Mavis Amundson

Judge blocks subpoenas against Fed Chair Jerome Powell citing 'essentially zero evidence' Powell said the subpoenas were related to his testimony before the Senate in June about the renovation of Federal Reserve office buildings.

BREAKING: Federal judge blocks subpoenas against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, saying the DOJ has produced 'essentially zero evidence.'

From U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's ruling: "What is these subpoenas’ dominant purpose? A mountain of evidence suggests that the dominant purpose is to harass Powell to pressure him to lower rates"

France and Italy have opened talks with Iran in the hope of securing safe Hormuz passage, the FT reports.

France and Italy open talks with Iran in hope of securing safe Hormuz passage Europeans look for ways to restart energy shipments as Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep strait shut

Trump wants to use the Straits of Hormuz to impress other nations into his massive military misadventure. But Macron and Meloni are far too smart to fall for that. www.ft.com/content/96b8...

"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." -George Orwell's '1984'

🔴 Several Israeli strikes targeted a building in the heart of Beirut on Thursday, with Israel threatening to "do the job on the ground" if Lebanon did not disarm Hezbollah.

Click here for more 👉https://go.france24.com/IhM

📸AP

Macron: France’s role in Middle East remains ‘purely defensive’ despite soldier’s death France has suffered its first fatality in the war in the Middle East.

Emmanuel Macron has insisted that France's role in the Middle East would remain defensive after a French soldier was killed in a drone attack in Iraq.

📌NEW: Trump is making ANOTHER run at finishing off Stars & Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper that has reported on the troops and their families since the Civil War.

This is outrageous, especially during a time of war, when troops deserve a paper they can trust, not WH propaganda.

82 million can't afford health care, but Hegseth gets lobster | Opinion More than 82 million Americans are having to skip meals, borrow money or cut back on utilities so they can afford health care.

82 million Americans can't afford health care, but Hegseth gets lobster? The Department of Defense spent $93 billion in September while many are skipping meals to afford doctor visits. That’s some bulls--t.

My column:

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Big surprise to see the pillow guy's name there.

They can't control what's happening now, so they're trying to control what gets said about it.

Super pathetic if this were off the cuff but it enters stratospheric levels of ultra sad beta manbaby when you realize he actually wrote this out first

Anyone who has ever studied any military history of the past 150 years learns this as Lesson One.

(This group notably excludes Hegseth, Vance, Rubio, Trump.)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down to 46,700. By her standards, she could at least send us a few more pages to read.

It's genuinely terrifying that my country is at war and I can't tell the difference between a press conference by the Secretary of Defense and a pro wrestler hyping an upcoming match.

This is not hyperbole. Hegseth is emotionally incapable and intellectually void and that is an important job.

New war in Lebanon is price of international community's silence Ever since Israel and Lebanon signed a theoretical truce in November 2024, which Israel never respected, the international community has stayed almost entirely silent, implicitly accepting the rule of force over international law.

New war in Lebanon is price of international community's silence

Military victory, political stalemate: The US's strategic myopia in the Middle East Two weeks after launching the war against Iran alongside Israel, the Trump administration appears not to have anticipated Iranian strikes against neighboring countries, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz or the organized succession within the Iranian regime. It is also becoming clear that the two allies do not share the same priorities.

Military victory, political stalemate: The US's strategic myopia in the Middle East

After a soldier killed in Iraq, France confronts the costs of its Middle East engagement Emmanuel Macron announced the death of a French service member in a drone strike claimed by a pro-Iranian armed group. Five other soldiers were wounded.

After a soldier killed in Iraq, France confronts the costs of its Middle East engagement

In Lebanon, the fear of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah spreads to downtown Beirut The heart of the Lebanese capital has come under Israeli strikes. Early Thursday morning, along the corniche promenade, a double drone strike on a car killed 12 people. Residential buildings believed to be sheltering Hezbollah members were also targeted.

In Lebanon, the fear of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah spreads to downtown Beirut

Good thing everyone involved is only in a position of power because of merit

Close the Straits? Who could have predicted that?

Vincent Clerc, CEO of shipping company Maersk: 'In Asia and the Middle East, our fuel supply points risk running dry' The head of the Danish maritime transport company tells Le Monde how the war in the Middle East has forced the world's second-largest shipping line to deploy new sea routes. Ten of the company's ships are currently stranded in the Persian Gulf.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of shipping company Maersk: 'In Asia and the Middle East, our fuel supply points risk running dry'

UN watchdog says Trump's hate speech fueling human rights violations The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued an urgent report on Wednesday, condemning ICE for excessive force during operations

UN watchdog says Trump's hate speech fueling human rights violations

War in Iran: 'Sailors are not just stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, they are prisoners on their ships' Nearly 20,000 sailors remain stranded in the Arabian-Persian Gulf as Tehran blocks the maritime corridor. With international tensions escalating, seafaring is becoming far more perilous, writes Julien Bouissou.

War in Iran: 'Sailors are not just stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, they are prisoners on their ships'

FBI to open office in Ecuador to investigate organized crime in collaboration with local police Cooperation between Quito and Washington continues to increase as Ecuador, once one of Latin America's safest countries, has turned into one of the deadliest amidst a bloody turf war fueled over the cocaine trade.

FBI to open office in Ecuador to investigate organized crime in collaboration with local police

Dozens of civilians killed in drone strikes in southern Sudan The region, which is home to oil deposits, arable land, and powerful paramilitary allies of the RSF, connects the RSF strongholds in Darfur to the east, which is controlled by the army. Since the war, both sides have been accused of war crimes.

Dozens of civilians killed in drone strikes in southern Sudan

Benjamin Netanyahu, a prime minister without checks and balances The strikes in Iran have further reduced the political space for opposition in Israel, even as concerns mount over a possible ground offensive in Lebanon. Today, only Donald Trump seems capable of influencing the Israeli leader.

Benjamin Netanyahu, a prime minister without checks and balances

With G7 leaders, Trump seeks to ease stress on oil markets The group of Western powers, which have remained cautious about the war in Iran waged by Israel and the US, met on Wednesday to try to minimize the conflict's impact on the global economy.

With G7 leaders, Trump seeks to ease stress on oil markets

Oil shock 'largest supply disruption' in history, says International Energy Agency The IEA said current flows through the Strait of Hormuz were moving at less than 10% of pre-crisis levels, which in 2025 were around 15 million barrels per day – with 'no signs of a de-escalation in hostilities or a clear timeline for a recovery in flows through the Strait.'

Oil shock 'largest supply disruption' in history, says International Energy Agency

Ukraine's Zelensky to meet with Macron in Paris on Friday President Volodymyr Zelensky, on a tour of European countries, is expected to hold talks in Paris on ways to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, notably by targeting the 'shadow fleet' of tankers it uses to evade sanctions on oil exports.

Ukraine's Zelensky to meet with Macron in Paris on Friday