USA - The US Army and Marine Corps are both without a top leader for the first time in history because of a political row in Washington, potentially undermining efforts to recruit troops and ensure that they’re ready to defend the nation, the Pentagon has warned. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed on Friday that the US Senate’s failure to confirm military nominations for over 300 pending officer posts, including chiefs for the country’s two ground combat forces, is disruptive and could hinder relations with allies. Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, has blocked approvals for the appointments in a dispute over the Pentagon’s new abortion benefits for service members and their dependents. “Today for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, two of our services will be operating without Senate-confirmed leadership,” Austin said in a speech at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia. He added, “In our dangerous world, the security of the United States demands orderly and prompt transitions of our confirmed military leaders.”

USA - The calls to end US military aid to Israel have extended beyond the Democratic Party's progressive wing and are now being discussed in Republican circles. Last week’s debate on PBS would have been considered almost fictional in the past. Facing each other were a former US ambassador to Israel and a former senior White House official, discussing whether it was time to stop America’s military support for Israel. An issue once thought to be totally consensual in American politics has become a contentious subject, and one that's increasingly discussed in Washington.

UKRAINE - Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is reportedly worried that Western nations may ramp up pressure to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia, ending a bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Kiev’s troops in just the past two months. The Ukrainian president described Wednesday’s gathering in Kiev with diplomats as an “emergency strategy session” heading into this weekend’s Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, the newspaper said. “The meeting is the starting point of what is expected to be a major Ukrainian diplomatic push in the coming months to try to undercut Russia.” Zelensky told his ambassadors that they must use every available tool – “official and unofficial, institutional and media, cultural diplomacy and the power of ordinary human sincerity” – to convince both allies and neutral nations that “the only road to a lasting peace is complete Russian defeat,” according to the report.

SCOTLAND - Scottish National Party (SNP) ministers have admitted to felling close to 16 million trees to make room for wind farms on public land after the Scottish government plans to get all of its power from renewable energy this year. Mairi Gougeon, the Rural Affairs Secretary, conceded that around 15.7 million trees have been cleared since 2000 from areas presently managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). The figures equate to over 1,700 trees felled daily, in what critics have described as a hypocritical eco-crusade. What’s next? Will we save the environment by dumping old motor oil into the ocean? Maybe they will dunk their old car batteries into a local pond. The crusade against the invisible enemy of climate change doesn’t have to make sense because no one is allowed to question it. We are all expected trust the experts, especially when it makes no sense.

ITALY - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hinted at pulling the country out of the global trade infrastructure network. China’s Foreign Ministry has excoriated “some forces” within the Italian government over comments that Rome may back out of participation in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. China’s Belt and Road Initiative seeks to rebuild ancient trade links connecting the country to partners in Europe, Africa, and South America, as well as closer to home. The initiative has spawned over 3,000 infrastructure projects in over 150 countries and attracted investments of about €0.91 trillion ($1 trillion). According to the World Bank, it will help end poverty for nearly 40 million people.

WEST AFRICA - This Sunday (August 6th), the ultimatum by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS expires, potentially opening the way for conflict in the region, with military intervention in Niger triggering a proxy war of considerable proportions. Niger was the Western nations’ last reliable partner for counterterrorism in the region. The developments mark a hard blow for French influence in Africa, as the Niger military junta scrapped all military agreements with the former colonial masters. France still has 1,500 soldiers in Niger, and the US also has 1,100 military personnel in the country. Welcome to the Next Proxy War: France and US Back West African ‘Democracies’ Trying To Overturn Niger Coup, While Russia Backs Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea Vowing To Defend the Military Junta

UK - Britain’s National Health Service may begin to start offering transgender treatments to children as young as seven-years-old in its new gender clinic. Following the decision from NHS England to shut down the controversial Tavistock Centre and its Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) over child safeguarding concerns, a new service set to be launched by the socialised healthcare system may continue the practice of treating youngsters for supposed gender dysphoria. The Tavistock Centre, which is set to be shut down completely by next year after its practices were deemed not to be safe for children, reportedly gave some 19,000 children “treatment” for gender dysphoria since opening in 1999. Over a thousand families are reported to be launching legal action against the clinic for misdiagnosing their children. The clinic has been accused by whistleblowers of offering puberty-blocking drugs to children after as little as just one consultation.

USA - As people are inundated with claims that the globe is suffering an immediate "climate crisis," and "the hottest July ever" one leading expert in the field is advising people to take these narratives with a grain of salt. Just the News spoke with Dr John Christy, an Earth and atmospheric science professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, about the 2023 heat wave occurring across the United States. Specifically, Christy addressed the widespread claim that July 2023 was the hottest month on record and why he sees serious problems with declaring this.

USA - President Joe Biden’s “Climate Czar” John Kerry is unleashing new attacks on the food supply as he vows to meet “Net Zero” goals to fight “global warming.” The private jet-setting Biden official is demanding that farmers stop growing food in order for the United States to meet the targets of the globalist green agenda. Kerry is continuing to wage war on farmers while calling for mass genocide as the solution to warm weather. In response to the disturbing clip of Kerry’s speech, Representative Mary Miller (Republican for Illinois) called this agenda an “attack on American farmers,” which is exactly what it is. Miller says she will vote to “eliminate all funding” for Kerry in his climate position.

TONGA - The people of Tonga know how to adapt to the extremes of the natural environment. Cyclones, volcanic eruptions and the impacts of climate change are elements they've learnt to live with. But the cold weather? That's a different matter. "Right now we're experiencing much colder temperatures than normal," Rita Prema, a shop owner in the capital Nuku'alofa told the ABC. In a place synonymous with tropical heat, coconuts and warm waters — complaining about the cold might seem like a stretch. But last week, the country recorded its second-lowest temperature ever, at 9.3 degrees Celsius. The cold temperatures in parts of the region come as intense heatwaves hit southern Europe, South-East Asia, northern Africa, the United States and South America.

USA - In short, nothing good. A credit rating downgrade leads to higher borrowing costs for the government. When the creditworthiness of a country is questioned, investors may demand higher interest rates on government bonds to compensate for the increased risk. This would make it more expensive for the US to finance its debt.

USA - The decades-long saga of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is barreling headlong toward one of two stunning conclusions. Either the US government has mounted an extraordinary, decades-long coverup of UFO retrieval and reverse-engineering activities, or elements of the defense and intelligence establishment are engaging in a staggeringly brazen psychological disinformation campaign. Either possibility would have profound implications for democracy, the role of government and perhaps also humanity’s place in the cosmos.

USA - We didn’t need a giant calendar to know that Trump’s indictments were planned and timed perfectly, but it sure did make a good visual. Greg Kelly of Newsmax unveiled a giant calendar Tuesday, in which he marked out a “jumbo calendar” to give us a visual of when Trump’s alleged crimes took place versus when he was indicted for them. Kelly called these indictments a “political hit job,” saying those who can’t see that aren’t qualified to run for office.

USA - Consider: a 27.4% drop in goods of all kinds “roaded-in” on semi-trucks to the northeast USA this summer. That’s everything from auto parts to lumber, clothing, and food. What else do you think sent the Yellow Corp trucking company, one hundred years old, spinning into sudden bankruptcy this week? Yellow won’t be bought and reorganized, either. It owes three quarters of a billion dollars in loans to the federal government (ie, to us taxpayers) and untold pension obligations. Next, 22,000 Yellow Corp workers will hit the unemployment rolls. Yellow Corp had a special role in the supply chain: the LTL (less-than-truckload) niche, often the final journey of a product to the customer. It was also the cheapest. Whoever picks up the work — FedEx, ABF Freight? — will cost more, and so will everything you have to buy.

USA - BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, said Monday it has appointed Amin Nasser, chief executive of oil giant Saudi Aramco, to its board of directors — despite the New York-based firm’s pledge to accelerate investment in climate-friendly companies. But, like other fossil fuel companies, pressure has built on Saudi Aramco to take more drastic action to curb its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, Nasser announced the company’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions from the assets that it wholly owns and operates by 2050.