Federal prosecutors say members of the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) sought to use Europe as a safe base for drugs and weapons deals. To do that, they sought a laundry list of military weaponry: European machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 61 mm mortar launchers, ammunition and other ordnance, authorities say.

Threat Status Special Correspondent Joseph Hammond has more on this explosive story, which offers a window into how dangerous drug cartels are seeking to expand their operations and looking for friendlier turf on which to do business.

The four suspects were arrested in the Czech Republic. Two have already been extradited to the U.S. Prosecutors say the proposed weapons were to be paid for with fentanyl and methamphetamine destined for distribution in the United States, underscoring the alleged operation’s transatlantic reach. 

National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz has an inside look at the startling story of a U.S. Navy destroyer that suffered an electrical blackout and was immobile in the South China Sea for four days.

The USS Benfold was eventually towed to Subic Bay, Philippines, according to the Navy’s 7th Fleet. The incident happened last month but was not widely reported until Monday. The ship was in the South China Sea as part of a visit to Vietnam and was conducting routine operations in the contested waterway. China claims 90% of the sea as its own sovereign territory.

Without electrical power, sailors and officers on the warship lacked galley services, toilets, air conditioning and drinking water. The revelation comes at a delicate moment for the Navy, which is already facing growing questions about living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. 

The eventual fate of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is still at the center of the U.S.-Iran war, but there is no resolution in sight.

Consider the massive gap between the positions taken by each nation over just the last 24 hours: Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his country’s military forces will keep the strait closed until Washington removes its naval blockade, unfreezes billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets, eases economic sanctions and halts military operations on all fronts.

By contrast, Mr. Trump is standing by the idea of making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory. There is no indication the U.S. would actually move to make the strait an American possession. But Mr. Trump’s rhetoric is causing a stir and underscoring how far Washington and Tehran seem to be from reaching any kind of lasting deal over the future of the waterway.

China has made advanced biotechnology a national priority by dedicating sustained government financing and long-term industrial planning to the industry. And unfortunately for the U.S., Beijing’s approach is working.

In a new column for The Washington Times, Jeffrey Mazella, president of the Center for Individual Freedom, explains how China has made such significant gains. Over the past 10 years, he says, Beijing has streamlined review-and-approval processes and bolstered domestic patent protections. As a result, the country has established the infrastructure needed to take a molecule from discovery to clinical trial much faster than the rest of the world. 

The U.S., Mr. Mazella says, must make its own regulatory changes to stay ahead.

“Beijing isn’t slowing down to wait for Washington. Counterproductive efforts like banning outbound biotech investment won’t speed America up,” he writes. “It’s time for the U.S. to accelerate efforts to cut red tape and step on the gas.”

The expansion of grants and loans for state and local cybersecurity efforts. The congressional reauthorization of key information-sharing protections. And allowing the U.S. government to set minimum cybersecurity standards for crucial industries.

Those are some of the key steps the U.S. should take to harden its critical infrastructure from cyberattacks emanating from China, Iran or other adversary nations, according to Amy McAuliffe, a distinguished visiting professor of the practice at the University of Notre Dame and a former CIA senior executive. In a new op-ed for The Times, she also argues that Washington should make public, rhetorical moves.

“The U.S. should adopt a public declaratory cyber policy that would explicitly define U.S. critical infrastructure systems as off-limits — and emphasize that any attack will trigger a disproportionate, cross-domain response,” she writes. 

• Aug. 19 — Golden Dome: Early Assessment and Open Questions, Brookings Institution 

• Aug. 19 — An International Call to Action on 6G | Betting on America, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Aug. 25-26 — Counter UAS Summit, Institute for Defense and Government Advancement

• Aug. 27 — 2026 Navy Summit, Potomac Officers Club

• Aug. 27 — Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy on the Modern Battlefield, Atlantic Council

• Sept. 3 —The AI Open-Weight Debate: Balancing Innovation and Security, Center for a New American Security