Tony

Corrupt “I could be a stupid person and say no, we don’t want a free plane,” said the president of the United States about the Boeing 747-8 which the royal family that rules Qatar has offered as a gift. There are obviously ethical, legal and constitutional issues — to say nothing of security concerns — with President Donald Trump’s willingness to accept a $400 million donation from a Middle East petrostate with tens of billions of dollars of business interests in the United States. (It’s also more than a bit hypocritical, given that Trump leads the party still obsessed with Hunter Biden’s comparatively low-stakes shady overseas business dealings.) Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., put it concisely in a post on X: “Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional. Congress must not allow this over-the-top kleptocracy to proceed.”

“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country.”

The United States is becoming less popular globally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to new data. The 2025 Democracy Perception Index summarizes attitudes toward democracy, geopolitics and global power players, and canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries.

The Trump administration spent at least $21 million transporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay on military aircraft between January 20 and April 8, according to figures provided to Congress by the U.S. military. The naval base there currently holds 32 migrants, according to a defense official, a tiny fraction of the 30,000 that President Donald Trump promised. Guantanamo has held a total of just under 500 migrants since Trump announced the effort in January, and it has never held more than 200 at any one time. Many of the migrants flown there are believed to have been flown back to the U.S.

Fraud WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump reportedly is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft. The Qatari government acknowledged discussions between the two countries about “the possible transfer” of a plane to be used temporarily as Trump’s Air Force One, but denied that the jet “is being gifted” or that a final decision had been made.

The Barrio Logan VFW Post is urging Chula Vista police to release the video of a veteran being shot and killed.

A U.S. Navy officer has been charged with killing his wife, six months after she was found strangled to death inside a hotel room in Japan. Monroe, NY-native Jessica “Jesse” Arguinzoni Olsen was found dead on Oct. 27 inside a room in the Hotel SOL in Fukuoka — about 80 miles from Sasebo Naval Base, where her husband, Lt. Commander Christopher Olsen, was stationed between November 2022 and December 2023.

WASHINGTON—Russ Vought, President Trump’s top budget official, is looking to lock in many of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting efforts once the billionaire CEO steps aside from government. A key part of his plan: steamrolling Congress. Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, has already drawn the ire of Republican national security hawks by insisting that military spending receive increases only through a procedure known as budget reconciliation, as opposed to the annual budget. Aside from the reconciliation spending, the White House budget blueprint proposed maintaining military spending at current budget levels of $892.6 billion.

Donald Trump has been president (for the second time) for more than 100 days. And in that time has reportedly shown a troubling lack of regard for his daily intelligence briefings. Trump has reportedly sat for just 12 “daily” briefings since his second term began in January—an eyebrow-raising drop from the already infrequent schedule of his first time in office, POLITICO reports.

Third Reich WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has ordered all military leaders and commands to pull and review all of their library books that address diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by May 21, according to a memo issued to the force on Friday. It is the broadest and most detailed directive so far on Defense Secretary Pete Hedgehog’s campaign to rid the military of diversity and equity programs, policies and instructional materials. And it follows similar efforts to remove hundreds of books from the libraries at the military academies.

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Defense Department will begin going through medical records to identify others who haven’t come forward. And just like that... Imagine the Defense Department going through anyone's medical records for whatever reason they want. “No More Trans @ DoD,” Hedgehog wrote in a post on X. Earlier in the day, before the court acted, Hedgehog said that his department is leaving wokeness and weakness behind. In my opinion, the weakest link in the military, currently, is Pete Hedgehog who is perhaps the worst secretary of defense ever in the history of the United States.

WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) -A group representing General Motors, Ford and Stellantis blasted President Donald Trump's trade deal announced with the United Kingdom, saying it would harm the U.S. auto sector. British carmakers will be given a quota of 100,000 cars a year that can be sent to the United States at a 10% tariff rate, almost the total Britain exported last year, compared to 25% for Mexico and Canada and nearly all other countries.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s fight against the Houthis never dealt a crippling blow to the militant group, but it has cost America more than $1 billion since March, including the thousands of bombs and missiles used in strikes, along with seven drones shot down and two fighter jets that sank, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the cost.

WASHINGTON DC – A bipartisan congressional briefing Thursday revealed startling details of a never-before-seen UFO hovering over the US. Government officials heard from scientists who said they need a larger role in the investigation into UFOs and other strange phenomena the government has been keeping secret. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, with help from the UAP Disclosure Fund, held the briefing Thursday called ‘Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation.’ It’s focused on UFOs (or UAPs, as they’re now called) and what the government knows about these unusual sightings.

SUFFOLK, Va. — Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) announced its Fiscal Year 2024 Type Command (TYCOM) Sailor of the Year during a ceremony held May 8, 2025, in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense Suffolk Complex.

It’s too bad President Trump’s Vietnam-era bone spurs prevented him from first-hand participation in a military parade. Generations of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen will attest that it ain’t all that much fun. I know that from my 30-plus years in Army service as a private in the ranks, an NCO, and an officer – doesn’t matter whether you’re in the back or at the front of the formation. They’d rather have the day off. Especially if it’s your birthday.

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YOKOSUKA, Japan — A U.S. Navy sailor pleaded no contest Wednesday in a Japanese court to causing the death of a motorcyclist in a collision near Yokosuka Naval Base last year. He may face up to 18 months in prison. Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2025-05-07/sailor-plea-fatal-collision-japan-17711700.html Source - Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Dozens of veterans and Democratic lawmakers gathered Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill to advocate for veterans who rely on services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and push back against the Trump administration’s planned job cuts at the agency. Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-05-06/veterans-rally-lawmakers-job-cuts-health-care-17706089.html Source - Stars and Stripes

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Do you live in the Atlanta, Georgia or Tampa, Florida metropolitan area? Your TRICARE health plan options are about to expand. Starting in January 2026, TRICARE Prime Atlanta and TRICARE Prime Tampa options, a Competitive Plans Demonstration, will bring more choices to eligible beneficiaries.

NAVADMIN 102/25

Earlier this year, doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Pennsylvania sounded an alarm. Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration, they told higher-ups in an email, were causing “severe and immediate impacts,” including to “life-saving cancer trials.”

What an absolute waste of resources by an incompetent president... The U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Trump’s campaign to take over the island, according to two people familiar with the effort.