Mali: Insurgents Ambush Army Convoy, Source Says More Than 50 Killed

Source: US News & World Report

“Militants linked to al ⁠Qaeda ⁠and a Tuareg-led separatist ⁠group ambushed a military convoy in northern Mali over ​the weekend, and a source close to the rebels said more than 50 ‌soldiers and allied Russian fighters ‌were killed and others taken hostage. The attack marked the latest in ⁠a series ⁠of escalating assaults by the two groups, which joined forces ​for nationwide attacks in April that killed the defence minister and hit the airport in the capital Bamako, and launched a second wave this month aimed ​at seizing the town of Anefis.” (07/20/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-20/mali-insurgents-ambush-army-convoy-source-says-more-than-50-killed

Just Pick a Time Already!

Source: Townhall
by Arthur Schaper

“Americans have endured 50 years of this springing forward and falling back. I’m sick of it. It’s like some old relic, all coming from wartime, an anachronism proving yet again that government intervention knows no bounds. Times have changed, agricultural methods have improved, and everyone has technology to light their way, whether driving to work or getting to school. The United States has never been more energy dominant and independent, so concerns about fuel costs and availability don’t matter anymore. To go with Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time is now a matter of preference. Lots of interest groups are going to be happy or unhappy either way, so let’s put aside their discomforts.” (07/20/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/arthurschaper/2026/07/20/just-pick-a-time-already-n2679595

Judge puts temporary pause on Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

Source: NBC News

“Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery hit a roadblock Monday after a federal judge temporarily paused the proposed merger, granting a request from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general who sued to thwart the $110 billion deal. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order barring Paramount from closing the transaction, a corporate tie-up that would unite two movie studios, two streaming platforms and two news organizations under the control of David Ellison, the son of billionaire technology tycoon Larry Ellison. … The states argue the deal would reduce competition in three areas: wide-release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing movie distribution, and the market for distributing basic cable channels to cable and satellite providers.” (07/20/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/judge-puts-temporary-pause-paramount-warner-bros-merger-rcna587804

Alan Greenspan’s Deceitful Legacy

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith

“When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton reportedly said, ‘Because that’s where the money is.’ That wasn’t necessarily a wisecrack, and Sutton denied having said it, though late in life he admitted, if he had been asked, that likely would be his reply. Success for some is measured by the amount of money they have, and banks are known to have lots of it. For a bank robber, it’s a matter of switching ownership of it through a threatened act of violence. Sutton, though, was not a violent man and never killed anyone. … You can rob a bank and take ownership of the money you take. Or you can control a central bank and steal the money’s purchasing power from under our noses. Willie Sutton was a thief. And Alan Greenspan?” (07/20/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/alan-greenspans-deceitful-legacy

Google Is Censoring Reviews of ICE Detention Centers

Source: The Intercept
by Sam Biddle

“While they’re not as common as reviews for cafes and dry cleaners, reviews have poured into Google Maps by the thousands for the growing network of jails operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reviews have come from internet users sharing their often harrowing experiences in the detention facilities. Google then purges these reviews and blocks the ability to write new ones, according to newly published research.” (07/20/26)

https://theintercept.com/2026/07/20/google-maps-reviews-ice-detention-centers/

EU hits China’s Alibaba with €550M record bribe demand

Source: Politico

“The European Commission slapped Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress with a record €550 million fine on Monday for failing to stop the sale of illegal and harmful products on its platform. ‘There were a lot of counterfeit products, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics which stayed online for a very long time,’ the EU’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters ahead of the announcement. ‘Products were still being recommended and advertised on the platform … even after it was already known that they did not meet the standards.’ The penalty is the biggest ever imposed by the EU executive under the bloc’s rulebook policing online platforms, the Digital Services Act, which requires very large platforms, including AliExpress — owned by China’s tech giant Alibaba — to assess and mitigate the risks associated with the spread of illegal content and goods on their systems.” (07/20/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-hits-chinas-alibaba-with-record-fine-of-e550m-over-illegal-products/

Brazil’s Fiscal Reckoning Has Arrived

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott

‘At the end of June 2026, Brazil’s National Treasury published a document forecasting the nation’s fiscal future, though it read more like a confession of failure than anything else. The eighth edition of the Fiscal Projections Report, first issued just over three years ago, was phrased in the usually dry government statements of routine transparency: reference scenarios for fiscal projections, sensitivity exercises on macroeconomic parameters like interest rates and inflation, a box on how oil prices are predicted to hit federal revenue, and so on. The headline fact, however, was clear: the government’s own fiscal targets are unreachable beginning in 2028. The government’s arithmetic shows that it is no longer able to reach these goals, and what makes matters worse is that there is no permissible measure capable of closing the fiscal gap that yawns beneath the target.” (07/20/26)

https://fee.org/articles/brazils-fiscal-reckoning-has-arrived/

Trump’s War and the Decay of the American Soul

Source: Antiwar.com
by Nolan Denaro

“One thing that is always thrown by the wayside in times of war is the maintenance of the national soul. When faced with the inherent brutality of war, the emotions of the moment can overshadow the values we seek to uphold. When the job of maintaining this national soul is left to the state, – a group Murray Rothbard labeled a ‘centralized, regularized organization of theft’ – more enticing projects tend to arise. Often those projects directly harm the citizens of the nation, as by the state’s very nature, they tend to involve aggression, theft, murder or coercion. Despite the lack of care given by the government to our nation’s soul, it is nonetheless a core pillar of a cohesive country. It defines the virtues our country intends to project to the world.” (07/20/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/nolan_denaro/2026/07/19/trumps-war-and-the-decay-of-the-american-soul/