Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a planned face-to-face summit of G7 leaders in June and now wants to host an expanded meeting in September dedicated to countering China, to which Vladimir Putin would be invited.
Trump revealed on Saturday that he had cancelled the June meeting, which he had billed as a symbol of the US “transitioning back to greatness”, after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, told him in a phone call that she saw the summit in Washington DC as a health risk. Hundreds of security staff, journalists and officials also attend the two-day summits.
Reports suggest the call between Merkel and Trump on Thursday was stormy, ranging over German plans for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Hong Kong, and the potential health risks of a face-to-face summit.
US awol from world stage as China tries on global leadership for size
Trump’s new plan, outlined to reporters on Saturday, is to host an expanded G7 meeting including […]
U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to end the oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia is breeding cautious hopes in Moscow of a possible way out of the damaging stand-off, potentially reversing some of the collapse in crude prices.
The fact that it was Trump who placed the call to Vladimir Putin Monday, reversing his earlier stance welcoming the drop in oil prices, was seen in Moscow as a positive sign, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Trump’s move to appeal for Russian help in stopping the oil rout could allow Putin to appear in a stronger position even if he needs to make some concessions, according to Andrey Kortunov, director of the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Council. “The Kremlin views the call itself as a kind of diplomatic victory,” he said.
The Kremlin’s refusal early […]
- Russia’s main strategy to deter NATO is to encourage splits that will paralyze the alliance’s ability to respond to aggression in a unified way.
- NATO only works as long as all its 29 countries remain continuously on board with “Article 5,” the promise that they will automatically fight if any of them are attacked.
- This week, Trump said Article 5 was merely a “question.”
- Trump has also driven Turkey into a compromising arms deal with Russia.
- The US president is so toxic that, internally, NATO officials regard him as a security risk.
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is afraid to be seen with him.
- These splits are exactly what Vladimir Putin wants.
Russia is not a member of NATO, obviously, and thus Vladimir Putin is not present at the NATO meeting in London on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Nonetheless, the Russian leader got pretty much exactly what he needed from the meeting, thanks in large part to US President Donald Trump.
The context here is “Article 5,” the fundamental guiding principle that underpins the US-Europe military alliance, and its role in deterring […]
Political groups that don’t fully disclose their sources of funding have already spent more than $100 million to influence 2020 races, a figure that is sure to rise as “dark money” backed super PACs unload their unprecedented cash reserves.
Dark money groups such as political nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors have spent nearly $14 million to influence 2020 races, according to Federal Election Commission filings. “Grey money” outside groups that disclose a portion of their funding — such as super PACs that take money from shell companies or political nonprofits — have spent over $89 million.
By choosing to keep their donors secret, these groups leave voters in the dark as to exactly who is funding their political activities. Under a new Trump administration regulation, the Internal Revenue Service won’t know either.
The IRS finalized a rule this week that will exempt some dark money groups from disclosing their donors to the IRS. Many of 501(c)(4) nonprofits affected by the new rule already […]
Ethylene oxide is a particularly dangerous chemical that’s both extremely flammable and potentially highly toxic to humans. Just a brief exposure to enough ethylene oxide gas can trigger vomiting and diarrhea, and respiratory problems that can damage the lungs. Long-term exposures to the chemical have been linked to cancers, reproductive problems, irreversible and heritable genetic changes, and neurotoxicity.
Despite its volatility and toxicity, ethylene oxide is used ubiquitously in all sorts of industrial processes, from the manufacture of ethylene glycol — which is used to make antifreeze, among other products — to the fumigation of agricultural products and the sterilization of medical equipment.
Just how widely used is it? The National Air Toxics Assessment shows the cancer risk from air pollution broken down into individual U.S. census tracts. Of the 109 census tracts in the latest assessment with a cancer risk from air pollution higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) upper limit, 91 percent of the risk comes from just […]
Six states are facing federal lawsuits and threats of litigation from the ultra-conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch that could jeopardize the integrity of upcoming primary and general elections.
The suits claim that states are not properly maintaining voter rolls as required by federal law, and raise the specter of voter fraud, arguing that improper maintenance could leave the door open to “dirty elections.”
Judicial Watch, which focuses on the courts and is funded primarily by large grants from conservative foundations, is suing Pennsylvania’s chief election official, along with county legislators and election officials in three of the state’s six counties with the most registered voters. Pennsylvania was critical to Donald Trump’s win in 2016. He won by less than 1 percentage point, losing only 11 counties, including the three suburban Philadelphia counties being sued by Judicial Watch. It was the first time Pennsylvania went red since 1988. Democrats almost certainly need to win the state — where former Vice President Joe Biden was born, and where his campaign is headquartered — to take back the White House.
The group has filed similar suits in North Carolina and Maryland. The Pennsylvania lawsuit follows notices Judicial Watch sent to 19 counties in Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, Colorado, and Kentucky last […]
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel repeatedly voted by mail before suing California for expanding the practice
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel frequently voted by mail before leading a lawsuit against California over the state’s mail voting expansion, according to voting records.
McDaniel announced on Sunday that the RNC, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party had sued Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom after he announced that all registered voters in the state would receive mail-in ballots for the upcoming elections.
“Newsom’s illegal power grab is a recipe for disaster that would destroy the confidence Californians deserve to have in the security of their vote,” she said in a statement.
But voting records provided to Salon by the advocacy group Progress Michigan show that McDaniel has voted absentee in Michigan’s elections for years, including earlier this year.Igor Derysh✔@IgorDerysh
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel repeatedly voted by mail before leading California mail voting lawsuit, according to voting records obtained by @ProgressMich
“Voting by mail is safe and secure, and Ronna Romney McDaniel […]