Newsmakers
North Korea hides its war capabilities from the world
The U.S. military routinely prepares contingency plans for virtually every possible conflict on the planet, from a surprise Chinese attack on Taiwan to a sudden conflagration in the Middle East, Africa or elsewhere.
Taiwan ambassador: China a threat, but island still open for business
Taiwan's democracy is confronting both military and "gray zone" information warfare threats from China and is adopting asymmetric weapons to defend itself, the country's unofficial ambassador to the United States said in an interview.
Pompeo: U.S. must recognize China-North Korea nuke connection
The U.S. should view China and North Korea as "part and parcel of a single entity," according to former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who says the Biden administration must be more clear-eyed about the links between Chinese and North Korean nuclear weapons programs.
Hungarian denies U.S. on list as adversary, defends energy deals with Russia
A top adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban denounced a reported U.S. intelligence document that said Mr. Orban recently listed the United States as one of the top adversaries of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, dismissing it as "fake news."
Not dead yet: World still needs fossil fuels, Egyptian minister says
The world may be on an irreversible march toward clean energy, but the past year has brought with it a sobering reminder that 21st-century economies cannot function for the foreseeable future without oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels, said Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla.
EU’s top envoy says West must hold firm in fight for Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin is betting that U.S. and Western European political and societal resolve to back Kyiv will soon break down so that his military can proceed with its dismemberment of Ukraine, the top European Union diplomat in Washington warned in an interview.
Syrian-American advocacy group criticizes U.S. policy, lack of action on Assad, civil war injustices
The U.S. has lost face on the world stage by ignoring Syrian President Bashar Assad's war crimes, a top Syrian American activist says, and Washington is dangerously in denial of the fallout from Mr. Assad's emergence as the victor of the country's more than decade-long civil war.
Larry Hogan fears Trump brand will weaken party, Democrats will erode his progress
As Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan prepares to exit the governor's mansion and end his eight-year stint in the unusual role of a Republican running a deep-blue state, he is shaking his head in disbelief at what's become of the GOP.
U.S. ‘waking up too slowly’ on China, House GOP point man on Beijing warns
The U.S. is "waking up, but we're waking up too slowly" to the growing threats posed by China, Rep. Mike Gallagher said this week, arguing that the Biden administration is failing to take the steps necessary to put America in a position to win its 21st-century showdown with the rising communist military and economic superpower..
Pompeo says China’s Xi senses ‘weakness’ emanating from White House
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The U.S. should give Taiwan "every tool" it needs to block a Chinese takeover, according to former Secretary of State and potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate Mike Pompeo, who says an "absence of resolve" in President Biden's foreign policy has invited aggression from adversaries around the world.
Hungarian diplomat pushes talks for swift end to Russia-Ukraine war
Hungary's top diplomat is calling for immediate talks to end the war in Ukraine, asserting that "all wars end up in negotiations" and that the world should be focused on how to achieve peace by quickly bringing about a cessation of the nearly five-month-old conflict.
Clintons interview Kim Kardashian, Steinem on Apple TV+ show
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, will interview the likes of Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion and Gloria Steinem for a streaming series that debuts in two months.
Florida Democrat Nikki Fried embraces underdog status in race to take on Gov. DeSantis
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has accused the governor of using his office to pursue larger political ambitions and peddling culture wars that have distracted work on other issues facing Floridians.
Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger touts ‘truth,’ ‘facts’ against Trump-backed primary rival
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the truth is on his side in his reelection race, and much of the political universe agrees, with the glaring exception of former President Donald Trump.
Justice Thomas says high court won’t be ‘bullied’ over Roe leak
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declared the high court won't be "bullied" on Friday, briefly referencing the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion suggesting the justices are poised to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 case giving women a national right to an abortion.
GOP defections thwart some of conservatives’ plans in Kansas
Key conservative initiatives are likely to fail in Kansas this year because a few Republicans are breaking with the rest of the Legislature's veto-proof GOP supermajorities.
Jim Jordan prods GOP colleagues to consider impeaching Biden
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee who is poised to control the panel if the GOP takeover next year, said Republicans must consider impeaching President Biden.
U.S. deal about more than subs, Australia’s ambassador says
Australia's decision to throw over France in favor of a nuclear submarine deal with the U.S. and Great Britain may have generated the most headlines recently, but the new Anglophone partnership known as AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) is about much more than any one particular weapon system, Canberra's ambassador to the United States said this week.
EXCLUSIVE: Russian disinformation ‘true constitutional threat,’ top Air Force general warns
Russian social media disinformation campaigns and the increasingly hostile political battles they've fueled across America represent a "true constitutional threat" to the nation, contributing to COVID-19 vaccine skepticism and other serious issues in the military and beyond, a top Air Force general told The Washington Times this week.
EXCLUSIVE: Space Force commander warns of China’s growing threat to U.S. in space
China is threatening to overtake the U.S. military as the most dominant force in space, says the second in command of the now 3-year-old U.S. Space Force, who warns that Washington must dramatically accelerate its rollout of critical new technologies if it wants to retain superiority over the futuristic war-fighting domain.
