Pentagon

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Hegseth: We're on That Review of UFO Files

But Pentagon chief offers no clear timeline for Trump-ordered review of records

(Newser) - Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth says the hunt for whatever the government knows about UFOs is officially on. Speaking Monday during a visit to aerospace firm Sierra Space in Colorado, Hegseth said the Defense Department is now sorting through files on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and possible extraterrestrial life, following President...

Sources: Pentagon Gives Anthropic an Ultimatum

Pentagon threatens contract, could invoke Defense Production Act, sources say

(Newser) - Sources say Anthropic has been handed a blunt choice by the Pentagon: drop key AI ethics limits or risk being frozen out of federal work. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given the San Francisco startup until 5:01pm Friday to accept the Trump administration's terms of use or face...

Hegseth Tries Again to Punish Mark Kelly

Defense chief appeals ruling blocking punishment over Kelly's troop remarks

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is escalating his clash with Sen. Mark Kelly, taking his bid to punish the Arizona Democrat to a federal appeals court, Politico reports. Hegseth is asking the DC Circuit to overturn a judge's order that temporarily blocked the Pentagon from demoting Kelly, a former Navy...

US Tracks Oil Tanker to Indian Ocean, Climbs Aboard

It's the third sanctioned vessel seized by American military, after it was followed from the Caribbean

(Newser) - US military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. An organization that tracks ship movements said the vessel was the only tanker left to...

Hegseth Reportedly Forces Out Top Army Spokesman

Defense secretary reportedly wanted Col. David Butler gone

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again reached into the Army's ranks, this time reportedly prompting the exit of a top spokesman. Col. David Butler, a senior adviser and media strategist for Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, submitted retirement papers after Hegseth directed...

Pentagon Is Playing Hardball With Anthropic

Insiders say Hegseth is threatening retaliation over efforts to limit AI use in warfare

(Newser) - The Pentagon's favorite AI assistant could soon become its biggest headache. A senior defense official tells Axios that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is on the verge of cutting ties with Anthropic and labeling the company a "supply chain risk"—a rare step typically aimed at foreign foes,...

AI Bot Claude Reportedly Helped Capture Maduro

Maker Anthropic doesn't sound happy about its deployment in military operation

(Newser) - The Pentagon's push to weave artificial intelligence into warfare received its first high-profile test in Venezuela, according to the Wall Street Journal . The newspaper reports that the military used Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude in the operation to capture then-President Nicolas Maduro last month. The details about the role...

Judge Blocks Hegseth on Mark Kelly, Quotes Dylan

Pentagon violated First Amendment rights of the former Navy captain and astronaut, says ruling

(Newser) - A federal judge just told the Pentagon it went too far in trying to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over a video urging troops not to follow unlawful orders. In a Thursday ruling, US District Judge Richard Leon halted efforts to formally censure the Arizona Democrat and reduce his retired Navy...

Trump Orders Pentagon to Buy Power From Coal Plants

Presidential effort is increasing pollution and costs that will be passed down, advocates and regulators say

(Newser) - President Trump on Wednesday ordered the Defense Department to favor coal-fired electricity in its long-term power contracts, extending his administration's efforts to support the coal industry by tapping one of the federal government's largest energy customers. At a White House event, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Pentagon...

Hegseth: Harvard 'No Longer Meets the Needs' of Pentagon

Defense secretary ends military training, certification programs at 'woke' Ivy League school

(Newser) - The Pentagon said Friday it's cutting ties with Harvard University, ending all military training, fellowships, and certificate programs with the Ivy League institution. The announcement marks the latest development in the Trump administration's prolonged standoff with Harvard over the White House's demands for reforms at the Ivy...

After Decades of Secrecy, US Reveals Spy Satellite Program

JUMPSEAT project intercepted Soviet electronic signals from orbit

(Newser) - The US has pulled back the curtain on a Cold War spy tool that listened in for decades from a highly unusual orbit. The National Reconnaissance Office has declassified JUMPSEAT, a now-retired series of eavesdropping satellites that flew from 1971 to 1987 as part of an Air Force effort known...

Judge in Mark Kelly Case Seems Skeptical of Pentagon

Judge questions Pentagon's bid to punish senator over speech

(Newser) - A federal judge signaled Tuesday that the Pentagon may have overreached in its clash with Sen. Mark Kelly over his comments to US troops, CNN reports. At a hearing in Washington, DC, Senior US District Judge Richard Leon questioned the Trump administration's bid to punish Kelly, a retired Navy...

Pentagon Orders Scouting America to Return to 'Core Values'

Spokesman warns that organization risks losing its ties to the military

(Newser) - The Pentagon is telling Scouting America to change course—or risk losing a partnership that's been woven into US military culture for generations. In a public warning posted on X late Monday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Defense Department is close to a deal to keep supporting the...

Here's What to Know About Latest Shutdown

Brief shuttering won't affect SNAP, will affect DOT, Pentagon

(Newser) - The partial government shutdown that kicked off on Saturday is vastly different from the record closure in the fall. That's mostly because the shutdown may not last long, per the AP . The House will try to pass funding legislation quickly when lawmakers return on Monday, and that would end...

GOP Races to Avert Shutdown Over ICE Furor

Democrats say they'll block spending deal over DHS bill as Friday deadline nears, tension grows

(Newser) - Republicans are racing against the clock to keep parts of the federal government open as a political firestorm over immigration enforcement in Minneapolis threatens to derail a key spending deal. Funding for the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies runs out on Saturday, and Senate Democrats say they'...

Army Battalions Ordered to Prepare for Minneapolis

Soldiers are on standby after Trump's threat to invoke Insurrection Act

(Newser) - The Trump administration is positioning about 1,500 active-duty soldiers for possible deployment to Minnesota, the Washington Post reports. President Trump has publicly threatened to send troops there under the Insurrection Act if the state's Democratic officials don't stop demonstrations in Minneapolis opposing the actions of federal immigration...

Pentagon to Control, Remake Stars and Stripes

Military newspaper has enjoyed congressionally mandated editorial independence for decades

(Newser) - The Pentagon said Thursday it plans to take over and remake Stars and Stripes, the storied military newspaper that's served the troops for decades with its news coverage, congressionally protected independence, and Bill Mauldin cartoons . In a post Thursday on X, the Washington Post reports, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean...

CBO: Pentagon Rebrand to 'War' Department Could Cost $125M

Democrats call Trump's push for renaming a costly 'vanity project'

(Newser) - Taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to swap out one word on the Pentagon's letterhead. A new Congressional Budget Office analysis estimates that officially rebranding the Department of Defense as the "Department of War"—a change championed by Defense Secretary Pete...

Bipartisan Bill Would Cut Trump Off at the Pass on Greenland

Senate legislation would bar using US funds to annex NATO land

(Newser) - US lawmakers are trying to put a legal fence around Greenland before President Trump can test NATO's borders. A bipartisan pair of senators has introduced the NATO Unity Protection Act, a bill that would prohibit the Pentagon and State Department from spending money to "blockade, occupy, annex, or...

Mark Kelly Is Suing the Pentagon
Mark Kelly Is
Suing the Pentagon
Jan 12, 2026 1:33 PM CST

Mark Kelly Is Suing the Pentagon

He slams Hegseth's 'unconstitutional crusade' against him

(Newser) - Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders. Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy pilot, is seeking to block his censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week, the AP reports. Hegseth announced last Monday that he censured...

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