Author: Press Room

“President Trump’s decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said. “This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days, and the Administration remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains,” she added. As CNBC notes, the Jones Act was enacted over 100 years ago: The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, requires that…

Democrats bungled their chances to disseminate Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) record in Congress, instead opting to turn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary nominee’s confirmation hearing into a debate with Republicans over the agency’s ongoing shutdown, the 2020 election, and the legitimacy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Wednesday, as Mullin fielded attacks from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Senate Democrats pressed him on the 2020 election, whether he had traveled overseas while in Congress, and statements made by President Donald Trump’s senior advisor Stephen Miller, among other things. In one bizarre line of questioning, for instance, once-rising Democrat…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested Thursday the Senate will not go on recess as planned at the end of next week if the Department of Homeland Security isn’t funded by then. “We need to get this resolved and it needs to get resolved, you know, by the end of next week,” Thune said. “I can’t see us taking a break if the [department’s] still shut down.” Thune’s comments to reporters come as a bipartisan group of senators, including members of the Appropriations Committee and a clutch of Democrats that helped negotiate the end to the last shutdown, meet privately…

Tehran has effectively acknowledged Ukraine as a legitimate military target. Ibrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, made this statement in a post on X. The next day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of involvement in the conflict. In diplomatic terms, this indicates that Tehran aligns Kiev’s actions with those of the aggressors: the US and Israel. Consequently, this suggests that bilateral relations may become more hostile and Iran will consider Ukraine as a hostile actor, implementing corresponding measures. When neutrality collapsedIran’s stance toward Ukraine has undergone a significant transformation in recent years – from…

Technology companies are providing behind-the-scenes support for AI startup Anthropic as it battles a Pentagon designation that could bar it from government contracts. The government says that it has found Anthropic to be an “unacceptable” risk to national security. The New York Times reports that several major technology firms are quietly backing Anthropic in its conflict with the Department of Defense, marking a shift in how Silicon Valley approaches confrontations with the Trump administration. Some of the most powerful companies in the world, including Google and Microsoft, are among those taking Anthropic’s side. The dispute centers on the Pentagon’s decision…

Australia has flung open its borders and taken in a record number of migrants in the past year, despite left-wing Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government’s solemn promise to cut back on fresh arrivals. News.com.au reports an analysis from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) showed net permanent and long term arrivals hit 57,270 in January of this year alone, the highest number on record, it said. In the 12-months to January, just shy of half a million people entered the land Down Under with the number hitting 494,540, the highest in recorded history as Australia’s out-of-control mass-migration marches on with…

During an interview aired on Wednesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that if Republicans went along with what Democrats are asking on ICE identification, investigations, and patrols, “I think that there will likely be the Democratic votes to open up ICE.” Co-host Geoff Bennett asked, “On that point, what, specifically, is still missing for you to support a deal?” Murphy answered, “Well, we’ve put on the table some pretty reasonable priorities that are, frankly, what the American public wants. We want to end the masks and require identification, we want to end these roving patrols where officers are…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern’s bid for the open Senate seat in Oklahoma to replace Sen. Markwayne Mullin on Thursday, as Republicans look to avoid a messy primary in the red-leaning state. Thune called Hern a “proven conservative leader” and supporter of their shared Republican agenda. “He will be a great asset in the Senate and has my full support and endorsement,” Thune said in a statement. The seat is open after President Donald Trump tapped Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.…

A clandestine Iranian unit has claimed that US officials “will no longer be safe anywhere in the world” Unidentified drones have been spotted above a US military base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth live, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing sources. The report comes as Tehran has vowed retaliation to continued US-Israel strikes on Iran, many of which have targeted senior officials.Multiple drones have buzzed Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC within the past ten days, according to three WaPo sources familiar with the matter. The sightings come after the US…

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation led to the conviction of a Florida man who was distributing more than 40 “animal crushing videos,” officials reported. Some of the videos depicted the physical and sexual torture of monkeys. Francisco Javier Ravelo, a U.S. citizen living in Florida, pleaded guilty earlier this month in federal court to charges related to the Animal Crushing statute, according to a statement released this week. The 36-year-old man faces up to seven years in federal prison following the investigation led by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Homeland Security Investigations pieced together the case that led…