'A definitive backslide.' Inside fashion's worrying runway trend

04/06/23 8:53 PM

Now that the Fall-Winter 2023 catwalks have been disassembled, it's clear one trend was more pervasive than any collective penchant for ruffles, pleated skirts or tailored coats.

'Betrayal': Trump leaves GOP exposed with five-day 'gift to adversary'

10/14/26 10:18 AM

President Donald Trump has spent the past five days doing favors for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but with the midterm elections just three weeks away, Republicans are left with the political fallout.The 80-year-old U.S. president is renewing his scandal-plagued relationship with the reviled Russian dictator as American voters begin casting early ballots, and Axios reported that his moves haven't gone over well on Capitol Hill, where GOP senators called the arrangement a “betrayal” and “a gift to our adversary.”After a phone call with Putin, Trump announced a deal Friday to let millions of tons of Russian diesel flow onto global markets, loosening sanctions meant to cut off Moscow’s war funding. The next day, he tore into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries and called for Ukraine to replace its leader.On Sunday, Trump caught Zelensky off guard by declaring an immediate “energy ceasefire.” Russia has kept hammering Ukraine’s power grid since then, with no visible consequences from Washington. On Monday, Trump brushed aside months of intelligence-based reporting that Russia had been giving Iran information on U.S. military assets, and on Tuesday, he doubled down on the diesel deal and waved off concerns that the money could fund Russia’s war machine.The White House stood by the deal, despite GOP skepticism.“The President’s diesel deal will help lower prices for farmers, truckers, and families across the nation as he simultaneously urges both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to stop strikes against refineries, which are driving up costs and hurting American consumers,” spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.Energy analysts doubt the deal will do much to lower fuel prices, which spiked because of the Iran war. Meanwhile, the U.S. is breaking from its NATO allies just as Russia steps up a campaign of sabotage, cyberattacks and drone incursions across Europe.A January YouGov poll found that 81 percent of Trump’s own 2024 voters view Putin unfavorably, but Trump stood by the Russian leader anyway on Monday. “I think, actually, Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky,” he told reporters.The timing is bad for a party already watching its polling numbers sink, and losing control of Congress could stall Trump’s agenda and open his administration to years of investigations and subpoenas.The president doesn’t seem worried. In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump wrote: “I’m not running in the Elections, I’ve already won, IN A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE.”

'Big escalation' hits Trump as oil flow sees 'enormous drop off' ahead of midterms: expert

10/14/26 12:19 PM

With the midterms 20 days away, the Trump administration was confronted Wednesday with a “big escalation” in its war against Iran, geopolitical expert Brett Erickson warned, one that could soon send oil prices skyrocketing.Early Wednesday, Tehran claimed that it had sunk a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz after it had struck a naval mine, the Associated Press reported, the first such instance of a sinking by sea mine. Erickson called the development a “big escalation,” while also flagging new data that suggested an oil price surge may be imminent.“Data from Kpler published today shows an ENORMOUS drop off in the amount of oil transiting Hormuz per day, with the last three days only moving 10M barrels of oil COMBINED,” Erickson wrote Wednesday in a statement published on social media.“While these numbers will likely be revised upwards over the coming days… There’s certainly been a sharp decline in volume as a result of Iran’s strikes on TWENTY SEVEN vessels in the months of October alone. This includes the container vessel struck earlier today.”The significant reduction in oil flow through the strait was corroborated by Al Jazeera, which in a Wednesday report noted that “only 2.9 million barrels of oil were carried through the waterway on Oct. 11, the lowest level this month.” The shift marked a dramatic reversal of recent trends, with Middle East crude exports nearly rebounding to pre-Iran war levels in early October.The 2.9 million barrels transiting the Strait of Hormuz Sunday stood in stark contrast to the pre-war daily average of 17.1 million barrels, with oil prices already climbing Wednesday morning by 89 cents over Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera.“While the Iranian claims that this vessel struck a mine are unconfirmed, it DOES appear that the vessel is in fact sinking,” Erickson said, citing unverified photos of a cargo ship taking on water. “This marks a notable escalation.”Iran’s October escalation was predicted as far back as August by foreign policy expert Trita Parsi, who warned at the time that Trump’s strategy to “push the [Iran] conflict out of the minds of voters” would likely backfire, and that Iran would strategically escalate just ahead of the U.S. midterms.NEW: Data from Kpler published today shows an ENORMOUS drop off in the amount of oil transiting Hormuz per day, with the last three days only moving 10M barrels of oil COMBINED.While these numbers will likely be revised upwards over the coming days…There’s certainly been a sharp decline in volume as a result of Iran’s strikes on TWENTY SEVEN vessels in the months of October alone. This includes the container vessel struck earlier today.— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) October 14, 2026

'Floored' US allies were blindsided at Trump Russia plan meeting: report

10/15/26 12:03 PM

President Donald Trump’s decision to approve Russia selling a substantial amount of diesel on the world market caught U.S. allies flat-footed, according to the Wall Street Journal.In a deep dive on growing U.S.-Ukraine tensions, the Journal reported that the deal has created a schism that has allies, and some Republican lawmakers, furious.Senior Ukrainian and European officials flew to Miami on Oct. 9 to meet Trump negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in a bid to revive peace talks, the Journal reported. During the six-hour meeting, Kushner and Witkoff said the president was considering a diesel deal with Russia. The Ukrainian and European officials were “floored,” people familiar with the matter told the paper.That same day, Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced the deal shortly after hanging up, the Journal said. Treasury then issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel into the global market, according to ABC affiliate WJLA.“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”The Journal reported that Trump "had increasingly soured on Zelensky" over the previous month. Since a discussion between the two, it said, the U.S. "had asked Ukraine about a half dozen times to halt strikes" on Russian energy. Ukrainian officials said they would agree to any energy truce, but Russia refused, so they didn’t pull back. Trump was annoyed that Ukraine was using U.S. resources to target Russia’s energy exports in a way he thought could hurt American consumers, people familiar said.Several Republican lawmakers called the White House angry after the announcement, the Journal reported, saying the deal handed Russia a win without concessions and went against a 2022 law banning U.S. imports of Russian energy. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said: “It makes me a little bit nervous anytime we’re talking about relieving a sanction on Russia.”On Sunday, Trump declared on Truth Social that “there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine” effective immediately. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote. Moscow had not confirmed it, the Journal reported while adding, Zelensky said Russia struck multiple Ukrainian power plants that day, including one in Kharkiv.

'The government is trembling': Furious protesters flood 140 cities in major US ally

10/18/26 11:09 AM

Protests erupted throughout France on Saturday, with demonstrators citing a wide variety of grievances including inequality, the high cost of living, and poor conditions in the nation’s schools.As reported by Agence France-Presse, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in Paris and other cities to protest what they said was inaction by the French government on the biggest problems facing the country.“For years we’ve had climate, economy, and equality problems,” one protester identified as Agnes told AFP, “but the government is not doing anything about it.”18-year-old student Kamil Alahyan told AFP that there are “so many reasons” to protest, including “the elections coming up in 2027, politicians who lie, the ultra-rich who’ve been taking more and more wealth over the past 10 years.”A 19-year-old protester identified as Lola expressed a similar view in an interview published by The Guardian on Saturday.“We are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh,” Lola said, “because the price of fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions.”Student organizer Ryad Rani told AFP that “the government is trembling and it’s right to tremble because when the French people are angry, they never let up.”Saturday’s demonstrations mark the expansion of a movement that began last month when students blockaded their schools to protest staffing shortages, dilapidated buildings, and a widely criticized university application system.According to The New York Times, demonstrations took place in at least 140 cities across the country.Some of the protests did turn violent in major cities including Lyon, Marseille, and Paris, AFP reported. A Saturday BBC report claimed that more than 270 protesters have been arrested nationwide.French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accused “ultra-left groups” of inciting violence at the demonstrations.“To those who clearly want to use these acts of violence as a ‘warm-up’ ahead of the presidential election, let me be clear: we will not be intimidated,” Lecornu wrote in a social media post. “No one will impose their political agenda through violence.”Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader the left-wing France Unbowed party, slammed the media for focusing too much on the isolated incidents of violence and not reporting on the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of the demonstrations.“Crowds of people everywhere, calm and joyful everywhere when the police aren’t around,” Mélenchon wrote in a social media post that featured photos of peaceful marches from across the country, which he described as “images you won’t see in the official media.”

'Their agenda is dead': Republican lawmaker threatens Trump admin for 'aiding' the enemy

10/14/26 4:45 PM

A retiring House Republican issued a blunt warning to President Donald Trump's administration after Ukraine lost access to the military version of the Starlink satellite network, a key piece of its battlefield communications.Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a retired Air Force general who has served in Congress since 2017, is so far the only Republican lawmaker to publicly criticize the administration over the restrictions, which Ukrainian officials blamed on the U.S. president.“The Administration’s decision to reduce intel sharing to Ukraine & access to Starlink equates to aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities,” Bacon posted on X. “Does the Administration think it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress? Their agenda is dead unless they change paths.”Ukraine said its military lost access without warning overnight to Starshield, the Pentagon-funded version of Starlink. Ukrainian officials and analysts concluded the move came from Washington, reported the New York Times. SpaceX, its chief executive Elon Musk and the Pentagon did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.The restrictions cut off terminals moving faster than 100 miles per hour, and Ukrainian officials said that disrupted drone missions against Russian supply lines and interceptors used to shoot down Russian drones.“Clearly, this action cannot be a coincidence and is linked to the current political situation,” wrote Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky on weapons technology.“In effect, our partners’ actions are depriving us of one of the few ways we have to defend the country against jet-powered Shaheds,” Beskrestnov added.The cutoff came as Russia launched 39 ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s energy grid overnight, according to Zelensky. That would be the largest such salvo of the war, according to the Times. The attack left 600,000 people in Kyiv without power.Ukraine has stopped striking Russian oil refineries at Trump’s demand, even as Russia keeps hitting Ukrainian power plants.Serhii Sternenko, a former Ukrainian defense ministry adviser, said Kyiv had gotten nothing in return.“Trump was looking for any opportunity to undermine our defense capabilities,” Sternenko wrote on social media.Zelensky has also said Ukraine stopped receiving early warnings about some Russian missile strikes. Trump said Tuesday that intelligence was still being shared, and Ukraine’s air force said it did receive warnings ahead of several later attacks that night.

'This is very strange': Questions fly as Rubio contradicts Trump in 'weird' interview

10/18/26 4:12 PM

Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to clear up why Ukraine’s satellite internet has been slowing down. Critics say he made things murkier, and one prominent conservative predicted Congress would be asking about it.Rubio talked to reporters Saturday at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for Central Asia. One asked about Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink. Elon Musk had said this week that limits on the system are up to the president.“Starshield is a defense product, a military product,” Rubio said. “It’s not at this moment available to Ukraine, and that’s under conversation.”Asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that the slowdown was deliberate, Rubio waved it off.“I’m not sure Zelenskyy knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate,” he said. “We have nothing to do with that. I don’t – the United States, nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it’s been restored.”He added that Ukraine wants Starshield “in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia” but doesn’t have access to it.Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times, said that’s wrong.“In fact, Ukraine has had access to and contracts for Starshield since 2024,” Miller wrote. “So it seems the Ukrainian president is not the one who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”Miller noted that a week after the slowdown, Ukraine still has no explanation of who ordered the speed limits.“The White House and SpaceX each claim it’s the other who’s responsible,” he wrote. “Rubio says nobody in the US is responsible.”Barak Ravid, a politics and foreign policy reporter for Axios, pointed out that Rubio’s account doesn’t match what Kyiv has said.“This is very strange. Ukrainian officials claim they had access to starshield through the Pentagon until a few days ago when it was restricted,” Ravid wrote. “Maybe there is some misunderstanding.”Even some critics on the right questioned Rubio’s version. David Pyne, a conservative national security commentator who posts as “America First Con,” wrote: “Rubio is lying. Biden gave Ukraine access to Starshield years ago when he authorized deep strikes into Russia. Trump has only disabled it intermittently since October 14th.”Jonah Goldberg, the conservative editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, said the moment won’t go away.“This interview is weird,” Goldberg wrote. “What he says here will be revisited by journalists, historians, and Congressional committees.”Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) went after Rubio’s tone.“Innocent civilians are dying in Ukraine because of Trump/Musk and Rubio treats it like it’s a special at Applebee’s that has run out,” he wrote.Terry Moran, an independent journalist and former ABC News correspondent, said Rubio has given up the hawkish views he once held.“Marco Rubio was once a serious man,” Moran wrote. “Now he cannot even whisper a syllable of the principles he once proudly and effectively proclaimed. It profits a man nothing to sell his soul for the whole world. But for Donald Trump?”German military analyst Julian Röpcke, a former journalist for the tabloid Bild, wrote in German that “the former Russia critic Rubio” had shown how Trump’s “authoritarian aura turns formerly principled politicians into spineless Putin supporters.”An American YouTuber based in Ukraine who posts as Jay in Kyiv put it more bluntly: “Rubio tells a series of complete lies.”The remarks come shortly after President Donald Trump put on hold the sweeping Russia sanctions law named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and a week after he struck a deal to import Russian diesel.

'Wow': Shock as Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'trolls Trump' with 'clear message' in just five words

10/17/26 4:37 PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a five-word tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on Saturday. Plenty of people took it as a jab at President Donald Trump.“Thank you for everything, Lindsey!” Zelenskyy wrote on X, in English and Ukrainian. He attached a photo of himself shaking hands with Graham, who is giving a thumbs-up.Zelenskyy didn’t mention Trump. But the timing stood out. The post went up hours after Trump put on hold the sweeping Russia sanctions law named for Graham, a South Carolina Republican and longtime Russia hawk who died in July.“Late last night, President Trump waived the financial punishments on buyers of Russian oil that Congress had enacted to stop funding Putin’s war machine,” wrote Margaret Brennan, moderator of CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Passing that bipartisan bill was meant to honor Lindsey Graham’s legacy, as he had pushed for those sanctions.”She added that Zelenskyy said Saturday “it is harder now without Senator Lindsey Graham in Ukraine’s corner.”Caitlin Doornbos, a foreign policy and war reporter who founded the outlet The Correspondent, also pointed to the timing.“Wow. President Zelensky posts this hours after Trump announced waivers of the new Lindsey Graham sanctions law on Russia,” she wrote.Christopher Miller, the Financial Times’ chief Ukraine correspondent, shared the post with a one-word reaction: “Wow.”Others read it as a deliberate shot.“Zelenskyy is basically just trolling Trump at this point, and I’m all for it,” wrote Vatnik Soup, a popular pro-Ukraine account.Finnish geopolitical analyst Joni Askola called it “a clear message from Zelensky to Trump.” Nicolas Tenzer, a senior French civil servant and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, wrote: “This is the message.”John O’Brennan, a professor of European politics, called it “master trolling.”Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov brought up Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to finish his term.“Wonder what Darline would say about who she stands with,” Tarlov wrote.The post comes during a rough stretch between the two leaders. Trump said last week that Ukraine needs “a new president.” He also blamed Zelenskyy’s strikes on Russian refineries for high U.S. diesel prices, and Thursday he said he finds Zelenskyy “more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

11 Of The Best Things To Do In London This Mother's Day And Paddy's Day Weekend

03/17/23 5:02 PM

It's a Mother's Day *and* Paddy's Day double whammy, people.View Entire Post ›

17 Very British Tweets About The Very British Queue To See The Very British Queen's Coffin

09/24/22 1:25 AM

"If you’re British, this is the queue you’ve been training for all your life. The final boss of queues."View Entire Post ›