Possible Terror Plot Thwarted at U.K. Base, and Amazon Drones Overwhelm a Texas Town
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Why did New York Times launch a family subscription for multiple logins?
Hi, this is Andy. I've been a New York Times subscriber for years and years. And I'm trying to get my teenagers interested in reading it. If they were to have their own logins and we could share articles, I think that would help get them interested. It would also then allow us to discuss over the dinner table or wherever. Thank you very much. Andy, we heard you. It's why we created the New York Times Family subscription. One subscription up to four separate logins for anyone in your life. Find out more at nytimes.com slash family.
From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, September twenty eighth. Here's what we're covering. President Trump's war against Iran has depleted US weapons stockpiles to troubling levels, according to senior officials. And the timeline for stocking back up on air defense missiles and other critical weaponry is long. A recent report from the Congressional Budget Office said it could take, quote, at least five years.
How do precision ball‑screws affect U.S. missile and aircraft production?
With those warnings in mind, the Times has been looking at some of the factors that make rebuilding the US arsenal so difficult. One of them is a little piece of metal that honestly wouldn't look that out of place in a junk drawer.
Ball screws are highly engineered components. They might not look that special, but they are incredibly precise. If it goes in a missile, they can easily be thousand dollar screws. And so it just changed my whole concept of what a screw is.
Faris Stockman covers manufacturing for the Times. She says precision ball screws, which contain tiny metal balls to reduce friction, are essential not just in missiles, but also planes and other modern technology. and they require incredible attention to detail at the factory level. The ones used in missiles, for example, must meet specks measured in units roughly one hundred times smaller than the width of a human hair. And Farris says only a handful of companies are capable of making the ball screws the US military needs.
I traveled to like the epicenter of US ball screw manufacturing, which is Saginaw, Michigan. It's where General Motors had a division that made ball screws for steering wheels in the 1930s. And some of these guys still use World War II era machines to make them. And a lot of them have gone bankrupt in recent years, or they've been bought up by bigger companies. Companies. And that's happening exactly at the same time that demand is increasing because all of a sudden we need them for humanoid robots.
What happened with the suspected terror plot near the UK air base used by the U.S.?
We need them for submarines. We need them for missiles. You come across these bottlenecks in American manufacturing. There might be a component that no one's even heard of. And all of a sudden, it's the thing that's preventing us from making what we really need to make.
Farah says precision ball screws are far from the only weapons component that can be hard to source. But the long lead time for these ball screws right now can add months or even years to how long it takes to make a missile. One executive of a logistics company that tracks supply chains for the US military called it quote, an immediate single point failure for our national defense. Meanwhile
I reject their proposal though.
Over the weekend, President Trump told reporters that he's rejecting the proposal Iran put forward to end the war. It had laid out a seven-day timeline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks about Iran's nuclear program.
If they reject it for near with no reason, this is their fault.
Despite Trump's comments, Iran's foreign minister said yesterday that given a history of contradictory messaging from the US, Iran was waiting to hear an official rejection from mediators. Also this weekend in the UK.
So at around twelve forty five AM today, police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RF Fairford.
Authorities said they thwarted a possible terror attack at an airbase that the US military has been using for its strikes on Iran.
Why is the Trump administration trying to cut $800 million from education and health programs?
A four hundred meter cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the Army's explosive ordnance disposal unit examined them.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Why did New York Times launch a family subscription for multiple logins?
0:00–1:07
2
How do precision ball‑screws affect U.S. missile and aircraft production?
1:07–2:45
3
What happened with the suspected terror plot near the UK air base used by the U.S.?
2:45–4:28
4
Why is the Trump administration trying to cut $800 million from education and health programs?
4:28–6:51
5
How are taxpayer‑funded pro‑Trump ads being presented as public service announcements?
6:51–8:34
6
What is the impact of Amazon’s Prime Air drones on the Texas suburb of Richardson?
8:34–10:01
7
Why are residents pushing back against drone deliveries and what’s next for the industry?
10:01–11:41
Speakers
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