I see @joshrogin.bsky.social and Nour Wood reporting about this very concern--"The Iran war threatens Trump’s Gulf gold rush" ... in @washingtonpost.com ...
wpintelligence.washingtonpost.com/topics/2026/...

"The corruption is endemic, it is systemic, and it is growing."

Questions of insider trading continue to loom over the Trump administration as the war in Iran drags on. @joshrogin.bsky.social , Ron Insana, and Dan Nathan discuss on the #11thHour.

NEWS: I’ve obtained a list of 48 U.S. Ambassadors at embassies the Trump admin is recalling with little or no explanation. Along with existing several dozen vacancies, they leave an unprecedented number of U.S. embassies leaderless.

This list was compiled internally at State & there may be others:

WHA — Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

Guatemala — Tobin John Bradley
Guyana — Nicole D. Theriot
Suriname — Robert Faucher

SCA — Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

Kyrgyz Republic — Lesslie Viguerie
Nepal — Dean R. Thompson
Sri Lanka (and Maldives) — Julie J. Chung
Tajikistan — Manuel P. Micaller, Jr.
Turkmenistan — Elizabeth Rood
Uzbekistan — Jonathan Henick

EUR — Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Armenia — Kristina A. Kvien
Lithuania — Kara C. McDonald
North Macedonia — Angela Price Aggeler
Slovakia — Gautam Rana

NEA — Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

Oman — Ana Escrogima
Yemen — Steven H. Fagin

Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru & Tuvalu — Marie C. Damour
Laos — Heather Roach Variava
Micronesia (FSM) — Jennifer L. Johnson
Mongolia — Richard Lee Buangan
Palau — Joel Ehrendreich
Papua New Guinea & Vanuatu — Ann Marie Yastishock

Togo — Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons
Uganda — William W. Popp
Zambia — Michael C. Gonzales
Zimbabwe — Pamela Tremont

EAP — Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Brunei Darussalam — Caryn McClelland

Niger — Kathleen FitzGibbon
Nigeria — Richard Mills, Jr.
Rwanda — Eric W. Kneedler
Senegal & Guinea-Bissau — Michael Raynor
Sierra Leone — Bryan David Hunt
Somalia — Richard H. Riley, IV
South Sudan — Michael J. Adler

Congo (Democratic Republic of the) — Lucy Tamlyn
Côte d’Ivoire — Jessica Davis Ba
Djibouti — Cynthia Kierscht
Egypt — Herro Mustafa Garg
Equatorial Guinea — David R. Gilmour
Ethiopia — Ervin Jose Massinga
Gabon — Vernelle Trim FitzPatrick

AF — Bureau of African Affairs

African Union — Stephanie S. Sullivan
Algeria — Elizabeth Aubin
Benin — Brian Wesley Shukan
Botswana — Howard A. Van Vranken
Burkina Faso — Joann M. Lockard
Burundi — Lisa Peterson
Cabo Verde — Jennifer M. Adams
Cameroon — Christopher J. Lamora

NEWS: I’ve obtained a list of 48 U.S. Ambassadors at embassies the Trump admin is recalling with little or no explanation. Along with existing several dozen vacancies, they leave an unprecedented number of U.S. embassies leaderless.

This list was compiled internally at State & there may be others:

Opinion | Here’s what the Americans being hurt by the shutdown are saying Will Congress listen?

"Even if the shutdown ends soon, and I hope it will, it may already be too late to prevent lasting economic damage to many households," Patrice Onwuka writes. https://wapo.st/479IfHv

BREAKING: US sanctions Colombia’s president

Here are the companies destroying the east wing of the White House

A Woman Self-Deported, Hoping to Shield Her Son. He Was Detained Anyway. Joel Camas, 16, had been without his mother for about four weeks after she voluntarily returned to Ecuador. His lawyer had hoped his age would shield him.

A 16-year-old undocumented immigrant living without parents after his mother voluntarily returned to Ecuador, hoping to avoid her son being deported, was detained Thursday during a routine check-in with federal officials.

This was our last visit to the East Wing of the White House. I didn’t know at the time it would be our last visit there because the whole thing would get demolished. It was really nice, actually. Sad.

China Forum 2025 China Forum is an annual conference exploring the nature of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and key issues in U.S.-China relations.

RSVP at chinaforum.org

Speakers include @congressmanraja.bsky.social @rushdoshi.bsky.social @rushanabbas.bsky.social @joshrogin.bsky.social @edwardlemon.bsky.social @yaqiu.bsky.social etc.

EU pushes new AI strategy to reduce tech reliance on US and China Brussels to unveil plan targeting digital sovereignty as it warns technology can be ‘weaponised’ by geopolitical rivals

OMG, I've been saying this for at least 5 years.

"EU... warns technology can be ‘weaponised’ by geopolitical rivals."

Finally we are waking up!

But @hennavirkkunen.bsky.social, this applies not only to AI but also to the (American & Chinese) digital platforms we use!

www.ft.com/content/ea3d...

Its up to us to save the America of our rights and freedoms- the America of our Constitution - if we can. We can push back- we have seen that can be effective . We can stand with those who are being oppressed. Dont lose hope

Opinion | ‘A nasty situation’: 3 writers discuss recognition of Palestinian statehood Three writers discuss the recognition of a Palestinian state by leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.

Will wider international recognition of Palestinian statehood help bring peace to the region? Or is it just empty symbolism that could backfire?

@dmarusic.bsky.social, David Ignatius and @joshrogin.bsky.social discuss:

Ohio Chaplain’s Case Shows How 9/11-Era Terror Rules Could Empower Trump’s Immigration Crackdown The U.S. government is trying to deport Ohio children’s hospital chaplain Ayman Soliman, alleging tenuous connections to terrorism. If DHS succeeds, experts say it could hand the Trump administration ...

By elevating the national security argument against Soliman, his lawyers said, DHS was able to bypass an immigration judge and order the chaplain held without bond as “potentially dangerous.”

“DHS is judge, jury and executioner,” said one attorney.

By @hannahallam.bsky.social

WATCH — @joshrogin.bsky.social : “Trump thinks Putin really wants peace. And he’s wrong. And he’s the president of 🇺🇸. And it’s a huge problem.”

Yes… Or he needs to keep playing along to play Putin’s game, and Vlad is the one calling the shots.

Either way, not good.

Piers Morgan on Trump's tariffs: "You're now seeing the week ending with slightly more coherent strategy, which may have been his game all along."

Josh Rogin: "You think this is 4D chess?... It's Hungry Hungry Hippos... and when it's wrong, real people suffer."

TONIGHT: Bill welcomes Steve Bannon, Piers Morgan and Josh Rogin to Real Time and shares the details of his dinner with President Trump. 10PM ET on HBO + Max!

#StartTheClock: Tonight's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher feat. Steve Bannon, Piers Morgan, and Josh Rogin is now on HBO + streaming on Max!

Watch the conversation continue after the show on #RTOvertime @ YouTube.com/RealTime

Hegseth says firing of top military lawyers was about making sure "they don't exist to be roadblocks to anything that happens."

Good Afternoon from your Super Bowl Champion, Philadelphia Eagles.

Jan. 6 video evidence has 'disappeared' from public access, media coalition says A coalition of news organizations said in a court filing that video exhibits from a Jan. 6 riot case had "disappeared" from a government platform that provided access to evidence used in court.

A coalition of news organizations said in a court filing that video exhibits from a Jan. 6 riot case had "disappeared" from a government platform that provided access to evidence used in court.