Oct 31 WATCH: Trump denies U.S. is considering strikes against Venezuela By Associated Press The Trump administration has carried out a series of strikes on boats in the Pacific Ocean that it contends were carrying drugs. The strikes have killed 61 people and the U.S. has also built up an unusually large force of… Continue reading
Oct 30 Hegseth orders military to send dozens of attorneys to help the Justice Department, AP learns By Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to provide dozens of lawyers to the Justice Department for temporary assignments in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border that could run through next fall, according to a memo released this week and… Continue reading
Oct 30 WATCH: Warner criticizes Trump administration's exclusion of Democrats from boat strikes briefing By Mary Clare Jalonick, Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press The Trump administration’s increasing efforts to exclude Democrats from national security briefings could endanger troops and keep important information from the public, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee warned Thursday. Continue reading
Oct 28 U.S. launches strikes on 4 alleged drug-running boats in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 By Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. military has carried out strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean on four boats accused of carrying drugs, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor in the deadliest single day since the… Continue reading
Oct 26 U.S. warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago, ramping up pressure on Venezuela By Anselm Gibbs, Associated Press The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Continue reading
Oct 26 Watch 6:03 Why some experts say the U.S. is in 'catch up' mode in the future of war By Ali Rogin, Veronica Vela, Michael Boulter Defense Secretary Hegseth laid out his ambitious vision for the Pentagon in a recent address to top military leaders. But questions remain about how the military translates that vision into reality, especially as technologies like drones and AI rapidly transform… Continue watching
Oct 24 U.S. deploys aircraft carrier to waters off South America in major military escalation By Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, the Pentagon announced Friday, in the latest escalation of military firepower in a region where the Trump administration has unleashed more rapid strikes in recent days against boats it accuses… Continue reading
Oct 23 A timeline of U.S. military strikes on boats off South America and what Congress has said By Ben Finley, Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press In less than two months, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say the U.S. military has killed at least 37 people in nine strikes against drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Continue reading
Oct 22 U.S. strikes 8th and 9th alleged drug-carrying boats, this time in the Pacific, Hegseth says By Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press The strikes represent an expansion of the military's targeting area as well as a shift to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled. Continue reading
Oct 11 Trump directs Pentagon to use 'all available funds' to pay troops despite shutdown By Darlene Superville, Associated Press President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has directed the Defense Department to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops are paid Wednesday despite the government shutdown, a short-term fix that will not apply to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers… Continue reading