In a bold call for enhanced military autonomy, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has urged his country to strengthen its independent defense systems. This appeal came Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive to slash the U.S. role in joint military exercises with South Korea.

President Lee delivered his remarks during a cabinet meeting following the commencement of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. Trump made headlines over the weekend with a social media announcement stating that War Secretary Pete Hegseth had been tasked with “substantially reducing” American participation in the drills.

Expressing concerns, Trump suggested that the nature of the exercises might appear overly confrontational to North Korea—a nation led by Kim Jong Un, with whom Trump has sought to maintain a warm rapport.

President Lee reiterated during his cabinet session that the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are purely defensive in nature, emphasizing their importance in maintaining regional stability.

“A strong alliance makes the foundation of security stronger, and strengthening our own capabilities increases our value and necessity as an ally,” Lee said.

He stated that South Korea’s top priority is maintaining peace with North Korea, but said the country must be prepared for a “worst-case scenario.”

Lee specifically mentioned boosting South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program, among others.

Trump’s statement on Monday, posted to Truth Social, was openly critical of Lee’s administration with respect to North Korea.

“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote.

“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”

Lee’s administration noted the kind words for North Korea in his statement on Tuesday, with Lee’s national security advisor, Wi Sung-lac, remarking that he hopes Trump’s relationship with Kim could lead to lasting change.

“We hope the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will lead to meaningful North Korea-U.S. dialogue,” Wi said at a Tuesday briefing.

Trump also took the opportunity to highlight Lee’s apparent refusal to assist the U.S. in the conflict with Iran.

“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote.

A coach from the San Diego Padres’ minor league system finds himself entangled in a legal ordeal, now in federal immigration custody following an unexpected detention during a routine airport transit. The incident has grabbed attention as Oswaldo José Pirela, the team’s minor-league catching coordinator, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

The detention occurred on Sunday morning at the El Paso International Airport, a source close to his family revealed. As of Tuesday morning, Pirela was still reported to be held at the El Paso Processing Center, according to an ICE detainee database where his name features prominently.

While confirmation of Pirela’s detention has been obtained from the Padres organization, they have remained tight-lipped regarding the details surrounding his arrest, citing ongoing efforts to understand the circumstances fully.

“We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas,” an official statement from the team clarified. “We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time.”

Pirela, aged 34, was in El Paso carrying out responsibilities tied to the Padres’ player development, preparing to head back to Arizona, where he resides with his wife and their two daughters, who are American citizens. Notably, El Paso is home to the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, the Chihuahuas, forming a critical component of their player development pipeline.

Exactly what prompted the detention remains unclear.

Pirela’s relatives say he came to the United States from Venezuela in 2014, applied for asylum and has a pending case. His family also says he has authorization to work in the country, though The Athletic reported that Pirela was not carrying his physical work-permit card when he was detained. ICE had not publicly provided a detailed explanation for why he remained in custody.

“He did everything lawfully as the U.S. asks,” sister Daniela Pirela told NBC News. “He loves this country.”

His brother, Jorge, said the family left Venezuela after experiencing political persecution and pursued asylum through the established process. In an Instagram post appealing for his brother’s release, Jorge described Pirela as a devoted father, dedicated coach and respected member of the communities in which he has worked.

Pirela has spent much of his adult life in baseball. He played in the Texas Rangers’ minor-league system from 2009-11 before eventually transitioning into coaching. He joined the Padres organization in 2024 and now works throughout their player-development system as a catching coordinator.

For now, the Padres are gathering information while Pirela’s family seeks legal assistance and waits for clarity on why a routine work trip ended with him in federal custody.

A scientist who has been at the forefront of the Pentagon’s UFO investigations for many years, claims to have evidence that the United States is concealing the remains of four distinct alien species after their crafts crashed on Earth.

Dr. Eric Davis, an astrophysicist with expertise in advanced aerospace propulsion, revealed he has personally reviewed classified photographs and documents held by the U.S. government. These materials purportedly confirm the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms amidst the wreckages of UFOs.

According to Davis, these findings encompass at least four separate alien species, which the United States currently stores in high-security locations. However, he pointed out that during the Obama Administration, the sites housing these extraterrestrial remains were relocated.

Davis identified the alien species as the Grays, the Nordics, a humanoid-insect species resembling a giant praying mantis, and another called the Reptilians, characterized by their lizard-like, humanoid features.

“We know of at least four different species. I’ve witnessed the evidence and reviewed the records,” Davis confidently asserted to NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich.

He compared the Grays to the aliens seen in the science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a small, gray-skinned humanoid with large heads and black eyes.

Meanwhile, the Nordics were described as looking like extremely tall Scandinavians with blonde hair and the most human-like features of all the alleged alien races.

Despite Davis’s public claims and the ongoing rollout of previously classified files related to UFOs, both the White House and the military have maintained that no physical proof that alien life exists has ever been recovered.

During Monday’s interview, Davis also claimed that the photos and records his government access permitted him to see were still classified and there was no chance they would be released with UFO disclosure releases for decades.

‘Those are still classified, and they are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act because they’re probably classified for a 50 to 70-year period, 75-year period I believe,’ Davis explained. 

Davis, who said he was no longer ‘on the inside with the Department of War,’ said he was not satisfied with the speed of the Pentagon’s UFO documents team or the information that has been released in the first five batches, which started in May.

To this point, the thousands of photos, videos and decades-old files released by the Pentagon this year have yet to produce definitive proof that extraterrestrials exist or have visited Earth. 

Davis added that there were more images and videos capable of being released which provide proof of legitimate UFO encounters which also ‘do not contain harmful information’ that would reveal the secrets of how the US gathers its intelligence.

As for what the longtime astrophysicist has seen and knows, Davis publicly requested that President Trump grant him immunity so he could reveal the truth about these alien races without fear of prosecution for exposing classified government secrets.

In a video shared on X, Davis said: ‘I investigated unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) for 30 years. I’ve seen classified and proprietary defense intelligence industry evidence. Evidence that the American public and the world have a right to see.’

‘Mr President, with your signature, you could waive the SF-312 NDA [non-disclosure agreement] to protect UAP whistleblowers like myself. I respectfully request that you take swift and decisive action as the nature of UAP should not be kept deeply classified,’ he continued.

Davis claimed that all of the photos, reports and military records he saw documented incidents involving dead bodies pulled from crashed UFOs. He allegedly did not see  any information related to alien beings captured alive by the US military.

‘I don’t know what they eat. Most of them that I am aware were found dead. Although, I’ve heard that David Grusch had mentioned that there was one that he knew of that had been captured alive but I don’t know anything else,’ Davis explained.

Grusch has been one of the most outspoken government whistleblowers when it comes to UFOs and alien life.

The military veteran spent 14 years in the Air Force before working as an intelligence officer for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which builds and launches surveillance satellites for the Pentagon.

From 2019 to 2021, he represented NRO on the UAP Task Force, but eventually became a whistleblower after allegedly learning that elements of the US government had prevented Congressional oversight on matters related to extraterrestrials.

Grusch has also been calling for presidential immunity for all UFO whistleblowers so they can reveal what they allegedly saw while serving on classified projects tied to advanced propulsion research and national security.

Dr Davis, now a member of the Disclosure Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing public disclosure of UFOs, formerly worked as a consultant for the Pentagon’s UFO program starting in 2007.

He has previously spoken about crashed alien ships and extraterrestrials recovered at a congressional hearing last year.

Davis’s claims, which have yet to be proven or disclosed by the Pentagon, have been supported by fellow UFO researcher and former CIA scientist Dr Hal Puthoff.

Puthoff has publicly claimed that the US government was in possession of at least ten spacecraft which had crashed or been left behind on Earth over the last 80 years.

Davis has also claimed to have spoken with the commander of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, who allegedly confirmed that the debris from the Roswell UFO incident in 1947 was taken to the base shortly after the crash.