Latest news with #Levin
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Fox Host Accuses Vance, Top Officials of Pressuring Trump to 'Abandon His Principles' Amid Iran Tensions: 'Let Trump Be Trump!'
Fox News host Mark Levin has accused Vice President JD Vance and other top Trump administration officials of pressuring the president to 'abandon his principles' amid tensions over the Israel-Iran war. A Fox News host has accused Vice President JD Vance and other top Trump administration officials of pressuring the president to "abandon his principles" as President Donald Trump debates aiding Israel's war with Iran. Mark Levin took to X Friday morning to share a long tweet, in which he questioned the goals of several prominent officials, including Vance, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. "Is Witkoff negotiating for something less? What's JD's role? It doesn't take 5 minutes for Iran to say, 'we surrender unconditionally' let alone 2 weeks," Levin said, referring to Trump's plan to allow time for Israel and Iran to come to a resolve on their own before intervening. LET TRUMP BE TRUMP!We got our answer. Iran says no unconditional surrender. Again. And again. And again. They cheat and lie and kill. They're TERRORISTS!Is Witkoff negotiating for something less? What's JD's role? It doesn't take 5 minutes for Iran to say, 'we surrender… — Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 20, 2025 The broadcaster continued to accuse "fifth column isolationists" of trying to get Israel to surrender rather than Iran. "They've lied about Iran's nuclear program. Tulsi Gabbard has some explaining to do . They're a damnable cabal of lunatics, many of whom are antisemites, completely out of step with the overwhelming majority of Americans - of all walks of life and political affiliations - who want Iran's nuke sites destroyed, as the real polls show," Levin stated. According to a Harvard-Harris poll from last week, 85% of Americans do not want Iran to develop nuclear weapons. However, only 16% of Americans want the U.S. to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, a poll by YouGov found. Levin asserted that it is in "our national security interest and our own survival to stop these bastards cold." "During the 8-years I served in the Reagan administration, there were RINOs in the administration constantly trying to influence and change the president's agenda and press him to abandon his principles. Others actively sought to undermine him with leaks to the media. I see the same happening now," he said. "Let Trump be Trump! We've a great and historic president. Enough with the fake MAGA demagogues and grifters," Levin continued. The possibility of the U.S. getting involved in the Middle East conflict has sparked a harsh divide among Trump supporters. On Tuesday, Vance defended the president in a post on X saying he "has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens." Look, I'm seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there's a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue: First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that… — JD Vance (@JDVance) June 17, 2025 Vance previously stated that he would "absolutely not" support using U.S. military power in Iran during a 2023 interview with CBS News . However, Vance said his stance would change if Iran were to attack the U.S. first. Meanwhile, Trump dismissed a previous claim from Gabbard, who testified in March that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. The national intelligence director has reportedly been sidelined recently from key discussions over the Israel-Iran war, NBC News reported. Gabbard is not the only top official allegedly left out of the deliberations. According to a report by the Washington Post , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also reportedly been excluded from meetings. Originally published on Latin Times Donald trump Israel Nuclear weapons © Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Wave of house fires overnight
A close-up of the Fire and Emergency NZ logo. Photo: Marika Khabazi / RNZ Three people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a home in St Clair, Dunedin, overnight. Fire and Emergency was called to Allandale Road just before 3am on Saturday. When teams arrived the house was fully alight, with 26 crew and eight trucks fighting the fire at its peak. They remain at the scene. The three people taken to hospital had minor injuries. Crews were also at the scene of a house fire in Mahora, Hastings, overnight. Fire and Emergency was called to that blaze just before 2am, crews from Napier also attending. One person was treated for an injury at the scene and an investigator will head there later on Saturday. An investigator will also be heading to the scene of a house fire in Levin. Fire and Emergency was alerted to the blaze at 4.15am. It was now out and there were no reports of injuries. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Drone makers battle for air dominance with 'wingman' aircraft
Defence heavyweights and emerging military tech firms used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge drones known as "wingmen": uncrewed aircraft designed to fly alongside next-generation fighter jets and reshape the future of air combat. The Paris show, the biggest aerospace and defence gathering in the world, featured a record number of drones, reflecting their rising importance after proving highly effective in the Ukraine war and as the U.S. prepares for a potential conflict with China in the Pacific. In April last year, the U.S. Air Force selected Anduril and General Atomics to develop the first fleet of drone wingmen, which are designed to fly alongside manned fighter jets and are officially known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). California-based Anduril, which has already supplied small drones to Ukraine and was making its debut at the air show, displayed a model of its 17-foot Fury drone, planned for production in 2027 as part of the U.S. Air Force's CCA programme. "We're moving extremely fast," Jason Levin, Anduril's senior vice president of engineering, told Reuters. "The aircraft is very capable. We can't go into specifics here, but it performs the mission like a fighter." Levin said Anduril had raised $2.5 billion to build a 5-million-square-foot production facility in Ohio, with construction set to begin next year. In March, Anduril signed a 30-million-pound ($38 million) deal with Britain to supply its compact Altius drone to Ukraine. The drone can be launched from the ground or air and is capable of conducting strikes, serving as a decoy or for cyber warfare. Larger drones like Fury are part of the U.S. CCA programme, which aims to field around 1,000 autonomous drones capable of conducting surveillance, electronic warfare and strike operations alongside piloted fighter jets, such as Lockheed Martin's F-35 and the next-generation F-47, which Boeing was tapped to build following its selection by the Air Force in March. General Atomics showed off a model of its YFQ-42A drone at the show, which is its equivalent of the Fury, with both designed for potential use in the Pacific if China invaded democratically-ruled Taiwan. Last week, Boeing demonstrated the potential of drones operating in coordination with human pilots during a groundbreaking test with the Royal Australian Air Force, the U.S. aerospace giant announced at the air show. In the trial, two of Boeing's Ghost Bat drones flew alongside an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, with a human operator remotely controlling the uncrewed systems to carry out a mission against an airborne target, the company said. "The Ghost Bat has the potential to turn a single fighter jet into a fighting team, with advanced sensors that are like hundreds of eyes in the sky," Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said in a statement. European defence firms are also advancing wingman drone initiatives, including Sweden's Saab and a trilateral partnership between Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra Sistemas under the Future Combat Air System. The programme aims to integrate autonomous drones with manned fighter jets. Turkey's Baykar displayed two of its drone models at the show for the first time: the high-altitude, heavy lift Akinci and the TB3, which has foldable wings and can take off or land on short-runway aircraft carriers. On Monday, Baykar and Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo formally launched a joint venture for unmanned systems. Germany's Rheinmetall announced at the show that it would partner with Anduril to build versions of Fury and Barracuda, a cruise missile-style drone, for European markets.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Whanau seek answers in Levin death
crime police 7:44 am today The whanau of a Levin man who died in February at a beach near the lower North Island town believe one woman knows more about what happened to him than she's letting on. Police say the death of 34-year-old Michael Joseph Tamatea, whose body was found in a pond at Hokio Beach, was not suspicious. Lauren Crimp has more.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
What happened to Mikey? Mystery surrounds his final moments
Rumours and speculation have been swirling throughout a small lower North Island town after 34-year-old Michael Tamatea was found dead four months ago. His whānau told Lauren Crimp they believe people know more than they are letting on about the lead up to his death at Hokio Beach near Levin, and they are determined to get to the bottom of it. Michael Tamatea - known as Mikey - was cooking at a Levin restaurant one February evening - and 12 hours later he was found dead in a pond, at a beach 15 minutes' drive away . Mikey's whānau believe one woman knows more about what happened before he died four months ago - and they do not believe she has told police the full story. RNZ has chosen not to report the woman's name. Attempts to contact her have been unsuccessful. The woman and Mikey had both been drinking - separately - at Levin's Oxford Hotel on the Wednesday night before he died, Mikey's sister Sarah Tamatea told RNZ. She said that woman would later tell police she had driven Mikey the 10km to Hokio Beach, where he was found dead early the next morning. RNZ asked police a raft of questions, but they declined to comment other than to say they did not believe Mikey's death was suspicious, and the case is with the coroner. According to the Oxford's CCTV footage, the pair were not together at the pub, Sarah said. Mikey Tamatea's family believe a woman drove him to Hokio beach just hours before he died. Photo: RNZ She has pored over that footage. RNZ has viewed some of it. The footage RNZ saw showed from about 1.07am, the woman was arguing with a man she was playing pool with. A staff member told RNZ as the argument continued they decided to "call it" and tell them it was time to go. It was closing time, anyway. At 1.10am the woman put her bag over her shoulder, threw a pool cue across a table, and left. As she walked out the door, Mikey entered that area of the pub. At 1.12am he is seen chatting outside with a staff member for a few minutes. The staff member told RNZ they offered him a ride home, which he declined. RNZ saw footage of Mikey walking up and down Levin's main drag, Oxford Street, near the pub and into the median strip. He wove a little and seemed slightly unsteady. But the staff member told RNZ that was not strange, because he had an unusual way of moving anyway. He had been drinking but was not "legless", they said. The woman who had been playing pool later picked Mikey up, Sarah said. Mikey Tamatea's mother Lucilla Kerehoma and sister Sarah Tamatea say life is not the same since his death four months ago. Photo: RNZ Her memory of the CCTV footage was that the car drove back and forth past Mikey a few times before stopping near him. But the staff member said it showed the car driving past on the other side of the road, and doing a u-turn to pull up near him. RNZ has not seen that footage. Sarah and the staff member agreed it showed the car pulling over near Mikey. They said the footage did not show him getting in the car, because it was too dark to see. But Sarah said the police told her the woman admitted taking Mikey to Hokio Beach, and that CCTV showed the pair at McDonald's before driving out to the beach. The woman made a statement to police three days after Mikey's death, Sarah said. Police told her what that contained, she said. RNZ put a number of detailed questions to police, and requested an interview, but they declined to make any further comment. Sarah said the woman told the police she had taken Mikey to Hokio Beach, and they had parked up on a flat sandy area about 100 metres back from the shoreline, near a small tidal pool of water, where Mikey's body was later found. The woman told police she felt unsafe because Mikey was drunk, and hitting on her, Sarah said. So she pulled him - a skinny, but nearly 6ft tall man - from the passenger side of her Suzuki Swift, across the centre console, through the driver's side and on to the grass, Sarah said. "How the heck do you do that?" Mikey had no bruising on his body, Sarah said. "When we went to go formally identify our brother, he was beautiful... looked like he was honestly sleeping." Sarah said her whānau had borrowed a friend's Swift and tried to replicate what the woman claimed happened. "We have tried this numerous times, numerous people, different shapes and sizes and everyone single one of us ended up with a bruise, or being sore, or said 'nah, stop, that's enough'." Mikey Tamatea's body was found at Hokio Beach. Photo: RNZ The woman then told police once she had pulled Mikey from the car she drove about 100 metres further down the sandy path, then got stuck, and walked on to the beach to find help, Sarah said. Around the corner of the hilly dunes, she found a ute and rapped on the window to ask the two occupants for a tow. RNZ has chosen not to name those men. Sarah said one of the men told Sarah he helped the woman about 3am. RNZ's attempts to contact that man have been unsuccessful. That man had since put Mikey's mum Lucilla in their ute and showed her where they had been parked, and where they towed the woman's car. Sarah said the man told her he and his friend drove out of the beach to get a tow rope, returned, and pulled the Suzuki Swift back past the water where Mikey's body was found, to a flat patch of grass about 40 metres away, said Sarah. They told her they did not see Mikey, she said. The woman then slept the night there in her car, Sarah said. Sarah questioned if the woman feared Mikey because he was hitting on her, why she had driven further down the beach that night, rather than back out the exit - and why she had stayed the night so close to where she had left Mikey. "Not only that, when my brother was found the next morning, she was still parked up at the beach when the police arrived," Sarah said the police told her. "They were pulling my brother from the water, and her vehicle was still there. "She drove away while my brother was being removed from the water, and she did not once, at that point, say she knew who the tūpāpaku (body) was, or that she was there, or any part of the reason that my brother was in that water. And she drove off." It was three days before the woman contacted police to make a statement, Sarah said she was told. Sarah and her whānau think the woman knew more about Mikey's death than she was letting on, as did the two men in the ute. Sarah said while she believed what the police told her whānau - that Mikey accidentally drowned, but that the official cause of death would be determined by the coroner - she did not believe parts of the woman's story stacked up. Police said while they understood Mikey's whānau had questions, they did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mikey Tamatea's death. Photo: RNZ "If any new information is received in relation to his death, Police will assess that information and progress as appropriate," they said. "The matter is now with the coroner to determine the cause of Michael's death, which police continue to assist with in an information-gathering capacity." A Coroners Court spokesperson confirmed the coroner had opened an inquiry into Mikey's death. Inquiries can vary in length, with some taking several years, they said. Mikey's whānau did not want to wait that long for closure. Sarah said they had turned into "super sleuths" searching for answers. "And I make no apologies for that." Life is not the same for Mikey's whānau. Sarah says she and her siblings are coping in different ways, and they have at times become fragmented by rifts fuelled by local speculation about what happened the night he died. The pain is evident in Sarah and Lucilla's faces, and in their tears. When Mikey died, Lucilla was coming to the end of her cancer treatment. She had already buried one child, along with her husband and stepson. "How much more can a person take? How much more pain does the family have to go through and our family have to suffer before we get answers and before we can start healing?" Lucilla said. "Every day I cry, and every day I look at that door ... that's why normally I sit his photos down there, and I talk to him while I watch TV and I keep thinking he's gonna walk through that door. "I just struggle to function, I struggle because I see my kids hurting, no mother should bury two children. "And I don't want anger and hatred coming from my kids because I don't want one of them to be hurt, I don't want any of my other children to get hurt, but I want to know why I've lost a second child." Sarah said she and her whānau would not give up on their search for answers about what events led up to her brother's death. "We're not going to stop fighting for this." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
