minister said.
"This is the normal military counteractions, so this counteroffensive, in our view, is also covered by the right of self-defense."
"MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russia said the West was playing with fire by considering allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western missiles and cautioned the United States on Tuesday that World War Three would not be confined to Europe.
Ukraine attacked Russia's western Kursk region on Aug. 6 and has carved out a slice of territory in the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two. President Vladimir Putin said there would be a worthy response from Russia to the attack.
Sergei Lavrov, who has served as Putin's foreign minister for more than 20 years, said that the West was seeking to escalate the Ukraine war and was "asking for trouble" by considering Ukrainian requests to loosen curbs on using foreign-supplied weapons.Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly warned of the risk of a much broader war involving the world's biggest nuclear powers, though he has said Russia does not want a conflict with the U.S.-led NATO alliance."We are now confirming once again that playing with fire - and they are like small children playing with matches - is a very dangerous thing for grown-up uncles and aunts who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
"Americans unequivocally associate conversations about Third World War as something that, God forbid, if it happens, will affect Europe exclusively," Lavrov said..."COMMENT: THE PUTIN REGIME IS AN IMPERIALIST FASCIST TERRORIST GANGSTER ORGANIZATION WORKING WITH ITS ALLIES AND PROXIES TO SPREAD ITS MURDEROUS CANCER IN UKRAINE, EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA
CNN:"...“The bombing was everywhere around us, all night. Our house is still intact, but it won’t be for long. Everything else has been damaged,” Halyna told CNN. “Our soldiers came and took us away,” she added.
A nurse and a miner, the couple are among tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Pokrovsk and the surrounding towns as it becomes more and more likely that the city could become the next key battleground of the war in Ukraine.
Russian forces have been inching toward the city for weeks, but the situation has become critical in recent days. Moscow has been pushing hard to capture Pokrovsk even as it struggles to contain the Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk border region.Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Pokrovsk sits on a key supply road that connects it with other military hubs, and forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that is still under Kyiv’s control..."
CNN:"US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening.
The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, was operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, according to the Navy, having just completed training near Italy.
Austin ordered the submarine into the waters of the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The movement of US missile submarines is rarely revealed publicly, and the nuclear-powered vessels operate in near-complete secrecy.
The announcement of a submarine’s movement is a clear message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies, who the US and Israel believe are preparing for a potential large-scale attack on Israel..."
KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"Russia will receive hundreds of Fath-360 and other ballistic missiles from Iran in the near future following an agreement signed in December 2023 between Moscow and Tehran, intelligence sources revealed to Reuters on Aug. 9."
TIMES OF INDIA:"Russia has reportedly transferred advanced missile systems to Iran amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. This significant arms deal includes Iskander missiles and Murmansk-BN systems, capable of suppressing satellite communications over vast distances."
CNN:"
The US is sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron and additional warships to the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran earlier this week.
It is perhaps the largest movement of US forces to the region since the early days of the Gaza war, when the Pentagon sent two carrier strike groups toward the Middle East in a very public warning to regional militant groups not to expand the fighting...."
WASHINGTON-POST:"When President Biden said he was dropping his reelection bid, the sudden upheaval in U.S. politics came as a blow for many in the Russian elite who closely track relations between Moscow and the West.
Biden’s withdrawal in favor of Vice President Harris has upended a race that the Kremlin and its backers believed Donald Trump could win, creating “a window of opportunity” to settle the war in Ukraine on Russia’s aggressive, expansionist terms, according to analysts and current and former Russian officials."
"LONDON/WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - North Korean hackers have conducted a global cyber espionage campaign in efforts to steal classified military secrets to support Pyongyang's banned nuclear weapons programme, the United States, Britain and South Korea said in a joint advisory on Thursday.
The hackers, dubbed Anadriel or APT45 by cybersecurity researchers, are believed to be part of North Korea's intelligence agency"
"SEOUL, Aug 1 (Reuters) - North Korea wants to reopen
nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump is re-elected as president and is working to devise a new negotiating strategy, a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea told Reuters.
The escape of Ri Il Gyu from Cuba made headlines globally last month. He was the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to the South since 2016.
In his first interview with international media, Ri said North Korea has set Russia, the U.S. and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities for this year and beyond.While bolstering relations with Russia, Pyongyang was keen to reopen nuclear negotiations if Trump - who engaged in both fiery brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea during his previous term - won re-election in November, Ri said.
"
"WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The United States will start deploying longer range missiles in Germany in 2026, the two countries announced at a meeting of the NATO alliance on Tuesday, a major step aimed at countering what the allies say is a growing threat Russia poses to Europe.
The decision will send Germany the most potent U.S. weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War, in a clear warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A U.S.-German statement said the "episodic deployments" were in preparation for longer-term stationing in Europe of capabilities that would include SM-6, Tomahawk and developmental hypersonic weapons with greater range.
The move would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1987 but that collapsed in 2019.
"We cannot discount the possibility of an attack against Allies’ sovereignty and territorial integrity," the allies said in a communique released on Wednesday..."
ABCNEWS:"UNITED NATIONS -- Russia’s foreign minister accused the United States on Tuesday of holding the entire West “at gunpoint” and impeding international cooperation, a claim the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations denounced as “hypocrisy” by a country that invaded neighboring Ukraine...."
SWISSINFO.CH:"July 11, 2024 - 10:22
1 minute
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday denounced NATO’s summit promise to grant eventual membership to Ukraine and said Russia should work towards the “disappearance” of both Ukraine and the military alliance....”
"GENEVA, July 9 (Reuters) - A lethal strike on a children's hospital in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, was likely caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile, the head of the U.N. human rights monitoring mission said on Tuesday, citing its own analysis.
The strike in broad daylight was part of a series of attacks that killed at least 41 people across Ukraine, including children. The Kremlin said it was Ukrainian anti-missile fire, not Russia, that struck the hospital."
CNN:"
A court in Moscow has ordered Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, to be arrested in absentia, her spokesperson said Tuesday.
The Basmanny District Court in Moscow accused Navalnaya of “participation in an extremist organization,” her spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a post on social media. She has also been added to an international wanted list, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti."
MSN/NEWSWEEK:"Belarus on Sunday issued a nuclear threat amid rising tensions at its border with Ukraine.
The country will be prepared to use nonstrategic nuclear weapons if its sovereignty and independence are threatened, said Pavel Muraveiko. He was appointed chief of the general staff of country's armed forces and first deputy minister in May."
KYIVINDEPENDENT:"Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian official heading the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said on June 27 that it is time to burn everything Ukrainian down to the root" so that "there is no trace left."(Emphasis added)
Rogozin's comments were the latest in a long series of genocidal comments directed at Ukraine made by Russian officials and propagandists, a trend that has only increased since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The genocidal intent of Russia's aggression toward Ukraine has manifested in war crimes and indiscriminate violence directed at Ukrainian civilians, but also in the denial and distortion of history, attempts to erase Ukrainian culture, and the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children."
REUTERS:"SEOUL/MOSCOW, June 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Tuesday to deepen trade and security ties with North Korea and to support it against the United States, as he headed to the reclusive nuclear-armed country for the first time in 24 years.
The U.S. and its Asian allies are trying to work out just how far Russia will go in support of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose country is the only one to have conducted nuclear weapon tests in the 21st century..."
MSN/BUSINESS INSIDER:"Although they are members of NATO and the EU, the Baltics are in a precarious position. Bordering Russia or its ally Belarus, they are small and were part of the Soviet Union until its collapse. Furthermore, over 20% of the population of Estonia and Latvia and 5% of Lithuania are ethnically Russian.
All of this has put them in Moscow's crosshairs. Russia seems to be employing unconventional methods against them that blur the line between war and peace and fall into what is called the "gray zone."
.
.."
AP:
"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.
Putin also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.
The recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems,” he said, taking questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin added."
APNEWS:"Russian warships conducted drills in the Atlantic, the military said Tuesday, as they were heading to visit Cuba, part of Moscow’s efforts to project power amid the tensions with the West over Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Kazan nuclear-powered submarine conducted the exercise that was intended to simulate a missile strike on a group of enemy ships.
The ministry said the drills involved computer simulation of an attack on sea targets more than 600 kilometers (over 320 nautical miles) away.
The Admiral Gorshkov is armed with new Zircon hypersonic missiles. The weapon has been designed to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines and could be used against both enemy ships and ground targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted Zircon as a potent weapon capable of penetrating any existing anti-missile defenses by flying nine times faster than the speed of sound at a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 620 miles).
The Admiral Gorshkov and the Kazan are accompanied by two support vessels on their visit to Havana, which Cuban officials said reflected “historically friendly relations” between Russia and Cuba.The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the Russian warships will be in Havana between Wednesday and June 17, noting that none will carry nuclear weapons and assuring their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.
..."
CNN:"The USS Helena, a fast-attack nuclear submarine, surfaced in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a day after Russian naval forces arrived in Havana to conduct drills with the island nation, a Russian ally.
In a statement posted on X, US Southern Command said, “The fast-attack submarine USS Helena is in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of a routine port visit as it transits the U.S. Southern Command geographic area of responsibility while conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission.”
The specific movements of Navy submarines are highly classified and are rarely disclosed publicly..."
NYTIMES:"A senior Biden administration official warned on Friday that “absent a change” in nuclear strategy by China and Russia, the United States may be forced to expand its nuclear arsenal, after decades of cutting back through now largely abandoned arms control agreements.
The comments on Friday from Pranay Vaddi, a senior director of the National Security Council, were the most explicit public warning yet that the United States was prepared to shift from simply modernizing its arsenal to expanding it. They were also a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia about the likely U.S. reaction if the last major nuclear arms control agreement, called New START, expires in February 2026 with no replacement..."WASHINGTONPOST:Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document. Russia is seeking to subvert Western support for Ukraine and disrupt the domestic politics of the United States and European countries, through propaganda campaigns supporting isolationist and extremist policies, according to Kremlin documents previously reported on by The Post. It is also seeking to refashion geopolitics, drawing closer to China, Iran and North Korea in an attempt to shift the current balance of power..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday that it was “absolutely true” that some Republican members of Congress were repeating Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine instigated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.Turner did not specify which members he was referring to, but he said he agreed with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who said in an interview with Puck News last week that Russian propaganda had “infected a good chunk of my party’s base” and suggested that conservative media was to blame..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force."
KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"French President Emmanuel Macron was left on his lonesome by his fellow European allies after saying that the possibility of sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine should not be “ruled out” in the future.
Macron made the remarks on Feb. 26 at a gathering of 20 European heads of state and other Western officials at an allied conference in Paris to reaffirm support for Ukraine as Russia’s war against the country enters its third year.
...
CNN:"It’s a scenario that’s playing out up and down the front lines in Ukraine. As the United States Congress stalls on US President Joe Biden’s request for an additional $60 billion in security assistance for Kyiv, Ukrainian commanders are facing tough choices on how to use the dwindling stockpiles of ammunition.
Kyiv suffered its most significant loss in recent months last week when its troops abandoned Avdiivka..."
KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"Almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine in February 2014, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy the Crimean Peninsula. Within a couple of months, unrest erupted in eastern Ukraine followed by Russian-backed militias taking over administrative buildings.
The events mark the start of Russia's 10-year invasion and occupation of Ukraine that continues to this day.
.."
NEWSWEEK:"The head of Polish military counterintelligence has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is already prepared for a small operation against NATO frontier states in northeastern Europe, as the alliance seeks to deter aggression from Moscow while bolstering Ukraine against the ongoing Russian invasion.
"Putin is certainly already prepared for some mini-operation against one of the Baltic countries," Jarosław Stróżyk, who was appointed to lead the Polish military counterintelligence service in March—told the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna publication..."
BLOOMBERG:"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of the dangers of a Russian victory if Ukraine’s allies don’t increase military support and financial aid, ahead of a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
“Make no mistake: A Russian victory in Ukraine would not only be the end of Ukraine as a free, democratic and independent state, it would also dramatically change the face of Europe,” Scholz wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
"COMMENT:SEND NATO FORCES IN AND PUSH THE RUSSIANS OUT
WASHINGTONPOST:"...Capturing Avdiivka would mark Moscow’s most significant battlefield victory since the failure of a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year — and would be the clearest sign yet that Russian forces are regaining the initiative as Kyiv runs short of soldiers, weapons, ammunition, morale and money..."COMMENT: THIS IS ON TRUMP AND HIS MINIONS
BBC:"The UN's top court has said it has jurisdiction to hear a case brought against Russia by Ukraine.
Kyiv brought the case at The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv accuses Moscow of falsely using genocide law to justify its brutal invasion which continues..."
THE-KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"As sanctions bite, Russia eyes Ukraine’s mineral resources to fund its invasion. Russia's 2024 federal budget brought little in the way of surprises, the country is gearing up for a long war...."
MSN/NEWSWEEK:"A top Ukrainian military official has issued a desperate plea for resources as Russia gains momentum in its war against Ukraine...."
BUSINESS-INSIDER:"The Kremlin has been painting a rosy picture of the country's economy even amid a swathe of Western sanctions — but "the real situation is bad," Igor Lipsits, a prominent Russian economist, told Reuters.
..."
THE-KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"Along with war crimes, such as torture, rape, and executions, Russia has also taken civilian hostages in the areas it has occupied, at times transferring them to prisons both in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and Russia for reasons unknown. The hostages include people taken off the streets, psychiatric patients, and inmates of Ukrainian prisons now under Russian-occupied territories..."
THE-KYIV-INDEPENDENT:"Russia launched a record number of drones into Ukraine over the course of six hours on Holodomor Memorial Day on Nov. 25. According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, "this was the largest drone attack since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.".."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"...Ladies and gentlemen!
Next Monday will mark the six hundredth day of our resistance to Russia's full-scale aggression against our people, against Ukraine. And today, no one can say for sure how many more days we will have to defend our independence and identity. But we can already say several things, which are important.
First: Putin will not achieve Ukraine. Second: Russia cannot afford a new arms race. And third: democracy can win this battle. It is necessary not only for our country, but for every nation, for the whole world...."
CNN:"All 27 EU member states have dispatched officials to a key meeting in Kyiv on Monday, a European Union official told CNN.
..
The bloc convened in the Ukrainian capital to reaffirm their support for Kyiv amid Russia's invasion...."
"Sept 7 (Reuters) 
CNN:"Russia's conditions to revive the Black Sea grain deal amount to "blackmail," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told national news agency Ukrinform on Monday.
The deal "must be restored," but not "at the expense of blackmail and fulfilling Russia’s whims," he said. "
NYTIMES:"Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation, according to American and allied officials.
"
CNN:"“What is going on now is simply the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Both Ukrainian and Russian. The motivation for my action was to not contribute to these crimes. Ukraine will unequivocally win this war simply because the people are very united. Before they were not like this, but now they are very unified. The whole world is helping them, because first and foremost, human life should be valued."
The pilot also urged other Russians in the military to defect to Ukraine." The pilot, Maksim Kuzmov was found shot dead in Spain "...Ukrainska Pravda and other outlets reported on Feb.19..." 
CNN:"
Ukraine’s Security Service says it has identified a Russian commander who is accused of giving orders to shoot civilians.
The SBU announced in a statement on Thursday that it is investigating Vadym Ovchinnikov, the commander of a Russian intelligence group, who it alleges ordered the shooting of a Ukrainian family during the occupation of the town of Bucha in March of 2022.
CNN:"...Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put it bluntly on Monday, when he thanked Denmark for pledging to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, which the Netherlands also agreed to give Ukraine. “All of Russia’s neighbors are under threat,” he said, “if Ukraine does not prevail.” He will find few who disagree among those neighbors....”
CNN:"NATO allies on Tuesday reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s push for membership of the alliance, according to a final declaration issued by the 31-member group at a summit in Lithuania.
“Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” it said.
"We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met," the communiqué added..."
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"In the Republic of Lithuania, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in an event organized as part of the "Raising the Flag for Ukraine in NATO" campaign...”
NEWSWEEK:"British officials are now a "legitimate military target" for Moscow, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday, responding to remarks from the U.K.'s foreign secretary that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets inside Russian territory..."
CNN:"The Russian Foreign Ministry called on senior US diplomats on Friday to express "strong protest" over US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's remarks about Ukrainian strikes on Crimea, after he said the US has not placed limitations on Kyiv to hit its territory.
The ministry called Sullivan's remarks in an interview with CNN on Sunday "unacceptable."
CNN:"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in the United Kingdom to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, 10 Downing Street said in a statement Monday..
.."
CNN:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his French counterpart in Paris on Sunday, the latest stop on his tour of European capitals providing Kyiv with weapons.
CNN:"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that Russia is seeking to destroy values of freedom in Ukraine because it is afraid of the country’s path to the European Union.
"We Europeans cherish our liberty, our democracy, our freedom of thought and speech," von der Leyen said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv to mark Europe Day.
CNN:"Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said NATO countries must prepare for a long war in Ukraine, calling on allies to increase defense spending.
“Russia has prepared for a long confrontation and so must we,” Kallas tweeted on Wednesday....
"
PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"The leaders condemned in the strongest possible terms the illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked aggression by Russia against Ukraine..."
Meanwhile,"[a] day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a harsher crackdown on internal “enemies,” authorities raided the homes of activists from the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year."
ICC:"Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.... "
WASHINGTONPOST:"Poland plans to give Ukraine Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the first NATO country to provide long-sought warplanes since the Russian invasion began last year, Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a news conference Thursday.
The first four are set to arrive in the coming days. Western governments had thus far declined to send fighter jets out of concern over escalating tensions between NATO and Russia."
EUROPEAN-PARLIAMENT:
CNN:"The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has voted unanimously to demand the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders “for the crime of aggression in Ukraine,” according to a statement published Thursday.
PACE, composed of members appointed by the national parliaments of the Council's 46 member states, proposes a tribunal in The Hague “to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders who planned, prepared, initiated or executed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” 
CNN:"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska that the alliance's support for her nation is "unwavering," as world leaders and policymakers gathered at the World Economic Forum Tuesday..."
"KYIV, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine accused the Kremlin on Saturday of reviving the "genocidal" tactics of Josef Stalin as Kyiv commemorated a Soviet-era famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the winter of 1932-33."
CNN:"Russia's invasion of Ukraine has plunged Europe into an era of insecurity, Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the world faces the ”the most dangerous decade” since the end of World War II. .."
CNN:"Former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told CNN Tuesday that “terror is the only thing left” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, “like for any miserable terrorist in the world.”
CNN:"Nina Khrushcheva, great-granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin's propaganda speech and "'crazy rhetoric against the West.'.. After 22 years under Putin there is absolute hopelessness for the future of the country. Things are turning into a dystopian novel divorced from reality.
ALJAZEERA:"A police monitoring group says more than 1,300 people have been arrested at demonstrations across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation of civilians to fight in Ukraine."
CNN:"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told lawmakers at the European Parliament in Strasbourg that "Europe's solidarity with Ukraine will remain unshakeable," and that she would be visiting Kyiv on Wednesday.
Von der Leyen said European sanctions against Russia would remain in place and that the European Union's (EU) 27-nation bloc would continue to offer financial support to Ukraine.
..
"
CNN:"Russia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin's war effort in Ukraine-...Multiple interviews with high-level Sudanese and US officials and troves of documents reviewed by CNN paint a picture of an elaborate Russian scheme to plunder Sudan's riches in a bid to fortify Russia against increasingly robust Western sanctions and to buttress Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
The evidence also suggests that Russia has colluded with Sudan's beleaguered military leadership, enabling billions of dollars in gold to bypass the Sudanese state and to deprive the poverty-stricken country of hundreds of millions in state revenue.
In exchange, Russia has lent powerful political and military backing to Sudan's increasingly unpopular military leadership as it violently quashes the country's pro-democracy movement..."
CNN:"A new report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe documents the discovery of torture chambers at a summer camp in Bucha, Ukraine.
This report — OSCE's second one — covered the period between April 1 to June 25...
"
CNN:"Russia's actions in Ukraine provide enough evidence to conclude that Moscow is inciting genocide and committing atrocities intended to destroy the Ukrainian people, according to the first independent report into allegations of genocide in that country.
"
BBC:"Kira Glodan, a three-month-old baby, is one of the latest victims in the war in Ukraine. She was killed along with her mother and grandmother in a Russian missile strike in Odesa..”
BBC:"Russian forces executed civilians in various locations in the Kyiv region
"In recent weeks,.. [W]e have gathered evidence that... Russian forces have committed extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings
which must be investigated as likely war crimes" says Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
.."
"REUTERS:A woman carries her cat as she walks past buildings that were destroyed by Russian shelling amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Borodyanka the Kyiv region Ukraine, April 5, 2022
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Trump denies this Congress what could be its last major bill-signing ceremony
The housing bill is poised to become law today even without President Donald Trump’s signature...President Donald Trump so abruptly canceled what might have been the last major presidential signing ceremony of this Congress that it caught lawmakers, top aides and housing industry officials all completely by surprise..."
"...Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."
APNEWS:"Need a smile? This livestream features 6 puppies all day long...Every wiggle and wobble, every snuffle and squeak of six newborn puppies snuggling together in Finland is captured by cameras monitoring their development in the first weeks of their lives. For science, of course..."
LIVESCIENCE:"Earth's life-support systems are in peril — and they're getting worse — but although the window for action is closing, we still have a chance to give our planet a sustainable future, a new report finds.
The report, called "Planetary Health Check 2026," was written by more than 60 scientists and assessed the state of interconnected natural systems, or planetary boundaries, upon which Earth's stability and resilience depend..."
CNN:"Giant tortoises once pushed to the brink of extinction now outnumber humans in their home of the Seychelles, according to a new survey on one of the African nation’s most remote islands.
The survey, led by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and the University of Exeter in the UK, estimated that about 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises live on Aldabra Atoll, an Indian Ocean island group off the east coast of mainland Africa.
It is the highest figure ever recorded for the species, and far exceeds the human population of around 122,000 living in the tiny archipelago nation..."
CNN:"This song was scientifically designed to soothe babies — and 470 million streams prove it works..."
CNN:"The atmosphere’s attempts to make it feel actually like fall across much of the United States have been repeatedly thwarted in recent weeks, but that’s about to change in a major way.
Temperatures will plummet to their lowest levels since spring for many east of the Rockies later this week as a potent cold front slices across the country..."
NYTIMES:"Large waves from Post-Tropical Storm Rachel slammed into homes on the beachfront in Long Beach, Calif., over the weekend, leaving some of the houses appearing close to collapsing..."
CNN:"Milwaukee takes a 2-0 World Series lead: The Brewers once again came from behind in this postseason, rallying from four runs down to for a 5-4 win in Game 2, taking a 2-0 lead in the World Series.A wild game: The Rays opened the game with a four-run barrage in the top of the first but the Brewers came all the way back to take the lead, 5-4..."
CNN:"Astronomers say van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ may have been inspired by real celestial arrangement..."
BLOOMBERG:"
By Rita Nazareth
October 25, 2026 at 3:09 PM PDT
Updated on October 26, 2026 at 9:02 AM PDT
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4:45
A revival of the artificial-intelligence trade fueled gains in stocks as Anthropic PBC filed for an IPO, with investors bracing for this week’s results from tech giants and the Federal Reserve decision.
The S&P 500 halted back-to-back losses. High-profile chipmakers rallied, sending a closely watched industry gauge up 3%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%. In a volatile session, Brent crude hovered near $117. Brazilian markets tumbled as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected, fueling fears that fiscal issues in Latin America’s largest economy will worsen.
Anthropic In Talks To Raise Up To $10 Billion In New Funding
Anthropic files for IPO.Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Major AI spenders Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. are expected to show healthy growth when they report earnings this week. But investors will be most interested in comments on how much they plan to spend on AI and the degree to which those investments are proving to be profitable.
“The big focus is what these companies expect to spend on AI going forward and whether this spending can continue to be financed by cash flows, or if equity and debt issuance will be necessary too,” said Richard Saperstein at Treasury Partners.
With the Fed likely to remain on hold, traders will be focused on tech earnings to gauge the strength of the AI trade as we head into year-end, according to Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
Brazilian Markets Crater as Lula Wins
ETF tracking nation's stocks tumble on fiscal worries
Source: Bloomberg
Kevin Warsh will face a familiar challenge if the Fed holds interest rates steady: He must reassure investors the central bank is committed to quashing inflation while explaining why officials chose not to raise rates.
The Fed raised rates in September for the first time since 2023 and signaled another increase was likely this year. While US inflation data has come in hot since then, officials seem in no rush to deliver another hike. Instead, economists and investors expect a move at the final meeting of 2026.
With policymakers responding primarily to energy-driven inflation pressures and currency dynamics rather than a materially overheating economy, this is likely to be a relatively shallow tightening cycle, according to Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management.
The Fed is likely to deliver a rate hike in December and another one in 2027, she said.
“We don’t expect a Fed rate hike on Wednesday, as the bond market has already tightened credit conditions since the Fed’s last meeting,” said Saperstein. “We expect to hear tough talk on the inflation front combined with soft action, as uncertainty on the direction of inflation doesn’t warrant more tightening.”
Corporate Highlights:
SpaceX signed a roughly $40 billion equipment-finance lease with Apollo Global Management Inc. to pay for the chips needed to fuel its AI ambitions.
Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking to raise as much as $95 billion from selling common and preferred stock, supporting its development in AI with one of the largest equity offerings in history.
Microsoft Corp. will offer buyouts to about 60,000 workers, part of the company’s efforts to trim costs and retool its workforce for the artificial intelligence era.
Verizon Communications Inc. reported its strongest third-quarter performance in wireless customer additions in five years, adding more than twice what analysts expected. But concerns about likely increased competition from SpaceX’s forthcoming Starlink Mobile service weighed on the shares.
JetBlue Airways Corp. sank amid growing scrutiny from investors over how the highly-indebted US airline plans to shore up its finances.
EQT Corp. agreed to buy rival shale driller Range Resources Corp. in an all-stock deal for about $12.8 billion that will create the largest US natural gas producer.
Key Events This Week
For a list, click here.
HSBC’s Kettner Turns Cautions on Equities for Now
3:29
WATCH: Max Kettner at HSBC on stocks.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 12:01 p.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
The MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1178
The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3347
The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 157.58 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $80,300.56
Ether fell 0.9% to $2,324.19
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.98%
Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 3.36%
Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 5.34%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $102.83 a barrel
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,017.53 an ounce
..."
REUTERS:"PARIS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in France on Saturday, with largely peaceful rallies giving way to clashes in Paris and Marseille as night fell despite a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of last week's unrest.
The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people took part in protests nationwide, though unions said the true figure was twice as high.
Get a look at the day ahead in European and global markets with the Morning Bid Europe newsletter. Sign up here.
The main demonstration took place on the southeastern fringes of Paris, where at least 110,000 people turned out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality.
.."
WSJ:"By
Allison Pohle
| Photography by Zachary Linhares for WSJ
Oct. 22, 2026 5:30 am ET
Quick Summary
The Gund Co. has averaged 18% annual growth for a decade and reached nearly $400 million in sales without ever laying off an employee.
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Hundreds of executives have made the pilgrimage to St. Louis to try to replicate Steve Gund’s elusive feat: He’s the third-generation CEO of a family manufacturer that has averaged 18% annual growth for a decade—all without ever laying off an employee.
He said he does it with a leadership model that puts The Gund Co.’s 1,300 employees’ well-being over short-term profits. He has made it his mission to evangelize the approach, especially to leaders of other family-owned companies.
“It sounds touchy-feely, but it’s profitable,” said the 55-year-old Gund, whose grandfather, Ed Gund, a former candy salesman, started the composite materials company in 1951. Now approaching $400 million in sales, its customers include General Electric and Rockwell Automation. Its parts can be found in nearly every aspect of the grid, from wind generators to the green boxes dotting subdivision lawns..."
REUTERS:"PARIS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in France on Saturday, with largely peaceful rallies giving way to clashes in Paris and Marseille as night fell despite a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of last week's unrest.
The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people took part in protests nationwide, though unions said the true figure was twice as high.
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The main demonstration took place on the southeastern fringes of Paris, where at least 110,000 people turned out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality.
The atmosphere deteriorated sharply after the rally ended. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at a group of around 500 hooded youths before they eventually dispersed on a cold, rainy evening.
In France's second city, Marseille, youths set fire to rubbish bins to block roads, and hurled rocks and bottles at security forces. Police said several stores, including two jewellery shops, were ransacked.
Clashes also flared in Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Rennes, Nantes and Toulouse.
"In almost every march we saw the formation of these high-risk groups. They broke away from the main body and sought to commit acts of violence," said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, accusing far-left activists and criminal gangs of seeking to foment trouble.
PARIS IN LOCKDOWN..."
REUTERS:"Oct 24 (Reuters) - Iran has ramped up efforts to target US personnel, and lethal plots by Tehran against American citizens have reached "advanced stages", a senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters.
The alert from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton came after Washington scaled back staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia earlier this week in response to intensified attacks by Iran-allied Houthi forces.
.."
HAARETZ:"West Bank News
Israeli Forces Launch Raid on Hebron After West Bank Shooting Attack
After two Palestinian assailants killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded several others, PM Netanyahu vowed to search Hebron 'house by house' • Palestinian residents can leave through 'designated exit points' after being screened, the IDF said..."
ALJAZEERA:"Live updates
Live updates,
Live: Israel locks down West Bank as Trump says ‘may’ launch Iran strikes..."
WSJ:"Iran’s message is stark: If the U.S. and Israel restart their air campaign, Tehran will respond with strikes not only on American bases and warships but on airports, pipelines and other civilian targets in the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf.
The warnings, issued publicly and in private diplomatic communications, are clearly aimed at deterring any attack with tough talk. But they also signal a real threat. Iran retains significant missile and drone stocks and the ability to use them.
Analysts estimate Iran has hundreds to thousands of ballistic missiles, and U.S. and regional officials believe it has resumed production of ballistic missiles in limited numbers using stockpiled components and working in underground facilities..."
THEGUARDIAN:"Websites around the world have been taken offline as governments and businesses scramble to fix a flaw in the computer language PHP. There are fears that hackers could exploit the vulnerability to steal data, take control of web servers and disrupt services. Millions of attempts have already been made to attack websites since the issue with the programming language was revealed, cybersecurity companies have said. Michael Safi speaks to global technology reporter Aisha Down..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
Opinion
George F. Will
The cascading absurdities of a downward-spiraling presidency
Law-shredding, tariff-levying, money-dangling Trump tries to drum up Republican midterm votes...Ukraine’s noble resistance to Russia’s onslaught is as glorious as Britain’s lonely resolve during Hitler’s Blitz of autumn 1940. Donald Trump’s situational ethics — what is ethical depends on his situation — has produced this grim serendipity: His enlistment in Vladimir Putin’s criminality is an election-eve illustration of the cascading absurdities of his downward-spiraling presidency..."
THEGUARDIAN:"A battle for Alabama’s second congressional district is being fought against a backdrop of partisan gerrymandering and America’s ongoing civil rights struggle. Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone track down the Maga Republican Rhett Marques who is looking to unseat Democratic incumbent Shomari Figures but won’t answer questions about redistricting. Meanwhile, lower-income residents in rural parts of the district are still fighting for basic sanitation rights after Donald Trump ended federal assistance, which the administration described as 'illegal DEI'..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"A small group of U.S. national security officials has been discreetly advising state governments and congressional lawmakers on how to prepare for the possibility that the Trump administration will attempt to interfere in November’s midterm elections, according to people involved in the effort.
The group includes about 10 current and former officials with experience in the Defense Department, some of whom have previously focused on countering authoritarianism abroad.
Their efforts are motivated not by political bias, they say, but a growing sense of alarm that President Donald Trump will harm American democracy by undermining the integrity of the vote to keep the Republican Party in power..."
BBC:"Macron calls for 'calm and order' after riots across France
3 hours ago
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1:45
Watch: James Waterhouse speaks to looted shop owners on the streets of Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for "calm and order" after a major day of protests turned into rioting and looting on Saturday, and as some disorder continued in Paris on Sunday.
In a national address from the Élysée Palace, he warned those who had taken part not to "escalate", adding: "We all feel anger and shame."
Some 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets for largely peaceful protests against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools.
Macron said a distinction must be drawn between the "legitimate demands" of protesters and "those who destroyed, smashed and looted".
Police have arrested about 2,400 people, according to France's interior ministry..."
CNN:"Half a million protesters sweep France in major show of youth unrest...Clouds of tear gas fired by police filled the streets of Paris on Saturday, as anti-government protests stretched beyond the French capital.
Some 550,000 protesters hit the streets across France, including 110,000 in Paris, interior minister Laurent Nunez said. Organizers estimated even higher turnout. Protests also took place in Rennes, Lyon and Marseilles this weekend.
Photos emerged of people climbing atop historical statues and buildings set alight, with protesters in Lille and Marseilles reportedly breaking into government buildings as dusk fell..."
ALJAZEERA:"EU condemns Israeli settler attack on diplomats in occupied West Bank
EU demands accountability after settlers attack European diplomats amid violence against Palestinian olive farmers..."
THEGUARDIAN:"US ambassador to Israel calls West Bank settler attack on American photojournalist ‘terror’
Mike Huckabee calls for arrest and prosecution of those responsible as Heidi Levine, 63, recovers in hospital in Israel..."
THEGUARDIAN:"
Whether or not Netanyahu can hold on to power, Israelis are expected to vote in a more rightwing Knesset
...
Four decades ago, when the extremist rabbi Meir Kahane won a single seat in Israel’s Knesset, other legislators passed a law to prevent him running again, left the chamber when he rose to speak and worked together to block discussion of his ethnonationalist proposals.
These ranged from mass expulsions of Palestinians to apartheid provisions such as segregated beaches and the criminalisation of sex between Jews and gentiles.
This month, Kahane’s political heirs may claim more Knesset seats in national elections than the remains of the once mighty Labor party, home of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Golda Meir."...
CNN:"It’s getting ugly out there.
The worse GOP midterm prospects look, the darker the rhetoric from top Republicans becomes as they single out Democratic candidates as weird, threatening and antithetical to what it means to be and look like an American.
President Donald Trump is mocking the name of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and slandering him as a “jihadist.”
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday made a joke that implied James Talarico is gay. Trump keeps claiming the Democratic Senate nominee is a vegan who is incompatible with the carnivorous Lone Star State. Talarico is now often seen pictured with a plate of meat.
The president has also revived his searing racially derogatory rhetoric suggesting that Haitians and Africans are invading key election states like Ohio.
And after federal officials searched the home of Somali-born Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday, he underscored concerns he’s using executive power to target a political foe by questioning whether she had constitutional rights as a naturalized citizen “from one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet.”
Trump’s rhetoric is hardly a surprise, given the linguistic excesses of his presidential campaigns, yet it’s still jarring to see such overt racial language delivered from behind a presidential podium.
Some insults are delivered with a smile, which may offer Trump and Vance a modicum of political cover and the chance to argue it’s all part of the rough-and-tumble of the campaign trail in a polarized age. But that hardly makes maligning someone’s race, faith, personal appearance and manner more acceptable, nor does it absolve an intellectually low form of politics.
Why do they do it?
Trump has been accused of prejudice for years — especially over inflammatory social media posts and fake and racist conspiracies he pushed over former president Barack Obama’s birthplace. The president, in seeking to appeal to voters, has often implied some minority political rivals are incompatible with traditional American culture and values. His anti-immigrant rhetoric seems at least partially aimed at his most conservative base voters who the GOP needs to turn out in huge numbers to stave off a midterm election disaster.
The most obvious explanation for this ominous turn in the campaign,beyond Trump’s propensity for such dark arts, is that the Republicans lack a better story to tell. .."
MERCURYNEWS:"Lawsuit alleges DHS effort to collect detailed state voter data violates federal law
By ALI SWENSON
NEW YORK (AP) — A lawsuit filed Thursday challenges the Trump administration’s sprawling effort to collect and analyze Americans’ voter data, alleging the government has obtained voter files from at least 47 states and handled the data in a way that violates federal law.
The 42-page complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims the Department of Homeland Security’s secretive probe of the voter data, including a policy to combine it with commercial datasets, disregards federal safeguards and flouts the privacy rights of millions of Americans.
The case, brought by the League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the League of United Latin American Citizens, is the latest in a torrent of legal challenges that have emerged in response to President Donald Trump’s crusade against noncitizen voting, a concern he views as a serious problem but which research shows is exceedingly rare.
The Trump administration has consistently sought to exert more power over elections, even as the Constitution grants that authority to states and, in some cases, Congress. Judges have consistently upheld states’ rights to decline to hand over their lists to the federal government..."
CNN:"A federal judge on Sunday evening ordered the Trump administration to cancel any further airings of the controversial taxpayer-funded ads that promote President Donald Trump’s agenda. But the ads continued to air after the deadline.
Judge Jennifer Rochon granted a temporary restraining order requested by a coalition led by the nonprofit government watchdog group Common Cause, which had challenged the ad buys in a New York federal court.
The Justice Department told Rochon, an appointee of Joe Biden, late Saturday that the ad push was set to end Sunday night. But Rochon said that timing didn’t render the lawsuit moot and ordered the government to halt any further airings as of 6:45 p.m. ET.
Data shared by AdImpact and reviewed by CNN shows two ads — “Final Battle” and “Maduro” — aired hundreds of times after the 6:45 p.m. ET Sunday deadline. Another ad, “The Country He Loves,” aired most recently at 12:17 p.m. Monday, according to the data.
Earlier, the government said in a filing to the court that it has already spent $19 million in taxpayer money on the ads..."
BLOOMBERG:"India’s top diplomat called for a realistic approach in dealing with the US as the world’s biggest economy recalibrates its approach to the world, while also defending New Delhi’s relationship with its longtime partner Russia..."
BLOOMBERG:"...Saudi Arabia said it was dealing with new drone and cruise missile attacks on Monday, posing fresh security threats to the kingdom following the weekend’s deadly strikes on Riyadh airport..."
CNN:"New Delhi — Indian police detained the founder of a surging youth-led political movement and hundreds of other in a crackdown that stifled a major protest in the capital New Delhi.
Abhijeet Dipke was detained along with other leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party as their plane landed in New Delhi, according to the group. Footage shows Dipke shouting “go ahead and arrest us! Victory to Mother India! Long live the revolution!”
His party vowed to continue the protest but with thousands of security personnel out on the streets and central Delhi sealed numbers turning out were small.
..."CNN:"A federal judge accused the Justice Department of trying to subvert civil rights laws with a voter roll audit plan that would run “roughshod over longstanding laws that were carefully crafted to protect the rights of the American people.”
The new ruling from US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan halts the department’s sweeping project to obtain non-public data and audit nearly every state’s voter rolls, a major legal setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to insert the federal government into election administration.
...
WASHINGTONPOST:"An Arkansas campaign ad has managed to outrage right-wing pundits with a single casting choice: a White man as a welfare queen.
In a commercial touting the state’s welfare-to-work requirements, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) recently rolled out “Brad” — an out-of-work gamer eating junk food and living off the government’s dime — as the policy’s poster child. MAGA commentators revolted, accusing the governor of demonizing White men. On social media, defeated Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback chastised Sanders: “I’d recommend you start with the baby-momma with a BMW who just got back from her Carnival Cruise.” Far-right influencer and podcaster Matt Walsh wrote that the real villain is “Shaniqua,” whom he called “an accurate portrayal of the problem at hand.” The subtext is plain: The default face of welfare can only be a Black woman.
..."APNEWS:"WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for ABC on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from conducting an unusual, early review of its broadcast licenses, likening it to a looming execution by guillotine that was already chilling the network’s editorial decisions just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections.
..."
CNN:"‘I want the truth’: New York governor vows to unravel failures in Cornell sexual assault investigation .• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is “deeply disturbed” with the original investigation conducted by Cornell police following gang rape allegations at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024, vowing to unravel the investigation’s failures. “I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug,” Hochul said at a news conference.
• Attorney General Letitia James, who will be taking over as special prosecutor in the case, said there is now “an active criminal investigation.” Cornell University said it supports the governor’s decision to assign the case to the New York Attorney General’s Office.
• Hochul also said she supports closing a “loophole” in New York law that can make it nearly impossible for survivors to seek justice if they voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs before an assault.
.."
REUTERS:"Sept 28 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab boosted its share buyback authorization by a record $150 billion, eclipsing Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab $110 billion approval in 2024, making a big bet on its own stock as intensifying AI-chip competition weighs on its performance relative to peers.Shares of Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia rose more than 2%. Through Friday, the stock was up just over 20% this year, broadly in line with the Nasdaq 100 (.NDX), opens new tab but trailing AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab, which has more than doubled, and Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab, which has more than tripled.
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Nvidia releases AI safety software it says could have stopped Hugging Face hack
Technology companies are racing to build AI infrastructure, but investors are questioning whether the massive spending boom that propelled Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company can be sustained.
With strong demand for its pricey processors generating billions in cash, Nvidia is using part of the windfall to boost its remaining buyback capacity to $235 billion, which it expects to deploy through fiscal 2028..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Hegseth details new initiatives in partisan address to troops...The fiery speech, which Hegseth titled “State of the Force” and wants to make an annual occurrence, follows his unorthodox, highly partisan lecture a year ago to nearly all of the military’s senior-most leaders. Speaking this time to hundreds of mid-ranking officers and enlisted leaders, he again lambasted the Pentagon’s bureaucracy, the U.S. news media and liberal politicians while drawing a direct line between this event and the previous one.
“The previous administration forced out so-called toxic leaders in favor of promoting risk-averse, get-along to-go-along conformists,” Hegseth told the audience. “It was the true politicization of our military, stupid and dangerous.”
The Biden administration, he alleged at another point, “wanted politically correct generals,” adding that Trump administration officials “only want the top performing generals.” He specifically criticized former defense secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying that some of the diversity efforts adopted when they led the Pentagon were meant to create “politically correct quotas.”
Hegseth used profanity and recited scripture, touted his firing of scores of generals and admirals, accused journalists of “treason” for scrutinizing the Iran war and spoke harshly of service members who did not meet his notions of ideal.“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: No fatties, no t-------, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors,” Hegseth said, using a pejorative term for transgender people..."
CNN:"US officials on Wednesday exposed a major alleged Chinese cyber-espionage campaign they say has compromised or attacked numerous federal agencies including NASA, the Federal Reserve, the departments of Justice and Energy and the US Senate.
Hackers affiliated with the Chinese military and intelligence services allegedly used a Chinese tech company to try to cover their tracks, burrow into target networks and make their attacks more efficient. Other targets include US military networks, hospitals, power companies and defense contractors, according to the Justice Department..."
CNN:"Smith says his investigation proved ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that Trump engaged in ‘serious crimes’...Here's the latest
Former special counsel Jack Smith is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where GOP members of the committee have accused him of “abuse of authority” and targeting of Republicans. You can watch it in the livestream at the top of this page.
Smith, who twice indicted President Donald Trump, told senators he continues to stand by his decision to prosecute the president, saying his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation.” Smith was questioned about accessing basic phone records from lawmakers around the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, with one Republican senator, John Kennedy, telling him bluntly: “You make me want to throw up in my mouth.” Smith has confirmed that his special counsel’s office sought records of members of Congress’ call logs — a lawful effort typical of federal criminal investigations, but criticized by members..."
CNN:"In a major win for President Donald Trump’s efforts to find non-citizen voters, the Supreme Court on Friday said states can use a controversial citizenship data collection tool for reviewing voter rolls.
The court’s unsigned opinion rejected arguments that the administration broke the law by making it easier for officials to use the data system to vet voters’ citizenship status..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The Trump administration must resume processing visas for people from 75 countries that the government deemed likely to become a “public charge,” a federal judge in New York ruled Friday, curbing one of the latest efforts to restrict legal immigration pathways to the United States.
..
But U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an appointee of President Joe Biden, ruled that the policy “represents a direct abrogation” of consular officers’ exclusive, congressionally granted authority to determine if someone is eligible for a visa.
Vargas also said the nationality-based visa ban, which applied to all nationals of the 75 countries no matter their income or economic status, ignores antidiscrimination protections in federal immigration law..."
APNEWS:"HONG KONG (AP) — Two former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday for what the government-approved judges ruled was inciting others to overthrow China’s communist leadership..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump is rolling out yet another Iran war strategy in familiar fashion: with an all-caps threat.
But the world will, as usual, have to wait to see whether he folds when the political costs pile up.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"ABC on Tuesday sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), alleging that its early review of its broadcast licenses is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
The TV giant accused the FCC of waging a “retaliatory campaign” against them because the Trump administration disapproves of its programming.
..
The FCC has investigated ABC and parent company Disney, which is also a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, over its diversity practices and whether daytime talk show “The View” is mandated to follow the commission’s equal-time rule for interviewing candidates of both parties in an election.Those comments drew rebuke from Democrats, press advocates and some in the Republican Party. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called Carr’s threat “dangerous” and likened him to a film mafioso: “That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar. ‘God, nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Water systems are ripe for cyberattacks, experts warn after suspected Iranian hacks
As lawmakers call for protections after incidents in 12 states, an EPA rule that Republicans fought would “remove most of the low-hanging fruit,” a cybersecurity expert said...In late 2022, Microsoft detected the hack of a water system in Guam that U.S. intelligence agencies in the following months determined was orchestrated by China. The idea wasn’t new. The spy agencies had long watched as Iran targeted Israeli water systems..."
APNEWS:"One photo shows the human and environmental dimensions of artisanal mining in Congo"
CNN:"Industry groups ranging from construction to agriculture are raising concerns with the Trump administration over its ongoing immigration crackdown, arguing it is undercutting President Donald Trump’s agenda and weakening the economy, according to multiple groups who spoke with CNN and sources close to the White House.
Worker shortages have been a years-long problem for multiple industries, but the recent abrupt push to end deportation protections for 1.3 million people who had been legally working in the US and the aggressive immigration enforcement push nationwide are exacerbating an already challenging issue, industry representatives say.Those industry groups — which are generally supportive of other parts of Trump’s economic agenda — are taking their immigration concerns directly to the administration, including the departments of Homeland Security, Labor, and Agriculture, as well as the White House..."
NYTIMES:"...
In March, a developer working on a Meta data center in El Paso applied to power the site with a gas-burning plant large enough to supply electricity to 300,000 homes.
Typically, approving a big power plant might require public hearings and months of detailed vetting. But Texas environmental regulators signed off in just 20 days..."
NYTIMES:"News analysis
Republicans Let Trump Keep Unparalleled Benefit: I.R.S. Immunity
The rebellion against Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general, now seemingly contained, at no point fundamentally questioned President Trump’s new protections from the I.R.S..."
NYTIMES"Opinion
M. Gessen
Trump Is Trying to Force Americans to Unlearn What We Know...“We live in a country with an unpredictable past.” This was a saying among the intelligentsia in the Soviet Union when I was growing up. We never knew which part of our history would be obliterated next.
Now Americans, too, live in a country with an unpredictable past. Two months into his second term, President Trump issued an executive order titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, in which he directed officials to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian and its museums, to cut funding to “programs that degrade shared American values” and to reinstate some monuments removed following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. A very incomplete list of things that have happened since that order was issued: The National Park Service has been removing signs about slavery; the statue of a Confederate general has been reinstalled in Washington; a scathing report by the White House Domestic Policy Council accused the Smithsonian of using history “as a political instrument to divide, dispirit and discourage our citizens”; and on July 24, Trump issued a new executive order mandating that signs be installed outside the Smithsonian “warning visitors about the ideological capture at the National Museum of American History.”..."
NYTIMES:"In Death, a Tibetan Activist Finally Got the World’s Attention
No one doubted the intensity of Lobga Rangzen’s commitment to a Tibet free of Chinese control. But they were not prepared for what he did next...
It was 91 degrees in Manhattan and even hotter on the pavement, but the Tibetans gathered as planned outside the Chinese Consulate. Amid the waving flags and synchronized chants, one of the protesters, Ngawang Tashi, looked for his friend Lobga Rangzen.
..
Ngawang Tashi scanned the crowd once, then again. It was strange that Lobga Rangzen wasn’t there.
The next evening, July 2, he was at Costco when another friend called.
“Come to the United Nations right now,” the friend said. “He is in front of there and burning.”
..."
REUTERS:"LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Renewed hostilities in the Gulf have revived stagflation talk, dimming hopes the interim deal between the U.S. and Iran had come in time for the world economy to avoid elevated inflation alongside stagnant economic growth.
..
."
WSJ:"Trump’s Trade Wars Are Back—Despite the Supreme Court
The president’s proposed use of an obscure Depression-era law shows courts and Congress haven’t curbed Trump’s ambition to impose tariffs at will..."
CNN:"...In interviews with CNN, more than a dozen election officials from both parties said Trump’s address surfaced little new in terms of evidence. Several GOP officials even scoffed at his presentation, pointing to the data that the administration released to try to bolster its case that there are massive numbers of non-citizens voting in US elections..."
CNN:"One thing that seems to unite people is how isolated they feel.
As many as 1 in 5 adults in the United States reported feeling loneliness “a lot of the day” in 2024, and the country continues to experience what experts have called “a loneliness epidemic.”
..
In her latest book, “Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best,” she highlights that internal drive is not the only factor that separates successful people –– it is also the resources, environments and people they surround themselves with..."
CNN:
Stone Mountain, Georgia — Jean Shifrin was hiking up a steep mountain trail on the Fourth of July when she was startled by something approaching her from behind.
“What in the world is going on here?” she wondered as she squinted in the morning sun at what was coming.
.."
CNN:"It’s not every day that a YouTube video triggers a major wildlife discovery, yet that’s exactly what Mohammed Almuntasir unknowingly did when he hit upload in 2017.
Clocking in at just 18 seconds, the clip showed a fun-sized feline curling up under the shade of a desert shrub in the photographer’s native Libya. Almost a decade later, it was confirmed as the first documented evidence that the North African country was home to the sand cat, a wild felid that is as elusive as it is adorable..."
CNN:"The world’s busiest island holds some of the planet’s greatest ancient treasures...Yogyakarta, Indonesia — In the frenetic, action-packed metropolis of Jakarta, a democratically elected president oversees Indonesia’s government. But just a few hours east, a sultan still holds court.
Yogyakarta is a rare thing, a sultan’s kingdom inside of a country that is otherwise a republic. In the local Javanese language, the letter Y is pronounced like a hard J, with the city’s name shortened to “Jogja.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Guest Column by Rick Steves
From church domes to bell towers and fanciful rooftops to sky-piercing monuments, Europe is full of climbable structures. While most lead to impressive views, the best also offer insights into the historical, artistic and religious thinking of their times. These are some of my favorites.
Travel better with news, tips and guides that make you feel like a local wherever you go. In your inbox, Thursdays.
In Milan, a highlight is strolling the rooftop of the city’s cathedral (duomo) and the third-largest church in Europe. After taking the stairs or elevator to the top, visitors can climb up and down the roof’s multiple terraces, wandering among gargoyles, statues and frilly spires.
Each of the church’s 135 lovingly decorated spires is similar, yet different. Walking among them, it’s inspiring to think that every detail — each flower, saint’s face and so on — is an individual work of art carved out of pink marble centuries ago by artists who believed that few would ever see it. Their art was a gift for God to enjoy from the heavens.
The dome in Florence was an inspiration for the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli)..."
THEMERCURYNEWS:"By Ethan Baron | ebaron@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 30, 2026 at 4:09 PM PDT | UPDATED: June 30, 2026 at 4:36 PM PDT The world’s largest camera, built in Menlo Park and stationed on a mountaintop in Chile, on Tuesday began capturing images for a 10-year effort to turn the night sky into what scientists call “the greatest cosmic movie ever made.”
Built at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the 6,250-pound camera is now starting the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a decade-long project expected to photograph billions of galaxies, exploding stars, asteroids and other changes across the cosmos.
.."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Victoria Craw
LONDON — Millions of people are sweltering under Europe’s worst heat wave ever recorded, researchers said Friday. Because of temperature increases driven by climate change, they said, Europeans are suffering from temperatures that would have been “virtually impossible” 50 years ago.
..
The phenomenon melting long-standing temperature records is due to a heat dome parked over Europe, with clear skies and strong sunshine intensifying the effect for large swaths of the continent. Temperature records have been broken in France, the United Kingdom and Spain, with red alerts issued in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
A study published Friday by World Weather Attribution found that the heat wave is the most severe ever recorded in the region and has been driven by climate change, with rising temperatures outstripping the rate of global warming..."
WSJ:"Just how many jobs will AI upend? A new coalition of companies and policymakers said it is time to ready the U.S. workforce for major disruption, no matter the ultimate scale.
To that end, the bipartisan consortium, which includes state governments, philanthropic groups and employers ranging from Amazon.com and Microsoft to Bank of America and Eli Lilly, is coming together to develop a new “people strategy” for the artifcial-intelligence era. Called RAISE US, it launches Thursday and will be led by former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who served under former President Joe Biden, and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican.
..."
CNN:"Scientists say they have detected evidence of cosmic-scale wind coming from a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, potentially solving one of the longest-standing mysteries in astronomy.
Sagittarius A*, a gigantic black hole with the mass of about 4 million suns, has puzzled the scientific community for more than 50 years. The laws of physics dictate that, like all black holes, the object should not just consume material but also expel some in the form of wind or jets. However, Sagittarius A* has been strangely quiet. Despite decades of searching, scientists could only gather clues of wind eruptions dating back more than 20,000 years but none more recent.
..."
CNN:"In the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Greenland and Iceland, a large patch of water is doing something very strange. While the rest of the ocean heats up, it’s been getting colder. A new study says it has the answer to this mystery — and it’s an ominous sign the world is hurtling toward one of the most alarming climate tipping points.
..."
CNN:"Hebron, West Bank — Fahd Abu Haikal was driving his family through this Palestinian city last week when he suddenly spotted a group of Israeli soldiers up the road.
He began to slow down, but as he came to a stop, one of the soldiers raised his rifle and opened fire.
One bullet went through the hood of the car. But another pierced the car’s windshield, grazed the steering wheel and one of Fahd’s fingers before striking his son, Sam, in the head.
He was just 7 months old..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Anthony Faiola and Ellen Francis
ROME — The European Union is adopting strict new rules on asylum claims by tightening border controls, speeding deportations, increasing detention times and moving to deploy some of the same clenched-fist tactics as the Trump administration in deterring arrivals.
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The White House has accused the 27-nation bloc anchored by Germany, France and Italy of risking “civilization erasure” by allowing unfettered migration. The latest E.U. moves, the most restrictive yet, follow years in which European nations tightened policies in response to hardening public opinion on migration, with new deterrents helping to sharply reduce arrivals.
The new E.U. Pact on Migration and Asylum, which takes hold June 12 will impose even tougher measures — including a proposal that could set the stage for Immigration and Customs Enforcement-like raids; more returns to countries such as Taliban-led Afghanistan; and possible deportations to third nations, similar to the United States’ dispatching of migrants to El Salvador and Equatorial Guinea.
“Today, Europe is changing its approach: no longer relying on ideology-based emergency management, but rather on common rules, border control and shared responsibilities,” Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said.
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The increasingly hard-line policies — by countries once seen as a place of refuge for the persecuted and displaced and as a beacon of hope for those seeking a better life — reflect a rising public backlash at a time many Europeans feel beset by their own financial strain.
European officials say they are responding to high numbers of asylum seekers from so-called “safe countries” in South Asia and North Africa, as well as the fatigue of voters after waves of migration, including the arrival of more than 1 million refugees a decade ago, many from the Syrian civil war.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Students in both classrooms were considering historic events. In Introduction to Sociology, the discussion was about globalization. Three buildings over, a Civil Discourse class was debating 1798 America and the federal government’s battle with the states for supremacy.
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Both courses fall within the broad field of study known as the humanities. But at the University of Florida, the class on early America is part of a growing and well-funded effort to counter what the state considers “woke” liberal indoctrination, while the sociology class is considered a prime example of the problem.One of these classes is being nurtured; the other strangled.
The Civil Discourse class is offered by the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, which in just a few years has grown from an idea into a full-fledged school with nearly 50 professors, four majors, 69 classes this spring and tens of millions of dollars appropriated directly by the Florida legislature.
Not so for Introduction to Sociology. Beginning this fall, the class, which covers issues of class, inequality, race and gender, will no longer count as one of the general education courses required for graduation. Enrollment is expected to plummet.
.."
CNN:"Activists on board a humanitarian flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces on their way to Gaza say they were subjected to beatings, torture and sexual violence while in detention.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying 428 passengers along with food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies for civilians in Gaza, was intercepted over the course of several days after departing Turkey, with the final interception on Tuesday.
The group was detained before being deported to Turkey and their alleged treatment has already triggered international backlash.The Israel-based human rights organization Adalah, which represents the flotilla activists, told CNN that its lawyers documented testimonies from participants who said they were attacked with tasers and rubber bullets and had been subjected to beatings that left them with suspected broken bones. A statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla added that activists had been subjected to sexual violence, including “multiple accounts of rape,” including “forcible penetration by a handgun.”.."
WSJ:"It all happened in one day.
Three of the hottest startups in history moved closer Wednesday to becoming trillion-dollar companies. With a fresh filing, SpaceX showed the path to a landmark initial public offering likely to mint Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire. Anthropic showed potential to turn a profit far sooner than expected, and OpenAI prepared to file for its public debut as soon as Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Meanwhile, two of the world’s biggest companies faced the challenging realities of the artificial-intelligence age, with Nvidia NVDA -2.00%decrease; red down pointing triangle meeting investor apathy after posting record sales of $82 billion and Meta Platforms META -0.66%decrease; red down pointing triangle starting to lay off 8,000 employees.
Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in a memo to staff Wednesday called AI “the most consequential technology of our lifetimes.”
..."
NYTIMES:"...
Lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service sought to contest President Trump’s lawsuit against the agency, recommending several potential defenses in a case that the Justice Department nevertheless decided to resolve by creating an extraordinary $1.8 billion fund that could soon be used to pay Mr. Trump’s political allies.
I.R.S. officials prepared a 25-page memorandum outlining what they saw as flaws in Mr. Trump’s suit and advising the Justice Department to move to dismiss it, according to two people familiar with the memo. That memo was provided to Treasury officials in April, and it is unclear if they passed it along to its intended recipients at the Justice Department, according to the people, who spoke anonymously to discuss internal government deliberations.
No lawyers from the Justice Department ever appeared in court to respond to the suit or disputed any of Mr. Trump’s claims, which demanded at least $10 billion from the I.R.S. for not doing enough to prevent the leak of his tax information. The Justice Department instead made a highly unusual deal in the case. In exchange for Mr. Trump’s dropping the suit, the Trump administration created the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for people who say they were wrongly targeted by the federal government.
The existence of the internal memo, which has not been previously reported, shows that the Trump administration disregarded readily available defenses to a lawsuit filed by the president against an agency he controls...."
NYTIMES:"Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, formerly the No. 3 Democrat in the House, is certain he would never have been elected to Congress without changes in the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court determined last week amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
“And about half of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus wouldn’t be there,” said Mr. Clyburn, the first African American sent to Congress from his state since Reconstruction. He was part of the historic 1992 class of Black and Hispanic lawmakers elected after new maps were drawn to comply with 1982 changes meant to strengthen the Voting Rights Act.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
By Michael Birnbaum and Scott Clement
President Donald Trump’s war in Iran is as unpopular among Americans as the Iraq War during the year of peak violence in 2006 and the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, amid growing economic pain and fears of terrorism as a result of the military campaign.
Sixty-one percent of Americans say that using military force against Iran was a mistake, with fewer than 2 in 10 Americans believing that the U.S. actions in Iran have been successful. About 4 in 10 say it has been unsuccessful, while another 4 in 10 say it is “too soon to tell.” The polling numbers indicate a broadly unpopular war effort and growing economic fallout at a time when the White House has been trying to convince Americans that they are better off under Trump than under Democrats...But support for the war among self-identified Republicans remains high: 79 percent say it was the right decision. Independents who lean toward the Republican Party are roughly split, with 52 percent saying it was the right decision and 46 percent saying it was a mistake..."
NYTIMES:"By Natan OdenheimerDavid M. Halbfinger and Fatima AbdulKarim
Reporting from across the West Bank
May 4, 2026, 5:08 a.m. ET
When Israeli settlers attacked his West Bank village, Moatasem Odeh saw his son Amir, 28, fatally shot. Then he was stabbed repeatedly and beaten unconscious.
The attack in Qusra, on March 14, was one of many in a wave of brutal violence in the West Bank over the past two months.
Villagers might have once driven the attackers away by throwing stones, said Mr. Odeh, 46, but settlers now routinely carry guns. “We are helpless,” he said, “and they know it.”
With the world’s attention focused on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its proxies, extremist settlers acting with seeming impunity have intensified their attacks on Palestinians across the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Their campaign of violence and intimidation is emptying out entire villages and leaving countless Palestinians fearing what each nightfall might bring.In the Jordan Valley, masked men sexually assaulted Suhaib Abualkebash, 29, and brutalized his extended family, children included.
..."
WSJ:"Business stars: From top left: Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and John D. Rockefeller. Israel G. Vargas for WSJ
“USA250: The Story of the World’s Greatest Economy” is a yearlong WSJ series examining America’s first 250 years. Read more about it from Editor in Chief Emma Tucker.
Ranking presidents is a popular pastime for historians and political scientists. But, for the average American, the true success of the American experiment isn’t found in the marble halls of Washington. It is in the products, services and industries that fill—and sometimes define—our daily lives.
That is what we’ve learned from a survey of business historians and thought leaders. For three decades, we’ve asked this group to rank the greatest entrepreneurs and businesspeople in American history—much like political scientists rank presidents. Our findings suggest a profound, often overlooked, truth: Business may be more important than government in transforming the human condition.
.."
WSJ:"Mass Deportation and American Jobs
A study finds that U.S. employment falls in areas with more ICE arrests.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
May 6, 2026 5:32 pm ET
...
Restrictionists in the White House claim that deporting illegal immigrants will improve economic opportunities for U.S.-born workers. But job growth has slowed amid the Administration’s mass deportations, and a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds they are harming American workers.
...
Economists at the University of Colorado, Boulder, examined employment changes in areas most affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests—i.e., states and regions in which arrests doubled relative to their non-citizen population—in comparison to the rest of the country between January and October 2025.
First, they found a 4% decline in employment of undocumented workers, which comports with employer reports that raids have prompted immigrant workers to stop showing up. Some 28% of construction firms said in an industry survey last summer they were affected by the President’s stepped up immigration enforcement. “For every ICE arrest, 6 male likely undocumented workers stop working,” the NBER study estimates.
The researchers don’t discern whether workers are undocumented based on the data, but they classified them as such if they are foreign-born with a high school degree or less and work in industries with large numbers of undocumented immigrants. So it’s possible that employment also dropped among legal immigrants with less formal education.
Why should Americans care if fewer immigrants are working? Restrictionists argue this is desirable since there will be more jobs available for Americans. But the study finds the opposite: Employment among U.S.-born men with less formal education fell by 1.3% in areas with more ICE arrests..."
NYTIMES:"By Jasmine Sun
Ms. Sun writes about A.I. and Silicon Valley culture on Substack.
April 30, 2026
Most people I know in the A.I. industry think the median person is screwed, and they have no idea what to do about it. I live in San Francisco, among the young researchers earning million-dollar salaries and the start-up founders competing to build the next unicorn. While Silicon Valley has long warned about the risk of rogue A.I., it has recently woken up to a more mundane nightmare: one in which many ordinary people lose their economic leverage as their jobs are automated away..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
Opinion
George F. Will
...
The shrinking of America’s population — perhaps probable, certainly regrettable — is not inevitable. It is preventable, but requires an attitude adjustment among Americans who do not understand that people are resources immeasurably more valuable than rare earth minerals..."
CNN:"The Trump administration is proposing increasing the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 to 17,500 for White South Africans, according to an emergency determination sent to Congress and obtained by CNN.
Last year, the administration restricted the number of refugees allowed to enter the country annually to 7,500, with a focus on White South Africans, slashing the previous year’s ceiling of 125,000 and excluding some of the world’s most vulnerable populations..."
APNEWS:"By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Updated 2:25 PM PDT, April 24, 2026
Leer en español
Comments 155
WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending asylum access at the southern border of the U.S., a key pillar of the Republican president’s plan to crack down on migration.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that immigration laws give people the right to apply for asylum at the border, and the president can’t circumvent that.
..."
CNN:"London — The European Union has unveiled a raft of planned emergency measures to cushion its economy from soaring energy costs.
The proposals, announced Wednesday, underscore the economic damage the Iran war is inflicting on Europe, which only recently emerged from the energy crunch precipitated by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some industries are already fighting for survival.
.."
NYTIMES:"
By David Gelles
David has been writing about carbon removal technologies for the past several years.
April 16, 2026
Updated 10:33 a.m. ET
Over the last several years, Microsoft almost single-handedly established the market for carbon dioxide removal technologies, a nascent field that aims to scrub the planet-warming gas from the atmosphere to counter climate change.
But now, Microsoft is stepping back from the industry it helped create, telling some companies that it is pausing future purchases of carbon removal credits, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The news was first reported by Heatmap.
The development could be a major blow to the hundreds of start-ups developing carbon removal technologies, which have raised more than $5 billion in recent years.
Though the field is in its infancy and hundreds of companies are pursuing different strategies, proponents of the technology say that because there is so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it’s not enough to reduce emissions; excess amounts also have to be removed to stave off the worst consequences of global warming.
.."
WSJ:"Iran’s newly selected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, standing in a trench and instructing commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fire missiles at their enemies. The text suggested the mission is divinely inspired, comparing Khamenei to Imam Ali, a revered Muslim figure known for his legendary victory over Jewish tribes.
For opponents of Iran’s regime, the image is the visual representation of their worst nightmare: a militarized Iran ruled by a younger, hard-line leader where the Revolutionary Guard plays an even more dominant role.
The U.S. and Israel launched the war with the hope that killing top Iranian officials—starting with Mojtaba’s father, Ali Khamenei—would create the conditions for regime change or at least the emergence of leaders more willing to bend to America and Israel’s interests. In an address to the nation one month into the war, President Trump called the new leadership “more reasonable.”
Instead, the void is being filled by radical new leaders who have shown little interest in political compromise at home or abroad.“The war changed the regime—and not in a good way,” said Danny Citrinowicz, who formerly headed the Iran desk for Israeli military intelligence. “We created a reality that is worse than what Iranians were facing before the war.”
Iran’s hard-liners—anti-Western ideologues with no tolerance for domestic dissent—have always had a place in the country’s overlapping and competing circles of power, their influence rising under the patronage of the elder Khamenei. But they now dominate Iran’s political and military leadership, energized by a war that many of them believe presages the return of a Shiite Muslim messiah..."
WSJ::"Lifestyle
It’s Not Doomscrolling—We’re Just ‘Monitoring the Situation’
When everything from oil prices to ‘Survivor’ is worthy of a wager, everyone needs a bank of screens and a headset..y
Ashley Wong
Follow
April 13, 2026 5:30 am ET
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Supreme Court remade by Trump ushers in historic defeats for civil rights
The court is the first since at least the ’50s to reject claims in a majority of cases involving women and minorities, an analysis conducted for The Post shows.
April 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT By Justin Jouvenal
The sharply conservative Supreme Court that President Donald Trump’s three appointees remade is the first since at least the 1950s to reject civil rights claims in a majority of cases involving women and minorities, according to a detailed analysis conducted for The Washington Post.
The shift brings to an end a streak of successive courts expanding such protections that began with the dawn of the civil rights era. But the historic nature of the current court is also evident in other key areas of the law over the five terms since the third of Trump’s appointees joined the bench...."
REUTERS:"...
Dubai, April 6 (Reuters) - UAE official Anwar Gargash said any settlement of the U.S.-Iran war must guarantee access through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that a deal that fails to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East."
Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a weekend briefing that the Strait of Hormuz - the world’s most critical oil artery - cannot be weaponised, stressing that its security is not a regional bargaining chip but a global economic imperative.
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"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by any country," said Gargash, adding that freedom of navigation through the waterway "has to be part and parcel of the settlement of any conflict with clear agreement on that."
Gargash said the UAE wants the war to end, but warned against a ceasefire that leaves the root causes of instability unresolved.
“We don’t want to see more and more escalation,” he said. “But we don’t want a ceasefire that fails to address some of the main issues that will create a much more dangerous environment in the region...notably (Iran's) nuclear programme, the missiles and drones that are still raining down on us and on other countries."
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. In a post laden with expletives on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure that critics say would constitute a war crime.
The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran with missiles and airstrikes for more than five weeks to destroy what they said was an imminent threat from the country's nuclear weapon development programme, ballistic missile arsenal and support for regional proxy militias.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO UNFOLDING
Gargash said the United Arab Emirates was ready to join any U.S.-led international effort to secure shipping through the strait.
About a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies normally pass through it each day, but Iran’s actions have severely curtailed traffic, triggering a global energy crisis.
.."
THEGUARDIAN:"...The foreign policy word for favorability is soft power: how our culture and popularity, rather than our military strength, allows us to influence other nations. The US government buttresses this with foreign aid (once abundant) and US international broadcasting, such as Voice of America. But culture always outperforms government programs, Beyoncé always beats bureaucracy. It is the power of influence, not the influence of power.
American soft power often mirrors what we do with our hard power: our influence declines when we use the latter and increases when we don’t. Absent military action, Taylor Swift is more important than Tomahawk missiles. Most of the time, culture eats policy for breakfast, except in wartime – like now.
Because of Donald Trump and his war in Iran, American popularity will descend to depths it has not seen this century
I was the under secretary of state for public diplomacy in the Obama administration, which is the job of soft power czar. In some ways, I thought of myself as the chief marketing officer of “Brand USA”. The mission is to help shape and promote America’s image abroad. During the cold war, we used to send Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to eastern Europe as cultural ambassadors, to show foreign publics that we were broad-minded and freedom-loving. During that same time period, we created Voice of America and Radio Free Europe to broadcast news in places where it was repressed or distorted.
Of course, these efforts were not all innocent. Many were financed by the CIA. Sending Black American entertainers to eastern Europe was a way of counteracting Soviet claims about racial segregation and voter suppression in the American south, which of course were largely true. American influence campaigns in Guatemala, Iran and Italy, among others, were also part of the darker side of soft power.
But I believe because of Donald Trump and his war in Iran, American popularity will descend to depths it has not seen this century and may never recover to the median levels that we saw with Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Forget Barack Obama numbers – they’re out of reach. Confidence in Trump’s ability to navigate global affairs was already around 30-40% before the invasion of Iran. That will be the new ceiling. “The world is watching,” Trump said in his White House address on Wednesday. Yes, it is..."
CNN:"The global oil crisis is turning into an everything crisis Taipei, Taiwan — One month into the war in Iran, a growing shortage of crude oil is threatening to morph into something worse: a shortage of nearly everything.
The conflict in the Middle East has crimped oil and natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz, reducing global supply by about one-fifth. The disruption has not only sent fuel prices soaring, but has squeezed supplies of petrochemicals needed to make everyday items like shoes, clothing and plastic bags.
That strain is now spreading into every corner of the consumer market as prices rise for materials like plastic, rubber and polyester. The impact is so far most evident in Asia, which accounts for more than half of the world’s manufacturing and is heavily reliant on imports for oil and other commodities..."
CNN:"In southern Georgia, fast-moving flames destroyed a record number of homes; across the Plains in Nebraska, the largest fire in state history killed one person and wiped out more than 600,000 acres of cattle country; and outside Los Angeles, an unusually early blaze spurred evacuation alerts for thousands.
Wildfire season has been far from mild this spring....
"
WASHINGTONPOST:"Judge rules Trump order eliminating NPR, PBS funding is unconstitutional
Trump’s order violated the First Amendment ...A federal judge in Washington struck down part of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on Tuesday, ruling that it was unconstitutional retaliation that violated their press freedom rights under the First Amendment...“The message is clear,” U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, a Barack Obama appointee to the federal bench, wrote in an opinion. “NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the President disapproves of their ‘left-wing’ coverage of the news,” he wrote, adding that the action amounted to “viewpoint discrimination..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Religion
We came from different parties and faiths. We left as compatriots.
On America’s 250th birthday, how discussions of the Declaration of Independence and other documents are bridging religious and political divisions.
...
Column by Dana Milbank
It happened around the time President Donald Trump announced that the nation would observe its 250th birthday by, among other things, holding an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn.
“I was not a huge fan of that idea,” Michael Holzman, rabbi at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston, told me. “I was really concerned that we were going to have a year of very, very partisan events” to celebrate the semiquincentennial of the United States. His fears seemed confirmed when Trump sidelined the bipartisan, congressionally authorized America250 committee and stood up a competitor, Freedom 250.
So Holzman decided to attempt some counterprogramming. He launched Faith250, an interfaith movement of churches, synagogues and mosques across the country that would celebrate America’s birthday by gathering believers to discuss and honor the Declaration of Independence and other examples of “America’s sacred texts.”
“In a time of rising political violence and threats to the institutions of American democracy, this moment is urgent,” he wrote when he launched the group. “The moral thread holding our democracy together is wearing thin. We are losing sight of our shared values. What if, through our multi-faith networks of local congregations, we spark a movement to counter the division, contempt, and toxicity that threaten to tear the country apart, and instead make this year something unifying . . . a massive community celebration, a conversation about the values that sustain this country?”
Now there are 25 clusters coast to coast representing more than 150 congregations, each gathering in four nightly sessions to share their reverence for the words and people who made this country.
....."
CNN:"A small amount of antimatter took to the road on Tuesday, representing the first time any quantity of the world’s most expensive, volatile and rare substance has been moved. The breakthrough opens the door to new possibilities for the study of the elusive material.
Antimatter is the mirror image of regular matter — it has an opposite electric charge and reversed subatomic properties. When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other and disappear in a flash of energy. As a result, antimatter is at the core of one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: The big bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter, leading to either a universe with no matter left at all due to total annihilation, or a universe with equal amounts of both..."
NYTIMES:"Did Scientists Just Detect an Exploding Black Hole?
An underwater observatory recently detected a startlingly energetic cosmic neutrino. One possible cause involves a phenomenon that so far exists only in theory...On Feb. 13, 2023, a cosmic bullet of sorts zipped beneath the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily. It was a subatomic particle known as a neutrino, traveling through the depths at virtually the speed of light and carrying a whopping 220 petavolts of energy. Its presence was detected by a new underwater observatory known as the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope, or KM3NeT.
As a study in the journal Nature noted last year, the neutrino was more than 100,000 times as energetic as any particle ever produced in colliders on Earth, and more energetic than astrophysicists can easily explain based on the part of the sky the neutrinos came from. But astrophysicists are trying, and some have proposed a truly ambitious explanation: This cosmic bullet came from an exploding black hole, an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravity.
In 1974, the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking calculated that black holes leak and eventually explode, releasing energy that had been entombed for centuries in a sort of mini-replica of the Big Bang. But no one has ever seen it happen.
Hawking also suggested that a variety of smaller black holes could have formed during the actual Big Bang. Scattered throughout space, such black holes might constitute some or all of the mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the material universe, some astronomers say.
.."
CNN:"
Along the rain-battered coast of British Columbia, spirit bears roam.
There are thought to be no more than 100 of these majestic creatures, also called the Kermode bear, a subspecies of black bears with ghostly white coats. They wander the Great Bear Rainforest, a 250-mile tract of western Canada larger than Sri Lanka, feasting on salmon from the chilly North Pacific and living out of the public eye.
The spirit bear and its neighbors, a collection of First Nations communities including the Kitasoo Xai’xais, Gitga’at, Heiltsuk, Metlakatla, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv, are culturally and practically entwined....
"
WSJ:"...
Israel has systematically gone after Iran’s leadership and rank-and-file to disrupt the regime’s command and control.
Israel says it has dropped 10,000 munitions on thousands of targets, including more than 2,200 related to Iran’s internal security forces.
Agents with Israel’s foreign-intelligence service, the Mossad, are calling Iranian regime members and threatening them.
An artificial-intelligence tool created this summary, which was based on the text of the article and checked by an editor. Read more about how we use artificial intelligence in our journalism.--.Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, strolled confidently in dark sunglasses and a black coat Friday through a rally of regime loyalists in central Tehran. It was his first public appearance in a war in which he was a known target. “Brave people. Brave officials. Brave leaders. This combination cannot be defeated,” he wrote later on X.
Four days later, he was dead. Early Tuesday morning, Israel’s intelligence services found Larijani gathered with other officials at a hideout on the outskirts of Tehran and killed him with a missile strike.
That same night, Israel got a tip from ordinary Iranians that the leader of the feared Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, was holing up with his deputies in a tent in a wooded area in Tehran. It was the sort of payoff Israel had been hoping for after blowing up Basij headquarters and command posts for more than two weeks, forcing its members to gather out in the open. Soleimani, too, was struck and killed.
Israeli and American leaders said at the outset that the war with Iran would create the conditions for Iranians to topple their regime. The killings early Tuesday were milestones in that campaign made possible by the fast-accumulating damage from airstrikes and a growing harvest of intelligence about possible targets.
With thousands of regime members killed—from top leaders to street-level grunts—Iranians are reporting that a sense of disorder is starting to take hold. Security forces are under stress and on the run as they threaten protesters to stay off the streets and direct strikes at the U.S., Israel and Arab neighbors across the Persian Gulf..."
WSJ:"Iran’s rulers have unleashed a new crackdown against domestic dissent, arresting people suspected of collaborating with foreign entities and threatening would-be protesters with death to hold back the risk of an uprising.
Iranian security forces have been battered by U.S. and Israeli attacks. Bombing raids have shattered the headquarters and command posts of Iran’s police, the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the plainclothes Basij militia.
But Iranians say security forces are using fear to keep a tight grip on the streets. Armed men ride around on motorcycles brandishing their weapons to intimidate people, residents say, particularly at night, when city dwellers rarely leave their homes..."
WSJ:"President Trump’s decision to attack Iran came after briefings about one of the war’s biggest risks: that Tehran could shut the Strait of Hormuz and shake the global economy.
The rapidly expanding war has exposed how the White House was counting on the quick collapse of the Iranian regime, how the planning was confined to a small circle of advisers and how confident Trump was that U.S. military force could contain the fallout. Some takeaways:
Trump was warned Iran could shut the world’s most important oil chokepoint—and went ahead anyway.
Before the U.S. and Israel launched the military assault against Iran on Feb. 28, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Trump in multiple briefings that an American attack could prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries 20% of the world’s oil exports from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe.
While he acknowledged that it was a possibility, Trump decided to move ahead with the operation. He believed that Tehran would likely capitulate before it could close the strait or cause significant economic damage. And if it came to it, he told his team, the U.S. military would be able to handle it. On Friday evening, Trump said the U.S. bombed military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, a critical hub for the country’s crude oil exports, to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait.
The president was driven by his confidence in the power of the U.S. military.
Behind Trump’s rationale for war was a deep confidence in the capabilities of the U.S. military to deliver a swift, decisive victory, according to administration officials and others familiar with the matter.
The president often brags about the military and its lethality. And he is especially fond of Caine, whom he often refers to by his nickname, Razin Caine. Despite setbacks, Trump has publicly maintained confidence that the military can execute its mission.
But costs continue to mount. At least 13 American servicemembers have been killed, making the war in Iran the deadliest military operation of Trump’s two terms, and more than 1,300 Iranians have been killed, according to the country’s envoy to the United Nations. Trump and some advisers were also surprised by the breadth of Iran’s retaliation, according to people familiar with the matter, including the wave of missiles and drones launched across the region, from Azerbaijan to Oman.
Trump’s decision was shaped by the success of previous military operations in Iran and Venezuela.
Trump’s decision last summer to launch a mission to strike three Iranian nuclear sites, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, convinced him that he could bomb Iran, absorb a brief backlash and then personally dictate the off-ramp, U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter said.
The mission to depose Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January reinforced in Trump’s mind that swift regime change could be managed with a well-executed military operation and by backing a more accommodating successor, without triggering wider instability.
But that didn’t happen this time. . .."
WSJ:"
Arab diplomats trying to find a diplomatic path out of the war now being waged by the U.S. and Israel against Iran say Tehran, emboldened by its ability to rattle the global economy by choking oil shipments, has laid out steep preconditions for any return to talks.
Iran is demanding that the airstrikes stop before it entertains cease-fire discussions and wants firm guarantees that it won’t be attacked again if it agrees to stop the fight, Arab diplomats said. It also wants reparations for damages and is hoping to get U.S. forces to disengage from the region.
The demands are part of a broader public expression of confidence—whether real or feigned—in recent days.
After nearly two weeks of intense American and Israeli airstrikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, sank much of the Iranian navy and hit its missile sites, Iran’s leadership appears to be firmly in control and capable of landing blows against its neighbors.
Its military continues to score hits on targets around the region, including a number of tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of world oil shipments. The attacks are aimed at driving oil prices higher and have succeeded in spiking benchmark prices above $100 a barrel for a period.
.."
WSJ:"President Trump’s suggestions that the war with Iran might soon be over are bringing a new problem to the fore: Israel and the U.S. have different ideas on when to end the conflict and under what conditions.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken nearly every day since the war began, sometimes more than once a day. Netanyahu has also held conversations with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and envoy for Iran. All those talks center on the current state of the war and how to end it, the U.S. officials said, as both countries try to bridge their differences in real time.
There is some concern among White House officials that Israel wants the war to last after the U.S. expresses its desire to end the bombing campaign, the officials said. U.S. and Israeli officials say the Israeli message is it will stop its campaign in Iran whenever U.S. involvement stops. Trump has told aides he wants to end the war on his terms and, after brokering a cease-fire in last year’s 12-day war, believes he can put a stop to the fighting when he wants, U.S. officials said.
“The end of America’s involvement in this conflict will ultimately be determined by the commander in chief, when he feels the military objectives are fully met, and the threat of the rogue Iranian regime has been completely demolished,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said..."
REUTERS:"PARIS, March 11 (Reuters) - A senior official from a Paris-based Iranian opposition group said on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would not topple the clerical leadership, arguing that only a popular uprising backed by internal resistance could do so..."
REUTERS:"March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is rattling businesses worldwide, driving up energy prices, squeezing supplies of critical raw materials and raising questions about the reliability of trade routes critical to the flow of goods from food to car parts.
Below are the main disruptions so far:
...
TRAVEL CHAOS
The war has closed much of the region's airspace and crippled Dubai and Doha airports, two of the world's busiest transit hubs, stranded tens of thousands of passengers and forced airlines to cancel about 40,000 flights--the travel industry's biggest disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Governments are scrambling to repatriate citizens, and airports are gradually resuming operations, but at only a fraction of normal capacity.
Private jets have emerged as an alternative for marooned travellers to get out of the Gulf whilst others have embarked on long taxi drives across the desert to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the hope of flying home from there.
Shipments ranging from fresh produce to airplane parts are in limbo as Middle East conflict squeezes cargo capacity and pushes up freight rates.
AIRLINES
The shutdown of Gulf airspace rippled quickly across airline networks and battered the industry's shares.
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Prices of flights between Asia and Europe have soared, some airlines including Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), opens new tab and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab have changed routes, and Ryanair (RYA.I), opens new tab has seen a jump in demand for short-haul flights as Europeans stay closer to home for Easter.
Some prices of jet fuel, the second-largest expense for carriers after labour, have doubled since the start of the conflict, adding pressure on carriers.
U.S. airlines, which abandoned the practice of hedging against fuel costs, could be the hardest hit if the war is prolonged. European and Asian airlines maintain active fuel hedging strategies.
For pilots, the Iran war is making the skies even more perilous, ratcheting up pressure on those flying through them due to events from drone incursions to flight paths squeezed by conflict.
IMPACT ON DUBAI
The conflict has put at risk the Middle East's carefully constructed image as a safe and high-end vacation hot spot after billions of investment in recent years from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Tourism is worth some $367 billion annually to the region.
..."
BARRONS:"UPDATES with Mexico, Israel, US, Tunisia
Lion-emblazoned flags of pre-revolution Iran fluttered in cities across the world on Saturday as demonstrators took to the streets a week after the start of the war in the Middle East.
Europe, Africa and the Americas saw demonstrations, with some protesting against Iran's Islamic regime, others railing against the war, and some in support of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first US-Israeli strikes of the conflict.
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Paris saw two demonstrations: one supporting the US-based Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah, to head up a transition, and another denouncing that scenario.
"I support Pahlavi who is calling for a revolution," Masoud Ghanaatian, 35, a student, told AFP at a protest in southern Paris, where participants carried photos of the late shah's son and waved US, Israeli and pre-revolution Iran flags.
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"He's a democrat. He can oversee a transition and promises to organise elections."
Hundreds of pro-Pahlavi demonstrations also gathered in Stockholm, holding up pictures of him and his late father.
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But farther north, protesters wearing yellow vests reading "Free Iran" showed off stickers on their hands that read "No Shah, no Mullah"...
"
WASHINGTONPOST:"Exclusive
Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos"
WSJ:"New Zealand is known for majestic landscapes, epic filmmaking and once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Now, the country is embarking on a more off-brand project: bolstering its tiny military, as China sends forces deeper into the Pacific...."
BLOOMBERG:"By Dan Williams, Christine Burke, and Kateryna Kadabashy
March 4, 2026 at 10:58 PM PST
Updated on March 5, 2026 at 7:12 AM PST
...
The US-Israeli war on Iran waged for a sixth day with little sign of easing, as the Islamic Republic vowed to intensify its retaliation and oil extended gains.
Arab states across the Middle East — as well as Israel — reported interceptions of Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday, with Qatar telling residents to remain indoors due to the high level of threat.
Tehran said it launched drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Kuwait, and struck an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, underlining the risk to shipping in the energy-rich region.
Israel said it carried out a twelfth wave of airstrikes on the Iranian capital, hitting military and intelligence assets, following attacks on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least 1,230 people have died in Iran so far, and dozens elsewhere in the region.
US and Israel Strike Iran, and Tehran Retaliates Across the Region
Sources: Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project as of March 3 evening ET
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said retaliatory attacks will intensify in coming days, according to the Nour news agency. US President Donald Trump was similarly defiant on Wednesday, saying the US is “doing very well on the war front.” The White House said it was close to “complete and total control of Iranian airspace.”..."
APNEWS:"Video
Thousands of Iranian government supporters mourning Khamenei chant ‘Death to America’
Thousands of Iranian government supporters filled the main square in the central city of Yazd in mourning on Sunday, led by Shiite clerics, after US and Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Published 4:38 AM PST, March 1, 2026"
REUTERS:DUBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Thunderous blasts and towering fireballs from Iranian missiles streaking across Gulf states vindicated their leaders' long-held fears that Tehran can bring war to their doorstep, likely to harden Arab rulers' support for U.S.–Israeli strikes.
Even in the Palm, Dubai's swankiest resort, explosions rattled buildings and hit a luxury hotel, sending panicked residents running for cover as missiles and interceptors tore across the sky. It was a stark sign that the conflict had spilled beyond Iran’s borders - just as Tehran had warned it would.
"What has now been proven is that we - not the United States - are in the line of fire," said Dr Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center. "When Iran struck, it struck the Gulf first under the pretext of targeting U.S. bases."
Analysts say Iran's strikes on Gulf countries are meant to demonstrate that no U.S. ally in the region is beyond reach, and to raise the cost of backing Washington’s campaign..."
THEGUARDIAN:"
Trump rebukes Starmer again for not letting US attack Iran from UK bases
US president criticises prime minister for third time 24 hours, describing him as ‘not Churchill’ over initial refusal
...
Donald Trump has launched a deeply personal attack on Keir Starmer over his refusal to let the US launch initial strikes on Iran from British bases, telling reporters: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
In his latest extraordinary salvo, the US president said he was not happy with the UK even though the prime minister eventually agreed the US could use Diego Garcia for strikes on Iranian missile facilities.
It was the third time in 24 hours that Trump had criticised Starmer for the UK’s refusal to aid the initial strikes, underlining his frustration at western allies for not unequivocally backing the action..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"As President Donald Trump directs military strikes on Iran, he’s also fighting online attacks at home from some of the loudest voices in his MAGA political movement.
“This is Israel’s war. This is not the United States’ war,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Tuesday on his weekly political podcast.
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“No one should have to die for a foreign country,” Megyn Kelly, another former Fox News host with a massive online following, said on her podcast Monday.
Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh beseeched fellow conservatives on Monday to stop supporting Trump’s military campaign. “I can’t take the gaslighting, guys. I really can’t,” he wrote on X.
MAGA critics of Trump’s new military conflict say they’re struggling to reconcile it with his “America First” principles and long record of criticizing costly and protracted American military interventions. The president has said operations against Iran could go on for four to five weeks, or longer.
“I think to them it feels legitimately like a betrayal on a fundamental tenet of Trumpism,” said Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management..."
WSJ:"PARIS—President Trump’s diplomats are increasingly willing to chastise Europeans in public. The response from authorities here has been sharp: Mind your own business.
In recent weeks, Trump administration envoys have waded into some of Europe’s most sensitive political debates, demanding action to counter far-left violence, migration and antisemitism.
In the latest flare-up, the X account of the U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, posted that the killing of a far-right activist this month in Lyon showed how the far-left was a threat to public order. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot summoned Kushner to a meeting in protest.
In a breach of diplomatic protocol, Kushner didn’t show up.
“We do not accept that foreign countries and foreign authorities should invite themselves into our national political debate,” Barrot said this week.
Trump’s envoys have cast aside decades of tradition that call for diplomats to avoid meddling—at least publicly—in the politics of their host country. As the guarantors of European security, U.S. officials have long prodded European politicians on various issues—but usually behind closed doors and rarely with the bluntness of Trump’s diplomats..."
WSJ:"WASHINGTON—President Trump told a national audience on Tuesday that he had unleashed a new age of economic prosperity. One thing he didn’t say: I feel your pain.
At the core of Trump’s State of the Union address was a calculation that he can persuade Americans that the economy is in better shape than many think it is. In touting “a turnaround for the ages,” the president opted against sending a message to voters that he understands the anxiety that polling shows is widely felt, including among swing voters the GOP needs to preserve its congressional majorities in this fall’s midterm elections..."
WSJ:"
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WSJ Opinion: Scott Lincicome on Where the Trump Tariff Wars Are Going Next
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Now that the Supreme Court has struck down Trump's "emergency" tariffs, will the government refund the billions of dollars it unlawfully collected? And as Trump turns to other tariff authorities, how much will he be limited by those laws?
Well, that will show the Supreme Court—or something. President Trump is reacting to his Friday tariff defeat not by calming the trade waters but by roiling them further. He is aiming in fury at the Supreme Court, but he will end up hitting the economy and Republicans in Congress.
The smart play after his legal defeat would be to take an off-ramp and forgo or pause new tariffs. Instead the White House this weekend dusted off Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 as a work-around. That provision lets a President impose tariffs of up to 15% across the board for up to 150 days “to deal with large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits.”
What a relic, which wasn’t intended to manage a trade deficit per se. Instead it’s a holdover from a bygone era of the gold standard, fixed exchange rates and periodic panics about global liquidity.
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The balance of payments is much broader than the balance in the trade of goods or services. It encompasses an economy’s total international position, including trade and capital flows. These days the U.S. balance of payments deficit is effectively zero because trade and capital flows exactly offset each other. The balance of payments is such a nonissue that the feds stopped publishing several data series about it in the 1970s.
..."
NYTIMES:"President Trump, promoting a secure border and defending his administration’s hard-line immigration agenda, told the families of people killed by undocumented immigrants that their loved ones would still be alive if the 2020 election hadn’t been “rigged.”
Mr. Trump has been ramping up a series of unfounded attacks on the security of U.S. elections, and he has frequently repeated the lie that he won the election in 2020. His latest comments, delivered at the White House in front of grieving families on Monday, was the first time he linked his theory to the fates of people who had been murdered.
“If that election wasn’t rigged,” Mr. Trump told the families, “every single one of the people in this room right now would not be here.”
Minutes later, a woman named Marie Vega shared her story of loss. Her son, Javier Vega Jr., was shot and killed by two undocumented immigrants during a robbery attempt in 2014, two years before Mr. Trump was first elected.
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Ms. Vega also reaffirmed the president’s claim that he had been cheated: “By the way, you won that election as well,” she said, turning to Mr. Trump. “And we know it.”
The event on Monday, in which Mr. Trump gathered several families at the White House to sign a proclamation honoring people who had been killed by undocumented immigrants, showed how closely people the president has called angel families have become intertwined with his political identity.
For over a decade, those families have provided powerful political cover for some of Mr. Trump’s most aggressive policies, which are predicated on the idea that undocumented immigrants are responsible for violence. Mr. Trump and his supporters often point to high-profile crimes as evidence, but data shows that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people who are born in the United States.
As Americans remain torn over the administration’s aggressive and sometimes violent methods of immigration enforcement, these families are continuing to back up Mr. Trump. On Monday, they stepped up to the microphone to praise the president, elevate his unfounded claims or serve as character witnesses.
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NYTIMES:"Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday denounced personal attacks aimed at judges and justices, calling them “dangerous.”
“It’s got to stop,” he said.
The comments, part of a wide-ranging conversation with the chief justice at Rice University, were his first public remarks since President Trump castigated the six Supreme Court justices who ruled against his sweeping tariffs last month as “fools and lap dogs.”..."
CNN:"Back-flipping, nunchuck-weilding humanoid robots delighted and amazed viewers at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza with their kung-fu choreography. But they – and their rivals who took to the stage Monday night – also carried a message about just how rapidly Chinese androids are advancing.
The fluid movements, agility and fault recovery of Chinese firm Unitree Robotics’ bots, which kicked and flipped on-stage alongside young, human martial artists during the broadcast, were leaps ahead of the staid handkerchief-twirling and shuffling footwork of the Unitree models that performed last year to much fanfare.
And it wasn’t just Unitree. Across state broadcaster CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala this year, China’s growing tech capabilities – and the fierce competition within its high-tech sector – were on full display.
It’s a theme that’s not new at the gala, China’s largest televised event, which equates roughly to the Super Bowl in its TV programming heft. But it underscores China’s growing drive to transform itself into a tech powerhouse amid a wide-ranging rivalry with the US.Several major robotics firms took coveted slots in the roughly four-hour-long gala.
..."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON/GENEVA/DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Even for a U.S. president long fixated on deal-making, Donald Trump’s assignment of his favorite envoys to juggle two sets of negotiations – the Iranian nuclear standoff and Russia’s war in Ukraine - in a single day in Geneva has left many in the foreign policy world scratching their heads.
The shuttle diplomacy on Tuesday by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has raised questions not only about whether they are overstretched and outmatched, but about their serious prospects for resolving either of the twin crises, experts say..."
NYTIMES:"By Erika SolomonLeily Nikounazar and Sanjana VargheseProduced by Jon Hazell
Feb. 17, 2026
Updated 1:57 p.m. ET
With patriotic anthems and chants against the country’s clerical rulers, Iranians on Tuesday began commemorating the end of a traditional 40-day mourning period for loved ones killed at the peak of the government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The authorities have moved quickly to tamp down protests or other demonstrations of anti-government sentiment to mark the occasion, with videos verified by The New York Times showing security patrols in at least two cities.
Tuesday is the first of what are expected to be several days of memorial ceremonies across the country to honor the 40th day since thousands of protesters were killed from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10. The commemorations will test both of the success of the crackdown and the ability of government opponents to find new ways to defy the state..."
WSJ:"WASHINGTON—Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt was about to start a news conference at the capitol building in Oklahoma City last week when his phone rang.
President Trump was on the line—and he wasn’t happy.
Trump expressed frustration that Stitt, the Republican chairman of the National Governors Association, was defending a pair of Democratic governors whom the president wanted to bar from a coming event at the White House. “This is the White House,” Trump told the governor, according to people familiar with the exchange. “I can invite whomever I want.”
Trump’s tense exchange with Stitt, which was followed by critical social-media posts about the governor, is emblematic of the tightrope Stitt has been walking as the head of the bipartisan organization of governors. Stitt has gently pushed back on some of Trump’s actions, raising concerns that the president’s muscular use of federal power is stepping on states’ rights. But he is also trying to avoid making an enemy of the president, who maintains a tight grip on the Republican Party.The tensions will be on display later this week when governors visit the White House for a Friday morning meeting, which Stitt helped organize, and a dinner with the president. Trump excluded Democratic Govs. Jared Polis of Colorado and Wes Moore of Maryland from the events, setting off days of hand-wringing within the National Governors Association over how to respond.
Trump’s criticism of Stitt marked the latest conflagration between the president and a member of his own party, including those elected in ruby-red states such as Oklahoma, where Trump has dominated politics. .."
NYTIMES:"The U.S. economy is growing, but not evenly.
What began as an uneven rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has hardened into what many economists describe as a “K-shaped” economy, in which higher-income households pull ahead while lower-income households fall further behind. High interest rates, rising costs and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence could deepen those divides, economists warn.
“We are returning to a typical pattern of extremely high income inequality, and it now stands at a 60-year peak,” Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist at U.S. Bank, wrote in a recent report. “The worry is not just where we stand now, but also whether ongoing developments will worsen the situation.”
The net worth of the top 1 percent of households climbed to a record share of nearly 32 percent of the national total in the third quarter of 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve, which started tracking household wealth in 1989. Spending patterns have also split: Households earning under $75,000 a year are spending less on discretionary categories like travel and experiences than they did in 2019, while those making more than $150,000 are spending more, according to Bank of America Institute.
Retail sales softened in December, data released on Tuesday showed, weighed down by a slight drop in purchases of vehicles and food.
More executives are acknowledging the divide and its effects on their business.
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"
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON/FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday embraced potential regime change in Iran and declared that "tremendous power" will soon be in the Middle East, as the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier to the region.
Trump's military moves and tough talk comes even as Washington and Tehran seek to revive diplomacy over Tehran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
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A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Tuesday in Geneva, with representatives from Oman acting as mediators. The source said Witkoff and Kushner will also meet officials from Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday in Geneva in the U.S. drive to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
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"
REUTERS:"BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Monday the European Union was at a turning point in which countries should not hide behind national interests but accelerate progress to strengthen EU influence and sovereignty.
"We want to cut through knots, we want to find solutions always with the goal of strengthening Europe's sovereignty and making Europe strong," Klingbeil said in Brussels. "This is a very European moment."..."
APNEWS:"CHICAGO (AP) — Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino praised a federal agent who shot a Chicago woman during an immigration crackdown last year, according to evidence released Wednesday by attorneys who accused the Trump administration of mishandling the investigation and spreading lies about the shooting.
Marimar Martinez, a teaching assistant and U.S. citizen, was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October while in her vehicle. She was charged with a felony after Homeland Security officials accused her of trying to ram agents with her vehicle. But the case was dismissed after videos emerged showing an agent steering his vehicle into Martinez’s vehicle.
Her attorneys pushed to make evidence in the now-dissolved criminal case public, saying they were especially motivated after a federal agent fatally shot Minneapolis woman Renee Good under similar circumstances..."
NYTIMES:"In an extraordinary court filing, the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota acknowledged on Thursday that officials had provided incorrect information about a shooting by an immigration agent last month.
The prosecutor, Daniel N. Rosen, asked a judge to dismiss charges against a man who was wounded in that shooting, as well as another man who had been accused of attacking the agent. Mr. Rosen wrote that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” that federal officials made in a charging document and in courtroom testimony.
“Accordingly, dismissal with prejudice will serve the interests of justice,” wrote Mr. Rosen, who was nominated by President Trump to be U.S. attorney in Minnesota..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Jacob Bogage, Jeff Stein and Perry Stein
The Internal Revenue Service improperly shared confidential tax information of thousands of individuals with immigration enforcement officials, according to three people familiar with the situation, appearing to breach a legal fire wall intended to protect taxpayer data.
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The erroneous disclosure was only recently discovered, the people said. The IRS is working with officials from the Treasury Department, Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security on the administration’s response.
Federal law mandates strict protections of the identities of taxpayers, including the sharing of data within the federal government. Undocumented immigrants have for years paid taxes with assurances from the federal government that doing so would not result in them being targeted by immigration enforcement..."
NYTIMES:"Trump Says He Will Now Invite Democrats to Governors’ Meeting
Even as he reversed course on excluding Democrats, the president repeatedly attacked a Republican governor who had planned to oversee the meeting.Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma told Democratic governors on Wednesday that President Trump had reversed course and would now invite them to an annual gathering of the nation’s governors at the White House, after the president had previously moved to exclude Democrats from the meeting..."
REUTERS:"Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is set this week to overturn an Obama-era scientific finding that serves as the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday.
Repealing the so-called endangerment finding, a scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, would remove the legal foundation for broader greenhouse gas regulation and would mark the Trump administration's most wide-reaching climate policy rollback..."
NYTIMES:"The Trump administration plans to rescind $600 million in public health funds from four states led by Democrats because it finds the grants “inconsistent with agency priorities,” according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The programs slated to be cut are in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. They include grants to state and local public health departments as well as to some nongovernmental organizations. A list of the cuts was shared with relevant congressional committees on Monday..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The wife of an Irish man who has been held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for five months - despite having a valid work permit – is pleading for help in instigating his release from the “dire conditions” he is facing in detention.
“I just want him home where he belongs. I want us to be able to finish what we started,” Tiffany Smyth, wife of Seamus Culleton, said during a Wednesday press conference.
“Seamus is a good man. He doesn’t deserve what is going on, and it’s heartbreaking. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how I’ve gone on these last five months to be honest, it’s just been awful, and I don’t wish this upon anybody.”
Smyth added that she is a US citizen and has lived her whole life in the Boston area..."
CNN:"Mass layoffs outlined last month by the likes of Amazon and UPS made for the worst January for job cut announcements since the Great Recession, new data showed Thursday.
US-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, a threefold increase from layoff announcements in December and more than double what was tallied in January a year earlier, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ latest monthly report..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Electricians are getting harder to find, and some construction projects are on hold. Smartphones are expected to get pricier for potentially years to come. And promising innovations are being starved of investment funding.
Those are just some of the domino effects from the technology industry’s insatiable spending on artificial intelligence, which is diverting resources and attention from other sectors of the economy..."
NYTIMES:"Current economic conditions and Trump administration policies could lead to “a widespread collapse of American agriculture,” a bipartisan coalition of former Agriculture Department officials and leaders of farm groups warned in a letter on Tuesday.
The letter to the heads and ranking members of the House and Senate agricultural committees was signed by 27 influential figures in the farming sector, including former heads of powerful associations representing corn and soybean farmers and officials from the Bush and Reagan administrations. It expressed dismay at the “damage done to American farmers.”
While there are many reasons for increasing farm bankruptcies and decreasing profits, “it is clear that the current administration’s actions, along with congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing,” the letter warned.
..."
WSJ:"Real Estate
The Housing Market Is Swinging Toward Buyers
Nearly two-thirds of home buyers last year purchased at discount to original listing price, highest proportion since 2019 Many home shoppers have given up on the depressed housing market, where sales are stuck at a 30-year low. But those buying are enjoying discounts at the highest rate in years.
...
THEGUARDIAN:"ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
‘A profound sense of being hunted’: with all eyes on Minneapolis, ICE arrests continue quietly across the US
Immigration operations are still stoking fear and disrupting the ability to go to work, school or doctor’s appointments With the public’s outrage and attention focused on the deadly surge of federal agents in Minneapolis, immigration operations have quietly continued across the US – albeit in less noticeable but still troubling ways, advocates say.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is weighing whether to overturn a lower-court order in Maryland that bars immigration officials from arresting certain people during green card interviews with their U.S. citizen spouse, a tactic being employed by the Trump administration elsewhere in the country...Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland say that the administration’s effort amounts to a “bait and switch,” in that, under its current policy, people with final orders of removal are invited with their U.S. citizen spouse to show up for a green card interview to begin a first step toward gaining legal permanent status. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers then arrested some while they were in the offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the interview..."
CNN:"...
President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
“Unreliable,” “untethered to the facts” and “simply not credible.”
As the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown moved from Los Angeles to Portland to Chicago last year, that is how federal judges described claims made by the government in court.
Now, as the administration battles fresh lawsuits over its immigration operations in Minnesota and Illinois, it faces accusations of aggressive tactics, unlawful treatment of protesters and retaliatory detentions – all of which it has defended itself against before.
In Chicago, the government will again face US District Court Judge Sara Ellis, who has already accused one of its top immigration officials of lying under oath. And in Minnesota, where lawsuits have been filed by protesters, residents and state officials, another judge said federal attorneys have yet to turn over “meaningful” evidence to support some of their claims..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Ellen Nakashima, Warren P. Strobel, Ben Brasch, Jeremy Roebuck and Emily Davies
At a televised Cabinet meeting last August, President Donald Trump turned to his top intelligence official, noting that she had evidence of “how corrupt the 2020 election was,” and asked when she’d produce it.
“I will be the first to brief you once we have that information collected,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard replied.
Gabbard, who coordinates the nation’s 18 spy agencies, has put “election integrity” and holding former government officials accountable for alleged election interference among her priorities.
Trump has long maintained that the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was rigged. U.S. national security officials at the time said they found no evidence of widespread fraud and numerous courts rejected claims of election irregularities as unfounded.
..."
THEGUARDIAN:"Defence companies, their hiring processes and their employees have become a key target of state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaigns, according to a report from Google released before the Munich Security Conference.
The report catalogues a “relentless barrage of cyber operations”, most by state-sponsored groups, against EU and US industrial supply chains. It suggests the range of targets for these hackers has grown to encompass the broader industrial base of the US and Europe –from German aerospace firms to UK carmakers.
State-linked hackers have long targeted the global defence industry, but Luke McNamara, an analyst for Google’s threat intelligence group, said they had seen more “personalised” and “direct to individual” targeting of employees.
“It’s harder to detect these threats when it’s happening on an employee’s personal system, right? It’s outside a corporate network,” he said. “The whole personnel piece has become one of the major themes.”
.."
CNN:"The Trump administration has ordered a review of federal funding sent to more than a dozen Democratic-led states, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The sweeping scale of the review is outlined in a budget data request that was sent Tuesday to all federal departments and agencies except for the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Office of Management and Budget memo, which was reviewed by CNN, requests detailed spending information to “facilitate efforts to reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” Notably, the effort “does not involve withholding funds,” the memo says and is “part of a “data-gathering exercise.”
The request signals a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive strategy to target federal funding in blue states – an unprecedented policy approach triggered during last year’s government shutdown that has rapidly accelerated in the wake of sweeping fraud allegations in Minnesota..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Amanda Coletta, Simon Elegant and Huiyee Chiew
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” and tariff deals with China on Friday after a four-day visit that analysts said was an effort reset a deeply troubled relationship amid Canada’s efforts to diversify trade away from the United States.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
Carney announced the easing of some of the tariffs the two countries had imposed on each other, with Canada agreeing to allow in 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a much-reduced tariff of 6.1 percent, while China will cut canola seed tariffs to about 15 percent..."
REUTERS:"DUBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed President Donald Trump for weeks of demonstrations that rights groups said have led to more than 3,000 deaths.
"We consider the U.S. president criminal for the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation," Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media.
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The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene, including by threatening "very strong action" if Iran executed protesters.
But on Friday, in a social media post, he thanked Tehran's leaders, saying they had called off mass hangings. Iran said there was "no plan to hang people".
In comments that appeared to respond to Trump, Khamenei said: "We will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished," state media reported..."
THEGUARDIAN:"n Thursday 8 January, Iran went dark. In the midst of massive national protests, the government shut down the internet, phone calls, and almost all communication out of the country. That evening a violent crackdown began. In some cities, government forces opened fire on crowds, killing thousands – according to some estimates, possibly tens of thousands – in two days of bloodshed. The internet blackout has meant that a clearer picture of what happened – drawn from witness reports, videos, photographs and testimony from hospitals – has taken time to assemble.
When the violence began, there were demonstrations taking place in more than 200 cities, according to human rights groups. This is the story of what unfolded in one of them..."
LIVESCIENCE:"Physicists have put thousands of atoms into a "Schrödinger's cat" state — smashing the record for the most macroscopic object to be observed in a quantum state.
In a new study, researchers observed nanoparticles of 7,000 sodium atoms acting as a cohesive wave, pushing the strange world of quantum mechanics to new limits. Building on this research, future experiments could finally put biological molecules into a quantum state, opening up new ways to investigate their physical properties..."
CNN:"Scientists have discovered the largest organic molecule containing sulfur — a key ingredient for life — ever identified in interstellar space. The researchers call the discovery a “missing link” in scientists’ understanding of the cosmic origins of life’s chemistry."
NYTIMES:"“Salzburg is no place for my talent,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once wrote of his Austrian hometown. In fact, his family spent much of its time there making plans to get out.
His father, a court musician, repeatedly left to take his children on tour, showing them off in concerts across Europe. But while the Mozarts didn’t love Salzburg, the city has never lost its affection for Wolfgang. His likeness is inescapable, in window displays and on the wrappers of marzipan chocolates; tourists visit the house where he was born and the more spacious home the family moved into as it became famous.
Those sites are overseen by the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg, which maintains a vast collection of memorabilia and instruments. A number of its holdings, like the ink-stained portable clavichord on which Mozart wrote “The Magic Flute,” are on view in “Treasures From the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg,” at the Morgan Library and Museum through May 31.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalog cover the composer’s entire life and legacy, but much of it is devoted to his foundational years in Salzburg, with objects that collectively illustrate how a boy of seemingly miraculous talent became the Mozart we know today. Here are three of those artifacts.
His Childhood Violin
ImageA small, slightly beat-up violin in a glass display case lined in a silky purple material.
Wolfgang’s father, Leopold, gave him this violin when he was 6 or 7. Much smaller than the standard size, it was made from spruce and maple by Andreas Ferdinand Mayr, one of Leopold’s fellow court musicians.
..
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LIVESCIENCE.COM:"Scientists have identified the world's oldest known rock art — a hand stencil created at least 67,800 years ago in Indonesia.
This artwork, nestled in a cave in southeast Sulawesi, is also the earliest archaeological evidence of modern humans (Homo sapiens) living on the islands between the Asian and Australian continental shelves, according to a study published Wednesday (Jan. 21) in the journal Nature. The hand stencil is surrounded by younger rock art, including another hand stencil.
This discovery could fill a major gap in scientists' understanding of the journey the ancestors of Indigenous Australians took before reaching the continent at least 60,000 years ago..."
CNN:"CNN exclusive: Dana Bash goes behind the scenes with the baby Asian elephant at the National Zoo
CNN’s Dana Bash describes it as “one of the coolest things” she’s ever done. She gets the exclusive opportunity to meet & feed the Smithsonian National Zoo’s newest addition, Asian elephant Linh Mai. Dana learns about the 440-pound, 2-month old baby and gives her a special treat. Dana takes you behind the scenes and inside Linh Mai's journey and the Smithsonian’s efforts to conserve these endangered giants."
YOUTUBE/PBS:"
Feb 27, 2026
In a zoo outside Tokyo, one monkey has pulled heartstrings around the world after forming an unexpected friendship. Stephanie Sy reports.
Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.
"
BBC:"Tiny lion cubs try to avoid getting crushed by elephants
Lion cubs have to weave through towering elephants as a herd of giants walks through the lion pride. The elephants won't step aside for anyone so they could crush a tiny lion cub with a single step.
..."
APNEWS:"CAMBRIDGE, New York (AP) — After he and his fellow monks sang morning prayers in their church nestled in a forest, Brother Luke walked back to his residence to be greeted by a different kind of choir.
Lucy and Iso excitedly woofed as they spotted the Orthodox monk, who heads the monastery’s German shepherd breeding program, coming to take them and 10-week-old Pyrena for their morning walks.
For nearly six decades, the monks of New Skete in upstate New York have financially supported their community and deepened their spiritual life by breeding German shepherds and running on-site, weekslong training programs for all kinds of canines..."
THEGUARDIAN:"...I’m not an ardent cat lover, and I don’t consider myself to be an especially soppy person, but his words send chills down my neck. I feel something open in my chest and my eyes start prickling.
What I’m feeling is kama muta – an under-recognised emotion that has been the focus of Fiske’s work for more than a decade. According to Fiske and his colleagues, kama muta evolved to bind us to others and strengthen our relationships. “It motivates you to embrace and care for other people,” says Jon Zabala, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country. We experience it at some of the most important events of our lives – births, weddings, and funerals ..."
CNN:"Scientists found tryptophan, the ‘sleepy’ amino acid, in an asteroid. Here’s what it means Tryptophan, the essential amino acid behind the Thanksgiving myth that eating turkey can make you sleepy, has been found to exist on Bennu, a small asteroid that swings by our planet about every six years..."
CNN:"The clever, adaptable urban raccoon may be evolving a shorter snout — a key physical trait of pets and other domesticated animals. The new finding describes what a biologist says could be the first account of domestication in its earliest stages..."
THEGUARDIAN:"The raccoon that barged into a Virginia liquor store, smashed bottles of booze and passed out drunk in a bathroom this past Black Friday has at least two other break-ins under his belt, a local government official has revealed.
Before burgling the Ashland ABC store on 29 November, the raccoon had separately broken into a karate studio and a department of motor vehicles office, all on the same block of businesses, Hanover county animal protection officer Samantha Martin said on an episode of the local government’s official podcast published Thursday.
Martin told Hear in Hanover that the raccoon had even eaten some of the snacks kept at the DMV in what perhaps presaged the boozy bender that the animal was later said to have gone on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings,” Martin said on Hear in Hanover. “Supposedly, this is the third break-in he’s had...."
BBC:"Listen to world's first 'chat' between humans and whales
A team of scientists had a conversation with Twain, the humpback whale. They also recorded other whales chatting while they were hunting for their next meal."
REUTERS:"WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Scientists have observed the largest-known rotating structure in the cosmos - a gargantuan thread-like assemblage of hundreds of galaxies, gas and dark matter that makes up a filament in the macrostructure of the universe called the cosmic web.
The filament, located about 140 million light-years from Earth, was observed by scientists primarily using the MeerKAT radio telescope located in South Africa, an array of 64 interlinked satellite dishes.
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The rotating filament is astonishingly large, measuring about 50 million light-years long and 117,000 light-years wide. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). By way of comparison, our Milky Way galaxy, which itself is part of a filament in the cosmic web, measures roughly 100,000 light-years in diameter.
"We believe that the universe on very large scales is made of a network-like distribution of galaxies, gas and dark matter," said University of Cambridge astrophysicist Madalina Tudorache, co-lead author of the study published this month in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, opens new tab.
"This network is called the cosmic web, and it is formed of clusters, which are very dense clumps of matter, often formed of many groups of galaxies; voids - which are empty or almost empty regions of space; and filaments, which are strand-like structures which connect the very dense regions and border the voids," Tudorache said.
The rotating filament described in the new study is populated by nearly 300 galaxies of various sizes as well as gas and dark matter, the mysterious invisible stuff estimated to make up 27% of the cosmos..."
LIVESCIENCE.COM:"Advanced alien civilizations could be communicating 'like fireflies' in plain sight, researchers suggest
News
By Harry Baker published 19 hours ago
A new paper posits that advanced alien civilizations may communicate through subtle flashes, like fireflies do on Earth. The thought experiment suggests that we need to avoid human biases in our search for extraterrestrial life..."
REUTERS:"NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from freezing access by five Democratic-led states to more than $10 billion of federal funds for childcare and family assistance based on what it said were concerns about fraud.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, said he issued a temporary restraining order for the reasons stated in a legal filing by California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, which filed the lawsuit..."
WSJ:"American employers added jobs at a subdued pace in December, capping a year in which the U.S. labor market lost considerable momentum. Outside of the two most recent recessions, 2025 saw the lowest pace of average monthly job growth since 2003.
The U.S. economy added a seasonally adjusted 50,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday. That was a slight slowdown from November’s 56,000 gain and undershot economists’ expectations for a 73,000 increase.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4% last month, although it has drifted up from 4% last January...."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Treasury secretaries for decades have been careful to avoid partisan public remarks, fearing that overt political wrangling could undermine their credibility in the eyes of global investors and foreign leaders.
..
Then there is Scott Bessent.
President Donald Trump’s combative treasury secretary in recent days has attacked prominent Democrats by name on social media, described inflation as largely a blue state problem, and lampooned three Democratic governors as “Grinches” and “radical leftists” suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The jousting shows that compared to his predecessors in both parties, Bessent is unusually eager to engage in partisan combat. He attended the president’s campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania this month, a rare move for a treasury secretary. In a recent appearance at the New York Times’ DealBook conference, he responded to questions about Trump administration practices with gibes about former president Barack Obama and Hunter Biden, the son of another former Democratic president, and echoed his boss’s attacks on the press, claiming that he no longer reads the Times.Once described in a magazine profile as “the least MAGA-afflicted of all of Trump’s top officials,” Bessent in recent months has emerged as an unapologetic political brawler on behalf of the Make America Great Again movement. The secretary’s aggressiveness has won him presidential praise as “our savior,” but left traditionalists grumbling.
..
“There’s a standard of decorum that’s traditionally applied to the treasury secretary that they are ignoring completely. That’s par for the course for the Trump administration,” said one veteran of past Republican administrations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “But it’s particularly jarring when it comes to the Cabinet officer who most presidents have wanted to keep out of politics.”
..."
WSJ:"The U.S. pledged to protect Ukraine from any future Russian attack, U.S. officials said, offering to support European security guarantees and seek Senate backing for Washington’s promised role, which it hasn’t yet publicly detailed.
The American pledge, which Russian officials are likely to dispute, came on the second day of talks in Berlin among the U.S., Ukraine and European leaders and top officials. It remains unclear to what extent Washington would militarily intervene.
The shift could lift one of the biggest obstacles to Kyiv signing up to a peace deal with Russia, but a bigger hurdle remains, over territory. Still unresolved is the issue of which contested territories Kyiv would keep and whether Ukraine would withdraw unilaterally from an area of the Donetsk region that it currently controls.
European officials have for months offered Ukraine security guarantees to deter a future Russian attack but they have stressed the need to have some form of U.S. help to backstop those plans. European officials have advised Ukraine to tread carefully in agreeing to other major concessions until they had locked in clear U.S. military support..."
CNN:"On the surface of it, Disney’s plan to invest $1 billion in OpenAI while licensing its characters to Sora looks a bit like Goliath capitulating to David. Why would Disney open its precious intellectual property to the masses to do whatever they please? The same IP its lawyers historically would have sued you over if you so much as thought of baking a cake in Simba’s likeness for your kid’s “Lion King”-themed birthday party?..."
NYTIMES:"After the long, torturous summers that bake northern India in 40-degree Celsius (104 degree Fahrenheit) heat, winter should be welcomed as a reprieve. Instead, it is our season of sadness.
The annual pollution emergency faced by hundreds of millions of Indians is upon us — three months of physical and emotional suffocation..."
REUTERS:"ANKARA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Pope Leo lamented during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts, and warned that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.
In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first U.S. pope, said "ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace" were destabilising the world.
..."
APNEWS:"West Africa’s vast Sahel region has become the deadliest place in the world for extremism, with thousands of people killed. The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating the fighters affiliated with al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.
When the Africa Corps replaced Wagner six months ago, weary civilians hoped for less brutality. The United Nations says they have been abused by all sides in the conflict..."
REUTERS:"A REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT
They help preserve America’s dominance in the Pacific. They’re paying a painful price ...The Pacific isle of Ebeye and its 10,000 people support a nearby U.S. military base that serves as a bulwark against a Chinese or Russian missile attack. But conditions are harsh: Diabetes is rampant, fish in the surrounding waters are contaminated, and lifespans are short. The island’s neglect may provide an opening for Beijing..."
WSJ:"Amazon.com plans to lay off as many as 30,000 employees starting as early as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest cost-cutting move for the tech giant that is seeking to slim down and conserve cash.
..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump went on a lying spree about inflation last week.
Grocery prices. Gas prices. Prescription drug prices. Overall prices. Over just three days, Trump made false claims about all of them.
Trump was discussing the issue of “affordability” after Democrats won state and local elections Tuesday in part by campaigning on the cost of living. He argued that this theme was “a con job by the Democrats” given how successful he said he has been in lowering prices.
But Trump repeatedly used inaccurate statistics and assertions to make his case that Democrats were dishonest. Here is a fact check.
Prices are up during this Trump presidency
Over and over, Trump claimed overall prices have fallen since he returned to office in late January.
“Every price is down,” he said Thursday. “Everything is way down,” he said at another Thursday event. “Prices are down under the Trump administration, and they’re down substantially,” he said Friday, adding, “Everybody knows that it’s far less expensive under Trump than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden. And the prices are way down.”
None of that is true.
Prices are up during this administration. Average prices were 1.7% higher in September than they were in January, according to the most recent figures from the federal Consumer Price Index, and 3% higher than they were in September 2024. There has been inflation every month of the term, and far more products have gotten costlier than cheaper.
Inflation has accelerated to 3%
Trump claimed Friday: “We have almost no inflation. We’re down now to 2%.” He said at the same event: “Inflation is almost nonexistent.”
Those claims are slightly more accurate than Trump’s late-October claims that “we don’t have any inflation” and that “we’re down to 2%, even less than 2%.” But the new claims are still wrong.
Inflation not only very much continues to exist but has been accelerating since the spring. As of September, the year-over-year inflation rate had increased for five consecutive months..."
THEGUARDIAN:"‘Bloodshed was supposed to stop’: no sign of normal life as Gaza’s killing and misery grind on
Seham Tantesh in Gaza, Julian Borger and Emma Graham-Harrison in Jerusalem
A boy sitting with head in hands amid the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Nuseirat
A boy sits slumped amid the rubble in Nuseirat, central Gaza, after an overnight Israeli airstrike on 29 October in which at least 50 Palestinians died.
Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
The term ceasefire ‘risks creating a dangerous illusion life is returning to normal’ for Palestinians squeezed into the remaining 42% of their land behind Israel’s ‘yellow line’..."
CHINA VICTORY DAY PARADE 2025 YOUTUBE
CNN:"A recruitment poster recently shared on the Department of Homeland Security’s social media pages depicts Uncle Sam at a crossroads. In one direction point the words “homeland” and “opportunity.” Toward the other, “invasion” and “cultural decline.”
In its caption, the agency overseeing the country’s immigration system presents these choices as an existential national struggle: “Which way, American man?”
It’s a sentiment that the agency is trying to wield to recruit new employees. Many of its posts implore viewers to apply for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been infused with a windfall of cash from President Donald Trump’s landmark policy bill and hopes to hire 10,000 additional personnel to help with the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
But underlining the new strategy are undertones that historians and experts in political communication say are alarmingly nationalist — and fraught with appeals to a specifically White and Christian national identity.
“Persuaders succeed when they connect to emotional archetypes,” said Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of communication at the University of Southern California and historian of the role of mass communication in foreign policy. “Fear is often the most prominent in propaganda, but nostalgia runs a close second.”
“Often they land like one/two punches in a classic boxing attack,” Cull said. “That seems to be the intent here.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires
A strategy document shared among immigration officials details plans to use influencers and geo-targeted ads to supercharge their push to hire thousands of deportation officers nationwide.
Today at 5:00 a.m. EST U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted advertising campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy it said was critical to hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide, according to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post..."
CNN:"
A federal appeals court will allow the Trump administration to implement directives from the president cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as an appeal of a ruling pausing those orders plays out.
Two of the three judges on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel wrote concurring opinions raising concerns about the anti-DEI directives, even as they concluded that the administration had met the bar for putting the trial judge’s ruling on hold.
The circuit order is a major win for President Donald Trump, who has made the elimination of DEI programs a centerpiece of his administration..."
COMMENT: THIS IS A STAY PENDING APPEAL, NOT A FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE LEGALITY OF THE ORDERS MEMORANDUM OPINION OF DISTRICT COURT JUDGE; DISTRICT COURT PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION; DISTRICT COURT CLARIFIED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION; 4TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS STAY PENDING APPEAL
" WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the new White House website said.
The website said Trump rescinded Executive Order 14115 issued on Feb. 1, 2024, which authorized the imposition of certain sanctions "on Persons Undermining Peace. Security, and Stability in the West Bank."
Trump's decision is a reversal of a major policy action by former President Joe Biden's administration which had slapped sanctions on numerous Israeli settler individuals and entities, freezing their U.S. assets and generally barring Americans from dealing with them.
As much of the world's attention has focused on the war in Gaza, growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and land grabs in the occupied territory have raised concern among some of Israel's Western allies..."
ATLANTIC:"Did Elon Musk actually toss off a Sieg heil! at Donald Trump’s inauguration rally today?
A lot of people online seem to think he did, based on data from their eyeballs. Freeze-frame images of Musk on social media show the world’s richest man at a podium in Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena engaging in what could definitely be construed as a Nazi salute..."
NYTIMES:"...An investigation by The New York Times found that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents, throughout the war in Gaza, have regularly forced captured Palestinians like Mr. Shubeir to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk on the battlefield..."
"...Deadly strikes in central Gaza overnight killed or injured dozens of Palestinians, health officials and the United Nations said on Monday, as the Israeli military hit a hospital complex where it said Hamas fighters were hiding and a separate attack damaged a school turned shelter..."
NYTIMES:"
On the Trail, Trump and Vance Sharpen a Nativist, Anti-Immigrant Tone
From calling for mass deportations to spreading false claims about migrants eating pets, former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, are taking a hard line...
Mr. Trump then took a broad swipe at several corners of the globe.
“They’re coming from the Congo. They’re coming from Africa. They’re coming from the Middle East. They’re coming from all over the world — Asia,” Mr. Trump said. “A lot of it coming from Asia.
“What’s happening to our country is we’re just destroying the fabric of life in our country,” Mr. Trump continued. “We’re not going to take it any longer. You got to get rid of these people. Give me a shot.”
Kathleen Belew, an associate professor of American studies at Northwestern University and the author of “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” said Mr. Trump’s campaign was taking a page from “an old playbook.”
“It’s straight-up fear-mongering,” Ms. Belew said. “It’s incredibly efficient to demonize people and make others scared of them, and it’s always carried a huge and violent cost.”
" COMMENT: THE ONLY TRUE NATIVISTS ARE THE NATIVE AMERICANS. THE REST OF YOU ARE IMMIGRANTS AND SOME OF YOU ARE DECENDANTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PUSHING "MANIFEST DESTINY" MURDER AND BRUTALITY
CNN:"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July effectively spiked a draft hostage and ceasefire deal by introducing a raft of new, 11th-hour demands, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth citing a document it obtained.
The report lends credence to charges often leveled at the prime minister – most notably by hostage families – of purposefully prolonging the war and torpedoing deals for his political benefit. Far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition have pledged to bring down the government should he end the war.
Several news outlets, including CNN, have reported on the late July demands made by Netanyahu, but this is the first time the Israeli document has been obtained in full.
According to the newspaper, at least three of six hostages found dead in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces over the weekend were due for release as part of the May draft agreement – Carmel Gat, Aden Yerushalmi, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin."
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “there will be a strong reaction” to the deaths of the six hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza this weekend, and plans “to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn’t done before,” according to an Israeli official.
“The intention of the PM now is to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn’t done before,” the official told CNN..."
CNN:"Iran claims Hamas leader killed by ‘short-range projectile,’ contradicting reports it was hidden bomb"REUTERS: " For many of the Druze community in the Golan Heights mourning 12 youngsters killed in a missile strike at the weekend, the carnage came as a shock despite the months of daily rocket fire and air strikes between Israel and southern Lebanon." THENATIONAL:"After the attack, right-wing members of Israel’s security cabinet showed up in Majdal Shams to mourn, despite a request from Yasser Gadban, a local Druze community leader, for them to stay away.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was met by chants of "murderer" during his visit, while far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly called for war against Lebanon, was surrounded by angry locals when he arrived in the area."COMMENT: THE WAR MONGERS WANT THE CARNAGE TO CONTINUE UNTIL WE ARE ALL DEAD. THE WHOLE WORLD IS SICK AND TIRED OF THIS CONSTANT STRIFE. WE MUST HAVE PEACE AND A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION WITHOUT VIOLENCE AND WAR.
CNN:"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United States’ and Germany’s decision to deploy US long-range missiles in Germany from 2026 is “reminiscent of the events of the Cold War” and could see Russia station similar missiles in response.
“If the United States of America implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium and shorter-range strike weapons, including increasing the capabilities of the coastal forces of our Navy,” said Putin, speaking at Russia’s annual Navy Day in St. Petersburg.
Putin added that the development of Russian medium and shorter-range strike weapons was “in the final stages,” and Russia would take “reciprocal measures to deploy them.”...COMMENT: YOU HAVE BEEN THREATENING THE WORLD WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS SINCE THE INVASION OF UKRAINE. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ASSHOLE.
REUTERS:"MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - Russia, the world's biggest nuclear power, could reduce the decision-making time stipulated in official policy for the use of nuclear weapons if Moscow believes that threats are increasing, parliament's defence committee chairman said.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis..."BOTH THE KREMLIN AND NORTH KOREA HAVE BEEN THREATENING THE WEST WITH NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON FOR YEARS.
THEGUARDIAN:"The provocative Jerusalem Day parade by thousands of Jewish nationalists celebrates Israel’s capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and its holy sites in the 1967 war, a move that is not internationally recognised. It has often featured violent clashes between marchers and Palestinian residents of the Old City, as well as anti-Arab hate speech and vandalism of Palestinian property, although last year’s march passed relatively peacefully......"
WIKIPEDIA:"The Nakba (Arabic: النَّكْبَة an-Nakba, lit. 'the catastrophe') was the ethnic cleansing[1] of Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine during the 1948 Palestine war through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their society, and the suppression of their culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations.[2] The term is also used to describe the ongoing persecution and displacement of Palestinians by Israel.[3] As a whole, it covers the fracturing of Palestinian society and the long-running rejection of the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.[4][5]"WIKIPEDIA:"The history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict traces back to the late 19th century when Zionists sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Ottoman-controlled Palestine, a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition.[1][2][3][4] The Balfour Declaration of 1917, issued by the British government, endorsed the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, which led to an influx of Jewish immigrants to the region. Following World War II and the Holocaust, international pressure mounted for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, leading to the creation of Israel in 1948..."
CNN:"To Donald Trump, Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán is “fantastic,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “brilliant,” North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is “an OK guy,” and, most alarmingly, he allegedly said Adolf Hitler “did some good things,” a worldview that would reverse decades-old US foreign policy in a second term should he win November’s presidential election, multiple former senior advisers told CNN.
..”An undercurrent of implied violence has always been an essential ingredient of Donald Trump’s strongman persona. As the ex-president’s first trial and the general election approach, he is turning up the heat, creating a tense political atmosphere...."
CNN:"...In 2006, I opened the office of OneVoice Gaza in Gaza City to galvanize Palestinians behind the goal of a two-state solution reached through negotiation with Israel and our neighbors..."COMMENT: VIOLENCE IS COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. IT ONLY LEADS TO MORE VIOLENCE HATRED AND DEATH. ONE CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVEN'T LEARNED THIS BY NOW
"LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin waited three days before commenting on Hamas' massacre of Israelis, which happened to take place on his 71st birthday. When he did, he blamed the United States, not Hamas.
"I think that many will agree with me that this is a clear example of the failed policy in the Middle East of the United States, which tried to monopolise the settlement process," Putin told Iraq's prime minister."COMMENT: HAMAS stated Oct 7 was for 30 years of oppression and immediately called for shitler to act as mediator. Iran feigned surprise. Anyone with half a brain could see that the current war was precipitated by fascist imperialist Russia and its proxies. HAMAS attacked on Putin's birthday. The IDF was aware of the plan a year before but thought it was just "aspirational" NYTIMESThe current catastrophe was calculated and precipitated by Hamas, Iran and Russia. Netanyahu was aware of the plan and has used it to galvanize the right and conduct genocidal tactics creating more hatred towards Israel. At this point Israel Hamas Iran and Russia are responsible for every drop of blood spilled.
CNN:"
Arab and Muslim leaders decried Israeli “war crimes” in Gaza at a summit in Riyadh where Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a first public meeting...."COMMENT:THE JEWS ARE INDIGENIOUS TO ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST. IRAN IS A FASCIST PROXY OF AN IMPERIALIST TERRORIST RUSSIA AS IS EVERY FASCIST TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST. IT IS HAMAS' STRATEGY TO USE CIVILIANS AS SHIELDS. ISLAMIC FASCIST THINKING VIEWS ALL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AS SLAVES.(REUTERS:Arab militias scorn ethnic Africans as 'slaves'; hundreds of thousands flee Sudan) .HAMAS IRAN AND RUSSIA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CATASTROPHE. SPARE US YOUR BULLSHIT PROPAGANDA
"Matisyahu - One Day (YouTube Version)"
"Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love / People Get Ready (Official Music Video)"
METERORED:"These wonderful scenes were filmed at a depth of over 650 metres at the Winslow reef complex on Tokelau Ridge." 
CNBC:"CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and Dario Gil, IBM director of research, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss the new AI alliance between META and IBM.
.."IBM, META, AMD, ORACLE, INTEL and about 50 other companies are forming the AI alliance to build vetted interoperable AI tools. They will develop and deploy benchmarks and evaluation standards, tools and other responsible development of AI systems at global scale. They're also talking about addressing social issues witb AI as well as educating policy makers.The IBM Director of Research Dario Gil stated that Open Source has become the modern way develop interoperable standards...
CNNBUSINESS:
CNN:THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER: HOW TO UNSCREW A PLANET. Solving the pressing climate issues requires science and everyone's cooperation
On https://play.max.com
CNN:"Researchers have discovered a distant disc galaxy that has surprisingly similar characteristics to our own Milky Way, and it could change our understanding of how galaxies form.
The galaxy, which has been named REBELS-25, is far more orderly than the existing science suggests it should be for its age, according to research led by astronomers from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
..."
NYTIMES:"
By David French
Opinion Columnist
I couldn’t stop blinking back tears, and I couldn’t understand why.
I’d just walked out of a movie called “The Testament of Ann Lee.” Lee was the founder of the American Shakers, a tiny utopian Christian sect that started in England in the mid-18th century. Lee brought a small band of followers to the United States shortly before the Revolution.
The Shakers were known for their ecstatic worship (hence the name), their egalitarianism and pacifism, their absolute commitment to celibacy and their furniture. Shakers committed themselves to excellence in all things, and their craftsmanship was impeccable.
I’m not exactly the target audience for a film about chair-making religious extremists. I’m more the kind of moviegoer who’s drawn to Will Ferrell or lightsabers or dragons. Also orcs. I find great meaning in superhero movies. But my wife and son were going, and I wanted to hang out with them..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Environment
Good news: We saved the bees. Bad news: We saved the wrong ones.
Honeybees have never been in danger of extinction. But scientists are finding that they can accelerate the demise of native bee populations..."
APNEWS:"NEW YORK (AP) — As workers face frozen salaries, inflation and fear of layoffs, some have decided to branch out from their traditional careers. They’re taking on side jobs to bring in additional income and provide a backup plan should they find themselves out of work, or adding second, third and sometimes fourth jobs — what some call “polyworking” — to the mix..."
CNN:"Look back at Russia's armed conflicts since Putin took office
Anderson Cooper 360
CNN's Matthew Chance takes a look at the career of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the parallels of a number of wars Russia has been involved in the past and the war in Ukraine today.Source: CNN”
NYTIMES:"There is a battle raging across America (and soon in the halls of the Supreme Court) over what it means to be an American and what our nation should aspire to be.
It’s part of a war between two stories of nationhood that we’ve been waging since the United States was created 249 years ago.
One vision is civic. It says that we Americans may lack a common history, religion or ethnicity, but what we share are the ideals in the Declaration of Independence: Each human has a natural and equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To be American, in this tradition, is to create a society dedicated to making these ideals a reality.
The other vision — an animating force inside the Trump administration — is exclusive and ethnonationalist. Vice President JD Vance laid it out explicitly in a speech this summer: a national identity based not on ideals, but on privileged heritage and bloodlines..."
CNN:"President Donald Trump made a series of false claims about elections in a Monday social media post in which he pledged to “lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS” and voting machines – including an inaccurate assertion that states have to run elections in the manner the president tells them to.
Here is a fact check of some of Trump’s comments.
“We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.”
False. Dozens of other countries use mail-in voting, as CNN and others have pointed out when Trump has made such claims before. These countries include Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Switzerland.
The specifics of different countries’ policies vary, but it’s simply not true that every other country has abandoned mail-in voting.
“WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”
Trump’s claim about Democrats is nonsense. There is simply no basis for the assertion of massive cheating. US federal elections are free and fair; there has generally been a tiny quantity of ballot fraud representing a minuscule percentage of votes cast.
“…Democrats are virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In SCAM. ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS.”
More fiction. Mail-in voting is a legitimate method used by legitimate voters to cast legitimate ballots. Elections experts say the incidence of fraud tends to be marginally higher with mail-in ballots than with in-person ballots
.."
CNN"
For the first time, scientists have quantified the causal links between worsening heat waves and global warming pollution from individual fossil fuel and cement companies, pushing the boundaries of extreme weather event research in multiple surprising ways.
The new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, looks at a far more expansive series of heat waves than previous research. It also incorporates the causes of climate change into the calculations.
Instead of looking at one or two localized extreme heat events, the new study encompasses 213 heat waves around the world from 2000 to 2023. It finds, not surprisingly, that heatwaves became much more likely and severe during that period, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels.
.."
NYTIMES:"The nation’s leading scientific advisory body issued a major report on Wednesday detailing the strongest evidence to date that carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming greenhouse gases are threatening human health.
The report, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, is significant because it could complicate the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke a landmark scientific determination, known as the endangerment finding, that underpins the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is driving climate change.
The finding dates to 2009, when the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare and so should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. The Obama and Biden administrations used that determination to set strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, power plants and other industrial sources of pollution.
But in July, the Trump administration proposed to rescind the endangerment finding and contended that subsequent research had “cast significant doubt” on its accuracy.
The proposal is one of President Trump’s most significant steps yet to derail federal climate efforts. If the move is held up in court, future administrations would have no authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The new National Academies assessment contradicts the administration’s claims. The 136-page report, assembled by a committee of two dozen scientists, concludes that the original endangerment finding was accurate..."
CNN:"The world struck a new climate deal at the COP30 summit in Brazil Saturday, which calls for a tripling of funding to help countries adapt to increasingly severe climate impacts. But countries failed to agree to a roadmap away from fossil fuels, after entrenched divisions threatened to collapse the talks.
The agreement came after more than two weeks of increasingly fraught negotiations between representatives of more than 190 countries in the port city of Belém, known as the gateway to the Amazon. Disagreements reached such fever pitch there were fears the summit would collapse with no deal. Talks stretched overtime as dozens of nations pushed back against an outcome that didn’t explicitly mention a transition away from oil, coal and gas — the drivers of the climate crisis.
But just after midday local time Saturday, the COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago gaveled through a deal.
The final text contained no mention of fossil fuels, signaling a retreat from consensus agreements only two years old. It included only a general agreement on deforestation, rather than more explicit commitments, which had been another key issue in the negotiations.
More than 80 countries, including Colombia, the UK and France, supported the concept of a “roadmap” to transition away from fossil fuels, building on a commitment made at COP28 in Dubai in 2023. However, intense opposition from petrostates — including Saudi Arabia and Russia — and other heavy fossil fuels users prevented consensus...."
NYTIMES:"
Two of the best-known Israeli human rights groups said Monday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, adding fuel to a passionately fought international debate over whether the death and destruction there have crossed a moral red line.
The two groups were B’Tselem, a rights monitor that documents the effects of Israeli policies on Palestinians, and Physicians for Human Rights — Israel. Their announcement was the first time major Israeli rights groups have publicly concluded that the Gaza war is a genocide, an assessment previously reached by some organizations like Amnesty International.
In a report titled “Our Genocide,” B’Tselem cited the devastating effects of Israel’s war on ordinary Palestinians to support their claim: the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza; the razing of huge areas of Palestinian cities; the forced displacement of nearly all of Gaza’s two million people; the restriction of food and other vital supplies.
All together, the Israeli campaign has amounted to “coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip,” the organization wrote. “In other words: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel rejected the accusations as “baseless.”
.."
APNEWS:"LONDON (AP) — The leaders of Britain, France and Germany demanded Israel allow unrestricted aid into Gaza to end a “humanitarian catastrophe,” after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state.
The joint statement, issued after a call between Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, called for an an immediate ceasefire and said that “withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable,” though it broke no new diplomatic ground..."
REUTERS:"PARIS/WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday in hopes of bringing peace to the region, but the plan drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States.
Macron, who unveiled the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit..."
USA-TODAY:"
See the Good Trouble protests across the US in opposition of Trump
People line Cedar Street in front of the Ingham County Health Department during the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich.
People line Cedar Street in front of the Ingham County Health Department during the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich.
Nick King, Lansing State Journal Via USA TODAY NETWORK
People line Cedar Street in front of the Ingham County Health Department during the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich.
People line Cedar Street in front of the Ingham County Health Department during the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich.
Nick King, Lansing State Journal Via USA TODAY NETWORK
Protesters with "Good Trouble Lives On" during a national anti-Trump rally at the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on July 17, 2025.
Protesters with "Good Trouble Lives On" during a national anti-Trump rally at the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on July 17, 2025.
Rob Schumacher, The Republic Via USA TODAY NETWORK
Good Trouble protestors hold up signs to passing cars from the pedestrian bridge crossing Route 18 in New Bedford, N.J.
.."
CNN:"
The first test images from a groundbreaking observatory named for trailblazing astronomer Vera Rubin have captured the light from millions of distant stars and galaxies on an unprecedented scale — and are expected to reveal thousands of previously unseen asteroids.
While the National Science Foundation has so far released only a couple of images and a brief video clip of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s first imagery, more images and videos taken using the largest camera ever built are expected to be shared at 11:30 a.m. ET Monday on the agency’s YouTube channel. The facility is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science......"
CNN:"Astronomers have used mysterious fast radio bursts, or millisecond-long bright flashes of radio waves from space, to help them track down some of the missing matter in the universe.
Dark matter and dark energy make up most of the universe. Dark matter is an enigmatic substance that shapes the cosmos, while dark energy is a force that accelerates the expansion rate of the universe, according to NASA. Both are impossible to directly observe but can be detected due to their gravitational effects.
But the rest of the universe is made of cosmic baryons, or ordinary matter, which can be found in tiny particles called protons and neutrons.
“If you add up all the stars and planets and cold gas that you see with your telescopes, it only amounts to less than 10% of ordinary matter in the universe,” said Liam Connor, assistant professor of astronomy at Harvard University.
While astronomers thought most of the universe’s ordinary matter was floating in the spaces between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium, or within the extended halos of galaxies — vast, spherical regions including stars and hot gas — they couldn’t measure this foglike matter. That’s because ordinary matter emits light at different wavelengths, but much of it is so diffuse that it’s like trying to spot fog, astronomers say....
BBC:"The Kremlin claimed Donald Trump was showing signs of "emotional overload" after he called Vladimir Putin "absolutely crazy" following Moscow's largest aerial assault on Ukraine.
The US president said on Truth Social on Sunday that "something has happened" to Putin, after Russia killed 13 in Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles. "He has gone absolutely crazy," Trump said. "Needlessly killing a lot of people."
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the comments were "connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved".
Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, meanwhile said that Ukraine's allies had removed all range limits on supplied arms, amid reports he would give Kyiv Taurus missiles.
Trump's comments followed Russia's largest combined aerial attack since its full-scale invasion of February 2022. At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in Ukraine during the night between Saturday and Sunday after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles.
Between Sunday evening and Monday morning, Russia launched 355 drones against Ukraine, killing 10. The Ukrainian air force said it was the largest attack yet conducted with drones alone.
Peskov said the latest aerial assaults were a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russia's "social infrastructure".
The Russian defence ministry said that air defence systems destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said on Sunday there was no "military sense" to Russia's aerial attacks - rather they were "an obvious political choice... by Putin, a choice by Russia... to continue the war and destroy lives."
.."
CNN:"...The military is one of the few large institutions left in America where citizens voluntarily form close relationships with people of different religions, socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities — all in service of a common national purpose.
Combat veterans in particular talk about the brotherhood, and sisterhood, formed in battle.
“The enduring emotion of war, when everything else has faded, is comradeship,” William Broyles Jr., a combat veteran in Vietnam, wrote in a classic essay. “A comrade in war is a man you can trust with anything, because you trust him with your life.”
But now some of America’s leaders are telling a different story. The Trump administration has launched a purge of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout the armed forces and military academies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says a culture of “wokeness and weakness” has made the military less lethal.
Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, in Washington, DC.
Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14, in Washington. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Hegseth, who wrote in a book published last year that “America’s white sons and daughters are walking away” from military service, says he wants to restore the “warrior” mentality to America’s military.
“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘Our diversity is our strength,” Hegseth said in February in a speech at the Pentagon.
But the strongest rebuttal to Hegseth’s argument is military history itself. Many of the nation’s biggest military blunders occurred because there wasn’t enough diversity in the armed forces..."
CNN:"
President Donald Trump’s effort to do as much as possible as quickly as possible to remake the federal government would gut agencies that have existed for decades or longer. His larger plans would remake elements of the government infrastructure that have been around for centuries.
From Benjamin Franklin to John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon to Barack Obama, it took all of US history to build up some of what Trump has talked about trying to tear down, privatize or remake. And that’s not counting the reforms he plans for safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which he says, without evidence, are full of fraud, but which are also on objectively unsustainable paths..."
CNN:"
When the Justice Department lifted a school desegregation order in Louisiana this week, officials called its continued existence a “historical wrong” and suggested that others dating to the Civil Rights Movement should be reconsidered...Civil rights activists say that’s the wrong move. Many orders have been only loosely enforced in recent decades, but that doesn’t mean problems are solved, said Johnathan Smith, who worked in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division during President Joe Biden’s administration.
“It probably means the opposite — that the school district remains segregated. And in fact, most of these districts are now more segregated today than they were in 1954,” said Smith, who is now chief of staff and general counsel for the National Center for Youth Law...The dismissal has raised alarms among some who fear it could undo decades of progress. Research on districts released from orders has found that many saw greater increases in racial segregation compared with those under court orders.
“In very many cases, schools quite rapidly resegregate, and there are new civil rights concerns for students,” said Halley Potter, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who studies educational inequity...Ending the orders would send a signal that desegregation is no longer a priority, said Robert Westley, a professor of antidiscrimination law at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.
“It’s really just signaling that the backsliding that has started some time ago is complete,” Westley said. “The United States government doesn’t really care anymore of dealing with problems of racial discrimination in the schools. It’s over.”
Any attempt to drop further cases would face heavy opposition in court...
CNN:"
The world may feel cold, scary and cruel, but if you are open to seeing it, there is a lot of kindness, according to a new report.
The World Happiness Report, released each year on the International Day of Happiness, is a global analysis on happiness and well-being in partnership with Gallup, the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
This year’s report paid special attention to acts of benevolence and people’s expectations of their communities.
What are acts of benevolence? The report divided them into three categories: donating money, volunteering and doing a nice thing for a stranger.
.."
WASHINGTONPOST:"It’s impossible to pin down the essence of an entire generation. Still, as members of Gen Z, we spend a lot of time thinking about what makes us different from those born before and after us.
Boomers can’t navigate technology. Millennials walk their “doggos” and despise “adulting.” Gen Alpha is doomed. As for Gen X? No one really knows.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
1:20
Is the generation born between 1997 and 2012 allergic to driving, glued to their headphones, and obsessed with the digital camera revival trend? Well, it seems (Video: Amber Ferguson, Abigail Walker, Ethan Beck, Jade Tran/The Washington Post)
Now it’s us sitting in the hot seat, facing bafflement from both sides. Our generation was born between 1997 and 2012, so our oldest might remember the presidency of George W. Bush, while our youngest could’ve grown up reaching for an iPad while at a restaurant. You might know some of us for our unsettling stare or our preference for subtitles. What’s universal is that people outside our generation can’t seem to figure us out.
..
As technology has made it easier to talk to anyone, communication has become increasingly blunt. For better or worse, the phone call is a thing of the past, mostly helpful for talking to family members who struggle with texting. Otherwise, a random call signals a problem. Those surprise calls are necessary for when something so important arrives that a text can’t be sent. When your pocket starts buzzing, there’s one burning question: What’s the issue?
The answer is often nothing. But that moment of panic brings up many possibilities: Is someone in the hospital? Did I forget about plans? Am I getting fired/hired? The natural response is to cut to the chase. The “hellos” are replaced with a direct, occasionally curt tone and a no-nonsense response. Those fraying social cues are replaced, even in text messages, with something more immediate. It might seem rude, but today, it’s just the pace of information..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"A new line of research has revealed a surprising finding about how the presence of wolves helps keep people safe.
By Dino Grandoni, Alice Li and Joshua Lott
This reporting was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
December 28, 2025 at 5:00 a.m. ESTToday at 5:00 a.m. EST
13 min
ORR, Minn. — The first clue was the flock of ravens.
Tom Gable spotted the birds while driving to work. He pulled over and saw what they were circling: a rib cage poking out of the fresh dusting of December snow, about 20 yards from the road.
Climbing down an embankment, he found more carnage. Tufts of fur scattered like confetti. Trails of blood on the frozen river. And the disemboweled remains of a deer carcass..."
CNN:"
The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it is cutting 10,000 full-time employees across health agencies, the department told CNN.
This comes on top of 10,000 employees who’ve left voluntarily, shrinking the workforce from about 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000.
The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. In its announcement, HHS said it will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, and will reduce regional offices from 10 to five. The workforce reduction will save $1.8 billion per year, the agency said.
HHS’ new priority will be to end “America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins,” the agency said.
.."
NYTIMES:"President Trump’s intensifying conflict with the federal courts is unusually aggressive compared with similar disputes in other countries, according to scholars. Unlike leaders who subverted or restructured the courts, Mr. Trump is acting as if judges were already too weak to constrain his power.
“Honest to god, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and coauthor of “How Democracies Die” and “Competitive Authoritarianism.”
“We look at these comparative cases in the 21st century, like Hungary and Poland and Turkey. And in a lot of respects, this is worse,” he said. “These first two months have been much more aggressively authoritarian than almost any other comparable case I know of democratic backsliding.”
..."
BBC:"Hungary has passed a law banning Pride marches held by the LGBTQ+ community, sparking outrage in and out of the country.
Parliament voted for the measure just a day after the bill was submitted on Monday, in a process fast-tracked by the ruling right-wing Fidesz party under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban praised the legislation, which bans the event on alleged grounds it is harmful to children, saying: "We won't let woke ideology endanger our kids."
Pride marches had been held for the past 30 years in Hungary. Opposition lawmakers lit flares during the voting session on Tuesday, while demonstrators blocked a bridge in central Budapest. Human rights groups have also condemned the move.
It is the latest measure from Orban's government targeting Hungary's LGBTQ+ community...
"
CNN:" Millions of Americans could soon feel the impact of the deep staffing cuts being planned at the Social Security Administration, which is undergoing a massive reorganization that the acting commissioner has acknowledged is being steered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The loss of experienced employees who manage Social Security’s fragile and interdependent web of computer systems will likely leave the agency vulnerable to technical outages and, potentially, interrupt the benefit payments that are sent to more than 73 million retirees, people with disabilities and others, Martin O’Malley, who served as commissioner under the Biden administration, told CNN..."
APNEWS:"WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, rolling back some efforts to contend with a key adversary even as national security experts call for the U.S. to expand those capabilities.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, on Monday confirmed the pause.
Hegseth’s decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But the Trump administration also has rolled back other efforts at the and other agencies related to countering digital and cyber threats.
..."
CNN:"
Las Vegas
—
Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” fears the technology he helped build could wipe out humanity — and “tech bros” are taking the wrong approach to stop it.
Hinton, a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist and a former Google executive, has warned in the past that there is a 10% to 20% chance that AI wipes out humans. On Tuesday, he expressed doubts about how tech companies are trying to ensure humans remain “dominant” over “submissive” AI systems.
“That’s not going to work. They’re going to be much smarter than us. They’re going to have all sorts of ways to get around that,” Hinton said at Ai4, an industry conference in Las Vegas.
In the future, Hinton warned, AI systems might be able to control humans just as easily as an adult can bribe 3-year-old with candy. This year has already seen examples of AI systems willing to deceive, cheat and steal to achieve their goals. For example, to avoid being replaced, one AI model tried to blackmail an engineer about an affair it learned about in an email..."
CNN:"
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week, a likely indication of some “noisy” data, but also a potential worrisome hint that cracks may be forming in America’s long-solid labor market.
There were an estimated 242,000 jobless claims filed last week, according to seasonally adjusted data released Thursday by the Department of Labor. That’s an increase of 22,000 from the prior week’s tally and a figure that landed well above economists’ expectations for 220,000 claims.
It’s the largest weekly spike in claims in more than four months and the weekly claims — a proxy for layoffs — are at their highest level since early December, Labor Department data shows..."
YOUTUBE/CNN":"Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) faced angry voters in Roswell, Georgia, who were upset about President Trump attempting to expand his own power using executive orders"
NYTIMES:"President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia shocked the audience at the annual security conference in Munich in 2007 by demanding the rollback of domineering American influence and a new balance of power in Europe more suitable to Moscow.
He didn’t get what he wanted — then.
Nearly two decades later, during the very same conference, top officials from President Trump’s cabinet made one thing clear: Mr. Putin has found an American administration that might help him realize his dream.
Comments by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance raised fears among attendees that under the new administration the United States. might align with Russia and either assail Europe or abandon it altogether.
..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"By Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan and Alex Horton
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has decided to remove retired Gen. Mark A. Milley’s security detail, suspend his security clearance, and order an inspector general inquiry into his behavior as the Pentagon’s top officer, senior defense officials said Tuesday, taking extraordinary action against a frequent target of President Donald Trump.
The move comes after years of Trump criticizing Milley for perceived disloyalty and Milley acknowledging in congressional testimony that he had served as a source for several unflattering books about the first Trump administration. Milley, 66, retired in 2023 following four tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under both Trump and President Joe Biden.Hegseth’s plan, first reported by Fox News, is part of the new defense secretary’s effort to reestablish “warfighter culture” in the Pentagon, one senior defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid backlash....While Trump selected Milley for the chairman’s post, the two men had a bitter falling out over issues that included Trump’s desire to use active-duty military forces to quell protests in America’s streets and Milley’s efforts to reassure Chinese officials that Trump wasn’t looking to attack Beijing as his time in office ended. Though Milley and other officials said that the general coordinated those calls with Trump administration officials, Trump attacked the general, saying at one point that the calls to China were “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.”
More recently, the retired general told Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward that Trump is “fascist to the core” and that Milley had faced a series of death threats he attributed to Trump’s steady drumbeat of verbal attacks.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward in a book published last year. “Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"
By Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman and Mariana Alfaro
Two newly freed leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups called for investigations into the prosecution of people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, assailing judges, jurors and prosecutors as they sought “retribution” after being granted clemency from President Donald Trump.
The statements by Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, released from sentences of 22 years and 18 years for seditious conspiracy, came before House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Wednesday announced formation of a new Judiciary subcommittee led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) to investigate the House’s own investigation of the Capitol riot four years ago.
The moves underscored how the punishments of Jan. 6 defendants have become a rallying cry for parts of Trump’s base, and how his pardons of all of nearly 1,600 defendants — including, controversially, those convicted of political violence and assaults against police — have fed into GOP efforts to punish Democrats for what they call the “weaponization” of the Justice Department.
They also mark a deeper fight over how the history of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach will ultimately be written.
On Wednesday, several federal judges granted the Justice Department’s pardon-based requests to dismiss cases while saying in their rulings that the true story of Jan. 6 could not be whitewashed.
“Dismissal of charges, pardons after convictions, and commutations of sentences will not change the truth of what happened on January 6, 2021,” U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in dismissing one riot defendant’s case.
CNN:"
Republican senators struggled to defend Donald Trump’s decision to commute and pardon hundreds of January 6 protesters, including those who were charged and convicted of crimes against police officers, just hours after the president entered office Monday.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, who has warned before about giving a blanket pardon to the rioters, said, “I just can’t agree” with Trump’s decision..."
CNN:"As President Donald Trump this week sought to rewrite the history of his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol, a database detailing the vast array of criminal charges and successful convictions of January 6 rioters was removed from the Department of Justice’s website.
The searchable database served as an easily accessible and up-to-date repository of all January 6, 2021, cases prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The US attorney’s office declined to comment.The removal of the comprehensive website cataloguing the largest criminal investigation in modern department history coincides with Trump’s decision to pardon all convicted January 6 defendants. The president also released early from prison 14 people convicted of seditious conspiracy and asked the federal courts in Washington to dismiss the more than 300 cases that hadn’t yet been resolved. .."
CNN:"President-elect Donald Trump is reveling in his victory and the subsequent celebration, being described as having a much different mentality than he did in 2017 and feeling like his popular vote win gives him a mandate as he speaks with world leaders, top aides and allies, business CEOs and his transition team.
Sources who have spoken to Trump in the last 24 hours describe him as forward-looking and grateful. He has lavished praise on his campaign co-chairs, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles – who Trump named as his White House chief of staff on Thursday evening. Trump has boasted about his numbers with minority voters and winning the popular vote, sometimes with disbelief, and asked what they need to do to get started on some of his agenda items..."
CBSNEWS:"
U.S.
Ohio governor, other leaders condemn neo-Nazi march in Columbus: "Your hate isn't welcome in our city"
By Lucia Suarez Sang
Updated on: November 18, 2024 / 9:02 AM EST / CBS News
Leaders in Ohio condemned a group of neo-Nazis parading around part of Columbus carrying flags with swastikas on Saturday afternoon.
Columbus public safety dispatchers told CBS affiliate WBNS on Saturday that they received multiple 911 calls around 1:30 p.m. about a group of individuals marching in the city's Short North.
Video sent to the station showed nearly a dozen people wearing black pants, shirts and head coverings and red masks covering their mouths marching down the street. Three of the people were carrying black flags with red swastikas. It was not immediately clear who was in the group.
On Monday, the White House weighed in, issuing a statement saying the "hateful poison of Nazism" is "hostile to everything the United States stands for, including protecting the dignity of all our citizens and the freedom to worship."..."
APNEWS:"Transgender youth in the United States have been flooding crisis hotlines since the election of Donald Trump, who made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign. Many teens worry about how their lives could change once he takes office.
During his presidential bid, Trump pledged to impose wide-ranging restrictions and roll back civil rights protections for transgender students. And his administration can swiftly start work on one major change: It can exclude transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school policies on students’ use of pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms.
One ad that aired over 15,000 times crystallized Trump’s stance on rights for transgender and nonbinary Americans: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"In Worcester, Massachusetts, police officers enforcing anti-prostitution ordinances coerced women to touch their genitals and perform sex acts.
In Phoenix, officers clearing homeless encampments illegally disposed of personal belongings of the people who lived there, including tents, sleeping bags, identification cards and medicine.In Lexington, Mississippi, officers jailed those unable to pay fines for minor offenses and added more fees, a scheme one federal prosecutor likened to a “debtor’s prison that Charles Dickens wrote about.”
These abuses, and others like them, are documented in exhaustive Justice Department reports that followed sweeping police misconduct investigations in those three cities and five others — Minneapolis; Louisville; Memphis; Trenton, New Jersey; and Mount Vernon, New York.The Biden administration launched the probes in the wake of the national outcry over the police killings in 2020 of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Reports issued over the last two years have focused largely on excessive use of force and the kind of racial profiling associated with those high-profile cases.
But beyond the most shocking examples of police violence, the reports have highlighted something else: the pernicious ways that other patterns of unlawful policing can disrupt and cause deep harm to local communities.
..."
CNN:"
A “worldwide catastrophe” is imperiling Pacific Islands and the world must respond to the unprecedented and devastating impacts of rising seas “before it is too late,” the United Nations chief has warned.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a global SOS – “Save Our Seas” – from the Pacific Island nation of Tonga on Tuesday with a plea to the world to “massively increase finance and support for vulnerable countries” in grave danger of the human-caused climate crisis."
FORBES:"...Scientists have repeatedly warned rising global temperatures could bring “catastrophic” consequences if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reporting in 2022 that, by 2030, those emissions will rise over 10% above 2010 levels. Increased emissions could drastically reduce the chances of meeting a monumental goal laid out at the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, scientists said. By 2033, U.N. scientists have warned the world could pass that 1.5 degree Celsius threshold, likely triggering more intense droughts, flooding and water security issues, according to the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change..."
NYTIMES:"The authorities in New Delhi closed schools and urged people to stay indoors as toxic smog, which has plagued neighboring Pakistan for weeks, choked India’s capital in what officials called a medical emergency.
..."
CNN:"
Authorities across the United States are investigating after racist text messages – some with references to “slave catchers” and “picking cotton” reminiscent of the country’s painful and bigoted past – have been received by children, college students and working professionals from unrecognized phone numbers in the wake of the presidential election.
The NAACP president warned Thursday of possible broader implications of the hate-filled rhetoric reported in more than 20 states from New York to California, and the District of Columbia. Attorneys general of both parties are condemning the messages and vowing to root out their senders.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who, historically, has embraced and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson said. “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results.”..."
YOUTUBE/CNN:
NYTIMES:"When the history of the 2024 election is written, one of the iconic images illustrating it will surely be the mug shot taken of Donald J. Trump after one of his four indictments, staring into the camera with his signature glare. It is an image not of shame but of defiance, the image of a man who would be a convicted felon before Election Day and yet possibly president of the United States again afterward.
Sometimes lost amid all the shouting of a high-octane campaign heading into its final couple of weeks is that simple if mind-bending fact. America for the first time in its history may send a criminal to the Oval Office and entrust him with the nuclear codes. What would once have been automatically disqualifying barely seems to slow Mr. Trump down in his comeback march for a second term that he says will be devoted to “retribution.”
In all the different ways that Mr. Trump has upended the traditional rules of American politics, that may be one of the most striking. He has survived more scandals than any major party presidential candidate, much less president, in the life of the republic. Not only survived but thrived. He has turned them on their head, making allegations against him into an argument for him by casting himself as a serial victim rather than a serial violator.
His persecution defense, the notion that he gets in so much trouble only because everyone is out to get him, resonates at his rallies where he says “they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I’m just standing in the way.” But that of course belies a record of scandal stretching across his 78 years starting long before politics. Whether in his personal life or his public life, he has been accused of so many acts of wrongdoing, investigated by so many prosecutors and agencies, sued by so many plaintiffs and claimants that it requires a scorecard just to remember them all..."
CNN:"Former President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US military should be used to deal with “the enemy from within” on Election Day has reignited concerns about what he might ask US forces to do if he wins a second term as commander in chief.
And it is senior military leaders who served under him that have most clearly sounded the alarm about Trump.
The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, told Bob Woodward in his new book “War” that the former president “is the most dangerous person to this country … A fascist to the core.”
And on Thursday on The Bulwark podcast, Woodward said Gen. Jim Mattis, who served as Trump’s defense secretary, had emailed him to say that he agreed with the assessment that Milley had provided Woodward. On the podcast, Woodward said the thrust of Mattis’ email about Trump was “Let’s make sure we don’t try to downplay the threat, because the threat is high.”
Trump has long had a boyish fascination with the military, idolizing World War II generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur. As a teenager, he reveled in his stint at a military-style boarding school in New York.
Despite that fascination, Trump took multiple deferments to avoid service in the Vietnam War.
When he became president, Trump staffed his cabinet with senior generals. He appointed Mattis, a retired four-star general to head the Pentagon; his chief of staff John Kelly was another retired four-star general, and two of his national security advisers were three-star generals, Michael Flynn and H. R. McMaster.
Trump loves the pomp and ceremony of the military and lobbied for a massive Kremlin-style parade in Washington, DC while, he was in office. In the end, the parade never happened.
Despite Trump’s bromance with the military, senior retired generals and admirals haven’t loved him back. Some even seem to think that it is the former president who is the real “enemy within.”
Going back as far as four years ago, Mattis, provided a statement to The Atlantic magazine that “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”
Similarly, Kelly told CNN’s Jake Tapper last year that Trump is “a person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
In McMaster’s book, “At War with Ourselves,” a memoir of his time working at the Trump White House, McMaster wrote that in the aftermath of Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat, Trump’s “ego and love of self… drove him to abandon his oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution,’ a president’s highest obligation.”
..."
APNEWS:"MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (AP) — The U.S. military trained him in explosives and battlefield tactics. Now the Iraq War veteran and enlisted National Guard member was calling for taking up arms against police and government officials in his own country.
Standing in the North Carolina woods, Chris Arthur warned about a coming civil war. Videos he posted publicly on YouTube bore titles such as “The End of America or the Next Revolutionary War.” In his telling, the U.S. was falling into chaos and there would be only one way to survive: kill or be killed..."
CNN:"The arrival of a new Bob Woodward book has a well-established choreography; enterprising reporters get hold of copies of the heavily embargoed volume a week or so ahead of its publication date and mine it for the news it contains.
Both CNN and The Washington Post, where Woodward retains the honorific title of associate editor, covered the news in the latest book, “War,” last week. And news there was: At the height of the pandemic, President Donald Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a secret shipment of Covid-19 testing equipment, and since he has left office, Trump has called Putin as many as seven times.
Ahead of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden blamed former President Barack Obama for not doing more to counter the Russian leader when he invaded Crimea in 2014, telling a friend, “That’s why we are here. We fucked it up. Barack never took Putin seriously.”..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Donald Trump and his campaign have waged an aggressive campaign against fact-checking in recent months, pushing TV networks, journalism organizations and others to abandon the practice if they hope to interact with Trump. Trump nearly backed out of an August interview with a group of Black journalists after learning they planned to fact-check his claims. The following month, he and his allies repeatedly complained about the fact-checking that occurred during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, berating journalists and news executives in the middle of the televised debate.
And this month, Trump declined to sit down for an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” because he objected to the show’s practice of fact-checking, according to the show.
Campaign advisers also expressly asked CBS News to forgo fact checking in its vice-presidential debate with Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — who then complained on air when a moderator corrected him..."
CNN:"...Trump’s lying is most exceptional in its relentlessness, a never-ending avalanche of wrongness that can bury even the most devoted fact-checkers. But it’s also notable for its repetitiveness. He has found his hits, and he’ll keep playing them no matter how many times they are debunked...As Trump enters the post-Labor Day sprint of his 2024 campaign for the presidency, his commentary is filled with many of the same false claims he made as president from 2017 to 2021. He’s even repeating some of the false claims he used during his 2016 presidential campaign..."
YOUTUBE/CNN:"CNN's Kaitlan Collins speaks with former Trump national security adviser John Bolton about former President Donald Trump’s remarks in Detroit, in which he bragged about his willingness to abandon NATO allies in the face of Russian aggression"
AP:"
Inside Washington’s federal courthouse, there’s no denying the reality of Jan. 6, 2021. Day after day, judges and jurors silently absorb the chilling sights and sounds from television screens of rioters beating police, shattering windows and hunting for lawmakers as democracy lay under siege.
But as he seeks to reclaim the White House, Donald Trump continues to portray the defendants as patriots worthy of admiration, an assertion that has been undercut by the adjudicated truth in hundreds of criminal cases where judges and juries have reached the opposite conclusion about what history will remember as one of America’s darkest days..."
CNN:"
A group of Republican state attorneys general are suing the Biden administration over a federal effort to expand access to voter registration.
The lawsuit targets an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in March 2021 that directed the heads of all federal agencies to submit proposals for their respective agencies to promote voter registration and participation through various points of contact with the public. The president issued the order as GOP-led statehouses were pushing voter suppression legislation in the aftermath of the 2020 election..." 
CNN: In response to an threat assessment of possible retaliatory attacks against Democrats CNN interviewed Joe Moore a former Army sniper and undercover operative who infiltrated the KKK. Moore stated that nationally the KKK was decimated but many joined like minded alt right groups. They use the First Amendment to cover their real intent which is to take over the government by force.
FORBES:"Harris's profile as you know
1:43
the first
1:45
African-American woman who could be the
1:47
president that could make it appealing
1:49
to a lot of
1:50
Voters I always just said put the best
1:53
player in I mean we've got a Dei hire in
1:55
here and Biden said first off he said
1:58
he's going to hire a a black female for
2:01
vice president and that not he just
2:04
skipped over what about what about white
2:06
females what about any other group it
2:09
just when you go down that route you you
2:12
um you take mediocrity and that's what
2:14
they have right now as a vice president
2:16
so are you suggesting she's she was a
2:17
Dei hire 100% she was a Dei hire he said
2:21"
CNN/YOUTUBE:"Our panel is back.
Stephen Collinson, you write.
this morning,
I, under the headline Trump
Conviction heralds
a somber and volatile
moment in American history
that the danger is acute
because with his attempt
to stay in power
after losing the 2020
election, Trump has already shown
he'll do what it takes to save himself,
even if his actions catastrophically hurt
democratic institutions..."
NYTIMES:"This story is told in three parts. The first documents the unequal system of justice that grew around Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. The second shows how extremists targeted not only Palestinians but also Israeli officials trying to make peace. The third explores how this movement gained control of the state itself. Taken together, they tell the story of how a radical ideology moved from the fringes to the heart of Israeli political power...."
CNN:" Take them seriously as well as literally. There is no precedent for two dozen former White House officials coming out so strongly against the fundamental fitness of the man they served with on a day-to-day basis...... Republican voters should keep in mind the words of the one-time conservative hero (and liberal villain) former Vice President Dick Cheney: “There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”"
CNN:"
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack President Joe Biden as a “threat to democracy” and doubled down on language condemned for its ties to White supremacist rhetoric, saying at a campaign event in New Hampshire that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”..."
NYTIMES:"How a Group of Students in the Pacific Islands Reshaped Global Climate Law
They watched climate change ravage their home countries as rich, polluting nations did nothing. Then they had an idea.The group of students who logged in to Justin Rose’s class on international environmental law in February 2019 were spread out across thousands of miles of ocean. Many were based at the Port Vila campus on Éfaté, a small but mountainous island of vivid tropical green in the middle of Vanuatu’s archipelago of volcanoes, where the University of the South Pacific’s school of law is based. But U.S.P. also had campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Kiribati and other island nations — places that were experiencing some of the most pronounced impacts of the planet’s fast-changing climate.
Listen to this article, read by Kirsten Potter
It was always a tough class to teach, Rose, an Australian expert in Pacific Island law, told me in July. There are few classes in which the profound impacts of climate change feel less theoretical or the power of the students more constrained. As the class began, rising seas meant that villages across the South Pacific were already being compelled to move to higher ground, forcing people to abandon their homes and the livelihoods that once sustained them. Often, the graveyards left behind slid into the sea, scattering bones into the surf. Some countries were so low-lying that they were in danger of erasure. “It’s a pretty grim thing to have to do, year after year — to tell young Pacific Islanders that the best available science says they won’t have habitable sovereign territory within their lifetimes,” Rose says..."
AMNH.ORG:"Every atom of oxygen in our lungs, of carbon in our muscles, of calcium in our bones, of iron in our blood - was created inside a star before Earth was born.
Hydrogen and helium, the lightest elements were produced in the Big Bang.
Almost all of the other, heavier, elements were produced inside stars.
Stars forge heavy elements by fusion in their cores. In a star of intermediate mass, these elements can mix into the star’s atmosphere and be spread into space through stellar winds.
During the supernova explosion of a massive star is the only time when elements heavier than iron are fused. The supernova expels this material across interstellar space..."
CNN:"
Artificial intelligence is coming for your job: 41% of employers intend to downsize their workforce as AI automates certain tasks, a World Economic Forum survey showed Wednesday.
Out of hundreds of large companies surveyed around the world, 77% also said they were planning to reskill and upskill their existing workers between 2025-2030 to better work alongside AI, according to findings published in the WEF’s Future of Jobs Report. But, unlike the previous, 2023 edition, this year’s report did not say that most technologies, including AI, were expected to be “a net positive” for job numbers...."
CNN:"For about 50 years, the scientific community has been grappling with a substantial problem: There isn’t enough visible matter in the universe.
All the matter we can see — stars, planets, cosmic dust and everything in between — can’t account for why the universe behaves as it does, and there must be five times as much of it around for researchers’ observations to make sense, according to NASA. Scientists call that dark matter, because it does not interact with light and is invisible..."
ABCNEWS:"One of nature's most awe-inspiring creatures, the rare and giant blue whale, was seen off the coast of Massachusetts in a rare back-to-back sighting.
Cape Ann Whale Watch, a touring group based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, took to Facebook on Monday to share footage of one of two blue whale sightings that day.
"We got to see this 'largest animal on our planet' on both of our trips today," the group wrote alongside footage of the blue whale spouting water and breaching to the surface..."
CNN:"For Māori conservationist Mere Takoko, “losing one whale is like losing an ancestor.” The animals “taught our people about navigation across the Pacific, particularly across the Milky Way… And this is information that was given to our ancestors.”
The environmental activist from the small town of Rangitukia, on New Zealand’s east coast, is spearheading a movement of Indigenous groups in the Pacific pushing to protect the magnificent marine mammals, inking a groundbreaking treaty to make them legal persons with inherent rights."
CNN:"Rare footage shows deep-sea creature attacking camera
Scientists from Australia and the UK captured unique footage of the rare deep-sea hooked squid, one of the largest deep-water squids in the world."
WASHINGTONPOST:"When conservationists began efforts to save the Iberian lynx, a wild cat that had long been considered a symbol of the Iberian Peninsula, they felt the lynx would be extinct in roughly five years if their efforts failed...."
CNN:"
Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, never experienced a ruinous population collapse, according to an analysis of ancient DNA from 15 former inhabitants of the remote island in the Pacific Ocean.
The analysis also suggested that inhabitants of the island, which lies about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) from the South American mainland, reached the Americas in the 1300s — long before Christopher Columbus’ 1492 landing in the New World."
AP:"Taters the cat stars in NASA's first video sent by laser from deep space
32,184 views Dec 19, 2023
An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light.
Thumbnail source: NASA
CNN:"Arnold Schwarzenegger says going to the gym is all about 'survival'
CNN's Chris Wallace joins actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for a visit to Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California, Schwarzenegger's regular workout spot since he first moved to the United States in 1968."
:"YOUTUBE/60-MINUTES:"Once bound for extinction, giant pandas were saved by their one evolutionary advantage: they're adorable. Scott Pelley reported on their resurgence in 2019." Two giant pandas from China arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and made their debut January 24,2025
"
POINT DEFIANCE ZOO & AQUARIUM:"
Leaf it to Willow to redefine fall fun! 🍂 Watch as our adorable and spunky muskox calf joyfully dives headfirst into her very first pile of maple leaves and turns her leafy playground into a zoomie extravaganza. 🍁😍
..
"
"WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Fresh corroboration of the perplexing observation that the universe is expanding more rapidly than expected has scientists pondering the cause - perhaps some unknown factor involving the mysterious cosmic components dark energy and dark matter.Two years of data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have now validated the Hubble Space Telescope's earlier finding that the rate of the universe's expansion is faster - by about 8% - than would be expected based on what astrophysicists know of the initial conditions in the cosmos and its evolution over billions of years. The discrepancy is called the Hubble Tension..."
CNN:"
The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*, is spinning rapidly and altering space-time around it, a new study has found.
Space-time is the four-dimensional continuum that describes how we see space, fusing one-dimensional time and three-dimensional space together to represent the space fabric that curves in response to massive celestial bodies...."
CNN:"Astronomers have observed a massive pair of jets releasing from a supermassive black hole 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The megastructure spans 23 million light-years in length, making these black hole jets the largest ever seen, according to new research.
Black holes are viewed as the garbage disposals of the universe, gobbling up nearly everything that comes close to them. But a fraction of material is ejected before an object falls in, forming a jet on either side of the black hole, said Martijn Oei, a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology and the lead author of a new study describing the discovery."
NYTIMES:"When NASA’s next-generation space observatory launches in a few years, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will expand the search for exoplanets as well as rogue planets, or worlds that travel through space without orbiting stars...
”"
CNN:"
The powerful Euclid telescope has captured millions of stars and galaxies in a dazzling new mosaic — and it represents just the first piece of a massive puzzle the observatory has been designed to solve.
The European Space Agency mission, launched in July 2023, will create the largest and most accurate 3D map of the cosmos yet to help answer enduring questions about the “dark side” of the universe..."
LIVESCIENCE.COM:"Astronomers have spotted an unexpectedly hot galaxy cluster in the early universe that's challenging theories of galactic evolution.
The scorching cluster existed just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, blazing far earlier and hotter than current models of galaxy cluster formation predict should be possible. The discovery suggests that the predicted patterns of cluster growth might need a rethink, researchers reported Jan. 5 in the journal Nature..."
CNN:"...OpenStar is one of a constellation of fusion companies has sprung up over the past five years, pursuing diverse technologies, said Gerald Navratil, a professor of fusion energy and plasma physics at Columbia University.
“The maturity of the field is such that now private venture capitalists are willing to put up money to try to see if they can get to fusion a little faster,” he told CNN.
One of the largest commercial ventures, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which uses high-temperature superconducting magnets within a tokamak, has raised more than $2 billion.
Others, like OpenStar, are exploring more unusual tech. Seattle-based Zap Energy is trying to build a compact, scalable reactor that doesn’t use magnets at all, but instead fires pulses of power into a stream of plasma..."
CNN:"
It feels as if America has emerged from a viral medical pandemic only to be consumed by a moral pandemic, fueled by hate that is poisoning our hearts and minds. It is making people hate and turn against one another, to fear and punish that which makes us different rather than embracing what makes us unique and our common humanity.
..."
CNN:"Holocaust survivor Michael Bornstein reacts to comments made by Fox News host Greg Gutfeld about the work skills of concentration camp inmates during World War II... "
CNN:"Emails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the inhumane treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas...”
WASHINGTONPOST:
CNN:"
A Saudi court has sentenced a retired teacher to death over his comments online, say his brother and advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
Muhammad al-Ghamdi, a 54-year-old retired Saudi teacher, was sentenced “following 5 tweets criticizing corruption and human rights violations,” his brother Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi tweeted last week.
According to Human Rights Watch, Muhammad al-Ghamdi was arrested last year and given little access to a lawyer before his conviction in July..."
CNN:"
Hundreds of families gathered in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina on June 15, plotting their escape from what had become a hellscape of blown-out buildings scrawled with racist graffiti and streets strewn with corpses. The state governor had just been executed and mutilated by Arab militia groups, leaving civilians with no choice but to flee.
What followed was a gruesome massacre, eyewitnesses said, believed to be one of the most violent incidents in the genocide-scarred Sudanese region’s history..."
CNN:"After being a Nazi leader for two and a half decades, he says he regrets his past beliefs Reality Check's John Avlon speaks with former NSM leader Jeff Schoep about the nationwide increase in extremism and what led him to change his neo-Nazi beliefs..."
CNN:"Survivors give horrific accounts of 'parade' of sexual abuse at Catholic high school
Four survivors shared their stories more than 50 years after they were brutally physically and sexually assaulted by priests at an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore."
CBSNEWS:"Two decades ago, the 9/11 Commission found al Qaeda acted alone in the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, but victims' families say that isn't true. They point to a newly-released video filmed outside the U.S. Capitol two years before the attacks, and other evidence, as proof. The families are now suing Saudi Arabia, claiming its government provided crucial assistance to the hijackers and planners of the attacks.
.."
CNN:"The latest United Nations report on the Taliban published Friday is a blistering indictment of the delusions that surrounded the US withdrawal agreement with the Taliban that was negotiated by Donald Trump’s administration in 2020.
President Joe Biden followed through on that agreement almost two years ago when he withdrew all US troops from Afghanistan in a chaotic evacuation that marked the end of the US’ longest war.
The withdrawal agreement was supposed to be predicated on the Taliban negotiating with the elected Afghan government about some kind of power-sharing arrangement and cutting their ties to terrorist groups like al Qaeda. But none of that happened..."
CNN:"When the US withdrew from Afghanistan years later, the presidential palace quickly overrun by the Taliban, all I could think was, “How could my husband die, and his death didn’t break me, yet the fall of the country he died in did? How could this be worse than the knock at the door?”
But this time, everything I loved and everything I had invested in was broken alongside me in pieces on the floor. The country I cherished, the people I treasured. The girls in the school in Paktya – the village Chris died in – who made me pillowcases and gifts, the children at the Kabul orphanage I had just carried, there was no more hope for them. I wanted to hold those babies and never let them go.
..."
CNN:"
Two Indianapolis police officers had spent the day searching in vain for a missing baby in a stolen vehicle when they stopped to eat and gather their wits.
A woman suspected of stealing the 2010 black Honda Accord had been taken into custody earlier that day...but the vehicle was still missing. More urgently, baby Kason Thomass... had yet to be found...
“It was time for us to decompress because we were disappointed that we could not find him,”... “And then God opened up the heavens to us and almost took him and put him right in our hands.”...
"
REUTERS:"TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around Japan and South Korea.
Japan and the U.S. "reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and U.S. forces," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday..."
BBC:"Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the city's controversial national security law (NSL).
The 78-year-old UK citizen, who has been in jail since December 2020, pleaded not guilty. He faces life in prison and is expected to be sentenced early next year.
Lai used his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper as part of a wider effort to lobby foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, the court found.
Hong Kong chief executive John Lee welcomed the verdict, noting that Lai's actions "damaged the country's interests and the welfare of Hong Kongers". Rights groups called it "a cruel judicial farce".
They say the NSL, which Beijing defends as essential for the city's stability, has been used to crush dissent.
Delivering the verdict on Monday, Judge Esther Toh said there is "no doubt" that Jimmy Lai "harboured hatred" for the People's Republic of China (PRC), citing his "constant invitation to the US to help bring down the government of the PRC with the excuse of helping the people of Hong Kong".
When Lai testified in November, he denied all the charges against him, saying he had "never" used his foreign contacts to influence foreign policy on Hong Kong..."
REUTERS:"...'WE'RE NOT TRASH'
“I don't even feel myself because I'm scared everywhere I go. Am I a target? I don't even know. That's very sad,” said Ifrah Farah, a U.S. citizen from Somalia and the owner of a hair salon in Karmel Mall.
“I never did anything wrong; I'm a hard-working mom. We're not trash," she said.
Jamal Osman, a Minneapolis city council member and Somali refugee who immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, said he’s been deluged with calls from constituents asking if it’s safe to venture outside and to get updates on ICE activity, noting that the community now feels like a “war zone.”.."
WSJ:"...When Munger died two years ago, weeks before his 100th birthday, the billionaire investor was among the nation’s most beloved businessmen, celebrated for his wit and wisdom—and the role he played helping Warren Buffett build Berkshire Hathaway into a trillion-dollar company.
The unexpected last chapter of Munger’s life is less well-known. In the year before his death, Munger made over $50 million from a bet on an out-of-favor industry he had shunned for 60 years. He revved up his real-estate activities, working with a young neighbor to place big, long-term wagers, unusual for a nonagenarian. He faced down health challenges and wrestled with the future.
“Even a week or two before passing away, he was asking questions such as, ‘Does Moore’s Law apply in the age of AI?’” recalls his friend Jamie Montgomery, referring to whether artificial intelligence would see exponential gains like those experienced in computational power.
Friends and family say Munger’s eventful last period offers lessons for investors—and a blueprint for how to age with grace, equanimity and purpose.
“To the day he died, that mind was running,” says Munger’s stepson, Hal Borthwick. “He never stopped learning.”..."
BLOOMBERG:"The US plan for ending Russia’s invasion is a remarkable document. It rewards aggression and punishes the victim. It undermines the most important principle of international law, which is that sovereign borders should not be changed by force. It suggests security guarantees, but fails to say how they would be enforced — and then limits the means by which they could be.
It amounts to the enforced capitulation of Ukraine for gain and profit, the blueprint for a modern Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in which one side’s interest in the division of Ukraine is territorial and the other’s commercial. It is, in a word, shameful..."
CNN:"Newly released inflation figures show that President Donald Trump was wrong when he repeatedly claimed this month that grocery prices are “down” or “way down.”
They were up, again, last month. And they have increased since the start of his presidency.
Average grocery prices rose 0.3% from August to September, according to Consumer Price Index figures released Friday. That increase followed a 0.6% jump from July to August, which was the biggest month-to-month jump in three years.
Average grocery prices in September were about 2.7% higher than they were a year prior and about 1.4% higher than they were in January, the month Trump returned to office.
The grocery price increases have been broad, spanning the vast majority of product categories tracked by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prices in four of the six major grocery categories increased from August to September. The cereals and bakery products category was up 0.7%; the nonalcoholic beverages category was also up 0.7%; the meats, poultry, fish and eggs category was up 0.3%; the “other food at home” category was up 0.5%. The fruits and vegetables category was unchanged, while the dairy and related products category was down 0.5%.
Prices in all six categories have increased over the past year. Since September 2024, the nonalcoholic beverages category was up 5.3%; the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs category was up 5.2%; the “other food at home” category was up 1.9%; the cereals and bakery products category was up 1.6%; the fruits and vegetables category was up 1.3%; and the dairy and related products category was up 0.7%.
There have been particularly sharp increases since September 2024 in the prices of coffee (up 18.9%) and beef and veal (up 14.7%). Overall consumer prices are up 3.0% since September 2024.
Repeated false claims about grocery prices
Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce grocery prices. Since returning to the White House, he has claimed over and over that he has actually done so – ignoring the federal data that shows he has not.
He continued to make such claims even after the September release of the previous Consumer Price Index report that showed the 0.6% increase in average grocery prices from July to August.
“Grocery prices are way down,” he said Tuesday. “Groceries are down,” he said October 16. “Now, as you know, groceries are down,” he said October 14. “We’ve gotten prices way down for groceries,” he said October 10. “Under my leadership…grocery prices are down,” he told world leaders at the United Nations on September 23.
It’s normal for grocery prices to rise over time, as overall prices tend to do, and there is always a complicated mix of domestic and international factors at play. This year’s inflation in grocery prices is markedly lower than the 2022 spikes that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it’s important to note that food prices can be volatile for reasons like severe weather, unexpected supply chain snarls and other temporary disruptions.
But food economists like Michigan State University professor David Ortega say two of Trump’s signature policies – tariffs on imported goods (including food) and a crackdown on undocumented immigrants (who make up a large percentage of the US farm workforce) – have clearly contributed to the increases in grocery prices this year.
“This uptick in food prices is consistent with what we would expect the effects of some of the administration’s policies to have on food,” Ortega said.
.."
WSJ:"The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes and are being driven by Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Shapley has told people that he is going to replace Guy Ficco, the chief of the investigative unit, who has been at the agency for decades, and that Shapley has been putting together a list of donors and groups he believes IRS investigators should look at. Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups, according to a senior IRS official and another person briefed on the list. It couldn’t be determined upon what grounds Shapley would seek to begin such an investigation.
.."
REUTERS:"For decades, Republicans railed against what they saw as a liberal media establishment shaping American politics from the left.
Nearly a year into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, that narrative is flipping. A new constellation of influencers, billionaire moguls and social-media platforms – many embracing or amplifying White House themes – is pulling the nation’s information ecosystem to the right.
Right-wing influencers and conservative media personalities, often working in lockstep with Trump officials, have become a potent force in a widening campaign of retribution against perceived enemies of the Trump administration. Empowered by ownership and technology shifts in the media and bolstered by financial incentives, these figures help discredit Trump’s rivals and amplify his administration’s talking points and false claims, blurring boundaries between official messaging and private-sector news and opinion.
This account is based on a review of more than 300 hours of podcasts and TV shows, thousands of social media posts and interviews with 48 people – including influencers, elected officials, political strategists and media owners – and an examination of court filings...."
CNN:"Cuts to social protection for people living in poverty have created “fertile ground” for far-right movements around the world, according to a United Nations report.
Popular support for the far right has grown globally in recent years. In Europe, Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s most far-right leader since Benito Mussolini in 2022, while the far-right Alternative for Germany is now Germany’s largest opposition party. The Trump administration has endorsed far-right parties in Europe, and in Argentina far-right libertarian Javier Milei won the presidency in 2023.
The UN report, unveiled Wednesday, says changes to welfare systems have made it harder to access benefits by tightening eligibility rules or imposing stricter conditions, contributing to the kind of economic precarity and alienation that drives people to the far right.
“These punitive welfare systems increase economic insecurity, erode trust in public institutions and leave millions feeling humiliated and abandoned by mainstream politics,” the report’s author, Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in a press release.
“It is in this void that far-right populists thrive, presenting themselves as champions of those left behind by the ‘elite.’”
But he warned: “Their agenda is not to empower people in poverty – it is to further dismantle protections for their own gain.”
..."
REUTERS:"Divers off the coast of Sapientza Island in southern Greece have launched a determined effort to remove "ghost nets" — abandoned fishing gear that silently strangles marine ecosystems.Divers off the coast of Sapientza Island in southern Greece have launched a determined effort to remove "ghost nets" — abandoned fishing gear that silently strangles marine ecosystems.
Draped like curtains over the seabed, these nets trap unsuspecting sea creatures and slowly disintegrate into microplastics, poisoning the waters and suffocating life.
Attaching inflatable lift bags to the heavy, tangled nets, the divers worked with precision and urgency...."
CNN:"Celebrated photographer and conservationist Beverly Joubert is lucky to be alive. She died — four times by her husband Dereck’s count — working in Botswana in March 2017.
The Jouberts were in the bush in the Okavango Delta, when a buffalo, a creature they had extensive experience with, knocked Dereck down, before impaling his wife. The horn entered under her arm, passing through her chest, lacerated her neck and went up into her face.
“Beverly died in my arms twice and I was able to pull her back,” Dereck Joubert told CNN. “Then again in the medical plane, then again in the hospital.”
Seven surgeons and eighteen hours later, Beverly Joubert began the long road to recovery. “I now have 41 screws in (my) face and seven plates, so I am a little bionic,” she said with a gentle smile, sitting next to her husband on a video call..."
REUTERS:"UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.
The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the U.N. in July - hosted by Saudi Arabia and France - on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.
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A resolution endorsing the declaration received 142 votes in favor and 10 against, while 12 countries abstained.
The vote comes ahead of a meeting of world leaders on September 22 - on the sidelines of the high-level U.N. General Assembly - where Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state.
The declaration endorsed by the 193-member General Assembly condemns the attacks against Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.
It also condemns the attacks by Israel against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, siege and starvation, "which have resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the resolution secured the international isolation of Hamas.
"For the first time today, the United Nations adopted a text condemning it for its crimes and calling for its surrender and disarmament," he said in an X post..."
CNN:"What we're covering here
• The US economy added just 22,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% from 4.2%.
• Friday’s report is the first data under a new leader at the BLS, after President Donald Trump fired the previous one for producing data that Trump baselessly claimed must be “a scam.” Just 73,000 positions were added in July and previous monthly totals were substantially revised down.
• Friday’s data was far worse than expected, with economists having forecast around 76,500 jobs added in August.
• It’s the latest snapshot of the US economy under Trump’s aggressive trade agenda, as inflation continues to tick up and there are now more unemployed people than jobs for them..."
WSJ:"As President Trump sat with top donors at his New Jersey golf club this month, he made a private admission: He believed the coronavirus vaccine was one of the biggest accomplishments of his presidency, but he couldn’t bask in it.
Trump told donors at a dinner—who were paying $1 million to be there—that he wished he could talk more about Operation Warp Speed, the government program he initiated that helped expedite the development of the vaccine, attendees said. The guests included Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla, whose company developed one of the first Covid-19 vaccines.
Trump’s private comments illuminate the fraught politics around vaccines that the White House is confronting, which reached a boiling point Wednesday after the administration fired the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top officials quit their jobs in the midst of disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
The agency is now facing a crisis. Longtime officials there said Kennedy is ignoring scientific findings to pursue an antivaccine agenda, threatening public health as the calendar gets closer to winter and seasonal outbreaks of Covid and other viruses.
A spokesman for HHS didn’t respond to requests for comment..."
WSJ:"U.S. companies have an unwelcome message for inflation-weary consumers: Prices are going up.
Companies including Hormel Foods, J.M. Smucker and Ace Hardware said this week they would raise prices for reasons ranging from higher meat costs to tariffs. Large retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy said some tariff-related price increases are already in place. More are on the way.
“Some vendors are clearly communicating cost increases. Some are adjusting promotions. Some are planning to potentially increase prices with new product introductions, which always happens,” Best Buy Chief Executive Corie Barry said on an analyst call Thursday. She said price increases are much lower than the overall tariff rate.
The escalating prices offer a glimpse of how President Trump’s trade policy is starting to trickle down to American shoppers. For consumers fatigued by recent bouts of heavy inflation, the announcements portend another round of sticker shock when buying groceries and household goods.
..."
CNN:"At least six people were killed and several injured on Monday after two attackers opened fire on a busy bus stop in Jerusalem, Israeli officials said, marking the deadliest attack in the city in more than two years.
The gunmen, who arrived at the junction in a vehicle carrying weapons, ammunition and a knife, shot at dozens of people waiting near buses in the area.
“I saw people falling or getting hurt while trying to escape,” eyewitness Elazar Toledano told Reuters. Toledano said it took people a few seconds to understand what was happening after the first burst of gunfire. “Someone suddenly shouted ‘Terror attack!’ and people started running.”
The suspected attackers were killed by an Israeli combat soldier and a civilian at the site, prompting calls by far-right ministers for the arming of more civilians in Israel. Police identified the gunmen as Muthanna Omar, 20, and Muhammad Taha, 21, who are both from villages just outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank..."
APNEWS:"WHY THIS MATTERS: Protests in Nepal have revealed the extent of young people’s frustration with the lack of opportunity in the Himalayan nation, as they spiraled into a broader challenge to the government. While around a fifth of young people are unemployed, many note that the children of the political elite seem to enjoy luxury lifestyles and numerous advantages.
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s government responded to escalating violent protests over a ban on popular social media platforms with deadly force. The public outrage over the ban and the deaths of 19 protesters on Monday led to the resignation of the prime minister and exposed deep discontent over corruption."
REUTERS:"Several districts of Gaza City hit
Gaza health officials report more deaths from hunger
Egypt making latest push for ceasefire talks
CAIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Israeli forces demolished houses in eastern areas of Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people in aerial and tank fire, local health authorities said, as the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas told mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks.
Residents and medics said eight people were killed when Israeli tank shelling hit a house in Zeitoun neighbourhood, while a man was killed in an airstrike on a building in the nearby Shejaia suburb. Two other people were killed in tank shelling in Tuffah, a third Gaza City suburb.
Local health authorities said they had received desperate calls from families trapped in the Zeitoun area, including from people saying they were wounded, and that ambulance vehicles could not reach them.
"The explosions are almost non-stop in eastern Gaza areas, mainly Zeitoun and Shejaia. The occupation (Israel) is erasing homes there, as we hear from some friends who live nearby," said Ismail, 40, from Gaza City..."
APNEWS:"MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank (AP) — Israel’s far-right finance minister announced approval of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts.
The announcement comes as many countries, including Australia, Britain, France, and Canada said they would recognize a Palestinian state in September.
“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a ceremony on Thursday. “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state — will receive an answer from us on the ground,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not publicly comment on the plan on Thursday, but he has touted it in the past..."
CNN:"...He said he’s built up a loyal seasonal workforce for his Wasco County operation called CE Farm Management, about 90 minutes from Portland, with the same people coming year after year and staying in touch with birth announcements and Christmas cards in between. But this year half of them did not arrive, and many of his neighbors were scrambling for pickers too. All told, Chandler said he will lose $250,000-$300,000 of revenue, left to rot on the trees..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to rescind the landmark legal opinion that underpins virtually all of its regulations to curb climate change.
The move would end EPA regulations on greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles from lightweight cars to heavy-duty trucks, while also undercutting rules that limit power plant emissions and control the release of methane by oil and gas companies. The EPA’s new proposal argues that Congress, in the Clean Air Act, does not give the agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Ask your climate questions. With the help of generative Al, we'll try to deliver answers based on our published reporting.
If the rule takes effect, it would immediately reverse the vehicle regulations and spark a legal battle that probably would take years. Should the Trump administration prevail in court, the rule would severely limit the ability of future presidents to curb fossil fuel emissions.
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“If finalized, today’s announcement would amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday at a truck dealership in Indianapolis.
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The EPA released what is known as the “endangerment finding” in 2009. It concluded that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, establishing a legal basis to regulate them as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA’s latest proposal seeks to revise the agency’s own past interpretation of the Clean Air Act.
“We do not have that power on our own to decide as an agency that we are going to combat global climate change because we give ourselves that power,” Zeldin said, referencing Congress’s ability to enact laws.
“This is not just an attack on science but on common sense,” said Zealan Hoover, a former senior adviser to the EPA administrator under President Joe Biden. “The National Climate Assessment provides over 2,000 pages of detailed evidence that climate change harms our health and welfare, but you can also ask the millions of Americans who have lost their homes and livelihoods to extreme fires, floods and storms that are only getting worse.”
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REUTERS:"American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era
This neo-Nazi group is changing the face of U.S. white extremism.HOCHATOWN, Oklahoma - Wearing cargo shorts, flip-flops and a baseball cap shading his eyes from the sun, Dalton Henry Stout blends in easily in rural America.
Except for the insignia on his hat. It bears the skull and crossbones of the infamous “Death’s Head” SS units that oversaw Nazi Germany’s concentration camps – and the initials “AFN,” short for Aryan Freedom Network, the neo-Nazi group Stout leads with his partner..."
CNN:"What we're covering
• Funeral processions: Crowds have gathered in Gaza to mourn Al Jazeera journalists who were among seven people killed by Israel in a military strike on Gaza. The UN called the strike a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”.
• Journalist targeted: The IDF said it targeted correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, 28, a prominent reporter who extensively covered the war from inside Gaza, after previously accusing him of leading a Hamas cell, an allegation Al-Sharif denied.
• Media access: Israel does not allow international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip to report independently..."
CNN:"For the past month Chinese aircraft carrier strike groups have been operating further from home shores and in greater strength than ever before, testing state-of-the-art technology and sending a message they are a force to be reckoned with, analysts and officials say.
Since early May, a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla led by the carrier Shandong has conducted exercises north of the Philippines; its newest carrier, the soon-to-be commissioned Fujian, has been on sea trials in disputed waters west of the Korean Peninsula; and its oldest carrier, the Liaoning has led exercises in the Pacific waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
During the drills the Fujian for the first time conducted aircraft take-off and landing operations at sea using its advanced electromagnetic catapult system (EMALS), regional defense officials said.
..."
APNEWS:"
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world’s nations are gathering in France next month to tackle what the United Nations calls a global emergency facing the world’s oceans as they confront rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish and other resources.
The third U.N. Ocean Conference aims to unite governments, scientists, businesses and civil society to take action and raise money to address these and other crises facing the oceans and the people who rely on them for their survival.
Conference Secretary-General Li Junhua told reporters on Tuesday he hopes it will not be another routine meeting but “the pivotal opportunity” to accelerate action and mobilize people in all sectors and across the world.
The conference, co-sponsored by France and Costa Rica, takes place in Nice on the French Riviera from June 7 to June 13. It is expected to bring together more than 60 world leaders, dozens of ministers, about 4,000 government officials and 6,000 members of civil society, Li told The Associated Press.
..“What is different this time around?,” she said. “Zero rhetoric. Maximum results.”
..."
REUTERS:"TURKU, Finland/BERLIN, May 27 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister threatened unspecified measures against Israel on Tuesday and said Berlin would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law, as he and Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered their most severe rebuke yet over Gaza.
Germany, along with the United States, had long remained in support of Israel's conduct since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, even as Israel became increasingly isolated internationally. Its about-turn comes as the European Union is reviewing its Israel policy and Britain, France and Canada also threatened "concrete actions" over Gaza...."
NYTIMES:"The Israeli military announced on Sunday that its forces had begun “extensive ground operations” throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip, advancing its plan to move farther into the enclave and seize more land in an intensified campaign likely to displace more civilians there.
This new stage in the 19-month war is aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing the hostages it is still holding and ultimately destroying the group or forcing it to surrender, according to the Israeli government and military officials.
But details were scarce, and it was not immediately clear how far the Israeli forces would go at this stage, or which areas of Gaza would be most affected.
Israeli warplanes have been pounding Gaza in recent days to prepare the way for the expansion of ground operations, the military said, adding that the wave of strikes had hit what it described as more than 670 “Hamas terror targets.”..."
NYTIMES:"Jewish Groups and Synagogues Defend Students Detained by ICE
More than two dozen are joining a legal effort to free a Tufts University student the Trump administration is trying to deport because of her pro-Palestinian views.
..
They are a group of progressive Jewish organizations and congregations, and they are coming to the defense of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Muslim graduate student at Tufts, who faces deportation after she helped write an essay critical of Israel.
The coalition includes synagogues in places like West Newton, Mass., San Francisco and the Upper West Side of New York, along with J-Street, a pro-Israel advocacy group. On Thursday, they filed a brief in federal court in Burlington, Vt., objecting to the tactics the government was using against Ms. Ozturk in the name of combating antisemitism.
In the brief, the groups argued she should be released from the Louisiana immigration detention center where she has been held for over two weeks, after masked immigration agents surrounded and arrested her on a street near her home in Somerville, Mass.
“Jewish people came to America to escape generations of similar predations,” the brief says. “Yet the images of Ozturk’s arrest in twenty-first century Massachusetts evoke the oppressive tactics employed by the authoritarian regimes that many ancestors of amici’s members left behind in Odessa, Kishinev, and Warsaw.”
There have been reports of almost 1,000 international students and scholars at universities across the country who have lost their legal status since mid-March, according to the Association of International Educators.
..."
CNN:"
At least 22 people, including seven children, were killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a school compound sheltering thousands of displaced people in the Al Bureij camp in central Gaza, hospital officials said.
Dozens more were injured in the strike, they said.
At the site of the attack, video from the scene showed a large crater where people searched through the rubble of the school for survivors, the remnants of tents and belongings littering the ground.
Safaa Al Khaldi, who was sheltering at the school, said that her son was injured in the strike.
“Our children are starving, our children cannot find a piece of bread,” she said, referring to Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza, now in its third month. “What did we do wrong?”
.."
CNN:"Disturbing aftermath of Israeli settler rampage
Dozens of Israeli settlers launched an arson attack on an agricultural area in the occupied West Bank Tuesday evening, injuring at least 4 Palestinians. The attack took place in the town of Beit Lid east of Tulkarm, damaging the Deir Sharaf Bedouin village and Al-Juneidi dairy factory. It is the latest in what has become the most violent period of Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in nearly two decades since the UN began tracking such incidents. CNN's Jeremy Diamond surveys the aftermath at the scene of the attack.
.."
"WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - Food banks across the country, already strained by rising demand, say they will have less food to distribute because of at least $1 billion in federal funding cuts and pauses by the Trump administration, according to Reuters interviews with organizations in seven states.
Hunger in the U.S. has ticked up in recent years with rising inflation and the end of pandemic-era programs that expanded food aid. President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to lower inflation by cutting back on government spending, including two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that helped schools and food banks buy food from local farms.
.."
CNN:"...The number of Israeli herding outposts has dramatically increased since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition took power in 2022 on a platform of settlement expansion. The government includes ministers who are themselves settlers and want to annex the occupied territory to Israel. In the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel’s invasion of Gaza, settlers have accelerated land grabs with support from the state.
Israeli herding outposts have ballooned by nearly 50% since the war broke out, according to a joint report shared exclusively with CNN by Peace Now and Kerem Navot, two Israeli advocacy groups that oppose settlements and track their development, covering data up to the end of December 2024.
Settlers established 49 new illegal shepherding outposts between October 7, 2023, and December 2024, seizing large swathes of surrounding land, according to the report which was corroborated by a CNN analysis of satellite imagery of the area..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"JERUSALEM — Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was attacked Monday by a group of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and later arrested by the Israeli army, according to activists and a neighbor who spoke to The Washington Post. Ballal was in his home village of Susya, part of the cluster of rural Palestinian communities known as Masafer Yatta, when settlers approached the village and tried to graze their sheep on private Palestinian land just before iftar, the sundown meal at which Muslims break their daily fast during Ramadan, according to Nasser Nawaj’ah, who lives in the small village and reports on settler violence for the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. He spoke with Ballal’s wife, who described the attack.
A video taken by Khamudi Mahmoud, a resident of the village, shows a tall man wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap aggressively approaching Ballal in a rocky clearing as Ballal backs away and a crowd of villagers shout behind him.
Dozens of masked settlers wielding batons, knives and a rifle then attacked property and residents, activists focused on documenting settler attacks in the area said in a statement afterward..."
CNN:"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced fury from protesters outside Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, a day after he resumed the war in Gaza, shattering the two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.
On Highway 1 – the main road connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – some protesters held a banner reading: “The future of the coalition or the future of Israel.”
The banner alludes to how, over nearly 18 months of war and fragile ceasefires, Netanyahu has been accused of prioritizing the solidity of his governing coalition over the security of his country, as well as the lives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza.
Those accusations have been made with fresh anger after Israel bombarded Gaza overnight into Tuesday and killed more than 400 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, in one of the war’s deadliest days..."
CNN:"
Palestinians demonstrated against Hamas in northern Gaza on Tuesday, in what appeared to be the largest protest against the militant group since its attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Video obtained by CNN showed large crowds, estimated to be thousands of people by a CNN journalist on the ground, marching through the streets of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, chanting “For god’s sake, Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists” and “We want an end to the war.”
A message shared on social media appeared to call for nine anti-Hamas demonstrations across Gaza on Wednesday, with the protest organizers saying, “our voices must reach all the spies who sold our blood.”.."
CNN:"
The US Treasury Department notified lawmakers on Monday that a China state-sponsored actor infiltrated Treasury workstations in what officials are describing as a “major incident.”
In a letter reviewed by CNN, a Treasury official said it was informed by a third-party software service provider on December 8 that a threat actor used a stolen key to remotely access certain Treasury workstations and unclassified documents.
“Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor,” Aditi Hardikar, assistant secretary for management at the US Treasury, wrote in the letter.
A Treasury spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that the compromised service has been taken offline and officials are working with law enforcement and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
“There is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information,” the Treasury spokesperson said..."
CNN:"Body-worn camera footage released Friday shows correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York punching and kicking a handcuffed inmate in a fatal beating that is now under investigation by the New York attorney general.
Robert Brooks was pronounced dead on December 10 at Wynn Hospital in Utica, according to Attorney General Letitia James. Brooks, 43, had been serving a 12-year prison sentence since 2017 for first-degree assault, prison documents show.
CNN has reviewed the footage, parts of which show surrounding officers kicking and punching Brooks, who has his hands handcuffed behind his back in a medical examination room. Brooks’ face appears bloody in some of the footage.
At one point, an officer appears to shove something in Brooks’ mouth before repeatedly hitting him in the face. Another officer then punches Brooks in the groin before using a shoe to strike him..."
CNN:"
A newborn baby died from the cold in a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza, a health official said Wednesday, highlighting the stark challenges to survival faced by Palestinian children displaced from their homes amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the strip.
Sela Mahmoud Al-Fasih “froze to death from the extreme cold” in Al-Mawasi, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, posted on X on Wednesday.
In the past week, at least four infants have died of hypothermia from low temperatures and a lack of access to warmth while living in tents, Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, the head of pediatrics and obstetrics at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, said on Thursday. Among them were a three-day-old and a one-month-old who also died in Al-Mawasi, he said.
Staff in the neonatal ICU see at least five cases of hypothermia per day, added Al-Farra. Reduced breastfeeding and limited availability of infant formula has severely compounded the risk of hypothermia among babies, he told CNN. Meanwhile, health workers are struggling to treat young patients due to shortages of electricity, diesel and other fuel.
“This is one of the disastrous results of this criminal war,” said Al-Farra..."
APNEWS:" Democrats in North Carolina were celebrating big wins in the swing state after the November election, including victories in races for governor and other top statewide offices. But the political high didn’t last long.
Republican lawmakers are stripping away some core powers of the newly elected officials through a series of wide-ranging changes, anticipating that the result of a yet-to-be-called state legislative race will cost them their veto-proof majority next year. Critics say the moves, which were rushed through without any chance for public comment or analysis, undermine the voters and are simply undemocratic, but they have few options for undoing them.
“Let us speak plainly: This bill is nothing more than a desperate power grab,” said Courtney Patterson, vice president of the NAACP’s North Carolina chapter...."
NYTIMES:"Amnesty International on Thursday became the first major international human rights organization to accuse Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza, drawing a rebuke from Israeli officials who denied the claim.
Amnesty’s contention, outlined in a 296-page report, comes as the International Court of Justice, the principal court of the United Nations, is reviewing similar allegations by South Africa, claims that have been at the heart of difficult debates about the war around the world.
“Israel committed and is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” the Amnesty report said.
“Israel’s unlawful conduct throughout its military offensive resulted in unprecedented harm to Palestinians in Gaza that resulted in the massive scale of killings and serious injuries over an extremely short time,” it added.
Lawyers say that genocide is among the most difficult crimes to prove in international law because it requires demonstrating the specific intent to destroy a group, “in whole or in part,” something that Israeli leaders have persistently denied is their intent in Gaza.
In a rare move, the Israel chapter of Amnesty International protested the findings of the report, saying “the majority” of local members “holds that the claim that Israel is committing a genocide is not sufficiently substantiated.”
Still, the local chapter said that it was worried “serious crimes” were being perpetrated in Gaza and that the killing and destruction in Gaza was at “catastrophic proportions and must cease immediately.”
The chapter later said that four members of its board resigned over differences of opinion on the report. The organization didn’t clarify whether those who resigned were in favor or against the report..."
THE ICC:"
Today, on 21 November 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (‘Court’), in its composition for the Situation in the State of Palestine, unanimously issued two decisions rejecting challenges by the State of Israel (‘Israel’) brought under articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute (the ‘Statute’). It also issued warrants of arrest for Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant...."
NYTIMES:"We Americans live in faith with our Constitution and with the past generations of Americans who swore to protect it and fought to defend it. One week from today, we will decide whether Donald Trump is fit to be president of the United States again. He is not. When we entrusted our Constitution and our democracy to him before, he betrayed us. Campaigning for the presidency again, he now promises to exact vengeance against his fellow Americans whom he deems “the enemy from within,” those who have dared to challenge his betrayal, an enemies list that includes Republicans and Democrats alike.
There could be no higher duty of American citizenship than to decisively repudiate a man who betrayed the nation when he was previously entrusted with the highest office in the land and now threatens the persecution of American citizens who have crossed him. In the almost 250 years since the founding of the nation, no president before Donald Trump has ever so betrayed America..."
THEGUARDIAN:"
World must act to prevent ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Gaza, António Guterres warns
Secretary general makes appeal as civilian casualties mount amid intensive Israeli strikes on north
Patrick Greenfield in Cali, Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and Julian Borger in Jerusalem
Wed 30 Oct 2024 14.05 EDT
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The UN secretary general, António Guterres has warned Israel could carry out the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza if the international community does not make a determined stand to prevent it.
Guterres made his appeal at a time of mounting civilian casualties from the Israeli bombardment of northern Gaza. A strike on Tuesday in Beit Lahiya district killed at least 93 people, in what the UN said was just one of at least seven “mass casualty incidents” across Gaza in the past week.
At the same time, aid deliveries to Gaza are reported to have fallen to their lowest level since the start of the war, leading to growing allegations that Israel’s true intention is to drive the remaining Palestinian population out of at least part of Gaza.
The UN secretary general, speaking on the sidelines of the COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia, suggested that the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza had been prevented until now by its people’s refusal to succumb to the intense pressure to flee their homes and by Arab resolve not to accept mass population transfers...."
"JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Israel's parliament passed a law on Monday to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA from operating inside the country, alarming some of Israel's Western allies who fear it will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israeli officials cited the involvement of a handful of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees' thousands of staffers in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and a few staffers' membership in Hamas and other armed groups."
WASHINGTONPOST:"Is Israel carrying out de facto ethnic cleansing?
A pro-settlement Israeli group and some Israeli lawmakers gathered a couple miles from northern Gaza’s blasted neighborhoods to rally around settling Gaza.Just a couple miles from Gaza, top Israeli politicians gathered earlier this week and declaimed their grand visions for its future. “If we want it, we can renew settlements in Gaza,” said far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, telling a gathering of a major settler organization that he would encourage the “voluntary transfer” of Palestinians living in war-stricken Gaza out of the territory and the return of Jewish settlers, including those who were forced out of Gaza by their own government in 2005.
“What we have learned this year is that everything is in our hands,” Ben Gvir said, before identifying what he considered the major legacy of militant group Hamas’s terrorist strike on southern Israel more than a year ago. “We are the owners of this land. Yes, we experienced a terrible catastrophe on October 7. But what we need to understand, one year later, is that so many Israelis have changed their thinking. They have changed their mindset. They understand that when Israel acts like the rightful owners of this land, this is what brings results.”
The mindset that he was extolling was a certain streak of ruthlessness in cracking down on its enemies, from Palestinian group Hamas to Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel was doing “whatever we want,” as Ben Gvir put it, in its ongoing military operations. It underscores the conviction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who still speaks of achieving a “total victory” against Israel’s foes even when myriad Western leaders want him to agree to deals ceasing hostilities over both Gaza and Lebanon..."
CNN:"Israel has been on the receiving end of scathing criticism from European leaders who are trying to restrain the Jewish state from pressing on with its wars in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
From calls for a complete halt of weapons sales to Israel and considering sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers, to talks among EU members on reviewing Israel’s Association Agreement with the bloc, European leaders are trying to use their leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into negotiating ceasefires.
Adding impetus to their effort is the fact Israeli military strikes are now hitting UN peacekeeping bases in southern Lebanon, which house European troops."
AP:"Army Gen. Mark Milley delivered a full-throated defense of democracy and not-so-subtle swipes at former President Donald Trump during a packed ceremony as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
I'm deeply honored to have worn the cloth of this nation for 43 and a half years
and I'm humbled to have served as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
but today is not about anyone up here on this stage it's not about the president the Secretary of Defense May CQ it's not about us it's about something much larger than all of us it's about our democracy it's about our Republic we are unique among the world's armies we are unique among the world's militaries we don't take an oath to a country we don't take an oath to a tribe we don't take an oath to a religion we don't take an oath to a king or queen
or they're Tyrant or dictator that we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator
we don't take an oath to an individual we've taken oath to the Constitution and
we take an oath to the idea that is America and we're willing to die to
protect it ..."
CNN:"
John Kelly, the retired Marine general who was Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, entered the 2024 fray in stunning fashion, saying the former president fits “into the general definition of fascist” and wanted the “kind of generals Hitler had” in a series of interviews published Tuesday.
Kelly’s comments, two weeks from Election Day, are the latest in a line of warnings from former Trump White House aides about how he views the presidency and would exercise power if returned to office.
In addition to the fascist comments, Kelly — who was Trump’s chief of staff from 2017 to 2019 — told The New York Times that the former president “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”
He also confirmed to The Atlantic that Trump had said he wished his military personnel showed him the same deference Adolf Hitler’s Nazi generals showed the German dictator during World War II, and recounted the moment...
CNN:"Israel’s widening military operations in Gaza and Lebanon – and looming response to Iran’s missile attack – are testament to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for political survival, a former Israeli diplomat told CNN.
CNN:"No food has entered northern Gaza since the start of October, putting 1 million people at risk of going hungry, the World Food Programme told CNN on Friday.
In August, approximately 700 hundred aid trucks entered northern Gaza. In September, only 400 aid trucks entered, after commercial operations ceased at the Allenby Crossing on the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, the WFP added. No food trucks have entered northern Gaza in October, the WFP told CNN.
On Wednesday, the WFP said in a report that the aid entering the strip has plummeted to its lowest level in months, forcing the organization to stop the distribution of food parcels in October.
“Hunger remains rampant and the threat of famine persists,” WFP added. .."
NYTIMES:"...The story Netanyahu wants to tell the world is that Iran and its proxies are the main obstacle to the world of inclusion stretching from Europe, through the Middle East, and over to the Asia-Pacific region.
I beg to differ. The keystone to this whole alliance is a Saudi-Israel normalization based on reconciliation between Israel and moderate Palestinians.
If Israel now moved ahead and opened a dialogue on two states for two peoples with a reformed Palestinian Authority, which has already accepted the Oslo peace treaty, it would be the diplomatic knockout blow that would accompany and solidify the military knockout blow Israel just delivered to Hezbollah and Hamas...."
WSJ:"In less than two years, OpenAI has gone from a little-known nonprofit lab working on obscure technology to a world-famous business whose chief executive is the face of the artificial-intelligence revolution.
That change is tearing the company apart.
On Wednesday, OpenAI’s chief technology officer became the latest high-profile executive to announce an exit, departing as the company prepares to become a for-profit corporation. The exits are public eruptions of tensions that have been growing in the company behind ChatGPT since CEO Sam Altman returned following his brief ouster last year.
Some tensions are related to conflicts between OpenAI’s original mission to develop AI for the public good and new initiatives to deploy moneymaking products. Others relate to chaos and infighting among executives worthy of a soap opera. CTO Mira Murati is one of more than 20 OpenAI researchers and executives who have quit this year, including several co-founders..."
WOKEPREACHERTV: Billy Graham's grand daughter spoke about why she became involved in politics. It started in 2016 when a man bragged about assaulting women. Various leaders propped up this man as a poster boy for Godly manhood and leadership. She watched pastors overlook his actions and continued supporting him. These same pastors looked the other way concerning the assaults, the name calling and January 6. The reason why she got involved in politics is to go against faith leaders who support a man who destroys everything that Jesus stands for: Justice Mercy and Humility citing Micah 6:8.
CNN:"A former president of the United States
who wants to be the next president
is now directly
spreading the slogans of the conspiracy
cult QAnon,
as well as posting a crude,
sexist and misogynistic slur online,
reposting. To be precise.
Which means
he didn't come up with it himself,
but liked it so much that he wanted
the rest of the world to see it,
which is both a gentle introduction
and a warning.
One posting of several uses
two QAnon catchphrases
nothing can stop what is coming,
which refers to the so-called mass
arrests of so-called deep state members,
which in the world of QAnon
is basically anyone who has irked
Donald Trump...."
CNN:"
The father of an American hostage still being held in Gaza by Hamas criticized the deadly attacks in Lebanon that caused pagers and walkie-talkies to explode killing dozens, stating “this pager, mission-impossible action, it’s like treating agony with more agony.”
Adi Alexander, whose son Edan Alexander is being held, said in an interview on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” that “this vicious cycle of violence needs to stop.”
Israel has not officially taken credit for the attacks, but CNN has reported that Tuesday’s operation was a joint effort between the IDF and Mossad..."
CNN:"US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called for “fundamental changes” to the way Israeli forces operate in the occupied West Bank after the killing of American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at a protest last week.
Blinken’s sharply worded rebuke came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that it was “highly likely” that Eygi was “hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire.”"
CNN:"Many are feared killed and wounded after Israeli forces struck a humanitarian zone created to shelter displaced people in southern Gaza, in what Israel said was an attack on Hamas terrorists in the area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday evening that it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area” in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Hamas denied it had placed fighters in the area.
Gazan authorities said dozens of Palestinian families had been buried in the strike on a crowded displacement camp and that a search was underway to locate victims." 
CNN:"
With its announcement that militants guarding Israeli hostages in the buildings and tunnels of Gaza had “new instructions” to kill them If Israeli troops closed in, Hamas signalled the opening of a chilling new chapter in an already brutal war...."
CNN:"
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that white supremacist and nationalist groups will have to pay a more than $2 million in punitive damages to people who suffered physical or emotional injuries from the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In 2021, a jury ruled white nationalist leaders and organizations had to pay more than $26 million in damages to those who suffered injuries from the rally.
"
CNN: Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and the MAGA mob are calling for revenge and retribution
Andrew McCabe and James Comey were legally harassed by Trump for years but nothing came of it.
In the interview with Anderson, McCabe stated that people in the Justice Department and Intelligence are worried that they and their families will be subjected to extra-judicial unconstitutional detentions or worse.
WASHINGTONPOST:"The Justice Department on Wednesday charged two Russian media executives in an alleged scheme that authorities say illegally funneled millions of dollars to a Tennessee-based company to create and publish propaganda videos that racked up millions of views on U.S. social media...."
BLOOMBERG:"Almost two-thirds of Americans considered middle class said they are facing economic hardship and don’t anticipate a change for the rest of their lives, according to a poll commissioned by the National True Cost of Living Coalition.
By many traditional measures, the US economy is strong, with robust labor, housing and stock markets, as well as solid gross domestic product growth. But the data don’t capture the financial insecurity of millions of households who worry about their future and are unable to save, according to the group, created this year to come up with cost-of-living tools that help gauge economic well-being...."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The United Nations Security Council approved, 14-0, a U.S.-sponsored resolution to support the American-backed cease-fire plan for Gaza. Russia abstained.
The vote was a rare diplomatic victory for the Biden administration in the international body, where criticism has grown over what is seen by many as U.S. support for the war and Israeli intransigence..."
CNN:"The United Nations' top court has ordered Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah Governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part," said Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The court, which sits in The Hague, the Netherlands, made the ruling on Friday as part of the ongoing genocide case brought by South Africa.
.."
NYTIMES:"
Israeli Bulldozers Flatten Mile After Mile in the West Bank
Videos from Tulkarm and Jenin show bulldozers destroying infrastructure and businesses, as well as soldiers impeding local emergency responders.Over two weeks, Palestinians watched as Israeli military bulldozers tore up mile after mile of their streets and alleys, sewage seeping into the dusty ruts left behind...."
BLOOMBERG:"
Sundar Pichai, Google, and the AI Boom
Ahead of Google's developer conference I/O, Google & Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai sits down exclusively with Bloomberg Originals Host & Executive Producer Emily Chang to discuss the future of search, accelerating work on Google's AI models and how his upbringing prepared him for this moment. (Source: Bloomberg) ..”
WSJ:"As the U.S. and some Arab nations try to persuade Israel to work toward resolving its conflicts with Palestinians for good, young Palestinians increasingly say they don’t see an independent state as viable given Israel’s deep footprint in the West Bank and Gaza. Their pessimism, coupled with a flatlining peace process, makes it less likely a two-state solution will be achieved. It could also force Palestinian, Israeli and international leaders to return to the drawing board. Palestinians under 25 are less optimistic about the future than their elders, according to polling from the West Bank-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. They are also more supportive of using violence to fight for democratic rights than their parents and grandparents, a symptom of the past’s failed diplomacy, said Khalil Shikaki, the center’s director...."
CNN:"
Almost exactly six months ago, Israelis awoke to a nightmare. Civilians in the southern part of the country, areas near the border with Gaza, were under a brutal, ongoing attack. It would become the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust and a prelude to unspeakable suffering on both sides of the border.Six months after Hamas launched that deadly rampage, knowing that Israel’s response would be ferocious, there are only losers in this terrible war...."
REUTERS:"DEARBORN, Michigan, Feb 27 - The depth of Democratic Party anger over President Joe Biden’s handling of the Gaza war has caught his campaign off guard and could depress support in November’s election, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen senior party and campaign officials and five dozen voters and activists....
"
CNN:"Steven Spielberg had words of caution and hope on Monday while accepting an honor from the University of Southern California.
'
NYTIMES:"...They have preserved this way of life for hundreds of years through isolation — some villages can take a week to reach. But since September, the Marubo have had high-speed internet thanks to Elon Musk...."
WASHINGTONPOST:
CNN:"...
JPMorgan Chase now fights off about 45 billion attempts a day by hackers to infiltrate its systems. That’s double what it was last year, highlighting the escalating cybersecurity challenges the bank and other Wall Street titans are facing..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"The major cloud computing provider spun out of Hewlett-Packard said late Wednesday that it had been hacked by a suspected Russian intelligence team, the second such hack of a major U.S. internet company reported this month...."
CNN:"
Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi paid tribute to the Iranian people’s determination to “dismantle” the “despotism and obstruction” of the Islamic Republic’s regime in her Nobel Peace Prize lecture delivered by her children, Kiana and Ali, on Sunday.
Her teenage twins, who have not seen their mother in years, accepted the award on her behalf at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital, Oslo..."
CNN:"Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas' founder who later became one of Israel's top informants, speaks with CNN's Jake Tapper about Israel's war on the terror group and the situation in Gaza" Yousef states that Hamas wants the total annihilation of Israel and Jews and wants to establish a global Islamic state. Yousef states that Israel is fighting for the Palestians to be free from Hamas.
CNN:"
More than a billion Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists around the world are celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights.
Diwali, also called Deepavali, is one of the biggest festivals in India. It’s also widely celebrated in Nepal, Malaysia, Fiji and other countries with large South Asian diasporas. Homes, businesses and public spaces are lit up with diyas, or oil lamps made from clay, and fireworks displays abound. People gather with their families, eat sweets and exchange gifts.
Despite its deep religious significance, Diwali today is also a cultural festival observed by people regardless of faith.
Here’s what to know about the holiday..."
ABCNEWS:"Tennessee otter enjoys playing in the snow"
Cat Saves Dog Being Attacked by Coyotes
KCAU-TV Sioux City
17.1K subscribers
218,688 views Jan 2, 2024
Cat Saves Dog Being Attacked by Coyotes
CNN:"
A 2-year-old girl who walked barefoot more than three miles with her family’s two dogs was found sleeping off a wooded Michigan trail using the smaller dog as a pillow, authorities said.
Troopers were called to a house in rural Faithorn, Michigan, around 8 p.m. on Wednesday after the toddler, Thea Chase, had wandered away from the home, Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio told CNN on Friday.
Faithorn is a small town about a mile east of Wisconsin’s border in northern Michigan."
CNN:"Stunning photos spotlight vanishing ‘super tusker’ elephants
By
Anna Tunkova
Updated 17 hr ago
Federico Veronesi’s “Walk the Earth” is the result of years spent tracking Africa’s last super tuskers. In the book, he describes them as “the last guardians of Africa’s wild spirit, embodying the soul of the untamed wilderness.”
Photo gallery: 'Walk the Earth'
6 photos
Federico Veronesi’s “Walk the Earth” is the result of years spent tracking Africa’s last super tuskers. In the book, he describes them as “the last guardians of Africa’s wild spirit, embodying the soul of the untamed wilderness.” Federico Veronesi"
APNEWS:"An endangered Pacific Northwest orca that made global headlines in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for over two weeks is doing so once again following the death of her new calf, in another sign of grief over lost offspring, researchers said..."
CNN:"
It’s the body of water that instils fear and inspires sailors in equal measure. Six hundred miles of open sea, and some of the roughest conditions on the planet
...It is, of course, the Drake Passage..."
CNN:"World's largest species of fish spotted in rare appearance
Researchers from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology Shark Research Lab say they spotted the whale shark a mile off the Kāneʻohe Bay."
CNN:"
An orca pod in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico has devised a cunning strategy to hunt and kill whale sharks — the world’s largest fish that can grow up to 18 meters (60 feet) in length — new research has revealed..."
AP:"SEATTLE (AP) — It’s a good thing seals aren’t on a humpback whale’s menu.
A photograph by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal accidentally gulped it last Thursday in the waters off Anacortes, Washington.
The food mix-up began while a Blue Kingdom Whale and Wildfire Tours boat spotted birds flying over a school of fish and a humpback whale swimming toward it, Captain Tyler McKeen said..."
NYTIMES:"When a cat dashed into the woods of Yellowstone National Park during a camping trip in June, his California owners, Benny and Susanne Anguiano, thought they’d never see him again.
The couple searched for five days through the woods near their campground at Fishing Bridge R.V. Park but never found their 2-year-old male Siamese cat, Rayne Beau, pronounced “rainbow.” ..."
CNN:"Koalas are very hard to see at night.
Their gray fur blurs with the bitumen on dimly lit roads, and they move deceptively quickly for a marsupial often seen languidly munching on leaves high in trees.
But for an endangered species whose population numbers are said to be unreliable due to their elusive nature, koala sightings are becoming all too common during breeding season in some areas in and around Brisbane. And not just in trees.
Day and night, they’re spotted close to busy roads, on fences, up power poles, in backyards, near swimming pools, in schools – places they aren’t safe..."
APNEWS:"CHICAGO (AP) — A pair of snowy owls spotted along a Lake Michigan beach has drawn curious crowds and sparked happy speculation about how long the Arctic birds of prey will call Chicago home.
Word of the two owls has circulated on birder forums in the nation’s third-largest city for about a week, according to the Chicago Ornithological Society. While snowy owls aren’t rare in Chicago, their frequency varies widely each winter. Generally, a handful are reported around December, but sometimes there aren’t any..."
WASHINGTONPOST:"...Designer Michael Schmidt is best known for his work in metal. He made chain-mail dresses for Cher, jewelry for his longtime collaborators at Chrome Hearts and a metal gown for Doja Cat that was inspired by Tina Turner (another former client).
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.
But he is also an avid knitter — and so he jumped at the chance to do a collection woven entirely from the wool of gay sheep.
Wait, what?..."
PHYS.ORG:"Fleeting blasts of energy from space, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), are a cosmic enigma. A Canadian-led international team of researchers has published new findings suggesting that supernovae are the predominant contributors to forming sources that eventually produce FRBs..."
CNN:"
Scientists in California shooting nearly 200 lasers at a cylinder holding a fuel capsule the size of a peppercorn have taken another step in the quest for fusion energy, which, if mastered, could provide the world with a near-limitless source of clean power.
.”.."
CNN:"A glowing supernova remnant, a nebula shaped like a cat’s paw and the iconic “Pillars of Creation” are just a few of the celestial objects that shine in 25 never-before-seen images captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to mark the telescope’s 25th anniversary.
Chandra, named in honor of the late Indian American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, launched to space aboard the space shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999. The crew, including STS-93 Commander Eileen Collins, deployed the telescope into its oval-shaped orbit, which takes Chandra on a path around Earth that is nearly one-third of the distance to the moon..."
CNN:"...Astronomers thought barred spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way didn’t appear until the universe reached at least half of its current age because it was believed that it took several billion years of galactic evolution before the massive collections of stars within galaxies could form central bars...
WASHINGTONPOST:"A group of U.S. scientists say they have repeated their landmark energy feat — a nuclear fusion reaction that produces more energy than is put into it. But this time, they say the experiment produced an even higher energy yield than one in December that got international attention for making a major step forward toward the long elusive goal of producing energy through fusion..."
"WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The peculiar wobble of a subatomic particle called a muon in a U.S. laboratory experiment is making scientists increasingly suspect they are missing something in their understanding of physics - perhaps some unknown particle or force.
Researchers on Thursday announced new findings about the muon (pronounced MEW-on), a magnetic and negatively charged particle similar to its cousin the electron but 200 times more massive, in their experiment at the U.S. Energy Department's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois.The experiment studied the wobble of muons as they traveled through a magnetic field...."
WSJ:"
An international team of astrophysicists has discovered hundreds of mysterious structures in the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
These one-dimensional cosmic threads are hundreds of horizontal or radial filaments — slender, elongated bodies of luminous gas that potentially originated a few million years ago when outflow from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, interacted with surrounding materials, according to a study published Friday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. .."
CNN:"
The James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories witnessed a massive explosion in space that created rare chemical elements, some of which are necessary for life.
The explosion, which occurred on March 7, was the second brightest gamma-ray burst ever witnessed by telescopes in more than 50 years of observations..
CNN:"What would be the ultimate solution to the energy problems of an advanced civilization? Renowned British American physicist Freeman Dyson theorized it would be a shell made up of mirrors or solar panels that completely surrounds a star — harnessing all the energy it produces.
“One should expect that, within a few thousand years of its entering the stage of industrial development, any intelligent species should be found occupying an artificial biosphere which completely surrounds its parent star,” wrote Dyson in a 1960 paper in which he first explained the concept.
If it sounds like science fiction, that’s because it is.."
CNN:"Extrajudicial executions, rape, forced abortions, jail without trial, torture, starvation rations that leave prisoners so hungry some turn to eating insects.
These are just some of the abuses commonplace in North Korean prisons and other detention facilities, according to former detainees whose testimony forms the basis of a new report released by a human rights watchdog this week.
Using interviews with hundreds of survivors, witnesses and perpetrators of abuse who have fled the country, along with official documents, satellite images, architectural analysis and digital modeling of penal facilities, the non-profit NGO Korea Future has built up what it says is the most detailed picture yet of life inside the secretive country’s penal system..."
CNN:"Meet the women fighting for compensation for cancers they say were caused by France’s nuclear testing...In 2013, Hinamoeura Cross, a 25 year-old Tahitian lawyer and mother, received a phone call that would change her life forever. After a routine blood test, the medical laboratory called and asked if she had been stung by a bee. Confused, Cross said no. The technician explained that her test results showed an abnormally high white blood cell count, and recommended she see a doctor immediately. Soon after, Cross was diagnosed with leukemia..."
"LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - The global cost-of-living crisis is pushing an additional 71 million people in the world's poorest countries into extreme poverty, a new report published by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday has warned.
Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, said an analysis of 159 developing countries showed that the surge in key commodity prices this year was already slamming parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, Asia and elsewhere.Export volumes of aluminum oxide, which is used to make the metal aluminum, an important material in weapons production and aerospace, are 400 times higher than last year.The rise in reported export values may partly be explained by inflation. But the data shows that many Chinese tech sellers have continued to do business with Russia despite U.S. scrutiny."
CNN:"Anderson asks George Will if is he worried about democracy: Hear his reply. Contrary to the myth today Americans are quite willing to confront their mistakes. On balance our progress is stunning. The discord today is unsightly awful and childish but we've seen worse. I don't think our democracy is in danger of death but I do think it is in danger of being attenuated and weakened. Democracy depends upon above all else on a culture of persuasion of conversation
.."
