Houthi rebels in Yemen have shot down seven US Reaper drones in less than six weeks, a loss of aircraft worth more than US$200 million (NZ$334m) in what is becoming the most dramatic cost to the Pentagon of the military campaign against the Iran-backed militants. According to defence officials, three of the drones were shot down in the past week " suggesting the militants' targeting of the unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen has improved. The drones were doing attack runs or conducting surveillance, and they crashed both into the water and onto land, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
For the next five months, a custody battle raged between the boy's father and his relatives, between Cuba and the U.S., until April 22, 2000, when a SWAT team of federal agents rushed the home of the boy's Miami relatives with semi-automatic weapons in a predawn raid. He was reunited with his father within hours. The Herald went to press that morning with a front page that said "SWAT team takes Elian." Here's an excerpt from one of the related stories: read more
China hasn't imported liquefied natural gas from the United States since early February, as the tariff war hit energy trade and could have long-term consequences for U.S. LNG export contracts. read more
A U.S.-born American citizen was being detained at the request of immigration authorities Thursday despite an advocate showing his U.S. birth certificate in court and a county judge finding no reason for him to be considered an "illegal alien" who illegally entered Florida. Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez, 20, was arrested Thursday evening by Florida Highway Patrol and charged under a state immigration law that has been temporarily blocked since early this month. Details of Gomez-Lopez's arrest and detention were first reported by the Florida Phoenix news site.
Beijing's export halt is notable because China has a stranglehold on global supplies of rare earths and magnets derived from them. They also represent an asymmetric advantage in that rare earths constitute a small share of China's exports but have an outsize impact on trade partners like the U.S., which relies on them as critical inputs for the auto, chip, aerospace, and defense industries. read more
"Literally forcing the government to make tough choices"
That's exactly what Trump's many executive orders are doing. That's what Republicans voted for.
Why you sound sad about it? Take a victory lap!