Feb 12 Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon from punishing Sen. Kelly for call to resist unlawful orders By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials violated Kelly's First Amendment free speech rights and “threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees.”… Continue reading
Feb 09 U.S. military boards sanctioned oil tanker after pursuit from Caribbean to Indian Ocean By Ben Finley, Michael Biesecker, Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Following the U.S. raid to apprehend then-President Nicolás Maduro in early January, several sanctioned tankers fled the Venezuelan coast, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight. Continue reading
Jan 16 Defense Department says military newspaper Stars and Stripes must eliminate 'woke distractions' By David Bauder, Associated Press Stars and Stripes traces its lineage to the Civil War and has reported news about the military either in its newspaper or online steadily since World War II, largely to an audience of service members stationed overseas. Roughly half of… Continue reading
Jan 13 Pentagon embraces Musk's Grok AI chatbot as it draws global outcry By Konstantin Toropin, David Klepper, Associated Press The announcement comes just days after Grok — which is embedded into X, the social media network owned by Musk — drew global outcry and scrutiny for generating highly sexualized deepfake images of people without their consent. Continue reading
Jan 12 Sen. Kelly sues the Pentagon over Trump administration attempts to punish him By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press Sen. Mark Kelly asked the federal court in Washington, D.C., to rule that the censure letter, the proceedings about his rank and any other punishments against him are “unlawful and unconstitutional."… Continue reading
Jan 06 Trump administration thanks the media for keeping quiet before the strike that captured Maduro By David Bauder, Associated Press That came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It contrasts with the consistent posture of Pete Hegseth's Defense Department, which has been at odds with the media. Continue reading
Jan 05 Hegseth issues letter of censure to Sen. Kelly after warning about following illegal orders By Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Hegseth said that the censure was "a necessary process step" to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly's retired rank of captain in the U.S. Navy. Continue reading
Dec 19 Hegseth announces operation to 'eliminate ISIS fighters' in Syria after Americans killed By Konstantin Toropin, Ben Finley, Aamer Madhani, Associated Press Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the start of an operation to “eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” in Syria following the deaths of three U.S. citizens. Continue reading
Dec 17 Senate passes $901 billion military spending bill, pushing Hegseth for boat strike video By Stephen Groves, Associated Press The Senate gave final passage on Wednesday to an annual military policy bill that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats. Continue reading
Dec 16 Hegseth says he won't publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean By Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro, Ben Finley, Associated Press Hegseth said that members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee would have an opportunity this week to review the video, but did not say whether all members of Congress would be allowed to see it, even as a… Continue reading