The U.S. ambassador to Japan expressed regret on Saturday for the handling of two cases of sexual assaults allegedly committed by American military service members stationed in Okinawa.

The issue arose late last month, triggering an uproar over reports that two American service members had been charged with sexual assaults months earlier.

Several U.S. military bases in Europe have been placed on heightened alert over possible terrorist attacks, with Army officials elevating their protection level to condition “Charlie” until further notice.

Threat condition “Charlie” indicates military officials received intelligence indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting of U.S. personnel or facilities is likely, according to the Army’s website.

The U.S. must strike back at those who attacked us. But we must do so aware that we have other soldiers sitting deep and poorly defended among hostiles.

Three Americans were killed on a spot of land just at the border of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq last weekend. Republican senators and congressmen, so anxious to portray Biden as weak and to call for a vigorous military response, have blown past the most basic questions about the incident, ones that make both the Trump and Biden administrations look utterly foolish and depravedly negligent.

Two dozen American military personnel were wounded last week in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News on Tuesday.

The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed.

Twenty American personnel sustained minor injuries on Oct. 18 when at least two one-way attack drones targeted al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, CENTCOM said.

The White House on Monday said Iran was in some cases "actively facilitating" rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, and President Biden has directed the Department of Defense to brace for more and respond appropriately.

White House spokesman John Kirby said there had been an uptick in such attacks over the last week, and especially over the last few days, but the U.S. would not allow its interests in the region to "go unchallenged."

A Chinese balloon that flew across the United States was able to gather intelligence from several U.S. military sites and transmit it back to Beijing in real time, despite the Biden administration's efforts to prevent it from doing so, NBC News reported on Monday.

The high-altitude balloon, controlled by Beijing, was able to make multiple passes over some of the sites before it was shot down on Feb. 4, at times flying in a figure-eight formation, NBC said, citing two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official.

The Chinese spy balloon that flew across the U.S. was able to gather intelligence from several sensitive American military sites, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to block it from doing so, according to two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official.

The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the continental United States earlier this year was reportedly able to get intelligence on U.S. military bases during its flight.

The surveillance balloon flew over several military installations, and the Chinese government was able to collect information on those bases despite efforts to prevent it from doing so, per NBC News.