Topic: Defense Contracting

Memorial Day: the defense America needs

The best way to honor Memorial Day is to fund a rational defense budget. That means eliminating arms contracts that enrich contractors without advancing America's defense 

Fire burning aboard nuclear sub USS Miami

Local news outlets are reporting that several firefighters have been injured.

Just how isolated is North Korea? 6 facts to consider

North Korea's outlook has earned it the title of the 'hermit kingdom.' The country is both cut off from the wider world and intensely focused on its neighbors.

Will airborne launch pads replace the Space Shuttle program?

Stratolaunch Systems, founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is planning to build a huge carrier aircraft that will launch unmanned rockets into space.  

Unemployment rate giving you the blues? Try these top five cities for jobs.

Here are five large metro areas with the lowest unemployment rates and where unemployment is down at least half a percentage point over last year:

Supreme Court declines to take up Abu Ghraib detainee lawsuit

The Supreme Court declined without comment the case of 250 former Abu Ghraib detainees whose lawsuit against private contractors, for allegedly abusing and torturing Abu Ghraib inmates, had been thrown out of federal court.

How bad was the cyber attack on Lockheed Martin?

Last week's cyber attack on top US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin shows that cyber espionage is evolving and could soon become more of a serious threat to governments and companies.

News that Raymond Davis is CIA could further jeopardize his return

The news that Raymond Davis, the American being held in Pakistan for a double murder, is a CIA agent that previously worked for Blackwater adds public pressure on Pakistan not to release him.

Supreme Court: Is US unfairly hiding behind state-secrets privilege?

Since 1953, the US has been able to derail lawsuits it says could reveal state secrets. The Supreme Court will look at a case Tuesday that questions whether the privilege is being applied properly.

WikiLeaks: Five more of the strangest stories to emerge

The WikiLeaks keep dripping out. Here are five more of the oddest stories that we've spotted so far.

Iraq's Maliki says Wikileaks documents could be used in court

But ordinary Iraqis didn't seem to immediately grasp that the 400,000 Wikileaks documents could provide details on the deaths of thousands of people.

Five bombshells from WikiLeaks' Iraq war documents

In the largest document leak in US history, WikiLeaks has released more than 400,000 secret US documents about the Iraq war. As with the second-largest leak in US history – the 92,000 Afghan war documents released in July – much of the substance of the leaks has been reported already, but details are new.

Click through the following slides to learn what the documents reveal.

Pakistan likes Al Qaeda more than America

The US is in the middle of a $7.5 billion aid program to Pakistan. But America's image is slipping in the country, where its unfavorable rating is almost as bad as the Taliban's and even Al Qaeda is more popular.

Blackwater fallout: Senate moves to rein in military contractors

The Senate holds a hearing Wednesday on ways to improve oversight of private military contractors, after a series of incidents involving Blackwater. On Tuesday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill that would stop 'outsourcing' security missions.

When things go boom in the night, Pakistanis blame Blackwater

The US says it doesn't work with the security firm Blackwater in Pakistan, and the Pakistani government insists no Blackwater employees are working in the country. But many Pakistanis doubt those assertions, complicating US efforts to build trust.

Airborne laser shoots down missile in mid-flight

The US military's airborne laser scores its first direct hit.

Kidnapping of American in Iraq sparked by faltering reconciliation talks

The kidnapping of an Iraqi-American working with the US military in Iraq appears to have been sparked by a faltering reconciliation effort to bring a militant Shiite group into the political process, US officials say.

Blackwater security contractors ordered out of Iraq

Iraq has ordered more than 200 current and former employees of the private security company Blackwater, who still play a role in guarding US diplomats, to leave the country within the next four days.