By LOU KESTEN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top congressional Democrats on Thursday protested the reported firing of Gen. Tim Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, with one lawmaker saying the decision “makes all of us less safe.”

The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, had been dismissed from those roles. Haugh also headed U.S. Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon’s cybersecurity operations. The Post report cited two current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official who requested anonymity.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement: “General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years. At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats … how does firing him make Americans any safer?”

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Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “deeply disturbed by the decision.”

“I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first — I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration,” Himes added. “The Intelligence Committee and the American people need an immediate explanation for this decision, which makes all of us less safe.”

Earlier Thursday, President Donald Trump said he had fired “some” White House National Security Council officials, a move that came a day after far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty.

Loomer during her Oval Office conversation with Trump urged the president to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel manner.

“Always we’re letting go of people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he made his way to Miami on Thursday afternoon. “People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”

The firings come as Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz continues to fight calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.

Warner said Thursday night, “It is astonishing, too, that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the National Security Agency while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app — even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.”

Haugh met last month with Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has roiled the federal government by slashing personnel and budgets at dozens of agencies. In a statement, the NSA said the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations are “aligned” with the new administration’s priorities.

Haugh had led both the NSA and Cyber Command since 2023. Both departments play leading roles in the nation’s cybersecurity. The NSA also supports the military and other national security agencies by collecting and analyzing a vast amount of data and information globally.

Cyber Command is known as America’s first line of defense in cyberspace and also plans offensive cyberoperations for potential use against adversaries. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered the office to pause some offensive cyberoperations against Russia, in another sign of how Trump’s administration is transforming the work of the nation’s intelligence community.

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and David Klepper contributed to this report.

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Denmark’s prime minister has told the U.S. during a visit to Greenland that “you cannot annex another country,” even with the argument that international security is at stake.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said on Friday that Washington will respect Greenland’s self-determination and Copenhagen “should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark.”

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenland’s acting head of government Múte Bourup Egede, right, and newly elected head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen, center, hold a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection ship Vaedderen, in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was wrapping up a three-day visit to the strategically critical Arctic island on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks control of Greenland. He argues that Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, is critical to U.S. security.

A week ago, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote U.S. military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.

Frederiksen pushed back against the U.S. criticism as she spoke on Thursday alongside Greenland’s incoming and outgoing leaders on board a Danish naval ship. She argued that Denmark, a NATO ally, has been a reliable friend.

Speaking in English, she said that “if we let ourselves be divided as allies, then we do our foes a favor. And I will do everything that I can to prevent that from happening.”

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s new Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, not pictured, on a bus tour during her three-day visit around Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

“When you ask our businesses to invest in the U.S., they do. When you ask us to spend more on our defense, we do; and when you ask of us to strengthen security in the Arctic, we are on the same page,” she said.

“But when you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?”

“This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations: you cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security,” Frederiksen said.

The Danish leader said that, if the U.S. wants to strengthen security in the Arctic, “let us do so together.”

Political parties in Greenland, which has been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark for years, last week agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government in the face of Trump’s designs on the territory. Those have angered many in Greenland and Denmark.

In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Vance repeated the accusation that Denmark has “really underinvested in the infrastructure and security of Greenland.”

He said Trump’s point is that “this matters to our security, this matters to our missile defense, and we’re going to protect America’s interests come hell or high water.”

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who was attending a meeting in Brussels with his NATO counterparts, wrote on social network X that he had an “honest and direct” meeting Thursday with Rubio.

“I made it crystal clear that claims and statements about annexing Greenland are not only unacceptable and disrespectful,” Løkke Rasmussen wrote. “They amount to a violation of international law.”

Rubio told reporters in Brussels Friday that “no one’s annexed anything.” He added that Vance has made clear that “he’s going to respect the self-determination of Greenlanders.”

“Denmark should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark,” Rubio said.

“We didn’t give them that idea. They’ve been talking about that for a long time,” he said. “Whenever they make that decision, they’ll make that decision.”

“If they make that decision, then the United States would stand ready, potentially, to step in and say, okay, we can create a partnership with you,” Rubio said, adding that “we’re not at that stage.”

Each Friday, City Limits rounds up the latest news on housing, land use and homelessness. Catch up on what you might have missed here.

What’s going on with the stalled Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project? City Limits has the latest. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

Welcome to “What Happened in NYC Housing This Week?” where we compile the latest local news about housing, land use and homelessness. Know of a story we should include in next week’s roundup? Email us.

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Will the Housing Access Voucher Program finally make it into this year’s state budget? The proposal, which would create a state rental subsidy for New Yorkers experiencing or at risk of homelessness, has the rare backing of both tenant and landlord groups. But Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to embrace it.

It’s been 21 years since the controversial Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project was announced for Downtown Brooklyn, and it’s still not finished. Now, a May 31 deadline looms for the developer to deliver the remaining 876 affordable housing units—but will the state enforce it?

More older New Yorkers are going hungry. To help keep seniors in their homes, the city should revamp it’s meal delivery program so it goes beyond the outdated model of providing just one meal per day, five days a week, writes Citymeals on Wheels CEO Beth Shapiro.

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

Some tips on how to buy a home in New York City (without being rich), via Gothamist.

One of the companies that sought to develop the long-empty Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx is suing the city, alleging wrongdoing in the bidding process, The City reports.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is lending her support to an upcoming city law that would prohibit landlords who hire real estate brokers from passing those costs on to prospective tenants via broker fees, according to Hell Gate.

The New York Times examines a permanent supportive housing facility in the Bronx for New Yorkers dealing with homelessness and mental health challenges.

The developers behind a plan to build a casino and hotel near Citi Field are pitching a 450-unit affordable housing project in Corona to go along with the deal, QNS reports.

The post What Happened This Week in NYC Housing? April 4, 2025 appeared first on City Limits.

LONDON (AP) — British police on Friday charged comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault after an investigation sparked by complaints from several women.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said Brand, 50, faces one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two of sexual assault.

The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005.

In September 2023, British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times published claims by four women of being sexually assaulted or raped by Brand. The accusers have not been identified.

The comedian, author and “Get Him To The Greek” actor has denied the allegations, saying his relationships were “always consensual.”

Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. He recently said he had moved to the United States.

Police said Brand is due to appear in a London court on May 2.

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