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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is one of the most reclusive Pentagon chiefs in recent memory. That’s creating a major problem for him now. Austin’s failure to inform his most senior advisers, congressional leaders and even President Joe Biden of his hospitalization last week due to complications from a medical procedure has erupted into a controversy that’s left senior White House and Pentagon officials infuriated and befuddled. Some Republicans quickly called for investigations or even for Austin to be disciplined or fired. Advertisement Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown was not informed of Austin’s situation until Tuesday, the day after his...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has been hospitalized since the first day of 2024, and while Pentagon officials have not said when he will be released, they continue to avoid saying why he went to the hospital in the first place. Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last Monday, for what Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder described as complications from an elective medical procedure. On Sunday, Ryder told Fox News that Austin had an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on Dec. 22, 2023. Austin was on leave at the time of...

President Trump posted a statement on Truth Social Sunday night calling on Joe Biden to fire Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.” Austin, 70, has served as secretary of Defense since the start of the Biden administration in January, 2021. Austin has come under fire after the Pentagon revealed Friday he had been secretly seriously ill in an ICU since Monday without informing Joe Biden, White House staff or Congress for three or four days, respectively. Austin’s job is reportedly safe for now, with Biden having spoken with him by phone on Saturday....

The Biden administration waited until Friday to announce that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized on Monday, a delay of several days that alarmed the Pentagon press corps. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided a brief update on Austin in a statement that was released by the Department of Defense (DoD) at around 5 p.m., or the close of business, right as the weekend was getting underway for many in the country. “On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following...

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has been in the hospital since Monday, after complications from a recent elective medical procedure, the Pentagon said on Friday. Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to elaborate on the source of Mr. Austin’s medical issues, citing patient privacy. …

A congressman with links to ‘The Squad’ who proudly voted to defund Austin police has been slammed after he requested enhanced patrols outside his home in the Texas city. Democrat Rep. Greg Casar was a prominent voice in the defunding of the Austin Police Department as a member of the city council in 2020 following the Black Lives Matter movement. Last week he also criticized the force for alleged racist practices. Now, he has submitted a request through the United States Capitol Police in Washington, DC, for a police patrol at his house - the request was forwarded to Austin...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Elon Musk says prototypes are easy, production is hell. And when it comes to the long-awaited Cybertruck, Tesla's hell is its pioneering 4680 battery. Tesla delivered the first of its futuristic stainless steel-plated electric pickups last month and CEO Musk said in October that it would probably hit an annual production rate of a quarter of a million vehicles at some point during 2025.

A progressive congressman associated with "The Squad" who proudly voted to defund the Austin Police Department as a city council member and blasted the department just last week for alleged racist practices is under fire after requesting a police patrol at his home from the same department. "It’s come to our attention that Anti police king of the defund movement in Austin @GregCasar who only last week called APD an agency with racist practices has requested enhanced patrols around his house for the next week," the Austin Police Retired Officers Association posted on X Tuesday. "We want everyone in Austin...

Austin’s progressive district attorney is facing criticism in the community after a man who allegedly killed two while committing his 7th DUI is walking the streets after his charges and bond were reduced. Roberto Rangel, 52, was arrested last year in Travis County, Texas, for his 7th DUI that resulted in the deaths of 22-year-old Kate Garcia and 23-year-old Mark Narvaez, Fox 7 Austin reported. Rangel, who has been sentenced to over 14 years in prison for DUIs dating to 1989, reportedly pulled out of a Chick-fil-A parking lot in Austin at 2:45 a.m. and parked his car sideways in...

The Austin Police Association is pointing the finger at Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza after a homeless man – who was let back out on the street, despite violent assault charges – was arrested once again for allegedly stabbing another homeless man to death. The case concerns Hilario Adrian, a 56-year-old homeless man who was arrested in April after he was involved in a violent altercation with another homeless man. Court documents say Adrian attacked the other homeless man with a golf club, and threatened him with a hatchet. He was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Congress on Tuesday during a private briefing that if they do not pass more aid to Ukraine, it would “very likely” lead to U.S. troops fighting a war in Europe.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday that if Israel could face “strategic defeat” if it was not more careful about how it fought Hamas, because more Palestinians might be driven to support the terrorist group . Austin seemed not to know that the vast majority of Palestinians already support Hamas, at least in one recent opinion poll.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo made a comment this week regarding San Antonio at a news conference touting recent successes against the Mexican Mafia. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the 309 years doled out on Friday are “a tremendous gift to the people of Austin.” “The Mexican Mafia is not welcome in Austin,” Acevedo said. “I hope they go back to San Antonio.” Federal, state and Austin law enforcement officials took part in the Tuesday presser. The Statesman reported: The FBI said the case is the largest joint prosecution of the gang in Austin....

A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly planning to commit a mass casualty incident at a Tesla-sponsored event hosted by CEO Elon Musk. Advertisement According to a Travis County arrest warrant, Paul Ryan Overeem, 28, was booked on suspicion of making a terrorist threat, which is a third-degree felony. Authorities said that on November 9th, the 28-year-old, going by the handle “ufotnoitalumis,” made many online threats against Tesla’s Cybertruck promotional event in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. He conveyed these messages via an Instagram exchange. The threats included: “But yeah so at teh (sic) Tesla event I’m planning to attach...

Despite The Fed’s attempts at cooling inflation down to 2%, we are seeing a re-animation of price increases. this time with home prices. On a year-over-year basis, the Freddie Mac National FMHPI was up 6.0% in October, from up 5.1% YoY in September. The YoY increase peaked at 19.1% in July 2021, and for this cycle, bottomed at up 0.9% in April 2023. … vv Austin TX is the big loser, down -11.2% from peak. Followed by Idaho (largely people escaping from Newsomland (California) and speculators. The sixth leading area is Lake Havasu AZ. Freddie HPI CBSA As of October,...

I think at some point, all of us started referring to [Barton] spring as ‘The Spring,’” said Pedro Villalobos, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Board. “That’s because of the baggage that it carries with it.” We are recommending based off of William Barton’s known ownership of enslaved people – and given the Confederate Monument Resolution passed by City Council – we are recommending that there be an effort to rename Barton Springs,” Villalobos, who served on the working group, continued. William Barton was known as someone who wanted to participate in the extinction of Native Americans,” Marshall said in...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine for the third time on Monday, to reassure its leaders that the United States “will continue to support Ukraine,” despite waning American public support for doing so. “I wanted to reassure the leadership that the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine. And so, you know, we talked about the things that we’re going to continue to do to make sure that they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield,” Austin said at a press conference with reporters.

The footage appears to show the groups outside the Voodoo Room on the historic Sixth Street of Austin's entertainment district. The altercation seems to start when one woman grabs a phone out of the hands of another and a Marine tries to intervene. Then, a man in a white long-sleeve shirt attempts to throw a punch at a different Marine and misses, as a group of his fellow military men rush to his defense. While some Marines try to separate the men as they curse at each other, tensions seem to escalate and an all-out brawl begins. The civilians and...

The gunman who shot dead a hero Texas SWAT officer during a hostage situation was on the terror watchlist, DailyMail.com can reveal. The shooter, who has not been officially named, was flagged to the FBI before he killed elite Austin cop Jorge Pastore on Saturday. Three others who died in the hostage situation were Eman Ahmed El Nemr-Nassar, a mother, Ahmed Mohamed Nassar, 35, her son and Riad Mohamed Nassar, 32, her other son, as confirmed by member's of Austin's Islamic community.

The heads of the State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday warned senators that should lawmakers approve funding for Israel but not Ukraine, Russian President Putin will win. Speaking during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin urged senators to keep intact the Biden administration’s $106 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.Though many lawmakers in both parties support a joint package, House Republicans skeptical of additional Ukraine aid have threatened to sink the plan. And Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is pushing an Israel-only package that would also cut billions in funding for...