The 41-year-old posted a video on Instagram June 16 in which her kids Carmen, 11, and Leonardo, 8—whom she shares with husband Alec Baldwin—took turns effortlessly lifting her up off the ground, though she struggled to do the same in return.
While some social media users found the clip endearing, others proceeded to speculate about Hilaria’s weight. One commenter seemed to insinuate that the mom of seven—who also shares Rafael, 10, Romeo, 7, Eduardo, 4, María Lucía, 4, and Ilaria, 2, with Alec—was drawing attention to her petite frame, writing in quotations, “Look how light I am!”
But in response, Hilaria made it clear she was highlighting her children’s growth, writing back, “How about ‘look how strong my kids are’????”
Another user suggested Hilaria’s kids were able to carry her “because you all bones,” commenting, “Do you eat?”
Donald Trump has approved plans to attack Iran, but has not made a final decision on whether to strike the country, the BBC’s US partner CBS reports.
The US president held off on initiating strikes in case Iran agreed to abandon its nuclear programme, a senior intelligence source told CBS. Trump is reportedly considering a US strike on Fordo, an underground uranium enrichment facility in Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender, as the US president said his patience had run out.
On Wednesday, Trump said, “I may do it, I may not do it”, when asked a question about US involvement in Iran.
Khamenei rebuked Trump in Wednesday’s recorded speech, saying that “any US military intervention” would be costly and added: “The Iranian nation will not surrender.”
Trump brushed off the rejection, saying “good luck”, but again declined to disclose his plans. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
“Unconditional surrender – that means I’ve had it.”
The news of Trump backing strike plans was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Israel’s military launched more attacks on Iran, hitting missile sites and nuclear facilities. Iran said it had fired hypersonic missiles in response. No serious damage was reported in Israel.
It was Khamenei’s first appearance since Israel launched its pre-emptive strikes on Friday.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X: “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.
“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” it added.
“The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s supreme leader.”
The war of words came as Iranians continued to jam roads out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, seeking sanctuary from Israeli attacks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said in a video on Wednesday that his country’s forces were “progressing step by step” towards eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
“We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking with tremendous force at the regime of the ayatollahs. We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,” he said.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defence secretary, told a Senate committee that the Pentagon was prepared to execute any order given by Trump.
His comments came amid a build-up of American forces in the Middle East. A carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was steaming from south-east Asia to join another strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson, already in the Gulf.
Various air assets including refuelling tankers were also seen on flight trackers moving from Europe, with reports of F-22 and F-35 strike aircraft following.
The BBC understands that, so far, the US has not made a formal request to use the UK’s military bases in Diego Garcia or Cyprus to conduct strikes against Iran.
Normally, the US would first inform its ally if it intended to conduct offensive operations from those bases. A British source said it was believed “all options” were on the table in Washington but there was no complete picture of America’s intent.
The US embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday issued an evacuation plan for American citizens currently in Israel. It was unclear how many Americans were seeking to leave Israel or whether the US military would assist with the evacuation flights.
Since it launched its attack on Friday, Israel’s strikes on Iran have killed 585 people, according to Washington DC-based group Human Rights Activists, which said that 239 were civilians and 126 were security personnel.
In retaliation, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Iranian state TV warned viewers to ignore an “irrelevant” clip calling for the public to “rise up” against the regime, after an apparent hack of its satellite feed.
“If you notice irrelevant messages while watching TV, it is due to the enemy jamming satellite signals,” state TV said.
Hackers apparently broke in and broadcast a video that accused the Iranian establishment of “failing” its own people, called on viewers to “take control of your future”. It featured several clips of mass protests against the regime in 2022.
US stands on sidelines of Israel-Iran conflict, for now
The U.S. on Wednesday still had not directly stepped into the conflict between Israel and Iran, as President Trump urged Tehran to make a nuclear deal.
Trump wouldn’t directly answer a question about whether the U.S. would attack Iran but said: “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
“I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble. And they want to negotiate. And I say why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction,” he said outside the White House.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hours earlier said the United States will face “irreparable damage” if Trump joins the conflict and approves strikes against his country, rejecting the call a day earlier for “unconditional surrender.”
“It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender,” he said in a post on social platform X. “What should the Iranian nation surrender to? We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is the spirit of the Iranian nation.”
Trump later in the day claimed that the Iranians are seeking a meeting with him at the White House and left the door open to talks.
“They do want to come and see us. They want to see me in the White House. That’s a big statement, but it’s very late,” he said in the Oval Office.
The president has spoken daily with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six days into the Israel-Iran strikes.
“Look, we talk and I’d like to see everything done. I would have preferred having just an agreement, a strong agreement… it was such a shame, they were so close,” Trump added, about Iran signing a nuclear deal.
Asked if the destruction of the Fordow nuclear facility would be a prerequisite for a deal with Iran, the president stressed that he has not yet made a decision.
“We’re the only ones that have the capability to do it but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it at all,” he said.
An attack on Fordow would require the involvement of the U.S. because B-2 bombers dropping bunker busters are the only way to destroy the capabilities of a plant hidden deep in an Iranian mountain.
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Iran’s nuclear breakout time has become a key question as President Trump considers whether to bomb the Islamic regime’s key underground nuclear facility. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in justifying his unprecedented strikes on the regional rival last week, said Iran was “marching very quickly” toward a nuclear weapon. That seemed to diverge from U.S. assessments — voiced by Director of National Security …
Senators in both parties are growing increasingly nervous about the possibility that President Trump could insert the United States directly in the Israel-Iran war with a decision to bomb Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It’s not clear whether Trump has made a decision himself on an issue that divides his own party and the MAGA movement. On Wednesday, he said, “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody …
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) called Republicans pushing for U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict “war pimps,” in an interview Wednesday. CNN’s John Berman asked Burchett about the growing divide in the party between the anti-interventionists like Tucker Carlson and folks like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who advocated unequivocal support for Israel’s campaign against Iran. “Congressman, where …
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) chief Gen. Erik Kurilla has become a key player in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. As Centcom chief, Kurilla leads the U.S. military command in the Middle East — a region that has taken outsized importance in recent days as President Trump weighs whether to join Israel in striking Iran to deal a permanent blow to its nuclear program. Kurilla — who oversees military missions throughout …
President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will join the 2025 NATO Leaders Summit at the Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday June 24.
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In Other News
Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
DHS places new limits on lawmakers visiting ICE facilities
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is placing new limitations on lawmakers seeking to visit detention facilities, releasing guidelines in the wake of visits from Democrats that have turned confrontational. Members of Congress have the legal right to make unannounced visits to U.S. Immigration …
The National Juneteenth Observance Foundationwill hold the Juneteenth People’s Parade, with U.S. Colored Troops and Buffalo Soldier reenactors leading the parade from the Martin Luther King Memorial and eastbound on Constitution Ave. to the White House Ellipse, where the 257th Army Band, also known as the President’s Band, will join the marchers, at 10:30 a.m.
What We’re Reading
News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Nato summit ‘will be short and sweet’ to suit Trump’s attention span (The Times)
Trump privately approved attack plans for Iran but has withheld final order (The Wall Street Journal)
A veteran was detained by Marines. It highlights concerns over the military’s growing ties to law enforcement. (Military.com)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is facing strong pushback from members of the GOP conference over the Finance Committee’s piece of … Read more
A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday refused the Justice Department’s effort to put itself on the hook for an $83.3 million defamation award … Read more
Opinions in The Hill
Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:
Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) is one of the 10 Hot Large Cap Stocks to Buy Now. On June 11, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver raised the firm’s price target on Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) to $340 from $290, keeping an Overweight rating on the shares.
The rating update followed the company’s annual customer and partner cloud conference, held between June 2 and 5. The analyst told investors in a research note that Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) had positive conversations with partners and customers on its focused execution and expanding platform positioning, bringing a positive light to its operations and supporting the price target increase.
Josh Brown Says Zscaler Inc (ZS) ‘Dominant’ Cybersec Stock for ‘Years to Come’
An employee standing in front of a large data center, looking toward the future of cloud security.
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While the best iPad deals usually land during major sale events like Black Friday and Prime Day, many great iPad deals are attainable outside of those times. The day-to-day discounts may come and go like changing winds, but there’s often some amount to be saved, particularly on Apple’s most affordable iPad. The most recent iPad Pro and iPad Mini are also regularly discounted, as is the latest iPad Air.
It’s difficult to know where exactly you can find the most notable iPad deals unless you’re scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that’s often what our deal hunters at The Verge are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we’ve listed the best deals you can get on each iPad model that is available, from the 11th-gen entry-level iPad to the more powerful models with M3 and M4 chips, all of which are set to receive Apple’s recently announced iPadOS 16 update when it arrives in the fall.
Apple’s 11th-gen iPad only just recently landed on the scene. The new base-model tablet is a fairly iterative update of the prior model with 128GB of base storage (as opposed to 64GB) and an A16 Bionic chip, which is nearly 30 percent faster than the A14 chip found in the 10th-gen iPad. That being said, the newer chip doesn’t support the various Apple Intelligence features introduced in iPadOS 18.1 and subsequent updates. For that, you’ll want to opt for a more recent iPad Air, iPad Mini, or iPad Pro model.
Pricing-wise, the new iPad starts at $349 with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage. You can also upgrade to 256GB or 512GB of storage for an additional $100 or $200, respectively, or purchase an LTE model starting at $499. We haven’t seen significant price drops yet, although the entry-level model is currently on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and B&H Photo starting at $299 ($50 off). Alternatively, you can purchase the 256GB model at Amazon or Walmart starting at $413 ($36 off), or the 512GB variant at Amazon and Walmart starting at $597 ($52 off).
The seventh-gen iPad Mini is similar to the outgoing model but comes with faster Wi-Fi and USB-C speeds, support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and a newer A17 Pro processor with 8GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence. Otherwise, it boasts nearly identical specs and features as the last-gen model, meaning it has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, a USB-C port, and options for 5G. It may not be worth upgrading if you already own a sixth-gen Mini, but newcomers to the category will appreciate the upgrades.
The 2024 iPad Mini starts at $499 with 128GB of storage, which was the price for the previous generation’s 64GB model. Electing for 256GB of storage brings the price up to $599, and the cellular models start at $649. These are some big numbers for a small iPad, and the larger iPad Air might be worth considering if you prefer your dollar to go further with more screen real estate. But if you want an Apple tablet in the smallest possible form factor, this is where the action is.
Right now, the 128GB base model with Wi-Fi is on sale at Amazon starting at $474, a mere $15 discount. You can also pick up the 256GB variant at Amazon and B&H Photo for $549 ($50 off), or the 512GB model at Amazon for $679 ($120 off), the latter of which remains the best price we’ve seen on the largest storage configuration.
The 2025 iPad Air is little more than a spec bump over the previous model, with a few technical upgrades that should allow it to last longer than both the entry-level iPad and the last-gen Air. It features an M3 chip with support for Apple Intelligence and compatibility with Apple’s latest Magic Keyboard, which has a larger trackpad and an extra row of function keys that make the Air a more credible laptop replacement.
The 11-inch model starts at $599 and the 13-inch variant $799 — the same price as prior models — but we’re already starting to see discounts from third-party retailers. Right now, for instance, the 11-inch Air is on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo in its base configuration with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage starting at $499 ($100 off). You can also grab the 256GB model at Amazon and B&H Photo starting at $599 (also $100 off), or the step-up 512GB model at Amazon and B&H Photo starting at $799 ($100 off).
The larger 13-inch model, meanwhile, is on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo with 128GB of storage starting at $699 ($100 off). You can also pick up the Wi-Fi / 256GB model at Walmart starting at $799 ($100 off), or the 512GB variant at Amazon for $1,013 ($86 off).
The 2024 iPad Pro is a far more impressive upgrade than the latest iPad Air. The 11- and 13-inch models start at $999 and $1,299, respectively, and they were the first Apple devices to feature the company’s latest M4 chip, which brings moderate performance gains and dedicated hardware for on-device Apple Intelligence processing. The new Pro models can claim other firsts, too, such as being the first iPad models with OLED displays and the lightest Pros yet, which is true of both sizes. They also feature repositioned front-facing cameras that sit along the horizontal edge, which prevent you from looking as though you’re staring off into space on a video call.
As for deals, the 11-inch iPad Pro with Wi-Fi / 256GB of storage is currently on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo starting at $899.99 ($100 off). The sleek and super-thin 13-inch model, meanwhile, is on sale in its 256GB base configuration at B&H Photo starting at $1,179 ($100 off), or in its 512GB configuration at Amazon and B&H Photo starting at $1,369 ($130 off). Amazon and B&H Photo also have the 2TB model for $2,099 ($200 off) if you’re looking for the most storage possible to hold your apps, photos, and videos.
Update, June 18th: Updated to reflect current pricing / availability and the fact that the 10th-gen iPad is no longer readily available. Brandon Russell also contributed to this post.
When Ed Woodward was overseeing Manchester United‘s recruitment in his role as executive vice chairman, he made no secret of his view that a transfer target with a release clause in their contract made life an awful lot easier.
It was one of the things that made Antoine Griezmann attractive in the summer of 2017. Woodward knew that it would take €100 million to buy out his agreement with Atlético Madrid, and so everyone — both clubs and the player — knew where they stood.
The Griezmann deal never materialized, because José Mourinho, fresh from winning the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season in charge at Old Trafford, chose to focus his available funds on other areas of the squad. Still, the possibility of signing the France international remained on the table right until the end of the window, because, for Woodward, it would have been relatively simple to execute. You pay the money and get the player.
Woodward is long gone — resigned in 2022 — but he would have perhaps afforded himself a smile at United’s first signing of this summer’s transfer window.
Matheus Cunha will join United after the £62.5 million release clause in his contract at Wolverhampton Wanderers was triggered. The transfer will be officially completed after the international break.
It’s easy to see why United manager Ruben Amorim wants Cunha. The Brazilian excelled as an inside forward in Wolves’ 3-4-3 system — the same system also used by Amorim — and he has experience scoring goals in the Premier League. He got 15 last season and 12 the year before.
For Man United CEO Omar Berrada and director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves, there are other factors that made Cunha attractive. The release clause in the player’s contract at Molineux meant there was no negotiation over the fee, and the only talks with Wolves focused on the spread of payments.
United offered to pay in instalments over five years and then four. Wolves demanded they be paid over two years. That the agreement was announced on June 1 — the first day of FIFA’s specially introduced window before the Club World Cup — was evidence of its relative simplicity.
Like with Griezmann, United knew exactly what they had to do to get the deal done. It’s not always that easy, as Woodward often experienced firsthand when negotiating deals. He would regularly tell colleagues that the club’s business in the transfer market came with a “United tax” — a premium placed on players by opposing clubs when United, historically one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world, are interested. Former football director John Murtough made similar references.
Man United are not the only ones who face this issue. Newcastle United have become frustrated by what they believe is a “Saudi tax” with inflated quotes for players because they’re owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF. Every club with perceived deep pockets views it as a problem.
It’s not something that can be easily proven, though — if at all — and Manchester United, for their part, have often fallen into the trap of overpaying for players.
With club bosses panicked by Erik ten Hag’s start as manager in 2022, they spent more than £150 million on Casemiro and Antony in the space of seven days at the end of the window. The deals are now accepted as costly mistakes — in terms of both transfer fee and wages — from those inside Old Trafford.
Rasmus Højlund is another. There’s still some faith that the 22-year-old will turn into the prolific front-line striker they hoped they were getting when he arrived from Atalanta in the summer of 2023, but the pricey cost for his 14 Premier League goals in two years weighs heavily.
He was initially valued at around £40 million. After a tough opening round of negotiations, Atalanta were told United wouldn’t go beyond £60 million. But United ended up agreeing to a deal at more than £70 million including add-ons — a fee that the Danish international has come nowhere near justifying.
There was a stark change in policy last summer when United walked away from negotiations with Everton for Jarrad Branthwaite over what they believed to be a vastly inflated valuation.
It was no coincidence that it was the first window managed by Berrada, who was part of the hierarchy at Manchester City when they would regularly drop targets because of what they viewed as unreasonable demands. In a twist of fate, Alexis Sánchez, Harry Maguire and Fred — all one-time City targets — each found their way to Old Trafford, instead.
United sources have told ESPN that, despite financial challenges, the club have created “headroom” to bring in new players this summer by reducing the wage bill and making other savings, including through co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s redundancy program.
The message, though, is that any spending will have to be “disciplined” ahead of a season with no European football, and it’s not being ruled out that Berrada, Hargreaves and technical director Jason Wilcox could abandon their pursuits of top targets if valuations are deemed to be too high.
As United look to bounce back from their worst domestic season for more than 50 years, the pressure is on the club’s ability to recruit players.
Berrada and his team are looking to eliminate mistakes from the past to build a squad capable of moving the club in the right direction, all while walking a financial tightrope. They can no longer afford “United tax.”
Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer & Others Sue The New York Times
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times Dec. 31.
In the lawsuit obtained by E! News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set.
Saying the report was “false” and based on Lively’s CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.
“Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents[,]’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative,” the lawsuit says, “lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”
They also allege “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She has denied this.
The New York Times said it plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” it stated to E!. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
3D-printed guns could become “the weapon of choice” for criminals and violent extremists around the world, an expert has told the BBC. These DIY, untraceable firearms have been recovered in several recent criminal cases, including the alleged use of a partially 3D-printed gun in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
BBC Trending has investigated the global spread of 3D-printed guns across social media platforms including Telegram, Facebook and Instagram, as well as websites offering how-to guides.
3D-printed guns, often described as a type of “ghost” gun, are untraceable firearms that can be assembled using a 3D printer, downloadable blueprints and some basic materials. Designed to evade gun-control laws, the technology has advanced rapidly in the last decade, with the latest models capable of firing multiple rounds without their plastic components breaking.
According to Nick Suplina of Everytown, a US-based gun control organisation, 3D-printed guns could become the “weapon of choice” for people planning acts of violence: “The materials have gotten better, the cost has gone down, and the ease of access of these blueprints is at a high,” he said.
BBC Trending’s investigation began with advertisements for guns on Instagram and Facebook. In October 2024, the Tech Transparency Project, a non-profit that monitors technology companies, found hundreds of gun ads – including for 3D-printed and other ghost guns – appearing on Meta’s platforms, in violation of its policies.
Meta declined to comment on the findings at the time. Several months later, BBC Trending found similar gun adverts still showing as active in Meta’s ad database.
Meta/BBC
Many of these gun adverts directed potential customers to Telegram or WhatsApp channels. On Telegram, we found channels displaying a variety of guns for sale. Some of these appeared to be 3D-printed. One Telegram account with over 1,000 subscribers claimed to ship weapons globally.
BBC Trending contacted the account, which called itself “Jessy”, to confirm whether it would be willing to break the law by shipping 3D-printed guns to the UK. Within an hour, Jessy offered us a Liberator or a Glock switch.
A glock switch (also known as an auto sear) is a small, sometimes 3D-printed part that converts a pistol into an automatic weapon.
The Liberator, designed in 2013 by “crypto-anarchist” Cody Wilson, is the world’s first widely available 3D-printed gun, capable of firing a single shot.
Jessy claimed he could smuggle the weapon through UK customs, asked for payment of £160 in bitcoin, then suggested a bank transfer to a UK account we couldn’t trace.
When we later contacted Jessy, identifying ourselves as the BBC, he acknowledged that selling weapons in the UK is illegal but sounded unapologetic.
“I run my business, sell some straps [slang for weapons] online,” he said.
BBC Trending investigates a Telegram channel offering to sell guns
We did not proceed with the transaction to test Jessy’s claims. While his casual attitude suggested he might have been a scammer, his ability to advertise on Meta and operate on Telegram highlights apparent loopholes that real gun dealers could exploit.
When contacted, Meta told the BBC that the adverts we highlighted had been “automatically disabled in line with our policies”, and that inclusion in its ad library “doesn’t necessarily mean the ad is still live or visible”.
Telegram said that Jessy’s account had been proactively removed for breaching its policies. A spokesperson added: “The sale of weapons is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and is removed whenever discovered. Moderators empowered with custom AI and machine learning tools proactively monitor public parts of the platform and accept reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including the sale of weapons.”
Concerningly though, people seeking 3D-printed guns don’t need to buy readymade ones through social media. They can assemble their own. Models like the FGC-9 are designed using only 3D-printed plastic and repurposed metal components, with no commercially available gun parts required.
“You are essentially becoming a DIY gunsmith,” says Dr Rajan Basra, a researcher at King’s College London. However, “It’s not as easy as printing off a sheet of A4 paper in your office printer.”
As the BBC has previously reported, there are websites offering free step-by-step guides and downloadable blueprints for building 3D-printed guns.
One such guide was written by Matthew Larosiere, a gun rights attorney in Florida. He’s associated with the global pro-3D-printed gun community, which has many members in the USA who see the Second Amendment right to bear arms as a human right.
BBC Trending challenged him about why he is sharing information to help people build a lethal weapon.
He replied: “It’s just information. It’s ones and zeros. The fact that the information has a use case that makes you uncomfortable, I understand and I sympathise with that, but that doesn’t make it correct to say it’s anything more than information.”
Asked about the risk of this “information” being used in a school shooting or massacre, he replied: “I thank God that has not happened.” He cited Myanmar as a country where, in his view, 3D-printed guns have served a positive cause.
Getty
3D printers have been used by Myanmar’s rebel groups to make guns
Myanmar is currently the only known case of 3D-printed guns being used in active military conflict. The FGC-9’s use by resistance fighters against the junta has been widely reported.
But as BBC Burmese’s Hnin Mo discovered, many of these groups have since stopped using 3D-printed guns. This is despite resistance forces producing hundreds of FGC-9s in 2022 and 2023, which cost over ten times less than machine guns on the black market.
The rebel leaders Hnin Mo spoke to cited the junta’s tight control over imports of essential materials like glue and metal. Additionally, these groups now have more conventional weapons at their disposal, such as RPGs or machine guns.
The Myanmar example demonstrates the limitations of current 3D-printed guns for military use. But globally, their spread is clear. Several countries are considering laws to criminalise the possession of blueprints. There are also calls for 3D printer manufacturers to block the printing of gun parts, in the same way that conventional printers restrict the printing of currency. But whether such measures can be effective remains to be seen.
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday raised safety concerns about President Trump’s newly installed flagpoles at the White House.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” the former Trump official questioned how the president’s helicopter would continue to land safely on the South Lawn, where a flagpole now stands.
“I see a problem for where they’re supposed to land the helicopter — because this is right on the South Lawn, and I’m not really sure,” Mulvaney said in the interview when asked about the flagpoles.
“I imagine they considered this, they’d be landing someplace else, but I’m looking at this going, as the chief of staff, who’s in charge of military operations at the White House, ‘Where are we landing the helicopter without creating an increased risk for the president of the United States?’ I don’t know the answer to that yet,” he added.
The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump announced Tuesday he would be gifting the White House two flagpoles, one on the North Lawn and one on the South Lawn. Both were installed Wednesday morning.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns. It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday night.
“These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality. Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!” he added.
