Donald Trump said Iran has taken “too long” to agree to a deal “that would have been great for them” and will now “have to pay the price”.
In a post on Truth Social early this morning, which came after the US and Iran exchanged fire on Tuesday, Trump wrote:
Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore - They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!
Lawmakers warn appointment of presidential loyalist will scuttle bipartisan agreement to renew Fisa surveillance law
Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his controversial plan to install political loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a move that has sparked bipartisan congressional backlash and imperiled the reauthorization of a powerful surveillance law set to expire at the end of this week.
Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement came after he met earlier in the day with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to discuss Pulte’s elevation to the role, which has prompted widespread concern over his complete lack of national security experience and the prospect that he could use the office’s spying powers to continue his campaign of targeting Trump’s perceived political enemies.
Microsoft co-founder to appear in closed-door session as part of lawmakers’ investigation into convicted sex offender
Bill Gates is set to testify in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Microsoft co-founder will appear in a closed-door session, where lawmakers are expected to question him about his past relationship with Epstein. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date.
Platner, whose campaign was hit by series of negative headlines, to face Susan Collins in key midterm contest
Graham Platner, a Marine veteran, oyster farmer and progressive activist, has scaled a mountain of personal controversies to win the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Maine.
His victory on Tuesday caps a remarkable rise for a candidate who has never held elected office and whose campaign was shadowed by negative headlines that might have ended a more conventional political career.
Oysterman and marine veteran favored to win Democratic primary amid a string of controversies
Voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday for primary elections that include a crucial Senate race involving the scandal-haunted Graham Platner.
In Maine, Platner is favored to win the Democratic primary after his main opponent, former governor Janet Mills suspended her campaign. Incumbent senator Susan Collins remains safely at the top of the Republican ticket – just slightly behind newcomer Platner’s lead in polling.
Secure America Act passes largely along party lines in 214-212 vote, ending months-long standoff with Democrats
HouseRepublicans on Tuesday approved a $70bn bill funding through the duration of his term the agencies leading Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats that at one point forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shutter.
The Secure America Act passed in a 214-212 vote that was largely along party lines, with Kevin Kiley, an independent who aligns with the Republicans, joining all Democrats in voting no. The Senate approved the measurelast week, which allocates $38bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $26bn to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $5bn more to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 2029. The legislation now awaits Trump’s signature.
Primaries for U.S. Senate and U.S. House on Tuesday will set the stage for a midterm general election in which Maine is expected to play a critical role in deciding control of both chambers.
Israel will benefit enormously and Americans will bear the burden
There is near certainty that Section 224 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 will pass through the House of Representatives to become law this coming week after a failed attempt last Thursday in the House Armed Services Committee to pass an amendment to delete it led by Democratic Party Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie. The NDAA will now be awaiting only the fully expected signature of Israel’s servant President Donald Trump on the Act to become part of the nation’s legislative package that will set the rules and regulations that the nation’s defense will operate under. It will, unfortunately, also set up through Section 224 a “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” that integrates “US-Israeli military research and development, co-production of weapons systems, licensing agreements, AI, directed energy, data integration, and missile defense.” It also creates the framework for “bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of US-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.” The Director of the “Initiative” will be responsible for the coordination of the work and it is already being suggested that he will be an Israeli. And the funding will come 100% from the US Treasury by way of the budgeted allocation of $1.5 trillion that has been requested for the US military in 2027.
The result is to completely connect the functionality of the US military with that of the Israeli military in what has been described as an equal partnership that will include the government of Israel and its Israeli Defense Force as full participants. There will be full intelligence sharing and a planning process that will determine many aspects of how the American Department of War (sic) procures its weapons and equipment and establishes its strategic goals. This is plausibly the hidden story behind why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been slyly suggesting that Israel might in future forego the $3.8 billion in annual automatic “aid” (which some refer to as “tribute”) from the US Treasury, a process begun by President Barack Obama. Netanyahu, working through his accomplices in the White House and the US Congress, clearly would have known in advance that a much larger slice of the pie was on its way via Section 224.
Those politicians who have sponsored and promoted 224 inevitably cite how the Jewish state is a major “ally and best friend” even though it is neither, but they ignore the dark side fact that it is also a genocidal state whose leaders have been condemned by international courts for multiple war crimes that is hated by most of the world. And this hatred has rubbed off on the United States, which is Israel’s principal source of arms, money and political cover. The slaughter in Gaza and now in Lebanon would not occur without the support of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
And there’s more, coming from the Senatewhich is doing something similar via the FY27 Intel Authorization bill which will make US intelligence sharing with Israel mandatory. The bill in question is S-4615, introduced on May 20th by leading Israel Firster Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. The full text is here. S-4615 includes Section 622, entitled “US-Israel intelligence sharing enhancement.” This new section would establish as law (where it would apply forever, unless repealed by Congress) new US national security-related obligations with respect to Israel. It includes a Statement of Policy: “(1) To maintain and strengthen the strategic security partnership with Israel as a means of advancing the national defense of the United States… (2) To enhance intelligence collaboration through robust intelligence sharing and analytic partnership with Israel… (4) To ensure that security assistance and defense cooperation are structured to help Israel maintain its qualitative military edge…”
When the Intel Authorization Bill comes up for a vote in the Senate it will no doubt pass due to the Republican Majority supplemented by the usual Israel Firsters among the Democrats. And to complete the takeover by Israel there is a bill moving through Congress that will give US military benefits to American citizens, often Israeli dual nationals, who serve in the Israeli military, to include educational and medical benefits unavailable to other Americans who have not served in the US armed forces. Ironically, Israel’s new status as America’s partner in national security and warfare coming from both parts of Congress is not shared with any of Washington’s actual allies in NATO, making the relationship with Israel both unique and, in the opinion of many, uniquely dangerous as an empowered Israel will inevitably work to advance its security perceptions and Middle East “Eretz Israel” ambitions at the expense of genuine concerns that the United States might have intrinsic to its much broader worldwide exposure to global threats. In other words, pandering to Israeli concerns will actually make the United States much weaker and more vulnerable.
Astonishingly, the danger that Israel poses to US national security through its insertion as something like an equal into the planning process has been little remarked in the mainstream US media, possibly due to increased federal and state government pursuit of “antisemites” which includes criminalization of criticism of Israel. And it is certainly once again suggesting the power of the Israel Lobby, its “bought” media and its stable of supporting Jewish billionaires. But there has been considerable concern being expressed across much of the alternative media, some of which has even reached the front pages, suggesting that there is some leakage going on to feed official reservations about 224. The New York Times, which sometimes serves as a go-to leaked resource for the intelligence and defense communities had an interesting article on Israeli spying on the United States sourced to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which appeared just after 224 was being debated in Congress.
The Times article is entitled “Pentagon Sees Growing Espionage Threat From Israel” and is summarized as “The Defense Department has increased the counterintelligence threat assessment to its highest level, and Israel is believed to have eavesdropped on American negotiations with Iran.” The story details how “Israel is now at the Pentagon’s highest counterintelligence threat level.” It includes how American officers working with their Israeli counterparts both in the US and overseas have had their phones and other messaging systems tapped through the insertion of surreptitious listening devices by the Israelis. Negotiations to end the Iran War have also been particularly targeted, both through phones being used by the negotiators as well as from the Washington end where the calls and messages are received.
The reality is, of course, that Israel has been a major source of spying and even worse against the United States since the 1950s, always ranking in FBI and Department of Defense assessments as one of the top three foreign espionage offenders, frequently as number one. And Israeli clandestine covert actions and false flag attacks have not hesitated to kill Americans as part of their efforts to cover-up their more disreputable activities. Notably, the Israeli false flag attack on the US Navy’s USS Liberty in international waters on June 8th 1967 in which 34 crewmen were killed stands out, particularly due to the subsequent cover-up conveniently arranged by Presidents Lyndon B Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Israeli spies, which might have included Netanyahu himself when he resided in the US, arranged the illegal removal of enriched uranium from a Zionist-Jewish-owned metallurgical company in Pennsylvania and also obtained the special triggers in California that enabled Tel Aviv to create a nuclear arsenal. When President John F Kennedy sought to stop that development he was assassinated, quite possibly with help from Mossad. And then there was the most damaging spy in the history of the US, Jonathan Pollard, who stole for Israel the most sensitive intelligence ever obtained by a foreign power. He is now running for the Knesset in Israel and is speaking of the next two likely targets for the Israeli army once the Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians are disposed of, neighbors Egypt and Turkey!
The appearance of the Times article is suspicious and it might have been a shot across the Israeli-Israel Firster bow from the intelligence community coming as it apparently did from what was once called the Department of Defense. But Israel appears to have won this round and will be entering into a new relationship with the United States national security, intelligence and defense systems. Given the utter ruthlessness of Israel and the willingness of its sponsors in Washington to let it get away with mass murder, literally, this is a disaster for the United States and will only produce excruciatingly bad results.
Pennsylvania’s Bob Brooks one of a slew of working-class Democrats on the ballot – can he beat a Koch-backed rival?
Bob Brooks has worked a lot of jobs, sometimes several at once to make ends meet.
He was a paper boy at age 10, and then a dishwasher, prep cook, pizza deliverer, bartender and truck driver. Even after he became a firefighter in 2005, Brooks managed to start a snow-removal and lawn-care business and coach baseball.
All eyes on US Senate race as Graham Platner, embroiled in controversy, is set to advance as Democratic nominee
Voters in Maine head to the polls on Tuesday for one of the most closely watched primary elections in the country. The US Senate race has become a national fixation as Democrats try to unseat a longtime Republican with a political newcomer who has spent months under fire.
Graham Platner, 41, is set to advance as the Democratic nominee for the Senate, after his primary rival – the state’s two-term governor, Janet Mills – suspended her campaign in April. The primary result will likely set up a months-long run-up between Platner, an oysterman and marine veteran with a groundswell of popularity and a mounting list of scandals, and Susan Collins, a 73-year-old Republican senator who has held the seat for nearly three decades.
For those aligned with Trump's campaign promise for the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, it all but guarantees an uninterrupted flow of money to carry out the administration's immigration enforcement operations — and comes on top of some $170 billion Congress already approved for the department last summer, as part of Trump's big tax breaks bill.
Lisboa vai receber, nos dias 2 e 3 de julho, a segunda edição do Olive Oil World Congress, reforçando assim a sua posição de Portugal como um dos principais produtores e exportadores mundiais de azeite.
O encontro, no Centro Cultural de Belém, vai reunir especialistas, produtores, empresas e representantes institucionais de vários países para debater os principais desafios do setor.
A apresentação oficial do congresso decorreu em Lisboa e marcou o arranque da contagem decrescente para aquele que é considerado um dos mais relevantes fóruns internacionais dedicados ao setor oleícola. Organizado pela Agrifood Comunicación, o evento regressa agora após a primeira edição, realizada em Madrid, em 2024.
Segundo o ministro da Agricultura e do Mar, José Manuel Fernandes, a escolha de Portugal para acolher esta edição traduz o reconhecimento do percurso feito pelo país no setor, assente em investimento, modernização, inovação tecnológica e aposta na qualidade. Já o presidente da Olivum, Pedro Lopes, sublinhou que Portugal tem hoje uma voz cada vez mais relevante no panorama mundial do azeite.
“O facto de Portugal receber a segunda edição do Olive Oil World Congress é o reconhecimento do percurso que o país tem realizado no setor oleícola. Hoje somos um dos principais produtores e exportadores mundiais de azeite, resultado de anos de investimento, modernização, inovação tecnológica e aposta na qualidade, fatores que colocaram o azeite português entre os mais valorizados nos mercados internacionais”, afirma José Manuel Fernandes, Ministro da Agricultura e Mar, citado no comunicado.
O programa do congresso vai centrar-se em temas como a adaptação às alterações climáticas, a digitalização, a aplicação da inteligência artificial à produção agrícola, a qualidade e autenticidade do azeite e os efeitos da instabilidade geopolítica nos mercados internacionais. A organização destaca ainda o contributo da comunidade científica e das entidades representativas do setor para a discussão destes desafios.
Para o diretor executivo do Conselho Oleícola Internacional, Jaime Lillo, Lisboa vai tornar-se “a capital da comunidade internacional do azeite” durante os dias do evento, num encontro que deverá juntar representantes dos principais países produtores e exportadores.
“Será um encontro extraordinário que reunirá representantes dos principais países produtores de azeite e de azeitonas de mesa, bem como representantes dos produtores, exportadores e importadores, das principais empresas do setor e da comunidade científica”, afirma Jaime Lillo, Diretor Executivo do Conselho Oleícola Internacional (COI).
Segundo o responsável, “esta será uma oportunidade única para dialogar sobre os principais desafios e contribuir para as soluções de que o setor olivícola internacional necessita”.
A dimensão económica da fileira continua a crescer em Portugal. Para a campanha 2025/2026, a produção deverá rondar as 179 mil toneladas, um volume semelhante ao do ano anterior e acima da média das últimas cinco campanhas. Em 2025, Portugal exportou 228.599 toneladas de azeite, gerando mais de mil milhões de euros em receitas externas.
O setor mantém-se, assim, como um ativo estratégico para a agricultura nacional, com impacto na coesão dos territórios rurais, na sustentabilidade ambiental e na competitividade do agroalimentar português. O congresso conta com apoio institucional de entidades como o Conselho Oleícola Internacional, o CIHEAM Zaragoza, a Fundação Dieta Mediterrânica e o Ministério da Agricultura e do Mar.
Para Pedro Lopes, Presidente da Direção da Olivum – Associação de Olivicultores e Lagares de Portugal, a realização do congresso em Lisboa confirma a crescente projeção internacional do país neste setor. “Portugal é hoje um país com uma voz cada vez mais relevante no panorama mundial do azeite. Crescemos muito nos últimos anos, modernizámos o olival, investimos em tecnologia, inovamos no campo e nos lagares, e produzimos azeites de excelência, reconhecidos nacional e internacionalmente”, sublinha.
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