New poll shows strong support for TCAVA; North Korean ballistic drills demonstrate ‘huge destructive power’; and President Trump calls on Ukraine to stop bombing Russian oil refineries.
1. A sweeping veterans benefits package stalled amid a bitter fight over disability compensation has the support of more than 70% of respondents to a new nationwide survey, even as those same respondents remain sharply divided over one of the bill's most controversial provisions. The new Mission Roll Call survey, shared exclusively with Military.com ahead of its public release, found 70.5% of respondents supported the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, or TCAVA, after receiving additional information about the legislation. That's up sharply from 55.3% before respondents reviewed information about the bill. Meanwhile, the percentage saying they needed more information fell from 27.1% to 12.7%. The findings offer a new look at what veterans and their families think about one of the most consequential, and contentious, pieces of veterans legislation before Congress.
2. North Korea said Monday that it had conducted a joint live-fire drill involving missiles, artillery and drones that it claimed demonstrated “huge destructive power.” The test included firing different types of weapons simultaneously, most likely aiming at developing the ability to overwhelm South Korean and U.S. air defenses. Experts say North Korea is not slowing its testing activities even after U.S. President Donald Trump recently scaled back a military exercise with South Korea in an apparent effort to revive diplomacy with leader Kim Jong Un. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday’s drill was meant to practice the operations of an integrated weapons control system. South Korea’s military earlier said it detected short-range ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Saturday morning.
3. An Iranian shoulder-fired missile brought down a U.S. F-15E over hostile territory in early April, and a damaged parachute sent one of its airmen crashing to the ground, according to new details revealed Sunday by the CBS program “60 Minutes.” The mission involved about 90 U.S. troops on the ground inside Iran, hundreds more in the air and thousands of personnel in supporting roles as American forces raced to recover two downed Air Force officers in one of the largest combat rescue operations in U.S. military history. When the missile struck, it felt like “getting hit by a freight train,” the Air Force weapons systems officer, identified only by his mission call sign, Bravo, said during the interview. The aircraft was attacking industrial facilities associated with Iran’s missile and drone programs, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said on the program. It was brought down by a shoulder-fired missile, according to Bravo.
4. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average. Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia’s oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market. But the global crunch also came after the war on Iran curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with Zelenskyy following his recent conversation with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He responded by calling on Zelenskyy to halt strikes against Russia.
5. President Donald Trump said Sunday that China "spies on us" just as "we spy on them," following a report that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite imagery before a deadly missile attack that killed three U.S. troops. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked about a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese entities allegedly supplied Iran with high-resolution satellite imagery of Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan before Tehran's July 17 missile attack. "They basically do what we do," Trump said. Asked whether he planned to raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visits the U.S., Trump said Xi has "behaved reasonably well," and that "we behave reasonably well. You know what they say? That China spies on us. I say you're right, and we spy on them, too," Trump said.
- Security