Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, the NATO ally who Donald Trump offended several times, will be attending the Spain versus Argentina FIFA World Cup finale in New Jersey on Sunday, accompanied by the Spanish royal family (King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, and Infanta Sofia).
Argentina will not be a global fan favorite at the finale.
A critical year is ahead for the nation's two largest reservoirs, with no relief after a record-low snowpack and a continuing drought. A comment posted on the Colorado River Basin's Facebook page Wednesday morning might have said it best: "Not enough water in the Monsoons to help. There's only 2 things that can save Mead and Powell right now: 150 percent Colorado Rockies snow pack for 5 consecutive years, or God himself."
Two U.S. servicemembers were killed and several were wounded in an Iranian attack on an air base in Jordan, further escalating a weeklong exchange of fire where both sides have been striking a broader array of targets. U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, confirmed the deaths and said another servicemember is missing as a result of the attack. Four servicemembers were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, according to Centcom. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have been returned to duty, Centcom added.
As Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian walked alongside the coffin of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran last week, some of the black-clad mourners surrounding him chanted not in tribute to the late leader, but directly at him " "death to the compromiser." Not far from that site, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's top diplomat who negotiated a ceasefire with the Trump administration and lifted some sanctions on the Islamic Republic, was forced to flee the funeral after a mob pelted him with rocks amid death chants accusing him of being a "traitorous sellout." Read more
The DOJ quickly labeled Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco a "criminal illegal alien" and member of a terrorist gang. It accused him of attempting to kill an HSI agent by ripping off her body armor, slamming her head into the ground, and choking her. Since then, two separate videos"one recorded by a passing driver and another from inside a near-by residence"have been released. They appear to tell a very different story. The footage shows an HSI agent and another agent wrestling Gabriel to the ground, placing him in a chokehold, and striking him. Gabriel is then seen slipping out of his shirt to break free. The HSI agent gives chase, appears to overextend while trying to grab him, and falls to the ground At no point was the agent's body armor removed. The agent quickly recovers and gets into her vehicle to continue the pursuit.
President Donald Trump's approval rating among voters with a high school education or less has fallen to an all-time low, according to new polling, raising fresh questions about whether the president is losing ground with one of his most reliable political constituencies.
Multiple U.S. service members were reportedly injured in Iranian attacks on Jordanian bases this week amid fresh U.S. strikes and chaos in the Strait of Hormuz. CBS News reported on Friday evening several American service members were injured during attacks by Iran on two Jordanian bases. Multiple U.S. officials confirmed the attacks, but remained anonymous as they were not cleared to speak about the attacks. No fatalities were reported from the attacks; 14 American troops have died since the Iran war started in late February.
Israel's defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel's military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his "security partners". Read more
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, faced a week of hell thanks to the release of multiple bombshell reports about him and his allies. The first report revealed that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a prominent billionaire venture capitalist, donated $10 million last month to a PAC supporting Talarico's campaign. This is problematic because Hoffman has ties to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. "The release of the Epstein files' showed Hoffman maintained contact with Epstein after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008," according to The Texas Tribune. Yet Talarico has repeatedly insisted in his attacks on Republicans that "the Epstein class has no place in Texas." Unless, it appears, the so-called "Epstein class" is donating to one's campaign?
A dozen Somali gangs with hundreds of members, mainly teenagers, are wreaking havoc in Minnesota, committing public shootings and murders out in the open, according to local officials. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, whose office patrols the metropolitan region surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul, told the Washington Examiner that as many as 300 Somali youth are engaged in gang activity around the Twin Cities area. Read more
As the bombing starts again, it's clear the president has dragged the US into a limitless fiasco " and the world into an economic quagmire. Read more
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, the good-for-nothing US Ambassador to Italy, was met with hundreds of furious Samaritans when he arrogantly arrived in Venice on board his super-luxury yacht -- replete with two helipads, swimming pool, and spa -- forcing riot police to clash with the righteous volunteers in 90F heat.
The Trumpf junta and mega-oligarchs are completely oblivious to the reality faced by the poor, the oppressed, the dispossessed, and the suffering
AIPAC has suspended campaign fundraising efforts for more than two dozen House Democrats who voted to cut off billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel. Democrats have come under increasing pressure to oppose unconditional support for Israel, primarily driven by the severe humanitarian crisis, wanton destruction, abject misery, and ~75,000 deaths the IDF have caused in Gaza, which cost the incumbent Democrats the White House in 2024.
You can see how the insidious AIPAC donation portal works here: AIPAC blood-money portal
Another weekend music thread. Post what ever floats yer boat. The linked tune in the title is a Malcolm McLaren tune called Eiffel Tower, from the 80's. 1984 to be specific. Mr McLaren has also performed a tune, Swamp Thing. An interesting tune. ...
Oligarch and freshman US Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) will introduce legislation to sanction Canada and Canadian officials over the huge wildfires that have poured smoke and haze across the US, creating hazardous air-quality conditions. In addition, White House hobgoblin Stephen Miller's wife, Katie, posted on social media that the wildfire smoke over America somehow absurdly proves that Canada should be an American state.
Spure-wealthy idiotic AIPAC Republican
Victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein blasted Todd Blanche after meeting with the acting attorney general at the Department of Justice, a sit-down Sen. Thom Tillis urged Blanche to have as he seeks Senate confirmation as the permanent U.S. attorney general.
Those victims called Blanche condescending and evasive, saying he seemed motivated to talk to them face-to-face Thursday afternoon solely to get his nomination by President Donald Trump advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"After meeting with Todd Blanche, I feel even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States' Attorney General," Annie Farmer, one of those victims, said in a statement Thursday night.
