Jack Teixeira: How did someone so young have access to such sensitive files?
A remarkable leak, a breathtaking breach of security, a strain on America’s alliances globally, and on Thursday afternoon it all came to a dramatic end in a rural corner of Massachusetts.
The day’s events were very fast moving and began not, as might have been expected, with breakthroughs by the authorities investigating the leak, but instead from a series of investigations by the media.
First, a scoop from the Washington Post newspaper which revealed that an individual had leaked the information to a small circle of online friends on a social media platform called Discord, popular with gamers.
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What do the highly classified documents say?
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Moment ‘leaker’ of US documents arrested
The Post obtained an interview with a member of the group who claimed the documents had then been disseminated out beyond the closed group.
By late morning, The New York Times, working with the open-source investigators Bellingcat, published a trail of digital evidence which they claimed identified Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman as the leader of the Discord group where the documents first appeared.
Journalists were on the doorstep of the Teixeira family home in rural Massachusetts while the Pentagon spokesman struggled to tread the water from a flood of questions about the morning’s revelations.
But as Brigadier-General Pat Ryder spoke, an arrest came.
The cable news networks already had their helicopters over the Massachusetts countryside and beamed live images of the heavily armed FBI agents arriving and then arresting Teixeira.
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What do classified documents say?
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The US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, then made a statement confirming the news that viewers had just watched.
It appears that the American authorities have been on the backfoot at every turn with this case.
They now claim to have their leaker. He will go through the judicial process.
They will be relieved, at least, that he appears not to be a foreign agent.
But they have many questions to answer: how did a 21-year old Air National Guardsman have access to these documents?
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Was he entitled to the access? Are there more classified documents out there? Why did it take so long, with media help, to find him?
More broadly, the consequence of a leak like this is that everyone shares less. America’s allies may be reluctant to share their own secrets with Washington. But those allies will know too that American agencies will now share less of their own intel with them.
Trust needs to be rebuilt beyond the damage they know has already been done.
The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, says Donald Trump.
The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.
Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump said the EU deal was the “biggest deal ever made” and it will be “great for cars”.
The US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods into America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy.
He said there will be an EU investment of $600bn in the US, the bloc will buy $750bn in US energy and will also purchase US military equipment.
Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was “fairness”, citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture.
He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes.
For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU.
Ms von der Leyen said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, saying it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.
In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods.
Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a “tough negotiator and dealmaker”.
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At least 11 people have been stabbed at a Walmart supermarket in Michigan, with six in a critical condition.
Officials say a suspect is in custody – and at this stage, it is believed the attack was a “random act” that involved a folding-style knife near the checkout area.
Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters: “Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Pic: AP
The suspect, who is from Michigan, is not known to police – and was captured within three minutes thanks to “citizen involvement”.
The attack unfolded in Traverse City – and Tiffany DeFell, who was in the car park at the time, described scenes of chaos.
“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies.”
Beyond the six people in a critical condition, it is believed the remaining five were seriously hurt. All 11 are still being treated in hospital.
Pic: AP
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.”
A Walmart spokesperson added that the retailer is working closely with law enforcement.
“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a statement said.
Pic: AP
At this stage, the ages of the victims is unclear – but it is not thought any of the victims were Walmart employees.
Traverse City is about 255 miles northwest of Detroit.
A US passenger plane made a dramatic plunge minutes after take-off to dodge another aircraft – injuring two cabin crew and causing passengers to shoot out of their seats.
The Southwest flight had just taken off from Burbank in California when the pilot received an alert about a nearby plane.
Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft dropped by 91m (300ft) in just 36 seconds. Those on board said they felt panicked, and some feared the plane was about to crash.
Comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X: “Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid mid-air collision … myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.”
Stef Zambrano saw a woman who wasn’t wearing her seatbelt thrown out of her seat, who then said: “I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground.”
Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC Los Angeles that it felt like the plane was in freefall for 10 seconds.
“People were screaming. You know, it was pandemonium. People thought the plane was going down,” he added.
The aircraft was able to continue to its destination of Las Vegas, where it safely landed without any further incident.
It is believed the Boeing 737 was in the same vicinity as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a British fighter jet.
Southwest is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the event.
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January: Footage of Washington plane crash
This is the second time in a week that a passenger plane has had to make abrupt flight manoeuvres to avoid a potential mid-air collision.
Concerns have been raised about aviation safety in the US following a series of recent incidents.
In January, a mid-air collision in Washington DC killed 67 people.
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