The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several New York Times journalists after its report this week on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, according to the paper. The new jet, which President Donald Trump received as a gift from Qatar, just entered service last week. The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, the paper said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. The NYT report could not be independently confirmed and there was no immediate response from the White House or the Department of Justice. "The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects," said the paper's lawyer David McCraw in a Friday statement. The developments come after Trump flew the new Air Force One to a NATO summit in Turkey. B
President Donald Trump flew home from a NATO summit in Turkey on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet he arrived in, a surprise swap that came as the US and Iran once again began trading strikes. Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft "for old time's sake," and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the US at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by US troops. The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the US spent USD 400 million to retrofit. Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets. The swap was also announced less than a day after the US military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant ...
President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a falsified image of former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, waving before boarding an Air Force One that had been spray-painted with graffiti. It came months after another racist post by the president that showed the couple as primates in a jungle. That one was deleted after stiff, bipartisan backlash. The latest image shows the Obamas smiling and waving at the top of stairs alongside a baby blue and white presidential plane with graffiti painted on it that included the Democrat's campaign slogan "Yes We Can," "Obama" and "BLM," short for Black Lives Matter. The post also shows graffiti in Arabic on the plane that says the phrase "alhamdulillah," which means "praise be to God" or "thank God." The use of graffiti is a coded message to remind people of crime and urban decay and has been used in racist messaging against Black people in the past. Trump has a yearslong record of intensely personal criticism of the Obamas, and
US President Donald Trump unveiled a newly refurbished Air Force One jet, previously owned by Qatar, which is set to start commissioning flights before it begins ferrying the president early next month. The red, white and navy blue livery of the Boeing 747-8i luxury jet replaces the robin's egg blue exterior of the old aircraft that ferried presidents since George H W Bush during its nearly 40-year tenure. The tail of the aircraft features a wavy US national flag. "The biggest difference is the difference in size. It's like virtually double the size," Trump said at a brief ceremony at the Joint Base Andrews near here, which serves as the home for the presidential aircraft. "These are the new colours red, white, and blue. We liked the baby blue, but it was time for a change... I like the colour of the American flag," Trump said. The US Air Force said that the aircraft will soon begin "commissioning flights", its "final exam" before the plane can be used to transport the ...
Iran shot down two US military planes in separate attacks Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It was the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has "beaten and completely decimated Iran" and was "going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast." One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A US crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a US military search-and-rescue operation was underway. Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran. "No, not at all. No, it's war," he said. Separately, Iranian state media said a US.
The President declined to specify a course of action during a brief telephone interview on Friday
A shooting at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico has left one person dead and another wounded, according to military officials. The Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo was put on lockdown at about 5:30 p.m on Tuesday because of reports of an active shooter, according to a statement released by the base. The person who was wounded has been taken for medical treatment. Security officials have confirmed the base is safe and the lockdown has been lifted. "Emergency personnel are responding to the situation and there is no threat at this time," the statement said. Neither the names of the people shot nor additional details on the shooting have been released.
A red, white and blue colour scheme championed by President Donald Trump will become the new look for Air Force One, the US military said Thursday. The Air Force said a "red, white, gold and dark blue paint scheme" will be used for the updated jet that is slated to serve as Air Force One as well as other, smaller jets that routinely fly other top government officials. The military released a rendering of the new look that matches an airplane model that has been seen in the Oval Office for meetings with foreign leaders. Boeing is in the process of modifying two of its 747-800 aircraft that are slated to replace the existing fleet of two aging Boeing 747-200 aircraft that the president currently uses and that take on the Air Force One call sign when the president is aboard. In 2018, Trump directed that those new jets would ditch the iconic Kennedy-era blue-and-white design for a white-and-navy colour scheme. Instead, the top half of the plane would have been white, while the bottom,
Air Force One hit turbulence as President Donald Trump flew back to Washington from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, 11 January. During the bumpy flight, Trump joked that he was “looking for something to grab”
The new low-cost, next-gen stealth bomber strengthens flight testing and strategic deterrence as the US Air Force prepares for a fleet of over 100 B-21s
The Air Force says in a new memo that transgender airmen ousted under a recent Trump administration directive will no longer have the chance to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving their country. The memo dated Tuesday says military separation boards cannot independently decide whether to keep or discharge transgender airmen and instead must recommend separation of the member if the airman has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria when a person's biological sex does not match up with their gender identity. Military legal experts who have been advising transgender troops told The Associated Press that the new policy is unlawful, and while they were not aware of the other services releasing similar memos, they fear it could serve as a blueprint across the military. Advocacy groups say the change threatens to weaken trust in the military's leadership. It is the second policy change the Air Force has taken in recent weeks to crack down on transgender service
Under the arrangement, which officials from both countries have acknowledged discussing, Qatar would offer a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet for use as Air Force One
The royal family of Qatar is set to gift an aircraft, hailed as a "flying palace", featuring lavish interiors with private bedrooms, elegant bathrooms and a staircase, to US President Donald Trump
Donald Trump defends a reported plan to use a Qatari Boeing 747 jet as temporary Air Force One while critics raise constitutional concerns over foreign government influence
Leading with the most powerful air force globally is the United States Air Force, owing to its variety of cutting-edge aircraft like stealth fighters and strategic bombers
President Donald Trump complained Monday about the pace of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran as the two countries start a new round of pivotal negotiations. I think they're tapping us along, he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador's president. The next meeting is expected to take place on Saturday in Rome, according to a source in the Italian government who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren't authorised to speak publicly. While Iran did not specifically acknowledge the plans, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would happen in Rome while speaking to his Iraqi counterpart on Monday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency. Speaking of Iran, Trump said I want them to be a rich, great nation. However, he said these are radicalised people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon." The first round of talks over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme took place over the weekend in Om
Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near Donald Trump's Florida home Sunday, bringing the number of violations to more than 20 since the president took office on Jan. 20. North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement that Sunday's incident, which took place as Trump finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course, saw F-16s deploy flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot. Jets also conducted an intercept on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence. The airspace intrusions in the heavily congested south Florida airspace have prompted fighter jet intercepts but did not alter Trump's schedule or impact his security, officials said. NORAD says the flares may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out quickly and don't pose danger. Federal officials maintain a permanent flight restriction over Trump's club that
On Wednesday, Trump said he was not happy with Boeing for significant delays delivering next-generation Air Force One planes and warned he might pursue a new option
Trump was personally involved in negotiations with Boeing for new versions of the planes - which have been in service for three decades - during his first term
President Donald Trump toured a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday. Trump visited the 13-year-old private aircraft parked at Palm Beach International Airport. President Trump is touring a new Boeing plane to checkout the new hardware/technology," said Steven Cheung, the White House communications director. This highlights the project's failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised. Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist and the president flies on both of the more than 30-year-old planes. Boeing Inc. has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the aircraft maker has lost billions of dollars on the project. Delivery initially was set for 2024, but has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 Trump's final year in office for