A city of over 300,000 people got locked out of its own computer systems for weeks, and most of the country barely noticed. St. Paul, Minnesota’s capital, didn’t get hit by a storm or a grid failure. It got hit by a keyboard, and the fallout looked a lot like the kind of infrastructure breakdown preppers plan for anyway. This isn’t a hypothetical scenario. It’s a documented case study of exactly what happens when a modern city loses its digital infrastructure, how officials responded, and what ordinary residents had to do while payment systems, Wi-Fi, and normal city business went…
Author: Tommy Grant
The U.S. Air Force will recapitalize aerial refueling tanker aircraft for decades longer and build new platforms for their sustainment in the meantime, service leaders and industry partners said Tuesday.To support the tanker aircraft and the anticipated mission capability rates, the Air Force should continue prioritizing available spare parts and modernization efforts for the aircraft, officials and industry experts said during a panel at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference.“The last KC-135 pilot has not been born,” Air Mobility Command Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Gerald Donohue said during the panel, titled “Long-Range Airpower: Lessons…
Veterans who refinance their homes through a VA-backed loan could face significantly higher fees under a proposal in Congress that would use changes to the home-loan program to fund a broader package of veterans benefits.The provision is Section 104(b) of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, H.R. 9237. It carries forward the home-loan fee changes developed in the standalone Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, H.R. 6047, before that legislation was incorporated into the broader package. The proposal would sharply increase two specified VA home-loan fees. The funding fee for Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans, or…
Two former sailors pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to selling counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl to fellow sailors stationed aboard the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2023, which led to the death of one service member and the hospitalization of another. According to a Justice Department release, Bailey A. Szramowski, 29, provided an active-duty sailor aboard the Lincoln with what was purported to be oxycodone in December 2022. The following month, the victim, identified solely by his initials, A.N., overdosed and died of “acute fentanyl intoxication” while on leave in San Leandro, California.Local law enforcement officials found evidence…
The U.S. Space Force plans to add 10,000 guardians in the next five years, doubling its uniformed ranks.The growth will hinge on the service recruiting more than 200 guardians and civilian specialists to fill instructor roles in anticipation of the large increase in students, Space Training and Readiness Commander Maj. Gen. James E. Smith told reporters Tuesday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference.“We understand the requirements behind right-sizing the Space Force, and we are fully postured to meet those goals for FY27,” Smith said.“Adding 10,000 Guardians over the next five years represents our…
Plans by the U.S. Marine Corps in recent years to reorganize itself for small-unit expeditionary warfare have drawn fire from traditionalists who worry the service’s capabilities will be gutted in the process. For some Chinese naval officers, however, the prospect of facing missile-equipped Marine Stand-In Forces, or SIF, on Pacific islands is concerning. “The USMC’s continuous refinement of the SIF concept and optimization of deployment and operational employment will erode our land-enabled advantages in sea denial, make it more difficult for us to breach island chain blockades, induce rapid depletion of our combat resources, and complicate our operating environment,” according…
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice. This article is for informative purposes only. Use these methods at your own risk and please consult a physician or qualified health provider first. Some of the most incredible advances of the modern age have been in the field of medicine. When we get hurt, we just go to the hospital and a doctor treats us. But as we’ve become more dependent on hospitals, we have forgotten how to deal with many health conditions and injuries on our own. If the day…
Top Air Force officials on Monday praised the service’s next-gen fighter jet for demonstrating its ability to sustain intense combat operations during Operation Epic Fury and Operation Midnight Hammer.Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Maj. Gen. Brian Laidlaw and Col. Charles A. Fallon touted the F-35 Lightning II fleet’s ability to execute missions during armed conflict several months after an independent watchdog questioned the jet’s combat readiness.“When properly resourced, we showed without a doubt how well this airplane can perform in combat,” said Laidlaw.The officials listed several positives the jet demonstrated during…
If you have an adventurous palate, you may take offense at the list we have compiled here. Snails sautéed in garlic butter and freshly prepared organ meats are standard fare for foodies these days. For the rest of us, we’d need some serious motivation to munch on some of the creatures listed herein. Motivation By Starvation Far worse than just an empty stomach, true starvation is a slow and painful process. We’ve all flippantly claimed “I’m starving!” at some point in our lives, but what does it really look like to be so underfed that bugs and opossums start looking…
Iranian strikes have damaged hundreds of U.S. military and diplomatic buildings, according to a new report by the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General.U.S. Central Command told IG investigators that “Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict.”While the report provided no details on damaged military facilities, it did include specifics on damage to U.S. diplomatic facilities. The State Department told investigators that “U.S. diplomatic facilities in four countries suffered physical damage from Iranian strikes, with an estimated total…