Author: Curtis Holt

Budapest (5/7 – 11.11) Former European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker defended U.S. President Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance last week and warned of his rival Donald Trump’s “incomplete mind and flawed reasoning,” in an interview with Brussels Playbook. Juncker, who was Commission president from 2014 to 2019 during much of Trump’s presidency, said he had yet to watch last week’s debate, which triggered calls for Biden to step aside and make room for someone else to run as the Democratic presidential candidate. Still, Juncker insisted that “one can be of a certain age … and do a good job.” But Juncker…

We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased. The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported missing during the boarding of an illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons Jan. 11 concluded and we are now conducting recovery operations. During this expansive search operation, airborne and naval platforms from the U.S., Japan, and Spain continuously searched more than 21,000 square miles to locate our missing teammates. Search assistance was also provided by Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography…

The U.N. General Assembly is set to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to debate a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The resolution expresses “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population” and emphasizes the need to protect both Israeli and Palestinian civilians under international law. It calls on all parties to comply with international law, and also demands the immediate release of all hostages and calls for ensuring humanitarian access. A similar resolution failed in the U.N. Security Council last week due to a U.S.…

A top campaign aide to embattled US Congressman George Santos has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. Nancy Marks, who appeared in court on Thursday, admitted she falsified some of the campaign’s financial records. She reported a fake $500,000 (£410,000) loan that Mr Santos claimed to have given the campaign, prosecutors say. It is the latest trouble for the Republican lawmaker, who has himself been indicted on several charges. ADVERTISEMENT During her court appearance, Ms Marks told the judge: “I knew that the loan had not been made,” the New York Times reported. The false reports meant the campaign qualified for…

US President Joe Biden’s comment about China being a “ticking time bomb” referred to internal economic and social tensions that could have an effect on how Beijing interacts with the world, a White House official has clarified. Biden said at a political fundraiser on Thursday that China was “in trouble” and beset with economic and social problems. “That’s not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” Biden said. “China is a ticking time bomb,” he said. “China was growing at 8 percent a year to maintain growth. Now, close to 2 percent a year,” Biden said,…

The race for the 2024 Republican White House nomination is about to heat up as two long-tipped contenders enter the fray. Former US Vice-President Mike Pence and ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are poised next week to join the increasingly crowded field. It places a big political target on the back of the current front-runner, former President Donald Trump, setting the stage for what promises to be an acrimonious contest. The eventual winner looks likely to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the election of November next year. Mike Pence Mr Pence will launch his campaign on 7 June…

Wyoming is at or near the top of vehicle crash deaths in some grim categories, including number of deaths per 100,000 population and fatal single-vehicle wrecks, according to a highway safety advocacy group. And 2023 is shaping up to be a bad year. As of Wednesday, the year-to-date death toll was 31, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports. That compares to 16 on the same date last year, 19 in 2021 and 13 in 2020. The year-to-date death toll was in 2019 was worse at 34. The year started off with one of the worst highway tragedies in recent memories Jan. 22, when…

Democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives limited debate on two firearm-related bills Saturday evening after the second afternoon of Republican filibustering. Speaker Julie McCluskie moved to limit debate to one hour each on second reading for Senate Bill 23-168, which would make it easier for victims to sue gun manufacturers, and Senate Bill 23-170, which would expand the state’s extreme risk protection order, or red flag, statute. An ERPO allows authorities to confiscate firearms from individuals a court deems a risk. It is a rarely-used tactic, as reported by The Colorado Sun, but one that is allowed and needs just a simple…

Billionaire financier George Soros said on Thursday that if Russia was defeated in the Ukraine war it would result in the dissolution of what he called the ‘Russian empire,’ something he said would be greeted by former Soviet republics. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Soros said the United States would support Ukraine, but that President Joe Biden had warned Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy that there were limits and that World War Three had…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out giving up any of his country’s territory in a potential peace deal with Russia. In a BBC interview to mark a year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he warned conceding land would mean Russia could “keep coming back”, while Western weapons would bring peace closer. Mr Zelensky also said a predicted spring offensive had already begun. “Russian attacks are already happening from several directions,” he said. He does, however, believe Ukraine’s forces can keep resisting Russia’s advance until they are able to launch a counter-offensive – although he repeated his calls for more military…