News

News

March 19, 2026

US Detects Drones Over Base Where Rubio, Hegseth Live

U.S. officials detected unidentified drones above an army base in Washington where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth live, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing three people briefed on the situation.

The officials have not determined where the drones came from, the report said, citing two of the people.

The drones over Fort McNair prompted officials to weigh relocating Rubio and Hegseth, the report said.

U.S. officials detected unidentified drones above an army base in Washington where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth live, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing three people briefed on the situation.

The officials have not determined where the drones came from, the report said, citing two of the people.

The drones over Fort McNair prompted officials to weigh relocating Rubio and Hegseth, the report said.

NASCAR driver suspended indefinitely over livestream comments

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR driver Daniel Dye was suspended Tuesday — the second known major penalty of his racing career — for mocking IndyCar driver David Malukas during a recent livestream.

In the video, which circulated Tuesday on social media, Dye used voices that made inferences about Malukas’ sexuality. He mimicked Malukas’ voice at one point.

Dye is a Truck Series driver for Kaulig Racing, which also suspended him. NASCAR ordered Dye to undergo sensitivity training.

New Radar Rules

The Federal Aviation Administration issued new rules yesterday mandating air traffic controllers use radar technology to separate helicopters and airplanes. The guidelines impact more than 150 airports, and come after last year’s deadly midair collision near Washington, DC. Sixty-seven people were killed when an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Airport in January 2025 (see animation, w/video). It marked the US’ deadliest plane crash since November 2001. The FAA found near misses are common, including as recently as this month, when a small aircraft was mistakenly cleared to land at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California, forcing a helicopter to swerve. (A similar incident happened in San Antonio, Texas, last month). The FAA says visual checks are insufficient to ensure a safe distance between aircraft. Separately, the TSA administrator warned yesterday that at least 10% of agents have called out sick after missing paychecks amid the partial government shutdown; track airport wait times here.

Seated Skeleton Surfaced

French children discovered another seated Gaul skeleton this week near their primary school playground in Dijon (see image). Like some other Gallic remains, the figure’s back was pressed against a wall facing westward, hands resting on its lap.  Scientists remain puzzled by the ancient burial practice. Four other Gallic skeletons were discovered in the same position in recent weeks, each at the bottom of a roughly three-foot pit. Gallic tombs in Dijon represent more than a quarter of all Gallic burial sites discovered, suggesting the city held special meaning for the Celtic people. It is unclear whether the seated position was a sign of respect or an indication of punishment—nor whether the deceased were buried alive. All skeletons discovered in Dijon were adult men, except for one child. Gauls emerged in Western Europe roughly 2,500 years ago, spreading across modern-day France, Belgium, and the UK. They left behind no written records. See a two-hour documentary here.

Chavez Abuse Allegations

Cesar Chavez, cofounder of the United Farm Workers, has been accused of sexually abusing girls and women connected to the farmworker movement in the 1960s and 1970s. An investigation published yesterday described a pattern of misconduct that complicates Chavez’s legacy as a US labor rights figure.   Dolores Huerta, UFW cofounder, said she experienced two sexual encounters with him in the 1960s (see her statement). She described the first as manipulative and coercive and the second as forced, in an environment where she felt unable to escape. Both resulted in pregnancies. Huerta, now 95, said she previously stayed silent to protect the labor movement. She is known for coining the slogan “Si, se puede” (“yes, we can”); watch an overview here.  Chavez, who died in 1993, is credited with organizing farmworkers and advancing Latino civil rights, helping to secure better wages, safer working conditions, and legal protections. The revelations come ahead of the March 31 federal observance honoring Chavez’s birthday.

The Fake Cop, the Failed Campaign, and the End of Jasmine Crockett

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) paid a wanted federal fugitive to be her personal bodyguard during her Senate campaign and while serving in Congress. The fugitive used a fake name, drove a replica police car with stolen plates, and told real cops he was a Capitol Police detective. He was shot dead by Dallas SWAT on Wednesday in a children’s hospital parking garage.

The man’s real name was Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39 years old, though everybody in Crockett’s orbit knew him as “Mike King.” Robinson wasn’t just faking his name. He was running a company called “Off Duty Police Services” that placed real North Texas law enforcement officers in off-duty security gigs — while himself being a fake cop wanted by federal authorities.

Robinson had seven theft arrests between 2009 and 2012 in Dallas, Duncanville, and Irving. He pleaded guilty to all of them. Somewhere along the way, Diamon-Mazairre Robinson died on paper and “Mike King” was born — a Capitol Police “detective” with a replica unmarked cruiser, license plates lifted from cars outside a military recruiting office, and a client list that included a sitting member of the United States Congress.

CBS News Texas got their hands on payment records showing “Mike King” received payments from Crockett for “security services.” One payment: $340. For a guy whose real resume includes “convicted felon” and “impersonating federal law enforcement.”

The whole con unraveled Wednesday night when Dallas PD’s fugitive unit caught up with Robinson at a children’s hospital parking garage. He barricaded himself in a vehicle. SWAT hit him with tear gas. He crawled out and pointed a gun at officers. They put him down. No officers were injured.

Crockett’s office response? They’re “waiting for more information before answering questions.” Sure. A guy who has been at your side for over a year — at rallies, in the halls of Congress, during a statewide Senate campaign — and you need more time to process the fact that he was a wanted fugitive using a stolen identity.

Crockett just lost her Senate primary to James Talarico, 53% to 45%, on March 3rd. Ten days later, her bodyguard is dead in a SWAT standoff. She’s now a lame-duck Congresswoman sitting on a pile of unanswered questions about how a seven-time convicted felon with a fake name ended up on her security detail — and she can’t even hide behind the campaign anymore because the campaign is over.

Remember Cori Bush? She hired her husband as her security guard, paid him $105,000 in campaign funds, and the DOJ opened an investigation. Bush lost her primary and her husband just got indicted for wire fraud. That’s the pattern when congressional security spending starts getting pulled apart — the thread never stops unraveling.

Crockett dropped nearly $80,000 on security in 2025 alone. That money went somewhere, and “Mike King” was on the receiving end of at least some of it. The FEC filings are public. Reporters are already pulling them. And unlike Cori Bush, Crockett doesn’t even have the excuse that she knowingly hired a family member — she apparently hired a total stranger without running a background check and that stranger turned out to be a federally wanted fugitive.

You don’t keep a guy on your security detail through a Senate campaign for pocket change. And when those numbers come out, the questions get a lot harder to dodge than “we’re waiting for more information.”

Robinson was also using his fake cop gig to promote security placements for the upcoming FIFA World Cup games in DFW. A wanted fugitive impersonating police, placing real officers in off-duty security jobs at one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. The federal investigation that caught up with him this week may have saved Dallas from an international security fiasco.

Crockett’s former staffers already described her as a “boss from hell” who screams at aides until they cry, rarely shows up to work, and compares herself to Beyonce when criticized. Now her personal bodyguard turned out to be a fictional character. Her political career cratered in a primary. And her office can’t even muster a real statement.

Israel: Iran Intelligence Chief Esmail Khatib Killed

Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that the military killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.

Khatib’s killing follows Israel killing top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.

Also on Wednesday, Iran launched strikes toward Israel and neighboring Gulf countries, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.

The attacks came hours after Iranian state media confirmed Israel’s military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike, as well as Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, known for its role in suppressing protests.

An Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in Bachoura, central Beirut, completely flattening it as day broke.

Two earlier strikes on residential apartments in other central Beirut neighborhoods early Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 24 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israeli strikes targeting central Beirut have become increasingly frequent in recent days, with or without prior warning. The attacks have hit far from the city’s southern suburbs, for which the army issued evacuation notices early in the war with Hezbollah.

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 900 in Lebanon and 14 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.

Israeli operations continued across multiple fronts on Wednesday, with the military saying it struck branches of al-Qard al-Hasan, a Hezbollah-linked financial network it accuses of funding militant activities.

Additional airstrikes hit several neighborhoods in central Beirut overnight, killing at least 10 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, while Israel said its navy also targeted Hezbollah militants in the city.

Russia condemned Israel’s killing of senior Iranian officials, while its state nuclear agency said a Russian-built nuclear facility in Iran had come under attack but was not damaged.

Iran reported strikes on civilian and judicial sites and announced the execution of a man accused of spying for Israel.

On the ground in Lebanon, residents described growing fear as Israeli strikes increasingly hit central Beirut, shattering any sense of safe areas.

 

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