#national-security

#national-security

A key security adviser had no role in the "substance or the evidence" of the collapsed case against two men accused of spying for China, the education secretary has said. The Conservatives have suggested Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's national security adviser, had a role in not giving prosecutors evidence they said they needed to secure convictions. Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry who both deny the allegations were dropped last month, prompting criticism from ministers and MPs.

"China has fired a loaded gun at the American economy, seeking to cut off critical minerals used to make the semiconductors that power the American military, economy, and devices we use every day including cars, phones, computers, and TVs," Moolenaar said. "Every American will be negatively affected by China's action, and that's why we must address America's vulnerabilities and build our own leverage against China."

Top talent, ambitious founders, and serious capital are flooding into a mission that matters, delivering products and solutions that will send us to the moon, deploy unimaginably capable unmanned aerial devices, and redefine what's possible in modern warfare. It's an exciting moment-one full of possibility and potential. But here's the problem: while everyone is focused on the moonshots, we're overlooking the foundation.

Just a few years ago, space startups were selling investors on visions of a rapidly expanding commercial market for weather monitoring, broadband, and remote-sensing satellites. Astra, for example, told investors in its 2021 SPAC deck that it would eventually launch hundreds of rockets per year to serve a growing small satellite market. Relativity Space pitched investors on a 3D printing revolution that would make rockets cheap enough to unlock large commercial demand.

Powell's appearance will mark the end of a year-long standoff between the committee and ministers, who refused for months to make him available for scrutiny before parliament. The prime minister's spokesperson said on Monday that Powell takes his accountability responsibilities very seriously. The committee, chaired by Labour MP Matt Western, is in discussions with officials over the date of the hearing.

The news comes after ProPublica previously reported in March that SpaceX allows Chinese investors to buy a stake in the company - as long as funds are "routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore secrecy hubs." The reporting suggested that SpaceX was trying to avoid scrutiny of its ties to China. Case in point, the company canceled a 2021 deal worth $50 million with a Chinese firm when plans became public, according to ProPublica 's reporting.

The UK government has issued a new order giving it the right to demand access to the personal data of Apple's British users, the BBC understands. It is the latest development in the ongoing dispute between Apple and the Home Office over data privacy. The UK says it needs to be able to access individuals' private data - when backed by an appropriate warrant - if there is a threat to national security.

On Tuesday, unless Congress acts, America will lose critical counter-drone protections, making it easier for adversaries and criminals to exploit our skies. Absent congressional action, the federal government's ability to mitigate drone threats will be called into legal question, as key authorities lapse. Should this occur, it will put our nation's critical infrastructure and American lives at risk by creating an unnecessary gap in the fabric of our nation's security.

The University of Arizona is quietly shutting down its four microcampuses in China at the end of this semester, in response to a government report released earlier this month that criticizes branch campuses of U.S. institutions in China.

In Washington DC this week at the 155th gathering, as clouds swirled around the Capitol building just steps away, senators from both parties and some top Trump administration officials joined us. They had to face down the near unanimous verdict from over 100 top business leaders, representing some of the world's largest companies and most iconic brands: Trump's policies aren't working.

We must a sober look at the reality in order to choose the right path for our country, he says. He stresses that our freedom is under threat with growing sense of insecurity, with Germany's economic model also under pressure from a new form of protectionism. He also warns against political forces at home and abroad questioning social cohesion and undermining German democracy.

Ultimately, China gets to keep the TikTok algorithm, simply licensing the algorithm to the US instead of handing over the heart of TikTok's success. As Ars previously reported, that means the US could end up with a glitchier version of TikTok, with sources telling WSJ that TikTok engineers will be forced to "re-create a set of content-recommendation algorithms" for the US app if the deal goes through.

The Trump administration issued an executive order late last month, quietly declaring that NASA will operate as a national intelligence and security agency going forward. The order stipulates that the agency will now "have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work." It's a major departure for the agency, which has historically focused on space exploration, as well as space and Earth sciences over its 67-year lifespan.