Biden raises $10 million in 24 hours after his State of the Union speech
- President Joe Biden's re-election campaign said on Sunday it raised $10 million in the 24 hours following a fiery State of the Union address, where he accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy and torpedoing a bill to tackle U.S. immigration woes.
US Coast Guard investigating oil spill off California coast
- The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday was trying to identify the source of an oil spill off the coast of Huntington beach, California, the agency said.
- The sheen, estimated at 2.5 miles (4 km) in length and 0.5 miles (800 meters) in width, was discovered after a Coast Guard helicopter flew over the site at sunrise.
Former Honduran president found guilty in drug trafficking trial
- Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández was found guilty Friday of drug trafficking by an American jury after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court.
Stratolaunch says it completes first powered flight of reusable hypersonic vehicle
- Private U.S. company Stratolaunch on Saturday said it had successfully completed the first powered flight of its Talon-A reusable hypersonic vehicle, but did not give precise details. "Today was a great day for the Stratolaunch team.
- I am extremely proud of their perseverance to reach this point," company president Zachary Krevor said in a statement.
- "While I can't share the specific altitude and speed TA-1 reached ... we reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers," he said.
U.S. floods arms into Israel despite mounting alarm over war’s conduct 
- The United States has quietly approved and delivered more than 100 separate foreign military sales to Israel since the Gaza war began Oct. 7, amounting to thousands of precision-guided munitions, small diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms and other lethal aid, U.S. officials told members of Congress in a recent classified briefing.
- The triple digit figure, which has not been previously reported, is the latest indication of Washington’s extensive involvement in the polarizing five-month conflict even as top U.S. officials and lawmakers increasingly express deep reservations about Israel’s military tactics in a campaign that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Biden will direct US military to establish port in Gaza for humanitarian aid, officials say
- US President Joe Biden is set to announce new steps to establish a port in Gaza for humanitarian aid during his State of the Union address Thursday evening, senior administration officials said.
- The port will include a temporary pier, a second senior official said, which “will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day” to be coordinated with Israel, the United Nations, and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.
- Initial aid shipments will come via Cyprus, the official said.
As gangs attack a critical port, ‘Haiti will go hungry soon’
- On Wednesday night, dozens of gang members stormed the most important port terminal in Port-au-Prince, looting containers, damaging the port’s security apparatus and forcing the terminal to suspend its operations indefinitely, according to Philippe Coles, the president of Caribbean Port Services, which operates the terminal.
- The port’s closure could have disastrous consequences for a capital that is now 80 percent controlled by gangs who, over the past week, have terrorized residents with a wave of killings, kidnappings and attacks on police stations.
- Thousands of inmates escaped the two biggest prisons over the weekend.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/07/haiti-gangs-port/
US Army intelligence analyst charged with selling classified military information to China
- Federal prosecutors have arrested a soldier and intelligence analyst who allegedly sold national security secrets related to military weapons, exercises and development plans to a man who purported to be a Hong Kong-based geopolitical consultant, according to a federal indictment filed this week in Tennessee.
- Sgt Korbein Schultz was arrested on Thursday at Fort Campbell in Kentucky following an inquiry by the FBI and US Army counterintelligence. According to the charges, he was paid $42,000 (£33,000) in exchange for dozens of sensitive security records.
- Officials say the criminal conspiracy began in June 2022 and continued up until his arrest.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68508443
