Missing Ret. Air Force General’s Ties to ‘UFO Community’ Revealed 

Luis Cornelio
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Missing Ret. Air Force General’s Ties to ‘UFO Community’ Revealed 

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The wife of missing retired U.S. Air Force General William McCasland has taken to social media to clarify his ties to the UFO community, as the FBI enters the second week of its search in New Mexico. 

McCasland was reported missing by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in Albuquerque on Feb. 27. His disappearance quickly became a topic of social media discussion due to the unusual circumstances surrounding it. 

Susan McCasland Wilkerson’s March 6 Facebook comments came amid growing online speculation that her husband’s disappearance could be linked to UFO activity, given his previous role leading an Air Force base with relevant programs. 

“Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt,” Wilkerson wrote, as quoted first by the New York Post. 

She added that her husband had a “brief association” with the UFO community after his retirement and collaboration with Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge, who co-founded a company focused on studying “unidentified aerial phenomena,” according to the Post. 

Wilkerson emphasized that McCasland served as “unpaid consultant on military and technical/scientific matters to lend verisimilitude to Tom’s fiction book and media activities.” 

She stressed that this connection “is not a reason for somebody to abduct” her husband. 

“Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt,” she reiterated, referencing the long-standing rumors that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base held materials recovered from the alleged 1947 flying disk crash. 

Wilkerson appeared to close with a touch of dark humor: “Though at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership. However, no sightings hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported.”

Brazil Revokes Trump Official/Revolver News Founder’s Visa

Headline USA Editor
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Brazil Revokes Trump Official/Revolver News Founder’s Visa

(Headline USA) Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday his government revoked the visa of a U.S. State Department official, calling it a reciprocal measure after Brazilian officials had their visas revoked in the United States last year.

Lula’s decision against Darren Beattie is tied to a move in August by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that revoked and restricted visas of some Brazilian officials who Washington claimed to have links to a Cuban program that sends doctors overseas.

On Thursday Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied Beattie access to the Brasilia prison where former President Jair Bolsonaro is jailed.

“That American fellow who said he had come here to visit Jair Bolsonaro was forbidden to do so,” Lula said, adding that he will be blocked from Brazil until the visas for Brazil’s health minister and his family are reinstated.

Beattie founded Revolver News, a right-wing media outlet that became one of the most influential platforms in the MAGA media ecosystem

Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for leading a coup attempt in 2023, said in his ruling that Beattie had requested a visa to attend the Brazil–US Critical Minerals Forum in São Paulo on Wednesday.

The ruling mentions the Brazilian foreign office’s view that Beattie’s visit to Bolsonaro could represent “undue interference.” The 80-year-old Lula is running for reelection later this year, with Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of the far-right leader, expected to be his main opponent in his bid for a fourth term.

A Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Friday that Beattie’s visa was revoked because of “the omission of information and lies about the purpose of the visit upon his visa request.”

The official spoke under condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.

The White House did not comment on Lula’s decision or the Brazilian Supreme Court ruling.

Lula has repeatedly suggested he wants to meet Trump in Washington this month to discuss tariffs, security cooperation and other topics, but no date has been set.

Beattie’s profile in the State Department’s website says he joined “from the private sector, where he worked as a media entrepreneur and political strategist.” It said he has served in government as a White House speechwriter and policy aide.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

U.S. Military Jet Goes Down Over Iraq; Incident Not Attributed to Hostile Fire

Headline USA Editor
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U.S. Military Jet Goes Down Over Iraq; Incident Not Attributed to Hostile Fire

(Sarah-Roderick Fitch, The Center Square) A U.S. Air Force refueling jet involved in Operation Epic Fury has gone down over Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

The KC-135 was flying over “friendly airspace” during the incident involving another aircraft, which CENTCOM claims wasn’t attributed to hostile or friendly fire. The military command said the second aircraft landed safely following the incident in western Iraq.

As of early Thursday evening, CENTCOM said, “rescue efforts are ongoing.” It remains unclear how many crew members were onboard at the time of the incident.

CBS News reported 19 injured U.S. service members were medically evacuated from Saudi Arabia to Germany, including two injured during a drone explosion.

Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, released a statement Tuesday afternoon confirming reports that up to 150 U.S. service members have been injured during the conflict.

“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks. The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” Parnell said.

It’s unclear whether the 19 injured are included in the previously reported group.

These latest incidents come as the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran have continued for nearly two weeks, with President Donald Trump taking a victory lap during an event on Wednesday afternoon.

CENTCOM says approximately 6,000 targets in Iran have been struck and over 90 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed since Feb. 28.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, delivered a video statement Wednesday updating the status of military efforts in the region.

“U.S. forces continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. U.S. combat power is building. Iranian combat power is declining, and we remain centered on very clear military objectives in eliminating Iran’s ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbors. Every day, we’re striking hard at Iranian ballistic missiles and drones,” said Cooper.

The admiral claimed ballistic missile and drone attacks from the Islamic Republic have “dropped drastically.” However, he warns that Iran continues to target civilians in the region as well as “hiding behind their own people as they launch attacks.”

As of Thursday, seven U.S. service members have been killed since the operation began, during Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a press conference Friday morning.

Epstein’s Longtime Accountant Testifies on His Wealth and Business Ties

Headline USA Editor
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Epstein’s Longtime Accountant Testifies on His Wealth and Business Ties

(Headline USA) House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling financial portfolio on Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world’s wealthiest men.

Richard Kahn, who worked closely with Epstein for years and now serves as an executor of his estate, appeared for the closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill. He told lawmakers that he had not personally seen evidence of Epstein’s sexual abuse, but provided a fuller picture of how Epstein acquired his wealth. The wealthy financier made hundreds of millions of dollars over two decades, during which he struck up friendships with some of the world’s most powerful men.

Kahn “was under the impression that Epstein made his money as a tax advisor and a financial planner,” said Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers argued that a fuller picture of Epstein’s finances could help the public understand how, for years, he was able to get away with trafficking and sexually abusing underage girls.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring would not have been possible without Richard Kahn, who managed Epstein’s money for years, authorized payments, including payments to victims and survivors,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., who added that Kahn told them he was unable to recall details of some of the transactions and communications that he was asked about.

Kahn has said that he was unaware of Epstein’s sexual abuse and had not seen any of his victims.

Comer, R-Ky., also said that lawmakers confirmed during the deposition that Epstein received significant amounts of money from former retail shopping chain executive Les Wexner, hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, tech entrepreneur Steven Sinofsky, investor Leon Black and the Rothschilds, a wealthy banking family.

None of those people have been accused of wrongdoing in their relationships with Epstein, but Democrats on the committee argued that anyone with ties to the wealthy financier should be scrutinized. Wexner was deposed by the committee last month, and Comer has also called on Black, among several others, to appear for transcribed interviews.

Kahn also told lawmakers that Epstein had financial ties to Ehud Barak, who was the prime minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, according to Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam. Barak has not been accused of wrongdoing and has said he regrets his friendship with Epstein.

Comer also said Wednesday that the committee has reviewed over 40,000 documents that it subpoenaed from JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. Epstein was connected to at least 64 business entities, according to Comer.

Republican President Donald Trump has strongly denied any wrongdoing in his own ties to Epstein, and Comer said that Kahn had never seen any financial transactions between Epstein and Trump. Comer said that Kahn is the latest witness to testify that they had never seen Trump doing anything wrong with Epstein.

“The investigation’s about getting the truth to the American people, trying to figure out how the government failed, answer questions we all have,” Comer said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Ex-Sen. Sinema Admits to Banging Security Guard, But Denies It Ruined His Marriage

Ken Silva
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Ex-Sen. Sinema Admits to Banging Security Guard, But Denies It Ruined His Marriage

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has admitted to having sex with one of her security guards—but denies that the relationship ruined the guard’s marriage.

Sinema’s admission is in response to a lawsuit filed in January in North Carolina federal court by Heather Ammel, who was married to Matthew Ammel. Heather said Sinema had an affair with her husband, which ruined their marriage and broke up their family.

Heather is suing Sinema for “alienation of affection”—a North Carolina law that says someone can be held financially liable for initiating an affair—and seeks over $25,000 in damages.

However, Sinema said in a motion to dismiss filed Thursday that her relationship with Matthew only started after he and Heather were separated. Moreover, the relationship didn’t occur in North Carolina, according to her motion.

“Though [Heather] points to a handful of arguably romantic Signal messages [Sinema] sent to Mr. Ammel prior to October 2024, Mr. Ammel was not in North Carolina when Defendant transmitted any of them,” Sinema’s motion says.

“The only arguably romantic message [Sinema] transmitted to Mr. Ammel while he was in North Carolina was sent in mid-October 2024, after Mr. Ammel had found a new place to live in response to [Heather’s] clear directive that he move out of the marital residence.”

According to the lawsuit, Matthew Ammel suffers from PTSD due to his time in the U.S. Army. He retired from there in 2022, and was hired the same year by then-Sen. Sinema’s security team.

In the fall of 2023, the head of Sinema’s security team resigned and expressed concerns that her boss was having sexual relations with other security members. The security boss encouraged Matthew Ammel to leave, too, but he stayed for financial reasons, according to the lawsuit.

That’s apparently when things became spicy between Ammel and the then-senator.

According to the lawsuit, Heather Ammel found that Sinema was messaging her husband salacious photos, including one of her wrapped in a towel. Sinema also encouraged the husband to bring MDMA drugs—commonly known as ecstasy—on work trips “so that she could guide him through a psychedelic experience.”

In 2024, Matthew Ammel flew to San Francisco and stayed in Sinema’s hotel “for hours.” Later that year, he stayed at her home in Arizona.

Matthew also took their kids to see Sinema, attending a Green Day concert at one point, according to the lawsuit.

Sinema and Matthew remain in a relationship, the lawsuit added.

It’s not clear when a judge will rule on the former senator’s motion to dismiss.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

After a Holiday Surge, Consumer Borrowing Slowed in January Signaling Continued Consumer Stress

Money Metals News Service
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After a Holiday Surge, Consumer Borrowing Slowed in January Signaling Continued Consumer Stress

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Americans spent a lot of money on Christmas, and they put most of it on credit cards.

Now, it appears consumers have put the plastic back in their wallets. Consumer debt grew at a much slower pace in January, returning to the pre-holiday trend of muted borrowing.

The fact that the Debt Black Hole grew more slowly can certainly be viewed as a positive. But if Americans have reached their credit limits and are slowing their spending, that’s really bad news for an economy that depends on people buying stuff to keep limping along.

Consumer debt grew by $8.1 billion in January, a 1.9 percent annual increase, according to the latest Federal Reserve data.

Americans are now buried under $5.11 trillion in consumer debt.

The Federal Reserve consumer debt figures include credit card debt, student loans, and auto loans, but do not factor in mortgage debt. When you include mortgages, U.S. households are buried under a record $18.8 trillion in debt.

The rather modest increase in consumer debt is in line with the trend of slowing borrowing we’ve seen over the last year, as Americans have apparently run their credit cards close to the limit.

KPMG recently reported that the slowing growth of revolving credit likely reflects a drop in borrowing and spending by the bottom 80 percent of U.S. households “that are increasingly stressed.”

“The top 20 percent now account for nearly two-thirds of all consumption. The top 3.3 percent have increased spending the most. Spending has stagnated, adjusting for inflation, among the bottom 80 percent.”

The December growth in consumer debt was more than double the 2.4 percent average growth charted for the entirety of 2025.

Revolving credit balances, primarily reflecting credit card debt, blew up by 11.3 percent in December, as consumers let Visa and Mastercard pay for Christmas. It was the biggest monthly gain in nearly two years.

The pace of revolving credit growth slowed considerably in January, climbing by just $4.7 billion, a 4.3 percent increase.

Americans now owe $1.33 trillion in revolving debt.

The double whammy of rising debt and interest rates exacerbates the debt problem. The average annual percentage rate (APR) currently stands at 19.58 percent, with some companies still charging rates as high as 28 percent. The average is only slightly down from the record high of 20.79 percent set in August 2024, despite Fed rate cuts.

Non-revolving debt, reflecting outstanding auto loans, student loans, and loans for other big-ticket durable goods, also spiked in January, driven by a combination of Christmas spending and new student loans. And like revolving credit, the pace of growth also crashed in January, returning to the slowing trend we saw most of last year with a modest $3.3 billion increase.

The Christmas surge notwithstanding, over the last several months, non-revolving credit has averaged a tepid 2 percent increase rate. Before the pandemic, revolving credit growth averaged 5 percent. It appears consumers are opting not to finance big-ticket items, as more and more of their income is necessary just to pay daily expenses.

Growing Consumer Stress

High levels of debt are stressing many American households, especially those on the lower end of the income scale.

LegalShield’s Consumer Stress Legal Index (CSLI) reflects the strain. As a spokesperson put it, “Financial strain has settled into a new normal for American households.”

The CSLI rose 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. It was the third consecutive quarterly increase, pushing the index up 10.4 percent for the year.

The LegalShield Bankruptcy subindex was up 19.9 percent in the second half of 2025, charting a 15.6 percent increase year over year. According to LegalShield, its bankruptcy data has historically served as a leading indicator, preceding actual non-business bankruptcy filings by two quarters with a .95 correlation since 2006.

The Foreclosure subindex was up 15.0 percent year-over-year. According to LegalShield, “The high volume of legal inquiries suggests that homeowners are seeking help to manage rising housing costs.”

Meanwhile, New York Fed data indicate that some households are struggling to keep up with payments on all this debt.

According to the New York Fed, aggregate delinquencies worsened in the fourth quarter. As of the end of 2025, 4.8 percent of all debt was in some stage of delinquency. That was up from 4.5 percent in Q3.

Transitions into early delinquency increased for mortgages and student loans. Transition into delinquency was steady for other debt types.

Transitions into serious delinquency ticked up for credit card balances, mortgages, and student loans while auto loans and HELOC decreased slightly.

Student loan debt has the highest delinquency rate, with 9.6 percent of balances 90+ days overdue. According to the New York Fed, approximately 1 million student loan borrowers who were more than 120 days past due had their loans transferred to the U.S Department of Education’s Default Resolution Group.

Credit card delinquencies are rising, even among consumers with strong credit scores. According to VantageScore, there was a 47 percent year-on-year increase in late payments by people in the prime segment in the third quarter of last year.

As the government showered Americans with stimulus during the pandemic years, many households paid down debt and boosted savings. However, as inflation spiked, Americans blew through their savings and turned to credit cards to make ends meet. The slowdown in debt accumulation could signal that consumers are nearly tapped out. This doesn’t bode well for an economy that depends on people buying stuff to continue limping along.

And even if consumers still have some borrowing power, an economy run on Visa and Mastercard simply isn’t sustainable. When Americans finally hit their credit limit, it will have major implications for economic growth.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Want Gold? Get a Duck!

Money Metals News Service
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Want Gold? Get a Duck!

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) A Chinese duck, to be specific.

A Chinese duck that lives near the Chenshui River in central China, to be even more specific.

You’ve heard of the goose that laid the golden egg? Well, it’s got nothing on the duck. And the duck was real.

No, I haven’t quacked up.

A farmer named Liu from Longhui county, Hunan province, found gold particles inside the stomach of a duck he slaughtered. A burning test confirmed the particles were, in fact, gold, weighing around 10 grams. The gold is valued at around 12,000 yuan ($1,800).

According to an article published by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the duck was raised free-range near the river, which was once known for gold mining. The duck likely ingested mud containing the gold particles.

I know. This seems far-fetched. But Liu said he’s not the first villager to find gold in a duck’s belly. However, nobody has ever retrieved this much metal from a duck gut.

According to the SCMP, this isn’t nearly as strange as it probably sounds to you. During the Tang dynasty (618-907), farmers regularly collected gold particles from the feces of ducks and geese.

First, eww.

But on second thought, if you could pick money out of poop, wouldn’t you do it?

A spokesperson for the Longhui County Natural Resources Bureau said that while further testing was necessary to confirm the find, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. He noted that villagers collected around 10 grams of gold while washing sand by the same river last year.

There was a pretty significant gold rush along the Chenshui River in the 70s and 80s until the government banned private mining.

Under Chinese law, the state owns all underground resources, including gold. I would worry about the duck being prosecuted for illegal mining, but since he’s already dead, I guess it doesn’t matter.

Meanwhile, Liu’s father told the South China Post that finding gold inside a duck was a sign of good luck for the year ahead.

Or here’s a thought: that was the good luck for the year.

The news has some folks contemplating duck farming in China. One poster on social media proclaimed, “I need to know the exact location of this river within a day. I want to raise 1,000 ducks there.”

I get it. But let’s get real. You’re probably not going to make much money raising ducks to mine gold. It’s kind of like panning for gold. It sounds fun. And it might be, for a day. But it’s actually very hard work and generally doesn’t generate a big payoff.

Still, the story underscores the excitement of finding gold – even if it’s inside a dead animal mixed with poo! People all over the world recognize the value of gold. They know it’s worth having, and they’ll go to extreme lengths to get it.

But there is an easier way. Just peruse MoneyMetals.com while you’re here, and you’ll find all kinds of gold products, from bullion coins to bars to jewelry. We even have some bargains.

Or if you have questions, you can call 800-800-1865 and talk with a Money Metals precious metals specialist. Trust me, it’s a lot easier than sticking your hand in duck guts.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Synagogue Attacker Had Family Killed by Israel

Headline USA Editor
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Synagogue Attacker Had Family Killed by Israel

(Headline USA) A man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials are saying was an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official said Friday.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit and driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fire, according to authorities.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

The synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at its early childhood center were not injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

An Israeli airstrike killed four people in the eastern Lebanon town of Mashgharah on March 5, Lebanon’s state agency and the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. A woman was also wounded.

The ripple effects of the Iran war have spread across the Middle East. Israel has stepped up its attacks on Lebanon following renewed strikes with the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

A local official in Mashgharah said that Ghazali’s two brothers and a niece and nephew were killed at their home in the airstrike just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The official, who requested anonymity because he could not publicly discuss details of the airstrike, said that Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali were killed, along with Ibrahim Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima. Ibrahim Ghazali’s wife was seriously wounded and remains in the hospital, the official said.

The official said that Kassim Ghazali was a well-known soccer coach and personal trainer while Ibrahim was a school bus driver in the village.

The official said that Ayman Ghazali’s father was in the U.S. and returned to Lebanon recently.

In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Bouchard said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was in the hallway where the crash happened. She described hearing a loud bang and said she grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.

“When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,” Cohen said.

She said the crash happened near a classroom and, in addition to the children, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.

Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents.

About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.

Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel’s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.

“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she said.

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.

The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.

And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.

President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a “terrible thing.”

Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, said Thursday: “I’d love to say that I’m shocked, that I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

The attack was the second at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there. Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Iran’s New Leader: Strait of Hormuz Will Remain Closed, Attacks to Continue

Headline USA Editor
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Iran’s New Leader: Strait of Hormuz Will Remain Closed, Attacks to Continue

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father as the new supreme leader of Iran, issued his first statement on Thursday, where he said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed and vowed Iranian attacks on US bases in the region would continue.

“Certainly, the leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must also continue to be used,” Khamenei said in his message, which was issued as a written statement and read on Iranian TV. He suggested that Iran could open “other fronts” in the war and vowed there would be revenge for Iranians who have been killed, including more than 100 girls and boys who were killed by a US strike on an elementary school in the opening hours of the war.

“The retaliation we have in mind is not only related to the martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is killed by the enemy becomes a separate case in the file of retaliation,” Khamenei said.

“Of course, a limited portion of this retaliation has already taken concrete form, but until it is fully realized, this file will remain open above the others. We will be especially sensitive regarding the blood of our children. Therefore, the crime the enemy deliberately committed against the Shajareh-Tayyebeh school in Minab, and certain similar cases, holds a particular place in this process of accountability,” he added.

The Iranian leader addressed regional countries, saying that Iran wants good relations with its neighbors but would continue targeting US bases as long as they remain. “From now on, we will again be compelled to continue doing this if necessary, although we still believe in the importance of maintaining friendly relations with those neighboring countries,” he said.

Khamenei also addressed the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until he was hit by an Israeli strike on February 28. Mojtaba Khamenei lost other family members in the attack, including his wife, mother, and sister.

“Leader! With your departure, you have inflicted a heavy grief upon the hearts of us all. You always longed for this end, and finally the Almighty granted it to you while you were reciting the Holy Qur’an on the morning of the tenth day of the blessed month of Ramadan,” Khamenei said.

So far, the younger Khamenei hasn’t made any public appearances since he was named the new leader by Iran’s Assembly of Experts. After he was appointed, massive rallies were held in Tehran and other major cities to show support for the new leader, one of the many signs that the US-Israeli bombing campaign is not bringing about regime change.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.  

Army Sergeant Wants to Plead Guilty in Georgia Base Shootings that Injured 5

Headline USA Editor
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Army Sergeant Wants to Plead Guilty in Georgia Base Shootings that Injured 5

(Headline USA)  An Army sergeant accused of shooting and wounding five co-workers at a southeast Georgia base last summer is seeking to plead guilty to attempted murder and other charges in a military court, Army prosecutors said Thursday.

Authorities say Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, used a personal handgun to open fire on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart in August. Gunfire injured four soldiers and a civilian worker, who was Radford’s romantic partner, before bystanders disarmed and restrained the sergeant, according to prosecutors.

A military judge scheduled Radford to stand trial by court-martial in June after Radford pleaded not guilty last fall to 13 criminal counts: six counts of attempted murder, six counts of aggravated assault and a count of domestic violence. Prosecutors say there were six total victims, including a person Radford shot at and missed.

Now Radford is seeking to plead guilty to a reduced set of charges, according to the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting Radford.

It said in a news release Thursday that Radford’s attorneys told a military judge last week that Radford wants to plead guilty to two counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of domestic violence.

Radford’s lead defense attorney, Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

The Army’s online court docket shows Radford’s plea status was changed from “not guilty” to “guilty plea” ahead of his next scheduled court hearing March 31. That’s when the judge plans to consider Radford’s plea change, prosecutors said.

Army prosecutors said they haven’t negotiated a plea deal with Radford, meaning he would still face a possible life prison sentence if a military judge accepts his guilty plea.

Authorities haven’t offered a suspected motive for the shootings. Radford has been held in pretrial confinement since his arrest.

The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.

Radford served as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.

On Aug. 6, soldiers in Radford’s unit followed the sound of gunfire into the hallways of an office building where they found hazy gun smoke in the air and wounded victims on the floor and in nearby offices.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, credited soldiers with saving lives by immediately rendering first aid, in some cases using their bare hands to stanch bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart the day after the shootings to award Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers who helped restrain the gunman and treat the victims.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

 

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