The U.S. military is planning to remove 700 troops assigned to the 101st Airborne Division from Eastern Europe as the Pentagon focuses on other regions.

A top U.S. military official has ordered the Guards of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories to form “quick reaction forces” trained in “riot control,” including the use of batons, body shields, tasers and pepper spray, according to an internal Pentagon directive reviewed by The Guardian.

Dozens of reporters stationed at the Pentagon walked out this week and surrendered their access badges rather than sign on to new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth they said would restrict how they do their jobs.

The Federalist, the Epoch Times, and One America News signed the Defense Department’s press rules. The rest are freelancers, independent or work for media outfits based overseas.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter{beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story The Pentagon reporters have left the

And big players in the defense world — such as Lockheed Martin and Palantir — are helping to bankroll a $300 million ballroom to be built on the wreckage of the East Wing (Notably, Lutnick himself is also listed as one of the donors in a list obtained from the White House by our own Diana Nerozzi. But that list was not comprehensive.)

When you imagine media in a dictatorship, you probably think of something dull and gray. Maybe a Soviet state-television program, extolling the annual harvest. Perhaps a smudgy newspaper photograph of Chairman Mao or General Pinochet, surrounded by blocks of turgid prose.

Following the Pentagon's criticism of Boots, the government is taking aim at another streaming hit with A House of Dynamite. Read on for more.