United States

China Slams SpaceX Deal To Build US Spy Satellites

Reuters reports: Chinese military and state-run media on Sunday accused the United States of threatening global security, days after a Reuters report which found Elon Musk’s SpaceX was building hundreds of spy satellites for a U.S. intelligence agency. A social media account run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the SpaceX program exposed the United States’ “shamelessness and double …

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Russia Complains About “Traitors” Protesting In DC

The Daily Beast reports: The Russian ambassador to the United States says he plans to complain to American officials about security failings at the embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday as voters cast their ballots in the Russian presidential election. Anatoly Antanov told reporters that “traitors” were allowed “to block the entrance to the Russian embassy and interfere with Russian …

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Reuters: Trump Launched Covert CIA Op Against China

Reuters reports: Two years into office, President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media aimed at turning public opinion in China against its government, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the highly classified operation. Three former officials told Reuters that the CIA created a small team of operatives …

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Gallup: 7.6% Of US Adults Now Identify As LGBTQ

Gallup Polling reports: LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual. The current figure is up from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% in 2012. Bisexual adults make up the largest proportion of the LGBTQ+ population — 4.4% of U.S. …

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Pentagon Finds No Coverup Of Aliens And UFOs

The New York Times reports: The new congressionally mandated Pentagon report found no evidence that the government was covering up knowledge of extraterrestrial technology and said there was no evidence that any U.F.O. sightings represented alien visitation to Earth. The 63-page document is the most sweeping rebuttal the Pentagon has issued in recent years to counter claims that it has …

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US Embassy: Extremists Are Plotting Attack In Moscow

Reuters reports: The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details …

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Biden Welcomes Sweden As “NATO’s 32nd Ally”

Via press release from the White House: Today, I am honored to welcome Sweden as NATO’s 32nd Ally. 75 years ago—when the United States and 11 other nations came together to establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—President Truman said the Alliance, “would create a shield against aggression and fear of aggression.” Today, that shield—and transatlantic security—is stronger than ever with …

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US Military Begins Airdropping Food Aid Into Gaza

The Associated Press reports: U.S. military C-130 cargo planes on Saturday dropped food in pallets over Gaza, three U.S. officials said, two days after more than 100 Palestinians who had surged to pull goods off an aid convoy were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. Three planes from Air Forces Central dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals …

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US Mission Lands On Moon For First Time Since 1972

Yahoo News reports: An unmanned, robotic lunar lander launched by a private U.S. company landed on the moon Thursday evening. “We can confirm, without a doubt, that our equipment is on the surface of the moon,” said Stephen Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that operated the Odysseus spacecraft. “Welcome to the moon.” Altemus had estimated that Odysseus …

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US To Impose New Sanctions On Russia Over Navalny

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden has directed his administration to impose major sanctions to hold Russia accountable for the death last week of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the sanctions package, which comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will be announced on Friday. Kirby …

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US Vetoes UN Resolution On Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

CNN reports: The United States has vetoed a resolution at the United Nations calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an anticipated move that comes amid growing international clamor for Israel to pause its offensive against Hamas.  The US had already signaled its intention to veto the Algerian resolution, but has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and …

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US Proposes UN Resolution Backing Gaza Ceasefire

Reuters reports: The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the U.S. draft …

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British Court To Rule On Extraditing Assange To US

The Associated Press reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s fight to avoid facing spying charges in the United States may be nearing an end following a protracted legal saga in the U.K. that included seven years of self-exile inside a foreign embassy and five years in prison. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in London starting Tuesday as …

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US Launches Retaliatory Strikes Inside Iraq And Syria

The New York Times reports: The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. President Biden …

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STUDY: Religious “Nones” Are Now Largest US Group

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American …

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US Embassy Ribs Brits Over Tea-Making “Controversy”

Bloomberg News reports: The US and UK have traditionally enjoyed a so-called special relationship as close allies bound by a common language. But that goodwill has been jeopardized by an American academic who claims that the recipe for a perfect cup of tea includes a pinch of salt. Her advice drew bafflement and derision in the UK, where tea is …

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State Dept To Putin: You’re Not Getting Alaska Back

The Hill reports: The State Department brushed off reports of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering his government to look into the nation’s former “real estate” abroad, saying Alaska would be staying in American hands. Putin signed a new decree last week to allocate funds for the research and registration of Russian property overseas, including that in former territories of the …

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US And Allies Issue Joint Statement On Yemen Strikes

Via press release from the White House: In response to continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, conducted joint strikes in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, consistent …

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US And UK Carry Out Strikes On Houtis In Yemen

Reuters reports: The United States and Britain have started carrying out strikes against targets linked to Houthis in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first time strikes have been launched against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year. The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been targeting …

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US Kills Houti Rebels After Attack On Red Sea Shipping

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely …

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