Hawkish foreign policy advisers from Trump’s first term as president have faced alleged assassination threats from Iran.United States President Donald Trump has cancelled security protections for Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook and John Bolton, hawkish foreign policy advisers who served during his first term in office. The New York Times broke the story on Thursday about Trump revoking protection for Pompeo, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Trump’s order took effect on Wednesday at 11pm Eastern Time (04:00 GMT, Thursday), stripping both Pompeo and Hook, a former top aide, of…
Author: Team_Benjamin Franklin Institute
The best feel-good sports story of 2025 just got sweeter.Madison Keys — who nearly retired from tennis in 2024 — continued her Cinderella-like run to start the new year by reaching the final of the 2025 Australian Open on Thursday. Entering the match, the American was the overwhelming underdog against World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who lost only 14 games (and no sets) en route to the semifinal and looked like a lock to reach the final. Keys, though, never doubted herself for a single minute. After losing the first set, 5-7, she dominated the second set, 6-1 and was up…
But 2020 was different. He lost every important court case challenging the outcome of the election, yet rather than yield to the rule of law (as Al Gore did when he faced a bitter Supreme Court defeat in 2000), he lied to the American public, tried to illegally cling to power and instigated a mob.Trump’s pardons tell us that we’re far more likely to experience the President Trump of 2020 (and especially 2021) than the President Trump of 2017 to 2019. As National Review’s Noah Rothman argues, Trump is already planting the seeds of more political violence.“Republicans who support these…
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says he no longer has any hard feelings toward Elon Musk after lawsuits between the bank and Musk-led Tesla previously interfered with their relationship.”He came to one of our conferences, he and I had a nice, long chat,” Dimon said at the World Economic Forum’s annual event in Davos, Switzerland. “We’ve settled some of our differences.”Dimon told CNBC that “Elon and I have hugged it out,” with the timing of the reconciliation unclear. JPMorgan sued Tesla in 2021 over a dispute over a stock warrant deal. Both companies dropped their claims in November after reaching…
Two sides of the US gun control debate meet at a protest in Cincinnati, OhioReuters/James Lawler Duggan OutragedKurt Gray (Pantheon) It is hard to ignore just how bitterly divided the world feels right now. Over the past year, elections in more than 100 countries have exposed the widening gulf between opposing views. Online, debates spiral into hostility within seconds. In person, contentious topics are often avoided altogether. Like many, I have struggled to understand “the other side”, let alone imagine bridging the divide. But in Outraged: Why we fight about morality and politics and how to find common… Source link
Twelve years ago, the Thai couple headed to the marriage registrar’s office to take part in a mass wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day in Bangkok. Rungtiwa Thangkanopast wore a long white dress, and her partner, Phanlavee Chongtangsattam, a black tuxedo.Officials welcomed them. But when they reached the registrar’s desk and presented their identity cards, which show each to be female, they were turned away. Marriage between two women, they were told, was not permitted.On Thursday, the couple finally had the chance to wed under Thailand’s new law allowing same-sex marriages. They joined hundreds of others for a mass wedding ceremony…
In December 2023, Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian Party, flew to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Donald J. Trump.Mr. Trump wanted to know how to win over libertarian voters, a constituency he thought could help him reclaim the presidency, Ms. McArdle said in an interview. She had an answer: Free Ross Ulbricht, a Bitcoin pioneer who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for creating Silk Road, the world’s largest online drug marketplace. Mr. Ulbricht was regarded as a libertarian hero for building an illegal market outside the government’s reach.“I love freeing people,” Mr. Trump said, according to…
Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Chinese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.A record number of US companies in China are thinking about moving some operations out of the country or are already in the process of doing so, according to a new study, as geopolitical tensions rise with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.The annual survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China found 30 per cent of respondents were exploring alternative sources for goods and relocating manufacturing out of the country last year, or had already done so…
Credit: Screenshot via TheDC Shorts A Florida jury found CNN liable for defamation in a case involving U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young. The case stems from a 2021 report that wrongly suggested he profited illegally from evacuating people from Afghanistan, something the Biden administration failed to address appropriately before their botched withdrawal. After determining that CNN’s reporting had defamed him, the jury awarded Young $5 million in compensatory damages. Young had argued that the network “destroyed his reputation and business” by branding him an “illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans.” Those claims surfaced during a November 11, 2021, report by…
Justin Bieber has caused concern among fans after sharing a photo of himself seemingly smoking with a bong.The pop star is currently on vacation in Aspen with his family, including Hailey Bieber and baby Jack, which is presumed to be where he took the photos.The images come amid reports that Justin Bieber is planning a music comeback as he “needs the money.”Article continues below advertisementThe Singer Shared Photos Of Himself Smoking From A BongTaking to Instagram, Bieber shared photos from his ongoing Aspen getaway.In one photo, the singer, oddly wearing a hat and covered with a duvet, was seen lighting…