Federal response to mysterious drone sightings draws bipartisan criticism
CNN
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Sunday criticized the federal government’s response to mysterious drone sightings in the Northeast, as officials emphasize there is no evidence of a security threat.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Sunday criticized the federal government’s response to mysterious drone sightings in the Northeast, as officials emphasize there is no evidence of a security threat. The criticism comes a day after the federal agencies leading the response held a news briefing that left reporters and the public with more questions than answers, as they downplayed but simultaneously legitimized concerns about the reported drones. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI offered attempts to dismiss or explain the source of the reported sightings, while also acknowledging their unusual nature. An FBI official pointed to similarities between flight patterns and the drone sightings, saying it’s “indicative of manned aviation being quite often mistaken for unmanned aviation or UAS,” referring to unmanned aircraft systems. That said, the official added, “There without a doubt — without a doubt — have been UAS flying over the state of New Jersey.” “We don’t know if it’s malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that … it is irresponsible,” a Defense Department official said while discussing the reports of drones over two military sites in New Jersey. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, took particular issue with drones reported over military sites and restricted air spaces, including near Trump’s home in Bedminster, New Jersey. “I think what the drone issue points out are kind of gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities, between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department,” he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “It’s pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on what’s going on here. We need to get to the bottom of it, and I think the Biden administration is working to do that.”
As Chad Curry busily ferries his teenage children through the streets of their Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge, he eyes passing vehicles with a skepticism he didn’t have just a few months ago.
Speaker Mike Johnson is a political survivor, weathering crisis after crisis since his unlikely ascent two years ago.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan are well matched, rhetorically forceful opposites. And they have been clashing for more than a decade over an increasingly relevant question of presidential power: How easy should it be for the president to fire the heads of independent agencies?
The Army gynecologist described in a recent lawsuit as a “predator in uniform” is now being held in the Bell County Jail in Texas, “after apparently violating conditions of liberty imposed by his commander,” according to an Army spokesperson.
Brian Walshe on Thursday came face-to-face for the first time with the man who had been having an affair with his wife before her death, as he took the stand to testify in Walshe’s murder trial.
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas to use a congressional map that will boost President Donald Trump’s effort to keep Republicans in control of Congress, blocking a lower court decision that found the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional because they were drawn based on race.
The US military carried out a strike Thursday on a suspected drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people on board, according to a social media post from US Southern Command.
A grand jury voted against indicting New York Attorney General Letitia James after being asked to look at the mortgage fraud case against her a second time, according to multiple people familiar with the development Thursday.
National Guard troops deployed to Washington, DC, can remain there for now, after a federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily froze a judge’s ruling that would have soon required them to leave the city’s streets.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bad week just got worse. That’s after the long-awaited release Thursday of an inspector general’s report on his sharing of highly sensitive military attack plans on the unclassified app Signal earlier this year.
President Donald Trump has hired a new architect for the White House ballroom amid disputes between the president and his architect originally contracted to complete the project, several sources have told CNN.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.
If nothing else, the controversy over the Trump administration’s second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean has surfaced a long-overdue debate about its already legally dubious first strikes.