LOLITA C. BALDOR

FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. Austin has been released from the hospital where he was treated for complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration officials for weeks. Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat cancer detected earlier in the month. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Pentagon chief Austin’s cancer prognosis is ‘excellent,’ no further treatments needed, doctors say
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s cancer doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center say his prostate cancer prognosis is good and no further treatments will be needed after seeing him for a follow-up appointment Friday.
 
In this image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, a Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 takes off to carry out air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. The U.S. and British militaries bombed eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Monday night, the second time the two allies have conducted coordinated retaliatory strikes on an array of the rebels' missile-launching capabilities. (AS1 Jake Green RAF/Ministry of Defence via AP)
US hits Iraq militia sites and anti-ship missiles in Yemen as fight with Iranian proxies intensifies
The U.S. military has hit three facilities in Iraq and two anti-ship missiles in Yemen within hours of each other in its continued effort to keep violence from the Israel-Hamas war from spilling over into a wider conflict.
 
In this Department of Defense video, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin provides opening remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 from his home in Great Falls, Va. Austin has been recuperating at home from complications from prostate cancer treatments. (Department of Defense via AP)
Pentagon has no more money for Ukraine as it hosts a meeting of 50 allies on support for Kyiv
The United States is out of money for Ukraine right now and is unable to send the ammunition and missiles that the government in Kyiv needs to fend off Russia’s invasion. The U.S. aid is caught up in domestic politics.
 
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during flight operations in the Red Sea, Jan. 22, 2024. The U.S. and British militaries bombed multiple targets in eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Monday night, the second time the two allies have conducted coordinated retaliatory strikes on an array of the rebels' missile-launching capabilities. (Kaitlin Watt/U.S. Navy via AP)
US, British militaries launch new round of joint strikes against multiple Houthi sites in Yemen
The U.S. and British militaries have bombed eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. It is the second time the two allies have conducted coordinated retaliatory strikes on the rebels’ missile launching capabilities.
 
This photo provided by the Department of Defense shows Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram. Ingram is one of the two SEALs who were lost at sea during a raid on a boat carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen. The two were lost in the roiling high seas off the coast of Somalia. The rescue mission was called off and the SEALs are considered deceased. Recovery efforts continue. (Department of Defense via AP)
Death on the Arabian Sea: How a Navy SEAL fell into rough waters and another died trying to save him
The U.S. Navy has released the names of the two SEALs who were lost at sea during a raid on a boat carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen. The two were lost in the roiling high seas off the coast of Somalia.
 
This undated photograph released by the U.S. military's Central Command shows what it is described as the vessel that carried Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen's Houthi in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels in a raid that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
Military ends rescue search for Navy SEALs lost in maritime raid on ship with Iranian weapons
In a statement, U.S.
 
Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the U.S. and the U.K. strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo)
US Navy fighter jets strike Houthi missile launchers in Yemen, officials say
U.S. officials say American fighter jets struck Iranian-backed Houthi rebel sites for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire.
 
Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the U.S. and the U.K. strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo)
US military launches another barrage of missiles against Houthi sites in Yemen
The U.S. military has launched another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen, marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group. The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit 14 missiles that U.S.
 
This undated photograph released by the U.S. military's Central Command shows what it is described as Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen's Houthi seized off a vessel in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels in a raid that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
Chaotic wave of attacks, reprisals in Middle East fuel worries of a broader regional war
A barrage of U.S., coalition and militant attacks in the Middle East are compounding U.S. fears that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza could expand.
 
Map shows the Kenya-Somalia coastline and disputed area. A U.S. official says Navy ships and aircraft are combing areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing U.S. Navy SEALs as details emerge about their mission. The SEALs were trying to board and take over a vessel carrying components for medium-range Iranian ballistic missiles headed for Somalia days ago. The official said Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, crew on the boat were planning to transfer missile parts including warheads and engines to another boat off the coast of Somalia.
Ships and aircraft search for 2 Navy SEALs missing after mission to confiscate Iranian missile parts
A U.S. official says Navy ships and aircraft are combing areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing Navy SEALs as details emerge about their mission.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. Austin has been released from the hospital where he was treated for complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration officials for weeks. Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat cancer detected earlier in the month. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Austin is released from hospital after complications from prostate cancer surgery he kept secret
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he’s eager to return to the Pentagon after being released from a hospital where he was treated for complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from President Joe Biden.
 
Map shows the Kenya-Somalia coastline and disputed area.
Two Navy SEALs are missing after Thursday night mission off coast of Somalia
Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after doing a nighttime boarding mission off the coast of Somalia, according to two U.S. officials. In a statement Saturday U.S.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. Austin has been released from the hospital where he was treated for complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration officials for weeks. Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat cancer detected earlier in the month. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Austin ordered strikes from hospital where he continues to get prostate cancer care, Pentagon says
From his hospital room, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first orchestrated and then watched in real time as the U.S. retaliatory attack on Yemen-based Houthi militants unfolded Thursday night.
 
In this image provided on Friday Jan. 12, 2024 by the UK Ministry of Defence an RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, after striking targets in Yemen. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen late on Thursday Jan. 11, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said. (Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP)
US military strikes another Houthi-controlled site after warning ships to avoid parts of Red Sea
The U.S. military has struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk. That’s according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
 
Houthi supporters chant slogans as they attend a rally marking eight years for a Saudi-led coalition, on March 26, 2023, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Who are the Houthis and why did the US and UK retaliate for their attacks on ships in the Red Sea?
When the U.S. and U.K. warships launched waves of air, ship and submarine-launched missiles at Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen late Thursday it was the culmination of weeks of warnings to the rebel group to cease their destructive attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
 
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transit the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Aug. 9, 2023. The top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East says Yemen’s Houthi rebels are showing no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. But Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview on Saturday that more nations are joining the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic is beginning to pick up. (Mass Communications Spc. 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/U.S. Navy via AP)
US, British militaries launch massive retaliatory strike against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen
U.S. officials say the U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis. The military targets included air defense and coastal radar sites, drone and missile storage and launching locations.
 
Amid firestorm created by Austin’s cancer secrecy, missed opportunities to build trust and educate
The secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations due to prostate cancer surgery set off a political firestorm, launched multiple reviews and triggered calls for his ouster.
 
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a Pentagon press briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
A timeline of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had prostate cancer surgery and was later hospitalized in intensive care due to complications from that operation without President Joe Biden, Cabinet members or even his deputy knowing.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can't perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Austin kept prostate cancer, surgery complications a secret from everyone, even Biden
Doctors say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat a urinary tract infection related to that operation.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can't perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Austin kept prostate cancer, surgery complications a secret from everyone, even Biden
Doctors say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat a urinary tract infection related to that operation.
 
Marine commandant has open heart surgery, Corps says he will return to full duty
The Marine Corps says Gen. Eric Smith, the commandant, has had open heart surgery and is expected to return to full duty as the service’s leader.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can't perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
White House, Pentagon will review Defense Secretary Austin’s lack of disclosure on his hospital stay
Both the White House and Pentagon say they will look into why President Joe Biden and other top officials weren’t informed for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can't perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Senior Biden leaders, Pentagon officials unaware for days that defense secretary was hospitalized
U.S. officials say that senior Biden administration leaders, members of Congress and top Pentagon officials were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized since Monday.
 
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can't perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Defense Secretary Austin has been hospitalized since Jan. 1, but the Pentagon kept the news quiet
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Monday, due to complications following a minor elective medical procedure. That’s according Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary.
 
FILE - The Pentagon is seen on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington. The U.S. military on Thursday. Dec. 28, opened a new chapter in how it investigates and prosecutes cases of sexual assault and other major crimes, putting independent lawyers in charge of those decisions and sidelining commanders after years of pressure from Congress. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Independent lawyers begin prosecuting cases of sexual assault and other crimes in the US military
The U.S. military is now putting independent lawyers in charge of its investigations of sexual assault and other major crimes, what Secretary of Defense Lloyd J.
 
Ukrainian servicemen carry national flags and photos of their comrade Vasyl Boichuk who was killed in Mykolayiv in March 2022, during his funeral ceremony at the cemetery in Iltsi village, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
US announces new weapons package for Ukraine, as funds dwindle and Congress is stalled on aid bill
The U.S. is announcing what officials say could be the final package of military aid to Ukraine unless Congress approves supplemental funding legislation that is stalled on Capitol Hill.
 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, participates in a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Top US military officer speaks with Chinese counterpart as US aims to warm relations with Beijing
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has spoken with his Chinese counterpart. It is the first of what officials say will be renewed talks between the two nation’s senior military leaders.
 
FILE - This undated photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Leonard Francis. The United States freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the return of a fugitive defense contractor Leonard Francis known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File)
‘Fat Leonard,’ a fugitive now returning to the US, was behind one of the military’s biggest scandals
Convicted defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis is being returned to U.S. custody as part of the Venezuelan prisoner swap. It’s the latest twist in a decade-long salacious saga and bribery scheme that swept up dozens of Navy officers.
 
CORRECTS DATE U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a joint statement with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, after their meeting about Israel's military operation in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Pentagon announces new international mission to counter attacks on commercial vessels in Red Sea
The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
 
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes remarks at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Pentagon has ordered a US aircraft carrier to remain in the Mediterranean near Israel
U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier and one other warship to remain in the Mediterranean Sea for several more weeks as Israel’s war with Hamas grinds on.
 
Load More