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New Navy chief ‘regrets’ costly missile strikes against Houthis, pushes for cheaper Red Sea defense
New acting Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. James Kilby said he regrets the Navy’s reliance on expensive, high-powered missiles to counter the Houthi threat in the Red Sea and pledged to push for cheaper, more efficient solutions.
Speaking at the Sea Air Space conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Kilby said he was «not concerned» about the Navy’s ability to protect its people – such as the 350 sailors aboard the USS Carney missile destroyer – or its ability to safeguard commercial shipping.
He is concerned, however, about «not having better ways to more economically attrit the threat.»
In his former role as vice chief of naval operations, Kilby said he was «focused on a high-end laser – 500kW to one megawatt – and I have regret for that.»
TRUMP ADMIN FIRES NAVY ADMIRAL AT NATO TARGETED BY CONSERVATIVE GROUP
Newly recruited Houthi fighters attend a protest march against the U.S.-led strikes on Yemen that have ebbed and flowed since Oct. 7, 2023. (AP/Osamah Abdulrahman)
«I had not been thoughtful enough to think about the UAV threat, where I think a much lesser-powered weapon would have done what we needed it to do,» Kilby said.
He promised the Navy was now working to overhaul its costly defense tactics with «much more cost-effective» technologies to counter autonomous vehicles in the Red Sea, as he called on the defense industry to more quickly produce munitions for the mission.
«We have to get after our industrial base or munitions industrial base the same way we have to get after our shipbuilding industrial base,» said Kilby.
When asked if the Navy had enough munitions to counter the Houthi threat, Kilby replied, «I think we need more munitions.»
«We certainly need more depth of magazine, if we’re going to get into a protracted conflict.»
Adm. Jim Kilby, left, visits Pensacola, Florida, in January, just before he was named acting chief of naval operations. (United States Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Zachary Melvin)
The U.S. launched a renewed offensive campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels last month, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday, «it’s about to get worse» for the Houthis.
Onlookers have long decried the disproportionate cost of taking on the Yemeni rebels. Naval missiles that run around $2 million a shot have been used to take out drones that cost the Houthis no more than $2,000. Since the March 15 offensive began, the Houthis have also downed three MQ-9 Reaper drones — each worth about $30 million.
Kilby replaced Adm. Lisa Franchetti in an acting capacity in February, after she was let go as part of a broader purge of high-level military leadership by the Trump administration. Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife were also relieved of command.
It is not yet clear whether Kilby will be nominated to serve as CNO in a permanent capacity and put forward for Senate confirmation.
However, Kilby said he would continue Franchetti’s goal of getting the Navy to a point where 80% of its ships are ready to deploy for combat at any given moment. Currently, he said, submarines are operating at 67% combat readiness, ships are at 68% and aircraft carriers are at 70%.
Kilby said he was pleased that «awareness seems to be higher» regarding the nation’s shipbuilding issues, adding, «it’s going to take a national effort.»
He also said he was «super focused» with the Marine Corps commandant and deputy commandant on getting the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program back on track.
HOUTHIS SHOOT DOWN 3RD US REAPER DRONE AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES DAILY AIRSTRIKES
Central Command releases an image of a ship firing at Houthis last month. (U.S. Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
The LSM program, viewed by many as crucial to moving Marines around remote islands in the Indo-Pacific in the event of conflict with China, has been plagued by delays, with work on the program stalling late last year.
The vessel is envisioned to be able to transport forces right onto a beach without any port access, where they would be able to fire anti-ship cruise missiles and collect intelligence.
Kilby said Navy and Marine Corps leadership are now looking to get approval to procure a ship to enter the testing phase of such a vessel.
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«We’re going to go through we’ll look at those requirements, make sure we produce a ship that can meet the needs of the Marine Corps and support their force design. But I’m thankful we’re doing it now not when our ship’s in construction. So I’m optimistic here. And we need that. You know, we need to have this expedition.»
Kilby also laid out his goals for sailor recruitment shortfalls. «I’ll take that 23,000-person gap, make it 18,000 this year and 8,000 the next year.»
Navy,Middle East,U.S. Defense & Military Politics,Politics,Pentagon
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Omar calls GOP probe into husband’s $30M business surge a ‘political stunt’ as records deadline passes
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The office of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Friday called a GOP-led investigation into her family’s finances a «stunt,» one day after a House deadline for her husband to turn over records tied to his companies’ rapid growth.
The House Oversight Committee had set Feb. 19 as a deadline for Tim Mynett, Omar’s husband, to provide information about the sudden success of two of his companies to the House Oversight Committee.
«This is all a political stunt. These sham accusations were referred to the Ethics Committee, and our office has not received any follow-up because this is a baseless, headline-generating speculation and a politically targeted attack on the Congresswoman,» a spokesperson for Omar told Fox News Digital.
Omar’s office declined to say whether it had submitted the business records as requested by lawmakers.
CONGRESS OPENS ‘INDUSTRIAL-SCALE FRAUD’ PROBE IN MINNESOTA, WARNS WALZ DEMANDS ARE ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sits with husband Tim Mynett during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
eStCru LLC, a winery, and Rose Lake Capital LLC, a consulting firm, both owned partially by Mynett, increased sharply in reported value between 2023 and 2024, drawing questions from lawmakers about the source of the pair’s wealth.
In just one year, the two companies added roughly $30 million in combined value.
The Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., asked Mynett to produce communications regarding the companies’ latest audits and with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), correspondence with any other federal agencies, and travel records to or from the United Arab Emirates, Somalia or Kenya.
Omar’s office called the probe a GOP-led distraction from other hot-topic issues.
«If Republicans were interested in real oversight, they would be looking at Trump and his family enriching their net worth by billions of dollars, as well as their connections to their pedophile friend, Jeffrey Epstein,» Omar’s spokesperson said.
MINNESOTA GOV WALZ, AG ELLISON TO TESTIFY IN HOUSE INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED $9B WELFARE FRAUD
President Donald Trump pushed for a financial investigation into Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar in January. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
When asked if Omar and Mynett had turned in the requested documentation, a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital that the committee has referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee, the body tasked with investigating financial disclosure statements and member misconduct.
«Americans have concerns about Rep. Omar’s skyrocketing wealth while in public office. The House Oversight Committee initiated a probe into these concerns and has asked the House Ethics Committee to do its job and review this matter,» a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital.
In its letter to Mynett sent earlier this year, the Oversight Committee said it needed the business details to ensure Omar wasn’t being unduly influenced by her husband’s success.
MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD CASE PUTS AG KEITH ELLISON UNDER MICROSCOPE AS CLIMATE TIES RESURFACE
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., left, pictured alongside Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., right. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
«Financial disclosure forms, filed by your wife, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, show eStCru LLC and Rose Lake Capital LLC, which you hold ownership stakes in, went from being worth as much as $51,000 in 2023 to as much as $30 million in 2024,» the committee wrote.
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«Given that these companies do not publicly list their investors or where their money comes from, this sudden jump in value raises concerns that unknown individuals may be investing to gain influence with your wife,» the Oversight Committee added.
The House Ethics Committee declined to comment on whether it would open a probe into Omar or her husband.
congress,ilhan omar,politics
INTERNACIONAL
Trump gives Iran 10-day ultimatum, but experts signal talks may be buying time for strike
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President Trump said in June he would decide «within the next two weeks» whether to strike Iran. He made the decision two days later.
On Thursday, he gave Tehran another clock, saying the Islamic Republic has 10 to 15 days to come to the negotiating table or face consequences.
The compressed timeline now sits at the center of a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. But with Trump, deadlines can serve as both warning and weapon.
Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital, «The Iranian regime has been operating under a grand delusion that they can turn President Trump into President Obama and President Trump has made it clear that that’s not happening.»
TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION
Map of US naval ships in the Middle East. (Fox News )
Brodsky said there is little expectation inside the administration that diplomacy will produce a breakthrough. «I think there’s deep skepticism in the Trump administration that this negotiation is going to produce any acceptable outcome.»
Instead, he said, the talks may be serving a dual purpose. «They’re using the diplomatic process to sharpen the choices of the Iranian leadership and to buy time to make sure that we have the appropriate military assets in the region.»
A Middle Eastern source with knowledge of the negotiations told Fox News Digital that Tehran understands how close the risk of war feels and is unlikely to deliberately provoke Trump at this stage.
However, the source said Iran cannot accept limitations on its short-range missile program, describing the issue as a firm red line set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian negotiators are not authorized to cross that boundary, and conceding on missiles would be viewed internally as equivalent to losing a war.
The source indicated there may be more flexibility around uranium enrichment parameters if sanctions relief is part of the equation.
According to Brodsky, Iran’s core positions remain unchanged. «They’re trying to engage in a lot of distraction… shiny objects, to distract from the fact that they’re not prepared to make the concessions that President Trump is requiring of them,» he said. «The Iranian positions do not change and have not changed fundamentally. They refuse to accept President Trump’s position on zero enrichment. They refuse to dismantle their nuclear infrastructure. They refuse limitations on Iran’s missile program, and they refuse to end support for terror groups.»
VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT ‘ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE’ IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED
USS Gerald R. Ford pictured in the Mediterranean Sea. (U.S Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)
Behnam Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that Tehran may be preparing a different kind of proposal altogether.
«The first kind of deal that we have to be worried about… they may pitch an agreement that is based more on transposing the current reality onto paper… these kinds of agreements are more like understandings,» Taleblu said.
«You take the present reality, and you transpose that onto paper, and then you make the U.S. pay for something it already achieved.»
Taleblu outlined what he sees as Tehran’s strategic objectives. «The Iranians want three things, essentially. The first is they want to deter and prevent a strike.»
«The second is that they are actually using negotiations… to take the wind out of the wings of Iranian dissidents. And then the third is… they actually do want some kind of foreign financial stabilization and sanctions relief.»
«What the Iranians want is to play for time… an agreement like this doesn’t really require the Iranians to offer anything.»
RETIRED GENERAL ARGUES MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN IS ‘BEST OPTION’ AS TRUMP FACES ‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured sitting next to senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
At the same time, Taleblu said the administration’s intentions remain deliberately opaque. «It’s hard to read the tea leaves of the administration here. Obviously, they don’t want a nuclear Iran, but also obviously they don’t want a long war in the Middle East.»
«The military architecture they’re moving into the region is signaling that they’re prepared to engage in one anyway. The question that the administration has not resolved politically… is: What is the political end state of the strikes? That’s the cultivation of ambiguity that the president excels at.»
Jacob Olidort, Chief Research Officer and Director of American Security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital, «The President has been clear that he wants to give diplomacy a chance. However, if, in his estimation, diplomatic efforts prove unsuccessful, he will almost certainly turn to military options. What is rightfully unpredictable is the specific objective and scope of military action the President may take.»
«Specifically, will military action serve as a new layer of diplomatic pressure towards creating a new opportunity to make Iran agree to our demands — military force as coercive diplomacy — or simply achieve the intended objectives that diplomacy could not? Regardless, the President has a record of taking bold action to protect the American people from Iran’s threats.»
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Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 9, 2026. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
Public sentiment inside Iran remains deeply divided, Iranian sources told Fox News Digital. Many view a foreign military invasion as unacceptable, while anger over the killing of young protesters continues to fuel domestic tensions and uncertainty.
With a 10 to 15-day window ticking, Trump’s deadline may function less as a calendar marker and more as leverage.
iran,donald trump,wars,military,world protests
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Trump desafía a la Corte Suprema de EE.UU. y anuncia un nuevo arancel general del 10% a las importaciones
El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump anunció la imposición de un nuevo arancel general del 10% sobre todas las importaciones y cuestionó con dureza a la Corte Suprema de EE.UU., luego de que el máximo tribunal del país declarara ilegal su política de gravámenes aplicada bajo una ley de emergencia nacional.
En una rueda de prensa, Trump calificó el fallo como “profundamente decepcionante” y afirmó sentirse “absolutamente avergonzado” por “ciertos miembros” de la Corte —de mayoría conservadora— que votaron en su contra.
Además, sostuvo que el alto tribunal está influido por “intereses extranjeros”, una acusación que elevó aún más la tensión institucional tras la sentencia.
Leé también: La Corte Suprema de EE.UU. falló en contra de los aranceles que impuso Donald Trump
Pese al revés judicial, el mandatario adelantó que avanzará con “alternativas” para sostener su estrategia comercial y defendió el uso de los aranceles como una herramienta clave de presión económica y diplomática. En ese marco, buscó llevar tranquilidad sobre el futuro de los acuerdos comerciales vigentes y aseguró que la decisión judicial no los invalida.
La sede de la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos en Washington. (Foto: Rahmat Gul/AP/Archivo)
El fallo de la Corte Suprema, adoptado por seis votos contra tres, determinó que Trump excedió su autoridad al imponer gravámenes amparado en la Ley de Poderes Económicos de Emergencia Internacional. Según el tribunal, esa norma no autoriza al presidente a fijar derechos de aduana, una potestad que corresponde exclusivamente al Congreso.
“El presidente se arroga la facultad extraordinaria de imponer unilateralmente gravámenes de monto, duración y alcance ilimitados”, escribió el presidente del tribunal, John Roberts, al fundamentar la decisión. La Corte subrayó además que la administración Trump no logró señalar ninguna ley en la que el Congreso hubiera autorizado expresamente el uso de la IEEPA para ese fin.
La sentencia se refiere a los gravámenes presentados como “recíprocos”, aunque no alcanza a los aplicados a sectores específicos como el automotriz ni a los del acero y el aluminio.
Leé también: Juicio por YPF: un tribunal de EE.UU. rechazó frenar el proceso previo a los embargos
Durante su primer mandato (2017-2021), Trump ya había utilizado este tipo de medidas como palanca de negociación. Tras regresar al poder en enero de 2025, anunció que recurriría nuevamente a la IEEPA para imponer gravámenes generalizados a la mayoría de los socios comerciales de Estados Unidos, además de tarifas especiales a países como México, Canadá y China por cuestiones vinculadas al narcotráfico y la inmigración.
La decisión del máximo tribunal confirma fallos previos de instancias inferiores que habían declarado ilegales esas medidas. En mayo, un tribunal comercial de primera instancia ya había bloqueado la entrada en vigor de la mayoría de los gravámenes, aunque el fallo quedó en suspenso mientras avanzaba la apelación del gobierno.
Con la resolución definitiva, las empresas que pagaron esos gravámenes podrán solicitar reembolsos al Departamento del Tesoro. Según estimaciones de economistas de la Universidad de Pennsylvania-Wharton, más de 175.000 millones de dólares en ingresos podrían tener que ser devueltos, en medio de cientos de demandas ya iniciadas contra el Estado. Donald Trump, flanqueado por el secretario de Comercio de EE.UU., Howard Lutnick, el representante comercial Jamieson Greer y el fiscal general D. John Sauer, habló en una rueda de prensa este viernes en la Casa Blanca tras la sentencia de la Corte Suprema que dictaminó que Trump se había excedido en sus competencias al imponer aranceles. (Foto: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS)
En paralelo, Trump sostuvo que la mayoría de los acuerdos comerciales negociados por Estados Unidos continúan vigentes pese al fallo judicial. “El acuerdo con India sigue siendo válido”, afirmó durante la conferencia de prensa, y remarcó que “todos los acuerdos” siguen en pie. “Simplemente lo haremos de otra manera”, añadió, tras reiterar que avanzará con el nuevo arancel general del 10%.
El presidente también aludió a la renegociación del tratado de libre comercio entre Estados Unidos, Canadá y México, que deberá concluir en julio de este año. El acuerdo —vigente desde 1994— fue escenario de fuertes tensiones en los últimos años a raíz de la política arancelaria impulsada por la Casa Blanca.
Washington, además, negoció un acuerdo provisional con la Unión Europea para desactivar una crisis comercial de gran escala provocada por la imposición de gravámenes entre ambos socios.
(Con información de AFP)
Donald Trump, Estados Unidos
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