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Pentagon chiefPete Hegsethannounced two major changes to the military's chaplaincy corps on March 24, one of which will mean chaplains will no longer wear their rank insignia.

They will instead display their religious insignia while retaining their rank as officers. They "will be seen among the highest ranks because of their divine calling," Hegseth said ina video posted to X.

The change reflects Hegseth's wider effort to infuse the chaplaincy, and the military more broadly, with more explicitly religious sentiments.

Service members' spiritual health should be seen as equally important as physical and mental health, Hegseth said, lamenting what he said was the chaplaincy's misguided shift away over the years from focusing on religious faith in favor of "self-help and self-care."

"A warfighter needs more than a coping mechanism," he said. "They need truth, big-T truth, they need conviction, they need a shepherd."

Pete Hegseth: See the combat veteran's career from Fox News to Secretary of Defense

Hegseth also said the move would make chaplains more accessible by reducing "any unease or anxiety" service members may have about approaching a superior to discuss sensitive issues.

He also announced that the Pentagon would be using 31 faith codes moving forward instead of the more than 200 previously recognized. He called that higher number an "impractical and unusable system."

A smaller, more streamlined system will support chaplains in "minister(ing) to service members in a way that aligns with that service member's faith background and religious practice," Hegseth said.

He said the Pentagon is "not even close to being done" in taking steps toward "restoring the esteemed position of chaplain."

"You have a sacred calling," Hegseth said in closing. "So preach the truth, be steadfast in your faith, and shepherd the flock entrusted to you."

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A history of debates over religious diversity in the military

President George Washingtonestablished the Chaplain Corpsin 1775. Itwas exclusively Protestantat its founding but introducedCatholic chaplains and a rabbiin the 19th century. Thefirst Muslim chaplaincame in 1994, and thefirst Buddhist chaplainfollowed in 2008.

There has been an array of controversies and debates over the extent to which the military should accommodate religious expression over the years.

TheU.S. Supreme Court in 1986ruled that the Air Force could prohibit an Orthodox Jewish service member from wearing a yarmulke while in uniform. Though it restrained his religious expression, the court said the ban "reasonably and evenhandedly" supported the military's "perceived need for uniformity."

In the early 2000s, there wereallegations that Air Force Academy officersand cadets were proselytizing in support of evangelical Christian beliefs, fostering a less welcoming environment for service members of other faith traditions.

Army Chaplain Corps guidelinespublished during former PresidentJoe Biden's administration in February 2024, whichremained on the Army's websitefollowing the March 24 announcement, said the Chaplain Corps at that point represented more than 100 religious groups.

The Chaplain Corps "cares for all Soldiers and their Families, regardless of their religious preferences, and even when they have no religious preference at all," it said. It added that recruiters were "actively working to increase the Corps' diversity" at that point, particularly as it related to more women serving as chaplains and more representation of minority faiths in the chaplaincy.

Formermilitary chaplains previously expressed concernover the Pentagon's more explicitly religious vision under PresidentDonald Trump's administration in interviews with USA TODAY. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported earlier in March that it had received more than 200 complaints related to religious freedom from service members in the wake of theUnited States' war in Iran.

BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her atbjfrank@usatoday.com.

USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.Funders do not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Military chaplains will no longer display rank, Hegseth announces

Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine, starting overnight and continuing for several hours Tuesday in a large-scale daylight attack -- in a barrage that saw the largest number of drones and missiles fired in a 24-hour period since the start of the war more than four year ago.

At least seven people were killed and 73 injured across the country, including children. The day-time attack particularly targeted cities in western Ukraine, normally considered relatively safer, hitting civilian areas, including damaging a maternity hospital, according to local authorities. A drone slammed into a UNESCO world heritage site in central Lviv, with a video showing a fire in a residential building next the 16th-century Bernardine monastery.

"The scale of this attack clearly shows that Russia has no intention of truly ending this war," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Tuesday, adding that "without additional and strong pressure on Russia, and without significant Russian losses there in Moscow, they will have no desire to move away from war and return to peace."

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Zelenskyy said Russia's targets included the energy sector in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.

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"Unfortunately, ordinary residential buildings were also hit, including city centers and the historic center of Lviv. There was a fire in buildings of the Church of St. Andrew in Lviv, a church whose history dates back to the early 17th century," Zelenskyy said.

Questions swirl about status of peace talks as Trump touts progress, Iran pushes back

In total, 426 aerial attack assets were recorded overnight -- most of them drones, according to Ukraine's air force.

During the day, Russia launched 556 more drones, according to Ukraine's air force. Of those, 541 were shot down, it said.

The attacks come as Russia has begun its spring offensive, seeking to push forward in eastern Ukraine with armored units as the Kremlin seeks to seize all of the Donbas region.

So far the offensive has made little progress, while Ukraine's military has claimed to have inflicted disastrous casualties on Russian forces. Ukraine's commander in chief, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, has alleged in less than a week Russia saw more than 8,700 troops killed and wounded. ABC News has not independently verified those numbers.

Jay-Zisn't just taking the mic again. He's also speaking his mind.

The Grammy-winning rapper, who's poised to make a musical comeback this summer withmultiple anniversary concerts, opened up about his career and life in the spotlight in an interview withGQ magazinepublished Tuesday, March 24.

The rare profile comes a little over a year after Jay-Z was accused of drugging and raping an underage girl in a lawsuit filed against fellow rapperSean "Diddy" Combs. Last February, the womanfiled for the case to be dismissed"with prejudice," meaning it cannot be re-filed in the future. Jay-Z, who hadvigorously denied the allegations, countersued the woman and her attorney,Tony Buzbee, in aMarch 2025 lawsuit.

The lawsuit "took a lot out of me. I was angry," Jay-Z, 56, told the magazine. "I haven't been that angry in a long time, uncontrollable anger. You don't put that on someone — that's a thing that you better be super sure. It used to be like that. You had to be super sure before you put those kinds of things on a person, especially a person like me."

The rapper's accuser, a woman identified anonymously as Jane Doe, initiallyonly named Combs in her October 2024 lawsuit. Then in December of that year, sheamended the complaintto include Jay-Z as a defendant.

She alleged that the two rappers drugged and raped her at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards when she was 13 years old. The woman also claimed another unnamed celebrity "stood by and watched as Combs and [Jay-Z] took turns assaulting" her.

Jay-Z's legal team cast doubt on Doe's credibility in the rapper's lawsuit, noting that the woman "voluntarily admitted" he did not assault her. They also pointed to an NBC News investigation into Doe's claims thatrevealed inconsistenciesin her recollection of details from the 2000 incident. In December 2024, shetold the outletthat she'd "made some mistakes" but otherwise stood by her claims.

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Jay-Z told GQ that while it would have been "cheaper" and "quicker" to settle the lawsuit, he said he was determined to see the legal battle through.

"I can't take a settlement — it ain't in my DNA," the rapper said. "I can't do it. I would die."

Jay-Z weighs in onKendrick Lamar,Drakefeud

Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation oversees the Super Bowl halftime show, reflected onKendrick Lamar's2025 performanceand the rapper's highly publicized feud withDrake.

Afteryears of indirect commentsbetween the two via songs, Lamar and Drake's rap beef exploded in 2024 with aseries of diss tracks, including Lamar's No. 1 hit "Not Like Us." The feud made its way into Lamar'shalftime show setwith numerous sly references to Drake, including guest appearances from the rapper's exesSZAandSerena Williams.

"I chose the guy that was having a monster year," Jay-Z told GQ of his selection of Lamar. "I think it was the right choice. What do I care about them two guys battling? What's that got to do with me? Have at it. They drag everybody in it, like everyone's part of this conspiracy to undermine Drake, I guess. … It doesn't make any sense."

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While Jay-Z said he appreciates the influence of rap beefs in hip-hop culture, he also lamented how the musical rivalries have changed in the wake of social media's rise.

"We love the excitement and I love the sparring, but in this day and age there's so much negative stuff that comes with it that you almost wish it didn't happen," Jay-Z said. "Now, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes. It's like an attack on his character. I don't know if I love that. I don't know if it's helpful to our growth where the fallout lands, especially on social media."

He added: "It takes up so much oxygen. It's like trying to tear down people's lives. I don't know if it's worth it at this point. I love the idea that we got so much music in such a short period of time. Just everything around it was like, 'Man, this is taking us a couple steps back.' We've just grown so much that — I guess I'm going to say it — I don't know if battling needs to be part of the culture anymore."

Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef:Rappers' rivalry explained after Super Bowl halftime show

Jay-Z says daughter Blue Ivy 'fought' to perform onBeyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour

Jay-Z, who shares 14-year-old daughterBlue Ivywith wifeBeyoncé, reflected on the burgeoning performer's journey to joining Beyoncé's 2025Cowboy Carter Tour.

Blue Ivytook the stage as a lead dancerduring the tour's debut at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, stunning fans with her fierce performances.

"On the first tour [Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour], there was a lot of conversation around her first performance, and she worked really hard to get to that point, but she still wasn't going for it," Jay-Z told GQ.

"She still was going through the motions. And then she just started fighting back. I saw her fight maybe for the first time in her life — like, not everything is just given to her and everything is easy. She fought for it. She's almost on every number. ... She worked at this, and it makes me proud that she fought for something that she really wanted to do. I don't think we're going to be able to get her off that stage now."

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The rapper, who attended Blue Ivy's movie premiere for"Mufasa: The Lion King"the day after the lawsuit against him, also shared how his daughter supported him amid his legal troubles.

"Blue has this jersey with 'Jay-Z' on the back. She put it on one day. She went to school with the 'Jay,'" Jay-Z said. "I was just in the corner, like tears coming down. Seriously. To have that, it's priceless. People can say that [they'll always be there for you], but it's very rare that you're going to have to exercise it. And in the darkest moment for me, I got to see those sorts of things."

Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Taijuan Moorman USA TODAY;CachéMcClay, USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jay-Z talks Diddy lawsuit, Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef

Chappell Roanis speaking out about the alleged incident involving a security guard andJude Law's daughter at a Brazilian hotel.

The "Pink Pony Club" singer responded to thecontroversy surrounding an alleged interactionbetween security personnel and 11-year-old Ada Law, after the youngster's stepfather, football player Jorginho, claimed that a guard chastised her in "an extremely aggressive manner" when she "walked past the singer's table" and "looked to confirm it was her."

"Chappell was not aware of any interaction between this mother / daughter and a third party security officer," a spokesperson for the "Good Luck Babe" musician tellsEntertainment Weeklyin a statement, echoing claims that Roan herself made in a video on her Instagram Stories on Sunday. "She did not see them at breakfast in her hotel, as she said in her video. She did not direct her personal security or anyone on her team to interact with them."

The spokesperson added, "Chappell holds her own teams to the highest standards and has zero tolerance for any kind of aggressive behavior towards her or her fans."

The saga began when Jorginho wrote a message on his Instagram Stories on Saturday explaining his perspective on the "very upsetting situation": his wife, singer Catherine Harding, took her daughter, Ada, to see Roan ("an artist who she really admires"), at the Lollapalooza festival in São Paulo.

The footballer claimed that Roan walked past his family's table at the hotel where they all were staying, prompting Ada to get "excited" and move closer to the singer's table to confirm that it was, indeed, Roan. "She didn't say anything, didn't ask for anything," Jorginho said. He then claimed that "a large security guard" approached the family's table and berated Harding, "saying she shouldn't allow my daughter to 'disrespect' or 'harass' other people."

Jorginho said that his stepdaughter was "extremely shaken and cried a lot" after the alleged incident. He also directly addressed Roan and her fans at the end of his remarks: "WITHOUT YOUR FANS, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING. AND TO THE FANS, SHE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR AFFECTION."

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Inher video on Sunday, Roan said that she "didn't even see a woman and a child" in the hotel, adding, "No one came up to me. No one bothered me. I was just sitting at breakfast in my hotel."

She added, "I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. They did not come up to me — they weren't doing anything!"

Roan continued, "I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children — that is crazy. I'm sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming that you would do something, and if you felt uncomfortable that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that."

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Hardingresponded to the situationin her own video on Sunday. "I know that Chappell has responded saying that it wasn't her security and she didn't do it," the Irish singer said on Instagram. "100% this security guard was not a security guard of the hotel, that's what I can say. He looks after artists. So I don't know if it was her personal security guard, but he was with her. That is all I know."

She added, "Did she send him to do it? Again, I don't know. I would like to hope not, but at the same time, I think that you have a responsibility when you are a celebrity to make sure that the people who work for you and act on your behalf are acting on your behalf. So would he do that if he didn't have her authority to do so? I don't know."

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly