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One thing that has helped keep the F-35 program going is a perception that there is no ‘Plane B.’ As Margaret Thatcher famously said,“There is no alternative.” No matter how bad the F-35 is, it is going to be built because the U.S. Air Force needs something to replace its worn-out fighters. That appears to be the fallback position in Lockheed Martin’s marketing plan for the F-35. The Department of Defence though is fully aware of the extraordinary cost of the F-35 relative to its performance and is looking to scale back its procurement. That could result in a death...

On December 5, 2012, the car carrier Baltic Ace sank in the North Sea with more than 1,400 cars on board after a colliding with a containership near the entrance of the main shipping channel leading to port of Rotterdam, claiming the lives of 11 crew members.

Washington, D.C. is shutting down as this historic winter storm continues to cover the nation's capital in snow. But as the winds pick up speed and the snow piles up, the men who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier never stop keeping watch. The first photos are in from the Tomb today, and they are going viral! The Sentinel's Creed, which these brave men memorize, is: "My dedication to this sacred duty is total and whole-hearted. In the responsibility bestowed on me never will I falter. And with dignity and perseverance my standard will remain perfection. Through the years...

Veteran actress Whoopi Goldberg is making plans to leave the U.S. in case Donald Trump is elected as president on November. The 60-year old comedian openly expressed her sentiments over Trump's blaming immigrants for U.S. problems. Fox News reported that on the Wednesday episode of "The View," Goldberg, a co-host of the show said, "I've always been an American, and this has always been my country, and we've always been able to have discussions." Goldberg further elaborated on her statement saying, "And suddenly now it's turning into, you know, 'not them, not them.' And you know, we have a lot...

At 5:45 Saturday evening, a full moon will rise over the Saddleback Mountains and shine down upon Orange County. As it does, will the moonbeams bring mayhem and madness with them? Maybe. But rest assured, the county's law enforcement officers will be more than ready to keep the peace. There has always been a perception among cops, firefighters and emergency room personnel that there's more (and often stranger) crime on the night of a full moon. "When something crazy or weird happens, I look up at the sky to see if the moon is full," says Newport Beach police Officer...

Last week, Walmart dropped a bombshell on the retail world with the announcement it was closing 269 stores worldwide, including 154 in the U.S. The vast majority being shuttered in the U.S. are Walmart Express stores -- the company's tiniest retail locations, which ultimately proved unprofitable for the big box-focused giant. Walmart isn't wasting any time in shutting the stores down. The full list of where and when stores are being closed can be found here, and it shows that the vast majority will close their doors on Thursday, Jan. 28.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Frank in South Lyon, Michigan. Welcome to the EIB Network, Frank. Hi. CALLER: Hi, Rush. How are you doing? RUSH: Very well, sir. Thank you. CALLER: Yeah. The reason I was calling was in that first debate, Trump almost had a Jack Nicholson and A Few Good Men moment where he almost admitted to a crime. He said: "I gave them (unintelligible) and they do what I tell 'em to do," and before he said, you know, they gave building permits or something, he said, "I invited her to my wedding and she came." I just don't...

And once I saw it, realized it says everything that needed to be said and all straight from Trump's mouth.

Last night, National Review published articles from twenty conservative intellectuals “Against Trump.” This afternoon, publisher Jack Fowler sent this letter to friends of the magazine: Dear Friend, Today is a big day for National Review. Our editors have made a very forceful defense of conservatism, of principle, and against the politics of attitude, in our editorial, Against Trump. We have received angry calls, and cancel ­my­ subscription demands. One in particular broke my heart. Well, let’s hope time heals. None of this was unexpected. But: We have also received very strong expressions of support from many NR friends. People who...

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Pulaski County Sheriff's deputies arrested a homeowner on suspicion of manslaughter after a firefighter was shot to death while responding to a medical emergency call at a rural home near Little Rock. Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Chris Ameling said detectives took homeowner Mark Pruitt into custody for questioning shortly after firefighter Ronald Jason Adams died. Deputies placed 47-year-old Pruitt under arrest Friday evening. Ameling said he could not discuss some of the details late Friday but said physical evidence and statements from Pruitt and his wife, Tonia, who were home during the shooting, led...

love poetic justice. This wild and wacky Republican presidential campaign deserved Sarah Palin, and now it's got her. Palin's endorsement of front-runner Donald Trump at an Iowa rally this week was a master class in surrealist poetry. Geniuses of the Dada movement would have been humbled by her deconstruction of the language and her obliteration of the bourgeois concept we call logic.

A British judge thinks that Vladimir Putin 'probably' ordered the killing of FSB turned Mi6 agent Alexander Litvinenko. Carlsberg don't do inquiries but, if they did they'd 'probably' be better than this one. Back in the mid 1970's, Carlsberg's brewery in Northampton, England was searching for a slogan to market its beer. Due to laws against misrepresenting products, they were unable to state that it was "the best lager in the world." Thus, a compromise was found and a legendary advertising catchphrase was born. "Probably the best lager in the world."Carlsberg's phrase became so famous that it spawned further commercials...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Now to the audio sound bites. Rich Lowry on with Megyn Kelly last night on the Fox News Channel. She says, "When Palin gave the endorsement, many said that Trump has won over the conservative base, that hers is an endorsement from the conservative base, and you and the others at National Review stand up tonight and say, not so?" LOWRY: The point we're making is, it's up to conservatives who think that Donald Trump, whatever his virtues are, doesn't truly understand the ideas and principles that make this country great. It's up to those conservatives to...

Washington D.C. is currently being bombarded with snowfall, so most government employees thought it would be best to take the day off. I mean, if it's dangerous, then sure - take the day. But it's pretty typical of the government to do nothing while others go about their business, isn't it? Check out what's happening during the blizzard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, VA...

What until recently was a seemingly routine public health problem for countries that are home to a certain type of mosquito has morphed into a potentially culture-shaping phenomenon in which the populations of several nations have been asked to delay procreation. The World Health Organization says at least 20 countries or territories in the region, including Barbados and Bolivia, Guadeloupe and Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Panama, have registered transmission of the virus. Although the Zika virus has been documented since the 1940s, it began its assault on Latin America in the past several months. The hardest-hit country has been Brazil,...

Winter storm Jonas is brewing on the East Coast and is projected to start dumping snow and freezing rain on Friday night. So you should run to the store and buy bread and milk, right? Wrong. Bread and milk expire pretty quickly and require refrigeration. They're also pretty light on the nutrients and won't keep you satiated and supplemented as you ride out the weather. The trick is to buy foods that don't won't expire quickly or need to be refrigerated. They should be easy to prepare, easy to eat, high in protein, and provide enough variety to keep you...

While Hawking fears that giving aliens our cosmic address could potentially bring death and ruin — much like what happened to many groups of Native Americans when Europeans invaded North America — Tarter thinks that aliens advanced enough to skip across star systems and reach Earth will be friendly, not aggressive.  

DES MOINES -- Among the hundreds of Ted Cruz volunteers that have cycled through a dorm-like outpost here, a select group proudly calls itself the "2 Percenters." They are fans who remember when Cruz was a decisive underdog against then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, polling in single digits before pulling off an upset win in the 2012 U.S. Senate election in Texas. Now they are putting their lives on hold to help his presidential bid in Iowa, where Cruz has slowly risen to the top of the Republican field and emerged as the chief rival of billionaire Donald Trump. For Timothy...

From MSNBC Hardball.

Four people have been killed and several injured in a school shooting in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan, police say. They say a male suspect is now in custody and children have been moved to safety after the shooting at La Loche Community School. Earlier reports said five people had been killed. What unfolded in the school was "every parent's worst nightmare", Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Witnesses at the scene described screaming and more than half a dozen shots. At a news conference, Maureen Levy, a senior officer at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), said the...