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Iran Threatens "Decisive Response" After US Begins 'Self-Defense' Strikes Following Downing Of Apache Helicopter
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US begins 'self defense' strikes against Iran
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Iran threatens retaliation after US retaliatory strikes
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Trump says 'US must respond' after Iran downed Apache over Strait
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Trump says Washington and Tehran are in the "final throes" of cementing a deal, "two or three days"
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Iran shoots down US Apache helicopter over Strait, crew safe
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Despite Trump calls for Israeli ceasefire, casualties are rising in southern Lebanon
So much for the early hopes of an imminent deal...
US Begins "Self Defense" Strikes Against Iran, Iran Threatens Re-RetaliationJust as President Trump has warned, US Central Command has just tweeted confirmation that the US military began 'self defense' strikes against Iran:
"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter.
The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression."
The extent of the latest strikes wasn’t immediately clear but they further undercut an already fragile ceasefire signed in April.
A US official tells Fox that airstrikes targeting Iran are "ongoing" and targets include air defenses and radar installations.
IRNA reports explosions in Iran's Hormozgan province, while IRIB reports aerial attacks in Qeshm, Sirik and Bandar Abbas with six explosions reported in Qeshm
The US and Iran have traded attacks several times in recent days even as Trump has said they are close to signing an agreement to bring the conflict to an end.
President Trump told ABC News Jonathan Karl:
"I think it's very important to respond. They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak."
He added:
"This is a response to what they did they did with our helicopter last night, and I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is."
Shortly after the strikes began, IRGC-owned Tasnim News reported that Iran is threatening to retaliate for US' retaliation:
"Iran will respond to US aggression.
As warned hours earlier, Iran will deliver a decisive response to the US aggression, which is being carried out under the pretext of an Apache helicopter crash."
Odds of a peace deal are sliding and oil prices are rising (though not significantly).
Trump Reacts to Apache Downing, Threatens ResponseFollowing earlier reports that a US AH-64 Apache helicopter had gone down over the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman in an unprecedented first of the Iran war, moments ago Trump said on Truth Social that he had "been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."
The news that the US may imminently resume the Iran war - sent oil surging instantly...
... as Trump's latest promise that a huge peace is coming appears to have unraveled yet again.
Trump Says In 'Final Throes' of Iran Deal... AgainPresident Trump is still maintaining that Washington and Tehran are in the "final throes" of cementing a deal, and is even suggesting (once again) that an agreement will be done in days:
Asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take “two or three days”.
Tehran has repeatedly stated any deal should include Lebanon—where Israel has been pressing its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah—and fired missiles at Israel on Sunday. That prompted Israeli retaliation, despite US pressure for restraint.
Iran fired another salvo before announcing it was ceasing military action, and hours later Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the “fire on that front is contained”.
Of course, we've been hearing that the war is merely 'days' away from ending from basically the start of the war. And yet, all too predictably, the two sides keep going up the escalation ladder in an escalation trap.
But the White House is saying that it will forge a deal which is good for the American people, whether Israel likes it or not. "Israel may like that, they may not like that — but this is in the best interest of the United States," Vice President JD Vance spelled out to Fox this week.
US Apache Helicopter Shot Down over Strait, Crew SafeA US helicopter has gone down over the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman in an unprecedented first of the Iran war, Central Command announced Tuesday, after which the two crew members were reportedly rescued by unmanned boats.
The Army AH-64 Apache was patrolling regional waters before the downing incident, which is still shrouded in mystery, and which the Pentagon says it is now investigating. However, the Iranians are saying they know exactly what happened - insisting that the Apache was shot down.
"An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter belonging to the U.S. Army was shot down and destroyed by the IRGC Navy near the Strait of Hormuz, after ignoring warnings and being targeted by fired from one of our speedboats," an Iranian military central command statement has said.
The NY Times, among the first to report the downing, underscores the claims and counter-claims concerning what happened:
It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, said a person briefed on the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Central Command said in a statement that the incident was under investigation.
But the Pentagon says the crew was successfully rescued. The unusual rescue by unmanned boats adds another layer of complexity and strangeness to the story.
"A Task Force 59 unmanned surface vessel, essentially a drone boat, found and rescued the soldiers," spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins described to NBC News. The pair of pilots are now receiving medical care, he indicated, after their rescue came within two hours of the aircraft going down.
Trump briefly spoke to journalists at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after watching the NBA Finals on Monday night and he acknowledged the rare crash in the Persian Gulf.
"The pilots are fine. Yeah," Trump said. "Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine."
Apaches, along with A-10 gunships, have been frequently used for low-flying operations in the Persian Gulf and Hormuz region, in order to attack Iranian small boast.
As for the Iranian claims of shootdown, it remains a top most plausible scenario, but the Pentagon has not said whether it took on Iranian fire.
FOX: American military forces, including U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the 82nd Airborne Division, and U.S. 5th Fleet assets, helped bring both soldiers to safety.
NEW: Two U.S. soldiers are safe after a dramatic rescue operation off the coast of Oman.
CENTCOM says the crew members were recovered roughly two hours after their AH-64 Apache helicopter went down while patrolling regional waters.
American military forces, including U.S. Naval… pic.twitter.com/iBr7WiQnKB
During earlier operations connected to Epic Fury, other US military aerial assets have crashed or sustained damage over the region - however, the Pentagon has downplayed or rejected efforts to link a number of incidents to Iranian attack, apparently not wishing to give Tehran a battlefield 'success' acknowledgement.
But many independent pundits have suspected that all along the Iranians have been hitting a lot more American assets than previously disclosed.
Death Toll Soars As Israel Pounds South LebanonThe southern Lebanese city of Tyre is being pounded by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, despite President Trump's insistence that Lebanon not come under attack. Israel's military had hours prior issued an evacuation order for all civilians in the area, amid the unraveling and failing ceasefire.
Casualties are already high, coming at a tense moment after starting on Sunday Iran sent ballistic missiles against Israel over its renewed airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where it says Hezbollah command centers are located.
The NY Times reports of the growing death toll Tuesday, "At least eight people were killed in the bombardment, and dozens more were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The Israeli military also targeted towns and villages across southern Lebanon, including areas that were not covered by evacuation warnings, according to the country’s state-run news agency."
Attack on Tyre, via AFPSo clearly the air raids are expanding, per the report, even after the latest Trump warnings directed at Netanyahu to not do anything that would sabotage a broader Iran peace agreement.
Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 17:25Charlie Woods could caddie at US Open after top amateur pal qualifies
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Viral Influencer: How Bill Gates' Billions Shape US Medical Research
Authored by Paul D. Thacker via RealClearInvestigations,
Bill Gates has long been one of the most admired people in the world, especially since he stepped down from his role running Microsoft to devote himself and much of his fortune to philanthropy. That reputation has been tarnished recently, however, by revelations of the billionaire's close relation with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and exposes on his own fraught relationships with women.
On the eve of Gates' private testimony with Congress scheduled for tomorrow, a trove of federal whistleblower documents provided to RealClearInvestigations is renewing questions about how Gates money has bought what critics complain is an untoward influence on government health policy. For almost a quarter of a century, his main vehicle of power, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allowing Gates to shape the direction of the country's health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.
At a time of growing concern about the power of billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman, Gates' efforts stand out. Instead of lobbying federal agencies for specific policies, Gates leveraged his wealth to work inside the government, partnering with high-ranking NIH officials to steer taxpayer research funding and design scientific policies for several federal programs.
The cache of several dozen emails and documents, made public for the first time by an NIH whistleblower, reinforces previous reports detailing Gates's extensive influence over U.S. biomedical research. During the height of the COVID pandemic, Kate Elder, a senior vaccines policy adviser for Doctors Without Borders, complained to Politico, "What makes Bill Gates qualified to be giving advice and advising the U.S. government on where they should be putting the tremendous resources?"
Emails and internal plans, for example, show that the NIH - the world's largest funder of biomedical research - gave the Gates Foundation first billing for the joint workshops and meeting held on federal property.
The Gates Foundation did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The NIH also declined to comment.
Leveraging InvestmentsLike most philanthropies, the Gates Foundation tries to grow its endowment through investments. Some of these efforts, especially its stake in vaccine companies, blur the lines between profit-seeking and the foundation's mission to develop and deliver vaccines around the world. This symbiotic relationship between capitalism and charity also benefits Gates, whose power and position hinge in large part on the size of his foundation's assets. Before the pandemic, The Nation magazine reported that the Gates Foundation had a $40 million stake in CureVac - this was not a grant but an investment. CureVac was one of many companies the nonprofit bought stock in that were working on COVID vaccines and therapeutics.
Around that same period, the Gates Foundation announced that it had begun to "leverage a portion of its $2.5 billion Strategic Investment Fund" to advance the nonprofit's COVID work. The Gates Foundation also turned a $55 million investment in Pfizer's COVID vaccine partner, BioNTech, into over $550 million when it sold stock a couple of years later after the vaccine hit the market.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 with an initial endowment of $20 billion and a primary focus on reducing global health disparities. Rather than working exclusively through non-governmental agencies, the Gates Foundation began contributing to the NIH through the agency's own nonprofit, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). Congress created the FNIH in 1990 as a firewall between NIH officials and outside donors seeking to influence federal research.
That firewall is not ironclad.
In 2018, for example, NIH officials, funded by beer and liquor companies through an FNIH grant, were in frequent contact with the alcohol industry while designing a study that seemed predetermined to find alcohol's benefits but not potential harms, such as cancer. The NIH also declined money in 2018 from drugmakers to support a proposed $400 million research program to discover opioid alternatives and addiction treatments. Like the alcohol funds, that drugmaker money would have also been routed through the FNIH.
Major Grants To GovernmentIn 2003, the Gates Foundation donated $200 million to the FNIH to fund NIH scientific programs, an unprecedented sum. Rice University researchers warned in 2008 that this Gates cash was shifting the NIH's scientific priorities, even though the money was cycled through the FNIH. While FNIH manages and administers Gates money, they said, the Gates Foundation's scientific board ultimately "oversees and selects the projects to be funded" at the NIH.
After Gates gave an NIH lecture in 2013, NIH documents show that the agency began hosting Gates-NIH Workshops, eventually synchronizing federal research programs with Gates, to include coordinating grant funding and science policies across 10 NIH programs.
"Bill Gates, along with the NIH, the Wellcome Trust, it was this cartel," the whistleblower, a former NIH official who requested anonymity, told RCI. "This is a globalist movement. And that's something that I don't think the public knows."
The Gates Foundation held its second annual meeting with the NIH in July 2105, with both sides proposing new areas of teamwork, and later agreeing to cooperate on funding and research policies for global health. One area of overlap was the West African Ebola outbreaks. To align the Gates Foundation's Ebola research with the federal agency, Gates routed money through the FNIH so that NIH employees could hire the McKinsey consulting firm.
According to the NIH's summary of the 2015 workshop, McKinsey's study of the Ebola field found 20 therapeutics, eight diagnostics, and eight different vaccines, concluding that the Merck and GSK vaccines were the most advanced.
At no point in the several dozen emails and documents provided to RCI did NIH officials appear to raise any concerns about conflicts of interest regarding their work with Gates, nor the hiring of McKinsey to shape federal research and development policies. McKinsey is a global consulting firm whose clients include dozens of foreign governments and some of the world's largest corporations.
House Democrats released an April 2022 investigation that documented McKinsey's conflicts of interest during the opioid epidemic that killed tens of thousands of Americans, finding that McKinsey provided consulting advice to both Purdue Pharma and the Food and Drug Administration from 2008 to 2019.
In one example, the report surfaced emails with McKinsey employees congratulating themselves for influencing a 2018 speech on opioid safety by then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
When Congress brought McKinsey managing partner Bob Sternfels before cameras during a 2022 public hearing, he alleged that his firm did not have a conflict of interest when it gave simultaneous advice to both OxyContin's manufacturer and the government agency that regulated OxyContin. Two years later, McKinsey paid a $650 million fine to resolve a criminal and civil investigation into the firm's consulting work with Purdue Pharma.
"The NIH and BMGF have had a long history of interaction, particularly with respect to vaccines and drugs," reads the NIH summary of the 2015 Gates-NIH meeting.
A longtime NIH official said that the agency's leadership initially held Gates at arm's length, but eventually gave in. "They were very suspicious at first," said the official, who requested anonymity. "But they got caught up in, 'Wow, he's the richest man in the world!"
The NIH official added, "What I saw, which really, I think, extends until this day, is a complete merging of NIH and Gates. And I've never seen that written anywhere. I don't think people realize this incredible symbiotic relationship."
Bill Gates Is Coming!Bill Gates added a bit of splendor to the Gates-NIH workshop series when he made his first personal appearance at the April 2016 meeting. As part of the meticulous planning for the event, NIH Director Francis Collins held a 45-minute teleconference 10 days prior to hash out the meeting's details with Trevor Mundel, a former pharmaceutical executive in charge of global health at the Gates Foundation.
According to a list of key "milestones and accomplishments" sent at the time to Collins, the Gates Foundation was by then firmly entwined within the NIH ecosystem to include dual workshops, joint clinical trials, combined research policies, and collaborative funding efforts. For example, NIH staff and Gates employees worked together on clinical trials for TB treatment in Africa. Both Gates and NIH employees also began a joint study for TB with support from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.
The night before the meeting, the NIH held a reception and a catered dinner, paid by the FNIH, for almost two dozen Gates executives at the Cloisters Mansion, a historic, stone castle in rural Maryland, where actor Will Smith married actress Jada Pinkett.
Emails show that the NIH continued scrambling that night to lock down the arrival of other attendees, which included Obama officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf.
To provide Bill Gates a luxury experience, NIH staff prepared Collins - a Nobel Prize-winning scientist - a minute-by-minute itinerary for the arrival of Gates and his retinue the following morning. NIH police were ordered to greet Bill at the facility's entrance and then escort the billionaire's three-vehicle convoy the final half mile to one of the main research centers, where the Director lingered in waiting. Such deference to power, said a senior Trump official when reading the Collins itinerary over the phone, is normally reserved for the president, first lady, or visiting dignitaries of state.
"Dr. Collins will meet Bill Gates after he exits the car and steps inside of the building," the itinerary read. After posing for a photo, Collins was bidden to escort the billionaire into the main auditorium and welcome the audience for Gates.
The agenda shows Collins and Gates Foundation's Trevor Mundel gave a joint introduction before stepping aside for Bill Gates's opening speech. Moderated by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who would later lead the U.S. medical response to COVID, the first panel included a mix of NIH and Gates executives discussing microbial outbreaks and public-private partnerships to develop pandemic-preventive vaccines.
Collins then moderated a panel on "Research on Engineered Gene Drives and Vector-Borne Disease Control: Status and Next Direction." Gene drive technology involves inserting specific genetic traits to spread rapidly throughout a population. Gates has long been a fan of gene drives to control mosquitoes, but the technology is highly controversial as it could also drive species to extinction and irrevocably alter ecosystems. The NIH's scientific program to control mosquitoes with genetic technology was apparently started with seed money from Gates in 2003. Last August, the African nation Burkina Faso suspended a malaria program funded by Gates over safety concerns.
Beginning in 2012, a Bill Gates-funded nonprofit called Target Malaria began a gene drive technology study to eradicate malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. Last August, Burkina Faso's government suspended Target Malaria's project over safety concerns and worries about the excessive influence of Bill Gates on the country's sovereignty.
Gates only stayed the morning of the 2016 meeting and left before lunch. "Bill Gates is escorted, by Dr. Collins, out of the building through the same hallway he entered," reads Collins' itinerary. "NIH Police escort Mr. Gates and staff to the exit gate."
The meeting ended with a wrap-up and review of next steps, led by Collins and a Gates executive.
Later that year, the FNIH honored the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer with an award for supporting the NIH's mission. Gates was recognized for $413 million dollars in donations and Pfizer for $73 million. In a press release announcing the honor, the NIH said, "Their gifts created cornerstone programs and paved the way for our partnerships with literally hundreds of other organizations dedicated to driving biomedical research worldwide."
The FNIH continues to maintain close ties to pharmaceutical interests, a major NIH funder. The current CEO, Julie Gerberding, came to the FNIH during the COVID pandemic, having previously served as President of Merck Vaccines.
Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 17:00Argentina vs. Iceland prediction: Odds, picks, best bet for Lionel Messi’s final World Cup warm-up
Karmelo Anthony Convicted Of Murder In Fatal Stabbing Of Austin Metcalf
Summary:
- Karmelo Anthony was found guilty of murder after a Collin County jury deliberated for less than three hours.
- Earlier Tuesday, jurors began deliberating after closing arguments in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial.
- The jury was asked to decide between three possible outcomes: murder, manslaughter, or not guilty.
- The trial resumed at 9 a.m. local time, with closing arguments expected to conclude by the end of the day.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. ET, Judge John Roach told the courtroom in Collin County, Texas, "We're about to get a verdict. I know it's emotional. I will hold you in contempt if you express your emotions in here."
The jury deliberated for less than three hours on Tuesday before reaching a unanimous verdict, finding Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a school track meet in April 2025.
Local news outlet NBC DFW reports:
Karmelo Anthony, a Frisco teenager who admitted to fatally stabbing a student during a confrontation at a high school track meet on April 2, 2025, has been found guilty of murder. A Collin County jury deliberated for less than three hours on Tuesday before reaching its unanimous verdict.
The same jury will now decide Karmelo Anthony's sentence. Texas law says a murder conviction is punishable by five to 99 years in state prison.
During the sentencing phase, the defense can argue that the murder was committed under the immediate influence of "sudden passion." Prosecutor Dewey Mitchell mentioned sudden passion during voir dire and explained that it was "a situation when someone is in such a state of emotion, based on something that just happened, that they don't have time to cool off." If the jury agrees, the charge is reduced to a second-degree felony, which lowers the punishment range to 2 to 20 years in prison.
Karmelo Anthony remained emotionless when the verdict was read. He was escorted out shortly thereafter.
NBC 5's Maria Guerrero, who is inside the courtroom, reported that Anthony's family and supporters were tearful as the jury handed down their verdict. His mother was seen weeping in the gallery.
Hunter Metcalf leaned forward in his seat as Anthony was found guilty of murdering his twin brother.
NBC DFW continued in a separate update:
Judge John Roach called for a brief recess at 2:37 p.m. The trial is expected to resume shortly. When the jury returns to the courtroom, the sentencing phase will begin, and jurors will decide if Anthony will spend between 5 and 99 years in prison.
🚨 BREAKING: KARMELO ANTHONY FOUND *GUILTY* OF MURDERING AUSTIN METCALF — faces up to LIFE IN PRISON
The jury deliberated for just a few hours. PREPARE FOR RIOTS. LOCK HIM UP!
JUSTICE for Metcalf and his family 🙏🏻
Murderers SHOULD be getting the death penalty, but at least… pic.twitter.com/ipfZYvXFKP
The question now is whether far-left nonprofit networks will mobilize activists and attempt to riot in response to the ruling.
🚨 NOW: BLACK PANTHERS are attempting to launch a RACE WAR outside the Collin County Courthouse after Karmelo Anthony was found GUILTY
“We got to tell our kids the truth that this is a RACIST-ASS COUNTRY We gotta tell them the truth.”
“THIS IS A WAR”
“Don't NOBODY want to hear… pic.twitter.com/MoCQSQRQlE
Testimony from multiple eyewitnesses cast doubt on Karmelo Anthony's claim that he acted in self-defense when he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet.
Several student witnesses described a confrontation in which Anthony, 19, allegedly refused repeated requests to leave a tent occupied by students from Frisco Memorial High School before the encounter turned deadly.
One 17-year-old student-athlete testified that Anthony did not appear to be acting in self-defense.
According to the witness, Anthony kept his hands inside his backpack until Metcalf shoved him, at which point he allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the teen in the chest.
"That's lethal force against non-lethal," the witness told the court.
The testimony directly challenged a central argument advanced by Anthony's defense team. Anthony has claimed that Metcalf and his brother, Hunter, confronted him together, forcing him to use the knife to protect himself.
However, the 17-year-old witness testified that he never observed the brothers ganging up on Anthony.
Other witnesses described an escalating confrontation after Anthony entered the Frisco Memorial team tent.
According to testimony, students repeatedly asked Anthony to leave, with one witness estimating that the requests were made as many as 15 times.
A 15-year-old witness told the court that Anthony "tried to provoke us" after being asked to leave. The witness later stated, "He committed murder."
A 16-year-old student recounted that Anthony sat down inside the tent and attempted to start a conversation, allegedly saying, "Crazy weather, huh?"
Witnesses testified that members of the Memorial team then asked Anthony to leave. Instead, they said, he became increasingly agitated and refused to go.
According to testimony, Anthony responded by saying, "F–k y'all. I'm not going to leave."
Witnesses further alleged that Anthony taunted the students, saying, "Y'all are a bunch of p–sies. Y'all not going to do anything. Touch me and see what happens."
Several witnesses also testified that Metcalf sought to avoid a physical confrontation.
According to their accounts, Metcalf told Anthony, "I'm not going to fight you."
One student offered a different version of events, testifying that Anthony had been invited into the tent by a teammate. However, the witness also stated there was no apparent reason for someone to bring a knife to a track event.
Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 17:00