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The Air Force is seeking permission from Congress to shift $215 million out of lower-priority procurement accounts to stock up on spare engines for the F-22A Raptor fleet in the wake of concerns about future availability, according to a Pentagon budget document. This move is one of many fiscal year 2010 budget adjustments to Air Force, Army and Navy modernization accounts detailed in a 25-page reprogramming action that Robert Hale, Pentagon comptroller, sent to Congress on June 11, seeking to shift funds totaling $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2010 funds from lower- to higher-priority needs. “Funds are required to procure...

By Beezy Marsh and Jo Macfarlane Last updated at 11:04 PM on 25th April 2009 Couples could be allowed to store embryos in order to use them to create new body parts or cure diseases. Government legal and ethical experts are to discuss whether families can ‘bank’ embryos not just for procreation but also for use by doctors to create personalised treatments for parents and their children. Now, embryos – the first stage of life after an egg has been successfully fertilised – can be stored for up to five years but only for procreation. But a huge ethical debate...

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, May 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Virginia family was shocked but relieved when their mother, Val Thomas, woke up after doctors said she was dead. 59 year-old Mrs. Thomas, while being kept breathing artificially, had no detectable brain waves for more than 17 hours. The family were discussing organ donation options for their mother when she suddenly woke up and started speaking to nurses. Ethicists have strongly criticised developments in organ donation criteria that would have made Mrs. Thomas a candidate for having her organs removed before she woke up. At 1:30 am Saturday May 17,...

(AP) — Some highlights from an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in New Jersey, outlining the alleged plot to smuggle a shoulder-launched missile into the United States: _Investigation began in December 2001, when a "cooperating witness" or informant under federal law enforcement control began talking with the alleged arms dealer, Hemant Lakhani, about obtaining anti-aircraft guns and missiles. The witness told Lakhani he was representing a Somali group that wanted to buy one missile initially "with a purchase of a greater number of missiles to follow." _Between Dec. 2001 and Aug. 13, 2003, more than 150 conversations between Lakhani...

French connection armed Saddam By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES The United States stood by for years as supposed allies helped its enemies obtain the world's most dangerous weapons, reveals Bill Gertz, defense and national security reporter for The Washington Times, in the new book "Treachery" (Crown Forum). In this excerpt, he details France's persistence in arming Saddam Hussein. First of three excerpts New intelligence revealing how long France continued to supply and arm Saddam Hussein's regime infuriated U.S. officials as the nation prepared for military action against Iraq. The intelligence reports showing French assistance to Saddam ongoing in the...