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Most people around the world in a new survey have largely positive views of the U.S. and President Biden, according to data from the Pew Research Center. The poll, released Tuesday, found that 59 percent of people surveyed globally view the U.S. favorably, with 30 percent responding unfavorably. Similarly, 54 percent of respondents have confidence in Biden, compared to 39 percent with little confidence. Support for the U.S. is strongest in Poland, Israel, South Korea, Nigeria, Japan and Kenya. Much of the increase in support in Poland is due to U.S. support for the war in Ukraine, researchers said. Only Hungary did not have a majority-favorable view of the U.S. among surveyed countries. Researchers this spring polled over 27,000 people from 23 countries all over the world, many of which are U.S. allies. FULL STORY

New Zealand seeks to exterminate predators to save native birds On a bright Sunday morning the wildlife-lovers gather in Miramar, a scenic peninsula. They are on an exterminating mission. Predator-Free Miramar aims to protect birds in this area of Wellington, New Zealand's capital, by ridding it of rats - every last one of them. After donning hi-vis jackets, the volunteers are handed peanut butter - ideal bait for rodents - and poison. Each is assigned a patch where they will check coil traps and toxin-laced bait boxes. "Good luck fellows," says Dan Coup, who leads the group. A GPS app guides Coup through the bush to devices on his route. For each one he replaces the bait and updates the information on the app. None shows signs of a visit by a rat. But as he surveys the ground for droppings and other clues, his phone vibrates. One participant has posted an image to their WhatsApp group: a dead rat in a trap. This is not welcome news. "Dave will feel good that he's caught it, but we feel sad that there's still a rat," Coup sighs. Eradicating rats and other predators is the goal not just for Miramar but for all New Zealand. The government expects the task to be completed by 2050. full story

Serious failures at a New York jail gave convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein the opportunity to take his life, federal investigators found. Guards left Epstein alone and failed to check on him or search his cell, according to a report by the US justice department's watchdog. The report says that 13 employees failed in their duties. Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death. The watchdog said it had identified "numerous and serious failures" in the jail. The justice department inspector general found guards failed to conduct rounds, neglected to monitor Epstein and later falsified jail records after the fact to cover up their misconduct. The 120-page report said that, despite Epstein's previous suicide attempt, guards did not assign him a cellmate and allowed him access to extra bed linens, which were used in his suicide. The report also says surveillance cameras near the unit where he was housed were not working, meaning they did not capture video footage of outside his cell the night he died. FULL STORY

Former President Donald Trump insists that he did "nothing wrong" as he reacted to a leaked recording of him apparently discussing what he described as "highly confidential" documents in his possession post-presidency. Trump, the commanding front-runner in the latest GOP presidential nomination polls as he runs a third straight time for the White House, argued in a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday that "this is just another hoax." "I would say election interference more than anything else. It’s a disgrace that they can do it," Trump said. "Everything was fine. We did nothing wrong and everybody knows it." Trump was indicted and arraigned this month for his alleged improper retention of classified records. He pleaded not guilty in federal court to criminal charges that he illegally retained national security records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, following the end of his term in office and that he obstructed federal efforts to recover the documents. In total, Trump faces 37 felony charges. TRUMP HEARD ON TAPE APPARENTLY DISCUSSING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FULL STORY

The White House has repeatedly touted the Biden administration as the 'most transparent administration in American history' The Biden White House has repeatedly claimed they are the "most transparent administration in American history," but a Fox News Digital review found that the visitor logs from the beginning of the Biden administration through February 2023 have not included any of Hunter Biden’s White House visits or extended stays. Fox News Digital reviewed several articles to piece together Hunter Biden’s whereabouts during his dad’s administration and found that he has visited the White House over a dozen times through February 2023, the month accounted for in the most recent batch of visitor logs released last month. A majority of the White House visits that Fox News Digital found were from 2022, which include the annual egg roll, Medal of Freedom ceremony, France State Dinner on the South Lawn, Christmas tree lighting, his daughter’s wedding, among others. However, they are all absent from the visitor logs, including what appear to be extended stays at the White House. While many of these events are ceremonial and a tradition at the White House, Fox News Digital previously reported how Hunter Biden sought to use such events for his personal financial gain during the Obama administration. Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, would coordinate with his father's White House staff to invite business associates and potential business partners they were courting to official events. FULL STORY

Ukrainian forces have "highly likely" recaptured an area of territory occupied by Russia since 2014, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said. In a new intelligence update, British officials said small advances have been made east from Krasnohorivka near Donetsk, which sits on the old Line of Control. "Recent multiple concurrent Ukrainian assaults throughout the Donbas" may have also left separatist forces in the area overstretched, the UK's analysis added. This is believed to be one of the first instances of gains being made since the war began last February. Whereabouts of Wagner boss confirmed - live updates full story

Advisers and allies to former President Donald Trump are expressing outrage after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that he thinks Trump can win in 2024, but does not know if he is the “strongest” candidate. “I’ve been fielding calls on this since it happened,” one Trump ally told CNN, referring to McCarthy’s comments. “People are not happy. What was he thinking?” During a CNBC interview Tuesday, McCarthy was pressed on Trump’s 2024 prospects and the multi-faceted legal issues facing the former president. “Can he win that election? Yeah he can,” McCarthy said. “The question is, is he the strongest to win the election – I don’t know that answer.” McCarthy later attempted to walk back his comments, telling Breitbart that Trump is “stronger today than he was in 2016.” FULL STORY

Russian missiles have hit the centre of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing four people and injuring many more, Ukrainian officials say. A restaurant and shopping area were hit in Tuesday's strike on the city, which is under Ukrainian control but close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. People may be trapped under the rubble and a rescue operation is under way. An eyewitness told the BBC he saw "dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos". A 17-year-old girl is reported to be among those who were killed in the attack, which happened at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT). There were also apartment buildings at the epicentre of the explosion, officials said. Social media and drone footage from the scene show significant damage to the buildings, some of which have been reduced to rubble. Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker told BBC Newshour he was at the popular Ria Lounge restaurant just minutes before it was hit. "There's still people underneath the rubble because it's a big restaurant," he said. FULL STORY

A recording of Donald Trump saying he is holding secret documents he didn't declassify while he was president has emerged. The tape was made at the former US president's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in July 2021 and seems to indicate he knew of the proper declassification procedures but did not follow them. First obtained by CNN, the recording offers new insight into a conversation that is cited in special counsel Jack Smith's indictment against Mr Trump over the mishandling of classified documents. The two-minute recording suggests the Republican nominee frontrunner was holding classified information about the Pentagon's plans to attack Iran. The recording begins with Mr Trump saying, "these are bad sick people," while a staffer pointed out General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. FULL STORY

Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, says his country's military are being put at full combat readiness after the Wagner mutiny in Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin, meanwhile, insists he wasn't trying to overthrow the Russian president. FULL STORY  & Video

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OP should read this........

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US district court judge Aileen Cannon also scheduled a hearing to start the discovery process for classified documents The federal judge presiding over the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump in the classified documents case ruled against the government in her first pre-trial order on Monday, denying a request from federal prosecutors to file a list of potential witnesses against the former US president under seal. “The government’s motion does not explain why filing the list with the court is necessary; it does not offer a particularized basis to justify sealing the list from public view,” the US district court judge Aileen Cannon wrote. The ruling from Cannon means that the list of 84 witnesses who may testify against Trump at trial would be made available publicly and offer clues about the case prosecutors are bringing, unless the government files a new motion with a detailed rationale for submitting it under seal. FULL STORY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden declared Monday that the United States and NATO played no part in the Wagner mercenary group’s short-lived insurrection in Russia, calling the uprising and the longer-term challenges it poses for President Vladimir Putin’s authority “a struggle within the Russian system.” Biden and U.S. allies supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion emphasized their intent to be seen as staying out of the mercenaries’ stunning insurgency, the biggest threat to Putin in his two decades leading Russia. They are concerned that Putin could use accusations of Western involvement to rally Russians to his defense. Biden and administration officials declined an immediate assessment of what the 22-hour uprising by the Wagner Group might mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine, for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin or for Russia itself. “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine,” Biden said. “But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.” FULL STORY

The House Weaponization Subcommittee says the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has "facilitated the censorship of Americans directly" and through third-party intermediaries during the Biden administration. Fox News Digital first obtained a new committee report Monday, stemming from the panel’s ongoing investigation into government-induced censorship on social media. The report focuses on CISA's alleged work ahead of the 2020 election and the 2022 midterm elections. JORDAN SUBPOENAS BIG TECH CEOS FOR RECORDS ON 'COLLUSION' WITH BIDEN ADMIN TO 'SUPPRESS FREE SPEECH' The committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, obtained non-public documents which lawmakers say reveals CISA "expanded its mission to surveil Americans’s speech on social media, colluded with Big Tech and government-funded third parties to censor by proxy, and tried to hide its plainly unconstitutional activities from the public." FULL STORY

New evidence of China's spy balloon programme - including flights over Japan and Taiwan - has been uncovered by BBC Panorama. Japan has confirmed balloons have flown over its territory and said it's prepared to shoot them down in future. China has not directly addressed the evidence presented by the BBC. US-China relations were thrown into turmoil earlier this year, when an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the US coast. China claimed the balloon seen over north-western US in late January was a civilian airship, used for scientific research such as meteorology - and that it was an unintended and isolated event. John Culver - a former East Asia analyst for the CIA - told Panorama that this "had been not just a one-off, but a continuing effort dating back at least five years." He said the Chinese balloons were "specially designed for these long-range missions" and some had "apparently circumnavigated the globe". FULL STORY

Chinese-made surveillance cameras are in British offices, high streets and even government buildings - and Panorama has investigated security flaws involving the two top brands. How easy is it to hack them and what does it mean for our security? In a darkened studio inside the BBC's Broadcasting House in London, a man sits at his laptop and enters his password. Thousands of miles away, a hacker is watching everything he types. Next, the BBC employee picks up his mobile phone and enters the passcode. The hacker now has that, too. A security flaw in the surveillance camera on the ceiling - manufactured by the Chinese firm Hikvision - means it's now vulnerable to attack. "I own that device now - I can do whatever I want with that," says the hacker. "I can disable it… or I can use it to watch what's going on at the BBC." FULL STORY

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley warned that if "half" of the IRS whistleblowers’ claims are true, then Hunter Biden’s tax evasion investigation’s "integrity and credibility would be greatly undermined." Turley told Fox News Digital that Americans "need to keep in mind that allegations are not proof" and that the whistleblowers' claims remain "unverified but clearly worthy of investigation." However, if even partially accurate, the allegations would hurt the trust in the investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes. "If half of these allegations are proven to be true, the investigation's integrity and credibility would be greatly undermined," Turley warned. "At a minimum, these are questions that need to be answered." HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘DAD,’ ‘BIG GUY’ DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER VIDEO and Story

The attacker who killed five people at an LGBT nightclub in Colorado last year has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder. Victims called Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, a "coward" and a "monster" for the rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs on 19 November 2022. The shooting was stopped by club-goers, who subdued the attacker until police arrived. The attack left 17 others wounded. The victims who were killed were Daniel Aston, 28; Derrick Rump, 38; Kelly Loving, 40; Ashley Paugh, 34; and, Raymond Vance, 22. As part of a plea deal, the attacker was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, and 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murders, in addition to pleading "no contest" to charges of bias-motivated crimes. "When you commit a hate crime, you are targeting a group of people for their simple existence," Judge Michael McHenry said. "The sentence in this court is that such hate will not be tolerated." FULL STORY

Ukraine's long-awaited counter-offensive to retake territory from Russia's occupying forces is under way. Here are the latest developments: Ukraine's counter-offensive is continuing in the eastern Donetsk and south-eastern Zaporizhzhia regions but President Zelensky has acknowledged progress is "slower than desired" The UN has warned drinking water supplies could be affected for more than 700,000 people after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine Russia has continued missile and drone attacks and says it has moved tactical nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus FULL STORY

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the leaders of last weekend's Wagner mutiny of wanting "to see Russia choked in bloody strife". In a short speech full of vitriol, Mr Putin vowed to bring the organisers of the revolt "to justice". But he called regular Wagner troops "patriots" who would be allowed to join the army, go to Belarus or return home. He did not directly name Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who earlier denied trying to overthrow Mr Putin's regime. Wagner is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine. The short-lived rebellion, which saw Wagner fighters seize a major Russian city before heading north towards Moscow in a column of military vehicles, was a response to government plans to take direct control of Wagner, Prigozhin claimed in an 11-minute long audio statement published on Telegram on Monday. FULL STORY

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Former President Trump took his latest swipe at the United States election system during a speech to Michigan Republicans on Sunday. During a speech to Oakland County Republicans in Michigan on Sunday, Trump said that he saved the steel industry in Michigan by placing tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel when he was president. He said that there would be no country without steel, borders or elections, which he said were “fake” in the U.S. “And if you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country, like borders, like elections, got to have real elections,” he said during the keynote address. “We don’t really real elections, we have fake elections.” Trump, who has repeatedly falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him, also said that he wants same-day voting on Election Day, paper ballots and instating requirements for voter ID. He said Democrats do not want to implement those measure because they want to “cheat.” FULL STORY