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Jan 29, 2026 - World

A top US military official has warned Donald Trump may prolong the end of the war in Ukraine. Colonel Jonathan Sweet explained how the president could bring the conflict between Russian and Ukraine to an end, but that it would rely on military intervention and the help of NATO. He wrote in The Hill, "Trump has the cards to end the war, but those cards need to be played against Russia and not Ukraine. "He must coerce Russia to stop attacking, give up their territorial aspirations for the Donbas, and accept a European military peace-keeping force in Ukraine."That will likely require military force. It begins with a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over western Ukraine, sufficiently arming Kyiv to defeat Russian forces in Ukraine, and destroying Moscow’s ability to fund and sustain the war. "Anything less equals a Team Trump forever war in Europe." Sweet had previously referred to this prolonged decision-making as a "forever war" which Trump may have orchestrated. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were present for talks between the two nations, which Col. Sweet says did little to ease the tensions. He wrote, "The talks commenced and concluded in Abu Dhabi the next day. The outcome? Russia refused to back off their maximalist demands and continued to demand Ukraine unilaterally withdraw from the Donbas."The U.S. is now 0 for 7 in its negotiations with Russia to end the war — chiefly because Ukraine stubbornly refuses to commit national suicide."Kyiv will not give Moscow in negotiations what the Russians cannot take on the battlefield. Nor should they be persuaded or coerced into doing so."EU diplomats believe the relationship with Trump has broken down and that their dreams of working with him and the administration in the future are dead. One EU diplomat said, "Our American Dream is dead. Donald Trump murdered it." Another senior envoy from a country described as a "key American ally" by Politico suggested the "trust is lost" with the U.S.They added, "We are experiencing a great rupture of the world order."

Jan 28, 2026 - World

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) was among several lawmakers grilling Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the US attacks on Venezuela. Kaine called out Rubio and the Trump administration for not seeking congressional approval or consulting lawmakers in the five months since initiating strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, sending troops into the conflict and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. "We started this operation on September 2nd with the attack on Venezuelans and boats in open waters, and now we are nearly five months in. Next week is five months. Finally, a public hearing! Wow! How novel," Kaine said. "Finally, a public hearing in the Senate or House. This is the first public hearing we've had. Two hundred folks who are on secret designated combatant lists have been killed, U.S. troops have been injured, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, an armada amassed the announcement of a new Monroe Doctrine, which does not land well in the Americas. Democrats have been asking over and over again, can we have a public hearing? Can we share what we know with the American public? Finally, a public hearing. But even that hearing is constrained."Kaine delivered a sharp critique against Rubio and the Trump administration, expressing his frustration over the attack. "I'd like to talk about the complete weakness of the legal rationale about the strikes on boats in international waters. But I can't, because the administration has only shared it with members in a classified setting," Kaine said. "I can't tell you why the domestic rationale is hollow and the international rationale is hollow. I can't tell you why the rationale for attacking Venezuela is hollow, because, again, the rationale has been shared with us in a closed setting. I can't share with you the grim details of the murder of shipwrecked survivors in open waters that we all know, because we've seen the videos and we've questioned the US military officials involved about legality, because the administration will not release that publicly. They release the boat strike videos publicly, but they hid the second strike that killed struggling shipwreck survivors, even from Congress, for nearly three months. But I can't really talk to you about it." Kaine questioned what the administration was hiding and why they were targeting these boats. "I can't talk to you about the weakness of the targeting criteria being used to attack boats in the Caribbean and Pacific," he added. "I would encourage any colleague, if you have not go to the classified setting and ask for a briefing on each strike and ask this question, 'what was the evidence that there were narcotics on that craft?' You will be very surprised if you ask that question about every strike. And so even in this first public hearing, five months in, there's a lot we can't talk about. If it was such a righteous operation, why is the administration and the majority in the senate so jealously protecting the details about it from being revealed to the American public?" Kaine also described how his constituents have asked him about the American military actions in Venezuela. "I have Virginians deployed in this operation. I can't answer their families questions," Kaine said. "Thank God we're having a public hearing five months in. This is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world."

Jan 28, 2026 - World

Ecuador lodged a complaint after claiming that at least one U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent tried to force his way into the country's diplomatically protected consulate in Minneapolis.According to Reuters, Ecuador's Foreign Ministry sent a "note of protest" to the U.S. Embassy, insisting that future incidents "not be repeated."Ecuador's protest described Monday's incident as an "attempted incursion into the Ecuadorean Consulate in Minneapolis by ICE agents."In a video obtained by BN, consulate staffers could be seen blocking an ICE agent."This is a consulate, you cannot enter here," one of the staff members says in the video.

Jan 28, 2026 - World

A President Donald Trump ally described his concern and shock over the president's mental state, according to a report Wednesday. Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, apparently made a private comment after a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago and described his surprise over Trump's disposition, Politico's PL reported. “Slovakia’s prime minister told EU leaders at a summit last week that a meeting with Donald Trump left him shocked by the U.S. president’s state of mind, five European diplomats briefed on the conversation said," Politico reported. The MAGA-friendly EU leader has been one of the few European leaders to continue his support for Trump, including the president's stance on "Europe's weakness," according to Politico. Fico was "concerned about the U.S. president’s ‘psychological state,’ two of the diplomats said.”“Fico used the word ‘dangerous’ to describe how the U.S. president came across during their face-to-face meeting,” according to Politico. Trump has faced mounting questions about his health, which have increased as the president continues to be spotted in public with swollen ankles and bruised hands. His increased instances of rambling during speeches, along with his MRI scan last year that has yet to be fully explained have also raised concerns among critics.

Jan 28, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump announced a possible military action against Iran in an early morning social media post.The USS Abraham Lincoln and three other warships arrived Tuesday in the Middle East as the 79-year-old president considers airstrikes over Iran's crackdown on protesters, which may have resulted in the deaths of nearly 6,000 people and detentions of nearly 42,000 more."A massive Armada is heading to Iran," Trump posted Wednesday morning on Truth Social. "It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary."The deployment is intended to pressure Iran to negotiate an end to its nuclear program, Trump said, which U.S. forces targeted in June."Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties," he posted. "Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."