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Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-fiancée has used her ambassadorship to promote one foreign firm while keeping its paid lobbyist at her side.Kimberly Guilfoyle, whom President Donald Trump named ambassador to Greece, has repeatedly pressed Balkan governments to work with Aktor Group, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Aktor is a Greek construction company that only recently moved into the natural gas business.Christos Marafatsos, who lobbies for the firm, has joined Guilfoyle at so many meetings that some foreign officials took him for her chief of staff. Federal lobbying records show Aktor paid Marafatsos $160,000 through June to build ties with the White House and the State and Energy departments. Several people who met with the pair, including government officials, told The Journal he never disclosed his work for the company.This spring, Guilfoyle arrived in Bulgaria on a private jet provided by Aktor's CEO and urged officials there to do business with the company."There is no doubt that this is kind of an official position of the U.S. government," a person familiar with the talks told The Journal.Robin Brooks, who oversaw the Balkans on the National Security Council under former President Joe Biden, called an ambassador promoting a foreign company "absolutely problematic." Bringing a registered lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials, she said, "calls into question whether the meeting is advancing American interests or advancing some sort of private interest."Guilfoyle's lawyer, Jesse Binnall, said she has "worked with companies across the energy sector" and that her official meetings are arranged through embassy channels rather than through Marafatsos. Lawyers for Aktor said the company's involvement began before it had any contact with the ambassador."I am proud to champion commercial initiatives that advance U.S. interests and create lasting economic opportunity in Greece and Southeastern Europe," Marafatsos said in a statement.Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Guilfoyle an "incredibly effective advocate for the President's agenda."

President Trump has turned down a proposed pause in fighting with Iran and confided to aides that he anticipates striking the country again once this fall's midterm elections have concluded, the Wall Street Journal reported.The rejected offer came out of weekend talks in Qatar, where Iranian representatives suggested a seven-day halt to hostilities that would have seen Tehran reopen a critical shipping waterway and resume nuclear discussions, contingent on Washington easing its economic squeeze on the country, including its naval presence blocking Iranian ports. Trump maintains publicly that Iran will ultimately have no choice but to accept a deal once the election passes, but sources say he harbors real doubts Tehran will cooperate and has already signaled to staff that renewed airstrikes feel like the more probable path forward.Just how extensive any future strikes might be is still uncertain. Sources describe a president torn between wanting to preserve limited weapons stockpiles for other potential flashpoints and a pattern of threatening dramatic military action whenever talks stall, threats he's historically walked back from at the last moment.Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly this week, Trump insisted electoral politics play no role in his Iran strategy."The Republican Party is running, and I'll be helping them, but I am not running. I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence through the election when it comes to Iran," Trump said.Behind the scenes, talks are still ongoing through go-betweens, and one U.S. official credited a successful American operation keeping oil tankers moving safely through the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iranian threats, with easing some of the pressure to rush into an agreement. Washington has made clear to both Tehran and outside negotiators that ending the naval blockade isn't happening anytime soon, calculating that continued financial pain will eventually force Iran's hand on more favorable terms.Regional go-betweens say Iranian officials have conceded their economy is in serious trouble and put forward several possible frameworks to wind down the conflict.Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, effectively controlling the country since February, has pushed back on new arrangements, indicating a willingness to fight indefinitely and preferring instead to revive elements of an earlier framework from June, one built around sanctions relief, unfrozen funds, and some acknowledged Iranian involvement managing the strait once it reopened.

Jane Smith reportedly used ChatGPT to edit photo to show name Trump ordered US agencies to use for Lake Ontario amid trade war with CanadaThe CEO of a Michigan credit union is no longer employed there, according to the organization, after she posted on social media what appeared to be an AI-generated image of her and her family wearing sweaters emblazoned with the Donald Trump-associated words “Lake America”.In the statement recently announcing that Jane Smith would no longer be its CEO, Family First Credit Union also apologized “for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused”. Continue reading...

As the Trump administration ramps up efforts to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court (ICC), it also risks letting loose a number of the world’s most notorious alleged mass killers, legal scholar Ryan Goodman argued in a report published Friday.The United States has long been opposed to the ICC, with former President George W. Bush having signed a bill in 2002 that permits the U.S. military to invade the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, to rescue American military personnel and elected officials should they be imprisoned for war crimes.The Trump administration has escalated efforts to oppose the ICC in recent months after the international body issued arrest warrants for multiple Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed in July that the United States would “dismantle” the ICC “brick by brick” if necessary, per the Wall Street Journal.Should the Trump administration be successful in its efforts, Goodman warned that those convicted and detained by the court who had “not yet exhausted their right to appeal” may “have to be released.”“The result could have dire consequences for the continued detention of people convicted of, or charged with, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Goodman wrote in a report published in Just Security.Among those who could be freed is former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who was charged earlier this year with crimes against humanity, including murder and attempted murder. Duterte was accused by the court for at least 76 murders, “including the killings of children,” Goodman wrote.Still in ICC custody, Duterte is scheduled to face trial on Nov. 30, but could walk free should the Trump administration succeed in dismantling the international body.Several other infamous figures could also be released, including Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri of Libya, an alleged former soldier charged with crimes such as rape, torture and murder, and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a Sudanese former commander who was convicted of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, forcible transfer and murder.

President Donald Trump sparked outrage by joking about the "autopen" on a portrait to get a laugh out of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.On Thursday, the White House X account posted a video of Trump giving Xi a tour of the Presidential Walk of Fame, a West Colonnade display of gold-framed portraits of past presidents that Trump installed last September. Former President Joe Biden's portrait is notably swapped out with an autopen, reflecting Trump and his allies' claim that Biden's aides used the signature device on pardons and orders because he was mentally unfit. Biden denies the claim."Trump, Trump," the president said, pointing at the portraits on both sides of the autopen. "This is the autopen...It's Biden," Trump then explained to Xi with a pat on the arm.While people following Trump and Xi on the tour laughed at the joke, online reactions were harsher. Many were outraged that Trump would take a dig at a previous president for the sake of getting a laugh out of a foreign leader."As an American, I find this so embarrassing," former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul reacted. "He calls it the people's house, but he does not treat it as the people's house. Whatever your policy disagreements were with President Biden, 81 million Americans voted for him. To treat him with such disrespect is appalling. To force a foreign guest to participate in your ridicule of Biden is even worse.""I hate this," lamented Philip Klein, the editor of National Review Online, a conservative opinion outlet. "Xi is a commie b— who runs a key US adversary. Biden, warts and all, was a U.S. president.""He's a grotesque human being," blasted former GOP congressman Joe Walsh. "Taking a despicable cheap shot at an American president to make a communist dictator laugh.""How embarrassing for us," bemoaned Gregg Nunziata, a former GOP Senate Judiciary Committee counsel.As an American, I find this so embarrassing.He calls it the people's house, but he does not treat it as the people's house. Whatever your policy disagreements were with President Biden, 81 million Americans voted for him.To treat him with such disrespect is appalling. To… https://t.co/PTwtEpYn6M— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) September 24, 2026

Diplomats from dozens of countries walked out of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached the podium, emptying rows of the chamber in protest before he could say a word.Cheers and chants in support of Palestine broke out Thursday afternoon as dozens of diplomats stormed out. The protest led to a gaveling and a call for "order in the hall!"Netanyahu answered the exodus from the stage with a firm retort."If there are any other moral cowards who have not left this hall, please do so now," he said to a visibly thinned-out room. The walkout comes amid protests against Israel's brutality in Gaza, where the war has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and against Netanyahu personally. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him last year over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the siege of Gaza, a warrant he rejects.Netanyahu arrived in New York at odds with the city's leaders. He spent the run-up to the trip attacking Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who previously warned he would seek to enforce the ICC warrant if Netanyahu set foot in the city. In a video before the speech, Netanyahu declared, "Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani!" and accused him of "supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters" and inciting violence against Jewish New Yorkers.That claim landed flat even on Fox News, where correspondent Trey Yingst flatly rebutted it, noting that Netanyahu's video said Mamdani "strongly supported Hamas, which... isn't true."The mass exit was not the first of the week's UN drama. A day earlier, President Donald Trump used his own General Assembly address to threaten to "annihilate" Iran, remarks one New York Times reporter characterized as a threat to commit a war crime.Netanyahu after the UNGA emptied out ahead of his speech: "If there any other moral cowards who have not left the hall, please do so now." pic.twitter.com/5I3ceI0bSM— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2026 ????Dozens of delegates from member states walk out of the UN general assembly in protest of Netanyahu's speech pic.twitter.com/afxM14UN8u— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) September 24, 2026

Fighting escalates after Tigrayan rebels form new coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed governmentThere are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by fighters from Tigray into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara and the formation of a new rebel alliance aimed at overthrowing the government of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.About 600,000 people died between 2020 and 2022 during a devastating war between the Ethiopian army and the political party and paramilitary group the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Both sides are now accusing the other of triggering a return to open conflict. Continue reading...

The editorial board for the Houston Chronicle raked President Donald Trump over the coals Thursday morning for his plan to ban diesel exports from the United States for three months — a plan that even some of his own advisers have warned will only make the fuel crisis even worse.Trump's solution, wrote the board, only proves he doesn't understand how energy markets work."There isn’t one big, frictionless domestic oil and gas market for Trump to micromanage," wrote the board. In Houston, they continued, there is surplus production of diesel, "but infrastructure bottlenecks and regulatory barriers like the Jones Act make it difficult to easily transport it to, say, Boston and the rest of the East Coast, so we export the rest to buyers across the planet. Hang out in Galveston and you can watch those diesel-filled tankers sail across the horizon."At the same time, the board wrote, East Coast states are reliant on importing diesel because they can't make enough to meet demand. "Banning U.S. exports would make those global prices skyrocket — sending the price at the pump along the Atlantic coast skyrocketing, too."States and cities that produce a lot of petroleum might temporarily get relief at the pump, the board noted, but it wouldn't last: "Because we make more than we can use, stockpiles would build, storage tanks fill up, and refiners would have the untimely incentive to actually produce less. Meanwhile, the energy industry could be scared away from making any future investments in refining or export capacity."The actual solution to the crisis, the board continued, is to end the Iran war that Trump started, which is destabilizing global energy markets in the first place.