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☆ US cities with military bases risk economic damage in debt ceiling fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —The United States could default on its debt in less than two weeks, and cities with a large military presence risk an economic firestorm if lawmakers don’t act. About a sixth of government spending goes toward national defense, a quarter of which is to pay military personnel, according to the Congressional Budget Office. If the United States can’t pay its national defense bills, cities with large military bases face a potentially massive fallout, encompassing missed payments, rising debt and a significant pullback in spending that would cut into local businesses’ bottom lines. That could further damage local economies grappling with financial market turbulence that could unfold even ahead of a possible default. Federal workers could get stuck pulling from their savings accounts or relying on credit to make everyday purchases, Mayo said.

☆ Defense personnel alarmed after memos reveal Air Force leadership warned about accused Pentagon leaker but let him continue working
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Haley Britzky Sean Lyngaas Zachary Cohen Natasha Bertrand | Haley Britzky | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Teixeira was arrested on April 14 and has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. His defense lawyers have argued he didn’t expect classified information that he posted on Discord to be further spread around the internet. According to one current US service member who handles classified intelligence, the memos read as if Teixeira’s leadership was building a case for disciplinary action against him. Jobs under the 1N0 and 1N4 job codes would have given him more hands-on responsibilities with intelligence, the current service member and a former enlisted intelligence airman told CNN. But the current service member said it would not be unusual for senior non-commissioned officers to handle disciplinary matters with a junior enlisted airman like Teixeira.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect was caught stuffing notes he'd taken in a top-secret room inside his pocket, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He was caught taking notes on classified information before his arrest, prosecutors said Wednesday. Superiors had warned Teixeira on multiple occasions, but he didn't listen, they said. The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been indicted in connection to a classified information leak that involved hundreds of Pentagon documents. Some of the documents Teixeira is accused of leaking online included details about Russia's spy agencies' activities and details about aid to Ukraine. However, federal prosecutors are arguing that Texeira poses a security risk because he must still be in possession of classified documents.

"Global debt is now $45 trillion higher than its pre-pandemic level and is expected to continue increasing rapidly," said the IIF in its quarterly Global Debt Monitor. The report partly focused on the effects of last year's rapid rise in rates in some bank balance sheets. The IIF voiced its concern that tighter lending practices among smaller banks would hurt some businesses and households harder. "Shadow banks now account for more than 14% of financial markets, with the majority of growth stemming from a rapid expansion of U.S. investment funds and private debt markets." "With the interest rate differential between EMs and mature markets diminishing, EM local currency debt is less appealing for foreign investors," the IIF said.

☆ Accused Leaker Received Repeated Warnings Over Handling of Classified Information, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nancy A. Youssef | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A courtroom sketch shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira in U.S. District Court in Boston last month. Photo: Margaret Small/Associated PressNearly seven months before federal authorities charged an airman with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, members of his unit saw him take notes from classified information, access classified information not related to his job and repeatedly told him to stop, according to memos submitted as part of prosecutors’ latest court filings.

☆ The US has a new friend in the Mediterranean that could help it isolate Russia, but not everybody in NATO is happy about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Cyprus long had close ties with Russia, but it has turned to the West in recent years. John YountzHowever, Nicosia has been moving away from Russia and pursuing a closer relationship with the US. "We keep a strong military-to-military relationship with Cyprus," Cavoli said. Unhappy neighborsA UN peacekeeper looks at a map of the buffer zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Nicosia in April 2021. ROY ISSA/AFP via Getty ImagesBurgeoning US-Cyprus ties would appear to benefit NATO, but not all of the alliance's members are happy about it.

☆ What’s Happening to Tunisia Is a Tragedy - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nadia Marzouki | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Many of my friends and family were among the nearly three million people who voted for Mr. Saied. Yet from the outset, I found Mr. Saied’s project terrifying. Mr. Saied’s goal is to purify society from corrupt influence: Social hygiene, not social justice, is the point. In April the children of numerous political prisoners, speaking from Geneva, called on the European Union to impose sanctions on Mr. Saied’s regime. The goal is not simply to crush dissent but also to dehumanize political prisoners and their families.

"Global debt is now $45 trillion higher than its pre-pandemic level and is expected to continue increasing rapidly," said the IIF in its quarterly Global Debt Monitor. The report partly focused on the effects of last year's rapid rise in rates in some bank balance sheets. "Shadow banks now account for more than 14% of financial markets, with the majority of growth stemming from a rapid expansion of U.S. investment funds and private debt markets." But for others access to markets has been harder or non-existent on either tighter spreads as rates rose in developed markets or fast-rising borrowing costs. "With the interest rate differential between EMs and mature markets diminishing, EM local currency debt is less appealing for foreign investors," the IIF said.

☆ Yellen warns US default could trigger recession, 'break' financial markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that a U.S. default on government debt would leave millions of Americans without income payments, potentially triggering a recession that destroys many American jobs and businesses. Yellen told a gathering of community bankers that the unprecedented economic and financial crisis would be exacerbated by possible disruptions to the federal government’s operations, including air traffic control, law enforcement, border security and national defense, and telecommunications systems. She said the accompanying financial crisis could multiply the severity of the downturn, adding, "It is very conceivable that we'd see a number of financial markets break - with worldwide panic triggering margin calls, runs and fire sales." Reporting by Andrea ShalalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's security crackdown could signal new realities for foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Last Monday, state broadcaster CCTV singled out a consulting company for not complying with China's national security laws. "It may seem a paradox," said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore who studies Chinese foreign policy. So much of what is now regarded as national security or state secrets is not sufficiently defined or classified. This includes passing a data security law in 2021 on the protection of information involving national and economic security and on issues of important public interest. "To have multiple companies involved now in this crackdown and the restriction of financial data to foreigners, it appears that Chinese security departments are on to something larger."

House of Representatives Armed Services subcommittees had been scheduled to begin debate this week on the closely watched NDAA, which determines how the military spends its nearly-trillion-dollar annual budget. But it was put off at least temporarily as lawmakers and the White House hold talks on raising the government's $31.4 trillion debt. House Republicans passed a bill last month, with no support from Democrats, that would raise the debt ceiling only in exchange for sweeping spending cuts, including sharp reductions in "discretionary" spending on social programs. Democrats criticized the bill and said it would not be considered in the Senate, where their party controls a majority of seats. At the same time, Republicans have been pushing for an increase in defense spending, which exceeded $850 billion in the NDAA that passed last year, drawing criticism from Democrats.

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga amid Chinese increasing influence in the region
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The United States opened an embassy in the Pacific island nation of Tonga on Tuesday, Washington’s latest move to broaden its diplomatic footprint in a region where China has been increasing its influence in recent years. “These actions advance the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the US-Pacific Islands partnership and to support Pacific regionalism,” the White House said in a statement at the time. The embassy in the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa is the second Washington has opened in the Pacific islands this year, following the reopening of one in the Solomon Islands in February. Plans are also underway to open an embassy in Vanuatu, the State Department said in March. Analysts say the Pacific island nations have a strategic military value for the US and its ally Australia.

Hong Kong CNN —China’s state security authorities raided multiple offices of international advisory firm Capvision, state media reported Monday, part of a broader crackdown on the consulting industry as Beijing tightens control over what it considers sensitive information related to national security. The consultancy firm, which is headquartered in Shanghai and New York, adds to a growing list of global consulting companies that have been ensnared in Beijing’s widening crackdown on what it perceives as national security risks. In the report, Capvision was singled out as a “leading company” in the industry. According to state security police, he downloaded 5,000 documents from his state-owned company’s internal network. The authorities said he had provided clients with six pieces of information that were classified as state secrets, CCTV said.

☆ Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military 'lacks almost everything' it needs to do it, a former German general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's the warning from a former German general who argues that Germany must refurbish its badly neglected armed forces — though this will take years to accomplish. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can't meet its recruiting goals. In 2020, German defense spending was only 1.4% of GDP, well short of 2% goal that NATO members have pledged to hit by 2024. "Armament procurement concentrated on armored transport vehicles rather than on battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles," Vad writes. RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty ImagesDespite years of calls by France for pan-European defense, coordinating German defense procurement with other EU states — each with distinct military needs and political priorities – is difficult.

☆ In first-of-its-kind drill, US Army special operators train to defend Taiwan against Chinese attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Drew F. Lawrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

At US Army Special Operations Command's annual capabilities exercise, soldiers trained to defend Taiwan. The training was part of the USASOC's annual capabilities exercise, or CAPEX, and the mission they were gaming out was an insertion into Taiwan to defend against a Chinese invasion. So instead of hovering 8,000 miles away in the South China Sea where the island actually is perched, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's Chinooks landed on Range 68 at Fort Bragg. US Army Rangers conduct an air-assault raid during Capabilities Exercise at Fort Bragg on April 20, 2023. Soldiers take part in US Army Special Operations Command's annual Capabilities Exercise in June 2019.

☆ Chinese Warships and Planes Test Taiwan Defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Karen Hao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In recent years, the Chinese military has engaged in increasingly bold maneuvers around Taiwan. Photo: Ng Han Guan/Associated PressHONG KONG—Dozens of Chinese military aircraft and navy vessels were detected around Taiwan early Friday, including one that flew around the island, the Ministry of National Defense said. The 38 warplanes and six ships represented the biggest deployment since China sent 91 aircraft and a dozen vessels to greet Taiwan President Tsai Ing -wen the day after her return from a visit to the U.S. this month. China’s Communist Party claims Taiwan, a self-ruling island, as part of its territory and had strongly protested Ms. Tsai’s visit.

☆ Prosecutors say they fear foreign enemies could try to recruit Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira because of what he knows and his limited net worth — half of which is in guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Federal prosecutors want Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira to remain in custody. They argue in court documents the 21-year-old could flee the country, or harm US national security. They fear he might he tempted to flee the country or become a person of interest to US adversaries. Court documents filed Wednesday night show prosecutors expressing concern that Teixeira's release could pose a tremendous risk to US national security. "The damage the Defendant has already caused to the US national security is immense," they wrote in the court documents.

☆ Feds found a smashed Xbox and more in a dumpster at Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira's house. Prosecutors allege he was covering his tracks.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jack Teixeira, who is suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents, is due back in court. In court documents, they also allege that he tried to cover up his tracks by destroying evidence. Prosecutors allege they were destroyed to try and cover his tracks. "These efforts appeared calculated to delay or prevent the government from gaining a full understanding of the seriousness and scale of his conduct," prosecutors allege in the court documents. The documents contain sensitive information about US allies — like Israel, South Korea, and Egypt — and also its adversaries, like China, Russia, and North Korea.

☆ Analysis: American living standards are on the line in the debt ceiling drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Christine Romans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Inside the Beltway, jockeying over raising the debt ceiling has become a partisan ritual to gain political points. But marching toward a debt ceiling default puts American living standards on the line. For most of that time, the debt ceiling was raised with little fuss, until 2011 brought the debt ceiling into a new dangerous realm of political brinksmanship. Deciding later not to pay the bills by not raising the debt ceiling is not sound fiscal policy. Roger Ferguson, economist and former vice chair of the Fed, said the debt ceiling is out of date.

[1/6] Photo evidence collected during the investigation into U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who is accused of leaking classified documents online, is released in a document by the U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERSApril 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, accused of leaking classified documents online, may still have access to classified materials, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed on Wednesday. Teixeira also "took steps to obstruct the government's investigation" into the leaks, prosecutors said, in a motion filed ahead of a hearing into his detention. "His release would heighten the risk that he would make further unauthorized disclosures of classified national defense information," prosecutors said in the documents. The motion said that in February 2022 Teixeira began to access hundreds of classified documents that had no bearing on his job.

☆ The Pentagon Tilts at Windmills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week's best and worst from Kim Strassel, Mene Ukueberuwa, Collin Levy and Dan Henninger. Witness how the Department of the Interior rolled over Pentagon warnings that offshore wind installations in the mid-Atlantic could interfere with military training. President Biden has set a goal of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Waters off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are prime real estate for wind farms because they are relatively shallow. But they are also training grounds for the Navy and Air Force, including North Carolina’s Dare County bombing range.

☆ Commerce Dept. Outlines Plans to Fund Cutting-Edge Chip Research
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ana Swanson | Don Clark | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The plans are part of the Biden administration’s effort to reinvigorate semiconductor manufacturing and ensure that the United States has a steady supply of chips necessary to feed its factories and support its national defense. The Commerce Department has been charged with doling out $50 billion to revitalize the industry, including $11 billion devoted to research and development. “It should be on areas that no one company can solve alone,” she said. Companies, universities, lawmakers and local governments have been lobbying the administration to set up an outpost of the new organization in their area. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader and an author of the legislation that funded the semiconductor investment, said in a statement Tuesday that he was pushing to make Albany, N.Y., a site for the new organization.

Photo illustration: Madeline MarshallFederal prosecutors are expected to outline more of their evidence Wednesday against Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with taking and sharing highly classified intelligence documents that exposed significant vulnerabilities in the way the U.S. protects some of its most closely held secrets. Airman Teixeira, 21 years old, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston for a detention hearing, where prosecutors are set to argue that he should remain detained while his criminal case proceeds. The Justice Department charged him Friday with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, charges that combined carry a potential 15-year prison sentence upon conviction.

☆ Judge delays hearing for accused US intel leaker Jack Teixeira because his defense says it needs 'more time'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A 21-year-old charged with leaking secret US military documents had his detention hearing delayed. Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, appeared briefly in federal court Wednesday. A judge had granted a motion to delay the detention hearing because the defense needs more time. But earlier on Wednesday, Hennessy granted a request by attorneys to delay Teixeira's detention hearing by around two weeks. Jack Teixeira, 21, has been charged in connection with the leak of secret Pentagon documents.

☆ Leaked documents reveal China's plans to launch a supersonic spy drone that could fly 3 times the speed of sound, WaPo reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some of the documents showed China's plans for a supersonic drone, The Washington Post reported. China's WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones can travel three times the speed of sound. The drones could assist China in real-time mapping that would inform strategy or enable high-speed missile strikes in a future conflict, The Washington Post reported. The documents reported on by the outlet included flight paths for the drone, as well as the bomber plane used to launch the device. Representatives for the Department of Defense and China's Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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