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'Especially weird' twist uncovered in White House's leak denial: report
President Donald Trump has been raging against possible leakers over information he gave away months ago.Trump has spent the week vowing to hunt down "treasonous" leakers over a missile shortage he was warned about and that he publicly acknowledged months before he launched his war with Iran, points out a Saturday piece by the legal blog emptywheel."Donald Trump told us on February 23, before he started this war, that he was reading the stories describing that he was warned, including about the missile shortage," emptywheel wrote. "And his response was to say that the decision was his, that if we went in spite of the warnings, the decision was his."The depletion of long-range missiles and interceptors was never a surprise, but despite that, Trump's recriminations have been building as he even turns on people within his own administration.Emptywheel noted a recent report by The Washington Post that revealed Trump laid into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Camp David meeting because of the shortages, but White House and Pentagon spokespeople have denied the report. Trump took to Truth Social to deny the missile shortage as well, writing, "The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions,'" but also went after "the 'leakers' of those treasonous statements" about a shortage. He said they were "being hunted down."According to emptywheel, "the especially weird part" of the White House and Pentagon denials is that they insist Trump isn't angry at Hegseth at all. "Shouldn't the President be angry with a Secretary of Defense who conducted the war in such a dumba— way, losing the war while blowing the missile reserves?" the blog asked.The blog also mentioned reporting that suggests that missile supplies are indeed dangerously low. A CNN report estimated about 80 percent of U.S. THAAD interceptors are gone, and Reuters reported, citing sources, that "virtually all" of the Army's surface-to-surface weapons have been used up.
Greenland slaps back at invasion-threatening Trump — via Dr. Phil
Greenland clapped back at President Donald Trump amidst his overtures of an invasion — and they used a television talk show host to do it, according to a new report. The Guardian reported on Saturday that Greenland's government issued a "strong warning" to a Trump-linked company after it showed up on the island with oil drilling equipment. The company was preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland even though local authorities haven't given it permission, according to the report. Greenland's warning, written in Danish, reportedly demanded, "All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out."Trump this month posted a "menacing" Truth Social message — an image of himself looming over Greenland — and told Americans to "bet" Greenland would be under American control before the decade was out. The Texas-based company — Greenland Energy — has multiple ties to Trump.Trump mega-donor Kenneth Griffin, owns a 9 percent share and one of its appointed directors worked on the president's plan for a Golden Dome missile defense system — a plan for which Trump has said control of Greenland is "vital," the Guardian reported.Greenland Energy's chairman and biggest shareholder, Larry Swets, is also part of Trump's circle, The Guardian reported. Swets reportedly responded to the warning with a semi-apology, stating, "Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion."The company told shareholders that "high-level meetings" have taken place between the project leaders and Greenland's regulatory and oversight officials, saying the discussions have been "constructive" despite the warning from the government, according to the report."We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling," the company said in a message to shareholders. The company is also expected to ship 300 containers of drilling equipment to Greenland from Canada on September 12. Trump's Greenland envoy, hard-right Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), said that pumping oil could begin next year, according to The Guardian.The company's roster includes another Trump ally, recently brought on to be its public face, according to the report. "Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil,' the report stated, "a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will 'capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters."
Top Trump general quietly hunting for 'off-ramp' as president's war plan falters: report
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine has started to tell multiple top Trump advisers privately that he is "looking for an off-ramp" from the Iran war, CNN reported on Friday.Three sources have said that the existing military options could end up backfiring and the conflict has reached a crossroads where air power alone "is unlikely to achieve President Donald Trump’s stated objectives."Caine has expressed this to several key Cabinet members. Two sources revealed he has spoken directly about those concerns with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance."I think it is just his way of protecting the military," one source told CNN. Trump has repeatedly been reluctant to send ground troops into Iran, and has favored airstrikes instead, which he believes can pressure Tehran into a deal on his terms. But Caine and other cabinet officials privately doubt that strategy will work, according to multiple sources familiar with recent discussions, and have been quietly exploring alternative options that still fall within the president's stated red lines, according to CNN.
Spain to introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy
Move comes in response to Rome imposing similar measures after mass migration rush to CeutaSpain has announced it will introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into Ceuta.The checks, which come “amid the persistent irregular migration pressure” facing Italy, will start at midnight on Saturday and last until 7 September, Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...
Unusual Trump mind game revealed by GOP senator
A Republican lawmaker argued Friday that President Donald Trump was using an unconventional move — and playing mind games — with Iran's leader.Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told TMZ that when Trump refers to the ayatollah as "the gay ayatollah" it's on purpose."The president wants to put as much pressure on them as he can, so he's trying to keep them off balance," Hoeven said. "So he's doing a lot of things to keep the regime, which is an irrational, oppressive regime [that] oppresses their own people."Trolling Iran has become part of Trump's perceived strategy, and how he wants to pressure its regime, Hoeven explained. "I think he's messing with them in a way to keep them off balance and create division over there," he added. Iran has reportedly taken similar measures against Trump. Reports indicate Tehran has recruited senior psychologists to tailor messages for what they described as Trump's "impaired mental state," specifically targeting the president.Sen. John Hoeven says President Trump is trying to throw Iran's ayatollah off balance by making comments about his sexuality.????: @hicharliecotton pic.twitter.com/RpQ2cVCURq— TMZ (@TMZ) August 7, 2026
Trump boys' 'shady' Russia deal ties unmasked in explosive new report
A murdered journalist, an organized crime racket, and an alleged scheme to siphon off tens of millions of dollars: These all appear in a new report about a Trump Tower rising in the Caucasus.The Daily Beast on Friday revealed the dark and tangled history behind a 70-story skyscraper President Donald Trump's sons are building with a company co-owned by an oligarch. "The president’s sons are trumpeting a new Trump Tower — but not the Moscow oligarch behind one of the companies they named in the deal," wrote the Beast reporter Will Neal. "[That oligarch] has shady ties to Russia."The development in question is Trump Tower Tbilisi, of which Eric Trump, 42, shared an AI rendering in May with the gushing comment that it "marks our first project in the region."A joint investigation by The Daily Beast, PunchUp and The Newsground reported one of the groups named on the project, Biograpi Living, is co-owned by Paata Gamgoneishvili — the oligarch in question. Biograpi Living now insists it has nothing to do with the deal, despite being featured prominently in the Trumps' own announcement.The White House denied the report had anything to do with Trump“This has nothing to do with the president,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Beast, "whose investment holdings are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions."That didn't stop the Beast from digging into Gamgoneishvili's past. Among the startling narratives revealed in the report is the brutal rape and murder of Bulgarian television journalist Viktoria Marinova."Investigative outlet Bivol tied Gamgoneishvili and Isaev in 2019 to the network behind an alleged scheme that siphoned tens of millions of dollars out of the Bulgarian arm of Russian oil giant Lukoil," the Beast reported. "The year before, a TV journalist who had hosted Bivol’s reporters for a segment about the wider scandal was found murdered. Authorities said her killing was not connected to her work—a conclusion Bivol’s editor disputed."The Beast also tied Gamgoneishvili, a Moscow trader during the Soviet Union's collapse, to Boris Yeltsin, the former President of Russia. "Gamgoneishvili backed the then-president through a union of Afghan war veterans and was handed a state medal for it," the Beast reported. "Yeltsin rewarded the veterans movement with lucrative import perks, and parts of it later curdled into an organized crime racket. Gamgoneishvili ran his own trading business under the union’s wing and rode the same wave to a shopping mall fortune."Two of his Moscow malls alone sold to an Austrian fund for around $230 million in 2006."
'Beyond sad': Analyst aghast as 'big lie' Trump bought from adversary proves deadly
Iran has broken its word to President Donald Trump and has ramped up executions under the guise of war to cover up the deaths, an analyst told CNN on Wednesday.Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad told CNN anchor Jake Tapper how the executions have impacted people inside Iran, where the United Nations has reported that at least 56 people have been executed by the regime since March. Tapper reported that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which was signed in June, did not include any human rights protections, which experts said has led to Iran intensifying executions. Last week, two men were executed after the Iranian regime claimed they were involved in the killing of four police officers during the anti-government riots in 2025.Alinejad told Tapper she felt "heartbroken" for Iranians living under the regime. "I'm in touch with a lot of people inside Iran, the relatives of those who have been executed," she said. "They cannot believe that the whole world stopped talking about them because the execution machine is still working, never sleeps. But as you see, barely media leaders, international community talk about the mass executions." Alinejad pointed out a concerning reality."You remember yourself that President Trump said that the Islamic Republic promised him to stop executing protesters," she added. "That was the big lie. And now it's beyond sad that teenagers are being hanged in public. And there is no TV inside Iran, no media inside Iran talking about the concern of the family members who are actually waiting for their beloved ones to be executed very soon."
MAGA senate candidate swiftly rebuked by critics after devastating gaffe
GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers mixed up Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed with progressive influencer Hasan Piker on Wednesday — and swiftly drew backlash. Rogers' response to the Democratic Senate nominee's victory attributed Piker's comments to the Michigan candidate just hours after voters cast their ballots for him."I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice," wrote Rogers, an Army veteran and former congressman. "Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11."Piker, who campaigned for El-Sayed over the last several months, has gained a large following among progressive Democrats because of his criticisms of the U.S. government. He has been scrutinized for his past comments around the Sept. 11 attacks, which he made in 2019 during a livestream. He later clarified in an interview with his uncle, Turkish-American activist and media host Cenk Uygur, that the remarks were "inappropriate."The internet reacted to Rogers' comments, calling him out for misidentifying El-Sayed and tying Piker's words to the Democratic nominee.Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall called Rogers out for not knowing the difference between the two men."That was Hasan Piker. A different person. But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike," Marshall wrote on X.David Weigel, who covers politics for Semafor, responded to the mistake."The Hasan-Abdul transitive property on display; Rogers says he’s running against someone who 'believes America deserved 9/11,'" Weigel wrote on X. That was Hasan Piker A different person But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike https://t.co/VCqHx3lZE5— Leslie Marshall (@LeslieMarshall) August 5, 2026
Jon Stewart stumps Fetterman over 'weird line' behind his MAGA-friendly turn
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was stumped cold when comedian Jon Stewart pressed him on where he draws the line for political support.Fetterman appeared on Stewart's podcast, "The Weekly Show," for an interview that hasn't been released yet, but in a clip previewing the episode, Stewart repeatedly asked Fetterman to explain why he has increasingly embraced MAGA-friendly positions while feuding with his own party over issues like opposition to Israel."For you, you could agree with them 90 percent of the time, but Israel is the red line," Stewart said, seeking clarification from Fetterman on where he draws the line for his support. "Absolutely," Fetterman said. "Israel, for me, like, I can't ever turn my back on Israel."The interview focused on Israel as Stewart asked Fetterman about his opposition to Democratic Socialists who have won congressional seats and others running for office while criticizing Israel. Fetterman has said he would leave the Democratic Party if it "officially" became "anti-Israel," according to reports.However, Stewart seemed baffled by why Fetterman draws that line."I mean no disrespect on this," Stewart told Fetterman. "But that is not our country," Stewart said, referring to Israel. Fetterman reacted to the statement by throwing his head to the side, seeming to be frustrated."You're saying that these candidates may have great ideas for our economy; they may want to do the exact same thing you want to do in terms of getting money out of politics; they may want to increase the social safety net; they may want to change the balance of power from capital back to labor," Stewart continued. "But if they don't agree with you on Israel, you don't want them in your party.""I don't know who you're referencing specifically," Fetterman said. Stewart shot back, "I'm referencing what you just said."Fetterman shook his head and said, "Name one."Stewart threw out names like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abdul El-Sayed, and Bernie Sanders. Fetterman responded by saying that DSA members should "run under your own banner" and "Why not have a DSA party?" Stewart explained, "We have a two-party system," and said it didn't make sense to throw them out because they don't support Israel but agree with Fetterman on most other issues."You're literally saying we can all have discussions except when it comes to Israel, which is not America," Stewart said. "It seems like a weird line to draw."Fetterman stammered and said, "I don't think that's weird," because historically the Jewish community suffers "when people or a government or people turn their back" on them."The Jewish community and Israel are not the same thing, brother man!" Stewart responded.Jon is joined by U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) for discussion on the Democratic Party, Israel, and the issues that continue to shape his politics. New podcast out tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/QAmZazHzOQ— The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart (@weeklyshowpod) August 4, 2026
Ominous warning after Trump disaster 'lit the fuse' toward 'larger war'
A former Republican strategist warned on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's Iran conflict is the beginning of a "larger war."Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, outlined how Trump's ongoing military "quagmire," the "corrupt charade" of his attacks on American citizen David Hearn — which failed in court — and Trump's rage "at the Westchester wino" Jeanine Pirro have all revealed what could come next."She'll be gone soon, just like the Secretary of War, so-called, who's lost the war to Iran," Schmidt said, suggesting both Pirro and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could be replaced.Schmidt also discussed how Trump would continue to blame others for his own failures."He made the world so much more dangerous and sentenced some score of tens of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to death in a larger war that's coming to clean up this disaster, whether it be five years, or 10 years, or 15 years from now. Donald Trump has lit the fuse," Schmidt said. "The economy is unraveling. The debt bubble surrounding these AI companies is expanding to its explosive terminal point. And all of it is Donald Trump's fault."He asked his audience to consider why Trump's attacks on Hearn were something Americans should think deeply about."And all of it is coming at a time when an innocent man, an American Olympian, was finally freed from the clutches of a government that tried to lock him up for touching a Reflecting Pool that Donald Trump poisoned," he added.
'Worst case scenario' likely as ships trapped by Trump's war could spur 'super spreader'
Stalled ships near the Strait of Hormuz amid President Donald Trump's Iran war threaten more than just oil markets as scientists warn idling vessels could trigger an invasive species "super-spreader event," according to reports on Tuesday.More than 1,500 ships have sat idle in the trade channel since the conflict began on Feb. 28 and experts revealed that organisms growing on hulls and hitchhiking on the vessels could devastate global ecosystems once trade resumes, USA Today reported."If you had to sort of design a worst-case scenario, it would look a lot like this," Mario Tamburri, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the study’s lead author, told USA Today. "It’s a perfect storm."When ships don't move for days or weeks, microbes, algae and other marine organisms can colonize the submerged parts of the vessel. Experts warned that after 10 days these organisms can hit the "rapid growth phase.""These organisms, when introduced to other ecosystems, can cause a wide array of consequences, from outcompeting native species to damaging infrastructure to introducing pathogens harmful to marine life and, sometimes, humans," according to USA Today.Tamburri called the situation unprecedented, adding that the high number of ships, estimated at about 1,500 vessels sitting along the trade route, could harbor "organisms that thrive in the Middle East waters, such as the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf."The organisms can adapt to areas that see extreme seasonal changes. Areas most at-risk for spreading these colonizers are near the strait and with similar high salinity and high temperature conditions, including ports in Southeast Asia and India. These are at higher risk compared to other locations, Tamburri said. He cautioned Singapore, an international hub for commercial shipping, could be a high risk."Those organisms can withstand extremes," Tamburri said. "They’re tolerant organisms, which makes them good candidates for invasions when they go to a new location."
'Trump is raging': Columnist prescribes 'spinal transplant' for Congress
President Donald Trump's erratic eruptions as Congress lay "prostrate" before him have led the United States to the "brink of catastrophe" — and it's up to voters to stop it, a furious opinion writer argued Sunday.New York Times columnist David French issued this dire warning to American voters ahead of the midterm elections, when Democrats could feasibly reclaim the House and begin checking Trump's power."Our future may depend in part on American voters deciding to give Congress a spinal transplant," wrote French. "But that requires us to do something that democracies have rarely, if ever, done successfully — see the catastrophe coming and act decisively."The catastrophe, as French sees it, is the looming threat of World War as Trump struggles to control the situation in Iran — and himself."Trump 'erupted' at members of his national security team over the Iran War," wrote French. "He thought he could topple a vicious, deeply embedded authoritarian regime with a few targeted airstrikes and a fantasied popular uprising."French raised alarms about Iran's continued strikes on American bases and its partners across the region, noting they may be receiving assistance from Russia and China to improve the effectiveness of their drone attacks. Iranians proved American planes and bases are more vulnerable than we realized, costs are beginning to mount and resources to dwindle, French argued. "The Trump administration has put forward two contradictory messages — that there’s no shortage of missiles in the American inventory and that the shortage is Joe Biden’s fault (because he helped to arm Ukraine and launched airstrikes against the Houthis)," French wrote. "And Trump is raging." French urged voters to sit up and pay attention rather than accept Trump assurances they can "sit back and relax." He warned the U.S. has not been so close to world war since the end of the Cold War, and argued its leaders in the White House were unfit to navigate the nation on a course to peace. "The American government is led by the worst rulers in the modern history of the United States," he wrote. "Congress, the only branch of government that possesses the power to intervene, has been prostrate before the president."French concluded that if the next Congress is not prepared to challenge Trump, there is a chance " a terrible war swallows the world."
