An ongoing crisis has been unfolding along the borders of Afghanistan for over 40 years — a region marked by conflict, instability and political shifts. It’s currently the world’s most extensive refugee crisis, with 8.2 million Afghans residing in neighboring countries, according to the United Nations. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, nearly 600,000 Afghans…

Revered Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies failed to detect the signs of an imminent Hamas attack on Israeli villages near the Gaza Strip. The surprise attack was planned within Hamas’s military wing and highlights both Israel’s intelligence blind spots as well as Hamas’s use of “old-school techniques” like in-person communication. Straight Arrow News contributor Katherine…

A manhunt is underway after a mass shooting in Maine left multiple people dead. And, after three weeks, the United States has a new speaker of the House. These stories and more highlight the Morning Rundown for Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Manhunt underway for suspect in Maine mass shooting A manhunt continues Thursday morning for…

The United States’ Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR, essentially the national credit rating, has been downgraded from AAA to AA+. At the top of the list of reasons that Fitch provided for the downgrade is an “erosion of governance” that has persisted in the United States over the past two decades, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021…

Americans are falling behind on their car payments at a rate not seen in about 30 years. The National Automobile Dealers Association has warned that a combination of recent “surging interest rates” and “higher vehicle prices” will continue to “put further pressure on vehicle affordability” going forward, hampering the ability of consumers to purchase a…

Recent data indicates a slowdown in the population decline of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. However, the species still faces multiple human-generated threats along the United States’ East Coast. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium has reported an estimate of 364 North Atlantic right whales in 2021 and 356 in 2022. These estimates…

Recent figures from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) paint a concerning picture of the situation at the southern border. In September, there were a record-breaking 270,000 migrant encounters, contributing to a total of 2.47 million encounters for fiscal year 2023. This marks the second consecutive year with encounters surpassing 2 million. Governmental response CBP is…

President Joe Biden traveled to Israel on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to broadcast U.S. support for Israel and to facilitate an agreement to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip via Egypt. Biden also moved U.S. military assets into the region to deter any party from escalating this conflict into a regional war, namely…

An electric vehicle (EV) battery maker based in China could use its technology to install malware on EVs, monitor EVs, shut down charging networks and cripple the U.S. electrical grid nationwide. The Chinese company, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), dominates the global EV battery industry, but the Foundation for Defense of Democracies concluded in its new…

In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, immigration has taken center stage, with lawmakers advocating for varied policies to manage migrant flows. Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to be the GOP’s presidential nominee, is advocating for stringent immigration policies, including his proposal to reinstate the controversial travel ban that primarily affected Muslim-majority…