Hegseth approves DHS loan of 'heat ray' for border tests; staff reportedly damage Eisenhower-era globe
Photo: The Guardian USDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly signed a memo last month authorizing a seven-month loan of the Pentagon's Active Denial System, a non-lethal directed-energy weapon, to the Department of Homeland Security for possible use at the US-Mexico border. The loan begins in September, and DHS can ask for further use. A 2009 National Defense University case study says the beam causes intense heat on the skin that prompts people to move away. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency continually evaluates technology that can save lives and strengthen security. The Pentagon referred questions to DHS, and what DHS plans to do with the system is unclear. Separately, a source familiar with the incident said Thursday that Hegseth's staff dropped and damaged a 30-inch World War II-era globe once used by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower while moving it to the secretary's office.
Right-leaning outlets had not reported either story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had. Among left-leaning outlets, The Guardian US leads with the heat-ray memo and relies on the memo, the CBP statement and the 2009 study, while MS NOW covers the globe and presents it as a fitting metaphor. The alternative outlet, The Hill, reports the globe damage and relies on an unnamed source. The articles describe two separate episodes, not one event.
How the sides differ Left sources split between the border heat-ray memo and a globe incident framed as metaphor; alternative sources report the globe damage; right sources have not covered it.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The Guardian US leads with the heat-ray memo, citing the memo, a CBP statement and a 2009 study. MS NOW covers the globe damage as an apt metaphor.
The Hill reports the globe damage in a straightforward way, citing one unnamed source familiar with the incident and giving the globe's size and history.
Not covering this story. None of the right-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.