Canada Reconsidering JSF Commitment

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The F-35 JSF program is being rattled by reports that Canada may drop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) entirely and Italy would trim its planned buy, Defense News reports. Canada has dismissed reports saying it would cancel its planned purchase of 65 of the fighters but has said it is reconsidering the program.

Pakistan said Sunday that a U.S. drone killed a senior Al Qaeda leader near the border with Afghanistan, USA TODAY reported.

In Sunday’s edition, former Washington Post Editor Leonard Downie Jr. argues against pending legislation that would criminalize career intelligence officials’ disclosures to the news media, whether the information provided is classified or not.

China is not happy about being accused of reverse engineering the Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighter from the Russian Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker, reports Flight Global’s Dewline. The Chinese argue in the People’s Daily, a state media organization, that the J-15 is more advanced than the Su-33.

China’s factory output and consumer spending rose in November in signs of a recovery from an economic slowdown, reported the Associated Press.  With the improvement, China’s inflation rate is also starting to rise.

Republicans who appeared on Sunday morning public affairs programs say they are willing to consider increases on upper-bracket taxpayers, the Christian Science Monitor reports.