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Jul 12, 2026
Senate GOP plot thrown into 'chaos' by Lindsey Graham's sudden death: analysts
The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and the mysterious absence of a sickly Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have thrown the Senate GOP into "chaos" ahead of crucial vote, analysts contend. It remains unclear whether the senate Republicans will now be able to pursue plans to rush the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act to a vote without the two powerful representatives at hand, Democratic strategist and MS NOW contributor Max Burns argued Sunday."Lindsey Graham's sudden and unexpected death throws into chaos the Senate GOP's plan," he wrote on X. " Without McConnell and Graham they are in a real tight vote situation."That's because opposition from Democrats has been mounting.Six Democratic senators last week urged colleagues to block the NDAA's advancement until a provision they believe to be"reckless" can be removed, according to a recent Truthout report. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and five others urged colleagues not to support the U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative which would mandate cooperation between the U.S. and Israel militaries and intelligence, according to the report. “These agreements threaten U.S. national security interests by handing the Netanyahu government leverage over American weapons systems and military technology,” the letter stated. “This is not hypothetical."Iran also poses a problem. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) announced over the weekend he would not vote to approve the NDAA over concerns about the war. "We haven’t even had an up or down vote to authorize this war in the first place," Schatz said Saturday. "Trump wants a 50 percent increase at DOD - they expect money without accountability or strategy. I usually vote yes on NDAA but this is an easy call for me."With opposition mounting, Senate Republicans needed Graham and McConnell to help them fend off this attack from Democrats, argued political reporter Igor Bobic on Sunday."Senate was set to take up the NDAA upon returning from the break," he wrote. "Will be harder with Graham’s passing and McConnell’s absence amid rising Dem opposition over Iran."Last week, Politico reported an already thin margin for Republicans to push military spending.
Jul 12, 2026
‘Calling for their arrest’: Dem lawmaker goes scorched earth after detention
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is now calling for the “arrest and prosecution” of Israeli settlers he accused of detaining him earlier this week while traveling the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and accused the Israeli government of “lying” about him to “cover up” their involvement in the incident.Khanna revealed earlier on Saturday that he had been detained by a group of Israeli settlers “brandishing American-made M4s,” and shared video of the incident on social media. He also claimed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “sided with the settlers” and “continued” his detention.The incident drew scattered bipartisan criticism, though some – including prominent right-wing influencer Laura Loomer and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) – appeared to side with the Israeli government and condemn Khanna instead.On Saturday evening, the conservative New York Post published a report claiming that during his trip to Israel and the West Bank, Khanna "blew off" an offer to meet with former Israeli hostages. While the Post did not disclose the identity of its source for the claim, Khanna suggested it had come from Israeli officials, whom he accused of lying.“The Israeli government is lying to cover up for 4 IDF soldiers who aided violent settlers brandishing M4 guns and threatening American lives,” Khanna wrote Saturday night in a defiant social media post on X.“I am calling for their arrest and prosecution. I have met with Israeli hostages and condemned the brutal, terrorist attacks of Oct 7. That does [not] excuse the IDF from detaining American citizens.”The same day Khanna revealed he had been detained by Israeli settlers, a CNN crew and other journalists were also detained by settlers in the West Bank, which CNN described as an “attack.”“The four settlers were wielding wooden and metal rods and stones. One settler brandished a knife and tried to puncture the tires of CNN’s vehicle,” CNN reported Saturday.“The settlers then began to jump on the vehicle behind CNN’s – carrying another group of journalists – and smashed the windshield of that vehicle. Another group of settlers tried to block a separate exit route before chasing the journalists towards the town of Sinjil.”More than 700,000 Israeli settlers illegally live in the West Bank, with instances of settler violence increasing over the past year. Approximately 1,732 incidents of settler violence “resulting in casualties or property damage” were documented in the 12-month period up to Oct. 31, 2025, according to a United Nations Human Rights Office report. Israeli settlers have also killed at least 15 Americans since 2003.The Israeli government is lying to cover up for 4 IDF soldiers who aided violent settlers brandishing M4 guns and threatening American lives. I am calling for their arrest and prosecution.I have met with Israeli hostages and condemned the brutal, terrorist attacks of Oct 7.… https://t.co/d0POw0J57F— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 12, 2026
Jul 12, 2026
'Get your tinfoil': MAGA chases 'conspiracy' clicks hours after Lindsey Graham's death
Just hours after the 'sudden' death of Sen. Lindsey Graham was announced to the public, MAGA conspiracy theorists began chasing traffic with wild claims about the cause.Questions do remain after Graham's office released an statement Sunday morning that was short on detail."On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness," read the 2 a.m. statement. "Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period."President Donald Trump has promised to release more information after declaring on Truth Social Sunday morning that Graham "is dead!"It was later revealed he died Saturday night at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. after reportedly suffering chest pains.These sparse details proved fodder enough for conspiracy theories to thrive on X.Libertarian talk show host Clint Russell told his nearly 300,000 followers to "get your tinfoil ready" before he suggested, without evidence, that Russia was somehow to blame for Graham's death in Washington, D.C. Graham was in Ukraine as recently as Friday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reports show. "I'd say there is a decent chance that Russia blew up Lindsey Graham," Russell wrote in a comment liked more than a thousand times."Graham is not just the most psychotic booster of Ukraine but he was also the biggest booster for arming Ukraine a decade ago (and likely the Maidan revolution) which really forced Russia to invade," Russell added. "This -could- be the warning shot to the political class that while Russia doesn't want WW3 they will extract a cost on the politicians themselves who are pushing for this endless war. It's now being reported he died of a heart attack. Sure, maybe. Idk."MAGA influencer Laura Loomer also blamed Russia but she decided to tell her 1.9 million followers, again without evidence, that it was possible Russia had poisoned Graham with help from Iran. "There seriously needs to be an investigation," she wrote in a post liked nearly 10,000 times. "Russia just sent a delegation to Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran where the IRGC and funeral organizers was calling for myself, President Trump and Senator Graham to be assassinated. Lindsey Graham was in Ukraine one day ago calling for a Russian sanctions bill that he claimed the White House supports. Now he is suddenly dead from a random illness according to his staff. Did Russia just murder a US Senator?"Anthony Galli, a conservative writer with more than 10,000 followers, took this idea and ran with it."If Iran was behind Lindsey Graham's sudden death but we should respond anyway," he wrote. "President Trump should launch OPERATION LINDSEY GRAHAM. It's what he would've wanted."Matt Forney, host of an eponymous video podcast with more than 3,000 followers, was blunt about naming these comments as baseless claims of secret plots — but did not reject them. "I'm not going to go full conspiracy theorist yet," he wrote. Responding to video of Graham he added, "But this was two days ago. Lindsey Graham looks pretty spry for a 71-year-old. He certainly doesn't look sick or frail. Did Russia or Iran assassinate Graham? I don't think we can rule it out."
Jul 12, 2026
First patients enrolled in record-breaking Ebola treatment trial in DRC
Two drugs are being trialled in the Ituri region in a programme set up just six weeks after the outbreak was declared, with hopes it will reduce mortality ratesThere is no approved drug to help the medical teams scrabbling to save lives in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but there are hopes that could change within months as the first patients are enrolled in a treatment trial.It is a record pace to set up and start this kind of research, scientists said, with patients enrolled just six weeks after the outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 17 May. Continue reading...
Jul 12, 2026
Shooting near Toronto street festival kills 2 people and wounds 4, police say
A shooting near a Toronto street festival killed two men and wounded four other people
Jul 11, 2026
Cocaine-cash probe reaches the land behind Ivanka and Kushner's Albania resort
A Miami businessman wanted in Albania for alleged drug money laundering is suspected of faking deeds to the land where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner hope to build a multi-billion-dollar resort, new reports show.Albania's anticorruption prosecution service is investigating whether Artur Shehu transferred land to Albania Land Development, a Kushner-linked company, with forged deeds and falsified titles, according to reporting by Al Jazeera and Reuters."Prosecutors allege Shehu and his associates funnelled proceeds from cocaine trafficking into Albanian property, using falsified titles to disguise the money’s origin, and have since frozen roughly 110 million euros ($126m) tied to the sale in a notary’s account," Al Jazeera reported.Shehu’s lawyer Kujtim Cakrani denied the allegations to Reuters. “Nothing that has been alleged regarding Mr Artur Shehu’s character is true,” he told Reuters. "Mr Shehu is aware of the allegations made by the Albanian prosecution. These allegations do not concern him because he maintains that the truth is entirely different from what the prosecution claims."A Justice Department spokesperson declined Reuters' request for comment.Ivanka and Kushner's announcement that they plan to build a $1.6 billion luxury resort on Sazan Island, a protected nature preserve and Albania's largest island, already sparked mass protests. It hasn't stopped the couple from moving forward with the deal and snapping up coastal land. Neither Ivanka, Kushner nor Albania Land Development has been accused of wrongdoing in the case.Shehu sold a strip of pristine Albanian coastline to Kushner's company in April, according to reporting by Reuters."Reasonable suspicions are formed, based on evidence, that the above-mentioned assets were acquired through the use of forged documents," according to case files reviewed by Reuters. Reuters also reported that an Albanian organized crime-fighting agency issued a warrant seeking Shehu's arrest for laundering money for South American cocaine traffickers shipping drugs into European ports.Cakrani confirmed Shehu was a target but said he was unconcerned about the arrest warrant, telling Reuters it was "widely believed" that Albanian prosecutors operate under the influence of politicians and business figures.
Jul 11, 2026
'Locked and Loaded': Terrified Trump threatens to 'decimate' all Iran in late-night post
President Donald Trump late Friday night publicly threatened to decimate "all areas of Iran" over mounting fears for his personal safety. Trump's took to Truth Social about 11:20 p.m. to inform to Iranians that he would not hold back should any assassination attempt occur. "1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran," wrote Trump, "with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!Trump was likely responding to the Wall Street Journal report Thursday that Israel intelligence shared with the U.S. may indicate Iran has developed a new plan to assassinate Trump."Iran for years has vowed openly to retaliate against Trump for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, who was a top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in the president’s first term," the report noted. Trump said late Friday that any word of such attempt would result in an enormous retaliation effort from the U.S. "Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran," said Trump. The months-long war began earlier this year with a strike, subjected to new scrutiny last week from CNN, which resulted in the bombing of a school and the deaths of 168 children. CNN's unnamed sources said an important step had been skipped. "Senior US military commanders bypassed warnings in critical databases that intelligence about potential targets in Iran was severely out of date," the report stated. "The decision by senior commanders to ignore the warnings was made for 'expediency,' two of the sources said, in a rush to provide targets at the start of the war. But it also directly contributed to the accidental strike on the school."Trump concluded his threat Friday night with the words "PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!"Read the full post here.
Jul 11, 2026
Trump's team makes rare admission his Iran gamble is unraveling: report
The Trump administration admitted it's worried that a nuclear deal with Iran is increasingly unlikely, the Wall Street Journal reported.Senior U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that a nuclear deal with Iran is "growing increasingly unlikely" in a "rare acknowledgment."A deal to limit Iran's nuclear capacity was one of Trump's "core foreign-policy goals," the Journal noted. However, the senior officials who spoke to the Journal are expecting Iran to release a statement declaring that it will stop firing at ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz and leave it open."One of the officials suggested there would be serious consequences if such a promise isn't made by Saturday," the Journal wrote, referring to the Strait of Hormuz statement. "Others didn't suggest there was a firm deadline."The Journal noted that Trump told reporters earlier this week that Iran will "never build a nuclear weapon under our deal, but I don't know if we're going to have a deal." Sources told the Journal that a nuclear deal wouldn't be possible unless Iran hands over control of its buried enriched uranium, and the U.S. has "low-cost military options to block access to the nuclear material forever." Under the current memorandum of understanding, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to reach a final nuclear agreement, which could be extended, the Journal added. "Iran made no explicit promises to scale back its nuclear program in the interim deal," the Journal wrote. "But it did commit to the two sides reaching a satisfactory solution for handling Iran's existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium."
Jul 10, 2026
MAGA ambassador stung by Trump's no-show as insiders say her clout is fading: report
President Donald Trump opted not to visit Greece this week, embarrassing America's ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, who promised people in Athens that he would, The Daily Mail reported on Friday.The ex-fiancée of Donald Trump Jr. had reportedly told Greeks that Trump would make the stop on his return trip following the NATO summit in nearby Ankara, Turkey. But instead, Trump snubbed Guilfoyle and did not travel to the Mediterranean country, despite not having any public events scheduled Friday through Sunday.The move apparently left Greek diplomats "disappointed" and "jaded," insiders told The Mail. It also put Guilfoyle's status as a close Trump family friend into question."Her selling of access is just not bought anymore," a source told The Mail. "Trump's failure to visit highlights growing concerns in Athens that Guilfoyle's influence over US foreign policy has fallen drastically short of what appeared to have been promised," The Mail reported.She had reportedly urged Trump to visit Greece "in a bid to help restore her image – which never really got off the ground."In 2015, Guilfoyle had said on Fox News that Greek people live as "freeloaders" and accused people in the country of "retiring too early.""It doesn't matter if you made great yogurt. I don't care," she said at the time. Insiders told the outlet that Guilfoyle's sway with the Trump administration appears to have waned."Soon after Trump picked her for the role, sources warned that the 'Margarita Girl' – as one former Fox colleague dubbed her because of her apparent love of the cocktail – to be on her best behavior and that the gig was not simply for partying in the sunshine," according to The Mail. "Guilfoyle appears to have taken the criticism in her stride, and just this month was pictured at gay-friendly Nammos beach club on Mykonos enjoying a glass of Champagne with the US Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, and his husband," The Mail reported. "The following day, she flew into Paris and wore a nearly-nude maxi dress adorned with hundreds of crystals to attend the fashion week show of Greek designer Celia Kritharioti." Some Trump cabinet members have visited her in Greece. "But while she has successfully persuaded lower ranking Trump officials to visit her – including Secretaries of the Interior and Energy, Doug Burgum and Chris Wright – it was a visit from the big man himself that she desperately coveted," according to The Mail.
Jul 10, 2026
Baffled Spanish official has no idea what Trump was ranting about: 'Only he can explain'
Spanish officials are throwing up their hands over Donald Trump's contradictory ultimatums on military spending, with the country's top diplomat essentially dismissing the president's chaotic demands as inexplicable, Politico reported Friday.The confusion stems from Trump's erratic behavior at this week's NATO summit in Ankara, where he attacked Spain as a "terrible partner" for refusing to commit to spending 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense. Then, on Wednesday, the president ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits"—a threat that appeared to be in earnest when a U.S. official confirmed Thursday that the Treasury and Commerce Departments were drafting "a menu of Spanish products that may be embargoed in the coming days."Trump then backed down after creating the international incident."I did have issues with Spain, and I still do, but Spain came back all the way today," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, claiming Madrid had "honored a request for lots of payment." He added, "They were very generous today -- you know, I told them I was going to stop trading."Pressed on what happened, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares expressed bewilderment, telling national broadcaster RTVE that he had no idea what Trump was referring to. "Only he can explain," the diplomat said dryly.Politico reported Spanish government officials were still scrambling to make sense of Trump's comments, ultimately concluding he must have been referring to Spain's compliance with existing NATO commitments to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense—not any new spending increases."No, we understand [Trump] was referring to the data showing we've satisfactorily complied with the 2 percent target," a Spanish government spokesperson told Politico.
Jul 10, 2026
Protests engulf Indian state after rape and murder of 11-year-old girl
Innocent man lynched by mob in West Bengal as police killing of suspect further escalates tensionsProtests have engulfed the Indian state of West Bengal after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the subsequent lynching of an innocent man and the police killing of one of the accused.Outrage erupted on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from a pond in a town just outside the state capital, Kolkata. Continue reading...
Jul 10, 2026
Trump blitzed by Wall Street Journal for 'destroying US jobs and raising prices'
President Donald Trump's boast on Truth Social that his tariff war spurred Toyota to move its Tacoma truck manufacturing operations to the U.S. was drowned in derision by the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal this week.The conservative WSJ board on Thursday rained on Trump's parade by pointing out that the manufacturing move should be celebrated, but, in the larger picture, his tariffs have been a disaster and Americans are still furious."The President is right that his tariffs are at work—in destroying U.S. jobs and raising prices," the editors wrote. "Mr. Trump’s Section 232 national security tariffs on autos and parts have cost $35.2 billion through April of this year, and his steel and aluminum tariffs another $17.5 billion, according to U.S. government data."Since taking office in January, the U.S. has hemorrhaged roughly 75,000 manufacturing positions. More than one-third evaporated directly from the automotive and related parts sectors—the industries Trump claims to be protecting.The board argued the administration's tariff experiment has obliterated American manufacturing. "Mr. Trump and his advisers claim that foreigners pay his border taxes, but the evidence shows that U.S. companies, workers and consumers are picking up most of the tab," the board wrote.Add to that, they asserted Trump is forcing consumers to balk at buying new cars over economic uncertainty."Many are driving clunkers for longer—and paying more for repairs if they break down—or buying used cars," the editorial stated. "New vehicle sales have averaged 15.9 million in the first half of this year, down from the 17 to 18 million in the five years before the pandemic. "When people buy fewer cars, auto makers don’t need as many workers. His trade oscillations and border taxes are a major reason the economy hasn’t performed as well as during his first term, and why Americans are so unhappy."
