Raw Story

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth jumped in to defend Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine’s explanation on where the war in Iran was headed on Monday morning and then complained about the line of questioning from reporters in the room.

Having earlier complained about “fake news,” the former Fox News personality became incensed about reports the war could drag on longer than two weeks first hinted at, and now four weeks.

“I heard the question about four weeks is the typical NBC sort of gotcha type question.” he shot back at NBC's Courtney Kube. “President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take: four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up. It could move back.”

“We're going to execute at his command the objectives we've set out to achieve,” he lectured. “And what he has shown is an ability to do that other presidents can't quite seem to have the aperture to do. Well, I mean, Joe Biden didn't even know what he was doing is to look for opportunities and off ramps and escalations for the United States that creates new opportunities to execute what we need on our own timeline.”

“So you can play games about four weeks, five weeks,” he sneered. “He has all the latitude, and I'm glad he does because there's no better communicator than our president expressing those things.”

- YouTube youtu.be

An immigration judge has axed the Trump administration's deportation case against Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, marking another major legal blow to the government's crackdown on college campus demonstrators in recent weeks.

The judge terminated the case after determining the government failed to properly authenticate a crucial document, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Mahdawi's legal team. The 35-year-old Palestinian green-card holder faced charges of posing a "foreign-policy threat" to the U.S. following his detention in April at a citizenship interview in Vermont.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government’s attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said.

Mahdawi arrived in the U.S. in 2014 after growing up in a West Bank refugee camp. He organized demonstrations at the Ivy League institution during the administration's spring campus crackdown targeting what it characterized as antisemitism and extremist ideology. He was among several high-profile activists detained and accused of threatening national security through their activism.

Though the dismissal prevents immediate deportation, the administration retains options to appeal or refile charges. Mahdawi's case follows the recent dismissal of charges against Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who spent weeks in detention after police arrested her on a street, claiming she posed a deportation risk for co-writing a pro-Palestinian opinion piece.

The FBI has officially notified Minnesota officials that it will not provide evidence from the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to local law enforcement.

In a statement on Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the FBI had contacted it about three shootings by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.

"The FBI formally notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Feb. 13 that it will not provide the BCA with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the Jan. 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti," the statement said. "The BCA reiterated the request to receive information, access to evidence, and cooperation in the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. It remains unclear if there will be any cooperation or sharing of information related to those two shootings."

"While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents, even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence," the statement added. "Our agency has committed to the FBI and Department of Justice that should its stance change we remain willing to share information that we have obtained with that agency and would welcome a joint investigation. We will continue to pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence."

The BCA said it would continue to investigate the shootings without the FBI's cooperation.

"Anyone with information about the shooting of Alex Pretti, Renee Good or Julio Sosa-Celis is urged to contact the BCA at 651-793-7000 or by email at bca.tips@state.mn.us," the agency noted.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem abruptly shut down a news conference Friday after being pressed about reports that Border Patrol officials may have mistakenly targeted party balloons with a high-energy laser, triggering a brief airspace shutdown over El Paso, Texas.

The moment came during a press conference in Phoenix, where a reporter asked Noem to clarify why the Federal Aviation Administration had abruptly closed the airspace over El Paso earlier this week – a decision that was reversed just eight hours later with little explanation.

When the subject came up on Friday, Noem declined to answer directly.

“This was a joint agency task force mission that was undertaken, and we're continuing to work on the communication through that,” Noem said. “But recognize we’re grateful for the partnership of the Department of War and the FAA as we go forward. Thank you.”

As the reporter attempted to follow up, Noem immediately cut off the exchange.

“All right, thanks everybody," she said, abruptly ending the news conference before additional questions could be asked.

According to multiple reports, the closure followed a test by Customs and Border Protection at nearby Fort Bliss of a high-energy laser against suspected foreign drones, which turned out to be party balloons.

Officials from the FAA and the Pentagon are scheduled to meet on Feb. 20 to discuss the technology and its potential risk to civilian aircraft.

President Donald Trump argued Friday that he would push to change voter ID laws ahead of the midterm elections — regardless of congressional approval.

Trump has long threatened that elections should have stricter voter ID laws. He has said that such measures are necessary to prevent voter fraud and ensure election integrity, despite widespread evidence showing that voter fraud is extremely rare in U.S. elections.

His push for voter ID requirements and other voting restrictions has become a central issue in midterm campaigns, with Republicans generally supporting such measures while Democrats argue they disproportionately suppress voter turnout among minority communities and other key Democratic constituencies.

Trump wrote the following on his Truth Social platform:

"The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections. This was not what our Founders desired. I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future. There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not! Also, the People of our Country are insisting on Citizenship, and No Mail-In Ballots, with exceptions for Military, Disability, Illness, or Travel."

President Donald Trump walked back his criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's agreement to transfer ownership of a strategically located island to Mauritius.

The 79-year-old president has complained that the United Kingdom plans to decolonize the Chagos Islands, including the site of the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, but he said Starmer had reassured him on the transfer of sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

"I have had very productive discussions with Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the Island of Diego Garcia," Trump posted on Truth Social. "It is the site of a major U.S. Military Base, strategically situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean and, therefore, of great importance to the National Security of the United States."

"I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make," he added. "However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia."

Trump vowed to keep the base at Diego Garcia no matter what Mauritius might decide in the future.

"Let it be known that I will never allow our presence on a Base as important as this to ever be undermined or threatened by fake claims or environmental nonsense," he posted. "Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP."