Latest news with #militarysecrets
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Area 51 veterans plagued by 'invisible illness' after working on top-secret projects
A group of US Air Force veterans has gone public with their story about how an 'invisible enemy' at the top-secret base Area 51 left them with cancer. The former security guards at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) - a classified site that houses Area 51 - have claimed that the US government betrayed them and essentially handed them a death sentence without their knowledge. Their claims stem from the revelation that NTTR was built in the 1970s on an area of land in the Nevada desert that was found to be contaminated with radiation from years of nuclear testing in the area. However, that 1975 report from the US Energy Research and Development Administration also said it would 'be against the national interest' to stop the military's secret projects at the site. According to David Crete, a former Air Force Sergeant who worked at NTTR from 1983 through 1987, over 490 of his fellow workers at the base have died of severe illnesses since being stationed at the secret facility. Making matters worse, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to cover their medical care because none of the surviving veterans can prove they were exposed to radiation near Area 51. That's because their work was so top secret, all records of their activities have been marked as 'data masked.' 'I have brain atrophy. The left side of my brain is shrinking and dying. That's not too bad. I'm one of the healthy ones,' Crete told the House Veterans Affairs Committee in April while lobbying for legislation to support the Area 51 veterans. Crete added that the average age of death for someone who served in that unit is 65 and the youngest airman to die was just 33. The Air Force veteran was unaware of anyone who worked at NTTR who had lived beyond the age of 80, but the radiation exposure caused even more harm than that. Along with revealing that most of his fellow airmen had developed multiple tumors since retiring, Crete told lawmakers that the radiation had been passed to their families as well. 'My wife had three miscarriages. One of the guys that I worked with, his wife had seven,' the veteran explained. 'All four of my children were born with birth defects or significant health problems. It's not their fault. I'm not saying it's mine, but I brought it home. It was my DNA that was permanently altered from low-dose, long-term, ionizing radiation exposure,' Crete continued. In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton signed a bill that provided compensation and medical benefits to workers who developed illnesses due to exposure to radiation and other toxins while employed at certain government facilities, including nuclear sites. Crete and other veterans from Area 51 who were invited to Washington on April 8 asked that the same healthcare rules that apply to these workers, who were not part of classified projects, apply to them as well. Veteran Mike Nemcic told NewsNation: 'It's just a matter of betrayal. These folks knew, and they purposefully kept it quiet because it was more beneficial to them not to tell us.' has reached out to the Air Force for comment regarding this matter is still awaiting a response. Crete and the other Area 51 veterans were employed by the Air Force's security police squadron to guard the F-117A Nighthawk, America's first stealth bomber, which was being developed and tested at the top-secret facility. Most of what the airmen did at NTTR since the 1970s is still classified, and they've never been able to share what they were doing, not even to their families. Veteran Pomp Braswell said: 'It felt very special, especially at a young age. My mom knew absolutely zero about what I was doing. She knew there was a phone number if she needed to get hold of me, that's it.' According to Crete, the only recognition of their sacrifice at Area 51 came during a conversation with late US Senator John McCain, who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and allegedly knew what was happening at NTTR. 'He came up to me and he said, 'Your unit ended the Cold War.' If you ever wanted validation that what you did was important, that's just about it,' Crete recounted. Two bills have been introduced in Congress, the Protect Act and the Forgotten Veterans Act, to provide healthcare relief for the veterans affected by their classified work at NTTR.
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Ukraine arrests Chinese father and son ‘spies' for ‘trying to steal state secrets on its long-range missile programme'
A CHINESE dad and his son have been accused of attempting to steal military secrets about Ukraine's long-range missile programme. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it caught them "red-handed" trying to illegally export secret dossiers on the Ukrainian RK-360MC Neptune missile system to China. 6 6 A variant of the missile system was used to sink the flagship Slava-class Moskva cruiser from Vladimir Putin's Black Sea Fleet during the early days of the war. Counterintelligence officials arrested a 24-year-old former student called Deng Yancheng, who allegedly tried to recruit a Ukrainian involved in the development of the missiles. The SBU said it launched a sting operation and provided him with "technical documentation" related to Neptune production. Authorities later detained his father, who was working to smuggle out the false documents to the Chinese special services, the intelligence agency added. The father had been living in China but visited Ukraine to "personally coordinate" his son's work, according to the officials. Intelligence officials also uncovered mobile phones with encrypted communications between the two men. The devices contained evidence of coordinated efforts to spy on Ukrainian military technology, SBU added. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison on espionage charges. Beijing said Thursday it was still "verifying" the case of a Chinese father and son detained by Ukraine. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "If Chinese citizens are involved, we will... safeguard Chinese citizens' legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law." Two Chinese soldiers fighting for RUSSIA are captured by Ukrainian forces, Zelensky says in major war escalation Relations between Kyiv and Beijing, a key Russian ally, are strained. Ukraine and the West accuse China of enabling the Russian invasion through trade and of supplying technology, including for deadly drone attacks. Ukraine also says dozens of Chinese citizens have been recruited by Russia's army and sent to fight. Earlier this year, Ukrainian forces claimed to have captured Chinese nationals fighting for Russia on the battlefield. President Zelensky said that Kyiv found six Chinese nationals fighting in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and took two of them prisoners. He claimed that Ukraine had information about more Chinese citizens fighting with the Russian troops and demanded an official response from Beijing. Zelensky said: "Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine - in the Donetsk region. "There are documents of these prisoners, bank cards, personal data. Footage shared by Zelensky shows a suspected Chinese soldier captured fighting alongside the Russians 6 6 "We have information that there are significantly more such Chinese citizens in the units of the occupier than two. "We are now clarifying all the facts. Intelligence, the SBU, and the relevant units of the Armed Forces are working." The captured Chinese soldiers, he said, are now being held by the Security Service of Ukraine. In an interview footage shared by Zelensky, the captured Chinese national appeared to mimic drones flying overhead. He can be heard saying: "Vroom vroom… boom boom boom boom boom… and then my commander…" Zelensky said that China's involvement in the war is a "clear signal" that Putin wants to drag the war. China is one of the biggest allies of Russia and has been accused by the West of helping Vladimir Putin with weapons. Moscow and Beijing struck a "no limits" partnership on the eve of Russia's February 2022 invasion, and have since deepened political, military and economic cooperation. However, Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations that it has helped the Kremlin fight against the Ukrainians. If the troops are found to be serving members of the Chinese national army, it could result in a major war escalation. However, soldiers from various countries have so far taken part in the Russia-Ukraine war - and it does not mean an official intervention by their home countries. Thousands of troops from North Korea also joined the war to support Russia against Ukraine. 6
Al Arabiya
25-06-2025
- Al Arabiya
Taiwan ex-soldier sentenced after spying for China
Taiwan's High Court on Wednesday sentenced a former soldier to two years and two months in prison for photographing and leaking confidential military documents to China. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. The two sides have been spying on each other for decades, but experts say the threat to Taiwan is greater given the risk of a Chinese invasion. The defendant, identified by his family name Chen, was convicted of violating the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces for passing the documents for a payment of NT$80,000 ($2,700), the court said in a statement. It did not identify Chen's rank or what kind of information was leaked. In February 2023, Chen obtained electronic files of military secret-level documents from a classmate under the pretext of 'preparing for supervision by his superiors', printed them out and took them out of the camp. Chen then used his smartphone to photograph the files and sent them to a man he met on the messaging app Line in 2022 when he applied for a loan, the court said. 'He handed over our country's military secrets in exchange for money, which seriously damaged national security,' it added. The court added that Chen received a lenient sentence because he confessed and showed remorse during the investigation and trial. Local newspaper Liberty Times reported that Chen was a former Marines sergeant addicted to online gaming and owed huge debts. He can appeal the ruling.
South China Morning Post
03-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Who is Tami Radabaugh? The Fox News alum was in a Signal chat with Pete Hegseth, and supposedly suggested a make-up room in the Pentagon – but what made her set up her own media company?
Former Fox News host and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recently faced calls to resign when it came out that he had been sharing military secrets in a Signal group chat with his wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet. To make matters worse, Hegseth is in hot water again after a third group chat including Rauchet, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and former Fox News producer Tami Radabaugh was uncovered. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at a National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 1. Photo: EPA-EFE Meanwhile, Radabaugh made headlines twice in two weeks, after she reportedly suggested her former colleague Hegseth install a make-up room in the Pentagon to prep for TV appearances. Advertisement In response to a CBS News article titled 'Hegseth orders make-up studio installed at Pentagon', Hegseth took to X (formerly Twitter) on April 24, writing: 'Totally fake story. No 'orders' and no 'make-up' – but whatever.' So who is Tami Radabaugh? Here's everything to know. She's a TV news producer Tami Radabaugh is a veteran TV news producer. Photo: Tami Radabaugh graduated from the College of New Rochelle in New York with a degree in communication arts and political science. She was a senior executive producer at Fox News from 2019 to 2023, during which she oversaw the popular morning show Fox & Friends and, according to her LinkedIn bio, was 'responsible for more than 15 hours of live programming each week'. Before that, she held other producer roles at Fox, having first joined in early 2015. Prior to her years at Fox, Radabaugh worked for a string of media organisations including CBS News and CNN. She started her own media company
Fox News
30-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
China targets US military members in overseas spy operations, former CIA station chief warns
A former CIA station chief says China has U.S. military service members and government employees in the "crosshairs" of its overseas spy operations. Jian Zhao and Li Tian, both active-duty Army soldiers, were arrested in early March after allegedly selling "Top Secret" information to individuals based in China, according to the Department of Justice. Zhao and Tian were both indicted by federal grand juries in Washington and Oregon. Federal prosecutors allege Tian sold sensitive military information to former soldier Ruoyu Duan, who would allegedly receive money from individuals residing in China. Tian then allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars for selling the sensitive information. Included in the alleged documents Tian sold was a Google Drive link containing classified documents about the Stryker combat vehicle. Tian also allegedly sent additional sensitive data on U.S. weapons systems. Prosecutors said the incidents highlight efforts by China to use "cut-outs," known as people trusted by Chinese intelligence services, to gather sensitive information that could help the Chinese government. Those "cut-outs" then recruit individuals with access to or knowledge of U.S. government information, which includes current and former government officials. According to the court documents, security video showed Tian allegedly brought his personal cellphone into a classified area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington in May 2024, printed a classified document and left with it. He would allegedly return over three hours later with the document. Prosecutors also alleged that Tian took screenshots of sensitive information on several occasions. In a connected case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Zhao allegedly sold classified information to an unnamed co-conspirator. According to federal prosecutors, Zhao received at least $15,000 for the documents. Zhao allegedly sold 20 military hard drives to an individual in China, some containing a "Secret" label. Zaho allegedly conspired to sell information related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System as well as information related to U.S. military readiness if there was a war with China. "While bribery and corruption have thrived under China's Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information," said FBI Director Kash Patel on the charges. Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he thinks U.S. military service members as well as government employees are being targeted to take part in these spy operations. "I think anybody who serves in the U.S. government is in the crosshairs. And China will do it," Hoffman said. "Sometimes they'll run their recruitment operations posing as someone else. So maybe somebody doesn't want to go spy for China, but they might pretend to be somebody else. Or they might contact you on social media, on LinkedIn or some other site and pose as someone not so nefarious when in fact they are." Hoffman said gaining intel from the U.S. military is one of the Chinese government's "highest requirements." "They want to recruit U.S. military because there's a probability we might go to war with China, and not just U.S. military, but NATO members as well, and throughout Asia. So they've got a massive intelligence apparatus," he said. China isn't just targeting the U.S. military. It's targeting many other aspects of American society as well, including academia. Five former University of Michigan students were charged in October 2024 after they were allegedly caught spying on a National Guard training center for the Chinese government during a training session with the Taiwanese military. The former University of Michigan students were confronted by a Utah National Guard sergeant major in August 2023 near a lake at Camp Grayling in Michigan. Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on U.S. and China relations, told Fox News Digital the Chinese Communist Party "will exercise whatever tactics they feel they need to by hook or crook to get our military secrets," adding China is "shameless." "This is a tactic that China is exercising in the new Cold War that we're locked in with the Chinese Communist Party. And one of the things that is really striking is the low price that a lot of Americans are willing to sell their patriotism for and their allegiance for. Some of these people didn't get that much money to sell some really sensitive military secrets over to the Chinese Communist Party," Sobolik said.
