Well, it’s reportedly a done deal: we’ve secured a massive agreement with Venezuela, which President Trump calls “the biggest oil deal in the world.”
BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY! At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer. This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity. This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States! Thank you for your attention to this groundbreaking matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Rumblings of a deal were mentioned yesterday, which is welcome news, given that our Strategic Petroleum Reserve was exsanguinated by Joe Biden. It’s at a 40-year low. This deal could potentially double oil reserves overnight. More from Axios:
In return for giving the U.S. an ownership stake, Venezuela's government would benefit from private companies, including American firms, developing the fields and returning more oil revenue to that country.
Zoom out: The Venezuelan oil deal would be a legacy-defining moment for President Trump, who has made U.S. energy security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere pillars of his so-called "Donroe Doctrine."
"President Trump is close to securing America's energy future for generations to come, not just in the U.S. but in the hemisphere," a second official said.
A Canadian Security Intelligence Service assessment from July 2021 said that China sees Canada as a “high-priority” target for foreign interference.
A security guard keeps watch outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2024.
China is strategically exploiting the trade divide between Canada and the United States to sow division between the two countries with the goal of dividing North America, an expert on Asia and China–U.S. relations says.
The idea is not a new one, Alberta-born professor Stephen R. Nagy says. A Canadian Security Intelligence Service assessment from July 2021 said that China sees Canada as a “high-priority” target for foreign interference.
Now, the analyst is cautioning that Ottawa needs to prepare in the coming weeks for a focused campaign of Chinese “cognitive warfare” meant to exploit national anxieties related to the unsuccessful U.S.-Canada trade deal.
China’s plan is “straightforward,” Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo, said in a report for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank.
Any compromise of Canada poses a direct threat to Washington due to the geographic, institutional, and cultural proximity of the two nations, said Nagy.
“If Beijing—America’s primary security challenger—can exert enough influence to misalign Canadian domestic and foreign policy from that of the US, it effectively renders North America vulnerable,” he wrote. “This threat is not theoretical, and the timing is critical.”
Relations between Canada and the United States have reached a state of heightened vulnerability after the failed trade deal, and Beijing is doing everything in its power to keep it that way, Nagy said.
One of Beijing’s main goals is to prevent U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to re-centre global manufacturing, technology, and supply chains in North America, he said—and that means the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is not in the communist regime’s best interests.
Nagy said a deal is in the best interests of both Canada and the United States, however, even if it contains clauses about who member countries can trade with.
“It is entirely logical that the US would seek to prevent Canada from signing free trade agreements with a strategic competitor,” he wrote. “Clauses akin to those in [CUSMA], which grant the US a veto over trade deals with non-market economies, reflect the necessary geoeconomic architecture of the modern era.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Aug. 22 that one of the reasons he walked away from Washington’s proposed trade deal is that the U.S. side wanted to restrict Canada’s international trade agreements.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer disputed Carney’s characterization, saying in an interview with CBC News on Aug. 26 that Washington only wanted to prevent issues such as a third country dumping steel in Canada and those products being shipped into the United States if Canada has a preferential tariff rate.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a work lunch as part of the G7 summit, in Evian, France, on June 16, 2026.
‘Wedge’ Tactics
Beijing is taking advantage of the ongoing trade stalemate between the two countries to implement “wedge politics,” with the intention of undermining North American unity, Nagy said.
There are generally four types of wedge strategies, he said. Realignment is the process of enticing a target to join an adversary’s side, dealignment seeks to move a target toward a neutral stance, disalignment aims to diminish the unity of an alliance without resulting in its total collapse, and prealignment works to prevent the establishment of a coalition altogether.
“While these concepts may seem academic, they are actively playing out in Canadian policymaking,” Nagy said. “During periods of heightened Canada–US friction, Beijing has adeptly lured Ottawa with the promise of a ‘strategic partnership’—a textbook realignment tactic.”
Carney used the term “strategic partnership” during his visit to Beijing in January, saying it positioned Canada well for the “new world order.” A few days later, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Carney indirectly criticized Washington’s policies and encouraged “middle powers” to band together against “great powers,” which he appeared to be referring to as the United States and China. Trump criticized Carney over the speech the next day and withdrew his invitation to Carney to join his newly formed Board of Peace.
Nagy added that reluctance from Canada to extend diplomatic or material support for American military endeavours in the Middle East, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, reflects a clear instance of dealignment and disalignment.
Nagy also pointed to Canada’s delayed response to foreign interference and low defence spending as elements that play into Beijing’s prealignment goals by weakening national security and alienating it from its closest ally.
“By neglecting our military and intelligence capabilities, Ottawa fails to be a credible defence partner, preventing a stronger North American security coalition from materializing,” he wrote.
China’s weapons of choice to execute its “wedge” strategies are disinformation, propaganda, and diaspora-targeted narratives that frame legitimate criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as racial discrimination to weaken the Chinese diaspora’s loyalty to Canada, Nagy said.
Other wedge tactics used by the CCP include portraying Beijing as a reliable trading alternative to the United States and preventing Western coordination on tariffs.
One example of this is when Ottawa adopted a strategy similar to that of France in 2024 by imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Beijing responded with its own tariffs on Canadian canola and pork, the report author said. Beijing then eased the agricultural pressure when Carney rolled back the EV levy in 2026.
A truck crosses the Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, Mich., the day after it opened in Windsor, Ont., on July 28, 2026.
Recommendations
Nagy said Beijing wants Canadians to obsess over cross-border grievances and the “abrasive politics” of the White House, to distract from what Canada’s core strategic interests actually are.
“If we strip away the partisan noise, the structural reality is undeniable,” Nagy said. “Canadians and Americans ... live, work, and govern ourselves in fundamentally similar ways. Our policy choices must reflect this reality, and we cannot let foreign interference convince us otherwise.”
Nagy is suggesting that Canada and the United States tone down the rhetoric and focus on settling trade disputes privately to prevent China from using public disagreements for disinformation.
He also recommended Canada pursue trade diversification through “friend-shoring” with Indo-Pacific democracies like Japan and South Korea, rather than turning to China when American protectionism arises.
Other steps he suggests include Canada better funding its military and placing an increased importance on being able to defend its own airspace and Arctic territory to prevent foreign leverage.
Florida became the first state to block taxpayer-funded cash welfare from being used to purchase nonessential items like tattoos, video games, and tobacco and vaping products.
In a press release on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that the state was amending its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) State Plan so that recipients would not be allowed to use Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) benefits “from being used to directly purchase inappropriate, luxury, and nonessential items.”
The changes to Florida’s TANF State Plan would mean that recipients would be unable to use their TCA benefits to purchase things like tobacco products, video games, pornography, tattoos or for “spa services, tanning, and other luxury services,” according to the press release.
Prohibited items include:
• tobacco, nicotine, and vaping products;
• drugs and intoxicants;
• pornography;
• video games, entertainment tickets, theme park admission, and entertainment subscriptions;
• tattoos, spa services, tanning, and other luxury services; and
• psychic and fortune-telling services.
“Florida has become the first in the nation to set guardrails on our TANF State Plan to stop these taxpayer-funded benefits from being used to purchase inappropriate, luxury, and nonessential goods and services,” DeSantis explained in a statement. “Taxpayer-funded assistance should help families put food on the table, keep the lights on, purchase clothing, provide for their children, and overcome barriers on the path toward independence.”
Recipients are given their TCA benefits “through an EBT card to help eligible families pay for ongoing basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, utilities, household goods and personal care,” according to the press release.
The move comes as the state previously “barred EBT cards from being used or accepted for alcohol purchases and transactions at adult-entertainment establishments, casinos, and commercial bingo locations,” Fox News reported.
In a letter addressed to DeSantis on Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families thanked Florida “for the state’s leadership in advancing commonsense restrictions on the use of TANF cash assistance for inappropriate, luxury, and nonessential purchases,” according to the outlet.
“Florida is leading the way in safeguarding taxpayer resources and helping ensure that TANF Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) funds are used appropriately,” said the letter, which was obtained by Fox News. “Other states should follow Florida’s lead by adopting similar restrictions on the use of TANF cash assistance.”
Former Breitbart editor is being held at an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, Fox News has learned
Controversial former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is being held in federal immigration custody in Louisiana, Fox News has learned.
ICE sources told Fox News that Yiannopoulos is currently detained in Alexandria, Louisiana, a major hub used by the agency for deportation operations.
Yiannopoulos is a United Kingdom national. His current U.S. immigration status and the specific circumstances that led to his arrest were not immediately clear.
Milo Yiannopoulos attends the world premiere of James O'Keefe's debut film "Line In The Sand," Oct. 08, 2024, in Newport Beach, Calif.
ICE's online detainee locator also shows Yiannopoulos in the agency's custody, according to a screenshot reviewed by Fox News.
Yiannopoulos rose to national prominence as a provocative far-right political commentator and former editor at Breitbart News. He became a highly controversial figure through his speeches and online activity, including at UC Berkeley.
Fox News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for additional information about Yiannopoulos' arrest, immigration status and whether he faces deportation.
This is a developing story; check back later for updates.
A 22-year-old Mandan, North Dakota mother is behind bars after police say she used a kitchen knife to cut the throats of her three young children on August 6. Two are dead. One survived. She told their father to “say goodbye to your kids” on video while holding a pistol at her hip.
Kailey Renae Erhart, 22, faces two counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, terrorizing, and domestic violence. Bond was set at $3 million cash. A judge cited the “extreme violence” and threat to the community, according to Law and Crime.
Her five-month-old and three-year-old children died from their injuries. Her one-year-old son survived after undergoing extensive surgery and is expected to make a full physical recovery.
The case bears chilling similarities to the nationally watched Lindsay Clancy case, though authorities have presented no evidence that Erhart copied or was inspired by Clancy.
According to a police affidavit obtained by Valley News Live, officers were dispatched to a home on South Frontier Trail after receiving a report that a mother had stabbed her children.
When officers entered the blood-soaked home, they reportedly discovered Erhart holding a kitchen knife against her own throat.
Erhart, who was allegedly covered in blood, dropped the weapon and told police officers to kill her.
Officers followed a trail of blood into a bedroom, where they found all three children lying motionless on a bed with horrific injuries concentrated around their necks.
The five-month-old was pronounced dead at St. Alexius Medical Center that evening. The three-year-old died at Sanford Health early the following morning.
The one-year-old miraculously survived.
The child’s family later announced that his surgery was successful and doctors expected him to make a full physical recovery.
“Last night, he finally smiled at us, and it was the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen,” the family wrote in an update reported by Gray News.
But the allegations describing what occurred before the children were attacked are even more disturbing.
Investigators reportedly recovered a video from the father’s phone showing Erhart carrying one of the children while holding a pistol against her hip.
“Say goodbye to your kids,” Erhart allegedly told the father.
The father reportedly wrestled the gun away from Erhart, disassembled it and scattered its pieces around the home.
Erhart then allegedly obtained a kitchen knife, chased the children’s father and grandmother out of the residence and locked herself inside with the three helpless children.
Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler described the crime scene as something “nobody should ever have to see.”
But here is where this horrifying criminal case becomes a potential government accountability scandal.
According to the affidavit, the children’s father had previously reported to mental-health services that Erhart threatened to kill herself and the children.
Erhart had also reportedly been committed to a mental-health facility sometime during the previous 12 to 18 months. She was placed on medication and allegedly cleared to remain around the children.
If those allegations are accurate, the public deserves answers immediately.
Who knew that Erhart allegedly threatened to harm these children? When were officials notified? What risk assessment was performed? Who determined that it was safe for three defenseless children—including a five-month-old infant—to remain in the home?
These children did not need bureaucratic excuses. They needed adults in positions of authority to protect them.
Erhart now faces nine charges: two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, three counts of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor count of domestic violence.
District Judge Marina Spahr set Erhart’s bond at $3 million cash, citing “the extreme violence in these alleged charges and the threat to the community, victims and children,” according to KFYR.
Erhart has not entered a plea and is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.
The North Dakota bloodbath comes as a jury considers the fate of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who admitted strangling her three children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, eight months,with exercise bands in January 2023.
Clancy’s attorneys argue that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and therefore should not be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors contend she deliberately sent her husband on errands before carrying out the killings.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, hundreds of women gathered outside the courthouse to support Clancy, turning the admitted killer into the center of a sympathy campaign while her three dead children were pushed into the background.
