Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared that reports of food shortages and a mental health crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are 'completely misrepresented' - because, as we all know, sailors love nothing more than 200 consecutive days at sea with no port calls and a side of contaminated water.
Hegseth, speaking to reporters in Panama during a military demonstration, insisted, 'We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment.' He added, 'Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls - it’s incredible.' Incredible indeed, especially when 'austere conditions' reportedly include multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard, as reported by Navy Times and Stars and Stripes.
The vessel, deployed for over 200 days after being redirected to the Middle East for operations against Iran, hasn't made a port call in that entire time - a record for consecutive days at sea. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote to Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, citing 'widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system' that have left care packages lost in transit for months.
Meanwhile, the USS George Washington is reportedly set to replace the Lincoln as part of a previously scheduled rotation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Because nothing says 'we care' like swapping one carrier for another and hoping nobody notices the pattern.
In other news, newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche gave his first speech at DOJ headquarters, calling for the department to work as 'one team' with 'one mission' - likely the mission of ignoring that he narrowly secured confirmation after some Republicans questioned his independence, particularly his decision to greenlight a $1.8bn 'anti-weaponization fund' to compensate Trump allies. Blanche promised to work hard and listen, which is reassuring, given that critics say his tenure will only deepen the department's politicization as President Trump continues to target perceived enemies.
The Kennedy Center's board has once again voted to proceed with Trump's controversial plan to close the building for renovations, despite a federal judge's earlier block. The board, mostly handpicked by the president, voted to close the main building while keeping the newer Reach addition open for limited programming and as a memorial to JFK. This comes after Judge Christopher Cooper called the previous decision 'ill-informed and seemingly preordained.' The new plan includes a 163-page, $250m 'renewal' project with marble floors, $11.8m in 'acoustical improvements,' and $7m in public restroom renovations - because nothing says 'honoring a president' like new toilets. The target reopening is summer 2028, assuming the judge approves and the board doesn't find a way to mess it up.
And in trade news, the White House claims it's losing $19bn to $26bn annually to countries dodging tariffs via transshipment - routing goods through third countries like Mexico and Malaysia. Trade adviser Peter Navarro called it 'the great transshipment scam' that lets 'communist China launder its exports,' though he noted other nations like India could also play the game. The report estimates $34.2bn to $303bn in goods are transshipped yearly, with a central figure of $75bn. To combat this, US Customs and Border Protection is using AI in a prototype program to catch falsified origins, retroactively tariffing imports up to a year back. Because if there's one thing that'll stop China, it's an algorithm.
Finally, a federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Harvard University over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment. Judge Richard Stearns in Boston ruled the government's allegations, mostly from protests during the 2023/24 school year, were 'too isolated and episodic' to show ongoing civil rights violations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Harvard and the White House had no comment, probably because they were too busy celebrating or fuming, respectively.