Hegseth falsely claims Obama called 2009 Fort Hood attack 'workplace violence'
In an interview on Thursday with the rightwing network Real America’s Voice, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, joined Donald Trump in trying to use the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas to attack former president Barack Obama.
On Wednesday night, Trump made the wildly false claim that Obama had emails from the attacker describing his plans in advance but chose not to stop him.
Speaking on Thursday to the far-right influencer Jack Posobiec, who helped spread the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory to smear Democrats in 2016, the defense secretary announced that Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 12 soldiers and one civilian at Fort Hood, would be executed by firing squad later this year.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, then falsely claimed that Obama had downplayed the attack.
“It was a radical Islamist terror attack,” Hegseth said. “Remember what Obama called it? ‘Workplace violence,’” the defense secretary said, falsely, as Posobiec nodded vigorously.
“I mean, that’s what we’re up against. That’s the worldview we’re up against, it’s ‘workplace violence,’” the supposedly nonpartisan defense secretary continued, referring, incorrectly, to a controversy over how the US military categorized the deaths of the 12 active-duty soldiers killed by Hasan at the time.
Relatives of those killed in the attack by a Muslim service member who later called it revenge for US military operations against Muslim countries, were enraged that the military refused to classify those killed as victims of combat or terrorism, since they were not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan at the time.
The families sued in federal court, claiming that “the Army has refused to deem the soldiers killed and wounded in the attack eligible for a Purple Heart decoration, with its attendant recognition and medical and retirement benefits.” The suit, which criticized Obama for failing to call the attack terrorism, was dismissed in 2019.
In 2015, during Obama’s second term in office, the military did award the victims and survivors of the Fort Hood attack with Purple Hearts and other medals after Congress changed the definition of who was eligible for the military award to include victims of an attacker who “was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack” and “the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.” Hasan, the army major, did send messages to Anwar al-Awlaki, a cleric at a mosque in suburban Virginia where Hasan worshiped who went on to become a radical cleric and an al-Qaida propagandist. Awlaki was killed in Yemen in 2011 in a drone strike ordered by Obama.
While some experts, including the political philosopher Michael Walzer, have argued that the definition of terrorism should be reserved for attacks on civilians, and exclude soldiers, Republicans continued to criticize Obama for not describing the attack as an act of terrorism, even though he appeared to do so in a 2013 speech at the National Defense University.
After describing the threat from foreign groups that plot “acts of terror” in that address, Obama said, “we face a real threat from radicalized individuals here in the United States.”
“Deranged or alienated individuals - often US citizens or legal residents - can do enormous damage, particularly when inspired by larger notions of violent jihad,” Obama added. “And that pull towards extremism appears to have led to the shooting at Fort Hood and the bombing of the Boston Marathon.”
Republican Senate candidate repeats Islamophobic attacks against Abdul El-Sayed
Rachel Leingang
Heated barbs closed out the contentious debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday night.
Rogers ended on the Islamophobic note he sounded repeatedly throughout the debate, accusing El-Sayed of being “bought off by Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida”.
“We cannot afford Abdul, and we cannot risk his ideology,” Rogers said.
El-Sayed ended on affordability, closing with his central campaign theme of “money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for All”.
“I told you what this debate was going to be: him pointing at me and saying all kinds of foreign names, or him talking about himself,” El-Sayed said.
“And I told you, I’m interested in you. I understand that gas is too expensive. Groceries are unaffordable. I understand that it’s really hard to see a doctor and I want to solve that. And the reason we haven’t is because we’ve got corporate politicians who are going to do the bidding of people like Donald Trump. The war in Iran, the tariff war, all the money he’s taken from pharma, ask yourself if that’s helped you.”
Abdul El-Sayed listens as Mike Rogers speaks during the debate. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP
Hegseth falsely claims Obama called 2009 Fort Hood attack 'workplace violence'
In an interview on Thursday with the rightwing network Real America’s Voice, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, joined Donald Trump in trying to use the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas to attack former president Barack Obama.
On Wednesday night, Trump made the wildly false claim that Obama had emails from the attacker describing his plans in advance but chose not to stop him.
Speaking on Thursday to the far-right influencer Jack Posobiec, who helped spread the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory to smear Democrats in 2016, the defense secretary announced that Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 12 soldiers and one civilian at Fort Hood, would be executed by firing squad later this year.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, then falsely claimed that Obama had downplayed the attack.
“It was a radical Islamist terror attack,” Hegseth said. “Remember what Obama called it? ‘Workplace violence,’” the defense secretary said, falsely, as Posobiec nodded vigorously.
“I mean, that’s what we’re up against. That’s the worldview we’re up against, it’s ‘workplace violence,’” the supposedly nonpartisan defense secretary continued, referring, incorrectly, to a controversy over how the US military categorized the deaths of the 12 active-duty soldiers killed by Hasan at the time.
Relatives of those killed in the attack by a Muslim service member who later called it revenge for US military operations against Muslim countries, were enraged that the military refused to classify those killed as victims of combat or terrorism, since they were not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan at the time.
The families sued in federal court, claiming that “the Army has refused to deem the soldiers killed and wounded in the attack eligible for a Purple Heart decoration, with its attendant recognition and medical and retirement benefits.” The suit, which criticized Obama for failing to call the attack terrorism, was dismissed in 2019.
In 2015, during Obama’s second term in office, the military did award the victims and survivors of the Fort Hood attack with Purple Hearts and other medals after Congress changed the definition of who was eligible for the military award to include victims of an attacker who “was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack” and “the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.” Hasan, the army major, did send messages to Anwar al-Awlaki, a cleric at a mosque in suburban Virginia where Hasan worshiped who went on to become a radical cleric and an al-Qaida propagandist. Awlaki was killed in Yemen in 2011 in a drone strike ordered by Obama.
While some experts, including the political philosopher Michael Walzer, have argued that the definition of terrorism should be reserved for attacks on civilians, and exclude soldiers, Republicans continued to criticize Obama for not describing the attack as an act of terrorism, even though he appeared to do so in a 2013 speech at the National Defense University.
After describing the threat from foreign groups that plot “acts of terror” in that address, Obama said, “we face a real threat from radicalized individuals here in the United States.”
“Deranged or alienated individuals - often US citizens or legal residents - can do enormous damage, particularly when inspired by larger notions of violent jihad,” Obama added. “And that pull towards extremism appears to have led to the shooting at Fort Hood and the bombing of the Boston Marathon.”
Mike Rogers has continually leaned into Islamophobic rhetoric against Abdul El-Sayed, attempting to tie him to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The two are repeatedly sparring, with the moderator struggling to keep them on track.
Rogers claimed El-Sayed has refused to condemn a terrorist attack in Michigan earlier this year or the 7 October Hamas terrorist attacks in Gaza, though El-Sayed noted he has condemned both.
But, El-Sayed added: “I’m not somebody who tries to make political theater out of other people’s pain.”
He also retorted to Rogers: “Did you sell your yachts?” Rogers responded: “I never owned a yacht in Florida, brother.”
After a 30-second commercial break, moderator Rick Albin said that in his 30 years of doing debates, he’d never seen the sparring continue during the commercial break, but tonight, it did.
The televised Michigan Senate debate, between Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan, and Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, quickly moved on to the topic of tariffs, particularly those on imports from Canada, which affect Michigan as a US-Canada border state. Rogers this week backtracked on previous support for Trump’s tariffs on Canada, saying in a campaign ad that “Canada is not our enemy” and that the “tariff war” needed to end now.
During the debate, Rogers said he called the commerce secretary this week to advocate for a deal between the two countries. He said there are tariffs in place that are “too high and not helpful for us”.
“I’d like to see it end. I think we need to end it,” Rogers said.
El-Sayed said he supports targeted, logical tariffs that protect Michigan manufacturing, but nothing like the “ham-fisted, chaotic, self-serving” tariffs Trump put in place. He called out Rogers for “flip-flopping” on the issue, saying he only is reversing his stance because of “sagging poll numbers”.
“He’s doing an ad drinking a Labatt and talking about the Red Wings, pretending like he was not for this the entire time,” El-Sayed said. “Be serious, my guy. Like, just be serious.”
Dr Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, is now debating his Republican opponent, former congressman Mike Rogers, for the first time.
The debate is being streamed live by the NBC affiliate WOOD TV.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, left, faced off against Republican Mike Rogers in a Michigan Senate debate on Thursday. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP
Several recent polls show El-Sayed, a former public health official, leading by a slim margin over Rogers.
The tight race has drawn national attention as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress. Questions have swirled over whether the progressive El-Sayed can prevail in a state that elected Donald Trump in 2024.
If El-Sayed were to win the contest, he would make history as the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. His opponents have targeted El-Sayed’s faith and sharp criticism of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
In a thinly veiled attack on his faith, Trump incorrectly referred to the Democrat as “Mohammed El-Sayed” and a “Terrorist Sympathizer,” in a social media tirade on Wednesday.
“He knows my name is Abdul,” El-Sayed replied. “He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office.”
Rogers, a former chair of the House intelligence committee, has misled supporters by exaggerating his role in US counter-terrorism operations during that time. As the Guardian reported, Rogers falsely claimed to have seen “the dead body of Osama bin Laden with my own eyes,” when, in fact, he merely looked at a photograph of the Qaida leader’s body and only supported the US mission by providing funding as a congressman.
USS Abraham Lincoln’s commanding officer addresses suicide attempts in strike group
In a brief news conference on Thursday afternoon, Captain Dan Keeler, the USS Abraham Lincoln’s commanding officer, addressed widespread reports of mental health challenges faced by his crew during their long deployment.
“For most of my sailors, that this was their first time away from home, their first deployment, their first experience with combat,” Keeler said. “I understand the anxiety that that might have caused, but I can tell you this: our team of professionals on the ship led every single one of those sailors through that experience, and the great majority responded like sailors always do - with honor, courage, and commitment.”
“They are fantastic, fantastic sailors and marines, and they’re going to be cared for continuously on the next coming few months,” he added. “I deployed with five chaplains and a very well staffed mental health team. We got our sailors any care they needed and got them back in the fight when it was appropriate.”
Captain Dan Keeler, the USS Abraham Lincoln’s commanding officer, met family members after the returned to San Diego following an extended deployment to launch strikes on Iran. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Near the end of the news conference one reporter asked: “Were there some sailors who did try to commit suicide or jump overboard?”
“The key number that I like to focus on is zero; there were no suicides on board. There were no lost lives on on board,” Keeler replied.
“The suicide attempt number,” he went on. “You know, the secretary of the navy put out a number that encompassed the entirety of the strike group,” Keeler said, referring to a letter to Congress from acting navy secretary Hung Cao last month in which he wrote that there had been a total of eight suicide attempts across all the ships in the strike group led by the Lincoln.
“I think that key point has been lost when he, the secretary of the navy, put out the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, that encompasses several thousand more sailors than what’s on board behind me,” Keeler added.
“We want the suicide attempt number to be zero. Having done this many, many times with the demographics that I have on board and the, you know, the stressful mission that we conduct, that’s unrealistic,” he continued. “That’s why I go to sea with a very, very well staffed mental health team. And when we had acute mental health cases, they immediately get seen by that mental health team and evaluated.”
Daughter of Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles lobbies for Bosnian Serbs – report
Days after it was revealed that two advisers to Donald Trump – his former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, and a White House deputy chief of staff on leave of absence, James Blair – are paid advisers to ultranationalist Bosnian Serbs who control a region that was created through the violent ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Catholics in the 1990s, the Financial Times reports another member of the president’s team is linked to the same Balkan extremists.
The FT’s Amy Mackinnon reports that Katie Wiles, whose mother is Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, works for a Washington lobbying firm that is being paid $35,000 a month to represent the Bosnian Serb regional government.
According to the newspaper, in mid-August Katie Wiles visited the ethnic enclave where the infamous Srebrenica massacre was carried out by Bosnian Serbs in 1995. In September, her mother hosted a senior member of the Bosnian Serb enclave, Željka Cvijanović, at the White House, according to a social media post from Cvijanović which showed her with Susie Wiles.
Donald Trump claimed thatthe US will not strike Iran “at any time prior” to the midterm elections on 3 November. This comes after reporting from the Atlantic suggested that the White House has asked the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iranian targets that could be carried out ahead of the midterms. On Truth Social today, the president said there were no plans to carry out attacks as long as “Iran is in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily, and while the Blockade [in the strait of Hormuz] will remain in full force and effect”.
At a preliminary injunction hearing, a federal judge said he would decide by Tuesday whether the temporary block he placed on Trump’s ban of CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House would remain in effect. Judge Timothy Kelly – a Trump-appointee – kept his pause in place until his expected ruling next week.
In court, the justice department defended the move – saying that the three outlets packaged “verifiable falsehoods”, failed to meet “minimum journalistic standards”, and their reporting compromised second national security. However, the lawyer for the newsrooms said that the government has yet to back up their claims that this reporting has actually affected national security. He also said the outlets received “no notice whasoever” about the ban (an issue that Kelly brought up explicitly when he issued his temporary restraining order two weeks ago) and that in Trump’s own words, his grounds for barring the outlets is due to “not positive enough reporting”.
After almost a year at sea,the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier has officially returned to San Diego after a record-breaking deployment. Families and friends, clutching signs and holding flowers, welcomed many service members who have been away from home for more than 320 days. Conditions on the ship became the subject of intense concern and scrutiny, along with deployment extensions to support the Iran war. In September Hung Cao, the acting navy secretary, acknowledged that eight service members from the Lincoln and its accompanying strike group attempted to take their own lives.
Also today, the Trump administration announced it would block Microsoft from a program sponsoring foreign workers for green cards – which grant permanent residency in the US. These workers are already in the US on H-1B visas, a temporary work visa that allows US companies to hire skilled foreign workers for specialized jobs. However, the administration said it was suspending Microsoft from the so-called Perm program, the first step employers must complete when sponsoring workers for employment-based green cards. “You’ve got to hire great American workers. You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants,” said vice-president JD Vance at a press conference.
As the USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in San Diego, here are some pictures of it docking while families – clutching signs and holding flowers – welcome many service members who have been away from home for more than 320 days.
Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returns home following an extended deployment in the Middle East in San Diego, California, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Sailors wave their hats from the USS Abraham Lincoln as it returns home, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Zoe Bonter and her children, Luka, 18-months, and Mila, five, wait for the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln, San Diego, California, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego after record breaking deployment
After almost a year at sea, the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier has officially returned to San Diego after a record-breaking deployment – marked by two extensions to support the US war with Iran.
Here is the live feed of the ship’s arrival.
USS Abraham Lincoln returns to US after record-long deployment - watch live
Meanwhile, on Truth Social, Donald Trump has insisted the “fake and artificial news” has twisted his words when it comes to saying that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego, while noting that high gas prices as a result of the ongoing war in iran are a “small price to pay” at campaign rallies thi sweek.
A reminder this was Trump’s full comment on Monday in Nebraska:
They can take out a city. Let them take – let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s – this is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon. It’s essentially almost over with.
The president today said that the media suggested he is “inviting the enemy to bomb” the California cities.
“In actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?” Trump wrote.
He added: “All I was doing was making a comparison between paying a little more, for a short time, for Gasoline, versus the bombing of our Major Cities. Everybody knew that, the Fake News knew it as well, but they continue to go out and say that I am asking the enemy to bomb two Cities that I love. It’s totally clear what I say but, these people are Degenerates, and think they can continuously get away with Fake News!”
USS Abraham Lincoln soon to dock at San Diego airbase after record breaking deployment
We’re also watching the arrival of USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego, after a record-breaking deployment which saw the aircraft carrier at sea for more than 260 days without a port call.
Conditions on the ship became the subject of intense concern and scrutiny, along with deployment extensions to support the Iran war.
In September Hung Cao, the acting navy secretary, acknowledged that eight service members from the Lincoln and its accompanying strike group attempted to take their own lives. However, defense secretary Pete Hegseth has routinely downplayed the reports, blaming the media for “disingenuous headlines” about “patently false claims of low troop morale, or flat-out propaganda, as if it’s written by our adversaries”.
Families of service members have been eagerly awaiting the return of their loved ones at Naval Air Station North Island.
Family and friends gather to greet the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as it returns after deployment, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after record-breaking deployment, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Karl Anderson/AP
And here are a few pictures from the summit where Trump honored Musk with National Medal of Science.
The president also presented the award to a number of other tech executives, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Donald Trump presents the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk during an event at the US Institute of Peace, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Donald Trump poses with National Medal of Science recipients Google co-Founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Elon Musk and Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, US Institute of Peace, 8 October 2026. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Donald Trump is currently hosting a science summit to honor top tech leaders including Elon Musk amid growing concerns over the risks of artificial intelligence.
At the US Institute of Peace on Thursday, Trump honored Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, as well as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang – all of whom will receive the National Medal of Science.
“I recognize so many of you for an important summit on how we can revitalize the scientific enterprise in the coming years, and so we’re going to have lots of meetings and other things,” Trump told the audience.
Other industry leaders honored at the event include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, both of whom will receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
The event comes amid growing ties between the Trump administration and the AI industry as concerns mount over the technology’s rapid development and potential risks.
The US has imposed additional sanctions on entities including ships with ties to what the US treasury department has described as Iran’s “shadow fleet.”
In a statement on Thursday, the justice department said it is targeting “the aging network of tankers the regime relies on to move billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products to foreign markets.”
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that the US will “continue exposing those who enable the regime’s oil sales,” adding: “No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities.”
The US has imposed sanctions on 17 shadow fleet vessels that are responsible for transporting millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil and petroleum and petrochemical products to a variety of South and East Asia markets, the treasury department said.
Eric Leventhal knows he’s going to vote for a Democrat in Congress when he goes to the polls in Missouri this November – the problem is he has no idea which candidate is going to be on his ballot.
In the state’s August primary, he voted for Fred Wellman, a Democrat running in the state’s second congressional district. But after a long and complicated legal battle sparked by Donald Trump’s desire to gain every advantage in the upcoming midterm contest, the districts have changed for the general election that will determine which party controls Congress. Leventhal said he lived right near the border of the first and second congressional district, so now he’s not sure which one he’s in.
“It is dizzying and embarrassing, frankly,” said Leventhal, a 35-year-old stay-at-home father.
Leventhal’s experience crystallized the mix of anger and confusion felt in Missouri, where an effort by Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map devolved into a saga that seemed to have as many twists and turns as the gerrymandered districts themselves.