ROME — U.S. military aircraft heading from the United States to the Middle East have been refused permission to stop off at an air base in Italy, an Italian government source has told Defense News.The request to land at Sigonella air base in Sicily was issued to Italian authorities after the aircraft had already taken off from the U.S., Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on Tuesday.Italy has a longstanding deal with the U.S. to allow it to use Sigonella for regular military flights, while permission for use of the base by flights not covered by the agreement must be…
Author: Tommy Grant
Summary Iran rejects ‘excessive, illogical’ US demands while Trump mentions ‘progress’ with a ‘more reasonable regime’. Trump again threatens to destroy Iran’s energy sites and Kharg Island. White House is seriously considering a ground operation to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, but also wants Tehran to negotiate handing it over willingly. Bazan oil refinery in Israel’s northern city of Haifa is on fire after a second apparent Iranian missile strike of the war. Iran accuses Israel of more ‘false flags’ – after Kuwait water desalination plant hit. Iran Again Rejects ‘Excessive’ Demands Iran has once again stated that it has rejected the latest “US demands” as…
An ammunition technician specialist at the School of Infantry West stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, has been federally indicted for stealing Javelin Missile Systems, AT4 antitank weapons and ammunition “so lethal that the public cannot legally possess it,” the District Court of Arizona charges.Andrew Paul Amarillas, a 23-year-old corporal in the Marine Corps, was stationed at Camp Pendleton from February 2022 through January 2026, during which he allegedly embezzled and stole U.S. military property and ammunition with the intent to resell them in Arizona, the district attorney charges.According to a March 24, 2026, court filing, Amarillas has been charged with…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that he made a secret wartime trip to the Middle East to meet with American troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury.Hegseth, speaking during a press briefing at the Pentagon, asserted that morale is high and service members are determined to “finish the mission.” He declined to disclose the precise location of the bases that he toured over the weekend. More than a month into the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran, Hegseth warned that the coming days could prove pivotal, even as the broader course of the conflict remains unsettled. “The upcoming days will…
United States President Donald Trump told the Financial Times that he could “take the oil in Iran” and seize the export hub of Kharg Island. At the same time, Iran has said that the proposals made by the U.S. in order to facilitate a ceasefire are “unrealistic.” “Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump said. “It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while.” The White House and the U.S. State Department didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. Simulation: Extended Strait of Hormuz Closure…
Marvina Butler-Hardy, 44, was arrested in Flagler County, Florida, on Monday in connection with the random stabbing of a pregnant woman at the Cotswold Village shopping center. The arrest follows a two-week multi-state manhunt for Butler-Hardy, who faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and battery of an unborn child. CHARLOTTE, NC — A two-week manhunt for the woman accused of a “random act of violence” against a pregnant mother has ended in the Sunshine State. On Monday afternoon, March 30, 2026, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police (CMPD) announced the arrest of Marvina Butler-Hardy (also known as Marvina…
Two major gun-rights organizations are taking the federal government to court over the federal law banning carrying a firearm in the country’s national parks. On March 27, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), along with an individual FPC member, filed Zimmerman v. Bondi with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The lawsuit specifically challenges the constitutionality of federal law 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), which bars knowingly possessing a firearm in a federal facility, as applied to federal facilities operated by the National Park Service. The law defines a federal facility in…
A lot of people who live in apartments take one look at their space and immediately conclude, “There is no way I can ever grow food here.” I’m here to tell you that you absolutely can. Preparedness isn’t about having a massive off-grid farm right away. It’s about building systems where you are. Apartment gardening is all about working with the space you have: vertical areas, containers, available lighting, and smart strategies to grow real food in small square footage. Whether you have a shelf under a bright window, a balcony, or a porch, you can build a mini food-growing…
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.The U.S. Navy spent at least six months resurrecting a high-energy laser weapon that previously graced the bow of a warship for a new military exercise last year, the service recently revealed.The Navy’s Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory, or DESIL, a Naval Base Ventura County, California, facility that evaluates laser weapons in a maritime environment, “ramped up efforts to restore critical functions” to the service’s “one-of-a-kind” 150 kW Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) demonstrator starting in early March…
Medical emergencies can happen when you least expect them. One morning, I was making breakfast for the family and was slicing a bagel. Next thing you know, the bagel knife slipped and sliced through a huge part of my left thumb. There was blood everywhere, so the first thing I did was to find gauze and apply pressure to control the bleeding. The bleeding lessened, but would not stop. I ended up driving myself to the hospital Emergency Department, where the ER doc stitched up the wound. I was glad I had that first aid kit to at least help…