The Defender Dome
21.04.202508:28
The Vatican has released an official statement confirming the death of Pope Francis, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell announcing:
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
21.04.202505:38
DHL Express has announced that it will be suspending the delivery of packages worth $800 or more to the United States, following a significant increase in “red tape” with customs and import control as a result of recent worldwide tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
21.04.202501:51
John Ullyot, a former senior official at the Department of Defense and close associate of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who departed last week from his position as Acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs after being sidelined for the role of Chief Pentagon Spokesman by Sean Parnell, has written an op-ed released tonight in Politico, claiming a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the Pentagon which will likely soon lead to the removal of Hegseth.
Ullyot, who describes himself a longtime backer and friend of Pete Hegseth, paints a month of “total chaos” at the Pentagon, culminating in the firing of three of Hegseth’s most loyal senior staffers last week, Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, with rumors of additional firings to come. “In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month. Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door,” Ullyot added.
After discussing last week’s wave of firings, Ullyot proceeds to at least partially confirm and describe several of the recent scandals at the Pentagon since March, including Signalgate, Hegseth’s confusing and continued denial of any wrongdoing afterwards, Hegseth’s decision to bring his wife Jennifer to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, a top-secret briefing at the Pentagon for Elon Musk detailing war plans against China which was eventually canceled by the White House, last week’s purges, and finally tonight’s story about another Signal chat created by Hegseth with his wife and brother in which additional information about the strikes against Yemen were discussed.
Ullyot then ends his op-ed by stating, “In the first three months of his second term, Trump has continued that great record on national security, in particular refocusing the Defense Department on its core mission of preparing to fight and win wars. Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama. The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”
Ullyot, who describes himself a longtime backer and friend of Pete Hegseth, paints a month of “total chaos” at the Pentagon, culminating in the firing of three of Hegseth’s most loyal senior staffers last week, Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, with rumors of additional firings to come. “In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month. Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door,” Ullyot added.
After discussing last week’s wave of firings, Ullyot proceeds to at least partially confirm and describe several of the recent scandals at the Pentagon since March, including Signalgate, Hegseth’s confusing and continued denial of any wrongdoing afterwards, Hegseth’s decision to bring his wife Jennifer to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, a top-secret briefing at the Pentagon for Elon Musk detailing war plans against China which was eventually canceled by the White House, last week’s purges, and finally tonight’s story about another Signal chat created by Hegseth with his wife and brother in which additional information about the strikes against Yemen were discussed.
Ullyot then ends his op-ed by stating, “In the first three months of his second term, Trump has continued that great record on national security, in particular refocusing the Defense Department on its core mission of preparing to fight and win wars. Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama. The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”
20.04.202520:15
According to Reuters, Israel has not ruled out a full-scale or limited-strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, despite U.S. President Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that the United States would not support or aid in such a strike during the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran.
19.04.202518:19
Over a dozens airstrikes targeted the port and airport in the Western Yemeni city of Hodeidah within the last few hours, causing serious damage to remaining Houthi military infrastructure.
19.04.202509:45
It is now 11:30am, 30 minutes after negotiations were supposed to begin and the Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has finally arrived at the Omani Embassy in Rome, while the U.S. delegation appears to still be on the way.
21.04.202508:08
The Pope met just yesterday with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, before giving his Easter Sunday blessing from St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
21.04.202504:51
Something unusual is going on once again, on Easter Sunday a total of 8 C-17A Globemaster IIIs with the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) were tracked flying between Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Nevatim Airbase in Southern Israel, all of which were linked with the transfer of air-defense systems and originated from either Fort Bliss or Fort Cavazos, Texas. Since April 10th, 25 C-17s have landed at Nevatim, with most attached to this same air-defense mission.
20.04.202522:20
In addition to the “Houthi PC Small Group” chat on Signal in which Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to last month, which included senior officials in the Trump Administration, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth who used it to discuss and reveal what appears to have been classified material related to the now ongoing strike campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The New York Times is now reporting that Secretary Hegseth also shared details about the strikes against the Houthis, including flight schedules for F/A-18 “Super Hornets” as well as some of the same details shared in the PC Small Group, in another Signal group chat titled “Defense | Team Huddle” that included his wife Jennifer, a former producer with Fox News who does not work with the Department of Defense but has accompanied Hegseth overseas and in several sensitive meetings with foreign officials, alongside his brother Phil and his personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, both of which work in controversial roles at the Pentagon.
Unlike the other Signal chat created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in early March, this chat was created by Hegseth in January before being confirmed as Secretary of Defense and included roughly a dozen personal and professional contacts who he was close to; with it being initial used as a forum for discussing routine administrative or scheduling information. Hegseth is said to have used his personal phone for his chat, not typically using it to discuss sensitive military operations and that it did not include other cabinet-level officials, but did include both Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, senior advisors and confidants of Hegseth who were placed on administrative leave and fired last week from the Pentagon, after being accused of “leaking unauthorized information” pending an ongoing investigation by the DoD, yet have since proclaimed their innocence in a public statement on X.
The New York Times is now reporting that Secretary Hegseth also shared details about the strikes against the Houthis, including flight schedules for F/A-18 “Super Hornets” as well as some of the same details shared in the PC Small Group, in another Signal group chat titled “Defense | Team Huddle” that included his wife Jennifer, a former producer with Fox News who does not work with the Department of Defense but has accompanied Hegseth overseas and in several sensitive meetings with foreign officials, alongside his brother Phil and his personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, both of which work in controversial roles at the Pentagon.
Unlike the other Signal chat created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in early March, this chat was created by Hegseth in January before being confirmed as Secretary of Defense and included roughly a dozen personal and professional contacts who he was close to; with it being initial used as a forum for discussing routine administrative or scheduling information. Hegseth is said to have used his personal phone for his chat, not typically using it to discuss sensitive military operations and that it did not include other cabinet-level officials, but did include both Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, senior advisors and confidants of Hegseth who were placed on administrative leave and fired last week from the Pentagon, after being accused of “leaking unauthorized information” pending an ongoing investigation by the DoD, yet have since proclaimed their innocence in a public statement on X.
20.04.202519:44
The USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), an amphibious command ship and flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet, has docked in Tripoli, Libya, with a U.S. delegation to continue security dialogue with key Libyan political and military actors across the split-ruled nation.
The delegation will also be traveling to the city of Benghazi, which, in accordance with the current U.S. policy on Libya, points to a meeting with opposition government and military leaders in Eastern Libya, the Government of National Stability (GNS).
The U.S. delegation consists of the commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson; U.S. Special Envoy to Libya Richard B. Norland; and the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Libya, Jeremy Berndt.
The delegation will also be traveling to the city of Benghazi, which, in accordance with the current U.S. policy on Libya, points to a meeting with opposition government and military leaders in Eastern Libya, the Government of National Stability (GNS).
The U.S. delegation consists of the commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson; U.S. Special Envoy to Libya Richard B. Norland; and the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Libya, Jeremy Berndt.
19.04.202517:22
Russian artillery is continuing to target frontline positions in Eastern Ukraine, despite this morning’s “Easter Ceasefire” announced by Russian President Putin. Hundreds of ceasefire violations by Russia have already been seen in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk Oblasts of Eastern Ukraine.
19.04.202509:34
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives earlier this morning in Rome, for today’s second round of nuclear talks with the United States, which will take place at the Omani Embassy.
21.04.202508:04
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has died at age 88.
21.04.202503:03
The Pentagon has released a statement acknowledging several articles released today accusing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of posting possible classified information in another Signal group chat which included his wife and brother, as well as an op-ed by John Ullyot, a former senior official at the Pentagon and close associate of Hegseth. In the statement, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell states, “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story,” which adding that the “Trump-hating media” is using the “grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article” while further suggesting that they are trying to “sabotage the Secretary and the President's agenda.”
20.04.202520:55
In a post earlier on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald J. Trump states that he hopes Russia and Ukraine will “MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK” before claiming that both will then start to do “BIG BUSINESS” with the United States.
20.04.202500:45
Three senior staffers at the Pentagon who were placed on administrative leave before being fired on Friday, following claims of an ongoing investigation into “unauthorized disclosures” at the DoD; Dan Caldwell, a top adviser to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; Darin Selnick, Pentagon Deputy Chief of Staff; and Colin Carroll, Chief of Staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; have released a joint-statement tonight:
“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door. All three of us served our country honorably in uniform - for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it. At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of “leaks” to begin with. While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength. We hope in the future to support those efforts in different capacities.”
“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door. All three of us served our country honorably in uniform - for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it. At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of “leaks” to begin with. While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength. We hope in the future to support those efforts in different capacities.”
19.04.202515:21
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this morning from the Kremlin, seemingly out of nowhere, a 30-hour temporary ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine over Easter, lasting from 18:00 April 19 till 00:00 April 21, adding that he expects the Ukrainian side to also abide by the ceasefire citing “humanitarian considerations.” Despite this sudden announcement by Putin, as the ceasefire was set to go into effect, air-raid sirens were sounding in cities across Ukraine. This appears to be just another “Christmas Ceasefire” from 2023, in which Russia declares a ceasefire while continuing to attack Ukraine, before then accusing Ukraine of violating the ceasefire.
19.04.202506:10
Both U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Friday, that if progress wasn’t seen soon on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, then the United Stated would abandon any further negotiations. While speaking to reporters yesterday at the White House, President Trump stated, “Quickly, we want to get it done. Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people, and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that.” While Secretary Rubio stated from Paris, “We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks - If it's not possible, if we're so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he's going to say, 'well, we're done'.”
21.04.202506:12
The Trump Administration this week is awaiting a response by Ukraine to a confidential document shared with senior Ukrainian and European officials during last Thursday’s meeting in Paris, attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which detailed a potential ceasefire agreement and concessions to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The documents is said to have included a number of concessions that would need to be accepted by Ukraine, including U.S. recognition of Crimea as a territory of Russia, an end to Ukraine’s membership ambitions in NATO, as well as the possible establishment of a “neutral zone” protected by U.S. troops around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Southeastern Ukraine.
21.04.202502:03
Air-raid sirens are currently sounding across Ukraine, including in the capital of Kyiv, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 30-hour “Easter Ceasefire” ended at 00:01, Monday, April 21. Earlier today Ukrainian President Zelenskyy proposed a 30-day ceasefire for long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure, but it appears that will not happen anytime soon.
20.04.202520:46
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports that Russia has committed over two thousands ceasefire violations throughout Easter Sunday, despite yesterday’s sudden “humanitarian” 30-hour ceasefire declared along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Zelenskyy states that there have been no air-raid alerts today in Ukraine, proposing an initial 30-day ceasefire in long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure between Russia and Ukraine.
20.04.202500:30
In the past 24 hours, the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group claims to have downed 2 U.S. Air Force MQ-9 “Reaper” Surveillance and Attack Drones over Western Yemen. So far at least one of these shoot-downs has been confirmed by U.S. defense officials, though if both are true this would be the 6th MQ-9 downed since March and the 21st downed by the Houthis since October 7, 2023.
19.04.202509:52
Today’s second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran have now begun at the Omani Embassy in Rome, following the arrival of the U.S. delegation led by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
19.04.202505:49
In a rare late-night decision, the U.S. Supreme Court tonight by a vote of 7-2 has ordered the Trump Administration to halt the deportation of any further foreign nationals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This follows a rush earlier today by the lawyers of several Venezuelan illegal immigrants to the Supreme Court, seeking an emergency order to prevent what was believed to be another round of imminent deportations to the notorious CECOT maximum-security mega-prison in El Salvador.
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