“Territory that will allow us to export our energy resources to Europe”: Russia’s deputy Duma chairman calls for massed bombing of Ukrainian cities
A senior Russian official said out loud what Russia’s missiles do every night. Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy chairman of the State Duma and great-great-grandson of Russian writer Lev Tolstoy, has called for massed bombing of Ukrainian cities to break the resistance of the people living in them and force a surrender, the news outlet 24 Kanal reported.
Fifth drone-related NORSI shutdown in under five months leaves all major Lukoil refineries offline
Russia’s second-largest gasoline producer is offline as Moscow orders fuel redistribution and regional authorities tighten sales limits. All of Lukoil’s major refineries in Russia are now offline after a Ukrainian drone strike halted crude processing at its NORSI plant on 26 August
Rocket Lab Unveils ‘GHOST,’ a Game-Changing New Portable Launch System That Can Carry Payloads to Orbit from Anywhere on Earth
Private space launch services company Rocket Lab has unveiled its GHOST (Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology) self-contained mobile launch system, capable of placing payloads in orbit or enabling suborbital launches from virtually anywhere on Earth. Designed to accommodate the company’s Electron and HASTE rockets, the company said GHOST’s “launch-anywhere, launch-anytime” capability can support multi-launch flight campaigns for commercial applications. Rocket Lab said the system’s versatility also offers benefits for “critical” national security missions.
Army Lasers Blast Drones, Proving Directed-Energy Weapons Are Future
Earlier this week, service members assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to stop three hostile, unmanned aircraft systems deemed a threat. They were believed to be linked to drug cartels. “The successful defeat of these adversarial drones is a direct testament to the readiness, vigilance and technological edge of the [joint task force],” said Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, Joint Task Force Southern Border commander. … capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance.”
Baltic Sea states warn of ‘escalating’ hybrid warfare
On Friday, Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gathered his colleagues from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Norway and Ireland in northern Germany to discuss the current threat perception in and around the Baltic Sea. “The hybrid activities to which our countries are exposed point to a further escalation,”
IAEA Says Three Drone Attacks Hit Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant This Week
Three drones have struck the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week, according to the UN atomic agency IAEA. “Radiation levels at the site remain normal,” the organization announced in a post on X. A drone crashed on Tuesday near a cooling plant at the nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s largest.
Ebola outbreak spreads to two more areas in Congo, 60 health zones affected
The fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history has spread to two new areas in Congo-Kinshasa. This means that 60 so-called health zones in the country are affected, according to the latest figures from the government. The two new zones are in the province of North Kivu, where the mortality rate is much higher than average, partly due to delayed interventions. The virus has so far claimed the lives of nearly 2,800 people
Israel army carries out rare West Bank air strike, killing ‘three terrorists’
Israel’s military said it carried out an air strike in the Jenin area in the West Bank on Friday that killed a Palestinian it described as a Hamas militant operative as well as two of his accomplices, in a rare use of deadly Israeli air power …
China is secretly fueling America’s data center rage
Roughly 200 accounts from a suspected Chinese bot farm have quietly tried to influence Americans to oppose AI data centers on social media, X said Thursday night. Why it matters: The U.S. and China are racing to build the world’s most advanced AI systems — and it appears Chinese propaganda has infiltrated American circles with the hope of slowing the U.S. down.
Partial lunar eclipse stuns skywatchers with an ‘almost blood moon’. Here are the best photos
A gorgeous partial lunar eclipse delighted stargazers overnight on Aug. 27-28, as Earth’s shadow darkened the full “Sturgeon Moon” in an impressive display of orbital mechanics, and we’ve got the photos to prove it! The lunar eclipse occurred as Earth passed between the sun and the moon, granting viewers a spectacular view of our planet’s deep umbral shadow as it advanced to cover 96% of the lunar disk, leaving a tiny crescent exposed to direct sunlight.
Nuclear War: Still a Possibility?
In June, 2023 Russia deployed Iskander-M missiles with nuclear warheads to Belarus, more as a warning to Poland and NATO than due to Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Reports also say Russia has been modifying Belarus’s Su-25 aircraft to carry nuclear gravity bombs. Poland (and Lithuania) have threatened Russian access to Kaliningrad, and the Poles and Lituanians have contended that Russia is also storing between 50 and 100 nuclear warheads in the enclave.
Trump announces ‘biggest oil deal in world history,’ says it will substantially lower gas prices
President Donald Trump announced a major oil agreement with Venezuela on Friday, saying the U.S. has secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of the country’s proven oil reserves. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump Stuns By Outright Dismissing Notion Putin Preparing To Attack A NATO State
Media accounts which seek to explain the nature of his meeting with top Kremlin intelligence officials, while apparently being snubbed by Putin in terms of a direct interaction, have shifted in days since the visit. The early ‘consensus’ was that he delivered a stern warning for Russia not to attack any NATO state. But President Trump has poured cold water on this explanation, appearing to dismiss it outright in his latest comments.
First Secondary Sanctions Applied: US Blocks Egyptian Bank From Accessing Dollars Over ‘Iran Ties’
The UAE branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr are being newly sanctioned over their business dealings with Iran, cutting off the branches’ access to US financial institutions and forbidding transactions in US dollar. “Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left
Bessent’s War On Left-Wing NGOs May Strip Soros Network, SPLC, And CAIR Of Tax-Exempt Status:
Treasury officials are drafting a framework to audit NGOs suspected of exploiting their 501(c)(3) status for political activity, illegal conduct or support of radical groups, the Post reported, citing three people familiar with the internal deliberations. One source said Treasury Department officials were “like a dog with a bone” and reckoned that many NGOs and their donor bases could be “on borrowed time.” So Trump and his administration are going after Antifa, Soros, and the Muslim Brotherhood, all at the same time, right as we learn about Antifa being connected to a global terrorist network connected to Islamic terror organizations like Hamas and the IRGC.
Arizona Border Wall Construction Begins, Targets Smuggling Corridor
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Aug. 25 that the wall project is located along “one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border.” The wall segment is part of a $46.6 billion effort by the Trump administration to fill the border with 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology designed to stop illegal immigration.
Trump Takes A Cleaver To “Big Meat” Monopoly, Moves To Let Mom-And-Pop Ranchers Process Own Meat
President Trump’s move to dismantle what Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has called the “modern-day monopoly” in U.S. beef processing reflects growing concern that industry concentration has become a food-security vulnerability. Four corporations, JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef, dominate cattle purchasing and processing, creating single points of failure across the nation’s beef supply chain. This consolidation has reduced local processing capacity, weakened regional food supply chains and shifted pricing power away from independent ranchers and farmers.
Bye-bye Bibi? Netanyahu in danger of being voted out, Eisenkot rising fast, says ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor Rosenberg
Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) has been counted out before. Many times, in fact. Yet despite the close calls, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has found a way to survive. But with Israel’s Oct. 27 election approaching, it is looking increasingly likely that this time could be different.Netanyahu’s Likud party is trailing in a number of polls, his right-wing coalition is struggling to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government, and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot has suddenly emerged as perhaps the most serious challenger Netanyahu has faced in years.
California could become the first state to list ‘Jewish’ as an ethnicity
Citing data from the Pew Research Center, a statement from the coalition noted that more than 50% of American Jews describe ancestry and culture as the core of being Jewish, while only 36% choose religion. California could become the first state in the nation to consider “Jewish” an ethnic and racial identity, rather than just a religious affiliation.
IDF reverses course on targeted killings in Gaza, loosening restrictions imposed after Kushner meeting
After temporarily limiting targeted killings, Israel restores broader authority for strikes on Hamas as Gaza diplomacy stalls. Israel has loosened restrictions on targeted strikes against Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip, allowing the head of the IDF Southern Command to once again approve attacks without requiring Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s authorization
Board of Peace envoy slams Israel, criticizes Hamas for not disarming
Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov criticized both Israel and Hamas at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, saying Israeli strikes and alleged restrictions on civilian supplies should end while Hamas must meet its commitment to disarm under the Gaza framework.
Iran’s Khamenei issues call for unity as US economic pressure intensifies
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has called on government officials to protect national unity and avoid statements that could undermine public confidence, according to a written message published Friday on the Telegram channel “News of the Martyr Leader.” In the message, issued for Government Week, Khamenei declared: “I firmly declare that committing anything that harms social cohesion is forbidden.”
What will happen if Iran, Egypt, Bangladesh join Mecca Joint Defense Agreement? – analysis
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan’s new defense pact is already attracting interest from Bangladesh, Egypt, and Iran. But expansion could reshape regional security, alliances, and power balances.
Republican AG group launches ad blitz targeting Keith Ellison, other Democrats
The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is launching a $7 million ad campaign to support Republican attorneys general and Republican candidates for attorney general in 13 states, one of those being Minnesota. In the race for attorney general in Minnesota, two-term incumbent Democrat Keith Ellison is facing Republican Ron Schutz. Schutz is a former JAG officer and trial attorney. TownHall columnist Dustin Grage reported that RAGA’s ad blitz in Minnesota would be “seven-figure[s].”
Uprising In Ceuta: Locals Have Had Enough of Migrant Invasion
Ceuta’s people took matters into their own hands. Spanish flags filled the streets. Crowds chanted for deportations. Residents pushed toward El Trampolín beach. Tents came down. Belongings went into the sea. Police formed a line between Spaniards and the camps – and opened fire with rubber bullets on the locals.
Trump seeks to sanction Tehran into submission rather than renew MOU, sources say
President Trump has lost interest in renewing June’s interim agreement with Iran and prefers economic pressure to secure more favorable terms for ending the war. Trump himself told reporters his new sanctions against Iran could extend to Chinese banks that do business with it, and said there were no talks between the US and Iran right now.
Shin Bet foils ISIS plot targeting Temple Mount, IDF base
Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced Friday morning that indictments will be filed against two Israeli Arabs, a 16-year-old minor and a 19-year-old Haifa resident, on suspicion of swearing allegiance to ISIS and planning terror attacks against security forces.
Education Department Finally Confronts Sex-abuse Epidemic in Government Schools
After decades of cover-ups, union protection rackets, and official indifference, the U.S. Dept of Education finally admits gov’t schools are infested with sexual predators preying on children. The U.S. Secretary of Education vowed a nationwide crackdown on teachers, staff, and other adults in positions of authority who sexually abuse and harass students.
Syria: Turkey’s New Battleground Against Israel
Turkey’s continued financial support for Hamas and its provision of safe haven to Hamas terrorists only adds to Israel’s view of Turkey as a hostile actor, an attitude not helped by Erdogan’s constant use of anti-Israel rhetoric in political campaigning and official communications. Example: Turkey’s interior minister called for “liberation of Jerusalem.”
Trump says Iran is in ‘deep trouble’ as war hits 6 months
President Trump said the Iranian regime is under strain as the Treasury Dept is applying pressure against Tehran with Operation Economic Outcast. Trump said Iran is “not paying their troops.” Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed that sea mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz’s international shipping lanes, “thanks to…the U.S. military.”
The Hungry Decade
A poll this year found 66% of Americans now think groceries are unaffordable, up from 45% in February; that includes most households pulling in over $100,000. Food insecurity stopped being something that happens to other people and started being the number that ambushes you at the till. It’s not a headline anymore. It’s your receipt.
National Security Experts Sound Alarm After X Uncovers Chinese Bot Farm Targeting U.S. Data Center/AI Debate
National security experts are warning about China-linked efforts to use American artificial intelligence and social media platforms in attempts to shape U.S. debates over data centers, energy, and technology policy after X said it identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 suspected inauthentic Chinese accounts.