Defense spending measure would bar Chinese lidar in U.S. military systems

A U.S. defense spending bill advanced by the House of Representatives this week contains a measure that would bar the use of Chinese-made lidar sensors in U.S. military systems.

The measure, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, would block the U.S. Defense Department from buying or using the Chinese-made version of the technology, which is a type of light sensor that is widely used in both autonomous vehicles and drones to help the machines gain a three-dimensional view of the world around them.

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“As the U.S. military increases its use of autonomous unmanned systems, my amendment sends a clear signal that the U.S. cannot rely on untrusted lidar that jeopardizes our national security and undermines the competitiveness of American companies," Stefanik said in a statement.

If passed into law, the measure would add to growing U.S. unease with Chinese-made lidar sensors. In January, the Defense Department added China's Hesai Group (ZN80y.F)

, opens new tab, one of the biggest makers of lidar systems, to a list of companies with alleged ties to Beijing's military.

https://www.reuters.com/world/defense-spending-measure-would-bar-chinese-lidar-us-military-systems-2024-05-24/

SYDNEY, May 24 (Reuters) -Former U.S. Marine pilot Daniel Duggan can be extradited from Australia to face U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, a Sydney magistrate ruled on Friday.

Duggan, 55, a naturalised Australian citizen, is facing U.S. charges including money laundering and breaking arms control law by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. He denies the allegations.

He has 15 days to seek a review of the magistrate's ruling. The decision to extradite will ultimately be made by Australia's Attorney General.

Outside court his wife Saffrine said the family would appeal to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to refuse the extradition.

One of seven co-conspirators in a U.S. indictment is convicted Chinese hacker Su Bin, although Duggan's lawyers argue the hacking case is unrelated.

Duggan was arrested by Australian federal police in a rural town in New South Wales state in October 2022, shortly after returning from China, where he had lived since 2014.

In the same week, Britain issued a warning to its former defence staff not to train Chinese People's Liberation Army pilots at a South African flying academy where Duggan had also worked.

Duggan, whose wife and six children are also Australian, has been held in a maximum security prison since his arrest. Saffrine placed her hand against the glass window to the dock where Duggan sat in court on Friday.

www.reuters.com/world/former-us-marine-pilot-can-be-extradited-australian-magistrate-rules-2024-05-24/

Lloyd Austin Will Hand Off Pentagon Duties While Undergoing Procedure

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin briefly turned over his duties to his deputy on Friday while he underwent a medical procedure linked to an issue that left him hospitalized for two weeks in January.

The secretary had a “successful, elective, and minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure related to his bladder issue” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland for about two and a half hours, Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement Friday night.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-24/austin-to-turn-over-pentagon-authority-for-procedure-on-friday?srnd=politics-vp

Louisiana Plans to Criminalize Possession of Abortion Pills

Louisiana plans to make it a crime to possess either of the two main US abortion pills without a prescription, expanding restrictions in a state that already has a near-total ban on ending unwanted pregnancies.

The state Senate passed a bill by a 29 to 7 vote on Thursday, adding mifepristone and misoprostol to the list of controlled substances that includes highly addictive narcotics. The measure now goes before Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican who opposes abortion access and is expected to sign the bill into law.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-23/louisiana-seeks-to-criminalize-possession-of-abortion-pills?srnd=politics-vp

Officers threatened to kill the dog of Thomas Perez Jr as they pressured him to falsely confess to killing his father, who was alive

‘Psychologically tortured’: California city pays man nearly $1m after17-hour police interrogation

A California city has agreed to pay $900,000 to a man who was subjected to a 17-hour police interrogation in which officers pressured him to falsely confess to murdering his father, who was alive.

During the 2018 interrogation of Thomas Perez Jr by police in Fontana, a city east of Los Angeles, officers suggested they would have Perez’s dog euthanized as a result of his actions, according to a complaint and footage of the encounter. A judge said the questioning appeared to be “unconstitutional psychological torture”, and the city agreed to settle Perez’s lawsuit for $898,000, his lawyer announced this week.

The extraordinary case of a coerced false confession has sparked widespread outrage, with footage showing Perez in extreme emotional and physical distress, including as officers brought his dog in and said the animal would need to be put down due to “depression” from witnessing a murder that had not actually occurred.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/24/california-fontana-payment-man-tortured-police

Navy Reserve veteran pleads guilty to beheading Satanic statue in Iowa State Capitol

A Mississippi man, and former Republican congressional candidate, pleaded guilty Friday in connection to the vandalism of a statue of a pagan idol at the Iowa state capitol in exchange for the dropping of a hate crime charge.

Michael Cassidy pleaded guilty to an aggravated misdemeanor count of third-degree criminal mischief, the Des Moines Register reported. He was slated to go to trial on June 3.

"As you’re likely aware, we have continually contested the hate crime and questioned whether Mr. Cassidy was being targeted due to his religious beliefs," Cassidy's attorney, Sara Pasquale, told Fox News Digital. "We are therefore very pleased that the state ultimately decided to drop the hate crime and are hopeful that this case will bring awareness to similar situations throughout the country."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/navy-reserve-veteran-pleads-guilty-beheading-satanic-statue-iowa-state-capitol

US soldier arrested in Russia over alleged theft to remain in custody: State media

An American soldier arrested in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok on charges of stealing lost an appeal against his detention and will remain in custody, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Friday, citing court officials.

The soldier, identified by court officials as Gordon Black, will remain in custody at least until July 2, the report said, after the Primorsky Regional Court upheld the lower court's ruling to place Black in custody pending investigation and trial.

Several U.S. officials said earlier this month that Black, a 34-year-old staff sergeant, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas. Instead, officials said that Black, who is married, traveled to Russia to see a longtime girlfriend. He was detained in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port in Russia's Far East, and accused of stealing from her.

RIA Novosti said, citing local police, that Black has admitted guilt and is cooperating with investigators.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/american-soldier-arrested-russia-alleged-theft-remain-custody-110532292

FDIC Chair Says He’ll Leave Job After Toxic Workplace Report

Martin Gruenberg will step down as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after findings of a toxic work environment put the regulator at the center of a heated political fight and fueled calls for his removal.

Gruenberg, 71, faced mounting pressure following a scathing report that detailed allegations of harassment and discrimination at the bank regulator during his tenure. Those findings earlier this month by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton were based on accounts from more than 500 people and a months-long probe into a Wall Street Journal article about female bank examiners facing a “sexualized, boys’ club environment.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-20/fdic-chair-gruenberg-to-leave-job-after-toxic-workplace-reports?srnd=politics-vp

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