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Lawyer and journalist Katie Phang is questioning the timing of a private Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and a bribery-linked Brazilian billionaire.On August 20, Joesley Batista met with Trump, and the following day, the president announced the U.S. would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imported beef product over the next 90 days, sold at 25 percent below market price, Phang explained in a Wednesday podcast episode. She noted that Batista's company, JBS, processes meat and is the world's largest meatpacker."I'm calling him the Brazilian billionaire beef bro of Donald Trump," Phang said.She characterized the Trump White House as a "pay-to-play kind of place" and noted that the two men reportedly discussed how additional supply from Brazil could help if Trump dropped a 26 percent import tax."It's like you can't even script it, right?" Phang said. "You can't even script it."The arrangement, which Trump framed as relief for "working American families," drew immediate pushback from cattle ranchers who say the move undercuts them, Phang explained."The timing stinks, does it not?" she asked. "Be mad. Farmers, ranchers, those of you that supported Donald Trump, be outraged. Be outraged that your bottom line is being impacted by corruption and grift and graft."Phang tied the deal to a broader pattern and pointed to Pilgrim's Pride — majority-controlled by JBS — as the single largest donor to Trump's inaugural committee at $5 million. The figure prompted a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Phang noted."Its $5 million donation amounts to more than the contributions from Apple's CEO plus Amazon, Meta, and Google combined," Phang said.JBS admitted in 2017 to paying bribes to Brazilian politicians. Joesley and his brother Wesley later served jail time, Phang said."You think that just because they got caught in Brazil bribing politicians to get favorable deals, you think that would stop in Brazil?" Phang asked. "What's to stop them from doing the same thing in America?"The Justice Department is simultaneously running an antitrust probe into the major meatpackers, including Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS and National Beef, after Trump blamed foreign-owned processors for high prices.

Oil consumption plummets and EV sales soar as analysts say demand may not fully return even if crude price fallsChina’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, thanks to a sharp reduction in oil consumption and a steady rise in the use of electric vehicles and public transport, analysis shows.The report reveals the role of clean energy in cushioning the price shocks caused by the strait of Hormuz crisis to the world’s biggest oil importer. It also reinforces hopes that China, which is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may be nearing a turning point in decarbonising its economy. Continue reading...

Trump's new nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia could make ending his war with Iran even harder, foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi warned Wednesday, because it opens the door for Tehran's regional rival to enrich uranium, the very capability U.S. bombs are meant to strip from Iran.The 30-year agreement, sent to Congress for review, would hand U.S. firms the lead role in building the kingdom's civilian nuclear program and, after a two-year study, could permit enrichment at a plant on Saudi soil operated by the United States. Critics note it does not require Riyadh to accept the Additional Protocol, the U.N. nuclear watchdog's most intrusive inspection regime. Enrichment is dual use: the same process that fuels a power reactor can, pushed further, yield the core of a bomb.Critics have seized on the contradiction that Washington is at war to force zero enrichment on Iran, which insists its program is peaceful, while smoothing the path for the Saudis. Parsi delivered a blunt takedown."Washington is providing Riyadh a pathway to the bomb," even as it demands Iran give up enrichment entirely. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said the administration's "hypocrisy is matched only by their recklessness," accusing it of letting Saudi Arabia pursue nuclear weapons technology "under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb." Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) warned the deal would "set off a nuclear race in the region."The move also cuts against decades of policy aimed at denying Iran the very technology now on offer to Riyadh. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as a senator, even co-sponsored a 2019 bill that would have required Saudi Arabia to forgo enrichment.Trump has insisted the alarm is overblown, shouting on Truth Social, "There will be no enrichment of material!" He added that the pact hinges on Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel through the Abraham Accords. Rubio, for his part, has insisted the deal has "safeguards in place."The clash comes as the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, launched in late February, grinds on. Parsi and other analysts say the double standard hands Tehran a fresh grievance and a reason to walk away from talks, raising the odds the fighting drags on. Blocking the Saudi deal, meanwhile, would take a two-thirds vote in both chambers, a bar even critics concede is steep.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) became the first Republican lawmaker to call for President Donald Trump to replace Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.The retiring North Carolina Republican voted to confirm the former Fox News host to lead the Pentagon, but he said Hegseth's purge of the military's top ranks – including the resignation this week of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll – has created a leadership void during a time of war and showed he's not up to the job."I thank @SecArmy Dan Driscoll for his leadership to our Army and service to our country," Tillis posted on X. "Dan was the right man at the right moment to lead our Soldiers and Army, civilians."Driscoll is among at least 20 generals, admirals and civilian defense leaders who have been fired or pushed out since Hegseth became defense secretary, according to a CBS News review, including the Army, Navy and Air Force's top uniformed officers."Our understanding and assumptions of warfare are being challenged in places like Ukraine and Iran, and Dan understands the old way of doing business no longer applies," Tillis added. "He and [former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy] George began a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers. He challenged our legacy approach to manning and procurement. Most of all, he cared deeply about the men and women in our Army formations and quickly earned their respect."Before his nomination, Hegseth criticized officers he viewed as too focused on diversity initiatives, and as secretary he abruptly dismissed Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti in February 2025, along with other senior leaders, often without public explanation. A source told CBS News that Black and female officers have been disproportionately removed from promotion lists, and no active-duty four-star women currently serve."If we had a @SecWar who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement," Tillis wrote. "Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.""I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee," Tillis added. "I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force. I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it."

Study reveals that pesticide poisoning kills 11,000 people each year, with India accounting for nearly 60% of fatalitiesAlmost half of the world’s farmers are poisoned by pesticides every single year, a study has found.Using publicly available data from 2006-2023, the study, which was commissioned by Pesticide Action Network, found there to be an estimated 402-433m cases of unintentional acute pesticide poisoning of farmers and farm workers every year. Continue reading...

Speed limit dropped from 60km/h for around 70% of general roads in the hope of making narrow streets of crowded cities saferDrivers on residential roads in Japan have been forced to take their foot off the accelerator, after the speed limit was slashed from 60km/h (37mph) to 30km/h in an attempt to reduce deaths and injuries among pedestrians on narrow urban streets.The new limit, which went into effect on Tuesday, applies to residential roads with no centre line or maximum speed signs, media reports said. Continue reading...

Several missing Australians have been found since Tuesday morning, bringing the total citizens unaccounted for to 38Australians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so farA total of five Australians missing after devastating floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week have been found.Of the five Australians confirmed safe, one was found in Nepal, one in Tibet, and three outside the crisis-hit area. The total number still missing is 38. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump admitted that he's not trying to bring Iran to the bargaining table in a Truth Social post.On Tuesday night, Trump let the admission slip during an attack on "ABC Fake News." In the post, he wrote, "I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table," and "I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement." He also signed off with, "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"