Top World News

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Images from New Zealand aerial survey of Nikumaroro in 1938 offer new clues over aviator’s disappearanceA New Zealand museum has released nearly 50 photos from a 1938 aerial survey of the island where Amelia Earhart is believed to have crash-landed, offering amateur sleuths new evidence to scour for traces of the pioneering aviator and her plane.The black-and-white images were published by the Air Force Museum of New Zealand after renewed interest in one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century, spurred by a US expedition to the Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro in search of new clues. Continue reading...

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Critics of President Donald Trump unloaded on his White House after a new report traced a deadly battlefield decision straight to his doorstep.Reuters reported Thursday that the order to limit Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink service that Ukrainian troops use for drone operations and battlefield communications, came from inside the White House, according to two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said people were killed when interceptor drones relying on the system stopped working. On Wednesday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pinned the limits on the U.S. military and "ultimately" the president. A senior U.S. official insisted to Reuters that "no such request was ever made by the president."Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA operations officer, warned the fallout reached far beyond the battlefield."If true, this is a very big deal. Not just in terms of Ukrainian lives that were lost. I'm not sure if people realize that this put the lives of US embassy officials and US citizens at large in Ukraine at great risk," he cautioned on X. "This is madness. The White House did this. I've never seen anything like this in my career. Heads should roll."California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) zeroed in on a possible motive. "How much did Putin pay. And to whom?" he asked.Former Illinois Republican Rep. Joe Walsh didn't hold back in his reaction. "Trump is on Putin's side. Always has been," he fumed. "Trump is actively helping Putin kill Ukrainian men, women, and children." Walsh went on to brand the president a traitor who "should be treated as such."Miles Taylor, who served as Department of Homeland Security chief of staff during Trump's first term, called the revelation "a bigger scandal than Trump's first Ukraine impeachment."The Bulwark's Tim Miller skewered the White House order as "a huge gift from Trump to our ally Russia." His colleague Sam Stein, The Bulwark's managing editor, hailed the report as a "big scoop."MeidasTouch co-founder Ben Meiselas argued the order came from the "exact place the orders came from to cover up the Epstein Files, or destroy the Kennedy Center, or chop down the trees at the DC Golf Course."Journalist Michael Weiss summed up his reaction in a single sarcastic word. "Surprise," he quipped.If true, this is a very big deal. Not just in terms of Ukrainian lives that were lost. I’m not sure if people realize that this put the lives of US embassy officials and US citizens at large in Ukraine at great risk. This is madness. The White House did this. I’ve never seen anything like this in my career. Heads should roll. If true…— Marc Polymeropoulos (@Mpolymer) October 16, 2026

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Elon Musk's attempt to pin a deadly battlefield decision on President Donald Trump just got backing from an explosive new report.The directive to throttle Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service on which Ukrainian troops rely, originated inside the White House, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official who had been briefed on the matter.According to officials, Defense Department leaders were sent a message instructing them to slow the service for Ukraine's military. They did not say who in the White House gave the order or who carried it out.The report lands a day after Musk publicly laid the blame at the president's feet. Responding on X Wednesday to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had pressed him to lift the speed cap, the SpaceX chief insisted his company wasn't calling the shots."Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote.The Trump administration pushed back Thursday. Asked about the order, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, "No such request was ever made by the president." The White House didn't answer questions about whether anyone else in the Trump administration was behind it.A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that Kyiv spent Tuesday and Wednesday calling senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon looking for an explanation, and was told that the restriction was a White House decision.The stakes are high. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan Wednesday that people were killed because interceptor drones that depend on Starlink stopped working. Ukrainian officials said the slowdown also hampered strikes on Russian forces and supply lines. A Defense Ministry source told Reuters the receptors are functioning in motion again, but only up to 100 miles per hour.The clampdown came as Trump has leaned on Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for rising energy prices heading into the midterms. At an October 9 meeting in Miami, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff took a hard line with Ukrainian officials over the strikes, according to a person familiar with the matter.Musk himself had backed Trump's pressure campaign just days ago, sharing a clip of the president's warning to Zelenskyy on October 10 with the comment, "Zelensky has gone too far."

Oct 15, 2026 - World

A GOP analyst came unglued on CNN on Thursday while discussing President Donald Trump's plan to send "blood money" to Russia in exchange for a little diesel fuel. Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told CNN's Boris Sanchez that Trump's plan to import Russian diesel fuel in an attempt to offset high costs ahead of the midterms is as "nonsensical" as it is "nefarious." Short said Russia not only doesn't have the supply to make a difference in the oil market, but Russia will also use the money it earns from the sales to continue attacking Ukraine and arming America's enemies in the war against Iran. "So, economically it's nonsensical," Short said, noting Russia's capacity shortages. "But if they did and we were buying it, it's just blood money to Russia to kill more Ukrainians. Meanwhile, Russia is providing intel to Iran, which is using it against our men and women in uniform. So this whole policy makes no sense economically. But from a national security perspective, it's even more nefarious."Short's comments came at a time when Trump is struggling to keep his so-called "energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia intact. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine since the ceasefire was announced, and the U.S. secretly turned off Ukraine's access to its Starlink internet service, which paved the way for a massive Russian drone attack on a civilian area, according to reports.

Oct 15, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump’s decision to approve Russia selling a substantial amount of diesel on the world market caught U.S. allies flat-footed, according to the Wall Street Journal.In a deep dive on growing U.S.-Ukraine tensions, the Journal reported that the deal has created a schism that has allies, and some Republican lawmakers, furious.Senior Ukrainian and European officials flew to Miami on Oct. 9 to meet Trump negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in a bid to revive peace talks, the Journal reported. During the six-hour meeting, Kushner and Witkoff said the president was considering a diesel deal with Russia. The Ukrainian and European officials were “floored,” people familiar with the matter told the paper.That same day, Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced the deal shortly after hanging up, the Journal said. Treasury then issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel into the global market, according to ABC affiliate WJLA.“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”The Journal reported that Trump "had increasingly soured on Zelensky" over the previous month. Since a discussion between the two, it said, the U.S. "had asked Ukraine about a half dozen times to halt strikes" on Russian energy. Ukrainian officials said they would agree to any energy truce, but Russia refused, so they didn’t pull back. Trump was annoyed that Ukraine was using U.S. resources to target Russia’s energy exports in a way he thought could hurt American consumers, people familiar said.Several Republican lawmakers called the White House angry after the announcement, the Journal reported, saying the deal handed Russia a win without concessions and went against a 2022 law banning U.S. imports of Russian energy. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said: “It makes me a little bit nervous anytime we’re talking about relieving a sanction on Russia.”On Sunday, Trump declared on Truth Social that “there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine” effective immediately. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote. Moscow had not confirmed it, the Journal reported while adding, Zelensky said Russia struck multiple Ukrainian power plants that day, including one in Kharkiv.