USNS Harvey Milk is renamed after a WWII sailor in the latest Pentagon diversity purge
The decision is the latest move by Hegseth to wipe away names of ships and military bases that were given by President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, which in many cases chose to honor service members who were women, minorities, from the LBGTQ community and more.
Advertisement
It follows earlier actions by Hegseth and President Donald Trump, a Republican, to purge all programs, policies, books and social media mentions of references to diversity, equity and inclusion in the military and elsewhere.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Hegseth's announcement comes during Pride Month — the same timing as the Pentagon's campaign to force transgender troops out of the U.S. military.
'We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists,' said Hegseth, who earlier this month ordered Navy Secretary John Phelan to put together a small team to rename the USNS Harvey Milk replenishment oiler.
He said Peterson's 'spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his crewmates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy.'
Advertisement
When Hegseth announced the decision to rename the ship, officials defended it as an effort to align with Trump and Hegseth's objectives to 're-establish the warrior culture.'
Peterson served on the USS Neosho, which also was an oiler. The ship was damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea, and even though Peterson was injured, he managed to close the bulkhead stop valves to keep the ship operational. He died of his wounds.
The Navy in 1943 named an escort ship after Peterson. The USS Peterson served for more than two decades and was decommissioned in June 1965.
The USNS Harvey Milk was named in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who said at the time that the John Lewis-class of oilers would be named after leaders who fought for civil and human rights.
Harvey Milk, who was portrayed by Sean Penn in an Oscar-winning 2008 movie, served for four years in the Navy before he was forced out for being gay. He later became one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office, in San Francisco. He was assassinated in 1978 by a disgruntled former city supervisor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate Unveils New Trump Tax Draft With Plans to Vote Soon
(Bloomberg) -- Senate Republicans unveiled a new version of their $4.2 trillion tax cut package, moving closer to a vote as they near a July 4 deadline set by President Donald Trump. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown The new draft reflects compromises among warring factions of the Senate GOP which has been divided over how much to cut safety-net programs such as Medicaid and how rapidly to phase out of renewable energy tax credits enacted under the Biden administration. A tentative deal with House Republicans to increase the state and local tax deduction is included. The bill would raise the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years before snapping back to the $10,000 level. The new cap applies to 2025 and rises 1% in subsequent years. Republicans plan to start voting on the tax bill Saturday with final votes coming as soon as early Sunday. Party leaders plan to bring House members back to Washington early next week for what they hope will be final approval of the measure in time for Trump's Independence Day deadline. It is not yet clear if the 50 Senate Republicans needed to pass the bill are all on board. The bill can be further altered on the Senate floor to secure the votes if needed. The House could make more changes if Speaker Mike Johnson has trouble corralling votes for the measure. To win over moderate Republicans, the bill would create a new $25 billion rural hospital fund aimed at helping some Medicaid providers avoid cuts. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, however, had demanded a $100 billion fund. Moderate Republicans also won a delay from 2031 to 2032 for when a new 3.5% cap on state Medicaid provider taxes takes effect. The provider tax is a gimmick by which states boost their federal Medicaid reimbursement rates and many states have come to rely on the practice. Another change in the measure is that a tax credit for hydrogen production wouldn't be phased out until 2028 for projects that begin construction before then. Previous version ended the credit after 2025. The measure would avert a US payment default as soon as August by raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. --With assistance from Ari Natter and Mike Dorning. (Updates with details of bill starting in third paragraph) America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Newsweek
34 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Scores Win Over Trump Admin in Emergency Appeal
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On Friday, Robert E. McGuire, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia should remain in jail at the request of his own legal team who said they feared he could be deported if released from custody. Newsweek contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Garcia attracted widespread attention in March when he was deported to his native El Salvador in what federal officials later admitted was an "administrative error." The Trump administration insists Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, which he and his family have denied. Whilst being held in a Salvadorian mega prison, Garcia was visited by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, and his case became a cause against the backdrop of Trump's vow to crackdown on foreign criminal gangs and illegal immigration. What To Know In June, Garcia was returned to the U.S. where he was charged with human trafficking, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying he played a "significant role" in a people smuggling ring. Garcia pled not guilty to the charges and his legal team said the federal government's actions against him amount to an "abuse of power." Originally, Garcia entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager, but he was granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge who said he could face violence from gangs in his native country. On June 22, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes of Nashville ordered Garcia to be released on bail, saying she did not believe he was a flight risk or a threat to the wider community. This decision was appealed by the federal government, but U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of Tennessee backed Holmes's ruling and said Garcia could be released. Kilmar Abrego Garcia pictured during a meeting with Senator Chris Van Hollen whilst in custody at an undisclosed location on April 17, 2025 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Kilmar Abrego Garcia pictured during a meeting with Senator Chris Van Hollen whilst in custody at an undisclosed location on April 17, 2025 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Sen. Van Hollen's Office via Getty Images/GETTY However, Garcia's legal team itself requested he remain in custody, saying they feared he would be deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if released from prison. In a motion filed on Friday, his attorneys wrote: "The irony of this request is not lost on anyone." The attorneys said there had been "contradictory statements" from the Department of Justice (DOJ) which in a court hearing in Maryland on Thursday indicated Garcia would be deported to a third country. However, the same day, a DOJ spokesperson informed the Associated Press that Garcia would face trial before being deported. Garcia's attorneys on Friday requested that he be held in jail until a July 16 court hearing in which a request from prosecutors to revoke his release order prior to trial will be heard. The trafficking charges against Garcia originate from a 2022 incident in which police said they stopped him for speeding in Tennessee, then found nine passengers in his vehicle without luggage. What People Are Saying In their motion submitted on Friday, Garcia's attorneys said: "Because DOJ has made directly contradictory statements on this issue in the last 18 hours, and because we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue by the DOJ, we respectfully request to delay the issuance of the release order." Referring to Garcia they added: "In a just world, he would not seek to prolong his detention further." On Thursday, DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told the Associated Press that Garcia "has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again." What Happens Next If he avoids deportation, Garcia will go on trial on human trafficking charges with prosecutors alleging he was involved with brining illegal migrants from Texas to other states between 2016 and 2025. He has pled guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What we know in the aftermath of the Minnesota shootings
Tremors spread though the political world on Monday after the weekend's fatal shooting of a Democratic lawmaker and her spouse in Minnesota, and another shooting, allegedly by the same perpetrator, that injured a second lawmaker and his wife. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, was apprehended late Sunday. He faces murder charges in state courts. On Monday, federal prosecutors also charged him with murder. Boelter is accused of killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, at their home in a Minneapolis suburb in the early hours of Saturday. Prosecutors allege that, shortly before, he had shot state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, at their home. The Hoffmans have undergone surgery and are expected to survive. Here's what we know so far. A major development Monday came with the unveiling of the federal charges against Boelter — and the details from prosecutors that accompanied those charges. Boelter has been charged with murder and stalking. Federal prosecutors allege that the suspect had visited a total of four lawmakers' homes. In addition to the two where shootings took place, he is said to have visited an address where his target was not home, and to have left another address without opening fire, perhaps because of police presence there. Prosecutors did not identify the lawmaker, but state Sen. Ann Rest (D) identified herself, saying that she had been told that Boelter had been close to her home during the hours in question. She thanked local police officers for having 'saved my life.' Authorities said other documentation appeared to show that Boelter had been planning the attacks for months. Boelter apparently had a list of targets, as well as copious other plans. Both of Minnesota's senators, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D), have confirmed that they were on the list. An unnamed law enforcement officer told The New York Times that Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) were also among the targets. Boelter's lists also extended beyond Minnesota. Abigail Leavins, a reporter for a website that covers politics in Wisconsin, said that Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) were also confirmed to be among the potential targets. Lawrence Andrea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) was on the list, too. Multiple media outlets have reported that all the politicians allegedly targeted are Democrats. The list also appears to have included some addresses associated with reproductive rights, including abortion providers and Planned Parenthood clinics. Federal authorities have declined to identify a clear and specific political motive so far. But media interviews of Boelter's friends and acquaintances have formed a picture of a socially conservative, vigorously anti-abortion figure who, at least one friend said, supported President Trump in last year's election. In one clip available online, he delivers a sermon to an audience in Africa complaining that many American churches 'are so messed up they don't know abortion is wrong.' His roommate told reporters that Boelter was 'a Trump supporter' who 'would be offended if people called him a Democrat.' The tragedy of the killings was soon followed by a political firestorm. The instigator was Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who on Sunday posted a photo on social media of the suspect with the caption, 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way.' A short time after, Lee sent another post with two photos of the suspect, including one in which he was wearing a mask, with the caption 'Nightmare on Waltz Street.' This was widely interpreted as a reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), former Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 election. Influencers within the online right have been floating a conspiracy theory about Walz and the shooter, based on the fact that Walz had reappointed Boelter to a state economic panel in 2019. Democrats and liberals reacted furiously. Klobuchar told MSNBC on Monday that she 'condemned' what Lee had done and said she would 'speak to him about this' when they next met. 'What I'm going to tell him is: This isn't funny,' Klobuchar added. Smith, at the Capitol, told reporters she was also seeking out Lee for a conversation. The Hill's Al Weaver posted a photo of the two in conversation soon afterward. Weaver also reported that Smith told reporters she wanted Lee to hear from her directly 'about how painful that was and how brutal that was to see that on what was just a horrible, brutal weekend.' Caroline Gleich, who was the Democratic nominee in last year's Senate race in Utah — ultimately losing to Lee's colleague Sen. John Curtis (R) — told The Hill in a video interview that Lee's posts were 'absolutely despicable.' Lee has not deleted the posts. His office did not respond to an invitation to comment. The hours since the shooting have seen significant misinformation. The Minnesota Star Tribune was among the news outlets trying to push the tide of confusion back. It noted that many members on the state board on which Boelter once served 'were not politically connected [nor] would have meaningful access to the governor.' Board members are purportedly appointed because of their insights into particular industries or areas of knowledge, not because they reflect a governor's ideology. A source in Walz's office also told the Star Tribune the governor did not know Boelter. The news organization also noted that, contrary to online speculation, Boelter's wife had never served as an intern for Walz. There appears to have been some confusion over another person with the same name, married to someone else. But at times, careful reporting seems little match for the tsunami of often-erroneous social media speculation. Reams have been written about the growing polarization of American politics over the past few decades. But there is a lot of evidence that the nation's political gulf just keeps getting wider and more bitter. The shootings in Minnesota are sure to produce more questions about where this will all lead. Trump himself was almost killed last July during a rally in Pennsylvania. A California man in April pleaded guilty to trying to kill conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Several men were convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2020. With no end in sight to the enmity in the political system, attention is turning to increasing security for lawmakers and others in public life. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — along with the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle (N.Y.) — wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday asking to increase the amount of money available to lawmakers to bolster security. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
