Pentagon

The Defense Department is scrapping its $10 billion cloud-computing contract with Microsoft, ending the award process that's been mired in a legal battle with Amazon.

A special Pentagon panel is recommending a seismic shift in how the U.S. military handles sexual assault cases, saying independent judge advocates, not commanding officers, should decide whether to pursue legal charges in such cases.

President Biden will withdraw all remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that prompted America's involvement in its longest war, a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday.

The new regulations provide "access to the military in one's self-identified gender provided all appropriate standards are met," the Defense Department said in a statement, and "provide a path for those in service for medical treatment, gender transition, and recognition in one's self-identified gender."

The American troop presence will decline in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500, and in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500. Senior military leaders reportedly oppose the move.

The Pentagon is promising what President Trump declared in June would happen: Troops are to be moved out of Germany, which the president accuses of stiffing NATO.

In a public break with President Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not support invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act and deploying troops to American streets.

The step is meant to serve as an initial confidence-building measure and would last for seven days. A more formal agreement could be signed in the coming weeks.

In updating its tally, defense officials noted that most of the injured service members have been treated and returned to Iraq. The statement, once more, contradicts President Trump's initial remarks.

More than half the American troops diagnosed with concussions were transferred from the Iraqi base that was attacked to Germany or the U.S.