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First Lady Jill Biden discussed safe sex, condoms, and dating practices during a youth empowerment event in Nairobi, Kenya. Biden discussed safe sex, condom use, and birth control on Saturday during the Shujaaz Konnect Festival, which is a youth empowerment event. "These are issues that really all people need to talk about and yet, somehow, they don’t, and the consequences of not talking about it are so dire," Biden said after discussing safe sex, birth control , and condom use at the event. "So I love seeing the young people here." One tent at the event had a questionnaire meant to start discussions, which read "What would you say if I told you I had a condom in my pocket right now?" BIDEN 'PRETTY MUCH' READY TO ANNOUNCE RE-ELECTION, JILL BIDEN SAYS "And this is the first time they’re meeting?" Biden said while laughing, "I’m surprised you don’t start with like, ‘What’s your biggest achievement?’ rather than, ‘I have a condom...

Tabby Kinder / Financial Times : Sources: Sequoia resigned from Citizen's board, after the startup offered a “pay to play” deal obliging existing investors to participate in a new funding round   —  Investor abandons start-up over fundraising that has massively diluted its shareholding, as Silicon Valley VCs re-evaluate deals

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is breaking from the Washington establishment on foreign aid, promising to stop sending billions of taxpayer dollars to "anti-American countries and causes."  In an op-ed for the New York Post published Friday, Haley criticized both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations for how they've handled foreign aid, noting that the U.S. spent $46 billion last year aiding countries like Iraq, Pakistan, and even China.  "This is not just Joe Biden. It’s been happening for decades under presidents of both parties. Our foreign-aid policies are stuck in the past. They typically operate on autopilot, with no consideration for the conduct of the countries that receive our aid," Haley wrote.  "The Washington bureaucracy and its defenders in Congress inevitably dig in to save these global giveaways. It will take a determined president to root out these taxpayer rip-offs," she said. NIKKI HALEY SAYS THE ...

Morgan Meaker / Wired : Experts caution the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles is driving militaries in Ukraine and beyond toward automation, creating a dangerous slippery slope   —  Drones that can find their own targets already exist, making machine-versus-machine conflict just a software update away.

Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post : The skirmishes over generative AI show how tech companies have become political lightning rods, as even efforts to steer AI away from politics can appear biased   —  ChatGPT and Bing are trying to stay out of politics — and failing  —  Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who led campaigns …

As "Top Gun: Maverick" soared past $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Tom Cruise revealed emotions were also flying high with his co-star Val Kilmer.  After more than three decades, Cruise and Kilmer emotionally reunited on-screen in the long-awaited sequel. The Hollywood costars skyrocketed to fame after the 1986 "Top Gun" movie. "I just want to say that was pretty emotional, I’ve known Val for decades," Cruise said during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK' PRODUCER JERRY BRUCKHEIMER SAYS 'NOBODY WORKS HARDER' THAN TOM CRUISE "For him to come back and play that character…he’s such a powerful actor, that he instantly became that character again…you’re looking at Iceman." When asked if he cried while filming the intense scene, Cruise admitted he was in tears. "I was crying, I got emotional," he confessed. TOM CRUISE HITS FIRST RED CARPET IN 8 MONTHS AT OSCARS NOMINEES LUNCHEO...

FIRST ON FOX : Republican lawmakers in the House are launching a Northern Border Security Caucus to come up with solutions as the often overlooked border is seeing its own surge in illegal migrant encounters -- with at least one sector calling for help from their colleagues. Twenty-eight lawmakers, led by Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who will serve as co-chairs, are launching the caucus next week to draw attention to the growing problems the border is facing and to create solutions to combat both drug and human smuggling across the border. There has been a sharp increase in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encounters of migrants at the northern border, jumping from 32,376 in FY 2020 to 109,535 in FY 2022. There have also been more recent increases in drug seizures, all while staffing levels have remained roughly static for years. The border, which is 5,525 miles, only has 115 ports of entry.  Some sectors have seen historic highs, with Border Patrol’s Sw...

Wall Street Journal : Sources: Sequoia Capital China, which raised $8.5B last year, has started screening some investments for US national security concerns, a first for the firm   —  Venture-capital firm starts screening its China arm's investments as Washington prepares to limit U.S. capital going to some Chinese tech companies

Former President George W. Bush pushed back on Republican criticism on U.S. funding going to Ukraine on the anniversary of the eastern European nation’s war with Russia. While speaking at a George W. Bush Presidential Center event on the 20th anniversary of President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., the former president fired back on GOP criticism of funding going to Ukraine amid the war. Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, the moderator of the discussion with former Tanzanian President Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, asked Bush for his message to U.S. leaders and critics of American intervention in Africa with AIDS and the Ukraine War. TRUMP, HALEY AND POTENTIAL 2024 CONTENDERS LIKE DESANTIS COURT BIG DONORS AS GOP’S WHITE HOUSE RACE HEATS UP "I think we’re a big enough nation to do more than one thing," Bush said. "And continuing to fight against AIDS on the continent of Africa and suppor...

Bloomberg : Financial institutions like BofA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase are restricting internal use of tools like ChatGPT   —  Wall Street is clamping down on ChatGPT as a slew of global investment banks impose restrictions on the fast-growing technology …

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed made her first appearance in court on Friday. Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer did not enter a plea, but requested the former "Rust" armorer be allowed to possess a firearm in her home. Gutierrez-Reed has received threats to her safety since the sheriff's department released private information including her phone number, according to attorney Jason Bowles. The attorney also claimed the armorer has had a stalker. The idea was opposed by the prosecution due to Gutierrez-Reed's "sloppy mishandling" of a firearm on the set of "Rust." However, the judge ruled Gutierrez-Reed would be allowed to have a firearm at her residence for her protection. Gutierrez-Reed - who was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins -was released on her own recognizance.  The armorer was told not to contact any witnesses that may testify in the case or at the preliminary hearing.  ...

Disgraced singer and producer R. Kelly was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison on charges of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex on Thursday. The 56-year-old will serve all but one of those years simultaneously with a 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking convictions. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ordered that Kelly serve one year in prison following the previous sentencing imposed last year in New York. This means Kelly will serve no more than 31 years in prison. Kelly's attorney said at the time that they look forward to appealing that conviction. R. KELLY: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HIS UPCOMING SEX TRAFFICKING TRIAL IN NEW YORK The primary question going into the sentencing in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago was whether the judge would order the Grammy winner to serve the sentence simultaneously or only after he completes the New York term.  Kelly was convicted last year on six of 13 counts: three counts of producing child porn and th...

FIRST ON FOX — Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey moved to fire embattled Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Thursday after she refused to resign following a weekend accident involving a repeat offender who was free despite several violations of his bond terms. The AG's office started the process of filing a petition quo warranto, which is the legal mechanism under state statute that allows the Attorney General to remove a prosecutor who neglects his or her duties. Bailey will have to show a judge that Gardner neglected her duties and needs to be removed. "This is about a quantum of evidence that demonstrates her failure to prosecute cases, failure to inform and confer with victims in cases and failure to file new cases that are referred by law enforcement agencies," Bailey told Fox News Digital in an interview. WHO IS KIMBERLY GARDNER, ST. LOUIS PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATING GUN-TOTING COUPLE? "I'm a former prosecutor. I've...

Mitchell Clark / The Verge : Google expands Magic Eraser, which lets users remove parts of a picture, from Pixel devices to Google One subscribers using Google Photos on Android or iOS   —  Google has announced that the Magic Eraser feature, which tried to automatically remove unwanted parts of a picture and debuted with the Pixel 6 …

Helen Mirren is taking risks in her acting career.  The 77-year-old actress candidly spoke out about performing her own stunts while filming "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." "I did some of my own stunts, but I broke my finger," Mirren revealed during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show." "I was incredibly brave and didn't say anything or complain because I wanted to be a real 'stunty' person." Despite not being a huge fan of superheroes, Mirren challenged herself by not using a stunt double for the action film.  She continued to discuss why she wanted to be cast in the "sweet and funny" superhero sequel. "Loved the first Shazam… I am not a big superhero type person, but I loved the idea of it and happily signed up for the second one… It is great," she admitted on the show. The "1923" actress confessed that the premise of the movie is quite complex. "Don't ask me about the plot, it'...

Georgia lawmakers are watering down a bill to allow heavier trucks on state highways after widespread opposition to the original measure by state and local officials . Rep. Steven Meeks, a Screven Republican, described the changes as "just really paring this back to agriculture and forestry." The House Transportation Committee voted 12-7 on Wednesday to allow heavier weight limits for trucks carrying logging, farming and mining commodities. The bill was also amended to allow some trucks to insert a third axle, which could allow for heavier dump trucks, for example, because weight limits are usually calculated based on the number of axles. Trucks carrying those goods could now be as heavy as 90,000 pounds, up from 84,000 pounds now. Other trucks would remain limited to 80,000 pounds, the same as the federal limit on interstate highways . The amended House Bill 189 was sent back to the full House for more debate. SCHOOL DISTRICT FORCED TO PAY OVER 100K IN LEGAL FEES AFTER...

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Meta reforms its penalty system based on Oversight Board recommendations, focusing more on explanations of policy and less on penalizing users with “timeouts”   —  “Facebook jail,” the name the social network's users have bestowed on the company's system for determining policy violations, is getting an overhaul.

CoinDesk : A US judge rules NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs, on the Flow PoS blockchain, may be securities and refuses to dismiss a lawsuit against Dapper Labs for offering them   —  The offering of Dapper Labs' NBA-branded “Top Shot” non-fungible tokens might be securities, a federal judge ruled Wednesday …

Kelsey Grammer and Kirstie Alley first met on the set of "Cheers" in the '80s, but they remained friends up until her death in December 2022. He remembered her fondly during an appearance on "The Rachael Ray Show" this week. "I loved Kirstie," he said. A picture was shared of the two of them together on "Cheers," and he said, "She was always beautiful." "She just had that thing about her," he continued. "She was a radiant human being and that came through her." ‘FRASIER’ STAR KELSEY GRAMMER SAYS RELIGION GUIDES HIS CAREER Grammer added, "She knew how to love. She was so honest in her emotions all the time." He then recalled a time when he "got in trouble with the law" while filming the beloved sitcom, referring to his 1988 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession and his 1990 arrest, also for cocaine possession. ‘CHEERS’ CAST: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? "She showed up," he ...

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has narrowed down his options concerning his political future for the 2024 election cycle , announcing Wednesday his decision not to run for president. "I'm not running for President of the United States," Manchin told MetroNews during a radio interview broadcast from the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. The two-term senator and former governor of the state wouldn't say, however, if he had decided to run for re-election to keep his seat in the U.S. Senate , as Republicans eye the seat as a top target to flip in the 2024 election cycle. DEMOCRAT JOE MANCHIN HITS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR EAST PALESTINE RESPONSE Republican candidates are already lining up to try and unseat Manchin should he decide to run again, including Rep. Alex Mooney, who represents West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. Republican Gov. Jim Justice is also rumored to be mulling a run. He was first elected as a Democrat in the 2016 gubernatorial ele...

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Artifact, the personalized news reader created by Instagram's co-founders, opens to the public, with new features and no sign-up required, on Android and iOS   —  Artifact, the personalized news reader built by Instagram's co-founders, is now open to the public, no sign-up required.

Will Smith caused a major controversy when he slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Despite all the backlash he received after the incident, Smith is now joking about it in a new video he shared to TikTok. In the video , he showed himself listening to another TikTok creator explaining "an absolutely unhinged exercise." As he listened thoughtfully, the other person said, "Did you know that you can pick any object, look at it and ask it what it thinks of you?" WILL SMITH'S OSCAR SLAP WAS GIVEN AN ‘INADEQUATE’ RESPONSE, ACADEMY PRESIDENT SAYS She explained that after doing this, "You will get an answer in your mind from intuition." As she gave examples of what kind of objects you could use for this exercise, Smith looked off to the side, out of view of his camera. WILL SMITH ‘UNDERSTANDS’ IF PEOPLE AREN'T ‘READY’ TO SEE NEW FILM AFTER OSCARS SLAP: ‘ABSOLUTELY RESPECT THAT’ He ...

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer : Microsoft now allows 60 Bing Chats per day and 6 chat turns per session and plans to test chat tones to let users switch between focused or creative responses   —  Microsoft will start testing Bing Chat tones, enabling users to switch between receiving answers that are either more creative or more focused on their queries.

Pink is teaching her daughter an important lesson in knowing her worth.  The singer is gearing up for her new tour this summer and said her daughter, Willow, 11, is going to work alongside her. "Willow has a job on tour," Pink said Tuesday on "Today." "We just had to go over minimum wage and it’s different state to state." She continued, revealing a funny exchange she and her daughter had that held some wisdom behind it.  "I said it’s about $22.50 a show depending how long I go, if I run over. She goes, ‘I’ll take $20. It’s easier to do the math.’ I’m like ‘That’s not how you negotiate for yourself.’ I’m like, ‘You’ll take $25, so it’s easier math.'" JESSIE JAMES DECKER, THE ROCK, PINK LEAD HOLLYWOOD FAMILIES FIGHTING BACK AGAINST PARENTING POLICE Pink is also mom to Jameson , 6, with her husband Carey Hart, and joked her son’s negotiating skills are not quite up to speed yet either. "Jameson’s just like, ‘I want a lollipop!’...

Lily-Rose Depp revealed she had an "almost normal" childhood growing up as the daughter of Johnny Depp. The model posed topless for the cover of i-D magazine's "The Timeless Issue." In a new interview, Lily-Rose credited her parents for trying their "best" and valuing "real life" as she navigated a childhood in the spotlight. "I’m so careful about these conversations now. I feel like my parents did the best job that they possibly could at giving me the most ‘normal childhood’ that they could. And obviously, that still was not a normal childhood. I’m super aware of the fact that my childhood did not look like everybody’s," she said.  "But at the same time, it’s all that I know, so I have had to find comfort in it somehow," she explained. "I’m really lucky that I’ve been surrounded by people who value normalcy and who value real life and I think that’s the only way to exist in this world and not go insane." K...

West Virginia lawmakers passed an NRA-backed bill that will allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms on the campuses of state colleges and universities.  "The National Rifle Association applauds the West Virginia Legislature’s passage of NRA-backed campus carry," NRA West Virginia State Director Art Thomm told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.  "There is no reason why any adult who is deemed mature enough to defend his or her country at war should not be entrusted to defend themselves and others on campus. And there is no reason an adult who is allowed to carry in other parts of the state can’t be trusted when on campus," he added.  The bill passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday 84-13.  AS CRIME CREEPS CLOSER TO COLLEGES, EXPERT SAYS BANNING GUNS FROM CAMPUS WOULD LEAVE PEOPLE MORE VULNERABLE If signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice, West Virginia will become the 12th state in the U.S. with such legislation, alongsid...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday called for stronger U.S.-India relations as a way of countering China's growing authoritarian presence in Asia and around the world. "We need nations such as India, the world’s largest democracy, to work with us to strengthen democracies in Asia and around the globe," Schumer said Monday after an hour-long meeting with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Senate Democrats in New Delhi, India. "In our meeting with Prime Minister Modi, we stressed that close ties between our two countries would be a crucial counterweight to outcompete China and responding to its authoritarianism," Schumer said. "India is one of the leading powers of the world and a strong U.S.-India relationship is a must for democracy, technology advancement, and a strong world economy." SCHUMER SAYS CHINESE ‘HUMILIATED’ BY SPY FLIGHT INCIDENT: ‘IT’S A REAL SETBACK FOR THEM’ SCHUMER PLANS ISRAEL VISIT AS NETANYAHU FACES PROTEST...

Tom Warren / The Verge : Microsoft says its Xbox PC games are coming to Nvidia's GeForce Now, and it will also put Activision's games on Nvidia's cloud service if its acquisition closes   —  Microsoft is bringing its Xbox PC games to Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming service.  Speaking at a press conference in Brussels today …

President Biden announced during his surprise trip to Ukraine Monday that the U.S. would be providing nearly $500 million in additional security assistance to the country amid its ongoing war with Russia. The package includes additional rocket system ammunition, mortar and artillery rounds, radar equipment, anti-armor weaponry, four Bradley fighting vehicles, two tactical vehicles for equipment recovery, Claymore anti-personnel mines, demolition munitions, night vision equipment, communications equipment, medical supplies, spare parts and other field equipment.  According to the Department of Defense , the package is valued at up to $460 million, and will be the Biden administration's 32nd drawdown of equipment from DOD inventories for Ukraine. US WARNED RUSSIA OF BIDEN'S VISIT TO UKRAINE ‘HOUSE’ BEFORE DEPARTURE Biden's surprise trip to Ukraine sparked widespread criticism that he would visit the country before making a trip to the town of East Palestine, Ohio, which...

Chandraveer Mathur / Android Police : Google rolls out new Memory Saver and Energy Saver features, turned on by default, for Chrome on macOS, Windows, and ChromeOS   —  Memory Saver and Energy Saver are here  —  Google Chrome is one of the best web browsers for Android, and it also offers feature parity with the desktop version.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited New York City on Monday, telling police officers there are other states that "will value your service" compared to liberal-run areas of the country he says are pushing "critical race theory teaching kids to demonize and to hate law enforcement."  Kicking off his pro-law enforcement tour in Staten Island – the only New York City borough to support former President Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections – DeSantis told a crowd that while the Big Apple saw a 23% surge in major crime in 2022, Florida’s crime rate is at a 50-year low.  "Florida right now has a crime rate that's at a 50-year low," DeSantis said. "Why do we have a 50-year low? Why is crime a big issue in New York or Chicago or all these other places? And I wish I could tell you that, like Floridians are just so much better. But it's not the reason. It's not. The reason is, is we support strong policies to keep our communities safe a...

Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, penned a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its state counterpart over the weekend, requesting more information regarding the potential spread of a compound in East Palestine, Ohio, that can cause cancer. The two Ohio senators warned in the letter sent Saturday EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel that the combustion of vinyl chloride — the toxic chemical released and burned after a train carrying it derailed in East Palestine, Ohio , earlier this month — can lead to the formation of dioxins, highly toxic compounds that are "persistent environmental pollutants." Citing EPA information , they noted that dioxins can interfere with hormones and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems. Dioxins may also damage an exposed individual's immune system. Vance and Brown asked whether the agencies were testing for dioxins and for more information regarding the feder...

Gary Marcus / The Road to AI We Can Trust : Exploring likely reasons the new Bing is reckless, like debuting with insufficient RLHF, or reinforcement learning with human feedback, compared to ChatGPT   —  And how did some prominent journalists utterly miss this initially?  —  A wild story in which I probe what Bing's chatbot is capable …

EXCLUSIVE: Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to kick off a pro-police tour starting in New York City to speak with law enforcement officers in blue-led cities who feel unsupported. DeSantis will begin the tour Monday morning by speaking with police officers and law enforcement union officials at a diner in red-leaning borough of Staten Island. The governor will then head to Fort Washington, a Philadelphia suburb, and Elmhurst, Illinois, near Chicago, where he will meet with sheriffs, chiefs of police and other local law enforcement officials, his political team told Fox News Digital. DeSantis’ team said hundreds of law enforcement officers are expected to attend each event. Paul DiGiacomo, president of New York City's Detectives' Endowment Association, will be in attendance at Monday’s event. He told Fox News Digital that New York’s bail reform law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges has endangered law enforcement. RON DESANTIS SE...

Richard Belzer, an actor known for his role as Detective John Munch on "Law & Order," has passed away at the age of 78. "He passed at home early this morning in the south of France — in his home in the south of France — with his family around him," writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, confirmed to Fox News Digital. ‘LAW & ORDER’ CRITICIZED BY FANS FOR ‘DISRESPECTFUL’ PORTRAYAL OF SERVICE MEMBER WITH UNIFORM MISTAKE "He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, 'F--- you, motherf---er,'" Scheft, a former writer for "Late Show with David Letterman," told The Hollywood Reporter of Belzer.  "I'm so sad to hear of Richard Belzer's passing. I loved this guy so much," Laraine Newman, who was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 1975 to 1980, tweeted. "He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead ...

Singer Pink is revisiting her feud with fellow popstar and " Lady Marmalade " collaborator Christina Aguilera, more than twenty years after the song was originally recorded. While ranking her music videos, Pink seemingly shaded the "Beautiful" singer, saying the shoot was not enjoyable due to "personalities" on set. The song also features rapper Lil' Kim and Mya with intros and outros by Missy Elliot. "It wasn't very fun to make," she told Buzzfeed UK in a video shared to TikTok. "I'm all about fun and it was like a lot of fuss. And there were some personalities…Kim and Mya were nice." Fans were quick to the comment section, writing things like "She's talking about Christina. We ALL know," while others suggested the two singers had mended their previously publicized feud. BRITNEY SPEARS BODY-SHAMES CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SINGER UNFOLLOWS HER: REPORT In the aftermath of the video, Pink took to her Twitter to ...

A partially paralyzed Denver city councilman was forced to lift himself out of his wheelchair and onto a debate stage – sparking a call for equal access after video of the moment spread in the news and on social media. Denver City Council member Chris Hinds, a Democrat who is paralyzed from the chest down, was seen in the video hoisting himself onto the stage floor at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre because the stage did not have wheelchair access. While the theater later apologized, Hinds said he was humiliated by the experience, which happened Monday in front of dozens of onlookers. Hinds said in a statement Wednesday that he was "incredibly disappointed and disheartened" by the lack of wheelchair access for the City Council debate. "The unfortunate and humiliating experience I had has elevated the conversation about accessibility to the national stage," he said in another statement Friday. Hinds told USA Today that debate organizers had initially su...

China’s spy craft incursion over the U.S. and dozens of other countries around the world shows how Beijing is a serious threat in its pursuit of global domination, U.S. Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) said Sunday. Keane, a Fox News senior strategic analyst, asserted on "Fox News Sunday" that the discovery of alleged Chinese spy crafts penetrating U.S. airspace is a "wake-up call." "The spy balloon incident is a reminder to most and a wake-up call to some in terms of how serious China is as an adversary in seeking regional and global domination," the retired general said. The U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon two weeks ago off the coast of South Carolina that had been flying across the U.S. for several days. BLINKEN BATS DOWN IDEA US IN ‘COLD WAR’ WITH CHINA, SAYS RELATIONS CAN'T BE REDUCED TO ‘BUMPER STICKER’  Keane said that China’s threat is further increased due to the country's "rapid military growth" and "exploding...