The U.S. military is about to have a greater presence in the Philippines; President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meet to discuss the debt ceiling; and we have some fun facts about Punxsutawney Phil for this Groundhog Day. These stories and more highlight the daily morning rundown for Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.  U.S.…

The federal COVID emergency will officially come to an end this spring; winter weather is again grounding flights nationwide; first responders involved in the Tyre Nichols case have been fired; and an appeals court rules that Johnson and Johnson cannot use a subsidiary to protect itself from lawsuits. These stories and more highlight the daily…

The Russian Defense Ministry released video of a frigate conducting drills in the Norwegian Sea while carrying hypersonic cruise missiles. Hypersonic missiles travel low in the atmosphere and can maneuver mid-air. The Russian Zircon is a hypersonic cruise missile, which means it launches and propels itself using an air-breathing engine called a scramjet. This technology is newly…

In a sign that Beijing might be softening its stance towards the west, a controversial China ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, has been moved to a lower-profile department. Epitomizing China’s “Wolf Warrior” approach to diplomacy, Zhao built a large following on Twitter and Chinese social media employing a combative defense of Chinese President…

The U.S. military isn’t getting enough new recruits. The Army is 15,000 recruits shy of its goal for this year, and just lowered its goal for next year by another 15,000. Only about 23% of young Americans meet the requirements to join the military in the first place. Less than 10% are actually interested in…

A U.S. military device containing a biometric database recently sold on eBay for $68, plus shipping and handling. According to the New York Times, researchers in Germany bought the Secure Electronic Enrollment Kit, or SEEK II. Inside the device was a memory card containing the names, nationalities, photographs, fingerprints and iris scans of more than…

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, some U.S. lawmakers have warned that aid to Ukraine will not slow down. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Punchbowl News in October that further aid to Ukraine would become more difficult to pass if Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. The GOP did, in fact, win…

Dozens are dead in a historic New York blizzard; the U.S. government is investigating Southwest airlines over canceled flights; and China is dropping its quarantine requirement. These stories and more highlight your morning rundown, aimed straight down the middle, for Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022.  DOT to investigate Southwest The Department of Transportation is now looking…

Most of the drones Russia is using in its war against Ukraine are made in Iran. Most of the components inside those drones, however, are made in America. In November, the UK-based group Conflict Armament Research examined several drones downed by the Ukrainian military. They found more than 80% of the drone parts were manufactured…

Newly released documents obtained by the Intercept suggest Twitter secretly helped the U.S. wage a propaganda campaign in the Middle East at the request of The Pentagon. That’s according to the latest batch of the so-called “Twitter Files” revealed this week. According to journalist Lee Fang, dozens of fake social media accounts covertly run by…