EU & NATO Member State Bulgaria Tells American Military to Leave After Trump Says No To Visa-Free Travel Deal

Bulgaria’s new government has moved to terminate an arrangement that allows American military aircraft to use Sofia Airport for refueling and logistical operations, linking the decision to the Trump administration’s continued refusal to grant visa-free travel to Bulgarian citizens.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev, elected weeks ago in a landslide election, announced Friday that permission for American aircraft and personnel to remain at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport would expire at the end of June, bringing an abrupt end to an agreement approved by the previous government earlier this year.

The decision marks one of the first major foreign-policy disputes between the newly elected Bulgarian government and the Trump administration.

Radev said he personally raised the issue of visa-free travel during a recent conversation with President Donald Trump but failed to secure a positive response.

“I called for the suspension of visas for Bulgarian citizens during my conversation with the American President, but I have not received a positive answer,” Radev said.

While acknowledging the complexity of immigration and regulatory procedures in the United States, the Bulgarian leader suggested that Sofia could not indefinitely continue accommodating American requests without progress on issues important to Bulgaria.

“We also have our priorities and we cannot respond positively to the request for long stays of aircraft and tankers at Sofia airport,” he added.

Under the extension approved by the Bulgarian government, the arrangement will remain in force only until June 30.

The temporary extension is intended to provide time for allied militaries to relocate aircraft and personnel to alternative facilities elsewhere in Europe.

“We’re extending the permission until the end of June so we can give time to our allies to reschedule and find another location,” Radev explained.

The agreement currently covers up to 15 American military aircraft, associated equipment, and as many as 500 personnel.

Aircraft operating from Sofia have included Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes, and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift cargo aircraft.

Bulgarian officials, for their part, have emphasized repeatedly that the aircraft were not intended for any kind of combat missions.

Former caretaker Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov previously stated that the deployments were primarily logistical in nature and designed to support allied activities.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5901808-radev-ends-us-military-aircraft/

Graham Platner Has an ACTIVE Account on “Predator’s Paradise” Messaging App with a “Huge Child Exploitation Problem”

Days after Graham Platner announced his Maine Senate bid, his wife informed the campaign about a potential political problem she had previously discovered on the oyster farmer’s phone: sexually explicit texts with several women, according to people familiar with the matter.

Amy Gertner, who married Platner in 2023, told the campaign about messages she had found early in their marriage in the spring of 2025. In late August, as some aides were conducting opposition research on their own candidate, Gertner disclosed the texts to a campaign aide to make sure they didn’t pose a risk to her husband’s nascent campaign, those people said. The campaign had been preparing for a major rally over Labor Day weekend last year with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was set to officially endorse Platner at the event.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832?mod=e2tw

A Forbes investigation found that Kik had a “huge child exploitation problem,” while the BBC found that the app was at the center of over 1,100 child sexual abuse cases in the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2018.

But even among consenting adult users, Kik is no ordinary messenger. The platform has been described as “the app with the most severe sexual content.” Kik offers sexually explicit live chats with women, and is often found at the center of “sexploitation” cases, wherein predators coax someone to send nude photos, and then use the images for blackmail, the New York Times reported in 2016.

That report — released four months before Platner created his Kik account — chronicles a litany of heinous acts perpetrated by predators on the app, including a man who used the app to distribute child pornography, several who sent and solicited sexually explicit messages from minors, and one instance where a man attempted to kidnap a 14-year-old girl.

Kik was also where 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lowell chatted with two Virginia Tech students who kidnapped and killed her.

Interestingly, Platner joined Kik in 2016 when it had been under fire for being a hotbed for child pornography, kidnapping, and more wicked sexual activities.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/05/hits-keep-coming-graham-platner-has-active-account/

Shouldn't the people get vote on this?

US fighter jet fired missile at Iranian-bound cargo ship – CENTCOM

US forces disabled a vessel attempting to breach the blockade near the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command said

A US aircraft fired a missile at a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman while enforcing the blockade of Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.

According to CENTCOM, the Gambian-flagged M/V Lian Star ignored more than 20 warnings on Friday while sailing toward an Iranian port.

“A US aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room after Lian Star’s crew failed to comply. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said on X on Saturday.

AP reported, citing a US official, that the vessel remains adrift and that US forces did not board it.

The latest military action near the Strait of Hormuz took place as peace talks with Iran failed to produce a breakthrough – despite optimism expressed by US officials last week.

Iran closed the waterway, which normally handles around 25% of global seaborne oil trade and 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, to ships from “hostile nations” in response to the US-Israeli airstrikes launched on February 28. The US imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports a week after a ceasefire was reached in April.

The US has since disabled five commercial vessels and redirected 116 others while enforcing the blockade, CENTCOM said.

US President Donald Trump has since threatened to resume military operations unless Iran accepts his terms, which Tehran has rejected as unacceptable.

“The Army of the Islamic Republic stands firmly and resolutely against any hostile move by the enemy,” Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the deputy commander of the Iranian Army for coordination, said on Saturday, as cited by Press TV.

https://www.rt.com/news/640777-us-fire-missile-ship-iran/

Mark Levin praises Trump/Netanyahu for "courageously" launching the Iran War, then suggests the American people will be to blame if the US/Israel lose (due to our lack of "will").

https://x.com/i/status/2060902276064014431

Smotrich, far-right ministers lead largest ever Knesset delegation to New York's Israel Day Parade

NEW YORK – Far-right Israeli ministers, including Bezalel Smotrich, were among the record-size Israeli Knesset delegation marching in the annual Israel Day parade in Manhattan on Sunday.

Floats from a range of different Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, from the Jewish National Fund to the Jewish War Veterans, moved down Fifth Avenue to the backdrop of blaring Israeli pop music.

Thousands of people are taking part, while Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided to skip the event, making him the first mayor in the parade's 61-year history to do so.

The Israeli delegation, led by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, was presented as part of efforts to bolster Israel's image in the United States and counter growing criticism of the country in New York and beyond. Far-right Ministers Ofir Sofer and Amichai Eliyahu are in attendance, alongside lawmakers Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Ariel Kallner.

A group of roughly 25 protesters affiliated with Israelis for Peace and Friends of Standing Together had gathered along the parade route to protest the delegation, who one protester told Haaretz "are here doing empty hasbara while Israelis have been running to shelters for three years."

"While Gaza lies in ruins and is still under attack, as is the West Bank, as is Lebanon – they're here doing empty hasbara and feeling victorious. For what? They should be in mourning," she added.

Also among those attending are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-05-31/ty-article-live/u-s-disables-vessel-accused-of-violating-hormuz-blockade/0000019e-7b88-d618-a9be-7fefd21c0000?liveBlogItemId=1863430100#1863430100

America. Witness what our country lost in 50 yrs. 🥹💔

https://twitter.com/i/status/2060859190500069684