Smokey, a cartoon bear in a ranger hat, has told generations of Americans that "Only you can prevent forest fires." But that overlooks the biggest villain behind today's wildfires:...
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Pentagon briefs House lawmakers on Iran war as tensions escalate in region The Pentagon briefed a bipartisan group of House lawmakers Monday in Congress on the U.S. war with Iran as the tensions in the Middle...
Connecticut Democratic lawmakers warned that Yale University's tax-exempt status is at risk if it decides to make a deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve its investigations into the Ivy League school. University President Maurie McInnis last week said publicly that the school was speaking with the DOJ after it accused the Yale...
A top White House official accused a Chinese startup on Wednesday of improperly using Anthropic's latest model and accessing restricted Nvidia chips to develop its new Kimi model. Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the administration has information that Moonshot AI distilled Anthropic's Fable to produce...
Massachusetts voters will decide in November if legal marijuana will be repealed after a challenge to the proposal was rejected Tuesday. The State Ballot Law Commission overruled an objection to the petition seeking to end the Bay State's recreational cannabis law, allowing the proposal to be printed as a question on the ballot. The commission's...
A new poll shows both businessman Mike Lindell and political and cultural commentator Michele Tafoya gaining momentum in the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial and Senate primaries, respectively. The poll, conducted by KSTP/SurveyUSA, shows that while the GOP frontrunners are gaining bigger leads, the Democratic Senate primary between Rep. Angie Craig (Minn.) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan...
Six Democratic House lawmakers crossed the aisle on Wednesday to join a majority of Republicans in passing a nearly $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill. The Democrats who backed the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) all have a reputation of breaking with their party on key issues and many are running for reelection in...
A minor who sued multiple social media companies over claims that he suffered mental health problems due to his use of their platforms has dropped his lawsuit against Meta, just days before the case was set to go to trial in California. The plaintiff identified only as “R.K.C.” had brought claims against YouTube, Meta, Snap...
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced what it described as a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, hailing it as an economic triumph. But critics and nuclear experts have raised concerns around safeguards to prevent Riyadh from developing a nuclear weapon. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, the Minister of Energy His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince...
President Trump is mulling over launching military strikes on an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing current and former U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations. The Post noted that there is disagreement among top U.S. officials about going forward with an attack, with the National Security Council's senior director for counterterrorism, Sebastian...
The number of Senate-confirmed officials who have left their roles in the Trump administration is more than double the amount of departures at this point of President Trump’s first term, according to a new analysis from the Partnership for Public Service. Over the last 18 months, 27 such officials have left their posts, equating to...
