Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Lt. General (ret.) Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army Europe and NATO Allied Land Command. The dismissal of senior military officers without public explanation raises fundamental questions about institutional trust and the relationship between civilian authority and military leadership. For General Hodges, the reported firing of Lt. General Brett Sylvia reflects a potentially troubling pattern within the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Equally striking is his criticism of the reluctance of retired senior commanders to speak publicly against policies they consider damaging. Hodges said he was "disappointed and surprised" by the limited public resistance among former four-star generals.

Tens of thousands of US citizens have fled the United States since Donald Trump's return to power two years ago. Given the language and a shared history, Ireland has been among the top choices for Americans looking for an alternative. FRANCE 24's team reports.

In the United States, Democrats are turning to Barack Obama to rally voters ahead of the midterm elections, a crucial test that could shape the remainder of Donald Trump's presidency. The former president has addressed three campaign rallies this week, with the latest one in Atlanta, Georgia. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Angela Diffley has more.

The midterm elections campaign is in full swing in the United States, but Donald Trump is doing his utmost to avoid one subject: the Epstein Files. On January 30, the US Department of Justice published the court records relating to the Epstein case. At FRANCE 24, two of our journalists, Samia Metheni and Ava Luquet, delve into the 3 million documents to understand how Epstein's network operated. What did they find looking through the documents and what impact do they still have on Trump? Ava Luquet answered François Picard's questions.

Just five days before the US midterm elections, former president Barack Obama came to Georgia in a show of support to Senator Jon Ossoff in tthe midterm elections. Obama commented on the reaction of Trump's administration to a joke he had made the day before. "He was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments", Obama said. "They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke. Not to inflation, but to that joke." As the election is getting closer, polls point to a possible Democratic majority in the House.