Latest Lloyd Austin News
Austin, the first Black defense secretary, ends his term marred by Afghanistan but buoyed by Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin bid farewell Friday to the forces and personnel he has led through a tumultuous term that had three major military crises, a global pandemic and a personal brush with cancer that became a flashpoint for the way it was mishandled. In...
Austin failed to tell Congress or the White House about his health problems as required, report says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 's failure to inform Congress or the White House as required when he was incapacitated due to treatment for prostate cancer and later complications potentially raised “unnecessary” security risks, the Pentagon’s watchdog concluded in a highly...
US must not become complacent to a growing terrorism threat, a Counterterrorism Center official says
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — Brett Holmgren got woken up early on New Year's Day by alerts that a driver had plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans. The rampage, which killed 14 people, was the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in years and was inspired by the Islamic State group. The...
Key takeaways from Pete Hegseth's fiery confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, publicly faced senators for the first time after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his “unconventional” resume. Hegseth, a combat veteran and...
The Latest: Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing adjourns following Senate questioning
Confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s cabinet picks begin this week, starting with Trump’s choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. The hearing was held Tuesday with senators questioning whether the former combat veteran and TV news show host is fit to lead the U.S. military. ...
Hegseth's views on women in combat, infidelity and more — in his own words
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth tried to convince members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he should be the next secretary of defense, as lawmakers peppered him with questions about his character and views on a range of military issues. An author of several...
Middle East latest: Israel launches new strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels
Israel’s military says it carried out new airstrikes in Yemen against what it said were Houthi rebel targets. Its statement Friday said fighter jets struck “on the western coast and inland Yemen,” a day after the Houthis launched three drones at Israel. The U.S. military bombed Yemen earlier...
Zelenskyy and Austin use their final meeting to press Trump to keep supporting Ukraine
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting Thursday to press the incoming Trump administration not to give up on Kyiv’s fight, with Austin warning that to cease military support now “will only...
Wildfires latest: At least 10,000 structures have burned in a series of fires around Los Angeles
Firefighters battled Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed seven people, burned at least 10,000 structures from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes. Ferocious winds that drove the...
The Biden administration succeeds in temporarily blocking a plea deal for accused 9/11 mastermind
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration succeeded Thursday in temporarily blocking accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from entering a guilty plea in a deal that would spare him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It is the latest...
