Some personal news…🥰 See you all in November 🩷🩷
Natasha Bertrand
@natashabertrand.bsky.social
CNN national security correspondent. Send tips/pics of your dog(s) to Natasha.bertrand@cnn.com Signal: Natashabertrand.12 https://www.cnn.com/profiles/natasha-bertrand-profile
New: The US’ top general made a secret, rushed visit to CENTCOM hq late last month to be briefed in person on plans for the US military to send troops into Iran to forcibly seize its highly enriched uranium, a high risk operation with the potential for extreme casualties: www.cnn.com/2026/06/12/p...
Exclusive: US military rushed to prepare ground mission to capture Iran’s uranium, but Trump paused it, sources say | CNN Politics
The US’ top general made a secret, rushed visit to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to be briefed in person on plans for the US military to send ground troops into Iran to fo...
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Exclusive: Earlier this spring, a mysterious explosion blew up a car carrying an alleged cartel operative in broad daylight. It was a targeted assassination facilitated by CIA ops officers on the ground. More here on a deadly US campaign that's gone largely unnoticed: www.cnn.com/2026/05/12/p...
Exclusive: CIA escalates secret war on cartels with deadly operations inside Mexico | CNN Politics
Since last year, CIA operatives inside Mexico have directly participated in deadly attacks on several, mostly mid-level cartel members, the sources said.
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The $25 billion estimate that a Pentagon official gave to Congress for the total cost to date of the Iran war is a lowball figure that doesn’t include the cost of repairing extensive damage suffered by US bases in the region—real cost is closer to $40-50B, per sources www.cnn.com/2026/04/29/p...
Repairing damaged US military bases will add billions to Iran war cost, sources say | CNN Politics
The $25 billion estimate that a top Pentagon official gave to lawmakers on Wednesday for the total cost to date of the Iran war is a lowball figure that does not include the cost of repairing extensiv...
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New: US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments. A Chinese embassy spokesperson denied the claim. www.cnn.com/2026/04/11/p...
Exclusive: US intelligence indicates China is preparing weapons shipment to Iran amid fragile ceasefire, sources say | CNN Politics
US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
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New: Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US ground operation there, sources say Gulf allies are warning of significant US casualties if US moves forward www.cnn.com/2026/03/25/p...
Iran building up defenses of Kharg Island to protect against potential US ground attack, sources say | CNN Politics
Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island, according...
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New: Recovering Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium stockpile — an objective the Trump admin has been discussing — would require a significant number of US ground troops, beyond a small special operations footprint, per 7 current & former officials. www.cnn.com/2026/03/09/p...
Capturing Iran’s highly enriched uranium would require a large US ground force, sources say | CNN Politics
Recovering Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium stockpile that is believed to be sitting in a storage facility deep underground, an objective the Trump administration has been discussing, would re...
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NEW: The CIA has been working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN. www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/p...
CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say | CNN Politics
The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran and the Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish lea...
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CNN's @natashabertrand.bsky.social reporting rumored rationale that Iran was about to strike us first, preemptively, is not accurate to US sources she's spoken with. VERY important because that would be a reason to not go to Congress first - imminent threat to US forces.
When Trump addressed the American people on Tuesday night, he claimed that Iran is “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.” That assertion is not backed up by US intelligence, sources told CNN. www.cnn.com/2026/02/27/p...
Trump claimed Iran is building missiles that could soon hit the US. Sources say that’s not backed up by US intelligence. | CNN Politics
When US President Donald Trump addressed the American people on Tuesday night, he claimed that Iran is “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
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New: Military officers could soon find dozens of top colleges and universities across the US (list in replies) abruptly off limits for tuition assistance as part of Hegseth’s campaign against schools he describes as being biased against the US military www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/p...
Pentagon may bar tuition aid for top universities in Hegseth’s crackdown on ‘biased’ schools | CNN Politics
Military officers could soon find dozens of top colleges and universities across the United States abruptly off limits for tuition assistance as part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s campaign again...
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Breaking: A fed judge has shut down Hegseth’s attempts to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over his urging of US service members to refuse illegal orders “Senator Kelly was reprimanded for exercising his First Amendment right to speak on matters of public concern," wrote US District Judge Richard Leon.
Breaking: The US and Russia have agreed to re-establish high level military to military dialogue, which had been dormant for more than 4 years. The channel was suspended in the fall of 2021 in the run up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. www.eucom.mil/pressrelease...
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The US is making plans to try to intercept a fleeing oil tanker currrntly in the North Atlantic that Russia has claimed ownership of, per 4 sources, setting up a possible confrontation between Washington and the Kremlin… www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/p...
US is making plans to intercept Venezuela-linked oil tanker that Russia has claimed ownership of, sources say | CNN Politics
The US is making plans to try to intercept a fleeing oil tanker that Russia has claimed ownership of, according to four people familiar with the matter, setting up a possible confrontation between Was...
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New: Trump administration officials are internally pointing to a 1989 legal opinion and the subsequent US invasion of Panama as precedent to justify the operation that was carried out in Venezuela on Friday night without US congressional authorization, per 3 sources.
Exclusive: The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility in Venezuela, sources told CNN, marking the first known US attack on a target inside that country. This is the attack Trump has repeatedly alluded to in recent days. www.cnn.com/2025/12/29/p...
Exclusive: CIA carried out drone strike on port facility on Venezuelan coast | CNN Politics
The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, marking the first known US attack on a target inside that...
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Exclusive: Top lawyer for military joint chiefs told chairman that officers should retire if faced with an unlawful order. That advice is raising serious concerns among current and former officials. Latest: www.cnn.com/2025/12/19/p...
Exclusive: Top lawyer for military joint chiefs told chairman that officers should retire if faced with an unlawful order | CNN Politics
How should a military commander respond if they determine they have received an unlawful order?
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Potentially a big day on the Hill tomorrow… Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine and SecState Marco Rubio are expected to brief the Gang of 8 tomorrow afternoon Separately, outgoing Southern Command commander Adm. Alvin Holsey is expected to virtually meet HASC and SASC leaders.
New: Alleged traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were not heading toward the US, Adm Bradley told lawmakers yesterday, per people briefed. Instead they were heading to link up with another vessel that was bound for Suriname. www.cnn.com/2025/12/05/p...
Exclusive: Boat at center of double-tap strike controversy was meeting vessel headed to Suriname, admiral told lawmakers | CNN Politics
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east ...
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New: The men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat after the Sept 2 secondary strike did not appear to have radio or other comms devices, top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers, undercutting claim they could have called for backup. www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers | CNN Politics
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications device...
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New: A classified final version of the Pentagon inspector general’s report into Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss sensitive military operations has been delivered to lawmakers for review, and a declassified, redacted version is set to be released publicly on Thursday. www.cnn.com/2025/12/02/p...
Classified Pentagon watchdog report on Hegseth’s use of Signal sent to lawmakers | CNN Politics
A classified final version of the Pentagon inspector general’s report into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss sensitive military operations has been delivered to the House an...
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The US military carried out a followup strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Sept 2, killing survivors of the initial strike, sources said. People briefed on the “double-tap” strike said they were concerned that it could violate the law of armed conflict. www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...
US military carried out second strike killing survivors on a suspected drug boat that had already been attacked, sources say | CNN Politics
The US military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2 after an initial attack did not kill everyone on board, sources familiar with the ma...
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Update on the US-Ukraine talks in Geneva today: US and Ukrainian delegations are having a formal meeting now “where they will be ironing out the details of the agreement,” per US official. Previous talks were “conclusive” in some areas, official says.
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
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Trump admin officials told Congress that the US is not currently planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against land targets right now—but they’re seeking one from DOJ, per US official. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
Trump admin tells Congress it currently lacks legal justification to strike Venezuela | CNN Politics
The “execute order” that launched the US military campaign against suspected drug boats in September also does not extend to land targets, the briefers said, according to the sources.
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New: The Pentagon cleared giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles after assessing that it would not negatively impact US stockpiles, despite Trump suggesting earlier this month that the US might not have enough to give away. Final decision largely political now. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/31/p...
Pentagon cleared giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, leaving final decision to Trump | CNN Politics
The Pentagon has given the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles after assessing that it would not negatively impact US stockpiles, leaving the final politic...
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NEW: National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026. Hegseth extended their orders on Monday. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/29/p...
Exclusive: National Guard orders in DC extended through February 2026 | CNN Politics
National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026, according to people familiar with the Guard’s orders.
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NEW: The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement aimed at getting the centers built faster. www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Looking to speed up building network of migrant detention centers, Trump administration turns to the US Navy | CNN Politics
The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement ai...
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Great video by @averyschmitz.bsky.social (with some narration help by me 🤭) taking a look at what the US military has built up in the Caribbean.