
Senators diverge sharply on damage done by Iran strikes after classified briefing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators emerged from a classified briefing Thursday with sharply diverging assessments of President Donald Trump's bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came to Capitol Hill to give the classified briefings, originally scheduled for Tuesday.

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Brazil's outspoken first lady is coming under fire, but she refuses to stop speaking out
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Winnipeg Free Press
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Trump immediately claimed the bombing 'completely and fully obliterated' Iran's nuclear program. That now seems unlikely, according to a classified U.S. intelligence report leaked to the press. Iran's program, the report noted, has been set back by months, but more than likely has not been eliminated. Predictably, the White House declared that assessment 'flat-out wrong.' Trump has never been consistent. No matter: the fact this military action does not fit into the isolationist 'America First' platform he campaigned on has already been rationalized away by diehard MAGA Republicans. The majority of them have perceived it as a one-time offensive intrusion into world affairs, an action outside the self-contained U.S. bubble. And that seems to be the case. Iran retaliated on June 23, by launching missiles at an American military base in Qatar, but air defense systems intercepted them before they did any damage. According to news reports, Iran informed officials in Qatar of the impending attack, which suggests Iran does not want to get into an all-out war with the U.S. And Trump said he won't retaliate. Early on June 24, Trump declared Iran and Israel had agreed to a cease-fire, yet both countries continued to attack each other, raising Trump's ire. By the end of the day, the fighting seemed to have stopped and the 'fragile cease-fire,' as the New York Times called it, appears to be holding — at least for the moment. As pragmatic — and, dare I say, strategically necessary — as was Trump's decision to try to stop the ruthless Iranian regime from becoming a nuclear power and to force cease-fire, it does not discount how, in less than six months, Trump has upended the military and economic alliances and policies that have effectively governed world affairs since the end of the Second World War. Yes, the so-called 'Cold War' between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a dangerous era of nuclear brinksmanship that nearly started a third world war. But that war did not happen; instead, the U.S. initiated the Marshall Plan to rebuild of war-torn western Europe, which led to decades of economic prosperity. Advances in technology had a generally positive impact on people's lives, and the defeat of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the militaristic Empire of Japan was a boon for the spread of democracy. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. president during the 1930s and the Second World War, was keen to aid Britain before and after the war started in September 1939, but he was hamstrung by the same kind of isolationist 'America First' policy that Trump so proudly touts. Until, that is, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. There were periods in the 1890s, and during the last 18 months of the First World War, when the U.S. was active in world affairs. But for the most part, from the American Revolution to December 1941, the country's leaders were determined to stay out of European entanglements. That dictum was established by president George Washington, who said in his 1796 farewell address, 'The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, (and) to have with them as little political connection as possible.' More than a century later, during the November 1916 presidential campaign, incumbent Democrat candidate Woodrow Wilson used the slogan 'America First,' promising to keep the U.S. out of the First World War. That did not happen, as Germany's foolish decision to offer — in the Zimmermann telegram — to assist Mexico to reclaim territory lost to the Americans compelled Wilson to obtain Congress's support to enter the war, as is required by the U.S. constitution. Trump did not seek congressional approval for the military action against Iran, though such approval is (probably) required by the War Powers Resolution of 1973. After the First World War ended, the 'America First' policy kicked in again. The Republican-controlled senate ensured the U.S. was not part of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, established to promote world peace. Without American support, the League faltered badly, allowing Mussolini, Hitler and Japan's leaders to do pretty well as they wanted until Britain finally took action against Hitler in September 1939. A lot of Americans, including famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, a supporter of the 'America First Committee,' had no problem with that. In a controversial speech in Des Moines, Iowa in September 1941, Lindbergh blamed FDR and his administration and the 'British and Jewish races' for deceiving the American public with war propaganda. Despite the praise Trump has received from several world leaders, most Republicans and even some Democrats for ordering the strike on Iran and negotiating a cease-fire, he remains the erratic and unpredictable would-be authoritarian he always has been. Now & Then is a column in which historian Allan Levine puts the events of today in a historical context.


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
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Thailand starts banning the sale of cannabis without a prescription
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has started banning the sale of cannabis to those without a prescription, three years after becoming the first country in Asia to decriminalize the plant. The new order, signed by Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this week, came into effect Thursday after it was published in the Royal Gazette. It bans shops from selling cannabis to customers without a prescription and reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb. The order cited a punishment from the 1999 Act of Protection and Promotion of Traditional Thai Medicine Wisdom, in which a violation would result in a maximum one-year jail term and a 20,000-baht ($614) fine. The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, in charge of enforcing regulations related to cannabis, held a meeting Friday with officials across the country to prepare them for the change. The move to decriminalize in 2022 had boosted Thailand's tourism and farming industries, and spawned thousands of shops. But the country has faced public backlash over allegations that a lack of regulation made the drug available to children and caused addiction. Treechada Srithada, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said in a statement Thursday that cannabis use in Thailand would become 'fully for medical purposes.' She said shops that violate the order will be closed and the ministry will also tighten requirements for approval of a new license in the future. She said there are curently 18,000 shops that hold a license to sell cannabis. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The ruling Pheu Thai Party previously promised to criminalize the drug again, but faced strong resistance from its former partner in the coalition government, the Bhumjaithai Party, which supported decriminalization. Bhumjaithai quit the coalition last week over a leaked phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The move to restrict cannabis sales came after officials last month revealed that cannabis smuggling cases involving tourists had soared in recent months. Somsak told reporters Tuesday he would like to relist cannabis as a narcotic in the future. Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board said a study conducted by the agency last year found the number of people addicted to cannabis had spiked significantly after it was decriminalized. A group of cannabis advocates said Wednesday that the change in regulations was politically motivated and that they will rally at the Health Ministry next month to oppose the change and any attempt to make it a criminal offense again to consume or sell cannabis.