Military V-22 Osprey chopper crashes off the coast of Darwin with about 20 US Marines onboard, as rescue operation continues

Sky News Australia has learned of a military helicopter crash off the coast of Darwin, as an emergency search for unaccounted personnel begins.

A military helicopter carrying around 20 US Marines has crashed during an exercise off the coast of Darwin.

Sky News has confirmed that around 11:00am local time, the Osprey Helicopter crashed near Melville Island during ‘Predators Run’ drills, which involve personnel from Australia, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste.

Sources have told Sky News it is “possible” casualties may result from the crash, as some personnel remain unaccounted for.

The Australian Defence Force has confirmed that there were no Australians on board the helicopter when it went down.

"Initial reports suggest the incident involves United States defence personnel and that the Australian Defence Force members were not involved," the ADF said in a statement.

"At this critical early stage, our focus is on the incident response and ensuring the safety of those involved. More information will be provided when appropriate."

CareFlight jets have been spotted leaving Darwin airport for the major rescue operation and Royal Darwin Hospital is gearing up to treat any people involved in the crash.

Northern Territory Police have issued a brief statement confirming that they are "currently responding to reports of an aircraft crash on Melville Island".

Sky News understands Predators run exercises will be paused following the crash.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/military-v22-osprey-chopper-crashes-off-the-coast-of-darwin-with-about-20-us-marines-onboard/news-story/3fb371753f431a92c6bb11f1c986fc81

Farmers and conservationists ‘unite’ against Albanese government’s Western Renewables Link transmission lines

Angry farmers are fighting against a green energy policy they argue will destabilise the energy grid and threaten Victoria’s food security.

Victorian farmers are outraged by the Albanese’s government plan to install transmission lines which they argue will drastically impact their work while destabilising the energy grid.

The Western Renewables Link which will run high voltage power lines over agricultural land from Bulgana in Victoria’s west to north of Jerilderie in southern NSW.

Earlier this month farmers descended onto Victorian Parliament to protest the lines, stating that the human toll of the lines far outweighs any renewable energy transmission.

Ballarat potato farmer Katherine Myers said the 80m towers are not conducive with most farming practices, listing the limitations it poses to her farm on Sunday’s Outsiders program.

“There’s really limited options for us,” Ms Myers told Sky News hosts Rowan Dean, Rita Panahi and James Morrow.

“We are not allowed to irrigate, use any of the aerial machinery that we normally use and not allowed to use emerging technology like drones.”

She added that the serious size limitations for machinery will not only impact the ability to produce food for many farmers but also disrupt energy output in the area.

“We’ve seen the energy policy centre come out and say it's going to destabilise the grid and it's not going to let in as much renewable energy that aemo said into the grid,” she said.

“So it's actually a great white elephant that's going to compromise our food security for very little energy stability.”The Albanese government is investing $16.6 billion over a decade to transition from ageing coal fired plants to solar and wind farm energy.

The east coast grid transformation will help the federal government meet its ambitious 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.

Meanwhile the Victorian Andrews government is promising to be 65 per cent reliant on renewable energy by 2030 and 95 per cent reliant by 2035.

Ms Myers said farmers and conservationists alike were “united” against the transmission lines, adding that the plan was at odds with the Alabense government’s desire to protect the environment.

“It’s been incredibly uniting. One of the interesting projects where we’ve got farmers, conservationists, landcare groups… all standing shoulder to shoulder,” she said.

“Because they know these transmission lines aren’t good for biodiversity, they're going to cut down thousands of trees.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/farmers-and-conservationists-unite-against-albanese-governments-western-renewables-link-transmission-lines/news-story/84de065f65e4ff8a22a089980026e38b

Same script as the Netherlands

DHS hides monthly number of illegal migrants released into U.S after interacting with border agents

Who knows how many illegal immigrants are allowed to enter the U.S. after interdiction by CPB agents? The DHS does, but isn't saying. "The only reason why ICE and OFO would refuse to disclose that information is to hide the fact that it is releasing more than 100,000 aliens per month into the United States," says a former immigration judge.

Alternate headline:

GOP lawmaker calls on DHS to publicly disclose monthly totals of illegal migrants released into U.S. after interdiction

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is deliberately not releasing the monthly totals of all illegal migrants who wind up getting released into the U.S. after they are encountered by U.S. authorities at the border, a former U.S. immigration judge says.

Andrew Arthur, who served for eight years as an immigration judge at the now-closed immigration court in York, Pennsylvania, told Just the News that DHS does track the total number of migrants released after an encounter with border agents, but making that data available to the public would paint the Biden Administration in a negative light.

"The only reason why ICE and OFO [Office of Field Operations] would refuse to disclose that information is to hide the fact that it is releasing more than 100,000 aliens per month into the United States, and to conceal the effects of those migrant releases on communities across the United States," he said.

Arthur also said that DHS should be required to release the information the same way that the monthly data on encounters of illegal immigrants is posted online.

Arthur also said the "monthly court-ordered disclosures in Texas v. Biden," the lawsuit over the Remain in Mexico policy, demonstrated DHS "can provide the American people with statistics on the tens of thousands of illegal entrants that CBP encounters at the southwest border whom DHS releases" into the U.S. The agency has "refused to do so since those orders were vacated in August 2022," Arthur explained.

U.S. immigration judges, formerly called "special inquiry officers'" are not part of the federal judiciary, but rather are employees of the United States Department of Justice and report to the Attorney General.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which describes itself as "a non-partisan, public interest organization" with more than three million diverse members and supporters, said that the Biden administration is not being transparent with the public about how many migrants without U.S. legal status are being released into the U.S.

DHS should be "required to release all pertinent information to the public," a spokesperson for FAIR told Just the News. "It should be done as a matter of course because the public has a right to know. But if it requires an act of Congress, then so be it."

The office of Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-Cal.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the total number of migrants DHS is releasing should be reported to Congress on a daily basis. A spokesperson for Issa told Just the News that it's "obvious why the Biden Admin does everything it can to minimize transparency."

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/dhs-not-releasing-monthly-totals-illegal-migrants-released-us

Is the US media deliberately sabotaging a hit film about child sex trafficking?

‘Sound of Freedom’ has become an instant hit, but is being keelhauled by critics for a myriad of perceived faults

US conservatives are crying foul over the hostile reception they say the media has shown for a blockbuster movie about child sex trafficking. But have they misconstrued legitimate criticism with yet another right-wing conspiracy theory?

The movie ‘Sound of Freedom’ has made waves in America. It’s a thriller based on the real-life adventures of Tim Ballard, a former DHS agent who launched Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), a nonprofit organization devoted to rescuing children from sex trafficking rings.

‘Sound of Freedom’ is one of those groundbreaking films that almost dare audiences not to like it. The gut-wrenching production by Mexican director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde throws a haunting spotlight on the child sex trafficking industry. As far as criminal activities go, human trafficking is now second only to the illegal drug trade in terms of raw profits in the US. According to data collected by the International Labour Organization, there were 24.9 million victims of human trafficking in 2016, of which 3.3 million were children. To put that stark figure another way, there are more people enslaved now, whether for labor or sex, than there were when slavery was deemed a legal trade.

Despite those sobering statistics, the sleeper hit movie has managed to attract no shortage of detractors. That should come as no surprise considering that the American heartland is fractured down the middle, with God-fearing conservatives on the one side and progressive liberals on the other in an eternal cultural war that takes no prisoners. On top of that, we are just one year away from yet another US presidential election. In other words, the venal world of politics has successfully derailed the crucial message of this film, which is simply the protection of children, who, it goes without saying, are equally precious to Democrats and Republicans alike.

https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/581777-us-sound-of-freedom-film/