
US Navy destroyer performs freedom of navigation exercise in South China Sea
CNN
A US Navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands in the northern South China Sea on Wednesday, challenging the restrictions imposed by China and others on transit through the disputed island chain.
Lt. Nicholas Lingo, a spokesperson for the US Navy's 7th Fleet headquartered in Japan, said it was the second so-called freedom of navigation operation in the Paracel Islands -- known as the Xisha Islands in China -- so far this year, and the third targeting Beijing's "excessive maritime claims" in regional waters during the same period.
Wednesday's operation by the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold challenged not only China but Vietnam and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which also claim the islands, as all three governments require military vessels to seek permission or give advance notice of "innocent passage" through the area, Lingo said.

As President Donald Trump hardens his position toward Moscow and seeks new ways to bring the conflict to an end, he is leaving open the prospect of allowing shipments of longer-range missiles to the country that would allow it to strike deeper into Russia, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Los Angeles man dies in jail while awaiting trial for killing and dismemberment of wife, her parents
A Los Angeles man accused of killing and dismembering his wife, her mother and her stepfather has died in jail while awaiting trial, authorities said Monday.

A slew of Democratic-led states asked a federal court on Monday to lift the Trump administration’s freeze on nearly $7 billion in public education money, accusing the Department of Education of unlawfully locking up critical funds Congress set aside to help low-income and immigrant students, among others.