Giant Japanese Bulker Remains Aground Off Australia After Four Days

The Capesize bulker was offshore maneuvering into an anchorage for bunker when it grounded five days go (Port of Gladstone)

Published Sep 21, 2026 6:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

Efforts, so far, have been unsuccessful in pulling the large, Japanese-owned bulker free after it grounded last Friday (September 18) off the Gladstone port in Northeast Australia. Officials are monitoring the case and plan to start a full investigation just as soon as the ship is salvaged.

The Capesize dry bulk carrier Cape Falcon (182,066 dwt) was maneuvering at slow speeds, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), when it went aground south of the bunkering anchorage off Gladstone. Reports place the ship about six nautical miles outside the port and say the ship, which is 292 meters (958 feet) in length, had been attempting to anchor for bunkering. It is near the edge of the dredge spoil ground.

The ship, which was built in 2022, is owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha and registered in Liberia. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau advises there are no reports of injury to the crew and no pollution reported at this point, but the ship remains stuck, possibly in the mud. Tugs went alongside on Saturday and attempted to pull the vessel free, and the media reports said there was a second attempt on Sunday. As of the beginning of Tuesday in Australia, the vessel’s AIS still reads “aground.”

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the ship will be detained when it is free. It will require a seaworthiness inspection before it will be permitted to depart. The tracking shows it had come from China and made stops in multiple Australian ports before grounding.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reports it will launch a full investigation, including conducting interviews and collecting evidence and data when it is appropriate. For now, it has ordered the ship’s voyage data recorder preserved. Investigators will be looking at the ship’s tracking data, weather, the crew and operator, and its maintenance records.

ABC reports the ship is outside the shipping channel. However, port operations have been impacted as the recovery efforts continue. They were waiting for news of the appointment of salvors, but the ATSB points out the salvage efforts are the responsibility of the owner and operator. ATSB says it is not involved in the recovery operations, but it is being closely monitored as part of the safety investigation.
 
Gladstone is one of Australia’s large dry bulk ports and a major export location. Port officials note it handles more than 30 commodities, including coal and minerals.

 

U.S. Coast Guard Sets Up Long-Range Medevac for Critically-Ill Seafarer

Courtesy USCG

Published Sep 20, 2026 11:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

Over the weekend, the U.S. Coast Guard arranged a long-range rescue for a boxship crewmember who was suffering from a serious, growing infection. 

Last week, the 1996-built boxship Kotka (ex names Maersk Kotka, Knud Maersk) was under way on a long voyage from Colombo, Sri Lanka, bound for New York. On Wednesday night, the master of the Kotka contacted shoreside authorities and reported that a crewmember had developed a "severe, non-ambulatory infection" that was not getting better with onboard medical treatment. 

At the time, the ship was in the middle of the Atlantic, roughly equidistant between the Windward Islands and Senegal, about 1,300 nautical miles from shore - well beyond the range of existing U.S. medevac assets. The Coast Guard's San Juan station took responsibility for the case and instructed the master to divert towards St. Maarten to close the distance. 

The Kotka changed course and headed due west, making 17 knots. On Friday, as the ship got closer, Air Station Borinquen dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter to St. Maarten in preparation for a medevac flight, and Air Station Miami sent an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to provide a communications relay. 

On Saturday, the helicopter aircrew rendezvoused with Kotka at a position about 100 nautical miles to the east of St. Maarten. The vessel's crew helped bring the patient out on deck, using a wheeled office chair to move him to a clear area, and loaded him into a basket for hoisting. The aircrew winched him safely aboard and flew him to San Juan for transfer to the hospital for specialized higher care. 

“Our team was at its best throughout the complex execution of this multi-day rescue,” said Capt. Robert E. Stiles, Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator for the case. “We commend our aircrew for getting the aircraft on scene to rescue a ship’s crew member and get him to a shoreside medical facility for the higher level of care he required. We are hopeful he will make a full recovery."

The vessel has resumed her commercial voyage towards New York, tracking data shows. 

Two Men Survive Sinking off Georgia by Clinging to a Bean Bag

Courtesy USCG

Published Sep 22, 2026 6:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

Two boaters off the coast of Georgia survived a sinking because of assistance from American mariners - and a bean bag chair. 

On Saturday, Calvin Roman and Zachary Wade departed shore in their 30-foot boat for an extended fishing trip. Early on Monday morning, at a position about 75 miles off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia, their vessel began rapidly taking on water. The boat began to go down, leaving them clinging to a nonstandard but effective life-saving appliance: a blue-and-white striped bean bag. 

One of them swam down below the surface to free the EPIRB from the sinking vessel and send a distress signal, and U.S. Coast Guard Southeast District received it at about 0650 hours.

In response, the district launched a SAR effort with multiple aircraft. The rescue coordination center also contacted a Jones Act product tanker, the uniquely designed American Phoenix, to request assistance. 

The crew of the Phoenix arrived on scene and used their rescue boat to retrieve Roman and Wade from the water. Neither sustained serious injuries. A rescue-boat crew from Station Mayport met the American Phoenix at a position about four miles off Mayport and brought them safely ashore. 

THE WORST OF THE WORST ARE TRUMP'S GESTAPO

ICE doubled detentions of Haitians after Trump order — almost none had criminal records
Megan Henry,

 Ohio Capital Journal
September 22, 2026


FILE PHOTO: Immigrants' rights activists and demonstrators attend a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court, as justices were scheduled to hear arguments on whether the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump can end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Syrian and Haitian nationals, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo


Nearly 75 Haitians living in Ohio have been detained at one of four Ohio detention facilities that contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Trump took away their legal protected status on July 27 — a 142.3% increase, according to a new report.

Springfield ICE Watch reported 74 people detained by ICE from Aug. 7 to Sept. 17, according to a new report by Ohio Immigrant Alliance.

“Only 8% of the Haitians being detained in Springfield have had removal orders,” Springfield ICE Watch said in a statement.

“ICE has been most often seen in Springfield doing traffic stops in the middle of the road while people are on their way to or from work, or in the parking lots of apartment complexes with high immigrant populations, grocery stores, and gas stations.”

The report looked at the roster of four ICE detention facilities in Ohio: Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Mahoning County Justice Center in Youngstown, Seneca County Jail in Tiffin, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in Stryker.

There are two ICE detention facilities in Ohio — the Geauga County Safety Center in Chardon and the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, but they do not publish their rosters publicly and therefore weren’t included in Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s report.

There were 26 Haitians booked in Butler County Jail, Mahoning County Justice Center, Seneca County Jail, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio prior to TPS ending, from Jan. 1 to July 26, according to the report.

At least 445 people were booked into those four ICE detention facilities between July 27 and Aug. 31, according to the report. Of those, 239 were Latin American and 62 were Haitian.

More Haitians are now being detained by ICE after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled at the end of June that President Donald Trump could end temporary protected status for the 330,000 Haitians who’ve fled the violence in their home country. Legal protected status officially ended for Haitians on July 27.

About 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, with a mixture of temporary protected status, citizenship, and other legal status.

Butler County Jail, which had 1,078 people as of Friday morning, held 44 Haitian people between July 27 and Aug. 31.

The general housing capacity for Butler County Jail is 844, even though the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recommends 756 as the housing capacity, according to a 2025 ODRC inspection report.

Erik Crew, a staff attorney at Haitian Bridge Alliance, said he interviewed 15 Haitians who were detained by ICE and held at the Butler County Jail.

“None had criminal records,” he said in a statement. “All entered the U.S. with its authorization, all had active and valid work authorization, and all had done everything the U.S. had asked.”

Springfield Pastor Gilbert Joubert Adrien was recently released from Butler County Jail after being detained by ICE in August.

Haitian Support Center Executive Director Viles Dorsainvil said Adrien used his time detained to minister to other people in jail.

“He told us that he was a source of consolation for other detainees,” Dorsainvil said.

ICE is starting to use the smartphone app SmartLINK to track Haitian in Springfield and seems to be phasing out ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said.

Haitians living in Springfield have been receiving letters requiring them to report to the ICE offices in Blue Ash or Westerville to accept ankle monitors after TPS ended.

There are hundreds of Haitians in Springfield with ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said.

“We don’t know what is going to happen, but what we’ve seen so far is the relief of the ankle monitors,” Dorsainvil said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE evaluates those enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program on a “case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate level of supervision and technology.”

“Decisions about enrollment, electronic monitoring, and any escalation or de-escalation of supervision are made by career law enforcement officers after reviewing relevant factors, including immigration status, criminal history, compliance history, and humanitarian or medical considerations,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Haitian college student who lost temporary protected status dies after walking into traffic

“(Alternatives to Detention) uses a continuum of technology and case management tools, including SmartLINK and GPS monitoring, to provide varying levels of supervision based on the alien’s individual circumstances. ATD technology is not assigned based on nationality.”

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, died in an apparent suicide last month, which his family said happened after he was forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE.

Many advocates have been calling on to ICE to stop using the ankle monitors.

“We don’t know if (the ankle monitors) will come back,” Dorsainvil said. “What we all have to do is to continue to raise our concerns.”
ICE raids are continuing to happen in Springfield and a doctor recently told Dorsainvil that ICE picked up two people in his parking lot.

“They don’t have the freedom even to seek medical help,” Dorsainvil said.

Dorsainvil shared how a Haitian woman recently went to an ICE check-in with her two-month-old baby and they kept the mother, but ICE gave the baby back to the woman’s driver.

“The woman didn’t even know the driver very well,” Dorsainvil said. “The driver came back to the (Haitian Support) Center with the baby, and we were able to locate the father.”

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance report also said more than 90 immigrant students from preschool to high school have missed school for weeks “due to ICE’s presence and parents’ concerns for safety.”

“Some parents we know are keeping their children at home,” Dorsainvil said.

“We’re having a conversation with some parents who received letters already because the kids are not showing up at school. So we are asking them to start a conversation with the school just to tell them about the situation.”

Springfield City Schools did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal’s request for comment.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.

RFK Jr.'s soaring bodyguard costs covered with money for fighting infant deaths: WSJ

Bennito L. Kelty
September 22, 2026 
RAW STORY


FILE PHOTO: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event on screen time harm in children at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ballooning security costs were partly covered by money from an office created to fight Black infant deaths.

According to a Wall Street Journal article published on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services told congressional appropriators earlier this year that it was shifting about $12 million from its Office of Minority Health to help pay for Kennedy's protection. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter and a document it reviewed.

According to The Journal's sources, Kennedy's security costs rose from roughly $10 million in fiscal 2025 to $17 million in fiscal 2026. Those sources said protection for previous HHS secretaries ran about $5 million a year.

The sources also told The Journal that the secretary's office had a large pool of discretionary money it could have used instead. The report said HHS took $12 million from the minority health office, well above the roughly $7 million rise in security costs, partly because the secretary's office has been hit by across-the-board budget cuts.

The Office of Minority Health dates to the Reagan administration and was created after a landmark report found that Black infants in the U.S. were more likely than white infants to die. It also found that Black Americans had shorter life expectancies. The office has an annual budget of about $74 million and has funded research and programs aimed at closing those gaps, according to The Journal.

In August, HHS notified 16 nonprofits and universities that their grants from the office had been canceled, citing "limited" funding and new priorities. The department said the office would now focus on "the root causes of infertility and reproductive health conditions" and on promoting physical activity.

The Journal reported that HHS spent about $9 million on the programs last year. They provided fresh vegetables, chronic disease screenings, and at-home nurse visits for new mothers in low-income communities.

HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard told The Journal that the grant cuts "reflect HHS priorities and programmatic assessments" rather than the secretary's security needs.

"Secretary Kennedy faces a security environment that differs significantly from that of previous HHS secretaries," Hilliard said. She added that his protection reflects the threats against him, his extensive travel, and what he needs to do his job safely, per The Journal.

'Less than nothing': MAGA billionaire's media merger settlement derided as 'meaningless'

Brett Wilkins,

 Common Dreams
September 22, 2026 

FILE PHOTO: The Paramount water tower is shown on the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

“A settlement that promises less than nothing.”

That’s how one critic of Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday described the paltry concessions extracted by Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state officials to enable the proposed $111 billion media megamerger.

Critics argue that the proposed settlement agreement lacks meaningful antitrust enforcement and hands control of major news and entertainment properties to a billionaire family closely aligned with President Donald Trump.

“Every! single! one! of these concessions is meaningless bullshit,” writer Cory Doctorow said Tuesday on Medium. “Bonta just handed the American movie and TV sector to two of the most odious creeps to draw breath, surrendering without firing a shot.”

The settlement, which was announced Monday, clears a major roadblock to Paramount CEO David Ellison’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and numerous cable networks. The combined company would control nearly 30% of both US theatrical film distribution and basic cable channel licensing.

The agreement contains a pledge to distribute at least 30 films annually for the first two years, then 32 movies each year after, invest hundreds of millions of dollars in US film production, maintain existing theater rental terms for three years, not sell Paramount and Warner Bros. studio lots for five years, and create an editorial independence board for CBS News and CNN.

In a Monday Substack post, American Economic Liberties Project research director Matt Stoller pointed out an apparent loophole in the settlement’s film distribution requirement.

“They only have to distribute that many films,” he wrote. “They can make half as many. And those can be co-produced. So in fact, if you add up the numbers, Ellison promised to make fewer films going forward than Paramount and Warner are putting out today.”

The settlement’s editorial oversight board for CBS News and CNN have also come under fire. The five-member board overseeing the two entities will be appointed and paid by the combined company. Reuters reported Tuesday that the board would have no explicit investigative authority and that the company would be empowered to fill vacancies.

“As we learned from the failed and widely panned Facebook oversight board, a fake bipartisan oversight committee won’t save CNN,” Jessica González, the co-chief executive of the advocacy organization Free Press, said Monday. “We have all the evidence we need from the Ellisons’ destruction of CBS about what they do to warp journalism at Donald Trump’s request.”

David Ellison’s father, tech billionaire Larry Ellison, is a Republican megadonor.

Seth Stern, a media attorney and chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said that “it’s unclear how ⁠the attorneys general or courts can constitutionally hold Paramount accountable for the board’s actions or inaction without themselves interfering in content.”

Stoller noted that the agreement’s force-majeure clause, which would reportedly allow Paramount-Warner to dodge its commitments in the event of economic recessions, strikes, and other labor disruptions.

Other opponents of the proposed deal bristle at the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of Saudi and Emirati investment in the new company that would be created if the merger is approved.

Alvaro Bedoya, a senior adviser to the American Economic Liberties Project, lamented that “today, billionaires have yet again bribed, censored, and bullied their way to the top.”

“Layoffs will follow. People from [Los Angeles] to Atlanta will lose their jobs, small businesses will lose their contracts, your cable bill and movie ticket will be even more expensive,” he continued. “Dissent against money and power will be even harder to find.”

“This did not have to happen,” Bedoya stressed. “Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of grassroots anger against the merger, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it. They beat Paramount in court, winning a court-ordered pause on the merger, and beat them again at the negotiating table, getting the conglomerate to agree to pause the merger until as late as next June.”

“But the Ellison family does not care about the law. Instead, they loudly threatened to leave California if their merger did not go through immediately,” he added. “[Gov.] Gavin Newsom caved to that pressure. So did [former state Attorney General] Xavier Becerra. And eventually, so did Attorney General Rob Bonta, agreeing to a weak settlement that will be exceedingly difficult to enforce.”

Stoller said that “there are a bunch of reasons they cleared the deal, such as threats to move the studio out of California, corruption, and general incompetence.”

“I personally think CNN is terrible, and I’m glad it’s going to be discredited,” Stoller wrote. “I also find it embarrassing that the Democratic AGs used antitrust law in an attempt to shade news coverage. But it’s downright comical they demanded that David Ellison not corrupt CNN by having David Ellison appoint a board ensuring that David Ellison not do that.”

'September surprise' rocks Susan Collins' campaign and sparks frenzy: 'Call your lawyer'

Travis Gettys
September 22, 2026 
RAW STORY


U.S. Senator Susan Collins speaking with attendees at the 2018 Small Business Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr)

Shock reverberated online following revelations that a defense contractor's confessed pay-to-play scheme implicating Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and potentially other members of Congress that triggered an FBI bribery investigation, was later dismantled following President Donald Trump's return to office.

ProPublica reported that Martin Kao, former CEO of the Hawaii-based defense firm Navatek, spent three days in 2022 telling FBI agents and federal prosecutors that his company had systematically traded campaign donations for congressional appropriations, naming dozens of lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists in a 50-page document.

At the time, Kao was facing years in prison after pleading guilty that same year to campaign finance and fraud charges.

According to internal emails reviewed by ProPublica, Navatek's relationship with Collins was central to the scheme. After a 2019 meeting at a Washington coffee shop in which Kao's company funneled a $150,000 donation to Collins' super PAC through a shell company, Kao told colleagues Collins had committed to securing Navatek $32 million in naval contracts. Kao told the FBI that Collins, at a company event that year, told him, "You've seen me deliver."

Collins' office has denied any wrongdoing, telling ProPublica the allegations are "outlandish" and that her campaign disgorged Kao's illegal contributions once they came to light in 2020.

By late 2024, FBI agents Michelle Ball and Kevin Gounaud had gathered enough evidence to seek approval for a broader bribery investigation, including new scrutiny of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over a dinner with Kao.

But after Trump returned to office, his administration gutted the FBI's public corruption unit and the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, pushing out agents involved in previous Trump-related investigations.

Ball was fired for her role in the special counsel probe of Trump's 2020 election challenge, and Gounaud was forced out in early 2026.

The investigation is now dead, and prosecutors are no longer in contact with Kao, ProPublica reports.

Social media users reacted to the reporting with shock and outrage, and some wondered what would be the next shoe to drop.

"'This is the first in a series of stories drawn from our reporting,'" intoned Maggie McComb, a communications staffer for Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), quoting from the report.

"Collins sold out the voters of Maine for her own power, and Trump covered it up for her," observed Luke Martin of Impact Research. "This is just blatant corruption and absolutely disqualifying for Collins."


"Yow, not what you want breaking in the autumn of your re-elect campaign," cringed journalist Dan Rosenheck.

"This is a September Surprise," agreed Daily Kos' Emily C. Singer.

"Susan Collins, call your office (and a lawyer)," warned Democratic operative Josh Dorner.

"In every poll, DC corruption ranks as a top issue on the minds of voters," noted former Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher. "This bombshell story about Susan Collins is exactly what they’re talking about and exactly what people are ready to vote out of office in 42 days."

"Maine’s largest paper is all over the Collins grift. She gone," predicted investor Tom Hearden.

"Republican Susan Collins is a criminal who can be bought for peanuts," accused writer A.G. Pasquella.

'We literally have the emails!' Susan Collins flak skewered for denying corruption story

Matthew Chapman
September 22, 2026 
RAW STORY


U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) speaks on behalf of one of U.S. President Donald Trump's judicial nominees during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was hit with bombshell new reporting from ProPublica on Tuesday, dropping new details on how defense contractor CEO Martin Kao told FBI agents about a sprawling campaign cash bribery for contracts scheme involving her office and a number of other lawmakers — only for President Donald Trump to fire the agents investigating the matter as part of unrelated political vendettas.

In response, Collins' deputy chief of staff Annie Clark posted a lengthy manifesto to X denying the story.

"The seven-year-old allegations made against Senator Collins and her staff in this piece are categorically false," wrote Clark. "There have never been any allegations of wrongdoing by the Collins for Senator campaign, and the campaign was never the target of the FBI investigation. ProPublica took the word of someone who pled guilty to five counts of money laundering, three counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and making false submissions to the FEC." She went on to accuse Kao of fabricating claims against Collins to try to get a better deal.

Commenters on social media, though, weren't buying it.

"Annie, we literally have the emails and the check. Your boss is (expletive)d," wrote Maine commentator Anthony Emerson.

"Propublica did a hell of a lot more than just take the guy's word," wrote Matt Friedman of NJ Playbook. "The donations to the super PAC are documented. And they published emails between the donor and the head of the super PAC that discussed hiding the source of the money. Don't insult our intelligence."

"If you read this very long rejoinder, you see the only arguments it really makes are 'the FBI didn't prosecute,' and 'that guy is a criminal,'" wrote Democratic communications aide Isi Breen. "Not any actual rejection of the specific claims made in the article. Not that it matters anyway, cuz ProPublica has the email records!"

"Because as we all know, Susan Collins would never trust the word of a convicted felon," wrote the account for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, posting a picture of Collins palling around with President Donald Trump.

"Would be a real shame if there turned out to be more that was going to come out soon and elements of this statement had to be walked back," wrote Pat Dennis, head of the liberal group American Bridge.

UN walkout triggered as Trump predicts demise of 'failed'​ neighbor: 'It will fall'

Alexander Willis
September 22, 2026 
RAW STORY


US President Donald Trump speaks during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Pool via REUTERS


President Donald Trump sparked a walkout at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday after openly predicting the demise of a neighboring country.

“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure, the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under,” Trump said. “It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before and it will fall. Marco Rubio is handling a negotiation; he’s deep into negotiations with Cuba. Let’s see what happens.”

As Trump delivered his ominous prediction for Cuba, the nation’s United Nations delegation could be seen standing up and leaving the General Assembly Hall.

The Trump administration has aggressively starved Cuba of resources with crippling sanctions that have shuttered hospitals and made food scarce. Reports have also revealed that Trump had actively considered launching a military operation against Cuba and abducting its leaders, much like he had authorized with the kidnapping of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro in January.

The United States has maintained a 66-year embargo against Cuba, which has been internationally condemned since 1992. The embargo was imposed shortly after the overthrow of the U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, who permitted Cuba to become what’s been described as a “virtual slave state,” allowing its resources and infrastructure to be largely “owned by American companies.”

“Will not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep,” Trump continued. “It’s right at our doorstep.”

 SPEAKING TO  THE UNGA;

DEMENTED LEADER OF THE USA  

CONFESSES TO FANTASIES OF GENOCIDE 

Trump stared down as he threatens to 'drive Iran into hell with no chance of survival’

Alexander Willis
September 22, 2026 
RAW STORY


Left: US President Donald Trump addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR
Right: An Iranian United Nations representative at the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. 

(Screengrab / Fox News)


An Iranian United Nations representative stared down President Donald Trump Tuesday as he threatened to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into hell with no chance of survival.”

Delivering his remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump told members that, regarding his deeply unpopular war against Iran, he had a “big decision to make.”

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East, or even the world?” Trump said.

“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

Fox News’ coverage of Trump’s speech showed an Iranian United Nations representative sitting stone-faced as Trump made his remarks, which echoed his previous threats to wipe out Iran’s entire civilization in a single night.

Trump warned he's inching toward ‘political suicide’ as ‘Armageddon back on the table’

Alexander Willis
September 21, 2026 
RAW STORY


Officials within the Trump administration are growing increasingly worried that the president may soon launch a major attack in the Middle East, with one adviser warning that it’d be “political suicide,” Zeteo reported Monday.

President Donald Trump sparked fears of a major Middle East escalation Saturday after abruptly cutting his weekend getaway short and racing back to the White House. Trump confirmed on Sunday that “very big things” regarding his deeply unpopular war against Iran would take place in the “not-so-distant future,” among which could include destroying “the entire nation” of Iran.

Subsequent reporting revealed that Trump was close to authorizing an attack on Yemen’s Houthis amid their attacks on U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, but ultimately decided against it. And, while Trump may have backed down from escalating the conflict in the Middle East, officials in his administration fear that the president could change his mind at any moment.

"Now, in his latest fit of frustration at the Iranians and their Houthi allies in Yemen, who have renewed their ferocious attacks on Washington’s Saudi allies, President Trump seems to have put Armageddon back on the table," Zeteo’s report reads.

“We will see if [Trump is] bats--- enough to hit Iran this time, but for now, [Zeteo’s] sources in the administration are skeptical… or at least that’s what they’re telling themselves, because they really, really, really don’t want this to happen, especially not in the final weeks before the midterm elections."

One Trump adviser who spoke with Zeteo on the condition of anonymity also expressed hope that the president would hold off on escalating the conflict in the Middle East that has sent global oil prices skyrocketing. Should Trump not heed their warning, however, the adviser warned it could be the end for Republicans heading into the midterms.

“It’d be political suicide,” the adviser told Zeteo. “[Trump’s] backed off of this before. I’m hoping he follows the same instincts this time, too.”

In addition to Trump’s sudden trip back to the White House on Saturday, a number of other signals have sparked concern that the Trump administration may soon launch an attack in the Middle East, including the U.S. Embassy in Israel issuing a security alert instructing Americans in the Middle East to “exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations,” and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cutting his scheduled U.S. visit short.

Trump has UN officials on edge before speech after flurry of social media rants

Tom Boggioni
September 22, 2026 

RAW STORY


U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR/File Photo

Diplomats filing into the UN General Assembly hall Tuesday have no idea which version of Trump they're about to get, according to a report from The Guardian.

President Donald Trump has spent the days before his address flooding Truth Social with a "bizarre' mix of grievances and boasts, leaving attendees on edge, the Guardian's Robert Tait wrote. Topics have ranged from his planned triumphal arch in Washington — which he announced in an early Sunday post would "double as a military complex" stocked with snipers and drones, claiming without evidence the Pentagon requested it — to a bid to rebrand artificial intelligence entirely. On Friday, he posted a list of his "Top 25 Trump Achievements" since returning to office.

"His previous addresses to the assembly suggest that the chances of a non-divisive and uplifting message are low,' Tait reported, adding, "Last year, Trump shocked the august gathering in his first appearance since returning to the White House the previous January by declaring to those present that their countries were 'going to hell' while launching a full-frontal assault on the UN and the concept of open borders."

This will be Trump's first UN appearance since he launched a war against Iran alongside Israel in February, one he predicted would last days and topple Tehran's regime. Seven months later, "the regime still stands," Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz — disrupting a fifth of global oil exports — and gas prices and inflation have climbed at home. Polling shows just 36% of Americans think the U.S. is winning, and only 29% approve of Trump's foreign policy overall.

Trump arrives at the podium, in other words, trailing "abysmal" numbers and an unpopular war with no end in sight, the Guardian is reporting, noting that's hardly the backdrop for the triumphant remarks he's signaled are coming.

 

Brazil's Lula and Bolsonaro locked in dead heat ahead of October vote, polls show

The tightening race comes amid mounting signs of economic unease in Brazil.FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

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By IntelliNews Latam desk September 22, 2026

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro remained statistically tied in simulated run-offs ahead of next month's election, two separate polls showed, as fresh survey data pointed to growing economic anxiety among voters even after the government's recent welfare boost.

Right-wing candidate Bolsonaro led Lula by one percentage point in a Quaest poll, while the seasoned leftist leader was ahead by one point in a separate BTG Pactual/Nexus survey, with both advantages falling within the margin of error.

The Quaest poll, commissioned by TV Globo, put Bolsonaro on 42% support in a potential run-off against 41% for Lula, compared with 42% to 40% in the institute's previous survey released on September 14.

It marked, according to Brazilian financial newspaper Valor, the smallest gap between the two candidates in the pollster's entire series, and the first time Lula had numerically trailed his rival in a first-round simulation since the start of the campaign.

In the first-round scenario, Quaest had Lula leading with 37% of the vote, followed by Bolsonaro on 36%, ahead of writer Augusto Cury on 6%, former Goiás governor Ronaldo Caiado on 4%, Free Brazil Movement leader Renan Santos on 3% and former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema on 1%.

Undecided voters stood at 8%, with a further 7% saying they would vote blank, null, or abstain.

Quaest surveyed 2,004 people between 17 and 20 September, with a margin of error of two percentage points.

The BTG Pactual/Nexus poll told a similar story from the other direction: Lula would receive 46% of voter support in a run-off against 45% for Bolsonaro, versus a 47%-to-46% lead for Lula in the pollster's September 14 survey.

In a first-round scenario, Lula led with 40% of the votes, followed by Bolsonaro on 37%, Cury on 6% and Caiado on 5%. Nexus surveyed 2,006 people on September 18-20, also with a two-point margin of error.

The tightening race comes amid mounting signs of economic unease. A separate Quaest survey, also reported by O Globo, found that the share of Brazilians who feel their income has grown less than the cost of living over the past year rose to 24% from 21%, while those who felt their income had kept pace, without real gains, fell to 31%; only 10% believed their earnings had outpaced inflation.

The deterioration was sharper among women, a demographic Lula has been trying to shore up, where 25% now report falling behind, up from 21% in a survey conducted just two weeks earlier.

O Globo noted the sentiment aligns with official data: average real labour income, according to Brazil's statistics agency IBGE, fell from BRL3,805 ($745) to BRL3,762 between the quarter ending in March and the one ending in July, the most recent period available, with second-quarter GDP data also showing a drop in consumption.

Separately, Quaest found Lula's government approval held steady, with 50% of respondents disapproving of the administration, unchanged from a week earlier, while approval edged up one point to 44%, Valor reported.

The economic backdrop has fuelled debate over the government's decision last week to raise the minimum Bolsa Família welfare payment by 15%, from BRL600 to BRL691, at an estimated cost of BRL27.8bn between 2026 and 2027.

Finance Minister Dario Durigan defended the move, insisting it did not signal fiscal loosening.

"The Bolsa Família adjustment was based on inflation, not a real increase," he said in an interview with CNN Brasil, adding: "Our commitment is to maintain the trajectory of improvement in public finances."

Estadão reported that Bolsonaro's campaign has accused the government of manoeuvring within the Supreme Federal Court to ensure the adjustment received judicial backing, after Justice Gilmar Mendes validated the measure's legality.