WASHINGTON — The Air Force said Monday it is looking at ways to better control access to classified information, in the wake of revelations that superiors of the Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified documents had raised concerns internally about his handling of sensitive data.

Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters that the Air Force needs to better enforce the rules that govern access to classified information based on whether someone with the correct security clearance also has a need to know the information.

“It’s a long standing tenet that you don’t get to look at something classified unless there’s a legitimate reason for you to look at it,” Kendall said. “Just because you happen to have a certain level of clearance doesn’t mean you get access to all the material at that level. So we’re taking a hard look at some practices around that.” He said he doesn't think the service enforced that rule strongly enough.

Justice Department lawyers last week said superiors voiced concerns on multiple occasions about Air Guard member Jack Teixeira's handling of highly classified information. They laid out the issue in court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years.

Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea.

A September memo from the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing that prosecutors filed in court says Teixeira had been observed taking notes on classified intelligence information and putting the notes in his pocket. Teixeira was instructed at the time to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information, the memo says.

Another memo from late October says a superior had been made aware that Teixeira was “potentially ignoring the cease-and-desist order on deep diving into intelligence information” given to him the month before. The memo says Teixeira attended a meeting and proceeded to ask “very specific questions.” He was told again to focus on his job, not any “deep dives” into classified intelligence information.

Still, a third memo from February says Teixeira was again observed viewing information “that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field.” Teixeira “had previously been notified to focus on his own career duties and to not seek out intelligence products,” the memo said.

“The Defendant even continued to share information with his online associates, defying these admonishments and taking further efforts to conceal his unlawful conduct,” prosecutors wrote.

The revelations have raised questions about why military officials did not take further action and why Teixeira continued to have access to classified information after his superiors raised concerns.

The Navy's investigation into a cluster of four suicides in the span of a month at one East Coast maintenance center found the command was not well suited to managing the sailors, who were all evaluated for medical issues.

The latest investigation, which was released alongside a report on USS George Washington carrier suicides, noted that all of the deaths at the maintenance center were among first tour sailors who were at various stages of the disability evaluation process and "suffering from a confluence of external stressors."

All four also had unrestricted access to personally owned guns -- an issue that goes largely unaddressed in the report.

The report investigated four sailors who killed themselves between Oct. 29 and Nov. 26, 2022. Three reported some form of anxiety or stress related to their Navy service, but some also had serious medical issues. One sailor was being evaluated for seizures; another obesity; and one had "debilitating back pain."

The command the four sailors were assigned to is the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, or MARMC, a massive unit that manages the maintenance needs of the many ships in the Norfolk, Virginia, area. The command has around 3,000 people, and half are active-duty sailors.

About one-third of those sailors at any time are assigned to the unit because they are undergoing some sort of medical issue or event.

For example, on Jan. 23, the report says 200 sailors were being evaluated for a disability, 213 had recently given birth, and a handful were either waiting for new orders or to be separated from the Navy.

The command struggled to offer even basic suicide prevention. The MARMC's policies didn't have any guidance on dealing with sailors who demonstrated suicidal behaviors or what should be done in the aftermath of a suicide.

Investigators found that the unit hadn't conducted an annual suicide prevention drill in three years.

WALTHAM, Mass. —
A man died early Monday after a shooting in Waltham, Massachusetts, officials said.

Police responded at 1:30 a.m. to Lyman Street in the area of Faneuil Road for a report of shots fired.

Upon arrival, police found a man outside on the sidewalk suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

"I just heard shots, maybe four or five shots,” neighbor Helen Meuse said. "They were fast, just like you hear it on the TV shows. Just bang, bang, bang. there was no noise, no yelling, no cars speeding away."

The victim was taken to Lahey Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Evidence markers remain on the sidewalk, along with a car that had a shattered window.

Ana Rivas said she was sleeping next to her 15-month old grandson when she heard some sort of noise outside.

She didn't realize it was gunfire until police knocked on her door.

Rivas says if she hadn't been lying down, she might have been hit in the head by the bullet.

The violence unfolded one block from Main Street and around the corner from McDevitt Middle School.

Some residents who live in the area said it’s a safe neighborhood.

“It's a great place to live. I never feel unsafe,” resident Debbie Schreiber said.

No arrests have been made.