President Donald Trump ripped into the United Kingdom on Tuesday for its plan to cede control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. 
Trump said that the deal showed “weakness” to Russia and China and would endanger a key American military base located on the island of Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands. Last year, the United Kingdom inked a deal to hand control of the islands over to Mauritius. At the time, the agreement was supported by the Trump administration. 
“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115926047595803521">wrote</a> on Truth Social. “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.”
Trump said that the deal showed the strategic necessity of the United States acquiring Greenland. 
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING,” he added. 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that same reasoning during an appearance at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday. 
“The U.K. is signing the island over to Mauritius. So again, I can see why the president believes that for U.S. engagement we do not want another Diego Garcia on our hands,” Bessent said, referring to Trump’s Greenland aspirations. 
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his &#8220;position hasn&#8217;t changed on Diego Garcia or on the treaty that&#8217;s been signed.&#8221;
The Naval base on Diego Garcia <a href="https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSF-Diego-Garcia/About/About-Diego-Garcia/">provides</a> logistical support to American forces deployed for missions in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. The island is home to about 280 Navy personnel, 40 Air Force personnel, and 40 British troops. 
Trump&#8217;s State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/u-s-support-for-uk-and-mauritius-agreement-on-chagos-archipelago">previously approved</a> the agreement to return the islands to Mauritius&#8217; control. The island of Diego Garcia would be leased to the United Kingdom for 99 years. The Trump administration determined that the deal secured “the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time.

U.S. President Donald Trump Visits Scotland For Rounds Of Golf And Trade Talks

Trump Warns Of ‘Total Weakness’ In British Plan To Surrender Strategic Islands

Donald Trump

Keir Starmer

Scott Bessent

United Kingdom

The Wikipedia entry of a British-Egyptian national downplays his history of violent and antisemitic rhetoric that was spotlighted by critics after he was welcomed into the U.K. by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The first section of the Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaa_Abd_El-Fattah">page</a> for Alaa Abd el-Fattah describes him as an “Egyptian-British software developer, blogger, political activist and former political prisoner who was imprisoned by the Egyptian government for 12 years.” It briefly summarizes his history of conflict with the Egyptian government, serving stints in prison for “organising a political protest without requesting authorisation” and for “spreading fake news.”
Abd el-Fattah received a literary honor as a 2024 PEN Pinter Prize “writer of courage,” according to the page. Starmer lobbied the Egyptian government for Abd el-Fattah’s release and considered the case a top priority.
At the bottom of the introductory section, the page briefly mentions a “controversy over his past social media posts” that broke out after his arrival in the United Kingdom. The posts contained “openly racist views and incitements to violence.”
Over a decade ago, when Abd el-Fattah was around 30 years old, he posted a number of messages on what was then Twitter, calling for the death of Zionists. He also described himself as being “far from British” and described the British people as “dogs and monkeys.”
Other posts <a href="https://x.com/Adrian_Hilton/status/2005962561938657603">called</a> to “kill all foreigh [sic] journalists” and “advocate genocide against journalists.” Abd el-Fattah particularly disliked “f*cking white journalists.” He <a href="https://x.com/Adrian_Hilton/status/2005197972976664751">described</a> “white people” generally as “a blight on the earth.”
Critics, such as Ashley Rindsberg at NeutralPOV, have <a href="https://x.com/AshleyRindsberg/status/2005616773849063669">contrasted</a> Wikipedia’s treatment of Abd el-Fattah with right-wing figures such as Tommy Robinson, who the site <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Robinson">describes</a> as a “British far-right activist” with “a history of criminal convictions” in its opening paragraph.
Wikipedia entries have grown in influence with the rise of artificial intelligence. AIs appear to scrape the site for information, deeming it a trustworthy source. The site has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-anti-zionism-sentence-wikipedia-wont-let-you-touch">suspected</a> of bias against conservatives and as a path for foreign influence into American information networks. Earlier this year, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-goes-to-war-with-wikipedia-over-political-slant">announced</a> an investigation into bias and foreign interference on Wikipedia.
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Abd el-Fattah arrived in the United Kingdom last week after nearly two decades of run-ins with Egyptian authorities. He <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/12/28/murderer-echr-win-extremist-win-british-citizenship/">obtained</a> U.K. citizenship in 2021 through an immigration law that allows mothers to transmit citizenship to their children, even allowing him to bypass a “good character” background check that some lawmakers argue he would have failed because of his past calls for violence.
“I’m delighted that Alaa Abd el-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief,” Starmer <a href="https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2004603692197036322">posted</a> on December 26. “Alaa&#8217;s case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant the pardon.”
Starmer later <a href="https://x.com/Telegraph/status/2005338205160112392">claimed</a> to have been unfamiliar with Abd el-Fattah’s “abhorrent” past statements. Starmer <a href="https://x.com/EYakoby/status/2005663881675628799">pushed</a> for Abd el-Fattah to be released by Egyptian authorities for years after his imprisonment over “social media posts.”
Abd el-Fattah has often been described as a “pro-democracy” activist for his support of the Arab Spring protests that took place in Egypt in 2011. The protests called for democratic elections in order to install leaders affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Trump administration recently deemed certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood terror groups, including the Brotherhood chapter in Egypt that Abd el-Fattah rallied in support of. “Democracy” in the Middle East is often used to justify national and regional takeovers by radical Islamists, according to experts.
“After the Arab Spring protests of 2011 brought down dictatorships across the Middle East, many Brotherhood branches even embraced elections as a means of seeking power,” according to an October<a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/10/27/patient-extremism-the-many-faces-of-the-muslim-brotherhood/"> report</a> from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They may accept leaders chosen by the people, but their bedrock conviction remains that no government is legitimate unless it rules according to the dictates of sharia, Islamic law.”

Logo of Wikipedia

Wikipedia Buries Violent Rhetoric Of British-Egyptian ‘Human Rights Activist’

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared a statement declaring his intention to protect women and girls from &#8220;misogyny&#8221; — and was immediately met with a virtual thrashing from women and girls who say he&#8217;s already failed them with policies that protect grooming and rape gangs and give trans-identifying men access to their spaces.
Starmer addressed the issue in an X post, in which he suggested that the greatest threat facing women and girls was the misogyny being cultivated in young men by social media influencers.
&#8220;I want my daughter to grow up in a Britain where she feels safe in school, online, and in relationships. Every young girl deserves that, and every young boy should be protected from harmful misogynistic influences,&#8221; he posted. &#8220;My government is making that happen, by backing teachers, calling out misogyny, and intervening early. We can stop harm before it starts and save a generation of young men from the influence of online misogynists.&#8221;
A number quickly pointed out that Starmer&#8217;s failure to tighten immigration laws was putting more girls in immediate danger than any toxic internet culture.
&#8220;How about deporting Pakistani grooming gang members?&#8221; Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) <a href="https://x.com/RepFine/status/2001778910770458695">suggested</a>.
&#8220;Your government bends the knee to terrorists in the name of equity. You don&#8217;t care about girls or women; if you did, you&#8217;d do something about the terrorists in your country,&#8221; Twitchy&#8217;s Sam Janney <a href="https://x.com/PolitiBunny/status/2001656302703964316">added</a>.
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&#8220;Stop lecturing schoolboys while refusing to secure the border or enforce the law,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/TheBritishIntel/status/2001613317144527171">another said</a>. &#8220;British lads aren’t the problem — importing violence and then blaming our sons is cowardice, not leadership.&#8221;
One victim of an alleged grooming gang called Starmer out directly, saying, &#8220;I wanted to grow up in a Britain where CSE detectives didn’t ask me if I &#8216;consented to sexual activity&#8217; after I was abused from the age of 5. I wanted to grow up in a Britain where the police didn’t show up at my door to threaten me after I exposed their failings on TV.&#8221;
&#8220;I wanted to grow up in a Britain that didn’t prioritise &#8216;community cohesion&#8217; and &#8216;race relations&#8217; over protecting little girls from being raped and killed. I wanted to grow up in a Britain where Labour politicians like you didn’t turn a blind eye to the systemic abuse of little girls,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;I wanted to grow up in a Britain that didn’t refuse to prosecute 98.6% of rape cases. I wanted to grow up in a Britain that didn’t trade little girls for votes.&#8221;
&#8220;How dare you try and lecture us on the importance of protecting women and girls after you and your party spent decades betraying us? You are a hypocrite and a liar, Keir Starmer,&#8221; she declared.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I wanted to grow up in a Britain where CSE detectives didn’t ask me if I “consented to sexual activity” after I was abused from the age of 5.
I wanted to grow up in a Britain where the police didn’t show up at my door to threaten me after I exposed their failings on TV.
I… <a href="https://t.co/jUwvMJEo4U">https://t.co/jUwvMJEo4U</a> <a href="https://t.co/LkXp1I1qBW">pic.twitter.com/LkXp1I1qBW</a>
— Samantha Smith (@SamanthaTaghoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamanthaTaghoy/status/2002096846613746146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Britain will turn itself into a dystopian police state before it admits that its problems stem from mass Muslim immigration,&#8221; The Federalist&#8217;s John Daniel Davidson <a href="https://x.com/johnddavidson/status/2001689563388125326">concluded</a>.
Author J.K. Rowling took the argument in another direction, <a href="https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/2002090766223462862">registering her disgust</a> with Starmer&#8217;s position on trans issues: &#8220;I want my daughters to live in a country where their right to single-sex spaces isn’t under attack from their own government.&#8221;
&#8220;Despite being married to a woman and the father to a daughter, you still required the Supreme Court to tell you what a woman is. That makes you one of two things; stupid, or a coward. In either circumstance, to think you can be trusted with the safety of women and girls in this country is laughable,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/FFS_WhatNow/status/2001718390919254290">another said</a>.
Carla Lockhart, MP, <a href="https://x.com/carlalockhart/status/2001996714069139801">added</a>, &#8220;Perhaps you can begin by ensuring that your daughter can have female only toilets, changing rooms and spaces. The Supreme Court was clear. Because of Labour a court had to rule on something so plain and obvious to us all. Now act on the Supreme Court ruling and stop your Ministers stalling.&#8221;
Even Santa Claus weighed in with just one week to go before Christmas, declaring Starmer to be &#8220;on the naughty list.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Keir Starmer is on the naughty list. <a href="https://t.co/rinxugGAGN">pic.twitter.com/rinxugGAGN</a>
— Santa Decides (@SantaDecides) <a href="https://twitter.com/SantaDecides/status/2001738922288910344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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NATO Leaders Attend 2025 Summit In The Hague

Keir Starmer Claims He Protects Women, Gets Absolutely Thrashed By Women Who Say He’s Failed Them

Keir Starmer Claims He Protects Women, Gets Absolutely Thrashed By Women Who Say He's Failed Them

Britain

Politics

Women

Gerry McGovern, the chief creative officer behind the disastrous Jaguar rebranding campaign, has reportedly been fired from the company just months after the new CEO took over, as originally <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/jlr-axes-design-boss-gerry-mcgovern">reported</a> by U.K.-based outlet Autocar.
McGovern was a 20-year veteran of the company and, per the outlet, was the main force behind the failed avant-garde marketing campaign that received mostly negative reviews from consumers. 
The shakeup comes just months after the car manufacturer appointed Indian national PB Balaji as chief executive officer following the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jaguar-ceo-steps-down-months-after-woke-rebrand-commercial-went-viral">departure</a> of Adrian Mardell.
The ad campaign for Jaguar sparked massive criticism online following its November 2024 release. The “Copy Nothing” campaign included a colorful commercial of people dressed in vibrant, outlandish outfits. The characters could be seen grabbing sledgehammers, painting over the camera lens, and striking poses as the music played.
One of the chief criticisms from viewers was that the ad did not feature any cars. 
Instead, disjointed phrases such as “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary,” “break molds,” and “copy nothing” appear on the screen.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the ad, writing, “Do you sell cars?”
The social media account replied to many commenters questioning the ad, saying things like, “The story is unfolding. Stay tuned,” “We’re shifting gears, not our purpose,” and “Consider this the first brushstroke.”
The ad was part of a huge brand overhaul, which was described as going in a new EV-only direction.
Managing director Rawdon Glover complained about the backlash during an interview with the Financial Times, saying the campaign messaging was drowned out in “a blaze of intolerance” on social media. Glover also claimed that the colorful new ad was not meant to be “woke.”
McGovern defended the campaign at the time, saying, “Jaguar has its roots in originality. Sir William Lyons, our founder, believed that ‘a Jaguar should be a copy of nothing.’ Our vision for Jaguar today is informed by this philosophy. New Jaguar is a brand built around Exuberant Modernism.”
He continued, “It is imaginative, bold and artistic at every touchpoint. It is unique and fearless. We are creating Jaguar for the future, restoring its status as a brand that enriches the lives of our clients and the Jaguar community.”
Jaguar sales in Europe <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/01/business/jaguar-sales-plummet-after-botched-rebrand-ev-pivot/">dropped</a> by a whopping 97.5% following the botched rebrand as the car manufacturer transitioned from gasoline-powered vehicles to all-electric. 
The company told The Daily Wire on Thursday that they will not be commenting on the situation.

Jaguar

Man Behind Jaguar’s Controversial Rebrand Fired After Plummeting Sales

Design Boss Behind Jaguar's Controversial Rebrand Reportedly Fired After Plummeting Sales

Business

Cars

Electric cars

Wokeness

World

The United Kingdom has stopped sharing intelligence with the United States on drug boats in the Caribbean to stay out of major counter-narcotics strikes in the region.
While controlling multiple territories in the Caribbean, the U.K. has long helped the U.S. interdict drug smugglers in the open sea, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/politics/uk-suspends-caribbean-intelligence-sharing-us">reported</a>. But as the mission becomes more lethal, the U.K. no longer wants to be involved.
The intelligence blackout began over a month ago.
The Department of War has launched more than a dozen strikes on boats, killing 76 people.
Believing that the strikes violated international law, the U.K. started to worry that its intelligence was helping the U.S. locate the vessels before obliterating them.
Trump administration officials have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DepartmentofWar/videos/4345830319036573/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended</a> the strikes, saying the drug traffickers are “operating under the control” of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Some legal experts, however, have questioned President Donald Trump&#8217;s authority to act on the threats without congressional approval.
Brian Finucane, a former State Department legal adviser, recently told The Daily Wire that “the strikes are not legal” and lack justification.
“The precedent that this administration seems to be invoking are strikes the U.S. has taken over the course of the last 20-plus years in the context of the U.S. war on terror against groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS,” he said. “But those precedents are really irrelevant and a red herring with respect to the strikes we’re seeing in the Caribbean and now the Pacific.”
“For the first time, the U.S. government designated criminal entities, drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist organizations,” he explained. “But those assertions seem to be undermined by the U.S. Intelligence community.”
Dr. Nicholas Creel, law professor at Georgia College and State University, believes the strikes are legal, pointing to roughly five out of 30 examples of “instances where we moved first and somebody died” where the president actually received congressional approval.
“What a lot of people lose in this is if we do agree that the president has the authority to respond to attacks, who is it that gets to define an attack is? It has to be the president,” Creel said. “It necessarily cannot be Congress.”
“That’s why we chose this word to give the president the authority to respond to these attacks so it has to be that decides what this attack is. And if you or I think this is not an attack, fine, but we’re not the president.”
He continued: “Pretty much every president since FDR would have to have been said to have acted unconstitutionally in terms of the war powers, which seems a bit odd. If it’s that common a practice, is it really, I mean, just because people are doing it doesn’t mean it’s legal, but at the same time, if everybody is basically doing it? Is it really illegal?”

Trump/Starmer

UK Now Refuses To Share Certain Intelligence With United States Over Drug Boat Strikes

UK Stops Sharing Certain Intelligence With US Over Drug Boat Strikes

Colombia

Drugs

Venezuela

Britain’s Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles, will be booted from the royal family’s mansion and stripped of his titles, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday.
The palace said in a statement that King Charles has initiated the “formal process” to have Andrew cut from the royal family and his princely title removed. Andrew&#8217;s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will also move out of the royal residence. Their daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, will retain their royal titles, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cnveqgj957dt?post=asset%3A97fd7fc9-3787-4ae7-b696-8224c94f9697">BBC</a>.
The remarkable move comes after a time of increased scrutiny on Andrew’s relationship with the late financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has been accused of sexually abusing one of the most prominent Epstein victims, Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year to suicide. Andrew has denied the allegations.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement from Buckingham Palace <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cnveqgj957dt?post=asset%3A97fd7fc9-3787-4ae7-b696-8224c94f9697#post">says</a>.
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“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” it concludes.
Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, titled “Nobody’s Girl,” was published earlier this month. The book detailed Giuffre’s allegations against Andrew, going into graphic detail. In the book, Giuffre <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylepx85nxo">says</a> that she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions, including during an alleged “orgy” on Epstein&#8217;s island that involved the late financier, the then-royal, and eight young girls including Giuffre.
Andrew will reportedly move to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, a privately-owned property that is paid for by the king. Ferguson will make her own arrangements to reside in a private residence, as well.
Andrew had previously given up some of his royal titles. Weeks ago, Andrew gave up his title as the Duke of York. At the same time, Ferguson gave up her title as the Duchess of York.
Despite losing his royal title, Andrew will remain eighth in line for the throne.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor

Prince Andrew Will Be Stripped Of Titles, Moved Out Of Royal Residence: Buckingham Palace

General

King Charles

Prince Andrew

The plane carrying United States War Secretary Pete Hegseth diverted to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, making an emergency landing, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed.
Hegseth was returning to the United States from a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, with other NATO defense ministers when the plane made the “unscheduled landing.” Parnell shared the news in a post on X, making it clear that the situation was related to an equipment failure rather than anything more complicated, and said everyone on board was safe.
“On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield. The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,” he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield. The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanParnellASW/status/1978523799349035408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“All good. Thank God. Continue mission!” Hegseth posted shortly afterward.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
All good. Thank God. Continue mission! <a href="https://t.co/kCMmfOvHLX">https://t.co/kCMmfOvHLX</a>
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1978527712764363087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Early reports on the situation came from freelance journalist Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) and offered additional details.
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“The aircraft carrying Secretary Hegseth left Belgium and later declared an emergency (#7700) turning around over the Atlantic, heading back to the UK,” Leyden posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The aircraft carrying Secretary Hegseth left Belgium and later declared an emergency (#7700) turning around over the Atlantic, heading back to the UK. <a href="https://t.co/yd6AezOkRj">https://t.co/yd6AezOkRj</a> <a href="https://t.co/E3jZpdNkoF">pic.twitter.com/E3jZpdNkoF</a>
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) <a href="https://twitter.com/PenguinSix/status/1978515666987561259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Leyden followed that with a report stating that Hegseth’s plane — and one other that had also diverted — landed a short time later at RAF Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force station near Suffolk, England.
“Secretary Hegseth’s SAM 153 aircraft has landed at RAF Mildenhall. A C-17 backup aircraft that accompanied him to Belgium also diverted to Mildenhall and will likely pick him up and bring him back to the USA,” he posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Secretary Hegseth&#8217;s SAM 153 aircraft has landed at RAF Mildenhall. A C-17 backup aircraft that accompanied him to Belgium also diverted to Mildenhall and will likely pick him up and bring him back to the USA. <a href="https://t.co/jHha4OBKPh">pic.twitter.com/jHha4OBKPh</a>
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) <a href="https://twitter.com/PenguinSix/status/1978523906752352631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Pete Hegseth

Plane Carrying War Secretary Pete Hegseth Makes Emergency Landing In U.K.

Plane Carrying U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth Diverts To U.K. For Emergency Landing

Air Travel

Global Politics

Military

President Donald Trump awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, New York Attorney General Letitia James&#8217; grandniece may be a fugitive from the law, and the U.K.&#8217;s Labour Party turns to digital ID to curb illegal immigration.
It’s Wednesday, October 15, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Awards Charlie Kirk The Highest Civilian Honor</h2>
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Topline: President Trump posthumously honored Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, with the country’s highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In front of a large audience in the Rose Garden, the president presented the award to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. The event was attended by many family members, friends, and acquaintances of Kirk from within the administration, Kirk’s conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and elsewhere.
“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion. He was a champion in every way — I got to know him so well,” said Trump. “It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder. He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country, and that’s why this afternoon, it’s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Erika Kirk also spoke at the event.
“Today, we’re gathered not only to celebrate Charlie’s birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that’s freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said.
“Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment; they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man’s invention, they are God’s endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises,” she added.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Letitia James’s Fugitive Family Member</h2>
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Topline: New York Attorney General Letitia James may have sheltered a fugitive in her Virginia home for the past five years. 
James was charged with bank fraud last week for allegedly lying on mortgage papers to get a lower interest rate on a house in Virginia. While James owns the home, the current tenant is her grandniece, Nakia Thompson, and her three children, who have lived in the house since 2020. 
Thompson is officially listed as an “absconder” in the database of North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15187603/letitia-james-niece-virginia-home-fugitive.html">Daily Mail</a>. She’s wanted by authorities in Forsyth County for skipping out on her probation.
A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections said Thompson was “sentenced to probation for misdemeanor convictions for assault and battery and trespassing.” He confirmed that she is considered a fugitive from the state, but he added that because her crimes are considered low-level, she is “non-extraditable.”
Won’t stay silent: In opposition to the standard legal advice to keep quiet after being charged with a crime, James is loudly speaking out against the Department of Justice, claiming to be a victim of a political prosecution.
“We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and, yes, weaponize justice for political gain. We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” said James at a rally for New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani on Monday evening.
Limiting her ability to attract supporters to her cause, James is perceived widely on the right to be guilty of pushing the same kind of political prosecutions she is now denouncing. James campaigned for New York attorney general on a platform of investigating President Trump.
After winning her election, James eventually pursued Trump on a civil charge related to defrauding banks, though no banks claimed to have ever been defrauded by Trump. James won the case in a bench trial, and Trump was hit with a civil penalty of nearly half a billion dollars. That penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court in a major victory for the president.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.K.’s Labour Turns To Digital ID To Curb Illegal Immigration</h2>
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Topline: The U.K. recently approved a controversial new law that mandates a digital ID as a way to curb illegal immigration. Morning Wire spoke with Guy Dampier, senior researcher on nationhood at the Prosperity Institute, about the new law. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: So, Guy, a lot of frustration boiling over in the U.K. right now over immigration, and now we have this heated debate over digital ID. Let’s start with Prime Minister Starmer – he’s defending his party’s immigration policies and accusing the conservative Reform party of pushing supposedly “racist” policies. Catch us up, what’s the story here?
Dampier: The issue is Reform’s policy on residency for immigrants. &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; means that an immigrant can, after five years, get access to the same welfare benefits as a British citizen. The vast majority of people who get ILR will stay forever. That matters because in the last few years, there was an immigration wave of around 4 million people. Most of those were low-skilled and will be a drain on the taxpayer. One estimate said that it would cost around £80 billion, another said over £200 billion. Whatever the true figure is, it will be a huge cost at a time when the British economy is doing very badly. Reform have announced that they will abolish ILR, forcing those who have come to apply for new visas, which will include new checks on their qualifications and language skills. That also matters because the current rules are incredibly lax. The language test only requires that you have B1 English, which is enough to struggle through a book for small children, but nowhere near enough what you need just to read a newspaper. As most of these 4 million migrants come from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, Labour have branded it “racist.” 
Morning Wire: Now, the Labour Party has actually also admitted that this &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; law needs to be reformed. What are they suggesting?
Dampier: This is why it is so incoherent. They were calling Nigel Farage racist. On Monday, they announced policies that were not a million miles away. The Home Secretary, Shababa Mahmood, has said that immigrants who want residency will now need better English skills, no criminal record, and evidence that they have volunteered in the community to show that they are integrating. The problem for Labour is that while they want to win over voters who are upset about immigration, they don’t really believe in reducing immigration. So they end up promising things they won’t deliver, and then when they get called out, they lash out. The problem for Britain is very simple: the country has become rapidly more foreign, with over 16% of people born overseas. Most of those came in the last few decades or even the last few years. This is changing the face of the country: around 38% of school children are now from an ethnic minority group. At the same time the economy has ground to a halt. And there is increasing evidence that migrants are overrepresented when it comes to accessing welfare and committing crime. So people are asking a simple question: if we want fewer immigrants, and if immigration isn’t good for the economy, then why are politicians refusing to seriously reduce the numbers?
Morning Wire: As we mentioned at the top, we also have this new digital ID that’s supposed to help crack down on illegal workers. But that has been very controversial. How would that work?
Dampier: This is the so-called Brit card. Labour have long been advocates for digital ID. In fact, the last Labour government, over a decade ago actually introduced ID cards. But they were immediately scrapped by the conservative government which followed them. Labour are now arguing that it would stop illegal immigrants from being able to work and rent. But there is already a digital Visa verification system which is supposed to do this. It just isn’t adhered to. There’s no reason to think that this would be any different. In fact, there are many European countries which already have ID cards and still have a major problem with illegal immigration. In Germany, for example, you are supposed to carry your ID card with you everywhere. But the country has one of the highest numbers of illegal immigrants in all of Europe. This won’t really fix the problem. What it will do is add on another layer of bureaucracy and further reduce the freedom of native British people. There is also another potential danger. Paul Mason, a well-known Labour activist who is close to the senior leadership of the party, suggested that digital ID could be used to help regularise the illegal immigrants who are already here. That is somewhere between 3/4 of 1 million and 2 million people. Instead of discouraging illegal immigration, it could end up being used to reward it.

MRN_251015_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Kirk, Letitia James Accused Of Housing Fugitive, UK Advances Digital ID

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Charlie Kirk, Letitia James’ Crime Family, And UK Digital ID

Charlie Kirk

Letitia James

Media

Morning Wire

New York

Virginia

White House

A graffiti exhibition at Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest Christian structures in England dating back to 597, has many people baffled and enraged.
The newly unveiled installation by the poet Alex Vellis and curator Jacqueline Creswell includes graffiti-style messages applied directly to the stone walls of the massive cathedral. Questions such as, “What is the architecture of heaven?” and “Does everything have a soul?” can be seen in the customary graffiti style script on the walls and columns of the building.
“Why are you indifferent to suffering?” another message found beneath a stained glass window says, per <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/canterbury-cathedral-graffiti-art-hear-us-controversy-1234756433/">ARTnews</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Church of England decided this week to cover the interior of the oldest cathedral in England in graffiti in order to represent the voices of “marginalised communities.”
The Very Rev David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, said: “There is a rawness which is magnified by the… <a href="https://t.co/bQ6BYsNU2A">pic.twitter.com/bQ6BYsNU2A</a>
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewPavlou/status/1976571987381395614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Creswell explained the exhibition’s goals on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DPjR6L9gmfG/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">Instagram</a>, writing, “By collaborating with marginalized communities—including the Punjabi, black and brown diaspora, neurodivergent individuals, and the LGBTQIA+ population—the exhibition promotes inclusivity and representation. It transforms the cathedral into a space where diverse voices can be heard, validating their experiences and fostering a sense of belonging.”
The exhibition has the support of the dean of Canterbury, David Monteith, who <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/canterbury-cathedral-artwork-graffiti-drawings-b2843041.html">said</a> of the display, “There is a rawness which is magnified by the graffiti style, which is disruptive. There is also an authenticity in what is said because it is unfiltered and not tidied up or sanitized. Above all, this graffiti makes me wonder why I am not always able to be as candid, not least in my prayers.”
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Meanwhile, social media users are voicing their dismay at temporarily desecrating a house of worship.
Irish author Keith Woods <a href="https://x.com/KeithWoodsYT/status/1976595414565466254">posted</a> on X, “Was horrified to see this graffiti on Canterbury Cathedral, founded by St. Augustine [himself], then I discovered it was actually an initiative welcomed by the Church of England!”
“It’s actually stunning how much the elite of Britain hate their own culture and civilization,” Australian conservative activist Drew Pavlou wrote. “You couldn’t even invent this as satire. They are literally scrawling graffiti on the walls of ancient cathedrals. Everything beautiful is just torn down and destroyed.”
The graffiti display is scheduled to remain until January 2026.

Canterbury Cathedral

‘Horrified’: Graffiti Exhibition At Historic Canterbury Cathedral Sparks Outrage

Graffiti

London

Religion

The White House plans deep cuts to “Democrat agencies” as the government shutdown continues, a terrorist attacks an Orthodox synagogue killing two and wounding more, and Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a new political blockbuster.
It’s Friday, October 3, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you would rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Shutdown Day 3</h2>
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Topline: The government shutdown enters its third day, as the blame game continues and President Donald Trump threatens mass firings of federal employees. 
The GOP strategy: The White House wants to make the shutdown about healthcare funding for illegal immigrants. It says the Democrat proposal would result in $200 billion in subsidies going to non-citizens over the next decade, primarily through Medicaid and mandatory emergency care. The White House argues that the American people elected President Trump to cut those exact policies, and by blocking him from doing so, Democrats are denying the will of the people.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1973753810154889282">said</a>: “Trump ran on the promise to end taxpayer-funded benefits going to illegal aliens, and tens of millions of Americans voted him back to this beautiful White House to implement that promise … and now Democrats want to undo it — and they&#8217;re holding our country hostage.”
The White House says the United States will lose $15 billion in GDP revenue each week the shutdown drags on, and it wants to ensure Democrats bear the blame, posting news clips on social media describing national guardsmen going unpaid, food assistance for low-income single mothers drying up, etc.
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A number of federal websites had new banners on Thursday — the official Justice Department homepage, for example, read “Democrats have shut down the government … websites are not currently updated.” 
Trump’s austerity: The president is targeting “non-essential” federal employees for termination as part of his broader government efficiency efforts. He posted on social media that he “had a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut … I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Yom Kippur Synagogue Attack</h2>
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Topline: A knife-wielding man targeted a synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The U.K.’s counterterrorism police have deemed the attack a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/02/world/manchester-synagogue-stabbing-uk">terrorist incident</a>.”
Timeline: Authorities first received calls at around 9:30 a.m. local time about a man driving his vehicle into pedestrians outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue. The suspect, identified as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen who is of Syrian descent, then got out of his vehicle and began stabbing people around him. Authorities have confirmed that two people have been killed and four others were injured.
The suspect was shot and killed by police about 7-8 minutes after authorities were first called. 
The attack: The terrorist was not able to enter the actual synagogue because the entrance was locked and barricaded. When he exited the vehicle, he immediately encountered synagogue security and other members who stopped him.
Step back: About 30,000 Jewish people reside in Manchester – outside of London, it’s home to the largest Jewish community in the country. Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels after the October 7th attack by Hamas in Israel. In the first half of this year alone, there have been more than 1,500 reported incidents.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">“One Battle After Another”</h2>
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Topline: A new film by celebrated director Paul Thomas Anderson starring Leonardo DiCaprio is earning high praise from critics and solid numbers at the box office – but it’s also stirring up debate about its potentially polarizing political themes.
National Review contributor Giancarlo Sopo joined Morning Wire to discuss the film, “One Battle After Another.”
What is the film about? “I think to understand ‘One Battle After Another,’ you have to understand the book that it&#8217;s based on, and it&#8217;s Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Vineland.’ Essentially, it&#8217;s a story about a bunch of radicals who have gotten burned out, have attempted to attack government installations and institutions using violence. Now they are being hunted. So, it&#8217;s a satire, right? You’ve got radicals on one side, and then on the right, you&#8217;re going to have a bunch of racist, autocratic thugs, essentially, coming after them who are part of this paramilitary organization that is also tied, by the way, to a secret society of races called the Christmas Adventurers Club.”
Is it a political movie? “I think the film&#8217;s political sympathies are obviously with the progressive left. At the same time, though, I wouldn&#8217;t necessarily call it a political movie. I would look at it more as Antifa Star Wars, as a friend told me, where the politics and the radicalism is kind of used as a vehicle to tell a father-daughter story. You have this burned-out dad who spends all day smoking weed and watching ‘The Battle Of Algiers,’ bringing up a young daughter, who&#8217;s a teenager now, entirely by himself. And he&#8217;s having a hard time communicating with her. There are very funny, generational conflicts as tends to happen to those who have kids now are starting to figure that out.”
Is there any sympathy for people considered to be on the right in the film? “The thing with the movie is that no one&#8217;s really in the center, right? Or really the center left or much less the middle. It follows a set of extremists on both sides. And what the story is telling you on the political side is that these ideologies are pulling people away from what matters most to them in life, which should be their own children. There are very clear passages in the film that communicate that. I don&#8217;t think anyone is portrayed here sympathetically in the film, to be candid with you, with the exception of the teenage girl.”
&nbsp;

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Morning Brief: Shutdown Day 3, Deadly Synagogue Attack, And Leonardo DiCaprio’s New Political Movie

Karoline Leavitt

Leonardo DiCaprio

Movies

Terrorism

Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, ex-wife of the U.K.’s Prince Andrew, has been dropped from multiple charities after it was revealed that she sent an apologetic email to convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Leaked emails show that the Duchess of York called Epstein a “steadfast, generous, and supreme friend” even after publicly distancing herself from him.
Epstein had pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges in 2008 and agreed to register as a sex offender. Ferguson gave an interview to The Evening Standard in 2011, stating that she would never speak to him again. However, weeks later, she reportedly sent an email to Epstein apologizing for her previous comments and insisting that he was still her friend. 
“I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf,” Fergie said during the interview about accepting a $15,000 payment from the sex offender. “Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
In her email to Epstein, she denied linking his name to pedophilia.
“As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P (pedophile) word about you,” Fergie’s email reportedly said. &#8220;I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologize to you and your heart for that.&#8221; 
At least five charities have severed ties with Fergie since The Sun <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/royals/15224768/sarah-ferguson-jeffrey-epstein-apology-email/">reported</a> the leaked email over the weekend.
“We were disturbed to read of Sarah, Duchess of York’s, correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein,” Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, the founders of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said in a statement, per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/uk/epstein-email-duchess-of-york-intl">CNN</a>.
“She was a patron but, in the light of the recent revelations, we have taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue to be associated with the charity.”
The Duchess of York was also dropped by the children’s hospice organization, Julia’s House. 
&#8220;Following the information shared this weekend on the Duchess of York&#8217;s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia&#8217;s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity,&#8221; a spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/sarah-ferguson-dropped-multiple-charities-after-calling-jeffrey-epstein-generous-supreme-friend">told</a> Fox News Digital. &#8220;We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.&#8221;
Other charities to cut ties include The British Heart Foundation and The Children’s Literacy Charity.
A representative for Ferguson blamed the email on threats she had allegedly received from Epstein after the interview with The Evening Standard.
&#8220;Like many people, she was taken in by [Epstein’s] lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia,&#8221; the statement <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/sarah-ferguson-apologised-to-jeffrey-epstein-after-disowning-him-leaked-emails-suggest">said</a>. &#8220;She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.&#8221;
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for multiple crimes, including sex trafficking of women and minors as young as 14.

Sarah Ferguson

Charities Sever Ties With Prince Andrew’s Ex After Jeffrey Epstein Comments Surface

Charities Sever Links With Sarah Ferguson After Epstein Comments Surface

Celebrities

Jeffrey Epstein

Royal Family

Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb is set to release a new schizophrenia treatment in the United Kingdom for the same price it’s listed for in the United States, a decision that will certainly please those in the White House who have fought to get Americans the same prices offered overseas.
The announcement, made by Bristol on Monday, follows a push from President Donald Trump for U.S. drugmakers to lower prescription drugs for Americans to the greatest extent possible. Bristol’s approach to the United Kingdom market aligns with the White House’s strategy to secure lower drug prices in the United States.
The pharmaceutical company has never before brought its price for a drug to parity across the United States and the United Kingdom. Adam Lenkowsky, chief commercialization officer at Bristol, said that the drug company is prepared to pull its drug, Cobenfy, from the European nation&#8217;s market if the relevant government authorities do not agree to the price listed in the United States, at $1,850 a month.
“Our intention is to work with NICE and NHS to make this medicine available, but we are prepared to make the difficult decision to walk away if they cannot better recognize the value our medicine brings to patients and society,” Lenkowsky said in a statement.
“We agree with the Trump Administration that other countries need to pay their fair share,” he added.
Cobenfy has not yet been approved for sale in the United Kingdom. Bristol plans to file for approval in the coming weeks and expects to receive approval sometime next year, according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0913ee5f-1631-4e1b-8bd8-99ce2c9dd64f">Financial Times</a>.
Last year, the research group RAND <a href="https://www.rand.org/news/press/2024/02/01.html">found</a> that Americans pay significantly more for prescription drugs than other countries. The research pegged the inflated price at 2.78 times what is charged in other countries.
The Trump administration is determined to end that trend, and has pointed to drug manufacturers.
“The United States has less than five percent of the world’s population and yet funds around three quarters of global pharmaceutical profits,” a May 12 White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/delivering-most-favored-nation-prescription-drug-pricing-to-american-patients/">executive order</a> on drug prices says. “This egregious imbalance is orchestrated through a purposeful scheme in which drug manufacturers deeply discount their products to access foreign markets, and subsidize that decrease through enormously high prices in the United States.”
The order aims to pressure drugmakers to push for parity between prices for its drugs in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The president last week said that other countries have treated Americans unfairly when it comes to drug prices.
“For years, we&#8217;ve been paying for a pill $100 and they&#8217;re paying $10,” the president said on Fox News last week. Trump suggested he intends to pressure other countries into raising drug prices to offset the costs of making new drugs for Americans.
“The drug companies agree that I&#8217;m right, and the countries, if they don’t agree, I’ll use tariffs to get them to agree,” Trump said. “We&#8217;re going to be reducing drug costs over the next year, year and a half by not 50% or 60%, by 1,000% … You&#8217;re talking about a monumental change in health care that&#8217;s going to affect Medicare, Medicaid, even Social Security.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;For years, we&#8217;ve been paying sometimes for a pill, $100, and [other countries] are paying $10&#8230; We&#8217;re going to be reducing drug costs over the next year, year and a half&#8230; You&#8217;re talking about a monumental change in healthcare.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Pxnj8vU1hc">pic.twitter.com/Pxnj8vU1hc</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968758480476528710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>

UK Hosts President Trump And First Lady Melania Trump For State Visit – Day Three

Trump Push Pays Off: Pharma Giant Says Brits Must Pay Same Price As Americans For New Drug

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