Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s firing of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and the dangers that come along with consolidating responsibilities into fewer hands, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House, and cuts to the CIA, military, and other intelligence agencies while Trump plans a “big, beautiful” military parade on his birthday. They also talk about Israel’s plan to occupy and hold Gaza indefinitely, the anti-Trump effect in the Australian election, but a rightward turn for elections in the UK and Romania. Additionally, they cover the rocky start for Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Trump administration’s defense of Germany’s far-right AfD party after being designated as an “extremist endeavor”, India’s military response to a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, and they take bets on the papal conclave. Finally, Ben speaks to Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders in the US about the grim state of global press freedom.
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