‘A shell of our former self’: How Trump and Musk’s spending cuts are hampering US government readiness amid the Iran war
(reporting from @jeremyherb @AnnieGrayerCNN @jmhansler.bsky.social @snlyngaas.bsky.social @GabeCohenNews)
www.cnn.com/2026/03/10/p...
New: One US citizen was killed and another was wounded in the speedboat shoot out with Cuban authorities, a US official told CNN Thursday.
www.cnn.com/us/live-news...
Our follow up exchange —
“I think the President’s frustration is generalized, and you’ve seen that expressed from time to time,” Rubio says
“That said, do I believe the President’s patience is infinite? I do not. But I am not going to forecast for you when that runs out or at what point he decides not to do it any longe," Rubio said. “I think you’ve heard him express, a deep frustration that this has not come to an end"
I asked Rubio yesterday if there is a point that the administration would change tack and increase pressure on Moscow as the war in Ukraine continues.
He claims they have “continued to increase pressure on Moscow,” says it’s very important the US be able to serve as negotiator
US Secretary of State Rubio says they’re working to get more information, including whether the people were US citizens or residents. He said this was not US government personnel
The Cuban Interior Ministry says four people were killed and six injured on a Florida-registered vessel after they opened fire on Cuban personnel
No word yet from the US government on the incident or whether the people on board the vessel were US citizens
In a new statement, G7 leaders “reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty and independence.”
The statement, however, does not explicitly condemn Russia for its war
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...
James Luckey-Lange spent just over a month detained in Venezuela. He shared his story with @snlyngaas.bsky.social & me - including how he smuggled out a bar of soap with names of other inmates carved in it, in the hopes of finding their families
www.cnn.com/2026/02/14/p...
New: The US State Department is planning to form a new bureau to respond to disasters and provide humanitarian assistance, a Democratic congressional aide and another source familiar told CNN.
The move to create the new bureau comes after USAID was shuttered last year www.cnn.com/politics/liv...
The Trump administration has spent more than $30 million to send migrants to far-flung countries that are not their own, including, in a few instances, paying over $1 million a person, a new report from the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says.
https://cnn.it/3MuzgJk
Jeremy Carl, the Trump administration’s pick for a top State Department position, is unlikely to get the job after a bipartisan group of senators grilled him over his history of racist, sexist and reported antisemitic comments and posts.
www.cnn.com/2026/02/12/p...
NEW: The Trump admin has spent more than $30 million to send migrants to far-flung countries that are not their own, including, in a few instances, paying over $1 million a person, per a new report from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats
www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/p...
The “Walk for Peace” in DC today. The monks have walked more than 2,000 miles on their pilgrimage from Texas to the nation’s capital
The expiration of the last remaining nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia on Thursday has sparked fears about a nuclear arms race, with the two biggest nuclear superpowers without limits on their arsenals for the first time in decades.
www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/p...
New: The Trump administration sent about a dozen Iranians back on a deportation flight Sunday, per a source familiar with the matter.
It was the first known deportation flight since the sweeping anti-government protests and brutal crackdowns on protesters
www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/p...
Trump has threatened the Iranian regime if they execute protesters.
One of the gay men who is set to be deported, who faces almost certain execution, said his message to Trump is: “If you care about the people, please let us stay.”
“We are not bad human beings."
www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
One of the people spoke about his fear of returning to Iran.
“I suffered a lot in country for what I am,” he said.
He said he came to the US “just to have a normal life like everyone else.”
“Definitely, my life is at risk if I return to my country," he told CNN.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
The Trump admin is expected to deport dozens of Iranians back to their home country as soon as this Sunday, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Two people who have been told they will be on the flight face the risk of death in Iran because they are gay
www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
"We've never gotten anything" from NATO, Trump says at Davos.
Lest we forget, NATO's Article 5 has only been invoked once in history, after the US was attacked on 9/11
“I don’t need international law,” Trump tells The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/u...
Inside Marco Rubio’s rise — and role — in the US operation to capture Maduro
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/p...
"You can hear it, right here. That's me screaming, because the guy in the striated sweater thing is reaching underneath my visor trying to gouge out my eye with his thumb."
Two police officers relive January 6 through their own bodycam footage
(via @npr.org)
www.npr.org/sections/the...
Trump said that Maduro "wanted to negotiate at the end" and was "trying hard to make a deal."
"I didn't want to negotiate. I said, 'Nope, we got to do it,'" the US president said on Fox.
At his press conference last month, I asked Rubio what the US was willing to commit to ensure stability in Venezuela if Maduro was removed from power.
He wouldn't say.
NEW: The US State Department imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship
www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/p...
NEW: The US State Department imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship
www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/p...
In remarks just now, Trump claimed Denmark has "no military protection."
But just today, the State Department announced plans for a $950+ million missile sale to Denmark
www.dsca.mil/Press-Media/...
“This has never happened in the 101-year history of the U.S. Foreign Service,” said Eric Rubin, a retired career diplomat and former president of the American Foreign Service Association.
www.cnn.com/2025/12/22/p...
