'We're in trouble'
| A world of trouble  Ukrainian soldiers take shelter in a front-line trench in Pisky, Ukraine, on Monday about 100 meters (109 yards) from separatist positions.
 "We're in trouble. I hope everybody understands that, not trouble we can't get out of, but we're not on a good track." US climate envoy John Kerry was actually talking about global warming ahead of the next UN climate conference in Egypt in November. But his complaint on Monday could also sum up a cascade of world crises pummeling the US.
Russia is holding Ukraine hostage, hoping to rewrite the established outcome of the Cold War. North Korea is firing off ballistic missiles. Tensions are heating up between the US and China over Taiwan, with Washington moving ships and planes around the Pacific chess board. Iran is also making moves. Its client Houthi rebels fired missiles at Abu Dhabi, prompting the US to shoot them down with Patriot batteries. But Tehran is also now ready to talk directly to the US about its nuclear challenge. And don't forget the pandemic — as if anyone could.
President Joe Biden insists that "America is back" as a world leader. But he'll have to prove it. There's a palpable sense abroad — among allies and foes alike — that the US is not quite the global force it once was. So hostile powers like China and Russia will test its resolve. Even friendly leaders will see openings — hence French President Emmanuel Macron's call for the EU to get in the Kremlin diplomacy and military alliance games.
The world and America The US puts up to 8,500 troops on standby to deploy to Eastern Europe
Burkina Faso's army says it's staged a coup
Boris Johnson had yet another party while the UK was on lockdown
The Webb telescope reaches its landmark orbit
Meanwhile in America ... stocks crash 1,000 points, then roar back up
Virginia's new Republican governor is already sparking a furor
A new documentary punctures the Playboy mystique  When former President Barack Obama signed his landmark health care law, Joe Biden, then vice president, notoriously whispered into his ear that it was "a big f**king deal" and was caught on a hot mic. But Biden, now president, has really outdone himself this time. He was asked Monday by a Fox reporter with whom he has often sparred whether inflation was going to be a liability during the midterm elections. And Biden left no doubt about his thoughts, deadpanning in front of the cameras, right into the mic, "It's a great asset -- more inflation" before dropping another verbal bomb: "What a stupid son of a b*tch." RFK Jr.'s offensive vaccine extremism It's almost always a terrible — and deeply offensive idea — to make comparisons with Nazism and the Holocaust.
But the son of assassinated Democratic hero Bobby Kennedy is doing just that and is facing a fierce backlash after making bigoted remarks at a rally against vaccine mandates in Washington, DC, over the weekend.
As CNN's Kate Sullivan writes for Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likened current vaccine policies in the US to the actions of a totalitarian state and suggested Anne Frank was in a better situation when she was hiding from the Nazis.
"Even in Hitler Germany (sic), you could, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland. You could hide in an attic, like Anne Frank did," Kennedy said at the rally, according to CNN's Sarah Fortinsky and Aileen Graef.
Kennedy's outrageous anti-Semitic comment ignores the fact that Frank and some 6 million other Jewish people were murdered by Nazis. And it highlights just how untethered from reality the anti-vaccine discourse can be in America.
Kennedy may come from Democratic royalty -- as the son of former Attorney General and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy -- but he joins a chorus of Republican voices comparing Covid-19 restrictions to Nazi Germany. A flurry of conservatives, from members of Congress to state lawmakers, have been making these offensive comparisons.
Kennedy has a long history of spreading vaccine misinformation, even well before the Covid-19 pandemic. Other members of the Kennedy family have publicly denounced his anti-vaccine views and accused him of being part of a harmful misinformation campaign.
The Auschwitz Memorial responded to Kennedy's comments with a tweet that warned that exploiting the "tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany - including children like Anne Frank - in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay."  After postponing the start of her Las Vegas residency, the pride of Tottenham surprised disappointed fans with a video call at Caesars Palace. Adele appeared to cry and wipe her face when they cheered for her and chanted "It's OK!"(James Mason Fox) Thanks for reading. On Tuesday, representatives from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany will hold "Normandy format" talks in Paris. The International Monetary Fund releases an updated World Economic Outlook. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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