Top World News
US faces demand to restore $350M in federal funding to help power Puerto Rico
Nearly 200 organizations are urging the Trump administration and Puerto Rico’s governor to restore $350 million in federal funding that was meant to finance the installation of rooftop solar and battery systems for 12,000 low-income families across the...
Trump boasts he expects a 'big, fat hug' from China's leader over his Iran efforts
Early Wednesday morning, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account to boast that he will be able to open the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of China and he expects the country's leadership to appreciate his efforts.With shipping at almost a complete standstill due to Trump’s war on Iran, the president claimed that China, normally a US adversary, will benefit from his latest attempt at a diplomatic maneuver as ceasefire talks drag on.On Truth Social, he wrote: “China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks.”"We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!! President DJT,” he added.
Children killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes hit homes far from front lines of war with Hezbollah
Jawad Younes, 11, and his cousins were playing soccer in the lot between their houses, as they often did. His little brother, 4-year-old Mehdi, had joined them but grew tired, so Jawad took him home before returning to the game. Minutes later, an Israeli strike came.
'What are you, a king?': MS NOW host pounces on 'arrogant' JD Vance's new Pope threat
Vice President JD Vance’s continuing lecturing of Pope Leo XIV at a Turning Point USA function in Georgia on Tuesday earned him a tongue-lashing on MS NOW early Wednesday morning.Speaking to a sparse crowd, Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, continued to harangue the pontiff over his comments that run counter to the Donald Trump administration’s policies on war and immigrants.In a clip shared on “Morning Joe,” the Ohio Republican boldly asserted, “I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. I think one of the issues here is that if you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful. You've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth. And that's one of the things that I try to do. And it's certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they're Catholic or Protestant.”That led MS NOW host Joe Scarborough to launch into an extensive lecture aimed at Trump’s running mate.“What, what, what are you? A king in medieval Europe?” the former GOP lawmaker exclaimed. “Warning the pope not to talk about the Bible? That's what you just said! You know how stupid you sound, right? You know how stupid you sound when you, new to the Catholic church, are lecturing, Mr. Vice President, the pontiff on theology and telling him he should not quote the red letters?”“How utterly bizarre,” he continued. “People will look back one day and laugh when they have the safety of distance and laugh that you actually have a vice president sitting on stage warning the pope, god's representative here on earth for the Catholic church, warning the pope and what he can and cannot say about theology, that he needs to be careful.”He added, “And so to hear a sitting vice president of the United States, first of all, becoming a Catholic last week and then writing a book about being a Catholic and then lecturing the pope, I've got to say, that's like an all-timer, and people are going to look back and they're going to have a big chuckle that anybody was ever that arrogant.” - YouTube youtu.be
Chevron exec says that with high gas prices, Americans should drive less
An executive at Chevron has advice for Americans grappling with the rise in gas prices amid the Iran war: Don't drive so much.
Sudan enters a fourth year of war as officials lament an 'abandoned crisis'
Sudan is entering a fourth year of war marked by famine and massacres in what the United Nations calls an “abandoned crisis.”
Trump's attacks prompt key ally to cut US out of new defense plan: WSJ
With Donald Trump becoming more erratic and lashing out at the traditional allies of the US, plans are afoot by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to create a separate version of the organization beyond the American president's reach.According to the Wall Street Journal's Bojan Pancevski and Daniel Michaels, European officials are advancing informal plans for what some are calling "European NATO," a parallel structure that would give Europeans greater command-and-control authority and supplement U.S. military assets with their own capabilities.The plans represent a massive shift in European strategic thinking now that Germany has ceased resisting French calls for greater European defense sovereignty, preferring American military guarantees. That calculus has fundamentally changed under German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is now actively participating in the initiative over concerns about U.S. dependability as an ally during the Trump presidency and beyond.European officials are explicit about their purpose: preserve deterrence against Russia, operational continuity and nuclear credibility even if the Trump administration withdraws forces from Europe or refuses to come to its defense, as the president has repeatedly threatened.Trump's recent rhetoric has only accelerated the timeline. He branded European allies as "cowards," called NATO "a paper tiger," and added menacingly, in reference to Putin: "Putin knows that too." He has also threatened to leave NATO entirely over Europe's refusal to support his Iran war, describing the move as already "beyond reconsideration," the Journal is reporting.The momentum is undeniable. Finland's President Alexander Stubb, one of the leaders involved in the initiative, signaled the permanent nature of the shift: "A burden shifting from the U.S. toward Europe is ongoing and it will continue…as part of U.S. defense and national security strategy."The report notes Europe is not waiting for Trump to make good on his threats. The plans, first conceived last year, have accelerated dramatically after Trump threatened to seize Greenland from NATO member Denmark and intensified amid the standoff over Europe's refusal to back the highly criticized Iran war.Though congressional approval would be required for a formal NATO withdrawal, Trump retains broad authority as commander-in-chief to move troops or assets out of Europe or withhold support — a threat that has transformed European defense planning from theoretical to urgent.
Mediators move closer to extending US-Iran ceasefire, officials tell AP
Mediators are moving closer to extending the ceasefire between the United States and Iran and restarting negotiations to salvage the fragile truce before it expires next week
Italy suspends defense pact with Israel in rift over strikes in Lebanon
Israel is downplaying Italy's decision to suspend the automatic renewal of a 2003 defense cooperation agreement between the two countries, saying the deferral would not impact Israel's security.
Trump says Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged not to send weapons to Iran
President Trump said Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him Beijing would not send weapons to Iran.
Hormuz blockade, production repairs will leave Qatar's European customers scrambling for years
After damage to energy production facilities and the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas export facility will need at least three years to resume honoring its prewar supply obligations, a former QatarEnergy commercial official says.
Cameroon hopes the pope's visit brings healing after nearly a decade of conflict
Caro Bih says she was once kidnapped, chained and held for ransom by the separatist fighters who have clashed for years with government soldiers in parts of Cameroon. Several relatives have been killed, jailed or abducted. Her family home was razed.
