Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

www.stripes.com April 3, 2023 | View in browser   Chinese spy balloon didn’t collect any information over US that satellites couldn’t get, Pentagon says The Chinese surveillance balloon that hovered over the United States two months ago might have picked up some intelligence from sensitive military sites, but it would be nothing more valuable than what Beijing could already collect with its satellites, the Pentagon said. Read more > Membership bid of NATO country No. 31 reaches Finnish line Throughout the Cold War, Finland and Sweden, which also is seeking NATO membership, resisted the idea of becoming part of NATO, opting instead for military neutrality. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, changed the security calculation. Read more > Navy’s newest littoral combat ship pays homage to city in Southern California Santa Barbara is the third Navy ship to bear the name of the Southern California city, home to a Marine Corps air station and a naval reserve center during World War II. Read more >   Artemis II: 2 former Navy pilots bring thousands of flight hours to historic moon mission Three of the astronauts chosen to fly to the moon next year aboard Artemis II are former military pilots, and two were Navy aviators who have decades of collective flying experience. Read more >   Chinese coast guard’s record stay near Senkakus draws more complaints from Japan Japan complained to China again after a record-breaking stay by Chinese coast guard vessels inside the 12-mile territorial limit surrounding the Senkaku Islands. Read more > Military April Fools’ Day pranks include new medal for civilians who considered serving Military pranks abounded on April Fools’ Day. Read more >   Soldiers fire long-range rocket artillery as exercise wraps up in the Philippines The US Army notched another live-fire practice with its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during training with Philippine forces. Read more >   US, South Korea, Japan train together to ‘incapacitate’ North Korean threats Drills on land, in the air and at sea this week are the largest involving the US and South Korea in five years. Read more >   Norfolk-based USS George H.W. Bush deployment extended; return of more than 5,000 sailors delayed The USS George H.W. Bush’s deployment has been extended following a series of Iranian attacks in Syria. Read more >   Russia blames Ukraine for bomb that killed military blogger Russian authorities blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies Monday for orchestrating a bombing at a St. Petersburg cafe that killed a Russian military blogger who fervently supported Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and they arrested a suspect in the attack. Read more >   House Intelligence Committee chairman says support for US aid to Ukraine 'overwhelming' Rep. Michael Turner said Monday that there is "overwhelming" support in the United States to continue supplying aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, despite vocal opposition from a hard-right faction of his own Republican Party. Read more >   STRIPES.COM | EUROPE | JAPAN | KOREA | OKINAWA | GUAM © 2022 Stars and Stripes · 633 3rd St. NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20001-3050