Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski on AfD:

I personally saw in the European Parliament how our right-wingers and their fellow AfD MEPs were practically eating out of each other’s hands during debates, united in that anti-EU and anti-European frenzy.

And now, thank God, there seems to be some reflection that a rearming Germany and German nationalism may not be a particularly good combination, and that a party whose leader refers to East Germany as "central Germany" is not necessarily the most pro-Polish party.

If you become nationalists, there is always a risk that you will find imitators, and that imitation can be very dangerous for us, because nationalists in different countries have very different interests.

It is better to reach agreements within the European Union than to wage wars against one another.

A source familiar with the Trump-Zelensky call told Axios that Trump repeatedly urged Zelensky to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing they were pushing up global diesel prices.

“The word diesel came up many times during the call,” the source said.

Source: Axios

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang:

I was the best bus boy of any bus boy that ever bussed tables.

You know, I brought enthusiasm to almost every job that I had. It didn’t matter what it was.

An Israeli-Jewish comedian told ZDF (Germany's public-service broadcaster) she's worried German TV will water down what she says about Gaza.

During the interview she told the crew that Germany's Israel debate is too cautious and that she doesn't know what she can say on German television without it being changed or cut.

The interviewer asked why they would cut anything.

Then it happened.

In her original English she says "that children get killed" — referring to German tax money and Gaza.

The German voice-over translates this as "dass Kinder in Gaza verhungern" — that children in Gaza starve.

As of today, ZDF hasn't issued a correction or acknowledged the discrepancy.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang:

There should be some expectation about, you know, the aesthetics of these data centers. I think they ought to be — they ought to be designed better.

They could be designed better.

A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in North Austin on Sunday afternoon, according to state and local officials.

The man was hospitalized and was alert and talking.

Source: Austin American-Statesman

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang:

I’m not afraid of paying taxes. I’m just afraid of being poor.

Nothing would give me more joy than to be able to pay even more taxes.

The more you make, the more taxes you pay. So I’m okay with that.

BIG: Germany's CDU is at risk of falling below 5% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — which would be the first time in postwar history the CDU fails to enter any state parliament.

The party dropped from 13.3% in 2021 to ~4.9% tonight.

Meanwhile the AfD surged to ~38%, more than doubling its vote to become the state's strongest party.

Chancellor Merz called it a "Desaster" with "nothing to sugarcoat."

The same night, the CDU also lost badly in Berlin where Die Linke finished first.

Official results will determine whether the CDU barely scrapes in or makes history for the wrong reasons.

A Florida fishing charter hauled a Shahed-136 clone drone out of the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base.

Eglin confirmed it lost a drone during testing but wouldn't confirm it was the same one.

The recovered drone matches the FLM-136/LUCAS — America's own reverse-engineered copy of Iran's Shahed-136, which costs ~$35K per unit and saw first combat use striking Iran.

It was missing its engine, propeller, and nose cone from the water impact.

SOURCE

U.S. sanctions, soaring inflation and war damage are worsening Iran’s medicine shortages, forcing some patients to cut doses, delay treatment or switch to cheaper, less effective drugs.

Nearly 800 medications are reportedly affected, while pharmacies are also struggling because insurance companies owe them about $300 million.

Iran produces more than 97% of its medicines by volume, but many drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients still depend on imports and foreign currency.

Experts say U.S. sanctions complicate payments and discourage foreign banks and suppliers from dealing with Iranian buyers, even though medicine itself is generally exempt.

The crisis was further aggravated by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes earlier this year, which Iranian officials said damaged more than 40 pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and distributors.

Source: CNN

Trump is increasingly frustrated by political and legal setbacks and believes too few allies are publicly defending his second-term record. He has also complained that prominent figures have not thanked him for his attempted overhaul of the Kennedy Center.

His frustrations intensified after he was shown negative television coverage of his administration. Hours later, he banned MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.

Trump is also facing falling approval ratings, concerns about Republican performance in the midterms and voter frustration over the Iran war and higher energy prices.

His administration has been searching for foreign-policy wins to tout ahead of the November midterms.

Source: WSJ

Trump:

Many former Kamala Harris aides and donors believe she may ultimately stay out of the 2028 presidential race.

Axios surveyed eight former aides and advisers: five said she likely won’t run, two put it at 50-50, and only one expected her to run. Some argue Harris is doing only “the bare minimum” to remain in the conversation rather than actively preparing a campaign.

One former aide described Harris as “a realist and an astute political observer,” aware that another campaign could become focused on her 2024 defeat.

Harris, however, remains genuinely undecided and is continuing to campaign for Democrats and speak with party officials ahead of the midterms.

Source: Axios

Trump decided not to launch U.S. strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, reversing course after the Pentagon had already prepared for the operation.

After Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged him to intervene, Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare airstrikes. But by Sunday, he changed his mind again.

Most of Trump’s inner circle was deeply skeptical or outright opposed to joining Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Houthis, particularly because of the strains already facing the U.S. military in the war with Iran.

The strikes were close to beginning, with target lists approved and bombs being loaded onto U.S. warplanes when Trump pulled back.

Source: NYT

Powerful explosions at a Syrian army weapons depot near al-Eis, south of Aleppo, injured at least four people early Monday.

The cause was not immediately clear.

Source: Al Jazeera

Trump:

Gas prices were much higher under Biden than under “TRUMP.” So were almost all other prices.

Kadyrov is leading Chechnya’s regional election with 97.35% of the vote after 2.4% of ballots were counted, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission.

Phone videos of bright, multi-colored lights over Tehran, Iran, went viral overnight.

Iranian authorities have not issued any official statement treating the object as a threat.

Iran’s IRGC said it shot down a U.S. MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz using its air defense system.