Search

Just another WordPress site

Air force security forces to police officer

In California, man with ties to ‘boogaloo’ extremist movement gets convicted in death of federal officer

by www.foxnews.com Leave a Comment

Fox News Flash top headlines for September 26

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

A man with ties to the “boogaloo” extremist movement was convicted of murder and attempted murder by a federal jury Tuesday in the 2020 killing of a federal security officer in Northern California during protests against police brutality.

Robert Alvin Justus Jr., 33, now faces life in prison for the murder of Federal Protective Service Officer David Patrick Underwood. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California confirmed the verdict.

Underwood was shot on May 29, 2020, while he stood in a guard shack outside a federal building in Oakland as hundreds marched against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

AIR FORCE SERGEANT ARRESTED IN DEPUTY’S SLAYING NOW CHARGED IN OAKLAND COURTHOUSE AMBUSH

Steven Carrillo, a former U.S. Air Force sergeant, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to more than four decades in federal prison for his role as the gunman in the fatal attack. He fired 19 rounds from a homemade AR-15 rifle from the back of a white van driven by Justus, whom he had connected with online. Underwood was fatally struck, and a second officer was wounded.

Prosecutors said Justus and Carrillo were followers of the “boogaloo” movement, a concept embraced by a loose network of gun enthusiasts and militia-style extremists. Experts say the group believes there is an impending civil war.

CA Fox News graphic

Robert Alvin Justus Jr. has been convicted in the 2020 killing of federal Officer David Patrick Underwood. (Fox News)

An attorney for Justus declined to comment after Tuesday’s verdict. A spokesperson for the Federal Protective Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Justus testified in his own defense during the trial. He sought to portray himself as an unwilling participant and said Carrillo had forced him into the plot at gunpoint, according to the Bay Area News Group. Prosecutors, however, said Justus had opportunities to escape but did not, showing his willingness to be included in the plan.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“In the hour leading up to the shooting, Justus exited the van twice to scout the area on foot and locate targets, returning to the van both times. Following the fatal shooting, Justus drove Carrillo back to Milbrae and the two separated,” said a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Justus then destroyed evidence connecting him to the shooting while continuing to correspond with Carrillo about future meetings, prosecutors said.

Days after Underwood’s killing, Carrillo ambushed sheriff’s deputies in Santa Cruz County who were responding to a report of a van containing firearms and bomb-making materials. County Sheriff Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was killed, and several other law enforcement officials were wounded.

Carrillo also pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to life in state prison without parole.

Croydon stabbing: Schoolgirl knifed to death while ‘protecting her friend from boy’

by www.mirror.co.uk Leave a Comment

A teenage girl was stabbed to death in front of her two horrified friends after taking the bus to school this morning.

Police raced to reports of a stabbing near Whitgift shopping centre, Croydon, south London at around 8.30am today. Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance also attended. Despite their best efforts, the 15-year-old was sadly pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later. Officers tracked down a teenage boy in connection with the incident, and arrested him in the area at roughly 9.45am. The force believes that he may have been known to her. A crime scene remains in place as detectives investigate.

Anthony King, chair of the My Ends organisation which works with the Met Police in Croydon said: “Two 15-year-old girls were absolutely devastated by witnessing their very close friend being stabbed. They’re still being interviewed by police. The trauma, the shock of the two girls that were present was absolutely heart wrenching, heart breaking. They were on the bus to school this morning, they were due to arrive about 8.45am. They were very close friends with the deceased.”

A bus driver and passer-by desperately tried to save a teenage girl on the pavement after horror unfolded during the school rush hour this morning. A mother-of-two, who wanted to be named only as Bridget, said: “I was on the bus before and came off and walked back down, I saw them resuscitating her. The driver was holding her, and a lady. The emergency services were already here when I walked back.”

She said two other schoolgirls, believed to be the victim’s friends, were trying to get back through the police cordon but were held back. Footage posted on social media showed several police cars and ambulance vehicles near a bus in Croydon on Wednesday morning.

The Met’s Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, in charge of local policing, said: “Our immediate thoughts are with this young girl’s family who are facing the most tragic of news. Our officers are with the girl’s family to support them. I am in contact with the local community, who are clearly as concerned as we are about this tragic incident. I shall continue to update them throughout the day.

“My officers were immediately on scene to provide first aid and support paramedics. Acting on information provided to them, officers also worked closely with colleagues from across the Met and the British Transport Police to track a teenager in connection with the stabbing. I can confirm that an arrest was made at about 09:45hrs in the Croydon area. At this early stage we believe that he may have known her. A crime scene will be in place for some time, and I am grateful for the cooperation of residents.” A white tent has been erected within a police cordon outside the Whitgift Centre on Wellesley Road.

Three crews, an incident response officer and an advanced paramedic in a car were sent to the scene, said the London Ambulance Service. Anyone who witnessed the attack or has information is urged to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 1601/27Sep, or get in touch anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

This live blog has now ended.

Tim Hanlon

‘If not now, when will the Government take action to combat knife crime?’ – Voice of the Mirror

The fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old girl should be the moment when politicians finally decide to act on knife crime.

The time for hollow words of sympathy and vacuous promises is over. Too many young people have died from stabbings. How many more must die before the Government finally agrees to tackle this national emergency? Families should not be left grieving for a child whose bright future was stolen in a horrific act of violence.

Yet that is increasingly the case in lawless Britain. Under the Tories’ watch violent crime has soared. It is still far too easy to buy lethal weapons online. Prosecutions have fallen to their lowest level for a decade. We need better enforcement, more police on the street, more lessons on the risks of carrying blades and more resources to tackle the causes of youth crime. But what is really needed is a Government that is prepared to act.

Your Mirror is calling for:

1 More police with greater powers

2 Reverse the cuts to youth services

3 Boost awareness of knife crime in our schools

4 Tackle the social problems behind the epidemic

5 Government should appoint a dedicated knife crime tsar

Kieren Williams

Schoolgirl stabbed as she ‘tried to protect her friend’

The schoolgirl who was tragically stabbed this morning was reportedly “trying to protect her friend”, according to The Times .

The outlet reports that after a confrontation on the bus, the victim had intervened in an attempt to calm the situation.

It was then she was attacked, stabbed in the neck and killed, they reported.

(

Image:

PA)

Kieren Williams

Schoolgirl’s family ‘learned of her death from school pals’

The family of the schoolgirl who was stabbed to death in Croydon, south London, reportedly learned of her tragic death after being told my her pals.

The Independent reported that the family found out the horrifying news this way.

It came after the attack took place on the busy rush hour trip to school this morning.

The young girl went to school at The Old Palace of John Whitgift School in Croydon (

Image:

PA)

KEY EVENT

‘Love note’ found near where schoolgirl stabbed to death in front of her friends

What appears to be a love note was found near where the young schoolgirl was stabbed to death in Croydon.

This evening, as police worked the scene, forensic officers were photographed holding what appeared to be a handwritten letter.

Part of the message appears legible, and reads: “I love you so much and I never met someone with a better smile and better eyes than what you have, special girl”.

Also written on the envelope is what appears to be an instruction that says: “Read this after the brown note.” It is not known who wrote the note.

Click here to read more.

(

Image:

Getty Images)

Kieren Williams

Touching messages left at the scene of the knife attack

A number of touching messages have been left at the scene of the stabbing in Croydon, south London.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, flowers and other tributes have been placed at the sight of the attack that took place.

One card reads: “Rest in peace angel, condolences to your family at this very sad time.” And another says: “Rest in peace little princess. So sad your life is taken away at your prime. You have touched my soul.”

Forensic officers at the scene of the attack (

Image:

TIM ANDERSON)

KEY EVENT

Tributes pour in for ‘incredible’ schoolgirl

Tributes have poured in for the 15-year-old girl who was tragically stabbed to death on her way to school this morning.

She was described as “incredible” with a “bright future” ahead of her as others said she was “comedic” and would be missed dearly.

Anthony King, chair of the My Ends organisation which works with the Met Police in Croydon said the youngster was “jovial” and “articulate”.

Click here to read more.

Tributes left at the scene of the stabbing in Croydon, south London (

Image:

PA)

Kieren Williams

Met Police commissioner speaks out on ‘senseless murder’ of 15-year-old girl

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “The senseless murder of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school is impossible to comprehend.

“It was moving and humbling to meet many members of the exceptional Croydon community who have come together in support of a family now dealing with the most unimaginable grief.

“The commitment of so many from the local community is inspiring. A powerful partnership between charitable groups, faith and community leaders, the local authority, the wider public and our officers has delivered so much work across the borough.

“They have collectively saved many lives from knife crime. Many are shocked and hurting. They care deeply and it’s this passion which has made Croydon a safer place and will continue to in the future.

“I spoke to officers who, with members of the public, were among the first on scene with colleagues trying to save this young girl’s life and have since supported her family and friends. Through diligent work by them all an early arrest was made and our major crime team now continue to investigate the events leading up to this awful attack.”

KEY EVENT

Schoolgirl victim’s mum was on her way to work in hospital when she received tragic news

By Amy Sharpe

The schoolgirl victim’s mum was on her way to work in a hospital this morning when she received the heartbreaking news that her daughter had been stabbed and killed.

The girl’s mother is a nurse who is Ghanaian and attends New Life Church in Croydon, according to a woman at the scene, whose relative knows her.

The mum was on her way to work at Redhill Hospital when she received the news that her daughter had been stabbed, the woman said.

Kieren Williams

Community worker helped alleged attacker ‘for more than a couple years’ before stabbing

A community worker has said he worked with the teenage boy who allegedly stabbed a 15-year-old girl in the neck for “more than a couple of years”.

Anthony King is chairman of the My Ends project, an initiative that aims to stop youth violence in Croydon.

He said that he had worked with the alleged attacker over a lengthy spell, before this mornings horrific incident that left a teenager girl dead on her way to school. He said the news “came as a major shock”.

A blood stained bunch of plastic flowers is seen on the pavement near the horrific attack this morning (

Image:

Peter Macdiarmid/LNP)

Kieren Williams

Heartbreaking message left in tribute to teenager schoolgirl stabbed this morning

A heartbreaking message was left amongst the tributes to the teenage girl who was stabbed in Croydon this morning.

One message left with a bunch of tulips said: “Sorry we live in this crazy world. This makes no sense. Fly high up there. My mummy will look after you xx. RIP beautiful, forever young taken too soon.”

KEY EVENT

Two pals witnessed horror moment their ‘very close friend’ was stabbed

Two pals witnessed the moment their friend was stabbed in the neck and killed, in Croydon, south London, this morning.

They were said to have been “very close friends” with the young victim, and had been on the bus with her on their way to school.

Anthony King, chair of the My Ends organisation which works with the Met Police in Croydon said: “Two 15-year-old girls were absolutely devastated by witnessing their very close friend being stabbed. They’re still being interviewed by police.

“The family are being supported by specialist officers. What I can say to the community which is absolutely devastated is to reassure children and young people that it is safe to walk the street, to travel through the streets.

“The trauma, the shock of the two girls that were present was absolutely heart wrenching, heart breaking. They were on the bus to school this morning, they were due to arrive about 8.45am. They were very close friends with the deceased.”

Kieren Williams

Stabbing victim had ‘a bright future’ ahead

The teenage girl who was tragically killed in Croydon this morning in Croydon had a “bright future” ahead of her.

A community worker said the young victim had a bright future ahead of her as she prepared to take her GCSEs. Anthony King, chair of the My Ends organisation which works with the Met Police in Croydon said: “She had a bright future ahead of her going into her GCSE year.

“The victim was absolutely incredible with a very bright future. A very comedic young lady. The word I think that was used was jovial. She was on track to pass all of her GCSEs. She was very articulate.”

Kieren Williams

Student from same school as stabbing victim comforted in touching picture

After this morning’s horrific stabbing, some people have visited the scene of the attack.

Some flowers were left in tribute, and others were seen comforting one another in Croydon, south London.

A youngster who goes to the same school as the stabbing victim is comforted in Croydon (

Image:

Jeremy Selwyn)

Kieren Williams

Tributes left at the scene of the tragic stabbing

Tributes have been left at the scene of this morning’s tragic stabbing.

Flowers have been left at the scene of the stabbing in Croydon, south London this afternoon.

Meanwhile, other people were seen, visibly emotional, as they comforted one another at the scene.

Tributes left at the scene of the tragic stabbing (

Image:

PA)

Kieren Williams

Forensic officer collects roses after reports victim was offered flowers moments before horrific attack

A forensic officer has been seen putting flowers into a container at the scene of this morning’s horrific stabbing in Croydon, London.

This came after earlier reports that the victim had been offered flowers before an argument broke out, in the moments leading up to the stabbing. Chevanice Thomas said her friend was on Wellesley Road and saw a boy give the girl flowers.

A forensic investigator puts flowers into a container at the scene of the stabbing (

Image:

PA)

Chevanice continued: “He turned up today with a group of boys and tried to give her flowers, she didn’t want anything to do with him, she said something, then he got violent and stabbed her. The knife was like a sword – it was really big.”

Another woman at the scene told how her friend was aboard the bus and witnessed the girl arguing with a boy prior to the stabbing. The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “The boy was with a group and he gave her flowers. She didn’t want it. They were arguing, the whole bus could hear, and then it spilled off the bus apparently. It’s so sad but I can’t say I’m shocked. We have had stabbings in Croydon before. This is what happens now.”

Kieren Williams

Met Police commissioner arrives at the scene

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has arrived at the scene of this morning’s tragic stabbing.

The chief copper was pictured walking near the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon, where the young girl was stabbed this morning.

Even after one arrest, officers continue to comb the area for any and every bit of evidence.

Kieren Williams

Local MP ‘heartbroken’ and says community will take time to grieve

The local MP has spoken out earlier today after the tragic stabbing this morning.

Croydon MP Sarah Jones said: “I’m heartbroken that a child in my town has been killed on her way to school and I cannot imagine the grief that her family will be going through at this time.

“I want to thank the police and the ambulance services for trying so hard to save her life. They run into danger and I know they will be suffering today, too. I want to repeat the request from the police that if anybody has any information so anything please do get in touch.

“We all hold our children close and our community will take time to grieve, but for today we are just thinking of this young girl and her family. I’m so sorry.”

Local leaders have spoken out after the tragedy this morning (

Image:

TIM ANDERSON)

Kieren Williams

Man described how he ran down a boy in aftermath of stabbing

A man has described how he and others chased after a boy in the aftermath of the stabbing in Croydon, today.

Victor Asare was on a bus on the way home from a night shift as a security worker when he said he saw a boy in a black blazer stab a girl in the neck with a knife which was “black, thin and about a foot long”.

He said: “The boy wore a black blazer, the girl wore green. It looked like the girl didn’t want the boy to come closer.” He then described the boy stabbing the girl in the neck with a black knife.

The 50-year-old described how the stabbing took place, and the horrifying aftermath. He added. “A lot of people came, everyone came off the bus. [The boy] ran away. Everybody was crying and screaming. The girl was on the floor. We tried to catch him and a lot of people tried to save the girl. I was so shocked, I was shaken. It’s somebody’s daughter. I finished work but couldn’t sleep, so came back, I wanted to see if the girl was OK.”

Officers at the scene of the stabbing this afternoon (

Image:

TIM ANDERSON)

KEY EVENT

Church kept doors open this evening for young victim

A church kept its door open this evening for anyone affected by the death of the young teenage girl.

The Croydon Minster announced on its social media that it would be opening its doors for anyone to pay their respects, light a candle or sit in quiet and reflect.

They added: “We pray for the pupil, her parents, family, and friends, and for peace in our town and borough.”

Katie Weston

Updated police statement in full

Following this afternoon’s press conference, the Met Police has released an updated statement.

The force said: “Shortly after 08:30hrs on Wednesday, 27 September, we were called to reports of a stabbing in Wellesley Road. Officers were on the scene within two minutes of the call being received.

“They provided emergency first aid along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance. Sadly, despite their efforts, a 15-year-old girl died at the scene.

“Her family have been informed and our thoughts are with them at this incredibly difficult time. We carried out urgent enquiries to find the suspect – and within around 75 minutes of the incident happening – a 17-year-old boy was arrested in New Addington.

“He remains in custody and will be questioned by detectives. We remain in the early stages of our investigation, however based on what we know so far, we are not looking for anybody else at this time.

“From our initial enquiries, we believe the suspect knew the victim. We are not in a position to release the victim’s identity at this time.”

Sarah Jones, Labour MP for Croydon Central makes a statement to the media (

Image:

Getty Images)

Amy Sharpe

Students to gather at scene today to pay tribute to schoolgirl

Students are expected to attend the scene to pay tribute this afternoon, Donna said.

“This will have a ripple effect amongst schools and school leaders and parents will have to think about how to handle this. This is going to have a massive effect across our borough.”

A forensic officer photographing the scene (

Image:

TIM ANDERSON)

Amy Sharpe

Girl’s parents ‘were called to scene but couldn’t make it in time’

James, a support worker, added: “I got a phone call from the police and came down, and it was here I spoke to the family.

“They received a call to come to the scene shortly after the incident happened. Unfortunately they (were not) able to arrive in time (before she died.)”

Donna Murray-Turner, of community group Another Night of Sisterhood, said she was also there to offer the girl’s family support this morning. She told the Mirror: “Words like devastated and disbeliefs and shock are not enough.

“Imagine you got a phone call asking where you where you are, are you by yourself, get on transportation, then to find out that your child is gone. How would anyone feel?”

Both community groups will be supporting the schoolgirl’s family, as well as friends who were at the scene and witnessed the incident, in the coming days and weeks.

Safer Neighbourhood Board Chair, Donna Murray-Turner

KEY EVENT

Schoolgirl’s family are ‘devastated’ and ‘in shock’, says support worker

By Amy Sharpe

The family of a schoolgirl who was fatally stabbed are “devastated and in shock” following her death, a community worker has said.

James Watkins told how the girl’s parents were summoned to the scene this morning but “unable to make it” in time to say goodbye to their daughter. James, founder of Mainz World – which offers crime-prevention projects for children and young people – also said the suspect had been “known” to his organisation.

He told the Mirror: ““They are devastated and I would say, more importantly, in shock. I don’t think it feels real to them at the moment.” The family “are not at a stage yet” to be thinking of paying tribute to the girl, who had siblings, James said – adding that they are “just in shock and disbelief.”

Katie Weston

Police not looking for anyone else in connection with stabbing

Mr Brittain said: “We remain in the early stages of our investigation.

“We believe we are not looking for anyoe else. It is believed the suspect may have known the victim.”

The force is not in a position to release the victim’s identity, he said. The chief superintendent added: “We are working to ensure those directly affected get the right support and the wider community can come together and grieve.”

A forensic tent and officers near the bus stop (

Image:

Getty Images)

Katie Weston

Met chief superintendent: ‘This is every parent’s worst nightmare’

Mr Brittain told reporters: “This is every parent’s worst nightmare.

“Officers who responded this morning are devastated at the victim’s death.” The teenage girl’s family have been informed, he said.

Police work at the scene (

Image:

Getty Images)

KEY EVENT

Boy, 17, remains in custody for questioning

Giving a press conference this afternoon, the Met’s Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain said a 17-year-old boy has been arrested.

He confirmed that he remains in custody and will be questioned by detectives.

Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain makes a statement to the media (

Image:

Getty Images)

Katie Weston

Forensic teams inspect scene after schoolgirl’s death

Katie Weston

Schoolgirl’s friends ‘tried to get through cordon but were held back’

Michael Fyffe, a local business owner who has two 13-year-old twins, said he came across the horrifying scene as he left the shopping centre.

He said: “I didn’t see the incident itself, I came just afterwards. There was a girl on the floor and police officers were trying to resuscitate her. Two of her friends were trying to get to her and one was saying they were her best friend.

“Lots of people were getting off the bus. I came out of the Whitgift Centre and saw people and started asking what happened and then saw the girl on the floor. Everyone on the bus said she had been stabbed in the neck and some guy ran off.”

A mother-of-two, who wanted to be named only as Bridget, also said two schoolgirls were trying to get back through the police cordon, but were held back.

Police work at the cordoned-off scene (

Image:

Getty Images)

KEY EVENT

School pays tribute to ‘much-loved and valued friend and pupil’

The girl was a pupil at Old Palace of John Whitgift School.

The school released a statement to say: “We are deeply shocked by the senseless and tragic death of our much-loved and valued friend and pupil. It will take some time for the Old Palace community to come to terms with this terrible news, and we will offer support to our pupils as we try to do so.

“Above all, we send our love and deepest sympathies to the girl’s family at this unimaginably distressing time.”

Katie Weston

Estate agent who works nearby says area is a ‘war zone’

An estate agent who works near the scene in Croydon has said the town has “gone to the dogs”.

Leigh Thomas, 41, said: “I came out of my office and there were two ambulances right across the road and about 12 police cars.” He added: “Croydon has gone to the dogs recently. The other side of the shopping centre is a war zone.

“There’s drug dealing, fights, there was another stabbing recently. I grew up around here, it’s not what it used to be.”

Forensics next to the bus (

Image:

PA)

Wars, Pandemic, Insurrection, U.F.O.s: Gen. Mark Milley’s Term Had It All

by www.nytimes.com Leave a Comment

At midnight on Sept. 30, Gen. Mark A. Milley’s turbulent term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will end.

He is the last senior official whose tenure spanned both the Trump and the Biden administrations, a time that included just about every kind of crisis.

Insurrection. Pandemic. The chaotic ending of the war in Afghanistan. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shoot-downs of unidentified flying objects.

There was that time his boss wanted to deploy American troops on the streets against American citizens. The day U.S. intelligence picked up talk among Russian generals about using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. And a Republican senator’s blockade of military promotions that delayed his successor’s confirmation.

As the senior military adviser to two presidents, General Milley demonstrated loyalty, until he deemed it no longer in the country’s interest, and was often praised for his leadership. But he also made very public mistakes, including an especially egregious one for which he would later apologize.

In the end, his chairmanship was shaped by a straightforward loquaciousness, a commander in chief who specialized in chaos and a chain of fast-moving events around the world.

“No one was asked to do as difficult a series of things as he had to do,” said Peter Feaver, a Duke University professor who has studied the armed forces.

Here is a look at Gen. Mark Alexander Milley’s four years as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, based on interviews with the general, his colleagues and associates, as well as reporting and books about the Donald J. Trump administration.

The First Crisis

Sept. 30, 2019

On an Army base field just outside Washington, General Milley takes the oath of office.

It is a rainy Monday, and President Trump is there. He has told his aides that General Milley, a barrel-chested Green Beret with bushy eyebrows and a command-a-room personality, looks like a proper general to him.

“I have absolute confidence that he will fulfill his duty with the same brilliance and fortitude he has shown throughout his long and very distinguished career,” Mr. Trump says.

The honeymoon does not last three days.

Oct. 4, 2019

General Milley’s Turkish counterpart, Gen. Yasar Guler, tells him that Turkey will send thousands of troops over the border into Syria to target American-backed Kurdish forces. The Kurds are the Pentagon’s most reliable partners in the fight against the Islamic State. But Turkey says they are terrorists.

General Milley has to take the matter to Mr. Trump, who is mad that U.S. troops are in Syria.

Two days later, Mr. Trump announces a de facto endorsement of the Turkish move: He will pull the American troops out of Syria, essentially leaving the Kurds to fend for themselves.

“Morally reprehensible and strategically dumb,” opines Senator Angus King, independent of Maine.

Oct. 16, 2019

An emergency meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader; and members of Mr. Trump’s national security team degenerates into a shouting match over Mr. Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. troops out of Syria.

“Nervous Nancy’s unhinged meltdown!” Mr. Trump says after the meeting, tweeting a photo of Ms. Pelosi standing across a table from him, pointing her finger in the air.

At the Pentagon, the talk is all about the man seated next to Mr. Trump in the photo: a grim-looking General Milley, with his hands clasped in front of him. He has been on the job for 16 days.

Oct. 26, 2019

Mr. Trump’s abrupt withdrawal order forces General Milley and Pentagon officials to speed up a plan to take out the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , whom they have been monitoring at a compound in Qaeda territory in Syria.

They want to carry out the risky nighttime raid while they still have troops, spies and reconnaissance aircraft in the country.

The raid is successful, thanks in part to the same Kurdish forces Mr. Trump effectively abandoned.

“He died like a dog,” Mr. Trump says of the ISIS leader.

Nov. 13, 2019

General Milley has figured out a way to turn Mr. Trump around on Syria. He has told the president that American commandos and their Kurdish allies need to stay to guard the oil there.

Some 800 troops will remain in northern Syria.

“We’re keeping the oil,” Mr. Trump tells reporters. “We left troops behind, only for the oil.”

Jan. 3, 2020

General Milley and other senior officials have given the president a range of options to deal with attacks by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Mr. Trump chooses the most extreme: assassinating Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander.

Mr. Trump has been fuming over television reports showing Iranian-backed attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

That night, General Suleimani is killed in an American drone strike at Baghdad International Airport.

The fallout is immediate. Iranian groups put a price on General Milley’s head. And five days later, just after concluding a barrage of retaliatory airstrikes, Iran mistakenly shoots down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people on board.

Pandemic and Protests

March 24, 2020

At a virtual town hall event, General Milley predicts that the coronavirus will not last long. “You’re looking at probably late May, June, something in that range,” he said. “Could be as late as July.”

That same day, the Navy announces that three sailors on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the virus.

May 25, 2020

Memorial Day. More than 350 sailors from the Theodore Roosevelt are in quarantine on Guam. The virus has taken the aircraft carrier out of service for weeks, causing an imbroglio that leads to the resignation of the acting secretary of the Navy.

Back in Washington, General Milley is heading to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will meet with Gold Star families who had lost loved ones in America’s wars.

For General Milley, Memorial Day is a workday. He helps place flags on the graves. “I have soldiers that are buried here that died under my command,” he tells a CBS News crew.

That night he sees a report on TV about a Black man in Minneapolis who died at the hands of the police.

June 1, 2020

“Can’t you just shoot them? Shoot them in the legs or something?” Mr. Trump asks General Milley and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper in the Oval Office.

Mr. Trump says that demonstrations in the streets over the killing of George Floyd were making him look “weak.” He wants 10,000 active-duty troops in Washington, D.C., alone to take on the protesters.

General Milley and Mr. Esper explain that pitting American soldiers against American protesters could hurt civil-military relations and incite more violence. They talk Mr. Trump out of it.

General Milley leans into Mr. Esper, presses his thumb to his forefinger and whispers that he is “this close” to resigning. So was Mr. Esper, the defense secretary recalled in his book, “A Sacred Oath.”

It is not even noon yet.

Around 6 p.m., General Milley and Mr. Esper are again summoned to the White House. Neither knows why at the time, but they will soon be taking a walk with the president.

Mr. Trump has decided to stage a photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Square near the White House. He holds a Bible, which his daughter Ivanka has pulled out of her bag. General Milley is wearing his camouflage uniform.

As Mr. Trump poses, General Milley disappears from view. But the damage is done. General Milley is the most senior officer of a military that at its core is supposed to be above politics.

“An egregious display of bad judgment, at best,” says Paul D. Eaton , a retired major general and a veteran of the Iraq war.

General Milley spends the rest of the night walking through the streets of Washington, talking to National Guard troops and protesters alike. At 12:24 in the morning, he heads home. Not long after, he is writing a resignation letter.

“It is my belief that you are doing great and irreparable harm to my country,” one draft says, according to “The Divider: Trump in the White House,” by Susan Glasser and Peter Baker. He does not send the letter.

June 11, 2020

General Milley apologizes for the walk in the park. “I should not have been there,” he says in a commencement address at the National Defense University.

Mr. Trump is furious. “Why’d you do that?” he asks General Milley later that day.

This is the Rubicon that many people in the Trump administration eventually cross: the moment when they change from ally to enemy in the eyes of the president.

Mr. Trump never cared much for Mr. Esper, whom he calls “Mr. Yesper.” General Milley, by contrast, the president once favored. No more.

Aug. 20, 2020

General Milley is in Colorado Springs for a Northern Command ceremony and makes a beeline for Mr. Esper to tell him about an alarming phone call the night before: Robert C. O’Brien, Mr. Trump’s fourth national security adviser, says there is interest in killing another senior Iranian military officer.

Why now? General Milley tells Mr. Esper the proposed strike has not gone through the normal bureaucratic discussion that precedes operations of this magnitude. To put Mr. O’Brien off, General Milley goes into what he calls his “hamana hamana,” nonsense talk.

For the next five months, General Milley tells people that he will do everything he can to keep the Trump team from launching strikes — potential acts of war — without proper vetting.

Oct. 14, 2020

General Milley and Mr. Esper huddle over what to do about some military nominations they want to make.

They want two women — Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army — to be promoted, on merit, to elite, four-star commands. But the men are worried that Mr. Trump will not go for it, because promoting women is too “woke” for him.

They agree on a strategy. They will hold back the nominations until after the November elections. Maybe Joe Biden will win, the men figure.

Oct. 30, 2020

General Milley reassures his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng, in a phone call that Mr. Trump has no plans to attack China, no matter what intelligence is picking up about the president wanting to create a crisis to help him in the polls.

Before the Insurrection

Nov. 9, 2020

Mr. Trump has lost the election but is not conceding. And he has decided that the transition period is a perfect time to revamp the Pentagon leadership. He takes to his usual medium to announce that he has “terminated” Mr. Esper. Christopher C. Miller, a former Army Green Beret, will take over the Defense Department.

General Milley threatens to resign, according to Mr. Esper’s book. Mr. Esper tells him: “You’re the only one left now to hold the line. You have to stay.”

Nov. 10, 2020

The purge is on. Mr. Trump fires two Defense Department under secretaries and sends in political loyalists: Kash Patel, a former aide to Representative Devin Nunes of California, and Ezra Cohen, an ally of Michael T. Flynn, a former national security adviser. Anthony Tata, a retired general who once referred to President Barack Obama as a “terrorist leader,” is now in the top Pentagon policy job.

General Milley vows that there will be no coup under his watch. “They may try,” but they will not succeed, Milley tells his deputies, according to “I Alone Can Fix It,” by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker. “You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. We’re the guys with the guns.”

Nov. 11, 2020

During a meeting, Mr. Patel hands General Milley a sheet of paper that says Mr. Trump is ordering all remaining U.S. troops home from Somalia by Dec. 31 and from Afghanistan by Jan. 15.

General Milley heads to the White House. He and other national security aides talk Mr. Trump out of the Afghanistan pullout by reminding him that he has already ordered an Afghanistan withdrawal in the next months. The Somalia withdrawal date is moved to Jan. 15.

Nov. 25, 2020

Mr. Trump removes Henry Kissinger and Madeleine K. Albright from the Defense Policy Board, replacing them with loyalists. He also pardons Mr. Flynn, the former general and national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I.

A week later, Mr. Flynn endorses an ad calling for martial law and for a national “re-vote” — to be conducted by the military.

“I just want to get to the 20th,” General Milley tells aides, referring to Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

Jan. 6, 2021

Mr. Trump summons his supporters to the Capitol. Rioters storm the building to overturn the election.

Jan. 8, 2021

The Chinese are on high alert, so General Milley makes another call. “Things may look unsteady,” he says. “But that’s the nature of democracy, General Li.”

Next, General Milley advises the Navy to postpone planned exercises near China.

Ms. Pelosi is on the phone asking what’s to stop Mr. Trump from launching a nuclear weapon.

General Milley tells her there are procedures in place.

After that call, he summons senior officers to go over those procedures, according to “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. “If you get calls,” he tells the officers, “there’s a procedure.”

He adds, “And I’m part of that procedure.”

He turns to each officer in the room.

“Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

A New Boss

Jan. 20, 2021

Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes the oath of office.

April 6, 2021

General Milley is in the Oval Office for the news he knows is coming but does not want to hear. Mr. Biden, like his predecessor, wants all American troops out of Afghanistan. This time, the deadline is Sept. 11, 2021, exactly 20 years after the terrorist attacks that launched two decades of war.

General Milley had hoped that Mr. Biden would agree to keep a modest troop presence in the country to prevent it from falling back into the hands of the Taliban and from becoming a launching pad for terrorist attacks. But Mr. Biden is adamant.

General Milley and the new defense secretary, Lloyd J. Austin III, tell senior commanders to start packing up. The last thing the men want now is for an American soldier to die in Afghanistan after the president has ordered a withdrawal.

A race to the exits begins.

June 23, 2021

General Milley pushes back against criticism that the Pentagon is becoming too “woke.”

After a Republican congressman presses Mr. Austin, the first Black man to lead the Pentagon, on whether the Defense Department teaches “critical race theory,” General Milley hits back. “I’ve read Mao Zedong. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin,” he says. “That doesn’t make me a communist.”

In a two-minute clip that plays over and over on social media platforms, General Milley defends the military’s right to study what it wants, including topics that some might find uncomfortable.

“I want to understand white rage, and I’m white, and I want to understand it,” he says. “What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building, and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America?”

Last Days in Afghanistan

July 2, 2021

American troops leave Bagram Air Base, their last hold in Afghanistan. Within hours, the base is ransacked by looters.

Aug. 15, 2021

The Taliban seize Kabul, the capital. Attention turns to evacuating Americans and their Afghan allies from the country.

At the Pentagon, General Milley receives hundreds of phone calls from aid organizations, media companies and lawmakers, all pleading for help evacuating their people. In meetings, he barks at the bureaucratic red tape.

Aug. 26, 2021

At 5:48 p.m. local time, a suicide attack at Kabul airport kills at least 183 people, including 13 U.S. service members sent to help with evacuations.

Sept. 1, 2021

General Milley is fielding questions at a news conference about a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians , including children. Senior officials know that civilians were killed, but they are sticking to the talking points that the strike also targeted terrorists plotting another attack.

“Yes, there were others killed,” General Milley says. “Who they are, we don’t know. The procedures were correctly followed and it was a righteous strike.”

Sixteen days later, the Pentagon acknowledges that the strike was a mistake.

“This is a horrible tragedy of war,” General Milley says in a statement.

Sept. 28, 2021

The general has been talking.

A bunch of books are out that describe his actions in the waning days of the Trump presidency: the call to China, the meeting with the nuclear code officers.

Some senators at a hearing are angry that General Milley tried to protect the Pentagon from Mr. Trump. Others are angry that he told so many people afterward.

In a break from usual military hearings on Capitol Hill, it is the Republicans who are angriest at the military general. General Milley is now a lightning rod for Trump allies across the country, regularly pilloried in right-wing media outlets.

War in Europe

Jan. 28, 2022

General Milley warns that Russia has assembled more than 100,000 troops at Ukraine’s borders, with more coming every day, and enough military hardware to invade the entire country.

Given the type of forces that are arrayed, he says at a Pentagon news conference, “if that was unleashed on Ukraine, it would be significant, very significant, and it would result in a significant amount of casualties.”

Feb. 24, 2022

Russia invades Ukraine.

Oct. 24, 2022

For the first time in months, General Milley is on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, who had been giving him the silent treatment.

U.S. intelligence has picked up discussions among senior Russian generals about using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has been making not-veiled threats about escalation, and General Milley wants to make sure Moscow isn’t about to cross a serious red line.

After the call, General Milley’s people say that he and General Gerasimov will keep the lines of communication open.

Nov. 9, 2022

General Milley tells the Economic Club of New York that neither Russia nor Ukraine, in his opinion, can win the war. Diplomats, he believes, need to start looking for ways to begin negotiations.

“When there’s an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved, seize it,” he says.

The remarks cause a furor: Ukrainians worry that the Biden administration is preparing to abandon them, and White House officials scramble to reassure them that U.S. support remains solid.

Feb. 11, 2023

The text from a reporter comes to General Milley’s phone at 9:27 on a Saturday morning.

For the third time in less than a week, NORAD is tracking an unidentified flying object over North America. This one is over the Yukon in Canada. U.S. fighter jets shot down the two others: a Chinese spy balloon, and who knows what.

“It’s an alien, isn’t it,?” the text says.

The general replies, “Not aliens!”

Aug. 21, 2023

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a yearly show where troops clad in full ancient fighting kit including kilts, sporran, drums and bagpipes, put on a show at a centuries-old castle that has turned into a 90-minute farewell salute to America’s senior general.

General Milley, in full military dress and white gloves, is in the guest-of-honor seat, in a crowd of thousands. As each group concludes its performance, a single green light in the darkened arena shines on the general, and he stands up, at attention. Each succession of troops stops to salute him. The green light goes off, and he sits back down.

Sept. 22, 2023

Mr. Trump has his own farewell salute for General Milley.

In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump says the general’s retirement “will be a time for all Americans to celebrate!” He calls General Milley a “woke train wreck” and complains about the general’s calls with his Chinese counterpart. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”

Mr. Trump concludes, “To be continued!”

Al-Shabaab jihadists ‘kill five civilians including a secondary school pupil by ”slashing and beheading” in Kenya’

by www.dailymail.co.uk Leave a Comment

Al-Shabaab jihadists have reportedly killed five civilians including a secondary school pupil by ‘slashing and beheading’ in Kenya.

The attack in eastern Kenya occurred on Saturday around 7.30 pm (1630 GMT) in the villages of Juhudi and Salama in Lamu county, which borders Somalia, a police source said.

‘Five people were killed. The victims were slashed and there are others who were beheaded,’ the police source told AFP on Sunday. Witnesses also described the latest horrifying attack by the Al-Qaeda linked group.

Resident Hassan Abdul said that ‘women were locked in the houses and the men ordered out, where they were tied with ropes and butchered’.

A secondary school student was among the five people killed, Abdul said, adding that ‘all those killed were slashed and some of them had been beheaded’.

Al-Shabaab jihadists (file image) have reportedly killed five civilians including a secondary school pupil by ‘slashing and beheading’ in Kenya

Earlier this month, the Al Qaeda-linked jihadists killed six civilians and wounded ten in a six-hour siege at a beachside hotel in Somalia (pictured)

Another local resident, Ismail Hussein, said that the militants stole food supplies before leaving, firing their arms into the air.

‘We have enhanced security in that area after the attack,’ Lamu County Commissioner Louis Rono said.

Based in Kenya’s eastern neighbour Somalia, the jihadist Al-Shabaab group has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.

Kenya first sent troops into Somalia in 2011 to combat the Islamist militants and is now a major contributor of troops to an African Union military operation against the group.

But it has suffered a string of retaliatory assaults, including a bloody siege at the Westgate mall in Nairobi in 2013 that cost 67 lives and an attack on Garissa University in 2015 that killed 148 people.

In Somalia itself, Al-Shabaab has continued to wage deadly attacks despite a major offensive launched last August by pro-government forces, backed by the AU force known as ATMIS.

Earlier this month, the Al Qaeda-linked jihadists killed six civilians and wounded ten in a six-hour siege at a beachside hotel in Somalia .

Seven Al-Shabaab militants launched the attack on Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Kenya’s Lamu region, which includes the popular tourist beach destination of Lamu Island, has suffered frequent attacks, often carried out with roadside bombs.

Security officers patrol near the destroyed Hayat Hotel after a deadly 30-hour siege by Al-Shabaab jihadists in Mogadishu on August 21, 2022

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during a meeting with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 in Washington

Saturday’s killings took place near Mpeketoni, a town around 450 kilometres (280 miles) from the capital Nairobi and 120 kilometres from the Somali border.

The area was hit by an attack attributed to Al-Shabaab in January 2022, in which six people were killed and homes torched.

In 2014, almost 100 people were killed in a series of armed assaults on Mpeketoni and surrounding villages in Lamu County.

In June, eight Kenyan police officers were killed when their vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device in a suspected Al-Shabaab attack in nearby Garissa county.

Kenya and Somalia agreed last month to gradually reopen three points on their land border, which was closed in 2011 in bid to curb Al-Shabaab violence.

Mum and daughter found stabbed to death with dog with bag on head in ‘murder-suicide’

by www.mirror.co.uk Leave a Comment

A mum and her teenage daughter were found stabbed to death in their apartment with their dog who had a bag over its head in what appears to be a shocking murder -suicide case.

Azalea Rivas, 37, and her 14-year-old daughter, Azaria, were found lifeless alongside their pet dog. According to neighbours, the events leading up to this tragedy appeared to be preceded by unusual behaviour from the mother. Kathleen Kiki, a 57-year-old neighbour, recounted a chance encounter with Azalea Rivas on the morning of the incident, around 6.13am. Both women were walking their dogs , but Ms Rivas seemed noticeably distressed, wearing AirPods and engaged in an agitated conversation. This behaviour was out of character for her, as neighbours described her as typically joyful and friendly.

For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US

In a tragic incident, the mother and daughter were found dead in their Brooklyn apartment. (

Image:

GoFundme)

Ms Kiki told the Daily Mail : “I don’t think she would have taken her life and her daughter’s life. I hope they get whoever did this.” Kiki’s shock and sadness were echoed by her 19-year-old daughter, Kiera, who expressed disbelief that such a horrific crime could occur in their neighbourhood, a place where they had never heard of a murder happening before.

Kathleen Kiki, a neighbor, noticed Rivas’ unusual behavior on the fateful morning (

Image:

FNTV)

The grisly discovery took place on September 25, at a residence located on New York Avenue in the Little Haiti neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Azaria had been stabbed once in the back, with blunt force trauma to the head believed to be the fatal blow. She was found with a bag over her head, likely used to contain blood spatter. Her mother, Azalea Rivas, died from a punctured lung and displayed self-inflicted knife wounds on her neck and wrists. Even their pet dog, named Biscuit, was found with a bag over its head.

Azaria had been stabbed in the back, with blunt force trauma as the apparent cause of death (

Image:

FNTV)

Neighbour Steve Schor, who lived directly below the crime scene, described the disturbing noises he heard on the morning of the incident around 7:22am local time. Concerned for the residents upstairs, Mr Schor called 911, reporting that it sounded as though someone was being harmed. Officers from the 67th precinct responded to the call but left without making contact after receiving no response from inside the apartment.

Azalea Rivas had knife wounds on her neck and wrists, appearing self-inflicted (

Image:

NBC)

Despite the unsettling sounds, the neighbourhood remained quiet until a neighbour on an upper floor reported a foul odour in the building on the following Monday, prompting another police visit. It was only then that the grisly discovery was made when Azalea Rivas’s ex-boyfriend, unable to contact them since Friday, broke into the apartment. His anguished screams filled the air before he was rushed to the hospital.

Azalea Rivas appeared agitated just hours before screams were heard by neighbors (

Image:

Facebook)

The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing, and no arrests have been made yet (

Image:

Facebook)

Mr Schor expressed his concerns about the response time and the overall safety of the building, emphasising the need for better security measures. He noted that the security camera outside the front door was their only form of security. As the investigation unfolds, it remains unclear whether this was a murder-suicide or a homicide.

The NYPD is actively investigating the case, with no arrests made as of now. Azalea Rivas’s uncle posted a heartfelt message on Facebook , stressing the need for mental health and child protective services, suggesting that these services may have failed the family.

Follow the Mirror US News page on Facebook

All the latest news, showbiz, lifestyle and sports updates, brought to you by our dedicated American team.

Follow the Mirror US News page on Facebook to make sure you’re not missing out.