With three weeks until Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping, Beijing is frustrated by what it sees as insufficient U.S. preparation that may limit the landmark summit to trade agreements and leave key diplomatic and security matters untouched.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has deleted a social media post claiming that the United States Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz ... read more
The Trump administration has subpoenaed records related to the 2020 election in Arizona's largest county, the state Senate president said Monday, the latest in a series of steps taken by the president to relitigate an election he lost and bolster the federal government's authority over elections. read more
In 2022, the team at Cortical Labs taught 800,000 brain cells in a petri dish connected to a computer how to play the 1970s game Pong. Now, years later, the same team is leveling up as they claim their CL1 system is the "world's first code deployable biological computer," and is able to play Doom. "Pong was much simpler. There was a direct relationship: The ball went up, the paddle went up. It was a direct input, output relationship," the research team explained in a YouTube video. "Doom was much more complex."
The Israeli military illegally used white phosphorus munitions over homes in the southern Lebanese town Yohmor on March 3, posing a threat to civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday. "The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
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Can the US military sustain a long war in Iran?
www.dw.com
...The math of the Iran war
Since the beginning of the conflict, the US, Israel, and Iran have unleashed a barrage of strikes across the region. According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US hit more than 3,000 targets in Iran in the first seven days.
In return, Iran has launched thousands of Shahed-136 drones and hundreds of missiles at US targets across the region.
This is where the math gets uncomfortable.
Iran's Shahed drones cost between $20,000 and $50,000 (about 43,000) to produce. There are various ways the US and allies have been defending against them, but none are cheap. Fighter jets armed with AIM-9 missiles are $450,000 a shot, plus the $40,000 per hour just to operate the plane.
"The cost of operating the fighter for an hour is equivalent to the cost of a Shahed," said Grieco, "It's not efficient. It's not a favorable cost exchange."
She argued the US should have learned from Ukraine, which has found cheaper methods, such as interceptor drones that cost less than the Shaheds. "The United States has tested [that technology], it just hasn't purchased it in sufficient numbers," said Grieco.
The far more expensive Patriot defense missiles (costing around $3 million per missile) are reserved for intercepting Iran's ballistic missiles, and it is here that concerns about stockpiles arise. Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, estimates that stocks are being used up fast.
"At the beginning, I think there were about 1,000 Patriots and I think we've chewed into that inventory quite a bit now," he said. He estimated that 200-300 Patriot missiles have already been used.
High-grade weapons like this take time to build. Lockheed Martin delivered just 620 PAC-3 interceptors in all of 2025. "If you went to the company today and said I want to buy one more Patriot, it would take at least two years for that Patriot to show up," said Cancian.
For shorter-range weapons such as bombs, JDAM kits and Hellfire missiles the picture is different. "Militarily, I think we could sustain it for a very long time. You know, we have the ground munitions to do that," said Cancian. ...
[see the article for a map of strikes]
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Tracing the US Military's Learning Curve on Fighting Iran's Drones
www.military.com
... The Iran war quickly tested America's ability to combat the swarms of cheap drones that have become a staple of the modern battlefield after Ukraine and Russia demonstrated how effective they could be.
The Islamic Republic launched so many drones across the region at once that some slipped through the defenses, including a strike that killed six U.S. soldiers at an operations center in Kuwait.
Experts and defense leaders stress that the U.S. military has been able to shoot down the majority of Iran's drones and take out much of its drone capabilities. But critics said too often missiles that cost millions of dollars were used to down small drones that cost tens of thousands.
The U.S. is bringing an anti-drone system to the Middle East that has been tested in Ukraine, which had proposed a deal with the U.S. last year to offer its drone expertise. Such an agreement is yet to be made, and American forces are facing a steep learning curve as they scramble to deploy more cost-efficient defenses against Iran's Shahed drones, which fly low and buzz like mopeds before smashing into their targets. ...
Here's what to know about Iran's drones and efforts by the U.S. to shoot them down: ...
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Trump: Oil tanker crews must show some guts,' sail through Straight of Hormuz
thehill.com
... President Trump is pushing oil tanker crews to "show some guts" and sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
"These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there's nothing to be afraid of. ... They have no Navy, we sunk all their ships," Trump said, according to Fox News's Brian Kilmeade, who recounted the president's remarks during an interview. ...
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Iran reportedly starts mining the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. readies intensified strikes
foxbaltimore.com
... Iran has reportedly started laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to CNN.
The mining is still in its beginning stages, and a few dozen have been laid in recent days. However, Iran still holds 80% to 90% of its small boats and mine layers, according to a source to CNN. Its forces could likely lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.
Allegedly, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps can deploy a "gauntlet" of dispersed mine-laying, boats and shore-based missile batteries. ...
@#1 ... that NATO and the international rule of law is meaningless to the geriatric morbidly obese warmongering pedophile? ...
China looks to be moving in, trying to push the United State out of the "world-order" paradigm.
OpEd: Seeing China's stability against the backdrop of global turmoil
www.globaltimes.cn
... On Sunday, two new Type 055 guided-missile destroyers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, Dongguan and Anqing, made their official debut. The number of China's publicly known 10,000-ton-class destroyers has increased to 10, achieving balanced deployment across the three major theater commands. This development has inspired countless Chinese citizens. In the current complex and challenging international environment, this piece of news provides a tangible sense of reassurance. Attention to military development reflects an expectation for a strong defense safeguarding national progress, while behind the 10,000-ton-class destroyers lies China's steadfast pursuit of national stability and the well-being of its people.
From the industrial system to technological innovation, and from infrastructure to national defense and military modernization, China's rising comprehensive national strength has enhanced its strategic resilience in a complicated international landscape. ...
As a major country with a population of over 1.4 billion and contributing around 30 percent to global economic growth, how China defines "peace" and how it pursues "development" are crucial. Will it seek peace through hegemonic means, engaging in beggar-thy-neighbor practices and bullying smaller states to secure exclusive development? Or will it follow a path of peaceful development based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation? For the world, these choices lead to vastly different outcomes. China's answer is evident in a series of concrete actions ...
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Startup Builds Data Centers Powered by Human Brain Cells
slguardian.org
... A biotechnology startup is developing experimental data centers powered by living human brain cells in a radical approach that could eventually reshape the future of computing. According to a report by Bloomberg, Australia-based Cortical Labs is building small data centers that run on lab-grown neurons placed on silicon chips, an innovation that researchers believe could one day challenge traditional processors used in artificial intelligence systems. ...
Update ...
White House says US has not escorted oil tanker through Strait of Hormuz despite now-deleted claim
thehill.com
... The U.S. military has not yet escorted any oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, contradicting a now-deleted post from Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
"I was made aware of this post. I haven't had a chance to talk to the Energy secretary about it directly, however, I know the post was taken down pretty quickly and I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time," Leavitt said during a White House press briefing. ...
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