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Tag: APP Military

  • U.S. military reports series of strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria

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    WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Saturday reported a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria in retaliation for the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. military is reporting a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria

    • The strikes were carried out in retaliation of the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter

    • U.S. Central Command says American aircraft conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between Feb. 3 and Thursday

    • The strikes were on weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure

    U.S. Central Command said in a statement that American aircraft had conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between Feb. 3 and Thursday, hitting weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure.

    At least 50 members of IS have been killed or captured, while more than 100 IS targets have been struck since the United States began its strikes after the Dec. 13 ambush, according to Central Command. That attack killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter.

    Meanwhile, the Syrian Defense Ministry said Thursday that government forces took control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by U.S. troops as part of the fight against IS. The Al-Tanf base played a major role after IS declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

    The U.S. military on Friday completed the transfer of thousands of IS detainees from Syria to Iraq, where they are expected to stand trial. The prisoners were sent to Iraq at the request of Baghdad, in a move welcomed by the U.S.-led coalition that had for years fought against IS.

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    Associated Press

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  • Air Force band traveling and performing to celebrate America’s 250th birthday

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    BRADENTON, Fla. — The United States Air Force Band of the West is traveling to Tampa. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The band is performing five times in western Florida between Jan. 11 and Jan. 15

    • The band will perform in Tampa on Jan. 15th at the Tampa Convention Center 

    • Clearwater native Ross Hussong is proud to continue his music career as a member of the Air Force  


    They performed in Bradenton on Wednesday night and are performing in Tampa Thursday night.

    The band is made up of talented service members, including Clearwater native Ross Hussong, who has been serving in the Air Force for more than three years. 

    His love for music, and specifically drums, began not only at a young age, but from a popular franchise.

    “I was a huge Star Wars nerd,” he said. “I had lightsabers, and I started drumming with toy lightsabers to the Imperial March, and my parents got so annoyed with it, they were just like, we got to get him some actual drumsticks.” 

    Studying music in high school and through college, Hussong said he didn’t know that playing in a band for the Air Force could be an option. 

    When the opportunity arose, he didn’t hesitate.

    “To do something like this is already so rare, but to be able to do it and wear the uniform, it’s really a distinct honor that I never thought I would have,” he said.  

    Commander and Conductor David Regner said this tour takes on extra significance as it’s to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. 

    Thursday night’s performance will be the fifth Florida performance in five days.

    David said they’re looking forward to connecting with all who come. 

    “There are over 200 different career fields and jobs that someone can do in the Air Force,” he said. “Surely if we can do what we love as musicians and still serve our country, for anyone who also feels that they need to serve, there’s certainly a place for them in the Air Force.” 

    The band will perform at the Tampa Convention Center on Thursday night at 9:15 p.m.

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    Matt Lackritz

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  • National nonprofit helps military spouses, veterans enter workforce

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    HOMOSASSA, Fla. — Military spouses are facing a challenge when it comes to being hired in the workforce.

    What You Need To Know

    • Military spouses experience an unemployment rate of around 20% to 22%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor
    • Many are underemployed or forced to accept part-time work due to unpredictable schedules
    • The nonprofit has helped with more than 110,000 hires


    According to the U.S. Department of Labor, military spouses experience an unemployment rate of around 20% to 22%, which is about four times higher than the national average. Many are underemployed or forced to accept part-time work due to unpredictable schedules. One nonprofit is helping change that.

    “We’re big kids. We just like to have fun.”

    At the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park, Jasmine Then reflects on some old photos pictured with her husband.

    “We just love exploring, going to different theme parks,” said Then. “We actually went to Disney Sea in Japan as well.”

    Then is a proud military spouse. Her husband, Erick, serves in the National Guard. But because of frequent relocations and an unpredictable family schedule, Then experienced challenges when it came to finding work.

    “It’s been much more difficult than I thought it’d be,” she says. “I think, also, factoring in that we moved to such a rural area — we’re about an hour north of Tampa and that’s where a lot of the opportunities are. I am seeking remote work because I’m still a military spouse and my husband does deploy from time to time.”

    But help came when she discovered the nonprofit Hire Heroes USA. The national organization offers free career coaching, resume support and job search resources for veterans and military spouses.

    “What we do is just be a coach for these veterans and military spouses in their employment search,” said Kelly Grivner-Kelly, the serving spouses program manager with Hire Heroes USA.

    Through the nonprofit, Grivner-Kelly says, they have helped with more than 110,000 hires.

    “Military spouses are really one of the most educated and resilient workforces but they really face unemployment around 21% to 22%, which is four to five times higher than the national average,” said Grivner-Kelly. “So this is really an untapped talent pool but they’re struggling to find meaningful employment. A lot of that deals with having to move every two to three years.”

    Then fits that demographic. But there may be a solution ahead. 

    “I’ve submitted hundreds of applications, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m actually moving on to my third round of interviews this week for a talent acquisition coordinator role.”

    An opportunity that has come from the help of Hire Heroes USA and some self-perseverance.

    “There’s so much out there,” said Then. “Just take the time, do your due diligence and be your own self-advocate.”

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    Calvin Lewis

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  • U.S. plans to ‘run’ Venezuela, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro

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    CARACAS, Venezuela — Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela at least temporarily after an audacious military operation plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country

    • Trump on Saturday also described plans to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to sell to other nations

    • The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning

    • It resulted in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq
    • Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful. Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez demanded in a speech that the U.S. free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader, before Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were first taken aboard a U.S. warship on their way to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    A plane carrying the deposed leader landed around 4:30 p.m. Saturday at an airport in New York City’s northern suburbs. Maduro was escorted off the jet, gingerly making his way down a stairway before being led across the tarmac surrounded by federal agents. Several agents filmed him on their phones as he walked.

    He was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

    A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

    He was expected to be detained while awaiting trial at a federal jail in Brooklyn.

    Move lacks congressional approval

    The legal authority for the incursion, done without congressional approval, was not immediately clear, but the Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help run the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate signs of that. Venezuelan state TV continued to air pro-Maduro propaganda, broadcasting live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, that painted the regime as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    Trump posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold on board the USS Iwo Jima.

    Early morning attack

    The operation followed a monthslong Trump administration effort to push the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

    Maduro had decried prior military operations as a thinly veiled effort to topple him from power.

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday as Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in the capital city of Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the U.S. of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

    The assault lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the country’s vice president, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed.

    Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

    Smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without electricity.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she assume the interim role.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodriguez said.

    Government supporters burn a U.S. flag in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    In a demonstration of how polarizing a figure Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture and celebrate it.

    At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.

    “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”

    Earlier, armed people and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party.

    In other parts of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Some areas remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

    “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep.”

    In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    Questions of legality

    Some legal experts raised immediate concerns about the operation’s legality.

    The U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning, according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

    Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast. Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Trump announces plans for new Navy ‘battleship’ as part of ‘Golden Fleet’

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”

    “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump claimed during the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet”

    • Trump claims it will be “the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built”

    • Trump made the announcement Monday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida

    • Just a month ago, the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns


    According to Trump, the ship, the first of which will be named the USS Defiant, will be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships and will be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers — all technologies that are in various stages of development by the Navy.

    The announcement comes just a month after the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns, deciding instead to go with a modified version of a Coast Guard cutter that was being produced until recently. The sea service has also failed to build its other newly designed ships, like the new Ford-class aircraft carrier and Columbia-class submarines, on time and on budget.

    Meanwhile, the Navy has struggled to field some of the technologies Trump says will be aboard the new ship.

    The Navy spent hundreds of millions of dollars and more than 15 years trying to field a railgun aboard a ship before finally abandoning the effort in 2021.

    Laser technology has seen more success in making its way onto Navy ships in recent years, but its employment is still limited. One system that is designed to blind or disable drone sensors is now aboard eight destroyers after spending eight years in development.

    Developing nuclear cruise missile capabilities or deploying them on ships may also violate non-proliferation treaties that the U.S. has signed with Russia.

    A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing plans, told The Associated Press that design efforts are now underway for the new ship and construction is planned to begin in the early 2030s.

    Both Trump and Navy Secretary John Phelan spoke about the new Trump-class warship as a spiritual successor to the battleships of the 20th century, but historically that term has referred to a very specific type of ship — a large, heavily armored vessel armed with massive guns designed to bombard other ships or targets ashore.

    This type of ship was at the height of prominence during World War II, and the largest of the U.S. battleships, the Iowa-class, were roughly 60,000 tons. But after World War II, the battleship’s role in modern fleets diminished rapidly in favor of aircraft carriers and long-range missiles. The U.S. Navy did modernize four Iowa-class battleships in the 1980s by adding cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, along with modern radars, but by the 1990s all four were decommissioned.

    According to a newly created website for the “Golden Fleet,” this new “guided missile battleship” is set to be roughly the same size as Iowa-class battleships but only weigh about half as much, around 35,000 tons, and have far smaller crews — between 650 and 850 sailors.

    Its primary weapons will also be missiles, not large naval guns.

    Trump has long held strong opinions on specific aspects of the Navy’s fleet, sometimes with a view toward keeping older technology instead of modernizing.

    During his first term, he unsuccessfully called for the return to steam-powered catapults to launch jets from the Navy’s newest aircraft carriers instead of the more modern electromagnetic system.

    He has also complained to Phelan about the look of the Navy’s destroyers and decried Navy ships being covered in rust.

    Phelan told senators at his confirmation hearing that Trump “has texted me numerous times very late at night, sometimes after one (o’clock) in the morning” about “rusty ships or ships in a yard, asking me what am I doing about it.”

    On a visit to a shipyard that was working on the now-canceled Constellation-class frigate in 2020, Trump said he personally changed the design of the ship.

    “I looked at it, I said, ‘That’s a terrible-looking ship, let’s make it beautiful,’” Trump said at the time.

    He said Monday he will have a direct role in designing this new warship as well.

    “The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person,” Trump said.

    Phelan said the new USS Defiant “will inspire awe and reverence for the American flag whenever it pulls into a foreign port.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Officials set to meet in Geneva as Ukraine’s allies push back on U.S. peace plan

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country on Saturday as they pushed to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home.

    What You Need To Know

    • Ukraine’s Western allies have rallied around the country as they push to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow

    • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home

    • A Ukrainian delegation, joined by France, Germany, and the U.K., is preparing for talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday

    • The U.S. plan suggests Ukraine hand over territory to Russia, which Kyiv has ruled out.

    A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the U.K., is preparing for direct talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday.

    The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelenskyy saying his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.

    Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his “final offer.”

    “I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” Trump said. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”

    The U.S. plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out, while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership. It contains many of Moscow’s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.

    On Saturday, leaders of the European Union, Canada and Japan issued a joint statement welcoming U.S. peace efforts, but pushed back against key tenets of the plan.

    “We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the statement said. It added that any decisions regarding NATO and the EU would require the consent of member states.

    The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. met during the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss ways to support Kyiv, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters at the summit that “wars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,” and insisted Kyiv needed robust guarantees.

    French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine “requires broader consultation” because “it stipulates many things involving Europeans,” like Russia’s frozen assets and Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Europe’s security issues must also be taken into account, Macron said, adding: “We want a robust and lasting peace.”

    Merz and Macron said that envoys from Germany, France, the U.K. and the EU will join Ukrainian negotiators as they meet a U.S. delegation in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s proposal. Zelenskyy confirmed the meeting on Saturday, after Trump set a deadline for Kyiv to respond to the plan by next Thursday.

    Among those expected to represent Washington are Trump’s Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, and Marco Rubio, who serves as both national security adviser and secretary of state, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the American participants before the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity. Driscoll presented the U.S. plan to Ukrainian officials this week.

    European leaders have long warned against rushing a peace deal, seeing their own future at stake in Ukraine’s fight to beat back Russia, and insist on being consulted in peace efforts.

    Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike on Ternopil, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlad Kravchuk)

    ‘Quite a way from a good outcome’

    Kyiv’s key allies in Europe reiterated their reservations about the Kremlin’s readiness to end the war.

    “Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters ahead of the G20 summit, days after a Russian strike on western Ukraine killed over two dozen civilians.

    European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield. Kyiv has repeatedly accepted U.S. ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favorable terms.

    “An end to the war can only be achieved with the unconditional consent of Ukraine,” Merz said during G20 summit briefing, adding that he had told Trump in a long phone call on Friday that Europe needed to be a part of any peace process, and that Russia had previously failed to keep its promises to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

    “From my perspective, there is currently a chance to end this war,” Merz added. “But we are still quite a way from a good outcome for everyone.”

    EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a key principle for Kyiv’s European allies was “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

    Zelenskyy defiant as Ukraine remembers Soviet-era famine

    Zelenskyy, in a video address published Saturday, said Ukrainian representatives at the Geneva talks “know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out” another invasion. “Real peace is always based on security and justice,” he added.

    Nine officials are to take part in the talks, including Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak and top envoy Rustem Umerov, according to a statement posted on the Ukrainian presidency’s website, which also stated that the negotiators are empowered to deal directly with Russia.

    On Saturday, Ukraine commemorated the “great famine” that Soviet leader Josef Stalin imposed in the early 1930s, which led to millions of deaths.

    “We all know how and why millions of our people died, starved to death, and millions were never born. And we are once again defending ourselves against Russia, which has not changed and is once again bringing death,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram marking Holodomor Memorial Day.

    “We defended, defend, and will always defend Ukraine. Because only here is our home. And in our home, Russia will definitely not be the master,” he added.

    Drones hit Russian refinery

    A nighttime Ukrainian drone strike hit a fuel refinery in southern Russia, killing two people and injuring two more, a local official said. The attack on the Samara region in the latest of Kyiv’s long-range strikes against Russian oil infrastructure, which it says fuels the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

    Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev did not immediately name the site that was targeted or detail any damage. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

    Russian air defenses overnight shot down 69 Ukrainian drones over Russia and occupied Crimea, including 15 flying over the province of Samara, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. The nighttime strikes forced at least five Russian airports to temporarily halt or restrict operations, and cut off power to some 3,000 households in the southern city of Rylsk, according to Russian officials.

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    Associated Press

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  • Former Vice President Dick Cheney dies at 84

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    WASHINGTON — Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at age 84.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died at age 84

    • Cheney’s family says he died Monday of complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease

    • The hard-charging conservative became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq

    • Cheney led the armed forces as defense chief during the Persian Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush before returning to public life as vice president under his son George W. Bush

    Cheney died Monday due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said in a statement.

    “For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States,” the statement said. “Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”

    The quietly forceful Cheney served father and son presidents, leading the armed forces as defense chief during the Persian Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush before returning to public life as vice president under Bush’s son George W. Bush.

    Cheney was, in effect, the chief operating officer of the younger Bush’s presidency. He had a hand, often a commanding one, in implementing decisions most important to the president and some of surpassing interest to himself — all while living with decades of heart disease and, post-administration, a heart transplant. Cheney consistently defended the extraordinary tools of surveillance, detention and inquisition employed in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

    Years after leaving office, he became a target of President Donald Trump, especially after his daughter Liz Cheney became the leading Republican critic and examiner of Trump’s attempts to stay in power after his 2020 election defeat and his actions in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

    “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a television ad for his daughter. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward.”

    In a twist the Democrats of his era could never have imagined, Cheney said last year he was voting for their candidate, Kamala Harris, for president against Trump.

    A survivor of five heart attacks, Cheney long thought he was living on borrowed time and declared in 2013 he awoke each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day,” an odd image for a figure who always seemed to be manning the ramparts.

    In his time in office, no longer was the vice presidency merely a ceremonial afterthought. Instead, Cheney made it a network of back channels from which to influence policy on Iraq, terrorism, presidential powers, energy and other cornerstones of a conservative agenda.

    Fixed with a seemingly permanent half-smile — detractors called it a smirk — Cheney joked about his outsize reputation as a stealthy manipulator.

    “Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole?” he asked. “It’s a nice way to operate, actually.”

    FILE – President George H.W. Bush gestures during a news conference at the White House on Friday, March 10, 1989, where he announced his selection of Rep. Richard Cheney, R-Wyo., left, to become Defense Secretary replacing his last choice of John Tower, whose nomination was turned down by the senate Thursday. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, file)

    The Iraq War

    A hard-liner on Iraq who was increasingly isolated as other hawks left government, Cheney was proved wrong on point after point in the Iraq War, without losing the conviction he was essentially right.

    He alleged links between the 2001 attacks against the United States and prewar Iraq that didn’t exist. He said U.S. troops would be welcomed as liberators; they weren’t.

    He declared the Iraqi insurgency in its last throes in May 2005, back when 1,661 U.S. service members had been killed, not even half the toll by war’s end.

    For admirers, he kept the faith in a shaky time, resolute even as the nation turned against the war and the leaders waging it.

    But well into Bush’s second term, Cheney’s clout waned, checked by courts or shifting political realities.

    Courts ruled against efforts he championed to broaden presidential authority and accord special harsh treatment to suspected terrorists. His hawkish positions on Iran and North Korea were not fully embraced by Bush.

    Cheney operated much of the time from undisclosed locations in the months after the 2001 attacks, kept apart from Bush to ensure one or the other would survive any follow-up assault on the country’s leadership.

    With Bush out of town on that fateful day, Cheney was a steady presence in the White House, at least until Secret Service agents lifted him off his feet and carried him away, in a scene the vice president later described to comical effect.

    U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney waves to U.S. forces in Japan before his address aboard the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, at Yokosuka Naval Base, home to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. Cheney reaffirmed the Bush administration's commitment to the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq during a visit to the U.S. aircraft carrier Wednesday, saying "the American people will not support a policy of retreat." (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

    U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney waves to U.S. forces in Japan before his address aboard the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, at Yokosuka Naval Base, home to the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. Cheney reaffirmed the Bush administration’s commitment to the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq during a visit to the U.S. aircraft carrier Wednesday, saying “the American people will not support a policy of retreat.” (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

    Cheney’s relationship with Bush

    From the beginning, Cheney and Bush struck an odd bargain, unspoken but well understood. Shelving any ambitions he might have had to succeed Bush, Cheney was accorded power comparable in some ways to the presidency itself.

    That bargain largely held up.

    As Cheney put it: “I made the decision when I signed on with the president that the only agenda I would have would be his agenda, that I was not going to be like most vice presidents — and that was angling, trying to figure out how I was going to be elected president when his term was over with.”

    His penchant for secrecy and backstage maneuvering had a price. He came to be seen as a thin-skinned Machiavelli orchestrating a bungled response to criticism of the Iraq War. And when he shot a hunting companion in the torso, neck and face with an errant shotgun blast in 2006, he and his coterie were slow to disclose that extraordinary turn of events.

    The vice president called it “one of the worst days of my life.” The victim, his friend Harry Whittington, recovered and quickly forgave him. Comedians were relentless about it for months. Whittington died in 2023.

    When Bush began his presidential quest, he sought help from Cheney, a Washington insider who had retreated to the oil business. Cheney led the team to find a vice presidential candidate.

    Bush decided the best choice was the man picked to help with the choosing.

    Together, the pair faced a protracted 2000 postelection battle before they could claim victory. A series of recounts and court challenges left the nation in limbo for weeks.

    Cheney took charge of the presidential transition before victory was clear and helped give the Republican administration a smooth launch despite the lost time. In office, disputes among departments vying for a bigger piece of Bush’s constrained budget came to his desk and often were settled there.

    On Capitol Hill, Cheney lobbied for the president’s programs in halls he had walked as a deeply conservative member of Congress and the No. 2 Republican House leader.

    Jokes abounded about how Cheney was the real No. 1 in town; Bush didn’t seem to mind and cracked a few himself. But such comments became less apt later in Bush’s presidency as he clearly came into his own.

    Cheney’s political rise

    Politics first lured Dick Cheney to Washington in 1968, when he was a congressional fellow. He became a protégé of Rep. Donald Rumsfeld, R-Ill., serving under him in two agencies and in Gerald Ford’s White House before he was elevated to chief of staff, the youngest ever, at age 34.

    Cheney held the post for 14 months, then returned to Casper, Wyoming, where he had been raised, and ran for the state’s lone congressional seat.

    In that first race for the House, Cheney suffered a mild heart attack, prompting him to crack he was forming a group called “Cardiacs for Cheney.” He still managed a decisive victory and went on to win five more terms.

    In 1989, Cheney became defense secretary under the first President Bush and led the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, which drove Iraq’s troops from Kuwait. Between the two Bush administrations, Cheney led Dallas-based Halliburton Corp., a large engineering and construction company for the oil industry.

    Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, son of a longtime Agriculture Department worker. Senior class president and football co-captain in Casper, he went to Yale on a full scholarship for a year but left with failing grades.

    He moved back to Wyoming, eventually enrolled at the University of Wyoming and renewed a relationship with high school sweetheart Lynne Anne Vincent, marrying her in 1964. He is survived by his wife, by Liz and by a second daughter, Mary.

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  • National Guard deployments in DC and Portland are focus of court hearings

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    No National Guard troops are expected to be deployed in Portland, Oregon, for at least several days, after a temporary federal appeals court decision Friday. Meanwhile, a judge in Washington, D.C., is weighing whether to pull more than 2,000 troops off the streets of the nation’s capital.

    What You Need To Know

    • No National Guard troops are expected to be deployed in Portland, Oregon, for at least several days, after a temporary federal appeals court decision Friday

    • Meanwhile a judge in Washington, D.C., is weighing whether to pull more than 2,000 troops off the streets of the nation’s capital

    • The developments are the latest in a head-spinning array of lawsuits and overlapping rulings prompted by Trump’s push to send the military into Democratic-run cities despite fierce resistance from mayors and governors

    • Troop deployment remains blocked in the Chicago area, where all sides are waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes to allow it

    The developments are the latest in a head-spinning array of lawsuits and overlapping rulings prompted by Trump’s push to send the military into Democratic-run cities despite fierce resistance from mayors and governors. Troop deployment remains blocked in the Chicago area, where all sides are waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes to allow it.

    Here’s what to know about the latest legal efforts to block or deploy the Guard in various cities.

    Troops in Oregon remain in limbo

    A federal appeals court on Friday paused a decision issued by a three-judge panel earlier in the week that could have allowed President Donald Trump to deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops, ostensibly to protect federal property in Portland.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it needs until 5 p.m. Tuesday to decide whether to reconsider the panel’s decision, and the panel’s decision won’t take effect until then.

    U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee in Portland, issued two temporary restraining orders earlier this month — one prohibiting Trump from calling up Oregon troops to Portland and another blocking him from sending any Guard members to Oregon at all after he tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead.

    A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put the first ruling on hold Monday, letting Trump take command of 200 Oregon National Guard troops. But the second order remained in effect, blocking him from actually deploying them.

    At a hearing Friday, the Justice Department told Immergut she must immediately dissolve the second order because its reasoning was the same as that rejected by the appeals panel in a 2-1 decision Monday. Attorneys for Oregon disagreed, saying the orders were distinct and that she should wait to see if the 9th Circuit will reconsider the panel’s ruling.

    A challenge to troops in Washington, DC

    U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, heard arguments Friday on District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb‘s request for an order that would remove more than 2,000 Guard members from Washington streets. She did not rule from the bench.

    In August, Trump issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the district — though the Department of Justice itself says violent crime there is at a 30-year low.

    Within a month, more than 2,300 Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling under the Army secretary’s command. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist them.

    “Our constitutional democracy will never be the same if these occupations are permitted to stand,” attorneys from Schwalb’s office wrote.

    Government lawyers said Congress empowered the president to control the D.C. National Guard’s operation. They argued that Schwalb’s lawsuit is a frivolous “political stunt” threatening to undermine a successful campaign to reduce violent crime in Washington.

    Although the emergency period ended in September, more than 2,200 troops remain. Several states told The Associated Press they would bring their units home by Nov. 30, unless extended.

    Judge continues hearing on West Virginia’s deployment

    Among the states that sent troops to the district was West Virginia. A civic organization called the West Virginia Citizen Action Group says Gov. Patrick Morrisey exceeded his authority by deploying 300 to 400 Guard members to support Trump’s efforts there.

    Under state law, the group argues, the governor may deploy the National Guard out of state only for certain purposes, such as responding to a natural disaster or another state’s emergency request.

    “The Governor cannot transform our citizen-soldiers into a roving police force available at the whim of federal officials who bypass proper legal channels,” the group’s attorneys, with the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, wrote in a court document.

    Morrisey has said West Virginia “is proud to stand with President Trump,” and his office has said the deployment was authorized under federal law. The state attorney general’s office has asked Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Richard D. Lindsay to reject the case, saying the group has not been harmed and lacks standing to challenge Morrisey’s decision.

    Lindsay heard some arguments Friday before continuing the hearing to Nov. 3 to give the state time to focus more on whether Morrisey had the authority to deploy the Guard members.

    In Chicago, awaiting word from the Supreme Court

    U.S. District Judge April Perry on Wednesday blocked Guard deployment to the Chicago area until the case is decided in her court or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. Perry previously blocked the deployment for two weeks through a temporary restraining order.

    Attorneys representing the federal government said they would agree to extend the order, but would also continue pressing for an emergency order from the Supreme Court that would allow for the deployment.

    Lawyers representing Chicago and Illinois have asked the Supreme Court to continue to block the deployment, calling it a “dramatic step.”

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  • U.S. sending aircraft carrier to Latin America in escalation of military buildup

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    WASHINGTON — 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 of carrying drugs.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America in the latest escalation of military firepower to a region

    • A Pentagon spokesman said Friday that the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group would deploy to the U.S. Southern Command region to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States”

    • The USS Ford is port in Croatia and it was not clear how long it would take for the strike group to arrive

    • Earlier Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military had conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, killing six people

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command region to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media.

    The USS Ford, which has five destroyers in its strike group, is now deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. One of its destroyers is in the Arabian Sea and another is in the Red Sea, a person familiar with the operation told The Associated Press. As of Friday, the aircraft carrier was in port in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea.

    The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, would not say how long it would take for the strike group to arrive in the waters off South America or if all five destroyers would make the journey.

    Deploying an aircraft carrier will surge major additional resources to a region that has already seen an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela. The latest deployment and the quickening pace of the U.S. strikes, including one Friday, raised new speculation about how far the Trump administration may go in operations it says are targeted at drug trafficking, including whether it could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

    Moving thousands more troops into the region

    There are already more than 6,000 sailors and Marines on eight warships in the region. If the entire USS Ford strike group arrives, that could bring nearly 4,500 more sailors as well as the nine squadrons of aircraft assigned to the carrier.

    Complicating the situation is Tropical Storm Melissa, which has been nearly stationary in the central Caribbean with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen into a powerful hurricane.

    Hours before Parnell announced the news, Hegseth said the military had conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead and bringing the death count for the attacks that began in early September to at least 43 people.

    Hegseth said on social media that the vessel struck overnight was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. It was the second time the Trump administration has tied one of its operations to the gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison.

    “If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his post. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”

    The strikes have ramped up from one every few weeks when they first began last month to three this week, killing a total of at least 43 people. Two of the most recent strikes were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean, expanding the area where the military has launched attacks and shifting to where much of the cocaine is smuggled from the world’s largest producers, including Colombia.

    Escalating tensions with Colombia, the Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade.

    U.S. focus on Venezuela and Tren de Aragua

    Friday’s strike drew parallels to the first announced by the U.S. last month by focusing on Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization and blamed for being at the root of the violence and drug dealing that plague some cities.

    While not mentioning the origin of the latest boat, the Republican administration says at least four of the boats it has hit have come from Venezuela. On Thursday, the U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela.

    Maduro argues that the U.S. operations are the latest effort to force him out of office.

    Maduro on Thursday praised security forces and a civilian militia for defense exercises along some 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles) of coastline to prepare for the possibility of a U.S. attack.

    In the span of six hours, “100% of all the country’s coastline was covered in real time, with all the equipment and heavy weapons to defend all of Venezuela’s coasts if necessary,” Maduro said during a government event shown on state television.

    The U.S. military’s presence is less about drugs than sending a message to countries in the region to align with U.S. interests, according to Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region.

    “An expression that I’m hearing a lot is ‘Drugs are the excuse.’ And everyone knows that,” Dickinson said. “And I think that message is very clear in regional capitals. So the messaging here is that the U.S. is intent on pursuing specific objectives. And it will use military force against leaders and countries that don’t fall in line.”

    Comparing the drug crackdown to the war on terror

    Hegseth’s remarks around the strikes have recently begun to draw a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administration’s crackdown on drug traffickers.

    President Donald Trump this month declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and said the U.S. was in an “armed conflict” with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9/11.

    When reporters asked Trump on Thursday whether he would request that Congress issue a declaration of war against the cartels, he said that wasn’t the plan.

    “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We’re going to kill them, you know? They’re going to be like, dead,” Trump said during a roundtable at the White House.

    Lawmakers from both major political parties have expressed concerns about Trump ordering the military actions without receiving authorization from Congress or providing many details.

    “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before,” said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who previously worked in the Pentagon and the State Department, including as an adviser in Afghanistan.

    “We have no idea how far this is going, how this could potentially bring in, you know, is it going to be boots on the ground? Is it going to be escalatory in a way where we could see us get bogged down for a long time?” he said.

    Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who has long been involved in foreign affairs in the hemisphere, said of Trump’s approach: “It’s about time.”

    While Trump “obviously hates war,” he also is not afraid to use the U.S. military in targeted operations, Diaz-Balart said. “I would not want to be in the shoes of any of these narco-cartels.”

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  • Hundreds of N.C. National Guard members go without pay during federal shutdown

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    More than 800 members of the North Carolina National Guard did not get their regular paychecks this week because of the federal government shutdown, according to Gov. Josh Stein.  

    What You Need To Know

    •  The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 after Congress did not pass a new budget

    •  Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or are working without pay

    •  In North Carolina, more than 800 members of the National Guard did not get their paychecks this week

    •  In previous shutdowns, federal workers have received back pay after Congress passed a new federal budget


    The federal shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Republicans and Democrats in Congress could not agree on a new federal budget. Each party blames the other and demands their own changes to the proposed federal budget. The main sticking point for Democrats in the Republican-majority U.S. House is funding for health care subsidies and Medicare.

    But while members of Congress argue over the budget, hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or are working without pay, according to the Associated Press. 

    “North Carolina National Guard members are essential to keeping our state and our country safe. Today 841 NC National Guardsmen did not receive their scheduled paychecks and must continue work without pay through the federal government shutdown,” the North Carolina governor said. “That’s unacceptable.” 

    “We need our federal government to support our National Guard, protect our health care, and make sure families can put food on the table,” Stein said on X.

    In previous federal shutdowns, workers received back pay after Congress passed a new budget. 


     

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  • Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt on Sunday to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. He’s also expected to urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region
    • Trump is stopping first in Israel to meet with hostage families and address the parliament
    • Vice President JD Vance says Trump could also meet with hostages themselves
    • In Egypt, the Republican president and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will chair a summit on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East with leaders from more than 20 countries

    It’s a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the Trump agreement designed to bring a permanent end to the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

    Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the Mideast and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

    It is a moment, the Republican president says, that has been helped along by his administration’s support of Israel’s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

    The White House says momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States

    “I think you are going to have tremendous success and Gaza is going to be rebuilt,” Trump said Friday. “And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there. It would take a small fraction of their wealth to do that. And I think they want to do it.”

    A tenuous point in the agreement

    The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 believed to be alive; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

    Israeli troops on Friday finished withdrawing from parts of Gaza, triggering a 72-hour countdown under the deal for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages, potentially while Trump is on the ground there. He said he expected their return to be completed on Monday or Tuesday.

    Trump will visit Israel first to meet with hostage families and address the Knesset, or parliament, an honor last extended to President George W. Bush during a visit in 2008. Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Trump also was likely to meet with newly freed hostages, too.

    “Knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released and this president is actually traveling to the Middle East, likely this evening, in order to meet them and greet them in person,” Vance told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

    Trump then stops in Egypt, where he and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from more than 20 countries on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

    It is a tenuous truce and it is unclear whether the sides have reached any agreement on Gaza’s postwar governance, the territory’s reconstruction and Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm. Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

    “I think the chances of (Hamas) disarming themselves, you know, are pretty close to zero,” H.R. McMaster, a national security adviser during Trump’s first term, said at an event hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies on Thursday. He said he thought what probably would happen in the coming months is that the Israeli military “is going to have to destroy them.”

    Israel continues to rule over millions of Palestinians without basic rights as settlements expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank. Despite growing international recognition, Palestinian statehood appears exceedingly remote because of Israel’s opposition and actions on the ground,

    The war has left Israel isolated internationally and facing allegations of genocide, which it denies. International arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister are in effect, and the United Nations’ highest court is considering allegations of genocide brought by South Africa.

    Hamas has been militarily decimated and has given up its only bargaining chip with Israel by releasing the hostages. But the Islamic militant group is still intact and could eventually rebuild if there’s an extended period of calm.

    Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would continue with its demilitarization of Hamas after the hostages are returned.

    “Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was on its neck — and it is still on its neck,” Netanyahu said Friday as Israel began to pull back its troops.

    Trump wants to expand the Abraham Accords

    Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and rebuilding is expected to take years. The territory’s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions.

    Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

    Trump is also standing up a U.S.-led civil-military coordination center in Israel to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza.

    Roughly 200 U.S. troops will be sent to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players. U.S. troops will not be sent to Gaza, Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. military commander for the region, said in a social media post Saturday.

    The White House has signaled that Trump is looking to quickly return attention to building on a first-term effort known as the Abraham Accords, which forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

    A permanent agreement in Gaza would help pave the path for Trump to begin talks with Saudi Arabia as well Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, toward normalizing ties with Israel, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

    Such a deal with Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and wealthy Arab state, has the potential to reshape the region and boost Israel’s standing in historic ways.

    But brokering such an agreement remains a heavy lift as the kingdom has said it won’t officially recognize Israel before a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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  • Palestinians return to ruins and U.S. troops land in Israel as ceasefire holds

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    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to their Gaza neighborhoods Saturday, weaving through dust-shrouded streets as bulldozers clawed through the wreckage of two years of war and a ceasefire held in its second day.

    What You Need To Know

    • Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to their neighborhoods as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas enters its second day

    • Aid groups are preparing to scale up relief work but many will find their homes reduced to rubble

    • UNICEF is urging Israel to reopen more border crossings to allow aid to flow freely

    • About 200 U.S. troops have arrived in Israel to help retrieve hostages and monitor the ceasefire, which Israel’s military confirmed took effect Friday

    “Gaza is completely destroyed. I have no idea where we should live or where to go,” said Mahmoud al-Shandoghli as he walked through Gaza City. A boy climbed a shattered building to raise the Palestinian flag.

    About 200 U.S. troops arrived in Israel to monitor the ceasefire with Hamas. They will set up a center to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance. The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said he visited Gaza on Saturday to prepare it.

    “This great effort will be achieved with no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement.

    An Egyptian official said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with senior U.S. and Israeli military officials in Gaza on Saturday and that Witkoff stressed the implementation of the ceasefire deal’s first phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters.

    Tons of desperately needed food

    Aid groups urged Israel to reopen more crossings to allow aid into Gaza. A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, said Israel has approved expanded aid deliveries, starting Sunday.

    The World Food Program said it was ready to restore 145 food distribution points across the famine-stricken territory, once Israel allows for expanded deliveries. Before Israel sealed off Gaza in March, U.N. agencies provided food at 400 distribution points.

    Though the timeline and how the food will enter Gaza remain unclear, the distribution points will allow Palestinians to access food at more locations than they could through the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which had operated four locations since taking over distribution in late May.

    COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid, said more than 500 trucks entered Gaza on Friday, although many crossings remain closed.

    Some 170,000 metric tons of food aid have been positioned in neighboring countries awaiting permission from Israel to restart deliveries.

    Israel braces for hostages’ return

    Israel’s military has said the 48 hostages still in Gaza would be freed Monday. The government believes around 20 remain alive. They were among about 250 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

    “It’s been a few nights that we can’t sleep. We want them back and we feel that everything is just hanging on a thread,” Maayan Eliasi, a Tel Aviv resident, said at a gathering at the city’s Hostages Square.

    Israel is to free some 250 Palestinians serving prison sentences, as well as around 1,700 people seized from Gaza the past two years and held without charge. The Israel Prison Service said Saturday that prisoners have been transferred to deportation facilities at Ofer and Ktzi’ot prisons, “awaiting instructions from the political echelon.”

    Questions about Gaza’s future

    Questions remain on who will govern Gaza after Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in the ceasefire agreement.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended the previous ceasefire in March, has suggested Israel could resume its offensive if Hamas fails to disarm.

    “If it’s achieved the easy way, so be it. If not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said Friday, pledging that the next stage would bring Hamas’ disarmament.

    The scale of Gaza’s destruction will become clearer if the truce holds. More than three out of every four buildings have been destroyed, the U.N. said in September — a volume of debris equivalent to 25 Eiffel Towers, much of it likely toxic.

    A February assessment by the European Union and World Bank estimated $49 billion in damage, including $16 billion to housing and $6.3 billion to the health sector.

    The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies that couldn’t be retrieved during Israel’s offensive are found.

    A manager at northern Gaza’s Shifa Hospital told The Associated Press that 45 bodies pulled from the rubble in Gaza City had arrived over the past 24 hours. The manager, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, said the bodies had been missing for several days to two weeks.

    New security arrangements

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial 20-point plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza, though the timeline is unclear.

    The Israeli military has said it will continue to operate defensively from the roughly 50% of Gaza it still controls after pulling back to agreed-upon lines.

    Witkoff told Israeli officials on Friday that the United States would establish a center in Israel to coordinate issues concerning Gaza until there is a permanent government, according to a readout of the meeting by a person who attended it and obtained by the AP. Another official who was not authorized to speak to the media confirmed the readout’s contents.

    The readout said no U.S. soldiers will be on the ground in Gaza, but there will be people who report to the U.S. and aircraft might operate over the strip for monitoring.

    The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel in the 2023 attack, killing some 1,200 people.

    In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    The war has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

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    Associated Press

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  • Husted highlights funding to Ohio’s military projects after bill passes Senate

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    DAYTON, Ohio — The U.S. Senate voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Thursday 77-20, and Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted said he helped ensure funding for various Ohio-based military projects.

    It now needs to pass the House and then be signed by President Donald Trump for it to become law.

    What You Need To Know

    • Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is highlighting the funding to Ohio’s military projects after the National Defense Authorization Act passed the Senate

    • In particular, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base would see millions for various projects

    • The bill passed the Senate 77-20
    • It must still pass the House and be signed by the President to become law

    This vote comes amid an ongoing government shutdown that has led to Democratic and Republican lawmakers becoming increasingly heated as it stretches on.

    “I’m especially proud that Ohio will continue to lead the way in America’s defense,” Husted said in a release from his office. “This legislation delivers major investments in new infrastructure and technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, advances cutting-edge research at NASA Glenn in Cleveland and strengthens key national defense assets across our state.”

    In addition to a 3.8% pay increase for members of the military, here are just some of the Ohio-specific benefits within the bill, should it become law, according to Husted’s office.

    There would be $45 million going toward Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) for the construction of a Human Performance Wing Laboratory.

    “This building will serve as the modernized headquarters for the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the 711th Human Performance Wing, which advances human warfighter capabilities in training, bioeffects and bioengineering,” the release reads.

    There would be $15 million going toward refurbishing WPAFB’s main runway, which the release states has been deteriorating for years.

    The WPAFB would also be seeing $2.8 million go toward the design of an AI supercomputing center.

    “The construction of the AI Supercomputer Center is essential to U.S. defense capabilities in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced modeling & simulation,” the release reads. “…This investment will ensure the Air Force can meet supercomputing needs for weapon system development and intelligence applications.”

    Husted’s office also states that Ohio jobs would be created out of the $10 million headed to Project Pele, which will create “an expeditionary micro nuclear reactor for the military.”

    A couple million dollars would also be headed to the DEEP SENTRY program, “to infuse AI and machine learning into America’s missile defense system…Ohio is home to developers of the missile defense software used in DEEP SENTRY,” according to the release.

    You can view the full text of the bill here, which Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, also voted to pass.

    “Peace is preserved through strength, and deterrence is our surest safeguard against war,” Husted said in the release. “This bill puts America back on solid footing to deter our adversaries and protect our national interests. I will continue fighting to ensure our Armed Forces have the tools to win—and that Ohio remains at the heart of America’s renewed strength and pride.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Cody Thompson

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  • Israel, Hamas to exchange hostages and prisoners after deal to pause in Gaza war

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    CAIRO — Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners — a breakthrough greeted with joy and relief Thursday but also caution.

    What You Need To Know

    • Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners

    • The breakthrough was greeted with joy and relief Thursday but also caution

    • Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump

    • Those aspects include whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza, but the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.

    Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.

    The war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has also sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

    Even with the agreement expected to be signed in Egypt later in the day, Israeli strikes continued, with explosions seen Thursday in northern Gaza. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

    An Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines said that Israel was continuing to hit targets that posed a threat to its troops as they reposition.

    In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, celebrations were relatively muted and often colored by grief.

    “I am happy and unhappy. We have lost a lot of people and lost loved ones, friends and family. We lost our homes,” said Mohammad Al-Farra. “Despite our happiness, we cannot help but think of what is to come. … The areas we are going back to, or intending to return to, are uninhabitable.”

    In Tel Aviv, families of the remaining hostages popped champagne and cried tears of joy after Trump announced on social media late Wednesday that “ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line.”

    On Thursday, thousands of observant Jews streamed into Jerusalem’s Old City to mark the holiday of Sukkot, with extra rejoicing for the upcoming hostage release.

    “We were screaming and singing last night,” said Hindel Berman, a New Jersey resident who came to Jerusalem for the holiday. “We never, never, never gave up hope.”

    Under the terms, Hamas intends to release all 20 living hostages in a matter of days, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an agreement that has not fully been made public.

    “With God’s help we will bring them all home,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed on social media.

    Netanyahu plans to convene his Security Cabinet late Thursday to approve the ceasefire, and the entire parliament will then meet to approve the release of Palestinian prisoners.

    The deal will include a list of prisoners to be released and maps for the first phase of an Israeli withdrawal to new positions in Gaza, according to two Egyptian officials briefed on the talks, a Hamas official and another official.

    Israel will publish the list of the prisoners — and victims of their attacks have 24 hours to lodge objections.

    The withdrawal could start as soon as Thursday evening, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named speaking about the negotiations.

    The hostage and prisoner releases are expected to begin Monday, the officials from Egypt and Hamas said, though the other official said they could occur as early as Sunday night.

    Five border crossings would reopen, including the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, allowing 400 trucks in the initial days and increasing to 600 trucks after that, the Egyptian and Hamas officials said.

    Trump is expected in the region in the coming days.

    Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he had “mixed emotions.”

    While he welcomed the return of the hostages, he said he had “immense fear about the consequences of emptying the jails and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders” and said that as soon as the hostages are returned, Israel must continue trying to eradicate Hamas and ensure Gaza is demilitarized.

    Hamas, meanwhile, called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements “without disavowal or delay” the troop withdrawal, the entry of aid into Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

    Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip celebrate after the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan, as they gather at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

    Trump’s peace plan

    The Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their attack on Israel two years ago. Some 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led militants in that assault, and 251 were taken hostage. Israel believes around 20 of the hostages are still alive.

    Under the plan, Israel would maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The U.S. would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort in Gaza.

    The plan also envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years to implement.

    The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects.

    More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

    People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

    Relief at a deal

    Even with many details yet to be agreed, many expressed relief at the progress.

    In Tel Aviv, joyful relatives of hostages and their supporters spilled into the central square that has become the main gathering point in the effort to free the captives.

    Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker and a prominent advocate for the hostages’ release, told reporters that she wants to tell her son she loves him.

    “If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed,” she said.

    From the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, Alaa Abd Rabbo called the announcement “a godsend.”

    “This is the day we have been waiting for,” said Abd Rabbo, who was originally from northern Gaza but was forced to move multiple times during the war. “We want to go home.”

    This would be the third ceasefire since the start of the war. The previous two also saw hostages and prisoners exchanged. Israel ended the most recent ceasefire, which started in January, with a surprise bombardment in March.

    Ayman Saber, a Palestinian from Khan Younis, said he plans to return to his home city and try to rebuild his house, which was destroyed last year by an Israeli strike.

    “I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza,” he said.

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    Associated Press

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  • Helicopter crashes near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state

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    TACOMA, Wash. — A helicopter crashed in Washington state near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the U.S. Army said Thursday. There was no immediate word of how many people were aboard and their conditions.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. Army says a helicopter has crashed in Washington state near Joint Base Lewis-McChord

    • The crash happened Wednesday night

    • Officials have not provided details about the helicopter, the number of people aboard or their conditions

    • The Thurston County sheriff’s office reports that deputies were dispatched to the Summit Lake area after losing contact with a helicopter

    The helicopter crashed at about 9 p.m. Wednesday near the base, an Army official said in a statement.

    “This remains a developing situation, and no additional details are available at this time,” the statement said. No details were released about the helicopter.

    The base is about 10 miles south of Tacoma under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Joint Base Headquarters.

    The Thurston County sheriff’s office, based in Olympia, posted online late Wednesday that deputies were dispatched to reports of a possible helicopter crash in the Summit Lake area, west of Olympia.

    “We have been advised that the military lost contact with a helicopter in the area,” the department said. It said it was working with the base and that no further details were available.

    Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said on Facebook that deputies located the crash site, “but have been unable to continue rescue efforts as the scene is on fire.”

    The King County Guardian 1 helicopter and special operation rescue units responded to the crash site, the sheriff said.

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    Associated Press

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  • State grant helps Florida veterans get dental treatment

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    OLDSMAR, Fla. — A grant from the Florida Veterans Foundation is helping vets across the state gain access to dental care they haven’t been able to afford or qualify for. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The Wounded Veterans Relief Fund received a $400,000 grant in May from the Florida Veterans Foundation

    • The money is meant to help veterans like Eric Tranholm, who did not previously qualify for dental help

    • Wounded Veterans Relief Fund has used $330,000 of the grant money so far


    Given to the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, the organization has helped 120 veterans get the dental help they need.

    “These veterans can be zero-service connected,” Tami Marti, the Director of Veterans Programs for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund said. “And also it’s done by an eligibility through (a) financial 300% below poverty guideline. So it opens it up to be able to see more veterans.”

    Army veteran Eric Tranholm is one of the veterans who is now able to get the help he’s needed. 

    During his third appointment, he already knows what to expect. 

    “I’m getting my permanent crowns put in today, and I might be getting fitted for my partials,” he said. 

    Tranholm said his dental issues began in the early 90s while serving in the Army. 

    A manager at an auto-parts store, his teeth deteriorated to the point that he tried not to show them. 

    “I would hide my mouth when I talk, when I smile,” he said. “It was an embarrassment thing. I was very self-conscious of it.”

    At his first appointment, Tranholm had multiple fractured teeth, extensive decay, and significant pain. 

    Dr. Saed Sayegh, with Nova Dental, said if he had waited a few more years, most of his teeth would have had to be removed. 

    Tranholm remembers the moment he realized something needed to be done. 

    “I’m trying to chew food, and a large piece of food got lodged in my throat because I couldn’t chew it properly,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had to do something.” 

    Tranholm’s dental work is being made possible through the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.

    They received a $400,000 grant in May from the Florida Veterans Foundation to help veterans like Tranholm. 

    One of the non-profit’s main missions is to help vets with their dental care.

    However, Tranholm wouldn’t have qualified before this grant despite the severity of his dental issues. 

    With no dental insurance and his disability not qualifying through the VA, he had no choice but to delay treatment. 

    “I have a family. $11,000 can go a long way for my family,” he said. “So that means I had to put myself on the back burner like I’ve done for the last 15 years.” 

    Wounded Veterans Relief Fund has used $330,000 of the grant money so far.

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    Matt Lackritz

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  • Massive immigration detention camp officially opens at Texas’ Fort Bliss

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    EL PASO, Texas — The Trump administration’s latest immigration detention camp has officially opened at a major military base in El Paso, Texas, with the goal of becoming the largest facility of its kind as the military embraces an increasingly expansive role in immigration and domestic law enforcement.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Trump administration’s latest immigration detention camp has officially opened at a major military base in El Paso, Texas, with the goal of becoming the largest facility of its kind as the military embraces an increasingly expansive role in immigration and domestic law enforcement
    • Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents the El Paso area, visited the site Monday for nearly 2½ hours and said migrants began being detained at the facility as early as Aug. 1 and that it now houses nearly 1,000 people
    • She said at a news conference that she was unable to speak to detainees, but saw elderly men detained at the facility and added that, while it was just housing men for now, there are plans to hold women and potentially women with children in the future
    • Democrats and civil rights groups are raising the alarm about the human rights conditions and lack of transparency; one local official described it as a “concentration camp for migrants”

    Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents the El Paso area, visited the site Monday for nearly 2½ hours and said migrants began being detained at the facility as early as Aug. 1 and that it now houses nearly 1,000 people. She said she is pushing federal officials to allow local officials, faith leaders and media to conduct oversight visits to the camp and observe the conditions, expressing concerns the “massive” facility is understaffed and improperly equipped to humanely house the detained migrants. 

    She said at a news conference that she was unable to speak to detainees but saw elderly men detained at the facility and added that, while it was just housing men for now, there are plans to hold women and potentially women with children in the future. 

    “We will finish construction for up to 5,000 beds in the weeks and months ahead,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said earlier this month. “Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission — the deportation of illegal aliens.” 

    The presently 1,000-bed tent camp officially began operations Sunday with temperatures in the mid-90s and just days after the region saw readings as high as 105 degrees. Democrats and civil rights groups are raising the alarm about the human rights conditions and lack of transparency. El Paso County Commissioner David Stout described it as a “concentration camp for migrants.”

    “I have very, very many doubts about how people are going to be treated in these facilities,” Stout, a former television reporter for Telemundo and Univision, told NewsNation earlier this month. “I think we are going down the road to becoming a fascist country. I think it’s a very slippery slope, and the actions that are taking place at this point in time are comparable to [Nazi Germany].”

    The American Civil Liberties Union noted that Fort Bliss housed an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, imprisoned thousands of Mexican refugees fleeing war earlier in the century and was the site where imprisoned migrant children were separated from their parents during President Donald Trump’s first term and into President Joe Biden’s time in office. A Department of Health and Human Services inspector general’s report published in 2022 found the conditions at Fort Bliss “caused children to experience distress, anxiety, and in some cases, panic attacks” and documented cases of self-harm by children.

    Texas Sen. John Cornyn said after visiting the facility last week that he was told by federal officials that “no families and no children” would be imprisoned at the camp, “just single adults.”

    “We’re not talking about gardeners, housekeepers or people like that,” Cornyn said. “We’re talking about as many as … 291,000 individuals who are called criminal aliens, who are people either with criminal charges pending or criminal convictions, and who have exhausted all of their legal remedies.

    “In other words, there’s no due process issue involved here,” said Cornyn, a Republican with the backing of Senate leadership, but who faces a formidable primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

    Escobar disputed Cornyn’s characterization, saying that “there are folks inside the facility who have recently been apprehended, maybe even here at the border, or apprehended as far away as Miami or as far away as LA in enforcement operations that ICE is conducting inside the U.S.”

    The U.S. Army bills Fort Bliss as a military installation that “proudly offers the highest standards of living within the Department of Defense” for soldiers and their families. According to the Army, about 70,000 soldiers and their family members live on the base, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island. 

    Federal officials, the Pentagon and Republicans touted the new detention camp as vital to Trump’s goal of rounding up and deporting millions of migrants, framing the vast majority of those imprisoned and deported as dangerous and criminals, though federal data released publicly shows the vast majority have no criminal conviction and only about 12% of those deported between January and May were convicted of violent crimes or crimes that could be considered potentially violent, according to the Marshall Project. 

    Trump’s signature taxes and spending legislation signed into law in July and nicknamed the “big, beautiful bill” included $45 billion for immigrant detention facilities and more than $170 billion total for immigration and border enforcement. Bloomberg and Military.com reported the Fort Bliss facility will cost at least $1.26 billion to construct.

    The new camp is already under investigation by an independent government watchdog for the process its contracts were awarded to private companies, the Army confirmed to NBC News. And a 38-year-old worker, Hector Gonzalez, employed by a subcontractor on the project died in a workplace accident in July, the company Disaster Management Group said. The Army is investigating the circumstances. 

    The camp, officially known as Camp East Montana and dubbed “Lone Star Lockup” by Cornyn, has drawn comparisons to the similarly outrage-inducing “Alligator Alcatraz” tent camp in Florida where the ACLU, detainees and detainees’ lawyers have reported abuse, unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and unconstitutional restrictions of migrants’ legal rights — claims the Department of Homeland Security has denied. 

    During his visit to Fort Bliss last week, Cornyn did not actually go inside the tent camp — “We saw it from a distance” — but assured the public, “These are humane, safe facilities, and in many instances, a vast improvement over what many of these folks are used to.”

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    Joseph Konig

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  • Lakeland VA Clinic aims to help Polk County veterans

    Lakeland VA Clinic aims to help Polk County veterans

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    POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday morning for the Lakeland VA Clinic. 

    The 121,000-square-foot building expands on the resources and services available for veterans in Polk County.

    What You Need To Know

    • Construction for the Lakeland VA clinic began in April 2022

    • There are nearly 50,000 veterans in Polk County

    • Navy veterans George Bristol said with the clinic open, he won’t need to travel to Tampa as much


    George Bristol and many other veterans are thrilled the clinic has arrived. 

    “They did a fine job, and I watched this thing go up from day one,” he said. “So, I know what it took to make it and I like it.” 

    Bristol served in the U.S. Navy and lives less than a mile from the clinic.

    Construction began in April 2022, and Bristol said seeing the building rise from nothing has been amazing. 

    From mental health care, audiology, and an eye clinic are just a few of the services the clinic provides.

    Bristol said he no longer needs to drive far for most of the services he needs.  

    “I used to have to go to Tampa for everything I needed to get done,” he said. “Now I can come here and see my primary doctor.” 

    As Bristol checked out the clinic with other attending veterans, he thought of the nearly 50,000 veterans in Polk County and how this facility would help. 

    “It benefits me and a lot of other people because there’s so many veterans right around this area,” he said.  

    The VA said they’re hoping in the next two or three months, there will be approval to begin working on a similar clinic in Citrus County. 

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    Matt Lackritz

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  • Cape Canaveral National Cemetery expanding by 30 acres

    Cape Canaveral National Cemetery expanding by 30 acres

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    MIMS, Fla. — Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Brevard County is undergoing a large expansion to make room for more veteran gravesites.

    Tens of thousands of additional gravesites will serve families who have served for the next 10 years.

    What You Need To Know

    • Cape Canaveral National Cemetery is expanding by 30 acres, room for about 32,200 gravesites

    • The cemetery director says more space will be needed for burials over the next 10 years

    • It already has developed 117 acres, and 17,000 veterans are interred at the cemetery

    • The Canaveral Ladies volunteer to ensure that no veterans are alone during committal ceremonies

    The new expansion project will add 30 more acres, along with 32,200 gravesites.

    Cape Canaveral National Cemetery has developed 117 acres, and 17,000 veterans are interred on the property.

    Up to a dozen committal services for one of the nation’s veterans are held seven days a week at the cemetery.

    “We are always going to make sure we honor them with dignity and respect,” cemetery director Cindy Van Bibber says. “The families that come out here are going to receive that same respect. It’s something to be able to say when you’ve served your country, you have a special place and connection to those you are laid to rest with.”

    One group — the Cape Canaveral Ladies — is committed to making sure no veteran is alone during one of these services.

    Forty-six of them have volunteered nearly 16,000 hours overall so far — there for every service since the cemetery opened in 2016.

    “We do not, in fact we refuse, to let a veteran be buried alone,” says Cape Canaveral Ladies Chairperson Larue Fleming.

    Fleming’s father served in World War II. She also has a husband who served in Vietnam and four brothers who are veterans.

    She says it’s an honor to thank those who served our country.

    “It’s difficult sometimes to see their pain,” Fleming says. “It’s the least we can do.””

    Fleming and the other Canaveral Ladies will continue with all the families who come to the cemetery.

    “It’s very important to us to give honor where honor is due,” Fleming says.

    Cape Canaveral National Cemetery also needs volunteers to put wreaths of remembrance on gravesites during the holidays and put flags out for Memorial Day.

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    Greg Pallone

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  • SofWolf offers STEM program at USF St. Pete for Gold Star family members

    SofWolf offers STEM program at USF St. Pete for Gold Star family members

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    PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Around 25 high school and college students from across the country came to the University of South Florida St. Pete campus in June to take part in SofWolf‘s STEM program for military families. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The STEM program, with a focus on machine learning, automation, robotics and more, is for military youth between the ages of 16-24

    • The program happens once a year but they’re looking to expand
    • Many of the attendees lost a family member that was serving on active duty


    With a focus on machine learning, automation, robotics and more, program leaders say they try to bring in Gold Star family members like Jada Newman, who lost her father while serving in the military.

    The company’s co-founder, Mike Vaughn, said it’s their way of giving back to those who served.

    For Newman, she said the program is about much more than learning. It’s a chance for her to remember her father, who served in the army for nearly a decade.  

    “He wanted to protect everyone that lived in this country and he especially wanted to protect us,” she said. “He knew there would be people who work with him that would take care of us.” 

    Newman is attending nursing school in the fall but sees the course as a way to stay connected to her father.  

    This is Newman’s 6th year attending the program, saying Vaughn and the other leaders have been instrumental in helping her grow. 

    “I think he’d be glad that people are coming around us and supporting us and teaching us skills that we can use that maybe he would have taught us,” she said. “If I can be even half the person he was, I would be successful and a good human being.”

    Vaughn said they hope to expand to other parts of the country and hold the lessons more than once a year.

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    Matt Lackritz

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