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Ex-CIA station chief reveals how agency exploited Iranian communication channels during airman rescue
Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman said on “The Sunday Briefing” that a reported agency deception campaign may have helped draw Iranian forces away from a missing U.S. airman, offering new insight into the mission that culminated in a daring rescue behind enemy lines.
It was reported that the CIA attempted to deceive the Iranians into believing the U.S. was gearing up for a maritime rescue, Hoffman said, when in reality, the airman was exfiltrated from the mountains.
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The CIA also assisted in tracking both the missing airman and enemy forces, he said.
“The CIA was there to track [the airman’s] location… And then at the same time, the CIA is tracking Iranian security forces, their movements, their efforts to find and fix the location of our airman. And then, at the same time, running this deception operation, an extraordinary operation.”
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“I’ve heard it referred to as looking for a needle in a haystack. I think it’s more like a needle in a stack of needles. Extraordinarily difficult,” said Hoffman.
His comments follow the rescue early Sunday morning of a U.S. Air Force Weapons System Officer (WSO) who had ejected from his F-15E fighter jet over Iran. The WSO spent roughly 36 hours in hiding. Hoffman said he would need to rely on the skills he learned at the military’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school.
On the intelligence side, Hoffman said the strategy could have been much simpler. The CIA just needed to drop the false information where they knew Iran would hear it.
“The CIA would have looked to find those channels of communication that we know we can exploit that the Iranian security force are listening to. Iran has a… pretty developed cyber capability. And what we would have done is simply supplied some information there, some of it true, to establish the bona fides of the channel that we were using, and then this deception operation would have been run in that channel,” Hoffman said.
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Baby among 3 dead in holiday horror as Easter egg hunt turns deadly
Three people were killed, including a 10-month-old girl, after high winds toppled a tree in Germany during an Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning, according to authorities.
Around 50 people from a nearby residential facility for new mothers, pregnant women and children were attending the egg hunt in a wooded area near the town of Satrupholm at about 11 a.m. when a 100-foot tree fell on top of them, police said in a statement.
Four people became pinned under the tree, police said.
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First responders arrived at the scene and first began treating a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, but both died at the scene.
The woman’s 10-month-old daughter also later died at the hospital.
An 18-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter.
The residential facility is part of the state-funded child welfare system, supporting pregnant women and new mothers who need help, according to its website.
Grief counselors were sent to the scene after the fatal incident on Sunday.
Pictures from the scene showed several Easter eggs scattered on the ground as two of the victims were seen covered in white sheets.
The German weather service had put the area under a high winds warning.
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Officials from the Schleswig-Holstein region, where the facility is located, said they were “deeply shaken” by the Easter tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with the family members of the dead, with the injured, and with everyone who had to experience this terrible occurrence,” regional Governor Daniel Günther, Interior Minister Magdalena Finke, and Youth and Families Minister Aminata Touré said in a joint statement to the dpa news agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Artemis II astronaut marvels at ‘beauty of creation’ in Easter message from deep space
Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover reflected on “the beauty of creation” as he delivered a message of faith and unity from deep space this weekend.
Glover, the pilot of the historic lunar mission, was asked by CBS News Saturday about observing the Easter holiday while traveling away from Earth.
“I don’t have anything prepared. I’m glad you brought it up, though; I think these observances are important,” Glover responded.
Invoking the Bible and humanity’s place in the cosmos, Glover shared his perspective on the uniqueness of Earth.
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“As we are so far from Earth and looking at the beauty of creation, I think, for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see the Earth as one thing,” Glover said. “When I read the Bible and I look at all the amazing things that were done for us… You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe and the cosmos.”
Glover emphasized how precious human life is while marveling at the planet’s place in the universe.
“Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you — just trust me — you are special,” he said. “In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.”
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He said the holiday was an opportunity to reflect on a shared responsibility for unity, regardless of religious background.
“I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.”
The Artemis II crew includes NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. The team is making humanity’s first journey to the moon since 1972, following a flight path similar to that of Apollo 13.
On Sunday, the crew sent additional Easter greetings and revealed they had celebrated by hiding “eggs” around the spacecraft.
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“We wanted to take a minute to commemorate the holiday that we have at this time of year, something that many religions and many cultures hold dear,” Koch said. “We did hide a few eggs around the cabin. They were the dehydrated scrambled egg variety, but we were all pretty happy with them.”
Hansen also shared a message, emphasizing love as a universal value.
“Happy Easter everyone,” he said. “We’re talking up here as a crew and we did want to send a special Easter message on this day and, no matter your faith or religion, for me the teachings of Jesus were always a very simple truth of love, universal love.”
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Dawn Staley gives classy answer after Geno Auriemma question following national title loss: ‘It’s UCLA’s day’
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was disappointed how the Gamecocks’ season ended on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, a 79-51 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the national championship game.
During her post-game interview, Staley was asked about what happened in the Gamecocks’ prior Final Four matchup against UConn, where she and head coach Geno Auriemma had a tense exchange after South Carolina advanced to the title game for the third year in a row.
Rather than hash out more of her thoughts, Staley had a classy response.
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“I don’t want – this is UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep it UCLA, them winning the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic. “… We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it.”
Before this national title contest, Staley was spotted having a cordial experience greeting UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close — a much different experience than how Friday night ended with Auriemma.
After the Gamecocks defeated the Huskies, Staley and Auriemma went viral with their interaction at midcourt, where Auriemma appeared to enrage Staley before walking off.
This time, Staley and Close hugged and shared a few words. During the exchange, Staley “looked around afterward like, ‘see??’”, per NBC Sports.
Staley was showing a bit of sarcasm, as she noted Auriemma didn’t shake her hand before the Final Four tipped off between the two teams on Friday night.
After the Gamecocks’ victory over the Huskies, Staley was asked what exactly happened with Auriemma, though she tried to explain her focus in helping her team lock in for the national title game. If they won, it would’ve been the fourth national championship in the last 10 years for South Carolina.
“For me, no distractions at this time. I’m concentrating on winning a national championship, that’s it,” Staley said at the time. “That’s a little disheartening. This is sports, sometimes things like this happen. Continue to focus on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”
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Auriemma later released a statement, apologizing for his behavior after the loss.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
Staley added she had “no idea” why Auriemma was angry after the game, though she guessed perhaps he was ticked off by the lack of handshake before the game on his own end. Either way, Staley was moving forward.
“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on,” she said.
For UCLA, it was the first time the women’s basketball program has won the national title, as their emotional celebration ensued following the game in Phoenix.
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