UK - The rocketing number of children seeking to change sex has become a national scandal, a powerful coalition of whistleblowers, academics and medical experts warns today. In a dramatic intervention marking a watershed in the transgender debate, they have come together to express fears about the dire consequences faced by thousands of youngsters changing gender – including infertility and long-term health problems. A whistleblower from Britain's only NHS gender clinic for children said: 'I'm really angry at what's happening to these children. What I've witnessed feels incredibly distressing and disturbing and like something that should be stopped.'

UK - Dr David Mackereth reckons that he has treated more than 120,000 people during more than 20 years as an NHS A&E doctor. As you might expect in a busy ‘Anything and Everything’ department, his patients have come in all shapes and sizes, and from every race and creed. So the quiet and unassuming married father-of-four never imagined he would find himself branded a ‘bigot’ by Piers Morgan on live breakfast TV, as he was last week, and fearing that he would never work as a doctor again. He claimed he was sacked as a benefits assessor by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over his religious beliefs and that he is the victim of discrimination. The doctor alleged that during his two-week training he was asked this hypothetical question in June last year, just four days into the job: ‘If you have a man, 6ft tall with a beard, who says he wants to be addressed as “she” and “Mrs”, would you do that?’ When Dr Mackereth, from Dudley in the West Midlands, said his religious conscience would not let him do so, he claims he was dismissed.

USA - Considering that extreme and growing heat is one of the biggest problems facing human society today, it would be safe to assume that the last thing we need is more fire in our lives. But who are we fooling? Fire has always been an inseparable part of what makes us human, be it as a means to make food edible, a tool in battle or, according to Sigmund Freud, an element that’s been a key point of origin for most societies. And now, the Throwflame company — which bills itself as the “oldest flamethrower manufacturer in the US” — is hoping to extend the burn to those hard-to-reach spots just begging to be scorched. And what better way to do so than by releasing a fully-functional flamethrower unit that can be attached to flying drones?

EUROPE - Ursula von der Leyen has been crowned European Commission president as MEPs throw their support behind the German. Ms von der Leyen was named as EU leaders’ nomination to replace Jean-Claude Juncker after nearly 50 hours of backroom meetings. The surprise decision sparked fury amongst MEPs when their preferred candidates were discarded. Brexit Party MEP Matthew Patten said: "The bluff of the European Parliament has been called and it folded. After preening about the federalist Spitzencandidat process and opposition to a backroom stitch-up the pro-EU MEPs rolled over and capitulated. The vast majority of MEPs here are federalist fanatics who only care about the EU project and further EU centralisation."

GERMANY - There is a reason James Simons' RenTec is the world's best performing hedge fund - it spots trends (even if they are glaringly obvious) well ahead of almost everyone else, and certainly long before the consensus. That's what happened with Deutsche Bank, when as we reported two weeks ago, the quant fund pulled its cash from Deutsche Bank as a result of soaring counter-party risk, just days before the full - and to many, devastating - extent of the German lender's historic restructuring was disclosed, and would result in a bank that is radically different from what Deutsche Bank was previously.

USA - Why are we suddenly seeing so many cases of flesh-eating disease all along the east coast of the United States? For years, flesh-eating bacterial infections were so rare in the US that even a single case would make national headlines. But here in 2019 the news is telling us that we are seeing flesh-eating infections “at a rate much higher than in previous years”, and this outbreak really seems to have escalated dramatically over the last couple of months. So what is causing this extraordinary change? Could it be possible that we have stumbled upon another element of “the perfect storm” that I keep talking about? We seem to have entered a time when nature is behaving in some extremely strange ways. It would be great if the experts could explain all of the weird things that we are seeing, but they can’t. I don’t know about you, but for now I am definitely staying out of the ocean.

USA - Over the past two years, I’ve repeatedly predicted that armed Antifa terrorists would begin “firebombing government buildings” as the lunatic, radical Left is unleashed. This last weekend, that’s exactly what happened as Antifa terrorist Willem Van Spronsen and member of the left-wing gun training group Puget Sound JBGC — also known as “Redneck Revolt” — assaulted an ICE building with incendiary devices while wielding an AR-15 rifle. Predictably, he was shot and killed by local police, but not before trying to set a government building and multiple vehicles on fire. Notably, the entire left-wing media completely ignored the terrorism assault, since the attacker was a radical left-wing Antifa terrorist (which the left-wing media openly supports).

USA - How long can the stock market possibly stay completely disconnected from economic reality? On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just 27 points, but that was good enough to push it to yet another new all-time record high. Investors have been absolutely thrilled by the extremely impressive bull run that we have witnessed so far in 2019, but there is no way that this is sustainable. Wall Street may be celebrating for the moment, but meanwhile all of the hard economic numbers are telling us that we have now entered a new economic slowdown. Just like in 2008, it appears to be inevitable that the party on Wall Street is about to hit a brick wall, but nobody should be surprised when it happens. Everywhere around us there are signs of economic trouble, and right now companies are literally shutting down all over America.

USA - Last week, a Washington-based think tank warned of "potentially devastating economic consequences" for the US and global economies if Congress didn't pass a debt limit extension in the weeks to come. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has confirmed that the US could default on its obligations in as little as two months if emergency measures are not taken. "Based on updated projections, there is a scenario in which we run out of cash in early September, before Congress reconvenes," Mnuchin warned, in a letter addressed to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi obtained by CNBC. "As such, I request that Congress increase the debt ceiling before Congress leaves summer recess," Mnuchin added. Mnuchin's admission contradicts earlier assurances by the Treasury that it would have enough money to hold out until the fall.

USA - The middle of the country has been relentlessly hammered by endless rain and unprecedented flooding for months, and now it is about to be absolutely pummeled by Tropical Storm Barry. Needless to say, this is going to cause even more headaches for Midwestern farmers. At this point, millions of acres of prime farmland are not going to be planted at all this year, and there are tens of millions of other acres where crops are really, really struggling.

USA - US Military chiefs have been ordered to reveal whether they used diseased TICKS in sick biological warfare experiments. A bill passed in the House of Representatives requires the Pentagon to investigate whether researchers infected the insects in the 1970s - and if any were let loose. It comes after a bombshell new book claims the Defence Department was behind the spread of Lyme Disease between 1950 and 1975. Congressman Chris Smith - who added the amendment to a military spending bill said: "We need answers and we need them now."

USA - Democratic voters who watched their prospective 2020 presidential candidates over two nights last week were likely enthused by all the free stuff that was being promised. Even to people who aren’t American citizens. In addition to pledging free healthcare for illegal aliens, virtually all 20-odd candidates mentioned new ‘freebie’ programs they would try to enact if they manage to knock off POTUS Donald Trump next year. No more college debt. A “Green New Deal.” “Medicare-for-All.”

EUROPE - Ursula von der Leyen faces a final desperate bid to convince the European Parliament to support her bid to become the next president of the European Commission and avert an "institutional crisis". The German defence minister spent the weekend holed-up in her temporary Brussels office working on a plan to win the backing of MEPs in a confirmatory vote on her presidency bid on Tuesday. Under the EU’s rules, Ms von der Leyen, 60, must secure at least 374 votes before she can be crowned as the first woman head of the European Commission. In a bid to seize control of the bloc’s policies for the next five years, MEPs have used the finely-balanced contest to extort political promises from the 60-year-old. Green and socialist MEPs have publicly signalled that they will not offer their support when the vote is held tomorrow evening. They have warned that the German’s programme, which she set out to political groups last week, lacks ambition.

ISRAEL - Israeli politician Yair Lapid on Saturday challenged the US to boot Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter program for taking delivery of advanced Russian air defense systems in defiance of US warnings. Russia’s S-400 is considered one of the most advanced and feared air-defense systems in the world. The US has long argued Turkey’s purchase of the Russian system not only risks the security of NATO members, it also violates the 2017 law threatening sanctions for any purchase of sophisticated Russian technology — the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017. “The US has to cancel the F-35 deal with Turkey, otherwise nothing will stand in Turkey and Iran’s way as they learn how to neutralize America’s most advanced weaponry,” Lapid tweeted.

UK - Reports suggest that Tory leadership favourite Boris Johnson may purge Remainers opposed to delivering Brexit, deal or no deal, from his Cabinet. The former Foreign Secretary and two-time Mayor of London is concerned that staunch anti-Brexiteers such as Amber Rudd, who now say they would serve under a Prime Minister Johnson, are only doing so in hopes they will be able to dissuade him from leaving the EU on No Deal terms if the bloc will not agree to a less onerous withdrawal agreement than the one offered to Theresa May. “[Johnson] knows his top priority is to deliver Brexit by October 31st — or the wheels will come off the bus,” a source described as a “senior ally” told The Sun. “Over the next few days he needs to pick ministers who are united in their desire to get us over the line come what may. Fail and we’re stuck in the road — and Boris is finished.”