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1+ hour, 3+ min ago (71+ words) The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day " and the best features from TheWeek.com Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. The daily codeword puzzle from The Week The daily crossword from The Week The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week...

1+ hour, 3+ min ago (71+ words) The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day " and the best features from TheWeek.com Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. The daily codeword puzzle from The Week The daily crossword from The Week The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week...

1+ hour, 3+ min ago (70+ words) The daily codeword puzzle from The Week A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day " and the best features from TheWeek.com Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week The daily crossword from The Week The daily codeword puzzle from The Week...

1+ hour, 8+ min ago (1169+ words) In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriouslyThe failure of this week's peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump's second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favouring Russia.The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore....

4+ hour, 43+ min ago (144+ words) House Democrats have released 10 photos and four videos taken on Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Caribbean that they say have never been seen by the public and offer "a harrowing look behind Epstein's closed doors." The images include shots of bedrooms, bathrooms, and a room featuring what appears... The Times reports the move "appeared to be the latest bid by Democrats to intensify pressure on the Justice Department to make public all of its investigative files on the convicted sex offender's case following enactment last month of a law requiring it." CNN suggests that release could happen within days. - Don't plan an overnighter to Grand Canyon's South Rim now. - Raccoon breaks into liquor store, passes out by the toilet. - A tree trimmer died in a horrific Los Angeles accident. - In Britain, rumors swirl that Ellen DeGeneres is going back…...

5+ hour, 17+ min ago (292+ words) Report says defense secretary violated policies in sharing secret information in March on planned airstrike in Yemen A widely awaited Department of Defense report concluded that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, violated departmental policies when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat in March that included details of a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters, said a source familiar with the report. The Signal chat was disclosed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member. It also included JD Vance, the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, and the then-national security adviser, Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of those officials, since they do not work at the Department of Defense. Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for classified information, but Hegseth and some of the other officials…...

5+ hour, 46+ min ago (709+ words) US House and Senate lawmakers to meet with top admiral on Thursday about double strike on boats from Venezuela As the Trump administration continues military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, several Republican lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny on the administration over a double strike in early September. The strikes on suspected drug boats from Venezuela have drawn pushback from both parties " in particular, the second strike on a single boat to kill remaining survivors. The Washington Post reported that the order for a second strike came from the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, which Hegseth has denied. At Donald Trump's cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Hegseth reaffirmed that the decorated US navy admiral Frank Bradley ultimately "sunk the boat and eliminated the threat. Hegseth said that while he "watched that first strike, he did not "stick around for the…...

6+ hour, 5+ min ago (366+ words) President Donald Trump's son-in-law likely broke the law this week, one analyst wrote Wednesday. Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow on Tuesday to participate in high-stakes foreign policy negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over a potential peace deal with Ukraine. The U.S. delegation consisted of Kushner, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and an interpreter. "Kushner's participation in the Moscow meeting " and the similar role he played in the Gaza negotiations " likely violates the law," wrote Judd Legum for Popular Information. As a representative of the Trump administration, he technically qualifies as a Special Government Employee " a designation that requires specific legal guidelines. However, "Trump has not named Kushner an SGE," noted Legum, even though a 1977 Department of Justice opinion suggests that performing governmental functions under presidential direction can constitute an official capacity. "Here, Kushner is engaged in activities that can only be…...

6+ hour, 26+ min ago (227+ words) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's recent interview with Aaron Ross Sorkin raised red flags for a pair of analysts on Wednesday. Sorkin interviewed Bessent at The New York Times' DealBook Summit, an annual gathering of business leaders, where the Treasury secretary made a series of questionable claims, according to Jonathan V. Last and Tim Miller of The Bulwark. Among them: Bessent's defense of Trump's appearance at Tuesday's cabinet meeting " where he appeared to fall asleep " and suggestion that he doesn't read the news. Miller described the interview as a "performance act" during a new episode of "Bulwark Takes." He pointed to Bessent's repeated attacks against the media. Last also warned that Bessent's suggestion that he doesn't read the news was revealing for all of the wrong reasons. Miller wondered if Bessent would be trustworthy enough to guide the economy out of a…...

6+ hour, 45+ min ago (311+ words) Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) faced criticism for a proposal to limit where food stamp recipients can purchase meals. The Iowa Republican, who is not seeking re-election, told Fox Business that she would introduce a bill to prevent SNAP recipients from using their government assistance to buy fast food. "I have a McSCUSE ME Act which would disallow those SNAP benefits being used at fast food restaurants," Ernst said. "We want to make sure that those hungry families, those food insecure families actually are receiving benefits, but we want them to really use those dollars on nutrient-rich foods." The measure's name seems to have come from a catchphrase uttered by a woman in a viral video who complained that a McDonald's employee mocked her weight when she asked about $1 deal on a McRib sandwich. "McScuse me, b----?" the woman says in the…...