U.S. kills two ISIS militants during airstrike in Somalia, Russia to hold peace talks with U.S. counterparts, and administration halts firings of hundreds of nuclear workers.
1. The United States carried out an airstrike Sunday against ISIS in Somalia, killing two militants, U.S Africa Command said. The attack, the second against ISIS this month, hit a target in the northeastern part of the country that serves as a stronghold for the militant group. “Degrading ISIS and other terrorist organizations’ ability to plot and conduct attacks that threaten the U.S. homeland, our partners, and civilians remains central to U.S. Africa Command’s mission,” the command said in a statement Monday. AFRICOM said no civilians were harmed in the strike.
2. Top Russian officials will hold talks with U.S. counterparts on restoring ties, negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine and preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov will fly to the Saudi capital later in the day to take part in the talks set for Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News Sunday that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz also will take part in the talks.
3. The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGE’s blind cost cutting will put communities at risk. Three U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were abruptly laid off late Thursday. One of the hardest hit offices was the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, which saw about 30% of the cuts. Those employees work on reassembling warheads, one of the most sensitive jobs across the nuclear weapons enterprise, with the highest levels of clearance. By late Friday night, the agency’s acting director, Teresa Robbins, issued a memo rescinding the firings for all but 28 of those hundreds of fired staff members.
4. China’s Foreign Ministry took issue Monday with a revised U.S. government fact sheet that removed a line on American opposition to independence for Taiwan. The United States has “gravely backpedaled” on its position on Taiwan and sent the wrong message to “separatist forces” on the island, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. Taiwan and China split in 1949 during the civil war that brought the communists to power in China. The defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan and set up a rival government there. Taiwan has its own government and military but has never declared formal independence from China. “We urge the U.S. to ... stop emboldening and supporting Taiwan independence and avoid further damaging China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Guo said when asked about the revision at a daily media briefing.
5. The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman arrived Sunday at a U.S. naval base in Greece for repairs following last week’s collision near the Suez Canal, the Navy said. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier sustained damage to its starboard quarter, including the exterior wall of two storage rooms, maintenance space and other areas, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa said in a statement Sunday. “While the ship is fully mission capable and the ship conducted flight operations following the collision, pulling into port for emergent repairs will enable the ship to continue deployment as scheduled,” said Capt. Dave Snowden, the carrier’s commander.
- Security