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Russia says NATO threatens WWIII in latest deterrence plan that could take down Kaliningrad ‘faster than ever’
Russian officials on Friday clapped back at a recently announced Nato deterrence plan that looks to unite the alliance’s ground response capabilities. Moscow particularly worried about the vulnerabilities posed by its highly militarized exclave – Kaliningrad. One official warned that a deterrence strategy announced this week amounted to “a plan to unleash World War III with a subsequent global standoff [and] no winners” The strategy, dubbed the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” and announced by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander, Gen. Christopher Donahue, illustrates how NATO is rethinking its defensive strategy against the region’s chief threat – Russia. The strategy looks to enhance ground-based capabilities and utilize military-industrial interoperability, specifically in the Baltic region, to effectively counter and eliminate the threat posed by Russia based on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. The strip of land is also the only possible direct route between the Russian territory ofKaliningrad and that of ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarus.
Warnings rang out from the halls of the Kremlin as one official warned that a deterrence strategy announced this week by U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander, Gen. Christopher Donahue, amounted to “a plan to unleash World War III with a subsequent global standoff [and] no winners.”
“An attack on the Kaliningrad region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine,” chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky told the East 2 West media outlet.
Commanding General, US Army Europe and Africa General Christopher Donahue delivers a speech to the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) conference, at Church House, Westminster on Wednesday June 18, 2025.
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Slutsky further claimed that NATO poses a “threat to global security and stability” after Donahue, in explaining the new capabilities being rolled out by the U.S. and NATO militaries, said the alliance has the ability to “take down” Kaliningrad using ground-based operations “in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do.”
The strategy, dubbed the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” and announced by the U.S. general on Wednesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, illustrates how NATO is rethinking its defensive strategy against the region’s chief threat – Russia.
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The plan looks to enhance ground-based capabilities and utilize military-industrial interoperability, specifically in the Baltic region, to effectively counter and eliminate the threat posed by Russia based on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.
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While Donahue was not directly threatening Kaliningrad, his comments highlight the vulnerability that the territory – which is situated between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea and completely cut off from mainland Russia – poses to Moscow.
“There’s absolutely no reason why that A2AD bubble, to deter Russia, we cannot take that down from the ground,” Donahue said in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” Friday night, adding that it could be done “in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster then we’ve been able to do.”
Participants of a high-intensity training session, seen at the end of the exercise at the Nowa Deba training ground on May 06, 2023 in Nowa Deba, Poland.
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Renewed focus has been brought to a sparsely populated strip of land known as the Suwalki Corridor, also known as the Suwalki Gap, which runs less than 60 miles in length and marks the Lithuania-Polish border.
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But the strip of land is also the only possible direct route between the Russian territory of Kaliningrad and that of ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarus.
“It’s Putin’s gap. It’s our corridor,” Russia expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Peter Doran, told Fox News Digital. “Putin wants to close it. We must keep it open.
“All eyes in the Baltic States are focused on a potential military threat in the next few years, whereby Russia would reconnect the land corridor to Kaliningrad,” Doran highlighted. “That’s what has got a lot of people paying attention to Russia’s military force posture in the Baltic region.”
Donahue’s comments regarding NATO’s increased capabilities in the Baltic region not only didn’t go unnoticed by Russian leadership, but they highlighted the significant focus there is on the small Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ((L) looks on a map with new ferry route that will allow trains to travel between the Kaliningrad exclave and the rest of Russia without traversing other countries, as they must when traveling by land, Russia RUSSIA – Sept. 10, 2006
“Kaliningrad is Russian territory, and such threats are essentially a declaration of war,” Sergei Muratov, who serves on the Russian parliamentary committee on defense and security, told the East 2 West outlet.
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Muratov said a full-scale war with NATO would be a very “different conversation” to the current war in Ukraine.
“None of them are ready for this,” he added.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach U.S. European Command for comment.
Original article source: Russia says NATO threatens WWIII in latest deterrence plan that could take down Kaliningrad ‘faster than ever’
‘There’s not much to do’: National Guard troops deployed to LA mainly fought one thing – boredom
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Trump sent more than 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Southern California last month as thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the administration’s widespread immigration enforcement. The troops were sent to quell “lawlessness,” the administration said, but several service members spoke to the contrary. One Marine said his duties had mostly involved approving access for visitors and workers at the Veterans Affairs office. A National Guard official told The New York Times this mission could hurt morale in the long term. Some said they believe Trump sent them to the city on a “fake mission.” The Trump administration ordered the release of 2,000 troops from the mission Tuesday, leaving half of them still in place. California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of “exploiting” troops as “political pawns”
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
National Guard troops and Marines deployed to Los Angeles during last month’s anti-ICE protests say their biggest problem wasn’t demonstrators – but boredom and low morale.
Trump sent more than 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Southern California last month as thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the administration’s widespread immigration enforcement. The troops were sent to quell “lawlessness,” the administration said, but several service members spoke to the contrary.
“There’s not much to do,” one Marine, who was not named, told the Los Angeles Times. After the protests died down a month ago, the marine said his duties had mostly involved approving access for visitors and workers at the Veterans Affairs office.
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Steve Woolford, a resource counselor for GI Rights Hotline, told the Los Angeles Times that many troops have told him they have little to do.
“The most recent people I talked to sounded like they’re sitting around bored without much to do,” Woolford said. “And they’re happy with that: They aren’t asking to do more. At the same time, I don’t think people see a real purpose in what they’re doing at all.”
Members of the California National Guard stand watch in front of a federal building in Los Angeles. Several say they’re bored and concerned about assignments related to immigration enforcement in the region (AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the California National Guard stand watch in front of a federal building in Los Angeles. Several say they’re bored and concerned about assignments related to immigration enforcement in the region (AFP via Getty Images)
Some National Guard troops deployed to LA also told The New York Times they are being ordered to back up federal immigration agents in the region. Six service members told the outlet that there’s low morale among those stationed around LA, as well as concern that this mission could hurt future recruitment. Some said they believe Trump sent them to the city on a “fake mission.”
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A National Guard official told The New York Times this mission could hurt morale in the long term.
“The moral injuries of this operation, I think, will be enduring,” the official said. “This is not what the military of our country was designed to do, at all.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Independent Trump’s efforts to quell the protests have been successful.
“Clearly, President Trump’s efforts to restore order to Newscum’s lawless California have been successful – rioters are deterred by our brave men and women in uniform who have been keeping our public buildings and the entire community safe,” Kelly said. “No troops were ever expected to conduct immigration enforcement operations, only protect the federal law enforcement officers from Newscum’s violent rioters when he refused to do so.”
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The Trump administration ordered the release of 2,000 troops from the mission Tuesday, leaving half of them still in place.
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of “exploiting” troops as “political pawns.”
California National Guard troops stand guard as protests swelled in Los Angeles last month. Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to the area (AP)
California National Guard troops stand guard as protests swelled in Los Angeles last month. Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to the area (AP)
“Thousands of members are still federalized in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state,” Newsom wrote on X Tuesday. “End this theater and send everyone home.”
Trump deployed the troops last month after demonstrations swelled against widespread ICE raids across California, including in LA’s Fashion District and the nearby city of Paramount.
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The protests stretched on for days and footage showed clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, particularly after the National Guard arrived, with police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse people.
Some demonstrators threw fireworks and other projectiles at officers, vehicles were set on fire, and “f*** ICE” graffiti sprayed throughout the city.
A Los Angeles protester holds a sign that reads, ‘ICE OFF MY PROPERTY GET A WARRANT!’ The anti-ICE protests erupted early last month (Getty Images)
A Los Angeles protester holds a sign that reads, ‘ICE OFF MY PROPERTY GET A WARRANT!’ The anti-ICE protests erupted early last month (Getty Images)
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration arguing that federal officials must end the “illegal and unnecessary takeover” of California’s National Guard.
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A district judge initially sided with Newsom and Bonta, issuing a temporary restraining order that would have returned control of the troops to the state. However, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paused the judge’s order shortly afterward and allowed the troops to stay in LA.
Democratic lawmakers slammed Trump for the deployment. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic New Jersey Senator Corey Booker backed Newsom’s lawsuit, with Booker describing the president’s actions as “hypocritical at best.”
A Los Angeles protester carries a sign that reads, ‘MILITARY OFF OUR STREETS.’ Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to sue the Trump administration to stop them from commandeering National Guard troops in the region (Getty Images)
A Los Angeles protester carries a sign that reads, ‘MILITARY OFF OUR STREETS.’ Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to sue the Trump administration to stop them from commandeering National Guard troops in the region (Getty Images)
Democrats were also outraged when California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed after asking a question at a June 12 press conference led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
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Veterans similarly decried the move. Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck told The Independent last month that Trump is using the military as a “political prop.” Goldbeck is the CEO of the nonpartisan advocacy group Vet Voice Foundation.
“When I joined the Marine Corps, I swore an oath — not to a person, not to a party, but to the Constitution,” Goldbeck said. “That’s not just just politicizing the military — it’s crossing a dangerous line,” she added.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated after publication to include a statement from the White House
Mexican president accuses El Chapo’s American lawyer of defamation on cartels
Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman previously defended three of the cartel leader’s sons. He is currently representing one of them, Ovidio Guzmán López, on federal charges. Sheinbaum rejected his allegations of corruption in her administration in a statement on Tuesday. The Mexican president also called the lawsuit a “cheap effort to score political points” in a post on social media.
New York attorney Jeffrey Lichtman previously defended three of the cartel leader’s sons and said they could detail the government’s misconduct under her leadership.
“Moral and political authority is required to govern Mexico, and to be worthy of our people. So, the certainty of that authority — my history speaks for me,” Sheinbaum told reporters on July 15 in response to his claims, according to USA Today.
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Lichtman told the outlet her “lawsuit has no teeth” and knocked it as a “cheap effort to score political points” in a separate post on social media.
“After the plea, I spoke up about what I considered to be absurd remarks made by the president of Mexico about not only my client but the American government for even negotiating a plea deal with him. My response triggered a hastily convened press conference by the Mexican president in which she denied none of my words but claimed I was disrespectful to her office,” he added in the statement.
“Some free advice: don’t discuss my clients in a cheap effort to score political points unless you are prepared for my unfiltered response.”
Lichtman is currently representing one of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, on federal charges.
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López pleaded guilty to murder and drug trafficking charges and is expected to help U.S. officials wage a war on narcotics, USA Today reported.
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Marla Maples Pushes Bonkers Weather Conspiracy in Fox News Video
Marla Maples, who was married to Trump from 1993 to 1999, warned against the dangers that “chemical trails’ pose to Americans’ health in a video published on Fox News’ website. She suggested that the deliberate spraying of the skies with chemicals is responsible for a rise in chronic diseases like Parkinson’s. Scientists, including experts at Harvard University, have disavowed the conspiracy theory, arguing that so-called “chemtrails” are not evidence of dangerous chemical spraying but are merely condensation trails from planes. But chemtrail conspiracies have become popular on social media, especially in the MAGA and MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) realms.Maples has also claimed to have played a crucial role in connecting Kennedy with Trump, delivering a message to her ex-husband on her friend’s behalf.
Marla Maples, who was married to Trump from 1993 to 1999, warned against the dangers that “chemical trails” pose to Americans’ health in a video published on Fox News’ website, boosting the conspiracy theory that the condensation trails aircraft leave across the sky contain chemicals to modify the weather and control the population, among other supposed effects.
“There’s been a lot of action that’s making us quite sick,” Maples said. “With chemical trails, you will see them continuing and continuing and then turning into a cloud, which slowly but surely starts dimming our skies.”
Marla Maples is the mother of Donald Trump’s daughter Tiffany. / Nordin Catic / Getty Images for The Cambridge U
She suggested that the deliberate spraying of the skies with chemicals is responsible for a rise in chronic diseases like Parkinson’s, although she admitted that “it’s hard to always track it back to [chemical trails].”
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“But I know when I see a lot of spraying in the sky, my mind is a little more foggy,” she said. “My energy field is much lower. It’s harder for me to focus and do the work before me.”
“We need to get our air and our air rights protected,” Maples added.
Last month, Florida, the state where Maples lives, enacted a law that makes unauthorized “weather modification” punishable by law.
Scientists, including experts at Harvard University, have disavowed the conspiracy theory, arguing that so-called “chemtrails” are not evidence of dangerous chemical spraying but are merely condensation trails from planes.
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Nevertheless, chemtrail conspiracies have become popular on social media, especially in the MAGA and MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) realms.
Earlier this month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a devout Trump supporter, condemned the “deadly” practice of “weather manipulation” caused by chemical spraying, floating a bill that would make it a felony offense.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested the military’s research division is responsible for spraying chemicals on Americans. / Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
In May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested, without offering evidence, that the military researchers are spraying Americans with dangerous chemicals. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it,” he said.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency administrator, launched a pair of websites this month delving into geoengineering and condensation trails. The resources largely endorse the scientific consensus against the conspiracy theory.
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“Instead of simply dismissing these questions and concerns as baseless conspiracies, we’re meeting them head on,” Zeldin said in a video posted to X. “We did the legwork, looked at the science, consulted agency experts, and pulled in relevant outside information to put these online resources together.”
Trump and Maples married in 1993 and divorced in 1997. / Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images
Maples, 61, has been a model, a television personality, and is now a prominent wellness influencer on social media. She and Trump married in 1993, shortly after the birth of their daughter, and divorced in 1997.
As a personal friend to Kennedy and a vocal proponent of his Make America Healthy Again initiative, Maples has backed him on previous conspiracy theories—including that Bill Gates was somehow using COVID vaccines to implant tracking devices in people.
Maples has also claimed to have played a crucial role in connecting Kennedy with Trump, delivering a message to her ex-husband on her friend’s behalf during the late stretch of their 2024 presidential campaigns.
Christian university rebranding DEI to evade Trump order, enroll illegals, Tennessee rep says
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is demanding an investigation into Belmont University. An undercover recording showed a school official admitting the university was continuing its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The same official can be heard admitting the school also enrolls illegal immigrants and hides that information from external entities. Belmont is just one of the latest schools to come under fire for allegedly trying to skirt federal funding repercussions by re-branding DEI programs and policies. The school has insisted attempts to portray the school as having a “shadow operation” are wholly inaccurate.”We’re always going to keep doing what we’re doing. The work never stops. We just change on how we talk about it,” said Jozef Lukey, Belmont’s assistant director of student success and flourishing, in an undercover recording cited by Ogles. “We always try to just adapt to what’s happening around us. But that doesn’t mean, like, what we’s focusing on completely stops,” Lukey said.
In undercover recordings, the same official can be heard admitting the school also enrolls illegal immigrants and hides that information from external entities, which Ogles suggested could violate state law against knowingly harboring illegal aliens for profit.
“Belmont University claims to be a Christian institution grounded in Biblical principles, but its administration is injecting anti-gospel DEI ideology into its curriculum,” Ogles told Fox News Digital.
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“President Trump has rightly demanded that colleges and universities dismantle the DEI cartel or lose federal funding. Belmont officials, however, have been caught on camera bragging about their ‘clever’ scheme to rebrand DEI and continue pushing the same radical agenda under a new name.”
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Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles is calling for an investigation into Belmont University after an undercover recording showed a school official admitting the university was continuing DEI using new terminology to prevent backlash.
Belmont is just one of the latest schools to come under fire for allegedly trying to skirt federal funding repercussions by re-branding DEI programs and policies. An investigation in April by conservative parental rights group Defending Education found that despite the president’s executive directives, there are still 383 “currently active” DEI offices and programs with 243 universities maintaining institution-wide DEI offices or programming.
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In addition to tracking those DEI offices and programs that are still active, the group’s investigation also highlighted dozens of universities that have taken steps to rebrand or reorganize their DEI efforts as opposed to shutting them down like others have done.
Ogles pointed to Belmont’s Office of Hope, Unity and Belonging (HUB), which engulfed the university’s DEI efforts in 2022, as an example of how the school has rebranded its DEI efforts.
“The HUB is hope, unity and belonging. That’s DEI. Let’s be real,” Jozef Lukey, Belmont’s assistant director of student success and flourishing, said in an undercover recording cited by Ogles. “We always try to just adapt to what’s happening around us. But that doesn’t mean, like, what we’re focusing on completely stops. We just changed the terminology and the language that we keep moving forward.
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“We’re always going to keep doing what we’re doing. The work never stops. We just change on how we talk about it.”
Belmont University hosted a presidential debate in 2020.
After Ogles’ public complaints, his office said, faculty and students have reached out to attest to the school’s ongoing DEI initiatives. One professor allegedly shared a mandatory form for faculty members requesting to revise or propose a new course, which requires a “Diversity Impact Statement” outlining how the course supports “historically underrepresented populations.”
Another source, according to Ogles’ office, shared screenshots of an email chain showing Belmont intends to keep its faculty DEI committee for the next academic year.
Belmont has insisted attempts to portray the school as having a “shadow operation” are wholly inaccurate.
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“We are deeply saddened that these videos portray Belmont as having a ‘shadow operation,’ as nothing could be further from the truth. It’s also disappointing that Rep. Ogles and others perceive such an approach as being representative of Belmont University’s character and values,” the university told local outlet Fox 17.
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the school maintained it is “in compliance with federal laws.”
“We are aware of comments from government officials and maintain that the university is in compliance with federal laws,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to working together with the Tennessee delegation to address any concerns about legal compliance.”
President Donald Trump took steps shortly after entering office, including an executive order demanding colleges and universities end “discriminatory” DEI programs or risk losing their federal funding.
In an email allegedly sent to the Belmont University community, university President L. Gregory Jones doubled down on the school’s compliance with federal laws and argued HUB was established to “inspire the campus community to fully live in light of Christ’s resurrection,” adding it is not a DEI office even though the university’s website described it like that when it was established in 2022. The email included references to counseling services for people who may be feeling uncomfortable as a result of the allegations the school is facing.
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The school did not respond to allegations from Ogles and others that the school is admitting and harboring illegal immigrants for profit.
“We definitely have to navigate very carefully and just cautiously just because we just don’t ever know, especially with like the ICE raids that are happening in the city that impacts our campus,” Lukey was caught saying in the undercover recording.
“We do have undocumented students here. Yeah. Oh, yeah. We don’t communicate to anybody externally who’s undocumented, who isn’t. And, so, like, yes, we know who it is. Faculty don’t really know. How could they? Unless it’s indicated in the system somewhere.”
According to Ogles, such a move could potentially violate Tennesee’s Senate Bill 392, which was passed recently and criminalizes 501(c)(3) institutions, known colloquially as nonprofits, for harboring illegal aliens for profit.
Original article source: Christian university rebranding DEI to evade Trump order, enroll illegals, Tennessee rep says