"I Don't Think Too Long": Trump Says Iran Strikes Likely To Be Short-Lived

09/03/26 10:22 AM

The US military carried out a second round of strikes in three days overnight, targeting radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran's southern coast.

"No Nation Should Help Iran": Rubio's 'Sanctions' Warning After PM Modi-Pezeshkian Meet

09/03/26 10:14 AM

Rubio, however, reiterated US President Donald Trump's earlier comment and warned that no country should assist Tehran in bypassing sanctions or establishing channels to earn revenue.

'Blackout warfare': China, Russia weapons could instantly darken 80% of U.S.

09/02/26 3:08 PM

Legislation now before the House and Senate reveals growing worries among defense lawmakers about Chinese and other adversaries' electromagnetic pulse weapons and the vulnerability of U.S. and allied defenses and critical infrastructure to EMP attacks.

'Floods, Extreme Heat Risk': US Warns Of 'Very Strong' El Nino Till February

09/03/26 12:09 PM

"The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up. Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather," said UN.

'Interesting sign' emerging as US strikes risk tempting America's enemies to act: analyst

08/30/26 9:47 PM

There's an "interesting sign" emerging after the U.S. conducted a new round of strikes against Iran on Sunday that risks spurring America's enemies to act, according to one analyst. The U.S. launched a series of strikes against two sites on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz where Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps members were staging rocket launchers to attack merchant ships, according to reports. The strikes came just days after President Donald Trump called Iran a "failing nation" in a post on Truth Social. David Sanger, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, shared his assessment of the strikes on Sunday's broadcast of "CNN Newsroom.""I think they take it as an interesting sign, Sanger said about how America's enemies such as China and Russia reacted to the new strikes. "I think they both also see that the U.S. is now going to have to tie up considerable forces in the Persian Gulf for the foreseeable future."Sanger also warned that the new strikes could have bitter geopolitical consequences. "That could tempt Vladimir Putin to try to go take a small NATO country, or at least some territory in it," Sanger said. "It could tempt Xi Jinping to go after Taiwan."

'Junk Borrower' Pakistan Raises $3 Billion: Economic Comeback Or False Dawn?

09/03/26 12:22 PM

Pakistan has been trying to rebuild its economy after coming close to a default. It received an International Monetary Fund bailout in 2022.

'Kept Her Head Above Water': How A 91-Year-Old Became Face Of Survival in Nepal

09/03/26 3:35 PM

Gesturing to Bohara, who was sitting and smiling with others, the woman informed that the health of every person who was rescued is stable and they are adjusting well to their new lives.

'My goodness gracious!' Harry Enten shocked after Trump rebuked in 50-state 'sweeperoo'

08/30/26 11:16 PM

CNN data guru Harry Enten was astounded on Sunday after new data revealed just how little Americans think of President Donald Trump's latest stunt. Last week, Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario Lake America as part of his ongoing trade spat with America's northern neighbor. Enten did a little digging into Google's search data and said during Sunday's broadcast of "CNN Newsroom" that the data painted a revealing picture of how Americans are thinking about the move. "Do Americans agree with him? Are they actually now calling it Lake America?" Enten asked. "Well, the early signs are no, Americans do not, in fact, agree with President Trump.""Since Thursday, I looked at the Google searches in all 50 states," he continued. "And guess what? In every single one of them, all 50 [states], a 50-state sweeperoo (sic), more Americans are searching for Lake Ontario." Enten also noted that Americans have largely sided with Canada in the wake of Trump's move, as Canada's favorability rating remains well ahead of the president's. "It's a completely different ballgame," Enten said about Trump's favorability rating compared to Canada's. "My goodness gracious! Americans far more like Canada, dare I say love Canada, than ... [they] despise the way that President Trump is dealing with Canada."

'Natalie got confused': Trump aide hit as admin official denies Truth Social AI slop

08/31/26 1:53 PM

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.

'Pathway to the bomb': Analyst flags glaring problem buried in Trump's new nuclear move

09/02/26 8:39 PM

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.