Movies and the real-world application of firearms have had a troubled relationship. We go to the movies to escape and to dream, so naturally, some of those flights of fancy wind up being applied to how guns are used in movies, and the hero of the movie winds up shooting 30 or so rounds from a six-shot revolver without reloading. Nice trick. In the Michael Mann film “Collateral”, Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a calculating hitman whose precise gun handling sets this film apart from typical Hollywood action. Image: Paramount Pictures For people like me, though, that sort of thing takes me out of the movie. I can only suspend my disbelief so far, so when something happens in the movie like a 30-shot revolver or a hero wasting a platoon of bad guys by hip-firing a machine gun, it takes away from my enjoyment of the movie. However, the reverse is also true. When a director and stunt coordinator take the time to do things correctly, it adds to my enjoyment of the film. A prime example of this is the iconic bank heist shootout in the 1995 movie “Heat”, where a team of bad guys storm through downtown Los Angeles…

United States ruler Donald Trump is considering a plan that would involve killing “scores of Iranian political and military leaders.” Trump has allegedly been briefed on several strike options, including a weeks-long air campaign that would lead to several assassinations. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump received several briefings on strike options, including a potentially weeks-long air campaign to “kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders,” with the end goal of toppling the government. Other options reportedly focus on nuclear and missile sites. CBS News also cited sources as saying that Trump was briefed that the U.S. military is prepared to strike Iran as soon as Saturday. The outlet added that the timeline for possible military action would likely extend beyond this weekend. In an interview with Al Arabiya aired on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US of “playing with fire” and warned that strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites could cause a nuclear disaster. Lavrov said Russia backs Iran’s right to peaceful enrichment, adding that the current tensions stem from the US tearing up the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during Trump’s first term. –RT Over the next three days, the Pentagon will be moving…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A cruise ship experienced an emergency scare off the coast of Greece this past weekend — requiring help from Greek authorities, according to the local coast guard.One passenger took to Reddit to describe a chaotic scene aboard the Celebrity Infinity cruise ship on Sunday, Feb. 15. “Lost power off the coast of Piraeus (Athens) at 3 a.m.,” the Reddit user wrote.”Saw multiple tugboats coming over. No air con (rooms are super stuffy), no lights, no running water, no flushing toilets, no hot water/coffee, no elevators,” the person continued on social media.POPULAR CRUISE COMPANY ABRUPTLY SHUTS DOWN, DISRUPTING UPCOMING VACATIONS”No ETA on fix. Heard ‘bravo, bravo, bravo’ over the announcements.””Bravo, Bravo, Bravo” (or “Code Bravo”) is a common emergency code used on cruise ships to signal a fire or another serious emergency. The Hellenic Coast Guard’s Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center told Port Authorities of Piraeus and Keratsini about “the loss of control of a cruise ship … due to a malfunction in the electrical distribution panels, in the sea area outside the port of Piraeus,” according to a translated press release.Four tugboats helped the Infinity arrive safely at the port. HAWAII CRUISE…

The U.S. Navy wants to a new anti-radiation missile with a longer range than existing weapons. The Advanced Emission Suppression Missile, or AESM, “must be compatible with existing launch platforms (e.g. F-18, F-35) and infrastructure currently supporting the Navy and Air Force’s existing inventory of anti-radiation guided missiles,” according to the Navy’s Sources Sought notice. The Navy expects to order up to 300 missiles per year, with the weapon intended to be fielded within two years after the contract is awarded, according to the announcement. The notice does not specifically mention replacing the existing AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, or HARM, which was first fielded in the 1980s and is being used today by Ukraine. Nor does it mention the new AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range, or AARGM-ER, which is now undergoing live-fire testing. However, the notice does call for an anti-radiation missile “with a longer range than existing in the Navy’s current inventory.” The HARM has a range of up to 80 miles, depending on the launch aircraft’s altitude. The AARRGM-ER is estimated to have a significantly longer range. The Navy seems concerned that its next-generation anti-radar missile should be able to target modern radar systems that…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Nearly 100 actors and filmmakers signed an open letter on Tuesday calling out the Berlin Film Festival for its “silence” on Gaza after the festival defended the right to avoid political questions.Variety revealed that at least 93 current and former Berlin Film Festival participants — including Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Tatiana Maslany and Javier Bardem — condemned the organization after festival jury head and German filmmaker Wim Wenders fielded several questions regarding the conflict in Gaza, claiming filmmaking was “the opposite of politics.””You cannot separate one from the other. We are deeply concerned that the German state-funded Berlinale is helping put into practice what Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion recently condemned as Germany’s misuse of draconian legislation ‘to restrict advocacy for Palestinian rights, chilling public participation and shrinking discourse in academia and the arts,'” the letter read.HOLLYWOOD STARS LIKE MAYIM BIALIK, DEBRA MESSING AMONG 1,200 BLASTING ISRAELI FILM BOYCOTT AS ‘ERASURE OF ART’ The letter also came after festival head Tricia Tuttle issued a statement defending actors and filmmakers who were avoiding political questions at press events.”We do not believe there is a filmmaker screening…

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Soldiers from across the U.S. Army showcased drone warfare skills and ideas in the service’s first annual Best Drone Warfighter Competition held here this week.The competition, launched on Tuesday, is an Army event sponsored by the Army Aviation Association of America. It drew over 800 attendees and competing teams drawn from every Army unit. It mirrors existing Army competitions such as Best Sapper, Best Ranger and Best Sniper, with emphasis on drone warfare. Soldiers compete in three lanes for the titles of Best Operator, Best Tactical Hunter-Killer Team, and Best Innovation. The lanes include a drone racing obstacle course, a cross-country field exercise in which soldiers pair up to take out targets, and an innovation lane which sees soldiers showcase drone technology they’ve developed to a panel of five judges. Prioritizing soldier ideas“These lanes absolutely inform and tell us what kind of skills we need to train to make them the best at what we expect them to do,” Col. Nicholas Ryan, director of Army UAS Transformation and Lessons Learned Manager at the Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence, told Military Times. The focus of the competition is not on gaining points or acclaim but developing recipes for…

This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.  It takes a lot to blow me away in this day and age, but the video footage of humanoid AI-powered robots in China that I am about to share with you truly blew me away. During the CCTV Spring Festival gala, humanoid AI-powered robots built by Unitree performed an incredibly complex martial arts routine that was simply jaw-dropping. I never thought that we would get to a point where robots could move like that. I am literally in awe of what the Chinese have been able to accomplish. What made the performance even more incredible is that large numbers of human children were also involved in the performance… Dozens of Unitree bots took to the stage at the CCTV Spring Festival gala, which is China’s most–watched TV show. Wearing red vests, the robots performed kicks, flips, and even moves with nunchucks, swords, and poles. Amazingly, their daring performance took place just metres away from human children performers. If even one of the robots had made a mistake while swinging a weapon around, the child performers could have potentially been seriously hurt. But there were no mistakes. The footage…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Wednesday declared that a historic turning point has arrived in the Americas — all thanks to President Donald Trump.”This is the equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall for the Americas, and this has been possible thanks to the courage and vision of President Trump,” she said, referencing the Maduro regime’s fall on “Jesse Watters Primetime.””As Venezuelans, we are very grateful for what he has done and are looking forward to moving along into building a democratic nation to which our children can come back.”Machado described the moment as “once in a lifetime,” arguing that the political shift underway in Venezuela could reverberate across the Western Hemisphere, leading Cuba and Nicaragua to follow in its footsteps.CIA DIRECTOR WAS IN VENEZUELA TO MEET WITH ACTING PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ, OFFICIAL SAYS “For the first time in history, we will have the Americas free of communism and dictatorship and building strong alliances of free, democratic and prosperous nations,” she said.The opposition leader, who said she is coordinating closely with members of the Trump administration and other U.S. actors, framed the transition as a breakthrough for Venezuelans longing…

It had been one week since roughly 60,000 service members rushed ashore the sulfurous outcropping that was Iwo Jima.Despite the island being barely 10 square miles in area, “assault troops,” writes the Naval History and Heritage Command, “were to be subjected to a step-by-step battle of attrition, slowly progressing from one well-defended killing zone to the next.”American air superiority by this late state of the war left the Japanese ground forces virtually unprotected, forcing them into the earth. On Iwo, a system of mutually supported network of caves, tunnels, concrete pillboxes and fortified strongpoints and artillery positions allowed for the dug in enemy to simply await the Americans. The honeycombed defensive positions often meant that naval support and Army air power were negligible, meaning that “small teams of Marines — or even individuals — armed with flame throwers, satchel charges and hand grenades (“blow torches and corkscrews”) were those who were instrumental in destroying Japanese strongpoints,” writes the NHHC.It was within these conditions that Pvt. Wilson “Doug” Watson found himself in. The 23-year-old son of an Arkansan sharecropper was an automatic rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. He had already seen combat on Bougainville in November…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The Republican National Committee (RNC) and two GOP members of Congress sued Virginia election officials Wednesday in an effort to block Democrats’ push to redraw the state’s congressional map, arguing a proposed constitutional amendment and upcoming special election violate Virginia’s Constitution.In a 48-page complaint filed in Tazewell County Circuit Court, the RNC, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith of Virginia contend that legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly would allow lawmakers to temporarily take over congressional redistricting from the state’s voter-approved independent commission.The lawsuit challenges House Bill 1384, which sets a special election on April 21 for voters to decide whether to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow the General Assembly to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts to “restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”Early voting for the special election is scheduled to begin March 6.LATINA HOUSE REPUBLICAN ASKS SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK DEMS’ BID TO ‘RACIALLY GERRYMANDER’ HER OUT OF CONGRESS The plaintiffs argue the measure was not properly adopted by two separate General Assemblies with an “intervening election,” as required under Article XII of the Virginia Constitution.The Republicans also allege the ballot language…