Author: Press Room

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concluded a visit to Pyongyang on Monday that included engagements with communist dictator Kim Jong-un and a vow that North Korea would offer “unconditional” support for the invasion of Ukraine. North Korean state media reported that much of the discussion in Lavrov’s various meetings focused on North Korea’s participation in the invasion, which is believed to have begun after Kim and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense agreement in June 2024. Kim and Lavrov reportedly discussed the further implementation of that agreement during their talk and, in exchange, Lavrov offered support for North…

The San Francisco Fed’s Economists Just Accidentally Vindicated Trump’s Escalating Tariff Policy If you were trying to make tariffs look like a policy disaster, you’d do exactly what a team of economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco just did: assume every trading partner hits back just as hard and that America just stands there and takes it. That’s the setup behind a new Economic Letter from the regional bank, which warns of declining wages, higher unemployment, and shrinking GDP in the wake of Trump’s new tariffs. But the moment you dig into the underlying model, the story…

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that families affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids would receive cash cards as part of an effort to protect “immigrant” communities. Bass announced the program during a press conference about her new executive order directing all city departments to refuse to work with the federal government to enforce immigration laws or enforcement. The mayor said that the cash assistance would provide “cash assistance” to families whose members, she claimed, could not go to work for fear of being arrested and deported, or who had otherwise lost income. She cited the model…

The Senate has voted to confirm the first judicial nominee of Donald Trump’s second term, marking the resumption of the president’s longstanding campaign to install a conservative tilt across the federal judiciary. Whitney Hermandorfer was confirmed in a 46-42 vote along party lines to replace an Obama-era appointee on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals — pushing the court which hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee further to the right. Trump has long indicated he expects a level of enduring loyalty from his picks to the federal bench, calling them “my judges.” But the Senate vote also follows…

President Trump (right) meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (left) President Trump on Monday spoke to reporters in the Oval Office during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Ukraine, and he told reporters that Russia will face “very severe tariffs” if a deal is not made in 50 days.  If a deal to end the war does not happen in 50 days, Trump says, he will impose “secondary tariffs” of 100% on Russia. “It wasn’t my war, it was Biden’s war. It’s not my war. I’m trying to get you out of it,” Trump…

At least 30 people were killed over the weekend in clashes between Druze militia and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian province of Sweida. The Syrian Interior Ministry reported over 100 injuries in addition to the deaths. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) cited its sources inside Syria to provide a much worse casualty estimate of 89 dead, including 14 members of the Syrian government’s security force. The fighting reportedly began on Friday when armed Bedouins seized a young Druze vegetable vendor on the highway between Sweida and the capital city of Damascus. The area where…

Fight Club Knockout Stories: John Brennan Is Suddenly Concerned About the Weaponization of Government 8 iStock/Getty Images; BNN MOST POPULAR FROM THE HOMEPAGE    Read the full article here

House Democratic leaders will not whip against the landmark cryptocurrency bills that will be on the floor later this week despite opposition from the party’s top member on the Financial Services Committee. The decision highlights an ongoing split on the left over the risks and rewards of digital assets. A notice sent to Democrats on Monday by Whip Katherine Clark’s office, which was obtained by POLITICO, sharply criticized both a crypto market structure bill and a Senate stablecoin measure that the lower chamber is slated to vote on, but did not tell members how to vote. The industry-backed bills are…

Boris Titov has called for urgent easing in monetary policy as investment climate worsens The Russian economy is showing signs of strain and monetary policy must be eased quickly to avoid further decline, a top Kremlin adviser has warned.The Bank of Russia cut its key interest rate by 100 basis points in June, to 20%, citing easing inflation. This marked the first rate reduction since 2022, when the central bank adopted a tight monetary policy to stabilize the economy amid Western sanctions.Boris Titov, Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights of Russia, sounded the alarm while commenting on a new survey by…

Czech Prime Minister Fiala has urged Bratislava to stop blocking the proposed restrictions Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has urged Slovak leader Robert Fico to withdraw Bratislava’s veto of the EU’s 18th sanctions package, which targets Russia over its role in the Ukraine conflict. Slovakia blocked the measures for the second time on Friday.Slovakia opposes the sanctions due to concerns over the RePowerEU plan, an EU initiative aimed at phasing out Russian energy imports by 2027. The plan is being discussed alongside measures targeting Russia’s energy and financial sectors. Bratislava says it could lead to supply shortages, rising prices, increased…