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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...

Pentagon plans global commanders’ gathering on ‘warrior ethos’

US military leaders deployed around the world have started to prepare to travel to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next week, which some officials on Friday billed as a gathering focused on the "warrior ethos." Hegseth has summoned US generals and admirals from around the world to a meeting in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday, a rare gathering of the country's military leadership in one location. While two US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the event would focus on Hegseth's discussing the need to adhere to a "warrior ethos" throughout the military, others said the roughly one-hour-long event could touch on other areas. A third official said that given how many senior officials would be in one location, it was likely that substantive issues, like the administration's new national defense strategy and the expected shrinking of the senior-most ranks in the military, could be discussed-- even if they were not officially on the agenda. Read More: Trump signs executive order supporting US-led TikTok takeover "I wouldn't be surprised if there was some surprise during the event," the official said. "We are not letting our guard down." Officials told Reuters that the event is expected to take place at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Some of the senior-most officials, who are provided US military aircraft for official travel, are expected to fly into Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The US has troops around the world, including in distant locations like South Korea, Japan and across the Middle East-- which are commanded by two-, three- and four-star generals and admirals. In almost every public speech he gives, Hegseth talks about the "warrior ethos" and the need for the US military to have a warrior mentality. Also Read: UN sanctions on Iran loom after vote to delay fails Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense as the "Department of War," reverting to a title it held until after World War Two when officials sought to emphasize the Pentagon's role in preventing conflict. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump's national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.  

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