The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has issued a security alert advising Americans in the area of heavy gunfire amid ongoing security operations north and south of the embassy and in Croix-de-Bouquets, with government personnel halting all movements across Haiti.

President Donald J. Trump announces that he has instructed his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that “under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” though he states that he has directed Immigration & Customs Enforcement and/or Border Patrol to be “very forceful in the protection of Federal Government Property.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, traveled to the Iranian capital of Tehran earlier today and met with Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

In an email dated April 24 2009, Jeffrey Epstein asks a redacted individual, “where are you? are you ok, I loved the torture video.” To which the redacted person, possibly a senior foreign official, responds, “I am in china I will be in the US 2nd week of may.”

In an email CC’ed to Jeffrey Epstein dated June 20, 2011, Martin Nowak, an Austrian-born professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University and close confident of Epstein, said to a redacted individual that is believed to be Seth Lloyd, a quantum information scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT):

seth

we should explore the biological consequences of time travel. it would be amusing to calculate the rate of evolution of a population (or a mutant) that can travel in time.

m

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who was neighbors with Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan and claimed that he never spoke with Epstein again after finding out his “disgusting activities” in 2005, can be seen planning a trip with his friends and family to Epstein’s Little Saint James in an email dated December 19, 2012.

In the email conversation, which was between Lutnick, Epstein, and Lesley Groff - a long-time aide of Epstein - Lutnick says, “We are landing in St. Thomas early Saturday afternoon and planning to head over to St. Bart's/Anguilla on Monday at some point. Where are you located (what is exact location for my captain)? Does Sunday evening for dinner sound good? I have another couple (Michael and Marcy Lehrman) with me on my boat,” before strangely naming the number of children between the two couples and their ages, “each of us has 4 children- two 16's, two 14's, a 13, a 12, an 11, and a 7-year old.”

Top Iranian official says progress made towards launching negotiations with the United States, as talks are pushed by Egypt, Russia, Turkey and Qatar, in an attempt to prevent a full-scale conflict in the Middle East, sources tell Axios.

From: Martin Nowak
To: Jeffrey Epstein
Date: December 26, 2017

time travel

TKJ183, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with AJet flying between Istanbul and Tehran, is squawking “7700” and has declared an emergency over Central Turkey, currently returning to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul.

Four KC-135R “Stratotanker” Aerial-Refueling Tankers have departed Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar within the last hour and are heading west across Saudi Arabia. This appears to likely be a rotation by the U.S. Air Force’s 434th Air Refueling Wing, with these KC-135s either heading to bases in Europe or returning to the United States.

President Donald J. Trump spoke to reporters about Iran earlier onboard Air Force One while enroute to Palm Beach, Florida from Joint Base Andrews

Reporter: “Sir, could you give us an update on where you're thinking is right now with Iran, if you have made a final decision on what you want to do?”

Trump: “I certainly can't tell you that, but we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know. I can't tell you. I hope they negotiate something that's acceptable.”

Reporter: “Saudi Arabia's defense minister reportedly said that if the U.S. backs off a strike, that will only embolden Tehran. What's your reaction to that, sir?”

Trump: “Some people think that. Some people don't. You can make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons. They should do that, but I don't know that they will. But they are talking to us, seriously talking to us.”

“But they are talking to us, seriously talking to us.”

This is the first time I have seen Trump talk like this in recent weeks about Iran. Attempts to deescalate and push talks by Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt may have been successful, though we will have to wait and see.

Erfan Soltani, the 26-year-old Iranian man who was at risk of execution for his alleged participation in anti-government demonstrations across Iran earlier this month, and whose case received significant international attention, being mentioned directed by President Donald J. Trump, has been released on bail, his family tells the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

Top U.S. and Israeli generals met on Friday at the Pentagon to discuss tensions surrounding Iran, according to Reuters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, following Zamir’s return from Washington, during which he met with senior defense and military officials at the Pentagon, according to N12.

American airstrikes on Iran are not imminent, U.S. officials say, because the Pentagon is moving in additional air defenses to better protect Israel, Arab allies and American forces in the event of a retaliation by Iran and a potential prolonged conflict, officials tell the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. military could conduct limited airstrikes on Iran if the President were to order an attack today, officials say, but the kind of decisive attack that President Trump has asked the military to prepare would likely prompt a proportional response from Iran, requiring the U.S. to have robust air defenses in place to protect Israel as well as American troops across the Middle East.

The Trump Administration has told Iran through multiple channels that it's open to meeting to negotiate a deal, a senior U.S. official tells Axios.