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Trump used catering truck, Air Force One decoy to evade Iran threat: report

Trump used catering truck, Air Force One decoy to evade Iran threat: report

President Donald Trump secretly boarded a third, smaller U.S. military aircraft using an airport catering truck as cover to depart the NATO summit in Turkey in July while using an older Air Force One jet as a decoy, according to reports. Citing an official and other material it reviewed, The Washington Post reported that the undercover maneuver took place at Ankara airport amid a credible Iranian threat against the president. Trump had arrived in the Turkish capital on July 8 aboard a brand-new Boeing 747-8, an aircraft donated by Qatar. Following U.S. military strikes against Iranian targets earlier in the summer, intelligence officials identified a specific threat from Iran targeting the president’s movements. TRUMP TAKES INAUGURAL FLIGHT ABOARD NEW AIR FORCE ONE AHEAD OF LIBRARY DEBUT HONORING FAMED OUTDOORSMAN To counter the threat, U.S. security officials executed a ruse on the Turkish tarmac, according to the outlet. Trump walked up the stairs of the legacy blue-and-white Boeing 747 — the older Air Force One — and waved to news cameras before entering the cabin. Minutes later, Trump and a small team of aides were said to have stepped out of view into an airport catering truck that had been lifted to an exit door on the far side of the plane. TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS The truck lowered to ground level and drove across the tarmac to a nearby Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757. Meanwhile, the media and White House staff boarded the older 747, believing Trump was inside. Reporters were then instructed to close their window shades for takeoff, and the jet took off as a decoy, according to the Washington Post. The legacy jet initially appeared on radar without a call sign before taking the ‘AF1’ call sign midflight, despite Trump not being aboard, according to flight-tracking data reviewed by the outlet. Trump then flew in secrecy aboard the smaller C-32A to RAF Mildenhall in England, landing shortly before the decoy jet. NEW AIR FORCE ONE TAKES FLIGHT AS TRUMP UNVEILS REVAMPED PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT It is unclear how Trump transferred from the C-32A to the legacy Air Force One after landing in the U.K. At about 10:56 p.m., he appeared before TV cameras and descended the legacy aircraft’s external stairs, according to a media pool report.  Trump boarded the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 for the return flight to Washington at about 11:01 p.m. Staff and reporters also transferred from the legacy aircraft before departing. Reporters asked the president about why the window shades were ordered down in Turkey. Trump told them: “You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.” The president added that he faces threats constantly and is “Number One” on Iran’s target list. When reached by Fox News for comment on the Washington Post’s reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new Air Force One is a “state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.” He added: “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.” The U.S. Air Force similarly touted the new Air Force One jet’s safety. “The aircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission,” the Air Force said in a statement to Fox News. “Those requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed. No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years.” Fox News also reached out to the U.S. Secret Service for comment. Fox News’ Pat Ward contributed to this report.

Dem Gov Maura Healey signs sweeping Massachusetts bill allowing abortions up to birth

Dem Gov Maura Healey signs sweeping Massachusetts bill allowing abortions up to birth

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey was met with applause and smiles as she signed away Massachusetts’ gestational limits on abortion, making the deep-blue state the 10th to permit the procedure up to birth. Under the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, health care workers will have greater discretion in determining whether to perform an abortion later in pregnancy, without facing legal penalties under the state’s previous restrictions. Healey said the law is intended to ensure families facing medical complications late in pregnancy can abort their babies in Massachusetts rather than having to travel out of state. Those complications can include maternal health complications and fatal diagnoses. During the bill signing, Healey pledged to keep abortion safe, legal and accessible in Massachusetts for as long as she remains governor. LATE-TERM ABORTION TAKES FRONT SEAT AS BLUE STATE RUSHES TO EXPAND ACCESS BEFORE SESSION ENDS “We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” Healey said. “Abortion will remain safe. It will remain legal, and it will remain accessible here in Massachusetts. That’s my commitment to you.” The bill is scheduled to take effect in 90 days. Previously, state law generally prohibited abortions after 24 weeks, with limited exceptions. Massachusetts now joins Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont in removing gestational age limits on abortion, along with the District of Columbia. NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILL CRIMINALIZING INTERFERENCE WITH ABORTION, TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE Healey said Monday’s signing was intended to “stand with women,” arguing that those who oppose the legislation do not support women’s health. “The bottom line for people in Massachusetts, if you care about women’s health, if you care about making sure that women are able to access the health care that they need in consultation with their doctors, should be clear,” she said. “I stand with women. My opponents do not.” Healey also framed the legislation as a “shield” against national efforts under President Donald Trump and Republicans to roll back abortion protections following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. “It is up to the states to lead,” Healey said. “And as governor, I promise that no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court does, we’re going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need, right here in Massachusetts.” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser condemned the signing of the “egregious” law in a statement Monday, arguing that late-term abortions can involve dismemberment of the fetus. “It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year,” she said. “Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill. The GOP must abandon the ‘leave it to the states’ position – a stance that permits egregious late-term abortion laws like this one – and advance national protections for unborn children.” Dannenfelser also argued that the U.S. is among a small number of countries that permit abortion throughout pregnancy. “Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy. We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion.” The other countries that allow such procedures include Australia, Canada, China, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam, according to SBA.

Top Senate Dem’s new tax idea gets torched as critics warn nearly every American could pay

Top Senate Dem’s new tax idea gets torched as critics warn nearly every American could pay

The top Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Finance Committee has floated increasing taxes on data centers, a move critics say could raise costs on services used by practically all Americans. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a white paper proposal last week calling to end tax incentives for data centers and to impose an ongoing tax on data centers operating in the United States. Critics of Wyden’s proposal argue that the costs of the new tax could ultimately be borne by all Americans by increasing the costs of common services. “This tax will be paid by anyone who uses the internet. A tax on data centers is a tax on your email, family photos, small business operations, cloud storage, and your Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook posts,” Americans for Tax Reform director of innovation technology James Erwin said. “Senator Wyden is betraying his legacy as a champion of a free and open internet accessible to all.” TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT EFFECTIVELY PAUSES NEW DATA CENTER PROJECTS PENDING STATEWIDE GRID AUDIT Americans for Tax Reform dubbed Wyden’s proposal a “national internet tax.” Wyden’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday. Wyden’s white paper acknowledges that there is some difficulty in applying a tax to data centers, given how common such facilities are and how wide their utilization is. “Generally, a data center is a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information, and may be free-standing or within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment,” the white paper reads. “This definition alone would be broad, so carveouts would be developed to focus the tax on data centers as commonly understood, rather than trip-wiring ancillary operations into the tax.” To solve this problem, Wyden suggests excluding “internet infrastructure” from his proposed tax, but does not define what that term means or what kinds of facilities it would cover. The paper does, however, suggest that cloud computing, a highly important piece of internet infrastructure used by many industries, would not be exempted under his tax. A SOUTHERN STATE JUST TOOK THE TOP SPOT IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES In addition to excluding data centers from many tax incentives, Wyden’s proposal would hit their owners with a “low single-digit” annual tax on gross receipts, not their profits. Though Wyden cites land use, local power prices and local water use as the concerns that prompted him to propose the new taxes, he also advocates for taxing any data centers that are built in the Earth’s orbit. “President Trump is cementing American AI dominance over China while ensuring data centers pay for their own power, water and other utilities,” White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston told Fox News Digital when asked about the Wyden plan. “The President’s commonsense approach will beat China, harness this technological boom and deliver lower costs and new opportunities for working families and small businesses.” FOX NEWS POLL: MOVE OVER BIG BROTHER, VOTERS SEE BIG TECH AS GREATER THREAT TO US Wyden’s proposal clashes with President Donald Trump’s push to accelerate artificial intelligence development and expand the infrastructure supporting it. While Wyden seeks to prioritize assistance for workers and communities disrupted by data center construction, the Trump administration emphasizes maintaining economic growth and ensuring the United States retains a technological edge over China. The two do have common ground in seeking to limit the impact of data center construction on energy and water prices, though the president has a different way of going about that. A White House official told Fox News Digital that the administration has brought together over 200 utilities, data center developers, cooperatives and state leaders into its “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” an initiative uniting different stakeholders to facilitate to creation of more energy sources to keep prices low. The Oregon senator’s approach, however, is less aggressive than the calls for a total moratorium on data center construction, which Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. have advocated for.