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April 28, 2026 8:45 AM

UPDATED: APRIL 28, 2026 12:15 PM

Feds, state execute search warrants at Twin Cities daycares and autism centers

The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it executed search warrants in the Twin Cities as part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to fraud.

The state Department of Children, Youth, and Families confirmed the operation — and said state and county officials were involved.

“Today’s law enforcement actions are a result of state, county and federal agencies working together to root out fraud and hold bad actors accountable,” the state agency said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“We are pleased to see the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and our federal partners taking strong action based on information we have shared with them,” the statement continued. “We will continue sharing information with law enforcement to ensure they are able to conduct thorough criminal investigations.”

State and federal agencies have long worked together on criminal investigations — but the apparent cooperation in Tuesday’s operation was notable, given the tensions and conflict between state and federal officials during the federal immigration enforcement surge earlier this year.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who is set to give his final State of the State addresson Tuesday night — issued a statement saying that “if you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught — and that’s exactly what we saw today.”

“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz said.

In a statement posted to social mediaon Tuesday morning, DHS said the criminal investigation related to “the rampant fraud of U.S. taxpayers dollars.”

“The American people deserve answers in how their taxpayer money was abused,” DHS said in a social media post.

The agency said it carried out the warrants “in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area” in cooperation with local and state law enforcement agencies. It did not release further details about the location and nature of the search warrants, citingthe safety of law enforcement officers.

MPR News journalists observed federal and state law enforcement officials outside two childcare centers in south Minneapolis.

Sources told KARE 11 that authorities carried out more than 20 search warrants on Tuesday, focused on childcare and daycare providers. Several centers that work with people with autism also were part of the operation.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office said its Medicare Fraud Control Unit participated in serving warrants Tuesday at five sites that serve people younger than 21 who have autism spectrum disorder. Those five sites are located in Mendota Heights, Savage, Fridley and Minneapolis.

Ellison’s office said it was not involved in search warrants at childcare facilities, because those sites do not involve Medicaid.

The city of Minneapolis issued a statementsaying it was not involved in the operation — and that as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Minneapolis police hadn’t been asked to assist in the execution of the warrants.

“We understand that any federal actions in our neighborhoods may spark fear among residents, and we will continue to marshal city resources to help the community in the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge,” the city statement read.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/04/28/federal-search-warrants-criminal-investigation-minneapolis-daycare-providers

>>24550144

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The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that it has a task force officer assigned to the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, which was part of the operation. The sheriff’s office also said it had “two marked squad cars on two scenes to secure the perimeter as part of this criminal investigation.

Perimeters help ensure the safety of both the community and the law enforcement officers who are executing the criminal warrants.”

“Our office works with local, state, and federal agencies on criminal investigations,” the sheriff’s office said.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that it was partnering with federal investigators to execute search warrants Tuesday, but declined further comment.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom ==Emmer of Minnesota applauded the law enforcement operation.

“President Trump and his administration have made it crystal clear — our country will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse, and we are not going to allow people to take advantage of Americans’ generosity,” Emmer wrote.==

Tuesday’s law enforcement activity took place less than four months after the White House escalated what it called Operation Metro Surge, sending thousands of federal agents into the Twin Cities in January to conduct immigration enforcement.

Two Minneapolis residents were fatally shot by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge — and state officials sharply criticized a lack of cooperation from federal agencies in the investigations into those shootings.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/04/28/federal-search-warrants-criminal-investigation-minneapolis-daycare-providers

MIDTERM SHOCKER: GOP Tied With Democrats in Latest Stunning House Poll

Isaac Schorr

Apr 28th, 2026, 1:35 pm

A stunning new survey from Harvard’s Center For American Political Studies and HarrisX foundthat Republicans and Democrats are tied in the generic congressional ballot roughly six month out from November’s midterm elections.

The poll of 2,745 registered voters was conducted between April 23 and 26 and carried a 1.87% margin of error, and asked the question, “If the congressional election were held today would

you be more likely to vote for a Democrat or a Republican for Congress?”

Fifty percent of those surveyed indicated they’d vote for their local Democrat, while the other 50% said they bled red. Democrats do boast a 52%-48% advantage with independents, however. All in all, 71% of respondents aid they were “definitely” or “probably” going to vote, but Republicans boasted a slight advantage in that regard. Sixty-two percent of Republican respondents indicated they were definitely going to vote, and an additional 18% said they’d probably vote. For Democrats, those figures were 59% and 17%, while for independents, they were 40% and 17%.

Americans are also evenly split (50%-50%) on the question of whether Trump is performing better or worse than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. His net approval rating presently stands at -9 (42%-53%) but is a few points better with likely midterm voters (46%-51%).

The most pressing issue to the electorate remains inflation/affordability (35% call it one of “the most important issues facing the country today”), followed by economy and jobs (28%), immigration (24%), health care (22%), the U.S.-Iran conflict (20%), and corruption (18%).

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/midterm-shocker-gop-tied-with-democrats-in-latest-stunning-house-poll/

James O'Keefe

@JamesOKeefeIII

If the girl you met for a date is a 10 and you’re a 5…

She most likely works for me.

Quote. (KEK)

James O'Keefe

@JamesOKeefeIII

·

Apr 27

We just got off the phone with a Fox VP over his comments to our undercover journalist.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's show at 1:00pm EST "On The Inside."

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@okeefemedia

X: https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII

10:24 PM · Apr 27, 2026

·1M Views

https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2048951532146594052?s=20

'Stolen' grain shipments spark furious clash between Ukraine and Israel

“This is not — and cannot be — legitimate business,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as Kyiv works to stop the Kremlin funding its war effort.

Zelensky is the thief of all thief all around the world.

Ukraine has erupted with fury at Israel over its purchase of grain that Kyiv says has been “stolen” from its Russian-occupied territories.

“This is not — and cannot be — legitimate business,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, pointing to what he said was a vessel preparing to unload the shipments at an Israeli port.

“The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” he said in a post on X.

Kyiv was preparing a sanctions package in coordination with its European partners against those attempting to profit from this “criminal scheme,” Zelenskyy said. (Everything Kiev does is criminal actions)

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Israeli ambassador and handed a note of protest.

The response from Kyiv reflects its intense efforts to stop the Kremlin funding its war effort, particularly by exploiting territory seized in its invasion. It also comes as the Iran war, which Israel is waging alongside the United States, diverts global attention and resources from Ukraine's fight.

“Friendly Ukrainian-Israeli relations have the potential to benefit both countries, and Russia’s illegal trade with stolen Ukrainian grain should not undermine them,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in a post on X on Monday.

He said it was “difficult to understand Israel’s lack of appropriate response" to previous Ukrainian complaints.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar quickly responded on X, slamming his Ukrainian counterpart for conducting diplomacy on social media.

“Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided. You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before turning to the media and social networks,” Saar said.

Sybiha did not share evidence proving the origin of the cargo in his post.…..

Zelensky is pushing the boundary of how much influence he has with Israel, which is very little!He should STFU

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/stolen-grain-shipments-ukraine-israel-russia-ship-haifa-rcna342444

>>24550221

Putin warns of environmental impact of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refinery

Kiev has turned to openly terrorist methods to compensate for battlefield setbacks, the Russian president says

Published 28 Apr, 2026 18:17 |

The Kiev regime has ramped up drone attacks on Russia’s civilian infrastructure, including repeated strikes on an oil refinery port of Tuapse that risk serious environmental impact, President Vladimir Putin has said. He called the attacks an attempt to compensate for battlefield setbacks.

He spoke about the increased terrorist threat Russia has been facing during a meeting on Tuesday dedicated to the security of the elections set to take place this fall. The threat stems from the activities of international terrorist and extremist groups, as well as from Ukraine, Putin said.

“The Kiev regime and its backers have switched to openly terrorist methods,” the president stated.

The terror tactics are meant to compensate for the setbacks Ukraine has been suffering on the battlefield, Putin noted,adding that such actions will not alter the course of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

He cited attacks on the oil refinery in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, which sparked a multi-day fire, warning of the growing threat posed by Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russia’s civilian infrastructure.

“The latest example is the strikes on energy infrastructure sites in Tuapse, which could potentially have serious environmental implications,” the president said.

Kiev is determined to try to jeopardize the upcoming elections in the formerly Ukrainian regions that integrated into Russia, Putin said, pointing to similar attempts previously.

“I’d like to remind you that they are not holding elections in Ukraine under the pretext of martial law, and they are trying to disrupt ours too,”he said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/639230-putin-oil-refinery-attack-ukraine/

Russian archaeologist freed in top-secret prisoner swap

Aleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Poland at Ukraine’s request, has been released following months-long talks involving multiple countries

Published 28 Apr, 2026 16:34 |

Renowned Russian archaeologist Aleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Poland at Ukraine’s request, has been released as part of a five-for-five prisoner exchange which involved multiple countries. The negotiations are understood to have been conducted in absolute secrecy, resulting in the release of another Russian national and three Belarusian citizens.

Butyagin was apprehended by the Polish authoritieslast December while on a European lecture tour. Kiev demanded his extradition,accusing the senior researcher at St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum of conducting illegal excavations and damaging cultural heritage in Crimea, Russia – which Ukraine claims as its own territory.

In a statement on Tuesday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)said Butyagin was freed earlier in the day, and that Moscow released two officers of Moldova’s Security and Intelligence Service, who were arrested by the Russian authorities last June.

According to BELTA media outlet, citing Belarus’ State Security Committee (KGB),the prisoner swap took place on the Belarus-Polish border, and was made possible thanks to talks that started in September 2025.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko personally oversaw the process, in whichthe intelligence services of seven countries were involved, the article claims.

Warsaw released three Belarusians who had been “carrying out highly important tasks in the interest of [Belarusian] national security and defense,” according to the outlet. Minsk released Andrzej Poczobut, an opposition activist of Polish descent.

The identities of the other prisoners who were freed have not been disclosed.

Speaking at a joint press conference with John Coal, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the prisoner swap, which led to the release of three Polish nationals,would not have happened without Washington’s assistance. He revealed that Warsaw released three people,including the Russian archaeologist.

According to Sikorski, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Poland were involved in the process,which was undertaken in absolute secrecy.

https://www.rt.com/russia/639226-russian-archaeologist-freed-prisoner-swap-poland/

Russia expands sanctions on EU officials over arming Ukraine

Moscow says no outside pressure can sway its foreign policy

Published 27 Apr, 2026 23:30 | Upda

Moscow has expanded the sanctions on European officials involved in arming Ukraine, after the EU adopted its 20th package of sanctions on Russia.

In a statement on Monday, the Russian ForeignMinistry said the restrictions rolled out last week by Brussels “grossly violate international law.”

“In response to the EU’s unlawful decisions, the Russian side has significantly expanded the list of representatives of EU institutions, EU member states, and anumber of European countries aligning themselves with Brussels’ anti-Russian policy,” the ministry said.

Without revealing any names or nationalities, the ministry saidthe blacklist includes officials involved in decision-making on military aid to Ukraine, the introduction of sanctions on Russia,the prosecution of Russian nationals “under far-fetched pretexts,” and. “causing damage to Russia’s relations with third countries.” The ministry added that it is also targeting “hostile” activists and academics.

“Brussels’ destructive policy is incapable of swaying our country’s foreign policy. Russia has been and remains committed to defending its national interests,” the ministry said.

On Thursday, the EU announcedadditional restrictions on Russia’s financial sector and energy exports, targeting the supposed ‘shadow fleet’ used to bypass sanctions on Russia’s oil trade.

Russia has denied that it has a shadow fleet and has denounced the seizure of tankers by the US and European states as acts of piracy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters last week that althoughthe sanctions have had an overall “negative impact” on the Russian economy, thecountry has “gained significant experience in minimizing their effects.”

(https://www.rt.com/russia/639187-russia-imposes-sanctions-eu/

Actually Russia’s economy is doing much better than the EU, they do sanctions only harm Russia’s economy, but the EU has barely made a dent and have only in the process of destroying their economy. They are broke but still giving Ukraine $90 billion dollars.

These sanctions are stealing the money of other countries. Did you know Russia is the highest sanctioned country by the US, then almost any in the world.

Ukrainian drone strike kills worker at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant

The incident has prompted a safety warning from the IAEA

Published 27 Apr, 2026 16:07

A Ukrainian drone strike has killed an employee at Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the facility’s press service said in a statement on Monday.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly attacked Europe’s largest nuclear facilitysince it came under Russian control in 2022, soon after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

“Today, a driver was killed as a resultof a strike by a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone on the transport shop floor of the ZNPP,” the facility said in a statement, adding that it was extending condolences to the family of the deceased.

“Nuclear industry employees should not be targets. Any attack on the ZNPP is a threat not only to people but also to security in general,” it added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) has condemned the incident.

“Director General Rafael Grossi reiterates that strikes on or near NPPs can endanger nuclear safetyand must not take place,” the agency wrote in a post on X. “The IAEA’s team on the site will look into the incident and continue to monitor the situation.”

The attack came a day after Grossi visited Kiev for talks with Vladimir Zelensky, during which theUkrainian leader urged the IAEA to pressure Russia to hand over control of the plant to Kiev.

Ukraine has repeatedly tried to interject proposals for changing the plant’s ownershipinto US-mediated peace talks with Russia. US President Donald Trump has also floated a number of ideas for joint control of the facility.

Moscow has firmly rejected the idea of handing over the power plant.

“Joint operation of the ZNPP with any other state is also unacceptable,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement last month. Even giving Ukrainian or NATO representativestemporary access to the facility is “impossible,” given the close cooperation between their intelligence services and “significant sabotage potential,” it said.

(Ukraine has been trying to destroy the Nuclear Facility which is highly dangerous for Russia, Ukraine and many countries near it. They don’t care how many people, towns or areas are destroyed.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/639176-ukrainian-drone-kills-worker-nuclear-plant/

Ukraine-linked sabotage plot targeting Russian oil facility thwarted – FSB (VIDEO)

The two men allegedly involved were killed in a shootout while being arrested

Published 27 Apr, 2026 11:01 |

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has foiled aplanned sabotage attack targeting an oil installation in the Komi Republic, western Russia, the agency reported on Monday.

Two suspects –both Russian citizens– allegedly acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence,were killedin a shootout during an arrest attempt.

The suspects established covert contact withUkrainian operatives via messaging apps and passed on information about regional oil refining facilities, as well as details about Russian military personnel and law enforcement officers, according to an FSB press release.

The agency said themen were tracked to a pre-arranged cachein the city of Ukhta, where they were retrievingdrones equipped with improvised explosive devices, allegedly to be used in an attack on a nearby oil facility.

When the officers moved in to arrest them, they were met with armed resistance. Both suspects were killed in the ensuing shootout. No security personnel or civilians were injured.

At the scene, the authorities said theyrecovered two drones fitted with explosive payloads of foreign origin, two Makarov pistols, and mobile phones containing data said to confirm the suspects’ activities.

Footage released by the FSBshows the moment of the shootout and photos takenat the suspects’ hideout, displaying equipment and weaponry they appear to have been retrieving.

The authorities did not disclose the specific facility that was to be targeted. A criminal case has been opened on charges of preparing an act of sabotage, the FSB said.

The agency also repeated its warning thatUkrainian intelligence services are actively recruiting operatives online, including through social media and messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp, and said those who work with Kiev will be identified and prosecuted.

The Russian authorities have oftenaccused Ukrainian intelligence services of carrying out covert operations inside Russia, including sabotage, targeted killings, and suicide bombings against security personnel. These activities often involve individuals recruited online, motivated by ideology or financial incentives, or coerced into criminal actions through scam tactics.

Last week, theFSB foiled a group of Russian neo-Nazisguided byUkraineto carry outbomb attacks against the head of Roskomnadzor (the Russian media regulator), Andrey Lipov, and his deputies. Seven members of the network – all young adults – were targeted in a series of raids in four cities, and a man in his early 20s identified as the ringleader was killed in Moscow after opening fire on officers attempting to apprehend him, the agency said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/639143-ukraine-sabotage-plot-foiled-fsb/

Russian citizens being held in Armenia on spying allegations

Investigators are pressuring the detainees to admit guilt despite a lack of evidence, their lawyer has told RT

Published 27 Apr, 2026 20:52 |

Three Russian citizens are being held in a detention center in Armeniaon accusations of spying for Azerbaijan, even though investigators have failed to present any proof of wrongdoing, their lawyer has told RT.

The young men are former residents of a Moscow orphanage. Two were detained in June 2024 while filming historical and cultural sites in Armenia, while the third was arrested a month later after traveling there to find out why his friends were being held.

According to their lawyers,they were working on a documentary about areas in Armenia that previously belonged to Azerbaijan, filming Muslim cemeteries, mosques and other public sites.

“The prosecution has not presented a single concrete piece of evidence to suggest that the photographs or video footage taken contain any information that could be used to undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity or external security of the Republic of Armenia,” lawyer Narine Rshtuni told RT.

https://www.rt.com/russia/639181-armenia-russians-detained-espionage-allegations/

Starvation scandal rocks corruption-plagued Ukrainian military(PHOTOS)

Emaciated frontline troops left without food or water have exposed what critics call a wider pattern of mismanagement in Kiev’s war machine

Published 24 Apr, 2026 23:52 |

Ukraine’s military has beenhit by a starvation scandal after disturbing images surfaced of frontline soldiers so badly emaciated that relatives said some were fainting from hunger and drinking rainwater to survive.

The men,identified in Ukrainian and Western reporting as troops from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigadeoperating near Kupyansk on the left bank of the Oskol River,had allegedly gone days without food and were relying on drone deliveries in one of the most dangerous sectors of the front.

The scandal erupted after relatives posted the images online and accused commanders of ignoring desperate pleas for help. Ukraine’sGeneral Staff swiftly responded to the viral post, saying it had launched an investigation, replaced one commander, and demoted another.

Ukrainian and some Western outlets have framed thecase as a result of brutal frontline conditions, with near-constant Russian drone strikes making logistics so dangerousthat even food and medicine have to be flown in.Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force, however,described the case as a “horrible management shame,” sayingcommanders had failed to report the real situation up the chain of command.

The public backlash inside Ukraine, however, has been sharper, with commenters under the original Threads post suggesting the problemreflected a deeper breakdown in command, communication, and accountability amidthe country’s long-running record of military corruption scandals.

Kiev has cycled through multiple defense ministers during the conflict.The only one to have any military experience, Aleksey Reznikov, was ousted in 2023after procurement scandals that included overpriced military food contracts. Since then,corruption allegations have continued to plague senior wartime officials, and lower-level abuses have been tied to Kiev’s increasingly brutal military conscription drive.

Kiev aims to mobilize roughly 30,000 recruits per monthin order to sustain its numbers at the front. Hundreds of videos circulating online show violent confrontations, with the Defense Ministry’s press gangs routinely resorting to force against uncooperative targets. (So do they lose 30,000 men a month?)

Ukraine’s police chief has admitted that many citizens are now afraid to call law enforcement because they believe officers might help draft officials seize their relatives. Earlier this week, an alleged kidnapping ring was busted in Odessa, in which conscription officials, aided by police informants,targeted affluent men and threatened them with forced mobilization unless they paid bribes.

https://www.rt.com/russia/639040-ukraine-starving-soldiers-scandal/

Where’s all the money like the latest 90 billion go, when Zelensky takes it, they can’t even buy food for the troops?

Did you ever notice we in the US get any updates on Israel in our news? There’s a reason for that! Hiding crimes.

Israeli violence against Palestinians echoes Holocaust – ex-Mossad chief

Ongoing attacks in the West Bank pose an “existential threat” to the Jewish state, Tamir Pardo has said

Published 28 Apr, 2026 14:50 |

Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bankechoes attacks on Jews during the Holocaust and poses an “existential threat” to Israel, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo has said.

Israeli settlers live in communities built in the West Bank, a territory Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War andwhich Palestinians seek as part of a future state. Successive Israeli governments have backed or tolerated the settlements for security, political, and religious reasons.

Pardo spoke to local media on Mondaywhile touring Palestinian villages that have come under settler attacks in recent months.

”My mother was a Holocaust survivor,and what I saw reminded me of the events that happened against Jews in the last century,”Pardo said.“What I saw today made me feel ashamed to be Jewish.”

His commentscome amid a surge in settler violence across the West Bank, with groupscarrying out repeated raids on Palestinian communities, torching homes and vehicles, vandalizing property and assaulting residents, according to witnesses and human rights organizations. In the latest incident,two Palestinians, includinga 14-year-old schoolboy, were killed last week after gunmen opened fire near a school.

Attacks occur on a near-daily basis and intensified during the US-Israeli war on Iranbetween February 28 and April 8, rights groups said. Yesh Din recorded 378 incidents over that period, in which eight Palestinians were killed and around 200 injured.

Pardo saidthe settlers behind the attacks, and the Israeli government’s failure to stop them, were creating the conditions for a future October 7-style assaultfrom the West Bank, referring to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the attack.More than 72,000 Palestinians were killed and over 172,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The former Mossad chief warned that the violence unfolding in the West Bank could lead to a similar event, albeit in a different and potentially more severe form given the region’s complexity, adding that Israel was “sowing the seeds” for such an outcome.

https://www.rt.com/news/639222-israel-violence-palestinians-holocaust/

Pentagon admits ‘no defense’ against Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons

Officials are seeking funding for Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system by citing the rival capabilities

Published 28 Apr, 2026 15:47 |

The United States will struggle to defend itself against advanced missile systems developed by China and Russia, senior Pentagon officials told lawmakers as they called for funding for the proposed Golden Dome missile defense program.

President Donald Trump unveiled the initiative shortly after taking office in January 2025, proposing a large-scale investment – potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade –to expand ground- and space-based capabilities.

The upgrade is urgently needed, as the US has “a very limited ground-based single layer homeland defense system that was specifically designed against a small scale rogue attack,” Assistant Secretary of War for Space Policy Marc Berkowitz said at a Senate armed services committee hearing on Monday.

The country would face serious issues against ballistic missiles and has “no defense against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles today,” he stressed.

Michael Guetlein, who leads the Golden Dome program within the US Space Force, testified thatboth China and Russia are continuing to modernize and expand their missile arsenals.

He pointed to the deployment of hypersonic glide vehicles – warheads capable of maneuvering at high speeds within the atmosphere after launch – as well as Russia’s development of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile.

These systems,Guetlein said, are “designed to challenge the tracking and engagement capabilities of our sensors”and ensure a “responsive and survivable strike capability."

Moscow has said its investment in advanced strategic weapons was largely a response to the US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty under President George W. Bush. Washington’s move was required to develop a national anti-ballistic missile system.

While the US has insisted that the shield was aimed at countering limited threats from countries such as North Korea or Iran, Russian officials have long warned it was undermining nuclear deterrence by enabling a potential decapitating first strike. In that scenario, Moscow argued,American missile interceptors could be used to neutralize a retaliatory strike by surviving Russian missiles.

These systems, Guetlein said,are “designed to challenge the tracking and engagement capabilities of our sensors”andensure a “responsive and survivable strike capability."

Moscow has said its investment in advanced strategic weapons was largely a response to the US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty under President George W. Bush. Washington’s move was required to develop a national anti-ballistic missile system.

While the US has insisted that the shield was aimed at countering limited threats from countries such as North Korea or Iran, Russian officials have long warned it was undermining nuclear deterrence by enabling a potential decapitating first strike. In that scenario,Moscow argued, American missile interceptors could be used to neutralize a retaliatory strike by surviving Russian missiles.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has raised questions about Washington’s missile defense capacity, with reports suggesting that interceptor stockpiles used insystems such as THAAD and Patriot have been significantly depleted, potentially requiring years to rebuild.

The Golden Dome system is expected to cost around $175 billion over the next decade, according to initial estimates by the Trump administration, although Pentagon projections have since risen to roughly $185 billion and some analysts warn the final price could be substantially higher.

https://www.rt.com/news/639208-golden-dome-peer-competitors/

This doesn’t sound good at all. Can’t we cutoff the millions of dollars of arms etc sent to Israel?