House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is planning to visit Taiwan later this year as concerns grow regarding the tension between Taiwan and China. Last year, President Biden committed to defending Taiwan if China were to invade the island. The Center for Strategic and International Studies ran the scenarios in a wargame to see what could happen.…

Ukraine needs modern tanks. Great Britain and France are sending some, but so far the U.S. and Germany have balked at the idea. Almost since the start of the war, the Ukrainians have been pleading with the West for tanks to help fight off the Russian invasion. Ukraine had some Soviet-era T-72s when the war…

According to an exclusive report from Reuters, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm wrote a letter to a House committee warning about the effects an oil bill could have on gas prices if passed. The Strategic Production Response Act, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., would limit presidential authority in releasing oil from…

Russia is one step closer to arming the world’s largest submarine with the world’s deadliest torpedoes. At least according to Russian state media it is. This week, Russia’s Tass News Agency reported the country completed the first batch of Poseidon nuclear-capable torpedoes for its Belgorod nuclear-powered submarine. Launched in 2019, the Russian navy’s Belgorod is…

Migrant encounters at the southern border are once again at a new historic-high; new research on freshwater fish may have diners thinking twice before ordering that catfish dinner; and President Biden plans to visit California following deadly flooding. These stories and more highlight the Straight Arrow News afternoon rundown for Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.  Biden…

On the heels of the latest major attack in Ukraine, both sides of Russia’s invasion have begun training for the potential of the war to last months into the future. The attack, a missile strike that hit an apartment building in Dnipro, was among the deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians since before last summer. About…

The small village of Lutzerath, in western Germany, is at the center of a heated clash between police and environmental activists. The hamlet is set to be demolished by German multinational energy company RWE, as part of a deal struck by the local and national governments. The reason for the destruction of the village is…

There was chaos in Brazil over the weekend. Supporters of the country’s ousted President Jair Bolsonaro stormed buildings in the capital as they refused to accept his defeat to now President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. At least 400 people have been arrested after rioters smashed windows, climbed on the roofs and flooded parts of…

New war game simulations show that if China invades Taiwan and a full-fledged war breaks out, China would likely lose. However, the cost of such a war would also leave the U.S., Japan and Taiwan militarily and economically devastated.   The war gaming was conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). CSIS said…

A tragedy in Louisiana has left two high school cheerleaders dead and a police officer arrested; speculation grows over NFL player Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest and incidents of children eating cannabis edibles spike. These stories and more highlight your midday rundown, aimed straight down the middle, for Jan. 3, 2023.  Louisiana officer arrested after deadly…