Pentagon Leaders Face Grilling

WASHINGTON (AP) – Top Pentagon leaders have told Congress that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans were not corroborated by defense intelligence agencies. They said they are looking into it and the U.S. will respond if necessary. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says his military commanders heard initial reports on the bounty issue in January and he first saw an intelligence paper about it in February. He says that while the threats were taken seriously, they have not yet been found credible. They also defended the performance of the National Guard in helping law enforcement agencies handle protests triggered by the May killing of George Floyd in police hands.