Amid official economic statistics that claim “the world’s largest paper economy is in a marvelous recovery” and the insistence of leading US economists that the national debt doesn’t matter as it is owed to itself, geopolitical analyst F. William Engdahl argues that the country is almost bankrupt and its end could be nearer than any of us imagine. [...]

The lull in the US-China trade war amid new flaring tensions over the arrest of Huawei finance chief can only backfire at Washington as Beijing holds a trump card, veteran stockbroker Peter Schiff has warned. [...]

Consistent disregard of Russia’s interests by the US, as well as Washington’s dismissive attitude towards Moscow in the post-Cold War era, have led to strained relations between the two, former US Defense Secretary William Perry told the Guardian. [...]

The US State Department has begun requiring visa applicants to submit five years’ worth of social media history, threatening “serious immigration consequences” for those who attempt to conceal their accounts. [...]

The US Justice Department cautioned local courts that it is unconstitutional to jail someone for not paying fines without determining whether they are able to pay, and warned against using court fees to generate revenue for cities. The warnings came as part of an effort to reform court practices that “perpetuate poverty and result in unnecessary deprivations of liberty,” the Justice Depar [...]

Some Norwegian politicians believe the uncertainty surrounding the price of the US F-35 fighter jets, the new backbone of the country's air force, is “absurd”. To settle an ongoing dispute surrounding the cost of F-35s once and for all, the Norwegian parliament's control and constitutional committee has asked Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen to name the price for the fighter jets based on t [...]

Corporate inversions are 'nothing less than a tax scam,' says Sanders. In a bid to prevent what has been called the biggest tax evasion scheme of its kind—and others like it—Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to use his agency's authority to block the planned merger of two pharmaceutical giants. [...]

A Venezuelan Su-30 fighter “aggressively shadowed” an American spy plane over the Caribbean Sea, the US military said, claiming the jet was at an “unsafe distance” and blaming Russia for its “irresponsible” support for Caracas. [...]

Cenk Uygur, Jimmy Dore and Jordan Chariton of The Young Turks breakdown some key differences between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump speeches. They asked Bernie Sanders about some of the red-baiting questions corporate media constantly throws at him.   Bernie Sanders Speech Vs. Donald Trump Speech Bought Corporate Media HATES Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders Rally in Los Angel [...]

The Philippines will never allow the US to deploy nuclear weapons on its soil to counter China’s growing influence in the region, President Duterte declared, slamming Washington’s untrustworthiness even in small arms deals. [...]

Harriet Beecher Stowe is reputed — in Stowe family legend at least — to have been greeted by President Lincoln with, “Is this the little woman who made this great war?”Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe’s novel that dramatized government-sanctioned human bondage, is credited, somewhat fancifully, with moving American public opinion about slavery and helping start the U.S. Civil War. [...]

Trump-bashing is nothing unusual at CNN, but when a guest told Brian Stelter that the president “may be responsible for many more million deaths” than the worst dictators of the 20th Century, even the host was left red-faced. [...]

US officials, always sensitive to anti-American leaks and harsh to whistleblowers, now appear unconcerned about how the Panama Papers came to light. Grilled by reporters, the State Department could not tell if the US-funded leak was actually data theft or not. [...]

The devastating blitz on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry has led to a flurry of accusations from US officials blaming Iran. The reason for the finger-pointing is simple: Washington’s spectacular failure to protect its Saudi ally. [...]

The US Central Intelligence Agency has become increasingly focused on monitoring social media, according to a document obtained by The Intercept; the intelligence agency is pouring money in start-ups mining tweets, Instagram photos and Facebook posts. Every time you post a message on Facebook or share a photo on Instagram, remember this: Big Brother is watching you. [...]

Under development since 2012, the 20+ tonne stealthy flying wing design began rigorous military testing earlier this year. The Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle may one day become a full-fledged replacement for all sorts of combat aircraft, including the latest generation of Russian fighter jets, Izvestia has reported, citing the military and a military aircraft specialist [...]

Latest NBC/WSJ poll shows Clinton holds just 2-point advantage. Though all political eyes in the U.S. are now focused like a laser beam on Tuesday's New York primary, the national trends remain startling when it comes to the intense competition between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. [...]

A new survey from consultancy McKinsey & Co has found that a majority of banks globally may not be economically viable because their returns on equity aren’t keeping pace with costs. The study looked at 1,000 banks in developed and emerging countries and found that just over a third had made a return on capital of just 1.6 percent over the past three years. This compares to returns of j [...]

Given what has happened to the Arab World with US attention, the rest of Asia must shudder at the prospect of what could happen to it with President Obama’s new doctrine: "Pivot to Asia." A recent Obama interview, conducted by noted American-Israeli journalist Jeffrey Goldberg entitled, "The Obama Doctrine: The US President Talks Through His Hardest Decisions About America’s Role in the Wo [...]

WhatsApp is a “Trojan horse” exploited to snoop on millions of users naive enough to believe that the Facebook-owned messenger differs from its parent company, long beset by privacy scandals, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said. [...]

Small things can make all the difference, but so can $3.32 trillion – the amount required by the American Society of Civil Engineers to rectify the US’ major infrastructure weaknesses. Even worse, ignoring the problem will only make it more expensive. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released a study and an estimate revealing how expensive and expansive the crumbling infr [...]

Allseas, a Swiss-Dutch company laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline off the Danish coast, has announced it is suspending its work and will pull out of the project after being faced with an avalanche of sanctions by the US. The company, which operates two vessels installing deep-sea pipes for Nord Stream 2 on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, released its statement just before US President Donald Trump si [...]