USA - On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that President Joe Biden hasn’t decided whether he’ll declare a national emergency on climate and that “all the severe storms” that “we continue to see are definitely caused as a result of what’s going on in the rising temperature across the globe.” Kirby said, “The President hasn’t made a decision yet on declaring a national emergency on climate. But, for all intents and purposes, he’s treating this with all the due gravity and the seriousness that the climate crisis deserves. It’s been a focus for him since day one.”

GERMANY - The right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany party is increasingly open about its rejection of democratic principles. But public support is soaring nonetheless. Maximilian Krah, addressing his party’s soaring numbers in public opinions [said]: "We have more than doubled our support within a single year. And one thing is certain: We are far from satisfied!" And he speaks about the source of his inspiration. "We heard fantastic speeches here yesterday," Krah says, referring to opening remarks delivered by representatives from other European right-wing parties the previous day. Krah cites one in particular: "When it comes to our colleague from Bulgaria, you have to say: My goodness. That’s the kind of courage and passion we need to make it happen."

POLAND - Poland is moving its forces to scare Belarus, defense chief Mariusz Blaszczak has said. Poland is set to deploy thousands of additional troops to its border with Belarus amid heightened tensions in the region, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday. Speaking to national public broadcaster Polskie Radio, Blaszczak stated that “we are moving the army closer to the border with Belarus” in order to “scare the aggressor so that he does not dare to attack us.” The minister added that security in the region would be underpinned by 10,000 soldiers, with 4,000 assigned to directly support the Border Guard, and another 6,000 held in reserve. The official’s remarks come shortly after the Polish Defense Ministry approved a request by border officials to send in an additional 1,000 soldiers to the area. Later, the Polish authorities changed their mind, deciding to increase the number to 2,000.

CHINA - The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China on Tuesday confirmed it has been conducting joint patrols with Russia near the Alaskan coast, promised the provocative activity will only intensify, and said the US was hypocritical to complain because it insists on supposedly comparable freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea. “In the future, the Chinese Navy could conduct more far sea patrols like this, either alone or together with other countries. The Americans should get used to it,” sneered Chinese military expert Fu Qianshao. “The US should not forget that it frequently sends warships and warplanes to other countries’ doorsteps for so-called freedom of navigation operations, including to the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits,” Fu said. “This China-Russia joint patrol is a message to the US that China and Russia have a common security pursuit in this region and are fully capable of defending their interests.

HAWAII - Hawaii Governor Josh Green (Democrat) on Thursday said the destructive wildfires impacting Maui Island are “likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii’s state history.” The wildfires, which began Tuesday and continue to blaze, have destroyed acres of property and taken dozens of lives. “What we saw was the utter devastation of Lahaina,” Green said at a press conference. Green announced that Lahaina, the former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom and rich with cultural history, is about 80 percent “gone.” The death toll reached 53 people as of Thursday, making it the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California killed at least 85 people. Green cautioned that the death toll will rise “significantly” in the coming days.

USA - The Los Angeles Police Department’s ranks have dropped below 9,000 officers, well short of the 9,985 it once had in 2009 and the 9,500 goal from Mayor Karen Bass. Interest in joining the police department has collapsed as well, with half of the department’s current cadet class vacant. With an estimated city-wide population of 3.8 million, there is approximately one police officer for every 420 Los Angeles residents. Chicago and New York City, which both have significantly larger police departments than Los Angeles, both have roughly one police officer for every 220 residents, suggesting Los Angeles is severely under-equipped for policing, especially given the fact that Los Angeles is far larger and more spread out than either of the other two cities.

UK - Home Secretary Suella Braverman has ordered a full review of chaotic incidents in London's Oxford Street as she blasted the 'American style lawlessness'. The Met Police swooped and made nine arrests at the central London location, yesterday, after TikTok encouraged youths to turn up and commit crime and disorder. Officers handed out 34 dispersal orders, with some shops shutting their doors to prevent theft and damage. TikTok and Snapchat videos circulated in advance of the incident, encouraging young people to turn up in balaclavas. Suella Braverman has condemned the scenes, comparing them to those seen in some American cities over the last few years. She said: “We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK”. She added: “The police have my full backing to do whatever necessary to ensure public order”.

UK - With the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion coming in a matter of weeks, demand for the mayor's £160 million vehicle scrappage scheme has rocketed. It comes as Londoners look to ditch older cars and use the grant to fund purchasing a model that escapes the £12.50-a-day charge. Only diesel cars that meet the latest Euro6 emission standard - generally those built after 2015 - and petrol models that adhere to Euro4 (those produced post 2006) are allowed to be driven in the zone for free. Owners of non-compliant cars will be charged £12.50-a-day to drive in the zone, which could result in additional bills of more than £4,500 a year for those getting behind the wheel on a daily basis on the capital. It comes after Sadiq Khan announced last week that the scheme is being opened up to all Londoners with non-compliant cars who will be given £2,000 if they ditch their polluting vehicles. But there are major concerns about the waste culture of scrappage schemes, which promote destroying perfectly good, reliable vehicles…

USA - Since the turmoil that saw the collapse of two regional banks this past spring, officials have insisted the US banking system is safe, sound, resilient, and well-capitalized. While the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs appear to be unfazed by the chaos unfolding in the financial sector, Moody’s took the markets by surprise and slashed the credit ratings of various small and mid-sized banks. But that is not all: Several large Wall Street names were placed on a downgrade watch. This decision follows hot on the heels of a Fitch Ratings announcement that reduced the US government’s own credit score from AAA to AA+.

HAWAII - The death toll in Hawaii's devastating wildfires has jumped to 36, officials have revealed, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the state's history - as Maui firefighters continue their desperate hunt for survivors in the scorched remains of a town nearly 'wiped off the map'. All of the deaths were in Lahaina, the worst-affected town which officials said has been 'decimated'. Earlier in the day, Maui's Mayor Richard Bissen announced six people had died and 271 buildings had been torched - a number which could also rise further as the fires have already caused multi-billion dollar damage. A local resident said what he saw in the town was 'like a warzone', while another person described it as 'utter devastation... It is far from hyperbole to say that Lahaina has been wiped off the map.' Desperate people have been seen hurling themselves into the ocean to escape the blaze that has engulfed the landscape, with dramatic pictures showing parts of the island paradise laid to waste by the infernos.

IRAQ - The Iraqi government has reportedly ordered media companies to stop using the word ‘homosexuality’ and replace it with ‘sexual deviance’. With US influence in Iraq receding, traditional Islamic values are making a resurgence. The directive applies to news and entertainment media, as well as to internet and phone companies, which must ensure that their apps comply. The word ‘gender’ is also forbidden under the order, Reuters added. Earlier this summer, protesters in Baghdad burned rainbow-colored ‘Pride’ flags in response to a spate of Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark.

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations has warned Christians that if they do not fully embrace the legalization of pedophilia, they will be excluded from participating in society. In a disturbing new declaration, UN expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz says religious freedom can only be tolerated if religious people fully embrace the globalist agenda, including radical LGBTQ+ ideology. The LGBTQ+ ideology the UN is pushing originates from a report issued earlier this year that calls for the decriminalization of sex between adults and minors. Madrigal-Borloz reported to the 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council that religious freedom can only exist if it is “compatible” with the LGBTQ+ agenda if Christians and other religious groups comply with radical far-left ideology.

NASA - A storm of boulders “as deadly as Hiroshima” was accidentally unleashed by Nasa during tests to change the trajectory of an asteroid, scientists have found. Last September, the agency crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos in the first planetary defence experiment aimed at finding ways to protect humanity from an extinction-level event. Now astronomers have found that although the impact succeeded in knocking Dimorphos slightly off course, it also dislodged 37 boulders, which are currently zipping through space at 13,000mph. Experts said it showed that deflection strategies could have unintended consequences that leave smaller rocks on a collision course with Earth.

USA - The Sun has been very active lately, sending out scorching flares and frying communication systems back on Earth. The latest one was recorded on Monday when an X-class solar flare disrupted radio and navigation signals across North America. ‘X-class’ solar flares are the largest, most disruptive of flares and this one, classified as an X1.5, likely disrupted high-frequency radio communications on the sunlit side of Earth. According to the Met Office, the flare burst out of the largest and most active sunspot group currently visible on the Sun’s disk. This was the 20th X flare of the current 11-year solar cycle, which is due to reach its peak next year. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy that can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

RUSSIA - Russia and China teamed up on a major military exercise off the coast of Alaska last week, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal said the 11-ship force “appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach American shores,” citing experts it did not name. Four US destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft kept a wary eye on the ships. “It is a historical first. Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan, this move is highly provocative,” Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a retired Navy captain, said.