US watchdog warns of hunger crisis in Afghanistan, threat to women's rights
The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released a report Saturday detailing concerns of a hunger crisis in Afghanistan, along with increasing restrictions to women’s rights under the Taliban. The report says almost 19 million people in Afghanistan will encounter “potentially life-threatening levels of hunger” from June to November of this year, while six million people will be under “near-famine conditions.” The lack of food will leave 1.1 million children at risk of death due to malnourishment if they do not receive more help.
Read MoreDemocracy group launches $55K campaign to back Electoral Count Act
A democracy group is dropping $55,000 in an advertising campaign to push lawmakers to back changes to the Electoral Count Act as a reform bill heads to the Senate floor. The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 makes a number of changes to protect the transition of power from one administration to another and is slated to be reviewed by the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday. The deal, secured by a bipartisan group of senators in July, aims to address a number of issues exposed by the events of Jan. 6, including specifically stating that the vice president’s role in certi
Read MoreKirby: US has 'visual confirmation' of al Qaeda leader's death in missile strike
White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday said the United States has “visual confirmation” that a CIA drone strike killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and officials would not need further corroboration. Speaking with Brianna Keilar on CNN’s “New Day,” Kirby said the operation over the weekend, as President Biden announced Monday, killed al-Zawahiri on the third floor balcony of his safe house i
Read MorePelosi arrives in Taiwan amid tensions with China
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, capping off days of speculation regarding whether or not the third-highest official in the U.S. government would visit the self-governing island amid criticism from China. Pelosi's arrival in Taipei was broadcast on major television networks. It is her latest stop on a days-long trip to Asia with a congressional delegation. The Speaker confirmed the visit in a statement shortly after she landed. “Our Congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwa
Read MoreEurope faces the Russian version of the Arab oil embargo
You may recall the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, and not favorably. The United States learned a lesson from the embargo and took steps toward becoming energy independent. Now that Russia has decided to hit the European Union (EU) with a mini-natural gas embargo, though it isn’t using that terminology, the EU is having to learn a similar lesson, quickly. Developments leading up to the Russian natural gas embargo of the EU are quit
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