Virginia leaders react to former President Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Reactions from politicians and officials in Virginia poured in Sunday after former President Joe Biden's aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis was announced.
Biden's office made the announcement in a statement, saying the disease had spread to his bones.
Former President Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer
I'm praying for President Biden and his family as they take on this challenge. Americans will be with them every step of the way.
Suzanne and I are praying for former President Biden and his family. We wish him strength and a complete recovery.
I am praying for President Biden, Dr. Biden and their entire family. The Bidens have faced adversity and they have fought cancer for many years. Wishing him a full and speedy recovery.
My heart is with President Biden and his family at this time, and I wish President Biden great strength as he undergoes treatment. Adam and I are praying for him and his family.
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Counter-Drone Weapons Diverted From Ukraine To Middle East Amid Rising Tensions, Hegseth Confirms
The U.S. diverted counter-drone capabilities away from Ukraine and to American forces in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed today during testimony on Capitol Hill. Exactly what systems were included is not clear, but laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rocket systems are at least part, if not the main focus of this diversion in materiel. APKWS, which transforms unguided 70mm rockets into highly precise guided munitions, has been a comparatively inexpensive weapon that Ukraine has used to defend its skies against drones and low-flying cruise missiles. However, as we were the first to report, they have also been adapted to the air-to-air role, with U.S. Air Force F-16s taking down Houthi drones using the guided rockets, which drastically expands how many drone targets a single jet can engage without rearming. APKWS II rocket pods are now cleared for the heavy-hitting F-15E, as well, and they are already forward deployed with them to Jordan. The contention over the distribution of these weapons comes as the possibility of an Israeli and/or U.S. attack on Iran mounts. Questions also linger about the supply of these air defense capabilities and the Pentagon's ability to restock what has already been expended. 'Senator, as you know, the Middle East is and remains a very dynamic theater,' Hegseth explained during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday morning. 'In the interest of putting America and Americans first, we're going to surge counter UAS systems to our troops and our bases and our places first, if we think there's a potential for a threat, and considering the environment there right now that has been and will continue to be a priority for us.' In his testimony, Hegseth did not specifically address what type of weapons or the exact nature of the threat. However, he was answering a question about media reporting that 'the Pentagon is or has diverted anti-drone technology intended for Ukraine to the US Air Force in the Middle East…' The exchange begins at the 1 hour and 14 minute mark in the following video. Hegseth's testimony came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC News that the U.S. would divert '20,000 missiles – anti-Shahed missiles' earmarked for Ukraine in an agreement with the Biden administration to the Middle East. 'Without the help of the United States, we will have more losses,' Zelensky told the network's Martha Raddatz in Kyiv last week. There are no traditional missiles available in anywhere near that number, but APKWS is designed to be produced in large numbers and is specifically capable of countering Russian Shahed-136 long-range suicide drones. "We counted on these 20,000 missiles"Says President Zelenskyy, after learning that weapons previously approved by the Biden administration for Ukraine were instead diverted to the Middle East. — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 9, 2025 Zelensky's comments followed a Wall Street Journal exclusive that the Trump administration 'is redirecting a key anti-drone technology earmarked for Ukraine to American forces, a move that reflects the Pentagon's waning commitment to Kyiv's defense.' The Pentagon 'quietly notified Congress last week that special fuzes for rockets that Ukraine uses to shoot down Russian drones are now being allocated to U.S. Air Force units in the Middle East,' the publication added, noting that the fuzes were designed for the APKWS rockets. What this is referring to are the specially-designed proximity fuzes that optimize the APKWS concept for counter-drone applications. In an internal memo last month, Hegseth 'authorized the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell, a Pentagon office that ensures commanders' weapons needs are met, to provide the fuzes to the U.S. Air Force, even though they were initially bought for Ukraine,' WSJ explained. 'The Pentagon told the Senate Armed Services Committee in the previously undisclosed message that the U.S. military's need for the fuzes was a 'Secretary of Defense Identified Urgent Issue. Hegseth's testimony on Wednesday sheds additional light on that story, which the Pentagon declined to comment on. Hegseth's explanation on Wednesday about the air defense munitions comes as reports are emerging on social media of evacuations and alerts are being issued at U.S. facilities in the Middle East. 'The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East,' a U.S. defense official told The War Zone Wednesday afternoon. 'Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the CENTCOM AOR. CENTCOM is working in close coordination with our Department of State counterparts, as well as our Allies and partners in the region to maintain a constant state of readiness to support any number of missions around the world at any time.' The U.S. embassy in Iraq is preparing for an ordered departure due to heightened security risks in the region, officials say. — Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) June 11, 2025 Alerts are starting to go out in the Middle East due to the security situation:– Dependents in Bahrain are authorized to leave. – US Embassy in Baghdad is preparing to evacuate. Tonight is when I would look for the Pentagon Pizza Index to be fired up. — TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) June 11, 2025 BREAKING: The U.S. Navy has reportedly placed its base in Bahrain on HIGH ALERT. Dependents are being authorized for something big brewing in the Gulf? — John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) June 11, 2025 As we reported yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump has been presented with a broad array of potential military options against Iran should ongoing nuclear negotiations with that country fail. Israel is already reportedly moving ever closer to at least being in a position to launch its own strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The direct and indirect blowback from any such operations against Iran could be immense. Fears that U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks are on the verge of collapse have been steadily growing in the past week or so amid statements from both sides outlining potentially intractable positions. Iran's ability to continue domestic enrichment of nuclear material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons has emerged as a key stumbling block to reaching a deal. Top U.S. military commander in the Middle East General Kurilla confirms that he has presented military options on Iran to President Trump & SecDef Hegseth in House Armed Services Committee this morning. — Brian Katulis (@Katulis) June 10, 2025 As was proven in the U.S. battle against the Houthi rebels of Yemen and Ukraine's fight against Russia, the APKWS rockets would be a hugely valuable asset protecting against any Iranian or proxy drones and subsonic cruise missiles should the situation there devolve into open conflict. Each APKWS II rocket consists of a laser guidance package inserted between a standard 70mm rocket motor and one of a variety of warhead options. Originally designed as an air-to-ground munition, APKWS II is cleared for use on Air Force F-16C/D Vipers and A-10 Warthogs, as well as U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18C/D Hornets on the fixed-wing side. The F-15E has recently been added to that list. The precision-guided rockets are also part of the arsenals available for Marine AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, as well as U.S. Navy MH-60R/S Seahawks and U.S. Army AH-64D/E Apaches. As an air-to-air weapon, however, it is limited to engaging non-reactionary, low-performance targets that fly along relatively steady courses. Still, the magazine depth they offer, combined with the lower unit cost of an APKWS II rocket compared to traditional air-to-air missiles, presents clear benefits. The latest variants of the AIM-120 cost around $1 million apiece, while current-generation AIM-9Xs each have a price tag around $450,000. The most expensive part of an APKWS II rocket is the guidance section, which costs between $15,000 and $20,000, with the rocket motor and warhead adding a few thousand dollars more to the total price point. As noted previously in this story, we broke the news that U.S. Air Force F-16s used the rockets to down Houthi drones during operations in and around the Red Sea in the past year. Last month, we reported that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle down-range in the Middle East was seen with an air-to-air loadout that includes six seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as four AIM-9X and four AIM-120 missiles. This came a week after TWZ was the first to report on testing of the rockets as a new armament option for the F-15E. As we noted at that time, the exact loadout we're now seeing on a deployed Strike Eagle turns the jet into a counter-drone and cruise missile 'weapons truck' with a whopping 50 engagement opportunities, not counting the internal gun. U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 30, 2025 APKWS rockets first appeared in Ukraine in May 2023, however, they were designed as a ground attack system. A video circulating online at the time showed at least one American-supplied up-armored M1152A1 Humvee with an Arnold Defense LAND-LGR4 four-shot launcher firing what are said to be Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II rockets. You can see that system in the following video, but its worth noting this was not for counter drone applications. APU for the first time showed the work of the APKWS systemThe footage of missiles hitting targets was recorded by a drone. — Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22 (@anno1540) May 8, 2023 More importantly, the U.S. has also supplied VAMPIRE counter-drone system to Ukraine, which uses the laser-guided 70mm rockets with counter-drone fuzes as effectors fired from launchers mounted on Humvees. They began appearing in country in December 2023. This system has been used widely and has had great success, especially against the aforementioned Shahed-136 long-range Kamikaze drones that have ravaged Ukraine for years now. VAMPIRE and its APKWS rockets are also seen as more critical than ever to Ukraine as far more expensive and treasured surface-to-air missiles are increasingly scarce. APKWS gives Ukraine another proven way to defend key target areas against lower-end, but still the most prolific long-range aerial threats they face — the Shaheds — without blowing through prized SAMs. The moment of the downing of Russian Shahed-136/Geran-2 loitering munition by the units of the Ukrainian Navy over Odesa Oblast of Ukraine last loitering munition was taken down with the VAMPIRE system, which employs the APKWS rockets. — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) March 11, 2024 We don't know if new VAMPIRE systems, or other counter drone capabilities, including electronic warfare systems, were also diverted to U.S. military in the Middle East, not just the rocket kits. It is not publicly known how many counter-drone-capable APKWS rockets were used by the U.S. Air Force against the Houthis or how many were provided to Ukraine. Citing operational security concerns, the U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) declined to tell us how many were expended against the Houthis. Because these are made up of rockets and a separate specialized guidance system, it is difficult to determine how many remain in U.S. stocks. The Pentagon did not immediately answer our question about the number provided to Ukraine or how many the U.S. still has. However, during his testimony on Wednesday, Hegseth hinted that the supply is a concern. Asked if the U.S. has the 'capability of resupplying or reinserting that technology into other places, including Ukraine,' the defense secretary said that remains unknown. 'We would have to review the capacity, but it's one of the challenges of all the munitions that we've given to Ukraine over the over these last three years, is we've created some challenges in other places,' he said. Contact the author: howard@
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Australia to work closely with US on review of Biden-era submarine pact
By Kirsty Needham and Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday his government would work closely with the United States while President Donald Trump's administration conducts a formal review of the AUKUS defence pact. "It is natural the administration would want to examine this major undertaking including progress and delivery," a spokesperson for Marles said in a statement. Australia in 2023 committed to spend A$368 billion ($239.3 billion) over three decades on AUKUS, Australia's biggest ever defence project with the United States and Britain, to acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to meet Trump for the first time next week on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada, where the security allies will discuss tariffs and a request from the United States for Australia to increase defence spending from 2% to 3.5% of gross domestic product. Albanese had previously said defence spending would rise to 2.3% and has declined to commit to the U.S. target, saying Australia would focus on capability needs. Under AUKUS, Australia was scheduled to make a $2 billion payment in 2025 to the U.S. to help boost its submarine shipyards and speed up lagging production rates of Virginia class submarines to allow the sale of up to three U.S. submarines to Australia from 2032. Britain and Australia will jointly build a new AUKUS class submarine expected to come into service from 2040. Britain recently completed a review of AUKUS. It has not released the results publicly, but it announced plans this month to increase the size of its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet. Marles' spokesperson said AUKUS would grow the U.S. and Australian defence industries and generate thousands of manufacturing jobs. John Lee, an Australian Indo-Pacific expert at Washington's conservative Hudson Institute think tank, said the Pentagon review was "primarily an audit of American capability" and whether it can afford to sell up to five nuclear powered submarines when it was not meeting its own production targets. "Relatedly, the low Australian defence spending and ambiguity as to how it might contribute to a Taiwan contingency is also a factor," Lee said. ($1 = 1.5380 Australian dollars)
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an hour ago
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Activists Zero In on Gas in Supermajor Court Attack
Activists are suing TotalEnergies for greenwashing. The supermajor's alleged crime: saying that natural gas is better for the environment than coal and oil. Normally, activists focus on oil when they attack the energy industry, but lately, they have shifted their attention to gas. The TotalEnergies case may be only the beginning of a new offensive. Less than a decade ago, natural gas was broadly accepted as what many called 'a bridge fuel' from the hydrocarbon era to the post-hydrocarbon era of low-emission energy. Gas was going to be around longer than coal and oil as it came to replace them to drive CO2 emissions down. Yet some activists spotted an inconsistency with that strategy. While it emits much less carbon dioxide, natural gas is mostly methane—and methane is a greenhouse gas in its own right. Also, it's more greenhouse-y than CO2, which activists like to point out, although it gets degraded in the atmosphere much more quickly than CO2. Perhaps the most notorious attack on natural gas was one study claiming that liquefied natural gas specifically was actually more harmful to the planet than coal. The study—although promptly debunked—led to the Biden administration imposing what it called a pause on new LNG export facility permits. President Trump removed the pause, but elsewhere, the offensive against natural gas continues. 'Total has deployed communication campaign on gas aimed at associating it with renewable energies, in an attempt to make it seem positive, clean, desirable energy and even a 'fantastic resource for decarbonisation'. This impression is, once again, seriously erroneous,' said Clementine Baldon, one of the attorneys representing a group of environmentalist outlets, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, as quoted by the Financial Times this clients accuse TotalEnergies of misleading consumers with an information campaign during its rebranding from Total to TotalEnergies in 2021. The misleading consisted of TotalEnergies saying that it planned to achieve 'carbon neutrality with society', which was inconsistent, per the environmentalists, with its core business, which involved an expansion in oil and gas production—especially gas. The allegations rest on a collection of 44 pieces of corporate communication, including things like social media posts, corporate statements on TotalEnergies' websites, and advertising materials. TotalEnergies has countered the allegations frankly rather toothlessly, saying that 'It is false and artificial to accuse TotalEnergies of greenwashing . . . TotalEnergies has never said that [fossil fuels] are good for the climate.' The company also said a lot of the information referenced by the plaintiffs was not produced for the mass consumer, so consumer laws should not apply. In the past couple of years, supermajors began to strike back against the activists. Even TotalEnergies itself filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace for misleading information contained in a report claiming that TotalEnergies deliberately underestimated its carbon footprint. The court dismissed the case, prompting celebrations at Greenpeace, but TotalEnergies' move to sue signaled a change in the industry with regard to activists and their attacks on it. What this latest lawsuit shows is that these attacks are nowhere near done, which was only to be expected. Climate activists want all hydrocarbons to stay in the ground regardless of emission footprint. But because oil has been overused as a scarecrow, it is now the turn of natural gas, which is objectively cleaner, in terms of CO2 emissions and particulate material emissions, than coal and oil. Demand for natural gas is rising globally, many countries are trying to switch from coal to gas precisely because it is cleaner in terms of actual physical pollution. From the activists' perspective, this cannot be allowed to happen because gas is as much a hydrocarbon as is oil and as is coal. Cue the lawfare. In truth, if the activists win this case, the victory will be mostly symbolic. They could probably get the court to order TotalEnergies to add a tobacco-style warning to its promotional materials but they could not force it to stop its LNG developments around the world—because this world needs gas and the ones supplying this gas are the energy companies like TotalEnergies. In further truth, there is already a shift underway to reduce methane leaks along the natural gas supply chain. There are even certification providers that guarantee certain gas cargos are low-emission ones, and buyers are willing to pay a premium for them. Reducing methane leaks is more gas for sale, after all. The activists probably do not delude themselves into thinking a court order that can stop TotalEnergies advertising can also stop it from producing natural gas. They may think such an order would sap consumers' appetite for gas, but that would be asking for too much because there is a pretty simple reason why gas is and will continue to be in strong demand for decades to come. It is reliable, it is cheap, and it is abundant enough to remain both reliable and cheap for quite a long while. No amount of 'misleading commercial practices' lawsuits can change that. By Irina Slav for More Top Reads From this article on
