February 16 2024
Space lasers
1 Global military spending hits record $2.2 trillion
2 Satellite beamed power from space to Earth
3 Debt interest payments to exceed defense spending this year
4 US Agencies Open Inquiry Into Generic Drug Shortages
5 US-China Cold War
2/16/1968 First 9-1-1 call is placed in the US
Sports
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1 Global military spending hits record $2.2 trillion
Worldwide military spending surged by 9 percent year on year in 2023 to hit a record $2.2 trillion as multiple conflicts ratcheted up global insecurity, according to a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies released Tuesday.
The IISS report also highlighted the intense destructiveness of war. In Ukraine, the IISS estimated that Russia has lost roughly 3,000 main battle tanks since it invaded in February 2022. Those losses exceeded the total of tanks in Russia’s active inventory before the war, forcing it to pull older vehicles out of storage.
WaPo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/13/nato-spending-russia-ukraine-trump/
2 Satellite beamed power from space to Earth for the first time ever
The first experiment to transmit power to Earth from space could lead to a space-based solar power station within 10 years, according to one of the researchers involved. Such a station would benefit from greater exposure to the sun, due to the lack of clouds and atmosphere along with the ability to avoid nighttime darkness. However, the difficulty of designing and making structures large enough to be useful but light enough to launch by rocket has made such a facility impractical.
New Scientist
3 Debt interest payments to exceed defense spending this year
The U.S. government is expected to pay an additional $1.1 trillion in interest over the coming decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimates. Interest costs are on pace to surpass defense this year as one of the largest government expenses in the budget. Only Social Security and Medicare are forecast to be bigger burdens in the coming years.
WSJ
4 U.S. Agencies Open Inquiry Into Generic Drug Shortages
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday that they would examine the causes of generic drug shortages and the practices of “powerful middlemen” that are involved in the supply chain. The federal agencies’ inquiry is aimed at the group purchasing organizations and drug distributors that have been in the spotlight in recent months as drug shortages reached a 10-year peak. The agencies want to examine the companies’ influence on how the drugs are sold to hospitals and other health facilities, assessing whether the middlemen put pressure on pricing and manufacturing that led to breakdowns. During Congressional hearings in the last year, oncology experts have testified about the effects of the shortages, describing difficult decisions that forced them to ration key chemotherapy drugs. They detailed month-to-month, sometimes week-to-week, gaps in supplies that were posing deadly risks for some patients.
NYT
5 US-China Cold War
US to deploy record 5 aircraft carriers (of 11) in western Pacific in show of strength to China
Taiwan to get 50 air-to-ground missiles from US to boost fighter jet capabilities
China on cusp of next-generation chip production despite US curbs
‘Nowhere to hide’: Chinese scientists develop game-changing military surveillance device for electronic warfare
China’s new microwave weapon made to zap Taiwan
https://asiatimes.com/2024/02/chinas-new-microwave-weapon-made-to-zap-taiwan/
China Tightens Trading Curbs for Domestic and Offshore Investors
2/16/1968 First 9-1-1 call is placed in the United States
Have a good weekend!
Sports
Caitlin Clark sets NCAA women’s basketball scoring record in senior year with 3,528th career point
