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Nate was identified with tinnitus and now is one of more than 200,000 claimants suing 3M over its Combat Arms earplugs. To protect his hearing, Frei wore standard issue earplugs made by 3M . Plaintiffs claim 3M earplugs were "defective" and failed to protect against hearing loss and tinnitus. 3M's Combat Arms CAEv2 earplugs CNBCEach earplug had two ends: The green end was designed to block out all sound. 3M disagreed with those claims, telling CNBC: "The data support what 3M has maintained throughout this litigation: the Combat Arms Earplugs version two were safe and effective to use.

☆ U.S. senators to propose legislation to mandate balloon tracking
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Air Force/Department of Defense/Handout via ReutersWASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Two senators are introducing legislation Wednesday to mandate tracking systems on high-altitude weather and research balloons to help the U.S. military differentiate between potential threats. Senators Mark Kelly, a Democrat, and Republican Ted Budd will introduce legislation seeking to ensure balloons operating in U.S. airspace can be identified, they said in a statement to Reuters. The issue drew new attention after U.S. fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon and three other objects last month. The United States says the Chinese balloon was used for surveillance purposes. China said it was a civilian airship used for meteorological purposes, and that it was accidentally blown off course into U.S. airspace.

☆ US State Dept says Black Sea drone incident likely unintentional from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. military surveillance drone's crash into the Black Sea after being intercepted by Russian jets was likely an unintentional act from Russia's side, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told MSNBC on Wednesday. The U.S military MQ-9 surveillance drone crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday after a Russian Su-27 jet struck its propeller, the Pentagon said, the first such incident since Russia's invasion of Ukraine over a year ago. The U.S. State Department spokesperson also confirmed there is surveillance video of the incident and that the Department of Defense was determining whether to release it to the public. The Russian and U.S. defense ministers held a phone call on Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry said. Russia has said it will try to retrieve the remains of the drone while White House spokesman John Kirby said the drone may never be recovered.

☆ US summoning Russian ambassador over downing of drone over Black Sea -State Dept
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The United States has summoned Russia's ambassador to Washington on Tuesday after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet downed a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. "We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the department where we will convey this message." The meeting of Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov with senior U.S. officials at the State Department will take place this afternoon, Price said, without saying who from the U.S. side he would be meeting. He referred reporters to the Department of Defense when asked about the effort to recover the downed drone. Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the U.S. military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone before one of them collided with it.

☆ Half of all Russian prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine have likely been killed or wounded, says UK intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Around half of the prisoners Russia recruited for Ukraine have been killed or wounded, per UK intel. The private pro-Kremlin Wagner Group has sent many prisoners to one of the war's bloodiest battles. But the group can no longer recruit from prisons, limiting its ability to reinforce, the UK said. The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Monday that "about half of the prisoners Wagner has already deployed in Ukraine have likely become casualties." In February, it was reported that Wagner had stopped recruiting prisoners as growing numbers refused to be enlisted on suicide missions in Ukraine, according to multiple reports.

☆ Biden wants $886 billion defense budget with eyes on Ukraine and future wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The total amount of the 2024 budget proposal is $28 billion more than last year's $858 billion. Congress has passed an annual defense budget for more than 60 years. Biden's budget request also speeds the Department of Defense's pace for buying the stealthy F-35 fighter jet to 83. The 2023 budget request asked for 61 F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin and Congress increased that number to 77. The budget would benefit the biggest U.S. defense contractors including Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N).

☆ 'You're in the room for a reason': How to stop doubting yourself at work, says Linda Fagan, first woman commandant of the Coast Guard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

She knew she'd join the Coast Guard as a teenager, but "my long-term plan was graduate, be an officer," she says. Here's how she built her legacy in the Coast Guard, as well as her advice for any woman doubting herself at work. "You can't be on the water in New England and not notice the Coast Guard," she says. As a sophomore in high school, she learned there was a Coast Guard Academy where she could receive a bachelor's then serve in the Coast Guard herself. Women had only begun to be let into the Coast Guard Academy in 1976, just five years before she herself would attend.

☆ The US military has been testing pulsed energy on animals trying to recreate the mysterious 'Havana Syndrome' symptoms: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US military has been carrying out and funding testing on various animals. The testing is aimed at seeing if radio frequency waves cause the mysterious sickness known as "Havana Syndrome." US intelligence determined last week that the ailment is likely not caused by a foreign adversary or weapon. A defense official told Insider that the Department of Defense, in accordance with congressional requirements, "continues to address the challenges posed by" anomalous health incidents, "including the causation, attribution, mitigation, identification, and treatment for such incidents. The official did not comment on the reported testing on primates but said that the testing at Wayne State University is aimed at alleviating "the deficits associated with traumatic brain injury."

Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks. Greene falsely blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl deaths that happened while Trump was in office. MAGA-faithful Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks while trying to take shots at President Joe Biden. Rep. Matt Gaetz, meanwhile, got schooled for unknowingly basing a critique of Biden's policies on a Communist newspaper. Gaetz tried to recover, pressing Kahl to "just tell me if the allegation is true or false."

[1/3] Samples of rare earth minerals from left: Cerium oxide, Bastnaesite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate at Molycorp's Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in Mountain Pass, California June 29, 2015. Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (LYC.AX) slumped 6.8% on the news and has fallen further since. It hasn't helped the price of rare earths either, accentuating a sharp slide that began in February. Shanghai Metal Market rare earth assessmentsRARE EARTHS ROLLER-COASTERRare earths have been on a price roller-coaster over the last three years. There is also the lingering threat that China could weaponise its rare earths supply if relations with the West deteriorate.

☆ 5 ways to file your taxes for free this season
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

IRS Free FileIRS Free File offers free online guided tax preparation for your federal tax returns and some state filings if your adjusted gross income was $73,000 or less in 2022. It's a good option for those who have simple returns, don't need ongoing tax planning advice and could benefit financially from the free service. Although 70% of taxpayers qualify for IRS Free File, only 2% used it during the 2022 filing season, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. Tax prep for older AmericansOlder Americans may also qualify for free in-person and virtual tax help through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. The program works with VITA and Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, which also provides free tax preparation for those who qualify.

☆ Tiny homes, big problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Daniel Geiger | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Beyond their star appeal, low-cost tiny homes like Casitas have real-world utility. The homes have been seized upon as a solution for cities like Los Angeles to house the homeless. They showed off their homes' transportability by hitching several of them to a Tesla and filming drag races between Teslas and trucks that were hooked to trailers carrying the homes. So far, though, after a little more than a year of building, the company has fabricated only about 400 homes. Even if it were churning out thousands of units, Boxabl hasn't yet received the certifications required to sell them in most states across the country.

☆ The US Air Force is stripping most of the identifying information off of its biggest planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Thomas Novelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US Air Mobility Command has ordered its refueling and cargo planes to obscure their identifying markings. "At the end of the day, it's still very clearly an Air Force plane unless you're going to start painting them white or something," Paladino said. A US Air Force C-130 with most of its markings removed at Rafael Hernández International Airport in Puerto Rico on February 25. Minihan's memo, which was leaked in late January, highlights the mentality and war footing on which he's placed Air Mobility Command, which has historically been used as a support organization for combat operations. Air Mobility Command played a major role in the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021 and continues to help deliver weapons and aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

☆ Pictures of the month: February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the central continental United States on February 3, 2023 before later being shot down by the Air Force off the coast of South Carolina, in this...moreA U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the central continental United States on February 3, 2023 before later being shot down by the Air Force off the coast of South Carolina, in this photo released by the U.S. Air Force on February 22. U.S. Air Force/Department of DefenseClose

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Lowe's, 3M, First Horizon, Nio and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Rivian also shared an electric vehicle production outlook that fell short of analysts' expectations. First Solar — Shares of First Solar gained 15% after the solar company issued full-year guidance on Tuesday that came out ahead of expectations on per-share earnings and revenue. First Solar reported a fourth-quarter loss of 7 cents per share compared with a 17 cent per-share loss expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. The company's revenue was in line with analysts' expectations of $1 billion. Ambarella gave first-quarter guidance that missed analysts' expectations on Tuesday, according to FactSet.

☆ The US military set off its largest nuclear explosion in testing 69 years ago, but scientists had no idea the blast would be that big
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dozens of nuclear tests were carried out by the US in the Pacific between 1946 and 1958. The largest of these was the detonation of the Castle Bravo device on March 1, 1954. It was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima during World War II. Castle Bravo was a real 'eyeopener'Despite the devastation caused by Castle Bravo, the US military continued to conducting nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. The US, UK, and Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which barred nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.

Frederick, the President of Howard University, at a press conference February 29, 2016, in the university's Founder's Library. Frederick is the 17th president of Howard University, one of 107 historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S., serving some 11,000 students across its undergraduate, graduate, and professional student programs. Frederick is the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. He is also a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, where he continues to see patients and perform surgeries. CNBC: The Department of Defense recently announced its selection of Howard University as the 15th university, and first HBCU, to lead a University Affiliated Research Center.

☆ Iran can make fissile material for a bomb 'in about 12 days' - U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in "about 12 days," a top U.S. Defense Department official said on Tuesday, down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb's worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days," Kahl, the third ranking Defense Department official, told lawmakers. U.S. officials have repeatedly estimated Iran's breakout time - how long it would take to acquire the fissile material for one bomb if it decided to - at weeks but have not been as specific as Kahl was. While U.S. officials say Iran has grown closer to producing fissile material they do not believe it has mastered the technology to actually build a bomb.

☆ Exclusive: White House sets deadline for purging TikTok from federal devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems. TikTok did not immediately comment on the White House memo. Many government agencies including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department had banned TikTok from government devices before the vote. "My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security," Representative Mike McCaul, the committee chair, said. The White House memo said within 90 days, agencies must address any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts and with 120 days agencies will include a new prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations.

☆ Exclusive: White House gives agencies 30 days to impose federal device TikTok ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems. The action does not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices. Many government agencies including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department had banned TikTok from government devices before the vote. The memo said within 90 days, agencies must address any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts and with 120 days agencies will include a new prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations. The federal contractor ban applies to equipment used in government work but does not "include any equipment acquired by a federal contractor incidental to a federal contract."

☆ Democratic congresswoman Slotkin announces run for open Michigan Senate seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan on Monday said she will run for the Senate seat being left open by Debbie Stabenow in 2024. Stabenow, 72, a Democrat serving a fourth term in the U.S. Senate, said in January she would not seek re-election. Keeping the seat in Democrats' hands could be vital for the party to maintain control of the Senate in 2025. No widely known Republicans have entered the race for Stabenow's seat so far. Michigan Republicans earlier in February selected Trump loyalist Kristina Karamo to be their next state chair, elevating an election denier as far-right members gain clout in the battleground state.

☆ Watchdog Report on Afghan Collapse Points to Abrupt Withdrawal, Lack of Planning
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, whose Western-backed government collapsed in 2021 and the Taliban took over the country. A government watchdog said an abrupt, uncoordinated withdrawal from Afghanistan and years of problems with planning and oversight of U.S. assistance contributed to the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban takeover of the country soon after American forces departed, according to a forthcoming report. Poor accountability on weapons and equipment provided to Afghanistan and a lack of systemic planning were also important factors in the military collapse there, according to the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, also calls out the Department of Defense for delaying answering official inquiries, missing deadlines and providing incomplete answers to questions.

☆ White House gives agencies 30 days to impose federal device TikTok ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems. The action does not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices. Many government agencies including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department had banned TikTok from government devices before the vote. The memo said within 90 days, agencies must address any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts and with 120 days agencies will include a new prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations. The federal contractor ban applies to equipment used in government work but does not "include any equipment acquired by a federal contractor incidental to a federal contract."

☆ 3D printer company to pay U.S. up to $27 mln for violating export curbs to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - 3D Systems Corp on Monday agreed to pay up to $27 million to settle with the U.S. for illegally exporting to China controlled design drawings for military electronics and spacecraft, among other violations. Besides the Commerce Department, the company also settled with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State. The Commerce Department penalty is for $2.8 million. In addition to the aerospace documents, the Commerce Department said, 3D Systems exported metal alloy powder to China without a license, although it is restricted for national security and nuclear nonproliferation reasons. "The company is pleased to have reached a settlement with the agencies and remains committed to continuing to enhance its export controls program," 3D Systems said in a statement.

☆ NATO is seeing signs China might help Russia wage its war, but the US has threatened 'serious consequences' if it does
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NATO's chief said Wednesday that there are "some signs" China may send lethal aid to Russia. The US has repeatedly threatened "serious consequences" if China further involves itself in the war. Stoltenberg then called the potential of China sending lethal aid a "blatant violation of international law." "We reinforced there that, again, there will be consequences for China should this partnership with Russia further deepen," Singh said. Blinken also said that the US has seen China "provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine."

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