Germany’s Chancellor Merz on China:

Today, China deliberately combines its market-driven dynamism with state intervention, overcapacity, aggressive pricing, an undervalued currency and heavily subsidized exports.

This is putting our companies under massive pressure in the EU single market and in third-country markets.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is not a single country left in the European Union that still runs a trade surplus with the People’s Republic of China.

All 27 countries of the European Union are running a trade deficit — together, more than €300 billion a year, with the trend rising in all 27 member states.

Germany’s Chancellor Merz:

The bitter election result of September 6 in Saxony-Anhalt changes absolutely nothing.

We have to reform our country.

German Chancellor Merz has called for a real-name requirement on the internet and dismissed free-speech objections to the proposal.

“Please, nobody come to me with free speech,” Merz said. “This has nothing to do with free speech anymore.”

He added that such objections reflected a libertarian political view found in parts of the U.S. “that I personally do not share.”

Top military commanders from the U.S., Israel and eight Arab countries met privately in Germany last week to discuss the war with Iran and regional security.

The CENTCOM-organized meeting included the military chiefs of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt.

Adm. Brad Cooper said U.S. forces would remain in the region despite Iranian attacks and briefed them on plans to expand ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: Axios

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

Fiction: Iran is defenseless.

Fact: 100s of U.S. military sites blown to pieces; dozens of aircraft scorched. (Source: The Pentagon) And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We'll reveal it all in due course. For those who've sold lies about Iran, it won't be pretty.

Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a privileged resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of defying Congress and illegally continuing the U.S. war in Iran.

The eight articles also target Hegseth over U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Yemen, including the operation to capture Maduro.

Because the resolution is privileged, Massie can force a House vote, though impeachment is unlikely in the GOP-controlled Congress.

Trump's special envoy Richard Grenell:

It’s clear we can’t trust Merz’s words. He says one thing in Berlin and another in Washington.

BIG: Trump admin is preparing a $2.8 billion sale of 40,000 heavy bombs (2,000-lb MK-84s and BLU-117s) to Israel — the largest such sale in years, funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars.

These are the same bombs Biden briefly paused over civilian casualty concerns.

The sale heads to Congress for approval, where it could test Democrats — over 100 House Dems voted to cut Israel aid in July.

Source: WaPo

German Chancellor Merz has canceled his planned trip to New York for next week’s UN General Assembly, with the government saying his presence is "needed" in Berlin.

The decision comes amid growing pressure over Merz’s political future ahead of elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will represent Germany at the General Assembly instead.

NEW: The Trump administration is redirecting $52 million in U.S. military aid from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

The State Department said the money will support efforts against drug trafficking, help secure the Panama Canal and prevent strategic rivals from gaining influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Source: AP

A 58-year-old man armed with an unloaded rifle threatened people in Saint-Denis, France, saying he would shoot those who voted for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing LFI party.

Police arrested him, and he was later ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Source: Le Parisien

British intelligence says Iranian state hackers targeted dissidents, activists and journalists worldwide with spyware known as “CHOSEN BRICK.”

The hackers allegedly impersonated trusted contacts and used fake documents to trick victims into installing malware capable of stealing messages and contacts, capturing screens, tracking movements and accessing microphones.

UK, U.S. and Dutch agencies linked the campaign to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, saying Tehran uses cyber operations to collect intelligence, leak data and damage opponents’ reputations.

Source: Sky News

Professor David Des Roches (Thayer Marshall Institute) on Houthi advance and its implications:

The warfare in Yemen outside of the mountains is subject to rapid shifts.

They don't really have a fortified position there and they're probably stretched to hold what they've conquered. So they might be pushed out pretty quickly.

Saudi Arabia views it as an existential threat.

I think the Saudis are probably planning some sort of action pretty soon to ensure that this doesn't become normalized.

I don't think Saudi Arabia can just sit back and watch as the Houthis continue to attack their lifeline.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker on Europe:

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, they hollowed out their defense.

They were not strong and they were not capable, and the plumbers from my home state of Iowa were paying for European security, and that wasn’t fair.

And so we have now entered into a new era, what many are calling NATO 3.0, where Europe and Canada are finally stepping up. But is it fast enough? No.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker:

Is President Trump right that they weren’t there when we needed them? Yes.

But they did show up when we were in the Global War on Terror. They were in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I think ultimately we need allies.

The United States is stronger with allies than without allies.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker:

If you study countries that have — whether it’s the French under Napoleon, whether it’s other empires like the Romans — getting overextended, having too many security commitments, having assets all over is usually what happens.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker:

Taking capacity out of the global energy markets, like what happened as Ukrainians strike Russia, has put pressure on diesel and oil generally.

That war needs to end.

Bernie Sanders on AI:

Leading scientists have been clear: AI is an existential threat to humanity.

Congress and governments around the world must act now before it is too late. And that is why next week I will be introducing legislation to permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence.

Like nuclear weapons, artificial superintelligence is a threat to humanity, and it must be treated as such.

Bernie Sanders on AI:

Dario Amodei, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman, the leaders of major American AI companies, all agreed that we must slow the development of AI.

That is a start, but it’s not enough. When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes.

When the future of humanity is at stake, we need binding international safety rules, not voluntary standards from the industry.

Bernie Sanders on AI:

A superintelligent AI that escapes human control will not simply be an American problem. It will not be a Chinese problem. It will be humanity’s problem.

And that is why I hope very much that at their AI summit next week, Trump will negotiate a comprehensive treaty with Xi to establish a pause on advanced AI development and a ban on superintelligence.

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Iran War:

You called it a "war." I disagree with that characterization.