FOREIGN AFFAIRS

(Will Porter, Antiwar.com) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly held direct talks with a senior Hamas member during the deadly 2014 war in Gaza, according to Israeli media. The dialogue was said to have been arranged “behind the backs of the establishment.” Reported by the Hebrew-language outlet Walla on Thursday, the...

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump described CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Russia as routine engagement. He went on to dismiss the possibility that Russia could attack a NATO member. On Thursday, Trump was asked by Axios reporter Barak Ravid if he was concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would...

(Headline USA) The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sailed past Singapore early on Sunday as it headed home after a grueling deployment in the Middle East. It's expected to stop in Thailand for a port visit. Associated Press journalists on the Indonesian island of Batam, across the Singapore Strait, spotted...

SpaceX has pulled off its biggest salvage operation yet, recovering its most recently launched Starship from the Indian Ocean. Elon Musk’s company is now in the process of shipping Starship back to its home base in Texas, a trip expected to take several months. SpaceX shared pictures of the recovery...

(Headline USA) Citing the importance of the First Amendment, a federal judge in California says the U.S. government is unconstitutionally silencing critics of Israel's war in Gaza and others as part of the Trump administration's quest to deport noncitizens who it says disrupted college campuses while expressing their views. Judge Noël...

(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square) All mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. continues to enforce a full naval blockade on Iran. U.S. Central Command Commander Bradley Cooper said the U.S. military has “successfully cleared sea mines” in the Strait of Hormuz, within the international...

(Headline USA) Colombian security forces captured a suspected senior leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the U.S. Southern Command announced on Friday, hailing the arrest as a result of stronger military cooperation between the historically close allies. The capture on Thursday of Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, who Colombian...

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) US and Taiwanese officials are alarmed at the status of the US military and its ability to fight a future conflict with China.  According to three sources speaking with The Washington Post, officials at Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACCOM) have expressed frustration with the dwindling military resources available to...

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) Update: US officials told multiple outlets that President Donald Trump dispatched CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Russia to warn Moscow not to attack any NATO countries. Earlier this week, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that “unknown actors” could attack UK facilities producing weapons...

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) Staffers have begun returning to US diplomatic facilities across the Middle East. US embassies in the region have been at a minimal operational level for several months due to the ongoing war against Iran.  On Tuesday, the New York Times reported obtaining an internal State Department memo...

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) On the fifth anniversary of the Kabul terror attack, the Trump-led Pentagon accused the Biden administration of hiding classified documents connected to the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell made the revelations in a heartfelt video commemorating the 13 U.S. servicemen who died on...

(José Niño, Headline USA) The Trump administration's attempt to quietly enlist sympathetic online voices for its messaging apparatus stumbled into public view this week, according to a report from Alternet.  The controversy centers on Jennica Pounds, who goes by "Data Republican" on X and commands an audience nearing one million...