Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given a medal to the military guard who had reprimanded him at Arlington National Cemetery, after Hegseth and members of his entourage were seen laughing and talking near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tomb is a site where visitors are required to remain silent. The guard admonished Hegseth and his aides over the behavior. The incident came days after Republicans blocked an attempt to impeach Hegseth.
In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom has won a U.S. Senate seat, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in a closely contested race. Colom becomes the state’s first Black senator since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, a historic result in a traditionally Republican state and a major breakthrough for Democrats.
His victory adds to a wave of Democratic gains across the country in this year’s midterm elections. The race was called just over a week after the midterms, after absentee and provisional ballots were counted.
“All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this,” Colom said in his victory speech. “I had the courage to believe in Mississippi. I had the courage to understand that we can show the country that Mississippi matters.”
Hyde-Smith said: “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters.”
Colom ran a grassroots campaign and used a viral advertising strategy, reaching voters at Trump rallies despite limited early backing from national Democrats.
Separately, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. The discussions seek progress toward ending the war in Ukraine after negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi.