Author Archive

J. Weston Phippen

Management

U.S. Fears Dispute Over Qatar Will Intensify

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will fly to Kuwait next week to meet with officials mediating the talks.

Oversight

An Appeals Court Blocks the EPA's Delay on Methane Regulations

The decision ends Scott Pruitt’s 90-day postponement of an Obama-era rule that limited the release of the planet-warming gas.

Defense

A 'Serious Political and Military Provocation' in the South China Sea

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 miles of a disputed island for the Trump administration’s second “freedom-of-navigation operation."

Defense

U.S. Navy Calls Off Its Search for Missing Sailors

Their bodies were found inside a flooded compartment in the USS Fitzgerald, which had crashed the day before with a container ship.

Management

Turkey Summons U.S. Ambassador Over Embassy Brawl

The fight last week in Washington, D.C., in which the Turkish president’s bodyguards were involved, left a dozen people injured.

Management

Who Is Rod Rosenstein?

The new deputy attorney general, who has a reputation for being apolitical, has suddenly found himself in a position he spent decades avoiding.

Defense

U.S. Confirms the Death of ISIS Leader in Afghanistan

Officials say Abdul Hasib was killed in a special operations raid last April that also killed two U.S. Army Rangers.

Defense

The First U.S. Casualty in Somalia Since 'Black Hawk Down'

A Navy SEAL died during a special-operations mission against al-Shabaab.

Defense

Actually, the U.S. Will Pay for the THAAD Anti-Missile System

South Korea said the Trump administration reconfirmed its commitment to foot the bill, contradicting what the president said days earlier.

Defense

The Future of Deportations Under Trump

The administration's new policies expand who is eligible for deportation, and an Arizona mother who has lived in the country for 21 years may be its first example.

Defense

Trump Blames his Rift With the CIA on the Media

In his first speech after the inauguration Trump tried to patch things up with the FBI and CIA.

Oversight

Trump Selects Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General

Sessions serves on the Judiciary Committee and has opposed immigration reform.

Defense

The Suspension of U.S.-Russian Cooperation in Syria

The U.S. said Russia has failed to live up to its agreement to allow aid workers into Aleppo.

Defense

A Mustard Gas Attack on U.S. Troops

A general confirmed that Islamic State fighters used the chemical weapon this week in an attack on American soldiers in Iraq.

Defense

A First Look Inside Border Patrol's 'Iceboxes'

Images unsealed by a U.S. federal court in Tucson, Arizona, show migrants crammed into holding cells and huddling together for warmth.

Oversight

The Navajo, the EPA, and the Accident That Turned a River Orange

The Navajo Nation is suing the federal government over a spill that sent more than 3 million gallons of toxic water into a major river last year.

Tech

What the TSA Found in Carry-On Luggage Last Week

Agents discovered 68 firearms, including a 3D-printed pistol that was detected probably because of its metal bullets.

Defense

That Wasn't An Earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.7-magnitude “earthquake” in Florida over the weekend, but what was it really?

Defense

The Missing 28 Pages

The formerly classified pages of the congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks say some of the hijackers “were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected in the Saudi Government.”