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☆ US Pacific bases and aircraft are wildly vulnerable to Chinese missile barrages that could overwhelm defenses, lawmakers warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewUS bases and aircraft in the Pacific are facing intense threat from Chinese missiles, and the Pentagon isn't doing enough to counter that challenge, according to American lawmakers. In a Wednesday letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, 13 members of Congress pointed out glaring vulnerabilities in the Pacific region and demanded "immediate changes." A U.S. Air Force Rockwell B-1B Lancer (L) and a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker (R) sit on the tarmac at Andersen Air Force base on August 17, 2017, in Yigo, Guam. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesIn the letter, lawmakers note that many of the US bases in the Pacific remain unhardened, leaving aircraft and assets vulnerable to missile strikes. Notably, none of the US shelters were in Guam — home to Andersen Air Force Base which routinely hosts American bombers.

Persons: —, Frank Kendall, Carlos Del Toro, John Moolenaar, Justin Sullivan, Tom Shugart, Timothy A, Walton, Andy Wong Organizations: Service, Pentagon, Air Force, Business, Department of Defense, Chinese Communist Party Rep, Commonwealth of, Pacific ., U.S . Air Force Rockwell, Boeing KC, Andersen Air Force, US, Center, New, New American Security, Hudson Institute, Andersen Air Force Base, American, People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, Lawmakers, Rocket Force, China's Locations: Pacific, China, Okinawa, Guam, Commonwealth, Northern Mariana, U.S, Yigo, New American, Shugart, Tiananmen, Beijing

☆ Joe Biden and Donald Trump poised to officially clinch party nominations
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —More than 1,200 days after their historic 2020 general election clash, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to clinch their respective parties’ 2024 nominations Tuesday, with voting taking place in four additional states. Biden is the projected winner of the Democratic primary in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, held earlier Tuesday. Unlike Trump, the president never faced a serious, well-funded primary challenge, with Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, his lone rival in elected office, dropping out and endorsing Biden last week. Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes in 2020 – the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992. “But we all know Donald Trump sees a different America, an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, ’, Trump, specter, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, Jason Palmer, Robert Hur’s, Hur, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Haley, “, Bill Clinton, ” Biden, That’s, that’s, ” Trump, Bernie Moreno, Democratic Sen, Sherrod Brown Organizations: CNN, Hawaii Republicans, Democrats, Democratic Party, Democratic, Biden, Trump, Capitol, Minnesota Rep, Israel, GOP, South Carolina Gov, Republican, Georgia, Peach State, Union Locations: Georgia , Mississippi, Washington, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa, Gaza, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, Peach, America, Rome , Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Dayton , Ohio, The Ohio

Here’s everything you need to know about the one caucus and five primaries on deck. The state has the largest delegates prize among Tuesday’s contests, with 108 pledged Democratic delegates at stake and 59 for Republicans. 21 in the most recent U.S. News Best States rankings, which assesses the performance of states for their residents. On the Democratic side, there are 35 pledged Democratic delegates up for grabs. ET and there are six Democratic delegates at stake, according to the AP.

Persons: It’s, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, –, Biden, Marianne Williamson, “, ” Trump, Nikki Haley, Williamson, Dean Phillips, Minnesota, David Stuckenberg, GOP Caucus Trump, Haley, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Phillips, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Jason Palmer Organizations: GOP, Trump, Aloha State’s Democratic, U.S, United, Democratic, Republican, Associated Press, Republicans, Minnesota –, U.S . Census, Best, Georgia, News, GOP Caucus, GOP Caucus Trump –, AP, Hawaiian Republican Party, Republican National Convention, Aloha State, Florida Gov, Magnolia State, Washington, New, New Jersey Gov, Evergreen State, U.S . News, Northern, Democrats, Super Locations: Georgia, Hawaii , Mississippi, Washington, Northern Mariana, Hawaii, Stake, Trump , Florida, U.S, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, America, Northern Mariana Islands, United States, Marianas, Baltimore, American Samoa

☆ Election Updates: It’s the first full week of the general election, and Biden is barnstorming several states.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Maggie Astor | Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Welcome to the first full week of the general election. At this point, the days remaining before President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump mathematically secure their nominations are a formality. Fresh off a State of the Union address on Thursday that buoyed many Democrats’ spirits regarding his campaign, Mr. Biden is barnstorming several of the states that will decide the election in November, looking to make his case to voters. Mr. Trump also held a rally on Saturday in Georgia, where he vilified migrants, repeated his lie that the 2020 election was stolen, called journalists “criminals” and mocked Mr. Biden’s stutter. On the Democratic side, Georgia, Mississippi, Washington and the Northern Mariana Islands will vote — and Democrats abroad will finish their weeklong process — but Mr. Biden can’t formally lock up his nomination until next week.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Dean Phillips, Biden, Donald J, Trump, ”, Mr, —, Biden can’t, Katie Britt, Alabama, Kari Lake Organizations: Republican, Democratic, Trump, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Washington, Mr, Republican National Convention, Republicans, Union, “ Fox, Senate Locations: New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Hawaii , Mississippi, Georgia , Mississippi, Washington, Northern Mariana, Guam, . Mississippi, Mexico, United States, Arizona

☆ Satellite photos show how the US Air Force is reclaiming a WWII-era airfield from the jungle to prepare to dodge Chinese missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US Air Force is developing more dispersed bases to counter the threat posed by China's missiles. US engineers quickly began building what became the biggest and busiest air base of the war. "Air Force engineers are scheduled to remove the vegetation that have penetrated through the cracks and joints of the old pavement surfaces," Peden added. Money is allotted for work at Tindal air base — including $93 million to build a parking apron for six B-52 bombers — and Darwin air base, both of which are in Australia's Northern Territory. The Air Force is working with the rest of the military to address those challenges, Thomas Lawhead, acting deputy chief of staff for Air Force Futures, said at an event this month.

Persons: —, Gen, Kenneth Wilsbach, Wilsbach, Lance Cpl, J, Gage, Capt, Gerald Peden, Peden, Jason Robertson, Cesar Basa, Michael S, Murphy, Frank Kendall, Kendall, Sgt, JT May III, Thomas Lawhead, Joseph P, Lawhead Organizations: US Air Force, China's, Service, Airport, US Pacific Air Forces, an Air and Space Forces Association, Field, International Airport, Commonwealth of, Marines, Air Force, Google, Air, Tinian's, US Marine Corps, KC, Pacific Air Forces, Tech, Northwest Field, Tindal, Pentagon, Air Force Futures, Army Locations: Tinian, SkyFi, Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, West, Commonwealth, Northern Mariana Islands, Pacific, —, Guam, Northern Territory, Philippines, Manila, Philippine, China, North Korea, Northern Mariana

Eighty years ago, the United States military attacked the island of Betio, part of the Tarawa atoll in what is today the archipelago nation of Kiribati, to wrest it from Japanese control. But its location would allow the United States to move northwest: first to the Marshall Islands, then to the Mariana Islands and eventually to Japan itself. These were the “leapfrogging” tactics the Allies used in the Pacific to weaken Japan’s control of the region, as well as to establish bases to launch further attacks. On Betio, the United States military had expected an easy conquest by air and sea, a so-called amphibious assault involving about 18,000 Marines and an additional 35,000 troops. But awaiting them were heavy Japanese fortifications, including concrete bunkers and cannons along the sandy fringes of the atoll and some 5,000 troops, nearly a quarter of them enslaved Korean laborers, on the front line.

Persons: Betio Organizations: United States Locations: Betio, Kiribati, United States, Marshall, Mariana Islands, Japan, Pacific

Instead, ongoing exercises in Hawaii, which conclude Friday, highlight part of a new American approach to Pacific defense and deterrence, with a focus on small groups of mobile land forces operating from islands like those off China's coast. As part of its “Operation Pathways” revamp of Pacific defense set in motion nearly a decade ago, the U.S. has been increasing its number of exercises with partners in the Indo-Pacific. “And that helps the U.S. to overcome its numerical disadvantages as China's navy is continuing to expand. The exercises provide experience in technical and procedural interoperability and also build human bonds that can be critical in times of crisis. Austin’s travels overlap with Secretary of State Antony Blinken ’s own visits to Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi.

Persons: ”, Marcus Evans, Euan Graham, ” Graham, Evans, ” Evans, Defense Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken ’, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Graham Organizations: 25th Infantry Division, U.S . Air Force, Wheeler Army, U.S . Department of Defense, U.S . Navy, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, U.S, United States Army, Defense, ” Aircraft Locations: BANGKOK, Taiwan, U.S, Beijing, China, Israel, Iran, Hawaii, American, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Britain, Oahu, United States, Mariana Islands, Guam, Pacific, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, Tokyo, Seoul, New Delhi, Solomon Islands, Washington

☆ US daylight saving time: When is it and why was it created?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Josie Kao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Daylight saving time is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during summer months so daylight lasts longer into the evening. WHY WAS DAYLIGHT SAVING CREATED IN THE US AND HOW DID IT START? No, Hawaii and Arizona, with the exception of Navajo Nation, do not observe daylight saving time. While daylight saving time is widespread across the United States, 19 states have passed legislation to permanently use daylight saving time if Congress were to allow it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The U.S. is not ending daylight saving any time soon, though there is an effort in the federal government to pass the so-called Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent.

Persons: Mike Segar, George Hudson, Frank Pallone, Joe Biden, Josie Kao, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, North, Daylight, European Union, New, Congressional Research Service, Virgin, National Conference of State Legislatures, Protection, U.S . House, Commerce, Science, Transportation, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York, U.S, United States, Canada, Cuba, North America, Europe, Egypt, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, Hawaii, Arizona, Navajo, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico

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Persons: we've, Alden B, Sallie Mae, Mae, they're, Landry, that’s, that's, Raisin, Mykail James, Roger Ma, it's, Tania Brown, Sophia Acevedo Organizations: Alliance Bank, Western Alliance Bank, Mint, FDIC, Chevron, Market, Credit Union, Union, Alpena Alcona, Dow Credit Union, DCU, NCUA, Dow Inc, Dow Corning Corporation, Employer Group, Dow Credit, Midland Center, Dow Museum of Science & Art, Midland Historical Society, Midland Country Club of Great, Virgin Islands, City National Bank of, Mae Bank, Reading Chevron, State Credit Union, Pelican State Credit Union, ARC Baton Rouge, Parents Association of Northwest Support, Federal Credit Union, Federal Credit, DC, U.S, Capital Historical Society, American Consumer Council, GTE Financial Credit, CUSavers, NCUA Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union, Commerce Federal Credit Union, Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union's, of Commerce Federal Credit Union, Department of Commerce Federal Credit, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, White House Management, Administration, American Consumer, Ponce Bank, Ponce, Credit, Midland Area Community Foundation, Pelican State Credit, Services, Parents, GTE Financial, GTE Financial Credit Union, GTE, of Commerce Federal Credit, Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union, Administration Office, Finance, Federal Reserve, Federal, Limelight, National Bank of America, Technology Credit, Barclays, NASA Federal Credit, Western Alliance, Banks, Citi, PNC Bank, of America, Chase Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, Wells Locations: Alpena Alcona, Michigan, Alpena, Midland , Michigan, Midland Country Club of Great Lakes, Florida, Somoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Chevron, City National Bank of Florida, NCUA, Louisiana, Rapise, St, Tammany Parish, Alexandria , Virginia, Washington, Washington ,, Maryland, Virgin, Pelican, Ponce

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Persons: you'll, Sallie Mae, Raisin Organizations: Connexus, Connexus Credit Union, Connexus Association, Connexus Credit, Dow Credit, Dow Credit Union, Midland Area Community Foundation, Dow, Virgin Islands, Sallie, Sallie Mae Bank, Federal, Federal Credit Union, Signature Federal Credit Union, American Consumer Council, Western Alliance Bank, Cash, Forbright, Limelight, Limelight Bank, CCBank, Popular, Rising, Bank, Products Locations: Florida , Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin, Midwest

☆ Factbox: U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 31 (Reuters) - Minnesota became the latest U.S. state to legalize marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday after its governor, Tim Walz, signed a law allowing the state's residents over the age of 21 to legally possess cannabis for consumption. Apart from the 23 states, adult-use cannabis is also legal in the District of Columbia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Below is the list of U.S. states that have legalized recreational marijuana:** TD Cowen estimates from April 19Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tim Walz, Cowen, Sourasis Bose, Anil D'Silva Organizations: District of, Thomson Locations: Minnesota, District, District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Bengaluru

☆ How Pacific Islanders in the US are keeping in touch with their culture through dance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“One, two, three,” Hernandez, founder of the Pacific Islander dance group Lei Pasifika, yells out. “It makes them less homesick.”According to the US Census Bureau, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders were the fastest growing ethnic population in the US from 2020 to 2021. And in big cities with a large Pacific Islander presence, like New York, Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, many US-born Pacific Islanders as well as transplants are keeping their culture alive through dance. It’s a way for Pacific Islanders, especially young people, “to find themselves” and get connected with their ethnic identity and cultures, she notes. Mann says they noticed a growing number of Pacific Islanders, including those who aren’t Native Pacific Islanders but grew up in the islands, wanting to learn more about the culture and participate in dances.

☆ Tropical Storm Mawar Expected to Strengthen as It Moves Toward Guam
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Tropical Storm Mawar rapidly strengthened in the Pacific and was expected to become a powerful typhoon, threatening to bring high winds and possible flooding to the Mariana Islands, including Guam, the National Weather Service said. The storm, which formed early on Sunday morning local time and was slowly moving northward, could hit Guam, a U.S. territory, as early as Tuesday, said Brandon Bukunt, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. “We might have to put out typhoon warnings, in which typhoon conditions are expected,” Mr. Bukunt said. “But for right now, given the uncertainty, we have a typhoon watch, which means that typhoon conditions are possible within two days.”Tropical Storm Mawar had maximum sustained wind speeds of 50 miles per hour as of Sunday morning local time, when it was about 570 miles southeast of Guam, the Weather Service said.

☆ Spirit Airlines 'sincerely apologizes' after refusing to let a Puerto Rican family on a domestic US flight without a passport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spirit Airlines apologized to a Puerto Rican family after refusing to let them fly, CBS News reported. A Puerto Rican family traveling from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico was stopped from boarding a Spirit Airlines flight because the parents' child did not have a US passport. You learn that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S.A. in the 3rd Grade," one Twitter user wrote. Those born in Puerto Rico are US citizens, although Puerto Ricans cannot vote in US presidential elections. Rights groups have urged for more equal protections for residents of Puerto Rico under the US Constitution.

☆ The US military is planning for a 'transformative' year in Asia as tensions with China continue to rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amid rising tensions with China, the US military has sought to bolster its presence in Asia. US forces there may see the "most transformative year" in a generation in 2023, a US official said. Major changes to the US military presence in Asia face logistical and political hurdles, however. Other countries have sought more training with the US military or, in the case of Palau, to host US forces. There are opportunities for the US "to expand its access and deepen relationships" in both Northeast and Southeast Asia, said Thompson, a former US Defense Department official, but US leaders will have to reckon with the limits of those partnerships, especially in Southeast Asia.

The class members are Google Play Store individual consumers in 12 states, including Ohio, Michigan and Georgia, in addition to American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The plaintiffs' lawyers in the newly certified class action are jointly working with those state enforcers. Google has defended its Play Store business practices, denying the claims in the case before Donato and others. In arguing against class-action certification, attorneys for Google said the plaintiffs failed to show how they were harmed, an argument that Donato rejected. The class attorneys allege among other things that Google prohibited app developers from steering customers to competitors and used "misleading warnings to deter customers from downloading apps outside the Google Play Store."

☆ Remote undersea volcano believed to be erupting in Pacific Ocean
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

HONOLULU — A volcano is probably erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don’t know for sure because it’s so inaccessible. All indications are that the Ahyi Seamount began erupting in mid-October, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. The Ahyi Seamount is one of a long string of submarine seamounts at the northern edge of the Northern Mariana Islands. Ahyi seamount is a large conical submarine volcano. “There are no local monitoring stations near Ahyi Seamount, which limits our ability to detect and characterize volcanic unrest there,” the agency said.

☆ U.S. Congress split on making daylight-saving time permanent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Legislative aides told Reuters they do not expect Congress to reach agreement before the end of the year. Daylight-saving time has been in place in nearly all of the United States since the 1960s. Pallone previously said he backs ending the clock-switching but has not decided whether to support daylight or standard time as the permanent choice. On Sunday, Mexico rolled back its clocks one last time after the passage of a law last week to abolish daylight-saving time. The White House declined to say earlier this year if Biden supports making daylight-saving time permanent.

☆ Supreme Court declines to consider overturning racist 'Insular Cases'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | Lawrence Hurley Covers The Supreme Court For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

They say that the Justice Department, in defending the law, and an appeals court, in upholding it, relied upon the so-called “Insular Cases,” a series of long-criticized early 20th century Supreme Court rulings. The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case means the lower court ruling remains in place. “The subordinate, inferior non-citizen National status relegates American Samoans to second-class participation in the Republic," the challengers’ lawyers say in court papers. American Samoa is the only territory to which Congress has not extended birthright citizenship. Of the current nine justices, two of them — liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch — have expressed concern about the Insular Cases remaining on the books.

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