For Indian Country, federal cuts decimate core tribal programs

A clinical pharmacist with the Seattle Indian Health Board administers a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2020. Tribal organizations, including health care clinics, have been disrupted by recent cuts to federal funding and staffing. ()
President Donald Trump's sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and government spending have reverberated across Indian Country, leaving tribes with deep uncertainty about their health clinics, schools, police agencies and wildfire crews.
Native officials say the cuts could hit a vast array of core public services in tribal communities — even though the federal government is legally required to provide those services.
'These are real jobs that our society depends on. These are cops, nurses in clinics, people who manage our forests and fisheries,' said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Washington state and a longtime leader on Native sovereignty issues.
'You can't just come in with a chainsaw and slash everything and think you can get away with undermining this [responsibility].'
Allen, like many tribal leaders, flew to Washington, D.C., last week to lobby federal officials to change course. Tribal experts note that the cuts will be felt far beyond reservation boundaries.
'This is going to destroy whole regional economies in rural areas around the country,' said Matthew Fletcher, an Indian law professor at the University of Michigan and a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
The federal government's unique role in supporting tribal services is not an act of generosity. It's a legal mandate based on treaty rights guaranteed to tribal nations in exchange for conceding land. Tribes across the country signed nearly 400 treaties in the 18th and 19th centuries, and modern legal efforts have reaffirmed the feds' obligation to uphold those promises.
In addition to the specific rights outlined in those treaties, the federal government also must uphold its trust responsibility to tribes — a legal obligation under which the United States must protect tribal sovereignty and provide basic social services for tribal nations.
These are real jobs that our society depends on. These are cops, nurses in clinics, people who manage our forests and fisheries.
– W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
Many legal experts say the Trump administration's efforts to gut federal agencies and cut off funds to Native communities likely violate the government's obligations. Tribal leaders have called on Trump to reverse the cuts — and earned at least one reprieve last month when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. verbally rescinded layoffs at the Indian Health Service.
'There's certainly a lot of trepidation in Indian Country because so many tribal programs rely on federal funding,' said Gussie Lord, managing attorney of the Tribal Partnerships Program with Earthjustice, an environmental law group. 'These are absolutely legal obligations based on the federal trust responsibility.'
Some tribal observers also fear that Trump's administration could roll back regulations that allow tribes to protect their water quality. That's imperative for tribal members whose diet features high amounts of traditional foods such as salmon and wild rice.
Meanwhile, Trump has pledged to block funding for DEI programs — efforts to boost diversity, equity and inclusion. Tribes told Stateline they have been warned by federal agency insiders that many of their grants could be at risk. Native leaders are pushing Trump officials to acknowledge that the feds' relationship with tribes is based on their status as sovereign nations, not racial preference.
Tribes are still working to understand how their communities will be affected, and many tribal nations and organizations did not respond to interview requests. Some observers have noted that Trump's penchant for targeting his political enemies may make some officials wary of putting their tribe in the crosshairs by speaking out publicly.
Officials at the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Education did not respond to interview requests.
When Trump announced a freeze on all government grant funding in late January, the Seattle Indian Health Board found it had been locked out of its payment management system. The community health center serves thousands of patients and offers a variety of services; more than half of its expenses are reimbursed from federal money.
Judges have since blocked Trump's move to freeze the funding. The health center is now able to access the payment system during brief windows, officials there said. The organization is managing so far, leaders said, but they fear the worst is yet to come.
'The looming threat that our resources will get cut off again is terrifying,' said Esther Lucero, the board's president and CEO, who is of Diné (Navajo) descent. 'We're operating with very little confidence.'
Trump's cuts to federal wildfire crews could have 'scary' consequences
Lucero said the health center is concerned it will lose federal funding to construct a planned 92-bed residential treatment facility. The group has halted its work on multiple construction projects — including a clinic and housing project — based on fears that federal money will disappear.
The Seattle Indian Health Board has enough reserves to maintain services for about four months if its federal support were to be cut altogether, she said. But Lucero noted that many tribal clinics and organizations are run directly by the Indian Health Service, making them even more vulnerable to cuts.
In mid-February, 950 staffers at the Indian Health Service were told they were being laid off. A coalition of Native organizations raised the alarm, sending a letter to the feds that the cuts would have 'life and death' consequences, according to ICT, a news service formerly known as Indian Country Today that covers Indigenous issues. The letter noted that 214 tribal nations receive direct care from the agency.
Hours later, Kennedy said that the layoffs had been rescinded, telling the news outlet in a written statement that IHS, long the 'redheaded stepchild' of the federal health bureaucracy, would be a 'priority' during Trump's second term.
While tribal groups were relieved at the sudden reversal, experts say the prospect of cuts at the agency remains a major threat.
'IHS is already underfunded,' said Dean Seneca, an epidemiologist and member of the Seneca Nation who spent years working for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. Seneca now runs his own private firm. 'Any kind of cut to the IHS would literally cripple the agency. There will be tribes that won't be able to provide services.'
Trump's cuts also have targeted schools serving tribal members. Education, like health care, is part of the federal government's legal trust responsibility to Native people. The federal Bureau of Indian Education operates 55 elementary and secondary schools, while funding another 128 schools that are managed by tribes.
The agency also operates a university and community college, which were hit hardest by the layoffs. Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, which had roughly 160 employees, saw more than a quarter of its staff get cut.
Dalton Henry, the interim president of the school's Board of Regents, shared with Stateline a letter he sent to federal leaders. The cuts, he argued, would 'have disastrous consequences for fulfilling its educational mission,' noting that Haskell exists to uphold the government's legal trust responsibility to Native people.
'We desperately need to get this fixed,' said Ahniwake Rose, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which advocates for tribal colleges. 'We already have students that are questioning staying out the rest of the semester.'
In long-sought change, states must consider tribal rights when crafting water rules
Rose said the cuts have thrown Haskell, as well as the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico, into chaos. Overnight, the schools lost numerous instructors, safety personnel, cafeteria workers and coaches when the layoffs came down last month.
Meanwhile, staffers at K-12 schools run by the federal agency have had a $1 purchase limit placed on their work credit cards, she said, making it impossible for them to buy supplies.
Federal funding cuts have also crippled a science and health program at Northern Arizona University that was largely made up of Indigenous students, Cronkite News reported. The program, which is now in danger of shutting down, was targeted due to Trump's ban on DEI funds, although it did not exclusively serve Native students.
During President Joe Biden's term in the White House, federal agencies adopted new regulations to ensure that environmental standards protected tribes' rights to hunt, fish and harvest. The feds also moved in recent years to bolster tribes' ability to set their own water quality standards and weigh in on federal permitting decisions.
Ken Norton, a top environmental official with the Hoopa Valley Tribe in California, said the tribe had a strong relationship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's local project officer when Biden was in the White House. Following the cuts to federal staff, they've had no communication from the EPA.
'Where is your contingency plan, and who are our contacts?' Norton said in an interview. 'You left us in the dark. This is a breach of your trust responsibility to tribes.'
Norton also chairs the National Tribal Water Council, a tribal advocacy group. He said some EPA officials have quietly warned tribal leaders that Trump loyalists are using artificial intelligence to single out Clean Water Act grant proposals that include terms such as 'climate change' or 'environmental injustice.'
Trump is also attempting to dismantle the National Environmental Policy Act, a keystone law that requires environmental reviews of major projects that need federal permits. Norton said the act is crucial for protecting natural resources in Indian Country.
'They're dismantling these regulatory agencies — reducing the staffing, reducing the funding, chipping away at the regulatory authorities — until they become nonfunctional,' Norton said.
Trump said last week that he intends to cut 65% of EPA staff.
Lord, the Earthjustice attorney, said the cuts could particularly hurt tribal water treatment facilities.
'Any cuts there, even 10 or 15%, could potentially be devastating and have long term effects on water quality,' she said.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has lost 118 employees as a result of Trump's cuts, ICT reported. The agency supports a vast array of tribal programs including energy development, natural resources, law enforcement and irrigation.
Overdose deaths are rising among Black and Indigenous Americans
Meanwhile, U.S. House Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee said that Trump's administration is planning to close more than a quarter of the agency's offices, covering 25 locations.
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state depend on the BIA to provide support during wildfire season, and for funding to hire the tribe's own firefighters. Trump's freeze on federal hiring has halted the onboarding process for those staffers.
'A lot of the funding we do get comes from federal appropriations,' said Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson. 'It's a big concern. We're not only worried about it from a fire standpoint, but health care, law enforcement, education.'
The funding freeze also affected a federal grant to install 112 electric vehicle chargers in Cherokee Nation communities in Oklahoma. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., in a statement to Stateline, said the cut would be a major setback for the regional economy if the funds are not restored. He said the tribe is still evaluating the full effects of the federal cuts, and is concerned about their impact on schools, housing funds and BIA programs.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders warn that Trump's efforts to cut national programs, such as Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs, will have a disproportionate effect in tribal communities.
Nearly a fifth of Native Americans and Alaska Natives were covered by Medicaid as of 2020, according to the National Council of Urban Indian Health.
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs paused cuts to billions of dollars in contracts after significant public backlash. The cuts would have affected programs including cancer care and toxic exposure assessments, The Associated Press reported. Prior to the contracts dispute, the VA also cut more than 1,000 employees due to Trump's staffing reductions.
Native Americans serve in the military at higher rates than any other group, leaving them particularly vulnerable to cuts to veterans care.
Tribal leaders are also concerned that Trump's ongoing efforts to slash DEI programs could mistakenly target funding for Native communities.
'A lot of people who object to Indian affairs just straight-up think it's racial preferences,' said Fletcher, the Indian law professor. 'It's not DEI at all, but that doesn't mean the Trump administration won't go after it that way.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

USA Today

20 minutes ago

• USA Today

Live updates: Iran calls US airstrikes on nuclear sites 'outrageous,' says it 'reserves all options'

America's move comes after Iran and Israel have been engaged in aerial strikes and Trump had been pondering US involvement for the past week. The United States joined Israel's war with Iran after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on three nuclear targets, winning praise and condemnation from members of Congress and new defiance from Tehran. "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," Trump said in a live address after 10 p.m. ET on June 21, threatening further U.S. strikes if Iran failed to accept a diplomatic solution. Bombs and missiles launched from U.S. warplanes hit nuclear sites at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz. No U.S. personnel were injured in the operation, which struck Iran well after midnight on June 22 local time. With 40,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region, the United States faces potential Iranian reprisals in the days ahead. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, warned that the country "reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people," saying America's strike was "outrageous and will have everlasting consequences." "Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior," he said on social media. Trump's move was assailed by some conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats in Congress as illegal, while others praised the move after more than a week of Israeli airstrikes on Iran and retaliatory missile fire wreaking havoc in Israel. 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' Trump said. More: U.S. hits Iran nuclear facilities, braces for counterattack Israel says Iran launched another round of missiles Multiple explosions were heard in central Israel, including over Tel Aviv, in the early hours of June 22. Israel's military said sirens that sounded across the region were "due to another Iranian missile launch." USA TODAY could not immediately confirm any information on potential fatalities or injuries in the strikes. Iran says it 'reserves all options' to defend itself Iran reserves all options to defend itself after U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities, Araqchi shared on X, saying the attacks were "outrageous and will have everlasting consequences." "Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior," he said. What's the risk of nuclear fallout from the Iran attacks? The U.S. attacks against three of Iran's nuclear facilities, following Israeli attacks over the previous week, prompted questions about the potential risks of radiological or chemical releases. Both "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" and the International Atomic Energy Agency have previously stated the offsite risks are low from attacks at Fordow and Natanz. But in a June 20 post, François Diaz-Maurin, an associate editor for nuclear affairs at the atomic bulletin, termed the offsite risk at Isfahan 'moderate,' because it's one of the 'most important sites for Iran's nuclear program.' The International Atomic Energy Agency began posting updates on the new attacks on June 21. The nuclear complex in Isfahan, a key site of the Iranian nuclear program, has repeatedly been attacked and extensively damaged before June 21, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, agency director. 'Based on our analysis of the nuclear material present, we don't see any risk of off-site contamination," Grossi said. -Dinah Pulver Attack used bunker-buster bombs The Pentagon's attack on Iran's nuclear facility employed its most powerful bunker-buster bomb as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from submarines, according to a U.S. official. Pentagon planners coordinated the attack with Israel to enter Iran's airspace, said the official who had been briefed on the mission but was not authorized to speak publicly. B-2 bombers dropped GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, the first time they have been used in combat. The stealth bombers were accompanied by other aircraft, the official said, though it was unclear the type of warplane. The Pentagon's most sophisticated fighter, the F-22, was a likely candidate. President Donald Trump declared the attack a success, saying Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities had been completely 'obliterated.' The official, however, said battle-damage assessments had not reached a firm conclusion. −Tom Vanden Brook AOC condemns Trump's attacks, calling it a constitutional violation Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is the latest lawmaker to take to social media in the hours after President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran to weigh in on the move, calling it 'grounds for impeachment.' 'The President's disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,' she said in the post on X, formerly Twitter, published shortly after Trump's White House address. Congress is the only branch of government that has the power to declare war, however, presidents have engaged in foreign conflicts in recent decades under the executive authority to authorize defensive strikes 'He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.' −Kathryn Palmer Will Iran counterattack? Tehran could respond to Trump's strikes by launching counterattacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East, current and former U.S. officials say. American bases in Gulf countries and Iraq and Syria could become targets, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro told USA TODAY before Trump attacked Iran. Iran could also target regional energy facilities and block oil and gas shipments from crossing the Strait of Hormuz, said Shapiro, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East in the Biden administration. Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed in the region. Trump warned in a Truth Social post of 'far greater' force against Iran if it pursues retaliation. −Francesca Chambers Muslim civil rights group condemns U.S. strikes on Iran The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, blasted President Trump's attack as an 'illegal and unjustified act of war' that favors the wishes of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the American people and threatens to drag the United States into a wider conflict. 'We condemn President Trump's illegal and unjustified act of war against Iran,' CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. 'This attack, carried out under pressure from the out-of-control Israeli government, took place despite the longstanding conclusion by our nation's intelligence community that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons.' 'Just as President Bush started a disastrous war in Iraq pushed by war hawks, neoconservatives, and Israeli leaders like Netanyahu, President Trump has attacked Iran based on the same type of false information put forward by those who consistently seek to drag our nation into unnecessary and catastrophic wars,' Awad said. -Josh Meyer Pete Hegseth to hold a press conference from the Pentagon Hours after the U.S. military launched strikes against three nuclear sites in Iran, President Trump addressed the nation from the White House calling the operation a 'spectacular military success.' He said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will hold a press conference at 8 am on July 22 at the Pentagon. Trump said the mission's objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the 'world's number one state sponsor of terror.' 'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,' said Trump. 'Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.' -Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy Iranian retaliation could happen anywhere, ex-official says Terror alert levels should be elevated in the near term, even in major cities outside the Middle East and anywhere Iran may have sleeper cells, said Andrew Borene, a former senior official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center. 'What happens next is largely going to be driven by Tehran's next moves. Their shadow wars have never been confined to missiles, drones, and cyber attacks,' said Borene, who is now executive director for Global Security at private intelligence firm Flashpoint. Borene said in an analysis that there is 'a real risk of further spillover if Iran resorts to its historical use of asymmetric means through proxy terrorism.' Offensive cyber operations on critical infrastructure, or terrorist attacks by Iranian proxies, also could rapidly derail hope for de-escalation and diplomacy in the near term, Borene said. -Josh Meyer Peace or tragedy, Trump tells Iran 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' Trump said. He noted that there are many other targets in Iran. 'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes,' he said. -Sarah Wire Trump says 'future attacks' could be worse 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Trump said in his address to the nation. 'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.' He then described tactics of the regime. 'For 40 years, Iran has been saying, 'Death to America,' 'Death to Israel,'' he said. 'They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs. That was their specialty.' The president appeared to be referring to attacks launched by Iran-backed militants in the years after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. -Erin Mansfield Netanyahu congratulates Trump on Iran bombing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Trump for bombing three Iran nuclear sites, saying the decision could lead the Middle East toward a future of 'prosperity and peace.' 'America has been truly unsurpassed,' Netanyahu said in a video statement. 'It has done what no other country on earth could do. History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons.' -Erin Mansfield What is Fordow? Fordow is an Iranian underground uranium enrichment facility located about 80 to 90 meters deep inside a mountain, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. More: US bombs Iran: What to know about possible weapon, the 'bunker buster' It is located 20 miles north of the Iranian city of Qom. Fordow was one of three nuclear sites, including Natanz and Isfahan, that were struck by US military operations on July 21 to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. "A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," Trump wrote on Truth Social. -Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy Bomb-carrying B-2 stealth fleet launched from Missouri base B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri in the early morning hours of June 21. The warplanes are known not only for their stealth technology, but also for their ability to fly long-range and carry the big 'bunker buster' bombs used in the June 21 mission. With design and materials that limit its ability to be detected by enemy radar, the B-2 is thought to be the only aircraft equipped to carry the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57, known as the "bunker buster." The entire fleet of B-2 stealth bombers is based at Whiteman, southeast of Kansas City, with the 509th Bomb Wing, part of the Air Force Global Strike Command. Fox News reported six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Iran's Fordow nuclear site. -Dinah Pulver Democrats in Congress erupt at Trump Democratic members of Congress expressed outrage over the strikes, which they said they learned about from social media. 'According to the Constitution we are both sworn to defend, my attention to this matter comes BEFORE bombs fall. Full stop,' said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, in a post on X. Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman said Trump's handling of the situation was 'disgraceful." He asserted in a post that the U.S. was now at war with Iran. 'And so the United States goes to war with Iran without so much as a by your leave to the American people,' he said. 'No statement, other than on social media; no notice to Congress; no serious deliberation.' He added: 'This is the stuff of autocrats. Disgraceful.' War is something only Congress can formally declare. Lawmakers have also passed resolutions that authorized the use of military force like when the U.S. invaded Iraq. Trump has not said whether he plans to continue the bombing campaign, which he described as a "military operation" in a post on the attack. At least one Democrat came to Trump's defense, however: Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. "As I've long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS. Iran is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I'm grateful for and salute the finest military in the world," Fetterman said. Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that was critical of Trump that Congress should "fully and immediately" be briefed in a classified setting. – Francesca Chambers Can the president bomb a country without Congress? The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. The president is the commander in chief of the military, which means he carries out wars that Congress approves. However, presidents of both political parties have perennially used the U.S. military to bomb or invade countries without formal approval from Congress. There have even been allegations that the Korean War and the Vietnam War were illegal. Congress attempted to limit presidents from using this type of power when it passed the 1973 War Powers Act. Trump was most recently criticized for potentially violating the War Powers Act when he bombed the Houthis in Yemen, notoriously discussed on the SignalGate chat that embarrassed top officials in his administration. -Erin Mansfield B-2 bombers conducted strikes on Iranian targets B-2 bombers conducted a series of strikes on targets in Iran, according to a senior Defense Department official. There were no casualties. Measures to protect the nearly 40,000 U.S. troops in the region have been incrementally increased over the last two weeks, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Army has been at third of four levels of alert at most places in the region, the official said. -Tom Vanden Brook More: U.S. hits Iran nuclear facilities, braces for counterattack Trump to address nation at 10 pm ET President Trump posted on Truth Social that he will be speaking to the nation at 10 p.m. ET on June 21. "I will be giving an Address to the Nation at 10:00 P.M., at the White House, regarding our very successful military operation in Iran," Trump wrote. "This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!" -Swapna Venugopal Republican lawmaker says Iran strike is 'not constitutional' Trump's decision came under immediate criticism from at least one Republican in Congress: Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie. The lawmaker shared Trump's post on social media with the message, 'This is not Constitutional.' Massie had previously introduced a bill to prevent Trump from going to war with Iran without congressional authorization, which drew cosponsors that included progressive Democrats such as Rep. Ro Khanna of California. The GOP lawmaker was one of two members of Trump's political party who voted against his tax bill in the House of Representatives last month. Trump called him a 'grandstander' ahead of the vote and said he should be 'voted out of office.' Far-right GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an ally of Trump's, publicly pushed for the U.S. to stay out of the war, a half hour before Trump announced the attack. 'Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war,' she said in a post on X. Greene has been one of the most outspoken opponent's within MAGA of American military involvement in the conflict that exploded on June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear sites. 'There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first,' she said on June 21. 'Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.' –Francesca Chambers State Department evacuations from Israel Earlier in the day, the State Department began evacuating American citizens and permanent residents from Israel and the West Bank, U.S Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media. 'The Department of State has begun assisted departure flights from Israel,' Huckabee wrote in a post on X on June 21 asking people seeking government assistance to fill out a form. -Swapna Venugopal How the war started The strikes followed days of Israeli bomb and drone strikes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at disrupting Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon, to which Iran responded by launching missiles at Israeli civilian targets. Netanyahu had been pressing President Donald Trump to enter the war, knowing the Pentagon possesses the ability to destroy Iran's nuclear enrichment capability. In his first term, Trump pulled out of the Iran deal brokered by President Barack Obama in 2015, saying it did not do enough to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. As the war between Iran and Israel has spiraled in recent days, he has repeated that Iran "cannot" get a nuclear weapon. Iran has threatened that the U.S. would suffer "irreparable damage" if it becomes directly involved in the conflict. The U.S. "should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on June 18. Only US warheads could penetrate Iranian nuclear site The U.S. Air Force has the unique capability to destroy deeply buried, fortified structures like those that house Iran's nuclear facilities. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57, has a 'high-performance steel alloy' warhead case that allows the weapon to stay intact as it burrows deep into the ground, according to Pentagon documents. In 2012, the Air Force conducted five tests of the weapon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Data and visual inspections showed that each bombing run 'effectively prosecuted the targets.' More: Israel wants to demolish Iran's nuclear facilities. Does it need US military help? There's only one warplane in the Air Force that can carry the bomb. Each B-2 Spirit stealth bomber based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri can hold two of the penetrators. Israel had sought the Pentagon to drop the bombs because their penetrating weapons cannot reach the depth necessary to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. -Tom Vanden Brook

Hamilton Spectator

21 minutes ago

• Hamilton Spectator

What is the Lawrence Bishnoi gang? And why do Canadian politicians want them labelled terrorists?

An India-based criminal organization is drawing increasing political scrutiny in Canada, with some saying it needs to be declared a terrorist organization. This week, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called on Ottawa to declare the Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist organization, joining a chorus of other voices. 'We must take transnational crime seriously and that means giving law enforcement the investigative tools to combat these sophisticated criminal networks,' Brown said on X. Brown was joined by deputy mayor Harkirat Singh and regional councillors Gurpartap Singh Toor and Navjit Kaur Brar in the request to have the Lawrence Bishnoi gang declared a criminal organization by Ottawa. 'The Bishnoi gang, a transnational criminal network, led from India, has been linked to a growing wave of violence, extortion and intimidation targeting South Asian communities in Brampton and across the Region of Peel,' Brown said in a prepared statement. The statement did not give examples of specific violent incidents. The Lawrence Bishnoi group was also named in the murder of Brampton-based rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, when Wala was in India in 2022. Bishnoi, who is in his early 30s, is the son of a police officer and was educated in a convent school. Now in custody in India on more than two dozen charges, including murder and extortion, he awaits trial. He has been accused of using intimidation tactics to extort business owners in Punjabi diaspora communities in North America, Europe and the Gulf states. The gang is reportedly run by Bishnoi through encrypted cell messages, even though he is behind bars in India. Brown's comments follow similar ones earlier this week, when B.C. Premier David Eby urged the federal government to label the gang a terrorist organization because of extortion and other crimes against the South Asian community on the West Coast. Eby said Tuesday that he was going to write to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking that the Lawrence Bishnoi group be labelled a terrorist group 'to enable police to be able to use the necessary tools to investigate.' Last fall, the RCMP stated the gang was targeting members of the pro-Khalistan movement who were on Canadian soil, allegedly acting for the Indian government. On the West Coast, the Lawrence Bishnoi group was accused this week of firing bullets into the home of a Punjabi music producer. Last year, shots were reportedly fired at the home of Punjabi music star A.P. Dhillon on Vancouver Island and in 2023, shots were fired outside the West Vancouver home of Bollywood singer and actor Gippy Grewal. Indian media said the Lawrence Bishnoi group claimed responsibility for both attacks. Moves to label the Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist group throw complications into Carney's attempts to rebuild the Canada-India relationship. Eby's announcement on Tuesday was praised by the World Sikh Organization of Canada. 'Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have linked the Bishnoi gang to assassinations, extortions, and intimidation carried out at the direction of Indian government agents including the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other violent crimes,' the organization said. With files from The Canadian Press

Yahoo

44 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Trump says US airstrikes 'obliterated' Iran's key nuclear sites

STORY: The U.S. struck three key nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said on Saturday. He warned that Tehran would face more attacks if it didn't agree to peace. "Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated." Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict. :: Tel Aviv, Israel It comes after more than a week of aerial combat between the two, with death and injuries in both countries. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump: "History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons." While an Iranian official cited by Tasnim news agency confirmed that one of the nuclear sites was attacked by 'enemy aistrikes'. :: June 13, 2025 :: Tehran, Iran Israel launched attacks on Iran earlier this month, saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have been unsuccessful. CBS news reported that the US reached out diplomatically to Iran on Saturday... ...to say the strikes are all the U.S. plans and that it does not aim for regime change.