BThe Atlantic Ocean might need a new name.
BExcuse me?
BAl Jazeera reports Trump floated calling it the American Ocean at a rally in Mississippi.
BOf course he did.
BHis logic: he renamed the Gulf, and some lake, so he needs an ocean and a river to match.
BI checked — we can't confirm he actually said it. No official transcript yet.
BFair. But it tracks with the bit he's been doing.
BIt's absurd. The Atlantic touches maybe forty countries.
BNot to him it doesn't.
BSpeaking of Trump and other countries — Reuters has something.
BWhat's he said now?
BAccording to Reuters, he called Brazil's election 'another rigged one.'
BBrazil's election?
BLeftist Lula da Silva apparently won, and Trump says it looked rigged.
BHold on — we can't confirm the quote ourselves. Reuters is reporting the claim.
BRight, but if he said it—
BIf he said it, it's reckless! You don't throw 'rigged' at another country's election.
BWhy not? We questioned Venezuela's. We questioned Russia's. If there are irregularities, say so.
BBecause Lula won fair and square. Even Bolsonaro's party acknowledged the result!
BAcknowledging a result doesn't mean the process was clean.
BOh come on! This is how you erode trust in elections worldwide.
BNo, this is how you hold other countries to a standard. We do it to everyone we don't like.
BThat's exactly my point — 'everyone we don't like' isn't a standard, it's a grudge.
BFine. I'll grant you it's not great phrasing. But skepticism of foreign elections? That's not new.
BFrom a president, it matters more.
BMaybe. I just don't think it moves the needle in Brazil.
BDifferent world entirely: the State Department just updated travel advisories for fourteen Middle Eastern countries.
BWhat's the level?
BSaudi Arabia and the UAE at Level 3 — reconsider travel. Egypt at Level 2.
BThat's a real shift. Americans in those countries should pay attention.
BWe can't confirm the details independently, but the account posting is Hiba Nasr, a regional correspondent.
BShe covers this beat. And there's context — Iran seeing itself as the center of the region. Countries visiting to 'beg.'
BThat's one analyst's take. But travel advisories going up means Washington sees escalation risk.
BThe Strait of Hormuz is the flashpoint. There's a report of a tanker fire down there, though that's unconfirmed too.
BIf Hormuz closes, oil prices go through the roof. That hits everyone at the pump.
BAnd the President's out there saying oil will plummet.
BWell, he's been saying that for a while.
BAnd from the business pages: Universal Music Group reportedly talked with buyout firms about going private.
BGoing private? UMG is huge.
BBloomberg's reporting it, though not confirmed. If it happens, that's one of the biggest music deals ever.
BTaylor Swift's label, Drake's label, The Weeknd — all under one roof. Going private means less scrutiny.
BMore control for the owners. That's the appeal.
BI'll believe it when I see a term sheet.
BFair.