Netanyahu suggests Israel can strike Iran nuke site, believed under a mountain, without US help

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly implied that his country is capable of attacking all of Iran’s nuclear facilities — even the secretive Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is believed to be buried half a mile under a mountain.

Netanyahu insisted the Jewish state “will achieve all our objectives” despite many military experts doubting that the Jewish state has the capabilities of taking out the underground nuclear facility site.

“We will achieve all our objectives and hit all of their nuclear facilities. We have the capability to do that,” Netanyahu said when asked by a reporter about Fordow specifically.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that his country can hit all of Iran’s nuclear facilities.via REUTERS

Israel has struck several Iranian nuclear sites since launching its “Operation Rising Lion” airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, including a primary facility in Natanz, as well as ones near Tehran and Isfahan.

The Israelis have also taken out over a dozen top Iranian scientists and key military brass as well.

Fordow, meanwhile, has loomed large over President Trump’s decision on whether or not the US should enter the Israel-Iran conflict.

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Israel has bunker buster bombs, but is believed to lack the heavy-duty type that could destroy Fordow.Merrill Sherman / NY Post Design

Many military analysts have said that the US is Israel’s only ally with advanced bombers within range that could carry heavy bunker-buster bombs to take the secretive site out.

However, there is some debate among analysts about whether the US can even successfully destroy Fordow with those high-powered bombs.

The president said Thursday he would make his final decision on whether to strike Iran in the “next two weeks,” because he’s still hoping for negotiations.

“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in a statement read aloud by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Thursday.

The commander in chief has faced a MAGA revolt among his base over the conflict, with prominent allies such as Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson demanding the US stay out of the rapidly escalating situation.

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Fordow is widely seen as one of the most complicated Iranian nuclear facilities to penetrate.Merrill Sherman / NY Post Design

Netanyahu said that the decision of whether the US should enter the conflict is “entirely” up to Trump.

“He’ll do what’s good for the United States, and I’ll do what’s good for the State of Israel,” the prime minister said, adding, “as the saying goes — every contribution is welcome.”

Over the weekend, Netanyahu defended Israel’s decision to attack Iran and brushed aside questions about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s testimony earlier this year that the intelligence community has assessed that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.”

“The intel we got and we shared with the United States was absolutely clear — was absolutely clear — that they were working in a secret plan to weaponize the uranium,” Netanyahu said on a special edition of Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” Sunday.

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The Israel-Iran conflict has been rapidly escalating since Israel launched its preemptive strikes last week.IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE/AFP/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“They were marching very quickly. They would achieve a test device and possibly an initial device within months and certainly less than a year,” he added. “I think we have excellent intel in Iran.”

Trump has since told reporters he believes Iran is close to a nuke in a rebuke of Gabbard. Gabbard later downplayed murmurs of daylight between her and Trump on that assessment.

For years, Netanyahu has warned that Iran was close to finishing a nuclear weapon.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity before Israel’s attack. Typically, 90% enrichment is seen as the weapons-level threshold, but scientists at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have noted that it’s easier to get from 60% to 90% enrichment than it is to get to 60%.

Iran has denied that it is pursuing a nuke, insisting it was only enriching uranium for peaceful means. However, 60% enrichment is not needed to achieve nuclear power for peaceful means.

Last week, the IAEA disclosed a 22-page unclassified report about Iran’s nuclear program that did not provide evidence that the regime was after a nuke, but raised concerns about its enrichment levels.

“The Agency has no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear programme

of the type described above in Iran and notes the statements of the highest officials in Iran that the use
of nuclear weapons is incompatible with Islamic Law,” the report said.

Skeptics have argued that Israel’s attack came in the middle of US negotiations with Iran over the theocratic regime’s nuclear program and have speculated that Israel is taking advantage of Tehran’s weaknesses after its proxies have been battered since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/19/us-news/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-implies-israel-can-take-out-fordow-without-us-help/

Chi Mayor Johnson seen nixing curfew ordinance, downtown residents concerned on 'teen takeovers'

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to formally veto an expanded curfew ordinance that passed at Wednesday's City Council meeting in the coming days, and it's raising concerns among some downtown residents that it could lead to more "teen takeovers" this summer.

Critics of the curfew say a veto could save the city from a host of lawsuits.

Residents and visitors to Streeterville have endured a pair of "teen takeovers" in the past few months, in which both times Chicago police said someone was shot. Now there is concern about what the curfew veto could mean for the community's safety this summer.

Downtown Chicago is a magnet for visitors during the summer, whether it's the ever popular Millennium Park or Streeterville, with its restaurants, shopping and nightlife. The curfew ordinance held out hope of more safety in the neighborhood. The promised mayoral veto delivered disappointment.

"Well, our concerns is that we will relive history here, and that the teens will now think that they can come back and take over the street and terrorize the residents and visitors and workers of Streeterville," said Deborah Gershbein, President Streeterville Organization of Active Residents.

The recent "teen takeovers" are the scenes that Deborah Gershbein remembers all too vividly. She was caught in the middle of one "teen takeover" in late March.

"When you have hundreds of people in one place out of control, there's bound to be problems," Gershbein said.

Mayor Johnson promised to veto the curfew bill, calling it bad public policy during a Wednesday press conference.

"To move on a policy that we already know historically leads to criminalization and incarceration. Why on God's green earth would I actually repeat the sins of those who came before us?" Johnson said.

The ACLU said the ordinance, which passed out of council 27-22, is also fraught with constitutional issues.

"It certainly would have resulted in lawsuits," Ed Yohnka said. "Almost every time we see one of these curfews put in place, we end up with lawsuits. This one was particularly egregious because it was so vague in terms of when and where it was enforced if."

Yohnka contends it's also problematic because it gives additional powers to police that they don't need to disperse crowds or arrest people for criminal conduct.

Gershbein thinks the mayor is out of touch with the reality she and her neighbors have had to deal with.

"I don't think he really listened to our concerns," Gershbein said. "He doesn't understand he needs to come and be in the midst of one of these 'teen takeovers,' and then maybe he'll understand how dangerous it is for everyone."

The mayor may veto the curfew ordinance as soon as Friday, but supporters will get a chance at next month's City Council meeting to try and override it. They will need to flip seven votes in order to make that happen.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling issued the following statement Wednesday:

"The Chicago Police Department and myself are focused on public safety. I have been clear that we will do everything in our power to prevent violence, utilizing the resources available to us. To be clear, we have always enforced the law at large gatherings and will continue to do so at all future large gatherings. Those who commit crimes or acts of violence will be arrested and held accountable.

"The curfew ordinance has become more a matter of politics than public safety. Given that this is a matter that sits within the City Council, I have no further comment. My focus remains solely on the safety of our communities and what CPD is doing to enhance that safety."

https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-expected-veto-controversial-curfew-plan-passed-city-council-teen-takeover-concerns-rise/16791839/

How To Destroy A State: Swap Out The Wealthy For Illegal Immigrants (Illinois)

 by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints

Whether they’re doing it on purpose or out of just plain ineptitude, Illinois’ political leaders have been slowly destroying this state. More recently, they’ve moved into overdrive.

What we’re talking about is all the wealth the state is giving up by pushing out wealthier taxpayers and inviting less wealthy people in. Not to mention the flood of illegal immigrants that have been “welcomed” to Illinois, many fully dependent on the state.

Not only is Illinois a net loser of people to other states, but the people leaving Illinois make far more than the people coming into Illinois, making things even worse.

The taxpayers that left – about 156,000 of them in 2022 – made on average $124,000 in income, according to data based on the IRS’ annual taxpayer migration report. In contrast, the 111,000 taxpayers that moved into Illinois made on average only $86,000.

That’s a massive $38,000 difference per person lost – a gap that has accelerated significantly in recent years. Compare that to 2010, when the difference was about $5,500. Illinois is increasingly chasing out its wealthy.

In total, Illinois lost a net 45,000 tax filers in 2022, or a total of 87,000 Illinoisans when those tax filers’ dependents are included. The state netted a similar loss of residents – about 90,000 each year – in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (see Appendix A on number of people leaving). 

The losses of wealth as a result of that outmigration have also been staggering. In 2022 alone, the state had nearly $10 billion less to tax because of resident flight (see Appendix B on the income losses). The losses to the tax base have been piling up for years.

“Don’t worry,” Illinois leaders want residents to think. “Our population has finally begun to grow again.” 

What they’re not telling you is that it’s all because of the spike in illegal immigrants.

Illinois was attracting about 25,000 (official) international immigrants a year until the Biden administration opened up the Southern border. And just like that, the number jumped to 61,000, then 93,000, and finally to 113,000 in 2024 alone.

Illinois and Chicago’s sanctuary status are sure to have played into that immigration increase.

A Wirepoints reader recently summed up the situation well: “It can’t be good for the Illinois economy when the upper-middle class and wealthy are moving out while most of the illegal immigrants may end up staying…”

He’s right. Illinois is losing people, businesses and investment, destroying its economic vitality. The state’s dismal job creation, high unemployment rate and meager economic growth – the nation’s 4th-worst since 2019 – are all evidence of that. 

Nothing will change until Illinoisans vote in a whole new class of lawmakers. Those that finally put Illinois residents first.

* * * 

Appendix A.

Appendix B.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/how-destroy-state-swap-out-wealthy-illegal-immigrants

BioNTech Attacked CureVac’s ‘Failed’ COVID Vaccine Program. The Rivals Are Now Merging

 

BioNTech said in 2022 that it faced “threats of a groundless patent infringement suit” from a company that was “unable to bring to market any product to help in the fight against COVID-19.” Now, the mRNA biotech is buying that very company.

BioNTech’s $1.25 billion all-stock acquisition of CureVac brings together two German companies that have spent the past three years trading blows in the courts. Having painted CureVac as a failed rival that was trying to profit from its success, BioNTech now faces the task of integrating the biotech’s 1,000 employees into its operations.

BioNTech and partner Pfizer set out their views on CureVac in a lawsuit in 2022, claiming they faced “threats of a groundless patent infringement suit” from a company that was “unable to bring to market any product to help in the fight against COVID-19.” The partners’ lawyers took aim at CureVac’s vaccine development woes and its decision to start legal action.

“Unlike BioNTech’s and Pfizer’s efforts, CureVac’s failed, as it was unable to develop a COVID-19 vaccine product,” the Comirnaty developers said. “After this failure, CureVac turned its attention to an attempt to profit from the success of BioNTech and Pfizer through threats of patent infringement.”

Now, BioNTech and CureVac are cozying up together. The path from scientific rivals to legal adversaries to a single company was shaped by the diverging circumstances of the two companies during the pandemic.

A 3-Year Legal Battle

BioNTech and CureVac, along with Moderna in the U.S., pioneered the use of mRNA to treat cancer and protect against infectious disease. CureVac made the early running, advancing a prostate cancer vaccine into a Phase IIb trial that failed in 2017. Three years later, COVID-19 radically changed the fortunes of mRNA.

Both BioNTech and CureVac launched vaccine development programs but BioNTech moved fastest. Boosted by Pfizer’s support, BioNTech’s candidate became Comirnaty, the best-selling COVID-19 vaccine. CureVac landed deals with Bayer and GSK, received cash from the German government and reportedly became a buyout target for the U.S. government in President Trump Donald’s first term.

However, CureVac published clinical data on its vaccine candidate months after its rivals and the results fell well short of the bar set by Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax. CureVac stopped development late in 2021 and, working with GSK, advanced a second-generation candidate into the clinic in March 2022.

Then the lawsuits started. CureVac alleged Comirnaty infringed a European patent and three German utility models in the summer of 2022. Utility models give the same rights as patents but are granted in weeks, rather than years.

The patent covers stabilized mRNA coding for a viral antigen. CureVac filed the application in 2002. One utility model, which CureVac filed in February 2021, covers a COVID-19 vaccine. The other utility models, which date back to 2015, address ways to boost protein expression. At the time, analysts estimated the lawsuit had $500 million of “potential upside” for CureVac.

BioNTech and Pfizer filed a complaint in Massachusetts around the time CureVac began its legal attack in Europe, seeking a judgment of non-infringement by Comirnaty of three U.S. patents. The action came thick and fast across the rest of 2022. CureVac added another European patent to its lawsuit. Between them, BioNTech and Pfizer filed to invalidate one patent in Germany, took action against two patents in the U.K. and requested the cancellation of the three utility models.

The legal action continued in 2023. In the first half of the year, a German court supported the validity of a CureVac patent in a preliminary opinion, BioNTech and Pfizer filed oppositions against a EU patent and CureVac submitted a counterclaim in the U.S. alleging infringement of six more patents by Comirnaty.

CureVac opened another front in the legal fight in July 2023, claiming infringement of one patent and two utility models in a lawsuit in a regional court and expanding its counterclaim in the U.S. Over the following months, courts suspended infringement rulings for two patents and three utility models.

Events began to turn against CureVac in December 2023, when a German court nullified its stabilized mRNA patent after an oral hearing. A written judgment with reasons for the nullification arrived in April 2024, followed swiftly by an appeal from CureVac. In the second half of 2024, courts in Germany and the U.K. ruled CureVac patents invalid and several utility models were withdrawn from the cases and canceled.

Yet, the story twisted back in CureVac’s favor in March of this year, when the European Patent Office declared a CureVac patent valid. CureVac won another validity decision in May. The victories teed up a hearing into whether BioNTech infringed the patents. The court was scheduled to hear the arguments on July 1. Now, BioNTech is set to neutralize the legal threat by acquiring CureVac in the all-stock deal.

Analysts were somewhat confused by the deal itself, but many noted that the removal of the litigation threat was a positive for BioNTech.

“By acquiring CureVac, ongoing litigation related to BioNTech’s mRNA technology is likely to be resolved, potentially removing the possibility of damages that could have loomed prior,” BMO Capital Markets wrote.

Integrating Rival Organizations

It is unclear what the merger means for CureVac’s programs. CureVac has said its drug candidates “face direct competition from companies such as Moderna and BioNTech.” Soon, those direct competitors will be part of the same pipeline, assuming the deal goes through.

As for CureVac’s employees, of which there were close to 1,000 at the end of last year, the future is also uncertain. BioNTech will integrate CureVac’s research and manufacturing site in Tübingen, Germany, into the larger company’s network of facilities. The integration will align with BioNTech’s ongoing group-wide transformation from pandemic warrior back to its oncology roots.

https://www.biospace.com/business/biontech-attacked-curevacs-failed-covid-vaccine-program-the-rivals-are-now-merging