Trump Announces Plan to Expand U.S. Navy Shipbuilding; Hegseth Rejects Reports of Poor Conditions on USS Lincoln | NTD Good Morning (Aug 14)

President Donald Trump signed a new order on Thursday that calls for a fifth U.S. Naval shipyard. The White House says it would be the first built in more than 80 years and will expand the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding capacity. The changes are aimed at fixing long-standing problems in the Navy’s shipbuilding. Trump’s new order also instructs the Navy to replace some of its new tech, which he says is more expensive and less effective. This include a return to steam-powered catapults and hydraulic weapons elevators.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is rejecting reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The comments come after reports alleging worsening mental health, food shortages and poor living conditions aboard the carrier during its deployment. Some reports also claimed seven sailors had died in a brawl aboard the carrier. CENTCOM says those reports are false and that no service members aboard the Abraham Lincoln have died. CENTCOM adds that the strike group aboard the USS Lincoln remains resilient after more than 260 days at sea.

Severe storms batter the Midwest, leaving more than 300,000 homes and businesses without power. Indiana remains the hardest-hit state, with more than 200,000 outages, followed by Illinois and Ohio. Indiana Governor Mike Braun has declared a statewide disaster emergency following severe storms, flooding, tornadoes and damaging winds. Forecasters warn another round of thunderstorms could bring damaging winds, flooding rain and more power outages across parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Saturday.