The U.S. dollar’s global dominance has been a sure thing for about a century. Now emerging economies are looking to dethrone it. Foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, nations known collectively as BRICS, have recently discussed using alternative currencies to challenge U.S. global influence. Representatives from the bloc gathered in Cape…

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the Black Sea. The ministry said the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel was heading north to the Ukrainian Danube River port of Izmail. According to the ministry, Russian forces fired shots from automatic small arms to force it to stop after the…

The Maui wildfires have now become some of the deadliest in United States history, and cameras captured a plane crashing during an air show. These stories and more highlight The Rundown for Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Maui wildfires deadliest in U.S. in more than a century The wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui are…

President Joe Biden is asking Congress to provide an additional $13 billion in emergency defense aid and $8 billion in humanitarian support for Ukraine. The request also includes $12 billion for the domestic disaster relief fund and costs a total of $40 billion.  Congress is actively debating how much money it’s willing to spend on…

The United States Navy needs new warships, and it’s getting them. The U.S. Senate approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which will allocate enough money for the service to buy 10 ships in fiscal year 2024. Here’s a breakdown of the ships to be procured: Funding for the amphibious ship was a…

Four and a half months after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for her arrest, Russia’s Maria Lvova-Belova confirmed more than 700,000 Ukrainian kids were moved to Russia. In a report she authored, Lvova-Belova said Russia “accepted” almost 5 million Ukrainians since the war began. Lvova-Belova, backing the party line, maintained the vast majority…

Is the Ukraine war also a public relations war? The U.S. has sometimes promoted the idea that Putin’s power may be weakening. First, rumors that Putin had cancer began circulating. Then there was the Wagner Group’s short-lived rebellion against Russia’s military leadership. Putin, on the other hand, is pushing the argument that the West is…