“Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” a statement published on the embassy’s official website stated.

The embassy also urged Americans in Ukraine to follow the directions of Ukrainian officials and first responders in the event of an emergency and to monitor local media.

The Italian and Greek embassies in Kyiv also shut to the public for the day. The British government said that its embassy in the city remained open.

The warning comes a day after Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that Ukraine used U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike its territory.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region.

Fragments from one of the missiles hit the military facility, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished and caused no casualties or damage, according to the ministry.

“According to confirmed data, U.S.-made ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile Systems] … have been used,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

The White House has not yet confirmed whether Ukraine has been authorized to use U.S. weapons against targets in Russia, however, anonymous U.S. officials who spoke to media outlets said Biden authorized Ukraine to use the missiles to strike targets in Russia.

Biden, who is set to leave office in two months, has previously been opposed to the idea of allowing U.S. missiles to be used deep inside Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a move by the United States would be tantamount to direct involvement in the conflict and would trigger a response.

Putin Updates Nuclear Doctrine

Russian President Putin signed an updated nuclear doctrine on Nov. 19, lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons. The updated doctrine now states that an attack on Russia by any nation using conventional missiles supplied by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on Russia.

Following the move, the White House said it has no plans to adjust its nuclear posture in response to Russia’s actions.

“As we said earlier this month, we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine; Russia had been signaling its intent to update its doctrine for several weeks,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Nov. 18 accused the Biden administration of “adding fuel to the fire” and “provoking further escalation.”

“President Putin has already explained it very simply. Ukraine does not carry out these strikes. After all, the strikes are carried out by those countries that give permission, because the Ukrainian military does not acquire the targets and provide the maintenance,” Peskov said. “This is done by military specialists from these Western countries, and this fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict. This is the danger and the provocative nature of this situation.”

Earlier this month, Washington accused Russia of attempting to escalate the conflict by deploying more than 10,000 soldiers from North Korea to eastern Russia.

At the time, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called a lack of response from Western allies over the move.

The Ukrainian leader has not yet commented on the alleged use of U.S.-made long-range missiles in Russia but he said during a joint press conference, alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Kyiv earlier this week, that Ukraine has “long-range capabilities, including domestically produced drones, the Neptune (cruise missile), and now ATACMS.”

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine “will use all of these.”

Owen Evans and Reuters contributed to this report.

In a statement announcing the “Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose,” the White House described it as “a nationwide call-to-action to stakeholders across all sectors to save lives by committing to increase both training and access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medications.”

Often sold under the brand name Narcan, and carried by many first responders, naloxone rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

“An overdose can happen anywhere, to anyone,” the White House said. “That’s why President Biden has worked to strengthen not only the whole-of-government response but also the whole-of-society response to this public health and public safety crisis.

“Today, we’re calling on organizations and businesses—big and small, public and private—across the country to help ensure all communities are ready to use this life-saving tool to reduce opioid deaths,” the statement continued.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdose deaths rose 30 percent between 2019 and 2020 and another 15 percent between 2020 and 2021.

The health agency says synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were largely to blame for the increase.

More than 109,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending January 2023, according to provisional data from the CDC. Nearly 70 percent involved illegally manufactured fentanyls (IMFs).

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. As little as 2 milligrams is potentially lethal.

According to U.S. officials, an increasing number of Mexican cartels have been importing fentanyl from China before pressing it into pills or mixing it into other counterfeit pills made to look like Xanax, Adderall, or oxycodone for sale in the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned of a surge in overdoses involving fentanyl, which the agency says is killing Americans at an “unprecedented” rate.

As part of its “challenge,” the Biden administration is encouraging private companies and people across all sectors to train employees on opioid overdose reversal medications and keep overdose medications in first aid kits.

The administration is also urging them to distribute the medications to employees and customers so they might save a life at home, at work, or in their communities.

The drug overdose medication will be widely available, including in schools and other places of learning and on planes, including those run by Southwest Airlines, among others, and on state and local transport systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year approved two opioid overdose drugs for over-the-counter (OTC) use—RiVive, which is manufactured by Harm Reduction Therapeutics and works as a nasal spray, and Narcan, the most widely used naloxone product.

“Saving lives is the North Star of the National Drug Control Strategy, and this effort requires more than just federal resources,” the White House said in the March 12 statement.

“We must come together. In memory of those we have lost and to protect those at risk of overdose, the Administration is refocusing the Nation’s attention on the devastation caused by illicit fentanyl, reaffirming our collective commitment to beating this crisis, and doubling down on efforts to empower all Americans to save lives,” officials said.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.

President Trump made the comments in a statement on Truth Social on March 11, noting that it would be among one of his first acts upon taking office in the White House.

The Republican said shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border and increasing oil drilling as part of efforts to make America more energy independent would also be among his first actions as president.

“My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” President Trump said.

President Trump said during a rally in Texas in 2022 that he would consider pardoning those convicted of their involvement in the Jan. 6 breach, noting that his administration would treat them “fairly.”

“If it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly,” he said at the time.

Last year, President Trump told a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire that he was inclined to pardon a “large portion” of those charged with crimes relating to the breach.

However, the Republican stressed he would not pardon all of those imprisoned, telling the audience that “a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’

At a rally in Iowa on the third anniversary of the breach at the start of this year, President Trump referred to the individuals arrested in the wake of the Jan. 6 breach as “hostages” who had suffered enough.” He then urged President Joe Biden to release them adding: “You can do it real easy, Joe.”

President Trump’s latest comments mark the first time he has suggested that releasing those imprisoned over the Jan. 6 breach would be a top priority and that he will take immediate action to do so if he wins the November election.

According to the most recent statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ), more than 1,358 individuals from nearly all 50 states have been charged with crimes linked to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

This includes more than 486 individuals who were handed felony charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

Most recently, a 43-year-old Maryland man was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges—including offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers—in relation to the events of Jan. 6.

President Trump himself has been indicted over allegations related to his actions on Jan. 6 and alleged attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, including conspiring to defraud the country and obstructing an official proceeding.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Trump Claim ‘False’

President Trump’s comments came on the same day that a Republican-led House committee released a report on its investigation into work done by a Democrat-dominated select committee that probed Jan. 6.

According to the GOP committee report, four individuals who served in the Trump administration did not corroborate testimony made by former aide Cassidy Hutchinson before the Jan. 6 committee in 2022.

Ms. Hutchinson, a former White House official, testified that she was told by Secret Service agent Anthony Ornato that he was informed by a fellow agent that, on the day the U.S. Capitol was breached, President Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the SUV he was in after being told he could not go to the Capitol.

However, according to the Republican-led House committee, the Secret Service agent who was driving President Trump at the time of the breach denied the claim. However, this testimony was allegedly concealed by the Democrat-led committee.

“Despite the driver of the president’s SUV testifying under oath that the Hutchinson story was false, the select committee chose to validate and promote Hutchinson’s version of the story as fact,” House Republicans said in the new report.

“The select committee hid the driver’s full testimony and only favorably mentioned his testimony in its final report, it did not release the full transcript,” the report added.

The 68-year-old tech mogul shared his thoughts on the future of the workplace during an interview with comedian and writer Trevor Noah on his podcast “What Now.”

Billionaire philanthropist Mr. Gates said that while he does not believe advanced AI will replace humans entirely, its rapid expansion and adoption could change the labor market “forever,” potentially leading to a three-day workweek for humans.

“In the near term, the productivity gains you get from AI is very exciting,” he said. “It’s taking away part of the drudge work.”

Mr. Gates pointed to an example in which AI would likely be used in the near future, such as for medical professionals who are required to fill in paperwork.

In this case, AI could be used to “listen in” and help fill in the paperwork instead, effectively replacing the individual’s workload. Mr. Gates did not specify exactly what the AI software would “listen in” on.

The technology could also be used to tutor students or provide medical doctor “advice” for individuals in various parts of the world such as Africa, where access to health care is limited, he said.

Elaborating further on AI’s possible influence on the workforce, the billionaire said: “If you zoom out, the purpose of life is not just to do jobs. So, if you eventually get to a society where you only have to work three days a week or something, that’s probably OK. If the machines can make all the food and the stuff we don’t have to work as hard.”

Increased ‘Leisure’ Time

Mr. Gates went on to acknowledge that there would likely be “displacements” in the labor market owing to AI but said these would be “generalized” if they “come slow enough.”

“If it proceeds at a reasonable pace and the government helps those people who have to learn new things, then it’s all good,” he said.

“If you free up human labor, you can help elder people better, have smaller class sizes, you know, the demand for labor to do good things is still there,” he added. “And then if you ever get beyond that, you have a lot of leisure time and you’ll have to figure out what to do with it.”

Mr. Gates’s comments come after the makers of ChatGPT warned earlier this year that AI could “exceed expert skill level” across most domains within the next 10 years as “superintelligence” becomes more powerful than any “other technologies humanity has had to contend with.”

In a blog post published in May, OpenAI executives including CEO Sam Altman—who was recently reinstated to his job—co-founder Greg Brockman, and co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, said it is highly “conceivable” that within the next 10 years, AI systems could carry out as much productivity as one of today’s largest corporations.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has also warned that widespread use of AI could disrupt employment in the United States over the next five years, impacting roughly 23 percent of jobs by 2027.

According to WEF’s “The Future of Jobs Report 2023,” published in May, 69 million new jobs will likely be created through increased use of AI, while 83 million could be eliminated, resulting in a decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment.

The WEF found that clerical or secretarial roles, including bank tellers, cashiers and ticket clerks, data entry clerks, postal service clerks, and administrative and executive secretaries will likely see the fastest decline in roles over the next five years relative to their size today.

Amazon to Train Millions on AI

Meanwhile, certain tech jobs, including those focused on AI and machine learning, would likely see a rise in employment.

Other experts, including Goldman Sachs economists, have forecast that two-thirds of occupations across the United States could be partially automated by AI.

More recently, JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg that the next generation of workers will likely only need to go to the office 3.5 days a week thanks to AI.

“Your children are going to live to 100 and not have cancer because of technology,” Mr. Dimon told the publication. “And literally they’ll probably be working three-and-a-half days a week.”

Multiple companies in the United States and abroad have taken part in pilot programs testing four-day work weeks in recent years, during which employees still receive 100 percent of their wages.

Advocates argue the reduction in office hours will improve business productivity, worker health, and well-being, boost recruitment, retain employees, and reduce the carbon footprint of firms by reducing both commuting and energy use.

Mr. Gates’s comments came just after Amazon revealed plans to train and educate millions of people across the globe on AI amid a growing need for an AI-savvy workforce.

Amazon said it aims to provide training and education on AI skills—including how to make use of the generative AI technology behind language-based models such as ChatGPT—free of charge to 2 million people worldwide by 2025.

Mr. Blinken made the comments during an Oct. 31 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in response to questioning from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

The Democratic lawmaker quizzed the secretary of state over the U.S. plan for Gaza—which is home to a population of more than 2 million people—noting that the “question of what the end state is ought to be wrestled with at least simultaneously and, in an ideal situation, precede the military strategy.”

“What are we even fighting towards if we don’t know what the political objective is?” the lawmaker said.

Responding to the questioning, Mr. Blinken said the Biden administration is “very much grappling” with the next phase of the conflict, adding that the subject is part of an “ongoing deliberation both within the government as well as with allies and partners in the region.”

“Everyone is focused on not only what’s happening right now in Gaza but exactly, as you say, where this goes, where this lands, and in a way that fundamentally and materially changes the security for Israel and changes the situation for Palestinians who have been living under, well before October 7th, a Hamas regime that is in so many ways destroying their lives,” he said, referencing the terrorist group’s attack on Israel last month.

‘Fundamental Change’ Needed for Gazans

“We need to see a fundamental change in the circumstance of Palestinians living in Gaza and we need to see a fundamental change, I think, in the circumstance for Palestinians that gets to a state of their own,” the secretary of state added.

Mr. Blinken’s comments came ahead of his visit to Israel on Friday, during which he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government.

During the visit, Mr. Blinken will “reiterate U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism consistent with international humanitarian law and discuss efforts to safeguard U.S. citizens in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza,” according to a statement from the State Department.

Mr. Blinken will also work to secure the immediate release of hostages and increase the rate of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, according to the department.

While the Biden administration has backed its ally Israel following the attack by Hamas, the White House also vowed not to put U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza in any future peacekeeping role. The administration also does not support a permanent settlement of Gaza civilians outside of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Egyptian leaders, including Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, have opposed pushing the Palestinians in Gaza to the North Sinai province.

Hamas Cannot Run Gaza, US Warns

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan has also said his country has no interest in permanently reoccupying Gaza once Hamas is wiped out.

Speaking Tuesday, Mr. Blinken stressed that ultimately, Hamas cannot be in charge of Gaza after the conflict is over.

“We cannot have a reversion to the status quo, with Hamas running Gaza,” he told lawmakers. “We also can’t have … Israel running or controlling Gaza. That’s not their intent, it’s not what they want to do, and it’s not something that would be supported,” Mr. Blinken said.

The United States and its allies are currently looking at other options that would “make the most sense,” Mr. Blinken said, adding that ultimately having a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority to govern the nation and provide security responsibility for Gaza would be the best option.

Hamas has governed Gaza since ousting the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

However, getting there in “one step” will likely prove to be a difficult task, he said, and “temporary arrangements” involving a number of other countries in the region as well as international agencies that provide both security and governance for Gaza may be another option.

“Ultimately, though, beyond that is what we come back to—what this administration believes—which is the imperative of getting to two states for two peoples,” Mr. Blinken said.

“That’s where you finally get the kind of sustained security that a Jewish and democratic state of Israel needs and must have, and you also get the state that the Palestinians are entitled to,” he added.

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Ms. Lake—who has for months been weighing up plans to run for the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.)—announced the 2024 Senate campaign to a crowd of supporters in Scottsdale.

Ms. Sinema, who left the Democratic Party to become an independent in December, has yet to announce whether or not she will seek a second term.

Before taking to the stage Monday to announce her intentions to run, a video message was played on a large digital screen to the crowd of Ms. Lake’s supporters showing the former television news host taking aim at everything from “fake news” to the “left agenda.”

Ms. Lake, 54, then entered the stage to a round of applause before delivering a nearly 50-minute-long speech in which she touched upon numerous topics including President Joe Biden, soaring gas prices, the ongoing border crisis, and the recent attack of Israel by a Palestinian group and U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hamas.

“Joe Biden has us on a fast track to total destruction and I don’t know about you but I’m really to put him on an Amtrak back to Delaware. “The whole world’s tired of Joe,” Ms. Lake told the crowd.

“Our border is wide open here in Arizona, we know it because we’re feeling it here in Arizona, There is an absolute invasion in our country with millions of people pouring in, tonnes of deadly drugs pouring into this country, and now we’re seeing what that can mean, we’re seeing the horror playing out, and what’s transpired in Israel over the past few days—absolutely barbaric attacks on innocence,” Ms. Lake continued.

‘Not Going to Retreat’

Ms. Lake also sought to blame President Biden and former President Barack Obama’s “outrageous deals” for “enabling Hamas,” before telling the crowd, “I know we’re all praying for Israel.”

Concluding her address to the crowd, Ms. Lake vowed to put America first if she were to win the Arizona senate seat.

“I am not going to retreat. I’m going to stand on top of this hill with every single one of you, and I know you’re by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,” she declared.

Later, Ms. Lake reflected on the days under the Trump administration, telling the crowd she “misses” the former President, with whom she has remained a close ally.

After delivering her lengthy speech to the crowd, Ms. Lake, a former Fox 10 news anchor, shared a pre-taped video of President Trump, who said she had his endorsement.

Trump Issues Glowing Endorsement

“When I’m back in the White House, I need strong fighters like Kari in the Senate,” President Trump said. “She is a fighter, she’s strong and she’s got a great heart by the way… She is one of the toughest fighters in our movement and I am proud to give her my complete and total endorsement,” he said.
Ms. Lake’s announcement comes less than a year after she lost in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race against Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.

While the Republican has maintained her belief that election fraud played a role in her defeat and has not conceded the race, she spent little time discussing the topic during Monday’s speech, simply telling the audience, “We did everything right, and we saw the disaster of election day in Arizona.”

“Sometimes when things don’t go the way we expect, we find ourselves questioning and asking why … I think God has bigger plans for us,” Ms. Lake told the crowd.

Ms. Lake joins the race for U.S. Senator from Arizona alongside Republican Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who announced his candidacy in January. Ms. Sinema has yet to announce a run.

A poll by National Research Inc., conducted Oct. 7-9, places Ms. Lake in the lead in a hypothetical three-way race against Mr. Gallego and Ms. Sinema, with 37 percent of voter support compared to 33 percent for Mr. Gallego and 19 percent for Ms. Sinema.

Arizona, one of the most politically important U.S. states, is one of eight competitive seats Democrats will be seeking to defend next year as they try to protect their narrow 51-49 Senate majority.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Despite weeks of negotiations, the union was unable to come to an agreement over contract negotiations with General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—known as the big three—before current contracts expired, prompting thousands of its members to walk out of three factories across the country in Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio.

The strikes are taking place at Ford’s Bronco assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, GM’s mid-sized pickup truck assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, and Stellantis’s Jeep assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio.

It is unclear how long the strikes will last, however UAW—the largest union in the nation—has an $825 million strike fund that will compensate workers $500 a week while out on strike.

Video footage shared online showed some of the strikes began promptly after midnight, with dozens of workers taking to the streets and holding posters stating “end tiers” and “record profits, record contracts,” and chanting in support of the strikes and higher pay.

“This fight is our generation’s defining moment,” UAW said in a press release announcing the strike late Thursday. “Not just at the Big Three, but across the entire working class. We will stand up for ourselves. We will stand up for our families. We will stand up for our communities.”

UAW represents some 150,000 workers at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, however approximately 12,700 workers will be taking part in the strike, UAW President Shawn Fain said at a press conference Thursday night; 3,600 at GM, 3,300 at Ford, and 5,800 at Stellantis.

“Leading into the final hours of the strike deadline, we’ve been working hard trying to reach a deal for economic and social justice for our members. We have been firm. We are committed to winning an agreement with the big three that reflects the incredible sacrifice and contributions UAW members have made to these companies,” Mr. Fain said.

The strikes are expected to have significant business and economic implications. According to Anderson Economic Group (AEG), a work stoppage of 10 days could result in a total economic loss of more than $5 billion. The strike also has the potential to lead to higher car prices amid lower inventories, according to AEG.

Strikes Will Have ‘Wide-Ranging Consequences’

Meanwhile, the plants involved in the strikes are also critical to the three automakers’ productions. Some of their most profitable vehicles include the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck.

A full strike at each of the automakers could see losses of around $400 million to $500 million per week assuming all production was lost, Deutsche Bank has estimated.

Despite weeks of negotiations, union members and the big three have failed to reach an agreement over pay, enhanced benefits, and pensions.

The union has proposed a four-year contract with 40 percent pay increases, a reduced 32-hour work week, the elimination of compensation tiers, a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, and the restoration of traditional pensions, among other items.

The automakers, which have all recorded record or near-record profits, have so far declined to meet that rise, instead offering 20 percent without key benefits demanded by the union, citing concerns that such pay hikes could effectively put them out of business.

Hours before the deadline passed, Ford said it had bargained “in good faith” in an effort to avoid a strike, which the company said “could have wide-ranging consequences for our business and the economy.”

The company said the last offer it submitted to the union was “historically generous, with large wage increases, cost of living adjustments, more paid time off, additional retirement contributions, and more.”

“Unfortunately, the UAW’s counterproposal tonight showed little movement from the union’s initial demands submitted Aug. 3. If implemented, the proposal would more than double Ford’s current UAW-related labor costs, which are already significantly higher than the labor costs of Tesla, Toyota, and other foreign-owned automakers in the United States that utilize non-union-represented labor,” the company said.

Ford said it remains “absolutely committed to reaching an agreement that rewards our employees and protects Ford’s ability to invest in the future as we move through industry-wide transformation.”

Union Prepared to ‘Go All Out’

General Motors said it was “disappointed by the UAW leadership’s actions.”

“Despite the unprecedented economic package GM put on the table, including historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments. We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible for the benefit of our team members, customers, suppliers, and communities across the U.S. In the meantime, our priority is the safety of our workforce,” the automaker said in a statement Thursday.

Stellantis has not yet commented on the strikes. The Epoch Times has contacted a Stellantis spokesperson for comment.

The “stand-up strikes”—effectively staggered strikes across the various automakers’ factories—are a nod to the historic “sit-down” strikes UAW members held in the 1930s, and avoid a full walkout.

UAW President Mr. Fain said during Thursday’s press conference that the strategy will “keep the companies guessing,” and give its national negotiators “maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining.”

However, Mr. Fain warned that the UAW will go “all out” if it needs to, adding that “everything is on the table.”

He also clarified that workers who have not yet been called to join the strike will continue to work under the expired contract.

Speaking to reporters outside the Ford facility in Wayne minutes after the strike began Thursday, the union head criticized the three companies for allegedly failing to negotiate in good faith.

“They waited until the last week to want to get down to business, shame on them,” he said. Mr. Fain also said he believes it is a complete “joke” that the companies have suggested the strikes may bankrupt them.

“The cost of labor that goes into a vehicle is 5 percent of the vehicle, they could double our wages and they could not raise the price of vehicles and they could still make billions of dollars, it is a lie like everything else that comes out of their mouths.”

The union head also hinted that more strikes could take place at further facilities if the three companies are unable to meet the union’s demands.

The last time there was a UAW strike was in 2019 when the union went on strike for six weeks against General Motors. It cost the automaker $3.6 billion.

The Delaware-registered firm, Flannery Associates LLC, has spent nearly $1 billion purchasing more than 50,000 acres of land surrounding Travis Air Force Base since 2018, public records show. California Forever is the parent company of Flannery Associates, according to its new website.

It was founded in 2017 by CEO Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, and is backed by billionaires including Marc Andreessen and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

“Over the last few years, Flannery has purchased over 50,000 acres in Solano County. To date, our company has been quiet about our activities. This has, understandably, created interest, concern, and speculation,” the website states. “Now that we’re no longer limited by confidentiality, we are eager to begin a conversation about the future of Solano County a conversation with all of you.”

The website goes on to state that Solano County, like much of California, “faces many challenges, but also possesses countless opportunities.”

Over the past few years, California Forever has completed surveys and interviews with about 2,000 residents of Solano County—located between Sacramento, San Francisco, and Napa Valley, with a population of about 450,000—and their voices, according to the company, “were clear.”

“Residents want more opportunities to buy homes in safe, walkable communities. Good paying local jobs, so they can both live and work in the county,” the website states. “Better funding to improve schools, promote public safety, and reduce homelessness, as well as resources to invest in infrastructure for transportation, water, and wildfire protection.”

That is why, according to California Forever, it has raised capital from a string of investors including Mr. Andreessen and California investment firm Andreessen Horowitz, and Ms. Jobs, as well as Patrick and John Collison, Chris Dixon, John Doerr, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Reid Hoffman, and Michael Moritz, to build the new community.

‘Walkable Neighborhoods,’ Solar Farms

Those investors share the firm’s “long-term vision and belief that California’s best days are still ahead,” and are “committed to Solano and this project for the long term.”
The community will include homes, shopping, dining and schools, all within “walkable neighborhoods,” as well as solar farms and “open space,” including both “agriculture and habitat conservation,” according to the website.

It will also attract new employers, create well-paying local jobs, lead in “environment stewardship,” and fuel a “growing tax base to serve the county at large.”

Finally, the project would “protect and support” Travis Air Force Base, including by respecting Solano County’s official Travis Reserve Area, according to the company. The website comes as lawmakers have raised concerns over Flannery Associates LLC.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), whose district includes Solano County, said he met with two representatives from the company in late August to ask questions about their plans but that it was clear following the meeting that they “don’t have a plan; they have a vision.”

“The secrecy under which they operated caused consternation and concern from residents, local elected officials, and federal agencies, and while they explained their rationale, I do not believe the secrecy was necessary,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

“Solano County is a tight-knit community, and it is going to be a long road for Flannery to restore trust and move forward with their proposed vision. As one of the representatives of Solano County, I want to make sure that a group of Silicon Valley billionaires do not steal family farmers’ ability to farm their land.”

The lawsuit accuses the farmers, including Barnes Family Ranch Associates LLC and Kirby Hill Associates LLC, of conspiring to inflate the price of real estate by hundreds of millions of dollars and overcharging the company, allegedly in violation of U.S. antitrust law.

Litigation in the case remains ongoing.

Mr. Thompson, following his Aug. 29 meeting, cited additional concerns such as national security and food security, noting that a “development of the magnitude they are proposed could harm Travis Air Force Base in the long term.”

“They need to make sure that nothing they do harms Travis, puts our national security at risk, or disadvantages family farmers,” he said.

Other lawmakers including Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) have raised concerns over the plans, claiming some of the families who sold the land to the company did not want to sell to Flannery, but were persuaded with large sums of money.

Many of the families, according to Mr. Garamendi, cannot afford legal representation in the ongoing lawsuit.

Despite those concerns, California Forever insists the new project is the start of a “decades-long collaboration with Solano’s residents, elected officials and agencies, as well as the many Solano stakeholders, including Travis Air Force Base, labor, business, agriculture, educators, police, fire, conservation, and many others.”

“This is a project that must be not just designed with, but also approved by, all Solano residents,” the website states.

Masooma Haq contributed to this report. Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

Mr. Ramaswamy announced the lawsuit, filed in district court in Columbia on Aug. 1, in a statement on Twitter, now known as X.

The GOP 2024 presidential candidate accused the DOJ of having failed to “substantively respond” to his FOIA request to “uncover what White House officials, including President Joe Biden, communicated to [Attorney General] Merrick Garland and [special counsel] Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment in the classified documents case of a former U.S. President and one of Biden’s political opponents in the 2024 Presidential election.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the Justice Department for comment. The biotech entrepreneur said he is also filing a new FOIA records request for more details regarding “any similar communications” relating to the recently-issued indictment against Mr. Trump.

On Tuesday, a grand jury convened by special counsel Smith to investigate the former president and his allies’ alleged attempts to dispute the 2020 election charged Mr. Trump in a 45-page indictment (pdf).

According to the indictment, Mr. Trump was charged with both conspiring to impede the Jan. 6 congressional proceeding and of attempting to obstruct and obstructing the certification of the electoral vote. He is also charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The indictment also lists six alleged unnamed co-conspirators, four of whom are attorneys and one of whom was a Department of Justice official.

Indictment ‘Pathetic’ Trump Says

The indictment against the former president acknowledges that all Americans, including Mr. Trump, have the right to speak publicly about the election and even claim that he won. Mr. Trump said he was also “entitled to formally challenge” the election results, the indictment states.

However, Mr. Trump, prosecutors wrote in the indictment, knew his claims about winning were false but “repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger and erode public faith in the administration of elections.”

He also allegedly “pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results,” prosecutors said.

The Trump campaign has called the new indictment “the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner and leading by substantial margins.”

‘Dangerous Precedent’

Mr. Ramaswamy, in his lengthy post on X, claimed the indictment against Mr. Trump was based on “unprecedented legal theory” citing the U.S. Supreme Court case U.S. v. Alvarez, which held that political candidates even have a First Amendment right to make inaccurate statements knowingly.

“If you’re going to indict a former president and leading presidential candidate, it better not be based on unprecedented legal theory,” he said. “Further, it’s more than a stretch to call something criminal if someone is seeking legal counsel from their own lawyers.”

“Jack Smith has created a dangerous precedent by criminalizing the behavior of Trump’s lawyers who offered him legal advice, labeling them co-conspirators instead,” Mr. Ramaswamy continued. “This jeopardizes the future of our legal system. If we fail to admit the truth, Jan 6 will just be a preview of far worse to come. We must reunite this country, but the path forward will not be easy.”

According to his lawsuit (pdf) Mr. Ramaswamy—who has vowed to pardon the former president if elected—first submitted a FOIA request to the DOJ on June 12, 2023.

The request was for “documents and records in DOJ’s possession related to the decision to bring a federal criminal indictment” against Mr. Trump after he was indicted by a grand jury in Miami on 37 felony charges, including the willful retention of national defense information and conspiring to obstruct justice. That indictment followed a separate DOJ investigation.

Mr. Ramaswamy notes that FOIAs require a federal administrative agency to “promptly make available” the requested documents within 20 working days of them being requested, except for in the case of “unusual circumstances” under which 10 additional days are granted. However, more than 30 days have passed since he first filed the FOIA, the Republican 2024 candidate said.

“The Campaign accordingly brings this suit to compel DOJ to immediately respond to the Campaign’s FOIA request and promptly disclose all responsive, non-exempt records,” the filing reads.

Mr. Ramaswamy’s lawsuit against the DOJ comes after he settled a separate lawsuit with the World Economic Forum (WEF) after accusing the organization of falsely and inaccurately associating him with their “Young Global Leaders” program.

Mr. Ramaswamy settled the lawsuit for an unknown amount and has vowed to donate the settlement money to a conservative nonprofit, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), “because it stands for American interests against the WEF agenda.”

Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times. Image by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing that the F-35 fighters and F-16 fighters and the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which was previously in the Red Sea, will be deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

This, she said, will help “defend U.S. interests and safeguard freedom of navigation in the region.”

The increased presence is in response to a “number of recent, alarming events in the Strait of Hormuz,” Ms. Singh said, pointing to two separate incidents earlier this month during which the Iranian navy attempted to illegally seize two oil tankers in waters between Iran and Oman.

One of those ships—the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss—was initially approached by an Iranian naval vessel on July 5 and harassed, according to a statement from U.S. Naval Forces.

However, the Iranian ship left after a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrived on scene, the Navy said.

Approximately three hours later, the oil tanker Richmond Voyager—which was flying under the flag of the Bahamas—was also approached by an Iranian naval vessel while it was more than 20 miles off the coast of Muscat in Oman and transiting international waters toward the Arabian Sea, officials said.

Iran Opens Fire on Vessel

The Iranian vessel, according to the U.S. Navy, had tried to hail the commercial tanker to stop; at one point firing multiple shots at the vessel from both small arms and crew-served weapons.

No casualties were reported and the Richmond Voyager sustained no significant damage, officials said. However, several rounds hit the ship’s hull near the crew’s living spaces.

Much like the first incident, the Iranian navy vessel finally left after the USS McFaul arrived on the scene, the Navy said.

The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and roughly 21 percent of the world’s oil supply flows through it, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to the Navy, the United States and its partners increased the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in May amid an uptick in Iranian merchant vessel seizures.

Increased Attacks on Ships

A-10 attack aircraft have also been patrolling the skies in the area while the McFaul has remained in the Gulf region to bolster protection among shipping lanes.

Despite an increased U.S. presence, Iran has harassed, attacked, or seized roughly 20 international merchant vessels since 2021, and poses a “clear threat” to regional maritime security and the global economy, the Navy said.

Relations between both Washington and Tehran have been deteriorating amid reports that the latter is continuing to bolster its nuclear program and enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels.

Washington has been trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for months in an effort to prevent Iran from bolstering its nuclear program but has so far not reached a resolution with Tehran.

“In light of this continued threat and in coordination with our partners and allies, the department is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the strait and surrounding waters.,” Ms. Singh said Monday.

“We call upon Iran to immediately cease these destabilizing actions that threaten the free flow of commerce through this strategic waterway, of which the world depends on for more than 1/5 of the world’s oil supply,” she added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.