Almost exactly 75 years ago, on August 18, 1943, the USS Abner Read was rocked by a severe explosion. The blast – which most historians say was likely a Japanese mine – tore the 75-foot stern section of the ship clean off. The stern plummeted to the depths of the […]

President Donald Trump has reversed Obama-era rules about how and when the US can launch a cyberattack, according to The Wall Street Journal. The rules required agencies to gain approval from groups across the federal government before launching an attack. Removing these rules is reportedly intended to make it easier […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to leave NATO and the West behind for a long time, but he really doesn’t have other good options. Turkey engages in several behaviours that the rest of NATO finds unhelpful or downright toxic. US President Donald Trump’s sanctions on Turkey have […]

President Donald Trump signed a defence bill named after Sen. John McCain of Arizona during a ceremony at Fort Drum, New York, on Monday. Trump thanked several lawmakers during his speech, but he did not mention McCain, a former US Navy pilot and a prisoner-of-war. CNN host Jake Tapper thanked […]

Lots of things are going wrong in Turkey at once, driven by the collapse of its currency, the lira. The West needs Turkey to be strong, as Turkey is a physical buffer between Europe and the war in Syria. US sanctions have annoyed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who says […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sunday, a white supremacist rally in Washington D.C. was dwarfed by thousands of counter-protesters who out-shouted and out-marched the 20-odd white supremacists who marched from the Foggy Bottom Metro Station to Lafayette Park under heavy police escort. It was clear how Washington D.C. felt toward the […]

The former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman on Sunday released a recording she said documented the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, firing her in the Situation Room. Recording devices and mobile phones are banned in the White House Situation Room. A former National Security Council spokesman called […]

Spike Lee’s new movie “BlacKkKlansman” chronicles the true story of an African American police detective named Ron Stallworth, who, in 1978, launched an investigation into the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado Springs, Colorado. By speaking with KKK members over the phone, Stallworth established himself as a […]

In laying out its plans this week for the future of space, the US took a big shot at China’s ambitions. The head of the Chinese lunar-exploration program recently described space as if it were the South China Sea, an area Beijing has seized with force and militarised after wrecking […]

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has come under intense scrutiny in recent months. Earlier this year, the country detained dozens of prominent women’s rights activists – most without access to communication and many who were never formally charged with a crime. Award-winning campaigner Samar Badawi was arrested in August, which […]

Google runs a team called Project Zero that tries to find vulnerabilities in competitors’ software. One of its star members focusing on Apple products is Ian Beer. He slammed Apple at the end of a talk at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas because he has not been invited […]

Saudi Arabia’s spokesman for the Gulf Arab coalition fighting against Houthi rebels in Yemen had to defend the bombing of a school bus full of children. Saudi Arabia called massive attention to its human rights practices this month when it attacked Canada’s human rights record after being challenged to release […]

Justin Trudeau’s government seems to have made a tactical error in trying to address human rights in Saudi Arabia. By tweeting for everyone to see, rather than conducting traditional closed-door diplomacy, Canada has been hurt by Saudi Arabia’s retaliation with nothing to show for it. A former Canadian ambassador to […]

Federal officials are trying to figure out how a random Chinese-language message suddenly blared over the intercom at a National Weather Service office in Maryland on Wednesday. Minutes before the voice of a Chinese woman was broadcast, employees received a similar message on their phones at the National Oceanic and […]

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed a man by crucifixion in the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday amid trying to attack Canada on its human-rights record. Saudi Arabia frequently uses capital punishment for crimes like homosexuality or anti-government activities, though crucifixions are rare. It has lashed out at Canada, […]

Russia will roll out an upgrade to its Tu-22M supersonic, nuclear-capable bomber on August 16. The upgrade modernizes the avionics and communications, but its integration with anti-ship missiles makes it a huge threat to US Navy aircraft carrier strike groups. Both Russia and China have very long range, very fast […]

Chinese state media ran a comment piece on Monday welcoming Google back to China – as long as it plays by Chinese rules. But all versions of the People’s Daily post were abruptly deleted from the internet as of Tuesday. The post followed reports that Google was planning to relaunch […]

The Qalandiya military checkpoint in the Palestinian West Bank is the main crossing for thousands of Palestinians to cross into East Jerusalem and Israel. Around 26,000 Palestinians make the commute every day for work, visiting family in nearby villages cut off by a separation wall, or to receive medical treatment. […]

A report from a government watchdog agency has concluded that “key information” is missing from plans to build a border wall along the US-Mexico border. President Donald Trump has promised a border wall since he began his campaign, and in July threatened a government shutdown if Congress doesn’t provide funding […]

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it.” “There’s a lot of tension … And it might get worse because you can hear people talking about revenge, saying on their cell phones ‘I know who did it. You get him.'” The comments come from a police officer outside of Stroger […]

The Trump administration on Monday announced it would reinstate sanctions on Tehran after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Iran has responded to looming sanctions with military threats but backed it up with little action. Iran’s economy is tanking for numerous reasons, but the sanctions could seriously rock […]

Japan launched a new destroyer with top-of-the-line US missile-defence technology earlier this month. Japan’s military is a self-defence force, and the ship is meant only for training and diplomatic outreach. But China, which wants to seize control of the South China Sea, portrayed it as a menace. Defence cooperation between […]

President Obama lifted the decades-old US...

The Democratic National Committee warned candidates running in the November midterms not to use devices manufactured by the Chinese electronics firms ZTE and Huawei, “even if the price is low or free,” according to a CNN report. The DNC was reportedly considering purchasing ZTE phone for its staffers when it […]

Iran had 50 or so armed speedboats training on swarming maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, and despite their small size and low tech, they could seriously damage the US Navy. The ships aren’t that great, but excel in the exact areas that the US Navy isn’t well suited to handle. […]

Osama Bin Laden has gone down as one of the most vicious figures in history, but he admittedly lacked the courage to fight in an actual battle. Prince Turki al-Faisal, former head of Saudi intelligence who knew Bin Laden said: “He was not a fighter. By his own admission, he […]

Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner in Zimbabwe’s first presidential election since Robert Mugabe was deposed last fall after four decades in power. On Wednesday, Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party won the majority of seats in parliament, though candidates needed more than 50% of the vote in order to secure the […]

Protests in Harare, Zimbabwe, descended into chaos on Wednesday after supporters of the main opposition party accused the ruling party of trying to rig the country’s elections. Soldiers had to step in as protesters clashed with police. At least six people have died, Zimbabwe police said. Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said […]

Google is facing backlash following a report that it plans to provide a censored search engine for China. Sen. Marco Rubio and even some Google employees are among those criticising the company. Google plans to build a censored search engine for China, and condemnation is coming swift and hard from […]

Alejandra Juarez, the wife of a former Marine and Iraq War combat veteran who is set to be deported on Friday, has written a letter to President Donald Trump pleading with him to let her stay in the US. Juarez believed her husband’s service and sacrifice might help shield her […]

At least 85 people were injured Tuesday when an Embraer E190 aircraft from the Mexican airline Aeromexico crashed in a field. Two people are reportedly in critical condition, but Mexican officials said there were no immediate reports of fatalities. The aircraft was transporting 97 passengers and four crew members. Officials […]

Hebron is the biggest city in the Palestinian West Bank with a population of 200,000 Palestinians and around 1,000 Israeli settlers. The city is home to the most important religious site for Jews and Muslims outside of Jerusalem: a 2,000 year-old building known as the Cave of the Patriarchs to […]

Millions of Zimbabweans voted for a new president and parliament on Monday. It is the first election in the country’s 38-year history which hasn’t featured Robert Mugabe as a candidate. The main contenders for president are Emmerson Mnangagwa, the current president, and Nelson Chamisa, a former pastor. The election campaign […]

North Korea is reportedly continuing to build missiles at a research facility despite its leader’s pledge to work toward “peace and prosperity” on the Korean Peninsula, The Washington Post reported on Monday night. US intelligence officials familiar Pyongyang’s operations say that new evidence, including recent satellite photos, suggest the regime […]

The family of former beauty queen Anastasia Lin have been continually threatened and prevented from travelling abroad because of Lin’s decision to discuss Chinese human-rights issues. Her family had visas to Hong Kong revoked and her father has had his passport canceled, while police also threaten them with persecution like […]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday expressed his support for President Donald Trump holding talks with Iran, listing specific conditions for such discussions to occur, just hours after the president said he would not require preconditions to sit down with Iranian leaders. “No preconditions. They want to meet? I’ll […]

President Donald Trump on Monday said he would meet with Iran “anytime they want to” and without “preconditions” – roughly a week after threatening Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an all-caps tweet. “No preconditions. They want to meet? I’ll meet,” Trump said. Republicans were highly critical of former President Barack […]

Often referred to as the Navy's best kept...

Russia’s GRU foreign-intelligence agency reportedly targeted Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri last year, according to a report from the Daily Beast published on Thursday. The same group was suspected of hacking the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2016, and several members were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller earlier […]

Amazon is under fire after the American Civil Liberties Union performed an experiment using Amazon’s facial recognition software. The ACLU found that it incorrectly identified 28 members of Congress as different people who had previously been arrested. When we reached out to Amazon for its response to a Thursday report […]

Amazon is under fire after the American Civil Liberties Union performed an experiment using its facial recognition software. ACLU found that it incorrectly identified 28 members of Congress as people who had previously been arrested. Amazon says that its software is designed to be used in conjunction with humans, and […]

President Donald Trump invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in Washington just three days after their summit in Helsinki. But it looks like Putin doesn’t want to go. Instead, a Kremlin aide said Putin and Trump should meet in a group setting and wait to “let the dust settle” […]

The practice of releasing public summaries of Donald Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders are in limbo after the White House reportedly decided to suspend them. The calls with foreign leaders are usually planned ahead and scripted, transcribed, and then parsed into a public statement. Transcript leaks of the calls […]

President Donald Trump grew upset after first lady Melania Trump’s TV aboard Air Force One was set to CNN during a recent overseas trip, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The president and his advisers have a rule where each trip starts by tuning into Fox News, according to The […]

Facebook won’t say if it has seen evidence of Russian meddling on its social network ahead of the 2018 US midterm elections. On a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, company representatives were asked multiple times if they had seen evidence, but dodged the question. A Facebook employee said the […]

Did you recently receive an email with one of your old passwords in the subject line and a request for bitcoin? It’s a new kind of scam. The attacker probably took your password from a publicly available database of old leaked passwords and email addresses. Here’s how to keep yourself […]

The annual must-pass defence bill’s final product will not include a full ban on Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE, but will instead block them from contracts with the US government. While the move was seen as a major concession to Trump and China, the softened language in the bill is unlikely […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in early 2018 that Russia was developing a nuclear-powered torpedo that carries a “massive” nuclear weapon. New videos posted to the Russian Ministry of Defence’s YouTube account appear to show a prototype of such a torpedo codenamed “Poseidon.” If Poseidon is ever completed, it might […]

Iran threatened to respond to economic sanctions against its oil exports imposed by the US with military action to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, but the US would shut it down quickly. The Strait of Hormuz sees around 30% of the world’s oil supply pass through, so the US […]

We got an inside look at what it’s like on the first day for new cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Over 1,200 cadet candidates arrived on campus on a sweltering July morning for “Reception Day.” After an emotional farewell with their families, the new cadets […]

Israel’s military said on Tuesday that it fired two US-made Patriot missiles at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter that entered its airspace and “intercepted” the plane. The plane crashed in Syria near the country’s border zone with Israel, and the fate of the pilot is unknown. For weeks, rockets fired from […]

North Korea is believed to have started dismantling rocket launching and testing facilities in a major US victory after what have been fraught, slow-moving talks. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally promised President Donald Trump these sites would get taken down, so this could go a long way toward […]

The White House showcased a number of products made in each of the 50 states during its second annual “Made in America” event on Monday. “We’re here today to celebrate the greatest products in the world – products made with American heart, American sweat, and American pride,” President Donald Trump […]

Google told Business Insider that none of its employees had been successfully phished since it started requiring them to use security keys to log in. Phishing, or using misleading emails to steal passwords, is one of the most common ways people get hacked. Google attributes its success to products called […]

Half of Americans disapproved of how Trump handled his meeting with Putin, while 33% approved, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday. Trump’s Helsinki meeting with Putin came several days after Russian intelligence officers were indicted on suspicion of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. Findings from […]

President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Europe is under a great deal of scrutiny after he clashed with key allies and had a controversial meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In this context, many are concerned Trump is doing immense damage to America’s global standing. A majority of Americans (61%) […]

America's aircraft carriers are the heart of...

Better days.

The US State Department has issued a statement criticising Russia every year since the 2014 attack on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 which killed 298 people – but not this year. The silence came just one day after Trump was accused of siding with Putin over US intelligence agencies at a […]

President Donald Trump has said he is considering second meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But meetings with those leaders so far have proved damaging to the US government. Trump appeared to take Russia’s word over that of his own security services regarding […]

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said he still didn’t “know what happened,” during an hours-long private meeting between President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and their translators. Coats said he would have advised Trump not to meet Putin alone and hoped Trump would have “made a different statement.” […]

Some jobs have a reputation for being particularly exciting, glitzy, or lucrative. Occasionally, that’s partly because of inaccurate media depictions. Other jobs do boast a number of major perks, but they also come with trade-offs. Glamorous jobs might seem enticing, but, at the end of the day, work is work. […]

Despite the bipartisan outrage over President Donald Trump’s widely-panned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump approved of his performance and said it went “great.” “I think I did great at the news conference,” Trump said during an interview on CBS Evening News. “I think it was a strong news […]

President Donald Trump discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the possibility of allowing Russian officials to interview 11 Americans, in exchange for special counsel Robert Mueller to interview 12 Russians accused of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Russia’s list of interviewees included former US ambassador to Russia Michael […]

An airline says a Chinese ban on tour groups visiting the Pacific nation of Palau has forced it to end its services “indefinitely.” Palau Pacific Airlines said sales plummeted since China began fining tour companies for planning trips to Taiwan allies Palau and the Vatican last year. Beijing has been […]

President Donald Trump said that he would hold Russian President Vladimir Putin personally responsible for meddling in the 2016 presidential election because “he’s in charge of the country.” Trump said he was “very strong” on Putin during a private meeting at the Helsinki summit and suggested that his stance was […]

The Thai soccer team that was trapped inside an underground cave for 17 days have explained why they entered the cave and how they managed to survive for so long. The team did not prepare supplies in advance for their cave exploration, and were soon trapped inside the cave’s winding […]

President Donald Trump refused to back the US intelligence community’s assessment on Russia’s 2016 US Presidential election interference and was met with a wave of criticism. Trump’s closest advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, reportedly urged him to issue a correction. White House Chief […]

Hebron is the biggest city in the Palestinian West Bank with a population of 200,000 Palestinians and around 1,000 Israeli settlers. Many call the city a microcosm of the Israel-Palestine conflict due to its importance to both Jews and Muslims, the many incidents that have occurred there, and the fact […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Bill Browder’s name at his joint press conference with US President Donald Trump in Helsinki on Monday. Browder is a financier behind the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 US law designed to sanction Russians suspected of carrying out human-rights offenses and freeze their assets. Several other […]

President Donald Trump ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill following his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The political salvos came from both sides of the aisle after Trump on Monday stopped far short of condemning Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and appeared to take Putin’s denial […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin dodged questions on a string of deaths that are suspected of being orchestrated by the Kremlin, during an interview on Fox News. Putin, who is in his third six-year term, likened the murders of political dissidents to the assassinations of US presidents and civil rights leaders. […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin smirked and brushed off a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 12 Russians during an interview with Fox News Channel host Chris Wallace. Mueller’s Friday indictment of Russian intelligence officers named 12 members of the GRU for conspiring to infiltrate computers that contained US […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin kept US President Donald Trump waiting for an hour before their summit on Monday in Helsinki. Putin always keeps people waiting as part of what experts interpret as a power play. But while Putin may have slighted Trump by showing up late, an expert told Business […]

President Donald Trump has blamed policy from the Obama administration for soured US-Russia relations. Trump also preemptively blasted the news media as “the enemy of the people” for what he expects to be negative coverage of his Monday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, like Obama before him, is […]

Nuclear weapons are humankind’s most fearsome creations. In a matter of minutes, one nuclear-armed nation can level dozens of cities, spread radioactive fallout for hundreds or thousands of miles, and wreck Earth’s climate. Most people are familiar with the basics: Slap together enough uranium or plutonium and – kaboom! – […]

President Donald Trump named the European Union as a “foe”, along with Russia and China. When CBS News host Jeff Glor asked him to identify his “biggest foe globally right now”, Trump said the European Union, as well as Russia “in certain respects” and China “economically”. Trump’s comments double down […]

A British caver who helped rescue a youth soccer team and their coach from a Thai cave earlier this week slammed Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his child-sized submarine. The caver, Vernon Unsworth, said the submarine was a “PR stunt” that wouldn’t have made it 50 meters into the cave […]

The US Navy deployed the USS Essex, a small-deck aircraft carrier, to the Western Pacific with a deck full of US Marine Corps F-35Bs Joint Strike Fighters – but it did it with secrecy. The US typically hypes up F-35 deployments, but this time it was silent, perhaps signalling a […]

Two police officers were put on administrative leave for using a coin flip app to decide whether to arrest a driver they pulled over. The driver didn’t know about the coin toss until 11Alive investigators sent her body camera footage from the scene. The driver said the prosecuting attorney dismissed […]

Migrant children in US detention centres are held to strict rules, including not being allowed to touch each other or write letters, according to a report from The New York Times. Children in some facilities are reportedly woken up early to clean bathrooms before several hours of schooling. Children who […]

British police have found the source of the nerve agent that poisoned a couple in Amesbury, England. Investigators found a bottle contaminated with Novichok, a deadly Russian-made poison. Novichok was also used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia earlier this year, and police are trying to work […]

Photographer Eric Lafforgue has visited Kim Jung Un’s North Korea six times to photograph life in the totalitarian country. Lafforgue was banned after his sixth trip to North Korea, in 2012, after he made an off-handed comment about a group of Spanish tourists visiting the country. Much of what he […]

Donald Trump will be in Britain from July 13 to July 16, 2018 for an informal “working” visit. He is reportedly planning to bring a massive entourage that will require 750 hotel rooms, two planes, and six helicopters. Past US presidents also travelled to the UK with hundreds of people. […]

Russia announced earlier this month that the Su-57, its proposed entry into the world of fifth-generation stealth fighters, would not see mass production. The jet had some promising capabilities in combat, but design and production difficulties made it a challenging project with limited export potential. This move represents a failure […]

President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the NATO alliance has often been misleading, and he has distorted how the historic alliance is funded and operates. NATO is based on the notion of collective defence, which also requires collective spending. Trump’s questionable remarks on NATO have led to criticism from leaders at […]

President Donald Trump reportedly wants to redesign his official presidential planes because they don’t look “American” enough. The colour scheme of the Boeing 747s – which take on the “Air Force One” call sign when the president is onboard – is currently light blue and white, and was personally designed […]

The Chinese government is working to combine its 170+ million security cameras with artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to create a vast surveillance state. The government isn’t quiet about its efforts, often playing up technological successes in state media to convince the populace of its impressive capabilities. But recent […]

The White House on Wednesday claimed chief of staff John Kelly looked “displeased” at the NATO summit in Brussels because “he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese.” Reporters at the scene said Kelly looked uncomfortable during a working breakfast at the summit as Trump […]

A North Korean diplomat reportedly told an Israeli diplomat in 1999 that Pyongyang would provide ballistic missile technology to Iran unless it paid $US1 billion. North Korea has nuclear weapons, but it’s deterred from using them because it would be nuked right back in a more massive response. But if […]

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel appear headed for a one-on-one confrontation on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels. The two world leaders are expected to meet soon. Trump reportedly plans to bring up his contention that Russia controls Germany with its energy dominance. Merkel has […]

President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed to have a “very, very good relationship” with German Chancellor Angela Merkel just hours after causing an uproar at the NATO summit in Brussels when he said Germany was “controlled” by Russia. Merkel had offered a sternly worded response to Trump’s remarks. Trump is […]

President Donald Trump on Wednesday followed up on a week of bashing NATO allies on Twitter with an in-person tirade against Germany. He said Russia basically controlled Germany because of German energy dependence on Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a massive pipeline that would allow increased consumption of […]

Former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin slammed comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Tuesday, claiming she was “duped” into giving him an interview for his upcoming show on Showtime, “Who is America.” Showtime and Cohen allegedly lured Palin “to honour American Vets” for a “legit Showtime historical documentary.” […]

European Union President Donald Tusk on Tuesday delivered a strongly worded statement directed at President Donald Trump amid his ongoing criticism of NATO: “Appreciate your allies. After all, you don’t have that many.” Tusk’s remarks come after sustained criticism of NATO by Trump in relation to how it’s funded. “Money […]

President Donald Trump on Tuesday took yet another shot at top NATO allies as he prepared to leave for a trip to Europe that will include a highly anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said this summit could be his “easiest” meeting. Trump continued his criticism of NATO, […]

President Donald Trump in March sought to ease Russian President Vladimir Putin’s concerns that administration officials had been trying to block a phone call between the two, The New York Times reported Monday. After Putin told Trump that White House advisers had tried to interfere, Trump reportedly called them “stupid […]

Silicon Valley has a tendency to be mocked – there’s even an entire HBO comedy centered around the absurdities of living and working there. But one Twitter user approached this subject in a new way: comparing the tech capital of the world to the former Soviet Union. Anton Troynikov created […]

Rescuers have evacuated eight boys from a cave in northern Thailand. Divers guided the boys more than 2 miles back to the cave’s entrance. The rescue on Monday was the second trip for some of the mission’s members, who would have traversed about 10 miles total in the past two […]

US News and World Report ranks nations for a yearly “Best Countries” study. It includes a global power list – a list of the world’s most powerful countries based on their alliances, influence and whether the country is a leader. The US stays in first place this year, but other […]