Top World News

Feb 24, 2026 - World

A MAGA lawmaker and staunch ally of President Donald Trump clashed with a CNN anchor Tuesday over his claims that the economy is growing as Americans express their affordability concerns just hours before the president was set to give his State of the Union address.CNN anchor Erica Hill asked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) to respond after sharing comments from Sarah Wells, founder and CEO of Sarah Wells Bags, who described the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's tariffs as "a win" for small business owners feeling the weight of the president's levies. Wells explained that in the last year, she has had to lay employees off as a result of the president's trade policy and the difficulties she's faced, estimating up to $500,000 in business losses. "Do you hear what she's saying?" Hill asked Donalds, who continued to argue that tariffs would benefit middle-class families on their upcoming tax returns and blamed former President Joe Biden for the economy. "I absolutely hear what she's saying, and I know that President Trump does as well, and this is part of the work that has to be undone from previous administrations," Donalds said. That's when Hill jumped in, and the two started arguing. "This is not about previous administrations; this is specifically about the tariffs that the president himself put into place," Hill interjected. "Hold on, this is important — don't cut me off!" Donalds said. "We're having a nice conversation and now you're cutting me off."

Feb 24, 2026 - World

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino lashed out at right-wing podcaster Candace Owens for an upcoming broadcast that was expected to suggest Erika Kirk was linked to the death of her husband, Charlie Kirk."I don't know what to call it," Bongino said on his Tuesday podcast. "Some production Candace Owens is putting together, an investigative series. ... This just can't be what this movement is. And if it is, I don't want any part of it.""No human being deserves this," he continued. "I can't any longer look at this like this is some form of infighting. This is not part of any movement that I want to be part of."Bongino became emotional as he recalled Charlie Kirk's death."Erika didn't choose this, man," he said. "Then you got to go through this. Then you got a bunch of you know, absolute ... lunatics sending her emails. You did it! Comments, tweets."The former FBI official insisted that Owens and others who blamed Erika Kirk "deserve to feel the little licks of the flames of hell on every inch of your body.""If there's an afterlife, oh, and I believe there is, I believe in the second creation," he remarked. "I don't pretend to be the judge and jury, but I know you're not in it. ... Some people, and that is a majority of us, hate your guts. We don't want you. You were the spawn of Satan. I promise your parents, alive or dead, are looking at you now in horror that they spawned a demon. Your last name will live in infamy. Your kids will deny knowing you. I don't want anything to do with you.""Just go away," he added. "I know you can't because you have to spread your cancer everywhere."

Feb 24, 2026 - World

Donald Trump's words have come back to haunt him as Jon Stewart ripped into the president for a claim he made last year.The president bragged about Iran's nuclear capabilities being "totally obliterated" in June 2025 — but it seems the threat is still very real, Stewart said Monday. Steve Witkoff, the United States' Special Envoy to the Middle East, is now claiming Iran is just a week away from having "bomb-making capabilities," despite the strikes.The talk show host grilled the president's team on these claims, questioning whether the public should believe what the administration claims about Iran. Stewart said, "I remember Trump saying we 'totally obliterated their nuclear program,' yelling at people who questioned it."Which makes me wonder, how obliterated was it?" A clip of Trump saying Iran's nuclear capabilities were "obliterated like nobody has ever seen before" was then played.Stewart continued, "So the kind of obliteration that, somehow, rebliterates? Almost immediately? No one has ever seen that before. So is our plan now to re-obliterate their nuclear program every few months? Or is there a longer-term strategy?"Our peace through strength will force Iran, let's call it, an Iran nuclear deal. I think I remember that phrase from when we made a nuclear deal with Iran. Whatever happened to that?" A clip of Trump confirming the US had withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal then plays.An expert previously told Raw Story that Trump's plan for Iran is unpredictable. Professor Anthony Glees said, "It is not at all clear what would happen if Trump decided to take on the Islamist rulers of Iran. By toppling Maduro but replacing him with someone from his side of the political divide in Venezuela, Trump showed a canniness of some quality."However, he can't do this in Iran. There are no US-friendly ayatollahs. It is, however, perfectly possible that he will run out of road and be forced into military action."

Feb 24, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump wants to project a certain image on the global stage, and some world leaders have learned how to use that to their advantage, according to one expert. Trump wants to appear as a ruthless leader on par with strongmen like Russia's Vladimir Putin or China's Xi Jinping, according to Fiona Hill, Trump's Russia advisor during the first administration. Hill said during an interview on the "The Court of History" podcast on Monday that Trump's desire to be seen in this light gives world leaders a psychological advantage when they interact with the U.S. president, because they have turned that desire for adoration into currency. "Putin, I think, understands it perfectly," Hill said. "Because if you look at Putin, he rations out his access to him for Trump. He kind of dangles things out of there, plays just hard to get all the time because he knows that Trump, more than anything else, wants his adulation and respect, and Putin's just not going to give that because that's currency. That's extraordinarily valuable."Hill recalled being on phone calls between Trump and Putin and noticing that the Russian leader had "so much of an advantage" against Trump. It also appears that "he knows this" as well, Hill said. "He is not that ruthless," she continued, referring to Trump. "He wants to be treated as if he is, but he's just not that ruthless. And that's why he is intimidated by Putin, because he wants everybody else to think of the United States in that same manner. He doesn't want to be benign and benevolent. If he can't be respected, he wants to be feared. He doesn't want to be made fun of or to become a meme."

Feb 23, 2026 - World

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was shocked Monday by FBI Director Kash Patel's partying in the locker room with the gold medal-winning U.S. men's hockey team at the Olympics in Italy. Tapper questioned what Patel was doing there — and exactly who was footing the bill. The move comes amid multiple high profile federal investigations. "The FBI director's enthusiastic, beer-soaked celebration with Team USA at the Olympics in Milan. Does this count as official government business? And are you and I paying for it?" Tapper asked. Tapper described how this wasn't the first time Patel has come under fire for using his taxpayer-funded jet for personal travel, including jet-setting with his girlfriend and country singer Alexis Wilkins. "Believe it or not, that's your FBI director, Kash Patel, celebrating with the U.S. men's hockey team after their overtime win against Canada to win the gold medal. It was an incredible win that all Americans can celebrate," Tapper said. He also pointed out how the FBI had sharp words for a reporter just before Patel was caught in the video partying, which Patel later defended, saying the trip was planned months ago for him to meet with Italian law enforcement officials and the American ambassador to Italy. "Now, why exactly the FBI director who you might think would be busy with all sorts of things, why he's in the locker room in Italy, seemingly pounding beers along with the team well, you can be forgiven if you're asking that question, especially after FBI spokesman Ben Williamson was lashing out at a reporter from a different network on Twitter the day before the game for asking whether Patel was going to attend the match," Tapper said. "The FBI spokesman writing, quote, 'your rag outlet wrote that he went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime, even when provided information that your theory was false,' unquote. Now the FBI is denying this was a personal trip for Patel."