In late July, few noticed when a catastrophic wildfire swept over more than 13,000 acres of the San Clemente island outpost. Between July 24 and July 30, the blaze scorched more than a third of the island, damaging more than nine miles of high-voltage power lines, including more than 160 utility lines and a transformer, according to Navy documents.

A federal judge ordered the release Wednesday of Jordan Goudreau, a former U.S. Green Beret indicted in connection with a failed 2020 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, rejecting arguments he would flee while awaiting trial on weapons smuggling charges.

The generational effects of chemical warfare agents and other hazardous materials on the descendants of service members would be evaluated under a bill to fund $15 million in research on birth defects identified in the children and grandchildren of toxic-exposed veterans.

The requests come as Congress’ bipartisan task force ramps up its investigation just two months before Election Day. Meanwhile, a handful of House Republicans with security backgrounds who were not tapped for the panel are conducting an separate inquiry featuring frequent broadsides of the Secret Service and FBI.

The White House is signaling an openness to blocking the acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel, as a government review of the proposed takeover by the Japanese company is on the cusp of ending.

Prosecutors described as a seven-year scheme of Russian meddling that ensnared the Uhurus, a longstanding activist arm of the African People’s Socialist Party. The Uhurus don’t deny speaking favorably of Russia, but they reject that they were controlled by any foreign entity.

One of the fundamental rules that Justice and FBI officials will follow is leaving it solely up to such platforms as Facebook, X and YouTube to decide what to do with information shared by the government.

Jimmy McCain, a son of former Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, said this week he has registered as a Democrat and will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, a valuable nod of support for the Democratic nominee in a battleground state.

NASA said Wednesday that everything is on track for the Starliner capsule to undock from the space station Friday evening. NASA’s two stuck astronauts who flew up on Starliner will remain behind at the orbiting lab. They’ll ride home with SpaceX in February.

The program’s short-term goal is to fund cybersecurity measures for a select group of schools and libraries. Long term, the aim is to gather data on the resources necessary to improve cybersecurity in schools and libraries throughout the U.S.

A U.S. Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela after traveling there unauthorized on personal business, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The enlisted sailor was detained last week by Venezuelan law enforcement, two defense officials said

A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe.

The Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its most sweeping effort yet to push back against what it says are Russian attempts to spread disinformation ahead of the November presidential election.

The 182nd Airlift Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard worked closely with Germany’s Air Transport Wing 62 at massive joint air exercises in Germany last year, and wanted to return the favor by inviting them to the U.S.

After a video of armed men in an Aurora, Colo. apartment building went viral, Mayor Mike Coffman said several apartment buildings have “fallen” to Venezuelan gangs. But other city officials and residents contradicted him about the scope of the problem.

Seven Republican-led states sued on Tuesday to block President Joe Biden’s new policy to reduce or eliminate the balances of millions of student loan borrowers, claiming the Education Department is illegally preparing to start debt cancellation before the rule is finalized.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is traveling to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to meet Friday with allies and discuss further military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to the Pentagon.

The Feres Doctrine has been used to prevent military medical malpractice lawsuits since 1950 and has even limited the ability of people to bring military rape cases to civil courts. Nearly two dozen veterans advocacy groups want to change that.