U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said on Friday that U.S. forces shot down an unspecified number of Iranian one-way attack drones in the Strait of Hormuz, as an emerging deal between the two nations hangs in the balance. Centcom wrote on the social platform X that Iran had launched “multiple one-way attack drones” targeting commercial ships...
President Trump announced late Friday that U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) launched a strike that killed the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. A "swift and lethal kinetic strike" killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Tren de Aragua is a...
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader approved deal President Trump said on Thursday that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has approved the text of a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and start diplomatic talks over...
The Senate Armed Services Committee rejected a provision in the annual defense policy bill that would have expanded coverage of fertility services for military members and their families, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). “All my provision seeks to do is provide our troops with the same access to IVF that all Members of Congress already have. After everything...
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) cannot move forward with a donation-vetting lawsuit against progressive fundraising platform ActBlue. District Judge Richard G. Stearns blocked Paxton from “continuing to litigate” the case, finding that ActBlue was likely to succeed in its claims that the action infringed on its...
CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday said in an interview that President Trump's core base of supporters, despite his longstanding feud with the news media. The CNN reporter spoke with New York Times reporter Shawn McCreesh for Interview Magazine about the president's relationship with the media. Collins described Trump as "very much someone who is one way...
President Trump suggested Thursday that an executive order could be used to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) after Congress failed to pass a temporary extension of the program. “Congress wants me to do it,” Trump said in the Oval Office after being asked by The Hill if an executive order...
President Trump on Thursday opened up previously protected areas of the Pacific Ocean to commercial fishing. Trump signed a proclamation opening up commercial fishing at three marine national monuments. “We're officially reopening nearly half a million square miles — wow — of water around [the] northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa,” he...
President Trump offered stark criticism from the Oval Office of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday, calling him an “angry man” and launching into his grievances with the former Senate Republican Leader. Asked whether there would be enough support from Republicans in Congress for a supplemental bill to fund the Iran war, Trump said he...
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Wednesday said President Trump’s team is making him “look like a fool” for not keeping campaign promises to withdraw from foreign wars and conflict. Greene says the president’s most recent interview with NBC, where he denies campaigning on avoiding “endless” wars and abruptly ends the interview after a line of questioning...
OpenAI revealed Wednesday that influence operators, likely based in China, used ChatGPT accounts to push certain narratives about American artificial intelligence and technology policy debates. In a report, published Wednesday, the AI firm said it discovered two clusters of ChatGPT accounts "likely originating" from China, one of which created social media comments and pictures alleging...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is taking steps to implement new restrictions on data centers in the state, including proposals to set water-efficient technology requirements and repeal tax incentives. The Republican governor directed the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Wednesday to “take immediate steps” to safeguard...
Planned Parenthood’s Northwest affiliate is suing Alaska to challenge the state’s ban on telehealth abortion. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Alaska state court, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) said the state’s requirement that patients seeking medication abortion must be seen in person violates Alaskans’ constitutional right to abortion. The organization is seeking a preliminary injunction...
The State Department on Thursday announced that it will sanction Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET) amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and the island country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the latest sanctions are pursuant of President Trump's May 1 executive order expanding sanctions on government officials, agents "or material...
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee this week pushed forward the Trump administration’s desired “Department of War” name change in passing their version of the annual defense policy bill. In closed-door deliberations over its fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the panel included language to formally change the Department of Defense to the...
