Senior US Air Force leaders said this week 74 new squadrons and some 40,000 personnel are needed to address what they called future threats. When asked by lawmakers,"What do you need to execute the National Defense Strategy," US Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Monday that the service will need a lot more money, without diving into specifics. [...]

Steve Paikin, host of the TVOntario (TVO) program The Agenda with Steve Paikin, speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, a vociferous public critic of presidents on both sides of the American political spectrum, and author of the new book, America, the Farewell Tour. Hedges delivers the biting assessment of the state of American democracy that our neighbors to the North are not [...]

WASHINGTON - The US Navy 6th Fleet is informed about the deadly crash of the Russian Il-20 in the Mediterranean near Syria and is ready to provide assistance at sea to any country if needed, the 6th Fleet's public affairs officer, Cmdr. Kyle Raines, told Sputnik. [...]

WASHINGTON - Daesh used rudimentary chemical weapons and encouraged sympathizers to use whatever other weapon at their disposal to carry out terrorist attacks, the US Department of State said in a report on Wednesday. [...]

The growing budget deficit will force the US government to borrow $56 billion more this quarter than expected. Curiously, the amount is close to what Russia sold in US Treasury securities in April and May. Citing surging spending and falling tax receipts, the US government will borrow the most money since the 2008 financial crisis. [...]

An American Nobel Prize winner has spoken out against US president Donald Trump's global trade war at a Chinese conference on international development. The keynote speaker heavily criticised his country's protectionist stance, stating that trade wars would hurt Americans as much as others. [...]

The biggest holder of US Treasury bills, notes and bonds – China – has dropped $7.8 billion worth of US sovereign debt as a large-scale trade conflict, launched by Washington earlier this year, breaks new ground. The latest statistics released by the US Treasury Department showed that China’s share of US sovereign bonds hit a six month low of $1.171 trillion in July, from $1.178 trillion in [...]

One question as we head to the November midterm elections, a referendum on the president, is: Could Donald Trump be a one-man version of either Enron or Lehman Brothers, someone who cooked “the books” until he implodes? asks Nomi Prins. Once upon a time, there was a little-known energy company called Enron. In its 16-year life, it went from being dubbed America’s most innovative company [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Tariffs imposed by the US government on metals and other imported goods are causing widespread pressures for manufacturers and businesses in the United States, the Federal Reserve said in a report. "All Districts noted fairly widespread input price pressures, particularly for construction materials and freight transportation," the report released on Wednesday said. [...]

The proposed US sanctions targeting Russian bonds, OFZs, will likely hurt not only Moscow, but also numerous holders of such bonds in the West, an analyst has said. The measure was proposed by a group of US senators lead by Republican Lindsey Graham. [...]

The book says the Trump administration was seriously concerned about the possibility of Hezbollah dragging the US into a “catastrophic” Middle East war. The recently-published book entitled "Fear: Trump in the White House" says that in February 2017, early in the Trump administration, top US officials were seriously worried that Israel could not defend itself against a possible attack from Hez [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - More than 90 percent of economists believe tariffs will have a negative effect on the US economy, a poll conducted by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) showed on Monday. [...]

The latest technical glitch has delivered additional setbacks to the Pentagon's most prized fifth-generation fighter jet. Military experts have been left scratching their helmets trying to figure out a viable solution to the problem, but options remain limited. [...]

Today in the US, just arguing with someone can get you banned from social media platforms. We have crossed into a parallel reality, the very Matrix dungeon, where tech companies police not only our thoughts but our behavior. A strange thing happened on the way to this week’s Senate hearing on social media. [...]

The United States is the largest debtor nation in the world and “it’s getting worse and worse,” according to investment guru Jim Rogers, who talked to RT on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEU) in Vladivostok. Rogers admits that he still owns a lot of US dollars but not because it’s a sound currency. [...]

Why America’s Further Down the Spiral of Fascism Than it Thinks. Citizenship being revoked, denied, and simply disappeared along the border. Bank accounts being frozen and cancelled, along similar lines. These two recent developments should raise a difficult, urgent, and necessary question for us all. [...]

John McCain’s death has inspired a slew of whitewashed obituaries, cringeworthy plaudits and declarations of love from both sides of the political divide — but as historical revisionism goes, his funeral was a step too far. If there is anyone who owns the right to whitewash John McCain’s legacy, it is his daughter, Meghan McCain. In her hour of grief, we can permit her to rewrite her father� [...]

Israel controls America, and Israel wants all the Middle East as a 'Greater Israel'. That's what it's all about. Why are the US and Israel so friendly anyway? That's a hugely controversial question. Though American support for Israel really is massive, including billions of dollars in aid and reliable diplomatic backing, experts disagree sharply on why. Some possibilities include deep support for [...]

The European Union should set up a system that would allow Brussels to be independent in its financial operations from Washington, according to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. It is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system,” [...]

On November 6, 2018, the US will hold mid-term congressional elections. The Americans will vote on the fate of all 435 seats in the House of Representatives; there are also 33 US Senate races. [...]

Qatar and Turkey have inked a currency swap agreement to boost liquidity and provide financial stability, Qatar’s central bank said, days after Doha pledged $15 billion of direct investment into Turkish markets. The deal, which aims to boost cooperation between the countries, was clinched on Friday. The agreement will set up a two-way currency exchange line and facilitate exchange of trade betwe [...]

Today it seems like we are in another Cold War. It was breathtaking to watch our PM Theresa May immediately blaming Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals before the police had conducted their investigation into the evidence. Growing up after the Second World War our news was dominated by the threat from the Soviet Union, but when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 I don’t think anyone could h [...]