TV News LIES

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao’s insistence this week that the Pentagon had paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan over a munitions review has undercut the Trump administration’s narrative on both Iran and Taipei.

Cao on Thursday told Senate appropriators that while the U.S. has “plenty” of missiles and interceptors, the Trump administration is holding off on some foreign military sales to “make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury,” referring to the official name for President Trump’s war with Iran.

Cao’s remarks — which contradict Trump’s claims that he may hold off on the arms sale to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China — also discounts the administration’s narrative that munitions stockpiles are no cause for worry. But the coinciding issues may prove to be a benefit for Trump as he looks to rebuild America’s stockpiles while also seeking diplomatic gains with Beijing.

“On one hand, Trump wants to keep U.S.-China relations on a constructive path, at least until [Chinese President] Xi Jinping visits Washington in September, and on the other hand, there is a munition problem. So if you can delay the sale and/or delay delivery of the order and sort of help both of these issues at the same time, it makes sense,” said Evan Sankey, an analyst at the Cato Institute focusing on U.S. foreign policy toward China and East Asia.

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An air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho was canceled on Sunday, May 17, after two Navy jets collided midair and crashed during a demonstration, forcing four crew members to eject safely from the aircraft, authorities and base officials said.

The base confirmed to USA TODAY that two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 from Whidbey Island, Washington, collided midair while performing an aerial demonstration at the air show. The crash occurred at about 12:10 p.m. local time and involved four aircrew members.

"All four of the air crew successfully ejected and they are being evaluated by medical personnel. First responders are on the scene," the base said in a statement, adding that the incident remains under investigation.

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The Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog.

A report released by the department’s inspector general concluded the US military no longer has the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy, and operate a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE).

Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of making deep cuts to the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) program, designed to handle training and procedures critical in limiting civilian harm in theaters of war.

While the program has not been officially canceled, the inspector general’s report said that funding had ended for a data management platform; committee meetings had halted; and many dedicated personnelhad been lost or reassigned.

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The remains of the second U.S. Army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, the Army said Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets.

The soldier was identified as Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres, Fla., the U.S. military Europe and Africa said in a statement. She was 19 years old.

"Royal Moroccan Armed Forces transported the Soldier's remains by a Moroccan helicopter to the morgue of Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim, Morocco," the statement said.

Collington served as an air and missile defense crewmember and was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said.

Collington entered the Regular Army's Delayed Entry Program in 2023 before beginning active-duty service in 2024. She completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, as a 14P air and missile defense crewmember. She reported to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, in Ansbach, Germany, in February 2025 and was promoted to specialist on May 1, 2026.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest attack against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is underscoring the alarm over the state of the U.S. military’s weapons stockpiles more than two months into the war with Iran.

Hegseth accused Kelly, a Navy veteran and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), of divulging classified information regarding key U.S. munitions during his appearance on a Sunday news show, putting a spotlight not only on his ongoing feud with the Arizona Republican but also on the high-usage rate of premier munitions against Tehran and the time it will take to replenish them.

“Let’s put aside that the general thrust of munition depletion is not classified, and Kelly did not go near the details. For Hegseth to bicker over classification rather than address the core argument Kelly makes suggests Hegseth simply can’t argue on the facts,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official who is now a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “It’s the national security equivalent of going ad hominem on a debate opponent when you’re poorly matched on knowledge, ability and content.”

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The US military on Friday said it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people and leaving one survivor in the latest attack on boats suspected of transporting narcotics. This brings the death toll from strikes on such vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific to more than 190 people since September.

A video posted by the US Southern Command shows the vessel traveling through the water being hit by what appears to be a missile. The screen momentarily goes black and then shows the boat engulfed in flames.

The Southern Command said, “the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” and “was engaged in narco-trafficking operations”. It said the two people killed were men and that it notified the US Coast Guard to start a search and rescue for the sole survivor. No further details were divulged.

The military has attacked multiple alleged drug-running boats in the eastern Pacific in recent weeks, including a strike on Tuesday that killed three people. According to a tally by the Intercept, there have now been 58 such boat strikes since September amounting to a death toll of 193 people with four survivors.

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