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Dec. 4, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Rich Schapiro and Dan De LuceIn the days and months after the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Thomas Kasza and some of his fellow Special Forces members focused their attention on the Afghans who had fought alongside them.These Afghans who risked their lives for the U.S. were prime targets of the Taliban. Remaining in their homeland was akin to a death sentence. “Given how they served exclusively alongside U.S. Green Berets, they were by default among those highest on Taliban target lists,” said Kasza, who was one of many military veterans who assisted their former Afghan counterparts in leaving the country and resettling in the U.S.After the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House last week, Kasza and other U.S. war veterans find themselves having to come to the defense of their former Afghan partners yet again. An Afghan who worked with a CIA-trained military unit has been charged in the attack, which killed Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Andrew Wolfe, 24. The Trump administration immediately moved to crack down on Afghans in the U.S., pausing asylum decisions and halting the issuing of visas. President Donald Trump said last week that many of the Afghans who came to this country “are criminals” who “shouldn’t be here.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the suspect “and so many others should have never been allowed to come here.”National Guard shooting suspect pleads not guilty to murder charge02:31Those kinds of sentiments haven’t gone over well with Army Special Forces veterans, known as Green Berets, and others who worked closely with Afghans during the war. “It is definitely not fair to group all Afghans that helped us during our time in Afghanistan in that same basket as this individual,” said Ben Hoffman, a Green Beret with five deployments to Afghanistan.Another Green Beret, Dave Elliott, said many of the Afghans he is in touch with are now “terrified” over their fates in the U.S. “They’re fearful they’re going to be sent back to a country where we have had documented cases of our guys being killed in retribution attacks,” said Elliott, who started a nonprofit organization with Kasza called the 1208 Foundation, which supports Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war.The Green Berets worked with a specially trained unit of Afghans who would go out in front of the Americans on missions to identify and disable improvised explosive devices, a highly dangerous job that resulted in dozens’ being killed. Other Afghans who came to this country after their government collapsed in 2021 worked with U.S. forces as interpreters and drivers and in other roles.“These guys didn’t want to leave Afghanistan,” Elliott said. “They left Afghanistan because the U.S. broke it and handed it back to the Taliban and they had no other choice.”The Green Berets and other war veterans interviewed by NBC News didn’t work directly with the shooting suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, but wanted to speak out in support of the Afghans who fled to this country after assisting U.S. forces.White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration “has been taking every measure possible — in the face of unrelenting Democrat opposition — to get anyone who poses a threat to the American people out of our country and clean up the mess made by the Biden Administration.” Lakanwal has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and other offenses. Authorities haven’t released information about a potential motive. Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state with his wife and five children, had reportedly been struggling to feed his family and was suffering from mental health issues. Geeta Bakshi, a former CIA officer who served in Afghanistan, said that her former Afghan colleagues are distraught that one of their countrymen is accused of having attacked Americans and that the entire community of Afghan veterans could be tarnished by the shooter’s horrific actions.Bakshi said she and other Americans forged a special bond with their Afghan allies during the war, sharing the same dangers and working in common cause to track down Al Qaeda and other extremists.“They put their necks on the line to support us,” said Bakshi, who runs FAMIL, a nonprofit organization that assists Afghans who worked under CIA command in what were known as Zero Units. “We were going after hard terrorist targets, and these were the guys and gals that made it happen. We could not have achieved our many counterterrorism successes without them. People don’t realize these folks bore a huge risk by doing what they did.”Even before the shooting and the Trump administration actions, many Afghans who settled in this country were already struggling to find jobs while trapped in a legal limbo without work permits. Lakanwal and many others who worked directly with the U.S. forces or the government came into the country through a temporary program the Biden administration set up to manage the flow of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule. Many were still waiting for their visa applications to be approved or their asylum requests to be granted, enabling them to work legally. Both of those legal pathways have now been shut off. The moves are likely to increase the strain on the former U.S. military allies, according to Green Berets and other advocates for them. They noted that many of the Afghans experienced several years of war and are now living in an unfamiliar country where they don’t have access to the mental health resources afforded to U.S. military veterans. “A lot of these guys have a lot of the PTSD struggles that we do, and even way worse,” Hoffman said. “And there’s no way for them to get help except out of pocket, which is not easy for them when they’re just working to put food on the table and a roof over their kids’ heads.”The Afghans fighting with U.S. forces lost comrades and family members and suffered grievous wounds, both physical and emotional, according to Bakshi, the former CIA officer.“You have to consider invisible scars from the war and how that can affect people,” she said. “We know that. We’ve seen it. We’ve seen it with veterans. We’ve seen it with veteran suicides.”“Some of these guys were in combat 365 days a year, for five or 10 or 20 years,” she added. “They face many of the same difficulties as veterans do, and they don’t have the resources and the support that veterans do.”Kasza said he worries about how the treatment of Afghans in this country might affect future military operations overseas. “Green Berets are built to operate with and through a host-nation partner,” he said. “If the future partner of a Special Forces detachment sees America so willing to renege on promises made, how likely is it that they will be willing to put their lives on the line to aid in advancing the interest of another nation that will readily ignore their sacrifice?”Rich Schapiro Rich Schapiro is a reporter with the NBC News national security unit.Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

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Dec. 4, 2025, 6:25 AM ESTBy Jennifer JettHONG KONG — A massive fire that tore through a Hong Kong apartment complex, killing more than 150 people, has ignited an upsurge in public anger that is testing Beijing’s control of the Chinese territory. The Nov. 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court in the northern district of Tai Po has deeply shaken Hong Kong’s population amid accusations of corrupt business practices and failures in government oversight. The blaze was the city’s first major manmade disaster since national security laws were imposed after huge anti-government protests in 2019, and there have already been several reported arrests and official warnings against “anti-China” forces accused of sowing discord.On Wednesday, Chinese national security authorities in Hong Kong issued their second warning in a week, saying that “external hostile forces” were using the fire to try to “recreate the chaos” of 2019 under the pretext of “petitioning for the people.”“Those who oppose China and disrupt Hong Kong will be punished even if they are far away,” the statement said.Investigators say the five-alarm fire spread rapidly because of substandard mesh netting that covered bamboo scaffolding erected around the buildings for renovations, as well as highly flammable polystyrene boards that were sealed to the windows. Residents also said fire alarms failed to go off.

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November 17, 2025

Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 17, 2025, 12:28 PM ESTBy Gary Grumbach and Dareh GregorianA federal judge in Virginia on Monday ordered prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials in the criminal case against James Comey after finding the government’s handling of the case raises “genuine issues of misconduct” that could result in the charges against the former FBI director being dismissed. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said in his ruling that the type of relief Comey’s lawyers are seeking is “rarely granted,” but that “the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.” The ruling directs the government to turn over the material to Comey’s team by the end of the day.Among the missteps the judge said he found while reviewing the grand jury proceedings in the case were statements made to the panel by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump who had no prior prosecutorial experience. Fitzpatrick said the court “identified two statements by the prosecutor to the grand jurors that on their face appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process,” he wrote. Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan is prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey.Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileFitzpatrick also pointed to the government’s handling of potentially privileged attorney-client information in the case.“The nature and circumstances surrounding the government’s potential violations of the Fourth Amendment and court orders establish a reasonable basis to question whether the government’s conduct was willful or in reckless disregard of the law,” Fitzpatrick wrote.Halligan’s office declined to comment. The Justice Department also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Gary GrumbachGary Grumbach is an NBC News legal affairs reporter, based in Washington, D.C.Dareh GregorianDareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

November 4, 2025

Nov. 4, 2025, 6:06 PM EST / Updated Nov. 4, 2025, 6:35 PM ESTBy Phil HelselA UPS plane with three crew members aboard crashed as it was taking off late Tuesday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, officials said.UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time after departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.”At this time, we have not confirmed any injuries/casualties,” UPS said in a statement.A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said injuries had been reported. “It crashed on takeoff. Multiple injuries,” the spokesperson, Allison Martin, said in a message.Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked for prayers for the plane’s pilots and crew. “The situation is serious. Please pray for the families affected. I’m headed to Louisville now,” he said on X. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was headed to Honolulu, the FAA said.Video from the scene showed a fire and black smoke rising from an area appearing to be near the tarmac. Police encourage people in areas north of the airport to the Ohio River to shelter in place.Greenberg said in a phone interview with NBC affiliate WAVE of Louisville that the plane’s fuel load was causing the fire on the ground.“All of our emergency resources are on the scene right now,” he said.UPS has a large presence in Louisville. UPS Air Operations is headquartered in the city, where it also has its main hub.UPS began its overnight air service with its main hub at the airport, known by the letters SDF, in 1982. UPS is the biggest employer in the Louisville area, with around 25,000 people working for the company there. There are around 400 flights arriving and departing each day at its hub, the city says on its website.The FAA said it would investigate, along with the National Transportation Safety Board.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.Phil HelselPhil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.Madison Lambert and Insiya Gandhi contributed.

November 27, 2025

Nov. 27, 2025, 1:59 PM ESTBy Katherine DoyleA federal judge is pressing the Justice Department to explain how it will protect the identities of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims after lawyers said that dozens of survivors’ names appeared unredacted in documents released by Congress, prompting what they described as “widespread panic.”Judge Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday night requested a detailed description of the materials the government intends to release and an explanation of how it will safeguard the privacy of victims, including through redactions. Berman, who oversaw the trafficking case against Epstein, attached a letter from attorneys Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson that calls for strict privacy protections in future releases.The House Oversight Committee’s public release of more than 20,000 documents caused “widespread panic” among Epstein’s survivors, the lawyers wrote.Newly released emails bring Trump’s relationship with Epstein back into spotlight02:20Edwards and Henderson, who represent hundreds of Epstein’s victims, urged the Justice Department to redact all victims’ names in any future materials sent to Congress or made public. They also asked for a private meeting with the DOJ to share a list of more than 300 victims they represent so that federal officials can protect against further disclosures.The lawyers said dozens of victims’ names appeared unredacted in the cache of documents and emails from the Justice Department released this month, turning the release into a new source of concern for victims who had sought to maintain their anonymity.“[T]ransparency CANNOT come at the expense of the privacy, safety, and protection of sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims, especially these survivors who have already suffered repeatedly,” the lawyers wrote. According to the letter, some victims warned that releasing their names would put them in physical danger. Several told their lawyers that they had been approached on the street by reporters, including one who said she was confronted while standing with her nine-year old son, according to the letter.The lawyers pointed to one document released by the Justice Department that they said listed the names of “at least 28 victims … including individuals who were minor children at the time of the abuse,” as well as women granted protection in the same legal jurisdiction “as a result of grave public safety concerns.”“This type of negligence by the government to a survivor is just unable to comprehend,” one alleged victim wrote in a document included in the court filing. “I don’t understand how this is possible.”“I have been unable to mentally and emotionally function or sleep,” said another.A third questioned, “I thought the government had promised to redact our names and identifying material. I don’t understand how this is happening again.”Virginia Giuffre’s family reacts to House vote on Epstein files08:08In their letter, Edwards and Henderson said some survivors fear the Justice Department “intentionally exposed their names” when it released thousands of unredacted files tied to Epstein’s case to Congress this year.“These women now beg this Court and beg the United States Department of Justice to allow them to choose to remain protected,” the attorneys said.While Epstein’s estate also failed to redact some names, the lawyers said they believed these to be “genuine mistakes.”The lawyers also accused the DOJ of creating a “perpetual distraction” through the release of grand jury materials tied to Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, arguing that the documents provide little meaningful information and are being used as a diversion.The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.Berman presided over the government’s 2019 case against Epstein before the disgraced financier and sex offender died in jail while awaiting trial.The letter from Edwards and Henderson comes after President Donald Trump signed a bill on Nov. 19 directing the DOJ to release its Epstein files. The president, who for months argued against passing the legislation, has continued to call the push to release the files part of a “hoax.”Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all unclassified records tied to Epstein within 30 days, while withholding or redacting material that could jeopardize a federal investigation. It is still not known exactly when or how the files will ultimately be released.Some victims have criticized the attempts to unseal the grand jury testimony, saying those attempts have disregarded victims’ repeated calls for privacy.Katherine DoyleKatherine Doyle is a White House reporter for NBC News.

November 4, 2025

Former Vice President Dick Cheney dies at 84

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