All things considered, politically and economically, the US economy isn't doing as well as mainstream media would like Americans to think, and it couldn't be clearer when reviewing the US Labor Department's latest report on unemployment, Dr. Richard Wolff, economist and professor at the New School University, tells Sputnik. [...]

The US military’s F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft have a problem with spare parts, and it’s keeping the planes out of the sky, according to a new report by a government watchdog. "F-35 aircraft were unable to fly nearly 30% of the May-November 2018 time period due to spare parts shortages," according to an April report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). [...]

The United States on Monday announced its decision to halt shipments of F-35-related equipment due to Ankara's plans to purchase Russia's S-400 missile defence system. Turkey, a US-NATO ally, has been planning to purchase 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US. Sputnik discussed this with Oliver Steward, a political strategist from the UK. [...]

Washington has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on all parties related to or working on Nord Stream 2, with President Donald Trump accusing Germany of being a “captive” of Russia and urging Berlin to halt its cooperation on the $11-billion project. [...]

Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard declared in a campaign video that the media only supports US President Donald Trump when he talks about military actions towards other countries. “Neocons/Neolibs and MSM all sing from the same song sheet: War war war!!! Trump never gets positive media unless he's threatening war/carrying out military action. [...]

As Joe Biden leads the pack of candidates for Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, the New York Times has decided to describe accusations about his son’s shady dealings in Ukraine as a politically motivated Trump hit job. [...]

TUCKER CARLSON: There is much we don't know about the situation in Venezuela. What we do know is that Venezuela's current government has done a poor job of providing for its own people. Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, yet it remains one of the most impoverished and the most dangerous places on the planet. That is beyond dispute. [...]

The Pentagon, whose military installations abroad dwarf those of China, is deeply worried about Beijing conspiring to build up such facilities across the world in order to protect the global One Belt, One Road project. [...]

Earlier, speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence boasted about "renewed American leadership on the world stage," while talking up sanctions against Russia, tough tariffs against China, 'confrontation' with Iran, and US intentions to withdraw from the INF Treaty. [...]

Sports betting begins across the US; Joe Biden and Democrats "consultantocracy" problem; Book Review "Birth Strike" On this episode of "By Any Means Necessary" hosts Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon are joined by Axios Sports Editor Kendall Baker to talk about US states' implementing sports betting, the tax shortfalls in states that do not offer mobile sports betting, the efforts by casinos to blo [...]

US cyber officials are attempting to put the squeeze on their European allies, saying they will have to reassess their ability to share information with them if they use Huawei in their 5G networks. [...]

Earlier, US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman characterised the deployment of two carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea as a signal to Russia, saying the warships represented "100,000 tonnes of international diplomacy" amid alleged Russian "destabilizing activities around the world." [...]

The research vessel, which belongs to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, is fitted with advanced scanning equipment and is carrying an unmanned submarine capable of operating hundreds of meters below the ocean surface. [...]

Retirees are heading out of state to these spots. It’s the land of enchantment — for retirees. Data released by United Van Lines — which tracked customers’ state-to-state migration patterns in 2018 — found that New Mexico was the No. 1 state where retirees moved. More than four in 10 (43%) moves to New Mexico were related to retirement, the moving company found, and nearly six in 10 p [...]

The fact that German investments in Russia hit a ten-year record high in 2018 shows that the pressure Washington has exerted on Europe failed to discourage German businesses from returning to the Russian market, analysts believe. [...]

Democratic 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders called the government of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “racist” during a CNN town hall. Another blue candidate, Beto O’Rourke, used similar wording to blast the Israeli leader. [...]

KOMO's Eric Johnson explores the impact the drug and homelessness problem is having on the city and possible solutions in this documentary titled, "Seattle is Dying." "Let me ask you something. What if Seattle is dying and we don't even know it?" Johnson asks in the introduction. "This story is about a wave of seething anger that is now boiling over into outrage. [...]

The US-European united transatlantic front on sanctions took a hit this week, with Brussels warning that it would retaliate if Washington moved forward with plans to impose a sanctions regime on foreign investments in Cuba which threatened European companies. [...]

Escalation of US-China bilateral tariffs to shave off $1 trillion from America’s GDP. A study by the US Chamber of Commerce shows how the deterioration in the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies, China and the United States, will drastically affect the American economy. [...]

Moscow's sovereign gold stockpile jumped up to over 2,100 metric tonnes last year, with the country's status as a major gold producer allowing for reserves to be built up using domestically sourced bullion. [...]

With US military assets scattered to the four corners of the planet, and entrenched on Russia’s border, Washington believes the world is a playground that no other nation may enter. This is arrogance at its finest. [...]

RT America host Rick Sanchez has broken down the true lessons of the Robert Mueller probe and Russiagate, revealing why he believes Russia was pegged as the US's “exclusive boogieman.” [...]