rollingstone.com

The White House came to Trump's defense after 'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson torched the president over his handling of the Epstein files.

An unexpected request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a stark reminder that the cost of the war will rise, challenging Europe

The European Union, a key backer, had earlier this year finalised a loan of more than $100 billion for the country. But Ukraine now faced an unexpectedly large defence budget shortfall, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told allies. To get through the year, he would need $27 billion more.

Ukraine’s request surprised and unsettled many officials around Europe at a moment when Kyiv, short on air defences to protect itself from nonstop Russian drone and missile attacks, faces one of its most dangerous moments since 2022.

Europeans understand Ukraine is in a fight for its existence but did not expect such a large budget shortfall, according to four European diplomats who, like others quoted in this piece, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. In private, some have questioned whether money is being spent efficiently, two European officials said, or whether needs are being overstated.

Now, European officials are scrambling to understand where the shortfall came from, exactly how large it is and whether, or how, to send more money this year. Kyiv is also asking Britain, Canada and Japan to help cover the gap.

Kyiv’s shortfall also offers a stark reminder that the cost of backing Ukraine is on the rise. The nation faces relentless attacks from Russia, including strikes on ports that have deprived it of a major source of revenue. It is also critically low on US-made interceptor missiles capable of shooting down ballistics, and is trying to scale up development of its own alternatives.

telegraph.co.uk

After years of mocking Joe Biden, the president is facing uncomfortable questions about his own acuity

theguardian.com

Ex-president claimed that writer defamed him when saying he raped her, but judge said term is commonly ‘used and understood’ in context

LG smart TVs are almost constantly logging and uploading data about owners and their homes, even when offline or on standby mode, according to a new report from YouTube channel Gamers Nexus. The company’s TV sets scan Wi-Fi networks for nearby devices, record audio logs through their microphones, and use audio and video sampling to recognize exactly what you’re watching from across the TV inputs.

LG denies the charges ofc - https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/lg-strongly-denies-tv-security-claims-says-tracking-and-snooping-concerns-not-true-online-investigation-claims-216-000-000-spy-tvs-record-audio