For 1st Black Pentagon chief, racism challenge is personal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will have to contend not only with a world of security threats and a massive military bureaucracy, but also with a challenge that hits closer to home: rooting out racism and extremism in the ranks. Austin took office Friday as the first...

For 1st Black Pentagon chief, racism challenge is personal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will have to contend not only with a world of security threats and a massive military bureaucracy, but also with a challenge that hits closer to home: rooting out racism and extremism in the ranks. Austin took office Friday as the first...

Austin wins Senate confirmation as 1st Black Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lloyd J. Austin, a West Point graduate who rose to the Army's elite ranks and marched through racial barriers in a 41-year career, won Senate confirmation Friday to become the nation's first Black secretary of defense. The 93-2 vote gave President Joe Biden his second Cabinet member;...

Biden halts border wall building after Trump's final surge

SAN DIEGO (AP) — In the days before Joe Biden became president, construction crews worked quickly to finish Donald Trump’s wall at an iconic cross-border park overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which then-first lady Pat Nixon inaugurated in 1971 as a symbol of international friendship. Biden on...

Senate confirms retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to lead Pentagon, making him nation's first Black secretary of defense

US military moves to try Bali bomb suspects at Guantanamo

WASHINGTON (AP) — After an unexplained delay, the Pentagon announced plans Thursday to move ahead with a military trial for three men held at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who are suspected of involvement in deadly bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003. A senior military legal official approved...

Biden proposes 5-year extension of nuke treaty with Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has proposed to Russia a five-year extension of a nuclear arms treaty that is otherwise set to expire in February, the White House said Thursday. Biden proposed the extension even as he asked the intelligence community to look closely into Russia's cyberattacks, its...

Congress poised for quick action on Biden's Pentagon nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Congress easily passed legislation Thursday required to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as President Joe Biden’s secretary of defense, brushing aside concerns that his retirement occurred inside the seven-year window that safeguards civilian leadership...

Senate passes waiver for Biden Pentagon pick Lloyd Austin, clearing path to confirmation

House approves waiver for Biden Pentagon pick Lloyd Austin, moving him step closer to confirmation