On a snowy Christmas morning, while much of the world was waking slowly to holiday music and warm coffee, a quiet knock sounded at the entrance of Starlight Haven Home for Children. The volunteers who had arrived early were still unwrapping breakfast donations when the door opened, letting in a breath of frosty air and a woman bundled in a wool coat, muffler, and knitted cap. She pushed back the hat, revealing the ... Read more
Trump’s top national security officials are set to brief the “Gang of Eight,” according to sources familiar with the plan. NQ
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to brief the "Gang of Eight" lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon, according to two sources familiar with the plan and a Trump administration official. The "Gang of Eight" - intelligence committee and Senate and House of Representatives leaders from both ... Read more
Pam Bondi repeats the same statement Trump has labeled “sedition,” instantly igniting a political storm. NQ
President Trump has been quite upset over six Democratic legislators telling members of the military that they have to refuse illegal orders, calling the lawmakers seditious and saying their statements are “punishable by DEATH.” But as it turns out, Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the same thing. Last year, as a lawyer for the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, Bondi filed a ... Read more
Hegseth signals push for expanded Pacific basing access and stronger deterrence along the First Island Chain. NQ
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out the Trump administration’s vision to reinforce U.S. military posture in the first island chain to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan while speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum over the weekend. “We’re not trying to strangle China’s growth, we’re not trying to dominate or humiliate them,” Hegseth said during his keynote at the annual national security conference. “Nor are ... Read more
Rubio and Hegseth hold strategic talks ahead of high-stakes Indo-Pacific security discussions with Australian officials. NQ
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met their Australian counterparts Monday in Washington for annual talks focused on Indo-Pacific security and countering China's increasing assertiveness in the region, including in the South China Sea and directed at Taiwan. Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles gathered at the State ... Read more