Once a year, Washington transforms into Hollywood. Last night’s White House Correspondents Association dinner was a star-studded event with celebrities like George Clooney, Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, Lindsay Lohan, and Uggie the dog. The 98th annual dinner, which raises money for WHCA scholarships and recognizes excellence in the profession, was hosted by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
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Don’t sound the alarm buttons just yet over the shake up at the Pentagon. This week, a senior defense official said that a reorganization was coming to the Defense Intelligence Agency with the creation of the Defense Clandestine Service. The new service will expand the agency’s espionage operation beyond war zones and step up its engagement in human intelligence — an arena dominated for years by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Matthew Hay Brown, The Baltimore Sun’s military affairs reporter, writes “that the officers — some military, some civilian — will work alongside CIA counterparts in places such as Africa, where al-Qaida has grown more active, and Asia, where Chinese military expansion and North Korean and Iranian weapons ambitions are drawing increasing U.S. concern.”
Here’s a look at some hotspots that the Pentagon’s new spy agency will likely keep an eye on. We’ll continue to look at intelligence and military trends in upcoming posts on The Darkroom.
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On Sunday, we saw Donald Trump fire Penn Jillette on Celebrity Apprentice, and today he blasted wind energy in Scotland.
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The Los Angeles Times published controversial photos today showing U.S. soldiers posing with bodies of dead Afghan insurgents. The images were given to The Times by an American soldier, who provided a series of 18 photos on condition of anonymity.
On Sunday, Kabul was rocked by intense gunfire and explosions as part of a “spring offensive” claimed by the Taliban that lasted into Monday. According to reports, the attacks were focused on targets including the parliament building, the NATO force’s headquarters, and Western embassies.
Below are photos and reporting from war photographers in Kabul: Sabawoon Amarkhil, Johannes Eisele, Bay Ismoyo, Massoud Hossaini, Shah Marai, all of AFP/Getty Images, and Parwiz and Omar Sobhani of Reuters.
Over the weekend, North Korea celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korea founder Kim Il-sung.The event marked the first public speech of current leader Kim Jong-Un, Il-sung’s grandson and son of late leader Kim Jong-il. Jong-Un in his speech vowed to push for “final victory” for his impoverished state, despite a failed missile launch. The launch has been condemned by the UN Security Council, which has concerns about North Korea’s capabilities in missile technology and nuclear weapons.
Here’s a look at the art of the march at a military parade as part of celebrations in Pyongyang on April 15.
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Baltimore-based photographers Jen Mizgata and Josh Sisk recently brought out the bright studio lights for a photo booth shoot at Deep in the Game at Club Hippo. Here’s the result of a crazy night of fun and photos.
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Well-known contemporary artist Damien Hirst has been ruffling the feathers of art critics since he received public attention back in the 80s. Some have called him a genius and even a modern-day Andy Warhol. Others, like critic Julian Spalding whose book “Con Art – Why You Ought To Sell Your Damien Hirsts While You Can,” remain unimpressed, and even adamant in their disdain for the artist.
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Today marks the 28th anniversary of the night the Colts packed up and moved to Indianapolis, a dark chapter in Baltimore sports history. Speculation about what would happen to the Baltimore Colts had been mounting for weeks as behind closed doors owner Robert Irsay was finalizing plans to relocate the team.
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