News from Multiple Perspectives

‘We already are in a scenario where the US has lost control of this war,’ argues political scientist Vali Nasr.

Debris from NATO’s interception of an Iranian ballistic missile has been pulled out of the water in Turkiye.

Mojtaba Khamenei emerges as potential successor after death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israel attacks.

Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, with the FDA, listens during a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices at the CDC, June 25, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File) 2026-03-04T17:27:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration’s top drug regulator, Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, is working to hire a researcher and friend who wants the agency to add new warnings to antidepressants about unproven pregnancy risks , The Associated Press has learned. Dr. Adam Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and critic of antidepressant safety, is pressing the FDA to add a boxed warning to SSRIs, the drugs most commonly prescribed for depression. Urato’s petition says the medications can cause pregnancy complications, including miscarriages and fetal brain abnormalities that may lead to autism and other disorders in children. That proposed labeling change has become a top priority for Hoeg, who regularly consults with Urato and is working to bring him on as a full-time FDA employee, according to people familiar with the situation. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential FDA matters. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Within the agency, Hoeg’s close relationship with Urato is viewed as a clear conflict of interest that, under normal FDA standards, would result in her recusing herself from any work on the petition. But Hoeg is actively working to speed up the agency’s review of her friend’s proposal, according to the people familiar with the situation. Outside experts say the petition relies on flimsy data, including animal studies and small trials in people. They fear a new FDA warning could cause pregnant women to stop medication unnecessarily, leading to serious health risks from untreated depression . “A black box warning is a big red flag with both practitioners and patients,” said Dr. Jennifer Payne, a University of Virginia reproductive psychiatrist. “What’s missing in this petition is an understanding of the risks of maternal mental illness during pregnancy, not just to the woman, but to the pregnancy and ultimately the infant.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); SSRIs include most of the bestselling depression medications, including Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and their generic equivalents. More than 15% of U.S. women, or about 26 million people, take medication for depression, according to the latest federal figures. Professional guidelines state that antidepressants are generally safe during pregnancy and should be discontinued only after careful consultation with a doctor. Last fall, Hoeg gave a talk on the SSRI petition to top FDA drug officials, presenting the work as her own. Staffers who reviewed her slides found they were created by Urato, according to the people who spoke to the AP. The incident was first reported by Stat News. Urato said in an email Wednesday that Hoeg is “an excellent scientist,” and that they have known each other for several years. “I am friendly with her, as I am with many colleagues, but we do not have a longstanding personal friendship that would in any way prevent her from reviewing the citizen petition,” Urato said. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, said that the agency would respond directly to Urato about his petition. In January, Urato was named to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s panel on vaccine recommendations , which has been completely reshaped by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to include a number of anti-vaccine voices. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); The latest COVID-19 contrarian elevated into FDA’s leadership The antidepressant review is the latest in a series of controversial topics taken up by Hoeg, a sports medicine physician with no previous government or management experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoeg attracted attention as a critic of masking, vaccine mandates and other public health measures. She co-wrote papers with medical contrarians who would go on to join the Trump administration, including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and FDA’s vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad . All three have become top surrogates for Kennedy. Before the pandemic, Hoeg had published only a handful of medical papers, including one on health issues affecting ultramarathon runners. A Danish American citizen and marathon runner, Hoeg was instrumental in the Republican administration’s recent decision to drop a number of vaccine recommendations for children. That is a change she has long proposed, to bring the United States more in line with Denmark. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Like many critics of vaccines , including Kennedy, Hoeg has also been skeptical of antidepressants, questioning their safety and benefits. Last July, she hosted a panel of outside experts at the FDA on SSRIs that included Urato and nine other critics of the drugs. “Never before in human history have we chemically altered developing babies like this, especially the developing fetal brain, and this is happening without any real public warning,” Urato said at the meeting. On a podcast shortly afterward, Hoeg echoed many of Urato’s points. “I think women should be informed about the potential risks so that they have time to come off SSRIs if they want to when they’re trying to get pregnant,” Hoeg told the hosts of the Mom Wars podcast. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); FDA officials typically avoid making public comments about matters under review because it could suggest the agency is basing its decision on individual opinions, rather than science. But Hoeg has taken a hands-on approach to the SSRI petition, telling FDA staffers that their proposed review timeline of nine months needed to be shortened, according to the people familiar with the situation. Reviewing a citizen petition involves detailed analysis of scientific references, legal issues and a number of other steps to ensure that the agency’s final decision can be defended in court. “Apart from it serving FDA’s public health mission, there’s always going to be some concern about legal risk if the agency doesn’t take sufficient time to consider all the relevant data and arguments,” said Patti Zettler, a former FDA attorney now at Ohio State University’s law school. Hoeg was tapped to the lead FDA’s drug center in December, inheriting the job during a period of unprecedented upheaval, including layoffs, buyouts and leadership changes. She is the sixth person to lead the 5,000-person center in the past year. Staffers did not hear from Hoeg directly until a town hall last month, where she voiced her concerns about the safety of SSRIs and injectable RSV shots for children, a class of drugs that FDA is reviewing at her request. RSV is a respiratory virus that sends thousands of children in the United States to the hospital each year. Antidepressant questions clouded by other health factors The safety of antidepressants has been scrutinized for decades, leading to several updates to their FDA label, including the addition of a black box warning about the risk of suicidal behavior in children. For pregnant women, the current label lists a number of documented safety issues, including risks of excess bleeding after giving birth. Doctors who treat women with depression say they discuss those risks with their patients, balancing the possible safety issues against the potential harms of relapsing into depression: self-harm, substance abuse and other behaviors that negatively impact women and fetuses. Researchers who have reviewed Urato’s SSRI petition say many of the studies claiming to show connections to disorders such as autism don’t take into account other important health factors. For example, women with depression have higher rates of smoking, diabetes and family histories of mental illness that can all increase the likelihood of developmental disorders. “So how do we say that these outcomes are a result of the SSRI when all of these other factors are at play?” said Dr. Amritha Bhat, a University of Washington perinatal psychiatrist. Bhat and other researchers say they support more research into the effects of SSRIs, and they acknowledge possible downsides to their use. “But in the meantime we need to provide options to people that are struggling with these symptoms during pregnancy,” she said. “We cannot just ask them to white knuckle their way through it.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. MATTHEW PERRONE Perrone covers the intersection of medicine, business and health policy. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

This photo provided by Andrew Coady shows his son, Declan Coady, posing for a photo on the day of his graduation at U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Sill, Okla., March 15, 2024. (Andrew Coady via AP) 2026-03-04T16:42:20Z WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sgt. Declan Coady had been sending his family updates from Kuwait every hour or two after the U.S. and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran , letting them know he was OK, even as Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces. When he hadn’t responded to messages Sunday, “most of us started to wonder,” Coady’s father, Andrew, told The Associated Press. “Your gut starts to get a feeling.” A drone strike at a command center in Kuwait killed 20-year-old Coady of West Des Moines, Iowa, and five other members of the U.S. Army Reserve who worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment. The four soldiers identified Tuesday by the Pentagon also included Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. Two soldiers haven’t yet been publicly identified. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” President Donald Trump said of the deaths. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that the military “ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said Wednesday. “The terms of this war will be set by us at every step.” A mother of two who loved gardening Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children. “She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said from their home Tuesday. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.” Amor was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter. A week before the drone attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building that had no defenses, her husband said. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); “They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said. He said she was working long shifts and that he last spoke to her about two hours before she was killed. He said she told him she had tripped and fallen and that they had been joking with each other about that. The fun messages stopped abruptly. “She just never responded in the morning,” he said. One of the youngest in his class Coady had recently told his father he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously. He was one of the youngest people in his class, trained to troubleshoot military computer systems, but he seemed to impress his instructors, Andrew Coady said Tuesday. “He trained hard, he worked hard, his physical fitness was important to him. He loved being a soldier,” Coady said. “He was also one of the most kindest people you would ever meet, and he would do anything and everything for anyone.” Coady came from a close-knit family and was always calling, even if it was only for a few minutes. Coady was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines, and he was taking online classes while in Kuwait. He wanted to become an officer. “I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); A calling to serve his country Khork was very patriotic and drawn from a young age to serving the U.S., his family said in a statement Tuesday. He enlisted in the Army Reserve and joined Florida Southern College’s ROTC program. “That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” his mother, Donna Burhans; father, James Khork; and stepmother, Stacey Khork; said in a statement. Khork also loved history and had a degree in political science. His family described him as “the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); One of Khork’s friends, Abbas Jaffer, posted on Facebook on Monday that he had lost the best person he had ever known. “My best friend, best man, and brother gave his life defending our country overseas,” Jaffer said. Khork and Jaffer had been friends for more than 16 years. A loving father and husband Tietjens lived with his family in the Washington Terrace mobile home park in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue, Nebraska. He was married with a son, according to a Facebook page. Tietjens earned a black belt in Philippine Combatives and Taekwondo and was “an instructor who gave his time, discipline, and leadership to others,” the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance said in a Facebook post. On the mat and as a soldier, “he carried the same values: honor, discipline, service, and commitment to others,” the organization said. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Nebraska Gov. Gov. Pillen paid tribute to the family Tuesday. “Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget,” he wrote. “We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,” he said. ___ Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho, and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press reporters Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Ed White in Detroit; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; David Fischer in Miami and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report. HANNAH FINGERHUT Fingerhut is a government and politics reporter based in Des Moines, Iowa. mailto REBECCA BOONE Boone is a correspondent who covers breaking news, the courts, accountability issues and more for The Associated Press. She is based in Boise, Idaho. twitter mailto

Japan's Shohei Ohtani, left, stands during a group photo session along with other team members before their practice session ahead of the World Baseball Classic games in Tokyo, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) 2026-03-04T10:11:40Z TOKYO (AP) — It’s officially named the World Baseball Classic . But for the Group C games in Japan, simply call it the world according to Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani’s life-size image is all over the Tokyo Dome, and racks of Ohtani jerseys — about $125 each — dominate the adjacent merchandise center. Japan begins play on Friday against Taiwan with South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic also in the group. Japan is the defending champion and is expected to claim one of the two spots for the quarterfinals in the United States. Ohtani skipped batting practice on Wednesday, surely disappointing several hundred fans who were in the stadium expecting a show. He’s just saving himself and is 0-for-5 since arriving in Japan and playing in exhibition games against Japanese league teams. “Every time I join (the Japanese team) there are younger and younger players -- younger players are increasing,” Ohtani said, speaking in Japanese at a brief new conference. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); “So I feel I’m getting old,” the 31-year-old superstar added. Japan is not only a favorite to advance, it’s also possible it will again meet the United States in the final in Miami. Three years ago, Japan defeated the Americans 3-2 when Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end a dramatic game that gave the WBC a huge popularity boost. Ohtani is expected to only bat for Japan, not pitch as the Los Angeles Dodgers want to save him for the season. But he left the door slightly ajar before leaving spring training in Arizona. Asked if he might attempt to pitch, he replied: “It’s hard to say. But if (Mike) Trout shows up, it’s tempting,” he said, speaking through interpreter Will Ireton. Trout will not be playing this time for the United States because of insurance issues, which have kept several players on the sidelines. Travis Bazzana will be the second baseman for Australia. He was selected by the Cleveland Guardians as the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, the first from his country to occupy that spot. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Ohtani is his role model, as he is for many other younger players. “I personally believe he is the greatest of all time,” Bazzana said. “He epitomizes the work ethic and mastering his craft in baseball. That is someone I look up to, but when it comes to that game in a couple of days — you can’t focus on who’s across the field.” Japan has a powerful batting lineup led by Ohtani and other MLB big hitters: Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto and Seiya Suzuki. The pitching staff has lost some stars from 2023 including with Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga and Yu Darvish. The pitching anchor will be World Series MVP and Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto. “It’s a chance to go up against the best team in the world and it’s a special event going against Ohtani,” said Australian manager Dave Nilsson, a former all-star catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers. “It’s going to be a big moment for the fans and for Japan,” Nilsson added. “We’re not going to get caught up in the sideshow.” ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb STEPHEN WADE Wade has written about sports and the politics of sports around the globe for The Associated Press. He has covered nine Olympics and five soccer World Cups and has been based for AP in Madrid, London, Beijing, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, before moving to Tokyo. twitter mailto

Iranians are coping with daily strikes, internet blackouts, and security crackdowns - all while trying to stay in touch with loved ones.

The Arctic Metagaz went down between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan officials say.

An official says more preparations are needed for the three-day ceremony in Tehran, where the supreme leader will lie in state.

Iran postponed a planned farewell ceremony in Tehran for its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , who was killed Saturday in U.S.-Israeli strikes as part of Operation Epic Fury. The three-day program was scheduled to begin Wednesday at 10 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall, where large crowds were expected to gather to pay their respects, according to Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency. Hojjatoleslam Seyed Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council of Tehran Province, said the postponement followed widespread requests to participate and the need to provide adequate infrastructure and facilities to accommodate attendees. "It was decided to hold the ceremony at a more appropriate time," he explained. AS IRAN’S LEADERSHIP SHIFTS AMID WAR, HEZBOLLAH MOVES TO RESET THE BALANCE: EXPERT No additional reason for the postponement was given, and it was not immediately clear when the ceremony would be rescheduled. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iranian leadership in a post on X that any successor who tries to "destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people" will be an "unequivocal target for elimination." "It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides," Katz said. TRUMP SAYS US SANK 10 SHIPS IN IRAN STRIKE, ‘LAST, BEST CHANCE’ TO ACT The funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, drew massive crowds in the country’s capital on June 11, 1989, with an estimated 10.2 million people in attendance, roughly one-sixth of the nation’s population at the time. According to Guinness World Records , it drew the largest percentage of a population ever recorded at a funeral. IRANIAN JOURNALIST URGES TRUMP TO ‘FINISH THE JOB,’ SAYS IRANIANS FEAR ‘WOUNDED REGIME’ Khamenei’s death triggers a closely watched succession process overseen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader. "The IRGC is a key stakeholder in this process, and will heavily influence its outcome," Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital.

A group of 74 retired U.S. generals and admirals recently voiced strong support for the joint U.S.-Israel military operation targeting Iran, calling it a necessary response to decades of threats from the Islamic Republic against the United States, its allies and regional stability. The endorsement came in an open letter published Tuesday by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and signed by dozens of former senior American military commanders. The letter backs the current military actions, known as Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion , which aim to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten U.S. forces and partners across the Middle East. "As retired senior American military leaders , we support the joint U.S.-Israeli military action to degrade and weaken the Iranian regime’s ability to threaten the United States, our allies and partners, and the Iranian people," the letter states. "And we commend the valor of the outstanding United States Military and our Intelligence Community engaged in this operation." ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN LEADERSHIP MEETING CHOOSING KHAMENEI SUCCESSOR Among the prominent signatories are former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., who served during the height of the Iraq War; former Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jerome Johnson; former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. W.L. Nyland, who held the post during the early Iraq War; former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command Gen. Philip M. Breedlove; and former U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Timothy J. Keating. The retired commanders argue that Iran’s leadership has spent decades threatening American interests and supporting militant groups across the region. "Since its inception 47 years ago, the radical regime, whose slogan is ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ has committed to endangering the lives of U.S. troops, diplomats, and civilians across the Middle East and here at home," the letter says, noting that "hundreds of Americans have lost their lives at the hands of the Islamic Republic and its terrorist proxies." According to the signatories, the current military campaign is a direct response to Iran's continued efforts to expand its military capabilities. LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC CREDITS HIM FOR RESTORING 'CREDIBILITY OF US DETERRENCE' AS IRAN STRIKES UNFOLD "U.S.-Israel military action is a response to Iran’s unstinting efforts to make those ambitions a reality," the letter states. "Following last summer’s 12-Day War, Tehran has redoubled its missile building program to hold at risk our bases, our partners, and ultimately our homeland." Iran’s regional proxy network also remains a central concern, the letter warns. "Its proxy forces in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere continue to threaten U.S. targets, Israel, and freedom of navigation in some of the world’s most vital waterways." The letter further argues that Iran has continued pursuing nuclear capabilities despite previous military setbacks. "Since Operation Midnight Hammer against its main enrichment sites last June, Iran has attempted to rebuild elements of its destroyed nuclear infrastructure," the letter states. The signatories also point to Iran’s domestic repression as evidence of the regime’s nature. "The regime’s brutal crackdown on protestors showed the entire world just what it is willing to do to keep its people and the region under its thumb," they wrote. ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN LEADERSHIP MEETING CHOOSING KHAMENEI SUCCESSOR At the same time, the letter stresses that coordination between the United States, Israel and regional partners will be critical for the campaign’s success. "For all these reasons, it is noteworthy that the United States is working so closely with Israel and other regional partners," the letter states. "Such cooperation is vital to degrade and eliminate the regime’s arsenals, undermine its organs of oppression, and signal unmistakably that it cannot continue threatening not only core U.S. interests, but the broader security and prosperity of the Middle East and its own population." Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described the joint campaign as a decisive military operation aimed at dismantling Iran’s missile and air defense networks. Speaking on Wednesday, Hegseth said the Israeli and U.S. air forces were quickly establishing air superiority over Iran. "Starting last night and to be completed in a few days … the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies. Uncontested airspace," Hegseth said. Critics, however, have warned the operation could have the opposite effect, increasing the risk of a wider regional war. French President Emmanuel Macron urged restraint following the strikes, warning that further escalation could destabilize the region, while U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that the confrontation could spiral into a broader conflict and called for renewed diplomatic efforts. Several Democratic lawmakers have also raised concerns about the strikes. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said he believed the operation amounted to "a war of choice with no strategic endgame." Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., said after attending a classified briefing that he had not seen evidence of an immediate Iranian threat. Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at JINSA, said the letter reflects the perspective of commanders who witnessed the Iranian threat firsthand. "For more than two decades, Iran has been targeting and killing U.S. men and women in uniform," Misztal said. "The retired senior military leaders who signed this letter have seen that threat up close and firsthand. They understand the threat that Iran poses to America, the urgent need to address it, and the tremendous capabilities that the United States and Israel have to do so, together." While supporting continued military pressure, the signatories concluded that Iran’s long-term future ultimately lies with its citizens. "It will ultimately be up to the Iranian people to bring down the regime and enable a better future for Iran and the world," the letter states.

The Israeli military's latest wave of airstrikes in Iran dealt a serious blow to the country's brutal internal security apparatus, opening the door for a potential uprising. During the strikes, Israel "dropped dozens of munitions on the Basij and internal security command centers that are subject to the Iranian terror regime," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday. "The targeted command centers were used by the Iranian regime to maintain control throughout Iran and maintain the regime’s situational assessments." Since the start of Operation Epic Fury , the U.S. has hit nearly 2,000 targets as it carries out a sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling the regime's security apparatus and neutralizing threats. Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command confirmed the number of targets hit in a video message. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia, Iran's volunteer paramilitary force, were behind the violent crackdown on protesters in January. The bloody crackdown saw regime actors firing on crowds and conducting mass arrests of Iranian protesters . Some had seen the protests as a sign that regime change in Iran was getting nearer, though it did not occur. EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK 'BEGINNING OF THE VERY END' FOR REGIME Israeli and U.S. officials have hinted at the possibility of regime change in Iran as both countries take aim at Tehran's military and security sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message announcing the launch of Operation Epic Fury, which Israel calls Operation Rising Lion, that it was time for Iranians "to rid themselves of the yoke of tyranny." Similarly, President Donald Trump said in a message to the Iranian people on Feb. 28 that "the hour of your freedom is at hand." "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations," Trump said. ISRAELI MINISTER OUTLINES IRAN MISSION GOALS, SAYS IRANIAN PEOPLE NOW HAVE CHANCE TO ‘REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM' "America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass," the president added. Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, told The Wall Street Journal that the path to regime change through foreign airstrikes and popular uprising on the ground has "a bet that rests on no clear historical model." Vaez also warned that the idea "ignores the resilience of entrenched authoritarian systems like the Islamic Republic." The IDF said on Monday that Israel had hit headquarters, bases and regional command centers that belonged to the regime's internal security apparatus. "These bodies were responsible for, among other things, suppressing protests against the regime through violent measures and civilian arrests," the IDF said. It is unclear who will lead Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the operation. Since then, Israel and the U.S. have made it clear that regime leaders chosen to replace him would be targets. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that anyone chosen to replace Khamenei would be considered "a target for elimination" if they continued to threaten Israel, the U.S. and regional allies. The killing of key leaders might not be enough to cause an uprising, as the regime has a monopoly on weapons in most of Iran, the WSJ reported, adding that Basij militants are still patrolling the streets. Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

As the conflict widens, residents across the Middle East are feeling the consequences of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

“I felt great fear and I ran,” says one of thousands of Syrians who are leaving what had been a relatively safe refuge during the war in Syria.

U.S. and Israeli military officials are talking as often as 4,000 to 5,000 times a day, divvying up targets across Iran.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem misled Congress on Tuesday about the powers of her controversial top aide Corey Lewandowski, according to records reviewed by ProPublica and four current and former DHS officials. Lewandowski has an unusual role at DHS, where he is not a paid government employee but is nonetheless acting as a top official, helping Noem run the sprawling agency. For months, members of Congress have asked the agency to detail the scope of his work and authority.  At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday , Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Noem whether Lewandowski has “a role in approving contracts” at DHS. Noem responded with a flat denial: “No.” But internal DHS records reviewed by ProPublica contradict Noem’s Senate testimony. The records show Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract at the agency last summer.  That was not a one-off. Lewandowski has approved numerous contracts at DHS and often needs to sign off on large ones before any money goes out the door, the current and former department employees said. Last year, Noem imposed a new policy that consolidated her and her top aides’ power over all spending at DHS, requiring that she personally review and approve all contracts above $100,000. Before the contracts reach Noem, they must be approved by a series of political appointees, who each sign or initial a checklist sometimes referred to internally as a routing sheet. Typically, the last name on the checklist before Noem’s is Lewandowski’s, the DHS officials said. Noem Denies That Lewandowski Has “a Role in Approving Contracts” at DHS Via C-Span Under federal law , it is a crime to “knowingly and willfully” make a false statement to Congress. But in practice, it is rarely prosecuted. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson reiterated Noem’s claim. “Mr. Lewandowski does NOT play a role in approving contracts,” the spokesperson said. “Mr. Lewandowski does not receive a salary or any federal government benefits. He volunteers his time to serve the American people.” Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment.  Several news outlets , including Politico , have previously reported on aspects of Lewandowski’s involvement in contracting at DHS.  There have been widespread reports of delays caused by the new contract approval process at the agency, which has responsibilities spanning from immigration enforcement to disaster relief to airport security. DHS has asserted that the review process saved taxpayers billions of dollars.  A similar sign-off process exists for other policy decisions at DHS. One of the checklists, about rolling back protections for Haitians in the U.S., emerged in litigation last year. It featured the signatures of several top DHS advisers. Under them was Lewandowski’s signature, and then Noem’s. An internal Department of Homeland Security policy document from February 2025 shows agency officials, including top aide Corey Lewandowski and Noem — referred to as “S1,” signing off on a policy change. U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Lewandowski is what’s known as a “special government employee,” a designation historically used to let experts serve in government for limited periods without having to give up their outside jobs. (At the beginning of the Trump administration, Elon Musk was one , too.) Special government employees have to abide by only some of the same ethics rules as normal officials and are permitted to have sources of outside income. Lewandowski has declined to disclose whether he is being paid by any outside companies and, if so, who. The post Kristi Noem Misled Congress About Top Aide’s Role in DHS Contracts appeared first on ProPublica .

During his reelection campaign last fall, the mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, criticized his challenger for suggesting the city should get tougher on the homeless population. Such an approach would be cruel, Tim Keller said during a televised debate with former County Sheriff Darren White. The city clears encampments and gives people citations “all the time,” said Keller, who defeated White to win a third term. But “this problem is complex and you cannot dumb it down to arresting people,” he said. “You simply cannot arrest your way out of this problem whether you want to or not.” Despite his rhetoric, a ProPublica analysis found that under Keller’s leadership, Albuquerque has increasingly criminalized conduct associated with homelessness, causing a growing number of people on the streets to be arrested and jailed. In 2025, people were charged 1,256 times for obstructing sidewalks, nearly six times the number of cases in the previous eight years combined. More than 3,000 trespassing charges were handed out last year, the highest for any year since 2017. And cases of unlawful camping increased to 704 from 113 the year before, according to previously unreported county data provided to ProPublica by the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts. Charges Associated With Homelessness Surged in 2025 Cases involving sidewalk obstruction, camping and trespassing have risen in recent years. People were charged nearly six times more often for sidewalk obstruction in 2025 than the previous eight years combined. Source: New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts In recent years, a majority of these cases, once they were adjudicated, were dismissed. But not without consequences: Each citation lists a court date, which, if missed, can lead to a bench warrant and arrest. And that’s often what has happened. Over the past four years, the number of bookings in Bernalillo County’s jail classified as homeless or “transient” has skyrocketed — to nearly 12,000 in 2025, from 3,670 in 2022. In recent months, the share of people booked who are transient made up about 49% of the jail’s population, according to a ProPublica analysis. This has occurred as the average daily population at the jail from July 2024 through June 2025 reached its highest point in a decade. On some days last year, the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center held more homeless people than the largest local shelter . Homeless Inmates Drive Increases in County Jail Admissions Over the past three years, the number of jail bookings marked as homeless or “transient” has skyrocketed. Admissions marked as transient made up nearly 50% of the county jail bookings at the end of 2025. Source: Bernalillo County The city’s homeless population has more than doubled from 2022 to 2025, while the increase in homeless people jailed by the county has more than tripled during the same time period. Police and court records and interviews with homeless people show the increase in their incarceration is primarily driven by the cascading effects of repeatedly citing people who are experiencing homelessness. In an interview with ProPublica, Keller echoed his contention from the debate that citations and arrests are not a solution to homelessness. Still, he defended the actions police have taken. “What we’re doing is following the letter of the law. There are much more punitive things that I’m sure a lot of people would want, that we don’t do because they’re inappropriate,” he said.  In a statement, a spokesperson for Keller noted that other cities “rely on immediate arrests, blanket sweeps without service connection or criminal penalties without offering alternatives.” The city issues three citations before an arrest is made, the spokesperson said. (People living outside told ProPublica they’ve been taken to jail without first receiving three citations.)  When ProPublica pointed out that citations can lead to arrests and jail time, Keller acknowledged that jail “is not the solution.” But, he said, people call the city and ask that laws be enforced. A city of Albuquerque worker empties a shopping cart filled with belongings collected during a sweep into a garbage truck along Commercial Street. Sweeps can lead to citations, which can lead to an arrest. A Christian outreach group from Texas distributes food and clothing and prays with people who are homeless in Albuquerque on Sept. 13. In recent years, U.S. cities, facing record numbers of people on the street , have adopted more laws targeting them. In 2024, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities may enforce bans against sleeping outside, more than 150 municipalities nationwide, including Albuquerque , either passed new laws prohibiting public camping or ramped up enforcement of existing laws. President Donald Trump has endorsed this approach, calling for federal grants to be prioritized for cities that enforce bans on “urban camping and loitering.” The emphasis on enforcement has come despite evidence that such citations and arrests are costly. For example, Bernalillo County spends about $169 per night to jail inmates without significant medical or mental health needs, according to a county spokesperson. The cost increases for people with severe medical ($250 a day) and mental health (about $450 a day) needs, a spokesperson said.  By comparison, housing an individual in the city’s year-round emergency shelter costs $44 a night. Tony Robinson, a political science professor at the University of Colorado who has studied camping bans, said the share of homeless inmates in Bernalillo County’s jail is “unusually high” — even at a time when cities are ramping up enforcement. ProPublica found that jails in similarly sized counties, including San Francisco and Pasco County, Florida, have lower rates of incarceration for people who are marked homeless. Citing people who are homeless can land them in jail because some lack cellphones or an address where they can receive notices by mail. This is a barrier to appearing in court, leading to a warrant for their arrest, he said. “Simple citations lead to jail time and arrest by a predictable path.”  ProPublica reviewed more than 100 cases and interviewed two dozen people experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque about their encounters with police. Nearly everyone ProPublica spoke to had been charged for a crime associated with homelessness. They said they feel singled out by the police: Officers contact them frequently and issue citations, which can lead to warrants. When officers see they have warrants, they can take them to jail. Natalie Rankin, a 45-year-old homeless woman in Albuquerque, was charged 12 times over the last year for a variety of crimes, including blocking the sidewalk, public camping and criminal trespassing. She spent a night in jail in August after an officer noticed that she had a warrant for her arrest. “I don’t do anything more than get little warrants for not showing up in court,” she said in August.  Rankin has already been charged at least seven times in 2026 and spent at least one day in jail. Gateway West provides shelter and resources for homeless people in the Albuquerque area. The shelter has served more people since Mayor Tim Keller took office. Since Keller took office nine years ago, Albuquerque has spent at least $100 million to expand the city’s Gateway system , which includes shelter for families and adults, a 50-person treatment program, and a place where people are supervised by medical professionals as they withdraw from drugs or alcohol. “We’re one of the few cities who really has been proactive about building a new system,” Keller said. “It needs tons of work and tons of help, but we’ve at least built something that has gotten 1,000 people off the street.” Meanwhile, the city’s homeless population, which was at least 2,960 last year, exceeds the shelters’ capacity even with the expansions. Keller has also become less tolerant of encampments in public spaces like parks and sidewalks, vowing to not allow “ tent cities .” In text messages reported in 2024 by the news organization City Desk ABQ , Keller asked then-police Chief Harold Medina to develop a plan to address the “growing crisis.” Medina texted back a plan to “hammer the unhoused.” (After the texts were published, a spokesperson for Keller said, “We continue to balance enforcing laws against illegal activity to keep our communities safe, and providing resources for people experiencing homelessness to both get them connected to services.”)  The city has been accused of breaking the law as it carries out the crackdown. In 2022, current and former homeless people sued Albuquerque in state district court over its targeting of encampments, alleging the city “ criminalizes their status as homeless ,” according to court documents. The class-action lawsuit is pending. A 2024 ProPublica investigation found city workers routinely discarded the belongings of homeless people as they cleared encampments, violating a court order and city policy. Some people told ProPublica in recent interviews that city workers continue to throw away their belongings, and police are issuing citations more frequently. Officers have not targeted people who are homeless, Medina said in an interview in December. The increase in citations and arrests for crimes associated with homelessness are the result of a broader crime-fighting surge, he said. Last April, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham deployed the National Guard to assist Albuquerque police, citing the “fentanyl epidemic and rising violent juvenile crime.” The National Guard was also to provide humanitarian and medical assistance in parts of the city frequented by people who are homeless. “It’s important that we don’t categorize this as, ‘We’re doing an initiative on the unhoused,’” said Medina, who retired at the end of last year. “We’re doing an initiative across the board.”  City statistics show, however, that the biggest jump in arrests from 2024 to 2025 was for misdemeanor warrants, the kinds described by many of the people ProPublica interviewed. Arrests associated with misdemeanor warrants were up 72%. Priscilla Montano, 67, sometimes stays under a bridge near downtown Albuquerque. She said city workers, who are occasionally accompanied by police, visit the spot at least five days a week to tell people to move their belongings. In July, Montano was charged three times for unlawful camping and obstructing sidewalks. In September, she was incarcerated for a day on the same charges. There is a warrant for her arrest related to a separate violation from September. Montano said each time she goes to jail her belongings are thrown away. She’s lost her wedding ring and property she needs to survive. People pack their belongings in anticipation of city enforcement on Rhode Island Street. Lisandra Tonkin, who leads a team at the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness that helps people find housing, said the crackdown has made it more difficult to stay in touch with the people they’re trying to help because they’re “constantly moved” by sweeps and jail stays. City officials say they first offer resources, including a spot in a shelter. Tonkin said some people are reluctant to accept because they have been traumatized by their experiences in shelters, like being assaulted or having their belongings stolen. The offer sometimes comes with requirements they won’t accept, like giving up a pet or separating from a companion.  “So what is the solution of where to move them? I think a lot of times the choice is shelter or jail,” she said. The result, according to Medina, the former chief, is that the Metropolitan Detention Center has become the state’s largest “mental health facility.” “I don’t think it’s ideal for these individuals to always end up in jail, 100%, but there’s limited resources and ability to get people to those resources under our current system,” he said. People who have received citations or who have been arrested told ProPublica that the city’s offer is either a bed in a shelter that used to be the county jail or nothing at all. One evening in December, Tiffany Leger sat on a sidewalk in northwest Albuquerque listening to a virtual meeting through headphones. Leger, who spent two years on the streets but now has a home, still visits friends who live outside and shares phone numbers for local organizations where they can seek help. As she listened to the virtual meeting, police approached and told her she was being detained for camping, noting there was a tent nearby. The officers issued a citation. Over the years, Leger has heard from friends that if police offer resources, it’s usually a card with outdated information on shelters in the city or a bed in the shelter on the outskirts of town, she said. Leger said that usually police approach people who look homeless and check for warrants, sometimes leading to an arrest.  Janus Herrera, a local advocate and volunteer, helps people who are homeless find resources, including housing. For decades, Peter Cubra has monitored the city’s treatment of homeless people. Cubra was involved in a 1995 lawsuit in which Jimmy McClendon, an inmate at the Bernalillo County Detention Center, sued Albuquerque and the county over conditions there, including overcrowding. The lawsuit also alleged that police were jailing people, including those who were homeless, for nonviolent misdemeanors.  A city settlement in the lawsuit directed police to issue citations for nonviolent misdemeanors, when possible, instead of making arrests on the spot.  Cubra said that in 2020, he started noticing “slow-motion arrests,” where police issue citations understanding that a person experiencing homelessness won’t get the notices from court. Police, he said, would revisit the same location, demand identification and run warrant checks, eventually picking people up on warrants from the previous citations or charges. Janus Herrera, a local advocate and volunteer, said people have told her they miss court dates because they lost paperwork stating where and when to appear in court that they received during an encampment sweep. “People are already strained to a breaking point,” she said. “You keep adding more and more on top of that.” ProPublica’s review of 100 randomly selected cases for criminal trespassing from 2025 showed 67% of people had missed their court dates, leading to an arrest warrant.  Most of the people ProPublica interviewed who had gone to jail said they were held overnight and released back to the streets with a pending case. A recent study supports their claims: From 2024 to 2025, the number of people jailed for less than a day increased by 131%, according to a data analysis by the Center for Applied Research and Analysis at the University of New Mexico. If a person doesn’t attend subsequent court dates, their case can result in additional warrants. The next time they encounter police, they can be arrested again. Cubra said instead of repeatedly citing and arresting people, some communities designate places for people to “informally but deliberately” sleep outdoors without harassment. (A church opened such a space in Albuquerque last year with capacity for 10 tents.) But in Albuquerque, Cubra said, the arrests “have persisted and accelerated” over the past year, which he called “shameful.” “Our city is knowingly saying, ‘We won’t let you sleep outdoors,” Cubra said. “We know there is no place for you to sleep indoors, and we’re going to keep arresting you and harassing you for something that is unavoidable and intrinsic to just existing.’” Methodology ProPublica obtained court data on three charges frequently associated with homelessness: criminal trespassing, unlawful obstruction of sidewalks and unlawful camping. In some circumstances, a single charge appeared multiple times in the data. In these cases, we included only the most recent outcome associated with the charges. We also excluded cases marked as transferred within the court system, to avoid double-counting. As much as possible, we excluded cases where it was clear the charges were not directly associated with homelessness — for example, domestic violence and driving under the influence. The court data did not include housing status. The county jail tracks whether a person has permanent housing during booking and marks a person “transient.” The court data did not list the law enforcement agency that issued the charge. But jail data shows the Albuquerque Police Department was responsible for 75% of the homeless bookings from 2020 to 2025.  ProPublica interviewed 24 people who are homeless about being charged with crimes associated with their housing status. We independently verified their cases through court records. The post Albuquerque’s Mayor Said Arrests Were “Not the Solution” to Homelessness. Yet Jail Bookings Have Skyrocketed. appeared first on ProPublica .

If you’re among the more than 1 million people who make Nike’s sneakers and apparel around the world, the company says you should be able to support your family. You should earn enough to pay your living expenses and have some discretionary money left over. If your factory wages don’t cut it, your employer should have a plan to get you there. But Nike’s expansion in Indonesia over the last decade has directly undermined these goals, an analysis by ProPublica and The Oregonian/OregonLive found. Over the last decade, employment at factories supplying the world’s largest athletic apparel brand expanded dramatically in regions of Indonesia where, according to one leading estimate, the minimum wage is less than the amount workers need to live on. Meanwhile, Nike’s supply chain shrank overall in places that pay this estimated living wage, our analysis found. The trend shows how the movement of multinational corporations to countries with ever-lower labor costs is being replaced, in some cases, by movements within a country that can achieve major savings and improve the bottom line. Nike’s suppliers employ 280,000 people in Indonesia, the company’s second-largest production center. From 2015 through last year, these suppliers shed around 36,000 jobs in places where the monthly minimum wage exceeds or comes close to a living wage. In these high-wage areas, which include the capital of Jakarta, the minimum typically equates to about $300 a month. By contrast, the company’s supplier workforce grew by nearly 112,000 in parts of Central and West Java with local minimum wages that are typically about $165 a month — far from what’s considered enough to live on. Dozens of workers employed by Nike suppliers in Indonesia told the news organizations the minimum is about all they make . “If it’s very labor intensive, then you go where labor is cheapest,” said Nurina Merdikawati, a lecturer in the Indonesia Project at Australian National University. In Indonesia, she said, “that’s going to be Central Java.” Other brands have also moved to Central Java and other low-wage regions of Indonesia in recent years and continue expanding there, local news organizations have reported. For Nike, the trend threatens the jobs of the existing factory workforce elsewhere in the country. Last October, more than 2,000 workers were laid off by Victory Chingluh, one of Nike’s longtime suppliers near Jakarta. In 2024, another 1,500 workers were cut by a Nike shoe supplier nearby, Adis Dimension, according to local news reports. Labor advocates say the geographic shift is concerning because the Jakarta area has a stronger union presence that ensures working conditions and wages get closer attention than in less-developed places like Central Java. At Victory Chingluh, three employees told the news organizations that the fear of more job cuts hangs over their work. They said the company is building a new factory in Cirebon, in West Java, where the minimum wage is 45% lower. Over the Past Decade, Nike’s Workforce Ballooned in Areas Where Workers Do Not Make a Living Wage Factory employment shrank in the areas near Jakarta where the minimum wage is considered enough to meet basic needs. Lucas Waldron/ProPublica Employees said when they were offered a choice between keeping their jobs and accepting severance packages during layoffs last year, workers were willing to take the buyout, fearing that they wouldn’t get anything if the factory closed altogether. That happened in 2018 when one Nike supplier near Jakarta, Kahoindah Citragarment, shut down without paying workers their full severance after Nike pulled its orders, an investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium found. The factory’s South Korean parent company, Hojeon, eventually agreed to pay workers $4.5 million after labor advocates argued they were legally owed separation pay. Hojeon did not respond to requests for comment. At Victory Chingluh, two union leaders said in December that they anticipated another 5,000 layoffs at a company that once employed about 15,000. “Almost all employees here are worried about that,” one of them said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions from talking to reporters. The leaders said they’ve been told the factory being built in Cirebon could be ready by 2027. They said they’ve been told it’s for an expansion — even though their factory recently lost thousands of jobs. Victory Chingluh did not respond to questions. Nike said in a statement that it works closely with suppliers during layoffs to minimize disruptions. “We mandate that suppliers pay all statutory severance, social security, and other separation benefits required by local law and often assemble working groups — which may include civil society, unions, and local governments — to aid in proper execution,” the company said. Business leaders near Jakarta have voiced concern about the wage disparity between their region and Central Java, more than 150 miles away, saying that mandated pay increases around Jakarta could lead to mass layoffs and cause manufacturers to shift production. “There is a real possibility that many labor-intensive industries will move to other regions,” Herry Rumawatine, the head of a local employers association, told the Jakarta Globe in January. Asked whether the geographic shifts in Nike’s Indonesian supply chain were aimed at improving the bottom line, the company said that creating “operational efficiencies” is part of doing business in a competitive environment. However, the company said treating Nike’s geographic shift primarily as a move to save money “creates an incomplete picture” and cited “other plausible drivers” such as automation or changing production needs. Less-developed regions shouldn’t be excluded from opportunities for economic growth, Nike said, and it expects its suppliers everywhere to meet its code of conduct. “Growth and progress go hand in hand,” Nike wrote, “and we remain committed to investing in ways that expand opportunity while strengthening labor standards and worker protections where we operate worldwide.” Nike suggests that people who work for its foreign suppliers are well paid. In particular, the company says most workers for which it has data earn nearly double the local minimum wage. As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in partnership with ProPublica in January, Nike does not pay workers anywhere close to this amount in Indonesia. In interviews across three regions of the country, roughly 100 workers said they made the minimum wage or a little bit more. Nike told the news organizations that its figure is a global average and variations naturally exist. But the company also told the news organizations that it’s important not just to compare what its suppliers pay relative to the minimum wage. Nike’s focus, one company official said, is on whether workers make a living wage and, if not, whether their employers are trying to get there. Although Nike does not explicitly require its suppliers to pay this amount, it says every worker “has a right to compensation for a regular work week that is sufficient to meet workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income.” The company reported that two-thirds of its key suppliers — it did not say which ones — paid above living wage benchmarks in 2022. Jason Judd, executive director of the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University, said living wage pledges from companies like Nike are so flexible that they’re almost meaningless. Only asking factories to be working toward living wages, as Nike does, “could go on for 20 years,” Judd said, “until you’ve found yet another lower-wage province.” Nike’s recent move to Central Java is notable because while wages are far lower there than in urban Jakarta, food and housing are not dramatically cheaper, according to estimates from the WageIndicator Foundation, a Dutch nonprofit. The foundation says a living wage in Central Java starts around $245 a month; in the parts of the province that are home to Nike suppliers, the local minimum wage ranges from only $136 to $215. Workers in Central Java said second jobs are common, including selling fish and gasoline. One said workers covertly sold snacks inside the factory, out of sight of managers who might fire them if caught. “At its core, this is about cost reduction and power,” Wiranta Ginting, deputy international coordinator for the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, a labor group, said in an email. It isn’t clear exactly how much Nike may have saved on labor by growing aggressively in low-wage regions. But some rough calculations are possible, based on addresses Nike has published for its suppliers, the numbers it says they employ and the minimum wage they must pay in each municipality. If each factory worker made exactly the minimum wage and worked only on Nike products, then the company’s shift into lower-cost areas would have saved about $200 million on labor in 2025 alone. The estimate is based on what Nike’s suppliers paid last year versus what they would have paid in labor costs had the company expanded uniformly across regions where it had factories in 2015. It’s only a broad indicator of potential savings. Nike said the analysis “rests on a series of oversimplified assumptions that limit the reliability of its conclusions.” For example, the company said that to assume the workforce could have grown where suppliers were located in 2015 “does not reflect the realities of manufacturing operations, which are constrained by factors such as facility capacity, workforce availability, skills, technology, and changes in product mix.” The geographic shift into lower-wage regions of Indonesia shows one way Nike can try to wring more profit from its vast supply chain. The company, which reported $46.3 billion in revenue last year, is struggling with declining annual sales and profits, problems compounded by uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which Nike had estimated would cost $1.5 billion a year before a recent Supreme Court decision struck them down. Its stock has dropped more than 60% from a 2021 peak. “Margin expansion is a top priority for me and my leadership team,” CEO Elliott Hill told Wall Street analysts in a December earnings call. Nike CEO Elliott Hill in February Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Officials in low-wage Central Java have welcomed the industrial expansion. The province’s then-governor said in 2022 that 97 factories had opened there. Another 10 garment and footwear factories were under construction last year, according to local news reports, with 17 more expected to be built this year. Nike’s explanation of its move into the region was in keeping with assertions decades ago by its co-founder, Phil Knight, that Nike’s arrival was a positive force for local economies and workers in developing countries. “Increased manufacturing in Central Java is not an accident and, in many ways, is something to be celebrated,” Nike told The Oregonian/OregonLive and ProPublica. “The Indonesian government has taken meaningful, intentional steps to transform Central Java into an industrial hub, with an eye toward extending the economic growth that has benefited other regions of the country for more than 30 years.” The company added that “manufacturing growth in regions with lower prevailing wages can lead to raised standards, increased worker skills, and positive contributions to local communities.” Nike’s move has ripple effects around relatively high-wage Jakarta, Indonesia’s biggest city, where the company has sourced sneakers since 1988. Factory workers and union officials there said they’re reluctant to demand wage increases. They said they fear better pay will mean fewer jobs. “It’s clear that every company will expand where it’s cheaper,” a union official at a Nike supplier near Jakarta said. The differences between Indonesia’s well-established urban production centers and the less-developed areas where Nike has expanded employment go beyond wages. “Greater Jakarta is an older industrial region with a long history of unionization and collective bargaining, reflected in higher minimum wages won through years of worker organizing and mass mobilization,” Ginting, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance representative, said in his email. By contrast, he said, factories in the new apparel hot spots of Central Java often recruit younger workers, have less union representation and face less scrutiny from labor inspectors. Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, said problems on the factory floor are more prevalent in this region. Nova’s international watchdog group has conducted investigations at the region’s apparel factories for the past five years. Despite some recent progress, Nova said by email, workers at many factories “suffer gender-based violence and other abuses at higher rates than in the country’s older production centers.” “Because unions have a tenuous foothold in the region and face harsh employer resistance,” he added, “workers often cannot fight back.” An investigation by Nova’s group found that women at a Central Javanese factory producing Nike-licensed goods for Fanatics, a privately owned brand, had been sexually harassed for years. The labor rights group told Fanatics in 2022 it had heard from women who said they had to endure unwanted touching and verbal harassment by supervisors. After the factory owner pledged to fix the problems, the consortium found even more egregious abuse in 2023 at another Central Java factory owned by the same company, South Korea-based Ontide. The company struck a binding deal with labor unions in 2024 called the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice, which mandates harassment training and monitoring. Ontide did not respond to a request for comment. However, Ontide sustainability director John Yoon said in a press release announcing the gender justice agreement that it would protect workers. “As part of our commitment to our workers’ safety and well-being, we are pleased to be seeing initial results,” the release said. Fanatics said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive and ProPublica that there has been “excellent progress” in implementing the agreement. “We are proud of this work, which has been recognized by the Agreement signatories, and which will continue into 2026,” the company said. Nova, of the Worker Rights Consortium, called the outcome at Ontide “a ray of hope.” But workers told the news organizations that problems have persisted at other factories in Central Java. Ten workers at one supplier said many women’s toilets hadn’t been working for months. Two workers at other factories said they received written reprimands after they told their employers they were injured on the job. Asked about these workers’ accounts, Nike said that a “safe and healthy work environment is a fundamental human right” and that it audits factories annually for compliance with its code of conduct. It said it has not found more problems at suppliers in Central Java than in other parts of Indonesia. The company added that it works quickly with its suppliers when needed to put improvement plans in place. At Selalu Cinta, a Central Java factory that employs 18,000 people and has made Nike Burrow slippers, Blazer Mid ’77 sneakers and other shoes, hundreds of workers signed petitions asking the factory to remove a manager they said repeatedly screamed at and intimidated workers. Leaders at the factory have failed to remove him, 10 workers told the news organizations. Nike said it required Selalu Cinta to engage in an independent third-party investigation and is overseeing corrective actions in consultation with unions. Nike said it plans follow-up verification. Selalu Cinta officials did not respond to requests for comment. A woman who worked for the manager said in an interview last summer that her parents depended on her wages, forcing her to keep her job despite what she described as her boss’ frequent tantrums. “Working like that,” she said, “feels like you’re in hell.” How We Tracked Nike’s Factories Overall employment at Nike suppliers in Indonesia grew by 39% from 2015 to 2025. To see where in Indonesia that growth occurred, we used factory-level data self-reported by Nike in November 2015 and November 2025. Because Nike said it began working to increase its disclosure of materials and components factories in 2021, we excluded any factories of this kind that appeared on Nike’s list in 2025 but not in 2015, to avoid counting Nike’s expanded disclosure as employment growth. This eliminated 12 materials factories from 2025, removing about 3,500 workers from the analysis. ProPublica and The Oregonian/OregonLive assigned minimum and living wages to each factory based on their locations. Wage and location data was manually reviewed, and when information was incomplete or inconsistent, classification was based on the data that appeared to be the most reliable. The city or regency of each factory was identified using factory addresses and verified against Google Maps, factory websites, shipping records and other public disclosures. We assigned minimum wages at the municipal level based on 2025 government decrees. Some municipalities specify a single minimum wage across all sectors. Others specify wages by sector (in which case we used the sectoral wage that best matched what each factory produces) and/or by nature of the work and employer (in which case we used the rate for labor-intensive multinational companies). Unlike minimum wages, which are defined by law, living wage estimates can vary. We used estimates from the WageIndicator Foundation, an independent Dutch nonprofit. While the group calculates living wages as a range, we used the group’s lowest estimate for 2025 of what a worker would need to provide a decent standard of living for a typical family. Factories were classified as “at or above living wage” if the applicable minimum wage was at least 95% of WageIndicator Foundation’s lowest living wage estimate for the province. Wages were converted from Indonesian rupiah to U.S. dollars using the mean of monthly average daily USD/IDR exchange rates for 2025 from the Federal Reserve . For the graphic, factory coordinates were manually reviewed, then grouped when multiple factories were close to one another. Factories were grouped when located within 15 kilometers of at least one other factory, forming density-based clusters that were represented on the map as the geometric center of those points. We verified that factories in different wage classifications were not lumped together. For municipalities without a Nike factory, we assigned the highest 2025 minimum wage that could apply if a Nike factory was located there. To estimate potential savings based on where Nike expanded production between 2015 and 2025, we compared actual 2025 supplier payroll (based on reported number of factory workers and municipal minimum wages) to a counterfactual scenario in which employment grew proportionally across the same municipalities where Nike had factories in 2015. The calculation reflects what Nike’s suppliers would have paid in labor costs under each scenario if all workers earned the applicable minimum wage and factory employment were dedicated to Nike production. Because suppliers can produce for multiple brands and some workers earn above minimum wage, the estimate merely provides a broad sense of potential savings rather than a precise measure of how much the company and its suppliers actually saved in labor costs. The post Nike Wants Factory Workers to Earn a Decent Living. In Indonesia, It’s Moved Into Areas Where Workers Don’t. appeared first on ProPublica .

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