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US only has 25% of all Patriot missile interceptors needed for Pentagon’s military plans | Trump administration

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The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon’s military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, an alarming depletion that led to the Trump administration freezing the latest transfer of munitions to Ukraine.

The stockpile of the Patriot missiles has fallen so low that it raised concern inside the Pentagon that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, authorized the transfer to be halted while they reviewed where weapons were being sent.

Donald Trump appeared to reverse at least part of that decision on Monday when he told reporters in advance of a dinner at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would “send some more weapons” to Ukraine, although he did not disclose whether that would include Patriot systems.

Trump also told Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone call that he was not responsible for the halt in weapons shipments and that he had directed a review of US weapons stockpiles but didn’t order the freeze, according to people briefed on the conversation.

But the determination last month to halt the transfer, as described by four people directly familiar with the matter, was based in large part on the Pentagon’s global munitions tracker, which is used to generate the minimum level of munitions required to carry out the US military’s operations plans.

According to the tracker, which is managed by the joint chiefs of staff and the Pentagon’s defense security cooperation agency, the stockpiles of a number of critical munitions have been below that floor for several years since the Biden administration started sending military aid to Ukraine.

The Trump administration started a review of the depleted level of Patriot missiles and other munitions around February, the people said. Deliberations accelerated after the US deployed more of the interceptors in the Middle East to support the Houthi campaign and to Israel.

The situation also became more acute following Trump’s move to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities last month, the people said, when the US fired close to 30 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired in performative retaliation at the Al Udeid base in Qatar.

The recent depletion of Patriot missiles and other munitions formed part of the basis of a “recommendation memo” by Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, that outlined several options to conserve weapons and sent to Feinberg’s office.

Earlier reports said Colby, who has drawn criticism from Democrats for prioritizing shifting resources from the Ukraine conflict in preparation for a potential war with China, had paused the transfer but two of the people said the undersecretary’s office lacks the power to make such a unilateral move.

The decision was rather made by Feinberg, the former chief executive or Cerberus Capital Management to whom Colby reports, the people said. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth then signed off on Feinberg’s determination.

But the abrupt pause has come at a critical time for Ukraine, as Russia last week launched its largest aerial offensive to date and Ukraine has limited options to acquire both precision-guided and more basic weapons to hold off increasingly intense Russian attacks.

Ukraine is also largely unable to directly buy weapons from defense contractors for its purposes, since a new order is estimated to take years to fulfill, and it would only be completed after the Pentagon had its own orders completed since the defense department is a higher priority customer.

Trump’s decision to reverse course and allow some defensive munitions to be sent to Ukraine appears to have come amid growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who he criticized on Monday for not helping end the war.

Spokespeople for the White House and the Pentagon confirmed some transfers would resume at Trump’s direction but did not specify whether the weapons being sent to Ukraine would involve munitions at critically low levels.

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“As Operation Midnight Hammer proved, the American military is stronger than it’s ever been. President Trump wants to stop the killing and has pledged to provide Ukraine with additional defensive munitions,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.

While Trump has publicly complained about Ukraine aid in financial terms, Feinberg was briefed that the larger problem has been with the ability for the US to manufacture the weapons to quickly backfill the depleted stockpiles, two of the people said.

The US has been transferring weapons to Ukraine using two principal channels: through a drawdown of defense department stockpiles, and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), where the defense department pays contractors to manufacture weapons to go to Ukraine.

Both transfer mechanisms was set to have been affected by the freeze, the people said, since the Pentagon is prioritizing replenishing its stockpiles using the same defense contractors being relied upon to build weapons for Ukraine through the USAI program.

For the latest weapons shipment to Ukraine, the US had earmarked dozens of Patriot missiles among other munitions including air-to-air Sparrow missiles, Hellfire missiles, GMLRS rocket artillery and anti-tank guns.

The principal concern appears to revolve around the Patriot missiles, which the US produces 600 per year but Iran alone has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles remaining it could theoretically use against US bases in the region if the ceasefire with Israel were to break down.

The US has also transferred around 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, which officials estimated to be equivalent to two-and-a-half years of production, and is increasingly used by the US military for its own defense purposes against hostile drones, the people said.



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Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are cheaper than ever thanks to this Prime Day deal

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It’s Amazon Prime Day again, except this time it’s a four-day affair, the longest Prime Day ever. There are an overwhelming number of deals and discounts to sift through, but this steep sale on Apple AirPods Pro 2 is one of the best out there. For Prime Day, these wireless, noise-canceling headphones are selling for $149. That’s a new record-low price, and at a regular price of $249, you’re looking at 40 percent off.

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 were our overall pick for best wireless earbuds for iPhone, as well as our pick for best overall AirPods. In our hands-on review, we were impressed with the Active Noise Cancelling, as well as the transparency mode for when you’re trying to hear the outside world. We found that the audio quality on the 2nd generation of AirPods Pro was an improvement over the first, thanks to a new amplifier, driver and transducer. We also liked that you could seamlessly switch between Apple devices while using them.

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We do wish the battery life was a bit better, as they offer just six hours of listening per charge with an additional 30 hours provided by the case. In looking at the design of these AirPods, we wouldn’t be mad at a bit of an update. I guess if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it? After all, the design of an AirPod is almost instantly recognizable, so perhaps Apple wants to keep it that way.

Far and away our biggest gripe is the price of the Apple AirPods Pro. $249 is a hefty price to pay for a set of earbuds, so we’re grateful that sales like Amazon Prime Day provide a great opportunity to snag a pair for far less. If you’re looking to spend even less, both models of the AirPods 4 are also on sale for Prime Day. You can get the standard version for $89 or the model with active noise cancellation for $119.

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Image for the mini product module



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Giants catcher Patrick Bailey makes history with game-ending, inside-the-park home run

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SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey’s entrance into the Major League Baseball record books on Tuesday night began with a tight swing that sent a fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley.

It ended with Bailey chugging his way around third base then getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates after becoming the third catcher in major league history to hit a game-ending, inside-the-park home run.

The three-run shot had an exit velocity of 103.4 mph and bounced off the brick wall at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark. It ricocheted back toward center field as Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh gave chase.

Bailey said his initial thought was to get a triple before he saw third base coach Matt Williams waving him in.

“Off the ball I just knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “I saw it was towards Triples Alley and I was like, ‘Oh I gotta go. I at least gotta get to third.’ Once I saw the bounce, I was like ‘All right, just don’t fall over.’ ”

It’s the ninth time this season that the Giants have won in their final at-bat, tops in the majors.

It was also the first time in nearly nine years that a player has hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the majors. Cleveland’s Tyler Naquin was the last to do so on Aug. 19, 2016.

The three-run home run lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory that had the Oracle Park crowd roaring as Bailey crossed the plate.

“He has gotten some big hits this year,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “In big situations he’s come through. Not as much as he would like. Hopefully that’s something that catapults him. Haven’t seen him drive a ball like that in a while.”

Bailey couldn’t recall if he had previously hit an inside-the-park home run at any level. And as nice as this one was, Bailey said that he would have preferred to hit a regular home run.

“Tired,” Bailey said when asked how he felt. “I wished it would have gone over the fence.”



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Ukraine suffers heaviest attack as Trump criticises Putin

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President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia – 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves.

Zelensky condemned the “telling attack”, adding: “It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”

The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv – a reversal of last week’s suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.

On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters. “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “pretty calm about this. Trump’s way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses.”

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine – something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was “very unhappy”.

“He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good,” Trump said of Putin.

The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump – sitting right next to Hegseth – replied: “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.

Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia’s missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.

On Tuesday Trump also said he was “looking at” a sanctions bill by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that would see 500% tariffs imposed on countries that trade with Russia.

Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far failed to impose any. In June, he stated that he pointed out sanctions “cost a lot of money” and signalled he was waiting to see whether a deal between Russia and Ukraine would be signed instead.

However, last week the US president said he and Putin had discussed sanctions “a lot” and added: “He understands it may be coming.”

Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.

The city of Lutsk – which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid – suffered the brunt of Tuesday’s overnight attack.

Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

For their part, Russian authorities have said that a Ukrainian drone attack on the border region of Kursk killed three people and injured seven others on Tuesday.

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled – and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia’s summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.

“We are moving forward,” said Peskov on Wednesday. “Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities.”



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