US demands to know what allies would do
in event of war over Taiwan
Posted By: sunset, 7/13/2025 12:17:36 AM
The Pentagon is pressing Japan and Australia to make clear what role they would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan, in an effort that has frustrated the two most important American allies in the Indo-Pacific. Elbridge Colby, under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing the issue in meetings with Japanese and Australian defence officials in recent months, said five people familiar with the discussions. The push is his latest effort to convince US allies in the Indo-Pacific to enhance deterrence and prepare for a potential war over Taiwan.
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Nearly 6,000 acres of old Arizona farmland once intended for a residential subdivision is on track to potentially become home to the first big new U.S. copper mine in more than a decade.
If all goes as planned, Ivanhoe Electric will begin construction of its Santa Cruz mine early next year and start selling copper cathodes to manufacturers before the end of 2028. That is a blink of an eye in mining, where the time between discoveries and production is often measured in decades. The mine is on an unusually fast track as a result of being on private property along a booming industrial corridor between Phoenix and Tucson.
The Pentagon is pressing Japan and Australia to make clear what role they would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan, in an effort that has frustrated the two most important American allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Elbridge Colby, under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing the issue in meetings with Japanese and Australian defence officials in recent months, said five people familiar with the discussions.
The push is his latest effort to convince US allies in the Indo-Pacific to enhance deterrence and prepare for a potential war over Taiwan.
There is only one active rare earth mine in the whole of the United States. As of Friday, the Department of Defense has become the largest shareholder in the company that owns and operates it. The Pentagon signed a long-term deal with MP Materials on Thursday to give the company hundreds of millions in investments and loans, as well as $1 billion from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs to fund the construction of a "10X Facility" for rare earth magnet manufacturing. The DoD has also agreed to find a home for 100 percent of the magnets produced at the 10X Facility. MP Materials operates in southeastern California,
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright touted the importance of coal and Wyoming on Friday at the ribbon cutting for Brook Mine, the first U.S. rare earth mine in 70 years and the state’s first new coal mine in decades. He said developments like the Brook Mine are critical for breaking U.S. dependence on China for supplying the critical minerals used in everything from fighter jets to wind turbines. Wright said it’s time for America to dominate rare earth development. “Anything in your life that has a button, you start your car with the button or your dishwasher or your refrigerator, your F-35 fighter jet —... have rare earth elements...”
NATO countries have devised a novel way to provide critical American weaponry to Ukraine for its fight against Russia, and President Trump suggested for the first time that he’s likely to go along with it.
Rather than the United States continuing to give its weapons to Ukraine, officials in NATO countries conceived a plan where the Trump administration could sell them to allies, which would then give them to Ukraine. Not only could that be a financial windfall for the United States, it would also shield Mr. Trump — who has expressed skepticism of devoting U.S. military support to Ukraine — from accusations of direct involvement in the war.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt immigration raids in Los Angeles and several other counties in California, after ruling in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union's civil rights lawsuit. "As required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Defendants shall be enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless the agent or officer has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law," U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong wrote in her ruling. The judge determined that federal agents cannot "rely solely" on certain factors
A federal appeals court on Friday quashed plea bargains that would spare three alleged Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators from the death penalty in exchange for confessing guilt, extending the troubled prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Guantanamo detainees accused of engineering the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.
“The families of the victims and the American public have a strong interest in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in the 2-1 opinion. “In particular, the judgment about whether respondents should face the death penalty is a grave one that requires political accountability.”
Minnesota HR director now on leave after
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
A human resources director for the State of Minnesota is now on leave after sending a profanity-laced email from his official work account to an Alpha News reporter following an inquiry about racist posts on his social media page. It started after Alpha News received an email about LaVon “Vonnie” Phillips. A search of the state directory website shows Phillips listed as a “Human Resources Director 1” for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). State records also indicate that Phillips earns six-figures and is paid $55.45 per hour. The tipster raised concerns about Phillips and claimed his social media page is “littered with racist comments about ‘white folk.’”
Vietnam thought it had a preliminary deal with the U.S. to lower its tariff level substantially. Then, at the last minute, President Donald Trump raised the rate. As a result, the Vietnamese government still has not formally accepted a key part of the agreement the president touted on social media last week, despite Trump’s claim in the post that the terms had been agreed to by Vietnam’s leader, Tô Lâm. And neither side has released documentation of those terms, raising questions about whether they did, in fact, reach an agreement, as the White House labors to prove it is making headway in its trade negotiations with dozens of major partners.
Taxpayers will no longer pay for the education of noncitizens in the U.S. illegally, the U.S. Department of Education said Thursday.
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A news release said that this change takes place due to an interpretative rule issued Thursday in which “the Department rescinded a Dear Colleague letter from the Clinton Administration that enabled non-qualified illegal aliens to access federal public benefits in contravention of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
An American official was killed in a car accident in the northeastern Mexican city of Matamoros on Wednesday, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Coahuila said in a statement. U.S. Vice Consul Brian Matthew Faughan was driving his armored SUV when he crashed on the Torreón-Saltillo highway near the Matamoros Landfill in the state of Coahuila. The 41-year-old diplomat was rushed by the Red Cross to Matamoros Hospital and then transferred to Los Ángeles Hospital in Torreón, where doctors attempted to revive him. Faughan was traveling to Torreón for a meeting with Coahuila Governor Manolo Jiménez when his Toyota Land Cruiser flipped over.
The Trump administration has sued California over its animal cruelty laws, saying the state's regulation of chicken farms has led to high egg prices across the country.
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People across the political spectrum were outraged this week when President Donald Trump dismissed the importance of the Epstein List. During his campaign, President Trump said, “Yeah, I’d do the Epstein thing. I’d have no problem with it.” Many people voted for President Trump, at least in part, because he promised to release the list. (snip)
As Christians, we understand that many times wicked deeds go unpunished in this present evil age. The Psalms testify repeatedly that evildoers seem to prosper because of their wealth and power, while those who are seeking the Lord suffer injustice and persecution
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that people were dying because of “fear and terror” caused by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
Host Dana Bash said, “We learned overnight that a migrant farm worker died after he fell from a roof during ice raids in Ventura County, in your state. Have you been able to talk to the family?”
Padilla said, “I haven’t spoken with the family directly, but I have been in touch with, you know, president of the United Farm Workers Union. I’ve known her for a long time. We’ve been in touch over the last several days.
Uh oh. Democrat swamp rat Jamie Raskin has jumped on the Epstein conspiracy bandwagon, demanding AG Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino testify to Congress about the so-called Epstein files.
After five days of escalating hysteria and chest-beating, including ultimatums to the president to “fire Blondi,” MAGA “influencers” have found themselves on the same side as Raskin, which, needless to say, is the wrong side.
While the whole episode has been handled clumsily by the Trump officials, it is not so difficult to believe that FBI vaults have been scrubbed of meaningful Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy information or never had any,
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Sharing a video of Vance with his family at the Southern California theme park, Newsom wrote, “Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t,” in a post on X on Saturday.
Some 100 to 150 protesters gathered outside the gates of the “Happiest Place on Earth” to jeer Vance and his family on Friday and Saturday after his presence at the park was reported, according to the Orange County Register.
A federal judge in Los Angeles is trying to shut down ICE enforcement of the nation’s popular immigration laws on the claim that it is illegally “profiling” people in California.
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, issued two restraining orders late on Friday. Frimpong was nominated by President Joe Biden and is the daughter of two immigrants from Ghana. She was selected by both Harvard and Yale universities.[snip]The suspects’ race and ethnicity, their difficulty speaking English, their location at sites known for hiring illegal immigrants, and their class of work do not meet the “probable cause” requirement for arrests, the judge ruled.
For months, the signs have been impossible to ignore: the Democratic Party is in freefall. Poll after poll shows voters turning away in droves—disillusioned by the party’s radical agenda, frustrated by its lack of leadership, and convinced it no longer represents their values. The 2024 elections were a political earthquake, and in the aftermath, Democrats have been left picking through the rubble of a once-dominant coalition. The party’s “next generation” of leaders—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett—have all the gravitas of a student council president demanding longer lunch periods and less homework.
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2.1 million people live in Gaza, and a new judicial ruling in France gives every single one of them the right to move to France.
If I were Bibi Netanyahu, I would buy every single one of them a plane ticket and wave goodbye as they took their free trip to Paris. If I were a Gazan, I would accept that free ticket and get on the first plane, hoping that the free room and board will allow me to enjoy my time there. The decision is absurd, of course, but perfectly consistent with the law.
France’s top asylum court has ruled that all Palestinians
A 62-year-old woman has been charged after driving through a crowd of anti-ICE protesters who surrounded and began pounding on her car in New Jersey.
Linda Roglen, 62, of North Bergen, was driving past the Noches De Colombia on Fairview Avenue in the borough of Fairview when she encountered a group protesting ICE raids on Saturday.
One of the protesters confronted her car, and she sped up, allegedly running over his foot.
The man falls to the ground, Roglen stops, and the protesters swarm her vehicle and begin banging on the windows.
At this point, the car is surrounded, and Roglen slowly drives through.
I had this run through my mind after hearing Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) speak about the primitive conditions of residents of Alligator Alcatraz.
I pictured the $20,000 Pyramid with Dick Clark hosting a special episode: "The Deranged-Lefty Edition." The contestants? Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Adam Schiff. Schiff reads clues in the category of "Truly Horrifying Things."
Schiff: “Maggots in food. Heatstroke. Tents with raw sewage. Frogs in bedding.”
Debbie: “Toilets!”
Wrong.
Schiff: “Mosquitos the size of drones. Babies sleeping on the floor. Rat chewing on wires. Overflowing trash. Broken showers.”
Debbie: “People using toilets?”
Wrong.
Schiff: “No AC. No lawyers. No translators. Just broken fans and barbed wire.”
Debbie: “Gendered bathrooms!”
Wrong again. Some Democrats visited Alligator Alcatraz
Mass shooting erupts at Tennessee class
reunion, sending four to the hospital
— shooter on the loose 18 replies
reunion, sending four to the hospital
— shooter on the loose 18 replies
Gunfire during a class reunion left four people injured in Tennessee Saturday — and now, police are on the hunt for the shooter.
Authorities in Chattanooga have yet to release a description of the suspect, but have assured people no threat to the public exists, reported the Chattanooga Times Free Press
The four shooting victims were taken to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to multiple reports. “Everybody was just having a good time,” eyewitness Jeoff Herman told Local News 3 in Chattanooga.
The first presidential primary votes won’t be cast for another two and a half years. And yet, over the span of 10 days in July, three Democratic presidential prospects are scheduled to campaign in South Carolina.
Nearly a half dozen others have made recent pilgrimages to South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa — states that traditionally host the nation’s opening presidential nomination contests. Still other ambitious Democrats are having private conversations with officials on the ground there. The voters in these states are used to seeing presidential contenders months or even years before most of the country,
Beware ‘Ragebait Engagement Farming’
17 replies
Cynical Publius, a poster on X, accurately describes for me the fantastical conspiratorial posts this week about Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Jeffrey Epstein records and death as “ragebait engagement farming.” I hate mobs and mob thinking, and I think Bondi has achieved a remarkable courtroom record against a tsunami of judicial insurrection. This week the Department of Justice she heads, for example, just won its 13th Supreme Court victory in six months. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms that the President is proud of her and considers the “continued fixation or sowing discord on [his] cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality.
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FWIW, Australia's largest war-fighting exercise with the United States, Exercise Talisman Sabre opens on Sunday on Sydney Harbour and runs through August 4th. Every branch of the US military will be involved, including Space Force. Participating nations include Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, United Kingdom and United States