U-Haul driver identified, charged after crashing truck into barriers near White House: police
WASHINGTON - The 19-year-old suspect arrested for driving into a security barrier not far from the White House will appear in D.C. Federal Court Wednesday as court documents shed more light on why investigators believe his actions were intentional.
According to court documents just released, a U.S. Secret Service investigator says 19-year-old Sai Kandula stated his goal was to "get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation," and that when asked how he would do so – the 19-year-old allegedly made comments he would kill the president if he had to or hurt anyone in his way.
I should also note investigators did not find any explosives in the U-Haul he used — no weapons or ammunition either.
A Rockwood School District official in Missouri confirmed Sai Varshith Kandula graduated from Marquette High School early in January 2022. He appeared in court Tuesday with a slim build, a little longer hair, and beard. He looked around and told the judge a few times that he understands.
Court documents revealed the suspect made comments very sympathetic to Nazis, allegedly calling Hitler a strong leader. He also claimed he wanted to get his "book" in front of the people who needed to see it. The green book is where investigators discovered Kandula's plans for how he would enter the White House and what he’d do there.
-Melanie Alnwick, Fox 5 News
So, this was done by a 19-year-old who is obviously not white, but immediate reports were saying that he is a white supremacist. There have been multiple incidents over the past few weeks of non-white people being labeled as white supremacists. What I also found interesting about this is that this came less than 24 hours after the reports of an explosion at the Pentagon that turned out to be a deep fake.
It seems odd that after this CGI video is released, we see this Indian-American man with a Nazi flag crashing near the White House. Then last week we saw a 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate disappear from a train car. And there is no way for that kind of a shipment to be removed from a train car, especially not while it is in motion. We also recently saw reports of how 50 Senators were being issued satellite phones. It seems as though there is a pattern formulating.
All of these incidences revolve around fake information in one way or another. We have fake CGI video of an explosion, multiple accounts of mass shootings and an accident from people who were given the false label of being a white supremacist, missing ammonium nitrate that could create a very large explosion, and Congress being issued satellite phones.
It is almost as if they are preparing for a fake false flag event. What do I mean by that? What if all of a sudden, we see something like a military base being attacked by an ammonium nitrate bomb? And what if the explosion that was seen was a CGI video and never really happened?
Think back to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. The ship that was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was said to have blown up. Reports were saying that it was a terrorist attack by the Vietnamese. And just 12 hours later 50,000 marines landed in Vietnam and the war began. Then we find out just a week later that there was no explosion and that it was just a fire that had broken out, something that was not uncommon for those ships.
There was no terrorist attack. But the troops had already been deployed. We were already in. The American people were heavily opposed to going into Vietnam because at that time we were just coming out of the Korean War. Not only that, but the people were rising up, saying that LBJ had killed Kennedy and that the government had performed a coup. The people were upset and therefore, they needed a massive distraction, a false flag, an event that never actually happened to justify going to war with another country.
So, when we start looking at all this, we can see another false flag potentially coming to the surface. But what could this false flag be? Even though this was not the case, there could have been thousands of pounds of ammonium nitrate in the back of that U-Haul truck that tried to ram through the gates of the White House. Think about that.
They could easily produce a terrorist event and blame it on the person carrying the Nazi flag or the MAGA flag and then all of a sudden, we could see martial law being declared. They are amping up for something tyrannical. They are getting ready to pull the trigger on something big. Because their backs are against the wall and there is no way that 2024 is going to their way.
The next pandemic ‘even deadlier’ than COVID is coming, warns WHO
The head of the World Health Organization warned that the world must prepare for the next pandemic, which could be “even deadlier” than the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sounded an alarm that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over.
“The threat of another variant emerging that causes new surges of disease and death remains,” Tedros said. “And the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains.”
However, the WHO recently declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a health emergency.
“When the next pandemic comes knocking — and it will — we must be ready to answer decisively, collectively and equitably,” he added.
“We cannot kick this can down the road,” Tedros said in an address to the WHO’s member states. “If we do not make the changes that must be made, then who will? And if we do not make them now, then when?”
Despite issuing these dire warnings, Tedros applauded the recent decision by WHO member states to draft a pandemic treaty while also approving a budget increase, which was approved after the organization made a commitment to budget and finance reforms, according to Reuters.
Tedros also called for updated negotiations on the International Health Regulations, the treaty outlining preparedness and responses to health crises, “so the world will never again have to face the devastation of a pandemic like COVID-19.”
-Marc Lallanilla, New York Post
This comes just a day after he says that we need to form a one world government to fight and defeat climate change and future pandemics. Understand that this will likely be pre 2024 election and will probably be sooner than we think.
GOP, White House Remain 'Far Apart' On Debt Deal, Treasury Asks Agencies About Delayed Payments
The White House and GOP negotiators plan to meet again on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET to continue negotiations on a months-long impasse over raising the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling before a default occurs.
Republicans say the White House isn't negotiating in good faith, with House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) saying on Tuesday that he's not sensing urgency from the White House - which waited months to arrive at the bargaining table at the 11th hour.
"I think it is very important to realize that ‘urgency’ should be the word of the day. And that’s not the vibe I’m getting," he said, adding "I think at the highest levels of the White House, they don't understand the contours of the things that we understand, and that House and Senate Republicans are aligned."
Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), who authored the House GOP's opening bid on permitting reform, says that Republicans and the White House are still 'far apart' on a deal - with the Biden administration offering to freeze federal spending at current levels, while McCarthy wants to go back to 2022 levels, a difference of roughly $130 billion.
After a Monday night meeting between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) - their third meeting, failed to produce meaningful progress, White House aides headed back to Capitol Hill for further talks throughout the night.
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger, a Republican, also suspended work on pending funding bills this week "to give the Speaker maximum flexibility as talks continue," she said in a statement.
The lack of clear progress continued to weigh on Wall Street with U.S. stock indexes set to open lower Tuesday morning and global markets on edge. -Reuters
According to Punchbowl News, McCarthy says he told Biden that there would be no agreement to a 'clean' debt limit deal which wouldn't include spending cuts, and that he won't agree to raise taxes. The government needs to 'spend less money,' he said, telling Republican lawmakers that 'we are nowhere near a debt ceiling deal yet.'
-Tyler Durden, Zerohedge
So, what does this mean? The Treasury is saying that on Friday they will not be sending out paychecks. And when the Treasury says that they are asking for this, they are not asking, they are telling. They cannot afford the payroll and they cannot afford the interest on all the bonds that were supposed to be paid on Friday.
What they are not putting in here is that all those banks who are dependent upon income from the US bond market are no longer receiving interest payments. Foreign debts paid to overseas governments and corporations are not receiving their debt payments. SSI is also not being received, military is not getting paid, and government employees are not getting paid. That is how this operates.
Fed announces July launch of new FedNow system for live transactions
The Federal Reserve's Financial Services division on Wednesday announced the launch of a new instant payment system, FedNow, that will roll out in July.
The central bank says financial institutions can begin formal certification to participate in the new, speedy service starting in April.
"We couldn’t be more excited about the forthcoming FedNow launch, which will enable every participating financial institution, the smallest to the largest and from all corners of the country, to offer a modern instant payment solution," said Ken Montgomery, first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and FedNow program executive.
"With the launch drawing near, we urge financial institutions and their industry partners to move full steam ahead with preparations to join the FedNow Service," Montgomery added.
The central bank says the FedNow service will allow for financial institutions to process payments around the clock, every day of the year, rather than just being confined to banking hours.
"With the FedNow Service, the Federal Reserve is creating a leading-edge payments system that is resilient, adaptive, and accessible," Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and FedNow Program executive sponsor, said in a statement.
-Breck Dumas, Fox Business
This will be integrated into the top primary banks, of which all their members will be rushed through the system with KYC (know your customer) and biometrics.
Tribute to Dr. Rashid Buttar — a ‘Medical Maverick’
“Every single one of you, independently, is a beacon of light for those around you. So set the example, stand up, continue to fight … let your children see what it means to be free.” — Dr. Rashid Buttar
The entire Children’s Health Defense (CHD) team is saddened to learn of the May 18 passing of renowned physician, humanitarian and children’s health advocate Dr. Rashid Buttar.
Dr. Buttar was born in England in 1966. He moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Washington University with a double major in biology and theology, later obtaining a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dr. Buttar trained in general surgery and emergency medicine and served as brigade surgeon and chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Moncrief Army Community Hospital at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, during his time with the U.S. Army.
He was board certified in clinical metal toxicology and was the medical director for Advanced Concepts in Medicine in North Carolina and California clinics specializing in alternative treatments for patients with cancer, heart disease and autism.
Dr. Buttar distinguished himself among the families of children diagnosed with autism for his compassion and willingness to think outside the box in terms of treatment — even when his methodologies went against the grain of mainstream medicine.
He became an advocate for children who were injured by vaccines, testifying in 2004 before the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform on the topic of “Revolutionary New Treatment of Neurodevelopmental Diseases.”
Commenting on Dr. Buttar’s death, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CHD founder and chairman on leave, said:
“Rashid was an irreplaceable leader in the medical freedom movement. He was also my friend and physician. His early and courageous stand for his patients, for medical integrity and for evidence-based medicine cost him his career, relationships, income and his standing in his community and made him a pariah among his physician colleagues for decades.
“Rashid rarely spoke of his own sacrifices. His consuming focus was on healing the sick, comforting the afflicted and consoling the grief-stricken. I’ll always be grateful to him for the miraculous relief he provided me from mercury toxicity. He gave similar gifts to thousands. I’m grateful to God for giving me such a friend.”
A stalwart pioneer in innovative treatments for autism and other conditions, Dr. Buttar was considered a medical maverick by both his peers and his patients.
-Children’s Health Defense Team, The Defender
Video: Democrat Strategist Declares Florida A ‘Terrorist State’
Democratic strategist and MSNBC talking head Aisha C. Mills claimed Monday that Florida is “about to be a terrorist state” as far as black and LGBTQ+ people are concerned.
Mills made the comments during a Deadline appearance with host Nicolle Wallace.
The pair were responding to a publicity stunt ‘travel advisory‘ put out by NAACP which labels Florida as “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
It further claims that “The travel advisory comes in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”
Mills described the move as “extremely clever,” noting “I just took my family to spring break in Florida recently and I think about all of the folks who travel there for sun and joy and peace and restoration.”
She went on to state that the NAACP warning will remind those folks that “actually, this is getting to the point where Florida is about to be a terrorist state to many of us here in America.”
“Certainly as a lesbian, as a Black woman, I don’t want to have anything to do with the place,” she continued, adding “And I think about all the other people who don’t want to travel there either. So I think it was very clever on behalf of the NAACP. I thank them for issuing this broad guidance.”
Mills further charged that the move focuses a “lens on the United States and highlights how bigotry and bias and ignorance do as much harm as we accuse other countries of doing to people that they suppress.”
-Steve Watson, Infowars
This came up after the NAACP labeled Florida as being openly hostile towards African Americans and LGBTQ+ individuals, without even taking into account that there is a large Cubin and Latin American community in Florida. And interestingly enough, this community makes up a large portion of the population in South Florida who typically vote Conservative.
Jamie Dimon Warns QT Will Lead To More Bank Failures
At the start of May we explained that it's not just the Fed's rate hikes that are behind the nascent regional bank crisis (because with Fed Funds rate at 5.25% and both T-Bills and money market funds offering similar yields, there is no way small banks can compete with these returns, prompting a bank jog (which periodically turns to a sprint) and deposit flight from both checking and saving accounts).
We said that the Fed's ongoing QT is a just as pernicious threat to the viability of small/regional banks because with every dollar drained from the system as part of the Fed's quantitative tightening, a matching deposit dollar is also destroyed, to wit:
Under an ample reserves framework, virtually all deposits are created by the Fed.
That's why banks were forced to load up on low-yielding securities during 2000-2001 and are now getting crushed as yields soar and fixed income/loan prices plunge.
It also means that under QT as Fed reserves shrink, deposits must follow: as such deposits are either forced to shift into Bills/TSYs or are destroyed (bank failures).
Thus, the bank crisis is an inevitable side effect of Fed tightening.
Now, by now everyone knows that when it comes to banks failing (and capitalizing on it) few are as experienced as JP Morgan, aka JP Mega...
... aka JP More-gain, which now has more than 13% of the nation's deposits and 21% of all credit card spending: in other words, there has never been a bank that is more systematically important than JPMore-gain... and with every small bank failure, Jamie Dimon's goliath is only getting bigger. Which is why we found it curious that none other than Jamie Dimon confirmed what we said three weeks ago during JPM's Investor Day on Monday.
This is what the billionaire CEO said:
We haven't been through Quantitative Tightening. So we really don't know what's going to happen to deposits at all [ZH; actually we do: deposits will shrink dollar for dollar alongside reserves]. And that's why I've been quite concerned about that. I'm probably more concerned about quantitative tightening with anybody in this room.
We've never had QT before. It just started, okay? And you see huge distortions in the marketplace already. We've never had the Fed in the market like this with that RRP program that Jeremy mentioned ever. They have $2.3 trillion basically lent out to money funds. And I don't know the full effect of that. And obviously, that's a direct deduction from deposits are rolling out it made sense to do.
So I think people should build into their mindset that they may have to move deposit beta more than they think and manage that. So I mean, if I was any bank or any company, I'd be saying, can you handle higher interest rates and surprise in deposits, etc?
And this is how JPM itself shows the impact of the shrinking Fed balance sheet and TGA/RRP liquidity drains soak up commercial bank deposits.
-Tyler Durden, Zerohedge
Woke Retailer Target Embraces Satanic Designer And Promotes Trans Ideology, Protestors Respond With Calls For A “Bud Light Style” Boycott
Sizeable retail chain Target has long been a left-leaning corporation. In the spirit of Bud-Light, the company is moving past pushing the LGBT agenda and straight into promoting Satanism and transgender ideology.
The woke company has partnered with designer Abprallen UK. The designer posted a Satanically laced transgender statement that clearly conveys that the transgender movement has a dark spiritual root.
Abprallen called Satan “hope, compassion, equality, and love.” And praised him for respecting pronouns and loving LGBTQIA+ people. The designer also said they mixed in variations of Baphomet with their designs, calling the goat-headed entity a “deity,” which is a blend of genders, beings, ideas, and existences rejecting binary stereotypes and expectations.”Mama Bear, Scarlett Johnson has been calling for a Bud Light-style boycott against the mega-retailer in light of the partnership. And Johnson is reporting that the negative spotlight on the retailer is working, and that Target held an emergency meeting over the LGBTQ merchandise in some stores to avoid a ‘Bud Light situation.’
According to Fox News, shoppers are expressing outrage over the new merchandise, and an insider at Target is saying many locations are relocating their displays under the wave of angry responses,
“We were given 36 hours, told to take all of our Pride stuff, the entire section, and move it into a section that’s a third the size. From the front of the store to the back of the store, you can’t have anything on mannequins and no large signage.”
-Heather Allen, 100 Percent Fed Up
Apple strikes multibillion-dollar deal with Broadcom for US-made 5G tech
Apple has forged a multibillion-dollar deal with U.S. chipmaker Broadcom to develop 5G radio frequency components for the mobile and computing giant, according to a Tuesday announcement.
The deal includes manufacturing FBAR filters for Apple, which the company said in its release will be done at several U.S. manufacturing and technology hubs, including Fort Collins, Colorado, where Broadcom has a major facility. The announcement did not disclose the exact dollar amount of the arrangement.
Broadcom already supplies the company with FBAR filters, which are produced at its Fort Collins plant, supporting 1,100 jobs. Apple said its partnership with the manufacturer will “enable Broadcom to continue to invest in critical automation projects and upskilling with technicians and engineers.”
Apple framed the deal as part of its commitment, announced in 2021, to invest $430 billion in the U.S. economy over five years.
The company said it is on pace to meet those goals and currently supports 2.7 million domestic jobs through employment, spending with 9,000 U.S. suppliers in various sectors and indirectly through developer jobs related to its iOS app platform.
Apple also said it was spending “tens of billions of dollars” to help develop the field of 5G technology within the U.S.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the company will “continue to deepen our investments in the U.S. economy because we have an unshakable belief in America’s future.”
-Ben Unglesbee, Supply Chain Dive
I suppose this is a good thing that these parts and components are coming back to the United States, but it is still 5G technology. And we all know how this kind of technology can affect your mind and your health. But it is definitely going to create more jobs here in the US. And American companies investing in the US is always a good thing.
New Home Sales Unexpectedly Surged In April As Builders Slashed Prices
After existing home sales declined in April (and mortgage rates rebounded notably), expectations are for the incentive-driven surge in new home sales to slow (from +9.6% MoM in March to -2.6% MoM in April), but instead new home sales surge 4.1% MoM (thanks in large part to a notable downward revision from +9.6% to +4.0% MoM in March)
That jump pushed new home sales up 11.8% year-over-year with sales at their highest SAAR since April 2022...
Finally, don't hold your breath for this rebound to last as mortgage rate have pushed back above 7.00% this week...
Supply continues to contract (some might say 'normalize'). There were 433,000 new homes for sale as of the end of last month, the lowest since April. That represents 7.6 months of supply at the current sales rate...
As CNBC noted "it's all about incentives." as prices were slashed: Median new home price fell 8.2% y/y to $420,800; average selling price at $501,000
Will this please Powell?
-Tyler Durden, Zerohedge
US Services PMI Soars To 13-Mo Highs, Manufacturing Tumbles Back Into Contraction
After an ugly wave of manufacturing PMIs across the euro-zone (and UK), preliminary US PMIs for May were expected to decline (tracking the recent serial disappointment in macro data). The flash prints were dramatically different (like in Europe) with Manufacturing plunging to 48.5 (contraction) down from 50.2 (that was the first time back above 50 since Oct). Services, however, surged to 55.1, the highest print since April of last year...
Put together, the headline S&P Global Flash US PMI Composite Output Index registered 54.5 in May, up from 53.4 in April, to signal a solid and faster expansion in private sector business activity.
Commenting on the US flash PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said:
“The US economic expansion gathered further momentum in May, but an increasing dichotomy is evident. While service sector companies are enjoying a surge in post-pandemic demand, especially for travel and leisure, manufacturers are struggling with over-filled warehouses and a dearth of new orders as spending is diverted from goods to services.
“The inflation picture is also changing. Whereas manufacturing prices spiked higher during the pandemic due to strong demand and deteriorating supply, it is now the service sector’s turn to be hiking prices amid resurgent demand and an inability to cope with order inflows due to a lack of capacity.
“Jobs growth has accelerated as service providers companies seek to meet demand, but this tightening labour market amid strong demand will be a concern as a fuel of further inflationary pressures.”
Stagflation?
-Tyler Durden, Zerohedge
What we are seeing with this is more manipulation. There will be a revision of this in the next few days, and they will likely come back and show you that those numbers were highly inaccurate.
Job APOCALYPSE continues: Layoffs announced at Walmart’s drone delivery partner
Walmart’s drone delivery partner is cutting jobs across the company amid a shift in its operating strategy.
Virginia-based DroneUp announced a series of layoffs for its team, which is now made up of 418 people. Founded in 2016, the company owns a fleet of quadcopter drones that are geared toward last-mile delivery, flying items from warehouses to people’s doorsteps.
It is not clear who was affected by the layoffs, although employees have indicated that flight engineers and instructors, as well as flight and development service engineers, were among those who were let go. LinkedIn posts also point to business analysts, marketing managers, and the company’s director of business development as being part of the cuts.
The CEO of DroneUp, Tom Walker, insists that this is no cause for concern. He explained that the layoffs only represent “a small percentage of the team” and are part of a shift away from enterprise services like real estate inspections and aerial data capture in favor of deliveries of consumer goods by drone.
He said that increasing growth in their drone delivery business would ultimately see them “hire more people than were laid off.” They currently operate 36 hubs out of Walmart stores that deliver goods within a 1.5-mile radius of the store.
“After tremendous consumer adoption of our drone delivery services, we have made the decision to shift our business model to align our company structure around the continued growth and success of drone delivery and other drone services out of our hubs,” he said.
-Cassie B., Natural News
EXCLUSIVE: Black 'half-football-field-sized' triangular UFO is seen hovering over California military base for 10 minutes before vanishing in dramatic footage taken by Marines in 2021
A giant 'black triangular shape' UFO hovering over a California military base was caught on six videos and witnessed by 50 US Marines in 2021.
One stunning picture shot by an officer at Camp Wilson in Twentynine Palms on April 20, 2021 shows the apparently triangular object with lights on its edges, above the desert mountains – where it hovered for 10 minutes according to witnesses.
Videos show the lights of what some of the Marines believe was a craft, hanging in the dark sky, shot between 8.24pm and 8.30pm.
At 8.29pm one video recorded troops shooting a flare into the sky in an attempt to illuminate the object, which had five red lights.
However, before they could fully illuminate the 'black triangle', it vanished without a trace.
-Josh Boswell and Chris Sharp, The Daily Mail
My guess is that this is US military technology. Especially considering that fact that it is in the desert in California, it is most likely US military testing something out.
Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed Bill Gates, threatened to expose affair with 20-year-old Russian woman: report
Jeffrey Epstein attempted to blackmail Bill Gates by threatening to expose an alleged affair he had in 2010 with a Russian bridge player in her early 20s, according to a shocking new report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that notorious pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a jail cell in 2019, asked Bill Gates to participate in a multibillion-dollar charitable fund in 2017 and reportedly threatened to expose the Microsoft billionaire's infidelity if he declined.In 2010, Gates allegedly entered into an affair with a woman named Mila Antonova after meeting her at a bridge tournament. Antonova was in her early 20's at the time of the affair, according to the outlet. Gates was married to his ex-wife Melinda Gates at the time.
In 2013, Antonova met Epstein when she was trying to raise funds for a business venture that included an online bridge platform. Epstein did not fund this project but paid for Antonova to attend a software coding school, WSJ reports.It was in 2017 when Esptein used Gates' affair with Antonova as leverage in order to get him to participate in the charity fund.
The "threat" was not straightforward and was sent in the matter of asking Gates for reimbursement for Antonova's coding school, which was the first time Epstein mentioned the affair, according to the outlet.According to documents obtained by WSJ, Antonova was first introduced to Epstein through Boris Nikolic, an advisor to Gates, to help raise funds her online bridge venture which she was hoping to secure $500,000 for to "promote bridge by creating quality tutorials for beginners and advanced players."
While Antonova failed to secure the funds, Epstein paid for her education, the outlet reports."Epstein agreed to pay and he paid directly to the school. Nothing was exchanged. I don't know why he did that," Antonova told the Journal. "When I asked, he said something like, 'he was wealthy and wanted to help people when he could.'"
In 2014, Antonova told the outlet that she had stayed at an apartment provided by Epstein during a trip to New York City but did not meet him.
A spokesperson for Bill Gates told Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes. Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates."-Katie Daviscourt, The Post Millennial
I believe that this is propaganda being put out by Bill Gates. He has been under heavy scrutiny because of his relationship with Jeffery Epstein. But Epstein is dead and is not able to defend himself. Not only that, but Gates is already getting a divorce. Therefore, it really does not matter at this point if this affair comes out. But what this does is it shows that yes, Gates was having an affair, but other than that he had no affiliation to Epstein and that Epstein was merely trying to extort money from him.
Pentagon loses a million F-35 parts
The US Department of Defense (DOD) has been unable to account for about 1 million missing spare parts for its F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, the costliest weapon system in the nation’s history, a government review has found.
The lost parts, which include such items as bolts, tires, and landing gear, are valued at about $85 million, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on Tuesday. Since 2018, the Pentagon has reviewed the circumstances surrounding only 2% of identified parts losses.
“Without DOD taking steps to ensure that these spare parts are accountable under a contract, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) will be unable to either gain or maintain accountability over these spare parts and will not have data, such as locations, costs, and quantities, needed for financial reporting or to ensure that government interests are protected,” the GAO said.
The spare parts are stored around the world for use on the F-35 by the US military and allied nations that have purchased the aircraft, which is made by defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Because the Pentagon’s F-35 JPO lacks a process for tracking losses, Lockheed Martin hasn’t reported on over 900,000 additional spare parts valued at more than $66 million for review, the GAO said.
The GAO’s report marks just the latest black eye for the $1.7 trillion F-35 program, which has been plagued by reliability struggles, including an issue with engine vibration that led to a global recall order in March. Only about 30% of America’s F-35 fleet is “fully mission capable” on any given day. US Air Force Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt warned last month that a thin supply of spare parts could jeopardize the ability of American forces to keep the aircraft in service during the country’s next major war.
The GAO report blamed the parts losses partly on the Pentagon’s failure to oversee components that are owned by the DOD and managed by contractors. DOD officials and the contractors haven’t reached an agreement on whether the parts should be categorized as government-furnished property, which hinders the processing of lost inventories.
-RT News
There are several things that this could mean. Maybe the parts were left in Afghanistan or maybe they really did misplace them. But what if the parts never existed in the first place? How do you fund black budget projects? You go out and “purchase” $85 million of F-35 parts, you send the money to the same company that is working on your black budget project, and they produce a shipping order and a bill of lading, which says that the parts were ordered and delivered. But in reality, the parts never existed.
Satellite image shows WZ-8 supersonic drone at Chinese base
MELBOURNE, Australia — A satellite image obtained by Defense News shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase.
China is continuing to revamp a bomber base that was identified in recently leaked U.S documents as hosting a new supersonic reconnaissance drone.
The satellite image, provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, shows Lu’an Airbase in China’s Anhui province. The previously unoccupied base is undergoing an upgrade, with construction beginning sometime between April 2018 and early 2019. Improvements include the resurfacing of the 3,200-meter (3,500-yard) runway, the widening of taxiways, and the construction of 20 bomber-sized aircraft shelters and two hangars to replace open aircraft parking bays.
China also built munitions checkout facilities on base, according to Decker Eveleth, a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey who reviewed the satellite photo given to Defense News. Eveleth explained that such checkout facilities are used to inspect munitions before they’re loaded onto aircraft for use.
These buildings are usually found at bases for bombers and ground-launched missiles, Eveleth added, and tend to be “long, tall buildings with doors at both ends,” with missiles usually fixed to a rail for inspection at various stations for examining various components.
Lu’an Airbase is home to the 29th Air Regiment of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division, according to Andreas Rupprecht, who has authored several books on Chinese military aviation and the industry.
He told Defense News that the unit currently flies the Xi’an H-6K and H-6M bombers. The latter is the primary launch platform of the WZ-8, carrying the supersonic drone on an hardpoint on its fuselage underside and releasing it from a high altitude.
The WZ-8 was also seen on a satellite photo taken in December 2022, while another from early April 2023 showed continued progress in widening the aircraft taxiways leading to the base’s underground aircraft facilities south of the runway.
Using Google Earth’s measuring tool, Defense News assesses that the new taxiways are approximately 25 meters (82 feet) wide, compared to 14 meters (46 feet) previously. However, the underground facilities, which run underneath nearby hills, have yet to be widened.
The presence of WZ-8s at the base was noted in a document ostensibly from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and leaked online through the social media platform Discord. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is accused of leaking the highly classified information.
-Mike Yeo, Defense News
Mike Tyson Accidentally Revealed That Jamie Foxx Had a Stroke
The Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, who was set to play the part of retired heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in a forthcoming biopic, suffered a medical crisis in April that made both fans and his loved ones extremely concerned. There have been speculations regarding the health of the actor since then. Recently the former boxer Mike Tyson reacted to Foxx's health. Tyson was a guest on Patrick Bet-David's Valuetainment podcast, where he accidentally revealed crucial information about Jamie Foxx's critical medical condition.
According to Brobible, when host Patrick Bet-David questioned Tyson if he was observing “what’s going on with Jamie Foxx,” Tyson replied, “He’s not feeling well.” Bet-David then commented, “There’s something going on with him," to which Tyson responded, “Yeah, they said stroke.”
In the moments after giving away the information, Tyson attempted to retract his statement but it was too late. He attempted to play it off and swiftly move on, adding, “I have no idea what happened to him.” Subsequently in the podcast, after being pushed a little bit, Tyson said, “Hey listen, if we don’t know by now they don’t want us to. You know, man, come on, stop.
Foxx and his family have battled tenaciously to maintain his health situation a total mystery and his daughter, Corinne Foxx has even criticized the media for speculating about his circumstances. But apparently, the method has been ravaged by Mike Tyson in just a miniature soundbite.
-INQUISITR