[FoxNews] Environmental waivers clear path for development in multiple sectors as border encounters drop significantly
Arizona and Texas are expected to have more of the border wall constructed following recent actions from the federal government.
In the Grand Canyon State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. over $300 million to build 27 miles of the wall in the Tucson Sector, which was a hotbed of illegal crossings during the Biden administration. The contractor was used throughout Trump’s first term in office.
Specifically, the development will be in Santa Cruz County – a largely rural county that includes Nogales, and the funds were already allocated in the CBP’s 2021 budget, according to CBP. While Biden was in office, many border wall contracts were scrapped, leading to materials left sitting at the border, including in the Tucson Sector.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has taken multiple steps to speed up border wall construction in areas where there are gaps in Arizona, California, and Texas, mostly through granting environmental waivers to avoid "administrative delays."
The Wednesday announcement noted that a fifth waiver was signed off by the secretary, which will be used for 17 miles of wall in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Earlier this month, DHS cleared the way for 36 miles in wall development in Arizona and New Mexico, including in the Tucson, El Paso, and Yuma Sectors. In addition, the Golden State is also expected to have further wall construction with environmental waivers being cleared earlier this year.
"We applaud President Trump's commitment to border security, and we look forward to the completion of the wall across the entire southern border," Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said at the time.
"The border crisis is not yet over, and our federal government must continue to equip the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents with the tools, technologies, and resources necessary to provide adequate national security to keep America safe," Lines continued.
Opponents of wall construction have long cited environmental concerns, such as a risk to wildlife. Blue states, as well as advocacy groups like the Sierra Club and the American Civil Liberties Union, have sued the federal government in the recent past over the wall.
Meanwhile, the southern border has been quiet since President Donald Trump took office in January.
In May, zero individuals who crossed illegally were released into the U.S. interior, compared with 62,000 last year, according to CBP. Migrant encounters have also taken a significant tumble, with just under 9,000 encounters last month compared with nearly 118,000 last year.
"Under the leadership of this administration, CBP has received historic support resulting in another 93% decrease in illegal crossings along the southwest border this month when compared with last year," Pete Flores, Acting Commissioner of CBP, said in a statement. "Border numbers continue to trend at historic lows, reinforcing the sustained success of our enforcement efforts in securing the homeland and protecting American communities."
Wonder how much the unhoused Vets get?
[FoxNews] Massachusetts taxpayers are forking out around $1,000 per person per week under the program.
Massachusetts taxpayers are on course to spend $1 billion on the state’s emergency shelter program for FY25 with migrant families making up a significant share of those receiving assistance, according to a new report.
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has already spent $830 million so far in FY25 – which started on July 1 – accommodating more than 4,000 families who have been receiving taxpayer-funded shelter, food, education, legal aid and case management.
The costs work out at about $3,496 per week per family, or around $1,000 per person per week for the program, known as the Emergency Assistance (EA) system.
The report, a June 16 biweekly update from the Massachusetts Executive Office for Housing and Livable Communities, notes that $679.6 million was spent on direct shelter costs and another $149.7 million on wraparound services, including education aid, work programs, National Guard payroll for security and rental assistance to help individuals exit the system.
Around 1,600 of the total 4,088 families currently in the system are migrants, per the report, although that figure is likely much higher as many migrant families are counted as "Massachusetts residents" for the purpose of eligibility.
The state was overwhelmed by an influx of migrants under the Biden administration and struggled to accommodate them. Many migrants ended up sleeping at Logan Airport as the Healey administration worked to set up temporary shelters, many of which are at hotels.
There are currently 599 hotel rooms being used under the program and the report states that all hotels being used under the program will be shuttered this year.
Already, the number of hotels being used as shelters has dropped to 28, down from a peak of more than 100, according to the report.
"The administration is on track to reduce [the] caseload to 4,000 families and close all hotel shelters by the end of the calendar year," the report states. It follows Healey, a Democrat, saying last month too that all hotel shelters would be shuttered by the end of the year. She said the number of people in the EA system had dipped below 5,000 last month, as well.
"Closing hotel shelters is essential to making sure that families are set up for success and to save our state hundreds of millions of dollars a year," said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said last month.
The report comes as the influx of new migrants has all but ended given border crossings are at historic lows.
On Tuesday, Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said Border Patrol encountered just 95 illegal immigrants in a single day and that zero migrants were released into the U.S. last month.
Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor who previously served as housing and economic development secretary, blasted the report.
He said that taxpayers are "being forced to bankroll billions to an unaccountable, broken system that perpetuates the migrant crisis—and we’re fed up," per the Boston Herald.
Brian Shortsleeve, who is also running for governor as a Republican, criticized the governor's leadership and said her polices were unfair to taxpayers.
"Maura Healey has made Massachusetts a migrant magnet with the value of their taxpayer-funded state benefits, nearly doubling the household income of the typical Massachusetts family," Shortsleeve said. "At a time when our people are struggling just to get by under Healey’s smothering cost of living, her warped sense of justice adds insult to injury."
Fox News reached out to Healey's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Continued on Page 47
[TWZ] Iran’s primary presidential plane and two other government airliners have touched down in the Omani capital Muscat. The highly unusual arrivals come amid reports that the regime in Tehran is looking to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict with Israel, as well as growing speculation that the United States may be about to directly enter the fighting in a major way.
Where exactly the Iranian aircraft, a pair of Airbus A321s and an Airbus A340, originally departed from is unclear. The trio of aircraft used the callsigns JJ25, JJ26, and JJ28. At the time of writing, there has been no official word about the purpose of the flights or who might be on them.
[JPost] The same group, which is reportedly affiliated with Israel, also hacked the IRGC-controlled Sepah bank on Tuesday
The hacker group known as "Gonjeshke Darande" (Predatory Sparrow), announced on Wednesday that it stole $48 million in cryptocurrency used by Iran to fund terror and will release more crucial internal information.
In the statement, the group said it would “release Nobitex’s source code and internal information from their internal network” in 24 hours.
Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, deals in digital currencies and cryptocurrency. According to the group, the crypto company assists the regime in funding Iranian terrorism and uses virtual currencies to bypass sanctions.
The hacker group, which is reportedly affiliated with Israel, targeted Nobitex and warned Iranians: “Collaborating with a terrorist financing infrastructure puts your assets at risk! Act before it’s too late.”
CYBERATTACK ON IRGC-CONTROLLED BANK
A cyberattack on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-controlled Bank Sepah on Tuesday morning caused disruptions in the bank’s online services, IRGC-run Fars News Agency reported.
The bank’s online systems are also connected to many of Iran’s gas stations, causing disruptions to services there, Fars added. The report did not assign responsibility for the attack.
However, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for the attack, which they claim “destroyed” Bank Sepah’s data.
[FoxNews] Trump's National Guard deployment protects federal property while local officers face injuries from violent demonstrators
As the protests against Los Angeles’ immigration raids spread, state law enforcement leaders are sounding the alarm on the dangers facing officers on the front lines of the riots.
"I’ve been around a very long time, and I have seen similar to what we're facing now," Jake Johnson, president of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP), told Fox News Digital. "But I've never seen the amount of onslaught."
Thousands of protesters descended on Los Angeles in the last two weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers began conducting raids throughout the sanctuary city. The violence included rioters hurling projectiles at law enforcement officers and lighting numerous self-driving electric vehicles on fire.
In response to the protests, over 640 highway patrol officers have been sent to Los Angeles. Additionally, nearly 400 additional CHP Special Response Team officers have been deployed to aid law enforcement.
"There's hundreds of state troopers [and] highway patrolmen that are deployed in both the Bay Area and particularly in Los Angeles," Johnson said. "[They] are working very long hours, anywhere from 16 to 20 hours a day, trying to keep the peace down there. It's been a very dangerous situation."
Los Angeles police have made more than 500 arrests related to protest activity, with the most serious charges ranging from assault against police officers to possession of a Molotov cocktail and gun, according to the police department.
Arrests are lovely. Convictions and long jail sentences are even better — any chance of that?
Nine police officers have been injured in the protests, with the majority being minor injuries.
The LAPD and CHP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Several CHP cars were damaged along the 101 Freeway as officers tried to clear protesters from the road, marking yet another assault on law enforcement operations in the midst of the riots.
"I witnessed one of our officers get hit in the head with a rock," Johnson said. "Had he not had his helmet and mask on, [there is] no doubt in my mind he would have been killed. It smacked him right in the face and he was actually pulled to safety by an [officer] I know very well."
While on the ground, CHP officers are faced with the task of identifying in real-time who is following the law and who is looking to break it, a situation that Johnson called "very difficult."
"The persons that are down there participating in their First Amendment rights are quickly overtaken by these bad actors that are definitely in the crowd," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "There's a significant amount of them in the crowd, and it really takes over the peaceful protests that there are hundreds of people participating in. It really turns these into bad situations where now we have to decide who's a peaceful protester and who is a bad actor."
Johnson believes the answer to ensuring the safety of both law enforcement and demonstrators who may be acting peacefully is by civilians reporting sightings of violent protesters to police.
"It’s time to start turning these people in," Johnson said. "It’s time to start recording them, getting information for the crimes that you see committed and turning them in to the police."
The call for cooperation between peaceful protesters and law enforcement comes as an appeals court blocked a federal judge’s decision forcing President Donald Trump to return control over National Guard troops to California last Thursday.
Trump has deployed more than 4,000 Guard soldiers to Los Angeles, along with roughly 700 Marines, Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman said.
The appeals court declined to rule on the status of the Marines, since they had not taken to the streets yet.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump thanked the appeals court for its ruling, writing: "If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now."
Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom continue to clash in a legal battle over control of the National Guard and the troops' role in the riots.
The Guard has been sent to protect federal property and accompany officials on immigration raids. While the troops do have the ability to temporarily detain people who attack officers, any arrests must be made by law enforcement.
"As far as the interaction with [the National Guard], I haven't seen any interaction with them," Johnson said. "For the three or four nights I was out there, I didn't see any National Guard. I saw what [was] on the news. They're guarding federal facilities, but they haven't been integrated with any of us."
Johnson leads a union that represents approximately 7,000 patrolmen deployed throughout the state. However, he points to staffing shortages caused by attractive retirement packages, leaving a gaping hole in the department’s headcount.
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"We’re almost down one thousand bodies for highway patrolmen in California," Johnson said, adding, "We have a really hard time filling in the positions."
As the anti-ICE protests stretch into their second week, law enforcement throughout Los Angeles is bracing for the unknown.
"When you're out there and it's a very dangerous situation, you don't think about the politics or your personal politics," Johnson said. "Cops are very good at that. I've been around these guys for decades and they're my brothers and sisters. And I know they're very, very good people. And although they might have their personal views, it doesn't spill over into these situations."
[Walsh Blog] Lindsey Graham is calling for a full scale invasion of Iran for the sake of "fighting for our freedom."
No.
This is insane, reckless madness from a warmongering asshole who's been in office for 30 years and never done a single thing to make life better for Americans. Every true America First conservative should reject this maniac and everyone like him. A regime change war in the Middle East has never made Americans freer. It has nothing to do with our freedom whatsoever. He's feeding you the same lie that these types have been pushing for three decades and hoping you're dumb enough not to notice. Lindsey can f*&k right off Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Besoeker ||
06/19/2025 00:00 ||
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[134 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#2
Lindsey is playing an important role in this effort. The Iranian leadership know Trump is the only thing between boots on the ground and total destruction and a peaceful ending. Trump is holding the leash on the dogs of war. At least that is how the world see's it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/19/2025 0:34 Comments ||
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#3
I think Graham is a Democrat in sheep's clothing, working to undermine whoever's trying to actually get stuff done with unhelpful statements. Like suggesting trench warfare.
[IsraelTimes] In central Israel, where Iranian missiles have caused the largest loss of life and property, community and social workers fan out to help with everything, from basic supplies to filing paperwork
Local authorities across central and northern Israel continued to work Wednesday to survey damaged buildings and to support the thousands of residents evacuated to dozens of hotels following Iranian ballistic missile attacks that damaged or destroyed their homes.
Since Israel launched its surprise offensive against Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... early Friday, Tehran has launched over 400 missiles and some 1,000 drones at Israel, with the former killing 24 people and injuring more than 500 (none of the drones have hit). One person is still missing but feared dead in the central city of Bat Yam.
The damage has been concentrated mainly in central Israeli cities, as follows:
RAMAT GAN
Two missiles have hit Ramat Gan, killing one person and injuring 11, one of them critically. Nearly 1,000 affected residents have been evacuated to hotels following the impacts, among them more than 300 children, with more evacuees thought to have gone to friends and family, a front man for the municipality said.
Demolition orders were issued Tuesday for two buildings. Several more have been declared unfit for habitation, and dozens need repairs, the front man said.
First responders evacuate a victim from a building hit by a missile fired from Iran, in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Rishon Lezion
In Rishon Lezion, three people were killed and dozens maimed by two missile landings. Fifty buildings were heavily damaged, and more than 150 were slightly damaged, a spokeswoman for the city said. Four to six buildings will need to be demolished, and more than 200 will require renovation.
Approximately 350 families are currently staying in two hotels in Tel Aviv and Rehovot, with dozens more having relocated to stay with family or friends.
The spokeswoman added that the council had helped some 1,000 residents in the affected neighborhood in arranging property damage surveys, applying for support from the National Insurance Institute, and securing basic equipment and shopping vouchers. In one case, it located an optician who could immediately assist a six-year-old boy whose glasses had been broken.
BAT YAM
In Bat Yam, nine people in a high-rise building were killed on the night of June 14, including five Ukrainian nationals and three Ukrainian children.
On Wednesday, the Ynet news site identified the three dead children as Ukrainian Nastia Borik, 7, who was undergoing treatment in Israel for leukemia, and two of her cousins, Konstantin Totvich, 9, and Ilya Peshkurov, 13, of Bat Yam. Nastia’s mother, Maria Peshkurova, 30, and her grandmother, Lena Peshkurova, 60, were also killed in the blast. Her father is understood to be in Ukraine, fighting in the war there.
Around 1,000 Bat Yam residents have moved to hotels in Bat Yam and nearby Tel Aviv, and dozens of buildings have been damaged. A spokeswoman said there was no final decision yet on how many buildings would need to be pulled down.
TEL AVIV
In Tel Aviv, which has suffered several missile hits, 1,196 residents have been evacuated to 13 hotels throughout the city. As in the other affected cities, municipal staff, including community managers and social workers, are being deployed, and efforts are being made to meet basic needs such as clothing and medicine for evacuees.
A front man for the city said it was too early to provide details on the damage to buildings.
PETAH TIKVA
Around 1,500 people (400 families) from Petah Tikva are meanwhile living in nine hotels in Petah Tikva, Tel Aviv, Herzliya, and Ra’anana, following a direct hit on one of four 23-story tower blocks, which killed four people.
A city front man said three of the blocks would probably be fit for habitation in a few weeks.
Shockwaves from the blast blew out the balcony windows of several dozen apartments nearby, he added.
BNEI BRAK
In Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, where an elderly man was killed in a missile attack, 750 people from 146 families were evacuated to hotels in the city and other facilities suitable for the ultra-Orthodox evacuees in Netanya, Kibbutz Hefetz Haim near Gedera, Ramat Gan, and northern Tiberias.
Early on Monday, a missile struck a religious girls’ school in the city, which collapsed, and caused heavy collateral damage to the neighboring ALEH rehabilitative facility — a critical refuge for nearly 300 children and young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.
Two old four-story tenement blocks will need to be demolished and rebuilt as part of the city’s urban renewal program, a front man said.
Several other old buildings that sustained damage could be repaired, the front man said. Still, the city was also considering including them in its program for urban renewal, which involves pulling down old low-rise buildings and replacing them with modern tower blocks.
NORTH
In northern Israel, which has sustained repeated missile attacks from Iran, damage has been limited to the Arab town of Tamra, east of Haifa, and the Bazan oil refinery and a residential street in Haifa.
In Tamra, a missile struck a two-story home, killing a child and three women from the same family and injuring another 10.
Around 50 people were evacuated, according to the city’s security officer, Muhammad Awad, all of them choosing to move in with relatives. Two three-story buildings will need to be demolished, and repairs will have to be carried out to over 100 others, Awad estimated.
He explained that the damage was extensive because the city was so densely populated. He added that a lack of bomb shelters meant around 1,500 residents were taking shelter in local schools.
In Haifa, three workers were killed, and substantial damage was caused to the Bazan oil refinery complex, which has since been shuttered.
Elsewhere in the city, a missile caused extensive damage to four blocks. Around a dozen families are being accommodated in two city hotels.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Iran has released a video of a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile, Fattah-1, used at night, which hit a target in the center of Tel Aviv at night. The missile is said to have a speed of Mach 13-15 and can maneuver both in the atmosphere and beyond it due to its movable nozzle. It took less than five minutes to cover the 1,400 kilometers from the launch area to Tel Aviv.
Twelve launched anti-missiles were unable to stop it.
Below is a video of the missile landing in Tel Aviv at night (Iran claims the missile hit the Israeli Defense Ministry building).
If Iran had nuclear weapons, installing nuclear warheads on such missiles would fundamentally change the entire balance of power in the region.
So far, Iran has only demonstrated the presence of an effective means of delivering nuclear warheads. But without the warheads themselves, the value of such a missile is obviously not complete.
It also remains unknown how many such missiles Iran has, what is the speed and cost of their production. But we will probably find out in the course of further military actions.
#2
If a gang of hoodlums broke in to the homd of Bannon or Massie or Tucker
and kidnapped wives, children, other family, friends,
they'd remain at home watching one another on tv.
Whh?
Because the hoodlums said it would be worss -- "It will be WAR" -- if any attempt is made to rescue yhose captured.
-- or if any attempt is made to prevrnt future attacks.
This is what passes for Thoughtful Conservative Sophistication in 2025.
.......
Perhaps our time might be better spent accepting the reality that a people-who-hate-us are taking over the country, the culture, and they do not intend to stop.
Mark Levin e.g. calls them isolationists but paradoxically these political pundits are comfortable with alien tyranny influencing Western and US political processes.
Text taken from the Telegram page of kalashnikovnews
[ColonelCassad] Kalashnikov to Start Production of Upgraded 7.62mm AK-308 Assault Rifle After Qualification Tests
Specialists from the Design and Technology Center (DTC) of Kalashnikov Concern JSC have improved the 7.62mm AK-308 assault rifle of the 2018 model. Production of the upgraded AK-308 of the 2025 model will begin after the product passes qualification tests.
Initially, the AK-308 was developed on the basis of the AK-12 of the 2018 model for delivery to countries whose armies use the 7.62x51 NATO (.308 Win) cartridge as the main ammunition for infantry small arms. However, when the AK-12 was used in a special operation, significant changes were made to its design. Therefore, on an initiative basis, the employees of the Kalashnikov DTC unified the designs of circuit solutions in the AK-308.
Taking into account the individual features of the model, a number of design changes were made to the product during the modernization. In particular, the fore-end has been lengthened: now it provides a comfortable and secure grip of the weapon with your hands while shooting. The folding, adjustable buttstock of the AK-12 with a machine gun rest installed on it has been borrowed.
The receiver cover with a long Picatinny rail allows you to use all modern sighting systems, including optical and night ones. Windows for visual control of the number of cartridges have appeared in the detachable magazine. The design of the diopter sight has also been borrowed from the AK-12 model 2023: a flip-up rear sight with holes of different diameters ensures ease of aiming at different illumination levels.
The 7.62 mm Kalashnikov AK-308 assault rifle is an individual weapon. It is designed to destroy manpower and defeat enemy fire weapons. It is important to note that the interest of foreign customers in this product remains at a consistently high level.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the assault rifle
∙ Caliber, mm – 7.62
∙ Applicable ammunition, mm – 7.62×51
∙ Assault rifle weight with an empty magazine, no more than, kg – 4.3
∙ Overall length/with bayonet-knife, mm – 885–945/1050–1110
∙ Length with folded butt, mm – 705
∙ Barrel length, mm – 415
∙ Height, mm – 244
∙ Width, mm – 72
∙ Butt type – folding, adjustable in length
∙ Magazine capacity, rounds – 20
∙ Sighting device type – diopter
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
