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Mar 13, 2026 - World

Longtime campaign strategist Mark McKinnon, who advised former President George W. Bush and the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), could not contain his laughter after watching Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) being interviewed on CNN late Thursday.Appearing on MS NOW with host Chris Jansing, McKinnon watched Jordan tell CNN's Kasie Hunt, “President Trump is committed to achieving that [Iran regime change] goal, and if that means prices go up for a time, I think Americans understand, we can live with that .But, in the end, we want all that to happen, and we want it all to happen in as quick a time as it possibly can.”After sharing the clip, Jansing asked her guest, “But with gas now up 65 cents a gallon and no end in sight, do you think Americans understand?”“No!” McKinnon exclaimed while laughing. “I think Americans have a very low pain threshold; short-term pain, mid-term pain, long-term pain. Americans are not very good at sacrificing anything, particularly for a conflict that they're not supporting going in, much less four weeks into it now. So that's a real problem for the administration.”“And, you know, it's the Iranians are reading the American media, and they know that politicians react to their voters and their voters are reacting to the price of oil,” he elaborated. “And I just — it's astonishing to me that the general there said the only thing preventing [Strait of Hormuz shipping] traffic is Iran. Yeah. The place where bombing is preventing it, and they know it, and they know that they can just continue this.” - YouTube youtu.be

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Congressional Republicans are openly rejecting Donald Trump's pleas for emergency funding to sustain the Iran war, signaling deep skepticism within his own party about a conflict that remains broadly unpopular with American voters, according to a report.Operation Epic Fury has already consumed staggering sums — over $1 billion per day, with the Pentagon burning through $11.3 billion in just the first six days of combat. Yet Republican lawmakers are unmoved by White House requests for supplemental spending.Top Republicans told Politico they see no urgency to boost the Pentagon's already bloated $1 trillion budget. Democrats are unlikely to provide support, making passage of any supplemental package an uphill political battle — especially in a midterm election year when Trump needs to campaign on affordability.The White House faces a political nightmare, Politico reported. It must spend significant time and political capital securing funding for a deeply unpopular war while simultaneously claiming fiscal responsibility. The sluggish congressional timeline threatens to collide with Trump's plans to dramatically expand the defense budget next year.Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel, captured the lack of urgency: "I don't think there is any urgency at this moment. The urgency is in starting to educate Congress as to why we need a supplemental at all."Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) indicated the supplemental won't reach Capitol Hill until the month's end at the earliest, with key appropriators warning passage could take weeks or months.Democrats hold significant leverage. A unified caucus can block the legislation if at least seven Democratic senators refuse back it, meaning it would fail to cross the 60-vote threshold required for passage.At least one Republican is already siding with skeptics. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) vowed to oppose any Iran supplemental, citing constituents hurt by war-driven oil prices. "I'm against borrowing money from China to finance the war in the Middle East," Paul stated. "We've got a lot of problems in our country that we need to fix."You can read more here.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Trio captured relaxing around a wooden table in photo believed to have been taken on Martha’s Vineyard Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson have been pictured in bathrobes alongside Jeffrey Epstein, in the first known photograph of them together.The trio were captured relaxing outside at a wooden table with mugs decorated with the American flag in the newly unearthed photograph believed to have been taken on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off Cape Cod in Massachusetts that is favoured by the wealthy. Continue reading...

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Mayor says he will encourage Met to scale down his official vehicle alongside plans for new charges for big carsThe London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he would be encouraging the Met to abandon his armoured car in favour of a smaller vehicle as he signalled a clampdown on driving SUVs in London.Khan and Transport for London are considering options including additional charges on outsize vehicles to tackle the increasing numbers of SUVs on London’s roads, primarily to address road safety but also to address concerns about parking and congestion. Continue reading...

Mar 13, 2026 - World

The move, which lowers fees to 25%, is a breakthrough for Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxApple announced late on Thursday it would lower the commission fees collected in its App Store in mainland China. The move follows pressure from regulators in the tech company’s second-largest market, as well as global scrutiny of its payment requirements.Fees for in-app purchases and paid transactions will be lowered to 25% from 30% starting on Sunday, Apple said in a statement on its blog for developers. Continue reading...