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Aug 26, 2026 - World

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret trip to Moscow this week specifically to warn Russia against attacking NATO countries, according to people briefed on the visit — a trip President Trump publicly dismissed as merely "semi-routine."The trip was first reported on Tuesday, despite Kremlin denials that any talks were going on.The visit, whose purpose is now confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, marks Ratcliffe's first publicly known trip to the Russian capital and comes on the heels of fresh U.S. intelligence assessments warning that Vladimir Putin could test NATO's resolve with a limited strike on an allied country, likely a Baltic nation, sometime in the next few years. Officials are worried Putin, boxed in by the war in Ukraine and facing domestic pressure, could launch anything from a cyberattack to a small-scale land incursion.Complicating matters further, U.S. weapons stockpiles have been stretched thin by both Ukraine transfers since Russia's 2022 invasion and the ongoing war with Iran, potentially factoring into Putin's calculus about how the West would actually respond to an attack.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials during the trip, though not directly with Putin, who Peskov said was briefed on the discussions afterward.Trump offered little clarity when asked about the visit during a Wednesday interview with radio host Glenn Beck, quickly pivoting to talk about ending the Russia-Ukraine war instead."Something may come out of it," Trump said. "We're working very hard to get that war ended, and frankly they both want to see it ended at this point."Ratcliffe's trip follows several previous visits to Moscow by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff amid ongoing peace negotiations, but international visits by a sitting CIA director are notably rare. The last time an agency chief traveled to Moscow was November 2021, when then-Director William Burns delivered his own warning to Putin not to invade Ukraine — a warning that ultimately went unheeded just months later.

Aug 26, 2026 - World

President Trump's escalating trade fight with Canada is about to make one of the most basic household necessities more expensive, as Canada prepares retaliatory tariffs on toilet paper and hundreds of other American goods.The news was reported by The Daily Beast on Wednesday.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a list of nearly 900 products set for 25 percent to 50 percent tariffs starting in September, matching the levies Trump has already slapped on Canadian goods. Toilet paper made the list — a particularly painful target given that paper products already jumped in price after Trump's earlier 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Procter & Gamble, which makes Charmin, said those tariffs alone forced a 25 percent price hike on its paper products last summer, according to the report. The U.S. imported $328 million worth of toilet paper from Canada in 2024, more than from any other country, and even Costco's popular Kirkland private-label paper products are largely Canadian-sourced, according to the Guardian.The White House defended its posture toward Canada in a statement to the Daily Beast."Canada was offered the most generous trade deal of any of America's trading partners despite being overwhelmingly reliant on access to the American economy," the White House said.Trump has shown no interest in de-escalating, telling right-wing radio host Glenn Beck this week that Canada — a wartime ally in every major U.S. conflict since World War I — is one of the "worst countries in the world" for how it treats American consumers.The timing comes as Trump is already facing mounting criticism over the affordability crisis gripping American households. A three-time Trump voter publicly confronted him on live television this week, telling him in vulgar terms to focus on lowering costs. With Americans using an average of 141 rolls of toilet paper a year, more than any country on Earth, according to Statista, the coming price hike threatens to become an unusually literal symbol of the trade war's toll on everyday life.Ironically, the Trump administration faced toilet paper woes in the first term as well, when the beginning of the COVID pandemic led to widespread panic-buying and shortages.

Aug 26, 2026 - World

President denies visit was to gain support for Iran sanctions or due to fears that Putin plans to ‘test Nato resolve’Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland. Continue reading...

Aug 26, 2026 - World

Any hopes that President Donald Trump may have had about Canadians bowing to his trade demands likely died on Wednesday afternoon.With the American president going toe-to-toe with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a growing trade war, MS NOW’s Alex Tabet interviewed voters in Ontario and they had a lot to say.And more than a few words were bleeped when it came to talking about Trump after Tabet claimed most feel they have “been pushed to the brink.”One man challenged Trump to keep up the attacks after being asked, “What would you tell President Trump right now?”“Snuggle up, boy. Elbows up, Canadians,” he replied with a grin as his partner laughed. “We don't take that stuff, we don't back down from a fight. Never have, never will. Bring it.”A woman in a Toronto Blue Jays jersey stated, “I’m fully behind what Carney has done. F--- the U.S.”Another man was asked, “He's recently threatened to rename Lake Ontario, Lake America. What do you make of that threat?” Without pause, the man replied, “So I think there's also talk about renaming Lake Michigan 'Lake Epstein'.”“I tell him to f--- off,” another man in a cap told Tabet. “Be honest with you? Do something else. Get somebody in there that’s got some respect for people and his country.”After an edit he added, “I think they should shove it right where it belongs. I like Canada. Canada is Canada. It's been that way all the time, been a free country. I know we have some problems in our country, but poor states, we got health care. They look after us and it's fun being up here. Go down there, what do you get? Nothing. You got to pay for everything. How's that? How's that happen?”Returning to the studio and host Peter Alexander, Tabet dryly added, “You heard it there. Lots of flowery language. But in classic Canadian fashion, those curse words were immediately preceded by — I was going to say the Canadians are generally about as nice as folks get, but they had some tough words for the president.” - YouTube youtu.be

Aug 26, 2026 - World

Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife traffickingSouth African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking.A 50-year-old Thai national was arrested at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on 20 August, carrying 50 bird eggs in a homemade incubator in a hand-luggage bag, South Africa’s environment ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...