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A new documentary about the killing of Mexican American soldier Vanessa Guillen provides an inside look at the tenacious pursuit her family embarked to spark change in the military justice system. Christy Wegener, director of the “I am Vanessa Guillen” documentary available on Netflix Thursday, said this is “not a traditional crime documentary by any means.”“It has a bigger mission,” she told NBC News. Vanessa Guillen, at center. As her fight for further and more permanent military reform continues, Mayra Guillen said she has considered becoming a congresswoman. Mayra Guillen, center, in "I Am Vanessa Guillen."

☆ Lockheed gets Microsoft classified cloud to speed work with Pentagon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Microsoft will provide Lockheed Martin with its first classified cloud as part of a three-year deal, executives said on Wednesday, making it easier for the United States' largest weapons maker to share information with the Pentagon, its top customer. The secure cloud partnership will permit Lockheed (LMT.N) to avoid some of the repetitive security compliance processes for each new government project. "Whenever you stand up a new classified program, it takes weeks to months to just get the I.T. Microsoft has made a "substantial investment" and spent more than seven years building the classified cloud being used by the Department of Defense, Zach Kramer, general manager, Mission Engineering at Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said in the joint interview with Lockheed. And really what that does is enable the collaboration with others," Kramer said, such as the Department of Defense or, once they join a classified cloud program, suppliers.

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

☆ Attabotics raises $71 million as startups vie with Amazon over robotic warehouse of the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Attabotics' all-in-one automated fulfillment system is condensed into a single vertical structure, using robotic shuttles to pick goods and then deliver to workers. Attabotics, a 3-D robotics supply chain company, has raised $71.7 million in new funding to continue its push into automatizing warehouses. The raise comes amid the push to further optimize shipping fulfillment and warehouse technology as e-commerce continues to grow. Amazon has steadily added to its fleet of warehouse robots since it acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, which has now become Amazon Robotics, the company's in-house incubator of robotic fulfillment systems. In June, Amazon unveiled its first fully autonomous robot that can operate alongside warehouse workers, in addition to other systems that can sort and move packages.

☆ The US is sending 40 more boats to join Ukraine's growing 'river navy'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Peter Suciu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US is sending Ukraine more riverine patrol boats in an aid package announced this month. The 40 boats in the latest package will join the 18 boats that the US supplied to Kyiv in June. The aid assistance package hasn't detailed the type of riverine boats that will be sent, but six from the previous batch were made by Louisiana-based Metal Shark. Those are now reportedly operating in the Black Sea. Ukraine defiantThe US supplied 10 34-foot Dauntless Sea Ark patrol boats, like those seen above, to Ukraine in June.

Every day of the year on the homefront, however, active-duty military families leave behind neighbors and local ties to little fanfare as they relocate to other bases. Right now, military families are not getting enough financial assistance in coping with the cost of constant moves. Since military families move on government orders, they do not have the option of choosing less expensive regions or staying put. Supporting our military families shouldn’t fall solely to the Defense Department, however. Military families are part of our communities, and they need our support.

Forum, founded in 1948 to ensure that Mexican American World War II veterans could access their government benefits. “Latinos have a long and honorable tradition of military service,” he said, “only somehow it is not as well-known as that of other groups. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are nearly 1.3 million Latino veterans, or about 8 percent of the veteran population. Issues for Latino veterans, Vazquez-Contes noted, range from accessing medical care through the Veterans Administration system to homelessness to suicide. “The promotion rates for the top enlisted ranks, and the top officer ranks, are just basically void of Hispanic names.”Ricardo Aponte of the Hispanic Veterans Leadership Alliance.

☆ How Joby and Delta are making flying taxis a reality
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Andrew Evers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The world has long dreamed of a day when flying cars become part of daily life. Startups Joby, Archer, Vertical , Lilium and more are developing eVTOLs, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, with the vision of making air taxis a reality. CNBC got an inside look at Joby Aviation, one of the eVTOL players with grand ambitions of not only building the aircraft but also operating an Uber-like air taxi business. Founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California, the company has received investments from Toyota , Delta Air Lines , Uber and the U.S. Department of Defense. Joby is currently manufacturing and performing flight tests at its pilot facility outside of Monterey in Marina, California.

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Rep. Elissa Slotkin won reelection against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District. Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin won reelection against Republican Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District. 2022 General EmbedsMichigan's 7th Congressional District candidatesWhen Slotkin first won the seat in 2018, she became the first Democrat to represent Michigan's 8th Congressional District (pre-redistricting) since 2001 with her victory over incumbent Rep. Mike Bishop. In 2022, she ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District. Voting history for Michigan's 7th Congressional DistrictMichigan's newly drawn 7th Congressional District sits in the central region of the state and spans seven counties.

☆ Russia's hopes for a Republican landslide to hurt Ukraine are vanishing fast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Shift in power ... and Ukraine support? Russia could well hope that a shift in power after the the midterm elections could herald a cooler attitude toward Ukraine. "Further, most Republicans remain staunchly committed to Ukraine support, despite House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's announcement of 'no blank check' for the Ukrainians under a Republican-led House. Russia's President Vladimir Putin listens while then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, in 2019. "The war in Ukraine must provide the U.S. with the best chance for regime change in Russia, of taking Putin out.

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☆ Russia's military has likely lost half its tanks in Ukraine and will be weaker than it was before the war, Pentagon says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia has likely lost half its main battle tanks in Ukraine, a senior US defense official said. In addition to armor losses, Russian forces have also lost mountains of other high-value and heavy weaponry, much of which. like Russian tanks, has been repurposed by Ukraine even as it continues to enjoy considerable security assistance and military aid from Western countries. Among the Russian war dead have been Russian conscripts and reservists who were recently rushed to the battlefield to reinforce crumbling Russian lines and stem Russian losses. "Russia will emerge from this war weaker than it went in," Kahl said in reflection on Putin's overall war efforts in Ukraine.

☆ The same air defense systems that shield Washington, DC 24/7 have arrived in Ukraine from the US as Russia batters cities with missiles and suicide drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's defense minister said Monday that National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems have arrived. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on social media that the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) arrived with Italian-made Aspide medium-range systems. NASAMS are ground-based air defense systems that provide short- to medium-range protection and can be used to defend against drones, missiles, and some aircraft. In response to these attacks,Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said air defense was the number one priority for his country, prompting the US and its NATO allies to begin rushing to deliver critical air defense systems to Ukraine. "In terms of air defense capabilities, this continues to be a priority for the US government, for the Department of Defense to work closely with the Ukrainians, with our allies and our partners to try to get them additional air defense capability," Ryder responded.

More portable weapons, such as Stinger antiaircraft missiles, have historically posed a greater risk of ending up in the wrong hands, U.S. officials said. WASHINGTON—The Biden administration’s efforts to check on the billions of dollars of weapons sent to Ukraine, though limited in scope, haven’t found any evidence of large-scale malfeasance, U.S. officials say. For the past two months, a small team from the Department of Defense has been on the ground inside Ukraine conducting inspections. The group, based at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, has so far been able to check only a small amount of the more than $18 billion of arms provided to the Ukrainians, U.S. officials said.

☆ Exclusive: Former U.S. military pilot arrested in Australia listed same Beijing address as Chinese hacker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Beijing address is listed in Australian company filings for the pilot and a U.S. blacklisting for the Chinese businessman, however, it was unclear whether they used the Beijing address at the same time. Another aviation source said Duggan went to Beijing to work with Stephen Su, also known as Su Bin in China. When Reuters visited the Beijing address this week the reporter was told it was a residential building and denied entry. Under Australia's extradition treaty with the United States, an extradition request must be made within 60 days of arrest. Robert Anello, the lawyer who represented Su Bin in the 2014 hacking case, declined to comment and Su Bin could not be reached for comment.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Former U.S. military pilot arrested in Australia listed same Beijing address as Chinese hacker -documents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

☆ Trump advisor Kash Patel granted immunity to testify in Mar-a-Lago documents case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Trump has claimed that he declassified all the documents he took with him before he left office, but so far the aides who have testified before a grand jury have said they saw no evidence that Trump declassified anything. Patel's testimony is considered crucial to answering the question of whether Trump declassified any of the documents he took with him to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Patel, however, claimed in an August interview with The Wall Street Journal that he had personally witnessed Trump verbally declassify documents. But when Patel was called later to testify before the grand jury in October, he reportedly did not make the same assertions. In a case that hinges on whether Trump mishandled state secrets, the question of whether the documents marked classified were in fact state secrets is pivotal.

☆ The Pacific’s Missing F-15 Fighters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon is pulling F-15 fighter jets from Okinawa after decades on the Japanese island, and the news has received too little attention. American air power is spread thin across the world, and the U.S. is in a precarious position even as it needs to put more hardware in the Pacific to deter China. “Starting in November, the Department of Defense will commence a phased withdrawal of F-15 C/D aircraft forward-deployed to Kadena Air Base over the next two years,” the Air Force said on Oct. 28 after the news had leaked. The Air Force F-15Cs and Ds are 38 years old on average, and no doubt they’re costly to maintain and keep airborne. Lt. Gen. David Deptula , a retired F-15 pilot, tells us these are the last active duty F-15C/D pilots in the Air Force, another limiting factor.

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☆ SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket returns to flight after three years
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy — a towering, three-pronged vehicle that is the most powerful operational rocket in the world — returned to the skies on Tuesday for the first time since mid-2019. Since that first test mission, SpaceX has launched only two other Falcon Heavy missions, both in 2019. SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, on the other hand, has launched nearly 50 missions so far this year alone. With each Falcon Heavy launch, the rocket puts on a dramatic showing back on Earth. After Tuesday’s mission, the company only attempted to recover two of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first-stage rocket boosters.

That hearing discussed an unclassified report issued by a Department of Defense task force in 2021. There is precedent for the Defense Department, scientists and the media playing down reports of UFOs rather than prioritizing truly open scientific inquiry. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Air Force established a UFO task force named Project Blue Book and commissioned an independent scientific study of the phenomena. There is now a danger that the NASA study, which is also supposed to be objective, may not live up to this scientific ideal. If government and academia don’t do so with UFOs, we may end up with another independent scientific panel in another 50 years, but be no closer to the truth.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of military in Washington D.C. dates to at least January 2021, not filmed ahead of midterm elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Users have shared an old clip before the November midterm elections, alongside claims that it shows military in Washington D.C. in advance of 2022 midterm elections. The footage shared online shows barricades placed alongside the Capitol with people in camouflage military gear standing along the streets. “To be clear, the D.C. National Guard has not received any requests for support and do not currently have any soldiers deployed ahead of the midterms,” a spokesperson for the D.C. National Guard told Reuters. Reuters also contacted the Washington D.C. mayor’s office and the Department of Defense for comment and will update this article accordingly. The footage was uploaded to TikTok in January 2021 and was not filmed days before U.S. 2022 midterm elections.

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