United States

In a provocation that’s sure to raise eyebrows in Beijing, a US Navy destroyer on Tuesday sailed within 12 miles of Parcel islands in the South China Sea in what appears to be the first US “Freedom of Navigation” operation in two months.

Reuters reports that the USS Chafee, a guided-missile destroyer, challenged “excessive maritime claims” near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors. The operation is believed to be the fourth of its kind to take place since Trump took office.

After a steady march higher in the wake of the 'great recession' nearly a decade ago, a note today from Rent Cafe reveals that average rents in the United States have now stalled for 4 months in row with September's national average coming in at $1,354 per month, which is virtually flat from the $1,350 average reached in the summer.

Authored by Derrick Broze via TheAntiMedia.org,

The 2017 hurricane season has wrought more damage on the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the United States than any season in the last decade. Tropical Storm Harvey smashed into the Gulf, temporarily swallowing Houston and other low lying areas. Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma caused millions of dollars in damage to Florida, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean islands, leaving millions without power and water.

Last night on the Sean Hannity show, Breitbart executive chairman and former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon doubled down on his previously announced "war on the Republican establishment" vowing to, among other things, "challenge every Republican incumbent except for Ted Cruz" in the upcoming mid-term election cycle.

Authored by Jacob Hornberger via The Mises Institute,

On July 21, 1821, John Quincy Adams, who would go on to become the sixth president of the United States, warned that if America were ever to abandon its founding principle of non-interventionism in foreign affairs, she might well become the dictatress of the world.

Adams issued his warning in a speech he delivered to Congress, a speech that has gone down in history with the title “In Search of Monsters to Destroy.”