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Mar 13, 2026 - World

Congressional Republicans are openly rejecting Donald Trump's pleas for emergency funding to sustain the Iran war, signaling deep skepticism within his own party about a conflict that remains broadly unpopular with American voters, according to a report.Operation Epic Fury has already consumed staggering sums — over $1 billion per day, with the Pentagon burning through $11.3 billion in just the first six days of combat. Yet Republican lawmakers are unmoved by White House requests for supplemental spending.Top Republicans told Politico they see no urgency to boost the Pentagon's already bloated $1 trillion budget. Democrats are unlikely to provide support, making passage of any supplemental package an uphill political battle — especially in a midterm election year when Trump needs to campaign on affordability.The White House faces a political nightmare, Politico reported. It must spend significant time and political capital securing funding for a deeply unpopular war while simultaneously claiming fiscal responsibility. The sluggish congressional timeline threatens to collide with Trump's plans to dramatically expand the defense budget next year.Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel, captured the lack of urgency: "I don't think there is any urgency at this moment. The urgency is in starting to educate Congress as to why we need a supplemental at all."Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) indicated the supplemental won't reach Capitol Hill until the month's end at the earliest, with key appropriators warning passage could take weeks or months.Democrats hold significant leverage. A unified caucus can block the legislation if at least seven Democratic senators refuse back it, meaning it would fail to cross the 60-vote threshold required for passage.At least one Republican is already siding with skeptics. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) vowed to oppose any Iran supplemental, citing constituents hurt by war-driven oil prices. "I'm against borrowing money from China to finance the war in the Middle East," Paul stated. "We've got a lot of problems in our country that we need to fix."You can read more here.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

The move, which lowers fees to 25%, is a breakthrough for Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxApple announced late on Thursday it would lower the commission fees collected in its App Store in mainland China. The move follows pressure from regulators in the tech company’s second-largest market, as well as global scrutiny of its payment requirements.Fees for in-app purchases and paid transactions will be lowered to 25% from 30% starting on Sunday, Apple said in a statement on its blog for developers. Continue reading...

Mar 13, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump insisted that the war with Iran would only be over when he felt it in his bones.Fox News host Brian Kilmeade asked Trump about the war during an interview on Friday."I'm doing something about it," Trump said. "And I had to take an excursion. We had the greatest economy in history. We do, we still do. Oh, this will bounce right back. When it's over, and I don't think it's going to be long, when it's over, this is going to bounce right back so fast.""When are you going to know when it's over?" Kilmeade wondered. "When I feel it. Okay. I feel it in my bones," the president replied. "Will you ask anybody in particular? Would that be some of the joint decision?" the Fox News host pressed. "Well, I deal with people. I have great people. Yeah," Trump confirmed.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Negotiations aimed to ‘find solutions to the bilateral differences’ between the countries, Miguel Díaz-Canel saidCuban officials have held talks with the US government, the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, confirmed on Friday, amid growing pain inflicted by a punishing US fuel blockade and frequent power failures.“These talks have been aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences we have between the two nations,” Díaz-Canel said in a prerecorded statement to senior Communist officials. Continue reading...

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson on Friday had a scathing response after President Donald Trump's new attempt to fundraise for his MAGA coalition. The co-founder of The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organization, revealed in his Substack why Trump's use of a photo showing the dignified transfer of a fallen soldier killed in Kuwait was so troubling. "They’re using a photo from the return of dead soldiers to Dover AFB," Wilson wrote. "In his dumb hat. To raise money. A million suns could not contain the heat of my hatred for this loathsome piece of human s---. I will be the first to piss on his miserable grave."The president sent an email to his mailing list advertising the final few spots on his National Security Briefing council. The image attached to the email is from an appearance Trump made — wearing his baseball hat — at the transfer of the Iran war dead, with 13 US soldiers now killed in the conflict.The email from Trump read, "VERY FEW SPOTS REMAINING! CLAIM YOUR SPOT. These final spots are reserved for my strongest supporters (YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!). This is no ordinary membership."Wilson wasn't alone in criticizing Trump's fundraising effort.California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump foe and vocal critic, Thursday evening also pointed out why the president's message was problematic. His team denounced the use of the image as a tool for fundraising and wrote on X, "Donald Trump is fundraising off of dead soldiers. He is a deeply SICK and DISGUSTING MAN!"