BAE Systems jumps into the Army's MPF competition

BAE Systems has announced that the company has submitted its proposal to the U.S. Army to develop and field the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle for use by Army Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.

BAE Systems has submitted its proposal to the U.S. Army to build and test the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle for use by the Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Photo courtesy of BAE Systems

"Our MPF vehicle is the result of more than 30 years of research and development to build a rapidly deployable, light combat vehicle designed specifically to support the light infantry," Jim Miller, director of Business Development at BAE Systems' Combat Vehicles business, said in a company press release.
The Mobile Protected Firepower, or MPF vehicle, is lauded as essential for Army fighting forces in the 21st century. BAE says the MPF vehicle will provide enhanced protections for ground combat units while delivering "overwhelming precision firepower" over multiple terrains and environmental conditions.

"Our offering integrates the most modern technologies into a non-developmental design based on development, testing and lessons learned from our portfolio of combat vehicle programs," Miller said.

The company said it has made significant improvements on the type-classified M8 Armored gun system and other previous development programs to create the fully integrated MPF system that is more lethal, mobile and boasts a longer life cycle.

"Our solution is built around the IBCT's needs and the evolving threats they face," Miller said. "It is as deployable as the IBCT's other equipment and is easily sustained and maintained with assets already organic to the IBCT. Our infantry fights in close terrain, urban areas, and remote locations, so a smaller, lightweight vehicle that still provides superior protection and lethality was essential to the design of our MPF offering."

BAE Systems is currently testing their version of the MPF vehicle. BAE Systems will submit the vehicle to the Army in April for additional government testing in order to try and win the contract, the company said.

Kim Jong Un willing to talk about denuclearization

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss denuclearization with the United States and halt its nuclear and missile provocations while dialogue is ongoing, a Seoul official said Tuesday.

Debriefing on his two-day trip to Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's security adviser Chung Eui-yong told reporters that the North Korean regime "clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize."
"It made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed," he said.

Chung added the North showed interest in an open-ended dialogue with Washington, as well as an inter-Korean peace summit in late April -- the first in more than a decade.

"The North expressed its willingness to hold a heartfelt dialogue with the United States on the issues of denuclearization and normalizing relations with the United States," the security official added. "It made it clear that while dialogue is continuing, it will not attempt any strategic provocations, such as nuclear and ballistic missile tests."

This marks the first time the North Korean leader has indicated he's willing to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for U.S. security guarantees -- a major step in Moon's efforts to improve Korean relations.

Kim's willingness to talk follows many months of repeated missile tests and a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump. Last summer, the two leaders sparred verbally over nuclear weapons and led Trump to say the United States would defend itself with "fire and fury."

Tuesday's milestone also follows North and South Korean athletes participating under a unified flag last month at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

South Korea has been pushing for dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang to broker peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as talks on dismantling the North's nuclear program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with South Korean officials in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Monday. Photo courtesy of KCNA/UPI

Representing South Korea during the two-day visit to Pyongyang were Chung, National Intelligence Service Director Suh Joon, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung and Yun Kyun-young, a presidential official on state affairs.

The five officials held talks Monday with Kim Jong Un, his sister Kim Yo Jong and Workers' Party Central Committee Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol.

Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, and Ri Son-gwon, chairman of North Korea's Committee for Peaceful Reunification, joined the group for a banquet.

It was the first time South Korean officials set foot in the Workers' Party headquarters, according to South Korea's top office.

They are expected to brief parliamentary leaders on the outcome of their trip on Wednesday.

Chung and Suh will also visit Washington later in the week to share the results with U.S. officials.

Senate committee to interview Trump Jr. behind closed doors

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will privately interview Donald Trump, Jr., Thursday -- and are expected to ask about his meeting with a Russian lawyer in New York City during last year's presidential campaign.

Senators had sought to interview the president's son publicly in July but he instead offered to be privately interviewed and provide documents
"We look forward to a professional and productive meeting and appreciate the opportunity to assist the committee," Trump, Jr.'s attorney, Alan S. Futerfas, said in a statement.

Last week, Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California issued a joint statement confirming the interview with the president's eldest son was imminent.

Trump, Jr., has acknowledged he met with a Russian lawyer -- who he said had damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton that could help his father's presidential campaign. He released emails this summer that showed it was "part of Russia and its government's support for [President Donald] Trump."

Donald Trump, Jr., will be privately interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee investigators on Thursday. 

Also attending the meeting were Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, now a senior adviser to the president, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Kushner and Manafort have already been interviewed by the Senate Committee on Intelligence.

The Senate and House intelligence committees are investigating Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump's campaign, but the judiciary panel wants to investigate whether any federal criminal statutes that ban solicitation from foreign nationals were violated.

Feinstein told reporters Wednesday the committee staff will conduct the interview, and a public hearing will be conducted later. Feinstein said she doesn't plan to attend the interview.

Other committee members, including Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, said they plan to attend.

"There are penalties if he lies, and he presumably is aware that he is testifying with very severe penalties if he fails to tell the truth, so we presume he will," Blumenthal told reporters.

15 states file lawsuit against Trump administration over DACA repeal

    Congressional leaders from the Democratic Party have spoken out against the Trump administration's announcement to     discontinue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/

Attorneys general from 15 U.S. states filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block the Trump administration's planned termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Democratic attorneys general filed the suit Wednesday in retaliation to the administration's announcement a day earlier that it would end the program created by former President Barack Obama, unless Congress provided a legislative fix by March 2018.

President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning, "For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about - No action!"

But if the program is phased out, more than 800,000 people currently working and studying in the U.S. under the Obama-era initiative could be deported.

Among those suing, Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson claimed that getting rid of the program would violate the due process of rights of those who disclosed personal information to enroll in the DACA program.

"It's outrageous, it's not right. As attorney general for the state of Washington, I have a hammer - it's the law," Ferguson said.

The lawsuit claims that the end of the program would ultimately have severe financial and social consequences for states.

"Rescinding DACA will cause harm to hundreds of thousands of the States' residents, injure State-run colleges and universities, upset the States' workplaces, damage the States' economies, hurt State-based companies, and disrupt the States' statutory and regulatory interests," the attorneys general wrote in the suit.

The plaintiffs in the suit include New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel said in 2014 that the program "could be terminated at any time at [the Department of Homeland Security's] discretion."

China's top diplomat says he approves further North Korea sanctions

China's top diplomat said Thursday he agrees additional sanctions need to be imposed on North Korea, following the country's sixth nuclear test Sunday.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the statement during a joint press conference in Beijing with Nepal's Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara -- a sign China could be willing to cooperate on further sanctions.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said sanctions are a part of the solution to persuade North Korea to turn away from nuclear weapons development. Photo by Stephen Shaver

Neither Chinese President Xi Jinping nor Russian President Vladimir Putin had indicated they were willing to pursue sanctions.

During a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Putin said the North Korea crisis cannot be "resolved by sanctions alone," a sign Moscow could be hesitant to press forward with fresh penalties at the United Nations Security Council.

Wang is taking a different approach, according to South Korean news service News 1.

"Given the new unfolding developments on the Korean peninsula, China agrees with the point the U.N. Security Council should take necessary measures," the Chinese foreign minister said.

He added, "Sanctions are only half a solution, so dialogue and negotiations should be carried out together."

The United States is circulating a draft resolution at the Security Council, that would allow U.S. Navy and Air Force ships to stop and search North Korean vessels in international waters, The New York Times reported.

Military interdictions at sea, however, could raise tensions not seen since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when President John F. Kennedy ordered a blockade of the island, according to the report.

The draft resolution also proposes a ban on oil shipments, a move that China has resisted in the past.

Jose continues to strengthen after turning into hurricane

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Jose continues to strengthen in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

In its 5 a.m. advisory, the NHC said Jose was located about 815 miles east of the Lesser Antilles with sustained winds up to 90 mph. Forecasters say Jose's wind speeds are expected to strengthen within the next 48 hours.
Jose formed Tuesday in the central Atlantic, more than 1,000 miles east of Hurricane Irma, and so far is following Irma's path westward toward the Caribbean.

Jose strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday evening and its projected path has it nearing the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend. Image courtesy NOAA

The NHC said Jose "continues intensifying over the Central Atlantic it travels west-northwest at 18 mph and this general motion continuing for the next couple of days."

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, though forecasters warned the Leeward Islands to monitor the storm. Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches will likely be required for portions of these islands later this morning.

The NHC forecast track shows Jose's eye nearing parts of the Lesser Antilles Saturday afternoon and Puerto Rico on Sunday as a hurricane before it makes a turn toward the northwest. Jose's preliminary forecast track has it moving north of Irma's path, in the direction of North Carolina.

Jose is the tenth named storm of the Atlantic season so far. The eleventh, Katia, formed early Wednesday and strengthened into a hurricane in the evening.