Author: Mark Brooks

Most dismissed retired IDF general Yitzhak Brick’s warning earlier this year of a Hamas invasion. Now Netanyahu wants his advice on how to win. Yitzhak Brick might be the only Israeli military official to see what was coming. And he’s been warning of it for some time. He also does not see a ground invasion of Gaza as the only option. And Israel must prepare for a multi-front war given the situation in the north. Brick cautioned, among other things, of problems with the competence of ground forces and made it clear that the ground invasion does not have to be…

U.S. lawmakers unveiled an annual defense policy bill leaving out most of the divisive social issues, such as abortion rights and treatment of transgender service members, that had threatened to derail the must-pass legislation. The Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committees released the 3,000-page text of the Fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, late on Wednesday. This year’s bill, an annual measure that sets policy for the Department of Defense, authorizes a record $886 billion in spending, a 3% increase over last year. The measure is a compromise between versions of the NDAA passed by the…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is facing a record $68 billion budget deficit, state officials announced Thursday, forcing hard choices for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in his final term as he works to build his national profile. The nation’s most populous state — with an economy that is the fifth largest in the world — has been struggling since last year because of the rising prices of most goods and services and how the U.S. government has been trying to control it. It is now much more expensive for people and businesses to borrow money, meaning fewer people are buying homes and fewer businesses…

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida law blocking Gov. Ron DeSantis’ publicly funded travel records from the public is unconstitutional and the state should be required to turn them over, asserts a legal challenge filed by The Washington Post. The Post’s lawsuit marks the first effort to challenge the law, which the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed just weeks before DeSantis officially announced a run for president. GOP legislators said that the law — which applied not just to future travels but also to trips DeSantis had already taken — was needed to protect the safety of the governor and his family. But Democrats…

Workers may have rejoiced over big pay raises in the past two years, but the downside is they’re losing noncash company benefits, according to job and recruiting site Glassdoor. In 2023, the top three benefit cuts were in mobile phone discounts, charitable gift matching and tuition assistance, Glassdoor said. Companies are looking for ways to cut costs to pay for huge wage hikes doled out to attract and retain workers and elevated inflation over the past few years. And with the economy slowing and competition easing for workers, companies are doubling down on trimming fat in 2024, Glassdoor said. As companies pare back benefits, Americans…

By recruiting former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman following his surprise ouster by ChatGPT’s parent company, Microsoft is hiring a tech industry star at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. His unexpected dismissal by the board of OpenAI sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley as the 38-year-old entrepreneur has been the public face of the company’s rapid rise in the high-stakes world of AI. Altman, together with Tesla chief Elon Musk and others, started OpenAI in 2015, creating a research company with the stated goal of building generative AI that benefits humanity. “The technological progress we make in the next 100…

North America went back to losing rigs week on week, Baker Hughes revealed in its latest rotary rig count, which was released on November 17. Although the U.S. added two rigs week on week, Canada dropped three during the same period, leading to a total week on week rig loss of one for North America, Baker Hughes outlined. The region’s total rig count now stands at 814, comprising 618 rigs from the U.S. and 196 rigs from Canada, the count showed. The total U.S. rig count of 618 is made up of 597 land rigs, 19 offshore rigs, and two…

WASHINGTON – A U.S. judge on Friday asked former President Donald Trump whether he wants to appear on television when he stands trial in federal court on charges of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington asked Trump’s lawyers to give their opinion by Nov. 10 on media requests to broadcast the trial, which is scheduled to begin in March 2024. In two separate filings, NBC News and a coalition of 19 media organizations and press advocacy groups argue that the public has a right to see an unprecedented trial of a former…

WASHINGTON – U.S. consumer spending surged in September as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and traveled, keeping spending on a higher growth path heading into the fourth quarter. The stronger-than-expected increase in spending reported by the Commerce Department on Friday was accompanied by elevated monthly inflation readings, against the backdrop of higher costs for services like housing. Spending is, however, seen cooling off in early 2024 as excess savings accumulated during the pandemic start running out, leaving economists convinced the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. But risks of a rate hike remain. “U.S. consumers still had some…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA on Wednesday showed off its first asteroid samples delivered last month by a spacecraft — a jumble of black dust and rubble that’s the most ever returned to Earth. Scientists anticipated getting a cupful but are still unsure how much was grabbed from the carbon-rich asteroid named Bennu, almost 60 million miles (97 million kilometers) away. That’s because the main sample chamber has yet to be opened, officials said during an event at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “It’s been going slow and meticulous, but the science is already starting,” said the mission’s lead scientist, Dante Lauretta…