Military

The Washington Post reports: Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member suspected of leaking a trove of classified military intelligence, was charged Friday with retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents. Teixeira, 21, appeared shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern before Magistrate Judge David Hennessy of the U.S. District Court for the District of …

The New York Times reports: The 21-year-old National Guard airman was frantic as he joined a call with members of a small online gamer community that has improbably ended up at the center of a federal investigation into a major U.S. security breach. It sounded as if the airman, Jack Teixeira, was in a speeding car, said a member of …

The New York Times reports: The leader of a small online gaming chat group where a trove of classified U.S. intelligence documents leaked over the last few months is a 21-year-old member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The New York Times. The national guardsman, whose name is Jack …

The Washington Post reports: The man behind a massive leak of U.S. government secrets that has exposed spying on allies, revealed the grim prospects for Ukraine’s war with Russia and ignited diplomatic fires for the White House is a young, charismatic gun enthusiast who shared highly classified documents with a group of far-flung acquaintances searching for companionship amid the isolation …

CNN reports: The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the leaks of a trove of apparent US intelligence documents that were posted on social media in recent weeks. The investigation comes as new documents surfaced Friday covering everything from US support for Ukraine to information about key US allies like Israel, widening the fallout from the already alarming …

The Associated Press reports: Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said. Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said Thursday morning that the deaths happened the previous night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission. A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, …

The Hill reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) move to block more than 160 promotions for military officers and commanders over the Pentagon’s decision to provide service members with expanded access to abortion is dividing Republicans and drawing the ire of Defense Department officials. At issue for Tuberville is the Pentagon’s recently enacted policy that covers expenses and grants leave to …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: When Gov. Ron DeSantis first proposed reviving the long-dormant Florida State Guard, he wanted 200 volunteers and a modest $5 million budget. Then it grew to 400 members and $10 million. Now it’s 1,500 members and a nearly $100 million budget — with police powers, helicopters, boats and, under one lawmaker’s request, cellphone-hacking technology. The …

The Washington Post reports: For decades, the mission statement of Veterans Affairs came from a line from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 — “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” — a phrase adopted by the department in 1959. On Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis …

From the editorial board of the Miami Herald: The more we hear about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ time as a Navy lawyer in Guantánamo in the spring of 2006, the more questions we have — and the more we think voters need to know. Here is a man who spends an extraordinary amount of time fighting the so-called war against woke, …

Via press release from the United States Air Force: President of the United States Joe Biden selected the livery design for the “Next Air Force One,” VC-25B, a design that will closely resemble the livery of the current Air Force One, VC-25A, while also modernizing for the 21st century. While accounting for the VC-25B’s larger 747-8i aircraft, the VC-25B livery …

Congress Minutes reports: Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville plans to delay the approval of civilian Pentagon nominees and top military promotions after the Defense Department moved ahead with a new policy aimed at shoring up troops’ access to abortion services. The Alabama Republican announced Friday that he will hold up the speedy confirmations and promotions over the policies rolled out on …

Via press release from Sen. Marco Rubio: Under President Joe Biden, people who identify as transgender or have gender dysphoria can serve openly in the U.S. military. Senator Rubio’s legislation would prohibit any individual with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria from serving in the military, with limited exceptions. The legislation builds on Trump era restrictions that were repealed …

The Wall Street Journal reports: A small circle of intelligence officials at the Pentagon during the Trump administration monitored a series of mysterious objects—now suspected to be balloons—but the incidents were never reported to the White House because it wasn’t clear what they were, former U.S. officials said. Following the shootdown earlier this month of a Chinese high-altitude balloon, the …

CNN reports: The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by CNN. The memo offers the first official details of one of the three objects shot down in recent days that was …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts. Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by U.S. warplanes in as many …

The CBC reports: The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is monitoring another “high-altitude airborne object” over northern Canada, the organization confirmed Saturday. “Military aircraft are currently operating from Alaska and Canada in support of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) activities. “NORAD confirms that we have positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada,” a spokesperson for the …

The New York Times reports: The Pentagon downed an unidentified object over Alaska on Thursday night at the order of President Biden, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. official said it was not confirmed if the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Mr. Biden ordered …

The Associated Press reports: The United States and the Philippines on Thursday announced plans to expand America’s military presence in the Southeast Asian nation, with access to four more bases as they seek to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea. The agreement was reached as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in …

Law & Crime reports: Joshua Abate, Micah Coomer, and Dodge Dale Hellonen are accused of entering the building through the Senate Wing Door at around 2:20 p.m. that day. Weeks after Jan. 6, Coomer (red circle above) indicated that the deadly riot didn’t go far enough. “Everything in this country is corrupt,” he wrote to another unidentified Instagram user. “We …