News of the Force: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 - Page 1

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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

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    "A love of tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed, it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril."

                                        -- The Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill, Nov. 29, 1944

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North Korea test fires new ICBM

    

    North Korea said today it successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can reach all of the U.S. mainland. In a broadcast on state TV, North Korea said the new, powerful missile reached an altitude of about 2,780 miles - more than 10 times the height of the International Space Station - and flew 600 miles during its 53 minute flight.

    The U.S. Defense Department detected and tracked a single North Korea missile launch yesterday at about 1:17 p.m., EST, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning said in a statement. The initial assessment indicates that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, he said. This is North Korea’s third ICBM test this year, following two in July, and the first missile launch of any kind since Sept. 15th, when they tested an intermediate range missile. The ICBM was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, north of Pyongyang, and traveled east about 1,000 kilometers - about 620 miles - before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone, an area that extends 200 nautical miles from its coast. "We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch," Col. Manning said. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America or U.S. territories and allies, the colonel said. South Korea’s news agency reported that its army staged its own "precision strike" missile exercise in response. The United States’ commitment to the defense of its allies, including South Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, remains ironclad, Col. Manning said. "We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation," he said.

 

Australia arrests man for plotting New Year's Eve attack

    

    The Australian Federal Police have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of planning to use an automatic rifle for a mass shooting on New Year's Eve in downtown Melbourne, Australia's second largest city.

 

Saudis launch anti-terror coalition

    

    A Saudi-led Muslim military coalition, commanded by a former Pakistan army chief, was officially launched in Riyadh where defense ministers of the participating nations met for the inaugural meeting.

    Lebanon did not attend the Saudi-led anti-terrorism alliance summit held in Riyadh as part of the government's effort to dissociate from regional conflicts, an official source said.

    And senior Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, once seen as a leading contender to the throne, was freed after reaching an "acceptable settlement agreement" with authorities paying more than $1 billion, a Saudi official said today.

 

Chinese army general commits suicide

    

    A former top Chinese general under investigation for major corruption has killed himself, official media reported yesterday, denouncing his death as a "despicable" act to escape punishment.

    Meanwhile, a Chinese court sentenced a human rights activist from Taiwan to five years in prison yesterday for "state subversion," the first time China has convicted a Taiwanese citizen of that crime.

 

Bali volcano stops flights

    Indonesia shut the airport on its holiday island of Bali for a third consecutive day today as the erupting Mount Agung volcano spewed ash that blocked flight paths and spurred authorities to hasten evacuations.

 

In New Zealand, mobile telephones didn't get emergency alert

    

    The new Civil Defense alert system, tested across the country on Sunday evening, doesn't reach most mobile phones, but that will change, the government says.

 

Top U.S. general says Taliban 'living in comfort in Pakistan

    It's been nearly 100 days since President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan and the wider region, a strategy that demanded Pakistan do more to fight the Taliban, but Pakistan has yet to take significant action.

 

Kenyatta sworn in as Kenya's president

    

    Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term yesterday amid the thunderous applause of supporters even as pro-government forces fired on protesters angered by the contentious election process that kept him in power.

 

German mayor attacked with knife

    A German mayor has been "attacked with a knife in a kebab shop in an attempted assassination," according to reports. Detailed information on the incident is unclear but the mayor of the city of Altena, Andreas Hollstein, was reportedly targeted.

 

Pentagon 'taking a look' at halting weapons for Syria's Kurds

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    The U.S. Defense Department has said it is reviewing the process it uses to provide equipment and weapons to Kurdish fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but has not yet halted sending them weapons.

    The Palestinians are furious after Saudi Arabia downplayed the importance of Jerusalem, and Saudis fed up with Palestinian Arabs' intransigence are posting taunts on media.

    Is "Wonder Woman" also a spy? A leading Arab newspaper has outed Wonder Woman actress and proud Israeli Gal Gadot, saying that she's also a Mossad spy.

    And Israel thrives today, despite the same hatred of Jews and vows of destruction it has faced since its inception in 1947.

 

FBI failed to notify targets of Russian hackers

    

    The FBI failed to notify scores of U.S. officials that Russian hackers were trying to break into their personal Gmail accounts despite having evidence for at least a year that the targets were in the Kremlin's crosshairs.

 

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

    

    USS Fitzgerald, a Navy destroyer that was damaged in June after a deadly collision with a cargo ship off the coast of Japan, suffered two punctures to its hull while being loaded onto a transport ship destined for the U.S.

    University of California-Davis Mail Services is once again helping out the Marine Corps Reserve on its annual toy drive, so you know it's easy: Just bring new, unwrapped toys for ages up to 16, and leave the toys with your outgoing mail or in the blue bins around campus.

    The Marines' Toys for Tots collection will be conducted throughout the annual Broken Arrow (Okla.) Civitan Parade, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2nd.

    Penn State Shenango is sponsoring a toy drive to benefit the Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots Foundation. New, unwrapped toys will be Christmas gifts for needy children in the community.

    Declassified files from the Cold War reveal how Russian submarines were able to "sneak up" on enemy submarines without using sonar.

    The Navy's new destroyers could have some killer weapons, including rail guns, lasers and advanced radar.

    U.S. Navy aerial warfare experts are surveying industry for companies able to provide simulations of enemy radio, radar, and electronic warfare (EW) signals to help refine the airborne targeting sensor suite on the F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF).

    Submarine sonar experts at the Lockheed Martin Corp. are moving forward to keep digital signal processing capability aboard U.S. Navy submarines up-to-date through the year 2020.

    Electro-optics experts at Arete Associates in Tucson, Ariz., are increasing their support of a project to design multispectral UAV sensor payloads to help military unmanned helicopters detect and pinpoint mines and obstacles in beach surf zones to help keep Marines safe during amphibious attacks.

    Fareway Stores, Inc., is partnering with the U.S. Marine Corps on their 2017 Toys for Tots campaign.

    Ohio's oil and gas industry is partnering with Toys for Tots in six counties in southeastern Ohio to collect toys for distribution to those in need in early December.

    Military avionics experts at Textron Aviation Beechcraft in Wichita, Kansas, will provide 255 satellite-based air navigation and tracking systems for the U.S. Navy and Army T-6 Texan II high-performance turboprop trainer aircraft under the terms of an $8 million order. 

    A $5,000 fee may sound like a steep price to pay for most ordinary deliveries. But it's a price the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory would gladly pay for a disposable glider drone that could deliver 320 kilograms (700 pounds) of supplies to ground troops at remote outposts.

    Jefferson County (Fla.) Sheriff David C. Hobbs has died after being hospitalized on Monday. He was 59. Hobbs, who served seven years working as a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper, eight years as a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy and six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, was first elected sheriff in 2004.

    And each year the United States Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots Program collects new, unwrapped toys to be distributed as Christmas presents to children in need. The mission goes beyond just physical gift-giving, it unites communities and spreads the message of hope for struggling families.

 

NOAA news

    

    A NOAA study could redefine the "100 year storm" for the Houston, Texas, area. The final NOAA data will be published in May 2018, the first statewide update to the federal agency's rainfall estimates in nearly 50 years.

    National Hurricane Center Hurricane forecasters using NOAA's "workhouse" model made the most accurate track predictions yet. During Hurricane Irma, they beat their average by 30 percent with every forecast, according to University of Miami (UM) hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

    ECS Federal has received a potential $9.1 million contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to deliver environmental and professional support services to NOAA's Office of Sustainable Fisheries.

    Tornadoes accounted for seven billion-dollar weather events in 2017, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

    And spacecraft designers at the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., will build a next-generation weather satellite with a passive microwave imaging radiometer instrument to measure the direction and speed of ocean winds, as well as the intensity of global hurricanes.

 

Homeland insecurity

    

    Three employees in the inspector general's office for the Department of Homeland Security stole a computer system that contained sensitive personal information of more than 246,000 DHS employees.

    Agents from the Homeland Security Investigations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with Skowhegan police officers, conducted a search at a residence yesterday morning on Rowe Road in Skowhegan, Maine.

    And in Detroit, Mich., the Little Caesars Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and the NBA's Detroit Pistons, has received SAFETY Act Certification, the highest level of protection awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

 

U.S. Courts

    A U.S. district judge has blocked an Obama-era appointee's attempt to block President Trump from having Mick Mulvaney head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP).

    The U.S. Supreme Court today took up a major test of privacy rights in the digital age as it weighs whether police must obtain warrants to get data on the past locations of criminal suspects using cell phone data from wireless providers. The justices are due to hear an appeal by a man named Timothy Carpenter convicted in a series of armed robberies in Ohio and Michigan with the help of past cell phone location data that linked him to the crime locations. His American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers argue that without a court-issued warrant such data amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. Law enforcement authorities routinely request and receive this information from wireless providers during criminal investigations as they try to link a suspect to a crime. Police helped establish that Carpenter was near the scene of the robberies of Radio Shack and T-Mobile stores by securing from his cell phone carrier his past "cell site location information" tracking which cell phone towers had relayed his calls. The legal fight has raised questions about the degree to which companies protect their customers' privacy rights. The big four wireless carriers, Verizon Communications, Inc., AT&T, Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc. and the Sprint Corp., receive tens of thousands of these requests annually from law enforcement. Verizon was the only one of those four companies to tell the Supreme Court that it favors strong privacy protections for its customers, with the other three sitting on the sidelines. There is growing scrutiny of the surveillance practices of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies amid concern among lawmakers across the political spectrum about civil liberties and authorities evading warrant requirements. The Supreme Court twice in recent years has ruled on major cases concerning how criminal law applies to new technology, both times ruling against law enforcement. In 2012, the court held that a warrant is required to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. Two years later, the court said police need a warrant to search a cell phone seized during an arrest. Carpenter's bid to suppress the evidence failed and he was convicted of six robbery counts. On appeal, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his convictions, finding that no warrant was required for the cell phone data. The ACLU said in court papers that police need "probable cause," and therefore a warrant, in order to meet Fourth Amendment requirements. Based on a provision of a 1986 federal law called the Stored Communications Act, the Justice Department said probable cause is not needed to obtain customer records. Instead, it argues, prosecutors must show only that there are "reasonable grounds" for the records to be provided and that they are "relevant and material" to an investigation. President Trump's administration said in court papers the government has a "compelling interest" in acquiring the data without a warrant because the information is particularly useful at the early stages of a criminal investigation. Civil liberties groups said the 1986 law did not anticipate the way mobile devices now contain a wealth of data on each user. A ruling is due by the end of June.

 

U.S. Army

    

    Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Ryan Fisher and Army Maj. Gen. Donald E. Jackson, deputy commanding general, Civil and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, provided testimony on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies, this morning in Room 2362-B, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

    Earlier this month, researchers at UpGuard reported that U.S. Army military intelligence gathering data had been stored on a misconfigured Amazon Web Services S3 server that wasn't password protected and was publicly viewable.

    The Cubic Corp. has announced that its Cubic Global Defense (CGD) business division was awarded a contract worth more than $61 million from the U.S. Army Contracting Command to support  rotational and pre-deployment training exercises at the U.S. Army's Joint Readiness Training Center.

    A Denton, Texas, funeral director wants to provide a proper burial to a U.S. Army veteran whose body went unclaimed for weeks after he died.

    The U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee announced its six finalists yesterday for the U.S. Army Player of the Year award.

    U.S. Army simulation and training experts are releasing details to industry of a future immersive infantry simulator to enable squad members to train together emphasizing movement, communications, care for the wounded, protecting themselves, and using terrain effectively to shoot and move.

    U.S. Army aviation experts needed bolt-on avionics mission modules to enhance capabilities of the C-130 cargo plane and other aircraft, and they found their solution from Airdyne Aerospace, Inc., in Spring Hill, Fla.

    And a high-ranking U.S. Army Reserve officer has received four years in a federal prison and must forfeit $4.4 million for fraudulently supplying Chinese-produced baseball caps to the U.S. Government.

 

News from the U.S. Marshals Service

    

    The U.S. Marshals have captured a former Utah corrections officer in Hawaii after the man had been on the run for almost 11 years and who was wanted for forcible sexual abuse. The journey the fugitive took after he skipped his sentencing in Salt Lake City wasn't immediately clear, but law enforcement officers recently learned he had been using the alias "John Phillips." After that, it wasn't hard to track him down.

    The U.S. Marshals Service says a man wanted for attempted murder and burglaries may be in Memphis, Tenn. Laddarrius Deshan Brown, aka "LD," is wanted by several departments, including the U.S. Marshals, the Memphis Police, and the Davidson County Sheriff's Department.

    The U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Ark., received more than $50,000 in donations on Giving Tuesday after an anonymous donor matched a board member's contribution.

    The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force, which included officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, N.C. State Probation and Parole, and the Fayetteville Police have captured a man wanted for murder in Raeford, N.C.

    In Florida, the Tallahassee Police and the U.S. Marshals have arrested a man accused of injuring a 17-month-old baby in a shooting at the Sunrise Place Apartments.

    And John Penn Bivins was found by the U.S. Marshals Service on Sunday in San Leandro, Calif., nearly three weeks after he fled from the Palo Alto courthouse.

 

UFO news

    

    A British woman has finally broken her silence 65 years after witnessing strange unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the skies of Yorkshire.

    It was on a clear night in 1943 that the crew of USS Williamson, a Navy destroyer, experienced an unexpected close encounter with multiple UFOs.

    And a black unidentified flying object in the form of a disk with blue lights has made an appearance over Ruidoso, N.M.

 

 

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