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Inviting a top Russian official onto American soil has drawn fierce criticism and left Western allies fuming, according to The Wall Street Journal.In a Tuesday editorial, The Journal's editorial board slammed the Trump administration's decision to bring Russia's finance minister to this week's G-20 gathering in North Carolina, calling the move "especially unfortunate.""The German finance minister was justifiably angry to see Russia welcomed to such a forum for the first time since the Ukraine invasion in February 2022," the board wrote. The Journal warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin "will pocket the international legitimacy from the visit and continue his terror bombing of civilians in Kyiv."The Journal's criticism landed the same day Germany blamed Moscow for a drone attack at Leipzig airport last month. The Journal noted that the airport serves as a supply route for Ukraine. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt cast the incident as part of a wider campaign and said his country does not consider itself "at war" but has become "the daily target of hybrid warfare," according to The Journal.Putin's "hybrid" playbook, which includes cyberattacks and dragging anchors across undersea cables, is a way to deny responsibility while forcing the West to absorb the cost of escalation, according to The Journal. The aim is to splinter NATO without firing a shot, The Journal warned."Mr. Putin is behaving like he thinks he can get away with flagrant provocations," The Journal wrote. "Europe for too long hasn't wanted to risk speaking plainly about the threat, which makes Germany's blunt comments this week all the more welcome."Russia is pegged as the main culprit for 144 drone incidents across 13 countries in less than two years, according to an International Institute for Strategic Studies count cited by The Journal.The Journal suggested that Trump's "time would be better spent trying to move the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's Russian sanctions bill through the House, where its fate this week is uncertain."

Two news anchors reacted with alarm to the global bond selloff and mocked the Trump administration's failed response.On Tuesday, CNN anchor Erin Burnett and Richard Quest, the host of Quest Means Business, explained what's happening in the global bond market and why it spells trouble for major economies.Burnett described how "turmoil" like the war in Iran has led to "meaningful economic impacts, and people experience them every single day." Referring to a global bond selloff, Burnett explained, "something happened today in the market that was sort of a five-alarm fire when it comes to where things are going.""It's very concerning because it's the markets telling governments, not just in the United States but also in Europe and in Japan, that their fiscal path is unsustainable," Quest said.Quest explained that investors known as "bond vigilantes" are behind the global selloff, adding that they only "come out of the woodwork when they see government debt or even corporate debt" that they think is unsustainable."They basically ratchet the price down and the yield up," Quest explained. "That's not fine for a company, but that's only a company. In this case, we're talking about the U.S. government debt."Quest noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to quell the turbulent bond markets a couple of weeks ago, but that "seems to have failed because rates are back where they were. The market is basically saying they don't believe what this administration is planning to do."Burnett flagged that as "a hugely significant thing to say" because the Treasury Secretary, along with the Federal Reserve chairman, are people who "the markets have taken very seriously."She also played a clip of Bessent saying, "The U.S. bond market has been the best-performing market since the president came in," which was met with laughter by Quest."He was trying to move the price rather than the fundamentals," Quest said, explaining Bessent's failure. "The best analogy that I can give you for that quote from Bessent is that famous line, 'the cleanest dirty white shirt in the laundry,' and that's what the U.S. is."

The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board warned that rising bond yields carry a message that President Donald Trump ignores at his peril.In a Tuesday editorial, the paper's editors argued that climbing yields on long-dated government debt are not a catastrophe but a long-overdue return to normal, while cautioning that the picture could darken fast if Washington refuses to change course.The board pointed to a global selloff that pushed the 10-year Treasury note to 4.8 percent on Tuesday and drove the 30-year U.S. bond to 5.28 percent. It also lifted Britain's 30-year government bond to its highest level in nearly three decades. Japan's 10-year yield touched a peak unseen in 30 years, The Journal noted.Rather than sound an alarm, The Journal celebrated the shift as investors waking from almost two decades of what it called "financial repression," an era of central-bank bond buying and rock-bottom rates that let "spendthrift" governments borrow cheaply and pile on debt.But The Journal conceded the transition carries danger as "some market crack-ups are sure to occur, though who knows where and when." The Trump administration could stave off a reckoning with policies that spur growth, "which doesn't include tax increases or tariffs," according to The Journal.The Journal also noted that federal debt held by the public now equals 100 percent of GDP and annual interest payments have topped $1 trillion, which exceeds the entire defense budget. Neither party will touch the spending on programs like Social Security and Medicare, which is driving the climb, according to The Journal. "The bond vigilantes aren't yet in full cry, but their early murmurs are welcome," The Journal wrote. "They are sending a message to Washington and other Western nations to clean up their fiscal acts."However, "the real worry is if the politicians don't listen," The Journal warned.

More than 1,000 people confirmed dead and more than 4,000, including 36 British nationals, remain missingA British aid worker was mistakenly identified by Nepalese authorities as a rescued survivor after returning to Kathmandu on a humanitarian aid flight.Alastair Chambers, a 45-year-old former Gloucester councillor, said he flew to Nepal last week to distribute sleeping bags, food and essentials to communities cut off by collapsed bridges. Continue reading...

A conservative columnist for the Washington Post is not happy with his employer's publishing a weekend bombshell report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing stiff opposition from Pentagon generals as the Iran war drags on.According to the exclusive from the Post’s Alex Horton and Tara Copp, a handful of U.S. military leaders have warned Hegseth that “prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable” and puts the military at risk should another threat emerge elsewhere — “including the U.S. homeland.”“Leaders of the U.S. European Command, the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Southern Command, along with the Navy’s top admiral, responded with what is characterized in the SDOB as a ‘non-concur,’ those familiar with the assessment said — meaning they disagree with the secretary’s order to extend their forces but will execute it nevertheless,” the report continued.Marc Thiessen, who joined the Post as a columnist after a stint as a spokesperson for Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) and serving as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, announced he wants a criminal investigation of Horton and Copps sources -- leaving open whether they should be prosecuted also.On X, he linked to the WaPo announcement of the “exclusive " story and accused, “Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted.”That falls in line with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, who is angling to be the new Army Secretary despite a history of domestic abuse allegations, who issued a statement saying, “publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime” and “a betrayal of the force.”The Post picked a side and went with the reporters, issuing a statement that reads, in part: “The assertion that such a publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.”

Concerns were raised on Monday morning that 80-year-old President Donald Trump is having problems understanding what is going on in his war on Iran.Sunday evening, the Pentagon confirmed an attack on Larak Island in the Gulf of Hormuz, reportedly taking out Iranian rocket launchers designed to disperse sea mines into the waterway.According to the Washington Post, “The exchange of fire was the first in a month between the two sides as the Trump administration seeks to navigate a ceasefire.”Hours later, Trump posted an AI “slop” video of the attack on his Truth Social account; however, he identified the besieged island as Kharg Island, home to the vast majority of the country’s oil exports.According to MS NOW’s Vaughan Hillyard, that led to some distress over a possible major escalation — but now there is a belief that the president did not comprehend what is going on.Speaking with MS NOW host Stephanie Ruhle, he explained, ”I think it's worth noting there, you mentioned the AI video of attempting to bomb Kharg Island that the president posted overnight. We were actually just messaging, a few of us on our team, and we believe that the president of the United States has conflated Kharg Island with Larak Island, which is where the launchers that IRGC launchers were struck.”‘"They are 410 miles away, for another geography lesson, Kharg Island from Larak Island. But it seems like perhaps the president of the United States got confused which islands his military generals were talking to him about here.” - YouTube youtu.be

President Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp faced criticism over a Truth Social post claiming a critical Iranian oil island was being destroyed, which a U.S. official said was not targeted.A U.S. official said the overnight strikes did not target Kharg Island, Reuters correspondent Idrees Ali reported Monday morning. A post claiming the Island had been blown to "smithereens" went up on Trump's Truth Social account at 10:08 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, hours after American forces struck Iran.A 10-second video of a burning refinery complex paired with the post included the caption, "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!"Phillips P. O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, aimed his response at Harp rather than at the president."Poor Natalie got confused between Kharg Island and Larak Island--worshipping can be such exhausting business," O'Brien wrote on X Monday morning.Harp has been reported for months to be the aide who physically publishes material to the president's account. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Harp supplies Trump with stacks of printed drafts and waits for his approval before posting, often during overnight hours.The 34-year-old is a former conservative television anchor who joined Trump's circle ahead of the 2024 election. Colleagues have nicknamed her the "human printer" for the portable printer she carries, the Journal reported.Harp "plays into the less productive and more troublesome parts of his nature, putting things in front of him that aren't vetted," one of those four people told MS NOW.One national security official raised concerns that Harp's proximity to Trump gave her access to more sensitive information than anyone else in his orbit, MS NOW reported. Colleagues had made "subtle moves" to create distance between Harp and the president, another of the four people told the outlet.The criticism resumed Monday morning, hours after the post appeared, as commentators connected it to that earlier reporting."Trump is winning the Iran War in the AI world Natalie Harp has created for him," MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote on X.Marcy Wheeler, a national security journalist, tied the post directly to the question of who is running the war."How does the Commander in Chief post AI slop claiming to have 'blown to smithereens' a sensitive island when that's not what was struck at all?" Wheeler wrote. "What OTHER key actions in this war is he entirely confused about? Is the Commander in Chief even in charge? If not, who is?"American forces did strike an Iranian island on Sunday, but it was not the one named in the post.U.S. Central Command announced strikes on two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, a U.S. official said, marking the first American strikes on Iran in more than a month.Analysts have long treated a strike on Kharg's oil facilities as a far greater escalation than one on a launcher site, AP reported, because it would cut off the revenue that funds the Iranian government.Harp's role became a public argument two weeks ago, when a single line from a Democratic senator drew a sustained response from the White House.Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) named Harp during a rally in Atlanta on Aug. 16, in a passage otherwise devoted to the president's priorities."He doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar," Ossoff said, according to Forbes.Outrage from the White House reached a fever pitch for more than a week, involving the president, his spokespeople, and his family. Trump called Ossoff a "Pee-wee Herman look-alike" when a reporter asked about the remark and did not address Harp directly, Forbes reported. The White House then attacked the reporter who asked the question, CNN's Kristen Holmes.White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called Ossoff's comments "cringeworthy" and criticized the senator's voting record, he told TIME."It's been amazing to watch this White House melt down over this all week," Ossoff later told MS NOW.The response generated weeks of coverage examining Harp's access that the original remark had not. Posts from Trump's account have been deleted before after drawing complaints, including two involving artificial intelligence.Harp posted a video containing racist imagery depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, along with an AI-generated image portraying Trump as a Christ-like figure, MS NOW reported.Both posts were deleted following bipartisan backlash, and Trump told reporters on Feb. 6 that he did not post the Obama video, saying "somebody else" did and that it was "slipped and missed" during review.Twelve days later, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's posts "should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration" because they came "straight from the horse's mouth," The Independent reported."When you see it on Truth Social, you know it's directly from President Trump," Leavitt said at the Feb. 18 briefing.

Cape Town stunt sparks major debate over safety risksAirlink insists flyby conducted according to regulationsA pre-game stunt involving two passenger jets flying dramatically low over a stadium in South Africa drew huge cheers from the estimated crowd of 56,000 people, but also sparked a major debate over safety risks. The flyby by two Embraer jets, operated by the local airline Airlink, happened on Saturday before the second rugby union Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town.The flight tracking service Flightradar24 estimated that the lead jet passed just 41-46 feet (12-14 metres) above the roof of Cape Town Stadium, with the crowd and the world’s top-ranked rugby teams below. The second jet, which was very close behind, flew through a cloud of pink dust that shot up from the stadium roof as part of the show. Continue reading...