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'Due to Trump’s illegal war': U.S. service members' deaths met with despair and rage
News that two service members had been killed by direct Iranian fire rocked the nation on Saturday. U.S. Central Command announced the two service member's death, a third's disappearance and four medical evacuations one day after a base was attacked in Jordon. "Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified," the statement read.Sixteen U.S. service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded since the war began, the Associated Press reported. "The battle over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the essential waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil," the Associated Press reported. "The strikes threaten civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants for drinking water, while the global economy again is on alert."Americans responded to the news with words of outrage and despair. "Really awful, dark, foreboding developments in the Middle East over the last 24 hours," wrote MS NOW analyst Sam Stein. "Hard to see how you deescalate from here."Political strategist Mike Nellis condemned President Donald Trump for mounting an attack on Iran without approval from Congress."I will ask again: for what?" Nellis wrote. "Trump has no plan, no clear mission, and he’s getting our sons and daughters killed for his own vanity." Nellis later added, "I’ll tell you what: if Barack Obama had launched an illegal war, 16 U.S. service members were dead, and another was missing in action, the MAGA media machine would be frothing at the mouth. Right now? Quiet as a church mouse. F---ing cowards."Political podcaster Shaykh Sulaiman said simply, "Due to Trump’s illegal war."
‘We are preserving a tradition’: how Ghana’s sensationalist film posters became collectible art
Hand-painted works are often wildly unfaithful to the movies they portray – reinterpretations that sometimes resulted in threats, insults and even physical attacks from viewers who felt dupedSitting on his porch in Teshie near Accra, Heavy J dipped a brush into red oil paint and dabbed it carefully on to his canvas – a flour sack – adding blood to a knife being wielded by a man. Higher on the canvas, he had started on an outline of a skull.Heavy J was creating a poster, but not as you might have expected for a horror film. Instead, it was for the animated fairytale The Little Mermaid. The man with the knife was not a killer but the film’s kind-hearted prince, Eric. The skull was also unrelated to the story. “We add more to make people interested,” said Heavy J, whose real name is Jeaurs Affutu. Continue reading...
Australia updates travel advice for Laos as charges announced over mass methanol poisoning
Distillery owner could face only three months in jail over alleged poisoning of Australian teenagersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has increased its travel alert level for Laos, advising travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to the risk of methanol poisoning.It comes as a distillery owner in Laos was charged after a mass methanol poisoning incident killed six foreign nationals, including the Australian backpackers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles. Continue reading...
'We exist in hell': Trump's 'unforgivable' threats against US neighbor spark outrage
Trump's tariff threats against Canada because of its wildfires drew online outrage as critics jumped to the neighboring country's defense.On Friday, Trump went after Canada in a Truth Social post because of smoke from its wildfires, which he said is "costing the United States Billions of Dollars." He warned that the "cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying."Trump's attack drew swift condemnation on social media."Such a neighborly thing to do," reacted Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall."America's mad king is now threatening Canada with additional tariffs because of the wildfire smoke," Canadian journalist Geoffrey P. Johnston wrote. "America is kicking us when we are down. This is unforgivable. Canada & USA will never be friends again after this. Too many Americans are going along with Trump's insanity.""He is such a d— embarrassment!" national opinion columnist Sophia A. Nelson described Trump."Trump is a climate science denier," writer Matthew Todd pointed out. "He's aggressively heating the planet - and then blaming Canada. This is all so intolerable. How are we meant to exist in this hell?""Man you gotta be kidding me," reporter Mike Freeman reacted.The popular account Republicans against Trump pointed out, "higher tariffs on Canadian goods mean higher prices for American consumers."Others pointed out that Canada has sent firefighters to the U.S. to help combat wildfires. MeidasTouch, a political news network, noted, "When fires ravaged Southern California, Canada sent firefighting crews to help battle the blazes.""When wildfires hit America, Canada sends firefighters," wrote journalist Aaron Parnas. "When wildfires hit Canada, America sends tariffs."
Threats fly as Trump loses it over wildfire smoke 'invading' US skies
President Donald Trump was furious with Canada on Friday as wildfires and smoke prompted major air quality concerns for the Midwest and Northeast.Trump dropped threats in a post on his Truth Social platform."We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!" Trump wrote. He said he planned to call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to "find out what they are going to do about it." "The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result," Trump wrote. "This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"Trump wasn't the only Republican leader to lob frustration at America's northern neighbor.Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) took to X Thursday to complain about poor air quality as more than 890 fires burned across Canada. Her frustration was met with backlash, as critics online pointed out how Canada had offered the United States help in January 2025 as wildfires ravaged southern California.
MAGA lawmaker's wildfire threat gets brutal fact-check: 'Idiotic self-centered comment'
A Republican lawmaker was called out on Friday for her remarks about Canada's wildfires and smoke — comments critics said overlooked Canada's help fighting California's own fires, the Daily Beast was first to report.Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) took to X Thursday to complain about poor air quality as more than 890 fires burned across the Canada and smoke hit the Midwest and Northeast. “Michiganders shouldn’t have to breathe Canada’s negligence,” she wrote on X. “YEAR AFTER YEAR the smoke crosses the border while Canada does nothing. Stop exporting your smoke into our skies. Enough is enough!”This comment stands in stark contrast to that made by the Canadian government in January 2025 as wildfires ravaged southern California."The Government of Canada and all Canadians express their deep sadness at the devastating wildfires currently impacting southern California," the statement read."Team Canada stands ready to reciprocate that support during this time of need.... We have left no stone unturned and are exploring all avenues to offer our support to the people of California."Social media users were quick to make the MAGA congresswoman aware of this point. "The most idiotic self centered comment," Dave Mac, a member of the Directors Guild of Canada, wrote on X. "When California was burning who was there ? CANADA " His comment had nearly 4,000 likes on the platform as of Friday morning.Other users echoed this comment and mentioned the hypocrisy.User AJ Punk, a political commentator, struck a sarcastic tone when he wrote on X, "How dare Canada burn their country down and ruin America's summer!"Progressive commentator David Ro wrote, "When Michigan and Ontario were hit with disastrous Tornados and storms that came From the U.S. mid West. Canada did not complain or threaten the U.S. Instead they sent hundreds of hydro crews to Michigan to get the lights back on. That’s what friends do."
Trump swiftly fact-checked with the same documents he claims prove his election theory
Trump's claims about China interfering in U.S. elections were fact-checked by political analysts in real-time using documents he released.In Trump's Thursday night speech, he announced that his administration would be releasing documents and intelligence findings that support his claim that China meddled in the 2020 U.S. elections. However, the documents didn't show anything of the sort, analysts noted.During the speech, CNN senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen pointed out in a post on X that CNN had reviewed documents Trump was talking about in his speech.The documents "largely discuss vulnerabilities that have been known for years and/or are reflected in the 2021 US intel community assessment," Cohen wrote. "None of the declassified information supports the claim that any previous election results — including the 2020 presidential contest that Trump lost — were manipulated by foreign interference or fraud in a way that would've changed the outcome."Legal analyst Adam Klasfeld similarly explained in a post on X that "Trump is lying about the intelligence community's findings about China's actions in the 2020 election," and shared the files.One line of findings from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shared by Klasfeld read, "We assess that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election."Also looking at one of the documents touted by Trump, reporter Sam Stein wrote, "One of the documents that Trump has disclosed tonight has a section noting that China targeted the BIDEN campaign and does 'not currently intend to covertly interfere to try and sway the outcome of the election."Political commentator Kyle Griffin noted, "Donald Trump took 18 months to release documents that he now claims show election activities that would have taken place on his watch in 2020."
Trump fuming after international ally chastised him on Fox News: report
President Donald Trump is privately furious about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent moves to snub and try to control him, Axios reported on Thursday.The spat between the two, who were firm allies for years as leaders of their respective countries' right-wing coalitions, involves multiple recent incidents.For one, said the report, White House aides "were surprised in recent days to read in the Israeli press that President Trump would host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday," as no such meeting had been scheduled. "Trump said at the time that Netanyahu could visit right after the president returned from the NATO summit in Ankara," but it went nowhere. Insiders told Axios that "Our impression was that Bibi was trying to will a meeting into existence."This was not the only issue widening the rift between Trump and Netanyahu.The argument over the meeting, according to the report, "came after Netanyahu went on Fox News right before Trump left for Ankara and criticized the president's intention to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. One of the White House officials told Axios Trump was 'p----- off' by the interview."The relationship between Trump and the Israeli leader had been deteriorating for months prior to this, driven by Trump's frustration over the lack of a clean resolution to the invasion of Gaza that began in 2023 after a devastating terrorist attack. Several weeks ago, Trump reportedly shouted at Netanyahu in an expletive-filled phone call, telling him "everybody hates you."
UK aid cuts ‘reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%’
Critics say Foreign Office figures send ‘global message about the role the country wants to play on international stage’Labour’s foreign aid cuts mean reductions of as much as 90% in the bilateral support the UK will give to some African countries, Foreign Office figures show.The department’s annual report includes a long-awaited breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries for the next three years. Continue reading...
'Betting on state secrets': Conservative warns Trump just found new way to rig economy
President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency dealings earned him a massive amounts of wealth — effectively rigging the whole industry in his favor as if it's one of his old casinos, conservative analyst and talk radio host Erick Erickson warned on Thursday.This comes after financial reports revealed Trump and his family have made over $1.4 billion from crypto assets alone under the new presidency, their single largest gain of assets."In gambling, they say never bet against the house," he wrote. "In crypto, President Trump has positioned himself as the house."Erickson, a committed conservative Republican who nonetheless criticizes the president on occasion, pointed out Trump has made more of a profit on cryptocurrency "than every single publicly traded U.S. cryptocurrency company," which all combined finished out the year half a billion down.The real problem, wrote Erickson, is so much of this money is flowing in from foreign sources."An Abu Dhabi state-backed fund chaired by the UAE’s national security adviser used $2 billion of World Liberty’s stablecoin to finance a deal — weeks before the White House cleared the UAE to buy advanced American AI chips," wrote Erickson. This is by no means the only foreign racket currently in progress, he said. "Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, manages more than $6 billion — 99% of it foreign, including $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund — while Kushner serves as a peace envoy dealing with those very governments," wrote Erickson. All of this only scratches the surface of the problem, Erickson said.If the GOP "meant what they said" in 2016 when they vowed to "drain the swamp," wrote Erickson, "the test is simple, and it applies to their own side: no foreign money flowing to the president’s family while the government it deals with awaits a decision; no regulators dropping cases against companies the first family owns; no one betting on state secrets; real divestment, not divestment to one’s children.""Drain the swamp. Don’t just recycle the water for our side," he concluded.
Uganda calls for travel restrictions to be lifted after last Ebola patient discharged
Country begins 42-day countdown to outbreak being declared officially over, as numbers continue to rise in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the CongoUganda has started lobbying countries to lift Ebola-related travel restrictions after discharging its last confirmed Ebola patient from hospital.The discharge of a Congolese national from the Mulago national referral hospital’s isolation centre in Kampala on Thursday triggered the start of a 42-day countdown required by the World Health Organization before Uganda can officially be declared Ebola-free, provided no new infections are detected. Continue reading...
More than 500 feared dead after reports of two shipwrecks off Myanmar, UN says
Vessels believed to have departed from Myanmar in late June, with mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboardThe United Nations has said more than 500 people are feared dead after reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June.The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports “that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days”. Continue reading...
Jul 21, 2026