Category: Australasia

President Donald Trump acknowledged that the odds are stacked against him in the upcoming midterm election, saying voters are angry with Republicans – yet still maintained that he was exempt from their growing frustrations.
With roughly three months until the midterms, the president and his allies are stumping for Republican candidates and tearing down Democratic policies in the hopes of maintaining the GOP’s narrow majority in Congress. But it’s an uphill battle for Trump, who can no longer appear on the ballot, as he faces record-low approval ratings and blame for higher costs due to the unpopular war with Iran.
“The question is, will they vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” Trump told Punchbowl Newsin an interview that aired Friday.
Yet Trump insisted, “I mean they’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me.”
President Donald Trump acknowledged that midterm voters are often casting ballots against the..

Strait of Hormuz is 'sort of open' – TrumpA furious Donald Trump has hit out at “leakers” as he condemned “treasonous” reports that the US has almost depleted its stock of precision long-range missiles in its war with Iran.
The president claimed the US still has “massive amounts” of the expensive munitions, adding that “large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed”.
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!” he added in the Truth Social tirade.
Trump also denied US media reports that he had reprimanded defence secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting in which low ammunition stockpiles were discussed.
Two sources told Reuters news agency that the military’s surface-to-surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) had been “virtually all” used in its war against Tehran.
Meanwhile, the US president claimed the Strait of Ho..

Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been charged with a misdemeanor hit-and-run following a collision with a parked vehicle.
The 86-year-old was driving his brown convertible in Yountville, California, on July 3 when he allegedly struck a legally parked car on the side of the road. According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, he briefly stopped before driving away from the scene.
No injuries were reported, and the parked car was unoccupied. Authorities confirmed Pelosi did not have alcohol in his system at the time.
Napa County prosecutors announced Friday that Pelosi faces a misdemeanor charge for violating state law, which mandates drivers involved in property damage accidents to stop and exchange information. Additionally, he was charged with an infraction for making an unlawful turn.
Pelosi was also charged with an infraction for making an unlawful turn (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)The vehicle sustained “significant damage” to the right front area..

A federal appeals court has delivered a significant blow to New Jersey's gun control measures, ruling Friday that the state's prohibitions on assault firearms and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds are unconstitutional.
This landmark decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has invalidated a state ban on such weapons, arriving as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to review whether similar bans on semi-automatic rifles infringe upon the Second Amendment.
The ruling also stands in contrast to a decision just last week, where a different federal appeals court upheld Illinois' ban on semi-automatic weapons.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' judgment in the New Jersey case goes further than a July 2024 ruling by a federal judge. That earlier decision had only deemed the state's ban on AR-15s unconstitutional, while upholding the provision barring larger magazines.
The ruling also stands in contrast to a decision just last week, where..

A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation said that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche behaved in a “condescending” manner during his meeting with her and other survivors.
The meeting came as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) made meeting with Epstein survivors a prerequisite for his vote to confirm Blanche, the deputy attorney general and President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney.
Lara Blume McGee described the meeting to The Independent in a text message on Thursday evening.
“Today, Epstein survivors confronted Todd Blanche — and he treated it like a perfunctory audition for votes, not accountability,” Blume McGee said.
open image in galleryEpstein survivor Lara Blume McGee speaks during a news conference opposing acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation to be attorney general, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 15, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago (Reuters)“Blanche was condescending, repeatedly interrupted and tried to gaslight survivors..

Leavitt asked why Trump can't let go of 2020 election he lost fair and squareIn a highly anticipated Thursday night speech, President Donald Trump accused China of carrying out “the largest compromise of election data in history” beginning with the 2020 election, just one of numerous schemes he claims a “deep state” concealed from him and the American public.
The Chinese effort allegedly netted Beijing 220 million files about U.S. voters.
Trump also claimed China sought to pay journalists to write false and negative articles about him.
The White House will release a trove of documents backing up the president’s claims, Trump said, which will show how U.S. elections are vulnerable to “hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference.”
Meanwhile, the White House is furious that many of the major TV news networks are not carrying the president’s ongoing elections speech live on their main channels.
ABC News, NBC News and CNN will run the speech on their streaming channels. Fox News..

The ESPYS return to New York on Wednesday as the annual awards show honors the year’s top athletes, teams and sports moments. After a couple of decades in Los Angeles, it's back in New York and being held at Lincoln Center.

Vice President JD Vance sought last week to use a military helicopter to ferry himself and his son across Washington for a golf lesson, one of a number of allegedly unusual travel requests that has left the Republican’s security detail “fed up,” MS Now reports.
The alleged travel plans aboard Marine Two were ultimately canceled due to weather, but Secret Service agents nonetheless discussed it among themselves unhappily, according to the outlet.
Past vice presidents have had Secret Service agents drive their children to activities, rather than use military hardware, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour to operate.
A series of last-minute travel requests, known as “off the record” movements, has reportedly led to anger and low morale within the detail.
“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR [off the record],” a source familiar with the mood inside the service told MS Now. “He [Vance] thinks he can still move around like a U..

One person is dead and two others are missing after a pontoon boat believed to be carrying 19 people sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday. Search efforts are ongoing.
Another 16 people have been rescued and taken ashore at Fort Mason, the fire department said. Authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle it appears an explosion took place onboard.
Three survivors have been brought to California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness to treat unspecified injuries. Those rescued from the wreck showed signs of impact injuries, likely from hitting the water, according to San Francisco fire chief Dean Crispen.
San Francisco firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard began responding to the incident around 3:30 p.m.
The Coast Guard initially described the incident as a “vessel fire,” though the fire department later said it did not encounter evidence of a fire on the vessel or among survivors.
One person is reportedly dead and two others are missing after a pontoon boat carrying 1..

Florida executed 74-year-old Dennis Sochor, among its oldest prisoners, on Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
His execution is one of three older inmates scheduled within a month in Florida, the nation’s busiest death penalty state.
Sochor was convicted of killing 18-year-old Patricia Gifford on January 1, 1982, hours after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.
At 6 p.m., with the death chamber curtain raised, Sochor was strapped to a gurney, an IV in his arm. Asked for last words by the warden, Sochor confirmed he had them.
The execution plans highlight the aging death row population in the U.S. and the busy death chamber in Florida, which has now carried out 10 of the 16 executions conducted in the nation this year (AP Photo/Curt Anderson)He apologized several times to the Gifford family, saying he was “deeply sorry” and also thanked his own loved ones for their support over the years. Then he commended..