Oil futures have seen their biggest weekly drop in nearly two months as news swirled of a potential US-Iran deal that could see the Strait of Hormuz reopened and a ceasefire extended between Washington and Tehran.
Brent oil crude futures fell to $92.69 a barrel, a weekly drop of more than 10 percent.
The drawdown, which comes after the country’s leader sparred with President Donald Trump over the Iran war, leaves about 33,000 troops there.
US-Verteidigungsminister Pete Hegseth hat den Abzug von etwa 5.000 US-Soldaten aus Deutschland angeordnet. Man gehe davon aus, dass der Abzug innerhalb der nächsten sechs bis zwölf Monate abgeschlossen sein werde, teilte ein Sprecher des Pentagons mit.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday night.
On Thursday, he expanded his threat to Italy and Spain. “I mean, they haven’t been exactly on board,” Trump answered, when asked about the possibility of cuts to troop levels in the two countries. “Yeah, probably will,” Trump added, “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help. Spain has been horrible. Absolutely.”
The agreement would fund other DHS components, such as the Transportation Security Administration and US Coast Guard, but the House will still need to act before funded agencies within the department can reopen.
(…)
However, asked whether he believes the House will adopt the same measure to fund most of the department, Thune said, “I don’t know what the House will do.”
“It looks like everybody is going to stare at each other for a little while,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday, before nodding at lawmakers’ best hope for getting a deal — their overwhelming desire to leave town.
“You know how it is around here, it’s not Thursday yet,” he said.
(…)
One GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly, summed up their feelings: “I just want to go home.”
There is a consensus in the scientific community that human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels, is heating up the planet and worsening extreme weather.
Some climate damage could be irreversible if the planet heats up enough to cross “tipping points,” such as significant melting of ice sheets that can’t be reformed.
In finalizing this rule, EPA carefully considered and reevaluated the legal foundation of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and the text of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in light of subsequent legal developments and court decisions. The agency concludes that Section 202(a) of the CAA does not provide statutory authority for EPA to prescribe motor vehicle and engine emission standards in the manner previously utilized, including for the purpose of addressing global climate change, and therefore has no legal basis for the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations. EPA firmly believes the 2009 Endangerment Finding made by the Obama Administration exceeded the agency’s authority to combat “air pollution” that harms public health and welfare, and that a policy decision of this magnitude, which carries sweeping economic and policy consequences, lies solely with Congress. Unlike our predecessors, the Trump EPA is committed to following the law exactly as it is written and as Congress intended—not as others might wish it to be.
Der Druck von der Straße war offenbar zu groß: Der bulgarische Ministerpräsident Scheljaskow und seine Regierung treten zurück. Seit Tagen gab es Demonstrationen im Land. Dabei kommt Bulgarien politisch seit Jahren nicht zur Ruhe.
(December 8, 2025)
Mass protests over Bulgaria’s 2026 budget have plunged the country into yet another political crisis, with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s minority government facing a no-confidence vote, a mass petition demanding its resignation and the prospect of an eighth early parliamentary election in five years.
The dispute comes just weeks before Bulgaria is due to adopt the euro on 1st January 2026 and risks overshadowing what was intended to be a landmark step in the country’s European integration.
(November 20, 2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) released the following joint statement:
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.“
“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.“
“But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.“
“In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.“
“Don’t Give Up the Ship!”
(14 hours ago)
Earlier this morning, President Trump threatened me and a group of service and veteran Members of Congress with arrest, trial, and death by hanging.
Here’s my response.
(November 20, 2025)
President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the constitution and defy “illegal orders.”
The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
Ein Video, in dem sechs Kongressmitglieder der US-Demokraten Militärangehörige aufrufen, illegale Befehle nicht zu befolgen, hat US-Präsident Donald Trump in Rage versetzt. Er bezeichnete deren Appell als Hochverrat. Die sechs Demokraten seien „Verräter“, schrieb er auf seiner Plattform Truth Social. Ihr „aufwieglerisches Verhalten“ sei „strafbar mit dem Tode“. In einem weiteren Beitrag begnügte er sich in der für ihn üblichen Großschreibung damit, die Frage zu stellen, ob die Beteiligten eingesperrt werden sollten.
New York City‘s CEOs and other billionaire business leaders spent more than $40 million trying to stop Mamdani from becoming the city‘s next mayor. Now they have to live with him — and their reactions range from threatening to leave the city to pragmatic acceptance.
„I think it‘s the stages of grief,“ says Kathryn Wylde, who runs the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group that represents more than 300 large employers.
23 Prozent aller Befragten stimmten zudem der Aussage zu, Politiker und andere Führungspersönlichkeiten seien nur Marionetten dahinter stehender Mächte. 14 Prozent meinen der Studie zufolge sogar: „Unser Land gleicht inzwischen mehr einer Diktatur als einer Demokratie.“ In Ostdeutschland meinen das 24 Prozent der Befragten, in Westdeutschland 12 Prozent. Knapp ein Viertel der Befragten ist der Ansicht, die regierenden Parteien „betrügen das Volk“.
– The federal government began to shut down overnight after Democrats and Republicans failed to come to an agreement to extend government funding ahead of the Oct. 1, 2025, deadline.
– As many as 750,000 government workers could be furloughed, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and they will not be paid until Congress appropriates funding and the shutdown ends. Workers deemed to be essential will stay on the job, although they will likewise not be paid until Congress reaches a funding deal.
– Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the impasse.
Nachdem die Sitzung im Bundestag wieder aufgenommen worden war, stimmten die Abgeordneten von Union, SPD, Grünen und Linken für die Verschiebung der Wahl.
In fact, high-profile investors and business leaders in the Big Apple are up in arms about the stunning win by the democratic socialist in the primary to win the Democratic nomination to serve as the next New York City mayor. The three-term Assemblymember’s potential victory in the November general election could bring what the Street hates most — tax hikes and tighter regulation threatening corporate and investment interests.
Disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was backed by prominent national Democrats and an unprecedentedly deep-pocketed super PAC funded by billionaires and corporations, conceded defeat after it became clear that Mamdani‘s lead was insurmountable. With 93% of the votes tallied, Mamdani led Cuomo 43.5% to 36.4%.
Mamdani‘s primary win, a stunning upset, is expected to become official after the ranked-choice tally next week. In his victory speech, Mamdani said that his campaign and its supporters „made history.“
„In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‚It always seems impossible until it is done,'“ he added. „My friends, we have done it.“
That Mr. Mamdani had such success while running on a far-left agenda, including positions that once were politically risky in New York — like describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and calling for new taxes on business — may challenge the boundaries of party orthodoxy and unnerve national Democratic leaders.
German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor on Tuesday in a first round of voting in an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.
Es ist ein bisher einmaliger Vorgang in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Noch nie ist nach einer Bundestagswahl und erfolgreichen Koalitionsverhandlungen ein designierter Kanzler bei der Wahl im Bundestag gescheitert.
Die Fraktionen beraten nun, wie sie weiter vorgehen wollen.
(February 25, 2025)
Die US-Regierung von Präsident Donald Trump hatte die Resolution bei den Vereinten Nationen eingebracht. Der Text hinter dem Titel „Der Weg zum Frieden“ benennt Russland nicht als Aggressor und fordert keinen russischen Rückzug, angemahnt wird bloß ein rasches Ende des Krieges.
Erstmals verabschiedet der UN-Sicherheitsrat damit eine gemeinsame Resolution zum Ukraine-Krieg. Russland, China und die USA stimmten zu, während europäische Länder sich enthielten.
Die AfD sprach von einem „Schlag ins Gesicht der deutschen Sparer“. „Meint Robert Habeck ernsthaft, dass er die soziale Sicherung retten kann, indem er die private Vorsorge der Menschen erschwert?“, fragte der stellvertretende Bundessprecher Peter Boehringer.
Weniger emotional, aber in der Sache ähnlich ablehnend äußerte sich Kanzler und Kanzlerkandidat Olaf Scholz: „Ein alter Hut, das hat noch nie funktioniert“, sagte der SPD-Politiker zum Grünen-Vorschlag.
(March 21, 2023)
„We will clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus, and there are plenty of them,“ Trump said.
„The departments and agencies that have been weaponized will be completely overhauled,“ he continued. „So that faceless bureaucrats will never again be able to target and persecute conservatives, Christians, or the left‘s political enemies, which they‘re doing now at a level that nobody can believe even possible.“
Mit dem Tag der Amtseinführung soll der Umbau der Exekutive beginnen. Ziel ist eine drastische Zentralisierung der Regierungspolitik, bei der das Weiße Haus eine straffe Kontrolle über alle Bundesbehörden, einschließlich des Justizministeriums erhalten würde.
Damit könnte er entscheidend auf Verfahren gegen ihn und andere Einfluss nehmen, die unter anderem am Sturm auf das Kapitol am 6. Januar 2021 beteiligt waren. Es würde ihm außerdem ermöglichen, gegen Personen vorzugehen, die diese Verfahren angestoßen haben.
Die Ministerien für Bildung und Heimatschutz etwa sollen abgeschafft werden, die US-Bundespolizei FBI, „eine zunehmend gesetzlose Organisation“, soll von Grund auf erneuert werden.