BREAKING NEWS Pete Hegseth FIRES top Pentagon staffer under mysterious circumstances
Justin Fulcher, who started at the Defense Department as a member of Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency and was promoted to senior advisor in April, left the department on Saturday, reported CBS News.
His departure comes after Fulcher found himself at the center of two Pentagon controversies, according to the Washington Post.
Fulcher claimed that his departure is 'perfectly amicable' and he only planned to work in the government for six months.
'Working alongside the dedicated men and women of the Department of Defense has been incredibly inspiring,' Fulcher said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said it was 'not fair' to describe Fulcher's exit as a firing and called him a 'great guy.'
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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Illegal migrant with huge rap sheet remained free due to liberal state loophole then 'kills mom and daughter'
A mother and her 11-year-old daughter were killed in a head-on crash after an illegal immigrant allegedly drove drunk into oncoming traffic in New Jersey. Raul Luna-Perez, 43, a Mexican national living in the US illegally has a long rap sheet and two DUI arrests in just the last four months together with multiple arrests for drunk driving, domestic violence, and hit-and-run. Luna-Perez had been living illegally in Red Bank since early 2023 and was able to remain free under New Jersey's sanctuary policies. On the night of July 26, police say Luna-Perez's speeding SUV veered into the wrong lane in Lakewood and smashed into a Nissan Sentra carrying 42-year-old Maria Santos Pleitez and her daughter Dayanara Cortes, killing them both and critically injuring another child. He has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto after his speeding Dodge Durango slammed into Pleitez's car. Pleitez was killed instantly. Dayanara, who had been sitting beside her in the front seat, died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The surviving passenger, Dayanara's friend, was in critical condition but has since been upgraded to stable. Luna-Perez and two passengers in his vehicle walked away with minor injuries. According to authorities, Luna-Perez showed signs of intoxication at the scene and had his blood drawn at the hospital. Formal toxicology results are pending, but prosecutors say additional charges could be filed once they arrive. The tragedy has triggered a furious backlash from the Trump administration and immigration officials, who are blaming New Jersey's sanctuary policies for allowing a man with multiple prior arrests to remain at large. 'Governor Murphy and his sanctuary policies released this serial criminal into New Jersey communities,' said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. 'Now, this innocent family is shattered by their failed leadership. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to do everything in their power to remove these criminal illegal aliens before they destroy more lives. 'Every crime committed by an illegal alien is 100 percent preventable - they should have never been in our country to begin with,' added White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. 'This tragedy underscores how dangerous sanctuary jurisdictions are and how critical it is to deport criminal illegal aliens from the country. President Trump is committed to fulfilling the mandate he was elected on: deporting criminal illegal aliens and making America safe again.' The horrific crash occurred at the intersection of Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive in Lakewood around 11.20pm as Pleitez was driving with her daughter and her daughter's friend to a local Wawa to get milkshakes. 'She was the head of the family, and she was bringing up her two daughters,' her niece, Maria del Carmen Pleitez, told the New York Post. 'She had her own apartment, her own place, and she never asked for help for anything. She was just such a hardworking woman.' Pleitez, a native of El Salvador who immigrated to the US 24 years ago, leaves behind her surviving daughter and a devastated extended family now scrambling to raise funds to return the bodies to El Salvador for burial. A GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $30,500. Records show Luna-Perez had a years-long history of brushes with the law including a 2008 arrest for disorderly conduct, a 2023 domestic violence charge, and a hit-and-run. He was also arrested twice for driving under the influence this year alone - once on March 20, and again on April 17, yet was able to remain free. Despite his extensive rap sheet, Luna-Perez was never turned over to immigration authorities and remained on the streets thanks in part to New Jersey's status as a 'sanctuary state', a designation made official in 2018 under Governor Phil Murphy's administration. That year then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued the Immigrant Trust Directive, which restricted local police from sharing immigration information with federal authorities and barred them from asking suspects about their immigration status. Luna-Perez is now being held at Ocean County Jail in Toms River on an active ICE detainer. But Maria del Carmen Pleitez, Pleitzez's niece says deportation isn't enough. 'I don't believe that's fair. I feel they have to try him here, and bring justice to him here,' she told The Post. New Jersey prosecutors have refused to discuss Luna-Perez's immigration status, citing state disclosure laws. Red Bank itself is not officially a sanctuary city, but in 2017 it passed a resolution declaring its support for undocumented immigrants. Trump officials are pointing to the tragedy as a vivid example of what they say is the danger of progressive immigration policies that protect repeat offenders.
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
US nuclear submarines 'closing in' on Russia: Trump warns 'I want to be ready' as he ramps up tension in chilling war of words with former Russian president
US President Donald Trump last night confirmed that two US Navy nuclear submarines are 'getting closer to Russia ', dramatically escalating tensions between the two countries. Mr Trump ordered the submarines, packed with nuclear warheads, towards Russian waters after an online spat with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev – now deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council – who said: 'Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.' The sabre-rattling came after Mr Medvedev wrote on social media platform Telegram that Russia could invoke 'Dead Hand' – a doomsday program with the ability to automatically launch a nuclear counterstrike against major US cities, even if Moscow and President Vladimir Putin are wiped out. Mr Medvedev wrote: 'As for the talk about the 'dead economies' of India and Russia, and 'entering dangerous territory' – maybe he should recall his favourite movies about 'the walking dead,' and also remember how dangerous the so-called 'Dead Hand', that does not exist in nature, could be. 'He should remember two things: 1: Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2: Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe [a reference to former President Joe Biden ] road!' Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: 'Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions. Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances. 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'Now he's threatening to impose sanctions if Putin doesn't declare a ceasefire and come to the negotiating table to discuss peace.' While the location of the subs is unknown, the US Navy has 71 nuclear-powered submarines in its fleet, all of which can travel thousands of miles without resurfacing. By comparison, the Russian Navy fields fewer than 30 nuclear‑powered submarines. Military experts said Mr Trump will most likely have deployed two Ohio -class vessels. Each is armed with up to 20 Trident II D5 missiles that can deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads with a range of up to 7,000 miles. Sources last night told the Washington Post that Russia is 'seeking clarity' from America about Mr Trump's 'actions and intentions', with Russian officials scrambling to assess the significance of the subs' deployment. RIA Novosti, a state-controlled news agency which has been called 'Putin's mouthpiece', confirmed it had sent enquiries to the White House, Pentagon, US Central Command and the National Security Council, but had not received a response. Mr Trump's dramatic doubling down came after the deadliest Russian air strike on Kyiv this year, when 31 people were killed in a single missile strike on an apartment block in the early hours of Thursday morning. Five children, the youngest aged just two, were among the dead. Mr Trump called the air strike 'disgusting' and announced he was sending his special envoy Steve Witkoff to the region to try and negotiate a ceasefire. Russian lawmaker Viktor Vodolatsky said there are enough Russian nuclear submarines in the high seas to tackle the two American subs. 'The number of Russian nuclear submarines in the world's oceans is significantly higher than the American ones, and the subs that US President Donald Trump ordered to be redirected to the appropriate regions have long been under their control,' he said yesterday. 'So no response from the Russian Federation to the American leader's statement about the submarines is required.' Retired US Marine Colonel Mark Cancian called Mr Trump's announcement that he had sent subs steaming towards Russian waters 'highly unusual'. He said: 'This is signalling in its purest form.' Others urged restraint, saying Mr Medvedev does not speak for Putin. Oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, now a Putin critic living in London, said: 'When you see his [Mr Medvedev's] latest apocalyptic tweet about turning European capitals to dust, remember: this isn't strategic communication from the Kremlin. It's the rambling of a man drowning his terror in vodka.' The exchange of nuclear threats and references to Cold War-era systems evoked echoes of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the closest the world has come to full-scale nuclear war. The 13-day crisis occurred after Fidel Castro overthrew the US-backed government and aligned his new regime with the Soviet Union. President John F. Kennedy said US spy planes had spotted Soviet nuclear missile installations and threw a blockade around Cuba, even as Russian ships carrying additional warheads steamed towards the island, 230 miles off the tip of Florida. Nuclear bombers on both sides were put on round-the-clock alert, provoking terror in the US with schoolchildren being taught what to do in a nuclear attack. Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev eventually backed down and turned his ships around. He agreed to remove the nuclear missile installations in Cuba, in return for the US not invading the island. Mr Trump has spoken of his admiration for JFK, saying: 'He made the Soviets blink first.' 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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Celtics co-owner set to buy WNBA's Connecticut Sun for record $325m
A group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun for a record $325m and move the team to Boston, according to a person familiar with the sale. The franchise wouldn't play in Boston until the 2027 season. Pagliuca also would contribute $100m for a new practice facility in Boston for the team, the person said. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because the deal hasn't been publicly announced. The sale is pending approval of the league and its Board of Governors. 'Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,' the league said in a statement. The Sun have played one regular season game at TD Garden eac of the last two years, including one against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in July. The league has announced five expansion teams that will begin play over the next five seasons with Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) joining the WNBA. Each paid a then-record $250m expansion fee. Nine other cities bid for expansion teams, including Houston, which the league singled out as getting a team in the future when it announced Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in June. Boston did not. 'No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Celtics' prospective ownership team has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.' The Boston Globe first reported the sale. The Sun are owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which runs the casino where the team has played since 2003. The Tribe bought the franchise for $10m and relocated it from Orlando that year. The Connecticut franchise was the first in the league to be run by a non-NBA owner and also became the first to turn a profit. The team announced in May that it was searching for a potential buyer for the franchise and had hired investment bank Allen & Company to conduct the probe. The WNBA has experienced rapid growth the last few seasons and ownership groups have been investing more into their teams, including player experiences. That has come in the way of practice facilities. The Sun are one of the few teams in the league that haven't announced any plans for a new training facility. Connecticut practices either at the arena in the casino or a local community center. Despite the lack of facilities, the Sun have been one of the most successful teams in the league, making the postseason in 16 seasons, including a run of six straight semifinal appearances. But the team was hit hard this offseason with the entire starting five from last season leaving either via free agency or trade. Connecticut are currently in last place in the WNBA at 5-21. The team sent out a letter to season ticket holders last week saying they'd still be playing at the casino next year. The last team to be sold in the WNBA was in 2021 when real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener led a group that bought the Atlanta Dream for under $10m. A year earlier, Mark Davis paid roughly $2m for the Las Vegas Aces.
