Early Bird Brief: May 20, 2024

Welcome to the Early Bird Brief's LinkedIn Edition, a tightly edited round-up of today's most important military and defense stories. To get the full EBB, with dozens of stories, subscribe here .

Today's Top 5:

US departure from Niger ‘already underway’ ahead of September deadline

(Defense News) After a chaotic, months long saga, the U.S. has begun withdrawing its forces from Niger. Read More

Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, supreme leader’s protégé, dies at 63 in helicopter crash

(The Associated Press) Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line protégé of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel, has died. He was 63. Read More

Bud Anderson, the last World War II ‘triple ace,’ dies at 102

(Task & Purpose) One of the last masters of the air has died. Brig. Gen. Clarence Emil “Bud” Anderson, credited with downing 16 enemy planes over Europe in World War II, died this past week at his home in Auburn, California. He was 102. Read More

Hundreds pack funeral for slain airman Roger Fortson

(The Associated Press) Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues joined Roger Fortson’s family, friends and others at a suburban Atlanta megachurch on Friday to pay their final respects to the Black senior airman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home earlier this month by a sheriff’s deputy. Read More

Ill-fated cargo ship Dali will be refloated and hauled from the bridge wreckage site Monday, officials say

(CNN) Multiple investigations into the crash are underway, including by the FBI and US Coast Guard. Read More

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