An Iranian official said on Tuesday that an attack on nuclear facilities would mean a widespread war that Israel would bear responsibility for. Speaking to the Qatari-based Al Jazeera network the official said Israeli threats would not change the course of things.

Webmaster addition:

The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus on Thursday signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the Defense Ministry of Belarus. 

Russia will retain control over its non-strategic nuclear weapons stationed in neighboring Belarus, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a document-signing event with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin in Minsk. 

"Russia will not transfer nuclear weapons to the Republic of Belarus: control over them and the decision to use them remains with the Russian side," he said. 

Virgin Galactic is gearing up for a big mission on Thursday (May 25) — its final test flight to suborbital space before starting commercial service.

Virgin Galactic will send six people toward suborbital space no earlier than 10 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. MDT or 1300 GMT) from Spaceport America in New Mexico. While the event will not be livestreamed, you will likely be able to follow along live on Virgin Galactic's Twitter feed.

The flight will include eight individuals, six of whom will fly on the space plane VSS Unity and two who will pilot the carrier aircraft, VMS Eve. Like past spaceflights, Eve will take off with Unity under its wings, the release the spacecraft at roughly 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) in altitude. Unity will light up its rocket motor and fly higher than 50 miles (80 kilometers) — high enough, by some definitions, to reach space.

Microsoft warned Chinese state-sponsored hackers dubbed “Volt Typhoon” attacked critical US infrastructure.

Kari Lake spoke out against Ron DeSantis this week on Newsmax for so far losing his war with Disney and explained why she thinks the Governor “should stay in Florida.”

China has repeatedly locked horns with the US over Taiwan, which is seen by Beijing as a part of the country, while Washington pumps the island with increasing amount of weapons.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party has rolled out ten "policy recommendations" and proposals on how to "preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

In a report on Wednesday, the Republican-led panel expressed hope that the findings would be included in the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House earlier postponed consideration of the 2024 NDAA while Congress works to resolve an impasse over the US’ debt ceiling.

Dozens of giant turbines on Scotland’s windfarms have been powered by diesel generators, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Scottish Power admitted 71 of its windmills were hooked up to the fossil fuel supply after a fault developed on the grid.

The firm said it was forced to act in order to keep the turbines warm during very cold weather in December. But a whistleblower has told the Sunday Mail the incident is among a number of environmental and health and safety failings.

The worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The Scottish Government wants to make our country attractive to foreign investors as 40 per cent of the wind that blows across Europe blows across Scotland. However, that should not mean we put up with our waterways and nature being polluted with carbon from diesel generators and hydraulic oil.

New filings in the messy lawsuit between the US Virgin Islands and JP Morgan Chase over who bears responsibility for Jeffrey Epsteins sex-trafficking operation are dragging former US Virgin Islands First Lady Cecile de Jongh in the spotlight.

 Two private islands in the Caribbean, called Little St. James and Great St. James, that once belonged to Jeffrey Epstein first hit the market last March with an asking price of $125 million.Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images; REUTERS/Marco Bello

On Tuesday, US District Judge Jed Rakoff, who is overseeing the lawsuit, ordered Jeffrey Epstein's estate to produce all emails and other documents referencing de Jongh to JP Morgan, which is defending itself in the lawsuit. On the same day, JP Morgan alleged in its own filings that de Jongh was "Epstein's primary conduit for spreading money and influence throughout the USVI government."

A Canadian police officer who donated $50 dollars to the Freedom Convoy last year was told by an adjudicator he must work 80 unpaid hours as punishment.

Last Thursday, Constable Michael Brisco of the Windsor Police Service in a penalty hearing was given his sentence by retired Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Superintendent Morris Elbers.

Elbers said the $50 donation was a “serious” violation and that the hours will be worked on vacation or rest days.

“As a police officer, there comes a time when you must take the political issues out of your head when you are making decisions,” Elbers wrote in his decision.

He said Brisco must “obey the policies, procedures and directives of the police service which is paying your salary.”

Lawyers for Windsor police wanted Brisco to work 140 unpaid hours as punishment.

On February 7, 2022, Brisco made his $50 donation to the Freedom Convoy’s GiveSendGo account. At the time, he was on unpaid leave after choosing not to comply with a mandatory COVID jab policy then in effect.

In a bold move, Iraq has prohibited transactions in US dollars. This surprise announcement last week was an effort to stabilise the Iraqi Dinar. But increasingly, the US dollar’s dominance is being challenged in West Asia. Palki Sharma tells how the de-dollarisation trend is catching on.

But still, let’s look at the substance, as DeSantis actually came off quite nicely, all things considered. Too bad it won’t be the mainstream narrative.

1. DeSantis proved himself to be the substance candidate. He was asked at length about his various policies and the negative connotations that came along with them for some. He spun his answers seamlessly. The point that stood out was the response to someone’s question about the NAACP issuing a travel advisory warning for minorities wanting to visit Florida. DeSantis noted that his state has the most amount of black owned businesses in the nation. That black kids had the best education in his state. He explained his divisive policy point by well, sounding the opposite of divisive. In fact, even supportive of the black community. It’s a contrast to Trump’s approach. He also shrewdly pointed out the high-ranking NAACP officials who have recently vacationed in Florida or call the Sunshine State home.

A handful of GOP members of Congress demanded an update on the January 6 pipe-bomb investigation in a letter addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday evening. The letter revealed that the FBI used nearby surveillance to identify a license plate number from a vehicle the suspect was seen entering. While this key piece of information is reportedly in the bureau’s possession, the FBI has not named a suspect at the time of this report.

On January 5, 2021, an unidentified male was seen placing what appeared to be two pipe-bombs near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington, D.C.

While FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin later revealed that the bureau knew the devices were inoperable, the incident has been repeatedly referenced by left-wing entities as an example of domestic terrorism committed by Trump supporters. Given the Biden DOJ’s aggressive prosecution of January 6 protesters –hundreds of whom have been sentenced to prison time for simple trespassing charges — the department and FBI do not appear to be in a hurry to find the pipe-bomb suspect.

Those vaccinated against COVID-19 have a 26 percent higher mortality rate on average compared to those who declined the jab – and the death toll is even more staggering for vaccinated people under 50 years old, where mortality is 49 percent higher than for those unvaccinated.

The shocking numbers are based on government data from the United Kingdom and were brought to Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) attention by Josh Stirling, one of the nation’s top insurance analysts and formerly Senior Research Analyst for U.S. nonlife insurance at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Iran successfully test-launched a ballistic missile with a potential 2,000-km range on Thursday, state media said, two days after the chief of Israel’s armed forces raised the prospect of “action” against Tehran over its nuclear program.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, says its weapons are capable of reaching the bases of arch-foes Israel and the United States in the region.

Despite US and European opposition, the Islamic Republic has said it will further develop its “defensive” missile program.

“Our message to Iran’s enemies is that we will defend the country and its achievements. Our message to our friends is that we want to help regional stability,” Iranian Defense Minister Mohammadreza Ashtiani said.

The popular outdoor apparel company The North Face is trying its hand at customer alienation through a new ad partnership with a drag queen.

Not content with seeing the returns of Bud Light’s decision to go down that road, or with Target’s elevation of gay satanism, The North Face is now asking customers to join a “party” with a man in women’s clothing.

The company’s Instagram page is celebrating a collaboration with a cross-dressing gay man who goes by the nickname Pattie Gonia.

Customers are fuming after the company unveiled a “Summer of Pride” partnership with the flamboyant mustached individual.