The Daily Moth 3-25-2025
Hello, it is Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
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U.S. war plans mistakenly leaked to journalist
On Monday, the editor-in-chief of “The Atlantic,” Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article that on March 15, he was shockingly invited into a Signal group chat where the Defense Sec. Hegseth, Vice President Vance, and other top U.S. officials were discussing plans to carry out airstrikes on Yemen targeting Houthi rebels who have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Goldberg said he doesn’t know why he was invited into the Signal app, explaining that Mike Waltz, the White House National Security Adviser, started the group chat and invited him. Goldberg didn’t reveal the chats until yesterday, because he didn’t want to jeopardize U.S. security. *** Correction/Clarification — it was actually Hegseth who invited Goldberg, not Waltz.
Goldberg said Hegseth shared that the U.S. military would carry out strikes on military bases, ports, an airfield, and weapons storage using Tomahawks off destroyers and F-35s. Goldberg said three days later, the Signal chat provided real-time updates of the airstrikes, concerns that Saudi Arabia was pissed, and that Houthis wanted to fire back and ships needed to move. The Signal chat matched real-time events.
The National Security Council, based in the White House, said the Signal chat was authentic and they’re reviewing how Goldberg was inadvertently added to the chat.
Defense Sec. Hegseth responded yesterday by criticizing Goldberg as a journalist and claimed that no war plans were shared, but this is a contradiction from what the NSC said.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers criticized the officials for being irresponsible for discussing sensitive war plans on a Signal app and allowing a journalist to view it. They said it was fortunate that no enemy had access to it. Some called on the White House to disclose how often they’ve used Signal or other messaging service in the past to discuss classified information.
President Trump said he wouldn’t fire Waltz, saying he’s learned a lesson and that he’s a good man.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer said “this has got to be the last time something this big and dumb happens.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/25/trump-signal-houthi-group-chat-defend-waltz
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Wildfires in North and South Carolina
CBS News said firefighters in North and South Carolina are continuing to battle wildfires that grew rapidly over the weekend in rugged terrain.
Some residents in Polk County in western North Carolina received mandatory evacuation orders. There are other fires nearby. It is the second time in a month that Polk County was affected by wildfires and the region was impacted by Hurricane Helene last year. At least four homes were destroyed.
In South Carolina, there are two blazes that have prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency — one in Pickens County and the other in Greenville County. A sheriff said one of the fires were started by a negligent act of a group of teenage hikers and that strong winds fanned the flames.
So far, there are no reports of injuries.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfires-north-carolina-south-carolina-evacuations-emergency/
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Austin Police investigating incendiary devices at Tesla dealership
The Austin Police Department said they got a call that there were suspicious devices at a Tesla dealership on Monday and when they got there, they found that the devices were incendiary. A bomb squad was called in to investigate and the devices were removed and taken into police custody.
This is yet another attack targeting a Tesla dealership, vehicle, or charging station in the U.S. There have been attacks in over five cities across the U.S. and the rise in attacks is happening while there is backlash against CEO Elon Musk, who is working with the Trump administration’s DOGE.
The FBI said it’s started a task force to address the incidents targeting Teslas and consider them acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-incendiary-devices-found-tesla-dealership-texas-police/story?id=120104766
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Venezuelan deportees included 8 women
ABC News reported that the two planeloads of alleged Venezuelan gang members who were deported to a prison in El Salvador last week included eight female detainees but they were returned to the U.S.
One of the women said she was transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas last week before being sent to El Salvador with seven other women. She said the other women said they were in immigration proceedings and awaiting court hearings in immigration court. They were arm and leg shackled the entire trip. The woman said government officials were pushing men detainees to sign documents to admit that they were members of a gang called the Tren de Aragua. The woman said when they arrived in El Salvador, they were informed that the prison wouldn’t accept them and they had to go back to detention in the U.S.
Federal judge James Boasberg blocked the deportations and there is a court battle on whether they can proceed.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/venezuelans-deported-week-included-8-women-returned-us/story?id=120111090
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Oscar-winning Palestinian director detained
CBS News reported that the Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker, Hamdan Ballal, was beaten up by Israeli settlers and was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank. Ballal was released today and he had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes. He said he was blindfolded for 24 hours and forced to sleep under a very cold air conditioner.
The Israeli military said Ballal was detained under suspicion of throwing rocks at Israeli citizens and security forces, but this is disputed by other witnesses.
Ballal won the Oscar along with three other co-directors, including two Israelis, for his documentary, “No Other Land,” which covers a Palestinian community trying to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages because it is considered a military training zone.
CBS said Basel Adra, a co-director, witnessed the incident and said he feels like people have attacked them every day since they came back from the Oscars and thinks it may be their revenge on them for making the movie.
CBS said during the current Israel-Hamas war, there has been a rise in attacks from Israeli settlers against Palestinians and also a surge in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hamdan-ballal-palestinian-no-other-land-director-arrested-west-bank/
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-settlers-oscar-hamdan-ballal-beb96478a55f42a7058a60ac5be7bd05
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Waymo to bring driverless taxis to D.C. in 2026
ABC News reported that Waymo, a company that provides driverless robotaxi services, plans to provide driverless taxis to D.C. in 2026.
Right now, Waymo is sending its vehicles roaming around D.C. to map the streets with a human employee sitting behind the wheel in case something goes wrong. Waymo said they’re confident that regulators will approve the taxis sometime next year.
Waymo is currently operating driverless taxis in Phoenix, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Austin, Texas. D.C. and Miami are the next cities.
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/waymo-plans-bring-driverless-taxis-washington-2026-120125171
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.