Posts by Kim Browne
How Trump’s Obsession With Weight Explains His Misrule
When President Donald Trump addressed Army troops June 10 at Fort Bragg, his audience was screened for political leanings and physical appearance. “No fat soldiers,” read one unit-level message, according to Konstantin Toropin and Steve Beynon of Military.com. Another memo, reported by the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, said “soldiers sitting in the bleachers are to be fit and not…
Read MoreEurope: Shares drop as trade optimism wanes, geopolitical tensions rise
EUROPEAN equities logged their fourth consecutive decline on Thursday as trade optimism dimmed, while mounting geopolitical tensions prompted a pullback from risk assets. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.33 per cent lower at 549.84, after touching its lowest levels in over a week during the session. This extended selloff marks its longest daily losing streak in over…
Read MoreTrump Team Lies About Attack on Democratic Senator
A pro–Andrew Cuomo super PAC released a mailer this week that modified the image of Zohran Mamdani, the progressive front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race, to appear as if he has a darker, longer beard. The altered image of Mamdani, a New York state representative, appeared next to text on a mailer claiming that…
Read MoreHegseth All but Confirms Trump Plans to Take Greenland by Force
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused Thursday to answer a simple question about the Trump administration’s plans for Greenland, implying that the U.S. military has drawn up plans to take the country by force. While testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Representative Mike Turner gave Hegseth the opportunity to clarify the Trump administration’s position…
Read MoreTranscript: Trump Press Sec Seethes at Journos Amid Sudden Poll Slide
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the June 12 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network. I’m your host, Greg Sargent. The political war over President Trump’s dispatching of the military into Los Angeles has taken a new turn. Journalists…
Read MoreSingapore shares rise as trade tensions between China and US ease; STI up 0.1%
Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 252 to 236 as 1.3 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion change hands [SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks rose on Thursday (Jun 12), amid the world’s two largest economies agreeing to de-escalate trade tensions. The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.1 per cent or 3.15 points higher at 3,922.2. Across…
Read MoreTrump Press Sec Seethes at Journos as Harsh New Poll Shows Him Tanking
News organizations have been credulously amplifying the White House’s spin that sending troops into Los Angeles is great politics for President Trump. But the evidence isn’t cooperating. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lost her temper amid tough questioning about Trump’s threat to unleash “force” on protesters. She snapped that one reporter had…
Read MoreMeta taps top researchers from Google, Sesame for new AI lab
META Platforms has poached top engineers from multiple tech firms, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, for a new team focused on achieving a more advanced form of AI called artificial general intelligence. Jack Rae, a principal researcher at Google DeepMind, is expected to join Meta’s “superintelligence” team, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, who…
Read MoreUS: Stocks rally fades after China trade framework
[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished lower on Wednesday despite positive movement in the US-China trade conflict and a benign US inflation report. Following two days of talks in London, top US and Chinese negotiators announced a “framework” agreement late on Tuesday that included Chinese concessions on rare earth materials and Washington allowing Chinese students to study…
Read MorePoll: Americans Really, Really Hate Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill
A new Quinippiac poll shows that a majority of Americans are opposed to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, confirming public aversion to a budget bill expected to add $2.4 trillion to the deficit, give a tax break to wealthy people and corporations, and slash critical Medicaid and food stamp programs. Almost half of all…
Read MoreTrump’s Pick for F.A.A. Leader Is Grilled Over Views on Pilot Training and Safety
Bryan Bedford, President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, refused on Wednesday to commit to holding all commercial pilots to the same federal training requirements, unnerving Democrats as he outlined his vision to modernize the air travel safety agency at a critical moment. The issue emerged as a flashpoint during Mr. Bedford’s confirmation…
Read MoreTrump Treasury Secretary Suddenly Backtracks on Major Tariff Deadline
In an instance of exceptional depravity, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a pregnant U.S. citizen just days before her due date, NBC News reported Tuesday. Cary López Alvarado was detained by masked ICE agents Sunday, who claimed that she was obstructing an arrest of her partner and his co-worker, two undocumented immigrants from Guatemala,…
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