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President Donald Trump caved Sunday on one of the tariffs he implemented against one of America's key trading partners last year. Trump announced during a press conference that he was removing the 15% tariff he placed on Irish whiskey in April 2025. The announcement came after Trump attended the Irish Open trophy ceremony, held at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland. "It was very unfair because others have the relief, and they did. So, I thought I'd do it," Trump told reporters at Shannon Airport before he traveled back to the U.S. Trump added that he talked about the tariff with professional golfer Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open. "Shane asked me about it; everyone has," Trump said. "It was pretty unfair, so I decided to do it." Q: The whiskey tariffs are an EU tariff. Are you taking it off all EU countries?TRUMP: A lot of people asked me about. It was pretty unfair, so I decided to do thatQ: On just Ireland, or all of the EU?TRUMP: Just Ireland pic.twitter.com/AWoRjHuWk8— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 13, 2026

A startling development in the Middle East has both weakened President Donald Trump's negotiating position with Iran and threatened to trigger a new global “inflationary shock,” two experts told Al Jazeera this weekend.On Friday, the Iran-backed Houthis — the Yemeni militant and governmental organization — captured Mayyun island, which divides the Bab al-Mandab Strait — a major global shipping chokepoint — into two distinct channels. This comes after the Houthis reportedly took control of the entirety of Yemen’s west coast, which sits along the Bab al-Mandab Strait.Back in July, the Houthis launched a blockade of all Saudi Arabian oil shipments passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which, with the group’s new dominance over the territory, now makes traversal through the waterway a “very risky endeavor if the Houthis don’t allow it,” warned Wolfgang Pusztai, a security and policy analyst.Pusztai argued that Iran also benefits from the move, gaining fresh leverage over another global chokepoint and making its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “even more efficient.”Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, concurred with Pusztai that the Houthis’ capture of Mayyun island strengthened Iran’s negotiating position with the United States. Economist Javed Hassan further warned that a global supply shock could soon emerge should the Houthis further disrupt trade through the strait.“War-risk insurance and charter rates can rise before cargoes are formally interrupted, and the resulting pressure extends beyond oil into container shipping, dry bulk and the wider cost of traded goods,” Hassan told Al Jazeera. “The technical supply shock from Houthi attacks therefore becomes an inflationary shock through several commodities at once.”The development comes as oil prices continue to climb, with diesel costs in the United States reaching levels so high that some gas stations have reportedly been unable to display the correct price.

President Donald Trump was asked Sunday about his thoughts on the mass protests in Dublin, Ireland against his visit, but ignored the question and instead issued the female reporter a bizarre “compliment.”“Mr. President, did you see any footage of the protests against your visit here in Dublin, and what do you make of that opposition?” a female reporter can be heard asking Trump.After a brief pause, Trump instead decided to compliment the female reporter on her looks.“You know, you remind me of somebody… a great Irish singer who passed away recently. Do you know who that is?” Trump asked. “Sinéad! You look like Sinéad O'Connor! And that's a compliment! She sang beautifully.”Trump’s visit to Ireland was met with opposition as locals flocked to the streets of Dublin with crude balloons and other anti-Trump displays to protest the president’s visit.O’Connor, the famous Irish singer-songwriter whose songs touched on human and women’s rights issues, died in 2023 at the age of 56 from a chronic health condition. O’Connor had also publicly criticized Trump, calling him a “devil” in 2020.When asked of his thoughts on the Dublin protests against his visit to Ireland, Trump ignores the question and bizarrely compliments the female journalist by saying she "looks like" the late Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor pic.twitter.com/yMhMjuuXQw— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) September 13, 2026

Irish President Catherine Connolly revealed the stern message she issued to President Donald Trump during their recent private meeting, sparking a chorus of cheers Sunday from critics.Connolly met with Trump in Dublin on Saturday at her official residence, and, according to the Irish Examiner, made clear that the Trump administration’s foreign policy was at odds with the wishes of the Irish people.“I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted,” Connolly said, referencing her meeting with Trump.“As a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict.”In perhaps a more subtle message to Trump, Connolly also gifted the U.S. president a collection of poems, which notably included the poem “Ceasefire” by the famous Irish poet Michael Longley.“Bravo,” wrote Australian journalist and author Peter FitzSimons in a social media post on X, responding to reports of Connolly’s message to Trump.A photograph of Trump walking in front of Connolly with a serious expression on his face also drew considerable attention from Trump’s critics.“She read him out!” wrote American historian and author Max Dashu in a social media post on X. “He has the same expression as after his secret meeting with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in Helsinki, the one that no US translators were allowed to witness.”And Sara Salyers, a prominent Scottish independence activist and former journalist, quipped: “When a picture paints a thousand words!”

Fareed Zakaria raked President Donald Trump over the coals in The Washington Post Friday for his "dangerous fantasy" that he can still negotiate rationally with Russia's Vladimir Putin.There is no placating Putin, said Zakaria; he only wants the destruction of America, and he has proven this time and time again."It is worth recalling a lesson about Putin learned by another businessman turned government official — Hank Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs. As treasury secretary, Paulson visited Beijing for the Olympics in August 2008, just as the global financial crisis was gathering force and markets were increasingly worried about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giant institutions that guarantee most mortgages in the United States." When he arrived, he learned that Putin's government actually proposed Russia and China "dump large quantities of Fannie and Freddie securities" to destabilize them further — a plan China didn't indulge."Think about what this says," wrote Zakaria. "At a moment when the American financial system was approaching its worst crisis since the Great Depression, Putin was searching for ways to hit America when it was down — even though a deeper American crash would inevitably have damaged the rest of the world, including Russia. Putin appeared willing to risk a lose-lose outcome, as long as the U.S. lost badly."A businessman would never make that kind of decision, he said — yet Trump remains convinced he can deal with Putin the way he dealt with competitors in business.Trump's allies, he concluded, "see a businessman looking for a win-win. Putin’s record suggests that he is something very different: a man who has repeatedly been willing to impose costs on Russia, destabilize other countries and risk losses if doing so weakens the U.S. Hank Paulson learned that lesson in Beijing 18 years ago. It would be useful if America’s current businessmen-diplomats learned it in Moscow."Trump has repeatedly gone to and from the table to try to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At times, even he has appeared close to out of patience with Putin, but at other times he has pushed for "peace" plans that would be huge giveaways to Russia.

A CNN panel reacted with a mix of disbelief and disgust to newly surfaced text messages showing FBI Director Kash Patel trying, and failing, to marshal the bureau's press shop against an anonymous internet troll.The exchange, reported Thursday after journalist Seth Hettena spotted it in an FBI records release, showed Patel pressing his communications team to fire back at an account that had mocked him with a slur, replying with the FBI's "record year" stats. A top spokesman refused, warning it "would look bad on you." Patel pushed anyway, insisting it was about the post's view count.On CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," the panel struggled Friday to make sense of it."They are very, very thin-skinned, and they are willing to use the resources of the government to protect their thin skin," said Corbin Trent, a former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). He noted Patel appeared to misread the platform entirely, mistaking the post's views for comments, and called the director's fixation "bizarre" and "a dereliction of duty" as antisemitism and Islamophobia were rising.Republican strategist Ashley Davis, a former George W. Bush White House official, condemned the slur outright. "If my son said that word, I'd slap him up against the head. I just think it's such an offensive word," she said. Davis questioned why the nation's top law enforcement official would "lower himself" to spar with a troll while crime and murders were falling."Don't worry about some trolls calling you a [slur]," she said.The texts had already surfaced in the FBI's release of records tied to its Jeffrey Epstein review, drawing days of ridicule. They come amid persistent scrutiny of Patel's handling of the Epstein files and his freewheeling use of social media. The FBI declined to comment to CNN.

The presidential briefing documents were declassified on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacksSeveral dozen presidential briefing documents declassified on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, detail intelligence that government officials had gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended American national security.The documents illustrate security analysts’ tracking of Bin Laden’s movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to US targets. They also detail officials’ understanding of his network in the United States and other countries, including how his operations were financed. Continue reading...

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), the Republican nominee for Iowa's open Senate seat, downplayed the war with Iran as "out of sight, out of mind for so many Americans."Hinson made the remark on The Iowa Podcast with Justin Brady, in an episode published Aug. 26, when the host asked what her message would be heading into her Senate campaign.The episode drew little notice, logging 137 views on YouTube. Journalist Aaron Rupar resurfaced the Iran exchange Friday on X, where his post had drawn more than 21,000 views."It seems like Americans are kind of like, 'Ah, gosh. I don't know. I signed up for this America First stuff. I don't know what this stuff is,'" Brady said, describing the mood among voters after the United States went to war with Iran."So what is the message going into your Senate election?" Brady asked. "Are we still America First, or are we focused elsewhere?""And when it comes to Iran, you know, I don't want an endless war in Iran," Hinson answered. "I think it is important to make sure Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and it is thousands of miles away. It's out of sight, out of mind for so many Americans.""Why I'm running for the U.S. Senate [is] we need to protect taxpayers," Hinson continued. "We need to make sure rural America has a seat at the table, and we have to have a safe and secure country. And that starts by eliminating threats not only at our southern border, but abroad as well.""And Iran has been massively increasing its stockpiles, not just of nuclear materials, but of missiles, of drones, that could have been not only a threat to our allies in the Middle East, but us here in the homeland as well," she said."And so I want to make sure we get this done quickly," Hinson added, "but the end goal for me in any deal or any negotiated deal end to this war is we need to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon, and we need to make sure our allies in the region are protected."The war Hinson described as distant has been running for more than six months. The United States and Israel began military operations against Iran in late February, according to the Congressional Research Service, and the fighting has continued since.Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday that it targeted two U.S. Navy vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other ships near the Strait of Hormuz, The Washington Times reported. The announcement came a day before Rupar posted the clip.Gasoline averaged $4.15 a gallon nationally this week, up from $4.08 a week earlier, Al Jazeera reported, with the increase tied to the fighting around the strait.Rupar noted in his post that Hinson has defended the war and voted against war powers resolutions, the measures that would force the president to seek congressional approval to keep fighting.Hinson and Iowa's three other House Republicans voted in March against a resolution that would have limited the military campaign against Iran, Radio Iowa reported. It failed 219-212.The House passed a similar measure 215-208 in June with four Republicans crossing over, CBS News reported. Hinson was not among them."Even though the Iran war is thousands of miles away, it is important that we finish the job there, because Iran can never get a nuclear weapon," Hinson told The Gazette in June, using nearly the same phrasing she would repeat on the podcast."If it drags on beyond that, it's a political liability for us too, because we've lost Iowa soldiers," Hinson told voters at a meet-and-greet in Webster County in late May, according to audio obtained by Politico and reported by The New Republic. "I've been to four funerals since December, it's awful."Six Army Reserve soldiers assigned to a Des Moines-based command were killed in an Iranian strike on a facility in Kuwait on March 1, The Gazette reported. Two were from Iowa.Hinson faces state Rep. Josh Turek, an Iowa Democrat, in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), in a race Democrats are targeting as a long-shot pickup, 19th News reported.