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Ex-general says Saudis unlikely to leak F-35 tech, but China ‘could exploit through intel’

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China’s aggressive campaign to steal American military technology is emerging as a central concern in the debate over whether the United States should sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, according to experts and retired senior military commanders.

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(Ret.) Gen. Charles Wald, a former U.S. Air Force officer and former deputy commander of EUCOM, said the United States had already rejected the United Arab Emirates and Turkey due to concerns about Chinese technology exploitation.

«We told Turkey they’re not going to get the F-35. We told the UAE they’re not going to get it because there’s concern that there could be a transfer of technology to China,» Wald said. «That would probably be the biggest issue with Saudi Arabia getting the F-35 … Not because they would give it to the Chinese. Because the Chinese could exploit through intel, getting capability off that, but I’m not as worried as some,» Wald said during a briefing at JINSA this week.

SAUDI CROWN PRINCE BIN SALMAN HIKES COMMITTED US INVESTMENT TO NEARLY $1T

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President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

China expert Gordon Chang said Beijing has already demonstrated its ability to penetrate U.S. defense programs and should be assumed to be targeting the F-35 again. «We should assume China has everything already. They already stole the whole plane once. They probably did it again,» Chang told Fox News Digital.

He argued that Washington must balance the risks with the strategic benefits of strengthening ties with Riyadh. «We need to cement the relationship with the crown prince, especially if that helps him sign off on an Abraham Accord. Let him have stripped-down F-35s,» he said.

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He added that other U.S. partners may present even greater concerns. «I’m much more worried about South Korea having the plane and turning over the plans to China.»

Chinese intelligence services have been implicated for years in efforts to harvest American military and aerospace technology, including stealth designs, propulsion systems, and advanced avionics. U.S. officials have previously linked Chinese cyber actors to thefts targeting premier American defense programs, including components resembling those found in fifth-generation fighters.

AMERICA’S ‘BAT’ MAN UNVEILS TECH BUILT TO OUTSMART A CHINESE FIRST STRIKE

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F-35

An F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, prepares to be refueled by a 459th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker during a flight to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, April 28, 2017.  (U.S. Air Force)

Against that backdrop, the United States is weighing whether to approve Saudi Arabia’s request for the F-35 as part of a broader negotiation that includes defense assurances and potential diplomatic progress with Israel.

(Ret.) Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the United States uses foreign military sales monitoring protocols to reduce risk, but the protections are not perfect. «One of the things that we do through foreign military sales is end-use case monitoring protocol,» Ashley said. «We watch very closely how these kinds of advanced systems are used … but they’re not absolute.»

SAUDI ARABIA IS ALREADY AMERICA’S TOP ARMS BUYER AND NOW TRUMP WANTS TO ADD F-35S

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Xi Jinping tours battleship in Chinese military uniform

In this April 12, 2018, file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)

Despite the China threat, the retired commanders said they do not believe a Saudi F-35 acquisition would undermine Israel’s qualitative military edge.

Wald emphasized that Israeli pilots, planners, and engineers maintain a superior level of training and innovation. «There’s a big difference between the Israeli actual pilot capability than the other countries out there,» Wald said. He added that Israel has integrated its own upgrades into the aircraft. «The Israelis modified their own F-35 a little bit … they created or developed [additional capabilities] just prior to the attack on Iran.»

Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft flies over during an air show in Tel Aviv on April 26, 2023.  (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

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Wald noted that even if approved, Riyadh would not receive the aircraft for years. «At the very least, there’s probably about a five-year window here before that would happen if they got the F-35,» he said.

Ashley and Wald said that in the long term, additional F-35s in the region could enhance shared situational awareness and strengthen collective defenses against Iran. Retired Vice Adm. Mark Fox said the fighter’s data-sharing architecture means more aircraft in allied hands improves overall performance. «The one thing about F-35 is it talks to every other F-35,» Fox said. «Having more F-35s in the region actually increases the capability of the coalition.»

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El hallazgo que explica por qué algunos volcanes liberan lava sin estallar

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Un estudio internacional revela cómo la fricción y las burbujas de gas en el magma determinan el tipo de erupción volcánica (Europa Press/Contacto/PVMBG)

Investigadores descubren cómo la fricción y la formación de burbujas dentro del magma determinan el tipo de erupción volcánica. Un equipo internacional de científicos presentó los resultados de una investigación clave sobre volcanes activos. El grupo estudió la relación entre las burbujas de gas, el movimiento del magma y la explosividad de las erupciones, en laboratorios y mediante simulaciones informáticas.

La investigación se centró en entender por qué algunos volcanes, aun con magma rico en gases que debería resultar altamente explosivo, presentan erupciones con lava fluida y no violentas. El estudio abordó fenómenos en volcanes conocidos como el Monte St. Helens (Estados Unidos) o el Quizapu (Chile). Los resultados permiten anticipar mejor el modo en que puede comportarse un volcán ante una acumulación de presión interna.

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La investigación explica por qué
La investigación explica por qué algunos volcanes con magma rico en gases liberan lava fluida sin explosiones violentas (Captura de pantalla)

Según precisó ETH Zürich, los científicos observaron que la cantidad y el momento en que se forman las burbujas de gas deciden si una erupción resultará explosiva o tranquila. Hasta el momento, se suponía que estas burbujas surgían principalmente cuando el magma ascendía y la presión externa disminuía. El nuevo trabajo desafía esa idea y aporta datos experimentales concretos.

De acuerdo con ETH Zurich, la fricción y el movimiento dentro del conducto volcánico cumplen un rol decisivo en la aparición de burbujas. Estas fuerzas, conocidas como fuerzas de cizallamiento, pueden generar burbujas incluso sin la necesidad de una reducción de presión.

El papel de las fuerzas
El papel de las fuerzas de cizallamiento en el magma redefine los modelos de predicción de erupciones volcánicas (Foto: X)

En zonas cercanas a las paredes del conducto, donde la fricción entre el magma y la roca es mayor, el material se mueve más lento que en el centro, creando un efecto similar al de remover miel con una cuchara. El resultado es la formación de burbujas de gas adheridas a la franja de mayor fricción.

De acuerdo con Olivier Bachmann, profesor de Vulcanología en ETH Zurich y coautor del estudio, los experimentos demostraron que el movimiento inducido en el magma basta para generar burbujas en ausencia de baja presión. Las pruebas se realizaron con líquidos viscosos saturados de dióxido de carbono que simulaban el comportamiento de la roca fundida en condiciones reales.

El Monte St. Helens y
El Monte St. Helens y el Quizapu sirven como ejemplos clave para entender la dinámica eruptiva de volcanes activos (REUTERS/Giuseppe Di Stefano)

Cuanto mayor es el contenido inicial de gas en el magma, menor es la cantidad de fricción necesaria para crear nuevas burbujas, aclara Bachmann. El equipo observó que una vez que se forman burbujas en un sector, estas facilitan la nucleación de otras burbujas alrededor.

El equipo validó los datos experimentales mediante modelos por computadora, los cuales mostraron que la formación de burbujas ocurre especialmente allí donde el magma viscoso circula cerca de las paredes del conducto y se ve sometido a intensas fuerzas de cizallamiento.

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La formación de burbujas de
La formación de burbujas de gas cerca de las paredes del conducto volcánico facilita la desgasificación antes de la erupción (REUTERS/Giuseppe Di Stefano)

El número y distribución de burbujas de gas en el magma no solo definen la forma en que este se eleva dentro del volcán, sino también el modo en que se libera hacia la superficie. En ciertos casos, las burbujas formadas por las fuerzas de cizallamiento se combinan y desarrollan canales por donde el gas escapa antes de tiempo. Así, el magma rico en gases puede desgasificarse antes de alcanzar la cima y salir en forma de una lava fluida y no explosiva.

Ejemplos como el Monte St. Helens confirman este patrón: durante su erupción de 1980, el evento comenzó con un flujo lento de lava dentro del cono volcánico. Solo cuando un deslizamiento de tierra aumentó bruscamente el tamaño del conducto y redujo la presión, se produjo la explosión. Los resultados del estudio señalan que la mayoría de los volcanes con magma viscoso permiten una salida eficiente de gases, una idea que modifica los modelos anteriores de predicción.

Modelos por computadora y experimentos
Modelos por computadora y experimentos de laboratorio validan que el movimiento interno del magma genera burbujas sin baja presión (Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos vía AP)

Bachmann explicó que el modelo tradicional, basado solo en la presión, no capturaba la capacidad del magma de liberar gases mediante la acción de fuerzas internas. Según el investigador, actualizar los modelos con estos mecanismos permitirá predecir mejor la peligrosidad de futuras erupciones.

El equipo utilizó líquidos análogos a la roca fundida, saturados de gas, para reproducir estas condiciones en laboratorio. Cuando aplicaron movimiento y generaron cizallamiento, notaron la nucleación abrupta de burbujas apenas se superaron ciertos umbrales. El hallazgo principal consistió en que, bajo altos niveles de saturación de gas, se necesita menos fricción para repetir el fenómeno.

El hallazgo permite anticipar mejor
El hallazgo permite anticipar mejor el comportamiento de los volcanes y ajustar los modelos de riesgo ante futuras erupciones (REUTERS/Marco Restivo)

De acuerdo con los datos presentados, la presencia de burbujas iniciales también acelera la formación de más burbujas en cadena, intensificando el desarrollo de canales de escape para los gases. Los volcanes anteriormente considerados impredecibles pueden, en realidad, liberar presión internamente sin detonar explosiones, si el magma logra formar vías de desgasificación a tiempo.

Este trabajo aporta una pieza clave para comprender cómo funcionan los procesos subterráneos en volcanes activos y mejora los criterios utilizados para evaluar futuros escenarios eruptivos. Según ETH Zurich, la ciencia volcánica avanza hacia modelos más precisos, lo que facilitará la prevención y la preparación ante riesgos naturales asociados a la actividad volcánica.

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Wave of car attacks on ICE agents follows incendiary rhetoric from target-city leaders

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A surge in car-rammings and other assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during targeted operations in California, Illinois and North Carolina has coincided with sharp criticism from local and state leaders against federal officers.

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Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security reported a 1,300% increase in vehicular attacks on ICE since President Donald Trump took office, and a 58% spike against CBP officers in that same time period.

There were only two vehicular rammings of ICE agents – in particular – during former President Joe Biden’s final year in office. His administration also did not conduct fervent, targeted immigration raids at the same scale or frequency, according to reports. 

DEMS URGED TO ‘STOP SIDING WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER ACTIVIST RAMS AGENTS IN SANCTUARY CITY

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In comments to Fox News Digital on Friday, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said:

«Since January 20, there have been 99 vehicle attacks against DHS law enforcement, a 1,000% increase in assaults against them, and an 8,000% increase in death threats to ICE officers. Make no mistake: The uptick in these kinds of attacks is being fueled by the constant demonization of ICE and CBP officers by Democrat politicians. They need to knock it off before they get one of our officers killed.» 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose city was targeted second after Los Angeles, has repeatedly labeled Trump a racist and characterized ICE agents as terrorists.

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As recently as this week, Johnson told a podcast – in a report aired by Sky News – that «attacks» on illegal immigrants and targets of the Trump administration have the same characteristics as the priorities of antebellum freedmen.

«We know that the intentional attacks that are coming from the Trump administration and the extreme right in this country has very much been what I call an attempt to relitigate the Civil War,» Johnson said.

«They have not accepted the results that the North actually won.»

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FROM WORDS TO BLOODSHED: DEMOCRATS BLASTED FOR RHETORIC AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents clashed with protesters in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, July 8. (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement via X)

Johnson said that Trump is also politically targeting education, housing, transportation, jobs and health care – which he said were «literally the five demands of descendants of slaves.»

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During the Civil War, however, the Confederacy was led largely by Democrats of that era, including President Jefferson Davis, Vice President Alexander Stephens and officers like Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

During the heat of immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, Johnson railed against the missions, describing scenes from the streets as «what terrorism looks like.»

Johnson also set up what he called «ICE-free zones» and in one instance, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was denied the use of a restroom at the Broadview, Ill., city hall just outside Chicago proper.

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BLUE STATE ICE AGENTS DODGE BULLETS, SPEEDING CARS AS LEFT RAMPS UP TRACKING CAMPAIGNS

Noem blamed Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for the conditions that led to the incident, saying it is an example of how the Democrat «and his cronies treat our law enforcement — Absolutely shameful.»

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also spoke out during ICE operations in her city, saying, «These tactics sow terror in our communities.»

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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was caught on video shouting questions at Noem during a press conference.

DHS WARNS OF ‘UNPRECEDENTED VIOLENCE’ AS DEATH THREATS AGAINST ICE OFFICERS SOAR 8,000%

Noem later claimed Padilla «lunged» at her, which resulted in various analyses of video of the confrontation.

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Padilla was quickly tackled by Noem’s security detail, and later commented on the incident, saying that if his treatment is how the Trump administration deals with a «senator with a question… you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers» on the immigration enforcement front.

California Attorney General Robert Bonta publicly called the actions of ICE and CBP during its Los Angeles operations «part of a cruel and familiar patter of attacks on our immigrant communities by an administration that thrives on fear and division.»

«We won’t be silent. We won’t back down. We will continue to hold the federal government accountable when it violates the Constitution and federal law,» Bonta said in a July 7 statement.

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MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS TAKE GUNFIRE AS RIOTERS RAM VEHICLES, HURL DEBRIS IN CHICAGO

On Friday, DHS announced another arrest of a car-ramming suspect, with officials alleging Mexican national Roberto Galeana-Guatemala struck and seriously injured an officer with his vehicle when ICE was attempting to arrest him in National City, California.

Galeana-Guatemala was charged Friday with the assault as well as one count of being a removed alien who again entered the U.S. illegally.

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McLaughlin said the incident marked roughly the 100th vehicle attack on ICE personnel since Trump took office.

After a recent case in which critics claimed DHS «kidnapped» a teenager, McLaughlin said the boy had been part of a group throwing rocks at officers who themselves were targets of another vehicle ramming attack.

She suggested rhetoric from critics over the incident was yet another accelerant on the political fire causing such attacks:

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«A U.S. teenager was arrested for assaulting law enforcement in Chicago—any claims that CBP ‘kidnapped’ a U.S. citizen and held him in a warehouse are bizarre and categorically false,» she said.

«These are more disgusting smears peddled by the media and billboard law firms. This attack is not an isolated incident, and it reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest, and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers.»

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Number of children abducted from Catholic school in Nigeria explodes to over 300

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Gunmen abducted 303 children and 12 teachers in an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Nigeria. Initial reports indicated that at least 52 had been kidnapped before the tally was increased to over 200 children and then to its final count of 303.

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Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said in a statement that the total number of kidnapped was determined «after a verification exercise and a final census was carried out,» according to The Associated Press. Yohanna is the chairman of the Niger state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who visited the school on Friday. The AP noted that the students who were kidnapped were male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.

GUNMEN ATTACK CHURCH IN NIGERIA, KILLING TWO AND KIDNAPPING OTHERS

In this photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walks past belongings at the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)

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No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, according to the AP. The outlet added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.

After the attack, the state government said that St. Mary’s School reopened despite warnings of increased threats. However, Yohanna denied this claim, the AP reported.

«We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,» he said, according to the AP.

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Empty beds at St. Mary's School in Nigeria after the abduction of 303 students and 12 teachers

This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)

RAP STAR NICKI MINAJ THANKS TRUMP FOR ADDRESSING PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA

The attack at St. Mary’s follows a similar incident earlier this week in which armed attackers kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. The search for the abducted schoolgirls is still underway.

A woman walks past a classroom in northern Nigeria.

A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom in Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, in northern Nigeria on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel / AFP via Getty Images)

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Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a «country of particular concern.» However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S.’s claims.

On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria «genocide wearing the mask of chaos.» He was joined by rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom for all.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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