It's Friday, so that means it's panel time.
High-level trade talks with China are over for now with no word of any breakthrough. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin categorized Friday's discussions with China's top trade negotiator as "constructive." The talks are aimed at trying to salvage a trade agreement that seemed to be within reach just a week ago. The US boosted tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese goods overnight, and Beijing has promised to retaliate.
North Korea launched two suspected "short-range missiles" on Thursday, adding yet another complication into Pyongyang's stalled negotiations with the United States and peace talks with South Korea. Yesterday's firing comes less than a week after North Korea tested several new weapons systems, the first confirmed launches of their kind since 2017. Since China has played a stabilizing role in the US' relationship with North Korea, what does this mean for everyone?
The Venezuelan Embassy goes dark as the standoff intensifies on the streets of Washington, DC. On Wednesday evening, the lights flicked off inside the facility. The water has also been turned off in spite of the fact that from all reports, the bills have been paid, Venezuela owns the building and this in direct violation of international law.
The commander overseeing US naval forces in the Middle East told Reuters Thursday that American intelligence showing a threat from Iran will not prevent him from sending an aircraft carrier through the vital Strait of Hormuz, if needed. Iran has dismissed the US contention of a threat as "fake intelligence." Tensions have risen between Tehran and Washington since the Trump administration withdrew a year ago from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and began ratcheting up sanctions to throttle the Islamic Republic's economy.
GUESTS:
Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."
Jon Jeter — Author and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist with more than 20 years of journalistic experience. He is a former Washington Post bureau chief and award-winning foreign correspondent.
Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
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