The B-2 stealth bomber strikes on Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment facility were the culmination of a 15-year secret program that monitored the site and developed a custom weapon to blow up the mountain fortress.
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Read Online  |  June 27, 2025  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

 

“The patient must combat the disease along with the physician.”

— Hippocrates

The Headlines

  • Secret Program: The B-2 stealth bomber strikes on Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment facility were the culmination of a 15-year secret program that monitored the site and developed a custom weapon to blow up the mountain fortress.
  • Planned Parenthood: The Supreme Court ruled to allow South Carolina to boot the abortion corporation from its Medicaid program. Here are the key takeaways from the consequential ruling.
  • China on Edge: As NATO leaders gathered in the Netherlands this week to unveil a historic pledge to ramp up defense spending, Beijing was watching nervously from the other side of the world, issuing a flurry of statements attacking the move.
  • Texas Gun Laws: Gov. Greg Abbott signed a series of pro-gun bills into law, including measures to block enforcement of red flag laws, ban local gun buyback programs, legalize certain restricted firearms, and broaden recognition of out-of-state carry permits.
  • 🍵 Health: Once considered villains of heart health, eggs are being re-evaluated as harmless when it comes to our hearts and as a nutrient-dense food that strengthens our muscles.

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National Editor

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Top Story

A June 25, 2025, poster from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency shows unclassified aerial images of Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant. (The Pentagon)

The Secret 15-Year Plan Behind US Strikes on Iran

The B-2 stealth bomber strikes on Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment facility was the culmination of more than 15 years of study and planning by the U.S. military and intelligence community, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.

 

The military planning began in 2009 to design a purpose-built weapon to knock out the Fordow facility, which is buried hundreds of feet underground in a mountainous region of Iran.

 

Caine shed new light on the role of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), an organization tasked with preparing bespoke solutions to destroy highly sensitive targets, including emerging weapons of mass destruction.

 

"DTRA does a lot of things for our nation, but DTRA is the world's leading expert on deeply buried, underground targets," Caine said.

 

"In 2009, a Defense Threat Reduction Agency officer was brought into a vault at an undisclosed location and briefed on something going on in Iran," Caine said, declining to identify the officer by name.

 

This officer, and another unnamed member of the agency, were then tasked to work with the intelligence community to study the construction of the Fordow site.

 

"For more than 15 years, this officer and his teammate lived and breathed this single target: Fordow, a critical element of Iran's covert nuclear weapons program," Caine said.

 

The two officers spent years studying everything from the geology surrounding Fordow, to the construction materials and other equipment arriving at the facility, so they could model the site and devise a plan.


"They literally dreamed about this target at night when they slept," Caine said. (More)

  • Forty-four soldiers stayed behind to man the Patriot missile systems defending Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar fully aware that Iran would launch missiles toward the base on June 23. Now military leadership is calling them the “unsung heroes of the 21st-century United States Army.”
  • President Donald Trump said Iran didn’t remove uranium from a key nuclear site that was bombed by the United States the prior weekend.

🏛️ Politics

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 25, 2025. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)

Key Takeaways From Supreme Court Decision on Planned Parenthood Funding

The Supreme Court ruled to allow South Carolina to boot Planned Parenthood abortion corporation from its Medicaid program. 

 

The case, known as Medina v. Planned Parenthood, focused on South Carolina’s attempt to prevent Medicaid dollars from flowing to the organization.

 

Planned Parenthood and one of its patients sued, alleging that the state’s decision violated the federal law establishing Medicaid, which allows recipients to choose their providers.

 

The Supreme Court’s ruling, however, said that patients didn’t have a clear right to sue over that provision of the Medicaid Act.

 

The justices discussed a variety of issues, including a separate law known as Section 1983 that allows Americans to sue the government over alleged violations of their rights.

 

This, in turn, sparked discussion about the history of that law and the civil rights movement within the United States.

 

Here are the key takeaways from the court’s new opinion, as well as insights on how this could impact state efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. 

 

More Politics:

  • Moderate Democrats are sharpening their economic message with new proposals aimed at lowering costs, boosting small businesses, and reviving the shrinking middle class as they offer a rebuttal to the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and seek to reset their party’s standing after major losses in 2024.
  • Immigration enforcement authorities plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a country other than his own, according to a court filing. Garcia was previously returned to the U.S. from Venezuela because of a court order prohibiting deportation to his home country.
  • The Supreme Court ruled that Texas violated the rights of a death-row inmate convicted of murder by not allowing him to sue for DNA testing he says will prove his innocence.
  • Former first lady Michelle Obama says she has no plans to return to political life but wants to stay publicly engaged on her own terms.

🇺🇲 U.S.

Texas Expands Gun Rights With Ban on Red Flag Orders, Firearm Buybacks

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a series of pro-gun bills into law, including measures to block enforcement of red flag laws, ban local gun buyback programs, legalize certain restricted firearms, and broaden recognition of out-of-state carry permits.

 

The new laws—part of a broader push by Republican lawmakers to limit government restrictions on gun owners—were among roughly 600 bills signed by Abbott ahead of a June 22 veto deadline.

 

The National Rifle Association (NRA) praised the package, calling it a sign that Abbott was “continuing to show his commitment to the Second Amendment.”

 

Among the most contentious of the new laws is Senate Bill 1362, which prohibits Texas officials and agencies from enforcing extreme risk protection orders, or red flag laws, issued by other states or federal authorities. Texas has not adopted a red flag law of its own, and supporters of SB 1362 said it is a safeguard against potential due process violations.

 

Red flag laws, or Extreme Risk Protection Order regulations, generally allow law enforcement, family members, or medical professionals to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. Critics argue that the process often occurs without the gun owner’s presence in court and can unfairly deprive individuals of their rights. (More)

 

More U.S. News:

  • Linda Sun, former aide to both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is facing fraud charges on top of previous accusations of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese regime.
  • The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the University of California system to determine whether its efforts to boost faculty diversity run afoul of federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • New York City Mayor Eric Adams launched his re-election campaign days after state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani presumptively won the Democratic primary.
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🌎 World

China on Edge as NATO Boosts Defense Spending

As NATO leaders gathered in the Netherlands this week to unveil a historic pledge to ramp up defense spending, Beijing was watching nervously from the other side of the world.

 

The Chinese communist regime issued a flurry of statements, accusing NATO of “stoking confrontation” and questioning the alliance’s intentions.

 

NATO allies at the summit agreed to dramatically increase their defense spending targets to 5 percent of gross domestic product, a significant increase from the 2 percent benchmark set during a summit in Wales in 2014.

 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sounded the alarm at the summit over Beijing’s support for Russia, its accelerating military buildup, and the rising threat of a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

 

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) criticized NATO’s push to increase defense spending.

 

“NATO countries already account for 55 percent of the world’s total military spending in 2024. Yet they’re still required to raise defense investment to 5 percent of GDP to build a ‘more lethal NATO,” a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jiakun, said during a press briefing on Jun 26.

 

“What exactly is NATO’s objective behind this?”

 

The regime appeared to be unsettled by NATO’s growing military resolve and deepening ties with Indo-Pacific nations in recent years, with Guo accusing the alliance of having a “Cold War mentality.”

 

NATO has in recent years taken a strong stance against the growing threat from China.

 

Rutte said the increase in defense spending was driven not only by a request from President Donald Trump, but also by necessity, citing the long-term threat posed by Russia, the rise of new adversaries, and growing concerns over China’s “impressive military build-up.” (More)

 

More World News:

  • The United States and China have reached an additional trade deal as trade talks between the two nations continue, a White House official told The Epoch Times.
  • GE Appliances, owned by the Chinese multinational home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer Haier Group Corp., will invest $490 million to expand its washer and dryer manufacturing plant in Kentucky, stating that the project will bring current production back to the United States from China.

☀️ A Few Good Things

📷 Photo of the Day: Head of the breeding program Manuel Gaillard holds two puppies of the Saint Bernard dog breed during a press visit ahead of the inauguration of the Barryland museum and park in Martigny, in the Swiss Alps, on June 26, 2025. The Barry Foundation is opening a unique venue dedicated to the Saint Bernard rescue dog, Switzerland's national emblem. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

📸 Day in Photos: Military Exercise in France, Navy Induction Day, and Saint Bernard Museum (Look)

 

🎙️ Podcast: Our national politics correspondent Jacob Burg walks us through the claims of the level of destruction at Iran's nuclear facilities, and what’s next for the U.S. relations in the Middle East. (Listen)

 

🇺🇲 American Thought Leaders: China’s economic spiral and the coming Taiwan war. (Watch)

 

✍️ Opinion: Trump’s Strike on Iran: Tactical Precision Meets Strategic Risk, by Tamuz Itai (Read)

 

🎵 Music: Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 3 (Listen)

 

🖊️ (Sponsored) Sign this statement to stand against Planned Parenthood and speak up for every life that has been harmed.

 

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🍵 Health

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

Eggs Strengthen Muscles and Help Prevent Sarcopenia—How Many Should You Eat 

“Eating too many eggs will raise your cholesterol.” For many years, we were warned to limit eggs in our diet. However, in 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture removed any upper limit on dietary cholesterol from its Dietary Guidelines, marking a big shift in how we view foods like eggs.

 

Once considered villains of heart health, eggs are being re-evaluated as harmless when it comes to our hearts and as a nutrient-dense food that strengthens our muscles.

 

Eggs stand out as one of the most complete and bioavailable protein sources, making them an excellent choice for supporting muscle growth and maintenance, Jodi Duval, a naturopathic physician and owner of Revital Health, told The Epoch Times.

 

“They’re a staple in my clinical recommendations for anyone working on muscle mass, strength, or recovery,” she added.

 

Egg protein is an excellent source of all the essential amino acids your body needs and is easy to digest. Thus, eggs are effective for building muscle and preventing loss, especially as we age.

 

In fact, eggs are likely the most digestible protein source—measured at 97 percent, compared with many plant proteins, which are digested at 45 to 80 percent.


Eggs are also very high in leucine, an amino acid considered to be the strongest stimulator of muscle growth and repair. For optimal muscle benefits, you need 700 to 3,000 milligrams of leucine daily. One egg contains about 500 milligrams, packed in just 72 calories, thus making it a great choice for muscle health. (More)

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