2 airplanes venture too close to Trump, Mar-a-Lago for defense agency's comfort



Two aircraft flew too close to President Donald Trump's Florida estate over the weekend, prompting a stern warning from the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

On Friday, Trump left the White House to spend the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, the fifth time he has done so since his second term began in late January. Trump's presence then automatically triggered a temporary flight restriction for the area near Mar-a-Lago, but at least two pilots apparently didn't get the memo.

'Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the president.'

At approximately 8:50 a.m. on Saturday, one aircraft entered the restricted space. Then a second airplane — described as "a civilian aircraft" — violated the TFR barely 24 hours later, at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, NORAD said in a statement.

In both instances, an F-16 fighter jet from the Continental U.S. NORAD Region was forced to intervene, and according to NORAD, the second aircraft "was safely escorted out of the area."

During these incidents, flares were also used "to draw attention from or communicate with the pilot," NORAD said. These flares, though highly visible, "burn out quickly and completely" and therefore posed "no danger to people on the ground."

Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, expressed frustration about the apparent security breaches.

"Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the president," Guillot said in a statement. "The procedures are not optional."

According to NORAD, fully 20 aircraft have violated TFRs near Mar-a-Lago just since Trump took office a few weeks ago. Guillot placed the blame on pilots, claiming they are not doing their duty and keeping apprised of all notices to airmen, often referred to as NOTAMs, posted for the area, "as required by the FAA."

"Pilots, please check NOTAMs!" NORAD pleaded on X.

— (@)

The news of the apparent TFR violations near Mar-a-Lago comes on the heels of reports of an armed gunman shot by Secret Service agents near the White House early Sunday morning, when Trump was still in Florida. The suspect has been described as emotionally disturbed and possibly "suicidal."

Founded in 1958, NORAD is joint agency between the United States and Canada "charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America," according to its website. The NORAD leadership team comprises high-ranking members of the U.S. and Royal Canadian Air Forces.

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How the House secured massive spending cuts in the race for reconciliation



House Republicans passed a budget resolution through committee on Thursday, taking back the lead in the race for reconciliation.

Republicans also managed to land on a deal with seven times more spending cuts than their original proposal, and they have the House Freedom Caucus to thank. The budget calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, $4.5 trillion for tax cuts, a $4 trillion debt limit increase, and $300 billion appropriated for defense and border security.

These are all great successes for the GOP, but it wasn't all smooth sailing.

'From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it.'

After a weekend retreat at Mar-a-Lago followed by a five-hour-long meeting at the White House, the GOP leadership still had not put forth a budget proposal at the beginning of the week. At that point, the Senate had already sidestepped the House and introduced its own resolution in an attempt to move negotiations forward.

But on Monday afternoon, Blaze News first reported that the House Freedom Caucus dropped its own resolution ahead of the Republican leadership.

"Given the current delay in the House on moving a comprehensive reconciliation bill, moving a smaller targeted bill now makes the most sense to deliver a win for the American people," HFC Chairman Andy Harris said in a statement. "I am proud to introduce the Emergency Border Control Resolution today to set the reconciliation process in motion in the House."

Although the HFC's resolution wasn't advanced, it applied the necessary pressure. Within 48 hours, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) put forth the leadership's budget proposal on Wednesday, teeing it up for markup the following morning.

In a statement following the budget's passage, the House Republican leadership made clear that all factions of the GOP were taken into account during the negotiation process.

"The budget resolution has passed through committee and House Republicans have now cleared a critical hurdle to delivering on the major priorities of President Trump's America First agenda," the statement reads. "From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it."

"This is the start of the process, and we remain laser-focused on ultimately sending a bill to President Trump's desk which, among other things, secures the border, keeps taxes low for families and job creators, restores American energy dominance, and makes government work better for all Americans."

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Senate Republicans take the lead in the race for reconciliation



Senate Republicans unveiled their proposed reconciliation budget on Friday before the House was able to come to an agreement.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) called the budget resolution the "blueprint that unlocks the pathway for a fully paid-for reconciliation bill," addressing the border, the military, energy independence, and fiscal concerns. This budget is intended to serve as a blueprint for the Senate's two-bill approach, while the House is focusing on putting forward one "big beautiful bill."

House Republicans have made their own efforts to chip away at the reconciliation process.

"To those who voted for and support real border security and a stronger defense in a troubled world, help is on the way," Graham said in a statement Friday. "This budget resolution jump-starts a process that will give President Trump's team the money they need to secure the border and deport criminals and make America strong and more energy-independent."

The bill was published just hours before Senate Republicans are set to meet with President Donald Trump for dinner at Mar-a-Lago Friday night. At the same time, House Republicans have made their own efforts to chip away at the reconciliation process.

Top House Republicans huddled in the White House on Thursday for five hours, even postponing Speaker Mike Johnson's scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The day after, Johnson told reporters that reconciliation talks were still ongoing, even blaming the delays on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

"It may not be today, but it will be through the weekend," Johnson said. "We got a few more people we got to talk with and a couple more boxes to check. But we are almost there."

As of this writing, House Republicans have not put forward their own budget proposal.

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Eric Adams meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago as questions swirl about possible pardon



New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has reportedly flown down to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

On Thursday, Adams' office issued a statement confirming the meeting. "Tomorrow, Mayor Adams will sit down with President-elect Trump and discuss New Yorkers’ priorities. The mayor looks forward to having a productive conversation with the incoming president on how we can move our city and country forward," said the statement from New York City deputy mayor for communications Fabien Levy.

Adams has signaled a possible alliance with Trump in recent weeks, voicing agreement with some of Trump's immigration-related plans and meeting with incoming border czar Tom Homan. The statement from Levy reiterated Adams' "willingness" to work with Trump "on behalf of New Yorkers."

"That partnership with the federal government is critical to New York City's success," the statement added.

At this meeting, Adams and Trump are slated to discuss gang-related issues, the New York Post reported. MSNBC indicated that taxpayers likely covered the cost of the trip.

'Pardon me?'

The meeting comes just days before Trump is to be sworn back into the Oval Office, which means he will once again have the power to levy pardons. Adams may soon be in need of a pardon now that he has been indicted on federal charges related to wire fraud and bribery in connection with alleged favors from the Turkish government.

Trump has previously expressed sympathy for Adams' situation, claiming that federal agents targeted him for publicly criticizing President Joe Biden's handling of the immigration crisis.

When asked whether he would consider pardoning Adams, Trump replied in the affirmative. "Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly," he said at a press conference last month. Trump also added: "I would have to see it because I don't know the facts."

Despite Adams' legal trouble, his office insisted that Adams and Trump did not discuss a possible pardon at the meeting on Friday.

Still, a couple of Adams' opponents in the upcoming NYC Democratic mayoral primary have pounced on the meeting, implying that Adams has cozied up to Trump to secure a pardon.

"Pardon me? The Trump agenda is not going to help move our city or the country forward. This pilgrimage is clearly about something else," state Sen. Zellnor Myrie posted to X.

"Eric Adams should state immediately that he will not seek or accept a pardon from Donald Trump," said New York City comptroller Brad Lander.

"New Yorkers deserve to know that their Mayor is putting their interests ahead of his own—and whether our tax dollars, or Turkish Airlines, will be financing his trip to Florida."

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Sen. Fetterman breaks with Democrats, agrees to join Trump at Mar-a-Lago



President-elect Donald Trump has invited Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) to join him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and the senator has accepted the invitation, multiple reports say.

"That is the plan. Yes, we are going to have a conversation," Fetterman told CBS News.

"President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I'm the senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania," he said in a statement, according to WGAL.

'Regardless of whatever comes up, that's going to be part of the conversation.'

No date for the meeting has been released, and a transition official claimed to CBS News that plans could still change.

However, if Fetterman ever does go to Mar-a-Lago, he will be the first sitting Democrat U.S. senator to do so. Fetterman hinted at the anomaly in his statement, noting, "I've been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation."

Fetterman has broken ranks with his party on a number of occasions, particularly with his unwavering support for Israel. Then just this week, he expressed support for the Laken Riley Act, which nearly 160 of his Democrat colleagues in the House voted against.

He also seems to approve of Trump's determination to acquire Greenland in some capacity. "There’s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example. And I know a lot of, there’s a lot of freakouts, you know. And of course, I would never support taking it by force, but I do think it’s a responsible conversation, if they were open to acquiring it," he said, according to NJ.com.

Fetterman has demonstrated such a willingness to reach across the aisle that on Tuesday, noted Trump ally Elon Musk called him "based and truthful."

Perhaps one of the reasons for the invite to Mar-a-Lago was to give Trump the chance to persuade Fetterman to support some of his Cabinet picks, especially Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, CBS News suggested.

When pressed about what he expects to discuss with the once and future president during the meeting, Fetterman was vague: "I have no idea what's going to exactly come up. So, I mean, regardless of whatever comes up, that's going to be part of the conversation."

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