Category: MIL-OSI

Posted on

Defense News in Brief: USS Wichita departs Naval Station Mayport to support Operation NANOOK TUUGAALIK 2026

Source: United States Navy

NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (Aug. 7, 2026) – Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13) departed Naval Station Mayport, Aug. 7, to participate in Operation NANOOK TUUGAALIK 2026, the maritime component of Canada’s premier Arctic exercise.

Operating alongside naval forces from Canada, Denmark, and France, Wichita will strengthen interoperability with allied and partner nations while conducting advanced maritime operations across the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, and Greenlandic fjords. The deployment reinforces shared commitments to regional security, freedom of navigation, and stability throughout the North Atlantic and Arctic.

“Operation NANOOK TUUGAALIK provides an exceptional opportunity to train alongside our closest Allies in one of the world’s most strategically important maritime regions,” said Cmdr. Richard Dunn, commanding officer of Wichita. “Our Sailors are prepared to operate in the High North, strengthen allied interoperability, and demonstrate the professionalism and adaptability that define the U.S. Navy.”

Throughout the exercise, Wichita will participate in maritime domain awareness operations, search and rescue scenarios, tactical maneuvering, and integrated naval training designed to improve multinational coordination in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments.

Operation NANOOK is the Canadian Armed Forces’ signature Arctic operation and demonstrates the collective ability of Allied and partner nations to operate together in the High North. The annual TUUGAALIK maritime phase enhances readiness through realistic training that strengthens interoperability, improves maritime awareness, and reinforces the rules-based international order.

As part of the U.S. Navy’s forward maritime presence, Wichita’s participation reflects the United States’ enduring commitment to Arctic security and cooperation with Allies and partners in an increasingly strategic region.

Reactivated in 2018, U.S. 2nd Fleet commands assigned maritime forces across the western and eastern Atlantic and the Arctic, employing combat-ready naval forces to defend the maritime approaches to the United States, strengthen NATO interoperability, and deter aggression alongside Allies and partners.

For more information, imagery, and updates on Operation NANOOK TUUGAALIK 2026, visit the U.S. 2nd Fleet website or follow @US2ndFleet on social media.

 

Posted on

Defense News in Brief: Navy Relieves Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore Commanding Officer

Source: United States Navy

On Aug. 7, 2026, Rear. Adm. Kevin Brown, commander of Naval Medical Forces Pacific (NMFP), relieved Capt. Mathew Loe as commanding officer of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Lemoore due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.

Loe served as the NMRTC Lemoore commanding officer since July 2025 and will be temporarily reassigned to NMFP. Capt. Robin Bennett, the executive officer of NMRTC Lemoore, will be temporarily assigned as commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified. The relief of the CO does not impact the command’s operational readiness.

 

Posted on

South Carolina Man Sentenced to 18.5 Years for 2022 Shooting in Adams Morgan

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jakiem Miller, 28, of South Carolina, was sentenced today, to 18.5 years in prison for shooting and killing Avon Perkins, 30, and also shooting an innocent bystander college student, outside Air Nightclub in Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

Posted on

Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –UBALDO YASIR AMAYA-COLINDRES (“AMAYA-COLINDRES”), age 27, a citizen of Honduras, was sentenced on August 6, 2026, to 10 months imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, after previously pleading guilty to illegal re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. The Court also sentenced AMAYA-COLINDRES to one (1) year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

Posted on

Illegal Alien from Honduras Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in Utah

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The final defendant, an illegal alien from Honduras who was involved in a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to time served (16.5 months’ imprisonment) after approximately 13,000 fentanyl pills were seized by law enforcement during a controlled buy and the execution of a search warrant in 2025. 

Posted on

Security News: Alabama Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes

Source: United States Department of Justice

Tallahassee, Florida – Justin William Gifford, 26, of Enterprise, Alabama, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being earlier found guilty by a federal jury in Tallahassee of one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to minors, and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. 

Posted on

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Laundering More than $1.9 Million in Drug Proceeds

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today for his role in the collection of more than $1.9 million in drug proceeds in the United States and the return of those proceeds via cryptocurrency or wire transfers to Mexico as part of a money laundering conspiracy. 

According to court documents, Daniel Gordiano Valenzuela, 60, who was residing in Mexico at the time of his arrest, served as a “money broker” in an organization that conspired with drug traffickers to launder money for them in Mexico. Gordiano Valenzuela personally arranged for the laundering of $1, 973,076 from the sale of drugs and used a network of co-conspirators to pick up the drug proceeds throughout the United States. After delivery of the bulk cash, he provided instructions for the transfer of those funds via cryptocurrency or wire transfer and then received a “commission,” or percentage of the money laundered successfully. 

Gordiano Valenzuela pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph O. Dixon of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Division made the announcement.

The DEA Detroit Field Division and IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit investigated the case, working closely with the DEA Austin Residence Office and Lexington Residence Office with assistance from DEA’s Special Operations Division and DEA offices in Mexico, Houston, Tulsa, Chicago, and Youngstown, Ohio. 

Deputy Chief Elizabeth R. Rabe of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Deputy Chief Gary Todd Bradbury of the Eastern District of Kentucky are prosecuting the case. 

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Posted on

U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Immigration-Related Prosecutions Against Previously Deported Illegal Aliens

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced, today, that it secured, in July, multiple immigration-related prosecutions against illegal aliens who re-entered the United States after prior removals in connection with the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America.

Posted on

Justice Department Partners with Tennessee Attorney General to Preserve Competition for Asphalt in Western Tennessee

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Proposed Settlement with Two of Western Tennessee’s Largest Hot-Mix Asphalt Suppliers would Prevent Competitive Harm from APAC’s Purchase of Standard Construction

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, joined by the Attorney General of Tennessee, announced today that they will require CRH and its subsidiary APAC-Tennessee to divest two hot-mix asphalt plants as part of its acquisition of Standard Construction to address antitrust concerns in western Tennessee. 

“Today’s settlement is a model for how government works better when federal law enforcers collaborate with states in protecting local interests from competitive harm,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “I thank Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti for his partnership to protect critical roadway infrastructure in western Tennessee and preserve the state and federal funds that pay for it.”  

“State antitrust enforcers can play an important role in merger enforcement in local markets in which potential harm is limited to a single state,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General G. Charles Beller of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “I am proud of our partnership with the Tennessee Attorney General and our collective efforts to preserve competition in local asphalt markets. This enforcement action builds on recent consent settlements we have taken alongside other state attorneys general to obtain local concrete plant divestitures in California and power plant divestitures in Texas.”

The divestiture is part of a proposed settlement that was filed at the same time as a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee to block APAC’s proposed acquisition of hot-mix asphalt plants from Standard Construction. The proposed settlement, if approved by the court, will resolve concerns that the transaction, as originally proposed, would likely harm competition, leading to higher prices, lower quality, and less favorable terms for hot-mix asphalt used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The Antitrust Division is actively collaborating with state antitrust enforcers in reviewing mergers in which potential competitive harm is local. State enforcers often bring significant local expertise, and their participation and leadership in local matters helps preserve federal resources for matters of regional and national significance. 

As alleged in the complaint, APAC and Standard Construction are two of the three leading suppliers of hot-mix asphalt in western Tennessee. The acquisition, as originally proposed, would have left the Tennessee Department of Transportation and other customers with fewer choices and higher prices. The proposed settlement requires APAC and Standard to divest two hot-mix asphalt plants in western Tennessee to Dunn Construction of Birmingham, Alabama. 

CRH plc, headquartered in Ireland, is a global supplier of building materials. In 2025, CRH had global sales of approximately $37.4 billion, with sales in the United States of approximately $10 billion through subsidiaries, including APAC-Tennessee, Inc. Standard Construction Group, Inc. is a privately held corporation headquartered in Cordova, Tennessee. 

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days following the publication to Soyoung Choe, Acting Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 8700, Washington, DC 20530. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.