Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

February 13, 2017     Trump’s comments about Bergdahl 'disturbing,' judge says Disparaging remarks made by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail about accused Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are “disturbing,” the military judge overseeing the soldier’s court-martial said Monday.   Taliban seek to establish political legitimacy with flags Analysts say the Taliban are placing a new emphasis on symbols as a part of a wider attempt to portray themselves as a modern political force, hoisting their flag to stamp their mark on captured territory and flooding social media with videos designed to recruit and motivate a new generation of Internet-savvy fighters.   USARAF medical exercises shift from outreach to training for austere environments For decades, U.S. military surgeons fixed cleft palates, nurses gave immunizations and dentists extracted teeth during training exercises in developing countries. But while the medical training exercises, known as MEDRETEs, continue, USARAF’s medical training has changed.   UN: US airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 18 civilians The United Nations has expressed grave concern over escalating violence in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province, where it says airstrikes by international forces likely killed more than a dozen civilians, mostly women and children.   N. Korea says missile test shows progress in nuclear weapons program While the United States and its allies mulled a response to North Korea’s latest missile test, leader Kim Jong Un called it a success that shows his country is making steady progress in its nuclear weapons program.   1,100 members of the California National Guard on high alert over dam spillover fears About 1,100 members of the California National Guard are on the highest readiness posture to assist in disaster scenarios related to a potential dam spillover 150 miles northeast of San Francisco, the Guard said Monday.   Former Kadena worker reveals gruesome details of Okinawan woman’s death A former U.S. base worker charged with raping and killing an Okinawan woman fantasized about raping women for years and thought about shooting fellow Marines as a way of attempting suicide, his lawyer said.   Pentagon: North Korean missiles pose 'clear, grave threat' to US North Korea’s latest missile launch showed the country has made progress in developing weapons that pose a danger to the United States, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.   Flynn apologizes to Pence over Russia controversy; Trump evaluating situation President Donald Trump is "evaluating the situation" regarding his embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn's conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., the White House saidMonday, deepening the uncertainty surrounding Flynn's future in the new administration.   Pentagon's hired hackers target sensitive internal systems, quickly find vulnerabilities In a pilot project this past month, the Pentagon's Defense Digital Service let about 80 security researchers into a simulated "file transfer mechanism" the department depends on to send sensitive emails, documents and images between networks, including classified ones.