Roll Tide.

The inert cannonballs, which were — naturally — wrapped in paper towels, were discovered during the baggage screening process at Alabama’s Gulf Shores International Airport and later determined by police to have been stolen from the nearby coastal stronghold Fort Morgan.

“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’” TSA officer Justin Dupree recalled in a release. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”

Dupree noted the antique artillery projectiles ranged in size, with the largest comparable to a grapefruit.

“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” Dupree said. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”

A TSA explosives specialist and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office were subsequently notified and determined that the cannonballs posed no threat.

Law enforcement investigating the incident stated the passenger claimed to be unaware of how the projectiles were acquired. The cannonballs were later returned to Fort Morgan, the release added.

Passenger attempts to transport illegal items, including outlandish weaponry, through the screening process are, of course, nothing new.

In a more glaring example from 2019, a Florida man traveling through Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport set off alarms after his bag was found to contain a disassembled rocket-propelled grenade.

The individual was subsequently taken into an inspection area, where he told airport security he was under the impression he could bring the checked RPG on the plane, CBS Philadelphia reported.

Inspection of the weapon itself revealed that the launcher was not in working order, and the grenade was a realistic replica.

The items were confiscated by security, and, miraculously, the individual boarded his flight on time.

The contract, the largest interagency lodging acquisition in the history of the Guard, comes as part of ongoing support for the Trump administration’s “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful” executive order.

The length of the D.C. task force’s mission, which kicked off in August 2025, has made current lodging arrangements unsustainable, a Guard release stated. Mobilized troops have been staying in hotels throughout the region.

The Guard is hoping a long-term housing remedy will improve overall quality of life and flexibility for those mobilized while reducing taxpayer expenses, the release stated. The acquisition process was reportedly completed in under three months, “despite an agency-level vendor protest, which was reviewed and denied.”

“This contract delivers stable, secure housing for our soldiers and airmen while achieving significant cost savings for the government,” Monica Williams, executive director of acquisitions and head of contracting activity for the National Guard Bureau, said in the release. “We were able to move quickly to meet mission requirements and provide a long-term solution for deployed personnel.”

The contract pricing, according to Guard and GSA figures, is “about 49% below projected short-term commercial hotel costs and 27% below standard GSA schedule pricing for lodging and housekeeping services.”

The new arrangement comes on the heels of a May 28 report, meanwhile, that assessed that the 2,000-plus National Guard troops to have participated in the D.C. task force have had “no measurable effect on violent crime.”

The report, published by the Niskanen Center, described the Guard deployments as “an expensive tool” used in “the wrong places for the wrong types of crime.”

Researchers cited the $607 average daily cost per Guard member in the nation’s capital, compared with $384 in pay for Metropolitan Police Department officers.

Robbery and other violent crime rates in the D.C. area had also decreased prior to the Guard deployment, the report said. Those numbers were not impacted by the military operation.

Still, the report’s authors stopped short of calling the deployment a waste, noting that there was a 24% decline in opportunistic property crime recorded in the first six months of the operation.

“We brought 2,500 Guardsmen in from 15 states and the District of Columbia, and you all have done an amazing job,” Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told troops in D.C. in July. “[Since arriving] you saved over 235 lives. You’ve done over 530 medical assistances to personnel, you restored children back to their families 27 times, and you have done amazing things in support of law enforcement to make sure we reduce crime.”

The unexploded ordnance was from a “downed Iranian one-way attack drone,” Central Command said in a statement released Sunday.

The death of the U.S. service member in Iraq follows in the wake of two U.S. service members killed in action on Friday in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on U.S. and partner forces in Jordan, U.S. Central Command announced.

Four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command originally noted that a third U.S. service member was missing, however, CENTCOM announced today that “After a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location earlier today. An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.”

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The latest casualties bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 18.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

A third U.S. service member is missing, the command release added, while four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The casualties in Friday’s attack bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 16.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

The move, according to a Pentagon release, “honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.”

“From its critical role in establishing the post-WWII regional security architecture to its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and countless humanitarian operations, the USPACOM namesake carries decades of military heritage and enduring regional partnerships,” the release states.

U.S. Pacific Command was the official name of the formation until May 2018, when, during the first term of President Donald Trump, it was changed to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command “in recognition of the increasing connectivity of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” and rising military and economic pressure emerging from Beijing, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said at the time.

The command’s top officer in 2018, Adm. Harry Harris, acknowledged then that the change reflected the return of great power competition as decades of combat in the Global War on Terror were winding down.

“I believe we are reaching an inflection point in history,” Harris said in 2018. “A geo-political competition between free and oppressive visions is taking place in the Indo-Pacific.”

The name change announced Tuesday, meanwhile, will have no impact on the command’s mission or areas of operational responsibility that were in place under INDOPACOM, according to the release.

The move is the latest in a series of rebranding initiatives launched by the Pentagon — from base names to the department itself — since Trump began his second term.

In recent weeks the House and Senate armed services committees voted to advance legislation that would ratify the rebrand of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

While the latter designation, which was the official department name from 1789-1947, has been used by Pentagon officials since September 2025, it has yet to be signed into law by Congress.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media on June 5 to praise the recent votes, noting, “The Department of War will officially be restored soon.”

Crafted by architect Kengo Kuma in partnership with the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, the memorial’s design is the culmination of eight years of input from 20,000 Americans, including veterans from every branch of service and every conflict since World War II, according to a foundation release.

According to the memorial’s description, visitors will first encounter steel and stone relics recovered from the 9/11 attacks at each of the site’s three entrances, “marking where the journey began,” the release states.

In a primary section coined “the embrace,” a classically inspired amphitheater rises over the path below and features an arch made of reclaimed steel from the era’s combat operations.

The arch, which will also be adorned with native vegetation, is designed to filter light and will be oriented to align with Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of roughly 1,000 service members killed in the post-9/11 wars.

Below the arch, a predominantly marble “path of honor” includes embedded boot prints “that represent the weight of war and the varied experiences of those who served and their families,” the release says. The path will also connect to adjacent memorials on the National Mall.

Extending from the footprint paths are shallow reflecting pools in which visitors can dip their feet before stepping back onto the stone to leave footprints of their own, an “interactive component [that] offers visitors the chance to walk alongside a loved one once more,” the foundation says.

“This design was shaped by history and held sacred from the beginning — forged by sacrifice and informed by the voices of warriors and their families,” Michael “Rod” Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation and a retired U.S. Army Green Beret, said in the release.

“Throughout history, societies have built sacred places to welcome their warriors home, places where a grateful people can say, ‘We see you. We honor you. You are not forgotten.’” Rodriguez added. “The GWOT generations deserve that same enduring tribute. Today, we take one step closer to welcoming them home.”

In addition to input gathered since 2018, a 23-member advisory council comprising Gold Star family members, veterans and their families worked alongside designers to craft what the foundation has called a “living place … that will illuminate at night and invite reflection, healing and unity for generations to come.”

As the site’s architect, Kuma’s work on the memorial resonated on a deeply personal level, he said in a recent interview. The artist lost his close friend Yoichi Sugiyama, who worked for Fuji Bank, in the Sept. 11 attack at the World Trade Center.

“This memorial is not an abstract commission for our team, it is a sacred responsibility,” Kuma said in the release. “Our role was not to impose a design, but to listen. The voices of those who served and the families who stood beside them became our source of inspiration. We wanted to create a place of reflection and connection, a living memorial where nature, light and the materials of this war come together as an embrace for a grateful nation.”

Foundation officials are slated to meet over the coming months with various city planning commissions to finalize design approval, according to the foundation’s proposed timeline.

With approval, the foundation is aiming for a 2027 groundbreaking and a project completion date of late 2028.

The Palau-flagged M/T Marivex, which was reportedly traveling without cargo, was transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman when its crew failed to respond to directions from U.S. forces in the region.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln responded by firing a precision munition into the Marivex‘s engineering and steering spaces.

“Marivex is no longer sailing to Iran,” a release from U.S. Central Command stated.

To date, U.S. forces carrying out the naval blockade — launched April 13 — in waters around Iran have disabled seven non-compliant ships, according to the command release.

Well over 100 vessels have complied and been redirected, while 42 ships transiting the area with humanitarian aid have been permitted to pass.

Sgt. Devin A. Seibel, 26, died on May 31 at Erbil Air Base, Iraq, according to a Defense Department release. He was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve at the time of the incident.

Seibel, a native of Robinson, Texas, was a combat medic specialist assigned to the Air Ambulance Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Carson, Colorado.

He enlisted in May 2017 and previously completed a deployment to Afghanistan in 2020-21.

“Sgt. Seibel’s positive impact as an exceptional non-commissioned officer, friend and husband was felt by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,” Col. Cameron Gallagher, commander of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, said in a statement provided to Military Times. “He distinguished himself through an unwavering commitment to professional excellence and a relentless pursuit of growth. As a flight paramedic supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, he consistently delivered outstanding patient care and embodied the highest standards of our profession. His loss is deeply felt across the entire Ivy Eagle Brigade and his legacy of service, compassion and dedication will not be forgotten.”

Seibel’s awards include the Army Commendation Medal with Combat Device, five Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghan Campaign Medal, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, and the Driver and Mechanic Badge.

A statement Tuesday by U.S. Army Central and Third Army noted that the incident occurred as troops were training alongside British Army partners.

A British soldier, Lance Corporal James Freeman, was also killed in the incident.

Freeman died “following a tragic accident during routine military training activity whilst deployed on Operation SHADER, Iraq,” the British Ministry of Defence posted.

He was 29 years old.

The incident is currently under investigation, a Defense Department release stated.

Backed by Universal Pictures, the “Transformers” director is slated to shepherd the speed-of-light-turnaround project based on the April 3 shoot down of a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and subsequent rescue of its crew during U.S.-led operations against the Islamic Republic, Deadline reported.

The untitled movie is expected to be based on a book by author Mitchell Zuckoff, which will be released in 2027, according to Deadline. Bay previously worked with Zuckoff on the film adaptation of 13 Hours, which chronicled the 2012 attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.

On April 3, the F-15, call sign Dude 44, was downed by Iranian air defenses at approximately 4:40 a.m. local time, becoming the first manned aircraft to be lost to hostile anti-aircraft fire since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.

Both crew members ejected and landed miles apart. Though the pilot was located within hours and rescued — after an intense fight — the aircraft’s weapons systems officer remained on the move, evading Iranian forces in the Zagros Mountains, treating his own wounds and taking cover in a mountain crevice, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, who called the rescue mission “one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat search-and-rescue missions ever attempted by the military.”

U.S. special forces eventually rescued the second downed airman following a complex operation, Trump announced on April 5.

The identities of the crew members have not yet been released.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Bay praised his “amazing partnership over [a] 30-year career working with the Department of War and amazing U.S. military members.”

Bay added that the upcoming film adaptation will celebrate “the true heroism and unwavering dedication of our service members.”

Such are the art features wrapping three recently installed arcade games — also available to play online — at the District of Columbia War Memorial in the nation’s capital, the latest protest by the anonymous group Secret Handshake, which previously made headlines in September after installing a statue on the National Mall depicting President Donald Trump holding hands and skipping with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The new installation’s game, officially called “Operation Epic Furious: Strait To Hell,” was developed as a response to the administration’s repeated use of video game footage to highlight military successes in Iran, the group told WUSA9.

One such post featured video from strikes in Iran interspersed with game footage from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The post, shared on March 6 by the White House’s official account, came just five days after six U.S. soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone strike at Kuwait’s Port of Shuaiba.

Similar posts include one featuring airstrikes alongside footage from Nintendo Wii, and another depicting a bowling alley-style “STRIKE” animation alongside war footage.

“The game features furious tweet battles against Iranian schoolgirls, low-flow shower heads, and other threats to American freedom like DEI and The Pope,” the group said in a statement to the local CBS affiliate. “And just to save you time, the only way you can lose is by trying to hold Melania’s hand. But it’s The Middle East, so you also can’t win either.”

Photos were shared across social media Tuesday of National Guard members deployed to Washington, D.C., checking out the games at the memorial, which is adjacent to the National Mall.

Next to the arcade-style games installed at the memorial is a plaque that states, “The Trump administration knows that the best way to sell combat is by making it a video game, that’s why they’ve been pumping out the ‘sickest’ Iran War video game hype reels,” according to WUSA9.

“But why stop at clips when you could go full throttle Introducing Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell, a high-octane, flag-waving, boots-on-the-ground simulator where freedom isn’t debated, it’s deployed. No briefings, no hesitation; just pure pixelated patriotism. Strap in and play hard, because this game may never end.”