Five Things to Watch, Aug. 22, 2022

1.   The United States and South Korea began their biggest combined military training in years Monday as they heighten their defense posture against the growing North Korean nuclear threat. The drills could draw an angry response from North Korea, which has dialed up its weapons testing activity to a record pace this year while repeatedly threatening conflicts with Seoul and Washington amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.

2.   The Sons of the American Legion held a special memorial for the family of Gene Twiford. Gene, his wife Janet and daughter Dana were murdered earlier this month in Laurel, Nebraska. Gene Twiford was a member of the American Legion in Laurel, Nebraska. On Sunday, Twiford’s family was on hand as the Sons of the American Legion held a wreathe laying ceremony in Twiford’s honor at Siouxland Freedom Park in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

3.   Students at Department of Defense Education Activity schools around the world started a new school year Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic faded into the scholastic background. Across Asia and Europe, 45,000 students enrolled at 109 schools were scheduled to resume classes, DODEA spokesman Will Griffin told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.

4.   The U.S. Air Force said Saturday it was the subject of a “propaganda attack” by a previously unheard-of Iraqi militant group that falsely claimed it had launched a drone attack targeting American troops at an air base in Kuwait.

5.   The daughter of an influential Russian political theorist often referred to as “Putin’s brain” was killed in a car bombing on the outskirts of Moscow, authorities said Sunday. The Moscow branch of the Russian Investigative Committee said preliminary information indicated 29-year-old TV commentator Daria Dugina was killed by an explosive planted in the SUV she was driving Saturday night.