US orders 8,500 troops on heightened alert amid Russia worry

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert to potentially deploy to Europe as part of a NATO “response force” amid growing concern that Russia could soon make a military move on Ukraine. President Joe Biden consulted with key European leaders, underscoring U.S....

US orders 8,500 troops on heightened alert amid Russia worry

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert Monday to potentially deploy to Europe as part of a NATO “response force” amid growing concern that Russia could soon make a military move on Ukraine. President Joe Biden consulted with key European leaders, underscoring U.S....

Pentagon putting 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment to bolster NATO forces amid Ukraine tensions

Head of US Special Operations Command has COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.S. military's Special Operations Command has tested positive for COVID-19, the command said Monday. Gen. Richard D. Clarke has very mild symptoms and is working remotely, said Col. Curt Kellogg, his spokesman. Kellogg said Clarke hasn't been...

4 Japanese planes fly more aid to Tonga after volcanic blast

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Four Japanese aircraft left Australia on Monday to deliver more vital aid to Tonga as the Pacific nation deals with the aftermath of a volcanic eruption and tsunami. The two Japanese Lockheed C-130 Hercules and two Kawasaki C-2 left the Royal Australian...

US, Russia to try more diplomacy amid tensions over Ukraine

GENEVA (AP) — Top U.S. and Russian diplomats agreed Friday to keep talking in the standoff over Ukraine, even though their meeting produced no movement in the crisis that has seen Moscow mass tens of thousands of troops at the border and the West ramp up supplies of weapons to Kyiv. ...

IS jailbreak, attacks in Syria, Iraq raise alarm; scores die

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic State group unleashed its biggest attack in Syria since the fall of its “caliphate” three years ago. More than 100 militants assaulted the main prison holding suspected extremists, sparking a battle with U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters that continued 24 hours later and...

South Dakota man given 10 years for defrauding military

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former western Wisconsin man has been sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison for committing fraud to obtain military contracts. Craig Klund, of Yankton, South Dakota, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft for...

EXPLAINER: What are US military options to help Ukraine?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is not planning to answer a further Russian invasion of Ukraine by sending combat troops. But he could pursue a range of less dramatic yet still risky military options, including supporting a post-invasion Ukrainian resistance. The rationale...

Pentagon releases first video of botched Kabul airstrike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has declassified and publicly released video footage of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final hours of a chaotic American withdrawal that ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan. The New York Times obtained the footage through...