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A sitting United States congressman was detained for more than an hour last week by armed men carrying American-made rifles, and when soldiers arrived they took the gunmen’s side. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, was surrounded near Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet in the southern West Bank, by Israeli settlers wielding M4 rifles. His van was [...]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is demanding “testosterone deficiency” testing for U.S. soldiers to ensure they’re masculine enough to be a part of his anti-woke military.Hegseth unveiled the new screening, which will be mandatory for service members over the age of 30, in a video announcement Wednesday.“Today, I’m authorizing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency for our service members—ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best. Because it’s well-established science that as we age, testosterone levels often, naturally, drop,” Hegseth said. On X, he captioned the video, “The High-T Department of War.”“Warfighters aged 30 and older are gonna be tested annually as part of their periodic health assessments.... Those under 30 can voluntarily choose to get the test as well,” Hegseth continued. “If treatment is recommended, it’s entirely your choice to receive testosterone replacement therapy.”The High-T Department of War. pic.twitter.com/hlAUq3j2cD— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) July 15, 2026It’s unclear what will happen to soldiers over 30 who have “low testosterone” and don’t want to engage in the military’s gender-affirming services.This is about as Hegsethian as it gets. It’s no surprise that the man who proclaimed, “I’m straight up just saying, we should not have women in combat roles” just one week before his confirmation now thinks that having higher testosterone levels is a real, urgent priority for soldiers in the midst of a war.“This is the absolute dumbest thing imaginable for the Secretary of Defense to be focused on. We are literally at war and this idiot is in his office doing two camera make up videos on testosterone. What a complete clown show,” wrote Army vet, podcast host, and Democratic congressional candidate Fred Wellman. “I’m so sorry for our poor service members who have to deal with this ridiculous man.”

Lionel Messi has quietly built relationships with companies and security firms closely linked to Israel's military-intelligence establishment. From becoming the global face of Israeli AI company OrCam staffed by former Unit 8200 officers to relying on ex-Israeli operatives for personal security, MintPress investigates the football icon's connections to Netanyahu's security network The post Lionel Messi’s Ties to Netanyahu, The Israeli Military and Its Elite Spying Unit 8200 appeared first on MintPress News.

The Pentagon's estimate varies drastically from the $30 billion figure stated publicly by the Trump administration.

Answers given by Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, in his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday suggest that, if confirmed, he would be a pawn in the president’s election-meddling pursuits in the vein of former DNI Tulsi Gabbard.Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff pressed Clayton about Gabbard’s presence at a February FBI raid at a Fulton County, Georgia, election facility. The operation was based on Trump’s debunked election fraud claims. And her attendance—at the president’s request, she has said—ignited a scandal, as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s role in election security is to counter foreign threats, rather than be weaponized for domestic, partisan ends.Clayton prevaricated when asked about his familiarity with the Fulton County incident, claiming, to Ossoff’s dismay, that he had only learned about the raid the day before, when he met privately with the senator.Ossoff then asked if Clayton would comply with a similar request from the president: “If the White House chief of staff or the president asks you to travel somewhere across the United States and oversee the execution of a domestic search warrant on a sensitive election facility, will you do it?” the senator asked. “Is that appropriate for the director of national intelligence?”Clayton threw his hands up. “Um … that’s a hypothetical.” Pressed further, he declined to comment on the matter.“Disqualifying,” Ossoff replied.😳 this is not going well for Clayton AT ALLOSSOFF: Are you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid earlier this year?CLAYTON: ...OSSOFF: What is going on here?CLAYTON: ... ... OSSOFF: Are you aware that members of this committee are probing… pic.twitter.com/2QdWuUIHnh— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 15, 2026Moments later, Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, chastised Clayton for his waffling.“It strains credibility to think that you are not aware of Director Gabbard’s intervention in the domestic election activities in Fulton County, and that that was subject of a great deal of consternation and review,” Warner told the nominee. “Even if you weren’t aware, in preparation for this hearing, I would’ve thought, ‘Hey, we gotta be ready for the Gabbard questions.’”Clayton mustered a far from reassuring response: “To be clear, the ODNI’s role is principally outside of the United States.”Also in his heated exchange with Ossoff, as well as with other senators, Clayton, like countless other Trump nominees before him, avoided saying that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, instead opting for weasel words so as not to contradict the president’s election denialism.

Drop Site Daily: July 15, 2026

Six years later, Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election conspiracy is still going strong.During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday, Trump’s pick to run National Intelligence—Jay Clayton—refused to plainly acknowledge who won the 2020 election, admitting only after a lengthy back-and-forth with Maine Senator Angus King that Joe Biden “became the president of the United States.”Clayton initially said Biden had been certified, during an exchange with committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner. But he grew testy when King revisited the subject.“Who won the 2020 election?” asked King.“I’ve answered that question, I’m not going to get into that,” Clayton rebuffed, throwing his hands in the air.“You have not answered that question,” insisted King. “Who won the 2020 election? It’s a pretty simple question.”“I’ll give you the same answer. My answer to the chairman was, he asked me if I’m an election denier. I’m not an election denier. Joe Biden was certified as the president, he went through his process, he went through our electoral process. I can tell you that I was in my seat at the FCC and—” Clayton said, before King again insisted that he answer the question.“Who won the 2020 election?” repeated King.“As I said, he went through our processes, and Joe Biden became the president of the United States,” Clayton said. “I’m going to ask you one more time—” King said, before Clayton interjected that he had only appeared on the Capitol to “talk about my qualifications.”“One of your qualifications is you told us you’re going to hold truth to power, and you won’t answer a very simple question,” King said. “You have not answered. Saying Joe Biden was certified is not an answer.”KING: Who won the 2020 election?CLAYTON: I've answered that question. I'm going to get into thatKING: You have not answered that question. Could you answer it?CLAYTON: Joe Biden was certifiedKING: No. That's not an answer. You told us you'd tell truth to power, and you… pic.twitter.com/SA2eyPlNXA— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 15, 2026Later in the hearing, Senator Mark Kelly picked up where King left off, asking Clayton “why Joe Biden was certified as the winner of the 2020 election.”“I really—going back to my constitutional law here—I don’t want to get in a debate about this, but I believe he had the most electoral votes,” Clayton responded.“So he won the election?” pressed Kelly.“He followed our process, had the most electoral votes, was declared the winner,” Clayton continued, laughing.“And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins, or the person that loses?” asked Kelly.“I think that’s your characterization,” Clayton shrugged.Sen. Kelly: So he won the election.Clayton: *laughs*Three different senators have tried to get Clayton to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and he’s refused each time. pic.twitter.com/MPpWNxZyNs— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) July 15, 2026When Senator Jon Ossoff again brought up the topic, Clayton stopped trying to answer altogether.“Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?” Ossoff pressed. But Clayton was unmoved.