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Over the years, amid the scandals, lawsuits, and cases US President Donald Trump has faced, many have given him the moniker “Teflon Don”, a reference to old-school gangster John Gotti, whom authorities struggled to prosecute.
In the same way, Trump has seemingly weathered most of the controversies he has faced, both reputational and legal, largely unscathed, whether with grace or not is debatable.
Is Trump’s Luck Finally Running Out?
President Donald J.
Oil is flowing out of the Persian Gulf at rates approaching those seen before the Iran war began, and while those flows are not yet guaranteed to continue, they have been a welcome reprieve for the world economy.
However, there is a catch: much of what is moving out of the Gulf is crude oil, and diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and other refined products that power the global economy remain in short supply because of a shortfall in refining capacity.
President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral meeting with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, Monday, April 14, 2025, in the Oval Office.
A Russian Lancet loitering munition has been used in an attack on a Ukrainian T-72 tank near the settlement of Sliznevo in Kharkov region, according to footage released by Russian unmanned systems manufacturer ZALA. The company said the strike was carried out by personnel of the Azimut Battalion of Russia’s 37th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems using a Lancet equipped with its IRRA intelligent guidance and target-recognition system. The footage shows the loitering munition approaching the T-72 and striking it, causing a fire and explosion which destroyed the vehicle.
Ukraine appears to have launched one of the largest long-range strike operations of the entire war, with Russian officials claiming that the country’s air defenses intercepted an incredible 1,750 Ukrainian drones and 17 Flamingo cruise missiles in a 24-hour period that ended on Tuesday, October 6.
The figures have not been independently verified, but the scale of the operation is clearly enormous.
Ukraine Artillery Strike. Ukraine Armed Forces Photo.
Hundreds of drones were reported around Moscow, with two people killed in the surrounding region.
In September, transit through the Strait of Hormuz surged following a lull in the ongoing war with Iran. According to data from various maritime tracking agencies, an average of 10 million barrels of crude oil passed through the waterway in September, compared to 17 million to 20 million barrels before the war started. This data suggested that Iran’s blockade over the Strait was weakening and that traffic was beginning to return to normal.
Despite the good news, oil prices have remained high.
Marines looking for a meal on the go can now pay a visit to the dining hall by car with a new drive-thru at a chow hall on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.
The Tres Habaneros drive-thru is a new addition to the base’s 62 Area dining hall. The drive-thru is operated by the Sodexo Group, a private food services company that runs other branches of the Mexican-inspired meals at university and hospital cafeterias.
Master Gunnery Sgt.
Longtime federal contracting professional Bonnie Evangelista recently moved into a new role at the Pentagon, according to sources who indicated she’s leading procurement in the office of the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems.
After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a slew of new policies last week to fuse the U.S. military’s drone purchasing and real-world operational deployments, DefenseScoop reported that Owen West was taking a leave of absence from directing the Defense Innovation Unit to steer the DRPM-UxS.
As violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has escalated, often with the acquiescence or support of Israel’s military, and the Israeli government has increasingly constricted Palestinian daily life, the potential for a new intifada — or uprising — has intensified. The first Palestinian intifada began in late 1987 and continued for several years. Civil society played a major role in organizing the first intifada, which started as mostly nonviolent and included economic measures such as strikes and boycotts.
With Ukrainian forces making modest though perceptible headway on the battlefield in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s long-stated goal of seizing all of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region appears farther away now than it has in the nearly five years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian effort, called Operation Vivaldi, has clawed back about 125 square kilometers from Russian forces, or just under 50 square miles.
TOS-1. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Ukraine continues its long-range strike campaign against Russian oil and energy infrastructure, and the damage so far may be having a bigger effect than previously thought, with Kyiv now claiming it has disabled more than half of the country’s refining capacity.
According to a statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on October 4, citing an assessment by military intelligence and the General Staff, more than 51% of Russian refining capacity has been targeted by Ukrainian strikes.