April 30 2024
Unmanned fighter
1 Defense-tech startup wins major Air Force unmanned fighter contract
2 Tesla gets approval for self-driving in China
3 ELECTION 2024 RFK Jr spends millions on ballot access
4 India tried to carry out assassination on American soil
5 Gaza war drives wedge between Arab public, leaders
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1 Defense-tech startup wins major Air Force unmanned fighter contract
The Air Force made the decision to continue funding Anduril and General Atomics for the next phase of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the Department of the AF announced on Apr. 24, 2024. The two companies will now build production-representative CCA vehicles, and test-flight them, whereas Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, that also competed in the program, but were not selected, will continue to be part of the broader industry partner vendor pool consisting of more than 20 companies to compete for future efforts, including future production contracts.
The CCA program aims to develop autonomous unmanned aircraft that will cooperate in the “loyal wingman” role with fifth- and sixth-generation combat aircraft as part of manned-unmanned teaming concepts.
Anduril Industries, Inc. is an American defense technology company that specializes in advanced autonomous systems. It was founded in 2017 by inventor Palmer Luckey with investors and founders associated with Palantir and SpaceX.
2 Tesla gets approval for self-driving in China
Elon Musk wrapped up a trip to China in less than 24 hours and came away with a crucial victory as he pushes to reignite Tesla’s sagging growth. After his flurry of meetings with top officials in Beijing, China’s government signaled its blessing for Tesla to roll out its advanced driver-assistance service in the carmaker’s second-biggest market. The Tesla chief executive is seeking to expand use of the controversial software feature globally as the company confronts the prospect of lower sales growth this year. Chinese officials told Tesla that Beijing has tentatively approved the company’s plan to launch its “Full Self-Driving,” or FSD, software feature in the country, people familiar with the matter said Monday.
Tesla shares jumped after it was reported that Musk met with China's Premier Li Qiang, and the company received approval to move forward with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software technology in its China-built EVs. The stock was higher by 12.3% as of 11:05 a.m. ET, bringing the gains to more than 30% since the start of last week.
In the run up to the US election, the daily brief will contain one election story per day
3 ELECTION 2024 RFK Jr spends millions on ballot access
In most states, Mr. Kennedy, 70, an environmental lawyer and heir to an American political dynasty, must produce thousands of signatures, under rules that are varied, intricate and confusing at times even to the local officials administering elections. The effort has already cost his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a supporting super PAC at least $2.4 million more, federal campaign finance records show. It has involved a number of professionals who specialize in getting people on the ground with clipboards and petitions, and helping candidates navigate the complicated process. Their success is what will make or break Mr. Kennedy’s campaign. This month, Mr. Kennedy got on the ballot in Michigan, a key presidential battleground, by securing the nomination of a minor political party. He will soon officially be on the ballot in Hawaii, having overcome a challenge from the local Democratic Party. As of Sunday, the campaign says it has gathered enough signatures to submit petitions in six other states, including New Hampshire, Nevada and North Carolina, with more expected to be announced this week.
4 India tried to carry out assassination on American soil
But even as the Indian leader was basking in U.S. adulation on June 22, an officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying final instructions to a hired hit team to kill one of Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States. The assassination is a “priority now,” wrote Vikram Yadav, an officer in India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, or RAW, according to current and former U.S. and Indian security officials. Yadav forwarded details about the target, Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, including his New York address, according to the officials and a U.S. indictment. As soon as the would-be assassins could confirm that Pannun, a U.S. citizen, was home, “it will be a go ahead from us.” Yadav’s identity and affiliation, which have not previously been reported, provide the most explicit evidence to date that the assassination plan — ultimately thwarted by U.S. authorities — was directed from within the Indian spy service. Higher-ranking RAW officials have also been implicated, according to current and former Western security officials, as part of a sprawling investigation by the CIA, FBI and other agencies that has mapped potential links to Modi’s inner circle.
5 Gaza war drives wedge between Arab public, leaders
Like other governments across the Middle East, Egypt has not been shy about its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its denunciations of Israel over the war in Gaza are loud and constant. State media outlets broadcast images of long lines of aid trucks waiting to cross from Egypt into Gaza, spotlighting Egypt’s role as the main conduit for aid entering the besieged territory. Earlier this month, however, when hundreds of people gathered in downtown Cairo to demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza, Egyptian security officers swooped in, arresting 14 protesters, according to their lawyer. Back in October, the government had organized pro-Palestinian rallies of its own. Yet at those, too, it detained dozens of people after protesters chanted slogans critical of the government. More than 50 of them remain behind bars, their lawyers say. It was a pattern that has repeated itself around the region since Israel, responding to an attack by Hamas, began a six-month war in Gaza: Arab citizens’ grief and fury over Gaza’s plight running headlong into official repression when that outrage takes aim at their own leaders. In some countries, even public display of pro-Palestinian sentiment is enough to risk arrest. Out of step with their people on matters of economic opportunity and political freedoms, some governments in the Arab world have long faced added discontent over their ties with Israel and its chief backer, the United States. Now the Gaza war — and what many Arabs see as their own governments’ complicity — has driven an old wedge between rulers and the ruled with new force.
4/30/1945 Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker
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