BY JIM WALSH, STAFF WRITER Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is a finalist in the competition to host the next generation of Air Force air-refueling tankers, federal legislators said Thursday. The military base is one of five sites being considered to host the KC-46 aircraft, which are expected to arrive by 2020. The planes, now in testing, eventually would replace the military’s current fleet of KC-10s. The other finalists are Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Fairchild in Washington; Grand Fork... Read more

BY JONATHAN SALANT OF THE STAR LEDGER Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is one of five finalists to house the Air Force's new KC-46 tankers. Six other facilities were eliminated from consideration for the tanker fleet. A decision is expected Dec. 15 and the tankers are expected to be delivered in 2020. "The joint base is one of our nation's premier air mobility installations, and a great option for housing the KC-46," said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd Dist.), a member of the House Armed Services Com... Read more

By JIM WALSH Staff Writer - Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is a finalist in the competition to host the next generation of Air Force air-refueling tankers, federal legislators said Thursday. The military base is one of five sites being considered to host the KC-46 aircraft, which are expected to arrive by 2020. The planes, now in testing, eventually would replace the military’s current fleet of KC-10s. The other finalists are Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Fairchild in Washington; Grand For... Read more

By DAVID LEVINSKY, BCT STAFF WRITER - Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is still in the running to receive some of the Air Force's newest midair refueling jets. The so-called "megabase" landed on the final list of five installations still under consideration to accept the second batch of KC-46 jets being built by Boeing. Originally, 11 bases were being reviewed as possible locations for as many as 36 of the planes, as well as the equipment and support personnel that will accompany them. The other... Read more

Fox News Channel reported on Congressman Chris Smith's June 16 congressional hearing about the attacks around the world on international religious freedom, with witnesses from the U.S. State Department and former officials from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Below is the transcript from the segment: FNC Anchor Melissa Francis: Now onto Capitol Hill where a Congressional panel is holding a hearing on religious freedom, exploring whether protecting religious freedom around... Read more

BY ASBURY PARK PRESS STAFF WRITER JERRY CARINO - Rep. Chris Smith (right) at a Lyme disease press conference in Wall in 2013.(Photo: Courtesy of Rep. Chris Smith's office) U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-4th) recently had a guest in his office to discuss human trafficking legislation, and during the course of their conversation, Lyme disease came up. It’s a subject Smith knows all too well. For decades he has pushed for advances in research and treatment of the condition, which is widespread... Read more

JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY - A congressional human rights commission heard testimony from experts on how Islamic radicalization in Europe has ramped up risk for Jewish communities. “ISIS especially hates the Jewish people and has instructed its followers to prioritize killing them,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., the chairman of the US Helsinki Commission, said Tuesday, launching the hearing he called in the wake of recent attacks in Europe, and referring to the Islamic State terrorist group behind so... Read more

BY JONATHAN SALANT, STAR LEDGER/NJ.COM STAFF WRITER - The U.S. women's soccer team's fight for equal pay has the backing of just one House Republican — and that lawmaker is from New Jersey. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) on Tuesday joined more than 100 House Democrats in asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to quickly rule on a complaint filed by the women's national soccer team, which has charged that they are being paid less than male players, despite earning more reven... Read more

If human rights are sidelined again this week in the Obama-Xi meeting — it will not only be an unconscionable abandonment of China’s best and brightest who today suffer jail, torture and death for freedom, but it will be a colossal strategic mistake as well. The Obama administration cannot meekly “raise” human rights concerns when it is increasingly clear that our security and economic interests with China cannot be ensured without dramatic human rights improvements and advances in the rule of l... Read more

USA TODAY - The Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday in an announcement likely to have little impact on the U.S. military effort against the militant group. The designation, however, could be a first step toward war crimes trials, supporters said. The U.S. House passed a resolution similar to Kerry's declaration in a unanimous vote Monday. Religious groups in the U.S. have been pressu... Read more