Federal authorities have moved further to reverse course on the Biden administration’s embrace of offshore wind power infrastructure in recent days, earning praise from regional fishermen.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has taken two key actions in the past week in pursuit of bringing an end to offshore wind development throughout the country, including in the Gulf of Maine.
At the end of July, BOEM said that it would be rescinding all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), a move in alignment with an Executive Order issued by the President on his first day in office.
WEAs are areas that have been deemed suitable by the federal government for “commercial wind energy activities” that “present[ed] the fewest apparent environmental and user conflicts.”
This move aims to officially end the federal practice of “designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development.” As a result of this, 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters will be released across many parts of the country, including in the Gulf of Maine.
Chinese state media has released a rare footage of a new Type 094 Class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine departing on a long-range patrol, with the broadcast featuring a declaration from one of the crew pledging fire the ship’s nuclear missiles “without hesitation” if ordered.
The ship departed from Longpo Naval Base, a heavily fortified underground facility on Hainan Island that hosts the bulk of the Chinese strategic submarine fleet.
The facility has recently seen new J-20 fifth generation fighter and J-16 heavyweight fighter brigades deployed nearby, likely as means to strengthen its defences.
This footage is the first known instance in which Chinese state media has publicly acknowledged the active deployment of the submarine class.
Type 094 JIn Class Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine
Although China has emerged as a world leader in many areas of its military capabilities, its fleet of modern ballistic missile submarines remains small at an estimated four ships. The Type 094 Class has nevertheless provided a major leap forward in capabilities that has largely bridged the technological gap with the American and Russian fleets.
Top Trump administration officials will gather at the vice president’s residence Wednesday evening as they continue to weigh whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent conversation with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
The administration’s handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response, is expected to be a main focus of the dinner, three sources familiar with the meeting told CNN. The meeting will include White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Blanche.
With the exception of Vance, the White House considers those officials the leaders of the administration’s ongoing strategy regarding the Epstein files, two of the sources said.
From left: White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Getty Images/AP
The meeting comes as Trump’s administration is considering releasing the contents of Blanche’s interview last month with Maxwell. Two officials told CNN that the materials could be made public as early as this week.
The entire grand jury process is extremely protected as the 5th amendment requires. Fullstop.
Unfortunately, we have a long and painful history with the Trump-era Main Justice system, intentionally leaking information to satiate the MAGA base and tamp-down demands for reform and accountability. For seven years various Trump officials have claimed to be working to bring accountability. None has been delivered.
Also unfortunately, the pattern of bread and circuses is repeating. The Dept of Justice leaked a letter to The Federalist, in order to affirm their performance.
Nearly two-thirds of Germans would “probably not” defend their homeland from invaders, a survey has found, in a blow to the government’s rearmament plans.
In a survey carried out for RND, a German broadcaster, 59 per cent of respondents said they were “probably” or “definitely” unwilling to defend the country from an attack.
Only 16 per cent of Germans were “definitely” willing to take up arms to defend Germany, while 22 per cent said they would “probably” do it.
WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Monday reversed course on requiring U.S. cities and states to rebuke boycotts of Israeli companies in order to receive disaster funds, according to a statement, and deleted the earlier policy from its website.
The Department of Homeland Security removed its statement, opens new tab that said states must certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for the funding.
Reuters reported on Monday that the language applied to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems, among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
This is a shift for the administration of President Donald Trump, which has previously tried to penalize institutions that don’t align with its views on Israel or antisemitism.
This flap reveals a rough societal border between Jewish Supremist control of USA and how far they can go. It also shows that strong public opinion openly expressed can and does push back against JS censorship. ABN
American Buddhist Net 