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May 29, 2026 - World

House Republicans on the Armed Services Committee released their defense budget proposal this week for fiscal year 2027, which includes more than $1.1 trillion in spending, but buried within the 500-plus-page document is a provision that one foreign policy analyst warned Friday was “unprecedented,” and could reshape the U.S. military indefinitely.That provision is titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” and according to Ben Freeman, a foreign policy analyst at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, it would “provide a higher level of military-industrial integration [with Israel] than the U.S. has with any other country in the world.”Writing in a report published by Responsible Statecraft, Freeman noted that the United States and Israel “already work together heavily” on military operations and intelligence sharing. He also acknowledged that the United States “has worked closely with its NATO partners” militarily. The provision buried within the defense spending proposal, however, was “a different beast entirely,” Freeman warned.“It would fuse the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors in multiple areas vital to the battlefields of the future, like autonomous systems and cyber,” Freeman wrote. “It would also bring extraordinary Israeli influence to the U.S. beyond what it already has through the Israel lobby and its robust network of social media influencers.”The expanded Israeli influence on U.S. politics that the budget provision may clear a path for, Freeman cautioned, could become irreversible.“It would give the Israeli government the opportunity to greatly expand one of the most powerful levers of influence in U.S. politics: jobs in the U.S.,” Freeman wrote.“By expanding or starting new co-production facilities like it already has in Mississippi and Arkansas, the Israeli government could boast of providing jobs on U.S. soil, thereby securing allies among members of Congress who represent the districts where those jobs lie.”Freeman continued, “The result could well be a U.S. political system even more susceptible to the whims of an Israeli government that seemingly has no qualms about drawing the U.S. into military conflicts in the Middle East.”

May 29, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized Friday after giving what was intended as a motivational speech to a group of Navy sailors.Hegseth joined the military personnel for a workout drill on USS Boxer, which is docked in Singapore, when he stopped to give a pep talk about the ongoing Iran war.“The president said 'Iran can either do it the right way, with a deal across the table, or they can deal with my guy on the left.' That happened to be me. But it's not me. It's you guys!” Hegseth said.People online mocked Hegseth's message to the group."The cringe level is off the charts," journalist Aaron Rupar, who has 1.1 million followers, wrote on X."Hegseth is an actor playing a Secdef in a cheesy movie," former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a frequent Trump administration critic and veteran, wrote on X."Pete Hegseth got how many of our fellow Americans killed and injured and how many bases destroyed all because he used GROK to plan a war with Iran and then got America's A-- handed to her?" Pastor Ben Dixon, a political commentator with more than 164,000 followers, wrote on X."This is so ... stupid!" Gwilym Eades, a lecturer in human and environmental geography at Royal Holloway University of London, wrote on Bluesky.the cringe level is off the charts https://t.co/SvhS7oolvs— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 29, 2026

May 29, 2026 - World

Three Epstein survivors confronted Rep. James Comer (R-KY) in a moment that made the GOP lawmaker visibly uncomfortable, just minutes before a closed-door interview with former Attorney General Pam Bondi was set to question her on Friday about deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.As Comer was taking questions from the press, he was forced to respond to the victims who were on Capitol Hill before the House Oversight Committee meeting. The closed-door interview was not videotaped but was expected to focus on the "sloppy rollout of the Epstein files," MS NOW anchor Ali Vitali reported."In a remarkable moment just a short time ago, a group of Epstein survivors peppered oversight committee Chair James Comer with their own questions ahead of Bondi's session," Vitali said."These people cannot be brought in under transcribed interviews. Can you ensure that they would please be brought in under oath?" Sharlene Rochard, an Epstein survivor, asked Comer.The chairman of the committee seemed surprised by the line of questioning."If you lie to Congress, it's a felony," Comer said. "So it's, you know, we're bringing them in. We're bringing people in that have never been brought in before." "Survivors' names over and over and over were exposed," Liz Stein, Epstein survivor, told Comer. "Yet we see time and time again, perpetrators names have been redacted when they shouldn't have been. Are we going to get some answers?"Comer responded. "I hope so, those are the questions we're going to ask," he said. "And you know, we're doing this. We want justice for the survivors."Vitali commented on the moment."Stunning to see them confront Comer themselves," Vitali added.

May 28, 2026 - World

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was ridiculed on Thursday after he suggested that the Nobel Peace Prize be renamed the Trump Prize after President Donald Trump, according to reports.Graham shared the idea on Fox News during a Wednesday night episode of "Hannity."Trump hasn't been shy about his desire to win the famed international prize. He's never been awarded it, but he frequently has claimed he deserves it and has been critical of the selection process, particularly when the award was given to other recipients. In 2025, he said "I deserve it, but they will never give it to me," during an Oval Office press conference, according to The Independent. In January, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado traveled to Washington, D.C. to present Trump with the Nobel Prize she won in 2025 for her work to spread democracy in Venezuela. Trump said he planned to keep the prize, although he had not won it.The internet was quick to call Graham out for his comments."Girl, stop. You’re humiliating yourself," writer and producer Andy Ostroy, who has more than 90,000 followers, wrote on X."Further proof they're in a cult," writer and scholar Dr. Allison Wiltz, who has more than 71,000 followers, wrote on X."There’s really not much to say about Lindsey anymore. He is just a sad, pathetic little man," Veterans For Responsible Leadership, a pro-democracy veterans organization with nearly 30,000 followers, wrote on X. Girl, stop. You’re humiliating yourself… https://t.co/mkMilTXZes— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) May 28, 2026

May 28, 2026 - World

In the midst of yet another faltering agreement with Iran to bring Donald Trump’s war to an end, the producers of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” compiled embarrassing video footage of the president optimistically claiming “Iran wants to make a deal” — dating back multiple weeks.Coming out of a commercial break, the president is seen telling Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, “I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I know one thing. They want to make a deal. They wouldn't talk to anybody else, but they're talking to me,” during a February 10 interview.A week later, while traveling on Air Force One, he insisted, “I hope, I hope, they're going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal. I think they want to make a deal. I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”Sitting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegesth on March 26 — almost 30 days later — he claimed, “They want to make a deal. They are begging to make a deal — not me. They are begging to make a deal. And anybody that saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal.”In the compilation, Trump repeats his “make a deal” claim again on March 31, April 16, and May 6th, the 20th, the 22nd and again on Wednesday of this week when he told reporters attending a Cabinet meeting, “Iran is very much intent — they want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be.”As the clip concluded, host Jonathan Lemire dryly added, “That's President Trump's ‘Let's Make a Deal: Iran Version.’ And of course, no agreement yet.” - YouTube youtu.be