Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is stepping down from his post, President Donald Trump announced Thursday, after the retired Marine general clashed with the president over a troop drawdown in Syria and Trump’s go-it-alone stance in world affairs. WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced Thursday that he is stepping down, citing disagreements with President Donald Trump ranging from Syria to global alliances and sparking deep anxiety among lawmakers about national security. The announcement of Mattis' departure on Feb. 28 capped a turbulent series of events in which Trump abruptly gave notice Wednesday that 2,000 troops would be withdrawn from Syria, the prospect of a partial government shutdown drew closer and financial markets plunged. In his resignation letter, Mattis, 68, acknowledged his differences with Trump over the need for alliances and bluntly told him that he should choose a different chief for the Defense Department. “Because you have the right to have a se...
DES MOINES, Iowa – Investigators are sifting through electronic data from social media accounts and a physical activity tracker to help them in the search for Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old University of Iowa student who has been missing for one week. The avid runner always wore a Fitbit, which tracks the distance traveled and other information. She was seen running the night she disappeared, while dog sitting at the home of her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother in Brooklyn, Iowa, about 70 miles east of Des Moines. The FBI has several agents dedicated to the case because additional expertise is needed in forensics to explore the areas around Brooklyn and in high technology to gather information on cellphones, social media and Fitbit, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, a state agency investigating the case. More: Community continues its search for missing University of Iowa student More: Strava map fallout: How much do you ...
SEOUL – A U.S. cargo plane carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers handed over by North Korea arrived at an American air force Base in South Korea on Friday morning, a step in fulfilling an agreement made between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un at their summit in Singapore last month. The plane, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster, transported the remains from Wonsan, North Korea to Osan Air Force Base, located some 40 miles south of Seoul. It was accompanied by service members from United Nations Command Korea and technical experts from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the Hawaii-based government agency responsible for recovering missing personnel, according to a statement from the White House. The United Nations Command confirmed there were 55 cases of remains returned on Friday. The aircraft, flanked by two fighter jets, arrived at approximately 11:00 a.m. local time and was met by American service members and a military honor guard. A formal repatriation ceremony head...
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