Minneapolis father, son indicted in tax fraud conspiracy allegedly involving millions in false claims
"Fraud against the United States is a serious offense and those who fabricate returns or misuse information to enrich themselves will be held accountable," Minnesota U.S.… pic.twitter.com/35HY802tQu
… Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a statement.
From the article:
LaMar Javis Burgess, 44, and his son, LaMar Dazjar Burgess, 23, are accused of preparing and filing false federal income tax returns for themselves and others.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, the pair allegedly filed false tax returns for themselves and others between approximately June 2022 and October 2024. Those returns reportedly contained millions of dollars of false claims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that “LaMar Javis Burgess allegedly sought and obtained videos and instruction manuals educating himself on how to file false federal tax returns, including a guide titled ‘TurboTax Sauce the ‘Self-Employed’ Way.'”
Burgess reportedly worked with his son and others “to promote the tax fraud scheme,” and the older Burgess allegedly took a portion of taxpayers refunds as a fee for himself.
The father and son duo reportedly solicited Social Security numbers and bank account information to file the false returns. The U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that “the returns allegedly included employment and tax credit information they knew to be false.”
Federal authorities charged each man with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and six count of making false claims. Additionally, the older Burgess was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The pair face up to ten years for the conspiracy charge and five years for each of the false claims charges. LaMar Javis Burgess faces up to 15 years in prison for the firearm charge.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2026 00:00 ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Alexander Melnik
[REGNUM.RU] June 2026 marked the strongest blow to France's neocolonial system in West Africa.
The Burkina Faso government has officially announced the complete and immediate severance of diplomatic relations with France. For the African republic, this step marks a final farewell to its former capital, while for Russia, it represents another success and strengthening of its position in the Sahel.
FROM A PRISON COLONY TO A CONVERSATION ON EQUAL TERMS
Relations between France and Burkina Faso have almost always been characterized by profound inequality.
Until 1960, the territory of the modern state was a French colony known as Upper Volta. Formal independence did not bring the country true sovereignty. Paris retained total control over the economy, financial system, and politics.
The French presence in the region has traditionally relied on military force and the loyalty of local elites. For decades, the Fifth Republic dictated its terms to Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso), justifying its intervention in internal affairs by citing the need to ensure security and combat radical groups.
However, the French army's long-term military operation failed to bring peace. The population directly accused the French contingent of inaction, and often even of colluding with terrorists.
Moreover, the French presence was accompanied by monstrous crimes against civilians. One of the most horrific crimes of the colonial era, painstakingly hushed up by Paris, was the Volta-Bani War (1915–1917).
At the height of World War I, the French administration attempted to forcibly round up thousands of men to be slaughtered as "Senegalese riflemen" for the European trenches, while imposing crushing taxes on the remaining population.
In response, the disparate tribes united against the colonizers. France's response was truly cannibalistic. An expeditionary force with artillery and machine guns was sent in to suppress the uprising.
French troops employed scorched-earth tactics, making absolutely no distinction between armed partisans, women, the elderly, and children. Punitive columns razed, looted, and burned more than 110 African villages. By the most conservative estimates, the French mercilessly murdered at least 30,000 Africans. The surviving resistance leaders were publicly executed.
A hundred years later, during the Barkhane operation against Islamist groups, the French military repeatedly found itself in high-profile scandals involving murders and violence.
The most shocking episode was the investigation into sexual violence: French soldiers were accused of forcing underage children to perform sexual acts in exchange for food or under threat of death. Despite the publicity, the French leadership hushed up the scandal, which completely destroyed the last vestiges of trust in the former metropolis.
The point of no return was passed after a series of military coups in 2022, when a patriotic leadership led by Ibrahim Traoré came to power. The new administration set a course for genuine independence.
In early 2023, Ouagadougou denounced the military agreement, forcing the compromised French contingent to leave the country. Now, the Burkina Faso authorities have decided to finally break free from the oppression that was aimed at enslaving the people and destabilizing the country.
BATTLE FOR SOVEREIGNTY
The severance of relations with Paris was a logical outcome of the uncompromising struggle against neocolonialism. In their historic statement, the Burkina Faso authorities directly accused France of "imperialist aspirations" and "neocolonial ambitions."
Ouagadougou claimed that the Élysée Palace not only imposed its will but also actively financed the armed opposition and terrorist cells. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Paris and its regional satellites, such as Côte d'Ivoire, provided large-scale funding for the preparation of a coup d'état in Burkina Faso in January 2026.
The main objective of the Paris-controlled rebels was to assassinate President Traoré. France hoped to install a loyal puppet government in Ouagadougou, but the coup attempt failed, and the conspirators were arrested.
At the same time, France attempted to strangle Traoré's regime economically by suspending all financial aid programs and attempting to block international transfers in the hopes of provoking domestic discontent.
In turn, the President of Burkina Faso rejected IMF loans and Western financial support, reorienting the economy toward domestic resources and partnerships with Russia and China.
Faced with colossal pressure and subversive activity from the West, Burkina Faso quickly turned to Moscow for support. Moscow responded immediately, becoming the West African republic's main guarantor of security and stability.
Cooperation between the countries is developing rapidly. At a meeting with Ibrahim Traoré, President Vladimir Putin promised to assist Burkina Faso in suppressing radical groups. Russia is rapidly expanding its military-technical cooperation: modern weaponry is being supplied to the African country, and Russian military instructors are already working on the ground.
In addition to security cooperation, Moscow sends free humanitarian aid and food to the country. When a disgruntled France, in retaliation, stopped issuing visas to Burkina Faso students, Russia immediately offered young Africans the opportunity to pursue high-quality higher education at our country's universities.
The final break between Paris and Ouagadougou cements Moscow's status as the most reliable partner for West African states, capable of defending their sovereignty.
This can already be seen in the example of Mali, where a limited contingent of the Russian Ministry of Defense's African Corps successfully thwarted an attempted coup and is methodically eliminating militants trained by Western handlers.
In the case of Burkina Faso, the political stability Moscow provides to Ouagadougou opens up horizons for economic cooperation. Russia gains access to strategically important resources and the opportunity to invest in mining, agriculture, and energy.
African partners are extremely interested in Russian technologies, which allows Russia to diversify exports and circumvent Western sanctions.
Finally, the collapse of French influence is a colossal image victory for Russia on the global stage. It clearly demonstrates to all developing countries that there is a real and effective alternative to Western dictates, as well as a path to national dignity and security.
France can only prepare countermeasures, but Africa's historic choice has already been made.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Vadim Trukhachev
[REGNUM.RU] On the night of June 29-30, Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a dramatic penalty shootout in a World Cup match. Crowds of jubilant Moroccans poured out onto the streets of The Hague, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.
This might be understandable if they were migrant workers. But most of the North African team celebrating their success were born in the Netherlands and had never been to Morocco. Nevertheless, they spent a rather boisterous night and morning in their celebration.
The other day Mr. Wife cheered for the Canadian soccer team against their opponent, because his mother is from Quebec. A sentimental attachment to the Ould Sod adds a bit of zest to life. But zest should not lead to rioting through the streets like hoodlums.
In The Hague, hundreds of Moroccans began celebrating peacefully, but soon the scene began to resemble a typical immigrant youth riot.
Fans of the African team began burning and overturning cars and smashing shop windows. When police arrived at the scene, they were met with stones, pieces of asphalt, and empty bottles. Law enforcement officers were forced to use water cannons. Police reported the arrest of several of the most vicious rioters.
In Amsterdam, the scene was much the same. Many Moroccan hooligans donned balaclavas and began insulting the police who arrived to subdue them. In Utrecht, fans leaned out of windows, ignoring traffic rules.
Everything described was repeated in Rotterdam, the city home to the largest Moroccan community. It was here that the number of detainees was the highest—14 people; in The Hague, one less. Overall, around fifty perpetrators were detained nationwide.
The constant presence of politics at major football tournaments is nothing new. But in this case, the great game also served as a mirror to the failed migration and integration policies of European countries.
And it wasn't her first time performing. It happened again after the recent Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal. And four years ago, when the Moroccan national team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
Moroccans are one of the largest immigrant communities in the Netherlands, making up over 2% of the country's population. There are also approximately the same number of immigrants from Turkey and Indonesia. Overall, Muslims make up approximately 8% of the Dutch population.
Furthermore, the proportion of non-white, non-Muslim population (predominantly Christian) reaches another seven percent. Almost half of them are from Suriname and the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which featured in the current World Cup.
The fact that the integration of Moroccans into Dutch society was not going well became clear in 2004.
Then, a Dutch-born man with roots in the North African country brutally murdered director Theo van Gogh —the great-grandnephew of artist Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh was making a film about the difficult situation of women in traditional Muslim society, for which he received 17 blows with an axe.
Since then, the Netherlands has been the scene of several riots by people from the Middle East and Africa, often sparked by football matches.
For example, visits by Israeli teams to European Cup matches are regularly accompanied by street clashes. The most notorious massacre was on a tram in Utrecht in the spring of 2019, committed by an Islamist who came from Turkey. The number of rapes and robberies committed by people from these countries is now incalculable.
In general, the Netherlands can be considered a textbook example of the collapse of multiculturalism and the incompatibility of the values of native Europeans with those of immigrants from other regions.
The kingdom has long been renowned for its liberal morals and red light districts. It was the first country in the world to legalize prostitution, same-sex marriage*, euthanasia, and drug trafficking. Furthermore, statistics show that over half of the country's native population consider themselves atheists. Only one other country—the Czech Republic—has such a high proportion.
It's not hard to imagine how a visitor from a Moroccan village would react to something like this. And if the Islamists properly manipulate him, he'll likely do the same as Theo van Gogh's killer.
Moroccans and Turks have found a prominent place in the Netherlands in a variety of fields. Politics is no exception. Ahmed Aboutaleb, the son of a Moroccan mullah, served as mayor of Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, for 15 years (2009–2024). He personally did nothing illegal and learned Dutch fluently—but the very fact that he held this position speaks volumes. This is hardly surprising, however: more than half of Rotterdam's population today is made up of immigrants. They elected "their" mayor.
In the Netherlands, there is no threshold for parliamentary elections—to win a seat, a party only needs to secure 0.67% of the vote. Moreover, registering a party is quite easy.
The Islamic community took advantage of this, creating the DENK party with the help of the Turkish government to defend the interests of local Muslim believers. Over the past several elections, it has received its two percent of the vote and three parliamentary seats out of 150. So, the situation here has gone much further than football pogroms.
Incidentally, the Dutch national team's captain for several years now has been black defender Virgil van Dijk, and one of its star attackers is also black, Kody Gakpo. There are no players of Moroccan descent on the current national team, although there have been in the past.
However, three Dutch-Moroccans are present at this World Cup, and they are playing for the national team of their ancestral land. One of them is Manchester United star defender Noussair Mazraoui. Ironically, these three helped Morocco beat their own country.
In fact, the Moroccan national team at this tournament is also a mirror of migration processes, like the Dutch team. Only six of its 26 players were born in North Africa: three each in the Netherlands and Belgium, seven in France, and six in Spain. Goalkeeper Yacine Bounou is a native of Canada.
Many of them could well have made it into their national teams, but every year more and more Moroccans (as well as people from Algeria, Tunisia and the countries of Black Africa) choose the national teams of the countries where they have historical roots.
But the footballers are fine, although their attachment to other countries is also a reason to consider immigration policy. Their fans within the Netherlands should be of far greater concern to the authorities. They attended Dutch schools and received Dutch benefits. The Netherlands gave them everything—yet they consider themselves Moroccans and support Morocco, even though many of them have never even set foot in the North African kingdom. And yet they're wreaking havoc on their immediate homeland.
Another interesting aspect of this current story is the reaction of the Dutch authorities. Aside from the dry police reports, the government remained silent. Despite the fact that what happened was clearly not just simple football hooliganism.
Prime Minister Rob Jetten of the left-liberal Democrats 66 party pretended the incident was a minor one. However, this shouldn't be surprising. Jetten is a proponent of open doors for migrants, and the rioters from The Hague and Rotterdam are part of his constituency.
Dutch systemic politicians are currently preoccupied with the "important thing"—the confrontation with Russia. Jetten has increased aid to Ukraine in recent months and is now preparing for a NATO meeting in Ankara. His predecessor, now NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, will also be attending.
Big geopolitics is in full swing—there's no time to engage in pogroms on our own streets! And it would hardly be surprising if Moscow were blamed for the atrocities committed by the inhabitants of immigrant ghettos.
In the future, the case will likely be limited to fines and a few months in prison for the ringleaders. Those without Dutch passports may even be stripped of their residence permits. And perhaps only non-systemic right-wingers like PVV leader Geert Wilders and the increasingly popular Eva Vlaardingerbroek will get to the root of the problem, in keeping with their respective roles.
Migration problems in Europe are becoming increasingly evident. This time, they have manifested themselves in the Netherlands, involving Moroccan immigrants. The next location will likely be another European country.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM.RU] When people weren't interested in oil and gas, the Ottoman Empire was simply a transportation hub. Today, with the construction of bridges and tunnels under the Bosphorus, Turkey has strengthened its infrastructure role. A gas hub project is also underway. And an artificial intelligence hub is already a dream for future generations.
While Turkey was previously content to act as a passive transit hub between East and West, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's strategy today aspires to transform the country into a governing center where flows not only intersect, but also the rules of the game are established. The Turkish president's ambitions are constantly expanding, encompassing not only energy and transportation, but also neural networks and the military-industrial complex.
In June, Erdoğan unveiled an updated "AI Roadmap" for 2026–2030. This isn't just a declaration of intent, but a massive $10 billion plan.
In the era of "algorithmic diplomacy," those without their own AI are doomed to digital colonization. The plan calls for mobilizing the private sector to build data centers with a capacity of at least 1 GW by 2030. But the most important thing is people. Ankara aims to train 5 million AI literacy specialists and 10,000 specialized AI experts.
Ankara is listening to critics who point out Turkey's 53rd place in the Oxford Insights ranking, but they are drawing their own conclusions. Turkey has fallen far short of its previous strategy's goal of entering the top 20, but it clearly intends to correct this.
A special emphasis in AI development is placed on digital sovereignty—the development of our own large-scale language models and national platforms, such as T3 AI and Havelsan's MAIN. Erdogan wants neural networks to be independent of Western companies and to operate in the Turkish language.
Defense plays a key role in the strategy, with plans to integrate AI into drone swarms, autonomous systems, and decision support. Artificial intelligence is expected to be implemented in almost every area of life, from city administration and customs to agriculture and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Ankara plans to develop not only software but also physical infrastructure—computing power, energy, networks, and data centers—to become a regional AI hub and reduce dependence on foreign technologies.
Just as with logistics (take, for example, projects to deliver goods from China to Europe via Kazakhstan and further along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway) and energy supplies, Turkey will try to use the AI sector to secure its status as a center of gravity for Turkic-speaking countries.
This topic became a key issue at the recent summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Erdoğan proposed creating a unified language model for the Oghuz, Kipchak, and Karluk branches of the Turkic languages.
Energy remains another important element of the planned transformation into a regional – and even global – economic hub.
But here the republic's role is transforming. "Turkey is no longer a corridor," declare experts at the Türkiye Araştırmaları Vakfı think tank. The signing of 10-year contracts between BOTAŞ and SEFE (formerly Gazprom Germania GmbH) and ENI for the supply of 11 billion cubic meters of LNG brings Turkey closer to the status of Europe's "energy bank."
The goal is to gather gas from everywhere: Russia (via Turkish Stream), Azerbaijan (TANAP), Iran, Iraq, and now Libya and Algeria. This allows for the gas's "origin" to be changed, making it "acceptable" for the European market even under strict sanctions.
The expansion of storage facilities in Silivri and Lake Tuz to levels that cover 25% of annual consumption gives Ankara enormous leverage over the Europeans during the winter.
The Zangezur Corridor (TRIPP) occupies a special place in this plan. As Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar notes, this is the missing link that will allow Caspian resources to flow directly to Turkey, bypassing complex detours.
The project is important for Europe, as it plans to impose a complete embargo on Russian gas starting in 2027. For Turkey, it's a new tool for rapprochement within the amalgamated territorial community.
Since 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed creating a gas hub in Turkey to reroute lost gas volumes from the blocked Nord Stream pipeline. However, due to the limited capacity of Turkish gas pipelines to Southern Europe and Turkey's reluctance to jointly sell gas, the project has stalled.
While the Strait of Hormuz remains in turmoil due to Iran's measures and the Red Sea remains a potential target for the Houthis, Turkey is offering the Arabs a safe alternative: the $17 billion "Development Road" project, connecting the Iraqi port of Basra with Istanbul.
Ankara is seriously reviving the Hejaz Railway. Negotiations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the new Syrian government are in full swing.
Türkiye also isn't ruling out the possibility of building a gas pipeline from Qatar to Syria. The former has a Turkish base, while the latter came under Erdogan's "guardianship" after Assad's overthrow.
In April, the newspaper Türkiye, citing the republic's Ministry of Energy, noted that the republic had developed five gas and oil supply routes bypassing Hormuz.
If the TRIPP project is implemented, Turkey will also be aligned with Armenia. Ankara supported Nikol Pashinyan's party in the last elections.
And TRIPP could become the second line after BTK of the so-called Middle Corridor of trade flows between Asia and Europe.
The military-industrial complex also aspires to become a separate hub.
Over the past 20 years, Turkish exports have exceeded $10 billion. Products from Baykar, TAI, and Aselsan are exported to 40 countries.
But ambitions go further: Türkiye wants to become a platform for licensed assembly and joint production of Western technology for third-world markets.
The KAAN fifth-generation fighter project, the national air defense system (Steel Dome), and even prototypes of intercontinental missiles (Yildirimhan) are forcing NATO to view Ankara not as a springboard, but as a partner.
European allies, frustrated by the uncertainty of US guarantees in the Donald Trump era, are increasingly turning to Turkish capacity, which is cheaper and faster to deploy than German or French ones, according to Reuters.
KAAN aircraft have been ordered not only by Muslim countries from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, but also by Spain. Spain is one of four countries (along with Germany, Britain, and Italy) developing the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, which Erdogan acquired after much debate.
Diplomacy could be singled out as a separate area of Turkey's transit role.
Ankara hosts important international meetings. Four rounds of Russian-Ukrainian talks (in 2022 and 2025) took place in Istanbul. The exchange of political prisoners between Russia and the United States took place there, as well as a meeting between diplomats from the two countries.
Many Middle Eastern conflicts cannot be resolved without Turkey's participation. In October, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Erdogan became one of the signatories of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, along with Qatar, the United States, and Egypt.
He also played a role in brokering a ceasefire in Iran. Antalya hosts an annual diplomatic forum, where representatives of European countries can hear the position of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in person.
For Moscow, Turkey's rise as a global hub brings both challenges and opportunities.
On the one hand, Ankara is actively replacing Russian influence in Central Asia and offering Europe a resource that bypasses Gazprom’s direct control.
On the other hand, under the conditions of the SVO, Türkiye remains a “window” for parallel imports and a link in bypassing sanctions.
Ankara earns significant profits from Russian transit, but the risks are also growing. The EU recently demanded that Turkey stop supplying Russian gas to Europe through its pipelines. If Moscow succeeds in joining the TRIPP project, Turkey's increased transit role will not be detrimental.
As for gas supplies, Türkiye is interested in maintaining and increasing them, but EU sanctions and Ankara's desire to lower prices for Russian supplies could create obstacles.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/01/2026 00:00 ||
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
[ISRAEL-ALMA.ORG] The months of May-June 2026 were marked by a significant acceleration across all axes of Turkish activity – military, economic, support for terrorism, and rhetorical escalation – as Ankara becomes an increasingly dominant actor in Syria with each passing month.
On the force-build-up front, Syrian forces participated for the first time in EFES-2026 – the Turkish Air Force’s annual flagship military exercise, held from April 11 to May 22, 2026 in Izmir – alongside forces from 50 countries. On the sidelines, Ankara announced an expansion of its military support to Syria: training, operational planning, and logistical assistance.
On May 11, 2026, the Turkish warship TCG Meltem made the first-ever official visit of its kind to the Syrian port of Latakia. In addition, Turkish arms exports broke records – a warship was sold for the first time to a NATO member – Romania – on June 20, joining the KAAN fighter jet export deal with Indonesia (48 aircraft worth $10 billion), a deal signed in June 2025.
On the economic front, Ankara is advancing the Hejaz Railway corridor through Syria to Saudi Arabia – a move analysts view as undermining Israel’s regional role, as it creates a direct overland corridor from Turkey through Syria and Jordan to Saudi Arabia, competing with Israel as a regional transit hub, as envisioned by the American IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe) corridor initiative.
Turkey’s Trade Minister set a target of $5 billion in trade with Damascus in June.
On the terror axis, the IDF and Shin Bet revealed on June 21, 2026 that five senior Hamas figures were operating to produce attacks in Judea and Samaria directly from Istanbul – with Erdoğan’s open backing, as he promised the organization: “Just as we protect our own children, so we will protect you.”
On the rhetorical front, Jerusalem–Ankara relations deteriorated to a new low: Erdoğan declared on June 10, 2026 that Israeli strikes on Lebanon “now endanger Turkey as well.”
Turkey is no longer merely a regional actor – it may be becoming the central strategic axis threatening Israel in the future.
Israel knows what to do about threats.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/01/2026 00:00 ||
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[Just The News] House Democrats are expected to split this week over an amendment Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie introduced that seeks to cut federal funding for Israel, showcasing a divide in the party over U.S. relations with the country.
Massie tacked the amendment to a national security and State Department spending bill that is expected to come up for a vote this week. The amendment claims none of the funds of the bill will be available for Israel and lowers spending in the bill by $3.3 billion.
House Democratic leadership is urging the members of its caucus to vote their conscience on the amendment, declining to take a hard stance on the legislation, according to The Hill.
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson expressed shock at recent conversations surrounding Israel at a recent caucus meeting and said conversations centered around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, and the increasingly negative views of Netanyahu among young, Democratic voters.
"I’ve been around a long time, I’ve never seen it," Thompson said.
#2
Man is born innocent and without rancor or evil. His only concern is rest and nourishment. At life's end the evils in the middle are largely forgotten and he returns to....rest and nourishment.
[FoxNews] The House overwhelmingly rejected Tlaib's measure targeting US military involvement in Lebanon
The House of Representatives rejected a measure from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., targeting U.S. military involvement in Lebanon.
Tlaib’s measure failed in a bipartisan vote of 189-235 on Tuesday, with 22 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans against it.
The resolution would have specifically barred U.S. forces from engaging in "any hostilities" in the country, despite the U.S. military not joining Israel's war in Lebanon and conducting few operations there.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading critic of Israel, and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., were the lone Republicans who supported the measure.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., led the majority of Democrats in voting to curtail Trump's authority to use force in Lebanon absent congressional approval. He previously opposed an earlier war powers resolution pushed by the Squad member.
Her measure was a concurrent resolution, which is largely symbolic and not sent to President Donald Trump's desk for a veto if passed.
Tlaib, Congress’ sole Palestinian American, is a fierce opponent of Israel and has accused the Jewish state of pursuing "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza and Lebanon. Her sharp criticism of Israel’s war in Lebanon has spurred GOP attacks that she is providing cover for Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The resolution did not mention the terrorist group, which has been engaged in a military conflict with Israel since early March around the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Tuesday’s vote came after Tlaib previously forced a vote on a more expansive Lebanon war powers resolution earlier this month that critics argued would have required U.S. military personnel protecting embassy staff to leave the country.
Opponents also charged that the measure would have restricted any assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which is fighting Hezbollah.
Tlaib tailored her second resolution to clarify that it exempted protection of diplomatic personnel and cooperation with Lebanon’s military.
Republicans questioned the timing of the resolution since the U.S. is not at war in Lebanon.
"There are not U.S. combat forces conducting operations or engaged in hostilities in Lebanon," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said during debate on the House floor. "They are training the Lebanese Armed Forces.
"Why are they training?" Mast continued. "Because there’s probably at least 40,000 — probably more — Hezbollah terrorists spread across the South of Lebanon that are actively engaged in targeting Israel and have been doing so for many years."
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., countered that the resolution would keep the United States "out of another forever war that is not in our national interest."
[FoxNews] The package is seen as a major foreign policy win for President Erdogan ahead of the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara
The Trump administration is moving forward with a controversial arms sale worth $700 million to NATO ally Turkey despite apprehension over Ankara’s closeness with Russia and terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration notified him of the State Department’s decision to bypass Congress and send Turkey the $700 million in defense articles, mostly fighter jets.
"In this case, the State Department did not even attempt to justify its decision. It did not invoke any emergency authority, did not present a written rationale, and for months refused to make a good-faith effort to brief me on implications of the sale for the U.S.-Turkey relationship, Turkey’s continued possession of the Russian S-400 system, and other regional security concerns," Rep. Meeks said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
Turkey signed a deal with Moscow in 2017 to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system and acquired it in 2019, causing alarm within the NATO alliance. The U.S. and NATO considered the move an intelligence threat that undermines NATO cohesion and readiness.
The S-400 is designed to detect, track, and exploit stealth aircraft like the F-35.
"Turkey’s possession of both the S-400 and the F-35 is so dangerous because the two systems operating in proximity or networking together could give Moscow valuable intelligence for shooting down F-35s flown by Americans and our allies," according to a report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The U.S. sanctioned Turkey in 2019 for the purchase and excluded Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program. Congress also passed a law banning Turkey from the F-35 program while it continues to possess the S-400 air system.
The State Department dismissed concerns about the U.S.' arms sales and Turkey’s possession of Russian-made air defense systems.
"The president has been clear; Türkiye is a strong member of NATO. Türkiye is a significant contributor to Alliance operations and missions," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The package is a major boon for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as he prepares to host the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara.
"The US engine sale is critical for Turkey’s most important defense project, the KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet. Turkey is developing its own engine, but it won’t be ready for several more years. Without U.S.-made GE engines, KAAN would struggle to move from a prototype to a serially produced combat aircraft," Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
Tol, who’s in Ankara for the NATO summit, said the deal is more meaningful than just a defense sale for President Erdogan, it’s a cornerstone of his foreign policy and a major source of domestic political legitimacy.
"If the aircraft succeeds, Ankara believes it will not only expand Turkey’s defense exports but also strengthen NATO’s overall industrial capacity and reinforce Turkey’s strategic importance within the alliance," Tol said.
President Erdogan, who has a warm relationship and receives frequent praise from President Trump, has continued to aggressively lobby the United States to readmit Turkey to the F-35 program, despite pushback from Congress.
On Monday, four Republican allies of President Trump — Reps. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., and Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., — released a joint statement over the proposed sales. "As Greek American Members of Congress, we are deeply concerned regarding reports of a proposed military sale of jet engines to Turkey. Turkey continues to be a destabilizing force in the region through its expansive and disputed maritime claims, continued illegal occupation of Cyprus, and rhetorical demonization of Israel."
The statement continued, "The Eastern Mediterranean region holds significant potential to become a beacon of commercial opportunity, energy cooperation, and regional security, an effort we have actively supported through legislation and engagement, but Turkey’s rhetoric and actions increasingly threaten these efforts, key American allies, and regional stability. For example, Turkey's harboring of Hamas and position as the only NATO member to refuse sanctions against Russia is deeply troubling. We are actively engaging with the Administration and House leadership to obtain additional information regarding this reported sale and to express our strong opposition to any prospect of Turkey’s reintegration into the F-35 program without complete compliance with CAATSA requirements," their statement said.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
07/01/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think Turkey is an ally.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/01/2026 3:23 Comments ||
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[RedState] As Muslim college professor Loay Alnaji
…more fully Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 53, a computer science professor, who has been a faculty advisor for Moorpark College’s Muslim Student Association — a long-established youth arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America — and is an active member of the Islamic Society of Simi Valley. His YouTube channel, shut down after his arrest, while said to be an adjunct to his classroom teaching, was reportedly chock full of videos in Arabic…
is set to be sentenced on June 30 for fatally assaulting a Jewish man, Paul Kessler, in November 2023, bodycam footage from the day of the attack exclusively shared with RedState contradicts the narrative his attorney has set.
Alnaji, one of the leaders of a pro-Hamas contingent protesting against Israel in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 5, 2023, crossed two major thoroughfares to confront Kessler, who'd had the audacity to stand on a corner opposite Alnaji's group and wave an Israeli flag. As words were exchanged, Kessler took out his phone to video Alnaji, at which time Alnaji "decked" Kessler, according to an eyewitness.
Ron Bamieh, Alnaji's attorney, claims his client acted in self-defense and is “not a violent man.
If he crossed the street to confront a Zionist instead of yelling from his own corner, his motivation was not peaceable discussion.
He was at a rally exercising his right to protest, a tragic chain of events followed.” He says, “Mr. Kessler approached the crowd and yelled at demonstrators to ‘stop beheading babies.’ When he turned toward Mr. Alnaji — phone pointed at him — Mr. Alnaji swiped at the phone with his hand, which was holding a megaphone. He inadvertently struck Kessler on the side of the head. Kessler then fell, striking his head on the pavement.”
In early May, as we reported, Alnaji entered an open guilty plea to one count of involuntary manslaughter and felony count of battery causing serious bodily injury, with a serious felony enhancement and aggravating factors of weapons use and vulnerable victim for both counts. According to Bamieh, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan indicated that he would sentence Alnaji to one year in prison followed by three years probation. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko's office is opposed to a probationary sentence, as is Kessler's family.
According to video and witness evidence, some of which was published at the time of the assault, Bamieh's narrative leaves out a few things. A man who was with Kessler and another man, Jon Oswaks, said in a statement to law enforcement which was also provided to RedState that when the group arrived at 3 PM, "No one was on any of the four corners at that time as far as I could tell. There certainly was no one on the Shell station corner and no one on the Northeast corner where the large grass area is."
That man, who we'll call James, said that he routinely wears a body camera "at dynamic events" so his hands would be free and he could capture everything. As he stood on the corner where the Shell station is with Kessler he realized he had a second body camera in his vehicle and went to his car to retrieve it so either Kessler or Oswaks could wear it. When he returned to the corner, a handful of pro-Hamas people had arrived; he stated that "none were there when I left." (Note: On the bodycam videos labeled 000000, the actual time is the camera time minus an hour and 15 minutes, so on this photo the actual time is 15:14.)
James then crossed Westlake Boulevard to bring the body camera to Oswaks, and as he crosses, he passes Alnaji and Nashat Mshaiel, then-president of the Islamic Society of Simi Valley mosque.
Alnaji is also a member of the ISSV mosque and at the time served as the faculty advisor to the Moorpark College Muslim Student Association, where his son was an officer.
Mshaiel and ISSV Imam Shaikh Omar Jubran had angrily exchanged words with a pro-Israel counter-protester the week prior, with Mshaiel lunging at the man before ISSV's registered agent Munir Merchant held him back. Kessler and Oswaks had also exchanged words with Mshaiel.
A younger man there at the prior protest reportedly pulled a gun on Oswaks, but was gone by the time Sheriff's deputies arrived. Oswaks identified that man for James on November 5, and Jubran said to Oswaks, "I remember you from last week."
It's clear from these videos and statements that Mshaiel took Alnaji to that corner to confront Kessler because of the beef they'd had the week before, and that their actions were motivated by antisemitism and this wasn't a simple case of two old men getting a little too heated.
[IsraelTimes] Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu says in a written statement that a delegation of senior Hamas officials headed by Zaher Jabarin, Hamas’s leader in the West Bank, arrived in Cairo this morning to hold talks with Egyptian officials and other mediators regarding the Gaza ceasefire.
According to al-Nunu, the delegation’s top priorities are “stopping Israeli violations” of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, rebuilding hospitals, bakeries, and infrastructure, and completing discussions on the roadmap for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
That phase should include, according to Trump’s plan, Hamas’s disarmament and the transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
In recent months, the Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, has insisted that the main obstacle preventing the NCAG from entering Gaza is Hamas’s refusal to give up its weapons.
Diplomats from each of the Middle Eastern mediating countries — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — told The Times of Israel that Hamas has sought to drag out negotiations on the issue. They also argued that Israel’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the first phase of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire has posed a major obstacle as well.
[IsraelTimes] Nablus mayor ‘surprised’ after IDF seals building housing offices of Al-Tadamon Charitable Society; IDF doesn’t immediately comment
The Israel Defense Forces shut down the headquarters of a Paleostinian nonprofit in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, saying it supported terrorism, Paleostinian officials said.
AFP journalists in Nablus reported that the building housing the headquarters of al-Tadamon Charitable Society had been sealed off, its metal front gate welded shut.
"This union has been declared an illegal entity and has been shut down due to its involvement in and support for terrorism," a sign in English and Arabic posted on the front gate read.
Nablus mayor Anan al-Atira said she was taken aback by the raid. "We were surprised after the raid to find that they had closed down a charitable organization, the al-Tadamon Charitable Society," Atira told AFP.
The military told AFP it was looking into the details of the raid.
Israel has carried out numerous raids against Paleostinian organizations accused of working with or financing terror groups.
The charity declined to comment on the closure.
A source close to the organization, however, told AFP that the move was linked to accusations of coordination with the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... -based rights group Addameer, which Israel has blacklisted as a terror group — allegations the source rejected.
Atira said al-Tadamon provided services for orphans and ran at least three schools and a clinic. She added that the charity "has been working in this country for many years, providing relief services and services for orphans."
Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas, speaking to news hounds outside the organization’s headquarters, said: "To target al-Tadamon charity is to target all the poor among our people."
Ghassan Hamdan, the director of the Medical Relief Society, another charity in Nablus, described the closure as a new step in Israeli policy in the West Bank, which it seized from Jordan in 1967 in the Six Day War.
"This is part of Israel’s escalation policy, which began with the siege and blockade of Paleostinian cities and various governorates, raids and settlement expansion," Hamdan claimed. "Now it has moved on to targeting charitable institutions."
Al-Tadamon’s closure comes amid ongoing tensions in the West Bank, where tensions have flared since the start of the war in Gaza with Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s terror onslaught on October 7, 2023.
[IsraelTimes] Defense ministry says ‘extensive’ tests included ‘joint operation scenarios’ with Iron Beam laser system, which was deployed at end of 2025, but whose coverage remains partial
Israel’s Iron Dome short-range air defense system has been upgraded following an "extensive series of tests," carried out since the Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The tests — carried out by the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D) and the Rafael defense firm — were conducted against a "range of advanced threats, while incorporating operational lessons learned during the war and operations against Iran," the ministry said in a statement.
During the tests, "several upgrades introduced to the system were tested to further improve its ability to deal with scenarios simulating existing and future threats, including rockets, cruise missiles, and UAVs," it continued.
Additionally, the high-powered laser interception system Iron Beam — developed as a complementary system to Iron Dome — was tested alongside the Iron Dome in "joint operation scenarios," from the Iron Dome’s command center.
"The new capabilities demonstrated in the tests constitute a significant step in improving the ability to contend with a wide range of attack scenarios," the statement added, calling it one component in its strategy to preserve Israel’s "qualitative and strategic advantage in defense and offense."
Israel’s multi-layered air defense array has been crucial in recent months defending the country against both short-range rocket attacks from Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... — the sort of projectiles Iron Dome is designed to intercept — and ballistic missile attacks from Iran, which are dealt with by long-range systems like the Arrow.
This video published by the Defense Ministry on June 30, 2026, shows recent tests conducted with the Iron Dome and Iron Beam air defense systems. (Defense Ministry)
The Iron Beam was only recently integrated into the Israel Defense Forces’ defense array, with the first operational system delivered to the military in December 2025.
Within Israel, it is intended to supplement other air defense systems, shooting down smaller projectiles and leaving larger ones for the more robust missile-based batteries.
As long as there is a constant source of energy for the laser, there is no risk of it ever running out of ammunition. Officials have hailed the system as a potential "game-changer" in the battle against projectile attacks.
But while the military has deployed one Iron Beam system, it has seen limited use and has not yet been declared operational within the IDF.
A senior officer said in May that the Iron Beam’s coverage is partial, and more time would be needed for a wider and more complete laser-based defense array.
The military is seeking at least 14 Iron Beam batteries to have a significant enough impact, according to the officer.
Amid the latest war with Iran, Israel deployed an Iron Dome battery to the United Arab Emirates, along with troops to operate it, marking the first time the system has been sent to a country outside of Israel and the US.
[HUDSON.ORG] A technological determinism at times plagues the study of terrorism and violent extremism. In summary, it characterizes violent extremists of any creed (the “red team”) as swift and skilled adopters of emerging technologies to optimize their organizational processes, scale their violence, and avoid countermeasures. Meanwhile, it portrays counterterrorism forces (the “blue team”) as overly bureaucratic, cumbersome, and slow to respond to changes in the operational environment. The conventional wisdom holds that nonstate actors will almost always outpace the security services and intelligence agencies seeking to curb their violent activity, often with catastrophic consequences.
Analysts have traditionally understood new or emerging technologies as an amplifier or force multiplier for terrorists, with metrics such as gains in operational planning, increased attack lethality, or improved volume and sophistication of propaganda. Evidence has often borne this out: Extremists built entire recruitment pipelines for years on social media platforms and chat applications before those platforms assembled content moderation teams to counter such illicit use.[1]
But this technological determinism has proven faulty too, specifically by presupposing that the new destructive tactics that an emerging technology unlocks are, by definition, paradigm-shattering or facilitate mass radicalization or violence. This may be only normal, considering that scholarship in the field of terrorism studies proliferated after the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, turning the feats of aviation technology into a crude but spectacular weapon of mass destruction.
Twenty-five years after that devastating attack, terrorists continue to experiment with emerging technologies to enhance their operational capabilities. Artificial intelligence (AI),[2] the technology that dominates the headlines and seems poised to have a drastic impact on society writ large, is not just for drafting emails and vibe-coding. On the contrary, it is a novel yet dangerous tool at the disposal of terrorists, including Salafi-jihadists, who can weaponize it.
Since as early as 2018, fellow analysts and scholars of terrorism and technology have warned about the potential misuses of AI by nonstate actors.[3] Every wave of technology adoption has a dark, sordid underbelly, and it is possible to harness or repurpose all trappings of globalization for nefarious ends. AI is bound to be misused by the worst of humanity—our work has examined terrorists deploying AI in propaganda,[4] as well as chatbot-enabled radicalization of lone wolves.[5] Violent extremists have also used it for operational planning,[6] and it has the potential to augment various weapons systems[7] and to improve intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
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Posted by: badanov ||
07/01/2026 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
