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Aug 14, 2026 - World

A leaked questionnaire shows President Donald Trump's administration has been asking NATO members to demonstrate their loyalty to him before deciding if the U.S. will cut military support for the alliance.Bloomberg News reviewed the document asking whether each country has "been publicly supportive" of U.S. foreign policy, including strikes in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere that were carried out without NATO consultation. It also asks what "restrictions" allies have placed on American forces using their bases, and whether they'd be "willing to reduce or eliminate any such restrictions.""Allies have balked at the move, seeing it as an attempt to strong-arm them into ideological alignment in exchange for U.S. protection, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the private missive," Bloomberg reportedOne question directly invokes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's demand that allies stay "strong, clear, and quiet" in alignment with U.S. interests.When the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran without NATO's blessing, several countries, including Spain, barred Washington from using their bases for the operation, a restriction the questionnaire now asks about directly. Similarly, the U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, widely viewed in Europe as a violation of international law, appears to be another test case buried in the document's questions about support for American "initiatives" in the Western Hemisphere.The questionnaire probes whether allies are steering defense contracts toward American firms, whether they've publicly opposed "made in Europe" procurement policies, and, if not, whether they'd be willing to speak out. Given a growing European push to build up domestic defense industries, this line of questioning is likely to be especially contentious.The document was leaked amid a six-month Pentagon review of the U.S. military footprint in Europe, expected to wrap up by December, and allies are already bracing for cuts.The U.S. has said it will pull 5,000 troops from Germany, though it separately pledged to send 5,000 additional troops to Poland after a nationalist ally won that country's presidency, an apparent reward for political alignment that adds weight to concerns the loyalty questionnaire isn't an isolated incident.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has publicly defended the broader review as reasonable given rising European defense spending, calling it something that is "bringing NATO closer together."But the questionnaire's explicit linkage of military protection to political fealty marks a sharp departure from the alliance's postwar foundation, one built on U.S. guarantees that were meant to hold regardless of individual policy disputes.Allies and NATO officials are expected to discuss the review further at a Brussels meeting later this month.

Aug 14, 2026 - World

Kevin Rideout, who was abducted by unknown assailants in Niamey, said to be in good health and in care of US officialsAn American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organisation has said.Serving in Mission International said Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of US officials” and would soon be reunited with his extended family. Continue reading...

Aug 14, 2026 - World

Move will be one of first large-scale foreign investments in country since US ousted leader Nicolás Maduro in JanuaryBP has answered Donald Trump’s call for oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela’s fossil fuel industry with new plans to develop a large offshore gasfield.BP will partner with two oil firms with close links to the Trump administration to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield, in one of the first large-scale foreign investments in Venezuela since the US ousted its leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Continue reading...

Aug 14, 2026 - World

A frantic appearance by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's before the media Thursday drew an accusation that he may require drug testing or an abuse intervention.The embattled President Donald Trump appointee spoke to reporters and attempted to address concerns about his deployment of an aircraft carrier in the Middle East that has lasted so long that one sailor attempted to leap overboard.Speaking to reporters in Panama, an intense Hegseth, 46, discussed the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier on extended deployment near Iran, the Daily Beast reported."We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain, has everything we can provide them at every single moment," Hegseth said, adding that he understood the strain of long deployments from his own military service in Iraq and Afghanistan.His appearance and rapid-fire commentary caught the attention of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who posted on X describing Hegseth as appearing "delusional, manic, agitated" and noting his "arm-thrashing display." Newsom questioned whether Hegseth had recently undergone drug testing, asking, "Has Pete Hegseth done a drug test lately? Why are the results not public?"This is not the first time Hegseth has raised concerns by acting in a "manic" manner, according to Pentagon insiders.Hegseth has a documented history of substance abuse concerns. His ex-wife told the FBI that he "drinks more often than he doesn't," and former Fox News colleagues said he reeked of alcohol before going on air. Hegseth pledged to abstain from alcohol ahead of his Senate confirmation, which was narrowly approved with Vice President JD Vance providing a tie-breaking vote.

Aug 14, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's touted Freedom Fuel gas-station network faces fresh scrutiny after a former State Department official questioned possible links to Venezuela.During an episode of Court of History, former State Department expert on international crime Jonathan Winer suggested Freedom Fuel may be tied to Venezuela's opaque oil revenue and selling cheaper gas through an arrangement that's "literally unprecedented in American history."Freedom Fuel appeared around Philadelphia in late June with regular gas priced at $3.47 a gallon, which was roughly 50 cents under local prices and below estimated wholesale costs. The White House has promoted the chain as proof that Trump's energy agenda is working without explaining how the stations undercut every competitor."People can't mysteriously get fuel at a lower price and continue to offer that," Winer said. "You could, of course, do a very short promotion, but you basically can't do it."Since January, the administration has controlled Venezuelan oil revenue under what it called a custodianship and with almost no public accounting, Winer noted."It's all remarkably opaque," he said. "You would think we would know, but we don't."The Trump administration led an operation to remove former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from power and detain him for drug trafficking charges. Winer noted that Trump boasted shortly after, "To the victor go the spoils, and these are the spoils," referring to Venezuelan oil. According to Winer, Trump even added, "We're getting billions."According to Winer, "Freedom Fuel is maintaining as much opacity as it can. It's not explaining anything." At the same time, "The White House is maintaining as much opacity as it can," except to say that Trump, his family, and their businesses have no financial stake in Freedom Fuel.However, Winer suggested that Freedom Fuel is "a patronage network which the United States is sponsoring." He called on Congress to subpoena records from the Treasury, State, and Energy departments."When you have governments that are being opaque rather than transparent, it's usually because there's something they want to hide," he warned.