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Summary Russian officials say at least seven people, including three children, have been killed by a Ukrainian drone on a beach in south-west Russia - BBC Verify examines footage It's not clear if the drone was intercepted before landing on the beach. It has been reported it may have been targeting a Russian naval base about 25 miles (40 km) away - Ukraine has not commented The area has long been a favourite of Russian holidaymakers, says our Europe reporter Earlier, an apparent Ukrainian drone strike hit a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, around 112 miles east...

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command, sent written notification to senior Pentagon officials saying that without another Navy destroyer he will be forced to choose defense of the United States “homeland” over that of Israel, said the officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the correspondence. A U.S. defense official said Grynkewich’s notification appears consistent with past outreach to the Pentagon from the military’s top generals when they see certain risks that require Washington’s consideration. This can occur, the official said, as commanders compete for finite resources and weapons. The Pentagon...

US embassies in Jerusalem and other Middle Eastern capitals call on citizens in the Middle East to avoid travel to the Middle East and be ready to depart due to the “potential for unforeseen escalation” in the conflict with Iran. “Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” embassies from Cairo eastward say in identical messages published on their respective websites. “The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or provocations as well as to expand attacks to...

"... How you, notably the younger generations, should accept your own demise as Americans while foreigners steal your wealth. He doubles down on devaluing heritage Americans, calling it tribalism. Listen, and then show this to everyone you know especially the 50 + voters. Keep showing it until they understand what is at stake." ...

The federal government is now acting as regulator, customer, financier, and shareholder. Decisions involving contracts, trade restrictions, permits, and additional subsidies can affect the value of its holdings. Competitors have reason to question whether the playing field is level. And if a portfolio company falters, Washington will have an added incentive to protect its investment with more taxpayer support.

The Department of Commerce quietly announced*** it will designate more than $870 million in federal incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in exchange for a minority equity stake in seven companies. *** the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office signed letters of intent with seven companies to provide a combined $874 million in federal funding under the landmark CHIPS and Science Act. *** “The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer,” NIST wrote. Up to...

Two-thirds of Americans believe the war in Iran has not been worth fighting. A new AP-NORC poll found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war that began Feb. 28 is not worthwhile. The sentiment is shared by the vast majority of Democrats (87%) and independents (68%), as well as 37% of Republicans. The AP-NORC poll, conducted July 23-27, surveyed 1,165 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

In August 2024, candidate Donald Trump told a rally crowd that Joe Biden was "using the strategic reserves, which is meant for military, which is meant for war," and pledged that "We have to fill up the strategic reserves immediately." Two years later, with the United States locked in a protracted conflict with Iran, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is doing the opposite of filling up. According to figures circulated by Geiger Capital and Hedgeye, the SPR has fallen roughly 25% in recent months and now sits at its lowest level in about 43 years, covering an estimated 16 days of...

Donald Trump piled more pressure on Andy Burnham to open up the North Sea for oil and gas drilling, before launching into a racist diatribe about the UK. Trump has seized upon reports that Burnham is considering granting new licences for drilling - an issue the US President has long been vocal about. Asked for his impressions of the new Prime Minister, Trump said: "He did say one good thing, he said he's going to open up the North Sea. If he does that, you're going to be a wealthy country, if he does that reasonably." Trump's desire to see...

@MassieforKY I’ll be speaking in Iowa this weekend at @GunOwners of America annual event!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his last in-person meeting at the White House, reportedly sold President Donald Trump on starting a war with Iran. Now, the GOP's America First wing fears he's about to pitch the president on ramping up attacks."I think all of President Trump's most ardent non-'Israel First' supporters are furious," said former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. "Netanyahu has had twice as many visits to the White House in 18 months as Churchill had in all of World War II — with every one of them a disaster for America First."The two men are set...

An oil tanker blew up in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine on Sunday, according to Iran’s military-linked state media, which also claimed that the Islamic Republic had intercepted at least six ships in the past 24 hours.The tanker, which was not immediately identified, allegedly strayed from Iran’s designated route in the strait before hitting a sea mine, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Tasnim news agency reported.Iran has repeatedly warned ships from using non-approved routes to sail through the Strait of Hormuz or risk coming under attack as tensions continue to flare with the US.

The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East recommended ending the bombing campaign around the Strait of Hormuz after concluding it reached the limits of its effectiveness, a recommendation that helped shape President Donald Trump's decision to pause strikes against Iran, Axios reported Sunday.Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, advised Pentagon leaders, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the White House last week that two weeks of sustained airstrikes had weakened Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, multiple sources familiar with the discussions said.His assessment, combined with advice from other senior military officials,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham planned to travel to Florida in early March to persuade President Trump to join Israel in the bombing of Hezbollah in Lebanon—until a friend talked him out of it. The friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told him on a call before the trip that bringing the U.S. into the operation, in the midst of the Iran war, was going too far, too fast, according to unreleased footage from a documentary about the South Carolina Republican lawmaker that was being filmed before he died earlier this month.“We’re concentrating right now on Iran,” Netanyahu said on the...

"No. 1 has been tried for the past 5 months with no effect. No. 1 has been tried since 2018 with no effect. No. 3 can't be done because Israel is against it, so everyone will blame Vance and call him an antisemite."

Mitch McConnell has missed 38 Senate votes since his June 12 fall. If absent Monday, it will be his 39th missed vote, extending his absence beyond six weeks.The United States Senate is set to convene on Monday, July 27, for a key vote to appoint Donald Trump's nominee Walter Clayton as the new Director of National Intelligence. But the lingering question remains on the Republican Party camp: will Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell be present for Monday's roll call at the Senate? McConnell remains hospitalized at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC undergoing rehabilitation after his treatment, according to...

Anthony S. Fauci, the former government official who helped lead the nation’s coronavirus response, is set to again face Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who has spent years accusing Fauci of playing a role in the virus’s creation. Paul, the chairman of the Senate’s government oversight committee, announced Thursday morning that Fauci will testify on Wednesday after being subpoenaed. Paul has been investigating the potential origins of the outbreak. Fauci, who last testified in front of Congress in June 2024, has repeatedly denied accusations from Paul and other Republicans as “preposterous.” The 85-year-old former National Institutes of Health (NIH) official left...

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a source familiar with the matter and a US official told CNN. On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday. On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential...

President Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate the American military assault against Iran, with particular concern that intensifying the war could dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East. The threat to interceptor stockpiles is one of many considerations that have made a return to major combat operations a hugely risky endeavor, administration officials say. Mr. Trump and his top aides are also uneasy about the prospect of a widening war in the Middle East, the alienation of key Gulf allies who...

President Trump halted new US strikes on Iran as he weighs whether Tehran is ready to cut a deal — while a wider regional war appears to be spreading into another critical shipping corridor. After 13 consecutive days of attacks, Trump instructed the US military to pause any additional strikes against Iran Friday, Axios reported Saturday, which cited two people familiar with the decision. But the president has made clear that the temporary halt does not mean Washington is backing down. In a brief phone interview with France’s LCI news, Trump said he was still prepared to restart a major...