Democrats Can’t Take A Joke, So They’re Trying To Outlaw Free Speech
Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants you to know it was not her saying such 'vulgar and absurd' things. And she wants to punish the people who do.Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants you to know it was not her saying such 'vulgar and absurd' things. And she wants to punish the people who do.
Trump comes out on top with EU tariffs deal, proving haters wrong and leaving some Europeans stunned
President Donald Trump set to work in April on radically transforming how trade is conducted internationally, unveiling a sweeping list of new tariffs targeting scores of nations — friendly and adversarial nations alike — that have long imposed higher fees on the U.S. than the U.S. has placed on them in return.
Trump has in the months since received a lot of flak from liberals at home and abroad over this campaign to end the trend of foreign nations ripping off America. There have, for instance, been legal challenges, condemnations by Democrats and even some Republicans, threats of retaliation, and constant media chatter about economic doom.
'It's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability.'
Trump has, however, surmounted the opposition, proven the haters wrong, and repeatedly come out on top.
The president's latest victory — announced in the ancestral homeland of his mother just days after striking a favorable trade agreement with Japan — is likely his most consequential to date.
Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen jointly announced in Turnberry, Scotland, on Sunday that they struck a deal.
Per the terms of the agreement, the EU will buy $750 billion worth of energy over the next three years; invest $600 billion in the U.S. in addition to what it is already investing; open member countries to tariff-free American exports; and purchase "a vast amount" of American military equipment at a value that has yet to be determined.
RELATED: Trump says he's considering 'a little rebate' for Americans from tariff revenue
The U.S. will, in return, impose a 15% import tariff on most European goods — half of the rate Trump planned to impose on Aug. 1 in the event the deal fell through and 12.5% less than the tariff currently imposed on European automotive exports to the United States.
"I think it's great that we made a deal today instead of playing games," Trump told von der Leyen.
"I think it's the biggest deal ever made. Thank you very much."
Von der Leyen, who in 2021 claimed that Trump's first term may have "permanently damaged" democracy, said, "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world. It's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability that's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic."
RELATED: Business spending reaches near 30-year high under Trump: 'It's the real deal'
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Von der Leyen later noted that Trump is "a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker."
While von der Leyen said that the 15% tariff might be a "challenge for some," she emphasized that the deal ensures continued access to the American market while Europe simultaneously diversifies to other regions of the world and taps new markets.
'It is a dark day.'
"The European Union is going to open its 20 Trillion dollar market and completely accept our auto and industrial standards for the first time ever," noted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
"Today is a historic day for U.S. trade and will strengthen our relationship with the European Union for decades to come."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Trump, stating that the president "is the world’s great negotiator, and the American people are the beneficiaries."
A number of national leaders from the 27 EU member states who will have to sign off on the deal expressed optimism, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said she considered it a "positive." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the agreement, noting in a statement, "It is good that Europe and the U.S. have agreed and avoid unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations."
Others weren't so keen.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou suggested on X that "it is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission."
"It is obvious to me that this is not an agreement," said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. "It wasn't a deal that President Donald Trump made with Ursula von der Leyen — it was Trump eating von der Leyen for breakfast. This is what happened."
Orbán suggested that Trump's deal with the United Kingdom was far better and that von der Leyen was a "featherweight," reported Euractiv.
Trump has now secured critical trade deals with China, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Britain, and Vietnam.
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Zelenskyy — still holding onto power a year after his term ended — commandeers anti-corruption bureau, sparking protests
President Donald Trump ruffled feathers in February when he characterized Volodymyr Zelenskyy — the Ukrainian leader who suspended elections, dissolved rival parties, sanctioned a political opponent on suspicion of "high treason," consolidated Ukraine's media outlets, banned a Christian denomination, and remains president despite his term officially ending in May 2024 — as a "dictator without elections" who wants to "keep the 'gravy train' going."
Zelenskyy has faced continued criticism in the months since over his apparent efforts to appropriate and remain in power, including from the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, whose authority and responsibilities the Ukrainian president has effectively neutralized by appointing a rival military administration in the capital.
Klitschko, furious over the "raids, interrogations, and threats of fabricated criminal cases" apparently undermining his city council, told the Times (U.K.) in May, "This is a purge of democratic principles and institutions under the guise of war."
"I said once that it smells of authoritarianism in our country," continued the mayor. "Now it stinks."
Zelenskyy gave his critics further cause for suspicion and sparked mass protests on Tuesday by ratifying legislation that will give the country's prosecutor general — Zelenskyy's appointee — powers over Ukraine's National Anticorruption Bureau, thereby affording the president the ability to torpedo investigations into his administration.
Ukrainska Pravda indicated that the legislation drew protest from numerous members of parliament, which has not had elections since 2019, and stressed that the shakeup "means the destruction of the independence of anti-corruption bodies."
RELATED: Dictator, thief, puppet: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 3 strikes revealed
Daria Kaleniuk, a co-founder of the nongovernmental Anticorruption Action Center who helped establish the NABU following Ukraine's 2014 regime change, told the Wall Street Journal, "What's happening is the demolition of the anticorruption infrastructure in Ukraine."
Olena Tregub, executive director of the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Commission, suggested on LinkedIn that "weakening NABU and [the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office] is a dangerous mistake."
"It threatens to derail Ukraine's EU aspirations, fuels political polarization, and could erode public trust in the president who once promised to make the fight against corruption a cornerstone of his leadership," wrote Tregub. "Independent anti-corruption institutions are not simply a box to check for European integration. They are essential for building a democratic, transparent, and truly European Ukraine."
Zelenskyy said in a video statement on Tuesday that "the anti-corruption infrastructure will work, only without Russian influence — it needs to be cleared of that."
"Criminal proceedings must not drag on for years without lawful verdicts. And those who work against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune to the inevitability of punishment," Zelenskyy added in a separate statement concerning his meeting with top Ukrainian law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies.
RELATED: Trump confirms he's sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine — but with one major caveat
Zelenskyy signed the bill the day after the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, which operates ultimately under the authority of Zelenskyy, launched a series of raids on NABU offices largely on the basis of allegations that agency officials were cooperating with Russia.
The SBU claimed in a statement on Monday that while acting under the procedural guidance of the office of Zelenskyy's prosecutor general, it "exposed the agent penetration of [Russia's Federal Security Service] into the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine."
'This decision endangers not only the functioning of anticorruption institutions but also Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.'
NABU indicated that as of Monday evening, the SBU, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Prosecutor General's Office had executed at least 70 raids in relation to the anti-corruption bureau's employees.
"In most cases, the grounds cited for these actions are the alleged involvement of certain individuals in traffic accidents," said NABU. "However, some employees are being accused of possible connections with the aggressor state. These are unrelated matters."
The anti-corruption bureau indicated that the raids took place while its director, Semen Kryvonos, was on an official visit to the United Kingdom.
Kryvonos suggested that the law effectively handing over NABU to Zelenskyy was pushed by officials who were actively being investigated by the bureau, reported the Wall Street Journal.
"This pressure campaign is a direct response to the effectiveness of our investigations, including those targeting high-ranking officials and members of Parliament," said Kryvonos. "This decision endangers not only the functioning of anticorruption institutions but also Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations."
"The president of the European Commission was in contact with President Zelenskyy about these latest developments," a European Commission spokesperson told Politico. "President von der Leyen conveyed her strong concerns about the consequences of the amendments, and she requested the Ukrainian government for explanations."
The European Commission spokesperson added, "The respect for the rule of law and the fight against corruption are core elements of the European Union. As a candidate country, Ukraine is expected to uphold these standards fully. There cannot be a compromise."
In 2012, Ernst & Young ranked Ukraine in the top three of the most corrupt countries in its 12th Global Fraud Survey. Transparency International rated it the most corrupt country in Europe after Russia and ranked it 130th among 180 countries in its 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The country has, however, showed some signs of improvement, such that it now ranks 105th on the Corruption Perceptions Index, with a score of 35. By way of comparison, America's score is 65, with 100 signaling perfection.
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This 7% of Earth’s surface burns more fuel than anywhere
The ruling class trades in carbon outrage like it’s gold. Sanctimony fuels its crusade against oil, gas, and coal — never mind that those very fuels built the modern world. The comforts we take for granted — from longer lives and stocked shelves to clean water and lifesaving medicine — all trace back to the energy abundance that hydrocarbons made possible.
Still, the decarbonization faithful press forward. They dream of a carbon-free Eden, even as the global power grid, still humming on fossil fuels, refuses to cooperate.
Critics keep forecasting a shift away from fossil fuels. Reality keeps proving them wrong.
You won’t find a clearer contradiction than in the Yuxi Circle.
Draw a circle with a 2,485-mile radius around the southern Chinese city of Yuxi. British geographer Alasdair Rae did just that — and inside it resides 55% of the world’s population: some 4.3 billion people crammed into just 7% of Earth’s surface. The region includes China, India, much of Southeast Asia, and parts of Pakistan. Some of it — like the Tibetan Plateau and the Taklamakan Desert — is barren. But the rest is packed with cities, factories, and the aspirations of hundreds of millions clawing their way toward modern life.
Why does this matter? Because this region now anchors the world’s biggest fight over energy, growth, and climate policy.
While bureaucrats in Brussels sip espresso and activists glue themselves to the pavement in London, the real action plays out in Asia’s economic engine. In cities like Shanghai, Delhi, and Tokyo, energy demand soars — and fossil fuels do the heavy lifting. Coal and gas plants keep the lights on, while wind and solar trail far behind.
China burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. India burns more than the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom combined. The 10 ASEAN countries rank third. Oil use tells the same story: China and India sit alongside the U.S. atop the global leaderboard of consumption. Economic growth, it turns out, runs not on hashtags but on hydrocarbons.
Critics keep forecasting a shift away from fossil fuels. Reality keeps proving them wrong.
Hundreds of millions in the Yuxi Circle are still striving for what Westerners call a “decent life.” That means refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioning — and with them, a dramatic spike in electricity demand.
RELATED: Climate orthodoxy punishes the West
For context: The average American consumes 77,000 kilowatt-hours of energy each year. The average Indian uses a 10th of that. A Bangladeshi? Just 3% of what the average Norwegian consumes.
Now multiply that gap by a population of billions, and you begin to understand what’s coming.
The living room revolution is only the start. An industrial boom is building behind it — factories, office towers, and shopping malls all hungry for electricity. The coming surge in energy use across the Yuxi Circle will make the West’s climate targets look like a quaint relic of the past.
In this part of the world, the green fantasy runs headfirst into human need. Wind and solar can’t meet the moment. Coal, oil, and gas can — and do.
Just as they did for the West, these fuels now power the rise of the rest. And no amount of Western guilt or climate alarm will change that.
Canada's solution to reliance on US? Increasing commitments in Europe
If Donald Trump's "51st state" cracks have gotten under Mark Carney's skin, he wasn't showing it when he kicked off the G7 summit Monday.
Sitting next to the American president, Canada's prime minister played the consummate host, with conciliatory remarks stressing how much the participant nations have in common.
'We are actively seeking to strengthen transatlantic security, particularly by becoming a participant in rearming Europe.'
"All of us around this table are reinforcing our militaries and security services for the new world," he said. "But we all know that there can be no security without economic prosperity, and no prosperity without resilience. And ... that resilience comes from cooperation, cooperation that starts around this table."
Two-percenter
Still, Carney has lately made it clear that he'd like to place some distance between him and his tablemate. Last week, he pledged that the country would boost defense spending to the tune of an additional $9.3 billion this year in order to be less "reliant" on the protection of its big brother to the south.
Carney's increase would bring Canada's defense spending in line with NATO's benchmark of 2% of GDP for the first time since NATO established the benchmark in 2006. In the last two decades, Canada has rarely exceeded 1.5% and has usually hovered around 1%.
The last time Canada's defense spending met the 2% threshold was in 1987, when former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sought to rebuild Canada’s military. At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s, Canada was spending well over 4% of its GDP on national defense.
But will Canadians actually benefit from Carney’s spending spree?
RELATED: Listen up, America: Everything you've been told about Canada is a lie
'Deep decline'
In his announcement last Monday, Carney was typically vague about where the money will go, while hinting that Canada is on the market for new military allies and relationships:
Canada can work towards a new international set of partnerships that are more secure, prosperous, just, and free. We can pursue deeper alliances with stable democracies who share our interests, values, principles, and history, and we can help create a new era of integration between like-minded partners that maximizes mutual support over mutual dependency.
On one point, Carney was blunt: The Canadian Armed Forces are a military in deep decline. "Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness,” he said. “I'll give an example or two: Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational."
Continental affair
So where are these "like-minded partners" who will help Canada get back into fighting shape? Not on this side of the Atlantic. Carney has openly mused about Canada becoming a member of the European Union and contributing to its defense force, and this looks like a big step in that direction.
Does this mean that Carney will join European leaders like U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in providing missiles to Ukraine for its war with Russia? Is that how he plans to spend Canadian tax dollars? It might not seem like a good deal to Canadians.
Last month, however, Carney expressed his intention for Canada to join ReArm Europe, a major European defense buildup. He has also continued his predecessor Justin Trudeau's policy of sending billions of dollars in military and civil aid to Ukraine, even though the country is on the brink of defeat.
Carney said:
We are actively seeking to strengthen transatlantic security, particularly by becoming a participant in ReArm Europe. This will help diversify our military suppliers with reliable European partners and integrate the Canadian defense industry as full participants in 150 billion euros of Europe's rearmament program.
To these ends, the Canada EU summit later this month will be more important than ever, and Canada will arrive at this summit with a plan to lead with new investments to build our strength in service of our values. This will include our support for new NATO defense industrial pledge, which will be negotiated at the NATO summit.
'Blank check' from Pierre
At a news conference on Monday, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre essentially gave Carney a blank check and promised his support to help the liberals achieve the military spending target.
“After a decade of liberal cuts, mismanagement, and back-office bureaucracy of boondoggles and wasted money on bungled projects, our military has never been weaker," said Poilievre.
"Now, more than ever, we need a strong military that will reassert our sovereignty in the north, take back control of our Arctic waters," Poilevre added, noting that he wanted to fight the increasingly woke policies that have infected Canada’s military and bring back the “warrior culture.”
But he stood shoulder to shoulder with Carney on spending. “We support getting back to the 2% target as soon as possible, and we will support additional money for our military,” Poilievre said, even as he promised to ferret out “waste in bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid, corporate welfare, and other areas.”
Despite his tough talk, Poilievre admitted he had yet to see the Liberal government's budget for the increased spending.
Trump’s Trade Negotiations Should Include A Push For Free Speech
There should be more to economic and trade policy than merely the price of goods.Today's top stories
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