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Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is running a new ad describing himself as one of the few Republicans who “never caved” to Donald Trump and touting his record sending National Guard troops to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

Scenes of the rioting that day have littered ads for Democratic candidates over the years, but Hogan is likely the only Republican in the country to feature them as he seeks to distinguish himself from the former president in a deep blue state. The ad is part of an almost $8 million blitz Hogan has reserved for the fall as he battles Angela Alsobrooks, who so far has reserved less than $1 million in ads, according to data from AdImpact.

“An early critic of Donald Trump,” a narrator says, as headlines from The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal flash on the screen, describing Hogan as the “un-Trump Republican” and “the face” of the “anti-Trump GOP.”

“On January 6, as we watched in horror, Hogan didn’t just talk about defending democracy, he did something — sending in the Maryland National Guard to protect the Capitol,” the narrator says, as video shows rioters storming the Capitol.

As he seeks to burnish his brand as GOP-bucking maverick, the former governor on Wednesday will headline an event called “Watergate at 50: Lessons in Protecting Democracy” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Watergate scandal. Hogan’s father, Lawrence Hogan, was the only Republican in Congress to vote for all three House articles of impeachment against President Richard M. Nixon, who resigned Aug. 8, 1974.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1 in Maryland, and Hogan needs a large swath of Democratic voters to cross party lines in November to beat Alsobrooks, the Prince Georges County executive who if elected would be the state’s first Black senator. Hogan, who left office with a high favorability rating, has leaned heavily into his reputation as a Trump critic as he battles for the seat.

“Republicans can’t count on my vote,” he said in one early ad.

Hogan skipped the Republican National Convention and has said he will not vote for Trump this fall. For his part, Trump has said he hopes Hogan wins to help the GOP take back control of the chamber.

Alsobrooks has sought to remind voters that Hogan has described himself as a “lifelong Republican” in advertisements, that Trump has endorsed Hogan and that his election could throw the balance of the Senate to Republicans. “We have the power to determine which party controls the Senate,” she says in one ad.

Alsobrooks, who counts Vice President Kamala Harris as a mentor, has benefited from a surge of grassroots enthusiasm since Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the party’s ticket.

A recent AARP poll shows the race in a dead heat, with 7 percent of voters undecided. Only 32 percent of voters said they planned to vote for Trump, with Hogan outperforming him by 40 net points among Democrats and independents.

Senate Democrats are seeking to defend their slim 51-seat majority this November as they play defense across a slew of expensive red and purple states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. Maryland was not expected to be on the map until Hogan’s late surprise announcement that he would seek to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.

Still, Hogan’s campaign thinks its biggest challenge is “reassuring voters who already trust and like Governor Hogan but are concerned about the national Republican agenda,” according to a recent strategy memo sent to supporters by campaign strategist Russ Schriefer.

“Our research indicates that these voters will support the Governor when they are reminded about his commitments and track record of independent leadership,” he wrote. “Our campaign has built the resources to reach these voters with winning messages.”

Hogan has vowed he would be a “pro-choice” senator as Democrats warn a GOP-led Congress could try to ban abortion nationally.

Hogan was repeatedly rebuffed by the Defense Department when he tried to send the National Guard to the Capitol, he previously told The Post. More than 90 minutes after his initial request, the secretary of the Army called asking the Maryland Guardsmen to “come as soon as possible.” Hogan held Trump “responsible” for “inciting” the mob.

Hogan’s new ad also touts his experience battling cancer, his handling of the Baltimore riots and balancing the budget.

Erin Cox contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on washingtonpost.com

After Nvidia (NVDA) dropped after earnings this week, investors are once again reminded of the importance of the semiconductor space. I think of semis as a “bellwether” group, as strength in the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) usually means the broader equity space is doing quite well. Today, we’ll look at a potential topping pattern forming for the SMH, what levels would confirm a top for semiconductors, and what weakness in this key group could imply for our equity benchmarks.

Presenting the Dreaded Head-and-Shoulders Top Pattern

Ralph Edwards and John Magee, in their classic text Technical Analysis of Stock Trends, laid out the analytical process for defining a head-and-shoulders top. I’ve found that any price pattern like this consists of three important phases.

First, we have the “Setup” phase, where the price action begins to take on the appearance of a certain phase. This is when your brain tells you, “This is definitely a head and shoulders topping pattern.” In this case, we’re looking for a significant high surrounded by two lower highs, creating the appearance of a head and two shoulders.

We can clearly observe the setup phase on the chart of the SMH, with the June and July highs forming a somewhat nontraditional, but still valid, head. The lower peaks in March and August complete the picture. It’s worth noting here that, in each of those peaks, we can see a bearish engulfing pattern, serving as a wonderful reminder for longer-term position traders: ignore candle patterns at your own risk!

What Would Confirm This Topping Pattern for Semis?

But the setup phase only means there is a potential pattern forming here. Next we need the “trigger” phase, where the price completes the pattern by breaking through a key trigger level on the chart. For a head-and-shoulders top, that means a break below the neckline, formed by drawing a trendline connecting the swing lows between the head and two shoulders.

Using the bar chart above, that would suggest a neckline around $200, over $40 below Friday’s close. Another school of thought involves looking at closing prices only, for a cleaner perspective and more simple measurements.

Using closing prices, we get an upward-sloping neckline which currently sits just below the 200-day moving average around $215. In either case, until we break below neckline support, this is not a valid head-and-shoulders topping pattern. The third phase, which I call the “confirmation” phase, involves some sort of follow-through beyond the breakout level. This could mean another down close after the break, or perhaps a certain percentage threshold below that support level. And once all three phases are complete, then we have a valid topping pattern.

Gauging Potential Broad Market Impact

So let’s assume that semiconductors do indeed complete the topping pattern. What would that mean for the broader equity landscape?

As of Friday’s close, the SMH is up about 38.2% year-to-date. That compares to the S&P 500 (SPY) at +18.9%, the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) with +16.2%, and the equal-weighted S&P 500 (RSP) at +12.1%. So semiconductors have certainly been a stronger leadership group in 2024. But what about since the July market peak?

Now we can see that, while the S&P 500 is almost back to its July peak, the Nasdaq is still 4% below that day’s close and semis are a full 11% below the market peak in July. And the equal-weighted S&P 500 is actually above its July peak already, speaking to the strength that we’ve observed in non-growth sectors off the early August low.

There is no doubt that semiconductors are looking a bit vulnerable after Nvidia’s earnings this week. But given the strength that we’re seeing outside of the semiconductor space over the last two months, weakness in the SMH does not necessarily mean weakness for stocks. Remember that it’s always a good time to own good charts!

RR#6,

Dave

P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!


David Keller, CMT

Chief Market Strategist

StockCharts.com


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

For the first time since 1945 a German far-right party is projected to win in regional elections, exit polls show.

Founded in 2013, far-right Alternative für Deutschland – or Alternative for Germany (AfD) – is on track to claim victory in state parliamentary elections in the country’s eastern region of Thuringia, initial exit polls by German state broadcaster ZDF show.

AfD is projected to get 33.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative party Christian Democrats (CDU) with 24.5%, according to ZDF.

In Saxony, which also held a regional election Sunday, the two parties are neck and neck, according to state broadcaster ZDF.

Newly founded left-wing party, the Sarah Wagenknecht alliance – or BSW – looks to be coming in third in both Thuringia and Saxony, where roughly 1.7 million people and 3.3 million were eligible to vote, respectively.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is projected to get disappointing results in both states.

The local elections results in Thuringia and Saxony are seen by many as a litmus test for Scholz and his coalition partners ahead of next year’s general elections. While the AfD has put immigration front and center of its agenda, the coalition built by Scholz is creaking, with infighting, disagreements about policy and accusations that elected officials no longer represent the values they were initially elected for.

AfD co-chair Alice Weisel called the results in Thuringia a “historic success,” reflecting the people’s “rejection” of Scholz’s coalition government.

“This is an even stronger result than in the last elections and, accordingly, we will of course emerge stronger from the elections,” she said.

“It is a rejection of this coalition and they should ask themselves whether they can continue to govern at all. The question should be raised for new elections. Because it can’t go on like this,” she added.

AfD would very unlikely be able to form a regional government, struggling to find allies in other parties.

Branches of the AfD are classified as suspected right-wing extremist by Germany’s intelligence agency and the party’s top candidate in Thuringia, Björn Höcke has been fined twice for using a Nazi slogan.

Regional elections take place every five years in Germany and each state can have their election at various dates. The German state of Brandenburg is set to head to the polls on September 22.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

An official investigation into the helicopter crash in May that killed Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and seven other people found it was caused by challenging climatic and atmospheric conditions, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.

The final report of the Supreme Board of the General Staff of the Armed Forces said the main cause of the helicopter crash was the complex climatic conditions of the region in spring, state TV said.

The report also cited the sudden appearance of a thick mass of dense fog rising upwards as the helicopter collided with the mountain.

According to the report, there were no signs of sabotage in parts and systems.

Raisi died alongside seven others including his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in the crash in a remote mountainous area in northwestern Iran.

This is a developing story. More to come.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

From bustling Tel Aviv to the southern Israeli city of Eilat, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas as they called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

Anger at Netanyahu – who has been accused of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters – reached a boiling point Sunday as protesters responded in fury to the news that another six captives had been found killed in Gaza. Israel’s largest labor union called for a general strike on Monday and threatened to shut down the “entire Israeli economy.”

The details of their deaths fueled anger that was palpable across the country as protesters blocked highways, waved Israeli flags, and chanted, “we won’t abandon them” in reference to the more than 100 hostages, including 35 believed to be dead, being held in Gaza, according to data from Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. The vast majority of those hostages were taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive.

In Tel Aviv, a group of protesters stood behind a mock cemetery while holding signs saying “named after Benjamin Netanyahu,” as they cast blame on the prime minister for the deaths of the hostages.

Later in the evening, the police fired a water cannon filled with foam at protesters blocking a highway in the city – prompting demonstrators to chant, “Officer, who are you keeping safe?”

In Tel Aviv, crowds were visibly emotional; many shouted “sorry” as the names of the six hostages were recited on a loudspeaker during the protest, which organizers said was the biggest since the start of the war.

In Jerusalem, protesters called for Netanyahu to resign as the government held a cabinet meeting. Eden Kramer, who attended the rally with a toddler in a stroller, said she was also demonstrating for the child’s future. “We hope everyone will come out today to bring a message to the government: We can’t keep up like this anymore,” she said.

Deal thrown into question

The discovery of the six hostage bodies has thrown negotiations for a deal into question.

Skepticism has mounted over Netanyahu’s willingness to strike one given fierce opposition from far-right ministers in his coalition. The Israeli prime minister’s political future largely depends on his far-right coalition partners – several of whom have already threatened to leave the government and cause its collapse if he agrees to the deal.

During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lambasted the Israeli government for what he said was prioritizing control of a key border area known as the Philadelphi corridor over a deal to free hostages, calling it a “moral disgrace.”

The Philadelphi corridor, a 14-kilometer (8.7 mile) stretch that runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt, is currently controlled by the IDF. The deployment of Israeli troops along the corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas, with Hamas saying Israeli troops must withdraw from the border zone. Netanyahu says control of the corridor is needed to prevent Hamas from resuming arms smuggling through tunnels underneath it.

Gallant, who has increasingly found himself isolated within Netanyahu’s cabinet on the issue of a hostage deal, warned his colleagues Sunday that “if we continue on this path, we won’t manage to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves.”

He added, “If we want the hostages alive, we don’t have time.”

A senior US official said the killings of the hostages called into question how serious Hamas is about reaching a deal as three of them were set to be released as part of the ceasefire agreement.

“US officials had been working on a final package together with Qatar and Egypt. The package included Hersh (Goldberg-Polin) and a number of the hostages who were just executed,” the senior US official said Sunday.

“This calls into question Hamas’ seriousness about a deal, even as pressure also builds on Israel and Netanyahu personally.”

The “situation is complicated,” the source said. There are currently no in-person joint negotiations with the parties, but the source said discussions continue through the regular channels.

‘In a downward spiral’

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has asked the country’s attorney general to request urgent injunctions to prevent the planned nationwide strike on Monday.

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Smotrich argued that a strike would hurt the economy during wartime and set a dangerous precedent. The attorney general’s office has not yet commented on the request.

He had earlier instructed the finance ministry’s salary department to pass on a directive that anyone who joins the strike on Monday will not be paid.

The chairman of Israel’s largest trade union, known as Histadrut, warned on Sunday that the country was “in a downward spiral, and we don’t stop receiving body bags.”

Arnon Bar-David, who called for the strike, told a press conference that “only a strike would shock, and that’s why I’ve decided that starting tomorrow at six in the morning, the entire Israeli economy will shut down.”

He added that the strike would include the shutdown of Ben-Gurion Airport. In a statement, Ben-Gurion Airport said it would be “open for flights and landings on Monday, September 2.”

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem said it would join the strike, which it described as a “response to the tragic news of the murder of our student Carmel Gat, along with five other Israeli hostages.”

Gat, a 40-year-old occupational therapist, was taken by Hamas from her parents’ home in the border kibbutz of Be’eri in southern Israel on October 7.

A spokesperson for the university said the shutdown would be more extensive than previous measures taken since the beginning of the war, such as a partial strike in June.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

He is 87 years old and in recent years has battled health difficulties and begun using a wheelchair. But Pope Francis is embarking on the longest trip of his pontificate.

On Monday, the pontiff starts a marathon 12-day visit of four countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore. It is one of the longest foreign trips any pope has embarked on and marks the furthest geographical distance (32,814 kilometers or about 20,000 miles ) thatFrancis has travelled since his 2013 election.

The landmark visit will allow this pope to highlight key themes of his pontificate, including inter-religious dialogue and protection of the environment.

The trip also underscores a significant shift taking place inside the Catholic Church: its tilt to Asia.

During his pontificate, Francis’ 44 previous foreign visits have included South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh. He has also appointed cardinals from the Philippines (Luis Antonio Tagle) and South Korea (Lazarus You Heung-sik) to senior positions in the church’s central administration.

The Catholic Church is no longer a Eurocentric or western institution but one where churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America have a growing voice. Francis, who as a young man wanted to be a missionary in Japan, has spoken favorably about male and female church leaders coming from countries outside of Europe.

Catholics in Asia are often in the minority, although they frequently punch above their weight when it comes to running schools and charitable works.

“Thepope is interested not so much in the number of Catholics as the vibrancy,”said Spadaro, who will be travelling with Francis. In many Asian countries, the Jesuit priest explained, the church seeks to act as a “leaven”in trying to serve the “common good,” while Asia “represents the future at this time in the world”.

Interfaith declaration

Often a minority, the churches in Asia are focused on dialogue with other religions, something that will be a central theme of the trip.

While in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim majority country, the pope will take part in a meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the largest in Southeast Asia. Afterwards, Francis will sign an interfaith declaration with the grand imam of Indonesia and is also expected to visit an underpass linking the mosque and the Catholic cathedral next door known as the “tunnel of friendship.”

“The pulse of the churches here is quite different from say, those in Europe or US where issues like polarization, secularization and abuse have dominated the headlines,” she added.

Spadaro said the “pope wants to give a signal about dialogue with Islam,” and points out that in Timor Leste, the government has adopted a landmark human fraternity document — signed by Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – as a national text.

Timor Leste is unusual for Asia as 97% the population identifies as Catholic, the highest proportion outside of the Vatican City State.

Michel Chambon, who works at the National University of Singapore and is an expert on Asian Catholicism, said the pope’s visit will help build relations and mutual understanding with these countries.

“The key thing is that the Vatican is not a European state, it is much more than that,” he said.

A giant in the background

Meanwhile, the Vatican’s relationship with China, an officially atheist state where religious practice is heavily curtailed by the government, will be in the background to this visit with Francis pushing ahead with trying to rebuild diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Catholicism is one of five state-recognized faiths in China. But, state-sanctioned Catholic churches were, for decades, run by bishops appointed by Beijing, not the Holy See, until the two sides reached an agreement in 2018. Details of the accord have never been made public and many within China’s underground congregations who have remained loyal to Rome and long faced persecution fear being abandoned.

Although the Holy See-China agreement has faced criticism, the Vatican says the deal is already paying off and hopes to open a permanent office in China. The pope has repeatedly said he would like to visit the country.

Supporters of the patient diplomacy strategy point to the Holy See’s improved relationship with another Communist-governed country: Vietnam. After years of talks, the pope was able to appoint the first resident ambassador in Hanoi at the end of last year.

Francis’ trip will also see him in a part of the world at risk of rising sea levels and natural disasters, with Papua New Guinea a country on the front line of the climate crisis. During his pontificate, the pope has insisted that the protection of the planet is a pressing moral issue, and his trip to the pacific is a chance once again to urge world leaders to take stronger action.

Making this lengthy trip now, after more than 11 years as pope, sends a message to those, including at senior levels in the church, hoping that this pontificate is running out of steam. Spadaro says it underlines the “liveliness of the pontificate at this moment.”

Francis will travel, as normal, with a doctor and two nurses. There are risks with making such a long and gruelling visit at his age. But this is a pope willing to take risks and pull off surprises. And he is determined to make one of the most ambitious trips of his pontificate.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Rock stars get to see more of the world than most of us, but when members of the quintessential 2000s’ rock band Hoobastank jetted into the US military base of Camp Humphreys in South Korea, they were struck by the familiarity.

“It’s like we’re in a different part of the world, and then, all of a sudden, we’re back in the States,” Robb said of the sprawling US base, home to 41,000 people, south of the capital Seoul.

Humphreys’ main street on the Fourth wouldn’t seem out of place in hundreds of small American cities. Kids splashed in a sidewalk fountain. Mobile food trucks served up barbecue, American and Korean. Schools and scouts held fundraisers. Military spouses sold sweets from their home-based businesses.

The difference here is that these scenes played out under the protection of Patriot missile defense launchers, just 60 miles from North Korea, and just a few minutes’ flight time for the arsenal of rocket launchers and artillery guns that point south and are commanded by Kim Jong Un, one of the world’s most isolated autocrats.

Camp Humphreys’ importance has only grown as North Korea has expanded its military threat in recent years, building a nuclear missile program in defiance of United Nations resolutions banning it, and releasing a steady stream of bellicose rhetoric against South Korea and its American ally.

North and South Korea agreed an armistice deal to end fighting in 1953, but no peace treaty was ever signed, so they’re still technically at war. Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States have a decades-old mutual defense treaty which means both must come to the aid of the other if they are ever attacked.

As tensions have steadily increased along the demilitarized zone over the past several years, so too has Camp Humphreys grown.

Garrison commander Col. Ryan Workman calls the base the “center of gravity of the military alliance” between South Korea and the United States.

But as the largest US base in South Korea, its presence also sends a message of deterrence across Northeast Asia.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee in March, the commander of US troops in South Korea, Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, said US adversaries China and Russia must be “mindful” of the tens of thousands of US troops on the peninsula in any conflict scenario.

LaCamera called South Korea the “linchpin of security in Northeast Asia and a treaty ally we must defend.”

A bull’s eye on the peninsula

Some say in the event of a renewed war on the Korean Peninsula, Camp Humphreys would be North Korea’s biggest target.

Humphreys is the headquarters of US Forces Korea, the US Eighth Army and the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division.

It also hosts the US-South Korea Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command, which was created to fight the Korean War and lives on as an international guarantor of South Korean security.

The installation has the US Army’s most-active airfield in the Pacific, humming with helicopter units and intelligence aircraft.

A drive around its miles of roads reveals hundreds of military vehicles and logistical equipment, all ensuring US units are ready – as the base’s motto says – to “fight tonight.”

“We do have a real mission here in Korea. And that is really to defend both of our homelands and maintain peace and security in the region,” says Col. Workman.

“It is a huge target … a big bull’s eye,” he said.

Hertling, a former commander of the US Army Europe, said that ever-looming threat means everyone – from generals to high school juniors – must always be in a state of readiness. Military members must be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, the troops to the fight, the families to safer areas to the south.

Everyone keeps a “go bag” – vital documents, medicines, essential clothes – in their quarters, and they drill on evacuation protocols, he says. If they have a car on base, they are required to keep a minimum amount of fuel in it to ensure a hasty retreat.

“Just like soldiers practice going to the front lines, family members will have rehearsals of what to do in case there is a threat that seems significant and that they have to get off the peninsula,” Hertling said.

Holding down the homefront

If any of those possible dangers and readiness drills are on Tyrese “Re” Cook’s mind on a June afternoon, she shows none of it.

She has her hands full, probably not that much different from thousands of parents around Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cook family’s hometown.

Her husband, Sgt. Terry Cook, works in IT support, keeping computers ready for the office and battlefield.

Together, they have five children – all girls – two sets of twins age 6 months and 5 years, as well as a 2-year-old in the middle.

Re juggles making meals, getting the older twins to school and back, changing diapers on the younger twins and making her own YouTube videos to introduce life in South Korea to the world.

They’ve only been at Humphreys a couple of months, but it already feels like home, Re said as she sat down to chat for a few minutes.

“I feel this is a base full of opportunity … it’s a mini-America,” Cook said.

On July 4, Hoobastank played their holiday gig at an outdoor stage just off the base’s main street, which looks more like an export of a Dallas suburb than any town in South Korea.

A Texas Road House restaurant welcomes diners across the plaza from a bowling alley with dozens of lanes, video gaming stations that look like something from a sci-fi movie, and a line of massage chairs with a waiting list on a sultry holiday afternoon.

Classic American food staples are available at the base commissary – think H-E-B, Kroger or Safeway – and residents are even treated to authentic Krispy Kreme doughnuts, made on site with the original recipe, which remains a closely guarded secret.

Most of the ingredients for the doughnuts are imported from the States, said Choi Sung Ha, manager of the Army Air Force Exchange (AAFES) Bakery on Camp Humphreys, who is also an Army veteran and naturalized American.

He said, for families stationed at the base, biting into those gooey doughnuts is like biting into a piece of home.

“That’s our intent, and that’s what I’m proud of,” Choi said.

The 300 dozen Krispy Kremes the bakery produces daily are just one of the products hot off its production lines.  Its bakers also produce Wonder Bread – 1,400 loaves a day – brioche buns for Popeye’s chicken sandwiches and sesame seed buns for Burger King Whoppers.

All told, the bakery goes through 5,400 pounds of dough a day, officials said.

Believe it or not, familiar baked goods are a subliminal part of military readiness, according to Air Force Col. Jason Beck, Pacific region commander for AAFES.

If a soldier in the field knows their family back on base is enjoying “a taste of home,” they’re more likely to be more focused on their mission, Beck said.

And troops that know their families are happy are more likely to stay in the military and stay in South Korea, he said.

The Cook’s military-supplied apartment has echoes of home, with three bedrooms, modern American appliances and a large, comfortable couch.

Its electrical sockets take American plugs, which means small appliances brought from the US are easily used without adapters.

“That’s so simple and little” but provides “a piece of comfort of home,” said Re.

Another military spouse, Dymen McCoy, started a home-based business, LeahCole’s Delights, after arriving in South Korea two years ago from North Carolina.

During the July Fourth festival, she sold baked treats from a stand on the base’s main promenade. Business was brisk. By midafternoon, cupcakes were still available, but the brownies were gone, save for a few crumbs she offered as a sample.

“I hit my stride here, when we got to Korea,” McCoy said, explaining that the business is now finding customers across Humphreys’ many commands and those in nearby Osan Air Base.

“We just kinda blew up here bigger than we imagined,” McCoy said, as customers stopped by, with some saying friends had told them about her “must try” products.

100% commitment to South Korea

The military history of Camp Humphreys dates back more than 100 years, when the Japanese colonial occupiers of Korea built Pyeongtaek Airfield on the site. During the Korean War, US forces repaired and expanded it for American use, naming it K-6.

In 1962, K-6 was renamed Camp Humphreys in honor of Army Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin Humphreys, a helicopter pilot who was killed in an accident.

The base took on various functions for more than four decades until 2007, when land was broken for an expanded Humphreys to be known as US Army Garrison Humphreys.

Under a 2004 deal with the South Korean government, the US moved troops from bases in and north of the South Korean capital, including the US Forces Korea headquarters at Yongsan in central Seoul, to Humphreys.

It saw the footprint of Humphreys triple, from 1,210 acres to more than 3,600 acres.

In the 2000s, that expansion saw protests as some South Koreans decried forced evictions of local landowners and the effects on land prices and noise levels the expanded Humphreys would bring.

But the South Korean government stressed the need for the base, especially having Yongsan return to Korean control. In a 2006 statement, then-Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook called it “a matter of boosting national pride.”

After more than 10 years of work, the transformation became official on June 29, 2018, when the new, relocated headquarters of UN Command and US Forces Korea opened at Humphreys.

The expansion had cost $10.8 billion, 90% of which was paid by the South Korean government, Gen. Vincent Brooks, then-commander of USFK, said in a dedication speech that day.

“For that 90%, the US remains with you, 100%!” Brooks told the Koreans in attendance.

Then-South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo told the crowd the UN and US forces at Humphreys would play “a crucial role of contributing to the world’s peace by achieving a balance as the stabilizer of Northeast Asia and peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Since 2018, the base has continued to expand with construction cranes towering over new housing blocks as the US military adds capacity.

At the end of May, two eight-story housing blocks opened for enlisted personnel without families, with room for more than 300 residents in each tower.

The $67 million cost was funded by South Korea, an Army release said.

Eleven projects valued at more than $1 billion are expected to be completed by September 2026 under the Humphreys modernization plan, said Daniel Hancock, deputy to the garrison commander. Those include barracks, vehicle maintenance facilities, a satellite communications facility, an elementary school, and aircraft support facilities.

Plans for the next decade include more aviation hangars, a new airport runway and aircraft parking areas, a consolidated headquarters and new maintenance, laundry and dining facilities, Hancock said.

Camp Humphreys is preparing for a workday population of 45,000 in the next three to five years – almost double the 26,000 people who report for duty each day at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

“We’ve grown exponentially and continue to grow,” Hancock says.

The newest Americans in Korea

Some of that growth is organic.

Eight of the 68 beds at the Brian. D. Allgood Army Community Hospital – Humphreys’ base medical center – are reserved for labor and delivery. And on average, a baby is born on Camp Humphreys almost every day of the year, hospital officials say.

Not far from the hospital, on a rainy July morning, enlisted soldiers head down a hallway of the clubhouse restaurant at the camp’s 18-hole golf course to a ballroom.

Inside, a TV screen links to a State Department official in Guam, the closest actual American territory to Camp Humphreys.

Ten chairs, in two rows of five, are lined up in the center of the room. In them, 10 men and women united by improbable journeys to Camp Humphreys raise their right hands and recite the American citizenship oath of allegiance at the direction of the official in Guam.

It is an eye-watering moment – US Army service members born in Cuba, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Nigeria, and Mexico, all becoming citizens of the democracy they swore to defend.

When the oath ended, there was not just applause, but a roar from the audience.

Smiles were luminous. For the 10 men and women, it was a present born proudly, a new chapter as Americans.

“For me, this is 12 years in the making,” exclaimed Staff Sgt. Vanessa Ramo, who was born in the Philippines.

“I came (to Hawaii) on a plane with my parents when I was 7 years old. They’ve been working on getting me my permanent residency… We didn’t have enough money to get it done. So, the best way to go about it was to enlist in the Army.”

A friend held Ramo tight, giving her balloons and three roses, one red, one white, one blue.

The moment was both a familiar ritual and a microcosm of Humphreys’ international identity – the base naturalized 188 service members in 2023, according to Hancock, the deputy to the garrison commander.

“It is a great honor and privilege for United States Army Garrison Humphreys to support the naturalization ceremonies,” Hancock said. “Our nation and Army are built upon people from all societies, and we are appreciative to support this long legacy of helping our soldiers and their families from all over the world go from immigrants to citizens.”

In the audience for Ramo was her platoon leader, 2nd Lt. Jacob Han – born in South Korea, naturalized as a US citizen in Philadelphia.

“It just makes me really proud because I’m a Korean-American, meaning, I can serve the country I was born in, but also, the country that gave me a lot of opportunities,” Han said.

“I moved to the US when I was in first grade, and I feel like I got a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten if I were in South Korea. So, I think I owe the country some service as well.”

Ramo said to be an American in Korea, stationed at Humphreys, now amplifies her deployment on the peninsula.

“It gets me where I wanted to be in life,” she said. “I have a lot of things I do want to accomplish, and I want the soldiers who think they can’t get citizenship that they can. And they can make a difference in everyone’s life.”

Sgt. Cook’s surprising find

The key role immigration plays in the US military, and Camp Humphreys, is on vivid display on a June afternoon during a change of command ceremony for the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 2nd Infantry Division.

Capt. Emily Sevilla, a Filipino woman, is turning over leadership of the 80- to 100-member unit to Capt. Earlson Suico, also a native of the Philippines.

They are products of what Suico, in remarks at the ceremony, sees as a family.

“Today, I officially adopted a good amount of extended family members in the formation,” he said.

The two captains are also both embodiments of the American dream.

Standing in the ranks as the command changes hands is Sgt. Cook, himself realizing the American dream through the US military, with his wife, Re, and their five daughters.

Cook was a truck driver back in Cincinnati before he joined the Army, earned a college degree, learned IT and began the journey that brought him and his family to Humphreys.

Earlier in the day, the sergeant was part of a different ceremony. He and others were getting their yellow belts in Taekwondo, the Korean martial art, with five key tenets: Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.

Cook says all those qualities apply to a soldier.

Taekwondo “just teaches discipline, mental toughness and showing off your agility and things like that,” he said after the yellow belt ceremony. He’ll be a black belt, the top level in the art, after passing several more stages.

Getting there is “really perfect for the discipline, which goes hand in hand with the US military,” Cook said.

And Taekwondo helps him understand his South Korean military allies, he said.

Cook is in a combined division, as close as allies get, their units enmeshed with one another.

“They’re in our ranks, so we do immerse with them, within the culture, within our job and what we do in our workplace every day,” he said.

And that relationship, the Korean experience, the Humphreys’ experience, gives him something outsiders might find surprising from a man whose brought his family halfway around the world to this piece of America just 60 miles from North Korea.

“In the two months I’ve been here, what stands out the most is the peace,” Cook said.

“The peace that you have here, here at Camp Humphreys, (it’s) just different from anywhere else in the world.

“There’s just a calm here, and a peace here, that’s really easy to get sucked into.”

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Norway (AP) — A white beluga whale named “Hvaldimir,” first spotted in Norway not far from Russian waters with a harness that ignited rumors he may be a Moscow spy, has been found dead.

The Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that the whale carcass was found floating at the Risavika Bay in southern Norway Saturday by a father and son who were fishing.

The beluga, named by combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and Russian President Putin’s first name Vladimir, was lifted out of the water with a crane and taken to a nearby harbor where experts will examine it.

“Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea. He has passed away but it’s not immediately clear what the cause of death is,” marine biologist Sebastian Strand told NRK, adding that no major external injuries were visible on the animal.

Strand, who has monitored Hvaldimir’s adventures for the past three years on behalf of the Norway-based Marine Mind non-profit organization, said he was deeply affected by the whale’s sudden death.

“It’s absolutely horrible,” Strand said. “He was apparently in good condition as of (Friday). So we just have to figure out what might have happened here.”

The 4.2-meter (14-foot) long and 1,225-kilogram (2,700-pound) whale was first spotted by fishermen near the northern island of Ingøya, not far from the Arctic city of Hammerfest, in April 2019 wearing a harness and what appeared to be a mount for a small camera and a buckle marked with text “Equipment St. Petersburg.”

That sparked allegations that the beluga was “a spy whale.” Experts said the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes.

Over the years, the beluga was seen in several Norwegian coastal towns and it quickly became clear that he was very tame and enjoyed playing with people, NRK said.

NGO Marine Mind said on its site that Hvaldimir was very interested in people and responded to hand signals.

“Based on these observations, it appeared as if Hvaldimir arrived in Norway by crossing over from Russian waters, where it is presumed he was held in captivity,” it said.

Norwegian media have speculated whether Hvaldimir could have been used as “a therapy whale” of some sort in Russia.

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Israel’s main international airport suspended flights Monday as part of a nationwide strike following public fury over the killing of six captives in Hamas tunnels under Gaza as calls mount for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

The country’s largest labor union, known as Histadrut, has threatened to shut down the “entire” economy, with its chairman Arnon Bar-David warning on Sunday that Israel was “in a downward spiral, and we don’t stop receiving body bags.”

The general strike, which began Monday morning, reflects growing anger toward Netanyahu – who has been accused by critics of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters.

It aims to put pressure on the government to secure a deal that would ensure the return of more than 100 hostages, including 35 believed to be dead, being held in Gaza. The vast majority of those hostages were taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive.

Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in multiple cities on Sunday in one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas.

Supporters have vowed a national response, and some protesters returned to the streets in Tel Aviv Monday morning, blocking a major avenue.

The discovery of the six hostage bodies has thrown negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal into question.

In Jerusalem, protesters called for Netanyahu to resign, while during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lambasted the Israeli government for what he said was prioritizing control of a key border area known as the Philadelphi corridor over a deal to free hostages, calling it a “moral disgrace.”

Splits within the cabinet over the conduct of the war have become increasingly public and rancorous in recent months reflecting deep divisions at the top of Israel’s government.

American officials have described new urgency in reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said while meeting the families of Americans held hostage that “the next few days will be critical” in the push to free those still held by Hamas.

Strike to hit public services, schools

As well as an impact on flights, some Israeli municipalities have said they’ll join the strike, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, according to a list from the Histadrut outlining who has joined the action as well as statements from some of the cities.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities could also be impacted, with both working on a weekend schedule and on an emergency basis, according to the statement.

The country’s teachers’ union has said it will not join the strike, according to a statement from the union, though support staff at schools will, which may impact education institutions.

However, Israel’s biggest universities will all join the strike, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

A spokesperson for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said the shutdown would be more extensive than previous measures taken since the beginning of the war, such as a partial strike in June. This shutdown will include all activities except for exams.

Ahead of Monday’s strike, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich asked the country’s attorney general to request urgent injunctions to prevent the planned action.

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Smotrich argued that a strike would hurt the economy during wartime and set a dangerous precedent. A hearing is set to be held Monday morning.

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A tiger mauled its handler at a popular amusement park on the Gold Coast in Australia, leaving the experienced worker hospitalized with “serious lacerations and puncture wounds” to her arm.

The unnamed handler, 47, was working with one of Dreamworld’s nine tigers when, according to the Queensland Ambulance Service, she was attacked shortly before 9 a.m. Monday local time.

Park staff were able to restrain the tiger before paramedics arrived.

“The patient obviously had received some serious lacerations and puncture wounds from the animal,” Queensland Ambulance Service acting district director Justin Payne told reporters.

“Thankfully on their arrival the bleeding had been managed very well by first aid providers there at Dreamworld, which was excellent to see,” Payne said.

The handler “was quite pale and feeling unwell,” but is now in a stable condition at Gold Coast University Hospital, he added.

In a statement Dreamworld said Monday’s attack was an “isolated and rare incident” and the business’s “immediate focus is on the support of the team member.”

Dreamworld declined to answer further questions on the welfare of the tiger.

The park remained open to the public on Monday.

Dreamworld’s Tiger Island exhibit is billed as an “interactive” experience where visitors can “can get so close you could feel the breath of a tiger.”

The park’s website advertises the opportunity for visitors to feed some of its nine Bengal and Sumatran tigers.

Monday’s attack in not the first time a tiger has injured staff at Dreamworld. In 2011, a 160-kilogram Bengal tiger named Keto bit two handlers in two separate incidents, according to local media reports at the time.

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