Author: Stephanie Gauthier

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the Pentagon carried out a strike against a ship suspected of belonging to a Venezuelan drug cartel, while it was in international waters in the southern Caribbean.

Trump defends US strike on boat from Venezuela he says was carrying drugs reut.rs/4mOBnVg

— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-09-03T16:15:18Z

According to Trump, 11 people aboard the ship, described by his administration as “a drug ship” that had sailed from Venezuela”, were killed in the strike in international waters.

The president himself later defended the attack, with Reuters reports, saying he believed the ship was carrying drugs.

Donald Trump broke the news via Truth Social, broadcasting a declassified video of the attack carried out by US forces:

“Earlier this morning, on my orders, U.S. military forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists in SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility.”

Recall that in an executive order signed last January, Trump officially classified drug cartels, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, as “foreign terrorist organizations” while the Pentagon promised further military action against them in the coming months. Trump used this accreditation to invoke Article II of the UN charter for the attack, allowing him to use deadly military force on a foreign entity without enacting war.

Multiple news outlets and legal experts have questioned the legitimacy and legality of the attack, and whether the ship was actually being used to traffic illegal drugs. The Trump administration fed into this speculation, with Marco Rubio and Trump giving conflicting information on the alleged destination of the vessel.

Technically, this attack was legal according to international law, but many experts have lauded labeling of cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations”, claiming that Trump has stretched the meaning beyond it’s breaking point.

The White House has until Thursday to send it’s report to Speaker Mike Johnson, detailing its official reasoning for the attack, but experts warn to stay wary about information coming from POTUS.

The group Tren De Aragua have not made a comment on the airstrike, nor the accusation of the ship’s intention. The Venezuelan government has also not confirmed the identity or the objective of the vessel. On their part, President Nicolás Madur claims his government demolished Tren De Aragua in 2023. The government goes as far as to claim the group is a work of fiction, perpetrated by international media organizations.

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been mounting for multiple months, with this attack representing a potential breaking point for Venezuela. President Maduro made statements on Monday that some saw as readying his citizens for war, with Maduro encouraging Venezuelans to prepare themselves to defend their country.

Maduro claimed to have once again won Venezuelas election last year, but numerous democracies around the world, including Canada’s, have refused to recognize his victory. Poll tracking of the 2024 election showed opposition leader Edmundo González owning more than 60 per cent of the popular vote, with Madura commanding under 20 per cent.

The Trump administration has not indicated they plan an invasion of Venezuela, but three navy destroyers and a cruiser, carrying 4,000 American troops has been moved closer to the Venezuelan shore.

As a press conference was held outside the Capitol alongside Democratic and Republican members of Congress for the introduction of the “Epstein Files Transparency Act”, several victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell delivered deeply moving speeches directly appealing to Donald Trump to take them seriously.

Trump bashes Epstein files as ‘hoax’ as Republicans rally with trafficking victims

— The Independent (@the-independent.com) 2025-09-03T16:59:23.506Z

Questioned by reporters at the White House at the same time, the President reiterated his position, stating once again that, in his opinion, the Epstein Files are nothing more than a Democratic “hoax”.

According to Trump, the uproar surrounding the bipartisan filing of the “Epstein Files Transparency Act”, which calls for the file to be fully posted with victims’ names redacted, is nothing more than “A Democrat hoax that never ends”.

He added, according to The Independent, that “no one is ever satisfied” despite the “thousands of pages of documents” already made public, calling the whole thing “totally irrelevant”.

Trump finally complained that, no matter how hard his administration tried to make the Epstein files available, while many recalled that the vast majority of the thousands of pages released had already been released under the Biden administration, the requests never stop.

Donald Trump has leveled serious accusations against the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea on Truth Social, accusing all three of “conspiring” against the United States.

President Trump alleges China, Russia, and North Korea are conspiring against the US, as leaders of each nation were pictured together at the military parade in Beijing. Follow live updates. https://cnn.it/3Vu8fGJ

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-09-03T03:08:54.951918437Z

As the three leaders gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square for a huge military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II, Trump posted a message for the occasion.

It began with a cordial tone towards Xi:

“May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration.”

But Trump’s message ended with a direct accusation:

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

Trump went on to question China’s willingness to acknowledge the crucial role played by the US in winning the Second World War.

He declared:

“The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and «blood» that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader.“

During his visit to China, Vladimir Putin made a series of statements to the effect that Russia had never been opposed to Ukraine joining the European Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow had never opposed Ukraine's potential membership of the European Union, and that he thought it was possible to find a consensus on ensuring the security of both Russia and Ukraine reut.rs/4g9yBHM

— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-09-02T12:36:59.749Z

However, according to Reuters, he reiterated his firm opposition to Kyiv joining NATO, which he sees as a direct threat to Russia’s security.

Putin also mentioned his recent trade with Donald Trump, saying that a compromise on Ukraine’s security remains conceivable.

Visiting Moscow’s ally China, the Russian president denounced what he called the “hysteria” of some European leaders, who he said were brandishing the threat of possible Russian aggression against other countries on the continent.

According to Putin, the key to lasting peace lies in limiting NATO’s expansion, while continuing to refuse, for the time being, a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This stance comes just days after his summit in Alaska with Donald Trump, who rolled out the red carpet for him and asserted that such a meeting, deemed crucial to peace talks, would take place shortly.

Ultimately, the decision to join the European Union or NATO rests with the Ukrainians and their allies, not Putin.

The man accused of trying to assassinate Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club will defend himself at his trial, which opens with jury selection in Florida.

Almost a year since he allegedly perched a rifle through the chain-link fence of a golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the 59-year-old man accused of creating a “sniper’s nest” one hole away from where Donald Trump was playing golf will now stand trial. https://cnn.it/3V6Grbs

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-09-08T11:30:07.237516751Z

Ryan Routh, 59, was arrested on September 15, 2024 as he attempted to flee by car. Earlier, the Secret Service had spotted him in the woods surrounding Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, just a hundred feet from the area where Donald Trump was staying.

The trial opens on September 8 with jury selection, and according to CNN, Routh has chosen to represent himself. The case promises to be as surprising as some of his court filings, in which he bluntly attacks Trump.

According to documents reported by CNN, Routh makes troubling remarks that hint at the tone of his trial.

In it, he calls Trump a “racist pig” and challenges him to a round of golf to decide his guilt.

The trial, which opens on September 8 under the presidency of federal judge Aileen Cannon, a close Trump ally, is expected to last a maximum of four weeks.

Donald Trump stirred up controversy this weekend when he posted a threatening message on Truth Social, claiming that Chicago “is about to find out” why he renamed the “Department of Defense” to the “Department of War”.

Trump posted online that Chicago was "about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR," but later said his administration wouldn't go to war with American cities but rather "clean them up."

— NPR (@npr.org) 2025-09-08T12:57:16.218672Z

He accompanied his statement with an AI-generated image with a nod to the film Apocalypse Now.

The image shows Trump wearing the hat of Lieutenant-Colonel Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall, with Chicago in flames in the background after U.S. Army helicopters have passed by.

This meme was widely criticized, especially as it contained the phrase “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”, a parody of Duvall’s famous line.

Trump then tried to calm the controversy by asserting that his administration is “not going to war” with Chicago.

JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, strongly denounced Trump’s post on X, saying his threat to wage war on an American city was neither a joke nor something normal, and asserting that his state will not be intimidated by a “wannabe dictator.”

The European Commission accuses Moscow of targeting the plane on which its President, Ursula von der Leyen, was travelling.

Russia suspected of jamming GPS on plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen

— The Guardian (@theguardian.com) 2025-09-01T13:06:16Z

The plane’s GPS navigation system was jammed as it attempted to land in Bulgaria over the weekend.

According to CNN, the Commission spokeswoman said she had received “information from the Bulgarian authorities” that the interference had been caused by Russia.

This interference forced the pilots to fall back on a paper map to guide the plane to its landing, a situation that could have had serious consequences.

Moscow has rejected these accusations, which come a few days after its massive strikes on Kiev severely damaged both the European Union delegation building and the premises of the British Council.

Many see this as a deliberate provocation strategy on Russia’s part.

A wave of public outrage currently surrounds Jared Wise, a participant in the January 6, 2021 violent riot on Capitol Hill.

In a recently-released video, Wise can be heard urging protesters to “Kill ’em!” and “Kill ’em!” as he took aim at police officers trying to contain the crowd, while calling them “Nazis.”

Anger at this individual and the Trump administration exploded after the recent revelation of his hiring as a senior adviser to the Justice Department, as Rolling Stone reports.

Donald Trump has, without exception, granted pardons to all participants in the January 6 riot, calling them “great patriots”, , “warriors” and even “hostages” when referring to their imprisonment as an injustice, without distinguishing between violent and non-violent criminals.

While some were incarcerated again a few months after receiving this presidential pardon for various, sometimes very serious, offenses, others, like Wise, were given government jobs, which many saw as a reward for their loyalty.

Wise, an ex-FBI agent, was due to go on trial just ten days before Trump’s return to the White House to answer six charges related to the riots.

He had stated that he would have felt justified in using force against the Capitol Police had the opportunity arisen, and now holds a position within the Trump administration.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently launched a resounding crusade against the President of the United States, relentlessly forward attacking Trump’s personality by perfectly mimicking his rhetoric on social networks.

Newsom tells our Christopher Cadelago that he has final say over his x posts, but is using his "kill switch" to reject posts "less every day." Watch the interview from our Politico Live California Agenda Summit 👇

— Politico (@politico.com) 2025-08-28T01:29:52.203Z

This change of tone on the part of the governor seems to have immediately propelled him to the top of the most recent polls.

Recent polls highlight Gavin Newsom’s spectacular rise in the Democratic electorate.

According to the Politico-Citrin Center/Possibility Lab poll, Gavin Newsom has 25% support for the 2028 presidential election, ahead of Kamala Harris 19% and Pete Buttigieg 13%. The survey also indicates that 75% of Democrats are enthusiastic about his candidacy.

A poll cited by The Hill indicates that Gavin Newsom now has 25% support among Democratic voters in California, up from just 12% in June. This puts him in the lead, ahead of Pete Buttigieg 16% and Kamala Harris down to 11%.

Remember that Newsom began this strategy of muscular retaliation when Trump deployed the National Guard on the streets of Los Angeles without the approval of the governor or the city’s mayor.

The confrontation took on a new dimension when Texas, at the president’s request, announced it was redrawing its voting districts in favor of Republicans, prompting Newsom to adopt an “eye for an eye” attitude on the issue, proposing to redraw California and viciously criticizing the president’s decision.

Since then, the governor has gone on a Trump-like rampage on social networks, going so far as to mimic his posting style and throwing Trump-esque merchandise around. This strategy, devised with his team, seems to be paying off, attracting attention while irritating the president’s entourage and pro-Trump media.

THE PATRIOT SHOP IS NOW OPEN!!!!

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING THIS IS THE GREATEST MERCHANDISE EVER MADE.

PLEASE ENJOY, AMERICA! https://t.co/H9wbcXdNhb pic.twitter.com/dWlKGq23eq

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 24, 2025

In a searing post on Truth Social, Donald Trump declared that billionaire George Soros and his son Alexander should be prosecuted under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), designed to crack down on organized criminal activity.

Trump says Soros and his son should be charged with RICO reut.rs/4oWbog1

— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-08-27T13:05:08Z

Trump claims that Soros and his son would, in his view, encourage violent protest movements across the country:

“George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,” Trump said.

Trump accuses Soros and his son of supporting violent protests across the U.S., allegations that, he says: “have caused great damage to our country.”

He also calls Soros and his gang “psychopaths”, making explicit mention of his “crazy” West Coast friends:

“Soros and his group of psychopaths have caused great damage to our country! That includes his crazy West Coast friends.”

The president concluded his message by warning them that his administration was keeping an eye on them:

“Be careful, we’re watching you!”