Trump

  • | |

    Rubio and Bessent stayed aboard decoy jet as Trump…

    ByJustpaste.in

    Two members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet remained aboard a decoy aircraft after Trump quietly departed the plane and boarded a different flight while in Turkey last month, according to a US television network report. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stayed on what was widely believed to be Air Force One and did not join the alternate flight arranged for Trump due to security concerns tied to Iran. Trump boarded Air Force One on July 8 alongside both officials as well as members of the traveling press before slipping away via a catering truck, which transported him discreetly to a separate military aircraft. Because the designation “Air Force One” applies to whichever plane the president occupies, the original aircraft retained the call sign even after Trump had already left it, effectively turning it into the decoy. According to the report, Rubio and Bessent remained on the first aircraft in order to preserve the presidential line of succession in case anything happened to Trump during the flight. Under that line of succession, Vice President JD Vance would assume power if the president died or became incapacitated, followed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The Secretary of State ranks next in the order, followed by the Treasury Secretary. Others who stayed aboard the original aircraft designated as Air Force One included White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and White House communications director Steven Cheung. The second aircraft that carried Trump out of Ankara also included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to separate US media reports. Speaking to reporters Monday night, Trump said the decision to carry out the plane switch came from the US military and the Secret Service, who he said wanted him to travel on a different aircraft. He did not provide specifics about the nature of the security threat, saying only that he regularly receives numerous threats and that any consequential president faces the same. A request for comment sent to the White House had not been answered as of publication.

  • | |

    Trump Media charges traders up to $100,000 monthly…

    ByJustpaste.in

    More than ten firms have signed on to pay for Trump Media’s newly launched service that grants faster access to market moving posts published on its Truth Social platform, the company disclosed during an earnings call this week. The service, called Truth API, went live at the start of August and gives Wall Street traders early visibility into posts from the platform’s most influential accounts before the general public sees them. Interim chief executive Kevin McGurn said the earliest subscribers are largely high frequency trading firms, which pay between $60,000 and $100,000 a month for the access. McGurn detailed the pricing during a call held after Trump Media reported a net loss of $238 million for the April through June quarter, a figure more than ten times larger than the loss the company posted during the same period a year earlier. The steep quarterly loss comes as Trump Media and Technology Group has expanded into ventures far removed from its original media business, including cryptocurrency holdings. Despite still operating at a loss overall, the company says it intends to refocus on its core social media mission going forward. In July, the firm unveiled plans to offer Wall Street firms and institutional investors expedited access to posts on Truth Social, a platform where President Trump regularly shares public announcements. Critics have described the arrangement as a potential edge for subscribers looking to trade stocks and other actively traded assets ahead of market moving news. The initiative has also raised legal and ethical questions, particularly around the fact that a company in which the president’s family holds a majority stake could financially benefit from his own public statements reaching paying subscribers faster than the general public. In its earnings statement released Monday, Trump Media described the new offering as a service expected to generate a new revenue stream for the company. McGurn said executives believe the product will grow into a meaningful and durable source of income alongside the company’s broader media strategy, which already includes advertising and digital asset ventures. He added that Truth Media is also exploring potential partnerships with technology companies, news organizations and betting markets. The company reported revenue of $1.7 million for the quarter, an 89 percent increase compared with the same period last year, though the overall loss stemmed largely from declining cryptocurrency values. Trump Media said it closed the quarter holding total assets of $2 billion, including roughly $1.9 billion in financial assets made up of cash, short term investments and digital currencies. The firm continues to expand into new territory, including additional cryptocurrency holdings and clean energy investments. Markus Thielen, an analyst at 10x Research, described Trump Media as functioning more like a crypto holdings firm wrapped around a media company, noting that the bulk of its recent losses trace back to that crypto focused strategy. He said the company is working to diversify beyond its digital asset exposure into areas like social media services, though those newer ventures have not yet produced significant revenue. Earlier this month, Trump Media abandoned a planned partnership with Crypto.com that would have introduced prediction market features on the Truth Social platform.

  • | |

    Report details Trump’s covert aircraft switc…

    ByJustpaste.in

    President Donald Trump quietly switched planes while departing a NATO summit in Turkey last month as part of an elaborate security maneuver designed to counter a possible Iranian threat, according to a US media report. The report said Trump boarded Air Force One in full public view before being discreetly transferred to a separate military aircraft with the help of a catering truck used to shield the movement from onlookers. Journalists and some White House staff traveling with the delegation reportedly had no idea at the time that Trump had already been moved off the plane. Officials said security teams had identified a credible Iranian threat involving a possible missile strike against the aircraft. During the Ankara summit, Trump had described Iran as the country’s top target. According to the report, Trump had traveled to Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 previously donated by Qatar, but chose to depart on the older Air Force One instead, saying at the time it was “for old time’s sake.” Footage released on July 9 showed Trump boarding the presidential aircraft at Ankara airport before being secretly transferred to a smaller C-32A military jet, a modified Boeing 757 typically used to transport the vice president. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A through a separate exterior entrance as part of the effort to keep the flight’s appearance routine. Journalists and staff who boarded Air Force One were told to lower their window shades during the departure. While in the air, Trump spoke with reporters on board and acknowledged concerns about threats from Iran, though he made no mention of the earlier switch between aircraft. Explaining why passengers had been asked to keep their windows lowered during the flight from Turkey, Trump said the flight carried added risk “because of the sleazebags we have to deal with.” A previous report had already raised questions about security risks tied to the Qatari donated jet, noting that the Secret Service had urged Trump to change planes during his return from the NATO summit. The United States has spent months upgrading the $400 million Boeing 747-8 to bring it up to presidential standards, while older Air Force One aircraft carry laser based countermeasures designed to disrupt the guidance systems of incoming missiles.

  • |

    OpenAI limits GPT-5.6 rollout after government request, says restrictions shouldn’t be the norm

    ByJustpaste.in

    “We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” says OpenAI. “It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them.”