Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Santos chargesheet grows, Niger kicks out UN rep, GOP voters question McCarthy ouster, China reaps oil windfall

U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) chats with his State of the Union guest and members of his staff as they prepare for the evening in Santos’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2023.

U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) chats with his State of the Union guest and members of his staff as they prepare for the evening in Santos’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2023.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Make us preferred on Google

44,000: US Rep. George Santos (R-NY) — already under scrutiny for lying about his background — allegedly stole more than $44,000 from campaign donors by using their identities and credit card information, according to a new 23-count indictment. Santos is also alleged to have lied to the Federal Elections Commission by claiming he loaned his campaign $500,000 at a time when he only had around $8,000 in the bank.


72: The military junta in Niger ordered UN resident coordinator Louise Aubin to leave the country within 72 hours, following expulsions of France’s ambassador and military missions. Mali and Burkina Faso similarly soured on the UN and expelled French forces following their own coups.

25: Just 25% of Republicans support the move by a small group of far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) last month, according to an AP-NORC poll. Around 30% say it was the wrong move, and the lion’s share of the party, 43%, is unsure.

10 billion: Chinese oil importers have saved about $10 billion this year thanks to access to heavily discounted oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, all subject to US-led sanctions. The relatively cheaper energy has been a rare boon for Beijing amid China’s economic crisis.

More For You

Where’s the beef?
Natalie Johnson
Historically low cattle numbers, combined with strong demand, have driven beef prices higher in the US. And it’s an issue clearly on President Donald Trump’s radar. This summer, he lowered tariffs on some beef imports to bring prices down. But prices have remained stubbornly high, and now he’s turning to Paraguay for help. The arrangement could [...]
Smoke signals
Natalie Johnson
Consumption of illegal cigarettes in the European Union is up roughly 10% over the past decade, according to the bloc’s estimates. The “underground” cigarette industry is surging as European countries raise tobacco taxes: Belgium, for example, recently increased the excise duty on a 20-pack of cigarettes by €0.56 ($0.64). Meanwhile, one report by [...]
Third time (un)lucky
Will Fitzpatrick
Machado was last in her home country in December 2025, when a US private security team smuggled her out to accept her Nobel Prize in Norway. Before that, she had been in hiding for over a year, after a crackdown on political opposition following deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s disputed election victory in 2024. Her team said she was [...]
Chile’s hot dog high
Natalie Johnson
Chileans have long relished the low cost of the completo, one of the country’s widely enjoyed street foods. But with oil prices soaring due to the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, consumer prices are rising across the board, creating a big challenge for Chile’s new right-wing president, José Antonio Kast. He took office in March with a hard-line [...]