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U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea pleads guilty to desertion

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Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last year, has pleaded guilty to desertion and other charges, the U.S. Army announced Friday.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, the 24-year-old Army private pleaded guilty in a military hearing Friday in Fort Bliss, Texas, to one count of desertion, three counts of disobeying a superior commissioned officer and one count of assault on a noncommissioned officer, the Army Office of the Special Trial Counsel said in a news release.  

King was sentenced to 12 months confinement, but will receive credit for time already served. He also received a demotion to E1, which is the lowest enlisted rank, as well as a dishonorable discharge.

At the time that he fled into North Korea in July 2023, King had been about to fly back to the U.S. from Seoul after serving time at a South Korea detention facility for assaulting two people and kicking a police car while in the country. However, after arriving at the airport, he skipped his flight and then ran across the border from South Korea into North Korea while taking part in a guided tour of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

After holding him for about two months, the North Koreans expelled him to China, who transferred him into U.S. custody in September 2023. U.S. officials at the time said no concessions were made by Washington to secure King’s release. 

He has been in confinement at the Otero County Jail in New Mexico since returning to the U.S. It was unclear if he was released from custody following Friday’s hearing. 

He was initially charged with 14 counts, but his attorney announced last month that as part of his plea deal, nine of the 14 counts were dismissed.

King served in the U.S. Army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of the Pentagon’s regular Korean Force Rotation.

“The outcome of today’s court-martial is a fair and just result that reflects the seriousness of the offenses committed by Pvt. King and will promote good order and discipline within the U.S. Army by deterring soldiers from committing similar offenses in the future,” Maj. Allyson Montgomery, an Army prosecutor, said in a statement. 

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to visit Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank workers

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday will visit the Pennsylvania ammunition factory that is producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country’s fight to fend off Russian ground forces.

He is expected to go to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant to kick off a busy week in the United States shoring up support for Ukraine in the war, according to two U.S. officials and a third familiar with Zelenskyy’s schedule who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that were not yet public. He also will address the U.N. General Assembly annual gathering in New York and travel to Washington for talks on Thursday with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Scranton plant is one of the few facilities in the country to manufacture 155 mm artillery shells. They are used in howitzer systems, which are towed large guns with long barrels that can fire at various angles. Howitzers can strike targets up to 15 miles to 20 miles (24 kilometers to 32 kilometers) away and are highly valued by ground forces to take out enemy targets from a protected distance.

Ukraine has already received more than 3 million of the 155 mm shells from the U.S.

With the war now well into its third year, Zelenskyy has been pushing the U.S. for permission to use longer range missile systems to fire deeper inside of Russia.

So far he has not persuaded the Pentagon or White House to loosen those restrictions. The Defense Department has emphasized that Ukraine can already hit Moscow with Ukrainian-produced drones, and there is hesitation on the strategic implications of a U.S.-made missile potentially striking the Russian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia would be “at war” with the United States and its NATO allies if they allow Ukraine to use the long-range weapons.

At one point in the war, Ukraine was firing between 6,000 and 8,000 of the 155 mm shells per day. That rate started to deplete U.S. stockpiles and drew concern that the level on hand was not enough to sustain U.S. military needs if another major conventional war broke out, such as in a potential conflict over Taiwan.

In response, the U.S. has invested in restarting production lines and is now manufacturing more than 40,000 155 mm rounds a month, with plans to hit 100,000 rounds a month. During his visit, Zelenskyy is expected to meet and thank workers who have increased production of the 155 mm rounds over the past year.

Two of the Pentagon leaders who have pushed that increased production through — Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology and Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer — are also expected to join Zelenskyy at the plant, as is Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa.

The 155 mm rounds are just one of the scores of ammunition, missile, air defense and advanced weapons systems the U.S. has provided Ukraine — everything from small arms bullets to advanced F-16 fighter jets. The U.S. has been the largest donor to Ukraine, providing more than $56 billion of the more than $106 billion NATO and partner countries have collected to aid in its defense.

Even though Ukraine is not a member of NATO, commitment to its defense is seen by many of the European nations as a must to keep Putin from further military aggression that could threaten bordering NATO-member countries and result in a much larger conflict.



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FBI agents have boarded vessel managed by company whose cargo ship collapsed Key Bridge

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Key Bridge victim’s wife on legal action


Francis Scott Key Bridge victim’s wife wants legal action against Dali ship company

03:55

Federal agents have boarded a vessel managed by the same company as a cargo ship that caused the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, the FBI has confirmed to CBS News. 

In statements Saturday, spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed that authorities have boarded the Maersk Saltoro. The ship is managed by Synergy Marine Group.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and Coast Guard Investigative Services are present aboard the Maersk Saltoro conducting court authorized law enforcement activity,” the FBI told CBS News in a statement.

The agency said it was “unable to comment further.” 

In a lawsuit Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department has alleged that Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore, recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel that had a power outage moments before it crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. Six men who were doing work on the bridge died. 

The Justice Department is seeking to recover more than $100 million the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port.

Darrell Wilson, a Grace Ocean spokesperson, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore on Saturday morning.

Wilson has previously said the owner and manager “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight” about the Justice Department’s lawsuit.



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Motel 6 sold to Indian hotel operator Oyo for $525 million

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Hotels, agencies say travel demand softening


Hotels, agencies say travel demand is softening

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The budget motel chain Motel 6 is being acquired by the parent company of Oyo, a hotel operator based in India.

The New York-based investment firm Blackstone, which owns Motel 6’s parent company G6 Hospitality, announced Friday that the deal would be an all-cash transaction worth $525 million.

The transaction will also include the sale of the Studio 6 motel brand, which caters to customers seeking extended stays. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Motel 6 sign and logo
Motel 6 sign close up showing logo in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images G


Oyo, which launched in India just over a decade ago, has been expanding its footprint in the U.S. over the past few years. The company says it currently operates 320 hotels across 35 states and is aiming to add 250 more this year.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone for a startup company like us to strengthen our international presence,” Gautam Swaroop, OYO’s international division chief, said in a statement.

Blackstone had purchased Motel 6 and Studio 6 in 2012 for $1.9 billion. Since then, the private equity giant says it has heavily invested in the brand and pursued a strategy that converted the chain into a franchise.

“This transaction is a terrific outcome for investors and is the culmination of an ambitious business plan that more than tripled our investors’ capital and generated over $1 billion in profit over our hold period,” Rob Harper, the head of Blackstone Real Estate Asset Management Americas, said in a statement.

Under the deal, Oravel Stays, which owns Oyo, will acquire G6 Hospitality.



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