Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, indicated that the Pentagon’s move here is illegal. ‘This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations,’ Mr. Stern said. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...

"In a ruling dripping with derision, a federal judge has rejected President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, asserting that the rambling 85-page suit did not follow federal rules for filing civil complaints." www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/m...

President Trump has been quietly pushing his national security officials for months to find a way to get Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back from the Taliban, per 3 sources--possibly putting US troops back on the ground there www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/p...

NEW: NDAs around the Pentagon, increasingly scarce contact with Congress, a fixation on social media and public image — and a wariness of anyone who threatens it, including the Army secretary. Secretary of Culture War: How Hegseth wields power at the Pentagon www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/p...

In briefing to the hill, DoD did not present conclusive evidence that the targets of last week’s attack were members of Tren de Aragua, top Armed Services Dem and sources say. Briefers also acknowledged the boat turned around before being struck. www.cnn.com/2025/09/11/p...

Russia’s drone incursion into Poland marked the first time in its history that NATO planes have shot down potential threats in allied airspace, per NATO spokesperson. German Patriots in Poland were also placed on alert, he said.

Hegseth in the Oval Office just now says the Pentagon wants "Maximum lethality -- not tepid legality.” Comes amid questions about the legal authorities the administration relied on to strike a Venezuelan boat it accused of carrying cartel members and drugs.

Trump will sign an executive order tomorrow making the “department of war” the “secondary” name for DoD, until Hegseth can propose a legislative solution for a more permanent change. Hegseth to also be renamed Sec of War…

See you next week, DC… (maybe!!!)

Meanwhile...Breaking: The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN. www.cnn.com/2025/08/15/p...

Trump just announced that he’s activating the DC national guard (as many as 800 troops, per CNN reporting) and federalizing the DC police. Dramatic escalations as the city’s crime rate is at a 30-year low

New: Defense Secretary Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart have signed an agreement outlining the terms of Qatar’s “unconditional donation” of a Boeing jet to the Pentagon (and that is expected to be used by Trump), confirming that the US will pay nothing for the plane. www.cnn.com/2025/07/27/p...

New: The Pentagon’s watchdog has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s Signal account were taken from a document marked classified at the time, sources say, undercutting Hegseth’s claims that nothing classified was shared. www.cnn.com/2025/07/23/p...

The US and NATO are working with Germany to get additional Patriots to Ukraine “as quickly as possible,” the senior US military commander in Europe said Thursday. "The guidance that I've been given has been to move out as quickly as possible,” US Gen. Alex Grynkewich said today in Wiesbaden.

Secdef Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, per 5 sources, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and Kyiv. www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/p...

“Rafael Grossi’s comments appear to support an early assessment first reported by CNN which suggests the United States’ strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites last week did not destroy the core components of its nuclear program, and likely only set it back by months.” www.cnn.com/2025/06/29/w...

New reporting: The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear sites last weekend because the site is so deep that the bombs likely would not have been effective, the US’ top general told senators during a briefing on Thursday. www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/p...

We call on President Trump and his administration today to end their inflammatory attacks on CNN's @natashabertrand.bsky.social, and journalists and news organizations more broadly following reporting of an early intelligence assessment of the U.S. strikes in Iran. pen.org/press-releas...

New CNN reporting: The Trump admin has discussed helping Iran access <$30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds–efforts to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/p...

Exclusive: US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intel assessment. The WH says the assessment is "flat-out wrong." www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/p...

“US intelligence assessments had reached a different conclusion – not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing.” www.cnn.com/2025/06/17/p...

NEW: When Trump put 2,000 Guard troops under his control on Saturday night and ordered them into Los Angeles, it was billed as an urgent response to quell protests. But officials had been discussing for months how to use the military to bolster immugration enforcement. www.cnn.com/2025/06/12/p...

Breaking: More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the matter. www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/p...

Millions of pounds of military hardware are expected to roll down the streets of DC in just over a week, fulfilling a dream of President Trump but also sparking concerns about how roads & infrastructure will fare under the weight of heavy tanks and fighting vehicles. www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/p...

ICYMI: Hegseth has ordered the secretary of the Navy to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk, per a defense official. The ship, which was launched in 2021 and named after the gay rights activist and Navy veteran, is set to be officially renamed later this month. www.cnn.com/2025/06/03/p...

New: A key Pentagon office was gutted after it disclosed that it would be overseeing the testing of Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system and the programs associated with the massive, multi-billion dollar project. www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/p...

Secretary of Defense Hegseth hosted a Christian prayer service on Wednesday at the Pentagon for employees that included a sermon by his hometown pastor who said President Trump had been “sovereignly appointed.” The service will be held monthly. www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/p...

New: The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran. www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/p...

New: The Trump admin first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by Trump, officials told us. That’s contrary to the narrative from the president that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a “gift” to him. www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/p...

New: National Guard units could soon be deputized to help border patrol agents as they conduct arrests of undocumented migrants across the country. The units would be on state orders, not federal, and serve as a “force multiplier.” www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/p...

News: The Pentagon has ordered all military academies to identify and remove books that deal with issues such as race, gender ideology, and other “divisive concepts,” per new memo. The dept is also standing up an entire committee to help with this. www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/p...

New: Migrants sat on a bus for hours on Wednesday waiting to board a C-17 en route to Libya. But at the end of the day, the flight was canceled and they were returned to detention. The C-17 instead flew to Guantanamo the next day, carrying only US troops. www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/p...

Breaking: Another F/A-18 fighter jet from the Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, the second jet lost from the carrier in just over a week, per 4 people familiar w/the incident. 2 aviators ejected and were recovered by helo with minor injuries. www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...

"Three sources familiar with the situation said Hegseth misinterpreted discussions with the president about Ukraine policy..." www.reuters.com/world/us/ord...

NEW: The Trump admin has been examining whether it can label some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as “enemy combatants” as a way to detain them more easily and limit due process. DoD lawyers are concerned; legal experts say it’s baseless. www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/p...

UPDATE: A US official said that initial reports from the scene indicated that the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. www.cnn.com/2025/04/28/p...

An F/A-18E fighter jet and tow tractor fell overboard the USS Harry Truman today and has sunk in the Red Sea...per the Navy:

NEW: Despite Trump and Hegseth claims that the USMIL operation against the Houthis has been a major success, the group continues to successfully shoot down multi-million-dollar US drones--7 in a month--hindering the US’ ability to move into “phase two” of the operation www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/p...

Last month, after news broke that Hegseth was using Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, one of his closest military aides made an unusual inquiry to DoD's chief information officer: Would they grant an exception so Hegseth could keep using Signal freely? www.cnn.com/2025/04/24/p...

New detail from our story tonight on how Hegseth last month asked for Elon Musk to be read in on more than two dozen special access programs related to China, prompting pushback from DoD ethics lawyers. www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/p...

Confirmed: Hegseth shared detailed military plans in second Signal chat that included his wife and brother www.cnn.com/2025/04/20/p...

As Sunday deadline looms for recommendation to Trump re invoking Insurrection Act, CNN has learned DoD and DHS will NOT recommend that Trump invoke it—for now. This would’ve allowed troops to help arrest migrants. www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/p...

New: The US Naval Academy canceled a lecture that author Ryan Holiday was scheduled to give to students last week after he refused to remove slides from his presentation that criticized the academy’s decision to remove 381 books from its main library. www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/p...

A third top Pentagon official, Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/p...

Harvard says it won’t accept a deal with the White House after the admin threatened to cut off $9B in federal funding: “The University will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.” t.co/MA0RQuE5as

The total cost of the US military’s operation against the Houthis is nearing $1 billion in ~3 weeks. But Houthis still Houthi-ing...earlier this week, they shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone—the second one shot down since the new offensive began last month. www.cnn.com/2025/04/04/p...

DoD's office of the inspector general announces that it is opening a review of SecDef Hegseth's use of Signal to discuss military strikes against the Houthis media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/03/...

Gen Dan Caine says he has never worn a MAGA hat when asked about it at his confirmation hearing to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “I’ve never worn any political merchandise,” Caine says. Trump has claimed Caine said he “loved” Trump and would “kill for you” while donning a MAGA hat in 2018.

Trump’s southern border military mission cost over $300 million in first 6 weeks, officials tell us. If continues at the same pace, it would put the military on track to spend more than $2 billion in the first year of operations. www.cnn.com/2025/03/29/p...

The information Hegseth disclosed on Signal was classified at the time he wrote it, especially because the operation had not even started yet, officials tell us. “It is safe to say that anybody in uniform would be court martialed for this,” a defense official said. www.cnn.com/politics/liv...