Pete Hegseth

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Hegseth: I Can't Wait for CNN's New Owner

Pentagon chief suggests network will be more supportive of the White House

(Newser) - During a briefing on the Iran war Friday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ventured into unexpected territory: ownership of CNN. "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better," Hegseth said in complaining about the network's war coverage, reports the Hill . Ellison's Paramount Skydance is poised...

Hegseth: Khamenei Is 'Wounded,' 'Likely Disfigured'

As Trump says Iran's new leader is 'damaged,' 'probably alive in some form'

(Newser) - Iran's new supreme leader is alive but apparently not unscathed, according to top US officials. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured in the ongoing US-Israeli campaign, telling reporters the "so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured." He added that Washington is "on plan to defeat,...

2 Months After One 'Doomsday Plane' Over California, Another

Military nuclear command jet spotted doing routine drills in Fresno sparks jitters, online speculation

(Newser) - Residents in California's Central Valley got an unsettling reminder of global tensions over the weekend, courtesy of a military jet with a grim nickname. A US Navy E-6B Mercury —one of the aircraft that can serve as an airborne command center in a nuclear crisis—was spotted on...

Report: Pentagon Blocks Press Over 'Unflattering' Hegseth Photos

Outside photographers have been banned from recent Iran war briefing

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's team appears to have decided that bad angles are a national security threat. The Pentagon has blocked outside press photographers from recent briefings on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran after major wire services published images of Hegseth that aides didn't like, the Washington Post...

Hegseth: Iran Is in for 'Most Intense Day'

Defense secretary promises heavy action as Iran missile launches continue to decline

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Tuesday's action against Iran will mark the heaviest US aerial assault since the conflict began 10 days ago. Speaking at the Pentagon alongside Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth said Iran "stands alone" and is "badly losing," claiming Tehran has launched its fewest missiles...

Anthropic Sues Over Hegseth's Security Blacklist

AI firm challenges Pentagon's designation of it as a 'supply chain risk'

(Newser) - Anthropic just took its fight with the Trump administration to federal court. The AI firm sued on Monday after the Pentagon branded the company a security risk and moved to cancel its government contracts, reports the Wall Street Journal . In a complaint filed in the Northern District of California, Anthropic...

Hegseth: Iran War Is 'Bringing Your Enemy to Their Knees'

Defense secretary says US strikes will intensify until Iran's capabilities collapse

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the outcome in Iran is already set: capitulation, whether Tehran says the word or not. In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes , Hegseth said US strikes had hit roughly 3,000 targets in Iran as of Friday and warned the campaign is "only just...

Missile Allegedly Fired at Turkey Brings Talk of Article 5

NATO says no current plans to trigger mutual defense clause linked to armed attack

(Newser) - Turkey and Iran are at odds over a missile allegedly fired at the Incirlik Air Base, a joint Turkish-US airbase near the city of Adana. Ankara reported Wednesday that a projectile originating in Iran was tracked over Iraq and Syria and disabled by NATO air and missile defenses above the...

32 Survivors Rescued After US Sub Sinks Iran Warship

Sri Lanka says 87 bodies were recovered

(Newser) - Sri Lankan sailors rushed into a war they're trying to avoid after an Iranian warship went down in the Indian Ocean off the country's southern coast. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that a US submarine sank the vessel with a torpedo as part of an escalating campaign...

Hegseth: US Killed Iranian Who Plotted to Assassinate Trump

Defense secretary quips, 'President Trump got the last laugh'

(Newser) - The Pentagon says someone tied to an alleged 2024 plot to kill President Trump is now dead—though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday told reporters that "was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination." Still, the leader of an Iranian unit who...

US Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship: Hegseth

Says sinking is the first of its kind since WWII as bombardment of Iran intensifies

(Newser) - The US sank an Iranian warship in international waters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, as it intensified its bombardment with Israel of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power. Hegseth said a torpedo from a US submarine sank the warship. He did not name the ship, reports...

100+ Complaints From Troops Over 'Divine Plan' Rhetoric

Service members allege commanders are framing Iran conflict as biblically ordained battle

(Newser) - Some US service members say their commanders are casting the new conflict with Iran as a prelude to the apocalypse. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reports receiving upward of 110 complaints since fighting began on Saturday, alleging that officers in every branch have framed the campaign as part of a...

US Death Toll in Iran Conflict Rises to 6

First US combat deaths in Operation Epic Fury confirmed

(Newser) - The US death toll from the US-Iran conflict has risen to six, CNN reports. US Central Command on Monday announced the new toll from an Iranian strike on a temporary American operations hub at Kuwait's Shuaiba port after the remains of two previously missing service members were recovered...

Hegseth: This Is Not a 'Regime Change War'

Defense chief and top general brief the nation

(Newser) - The nation's top two military officials gave their first public briefing about the military operation in Iran, and both declined to put a specific timeline on how long it may last, reports the New York Times . (Earlier, President Trump suggested four to five weeks .) Highlights from the press...

DOD Bans Military Members From Attending Elite Schools

Hegseth calls schools like Yale, Brown 'factories of anti-American resentment,' without elaborating

(Newser) - The Pentagon will forbid members of the military from attending Columbia, Yale, Brown, and other universities starting next school year amid a campaign to cut ties with institutions that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called "factories of anti-American resentment." Hegseth announced the policy in a video posted to social...

Scouting America Shifts Gender Policy for Pentagon

Applicants must join under the biological sex they were assigned at birth, Hegseth announces

(Newser) - Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including a requirement that members use "biological sex at birth and not gender identity," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday in a video . The concessions mean Hegseth will not follow through on his threat to end...

Anthropic CEO Stands Up to Pentagon
Anthropic CEO
Stands Up to Pentagon
Feb 27, 2026 12:00 AM CST

Anthropic CEO Stands Up to Pentagon

CEO says company 'cannot in good conscience accede' to Pentagon's demands for AI use

(Newser) - Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that the artificial intelligence company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Pentagon's demands to allow unrestricted use of its technology, deepening a public clash with the Trump administration that is threatening to pull its contract and take other drastic steps by...

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...

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...

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...

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