Natasha Bertrand

Pay nothing TO QATAR for the plane is obviously what is meant here. As the article notes the US will likely pay hundreds of millions to retrofit it.

Qatari plane that could be new Air Force One will be ‘unconditional’ gift to the Pentagon, agreement says | CNN Politics The transfer of the jet from Qatar to the Trump administration sparked a political firestorm in the spring among Democrats and several influential Republicans.

New: Defense Secretary Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart have signed an agreement outlining the terms of Qatar’s “unconditional donation” of a Boeing jet to the Pentagon (and that is expected to be used by Trump), confirming that the US will pay nothing for the plane. www.cnn.com/2025/07/27/p...

Pentagon watchdog has evidence Hegseth’s Signal messages included classified information, sources say | CNN Politics The Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Signal account to a group chat earlier this year were taken from a US Cen...

New: The Pentagon’s watchdog has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s Signal account were taken from a document marked classified at the time, sources say, undercutting Hegseth’s claims that nothing classified was shared.
www.cnn.com/2025/07/23/p...

The US and NATO are working with Germany to get additional Patriots to Ukraine “as quickly as possible,” the senior US military commander in Europe said Thursday.

"The guidance that I've been given has been to move out as quickly as possible,” US Gen. Alex Grynkewich said today in Wiesbaden.

Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized pause on weapon shipments to Ukraine, sources say | CNN Politics Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, according to five sources familiar with the matter, setting off...

Secdef Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, per 5 sources, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and Kyiv. www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/p...

UN nuclear watchdog chief says Iran could again begin enriching uranium in ‘matter of months’ | CNN The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to its nuclear program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium “in a matter of months,” contrad...

“Rafael Grossi’s comments appear to support an early assessment first reported by CNN which suggests the United States’ strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites last week did not destroy the core components of its nuclear program, and likely only set it back by months.”

www.cnn.com/2025/06/29/w...

US’ top general tells lawmakers | CNN Politics The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear sites last weekend because the site is so deep that the bombs likely would not have been effective, the US’ top general...

New reporting: The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear sites last weekend because the site is so deep that the bombs likely would not have been effective, the US’ top general told senators during a briefing on Thursday. www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/p...

Personal Attacks on Journalists Erode Trust in Fact-Based Reporting and Send the Message that Truth-Telling is Unpatriotic - PEN America Rather than addressing the substance of his own administration’s intelligence report, President Trump has resorted to vilifying journalists who accurately characterized that intelligence, sending a da...

We call on President Trump and his administration today to end their inflammatory attacks on CNN's @natashabertrand.bsky.social, and journalists and news organizations more broadly following reporting of an early intelligence assessment of the U.S. strikes in Iran. pen.org/press-releas...

Details emerge of secret diplomatic efforts to restart Iran talks | CNN Politics The Trump administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, sources say.

New CNN reporting: The Trump admin has discussed helping Iran access <$30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds–efforts to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/p...

Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say | CNN Politics The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an e...

Exclusive: US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intel assessment. The WH says the assessment is "flat-out wrong." www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/p...

Israel says Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon. US intel says it was years away | CNN Politics When Israel launched its series of strikes against Iran last week, it also issued a number of dire warnings about the country’s nuclear program, suggesting Iran was fast approaching a point of no retu...

“US intelligence assessments had reached a different conclusion – not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing.” www.cnn.com/2025/06/17/p...

Trump’s move to use military for immigration enforcement was months in the making | CNN Politics When President Donald Trump put 2,000 National Guard troops under his control on Saturday night and ordered them into Los Angeles, it was billed as an urgent response to quell protests. But it was als...

NEW: When Trump put 2,000 Guard troops under his control on Saturday night and ordered them into Los Angeles, it was billed as an urgent response to quell protests. But officials had been discussing for months how to use the military to bolster immugration enforcement. www.cnn.com/2025/06/12/p...

The deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump’s use of the military as a show of force against protesters.

About 700 Marines being mobilized in response to LA protests, sources tell CNN | CNN Politics More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the ma...

Breaking: More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the matter. www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/p...

Army preparing for largest military parade on the capital’s streets in decades, featuring 7 million pounds of hardware | CNN Politics Millions of pounds of military hardware are expected to roll down the US capital’s streets in less than two weeks, fulfilling a dream of President Donald Trump but also an effort that has sparked conc...

Millions of pounds of military hardware are expected to roll down the streets of DC in just over a week, fulfilling a dream of President Trump but also sparking concerns about how roads & infrastructure will fare under the weight of heavy tanks and fighting vehicles. www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/p...

Hegseth orders renaming of ship named after gay rights icon Harvey Milk | CNN Politics Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the secretary of the Navy to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk, according to a defense official.

ICYMI: Hegseth has ordered the secretary of the Navy to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk, per a defense official.
The ship, which was launched in 2021 and named after the gay rights activist and Navy veteran, is set to be officially renamed later this month. www.cnn.com/2025/06/03/p...

Hegseth gutted Pentagon office that said it would oversee testing of Golden Dome missile defense system | CNN Politics Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the gutting of a Pentagon office shortly after it disclosed that it would be overseeing the testing of President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense sy...

New: A key Pentagon office was gutted after it disclosed that it would be overseeing the testing of Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system and the programs associated with the massive, multi-billion dollar project. www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/p...

Hegseth hosts first meeting of what he says will be a monthly Christian prayer service at Pentagon | CNN Politics Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosted a Christian prayer service on Wednesday at the Pentagon for employees that included a sermon by his hometown pastor who said President Donald Trump had been “s...

Secretary of Defense Hegseth hosted a Christian prayer service on Wednesday at the Pentagon for employees that included a sermon by his hometown pastor who said President Trump had been “sovereignly appointed.” The service will be held monthly. www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/p...

New intelligence suggests Israel is preparing possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, US officials say | CNN Politics The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehra...

New: The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran. www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/p...

Sources contradict Trump narrative about Qatar offering plane as ‘gift’ | CNN Politics The Trump administration first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by President Donald Trump, four sources familiar with the discussions told C...

New: The Trump admin first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by Trump, officials told us. That’s contrary to the narrative from the president that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a “gift” to him. www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/p...

Trump administration plans to deploy hundreds more federal agents to ramp up immigration enforcement across the country | CNN Politics The Trump administration is planning to deploy hundreds more federal personnel to ramp up arrests of undocumented immigrants as soon as this week, according to two sources familiar with the planning, ...

New: National Guard units could soon be deputized to help border patrol agents as they conduct arrests of undocumented migrants across the country. The units would be on state orders, not federal, and serve as a “force multiplier.” www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/p...

Pentagon orders military academies to review books for possible removal | CNN Politics The Pentagon has ordered all military academies to identify and remove books from their libraries that deal with issues such as race, gender ideology, and other “divisive concepts” that are now consid...

News: The Pentagon has ordered all military academies to identify and remove books that deal with issues such as race, gender ideology, and other “divisive concepts,” per new memo. The dept is also standing up an entire committee to help with this. www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/p...

Migrants, believed to be destined for Libya, sat on a bus for hours then abruptly returned to detention facility | CNN Politics In the early morning hours of Wednesday, a group of detained migrants were bused from a facility in Texas to a base where a military aircraft awaited them – at least one of them had been told he was d...

New: Migrants sat on a bus for hours on Wednesday waiting to board a C-17 en route to Libya. But at the end of the day, the flight was canceled and they were returned to detention. The C-17 instead flew to Guantanamo the next day, carrying only US troops. www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/p...

Second US Navy jet is lost at sea from Truman aircraft carrier | CNN Politics Another F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, the second jet lost from the carrier in just over a week, four people familiar with ...

Breaking: Another F/A-18 fighter jet from the Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, the second jet lost from the carrier in just over a week, per 4 people familiar w/the incident. 2 aviators ejected and were recovered by helo with minor injuries. www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...

Exclusive: Order by Hegseth to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard Roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the U.S. military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a U.S. base in the United Arab Emirates: Stop 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry and bound for Ukraine.

"Three sources familiar with the situation said Hegseth misinterpreted discussions with the president about Ukraine policy..."

www.reuters.com/world/us/ord...

Trump administration considering labeling some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as ‘enemy combatants’ | CNN Politics The Trump administration has been examining whether it can label some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as “enemy combatants” as a possible way to detain them more easily and limit their...

NEW: The Trump admin has been examining whether it can label some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as “enemy combatants” as a way to detain them more easily and limit due process. DoD lawyers are concerned; legal experts say it’s baseless. www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/p...

UPDATE: A US official said that initial reports from the scene indicated that the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. www.cnn.com/2025/04/28/p...

An F/A-18E fighter jet and tow tractor fell overboard the USS Harry Truman today and has sunk in the Red Sea...per the Navy:

Houthis’ successful targeting of US drones is hampering Trump’s mission to kill group’s senior leadership | CNN Politics In the month since the US launched a major military campaign targeting the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, the militants have successfully shot down at least seven multi-million-dollar American drones, h...

NEW: Despite Trump and Hegseth claims that the USMIL operation against the Houthis has been a major success, the group continues to successfully shoot down multi-million-dollar US drones--7 in a month--hindering the US’ ability to move into “phase two” of the operation www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/p...

‘He gets him what he needs’: Hegseth’s new favorite adviser helped set up Signal on one of secretary’s computers at Pentagon | CNN Politics Last month, after news broke that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was using Signal to discuss sensitive military operations in violation of Pentagon policy, one of his closest military aides made an...

Last month, after news broke that Hegseth was using Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, one of his closest military aides made an unusual inquiry to DoD's chief information officer: Would they grant an exception so Hegseth could keep using Signal freely?
www.cnn.com/2025/04/24/p...