Top World News
Maddow flags conflict of interest behind bizarre Trump scandal: 'Doesn't make sense!'
Jun 16, 2026 - World 
Rachel Maddow kicked off her MS NOW segment on Monday with a deep dive into one of the most bizarre and sketchy side sagas of the Trump administration's second term: his refusal to allow the Gordie Howe Bridge between Canada and the United States to open."The big, beautiful new bridge that Trump is not allowing us to use is that bridge that crosses the Detroit River ... to Windsor, Ontario, Canada," said Maddow, showing pictures of the completed but empty bridge and noting it is "fully financed and paid for" and will be "the biggest U.S. border crossing [with] Canada" and "one of the most important routes for trade in the entire world."Unfortunately, she said, "This is why we can't have nice things." Trump has refused to let the bridge open, and is arguing Canada must allow the U.S. to claim joint ownership of the structure.For their part, Maddow continued, "the White House insists that categorically, just because [Trump is] president, he can't have a conflict of interest. It's like dividing by zero. Doesn't make sense!"Nonetheless, she added, there is something in all of this that does look like a glaring conflict of interest."There is a competing bridge a little way down the river. A privately owned, very old, very congested toll bridge that will likely lose some of its traffic because of competition," said Maddow, referring to the Ambassador Bridge owned by the ultra-wealthy Maroun family and their trucking empire. And that family "earlier this year made a $1 million donation to Donald Trump's super PAC," said Maddow, after which they got a meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Despite the White House and the super PAC both claiming this chain of events was a coincidence, Maddow said, "that night, Trump suddenly discovers new, supposedly trade-related reasons why he is now against this bridge, even though previously he had been for it.""That all happened in February. Now it's June," said Maddow — and the bridge is still closed. - YouTube youtu.be
Middle East leaders used flattery as Trump's 'north star' to end Iran war: analyst
Jun 16, 2026 - World 
President Donald Trump was flattered by Middle East leaders into agreeing to a framework to end the war with Iran in a simple and very egotistical way, MS NOW's Chris Hayes agreed in a conversation with Iranian political analyst Trita Parsi.Specifically, Trump was persuaded into believing that he had persuaded Iran to take a deal better than the former Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the multilateral nuclear deal brokered by former President Barack Obama — even though many aspects of the deal are considerably more conciliatory to Iran."I think the one thing that does seem the north star for him ... when the Omani foreign minister flew to the U.S. to appear on the Sunday shows in a last-ditch effort to stop this war from happening right when there were negotiations going on," said Hayes. "He understood it, too, because it's not a very complicated psychology. He's basically on TV the weekend before the war starts being like, it's better than Obama, it's better than Obama."The bottom line, said Hayes, is that "that benchmark [to end the war] can be whatever it means for the old man's ego," even if it's not a meaningful policy accomplishment.Parsi agreed, saying that Trump "will create his own reality here."Additionally, he said, it's not all a bad thing, as there are genuinely some parts of what Trump is pursuing that are stronger than JCPOA was."For instance, in the Obama deal, the Iranians would only have a stockpile of 300 kilos of low-enriched uranium on their soil. At any point," said Parsi. "You need 1,200 for a bomb. Whenever they reach the 300 level, it would be shipped out. That was a very good deal." By contrast, he said, in the February agreement Trump wants to base the current framework on, "they would have zero stockpile. Whatever they produce, they would immediately turn into fuel [rods]. They would never keep a stockpile at all."That said, he added, "Was it worth all of this? Absolutely not. In fact, that was already achieved before the war." - YouTube youtu.be
Eight presumed dead after B-52 bomber crashes at California air force base
Jun 16, 2026 - World 
B-52 crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards air force base in southern California’s Mojave Desert, officials saySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailEight people are presumed dead after a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff on Monday morning at a US air force base in California’s Mojave Desert, officials said.“An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine test mission crashed today shortly after take-off at 11:20 a.m,” Edwards air force base said in a statement Monday afternoon. “Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable. Emergency response personnel are on scene, and officials are working to account for all personnel.” Continue reading...
6.7 magnitude earthquake shakes part of Indonesia
Jun 16, 2026 - World 
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook part of Indonesia on Tuesday and was followed by strong aftershocks
Sri Lanka sees ‘alarming’ rise in cybercrime as scam networks relocate from south-east Asia
Jun 16, 2026 - World 
Experts say criminal networks favour Sri Lanka due to ease of getting tourist visas and limited regulation on sim cards and internet connectionsExperts have warned that Sri Lanka is emerging as a hub for transnational cybercrime, after a crackdown in south-east Asia pushed Chinese-run criminal networks to relocate their vast scam operations.Sri Lankan police spokesperson Fredrick Wootler said the country was witnessing an “alarming increase of cybercrimes” perpetrated by people entering the country as tourists, and then illegally setting up scam operations targeting people across the world. Continue reading...
