Top World News

Jul 21, 2026 - World

As the war with Iran escalates, Donald Trump’s patience is at its end — and he will be looking for a scapegoat sooner rather than later, MS NOW's analysts said Tuesday.According to “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire, that will likely be Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has given the president a wealth of reasons to dismiss him dating back to his Senate confirmation hearings.During a segment on reports that there are more military casualties in the war than have been publicly announced by the Pentagon, Lemire said all the bad news out of Iran is weighing on the president — and there is no way he will take the blame.“Secretary Hegseth, you know, he still, I am told, is liked by the president,“ Lemire told co-host Joe Scarborough before adding, “He does not have that many fans in the administration otherwise, that's been the case from the very beginning, from even the transition when he wasn't very truthful with the vetting teams about some of the issues in his past.“But at least, right now, Trump is still on board. But I am told that if this continues to bog down, whether it's a low-level conflict or a high-intensity resumption of war for months, Trump will eventually look for a fall guy, and it's hard to imagine it being anyone other than Pete Hegseth.” - YouTube youtu.be

Jul 21, 2026 - World

The cost of President Donald Trump's war with Iran, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been blowing through armament stockpiles despite warnings, has the Pentagon close to running out of money, according to a report Tuesday.The Pentagon is hemorrhaging funds at an alarming rate. Critical defense budget lines are set to evaporate within weeks as the escalating conflict with Iran consumes resources at unprecedented speed, lawmakers and Pentagon officials told the Washington Post.The financial crisis is already forcing the military to make devastating choices. Training exercises and maintenance programs essential to military readiness are being slashed or eliminated entirely, according to the report which also noted that equipment maintenance budgets are being "cannibalized" to cover operational shortfalls.Hegseth has publicly dismissed concerns about depleting munitions supplies, claiming during a CBS interview last month that U.S. stockpiles remain "great, and they're only getting stronger." His public bravado starkly contrasts with private Pentagon assessments."In private, Pentagon officials have expressed far greater anxiety, according to current and former officials, arguing that the military desperately needs more money to restock munitions needed to deter U.S. adversaries like Russia and China," the Post reported.The collapsed Iran ceasefire threatens to worsen the crisis. After four U.S. service members died during intensive combat operations, the conflict appears set to escalate with no end in sight.The White House has requested $67 billion in emergency funding from Congress, but lawmakers remain deadlocked over how to proceed. The House is recessing for a month Thursday, pushing any fiscal resolution weeks away at minimum.The Navy and Air Force are particularly stressed. Both services have deployed extensive assets to the Middle East, and portions of their 2026 budgets covering operations are projected to run dry by month's end.

Jul 21, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump is not only losing his war with Iran, he is also losing the hearts and minds of prominent Fox News personalities who are reading the writing on the wall that voters are taking his failure seriously, Morning Joe's hosts said Tuesday.The hosts of the MSNOW show shared clips from their conservative network counterpart, where longtime commentator Britt Hume was nothing but gloom and doom about a war that one White House insider told Politico is nothing less than a “quagmire.”“Some of the things that he might need to do to get the Strait [of Hormuz] open, for example, and perhaps even to accomplish other ends in dealing with Tehran, may be militarily feasible,” Hume told Fox host Bret Baier. “But politically they're very difficult. I mean, we're seeing some casualties now. So I think the president's in kind of a tough spot here in that sense.”He then added, “And he promised to keep us out of endless wars or unsatisfactory wars and now he's in one and it's not at all clear how it's going to end.”That was followed by a clip of a grim-faced Laura Graham, who put the president — and Republicans — on notice.“With the midterm elections a little more than 100 days away, the clock is ticking for President Trump to get out of this war before voters head to the polls,” she told viewers.“It’s making a lot of Republicans nervous. It’s already, as we know, unpopular,” she continued. “According to the new Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 69 percent of Americans disapprove of the handling of this conflict. Republicans cannot let this become an endless distraction, especially if they want to win in November.”Returning to “Morning Joe,” co-host Joe Scarborough observed, “That's some Fox News analysis of the political cost for Donald Trump and the Republican Party: the ongoing war in Iran. Fascinating, if you listen to them talking about politics.”“And it's, of course, something that the Iranians always depend on,” he added. “They depend on Americans being strapped down to elections coming up that create false deadlines, that put us in a weak place to negotiate.” - YouTube youtu.be

Jul 21, 2026 - World

National disaster agency confirms ‘severe financial and human losses’ in eastern province of NuristanRescue crews in Afghanistan are searching for survivors and bodies among the rubble of houses destroyed by devastating flash floods that authorities said had killed nearly two dozen people and left more than 100 people missing.The Afghanistan national disaster management authority said on Tuesday that 23 people had died, 80 had been injured and more than 100 were missing after floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among the areas affected, authorities said. Continue reading...

Jul 21, 2026 - World

Global hunger declined for the third year in a row in 2025 but experts call for action to bring down costs of fruit, vegetables and dairy as report shows 2.69bn people can’t afford to eat wellOne in three people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet, a new report has found, prompting calls for urgent action on food affordability.There are 2.69 billion people unable to afford a diverse diet that meets their energy and nutrient needs, and it will take “immense” amounts of work to achieve the global target of zero hunger by 2030, the annual report from five UN agencies warned. Continue reading...