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A sharp escalation in tit-for-tat retributions between China and the United States marks a deeply uncertain moment in relations between the two countries, already under strain from a longstanding trade dispute and a fierce debate over international use of Chinese technology. Both countries have scrambled over the last week to shape the international narrative surrounding both the inception and response to the COVID-19 virus. Trump began resolutely referring to the disease as the “Chinese virus,” brushing aside concerns about whether the phrase is racist and will incite unnecessary anger inside China. Trump, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of...

Another incident involving New York City police moving in on Orthodox Jewish mourners this afternoon. NYPD moving in to disperse a crowd and send away a vehicle carrying a coffin in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood. The situation considered to be in violation of "social distancing" rules in the city leading to the police attempt to disperse the funeral.... Hundreds of protesters at Michigan's State Capitol in Lansing today demanding and end to the state of emergency declared over the coronavirus. Governor Gretchen Whitmer replaced a previous emergency order set to expire today with a new one that ends on May...

Breaking News: Syrian air defenses repelling an attack in the Damascus area where its Monday morning. Israel aircraft from Lebanese airspace launching the attack..... Here in the United States People's Rights sponsoring an event at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on Friday advocating the opening of Washington state..... The scope of the Saturday protest in Berlin against house arrest measures was greater than earlier reported. The protest involved nearly one thousand people. There was also a protest in another German city Stuttgart... "It's a real fear that if you have too harsh measures, then they can't be sustained over...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is preparing a legal argument that the United States remains a participant in the Iran nuclear accord that President Trump has renounced, part of an intricate strategy to pressure the United Nations Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran or see far more stringent sanctions reimposed on the country. The strategy has been described in recent days by administration officials as they begin to circulate a new resolution in the Security Council that would bar countries from exporting conventional arms to Iran after the current ban expires in October. Any effort to renew...

Its happening here in the USA the arrest of a mother who asked questions when confronted by police enforcing de facto martial law related to the coronavirus.... The price of oil today with the West Texas Intermediate price at 14.23 a barrel by 530 pm Eastern US time..... The meat supply in the United States being impacted by the coronavirus. The US Department of Agriculture reporting beef production down 20 percent for this month compared to April of last year..... Another example of a food processing facility affected by coronavirus is in Alabama where at least 75 cases have been...

Western democracies, especially the United States, just heaved a huge sigh of relief after getting word that United Kingdom PM Boris Johnson is dropping the controversial Chinese tech company, Huawei, as the nation's provider of 5G infrastructure. Although Johnson was in support of the Chinese tech giant laying the non-sensitive portions of 5G infrastructure, he said China's lack of transparency about coronavirus made the communist-run country untrustworthy. President Trump, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and members of the so-called "Five-Eyes" countries that share intelligence information, brought huge pressure on the Brits to dump Huawei. The U.S....

Republican governors issue orders to stay home giving them a new and different name but first.... "We discussed with each other whether our rights can be taken by an order from a governor or an agency, and if they can be, what good are our rights?" Ammon Bundy spoke those words Friday following a Thursday night meeting in Emmett, Idaho in response to the "stay at home" order issued by Idaho's Republican Governor Brad Little.... In Iraq the United States has deployed two Patriot missile batteries and is expected to eventually deploy at least four.... The Saudi-led coalition staging air...

Iranian regime officials stole more than $1 billion in humanitarian funds meant to be used to help the country’s people fight the spread of coronavirus, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. European countries intended for more than $1 billion cash for medical supplies to go to the Iranian people, who have been ravaged by the virus. But American officials say regime leaders instead pocketed the money and are now using it to protect themselves from the virus as it spreads throughout the population. This includes hoarding medical supplies that were meant to aid Iranian citizens...

Israel's Supreme Court ruling today that a vote must be held on a new speaker for Israel's parliament.... Tonight the parliament (Knesset) met boycotted by members supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a majority approving a new Arrangements Committee.... The anti-Netanyahu majority approved six new temporary committees..... Politics here in the USA and the winner of the Democrats Abroad Caucus for Democrats living outside the United States is Bernie Sanders.... US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit today.... The late word is that the US has decided to cut one billion dollars in aid...

"The Chinese government was the first to know of this risk to the world, and that puts a special obligation to make sure that data, the data, gets to our scientists, our professionals. This is not about retribution, this matter is going forward; we're in a live exercise here..."

Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber authorized an investigation into the alleged activities of the Taliban and U.S. and Afghan personnel related to Afghanistan. This is a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution, masquerading as a legal body. It is all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan – the best chance for peace in a generation. Indeed, the Afghan government, itself, pleaded with the ICC to not take this course. But the ICC politicians had other goals. The United States is...

A federal court ruling against a border control policy ordered by President Trump, 3 cases of the coronavirus in the United States and a peace deal with Afghanistan's Taliban is just hours away but first..... President Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today and the Turkish government says the two agreed on: "additional steps without delay in order to avert a big humanitarian tragedy unfoling in the Idlib region" The White House spokesman said that Syria, Russia and Iran must halt their 'offensive' in the region an said that President Trump "condemned yesterday's attack that killed Turkish personnel"...

Nearly 19 years ago, American service members went to Afghanistan to root out the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks. In that time, we have made great progress in Afghanistan, but at great cost to our brave service members, to the American taxpayers, and to the people of Afghanistan. When I ran for office, I promised the American people I would begin to bring our troops home, and seek to end this war. We are making substantial progress on that promise. Soon, at my direction, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will witness the signing of an agreement with representatives of...

Iran's deputy health minister and an MP have both tested positive for the new coronavirus, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 16. The country is one of three hot-spots outside China causing concern that the virus could be becoming a pandemic. The deputy minister, Iraj Harirchi, had on Monday denied covering up the scale of the outbreak. He appeared to be in discomfort as he spoke to reporters. Iran has reported 95 cases, but the actual number is thought to be higher. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the sudden increase...

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Friday with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the situation in Syria. The Kremlin issued a news release noting that Putin expressed concern about "ongoing aggressive actions of extremist groups"..... Russia's defense ministry says that large numbers of Turkish armored vehicles and huge caches of ammunition entering northwestern Syria point to apparent preparation for a large scale military operation that Turkey has been threatening...... The Pentagon revising upwards for the fifth time the number of traumatic brain injuries resulting from the January 8th missile attack by Iran on the Al-Asad Air Base..... US...

NSA whistleblower Bill Binney told then-C.I.A. chief Mike Pompeo there was no Russia Hack at the DNC. Three years later, Mike Pompeo is still sitting on that crucial piece of information. William Binney, a 30-year former intelligence official with the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and high profile whistleblower, spoke with National File recently about his October 2017 meeting with then-CIA director, Mike Pompeo, which was called between the two at the direction of President Donald J. Trump. Even though Binney boldly informed then-CIA director and now Secretary of State, Pompeo that he had proof and his own investigations...

"Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles, a number one song from early 1968 here in the USA. That's around the time my father left the factory to higher paying and longer lasting government employment as inflation kicked in here in the USA. Lyndon Johnson was ramping up government with Medicare and Medicaid and the cost of medical care was beginning to skyrocket, debt was beginning to accumulate and wow here we are 23 trillion dollars plus later. The 2021 federal budget proposed by President Trump adds another 966 billion to that. Well the currency is devalued and its easy to tell...

Jury deliberations in the rape and sexual assault trial of movie mogul and Democratic Party donor Harvey Weinstein set to begin Tuesday.... Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was a vocal critic of President Trump and lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against the President, found guilty of attempted extortion... The Russian and Turkish military leader talking about the situation in Syria's Idlib province.... In Syria today two Syrian soldiers killed when their helicopter was downed with Turkish weaponry..... Another pro-Israel delegation making a trip to Saudi Arabia.... The Acting US Attorney in Washington opting to drop a criminal...

The votes being counted in Ireland today. Yesterday's projection as polls closed put the left-wing Sinn Fein Party in the top three of Irish political parties with its best showing yet in a southern Irish election. Early declared results show Sinn Fein a clear winner.... In Switzerland a law against "homophobia" projected to have won in a referendum..... More unusual activity related to Iowa's Democrat caucus last Monday. The Iowa Democratic Party today awarded the popular vote winner Bernie Sanders only 12 delegates to the national convention while the candidate who ran in second place, Pete Buttigieg, was given 14...

China's Communist Party has infiltrated various levels of America's infrastructure and is working to destroy the values of the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a speech Saturday, while also warning state governors to be wary of China's infiltration. “We can’t ignore China’s actions and strategic intentions," he said while addressing the National Governors Association winter meeting. "The Chinese government has been methodical in the way it's analyzed our system... it's assessed our vulnerabilities and it's decided to exploit our freedoms, to gain an advantage over us at the federal level, the state level and the local...