Top World News

Apr 18, 2025 - World

Marco Rubio is being viewed with suspicion by Trump loyalists after he fired MAGA acolyte Pete Marocco from the State Department where Marocco worked to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to reporting in Politico.Reasons for the firing ranged from Marocco's "bulldozer operating style and failure to work effectively with colleagues" to "substantive disagreements between Rubio and Marocco over how to dismantle USAID," wrote reporters Dasha Burns and Nahal Toosi.President Donald Trump’s loyalists viewed Marocco "as part of an elite cohort of administration true believers," and were reportedly shocked by the firing. "Loud voices on the right piled on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accusing him of undermining their disruptive agenda," the report said.ALSO READ: Violent J6er who broke into Capitol announces run for Congress in East TexasFour anonymous officials told the reporters that Rubio fired Marocco outright, while another official claimed Rubio received clearance from a White House aide before letting Marocco go. That official described the situation as “the first MAGA world killing from inside the White House.”Since Marocco's ouster, MAGA allies have "raised new suspicions of Rubio, including questions about why he would want to protect USAID and whether he’s loyal to the president," the report said.Marocco had served as the USAID acting deputy administrator before handing control over to a member of Elon Musk's DOGE team in March. In a memo to staff, Marocco said he would return to his post as director of the State Department's Foreign Assistance bureau, before word of his firing broke last week."The anger directed at Rubio by MAGA firebrands provides a vivid illustration of the ongoing feud between MAGA world and the conservatives they view as too much a part of the establishment they want dismantled," the report said.They quoted one Trump ally who said of Rubio, “He’s really not a MAGA guy, he’s a neocon,“ adding that this move “is gonna bite him.”Read the Politico article here.

Apr 18, 2025 - World

The Defense Department is reducing its military footprint in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a consolidation of forces that reflects a changing security landscape in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Apr 18, 2025 - World

Officials say the death toll from a boat fire and capsizing in Congo earlier this week has risen to 148 with more than 100 people still missing

Apr 18, 2025 - World

A group of human rights lawyers is suing Costa Rica, alleging the Central American nation violated the rights of dozens of migrant children

Apr 18, 2025 - World

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) had hoped to pass the gubernatorial baton to his wife, Casey DeSantis, when his full term runs out in 2027, describing her as the right person to take his accomplishments "to the next level.”But an analysis piece in The Guardian suggested that a brewing financial scandal could derail the couple's plans of political dynasty and keep Casey DeSantis from even declaring her candidacy.According to The Guardian, a charity Casey founded in 2021 called the Hope Florida Foundation with a mandate to reduce government funding for welfare programs has become "mired in controversy," as first reported by The Tampa Bay Times.The Times found that the DeSantis administration "secretly directed $10m to the charity from a $67m overbilling settlement last year between the state’s agency for health care administration (AHCA) and the Medicare operator Centene. The direction was in apparent contradiction of Florida law requiring such money to be paid into a trust or act as general revenue for state legislators to spend."ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'The Guardian quoted Frank Orlando, political science professor at St Leo University, who said "Casey DeSantis had essentially been caught up in the escalating dispute between her husband and state politicians, who are making hay from the Hope Florida situation."Although the next steps for Florida's first lady are uncertain, The Guardian wrote that "some observers believe the controversy has ended any hope she had of becoming only the second woman, after Wyoming’s Nellie Tayloe Ross in 1925, to succeed her husband as a state governor."But the negative publicity might not be a complete "death knell" for Casey's candidacy, according to Michael Binder, a political science professor at the University of North Florida.Binder cited Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), "a Medicare embezzler" who won the governor’s race twice before being elected to the Senate. "So these things can pass," Binder said.A poll conducted by Binder's department showed Casey DeSantis with a 30% approval rating overall, and a 57% approval rating among registered Republicans.Read The Guardian's full article here.