"We Correct That Wrong Today": Abbey Gate Gold Star Families Visit the Oval Office After Biden Forgot About Them

President Donald Trump righted a wrong on Monday by honoring the Gold Star families of the 13 soldiers killed during the Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021.

In an Oval Office event, Trump signed a proclamation to mark the fourth anniversary of the bombing , which happened on August 26, 2021, after President Joe Biden ordered a hasty and what turned out to be disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Before signing the proclamation, Trump told the families of the slain standing behind him, "There are some great souls that are looking down on you right now, and they're very proud of their parents, and brothers, and sisters. Moms and dads, especially. That's what I seem to have dealt with, mostly. There's nothing tougher."

The president also thanked members of the media covering the event for being respectful towards the families.

"They deserve it. They went through hell for no reason. It should have never happened," Trump said.

Vice President J.D. Vance , a Marine Corps veteran who served during the Iraq war, added, "We're so honored to have all of you here. I know that days like today can't make the hurt go away. But hopefully four years on, we can start to remember with fondness and a little bit of joy, the people that were taken from us. We're so proud of you."

Regarding the proclamation That Trump signed, Vance said, "This is a correction of a wrong—the fact that the [former] president of the United States lost your loved ones through incompetence, but never acknowledged it. And your government never actually put pen to paper to say we're grateful for your sacrifice. We correct that wrong today."

Trump's proclamation said, in part, "As our Nation remembers this atrocious attack, we honor the memory of every brave warrior who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country."

We join in grief with the families who have senselessly lost a loved one, and we renew our solemn pledge to our 13 fallen patriots -- we will never forget you; we will never forsake you; and your memory will live on forever.

Trump's honoring of the Gold Star families stood in stark contrast to Biden's treatment of them. The 46th president was infamously caught on camera checking his watch during the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The New York Post Reported at the time that family members of Marines killed during the attack criticized Biden, with one father calling his repeated checking of his watch, "the most disrespectful thing I've ever seen."

Mark Schmitz -- whose 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz was a casualty -- told The Washington Post that his family's meeting with Biden "didn't go well."

He talked a bit more about his own son [Beau Biden] than he did my son," Schmitz said, "and that didn't sit well with me.

When he just kept talking about his son so much, it was just - my interest was lost in that. I was more focused on my own son than what happened with him and his son," Schmitz added. "I'm not trying to insult the president, but it just didn't seem that appropriate to spend that much time on his own son.

The Washington Post noted that Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015. Joe Biden often linked his son's death to seven-month deployment to Iraq in 2008 and 2009.

During a February 2024 call to a Gold Star family who lost a loved one due to a drone strike near Syria, he reportedly said , "My son spent a year in Iraq; that's how I lost him."

"My son Beau, he had been near a burn pit in Baghdad and came down with stage four neuroblastoma, a brain tumor," he added.

During Biden's last State of the Union address in March 2024, after he said, "All Americans deserve to be safe," the father of Lance Col. Kareem Nikoui, who was killed in the 2021 Kabul bombing, called out from the gallery, "Abbey Gate!"

"Second Battalion, First Marines!" he then shouted. Capitol Police then removed him from the chamber.

Fox News reported last August on the third anniversary of the bombing that neither Biden nor then-Vice President Kamala Harris had ever reached out to the Abbey Gate Gold Star families.

The two may not like being reminded of the preventable tragedy that occurred on their watch, but thankfully, Trump and Vance were not willing to let the Gold Star families' sacrifice be forgotten.

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190th Air Refueling Wing supports flood relief mission in Texas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Airmen from the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Topeka, transported 12 firefighters, four K-9 handlers, and four search and rescue dogs from the Czech Emergency Response Team from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to Texas on July 13.

According to a press release from the 190th Air Refueling Wing, the 190th aircrew, while providing transportation for members on temporary duty, was tasked with the urgent mission of direct support of rescue operations following the catastrophic floods in Texas.

We are part of a classified search and rescue team and our mission is to support the National Guard and those recently affected by the floods in Texas," said Colonel Jaromir Piesch, leader of the Czech Emergency Response Team. "The Texas National Guard has a direct partnership with the Czech Army, and due to the recent natural disaster and more than 160 people still missing in Texas, we were called into this mission because of our specialized experience with K-9 specific search and rescues.

The Czech Army has maintained a strategic partnership with the Texas National Guard since 1993 as part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, fostering three decades of joint training and real-world missions.

Notably, this collaboration enabled the Texas Air National Guard to support Czech emergency services by using the MQ-9 Reaper aircraft to conduct aerial damage assessments, an essential capability that helped Czech authorities prioritize recovery efforts and restore critical infrastructure following severe floods in early October 2024.

We have provided similar support to countries like Turkey, Pakistan, and other missions we have been called to across the globe," said Piesch. "Our team is trained in search and rescue, medical stabilization, and aid. The whole team is here to support the K-9 handlers, and we have a reconnaissance team who is prepared to provide extraction of injured people as well.

The operation was coordinated through a combined effort involving the Adjutant General of Texas, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Ramstein Air Base leadership, and the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C. The request came through the National Guard Bureau and utilized the 190th's unique availability and proximity to Germany to execute the mission.

Here we will do our best to help the American people and support the National Guard," said Maj. Jiri Studnicka, member of the Czech Emergency Response Team. "For us, it brings great satisfaction being able to help the National Guard as they have helped in support of our troops. We are very proud to work with them.

The Czech firefighters were flown directly from Ramstein Air Base to Texas aboard the 190th ARW KC-135 Stratotanker, the only National Guard aircraft available and positioned to efficiently and effectively carry out the short-notice mission.

This mission is an example of the National Guard's ability to respond rapidly and support our international partnerships," said Lt. Col. Adam Huntington, Director of Operations for the 117th Air Refueling Squadron. "I'm proud of our entire team, including our operations and support personnel and officers back at Forbes Field, who made this mission possible. Being able to help people devastated by the floods is why serving in the National Guard is so special.

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WHO says Israeli forces attacked its facilities in Gaza and detained staff

The World Health Organization said the Israeli military attacked its staff residence and main warehouse in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on Monday, endangering humanitarian workers and compromising relief operations in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The UN agency said its staff accommodation was hit three times, causing a fire and significant damage.

"Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot towards Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint," WHO said.

Two agency personnel and two family members were detained during the raid. According to WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , three were later released while one staff member remained in Israeli custody.

"WHO demands the immediate release of the detained staff and protection of all its staff," said Dr. Tedros.

A spokesperson for the agency later said the WHO does not know the reasons behind the detention of its staff by the Israeli authorities, and again urged their release.

The UN agency said its main warehouse in Deir al-Balah, located within an Israeli-declared evacuation zone, was damaged in a separate strike on Sunday, triggering explosions and a fire inside the facility.

The Israeli military was still to respond to these allegations by WHO.

The UN agency vowed to continue and expand its operations in the area, a critical center of humanitarian aid distribution during more than 21 months of war.

Deir al-Balah is densely packed with Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardment and evacuation orders.

Israeli tanks entered the southern and eastern neighborhoods of the city on Monday for the first time since the conflict began.

Tank shelling in the city hit homes and mosques, killing at least three people and injuring several others, according to medics. Gunfire was reportedly heard throughout the day, and thousands of people fled on foot or using donkey carts, eyewitnesses said.

More than 25 countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Japan and Australia, issued a joint statement on Monday urging an immediate end to the war. The signatories criticized Israel's restriction of aid, describing it as "dangerous" and a violation of international humanitarian law.

The denial by the Israeli government of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," they said. "Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Israel's foreign ministry rejected the statement, saying it was "disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas."

U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, also rejected the statement from many of Washington's closest allies, denouncing it as "disgusting" in a post on X, and said they should instead pressure the "savages of Hamas."

The broader Israeli attack across Gaza left at least 130 Palestinians dead and over 1,000 injured in the past 24 hours, said Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry on Monday.

The cumulative death toll from Israel's war on the besieged territory exceeded 59,000, with widespread destruction of infrastructure and displacement of people.

Israel launched a ground and air attack on Gaza after nearly 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed and 251 taken hostage during a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The UN's top humanitarian officials have raised the alarm over a collapsing healthcare system and rising malnutrition in Gaza due to the Israeli war and siege, particularly among children.

WHO said Gaza's health sector was "on its knees" amid critical shortages of fuel, medicines, and medical equipment.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that two UN guesthouses were also hit in the latest Israeli strikes, despite all parties being informed of their protected status.

"These locations - as with all civilian sites - must be protected, regardless of evacuation orders," he said.

UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed deep concern over what he called an accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions. "The last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," he said, according to the spokesman.

The head of the UN humanitarian office in Gaza, Jonathan Whittall, whom Israel said would not have his visa renewed, described the situation as "conditions of death," calling the suffering preventable and "intentional."

"Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and by other humanitarian organizations," he said.

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Top U.S. military officer calls for trilateral cooperation amid military buildup by North Korea, China

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Adm. Kim Myung-soo, his U.S. counterpart Gen. Dan Caine, and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Yoshida pose for a photo during their meeting at the JCS headquarters in Seoul on July 10. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

The top military officer of the United States emphasized the importance of security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to reestablish deterrence against an "unprecedented" military buildup by North Korea and China.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chief of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), made the remark as he attended a trilateral meeting in Seoul with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Adm. Kim Myung-soo and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida.

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Our focus in the United States remains on reestablishing deterrence, and this needs and requires the trilateral cooperation between our three countries," Caine said. "The DPRK and China are undergoing an unprecedented military buildup with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas.

DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We need to be mindful of that, we need to be able to demonstrate resolve, to be entrepreneurial and proactive in our partnerships, to make sure that our leaders at every echelon understand and trust each other, and to take the best available combat capability and capacity among our three nations so that we can fight tonight, fight together and win together," he said.

Caine noted how their trilateral cooperation has expanded from one focusing solely on North Korean threats to broader security agendas, recalling former U.S. JCS chief Gen. Martin Dempsey's remarks in a 2014 trilateral meeting.

"That afternoon, Gen. Dempsey said in the first Tri-Chod conference, that we're illuminating a future path together, a path where partnerships can evolve through persistent and regular engagement, from building capacity to really sharing responsibility," he said.

"It's on the shoulders of those three that we move forward today into an incredibly delicate chapter in our nations' plural history," Caine said.

South Korea's Kim and Japan's Yoshida echoed the call, urging the need to maintain the momentum of their trilateral cooperation.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Adm. Kim Myung-soo, his U.S. counterpart Gen. Dan Caine, and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Yoshida pose for a photo during their meeting at the JCS' headquarters in Seoul on July 10. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

"The meeting taking place in South Korea itself demonstrates to the Indo-Pacific region and to the world that security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan is being established in a stable manner," Kim said.

"It is very important to maintain and continuously develop the momentum of the trilateral cooperation at a time when North Korea's nuclear and missile threats are advancing and regional security challenges exist," he said.

Japan's Yoshida called for advancing and institutionalizing trilateral cooperation, and strengthening deterrence against the North by increasing "rock-solid unity" among the three nations.

Friday's meeting is the first Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting held in Seoul. Caine's visit marked the first trip to South Korea by the highest-ranking U.S. military officer since his predecessor, CQ Brown, who visited Seoul in November 2023.

The top generals of the three countries held their last Tri-Chod meeting in Tokyo last year, attended by Kim, Brown and Yoshida.

In the meeting, the three military leaders agreed to expand their trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise and condemned the North's continued nuclear and missile developments and its growing military cooperation with Russia.

Yonhap

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The US military's attempt to retain strategic land for training encounters opposition from Native Hawaiians.

HONOLULU (AP) — A high-altitude plateau on the Big Island is the only place in Hawaii where thousands of ground forces can practice firing live munitions. It's also a place many Native Hawaiians consider the spiritual heart of the island.

The U.S. military wants to continue training at this location, called Pohakuloa, so it remains prepared to rapidly deploy troops to Asia and the Pacific. Its significance to the U.S. is only increasing as China becomes more assertive, especially concerning Taiwan.

But the Army's lease for state lands beneath a key part of the training range expires in 2029. Native Hawaiians upset with the U.S. military's history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks want the Army out.

“They have bombed and contaminated not just our land but our waters,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a community organizer with the Hawaiian sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawaii. “When does this end?”

A problematic history

The military controls about 5% of Hawaii's land, including bases for all branches. It has programs and staff to protect endangered and threatened species, prevent fires, and plant native plants.

But past incidents have made many Native Hawaiians skeptical.

The Navy turned the island of Kahoolawe, off Maui, into a bombing range after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Navy returned it in 1994 after years of protests. But subsequent cleanup efforts have been incomplete. Live grenades and bombs remain scattered across a quarter of the island.

Memories are still fresh from when the Navy spilled jet fuel into Pearl Harbor's drinking water from a network of underground fuel storage tanks and pipes in 2021. The leak prompted 6,000 people to seek medical care for rashes, nausea, and other ailments and contaminated a Honolulu aquifer. The disaster occurred after admirals spent years dismissing community calls to move the tanks. On Tuesday, Honolulu's Water utility sues Navy seeking to recover an estimated $1.2 billion that it has had to spend as a result of the spill.

Also on Oahu, environmental advocates say Army live-fire training in Makua Valley que provocó incendios forestales y destruyó tierras boscosas nativas y sitios culturales sagrados. Un acuerdo legal detuvo dichos entrenamientos en 2004.

The cultural significance of Pohakuloa

Pohakuloa consists of rocky plains, hills, and brush about 6,200 feet (1,900 meters) above sea level between the Big Island's tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It hosts endangered species including the Hawaiian catchfly shrub.

Early Hawaiians traveled across the plateau to access a Mauna Kea quarry that provided high-quality basalt for making stone tools and to move between coastal settlements.

In 2022, Army staff discovered ancient wooden "kii," or figures, in a lava tube, an underground passageway created by molten rock. Consultants said the figures are from human burials, and state preservationists say they're among Hawaii's most significant archaeological finds.

Pohakuloa Training Area spans more than 200 square miles (518 square kilometers). The section in question is only 17% of that total, but it's critically located in between two larger federal parcels. Troops fire munitions from the state-owned parcel onto federal lands.

The land's importance for training and deterrence

Other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades.

Commanders say it would take too long to send troops, trucks, and helicopters to the U.S. mainland for drills.

“What we anticipate in a future fight is that we will not have the time to recover that equipment and to position ourselves back into the region,” said Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, U.S. Army Pacific chief of staff.

Pohakuloa training, he said, allows troops to "move from Hawaii into the Indo-Pacific, into key terrain, to be prepared to meet our adversaries, or more importantly, to deter them."

The Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force conduct exercises there, as do allied and partner militaries. The Hawaii National Guard accounts for one-quarter of Pohakuloa's training. County fire and police departments also use the area.

Negotiations to exchange land

The Army prepared an environmental impact statement, including public feedback, that analyzed how the military's continued use of the land would affect plants, animals, and cultural heritage.

On May 9, the state land board rejected it after hearing hours of often emotional testimony in opposition. Among other issues, the board cited inadequate inventory of unexploded ordnance and insufficient inventory of ancient burials and associated artifacts.

The Army is considering whether to appeal. It could also negotiate a land exchange with the state instead.

Such talks cannot begin until the Army finalizes its environmental study with a decision regarding its plans. The defense secretary's office must then approve the acquisition of land.

Alice Roberts, U.S. Army Pacific's program manager for training land retention, said the service has had some informal conversations, including trying to understand the state's swap criteria.

Buying the land would be "a big hurdle" for the Army, she said, because two-thirds of the state House and Senate would need to approve such a transaction.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat, said the Army must double down on being good stewards and make up for the military's past mistakes.

Tokuda wants the military to help increase Hawaii's housing supply, noting that service members occupy 14% of Oahu's housing stock and that high housing costs are driving residents out She said it could bolster Hawaii's water and sewer infrastructure.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green suggested in an interview with Hawaii News Now that the military could take the land through eminent domain, but Tokuda said she hasn't heard anyone in the military or President Donald Trump's administration mention that.

A call for a cleanup

Kaiali'i Kahele, the chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which advocates for Native Hawaiians, wants to see what federal lands the Army would offer. He wants to know whether it would be willing to reduce the impact of its training, and what sort of clean up and community benefits it would provide.

“We have to get to a point where you do training and then you clean up your mess,” said Kahele, a former congressman who served more than 20 years in the Hawaii Air National Guard and is now in the Air Force Reserve.

"That should be the model of training that respects 'aina, respects this place and its culture and its people," he said, using the Hawaiian word for land.

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Hundreds of National Guard forces in L.A. could be returned to wildfire duty

A military commander has discussed shifting some California National Guard troops away from the Trump administration's weekslong deployment to deal with protests in Los Angeles so they can help fight wildfires, two U.S. officials told CBS News.

Gen. Gregory Guillot, the leader of U.S. Northern Command, made the request to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, proposing that 200 out of roughly 4,000 California National Guard members be returned to wildfire duty in California.

The request to shift some troops to wildfire duty was first reported by The Associated Press .

The purpose of the possible move is to help prepare for wildfire season, one U.S. official said. The other official said the 200 Guard members could be returned to the California National Guard and placed on standby to respond to wildfires.

Wildfires can occur at any time of year in California, but they typically peak during the summer and fall. The state expects an "early and active season" this year, with above-average activity in July and August, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The Los Angeles deployment has been controversial and subject to legal challenges. President Trump called up around 4,000 Guard members — and deployed around 700 Marines — over California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections, moves Mr. Trump argued were necessary to protect federal buildings and immigration agents from chaotic protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Newsom argued the deployment was illegal and unnecessary.

When Mr. Trump initially called up the California National Guard to deal with protests, the state had warned the move could interfere with its wildfire response. Guard forces often work alongside Cal Fire crews — and as wildfires become more frequent and severe, state officials has said more resources are needed. Newsom's office said last week the Guard's firefighting force was only at 40% capacity due to the Los Angeles deployment.

"This deployment comes when California is in the midst of peak wildfire season for both Northern and Southern California and may need to rely on their crucial support," the state of California wrote in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment.

A federal district court judge initially sided with the state in its lawsuit, but a panel of appellate court judges paused that ruling, allowing Mr. Trump to maintain control of the Guard.

The troops were shifted to federal service earlier this month under a law known as Title 10 , which allows the president to mobilize National Guard forces during a "rebellion" or if "the president is unable with the regular forces to enforce the laws of the United States." The Trump administration argued that these conditions were satisfied due to threats of violence against immigration agents who conducted arrests in the Los Angeles area.

Newsom objected to the move, and the state quickly filed a lawsuit calling it a "power grab." The state argued that under the law cited by the administration, Mr. Trump does not have the legal authority to call up the Guard without permission from the governor.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ultimately sided with the Trump administration, allowing troops to remain in Los Angeles while the state's lawsuit is heard. The court wrote that Mr. Trump most likely "lawfully exercised his statutory authority" to federalize the Guard, and that the law "does not give governors any veto power."

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Iran holds funerals for commanders and scientists killed in conflict with Israel

(newsrealtime) -Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined the streets in Iran's capital, Tehran, as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists, and some of the civilians killed during this month's aerial war with Israel.

At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins, bearing their photos and national flags, were driven into Tehran's Azadi Square as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.

Later, mass prayers were held in the square.

State TV said the funeral, dubbed the "procession of the Martyrs of Power," was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.

In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei's son Mojtaba.

"Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever," Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.

There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.

Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians, marking the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure, and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

TRUMP THREATENS

Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons programme. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has "no credible indication" of an active, coordinated weapons programme in Iran.

Bagheri, Salami, and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future U.S. attack by striking U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a "major blow" to Iran's nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the U.S. "failed to achieve their stated objectives" in the war.

According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.

The activist news agency HRANA put the number of those killed at 974, including 387 civilians.

Israel's health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 were injured.

(dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

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