Trending News
'The weaker he gets, the more dangerous he gets': Trump lashes out as his power wanes
Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans stray from the scriptDonald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to "annihilate" Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. "I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me," the 80-year-old snapped. "You should not be here covering me." Continue reading...
Thomas Jefferson letter goes on the market – containing a prescient warning for Trump today
Third US president wrote in 1787 about importance of peace, paying off debt and supporting agricultureA remarkably prescient letter written by Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, advising how the newly created country could prosper, has been put up for sale by a private collector. The handwritten document from 1787 warns specifically against many of the missteps Donald Trump has taken to drag down his own second term of office.Written in Paris, where Jefferson was the fledgling government's minister to France, the note to David Rittenhouse, a friend and fellow member of the American Philosophical Society, muses on the priorities and principles he believed future presidents should follow. Continue reading...
Trump reportedly rejects Iran's seven-day peace deal to reopen strait of Hormuz
Tehran awaits official response to plan, but US president is said to expect renewed strikes after midtermsIran is ⁠awaiting an official US response to its proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, as Donald Trump was reported to have rejected the deal.Although Iran is yet to receive his official response, the US president is said to be privately sceptical Iran would meet his demands to dismantle its nuclear programme, according to unnamed US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...
US supreme court rejects Republican-drawn midterm map in Missouri for third time – as it happened
Long-running fight over Trump-backed maps takes another turn as absentee voting is already under way in Missouri. This blog is now closed.Sign up for US Breaking News emailsXi Jinping and his wife are back at the White House for the final day of the Chinese president's pageantry-filled visit to Washington, where President Trump has given him an unexpectedly warm welcome.The itinerary for the final day of Xi's visit – which included a red carpet welcome on the tarmac on Wednesday, then a full day of talks followed by a lavish state dinner on Thursday – included an appointment for tea at the White House, followed by a tour of the National Archives, where the nation's founding documents are on display. Continue reading...
Iran says choice on reopening Hormuz 'rests with the United States' after deal offer
The choice to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "rests with the United States," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday, indicating shipping through the critical waterway could resume within days once a deal is reached."If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days," Araghchi told reporters. "The choice now rests with the United States."He said a "concrete seven-day plan" had been conveyed to the U.S. through Qatar, after indirect talks through mediators were held on the sidelines of this week's United Nations General Assembly in New York."The seven day timeline starts as soon as the United States accepts this plan," he added. "If they accept this plan tomorrow, the seven days will start from tomorrow. There are certain actions to be taken by the United States. And we believe that these actions can be taken in four or five days."Araghchi said that the actions required by the U.S. in their proposal were already agreed to in the June Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries that laid out plans for a temporary ceasefire. That agreement, signed in June, collapsed within days after fresh strikes were exchanged."They fall already under the commitments of the United States, so we don't see any difficulty to implement them," he said.One of the conditions of the plan is for the U.S. to accept a maritime transit route through the Strait of Hormuz that has been agreed upon by Iran and Oman, Araghchi said Thursday.A U.S. official said the Trump Administration is having positive and constructive discussions through the mediators but that they were not in any hurry to reach an agreement."The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz, so we are not in a rush," the U.S. official said. "Over the last 48 hours, nearly 40 million barrels of oil have transited the Strait."Early Saturday, President Donald Trump posted an image to Truth Social of the Strait of Hormuz labelled the "Trump Strait."Earlier this week, he had said he was still considering whether to "annihilate" Iran or make a deal.In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that resolving the Hormuz issue "is possible through negotiations, not the use of force," but warned that his country does not "trust" talks with Washington.Trump has repeatedly said that the goal of attacking Iran was to prevent the development of a nuclear weapon. Soon after the war started, Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20% of the world's oil flowed before the conflict, sending shock waves through the world economy.Polls show Democrats with an advantage heading into the November contests. The latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll found 31% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the Iran war, while 69% disapproved.Pezeshkian on Thursday suggested his government was willing to make a deal with the U.S. to end the war before Americans head to the polls this November."We don't want it to get to the midterm elections," Pezeshkian said in a brief meeting with NBC News and other news organizations, two days after Trump said that he believed the Iranian regime would not make a deal to settle the conflict until after November's elections."I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to," Trump said. "They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election."The U.S. this week announced it would put sanctions on any global companies doing business ​with Iranian airlines, with the aim of grounding Iran's entire civil fleet worldwide.Iraq said Saturday that it was engaging with the U.S. in an effort to restore humanitarian flights to and from Iran, after Iranian airlines were barred from neighboring countries in response to the sanctions. Efforts were ongoing to "secure exemptions for certain Iraqi airports from these measures" in order to enable "the resumption of flights for humanitarian reasons, such as medical treatment, education, religious pilgrimages, and the interests of civilians," the Iraqi prime minister's office said.Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that flights had also been shut down to Oman, Georgia and Azerbaijan.Abigail Williams and Monica Alba contributed.
Live updates as nor'easter brings flooding, strong winds across Jersey Shore
What to KnowA FIRST ALERT remains in effect for the Jersey Shore until Sunday as a nor'easter moves into the Philadelphia region.The storm led to widespread flooding across the shore Friday night and the coastal flooding is expected to continue on Saturday. Numerous weekend events were canceled as a result.The coast will take the brunt of the impacts from this nor’easter with continued minor to moderate coastal flooding, beach erosion, the strongest wind gusts and the highest rainfall totals.There will be on and off periods of rain for the entire region on Saturday. There may be a lull in rainfall Saturday evening and night before more persistent rain arrives Sunday morning.The area of low pressure will begin to lift away from our region Sunday night, allowing conditions to gradually improve through Monday morning.Get the latest weather updates by downloading the NBC10 app and following the NBC10 First Alert Weather team.A FIRST ALERT remains in effect for the Jersey Shore until Sunday as a nor'easter moves into the Philadelphia region. Get live updates below.
New investigative piece into ChatGPT shines new light on the actions of Tumbler Ridge shooter
News that OpenAI failed to alert authorities about the disturbing ChatGPT interactions of the Tumbler Ridge shooter before the massacre took place set off a flurry of lawsuits against the tech giant. But the nature of those interactions wasn't publicly known – until now.
Watch: Eggs hurled, car window smashed as Kunal Ghosh heads to Mamata rally
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh's car was pelted with eggs on Saturday while he was travelling to Serampore in Hooghly to attend a political rally addressed by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
'Padma Bhushan small thing, make him PM': Cong mocks BJP Bengal chief's praise for CEC
Congress leader Pawan Khera mocked West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya's praise for CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying, "The Padma Bhushan is a very small thing. Make him the Prime Minister." Bhattacharya credited Kumar with a violence-free election and voter roll revision, amid Opposition criticism and a Supreme Court plea over the SIR exercise and alleged Election Commission decisions.
Lamine Yamal: 'Football is mechanised but players like me have that special spark'
Spain and Barcelona wonderkid has won World Cup and European Championship but says there are no limits for his careerLike the kid he is, Lamine Yamal just wanted to keep playing. This wasn't Plaça Joan XXIII, wasn't El Parque de Rocafonda either; it wasn't the Mataró neighbourhood where it all began, but it might have been. "We're in a World Cup final and I wanted to carry on," he says, and there's the smile again, the braces. Really? "Yes". No nerves? "No. I never thought: 'Just blow the whistle'. I was enjoying it." No fear, just fun: 19 July, New Jersey and he knew: this 19-year-old who had happily been asleep on the bus to the biggest match of his life.And now he sits in a first-floor office in Las Rozas, surrounded by tactics boards and stats sheets. There's a Spain keyring hanging from the door and a second star on his shirt. In the corridor, crates loaded for London. Son of Mounir and Sheila, named after the family friends who helped them, "touched by God's wand" in the words of the coach whose office is next door, there's something about Lamine Yamal. He turned 17 the day before the final of Euro 2024, a schoolboy sitting exams, and 19 the day before the semi-final of the World Cup. Asked what he wanted, he said a trip to New York, so there he was, about to be a champion again. Continue reading...
On TV

Nothing airing worth remote control today. The screen can rest.

New Music

No new drops today. Go rediscover something in your old playlists.

In theaters

No new releases hitting theaters today. Your popcorn can wait.

Launching today
Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-385 — SpaceX (14:00 UTC)
A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of rocket stage drop zones being exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches.
Useless Fact

The shape of plant collenchyma’s cells and the shape of the bubbles in beer foam are the same - they are orthotetrachidecahedrons.

The loonie
CAD → USD
0.7070
▼ 0.0005
CAD → EUR
0.6203
▼ 0.0018
Today In History
2024 — Hurricane Helene Devastates Southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a category 4 storm. It cut through multiple states in the southeastern U.S. over the following days and was responsible for more than 230 deaths, about half of them in North Carolina. The storm brought catastrophic winds, storm surge, and flooding across the region.
2019 — Former French President Jacques Chirac dies at 86
French politician Jacques Chirac, who served as president of France from 1995 to 2007, died at age 86
2008 — Death of renowned actor Paul Newman in 2008
American actor Paul Newman, whose striking good looks and compelling performances made him one of Hollywood's most popular leading men, died at age 83. How much do you know about Paul Newman?
1969 — The Brady Bunch TV Premiere
The American sitcom The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC, and it became an enduring pop culture phenomenon
1969 — The Beatles Release Final Studio Album Abbey Road
The Beatles released Abbey Road, their final studio album (Let It Be, though mostly recorded earlier, was released in 1970)
1962 — The Beverly Hillbillies TV Series Debuts on CBS
The American TV series The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on CBS, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s
1960 — First televised U.S. presidential debate
The first in a series of historic televised debates (seen by some 85 to 120 million viewers) between U.S. presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon was broadcast this day in 1960
1898 — Birth of American Composer George Gershwin
George Gershwin, one of the most significant and popular American composers, was born
1820 — Daniel Boone, Frontier Legend, Dies in Missouri
American frontiersman and hero Daniel Boone died in 1820 in St. Charles, Missouri at the age of 85. Boone was a renowned explorer and settler who played a key role in the expansion of the American frontier.
1815 — The Holy Alliance Formed After Napoleon's Defeat
The Holy Alliance of Russia, Austria, and Prussia was formed in 1815 after the final defeat of Napoleon.
1687 — Venetian Bombardment Destroys Part of Parthenon
During the bombardment of the Acropolis by Venetian forces in 1687, part of the iconic Parthenon temple in Athens was destroyed in a powder explosion.
1580 — Francis Drake Completes Circumnavigation of the Globe
After nearly three years at sea, English Admiral Francis Drake arrived in Plymouth Harbour, England, completing his circumnavigation of the world

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.