Chinese spies charged for stealing jet engine tech ..

CNN; 

Two hack and infiltrate private companies over the course of five years in an attempt to steal the technology.
"This action is yet another example of criminal efforts by the MSS to facilitate the theft of private data for China's commercial gain," US Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement.
"The concerted effort to steal, rather than simply purchase, commercially available products should offend every company that invests talent, energy, and shareholder money into the development of products."
The US Department of Justice statement does not explicitly state where Zha Rong and Chai Meng are presently located. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with China -- and if the men are in China, the Chinese government would be unlikely to give them up.
On Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang dismissed the charges as "sheer fiction and completely fabricated."

Chinese intelligence officers have been charged by the United States Justice Department with trying to steal the details for a type of jet engine technology from US-based companies.Zha Rong and Chai Meng, intelligence officers with the Jiangsu provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in China, are accused of attempting to
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BREAKING; ARREST MADE IN MAIL POLITICAL PIPE BOMB CASE

(CNN)

Federal authorities have arrested a man in connection to the suspected explosive packages discovered this week, the Justice Department announced Friday. Multiple law enforcement sources told CNN the suspect is a man and that the arrest happened in South Florida.

No additional information was immediately available about the suspect.
Earlier Friday, authorities intercepted suspicious packages intended for Sen. Cory Booker and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

The packages are the latest to be sent to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump that were discovered earlier this week.

Feds focusing on Florida in mail bomb investigation

By William K. Rashbaum, Alan Feuer and Adam Goldman
Oct. 25, 2018

Federal authorities investigating a spate of pipe bombs sent this week to several prominent critics of President Trump have turned their attention toward southern Florida, believing that a number of the explosive devices were mailed from the area, two people briefed on the matter said Thursday.

The focus on Florida came as law-enforcement officials around the country were scrambling for another day to respond to the mysterious and repeated discovery of the crude devices contained in similar packages. Three more devices were found in Delaware and New York, the F.B.I. said Thursday morning. Two were addressed to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Delaware resident, and a third to the actor Robert De Niro, who lives and works in Lower Manhattan.

All of the 10 packages that have been discovered since Monday bore return addresses from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida.

The continuing wave of bombs has prompted an intense, nationwide investigation into whether people who have criticized the president and been vilified by the right are being targeted. None of the devices has so far exploded on its own, and investigators have been trying to determine whether the devices were indeed capable of detonating.

Investigators are now focusing on Florida because an analysis of information collected by the United States Postal Service indicated that many of the packages were mailed from the state. The Postal Service records images of mail that comes into its system. As part of the investigation, officials have been searching those images in an effort to determine where the packages were sent from as well as to identify and catch any other possible explosive devices by the bomber or bombers.

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BREAKING; Series of suspicious packages sent to Clintons, Obama and George Soros

HILLARY Clinton and former US President Barack Obama have been targeted in bomb scares after explosive devices were sent to their home and office.

The FBI said the suspicious package was found at the First Couple's residence in Westchester County in the suburbs of New York City, at 1am (local time) addressed to Hillary Clinton.
The device was discovered by a technician who screens mail for Bill and Hillary Clinton, according to officials.

It comes at the same time US secret services said it intercepted a suspicious package sent to Mr Obama's office in Washington just a few hours after the discovery at the Clinton's residence.

The FBI and ATF are investigating also investigating a explosive device discovered at a residence owned by billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

The device was found at around 3:45 p.m. Monday.

Police said an employee at the residence in the Katonah section of Bedford opened a package found in a mailbox. When it appeared to be an explosive device, the employee put the package in a wooded area and called 911.

“The officers did exactly what they were trained to do: Responded to the scene, set up a perimeter, contacted appropriate resources to further the investigation,” said Bedford Police Chief Melvin Padilla.

An official tells the Associate Press investigators are reviewing surveillance video to determine whether the package had been sent through the mail or otherwise delivered. Sources told CBS 2 officials believe the package was dropped off and not mailed. Sources also said the device was similar in nature to a pipe bomb.

Authorities detonated it as a precaution.The device was found at around 3:45 p.m. Monday.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press the device “had the components” of an actual bomb, including explosive powder.

A suspicious package was sent to Eric Holder but it had the wrong address and was returned to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office in Florida because that was the return label on the package, according to two law enforcement sources.

The same return address was used for the Clinton and Obama suspicious packages.

Separately, the George Soros packages is believed to have been placed in the mailbox, not mailed, according to a separate law enforcement source.

Earlier today: A law enforcement source and a federal source briefed on the investigation into the Soros package said it had the return address of Wasserman Schultz, a prominent Democratic member of Congress.

Here's the list of suspicious packages so far:

• George Soros: A suspicious package targeting the billionaire investor and philanthropist on Monday was rendered safe in Bedford, New York, a law enforcement source told CNN.
• Hillary Clinton: The Secret Service intercepted a package addressed to the home of the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee in Westchester County, New York late Tuesday night.
• Barack Obama: The Secret Service intercepted a suspicious package addressed to the former president early Wednesday morning at his home in Washington, D.C.
• John Brennan: A package with an explosive device sent to CNN’s New York offices today was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, according to city and local law enforcement officials.
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz: The Florida Democrat's office was evacuated after a suspicious package was found mailed there this morning, according to a police spokesman.

A US intelligence official tells CNN it is too early to tell whether there is a nexus to terrorism at this point regarding the suspicious packages sent to multiple locations.

Turk official says Jamal Khashoggo was dismembered in Saudi Consulate.

CNBC: 

A high-level Turkish official says police have found "certain evidence" during their search of the Saudi Consulate showing that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed there.

The official did not provide details on the evidence that was recovered during the hours-long search at the diplomatic mission that ended early Tuesday.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

Turkish officials say Saudi agents killed and dismembered the writer at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Saudi Arabia previously called the allegation "baseless," but U.S. media reports suggest the Saudis may soon acknowledge Khashoggi was killed there, perhaps as part of a botched interrogation.

Cleaning staff workers appeared to enter the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Monday morning, ahead of a joint “inspection” of the building by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, following the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The New York Times, citing a person familiar with the Saudi government's plans, reported the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved interrogating or even forcing Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government, it said, would shield the prince by blaming an intelligence official for the bungled operation.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had seen the report, but that "nobody knows" if this was an official report.

Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet King Salman over the case that has strained the Americans' relationship with the Saudis, carefully cultivated by the U.S. president.

Members of Khashoggi's family called for an investigation, in a statement released on Monday.

"We are sadly and anxiously following the conflicting news regarding the fate of our father after losing contact with him two weeks ago," they said.

"The strong moral and legal responsibility which our father instilled in us obliges us to call for the establishment of an independent and impartial international commission to inquire into the circumstances of his death."

A crime scene investigation team of around 10 people left the consulate after completing a search early on Tuesday, the witness said. The Turkish prosecutor assigned to the case has also left the consulate.

Four forensic vehicles arrived outside the consulate and took away soil samples as well as a metal door from the garden, the Reuters witness said. A police dog was part of the search team.

The team entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier on Monday for what Turkish officials called a joint inspection of the building where Khashoggi disappeared nearly two weeks ago.

The team arrived by unmarked police cars at the consulate and said nothing to journalists waiting outside as they entered the building. Police then pushed back journalists from the front of the consulate, where they've been stationed for days, setting up a new cordon to keep them away.

Turkish officials have said they fear a Saudi hit team that flew into and out of Turkey on October 2 killed and dismembered Khashoggi, who had written Washington Post columns critically of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom has called such allegations "baseless" but has not offered any evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate.

Such a search would be an extraordinary development, as embassies and consulates under the Vienna Convention are technically foreign soil. Saudi Arabia may have agreed to the search in order to appease its Western allies and the international community.

US Army Launches Prototype Competition For Future Attack Recon Aircraft

By Dan Parsons |

The Army has officially kicked off a competition for industry to design its next armed scout aircraft, called the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA.

Details of the program were published Oct. 3 in a solicitation on the government’s contracting website. The Army lays out a four-phase competitive prototyping effort that should yield operational, experimental aircraft flying by November 2022.
The Army describes the desired platform as a “knife fighter” of future battlefield capabilities in a “small form factor … with maximized performance.”

In phase one, industry hopefuls will have nine months to develop preliminary designs and provide the Army with data and insight required for a down-select to two — maybe more based on funding available — designs that will move on to phase two, according to Army documents.

Each phase one contender will receive about $15 million between fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to complete the work. While the Government anticipates 4 to 6 participants in phase 1, the decision is contingent on the technical merit of the proposed approaches, the solicitation says.

The second phase is broken in two, with the designs selected moving into detail design and build with a final design and risk review scheduled for November 2020.

“Upon assessment of technical progress and risk, the Government will make the determination to approve continue or terminate the effort,” the solicitation reads.

Teams will then have about two years to build prototype aircraft, including subsystem testing with an anticipated first flight in November 2022.

In the second half of phase two, operational prototypes will be delivered to the Army for performance testing and evaluation of maneuverability. In phase three, the Army will evaluate if the Performers have successfully completed the competitive prototype project and may select a design for entry into a subsequent full-system integration, qualification and production phase.

The two Industry Performers selected for phase two in fiscal 2020 will receive a fixed funding level of approximately $735 million between through fiscal 2023.

Two rotorcraft industry giants already are stalking the FARA award. Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider has been flying a test regime for several years and recently exceeded 200 knots in forward flight. Raider uses coaxial rigid rotors for lift and an aft pusher propulsor for forward thrust. Sikorsky, now owned by Lockheed Martin, has formally announced Raider as a contender for FARA.

Sikorsky is teamed with Boeing in developing the SB-1 Defiant to satisfy another Army requirement for a long-range assault aircraft to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk. The first operational prototype is nearing completion and is scheduled for first flight by the end of the year.

Bell, which has put more than 60 hours on its prototype V-280 Valor advanced tiltrotor, also will compete. CEO Mitch Snyder on Oct. 2 said the company has already worked up a prototype design, but is not ready to make it public.