Trump is at it again. He has gone back to his irrational notion that Putin is his friend and that he and Vlad can impose a “peace deal” on Ukraine that totally favors Russia. How many times does Putin have to show Trump by his ongoing attacks on Ukraine that he is the aggressor here and will stop at nothing short of conquering all of Ukraine (and eventually beyond)? Even this evil peace deal is part of Putin’s plan to regroup, reinforce and attack again when Ukraine can be blamed for some provocation. This week Putin admitted two crucial things: 1) that the current peace proposal was instigated by Trump during their most recent phone call and 2), that he will only negotiate with Trump. What does this tell us? First, that Trump’s desire for “peace at any cost” is what drove him to invite Putin to present what he wants in a Ukraine “deal,” and to accept “whole cloth” what was rejected by all other parties before because it rewards Russia for its aggression. This maniacal fetish to get a “deal” —no matter how unfair and one-sided—tells us volumes about Trump’s bullheaded and egotistical nature. Second, Putin demands that he will only deal with Trump in negotiations because he knows Trump is such a sucker for flattery and deal-making, that he can be easily exploited in face-to-face talks. To receive a free one-time copy of the Brief, along with options on how to subscribe, click on Request a Sample on the left.
Steve Witkoff sitting across from the Ukrainians in Miami: Unshaven and scruffy. Serious, avoiding eye contact and unsmiling. Steve Witkoff sitting across from Putin: Grinning with teeth, clean shaven, attentive. He says he had a "beautiful walk" through Moscow....
A fourth Russia-linked tanker was attacked in less than a week, marking a sharp escalation in strikes on commercial vessels tied to Moscow as the war in Eastern Europe nears its fourth year.
China has gained control not only of critical minerals but also of their production. A new technique could solve both of these problems.
While Russia is routinely portrayed as a serious military power, as the war drags on, Russia is becoming more and more reliant on Chinese drone components to survive. Now, China’s drone component supplier Wang Dinhua has just purchased a 5 percent stake in Russia’s Rustakt, a top drone manufacturer in Russia.
Republicans will hold onto Tennessee's 7th Congressional District despite a push by Democrats to flip the deep-red seat, the Associated Press projected Tuesday, as Republican candidate Matt Van Epps was set to defeat Democrat Aftyn Behn.
‘We’re not just going to rubber-stamp new products that don’t work, that fail in a clinical trial,’ Dr. Marty Makary said.
The Japanese boat is accused of entering the waters of the Diaoyu Islands - which Tokyo calls the Senkaku Islands and has long administered. But a nearby Japanese Coast Guard ship which had been accompanying the fishing vessel then in turn expelled two Chinese Coast Guard ships as they approached and tried to enforce Beijing's expansive maritime claims over the territory.
The retail giant’s complaint requests a complete refund of duties it has already paid if the Supreme Court decides that the tariffs are unlawful.
Pokrovsk has long been seen as military gateway for control over the whole east, and if there were any doubts about Russia's military dominance along the frontlines - the overrunning of Pokrovsk has laid these doubts to rest. Russian media is in a celebratory mood...
Things are beginning to move faster, as it looks like Trump plans some kind of significant military action against Caracas, at a moment such a huge Caribbean deployment, including the USS Ford Carrier group, is racking up high bills per day at the expense of the US taxpayer. According to a summary of the latest via Reuters: Trump rejected Maduro's requests for amnesty, sanction removal, sources say Maduro's safe passage offer expired, prompting US airspace closure, sources say Maduro proposed Delcy Rodriguez lead interim government before new elections, sources say Maduro's administration seeks another call with Trump, sources say
Cole said cocaine prices have surged 30% to 45% per kilogram because the strikes are disrupting the command-and-control networks that move drugs from South and Central America into the U.S. These trafficking pipelines have mainly fueled the nation's deadly drug epidemic, which now claims roughly 100,000 American lives each year.
The Navy originally planned for 20 ships in the Constellation frigate program.
“This is a profound revelation,” Prasad wrote. “For the first time, the US FDA will acknowledge that COVID-19 vaccines have killed American children.” Prasad said the conclusion about children dying from Covid-19 vaccines was reached after he and other FDA staffers undertook a multi-month, "detailed analysis of deaths voluntarily reported to the [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] system (VAERS)."
In a tense street encounter captured in Minneapolis’s Somali-dominated Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, filmmaker Nick Shirley attempted to interview residents about life as Muslims in America—only to face demands to delete footage, refusals to speak English, and claims that women can’t appear on camera, highlighting the cultural chasm.
The NY Times has thrown Minnesota governor Tim Walz under the bus over a massive and sprawling fraud scandal that federal prosecutors say siphoned over $1 billion from the state's social safety net programs - more than the entire state spends annually to run its Department of Corrections.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff quit on Friday afternoon after anti-corruption officers searched his home in the morning, amid a corruption scandal threatening to engulf the country.
Billions in taxpayers’ money has been stolen; millions could have gone to terrorists—an allegation that lawmakers are asking federal prosecutors to investigate.
By Saturday morning, Visegrád 24 circulated new footage from Ukraine showing explosive-laden kamikaze drone boats striking both tankers at the stern, rendering the vessels inoperable.
Pointing to an old picture of the market, Siegmund says, “Have a look at this, I just discovered it here. It used to be a perfect world, that’s exactly how I knew it. That’s exactly how I want it back… I want our old country back. I want every one of you here to be able to walk peacefully through a Christmas market like this and enjoy your lives. We don’t deserve this, our country doesn’t deserve this. Our children do not deserve this.”
‘In my professional opinion, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years,’ the prosecutor wrote.
The CDC revised its autism webpage to say there is no evidence supporting the blanket claim that vaccines do not cause autism, a major shift from past messaging. HHS told The Defender the changes “reflect gold standard, evidence-based science,” while CHD CEO Mary Holland said the website update shows “there never was science behind the claim that ‘vaccines do not cause autism.’”
Roughly 10% of all U.S adults who received the COVID-19 vaccine experienced “major” side effects, and over a third (36%) had “minor” side effects, according to a national survey conducted this month. Kristi Dobbs, who was seriously injured by Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot, told The Defender that the vaccine-injured are “still hurting, dying and being discarded as trash.”
“We have over a million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, and tradesmen. It’s a very serious thing. We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating the next generation of people like my grandfather, who had nothing, who built a middle-class life and a future for his family,” the Ford CEO told podcast host Monica Langley.
FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that the horrific National Guard shooting just down the street from the White House is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) on Monday agreed to fulfill a $36 million contract with National Public Radio (NPR) that it had stopped after pressure from President Donald Trump.
Several hundred Russian soldiers are said to be deployed in Venezuela, along with at least one general.
Critics in Warsaw warn the ruling undermines the country’s constitution and opens the door to wider changes imposed from Brussels.
Trump and 18 others were charged with election-related racketeering charges in August 2023 by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was later removed from the case. An elected Democrat, Willis had launched a lengthy investigation into Trump and the others before bringing the charges.
The exposé reveals federal agencies were “directed to find airport facilities that could be used as shelters or migrant processing centers,” branding it a “betrayal of historic proportion” that turned terminals into migrant camps. The policy has now, of course, completely vanished under Trump, begging the question: How did they ever deem this sustainable amid endless border surges?
We detailed Saturday that federal police rushed to his residence to take him out of house arrest, and initiated what's being called a 'preventative arrest' - and he was whisked away to police headquarters in Brasilia. The arrest order issued from the country's top court came hours after his ankle monitor was shown to be violated at 12:08am on Saturday. From there, authorities considered Bolsonaro a flight risk, explaining he is in close proximity to foreign embassies where he might try and gain asylum.