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• NKorea warns military cleared to wage nuke attack

  April 3, 2013 6:02 PM

  PYONGYANG, North Korea - The North Korean army is warning Washington that its military has been cleared to wage an attack using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weapons. The threat from the unnamed army spokesman early Thursday is latest in a series of escalating warnings from North Korea, which has... more »

• Saplings from Anne Frank's tree take root in US

  March 23, 2013 12:50 PM

  INDIANAPOLIS - A tree that gave Anne Frank hope as the Jewish teenager hid from Nazis for more than two years is taking root at nearly a dozen sites across the United States in hopes of promoting tolerance. Eleven saplings grown from seeds taken from the chestnut tree that stood... more »

• Women in combat: Baton Rouge veterans respond Play Video

  January 24, 2013 5:37 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on combat for women and said, "if they can meet the qualifications for the job, then they should have the right to serve." With those words, roles are changed. A change that will open over 200,000 jobs including infantry,... more »

• Judge: No TV broadcast of Guantanamo 9/11 trial

  January 3, 2013 3:03 PM

  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A military judge has denied a request to allow television broadcast coverage of the Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunal for five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense lawyers requested TV coverage of proceedings at the U.S. base in Cuba. But the Defense Department... more »

• UN pulling out some staff from Syria

  December 3, 2012 2:14 PM

  BEIRUT - The United Nations says it is pulling out all non-essential international staff from Syria due to security issues in the civil war-struck Arab state. The U.N.'s regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria says up to a quarter of the 100 international staff working for several U.N. agencies could exit... more »

• La. soldier missing from Korean War identified

  October 24, 2012 2:56 PM

  Washington D.C.-The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office has announced that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Army Cpl. Joseph W. Fontenot, 20, of Maurepas, La., will be... more »

• Iranian president dismisses war threats

  September 24, 2012 10:34 AM

  NEW YORK - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed threats of military action against Iran's nuclear program, asserting that its enrichment project is for peaceful purposes and disputing that the country is worried about Israel. Speaking to a group of editorial leaders on Monday, the first full day of his... more »

• 9/11 attacks play little role in presidential race

  September 10, 2012 4:33 PM

  WASHINGTON - For the first time in a decade, the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars that resulted are not the focus of the presidential election. President Barack Obama, who leads Republican rival Mitt Romney in polling on national security issues, may try to change that this fall as he... more »

• Romney defends Afghanistan omission

  September 6, 2012 4:10 PM

  CONCORD, N.H. - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is defending his decision not to discuss the Afghanistan war in his convention speech. And he says President Barack Obama should use his convention speech to "report on the promises he made." Romney on Thursday visited veterans in New Hampshire. Asked why... more »

• Builders start on wounded Army vet's home Play Video

  August 2, 2012 5:02 PM

  PRARIEVILLE- Builders started work today on a house for an army veteran wounded in Afghanistan. The Prarieville home won't cost him a penny. Corporal Jeffery Argrave says he needs a pinch to make sure this is real. "This isn't me, this is like a paranormal dimension," Argrave said.... more »

• Top lawmakers declare war on intelligence leaks

  June 7, 2012 3:26 PM

  WASHINGTON - Top Democratic and Republican lawmakers are vowing to pursue recent leaks of sensitive information they believe came from the White House on the covert drone and cyber wars against terrorism. Leaders of the Senate and House intelligence committees said Thursday they are drafting legislation to further limit who... more »

• Obama says Vietnam veterans too often 'denigrated'

  May 28, 2012 2:47 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the men and women who have died defending America, pointing to Vietnam veterans as an under-appreciated and sometimes maligned group of war heroes who remained true to their nation despite an unwelcome homecoming. "You were sometimes blamed for the misdeeds of... more »

• Excerpts from President Obama's address tonight

  May 1, 2012 5:51 PM

  BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN - President Barack Obama says the U.S. is emerging from more than a decade under the "dark cloud of war," with the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan ending and the war in Iraq now over. In excerpts released ahead of a televised address Tuesday, President Obama... more »

• No intention to stay in Afghanistan

  March 20, 2012 11:31 AM

  WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says the process of winding down the war there is on track, and the U.S. has no intention to stay in the country forever. Marine General John Allen told the House Armed Services Committee that coalition forces are making progress in... more »

• Renovations planned at Civil War museum

  March 19, 2012 6:20 AM

  MANSFIELD - A major renovation at the Mansfield State Historic Site museum begins Monday. The museum will be closed to the public through at least late April. Renovations include installation of lighting, flooring and wall treatments in preparation for new exhibits about the Civil War battles at Mansfield... more »

• Returned soldier celebrates Thanksgiving with family Play Video

  November 24, 2011 6:44 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana Guardsman ate dinner with his family for the first time in a year today after he arrived home yesterday from a tour in Afghanistan. Sgt. First Class Garrick St. Romain talked with Rob Krieger about why the meal was one of his tastiest in... more »

• Stolen Civil War flag headed back to La. museum

  October 5, 2011 2:35 PM

  RICHMOND, Va. - A stolen Civil War battle flag recovered by the FBI is heading back home to a Louisiana museum. The FBI says agents from the Richmond division recovered the stolen 14th Louisiana Infantry Regiment Confederate Battle Flag in late September. Officials say the flag was stolen... more »

• Commander: More US trainers heading to Afghanistan

  September 26, 2011 12:01 PM

  WASHINGTON - The U.S. general in charge of training in Afghanistan says the number of American military trainers there will increase by 800 by next March, a nearly 45 percent jump. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commander of NATO's training mission in Afghanistan, told Pentagon reporters Monday that even as... more »

• Panel: Widespread waste and fraud in war spending

  August 31, 2011 3:06 AM

  WASHINGTON- An independent panel that concluded as much as $60 billion in U.S. funds has been lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade will release results today of its three-year investigation into wartime spending. In its final report to Congress, the Commission on Wartime... more »

• US military: 2 US soldiers killed in southern Iraq

  June 14, 2011 6:09 AM

  BAGHDAD- The U.S. military says two American soldiers have been killed while conducting operations in southern Iraq. The statement released today didn't give details on the operations, saying only the two were killed Monday. They were not identified pending notification of next of kin. The new deaths bring to 4,462... more »

• War on Terror memorial unveiled in Baton Rouge

  May 30, 2011 2:47 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A new memorial honoring Louisiana soldiers that fell in the War on Terror was unveiled in Baton Rouge today. The memorial at the USS Kidd has the names of 128 service members from the state that have died during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... more »

• US troops remember their fallen comrades

  May 30, 2011 3:52 AM

  KABUL, Afghanistan- U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan are remembering their fallen comrades on this Memorial Day. They prayed and held flag-raising ceremonies at dawn today to recognize the more than 1,400 killed in combat since the nearly decade-old war began. Brig. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, who spoke at a ceremony,... more »

• New stamps commemorate Civil War, Reagan, Indy 500

  December 28, 2010 12:08 PM

  WASHINGTON - Postage stamps honoring the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the centennial of President Ronald Reagan's birth, and the 50th anniversary of America's first manned spaceflight are part of the lineup of new stamps for 2011. Another anniversary to be commemorated by the U.S. Postal Service next year... more »

• Biden says US to be out of Afghanistan by 2014

  December 19, 2010 1:36 PM

  WASHINGTON- Despite uneven progress in Afghanistan, Vice President Joe Biden said next summer's planned withdrawal would be more than a token reduction and that the U.S. would be out of the country by 2014 "come hell or high water." Biden's prediction appeared to go further than statements by his... more »

• President makes surprise trip to Afghanistan

  December 3, 2010 10:09 AM

  BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - President Barack Obama slipped unannounced into dangerous Afghanistan on Friday, one year after widening an ever deadlier war and just days before a pivotal review about the 9-year-plus conflict. Under intense security, Obama landed in night's darkness after a clandestine departure from the White House... more »

• New Orleans man indicted on charges of fraud

  November 29, 2010 5:46 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A grand jury has indicted a New Orleans man accused of fraudulently claiming to be in charge of a nonprofit organization to solicit donations for what he said would be a war veterans home. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced Monday that the Baton Rouge grand jury charged... more »

• Damage widespread after shelling in S. Korea

  November 24, 2010 11:52 AM

  INCHEON, South Korea - The South Korean island that was attacked yesterday by the North still looks like a war zone. Korean television is showing burned-out buildings that are still smoldering and huge craters from shells pockmarking homes. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling it one of the "gravest incidents"... more »

• Civil War-era historic forts set to open

  November 14, 2010 9:45 AM

  PINEVILLE, La. - Twin forts built during the Civil War to stave off a Union attack during the Red River Campaign will open to the public this week as a historic site. The Fort Randolph and Buhlow State Historic Site in Pinveville is scheduled to open Thursday. Pineville Mayor Clarence... more »

• La. family honored by man recognizing fallen soldiers

  October 18, 2010 5:16 PM

  A man from Virginia is traveling the country with hopes of creating a national symbol. George Lutz has been to 45 states and traveled more than 21,000 miles on a mission called “Honor and Remember.” Lutz established flags with that slogan on them more than two years ago and presents... more »

• Iraq veteran: 'Operation may be over, but war isn't'

  August 31, 2010 10:33 PM

  More than 4,400 troops died in the seven-year war in Iraq out of more than a million and a half that served. One survivor, a Baton Rouge native, said he's relieved the combat mission is over but does not think this is the end of the war. After six... more »

• White House says Iraq drawdown "truly remarkable"

  August 24, 2010 10:46 AM

  The White House is hailing the Iraq troop drawdown as a "truly remarkable achievement." White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan gave that assessment to reporters Tuesday as the U.S. troop level in Iraq sank below 50,000 for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion over seven years ago. Brennan was... more »

• Obama: Nothing new in leaked documents

  July 27, 2010 12:12 PM

  President Obama spoke this morning, for the first time, on the massive leak of sensitive documents about the Afghanistan war. He said the disclosure of classified information from the battlefield "could potentially jeopardize individuals or operations," but he said the papers don't bring any new information to the table.... more »

• World War II Museum features animals of war

  July 19, 2010 9:28 AM

  A new exhibit at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans features dogs, horses and other animals used during the war. "Loyal Force: Animals at War" showcases the species most often brought into the war. The first exhibit highlights the Coast Guard shore patrol, which used 3,000 horses.... more »

• Lawmakers voice opposition on Obama's Afghan plan

  July 4, 2010 10:39 AM

  Leading Republican lawmakers and the Afghan ambassador to the United States are voicing opposition to President Barack Obama's plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan starting next year. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, appearing on the Sunday talk shows while in the Afghan capital, said Obama's decision to... more »

• Petraeus Confirmed

  June 30, 2010 11:39 AM

  General David Petraeus is the new commander of the Afghanistan war. The Senate unanimously confirmed the General, with a vote of 99-0. Petraeus replaces Gen. Stanley McChrystal, whose three-decade career ended, after remarks he and his aides made to Rolling Stone magazine. As U.S. Central Command chief,... more »

• Obama, Brit leader: Afghanistan in critical period

  June 26, 2010 2:54 PM

  President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron say it is critical to get the Afghanistan war right this year. Speaking to reporters Saturday after their first meeting since Cameron took power, the two leaders said their nations have the right strategy in Afghanistan. Obama said at a meeting... more »

• Problem with grave IDs at Arlington

  June 10, 2010 11:47 AM

  Washington D.C. (AP) - Pentagon officials say it's uncertain whether the right people are buried in a number of graves at Arlington National Cemetery because of poor management and record keeping. Two defense officials say Army Secretary John McHugh will release the results of an investigation at Arlington today.... more »

• Oil spill keeps pilots almost as busy as war

  May 28, 2010 5:14 AM

  The commander of the Louisiana National Guard's State Aviation Command says the Gulf oil spill is keeping pilots and crews almost as busy as war duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Col. Patrick R. Bossetta says that when all the pilots are counted, they're flying 40 to 50 hours a day.... more »

• Ceremony held for 3,500 Louisiana soldiers leaving for Iraq

  March 5, 2010 12:24 PM

  With a full-throated shout of "Tiger Brigade, Sir! Who dat!" the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade came to attention Friday morning during a ceremony at a National Guard camp in Mississippi. The ceremony was held to mark the brigade's second deployment to Iraq. About 400 soldiers from... more »

• Fire Station Closure Causes Concern

  September 9, 2009 5:41 PM

  Budget cuts mean there's no longer a full time fire department at the state mental health hospital in Jackson. The department also helped protect Dixon Correctional Institute and the Louisiana War Veteran's Home. Both are state run facilities near Jackson. Jackson Volunteer Fire Department Chief T.W. Prewitt says his... more »