In Video: This Morning’s Top Headlines – Mar. 25 | Morning News NOW
Good Morning America: Fallout from Top National Security Officials’ Unprecedented Security Breach
Good morning, I’m Joe Fried and I’m Savannah Sear. We’re here to bring you the latest news as we know it.
Breaking news this morning is the rapidly growing fallout from an unprecedented security breach. It has been reported that top national security officials have accidentally included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, in a text chain about war plans on March 13th. The plans were for a large-scale attack on Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.
According to reports, the text chain included details about weapons, targets, and timing for a series of air strikes that would take place two days later. This sensitive information was shared over an unclassified commercial messaging app called Signal. Democrats are now demanding an investigation by Congress, citing the serious breach of national security.
In a statement, the National Security Council said, "At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain."
NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell reports:
"Days before US fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea for strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, a security breach with potentially catastrophic consequences for the US military. Details of the US War plans were shared in real-time with The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, by accident on an unclassified commercial messaging app."
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks:
"Shocking to see the level of detail being shared on a non-classified network. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of sloppiness from this Administration. Early on, there were a few hundred CIA agents whose identities were exposed."
Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin:
"Deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of pedaling hoaxes time and time again. Nobody was texting War plans. And I expect you’re not going to respond to every aspect of that."
Jeffrey Goldberg replies:
"I think I’m going to be responsible and not disclose the things I read and saw. I will describe them to you. The specific time of a future attack, specific targets, including human targets meant to be killed in that attack, weapon systems… I’m just glad he didn’t invite a Houthi or a Russian spy or an adversary of the United States to the group."
Weather Update
Meanwhile, firefighters are still battling wildfires across the East Coast, with dangerous conditions forcing many residents to evacuate. NBC News correspondent Kathy T edo is live in North Carolina with the latest:
"Firefighters are working throughout the night to keep the flames from spreading. Parts of Western North Carolina have been hit the hardest, with over 5,000 acres burning already. The fire is being fueled by dry conditions, making it difficult to contain."
Morning News Now Weather
Meteorologist Michelle Griman is in studio with us, bringing us the latest forecast:
"We’re looking at a chance for some rain today, but scattered showers and thunderstorms developing tonight and tomorrow. We’re also expecting record-breaking temperatures across the West, with temperatures soaring into the 90s and 100s. That’s 20 to 25 degrees above normal for this time of year."
