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☆ The US military received hundreds of new UFO reports, but half are suspected to be balloons, drones, and random clutter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US military has received hundreds of new UFO reports in recent years, a new intelligence report reveals. Half of the new reported incidents are suspected to be balloons, drones, and random clutter. American officials have attributed a number of UFO incidents to foreign drones engaged in spying or airborne trash, The New York Times reported last October. Although the UAPs can potentially pose a safety hazard for aircraft, there have been no reported incidents between US planes and the UAPs. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Thursday statement about the new ODNI analysis.

☆ New $22 million Korean War memorial in Washington has 1,015 spelling errors and 245 service members who didn't die in the war, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington last year. But the memorial contains over a thousand spelling mistakes and errors, The New York Times reported. Two historians told NBC it will cost US taxpayers millions of dollars to rectify the mistakes. The Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial was first unveiled last summer and is meant to include all of the 36,634 names of American service members who died in battle in the Korean War. The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953.

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Wickr Me, an Amazon-owned encrypted chat platform, stopped accepting new users after Dec. 31 and will shut down completely on Dec. 31 of this year, according to an announcement from the company. In June, an NBC News investigation revealed that Wickr Me had become a go-to product for many people trading child sexual abuse material. The investigation identified 72 court cases from the past five years in which the defendant allegedly used Wickr (as it’s commonly known) to trade child sexual abuse material. In its statement in November, the company explained that it was shutting down Wickr Me to devote more resources and focus toward its business-to-business products, AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise. In 2016, one of the first successful prosecutions against someone trading child pornography on the app was reported by the Deseret Morning News.

☆ Congress Boosts Funding to Stockpile Key Metals, Battery Ingredients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The U.S. defense stockpile for hard-to-get metals and lithium-ion battery ingredients is getting a $1 billion boost from Congress, as tensions escalate with China and Russia—with both nations the source of some key minerals. The money was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 23 by President Biden. The funding is just one component of the NDAA, which sets military service members’ pay and directs the Department of Defense which ships, airplanes and weapons to buy, among other initiatives.

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☆ Jan. 6 response would have been 'vastly different' if rioters were Black, House sergeant at arms told investigators
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — The House sergeant at arms, who was head of the D.C. National Guard during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, told the Jan. 6 committee that the law enforcement response would have looked much different had the rioters been Black Americans. I think it would have been a vastly different response if those were African Americans trying to breach the Capitol,” William J. Walker told congressional investigators, in an interview transcript released Tuesday. Walker indicated he thought that more rioters would have died at the hands of law enforcement on Jan. 6 had the makeup of the crowd not been overwhelmingly white. “You know, as a law enforcement officer, there were — I saw enough to where I would have probably been using deadly force,” Walker said. Walker told investigators that it was clear to him beforehand that Jan. 6 was going to be a "big deal" just from being aware of what was happening in the world.

☆ U.S. awards defense contract of over $1 billion to Lockheed Martin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Lockheed Martin's logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonWASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. awarded defense contracts to companies on Friday, including one of over a billion dollars to Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), the Department of Defense said in a statement. "This contract procures long lead time materials, parts, components, and efforts necessary to maintain on-time production and delivery of 118 Lot 18 aircraft F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S Department of Defense participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers," the department said on the $1.05 billion Lockheed contract. Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin received a Defense Department contract worth $431 million to deliver new High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and support services for the U.S. Army and its foreign allies. Separately, Boeing Co (BA.N) was awarded a $497 million firm-fixed-price contract for CH-47F helicopters, the department said on Friday, adding Dec. 30, 2025, was the estimated contract completion date.

☆ European shares eye upbeat end to week on banks, healthcare boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Amruta Khandekar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies STOXX 600 rises 0.2%Banks, healthcare firms gainBavarian Nordic at the top of STOXX 600Italian business morale rises in DecemberDec 23 (Reuters) - Europe's STOXX 600 edged higher on Friday, with gains in healthcare firms and banks putting the index on course to end the last week before Christmas on an upbeat note. The region-wide STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.2% at 0915 GMT and was bound for a 0.8% weekly advance. Morale amongst Italian businesses and consumers rose in December, data showed on Friday, although the manufacturing sector was more downbeat. On the economic data front, a report showed Spain's economy expanded 0.1% in the third quarter, slowing from a 2.0% growth rate in the previous three-month period. Among STOXX 600 sectors, shares of retailers (.SXRP) rose 0.6% to lead gains.

☆ House Jan. 6 committee found military officials were concerned Trump would use troops to overturn the election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The House January 6 committee found evidence that top military officials had "genuine concerns" about Trump using the military to overturn the election. The revelation adds further context to why top officials were so outspoken about clarifying the military's role. "Again, at this time, there is no evidence the Department of Defense understood exactly what President Trump and his associates planned for January 6th." . . and the employment of forces, and you know, that was something that we were all, you know, conscious of," McCarthy told the committee. "They may try, but they're not going to f**king succeed," Milley told his deputies, according to the book.

☆ TikTok steps up efforts to clinch U.S. security deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But some government officials, including at the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, remain opposed to a security deal, according to the sources. TikTok has also proposed to form a "proxy" board that would run the USDS division independent of ByteDance, the sources said. This division is headed on an interim basis by Andrew Bonillo, a former U.S Secret Service agent, and until a security deal with the U.S. is reached it reports to TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew. TikTok has been also seeking to hire independent auditors and monitors who would be paid by the company but report to CFIUS, according to the sources. However, it is unclear whether Biden's administration will eventually sign off on a security deal with TikTok.

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☆ Native Hawaiian women and girls experience sex trafficking and violence at alarming rates, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Native Hawaiian women and girls experience disproportionate levels of violence, and those inequities have long been insufficiently addressed, new research shows. “It’s the collision of hatred of Native Hawaiians and hatred of women that just makes it harder for women’s pain and specifically Native Hawaiian women’s pain to register,” Jabola-Carolus said. Military occupation remains an enduring structure of the U.S. colonization of Hawaii, which researchers point to as the basis for the inequities Native Hawaiian women and girls experience today. Inequities for Native women and girls are also intertwined with the failures of those with legislative power to recognize these Native Hawaiian issues, the report said. But services allocated to specifically help Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence were inadvertently excluded from that funding.

☆ Foreign workers killed working on U.S. bases likely didn't get compensation required by U.S., report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Andrew W. Lehren | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Tens of thousands of workers from Nepal, the Philippines and other developing countries took jobs at U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. Called third-country nationals, or TCNs, because they were not from the U.S. or Afghanistan, they worked as cafeteria workers, janitors and often armed guards for the bases. When a car bomb or other Taliban attack occurred, Afghans and TCN contractors “were far more likely to be killed or injured,” said the report. During the interviews, Coburn and Gill found 12 different contract workers injured or killed who did not appear to have received proper compensation. When contractors are found to have violated insurance requirements, there is little punishment, according to the report.

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☆ I run NORAD's Santa tracker program. It takes thousands of volunteers and state-of-the-art tech to give kids Santa's real-time location.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Taayoo Murray | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Lieutenant Sean Carter is a public-affairs officer who runs the NORAD Tracks Santa program. The tradition started by accident in 1955, and now an average of 1,500 volunteers help every year. I'm also the NORAD Tracks Santa program manager. Before taking over as the NORAD Tracks Santa program manager, I briefly worked in public affairs at Space Base Delta 1 — a Space Force unit responsible for installations all around the globe. NORAD has other events, but for the past 67 years, one of the Department of Defense's largest outreach events has been NORAD Tracks Santa.

☆ Biden touts new law giving veterans suffering from burn-pit exposure more help: ‘The benefits are real’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“And the benefits are real, they’re real benefits like exposure screening. Since Biden signed the law, more than 185,000 veterans have applied for benefits, the White House said. More than 730,000 veterans have also received screenings for toxic exposure, with nearly 39% reporting concern of exposure. The law gives veterans exposed to burn pits access to more medical care and disability payments. Biden said he has directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat the 23 presumptive conditions in the law immediately.

☆ EnCharge AI, a chip startup born in Princeton lab, raises $21.7 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec 14 (Reuters) - EnCharge AI, a chip startup born at a Princeton University lab, on Wednesday said it raised $21.7 million as it looks to commercialize its computing technology that is designed to run artificial intelligence applications more efficiently. Its first products will be cards that can be easily slotted into server racks for companies to run AI applications, said Naveen Verma, CEO and co-founder of EnCharge AI and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton. EnCharge AI chips work by computing data directly in the memory on the chip, using a special chip design and software. The chips will first be used in factories, warehouses and retail spaces to run AI applications, said Verma. EnCharge AI said the latest funding round was led by Anzu Partners with participation from AlleyCorp, Scout Ventures, Silicon Catalyst Angels, Schams Ventures, E14 Fund and Alumni Ventures.

☆ Robots set their sights on a new job: sewing blue jeans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Timothy Aeppel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A robotic arm positions pieces of stiffened fabric for a demonstration of automated sewing at the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. August 19, 2021. Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center/Handout via REUTERSDec 12 (Reuters) - Will a robot ever make your blue jeans? Finding a way to cut out handwork in China and Bangladesh would allow more clothing manufacturing to move back to Western consumer markets, including the United States. Rather than teach robots how to handle cloth, the startup, Sewbo Inc., stiffens the fabric with chemicals so it can be handled more like a car bumper during production. The first step is getting robots into clothing factories.

☆ Japan, Britain and Italy to build jet fighter together
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan’s first major industrial defense collaboration beyond the United States since World War II. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. “It’s also good for our international reputation”The proposed jet fighter aircraft Tempest, shown during the Farnborough Airshow, in southern England in July. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

[1/3] Suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is escorted by members of a special police unit after a hearing at a criminal court in Bangkok October 5, 2010. "Everyone will forget about Griner tomorrow," Russian state television host Yevgeny Popov wrote on Telegram on Thursday. "Bout's life is only beginning." Bout arrived in Moscow late on Thursday after Russia and the United States swapped the arms dealer for Griner at Abu Dhabi airport. U.S. anger at Bout's release has been widely covered in the Russian media, with the pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets claiming that Department of Defense officials were "disturbed" by the exchange, citing U.S. media reports.

☆ UK, Japan, and Italy are joining forces to build a new next-generation fighter jet that can fight with artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Britain, Japan, and Italy are working to build a next-generation fighter jet together. The fighter jet will have cutting-edge weapons and advanced capabilities, such as the ability to work with uncrewed aircraft. Britain's defense ministry said in a release that it hopes to develop the fighter jet with various advanced capabilities such as cutting-edge weapons, innovative data systems, and advanced sensors. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the aircraft's development, and partnership with Japan and Italy, highlights that "the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are indivisible." In a joint statement with Japan's defense ministry on Thursday, the US Department of Defense said it supports Tokyo's security cooperation with London and Rome.

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defence spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. Britain also want Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through its membership of NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, also welcomed the joint Europe-Japan agreement. "The United States supports Japan's security and defence cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy," the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan's Ministry of Defense.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department will continue to deny three U.S.-based firms' export privileges, the government announced on Thursday, saying the companies had illegally exported satellite, rocket and defense technology to China. Since June, the Commerce Department found additional U.S. companies that worked with the firms, involving the unlicensed export to China of firearm component and space technology details. The new order denies the companies' export privileges for another 180 days, and gives notice to other companies to avoid doing business with them. The department did not identify the companies who had contracted with the North Carolina firms. But, according to the department's June order, a U.S. aerospace and global defense technology company notified the department in February 2020 of a third-party supplier's unauthorized export of controlled satellite technology.

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