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Russia says China supplies "almost all" of its war drones

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Russia says China supplies "almost all" of its war drones

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Monday said that nearly all of Russia’s drones are being supplied by China.

In a meeting for the State Duma’s Budget and Taxes Committee, Siluanov thanked the Chinese government for partnering with Moscow but urged Russia to work on developing its “own resource base,” according to a report by Ukrainian news outlet Pravda.

“Today, almost all drones are from China,” Siluanov said. “We are also grateful to our partners for this. But we need to develop our own resource base, and the necessary money has been allocated.”

The statement paints a clearer picture of Russia and China’s growing partnership since the start of the war in Ukraine, and directly contradicts Beijing’s past promise to not provide Russia with military aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin also claimed after hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in March that the countries would not create a military alliance, vowing to keep the cooperation between their armed forces “transparent,” reported Reuters.

Siluanov’s comments during Monday’s meeting arrived after announcing that Russia has allocated over $616 million for “a new national project to develop our own drone base,” adding that Moscow’s “objective is for 41 percent of all drones to be labelled ‘Made in Russia’ by 2025.”

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense and China’s Foreign Ministry via email for comment on Monday.

In nearly 20 months, the Russian-Ukraine war has spurred drone development for both sides as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) continue to play a key role in the conflict. Russia has long relied on Iranian-made Shahed-131 and 136 UAVs through its invasion of Ukraine, and the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense assessed in June that Russia was starting work on producing its own drone supply domestically, “almost certainly with Iranian assistance.”

China, one of the world’s leading exporters of drones, enacted new restrictions at the beginning of September on larger drones and related UAV parts, causing a roadblock for several Ukrainian drone companies from receiving supplies, The New York Times previously reported. Prior to the trade restrictions, Ukrainian drone manufacturers had received $200,000 worth of drones from Chinese companies between January and June, according to the Times.

During the same period, according to the Times, Russia had received $14.5 million in direct drone sales from Chinese companies. Russian state media Kommersant previously reported, however, that China’s export restrictions also “seriously complicated” drone deliveries for Moscow.

The White House has repeatedly admonished Chinese companies for aiding in Moscow’s development of drone technology. In September, the U.S. Commerce Department announced new trade restrictions on 11 Chinese and five Russian companies that it claimed were supplying drone equipment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reported Reuters.

Putin leans on mercenary recruits to avoid political fallout: UK

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Putin leans on mercenary recruits to avoid political fallout: UK

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be relying on private military company (PMC) Redut to recruit troops for the war in Ukraine as a way to avoid further unpopular mobilization efforts, according to U.K. intelligence.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported in its latest update on the war in Ukraine that Redut, which has been involved in the conflict since the beginning, is recruiting mercenaries “under the guise of ‘volunteers,’ including former Wagner personnel.” The update noted that the Kremlin “likely supervises and finances” the Redut group’s activities, including recruitment.

“At present, Redut is one of a number of PMCs and Volunteer Corps units being [utilized] by the Russian Ministry of [Defense] to augment Russian regular forces,” the MoD wrote. “It is a realistic possibility that the Russian Ministry of [Defense]’s [practice] of recruiting through ‘volunteer’ units has contributed to Russia avoiding further unpopular [mobilizations].”

The Redut group was established in 2008 by former KGB agent Gennady Timchenko as a way to protect his gas empire, according to a report from Politico. The British MoD reported that the PMC has been “involved in combat operations in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Luhansk oblasts” since the start of the war in Ukraine and “highly likely” has over 7,000 personnel.

U.K. intelligence reported last week that the Kremlin would likely attempt to avoid further mobilizations until after the Russian presidential election in March 2024 as a means to stray from “unpopular policy moves.” Putin’s partial mobilization in fall 2022 caused hundreds of Russians to flee and was widely unpopular among citizens.

Postponing mobilization efforts could impact Russia’s offensives along the front lines as Moscow defends against Kyiv’s counteroffensive. Russian troops have long-reported low morale and inadequate training and support along the lines.

Mark N. Katz, professor at George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, previously told Newsweek, however, that it could be possible that Putin “was not planning any such offensive but is just focusing on the defensive aim of holding onto the Ukrainian territory that Russia now occupies.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense reportedly looked at using the Redut group as a way to pull Wagner mercenaries back into the fight against Ukraine after the PMC’s failed mutiny against the Kremlin’s military in June. The Institute for the Study of War, however, assessed in August that none of the remaining Wagner leaders had agreed to switch to Redut.

At the start of September, The Wall Street Journal reported that Redut had begun recruiting Wagner soldiers through social media advertisements for the Kremlin’s operations based in the Middle East and Africa, citing Russian defense ministry sources.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email on Monday.

Record debt forces many retirement-age Americans to work longer

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Record debt forces many retirement-age Americans to work longer

Retirement-age Americans are learning to live with less and work longer due to record debt.

In a conversation thread around retirement plans on Reddit, users were quick to share their ongoing financial struggles, particularly connected to retirement. Some have even foregone retiring at the expected age altogether.

“I was thinking I was going to retire at 63 (now!) but decided to keep working my somewhat part time job sometimes full-time job,” Reddit user steel_city_sweetie shared. “We thought we would sell our house, rent a small apartment and buy and RV and do a lot of traveling around the country. Now I am not so sure that’s a good idea.”

The user went on to say that rent on a small apartment is higher than their mortgage payment. But as taxes and insurance cost more than $700 a month, they’ve been unable to make their initial retirement dreams a reality.

“I know we should have been more diligent about paying off our house. I just wasn’t worried about it because I figured eventually we would sell it and buy something smaller with the equity. Now we can’t even find a small house for what we have in equity unless we move out into the outer suburbs,” steel_city_sweetie wrote.

Still, others feel despite the economic hurdles, retiring at the age they planned is the only option.

“It comes to mind every now and then but I’m standing firm on my retirement at 62,” user bicyclemom wrote. “Economic boom/bust cycles are going to happen whether or not I’m working. But I have a shelf life that’s finite and I can live on a little less if I have to. Time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”

Americans Are Amassing Record Debt

These stories are becoming more common as Americans amass a record amount of debt.

Roughly two-thirds of working Americans age 55 and older said they intend to delay retirement or are unsure if they will be able to retire when they want, according to an Axios-Ipsos poll that was published in July.

This news arrives as household debt reaches record levels. According to the New York Federal Reserve in August, total household debt was at its highest ever, at $17.06 trillion in the second quarter of 2023. Credit card debt in particular rose by $45 billion to a record $1.03 trillion.

The debt is weighing down dreams of retirement for many seniors, with 70 percent surveyed saying they don’t think they’ll be able to retire because they can’t afford it.

“Financial worries are the main reasons people feel they can’t retire,” Axios said in the report. “When it comes to how Americans finance retirement, few feel Social Security will cover most of their expenses. Instead, most Americans—both retired and those who aren’t—look to retirement accounts to finance this life stage.”

Nearly half of those aged 55 and above have had to change their retirement strategies due to outside economic factors, the poll found. These changes can likely be attributed to high inflation and interest rates, forcing many Americans to curb their monthly spending on essentials like groceries and clothing.

“The economy was a worry due to the volatility of macroeconomic forces like inflation and recession, and the resulting impacts on the stock markets and investment performance,” according to Ubiquity in a report.

Safeguarding Your Retirement

Financial planners often recommend replacing around 80 percent of your pre-retirement income to continue living comfortably as you leave the workforce. This is far from average, however, with the Motley Fool reporting last month that 25 percent of Americans have no retirement savings.

As economic conditions remain unstable, Congress has passed legislation to safeguard Americans’ future retirements.

The Secure Act of 2019 was passed under the Trump administration, changing most popular retirement plans used in the United States. The bill raised the minimum age for required minimum distributions to 72, but some don’t think it’s enough to make their retirement dreams a reality.

Still, Fidelity found that retirement account balances grew in the first to second quarter of this year.

“Americans have experienced some tumultuous years, but through Congress’ investment in retirement savings through the Secure Act of 2019, as well as individuals’ continued commitment to save, we are optimistic for the future of retirement security,” Kevin Barry, the Fidelity Investments president of workplace investing, wrote earlier this year.

But as the rising debt record shows, just because Americans are increasing their overall savings doesn’t mean they aren’t losing a solid chunk to credit card debt.

Credit card balances reached $986 billion this year even as interest rates surged with the average moving past 20 percent.

Seniors Aren’t the Only Ones Suffering

It’s not just seniors who are suffering either—debt is especially concentrated among the young.

“Bankcard balances and originations continue to climb as consumers seek ways to cope with inflation, and this is particularly the case among Gen Z consumers, who have seen growth of 19 percent in originations YoY and 64 percent in balances over the same period,” TransUnion said in a report from February.

The debt problem has been growing over a span of 20 years, with 2021 levels for those aged 50 to 59 twice as high as two decades ago, according to the New York Fed.

Trump issues eight-word promise after gag order

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Trump issues eight-word promise after gag order

Following U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan‘s decision to impose a partial gag order against Donald Trump in his federal election interference case, the former president issued an eight-word response.

Chutkan announced at the end of Monday’s hearing that she would impose a “narrowly tailored” gag order against Trump in the federal election interference case at the request of prosecutors, who cited the former president’s threatening comments about the key players in the courtroom as reason to restrict his speech on the case. The partial order bars Trump from making or posting any statements publicly targeting special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, as well as court staff and personnel in his case.

In an all-caps post to Truth Social, Trump shared that he would appeal the partial gag order.

“WILL APPEAL THE GAG ORDER RULING. WITCH HUNT!” Trump said.

While this is not the first time Trump has been issued a gag order—he was previously issued one in a separate case in his $250 million civil fraud trial—the former president’s status as the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election has led him to allege the gag order is politically motivated.

His warning to appeal comes after Trump reiterated his view of the then-possible gag order, sending an email blast to supporters.

In a fundraising email, Trump wrote, “Because I may be prohibited from speaking out against [President Joe Biden‘s] corruption as of later today, I want to say all I can right now in this final email to you before the hearing.

“Today really isn’t about gagging me…. It’s an attempt to gag the American people,” Trump said.

He said that while Americans had long been “silenced by the Washington Swamp” and had their priorities cast aside by politicians on Capitol Hill, “that all changed on June 16, 2015 when I announced my candidacy as a political outsider.”

While Trump has continued to allege the partial gag order is politically motivated, law professor and political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis told Newsweek the imposed gag order is there to protect individuals involved in the case—while also balancing Trump’s freedom of speech.

“The order is tailored to protect the administration of justice by shielding individuals involved in the case from Trump’s attacks while still permitting Trump to criticize the prosecution in broad terms. Judge Chutkan’s strong but limited order tries to balance the interests of the judicial process’ integrity against Trump’s free speech interests, which is a prudent measure given Trump’s penchant for going after people involved in the cases against him,” Kreis said in a statement emailed to Newsweek.

However, other Republicans such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene took to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize the order saying, “DC Courts have now become the Ministry of Truth.”

Chutkan has scheduled Trump’s trial to begin on March 4.

Kari Lake handed another legal loss

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Kari Lake handed another legal loss

Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake received another legal loss on Monday, after a judge dismissed her lawsuit where she alleged that “Arizona’s use of electronic tabulation systems violated the federal Constitution.”

On Monday, a panel of 9th Circuit judges dismissed Lake’s lawsuit that she brought alongside former Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, claiming that electronic voting tabulations in the state’s 2022 midterm election could not be trusted with accurate results.

The dismissal of the lawsuit, which was filed in April, comes after Lake faced several legal setbacks following her loss last year in Arizona’s governor race to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake has claimed, without any evidence, that the election was stolen from her due to a rigged system of faulty machines and potentially forged or invalid signatures on envelopes of submitted absentee ballots.

“In the end, none of Plaintiffs’ allegations supports a plausible inference that their individual votes in future elections will be adversely affected by the use of electronic tabulation, particularly given the robust safeguards in Arizona law, the use of paper ballots, and the post-tabulation retention of those ballots,” the panel of judges wrote. “The district court correctly dismissed the operative complaint for lack of Article III standing.”

According to Democracy Docket, Lake’s lawsuit argued that “because electronic machines are often connected to the internet and use software that is not publicly disclosed, the machines are inherently vulnerable to cyberattacks and voting fraud.”

Meanwhile, Lake has continued to fight against her election loss, filing numerous lawsuits against voting systems and previously claimed that she was “entitled to an order vacating Maricopa County’s canvass and Arizona’s certification of the results of the 2022 election.”

Despite her recent legal woes, Lake announced this month that she was planning to run for the U.S. Senate.

“I’m really tired of watching our politicians retreat from every single important battle. They’re cowards. That’s how we got into the mess we’re in right now because they have surrendered far too many hills,” she said at a rally earlier this month. “I am not going to retreat. I’m going to stand on top of this hill with every single one of you, and I know you’re by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate.”

In a post to X, formerly Twitter last Thursday, Lake wrote, “Our story isn’t finished. Not by a long shot. We still have a state to save. I’m running for the United States Senate because our children deserve the same opportunities we got growing up.”

Should Lake win the nomination, she will likely face off against Representative Ruben Gallego, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. These two could then find themselves competing against independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who has not said whether she will run.

Newsweek reached out to Lake’s press office via email for comment.

Bankers see mortgage costs tumbling next year

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Bankers see mortgage costs tumbling next year

Mortgage rates will experience a significant drop by the end of 2024 but the dip will accompany a shortage of available homes, driving up sales prices for the next three years, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said.

The rates, which have hit two-decade highs, will fall substantially by the end of next year, lessened by a sluggish economy as moderating inflation and borrowing costs decline, the MBA said during the weekend. But the inventory of homes new to the market is expected to remain low, which will increase purchase costs, the lenders said.

The economy, hit with a confluence of high interest rates, high cost of borrowing plus the expiration of COVID-era savings will lead the U.S. to a recession in early 2024, Mike Fratantoni, chief economist of the MBA, said in a statement. Fratantoni believes that unemployment will rise to 5 percent by the end of next year and inflation will come down to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target by mid-2025.

The combination of these factors will help bring down mortgage rates to 6.1 in 2024 and decline further to 5.5 percent the following year, he said.

Since March 2022, the Fed began raising interest rates to battle soaring prices of goods and services to its current range of 5.25 to 5.50 percent, which pushed up the cost of loans.

Fratantoni suggested policymakers were close to done with raising rates, yet it will be a while before they can start cutting, a crucial move to kickstart the moribund housing market.

MBA’s forecast isn’t alone in projecting 6 percent mortgage rates by the end of 2024. The National Association of Realtors anticipates by the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the most popular loan term for housing borrowers, will fall to that level by the second quarter, according to its economic outlook from August it shared with Newsweek.

“Lower rates should help boost both homebuyer demand and increase the inventory of existing homes, thereby supporting purchase origination volume in 2024,” he said.

Lenders say first-time buyers will drive the demand for homes over the next year as a new generation of Americans hit homeowning age even as they will have to grapple low inventory, high prices and limited credit.

“New-home sales continue to be stronger than existing-home sales, as buyers increasingly turn to newly constructed homes, given the dearth of existing home listings and how competitive the bidding process still is,” Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist, said in the statement. “Data from our Builder Applications Survey have shown solid year-over-year gains in purchase applications in recent months.”

Fratantoni says a declining economy and inflation drop may suggest to Fed policymakers that they have won their fight against high prices. The Fed suggested in the past that it wants to maintain high interest rates for longer to ensure that inflation is definitively on target.

“We need policy to be restrictive so that we can get inflation down to target,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in September after the central bank decided to hold rates at their current level. “We’re going to need that to remain to be the case for some time.”

The lenders said that record low of loan volumes has shot up the cost of loans. The slow economy next year may push up loan delinquencies.

“In 2024, delinquency rates are likely to increase as unemployment increases and borrowers are stressed by increasing property taxes and insurance and the resumption of student debt payments,” Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, said in the statement.

Update 10/16/23, 18:26 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to more context from the National Association of Realtors.

Michigan man charged for post threatening to ‘hunt Palestinians’

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Michigan man charged for post threatening to ‘hunt Palestinians’

A Michigan man has been charged with making a terrorism threat after asking on social media if anyone wanted to “hunt Palestinians” as the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas wages on, local police said.

Carl Mintz, 41, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, was arrested at his home on October 12 after posting a threat on social media that “proposed violence against Palestinian-American residents of Dearborn,” the Dearborn Police Department (DPD) said in a statement posted Monday on Facebook.

Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, is home to the largest Muslim population per capita in the U.S.

Mintz was arraigned on October 14 on one count of making a threat of terrorism, a felony, and a misdemeanor malicious use of a telecommunications device, DPD said.

His social media post, which was discovered after someone anonymously shared it with the DPD, allegedly asked if anyone in the Detroit area wanted to “go to Dearborn & hunt Palestinians,” according to a screenshot of the post obtained by local outlet The Detroit News. While local media outlets reported that Mintz shared the threat on Facebook, DPD did not identify the platform that was used or the date the post was made.

Newsweek reached out via email on Monday to DPD for comment. It was unclear at the time of publication if Mintz had retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The violence erupted in the Middle East on October 7 after Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization, led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. As the death toll continues to climb, the Associated Press reported on Monday that the war has claimed more than 4,000 lives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists as it prepares for a likely ground offensive into the territory, which is home to 2.3 million people.

As the Israel-Palestine conflict continues, Muslim and Jewish families across the world are dealing with the fallout. An Illinois landlord is facing hate crime and murder charges after attacking his Muslim tenants by fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and injuring his mother because he was angered by news of the war. A teacher was stabbed to death in France after the suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great” while conducting the slaying. Two Jewish schools closed in London out of an abundance of caution after seeing a rise in antisemitic attacks in the United Kingdom.

Law enforcement agencies have ramped up measures over concerns of potential security threats amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In Dearborn, Police Chief Issa Shahin said that police have increased their presence at all places of worship and schools.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud blasted the alleged crime, saying threats won’t be tolerated in his city.

“Threats of violence against our community will not be tolerated,” Hammoud said. “We are pleased to see that the charges filed this weekend reflect the severity of the message of hate that this individual chose to post online last week.”

Shahin said the DPD takes all threats seriously.

“Although we are currently unaware of any further credible threats, we have increased police patrols across the city and at all places of worship in the interest of the public safety and security of Dearborn’s residents, workers, and visitors,” Shahin said.

Mintz’s bond was set at $500,000 cash, and as a condition of his bond agreement, he was assigned a GPS tether device and has been banned from possessing weapons and using the internet. He is due back in court later this month.

Ted Cruz is being financially trumped by his opponent

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Ted Cruz is being financially trumped by his opponent

The leading Democratic candidate hoping to unseat Texas Senator Ted Cruz outraised the Republican in campaign contributions by nearly $2 million during the last quarter.

Texas Congressman Colin Allred, seen as the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination to try and replace Cruz for the state’s U.S. Senate seat next November, raised more than 4.7 million in the previous three months, with Cruz raising just over $3 million during the same period, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Allred’s funding is potentially foreshadowing the Texas Senate race becoming another hotly watched election. In 2018, former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke ran a fiercely competitive Senate race against the incumbent Cruz, eventually losing to the Republican by 2.6 points in the historically Red state.

Allred, who announced he was running for the Texas Senate seat in May, already has more on-hand cash for his campaign ($7.9 million) than Cruz ($5.7 million).

Allred’s third-quarter fundraising figures were previously reported by The Texas Tribune.

“Texans’ enthusiasm to retire Ted Cruz—and to elect Colin Allred to the Senate—is reflected in this quarter’s amazing outpouring of grassroots support,” Allred’s campaign manager, Paige Hutchinson, said in a statement.

On October 9, Cruz told Fox News that he brought in $5.4 million during the July-September third quarter period. However, that figure includes donations to both his Senate campaign and two joint fundraising committees.

“The momentum and excitement to re-elect Senator Ted Cruz could not be more tangible. With $5.4 million raised in Q3, we are seeing more and more Texans animated to re-elect Ted Cruz and ensure that Texas remains the nation’s model state for conservative values and ideas,” Cruz spokesperson Nick Maddux said in a statement to the network. “Democrats better gear up, because Senator Cruz is ready for a hell of a fight to keep Texas, Texas.”

Newsweek reached out to Cruz and Allred’s offices via email for comment.

This is the second quarter in a row that Allred has outraised Cruz in campaign money. The Democrat raised nearly $6.2 million through the end of the second quarter in June, with Cruz raising $3.4 million during the same period.

Cruz is currently the favorite to again win the Texas Senate seat despite being behind in terms of campaign funds.

According to forecasters Race to the White House, Cruz has a 70 percent chance of winning the Texas senate race next November. In May, a University of Texas at Tyler poll revealed Cruz had a five-point lead over Allred (42-37 percent) in a hypothetical head-to-head Senate race.

Will a new arms race help America fend off China and Russia?

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Will a new arms race help America fend off China and Russia?

The U.S. urgently needs to revamp its conventional and nuclear weapons capabilities if it hopes to deter—or defeat—Russia and China in coming years, according to a report released on Friday by a bipartisan congressional committee.

The report is the product of a yearlong review by the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States for 2027-2035 when the country will face two nuclear peer adversaries with revisionist agendas in Beijing and Moscow. This sea change has put Washington on the back foot and requires a “whole-of-government” effort to reclaim a strategic advantage, the report says.

The global “security environment” has deteriorated over the past decade, the authors wrote. Russia is upgrading its nuclear arsenal, the largest in the world, with talk in Moscow of a possible nuclear strike amid the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine causing widespread concern.

Meanwhile, Beijing has its sights set on becoming the world’s top military power by 2049, the centennial of the People’s Republic of China. The country is building up its nuclear stockpile at an unprecedented rate, with its estimated 400 warheads in 2021 set to balloon to 1,000 by 2030.

China is also expanding its reach in other domains, including cyber espionage, electronic warfare, space, and biological and chemical materials with weapons potential. The world’s second-largest economy, with its formidable “Rocket Force” and the world’s largest navy by ship count, is also doubling down on its ability to deny American military forces access to potential flashpoints in the Asia-Pacific, such as Taiwan.

The authors forecast these U.S. rivals will continue to step up cooperation via weapon transfers and joint exercises, even if they stop short of a formal military alliance. In the face of this dual threat, the authors made recommendations for a “safe, secure, reliable, effective” deterrent to nuclear conflict.

For starters, Washington must quicken the pace of its nuclear force modernization. This would include replacing aging nuclear delivery systems, increased funding for the industrial base underpinning nuclear production, and new training programs to support the resulting labor demand.

The committee also said the U.S. and allies should ensure they are equipped with ample non-nuclear weapons, such as conventional missiles for precision strikes to deter or defeat “simultaneous Russian and Chinese aggression in Europe and Asia.” Otherwise, the country would have to lean more on the threat of nuclear war for deterrence.

Defense analysts in some quarters have pushed back on these recommendations, however, saying it would commit the country to a new arms race.

In a response to the report, the Federation of American Scientists think tank pointed out that the recommended armament efforts would goad Russian and China into producing even more warheads and weapons systems.

The think tank argued the range of U.S. strike options has never been more flexible and cast doubt on the report’s “false dichotomy between conventional and nuclear forces.” Furthermore, the commission’s insistence on making an American nuclear arms buildup a prerequisite to any future agreements on limiting them “constitutes a recommendation to participate in an arms race, and then figure out how to control those same arms later.”

“If U.S. adds warheads to [intercontinental ballistic missiles] and [submarine-launched ballistic missiles] and builds more ballistic missile submarines, B-21 bombers and [long range stand off] missiles, what does Commission expect Russian and China to do?” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, of the commission’s recommendations.

"Operation: Promised Land" rescues 270 Americans from Israel

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"Operation: Promised Land" rescues 270 Americans from Israel

Some 270 American evacuees, including 92 children and two dogs, have safely returned to the United States from Israel following the outbreak of violence in the region, a charity established to save civilians from conflict zones has announced.

Project Dynamo, which was established to save American citizens after the U.S. Armed Forces pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021, said late on Sunday night that a flight from its “Operation: Promised Land” had touched down in Tampa, Florida, around 8 p.m. ET.

Flight tracking shows the EuroAtlantic Boeing 777 aircraft departed Tel Aviv around 10:39 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, stopping in Porto, Portugal, in the early afternoon before continuing on to the U.S. Project Dynamo said it was the charitable organization’s 602nd mission to date.

Since areas across Israel were attacked by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants on October 7, many commercial flights in and out of the country have been canceled. In the days since the surprise assault, there have been continued air strikes and rocket attacks from both Israel and Hamas.

As of Monday, more than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, according to the Associated Press. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded, while over 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, have been taken hostage by militants, according to Israel.

“We’ve been here for over a week, since the day after the big massacre, and we’re excited to get home, we’re excited to get these people out and we’re excited to pull this operation off,” Bryan Stern, the founder and CEO of Project Dynamo, said while traveling on a bus with the evacuees to the flight in Israel on Sunday morning.

Newsweek reached out to Project Dynamo via email for comment on Monday.

Stern also personally thanked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his assistance in the rescue operation through the signing of an executive order earlier in the week.

The Republican presidential candidate appeared with his wife at the welcome tent for the flight to greet those arriving in the U.S. after ordering the suspension of “the effect of any statute, rule, or order that would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay any mitigation, response, or recovery action necessary to cope with this emergency” on Thursday.

The executive order declared a state of emergency in Florida, noting the state’s large Jewish population and threats made in recent days in relation to the conflict. Speaking on the tarmac as the evacuees disembarked, DeSantis said: “There was a devoid of leadership, so we step [sic] up and led.”

While DeSantis has criticized the Biden administration for not launching rescue operations for American citizens in the region, the U.S. State Department says that limited commercial flights are available and that it is “facilitating charter flight transportation for U.S. citizens.”

“The safety of American citizens—whether at home or abroad—is my top priority as President,” Joe Biden said.

The Pentagon has ordered two carrier strike groups into the Eastern Mediterranean, which could be used for evacuations if necessary. CNN reported on Saturday that the State Department was working to evacuate hundreds of Americans trapped in Gaza.

The Biden administration’s primary focus has been on the American being held hostage in Gaza. Officials said last week that 20 U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for, though the number thought to be held captive was “less than a handful.”

Project Dynamo is run by military veterans and first responders, and since 2021 has evacuated 6,075 people from places of conflict or natural disaster around the world, including Ukraine, Haiti and Sudan.

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