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President Donald Trump told U.S. troops aboard the USS George Washington at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base on Tuesday that the ‘first batch of missiles for Japan’s F-35 fighter jets ‘will arrive this week,’ suggesting that U.S. defense deliveries to Tokyo are moving ahead of schedule. The comments came during Trump’s hour-long remarks to sailors as part of his wider Asia trip, which included a stop in Malaysia before Japan, where he met with the country’s...

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is demanding the Department of Justice (DOJ) conduct a ‘comprehensive’ investigation into former President Joe Biden’s autopen use. The committee’s GOP majority released a 100-page report on Tuesday morning detailing findings from its months-long probe into Biden’s White House, specifically whether his inner circle covered up signs of mental decline in the ex-president, and if that alleged cover-up extended to executive actions signed via autopen without Biden’s full...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on power by elevating younger loyalists amid growing instability inside the Kremlin as he ages, according to reports. On Sunday, The Telegraph reported that Putin, 73, who has ruled Russia for more than two decades, is ‘running out of cards to play’ as pressure mounts both domestically and abroad.  The Federal Security Service (FSB) also opened a criminal case against exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members...

Israeli authorities have confirmed they received the body of a deceased hostage from the Red Cross on Monday evening, as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline looms. The body was handed over to the IDF and Shin Bet by the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. Hamas still has the bodies of 12 Israeli hostages in its custody. Trump’s deadline will expire Monday night. Hamas has made no mention of the identity of the deceased hostage...

Small business owners are losing billions in funding due to the government shutdown, with industry leaders publishing a letter Monday demanding lawmakers pass a ‘clean CR’ and reopen the federal government.  ‘On behalf of our organizations representing millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners, we are calling on U.S. Senators to put an end to the instability and hardship by passing a clean continuing resolution, which will allow negotiations to continue on spending measures moving...

Washington is barreling into its fifth week of a government shutdown, and despite a handful of payday deadlines for federal workers fast-approaching, there’s been little progress made toward turning the lights back on. The Senate is expected to again vote on a House-passed plan to reopen the government this week but has failed to advance the continuing resolution (CR) 12 times. As before, the legislation — which would reopen the government until Nov. 21 —...

Hamas says it will hand over another body of an Israeli hostage on Monday, as President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline looms. If the latest body is handed over, Hamas will still have the bodies of 12 Israeli hostages in its custody. Trump’s deadline will expire Monday night. Hamas has made no mention of the identity of the deceased hostage set to be released. ‘Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, the Martyr...

President Donald Trump is cozying up with top ally Japan’s emperor and new prime minister Monday ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon arrival in Tokyo, Trump sat down with Japanese Emperor Naruhito, the nation’s symbolic leader, at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. On Tuesday, Trump will meet Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. The two are expected to bond over their fondness for Shinzo Abe, Japan’s former prime minister who was...

Next week’s governor races may tell us more about where the shutdown fight is headed than the shutdown itself will show about those elections. While the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia will look largely untouched by the lapse in government funding, their results could serve as a barometer for public perception over who’s at fault for the standoff dragging out in Washington, D.C. But only if the results stand out.  Bill Wichterman, former...