Trump vetoes measure to restrain his actions against Iran
President Donald Trump on May 6 vetoed a resolution that said he must get a nod from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Trump called it “insulting” to the presidency.
The nonbinding congressional resolution was introduced first in the House after the U.S. launched an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. There was concern in Congress that Tehran and Washington were perilously close to all-out conflict, and some lawmakers wanted to restrain further actions Trump might take against Iran.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. Even so, Trump said the resolution implied that his own constitutional authority to use military force was limited to defending the United States and its forces against imminent attack.
“That is incorrect,” Trump said in a statement. “We live in a hostile world of evolving threats and the Constitution recognizes that the president must be able to anticipate our adversaries’ next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That’s what I did!”
The resolution came in the wake of rising conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Tensions rose after the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions against Iran. The tensions spiked when U.S. forces killed Iran’s most powerful general in January. Iran responded with a ballistic missile attack on a base in western Iraq where U.S. troops were present. No Americans were killed, but more than 100 suffered traumatic brain injuries from the blasts.
Trump did not consult with congressional leaders ahead of the attack on Soleimani, and there was concern in Congress that Tehran and Washington were perilously close to all-out conflict. AP
Driver dies after speeding on California airbase
A driver who sped onto a Southern California Navy airbase without authorization died May 6 when the car smashed into a metal barrier at high speed, authorities said.
At about 7:30 a.m., the car sped past the wide main entry gate at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, a remote expanse of the Mojave Desert, said Margo Allen, the base’s public affairs officer.
A “final denial” barrier several hundred feet away from the main gate was raised and the car struck it, Allen said.
The driver died at the scene. The motorist’s identity wasn’t immediately released and there was no immediate word on a motive for the intrusion.
Operations at the sprawling base weren’t affected, Allen said.
China Lake is about 120 miles north of Los Angeles. AP
Virgin Galactic posts loss, touts future potential revenue
Virgin Galactic on May 5 reported a first-quarter net loss of $60 million but touted millions of dollars in potential future revenue as more people have put down deposits for the chance to reserve a ticket once the commercial space venture resumes sales.
Company officials outlined earnings for the quarter during a webcast that came just days after Virgin Galactic celebrated the first glide flight of its spaceship over its new home at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. The company is in the midst of final testing but has yet to offer a date for the start of commercial flights.
Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said the company is encouraged by the response to its “One Small Step” initiative, which allows people interested in the supersonic rides to make refundable deposits. Since the program was launched in February, more than 400 payments have been received from people in 44 countries.
Whitesides said that beat expectations and represents more than $100 million of potential future revenue upon full ticket payment.
Like other businesses, Virgin Galactic also has been adjusting to life amid the coronavirus outbreak. At Virgin Galactic’s terminal and hanger at the spaceport, new protocols have been adopted, including the use of masks, changes to work areas and new procedures for disinfecting surfaces and enforcing social distancing.
A total of 579 employees and contractors have been tested as of May 1, officials said.
“The COVID-19 outbreak led to an unprecedented situation for companies and individuals across the world, but I am encouraged by the commitment displayed by our team in helping to support relief efforts while making program progress,” Whitesides said in a statement. “We remain focused on our strategic goals and our path to commercial launch.”
Whitesides said despite the challenging times, Virgin Galactic has no debt and is in a strong position with cash and cash equivalents of $419 million.
Virgin Galactic is the anchor tenant of the taxpayer-financed Spaceport America — the world’s first facility designed and built specifically for launching commercial passengers and payloads into suborbital space. The company now has close to 180 people working out of the desert outpost.
The spaceship is the result of years of development and testing at Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, Calif. The craft is ferried to a high altitude by a much larger carrier aircraft before it’s released and its rocket engines are fired.
The focus now, Whitesides said, is to complete the test flight program as soon as possible. He said Virgin Galactic has completed 24 of the 29 requirements laid out by the Federal Aviation Administration’s verification and validation program. AP
Raytheon Technologies issue first quarter earnings report
Raytheon Technologies Corporation on May 7 reported a first-quarter loss of $83 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.
The Farmington, Conn.,-based company said it had a loss of 10 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and restructuring costs, came to $1.78 per share.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.11 per share.
The an aerospace and defense company posted revenue of $18.21 billion in the period.
Raytheon Technologies shares have declined 61 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has dropped 59 percent in the last 12 months. AP
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