Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi survived a confidence vote in the Italy Senate, but Thursday’s vote raised concerns over a potential government collapse after the populist 5-Star Movement boycotted the vote. The confidence vote, which included measures to offset an ongoing cost of living crisis, was 172-39 for Draghi. Within minutes of the vote, Draghi met…

A major gas pipeline from Russia to Europe has been shut down for what have been called routine repairs, but there is concern that it may not be restarted anytime soon. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs beneath the Baltic Sea and delivers much of Russia’s natural gas to the continent. No country is more…

We’ve heard for weeks about the looming worldwide food crisis being generated by the war in Ukraine. The price of food continues to rise, in part because the Russians are blocking Ukrainian ports, and shipments of wheat are going nowhere. About 30% of the world’s wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine, which could impact nearly…

Headlines for Friday morning, July 8, 2022, include: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during a campaign speech Friday morning. Abe was Japan’s longest serving leader before stepping down in 2020 over health concerns. He was shot twice from behind reportedly with a makeshift gun. The alleged gunman was arrested. Leaders…

The economic forecast for the U.S. remains gloomy, and experts say the worst may be yet to come. Wall Street just endured its worst first-half performance since 1970 and the World Bank expects global economic growth to slow dramatically in 2022. As his poll numbers sink amid soaring gas prices, President Joe Biden has tried…

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been pushing for more than a year to get the OK from the Federal Communications Commission to provide mobile Starlink internet service to boats, planes and automobiles. The company got its wish this week when the FCC authorized the use of the technology on moving vehicles. SpaceX first asked the FCC…

Nuclear power in the United States is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. A global commitment to cut carbon emissions, coupled with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting spike in carbon fuels, is forcing politicians, energy producers and investors to reconsider a nuclear future. The United States was the dominant nuclear energy developer and…

Moscow had failed to pay about $100 million in interest on two bonds during a 30-day grace period that expired Sunday. Essentially, Russia’s creditors hadn’t received payments and Moody’s credit agency said that the missed deadline “constitutes a default.” It also predicted Russia would default on more payments in the future. While Russia regards any…

On the same day NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, President Joe Biden promised to maintain the United States’ recently-increased military presence in Europe for the “foreseeable future.” Both moves are seen as steps to bolster their respective defense capacities in Europe amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. “I think the…

The current war in Ukraine looks very different from the one Russia clumsily initiated on February 22. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg recently claimed, “Ukraine now faces a brutality which we haven’t seen in Europe since the Second World War.” Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan recounts the confounding initial missteps of the Russian army and…