Hegseth: US deeper partnership with Panama, keep canal control from China
President Donald Trump has been pushing Panama to return control of the canal to the U.S., claiming Panama has given China too much control over it.
By Misty Severi
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced that the U.S. and Panama have reached an expanded security relationship that hopes to keep control of the Panama Canal away from China.
The announcement comes as Hegseth spends three days in Panama City to meet with the country’s leaders as part of a security conference. During the conference, the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding regarding “cooperative security activities” in the area.
“The era of capitulating to coercion by the communist Chinese is over,” Hegseth said. “[China’s] growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand. The Panama Canal is key terrain that must be secured by Panama, with America, and not China.”
President Donald Trump has been pushing Panama to return control of the canal to the U.S., claiming Panama has given China too much control over it.
Hegseth said that the agreement provides a framework for a deal that would allow U.S. warships to travel through the Panama Canal “first and free.” The memorandum also paves the way for the U.S. and Panama to conduct more joint training exercises together.
“These documents reaffirm [the U.S. and Panama’s] historic ties and outline how we will deepen our relationship and strengthen bilateral canal security cooperation,” Hegseth said.
The secretary added that the agreement would also establish a rotational joint presence in Panama, by placing some U.S. troops at former military installations like Rodman Naval Station. The U.S. also hopes to revive a jungle operations center.
“We want this to be a golden age for our countries, together, and for this hemisphere,” Hegseth said. “We want — in short — not only to make America great again, but to make the Americas great again.”
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Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
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(TLB) published this article with permission of John Solomon at Just the News. Click Here to read about the staff at Just the News
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SCAPPOOSE, Ore. (TCN) — Police announced the arrest of a mother and daughter in connection with the abuse and death of a family member.
On March 9, the Scappoose Police Department responded to a death report of an adult, identified by KATU-TV as Benjamin Murphy. Officers said the victim had been under the care and supervision of 63-year-old Kathrine Raina and 31-year-old Hillary Murphy.
Police Chief Chris Fluellen told KATU that the victim is the son of Raina and the sibling of Hillary Murphy.
Benjamin Murphy reportedly died three days before authorities found him, and officers later determined his death was “not due to natural causes but the result of criminal actions.”
According to court documents reviewed by KPTV-TV, the victim’s cause of death was “in the course of or as a result of intentional torture” and “by neglect and maltreatment consisting of neglect of medically necessary services.” Investigators determined Raina and Murphy allegedly intentionally withheld “necessary and adequate medical attention.”
On Tuesday, April 8, a jury indicted Raina and Murphy on charges of first-degree murder, murder by abuse, criminally negligent homicide, criminal mistreatment, and abuse of a corpse. They were arrested and booked into the Columbia County Jail on $1 million bail each.
In a statement, Fluellen said, “This case underscores the value of collaboration between agencies in pursuing justice. We appreciate the public’s continued support as the investigation moves forward.”
Police Information Brief – Scappoose Police Department
Mother and daughter arrested in Scappoose for murder and abuse of family member – KATU
Police: Mom, daughter arrested for murder of family member in Scappoose – KPTV
Kennedy questioned the effectiveness of Novavax’s Covid vaccine
(ZH) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in his first national TV appearance as Health and Human Services Secretary under the Trump administration, questioned the effectiveness of Novavax’s Covid vaccine during an interview with CBS News’ chief medical correspondent, Dr. Jon LaPook. The interview, which cast doubt on the shot, sent shares of the Maryland-based biotech firm crashing on Thursday.
RFK Jr. told LaPook that Novavax’s shot targets just one piece of the virus, an approach he said has “never worked” for respiratory illnesses:
We’re looking at that vaccine, and it is a single-antigen vaccine. And, for respiratory illnesses, the single-antigen vaccines have never worked and we’re actually shifting our priorities to multiple-antigen vaccines. And NIH is already working on a number of those.
RFK Jr.’s comments sent Novavax shares into a tailspin, plunging 24% during late-morning trading in New York. The stock has already suffered steep losses in recent years, falling back to pre-pandemic lows after the pandemic ended.
“Novavax’s shot is already on the market under a conditional approval. It’s awaiting from the Food and Drug Administration a full approval that was expected April 1,” Bloomberg noted.
In recent weeks, Wall Street analysts have raised concerns about Peter Marks’ abrupt resignation. Marks was a top FDA regulator and pro-vaxxer.
Analysts—including BMO Capital Markets’ Evan David Seigerman—viewed Marks’ departure as a “significant negative” for the biotech and biopharma sectors.
The share of SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is down about 34% since Trump won the presidential election and Wall Street’s fear that RFK Jr. would push through major reforms at HHS that would hurt the vaccine industrial industry
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KEY LARGO, Fla. (TCN) — Authorities arrested a 33-year-old kayak tour guide on suspicion of killing a 43-year-old woman who was found dead in a hotel room this week.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, April 7, deputies responded to a report of a missing person, Nadyne Marie Tillman, after a family member hadn’t heard from her in two days.
Tillman reportedly met Dylan Lamb at the resort on the morning of Saturday, April 5. The sheriff’s office said Tillman’s body was later discovered “hidden in Lamb’s room thereafter with injuries consistent with being beaten.”
According to WTVJ-TV, Ka Thigpen said her mother was in town for her wedding and was staying at the Amoray Dive Resort in a room next to Lamb’s.
Authorities found and arrested Lamb on Tuesday, April 8, and he remains held in the Monroe County Jail. He faces multiple charges, including homicide, kidnapping-false imprisonment, and evidence destroying, WTVJ reports.
In a statement, Sheriff Rick Ramsay said, “I want to thank the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office for working around the clock to make an arrest in this case. While the investigation remains ongoing, there do not appear to be any other individuals involved in this incident.”
Man arrested in Key Largo murder – Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Key Largo kayak tour guide accused of beating woman to death at resort – WTVJ
I guess there isn’t anything you could say or do that would be as degrading to the democrats as their own words and behavior?
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TOXIC. domestic terrorists. weak and woke. violent. the party of mayhem. that about sums it up. add criminals. corrupt. anti-American. mentally ill, racist, and we sealed the definition.
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Casbin99
They have no base anymore. The democrats I know have left them.
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Gabbard Starts Task Force To Investigate Intelligence Community
Task force to cut costs and root out “weaponization” of the government
By Jack Phillips | The Epoch Times
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she is setting up a task force to cut costs and root out what she said is “weaponization” of the government.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (L) accompanied by Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe (R), speaks during a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing in Washington on March 25, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In a statement on Tuesday, Gabbard said that the task force creation is designed to “rebuild trust in the Intelligence Community” and to align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
“We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization,” she said in the statement.
Several of the moves will fall under Trump’s executive orders that established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting organization associated with senior Trump adviser Elon Musk, although the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did not provide further details in the statement. But it did say that the office is currently “identifying wasteful spending, inefficiencies, and bloated bureaucracy.”
The ODNI said that it is currently reviewing any documents for potential declassification, including details on the origins of COVID-19, the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into allegations that Trump colluded with Russia in 2016, “anomalous health incidents,” and the Biden administration’s “domestic surveillance and censorship actions.”
Anomalous health incidents refer to “Havana Syndrome,” or unexplained and sudden symptoms such as dizziness, pain, mental difficulties, and other symptoms reported by the U.S. government that first occurred in 2016.
Crossfire Hurricane drew controversy among Republicans, who said that it relied on false information to obtain a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.
Trump has long decried the FBI investigation and said it was part of a longstanding witch hunt meant to harm his presidency and reelection campaign. An investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia engaged in election interference in the 2016 election but did not find that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
Gabbard’s task force will also root out what it called “deep-seeded politicization” as well as expose “unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence,” according to the statement.
The group is also working to revoke security clearances for people who “no longer have an active role in national security,” including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe Biden.
Other work includes declassifying materials related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Last month, the Trump administration declassified documents relating to the JFK assassination in 1963 as part of the president’s executive order issued at the start of his presidency in January.
“President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability. We are committed to executing the President’s vision and focusing the Intelligence Community on its core mission,” Gabbard’s statement said.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by the Senate in February by a 52–48 vote, with former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell being the only Republican to vote against her confirmation.
During her first congressional hearing after assuming office, Gabbard was asked about a Signal chat group with members of the Trump White House that included messages about strikes in Yemen. Gabbard said that she did not share any classified information outside of official channels.
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In response to a worldwide market downturn, President Donald Trump unexpectedly suspended tariffs on most countries for 90 days while simultaneously increasing the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told journalists that the pause was not a response to significant market sell-offs, but rather due to other nations’ interest in negotiations. About an hour later, President Trump stated to reporters that he reduced several tariffs because people were becoming “yippy” and “afraid.”
Trump’s decision has undoubtedly provided the world with a temporary reprieve, at least for the upcoming 90 days. The future remains uncertain, and people wonder what could have possibly triggered this sudden change of mind…
IMAGE: US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick look on in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9. Trump announced that he was pausing the higher tariffs on countries, barring China, for 90 days (Source: AFP)
Firstpost reports…
Explained: The frantic few hours that led Trump to pause higher tariffs
Donald Trump is unpredictable. After urging Americans to ‘be cool’ amid markets slumping over his tariff policy, he made a shocking pivot on Wednesday. He announced a 90-day pause for all countries except China. But what led the US president to change his mind? Was it the rapid rise in government bond yields or the rising criticism from billionaires and business leaders?
VIDEO: President Donald Trump reversed course in the global trade war he launched just a week ago, announcing in a social media post a 90-day pause on new tariffs against every country but China (Source: Politico)
“Don’t be weak, don’t be stupid, don’t be a panican,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, in response to a growing number of people expressing concern over his tariff policy.
The following day, he told Republicans, “I know what the hell I’m doing” as the massive tariffs he had imposed sent global markets into a tailspin. Moreover, he also revelled in the fact that world leaders were “dying to make a deal”, adding that they were “kissing my a*s.”
And on Wednesday morning, Trump once again wrote a social media post, “Be cool. Everything is going to work out well,” in response to his tariffs.
But hours later, he shocked the world and his own people when he announced a 90-day pause in the higher rate of “reciprocal tariffs”, barring China, that had been in force for a mere 13 hours. When asked what brought about the turnaround, Trump said:
“They were getting yippy. They were getting a little bit yippy, a little afraid.”
As the markets jump back following Trump’s reversal, we take a closer look at what exactly led the US president to change his mind on his pet topic — tariffs.
Markets matter — they really do
If there was one driving factor behind Trump’s tariff reversal it has to be the markets and how they have performed since April 2 — the day he announced his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.
When the tariffs went into effect last Wednesday, the markets tanked. Then came investor fears of a ‘ Black Monday’. It is reported that Trump’s tariffs wiped off $10 trillion (£7.8 trillion) of global share prices in a matter of days.
IMAGE: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City (Source: USA Today Money)
But that didn’t rattle the US president much.
However, on Wednesday, things drastically changed for Trump. The US witnessed a sharp sell-off in US government bond markets, which is usually a safe corner for investors. Interest rates on 10-year Treasury bonds had been rising, contrary to what normally happens when stock prices fall and investors seek safety in treasuries. The unusual dynamic meant that at the same time, the tariffs could push up prices, people would be paying more to buy homes or pay off credit card debt because of higher interest rates. Businesses looking to expand would pay more for new loans.
This was of particular concern to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose finance career was deeply intertwined with the bond market. According to one administration official, it was Bessent who then urged Trump to suspend the tariffs in light of the bond market.
Later, while announcing his 90-day pause, Trump even acknowledged the bond market, saying, “The bond market is very tricky, I was watching it. The bond market right now is beautiful. But yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy.”
IMAGE: President Donald Trump speaks during an event with auto racing champions at the South Portico of the White House on Wednesday after announcing a pause in the tariffs (Source: AP)
Criticism rings loud and clear
But the markets weren’t the sole factor influencing Trump’s decision on the tariff pause. Trump also was contending with massive criticism from business leaders, billionaires — people he could normally bank on for support.
For instance, billionaire hedge fund boss and previously a Trump backer — Bill Ackman — turned on the president, warning that his tariffs risked an “economic nuclear winter”.
In fact, Ackman, as The Telegraph reports, is the origin of Trump’s 90-day pause. He had earlier taken to social media, asking Trump to put a 90-day pause on tariffs, arguing the president can “accomplish his objectives without destroying small businesses in the short term”.
In a lengthy post on X, Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, issued a dire warning of what could happen if the tariffs weren’t halted immediately. “If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman wrote. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
Trump’s ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk also seemed to be unhappy with the tariff policy. Trump’s Doge leader had spent recent days slamming the tariff decision and mocking Peter Navarro, the president’s advisor on trade matters, in deeply personal terms. In fact, Musk went as far as calling Navarro a “moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks”.
And it seems that JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon also played an instrumental role in changing Trump’s mind. On Wednesday, around 8 am, Trump watched the Dimon give an interview to Fox News in which he cautioned that a recession was a “likely outcome” given the economic uncertainty, explaining that he was hearing from most everyone he spoke to that they were “cutting back” as a result.
“Markets aren’t always right, but sometimes they are right,” Dimon told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo. He added, “I’m taking a calm view, but I think it could get worse if we don’t make some progress here.”
IMAGE: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talk to the press (Source: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Deal mania runs high in the White House
It’s also reported that the tariff pause came as Trump’s team struggled to cope with the countries trying to make a deal. As The Times reported, they simply could not cope with the whirlwind that Trump had unleashed.
Moreover, executives had been flooding the phone lines of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to make the case to Trump directly.
In a Bloomberg report, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that the flood of outreach from other countries making “the right kind of offers” also played a role. The media outlet reported that Trump was particularly intrigued that countries were beginning to offer concessions that hadn’t previously been on the table, including addressing non-tariff trade barriers. “It just became crazy, the amount of calls we got,” Lutnick said.
IMAGE: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on April 9, 2025. Evan Vucci/AP
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Trump reverses his decision
All of this put together led to Trump swaying and he decided that he would pause the tariffs. Trump then sat down with Lutnick and Bessent and drafted a social media post to tell the world that he was, for now, rolling back the tariffs.
After the announcement, Trump aides raced to declare that it had been the strategy all along. Bessent said the change of tack wasn’t driven by market volatility, and was instead about a desire to tailor new trade deals with affected trading partners that have been flooding the White House with requests to negotiate. “It is just a processing problem,” said Bessent. “Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke, it is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved, so that’s why we’re giving the 90-day pause.”
Trump later said that the decision to change course on his tariff plan came “from the heart”. He said, “Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it. I think it probably came together early this morning, fairly early this morning. Just wrote it up, I didn’t — we didn’t have the use of — we didn’t have access to lawyers … We wrote it up from our hearts, right? It was written from the heart, and I think it was well written too.”
Trump’s decision has definitely given the world some breathing space — at least for the next 90 days. What comes next, no one knows…
See more news from FirstPost (FP)
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Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Zubritsky is listed in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s database of draft dodgers and is wanted for treason
RT WORLD NEWS
His sentencing by a court for treason was reported just weeks before he traveled to space alongside fellow Russian Sergey Ryzhikov and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim.
The Ukrainian newspaper Dumska has denounced the retired military pilot as a “traitor-cosmonaut” and deserter following his criminal conviction by a court in Vinnitsa in mid-March. A judge also ordered the confiscation of his property.
According to Zubritsky’s biography, he was born in 1992 in a village in Zaporozhye Region, which is now part of Russia but is still claimed by Kiev. He graduated from a military school in Kharkov as a pilot and served at an airbase in Sevastopol, Crimea during the 2014 Western-backed coup in the Ukrainian capital.
In response to the overthrow of the elected government, Crimeans overwhelmingly voted to break away from Ukraine and join Russia. Zubritsky was among the numerous Ukrainian military personnel who rejected the new government in Kiev and continued their careers in the Russian Armed Forces. He applied to the space program in 2017 and was confirmed as a flight engineer for the Soyuz MS-27 mission last August.
Dumska celebrated Zubritsky’s conviction and suggested that he was not selected due to his qualifications, but for ideological reasons – to showcase a “Ukrainian-turned-Russian who is now going to space,” while neglecting to address the timing of his sentencing. The outlet lamented the fact that the US will likely have no objections to him boarding the ISS.
Russian media has covered Zubritsky’s case with amusement. The outlet Shot reported that the cosmonaut is listed as a draft dodger, though Ukrainian officials cannot apprehend him “because he is in space.”
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RELATED
Zelensky was a draft dodger
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(TLB) Published this article with permission of RT
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ER Editor: We wonder if Brits will still be able to get it with a VPN. Rumble was banned in France in November 2022, but people have found a way around it with VPNs, all the while savouring the tyranny of their government. We still believe this is all to wake up the normies. Why this, why now? The Online Safety Act dates back to 2023. Notice the relevant date below – March 17 (seventeen). Popcorn time once again …
During Starmer’s visit to the Oval Office, he claimed “in relation to free speech in the UK I am very proud of our history there”.
BitChute a free speech video sharing platform has shut down it’s UK operation because of the draconian so called “Online Safety Act” – In short… pic.twitter.com/OfEBYz3UFb
The UK has now blocked BitChute – despite Starmer the Harmer insisting to Trump and Vance that the UK has free speech… Use a VPN to access it as normal… pic.twitter.com/6F6ZkcN1gZ
BitChute has published the following statement on its website:
To our valued users in the United Kingdom
After careful review and ongoing evaluation of the regulatory landscape in the United Kingdom, we regret to inform you that BitChute will be discontinuing its video sharing service for UK residents.
The introduction of the UK Online Safety Act of 2023 has brought about significant changes in the regulatory framework governing online content and community interactions. Notably, the Act contains sweeping provisions and onerous corrective measures with respect to content moderation and enforcement. In particular, the broad enforcement powers granted to the regulator of communication services, Ofcom, have raised concerns regarding the open-ended and unpredictable nature of regulatory compliance for our platform.
The BitChute platform has always operated on principles of freedom of speech, expression and association, and strived to foster an open and inclusive environment for content creators and audiences alike. However, the evolving regulatory pressures—including strict enforcement mechanisms and potential liabilities—have created an operational landscape in which continuing to serve the UK market exposes our company to unacceptable legal and compliance risks. Despite our best efforts to navigate these challenges, the uncertainty surrounding the OSA’s enforcement by Ofcom and its far-reaching implications leaves us no viable alternative but to cease normal operations in the UK.
Therefore, effective immediately, BitChute platform users in the UK will no longer be available to view content produced by any other BitChute user. Because the OSA’s primary concern is that members of the public will view content deemed unsafe, however, we will permit UK BitChute users to continue to post content. The significant change will be that this UK user-posted content will not be viewable by any other UK user, but will be visible to other users outside of the UK. Users outside the UK may comment on that content, which the creator will continue to be able to read, delete, block, reply and flag. Users outside the UK may share UK-user produced content to other users outside of the UK as normal. In other words, for users in the UK, including content creators, the BitChute platform is no longer a user-to-UK user video sharing service.
We deeply regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision may cause to our UK users and partners. This decision was not taken lightly. It reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of compliance, protecting our community, and ensuring that our platform remains a safe and sustainable space for creative expression globally. We recognize the value of our UK community and extend our sincerest apologies for the disruption caused by this necessary step. Our support team remains available to answer any queries or concerns regarding this transition.
We appreciate the support and engagement of our community around the world and remain dedicated to providing a platform that champions free expression and innovative content sharing in an environment of regulatory certainty.
Thank you for your understanding.
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Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com
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The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
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ER Editor: Politico.eu also covered this topic with its usual dig at the right —
Brussels must overhaul ‘opaque’ funding of NGOs, say auditors
BRUSSELS — The European Union is handing out billions of euros to nongovernmental organizations each year without properly monitoring how the money is spent— or whether it’s even going to genuine NGOs.
That’s the main finding in a damning report from the European Court of Auditors which is likely to intensify a fierce political fight over how nonprofits use EU grant money.
Using words like “opaque” and “hazy,” the report finds the EU’s entire process for funding NGOs lacks transparency and calls for reform in the way grants are provided, monitored and disclosed.
…
Hanging over the report is the question of lobbying. Are NGOs using public money to influence EU policymaking? And if they are, is it being done in line with EU values? On these questions, the ECA found the European Commission lacked curiosity and transparency.
It is linked to below, but we recommend this report by European Conservative from earlier this week —
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••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (L) accompanied by Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe (R), speaks during a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing in Washington on March 25, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
