US Navy's new $13 billion aircraft carrier will dominate the seas "It’s the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the most expensive and most advanced warship ever built. The ship was christened in November 2013 and is scheduled to be commissioned this month. The Naval behemoth can house more than 4,500 people and weighs 90,000 tons. The CVN-78 is the lead ship in the Ford class of aircraft carriers, replacing some of the U.S. Navy’s existing Nimitz-class carriers. At first glance, both classes have a similar-looking hull, but the Ford class introduces a series of technical innovations designed to improve carrier’s operating efficiency, and reduce operating costs and crew requirements...." http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...-will-dominate-the-seas/ar-AAgzBOR?li=BBnbfcL
A dirty bomb will be detonated in a major city one day, probably killing something like 20,000 people: Nuclear policy expert James Acton discusses the ongoing search for stolen radioactive material out of Iraq. http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/newsworld/highly-radioactive-material-missing-in-iraq/vi-BBpFDjX\ The after effects will be a disaster to contain, e.g. Fukushima's ground zero: No place for man or robot http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...-place-for-man-or-robot/ar-AAgE8nL?li=BBnb7Kz
Comic Kim at it again. Yaaaaaawn. Count:2 North Korea claims it could wipe out Manhattan with a hydrogen bomb "SEOUL — North Korea claimed Sunday that it could wipe out Manhattan by sending a hydrogen bomb on a ballistic missile to the heart of New York, the latest in a string of brazen threats. Although there are many reasons to believe that Kim Jong Un’s regime is exaggerating its technical capabilities, the near-daily drumbeat of boasts and warnings from Pyongyang underlines the regime’s anger at efforts to thwart its ambitions. “Our hydrogen bomb is much bigger than the one developed by the Soviet Union,” DPRK Today, a state-run outlet that uses the official acronym for North Korea, reported Sunday. “If this H-bomb were to be mounted on an inter-continental ballistic missile and fall on Manhattan in New York City, all the people there would be killed immediately and the city would burn down to ashes,” the report said, citing a nuclear scientist named Cho Hyong Il..." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...an-with-a-hydrogen-bomb/ar-AAgIXYy?li=BBnbfcL
Massive leak reveals money rings of global leaders "...CIA employee Edward Snowden — who tweeted on Sunday that the "Biggest leak in the history of data journalism just went live, and it's about corruption." ICIJ said as much as $2 billion has been secretly shuffled through banks and shadow companies linked to Putin's associates, and that the bank has been instrumental in building a network of offshore companies...." http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/03/leak...companies-putin-iceland-assad-implicated.html
US could have shot down Russian jet that buzzed destroyer: Kerry "A Russian military jet that flew just feet from a US destroyer in international waters in the Baltic Sea could have been shot down under US rules of engagement, US Secretary of State John Kerry said. Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this week, including an incident on Tuesday when a Russian Su-24 jet flew 30 feet (nine meters) above the ship in a "simulated attack profile," the US military's European Command said. Russia has denied the action was reckless or provocative. Kerry, speaking Thursday, strongly disagreed..." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...-buzzed-destroyer-kerry/ar-BBrN72g?li=BBnb7Kz
Top Navy official: Russian sub activity expands to Cold War level Washington (CNN)Russia is deploying its ballistic missiles and attack submarines in numbers, range and aggression not seen in two decades, according to a top U.S. Navy official. In an exclusive interview, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe told CNN that the buildup reflects an alarming strategic world view. "NATO is viewed as an existential threat to Russia, and in the post-Cold War period, the expansion of NATO eastward closer to Russia and our military capability they view as a very visceral threat to Russia," Adm. Mark Ferguson said. Ferguson spoke from his base in Naples, Italy, home to U.S. Naval forces in Europe and the Navy's 6th Fleet. Adding to U.S. apprehension, Russia is deploying new submarines that are harder for U.S. naval forces to track and detect following years and billions of dollars in investment. They are quieter, better armed and have a greater range of operation... http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/15/polit...l-forces-europe-russian-submarines/index.html
A dolphin outswims a US Sub by staying in front of it. That dolphin is probably a US tactical strike unit of the sub (CNN)The U.S. Navy has formally begun construction on its newest Virginia-class submarine, as Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden and the sub's sponsor, hosted the keel laying ceremony for the USS Delaware in Newport News, Virginia. "These ceremonies are always special occasions, but the keel laying for this submarine is particularly meaningful to me," Biden said at the Saturday ceremony. "As a proud military daughter, military mom and Delawarean, I am honored to serve as its sponsor." Expected to enter service in 2018, the 377-foot USS Delaware will weigh 7,800 tons and be able to operate at roughly 30 miles-per-hour under water. In addition to the launching, commissioning and decommissioning, the keel laying is one of the four specifically celebrated events in the life of a ship, marking the initial placement of a central steel beam that serves as the submarine's "backbone." Biden said it has been nearly 100 years since the Navy had a vessel bearing the state of Delaware's name -- the last being a battleship which served from 1909 to 1924 as part of the Atlantic fleet. That ship was eventually sold and scrapped in 1924 to meet the requirements of the Washington Treaty on arms limits. "I chose the name Delaware to honor the long-standing relationship between the Navy and our nation's first state," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said last year. "It has been too long since there has been a USS Delaware in the fleet and this submarine will remind future deployed service members and state residents of their strong ties and many shared values for decades to come." Once construction on the USS Delaware is complete, Jill Biden will break a bottle against the ship during its christening ceremony and call the crew aboard for its commissioning once it is ready to join the fleet. The USS Delaware's crew is currently made up of 48 sailors and seven officers, led by Cmdr. Brian Hogan. In January 2013, General Dynamics Electric Boat received a $2.5 billion contract for the construction of USS South Dakota and USS Delaware as part of the Pentagon's plan to build 30 Virginia-class submarines by 2023.
Retaliate how? By rolling over unarmed fighter planes in a circus show? Russia warns of retaliation if NATO makes more deployments in E.Europe "Russia will take retaliatory measures if NATO deploys four extra battalions in Poland and the Baltic states and it will reinforce its western and southern flanks with three new divisions by the year-end anyway, officials said. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Monday that NATO was weighing up rotating four battalions of troops through eastern member states amid rising tension in the Baltic. Russia has scrambled jets to intercept U.S. reconnaissance planes in recent weeks and made simulated attack passes near a U.S. warship in the Baltic Sea. Andrei Kelin, a department head at Russia's Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday that the proposed NATO deployment spoken of by Carter was a source of concern for Moscow..." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...-deployments-in-eeurope/ar-BBsDY60?li=BBnbcA1