Mr. Rubio, Trump's Power Cannot Be Compared With Athens, Because It Does Not Answer to the Citizens in Whose Name It Is Exercised

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

October 8, 2026

There was something almost irresistible about the setting. Marco Rubio stood on the Pnyx in Athens, the hill where citizens of classical Athens gathered to debate the affairs of their city, and delivered a speech about the civilization that gave the West the words democracy, politics, and tyranny. He spoke warmly of Greece and described the United States as deeply indebted to its ancient inheritance. The State Department subsequently highlighted the speech, including Rubio’s argument that Western nations should recover confidence in their national identity and power.

Jamie Dimon Just Put a Price Tag on AI Risk - Markets May Have to Curb Their Enthusiasm

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

October 10, 2026

Chill! Jamie Dimon did not say that artificial intelligence is going to destroy the world. He only said something potentially more consequential for the financial system: the cybersecurity risks created by advanced AI have, in his assessment, increased tenfold since Anthropic’s Mythos model emerged. “AI created vulnerabilities that we didn’t know about,” the JPMorgan CEO said in a Bloomberg interview.

Three years after Oct. 7, Israeli strikes in Gaza grind on and deaths climb

Almost a year has passed since President Donald Trump declared the fighting over and “peace in the Middle East” achieved

Today at 5:00 a.m. EDT

By Rachel Chason

AMMAN, Jordan — When President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza last October, Asma Baroud thought of all of the rebuilding ahead — of the house where her family had lived; of the traditions interrupted by war; of the life they had known.

Works by Canadian authors Margaret Atwood and Ryan North among books banned in U.S. schools

A record high for book bans in American schools in 2026, according to PEN America

Hillel Italie · The Associated Press

Posted: Oct 06, 2026 8:59 AM PDT

Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Nearly 12,000 bans took place in American public schools over the past year, according to a new study from PEN America. This is the highest total since the free expression organization began tracking removals five years ago.

Canada Didn't Win the Trade War. Trump Sprawled on a Saturated Maple Leaf

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are at BC Place, covering the local derby between the visiting United States Wise Mens' National Team and Team CANADA, and at the end of the first half, the outsider Canada wins by one-nil. Although the American team pressed hard and dominated the pitch in the first half hour, using tariffs and verbal abuse, the pressure left its defense exposed, and Canada scored an easy goal on a counterattack. So, True North is ahead at halftime, but the second half should be fascinating."

Sometimes the world of football provides a humorous lens through which to view an economic quagmire of hilarious proportions, because what happened to Canada's trade numbers in August is super comical and the joke's on Trump. The United States imposed tariffs on Canadian goods to make trade with Canada more expensive and, presumably, to put pressure on Canadian exporters. Before the tariffs even had time to bite, American buyers rushed to buy Canadian goods — while at the same time, Canadian consumers, so pissed off by Trump, seemed to have forgotten to buy anything American. The result: Canada's trade surplus with the United States jumped to C$11.2 billion, its highest level in 19 months.

Californians blast Trump remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles, San Diego

Reuters

By Steve Gorman and Bo Erickson
October 6, 20262:50 AM PDT
Updated 29 mins ago
Summary

• California Governor Newsom calls president 'deranged and dangerous'
• Trump defends sacrifices from US war in Iran
• President made remarks to crowd in Nebraska
• White House says Trump meant US is fighting to stop Iran from having ability to attack US cities

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump suggested to a crowd of his ​supporters in Nebraska that Iran could "take out" a major US city like Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing a swift rebuke from California's Democratic leaders and ‌some fellow Republicans.

Germany's ex-spy chief arrested for espionage

PoliticsGermany
Natalie Muller with Reuters and AFP
6 hours ago

August Hanning, the man who once led Germany's spy service, is now under investigation for passing on state secrets

Police have arrested the former head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, August Hanning, on suspicion of espionage, the federal prosecutor's office announced Tuesday.

White House blocks Politico from Air Force One trip, cannot secure replacement

President Donald Trump will travel without a primary print pool reporter for the first time in recent memory

October 5, 2026 at 5:08 p.m. EDT 

By Scott Nover

President Donald Trump’s Air Force One trip Monday will not have a primary print outlet responsible for sharing updates about his activities — the first time in recent memory that the president will travel without a primary print pool reporter.

Just Before the Midterms, Trump Turns a Trade War Into a Canadian Betrayal to Rouse His MAGA Base

There is no mystery in Canada's tariffs. They were announced, published, and implemented in public. What is remarkable, however, is the American president's attempt to turn a documented trade dispute into a story of Canadian deception just before the Midterms.

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

October 5, 2026

President Donald Trump made an extraordinary claim Monday before leaving the White House for a campaign rally in Nebraska: Canada had been charging the United States tariffs that “nobody knew about” — except him.

Just when it seemed the oil companies had everything figured out, Neil Gorsuch cracked the wall

October 5, 2026

By Yiannis Damellos

The administration's own retreat from climate regulation may have created the legal vacuum the Court now has to decide whether states can fill.

Today, the Supreme Court did not make a decision regarding the climate ruling. But oral arguments can reveal the legal fault lines. Gorsuch asked the question that matters: Does federal preemption become a legal vacuum in which nobody is responsible? This is a fascinating problem for the oil companies — and potentially for the administration.

Tesla Pays Taxes in China but Not in the U.S. Because American Politicians Answer to Corporate Giants, Not You and Me

Written by Mars Strangelove Jr.

Curated by Yiannis Damellos

October 5, 2026

I don't hate the idea of Tesla. But I boycott their electric cars because of that Musk Nazi salute. I don't hate China either, but I won't buy into their ideology because it has nothing to do with Socialism. But every once in a while, a number comes along that makes me stop and look at the American economic system twice, and get really angry.

“I just want it known I'm allowed to put four songs on the album, whatever happens.” John Lennon had a plan to keep the Beatles going into the 1970s. Paul McCartney rejected it. The rest is history

By Christopher Scapelliti

Published 1 October 2026

A last recorded meeting between Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison revealed how they might have carried on despite their growing differences

As most Beatles fans know, John Lennon quit the group first, on September 20, 1969, bringing the Fab Four to what most would agree was an untimely end. What many don’t know is that just two weeks before he announced his departure, Lennon proposed that the group record another album as well as release a new single in time for the holidays.

Inside Climate News: Supreme Court Weighs Landmark Climate Deception Case Against Oil Companies

Justice & Health

The justices’ ruling could decide whether more than two dozen similar claims proceed. The cases accuse oil companies of misleading the public about climate change and stymying efforts to curb emissions

By Nicholas Kusnetz

October 5, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from oil companies on Monday that could help decide the fate of more than two dozen lawsuits accusing the industry of deceiving the public about climate change. The claims seek potentially billions of dollars in damages to help pay the costs imposed by climate-related extreme weather.

“Down with the Tsar!” Said the Communist Youth — and Was Arrested Yet Again in Moscow

October 5, 2026

By Mars Strangelove Jr.

How much political space remains when even an authorized rally by the Kremlin's own parliamentary opposition crosses a line merely by asking for fair elections and freedom for political prisoners?

Moscow police detained around 60 people Sunday at an authorized Communist Party rally commemorating the victims of Russia’s 1993 constitutional crisis. The rally had been expected to be a memorial. It became something else.

Karoline Leavitt Left the White House for Her Family. Now She's Back to "Defy History" — in Trump's Political-Media Pipeline

October 5, 2026

By Yiannis Damellos

When Leavitt left, Trump wrote this on Truth Social: “Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.” Fox News has just given that voice a microphone.

Karoline Leavitt left the White House at the end of August, saying she had reached a point where she could not give her two young children the attention she wanted while carrying the demands of the press secretary's job. President Donald Trump said he understood, and announced that she would remain one of his top outside advisers and an influential Republican voice. Six weeks later, the next stop is Fox News.

A Game of Cat and Mouse: A Strategic Dance of Power on the Arabian Peninsula's Ever-Moving Chessboard

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

Strategic Maneuvers & Evolving Tactics on the Arabian Peninsula's Chessboard

October 5, 2026

The map is moving again. Yemen's Saudi-backed government has launched a major offensive against the Houthis, while Saudi Arabia is providing extensive air support. Government forces say they have taken positions around Dhubab and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints. The Houthis dispute some of these claims. At the same time, however, Houthi forces have been making gains around Taiz, including cutting an important supply route between Taiz and government-held areas. In other words, the government is advancing in one direction while the Houthis are advancing in another.

Plague in Siberia? What We Know, What We Don't — and Why This Is Not Another COVID

October 5, 2026

Editorial 

What has happened in Russia's Irkutsk region is a serious public-health incident involving a suspected plague infection. It is not yet a confirmed plague outbreak

A 28-year-old laboratory worker in Siberia is dead. Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation. Several hospitals have introduced quarantine measures, masks have appeared at a major industrial plant, Russia's top public-health official has travelled to the region, and governments in Washington and Brussels are watching the situation. It sounds like the beginning of another pandemic story. But it is not — at least not on the evidence available today. 

Brazil's Election Is Not Over, But If You Care For Spoilers, Follow the Money

By Mars Strangelove Jr. and Yiannis Damellos

October 4, 2026

Brazil has finished the first round of its presidential election, but the political story has only become more interesting. Flávio Bolsonaro finished first with 47.03% of the valid vote, while President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 45.16%. Neither reached the required majority, so the two will face each other again on Oct. 25. Yet, there is another number worth watching: the votes that did not go to either of them. Brazil had 12 registered presidential candidacies. Augusto Cury, Renan Santos, Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema were among the candidates outside the runoff, and their supporters now represent a substantial political constituency.