China aims to show global leadership with Iran war diplomacy

WASHINGTON (AP) – China is stepping up its diplomacy on the Iran war, putting forward a five-point proposal with Pakistan, rallying support from Gulf countries and opposing a United Nations proposal to use any force necessary to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Can Kennedy lineage help send JFK's grandson to Congress?

NEW YORK (AP) – As a Kennedy scion, Jack Schlossberg got outsized attention when he launched his congressional campaign in New York City late last year. He was already a social media star – in part through his relentless attacks on his cousin, Trump administration heath secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Company backed by Trump sons looks to sell drone interceptors to Gulf states

NEW YORK (AP) – A drone maker backed by President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the U.S. military led by their father. The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began.

Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs.

Trump's Iran war leaves Republicans adrift ahead of midterms

NEW YORK (AP) – This is not the run-up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted. A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that many in his own party do not like.

 

Rubio accuses China of 'bullying' for holding up Panama-flagged ships

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday accused China of “bullying” by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships – though for a short period of time – after the Central American country seized control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company.

Hegseth asks the Army's top General to step down

WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday. A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed that George has been asked to take early retirement from the post of Army chief of staff.

Todd Blanche, the ex-Trump picked for acting attorney general

Before picking Todd Blanche to help lead and now run the Justice Department, President Donald Trump was his client. Blanche, whom Trump elevated Thursday from deputy attorney general to acting U.S. attorney general, rose to prominence representing the president in criminal cases that consumed the four years between his first and second terms.

Bahrain cracks down on dissent as Iran war reignites internal unrest

A man detained in Bahrain last month as the island kingdom came under missile attack from Iran vanished for days, until his family was called to retrieve his body from a military hospital. Relatives said Mohamed al-Mousawi, a Shiite Muslim who had previously been imprisoned, was saving money to start a business.