White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday pledged that the Trump administration will eliminate DEI practices at the Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of a midair collision Wednesday night that killed 67. Much of the briefing served to back up President Donald Trump’s implication the day before that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the FAA might have led to the crash over Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Donald Trump implies that diversity hiring is to blame for the plane crash in DC:“The FAA’s diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities… that is amazing.” pic.twitter.com/ClpG3B7uPy— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 30, 2025 The president told reporters at the previous press conference, “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website. Can you imagine?”  Leavitt opened Friday’s briefing by outlining the president’s work before and after the crash to root out DEI hiring processes from the FAA. “On his second day in office, the president signed a memorandum to immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to nondiscriminatory, merit-based hiring,” Leavitt said. The press secretary also spoke on Trump’s post-collision order for the FAA to review its hiring protocols. “The review will include a comprehensive assessment and reversal of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation-safety standards and protocols during the previous administration,” she said. A female reporter asked Leavitt whether she was worried that more crashes could occur as a result of Trump’s downsizing of the federal government. Karoline Leavitt on aviation DEI:"Do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination or do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color?"@PressSec @DailySignal pic.twitter.com/gBewZGYzKb— Emma Dayton (@emma_dayton) January 31, 2025  In response, Leavitt defended the White House’s merit-based hiring process and argued that Trump was focused on hiring the best and brightest for the FAA. The spokeswoman called DEI hiring processes “unacceptable,” adding, “When you are flying on an airplane with your loved ones—which every one of us in this room has—do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination, or do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color? I think we all know the answer to that question, and as President Trump said yesterday, it’s common sense.” The post ‘Unacceptable’: Trump Spokeswoman Reaffirms War on DEI at FAA After Fatal Midair Collision appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Nicaragua’s government has expelled approximately 30 Poor Clare nuns from their convents in Managua and Chinandega, marking the latest crackdown from Daniel Ortega’s regime.  The nuns were only allowed to take some of their belongings before they were forced to leave, according to a local report by Mosaico CSI.  The government’s crackdown comes after Ortega’s regime seized the seminary of the Diocese of Matagalpa in Nicaragua on Jan. 20.   Pillar Catholic reported that half of the 60 students studying at the San Luis de Gonzaga Seminary were present during the confiscation. Those present were sent home by the police.  San Luis de Gonzaga Seminary served as an important part of the local Catholic community, teaching seminarians from the Matagalpa and Siuna dioceses, among others.  The confiscation is a continuation of the persecution of Catholics under Ortega’s rule.  Since the infamous Ortega’s return to power, Matagalpa has lost over 60% of its clergy, and Nicaragua as a country has lost 20% of its total clergy.  On Jan. 16, days before the seizing of the seminary, the Sandinista-led Nicaraguan government confiscated the Matagalpa diocese’s La Cartuja Pastoral Center.   Vatican News wrote, “As reported by several eyewitnesses, paramilitaries had raided the facility and forcibly removed dozens of faithful who were attending a spiritual retreat.”  Bishop Rolando Álvarez of the Matagalpa diocese, who was initially sentenced to 26 years in prison, has been living in exile in Rome since January 2024 following a one-year prison sentence on the charge of treason, according to Catholic News Agency.  Father Frutos Valle was appointed apostolic minister after Álvarez’s sentencing, allowing him to carry out pastoral governance duties. Valle was also detained by police.  The Catholic Church has faced intense persecution from Ortega since 2022.   According to an article by The Daily Signal, “Ortega’s regime has implemented numerous anti-Catholic policies, such as stopping restrictions of nongovernmental groups, expelling nuns, forcing the closure of Catholic charities and educational projects, suppressing media outlets, and banning Easter and Way of the Cross processions.”  On Dec. 2, 2024, Pope Francis wrote a pastoral letter urging the Catholics of Nicaragua, “Do not forget the Lord’s loving Providence, which accompanies us and is our only sure guide.”   The regime is not only hostile to Catholics and other religious groups, but also toward citizens who protest the government.  In 2023, the Nicaraguan government exiled 222 political prisoners, leading opposition, and student activists to the United States. They were stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship.   In an interview with National Catholic Reporter, Miguel Flores, one of the 222 political prisoners said, “That’s when we became stateless, without a country, and so, in the end, our freedom wasn’t real because freedom means being able to remain in one’s country.” The post Daniel Ortega Expels Nuns, Seizes Seminaries as Religious Persecution Intensifies in Nicaragua appeared first on The Daily Signal.

So. Much. Winning. Colombia's President Calls on Illegals to Return Home

When 489-pound rapper and influencer Dajua Blanding, who goes by her stage name “Dank DeMoss,” ordered a Lyft to take her to a Detroit Lions watch party, she was turned down by her driver for being too big. Blanding, filming her interaction with her driver, insisted that she would fit in his car. “I can fit in this car,” she said several times. “Belive me, you can’t,” her driver said, promising that she would be not be charged. Blanding didn’t give up easily, though. “So you telling me I’m too big to fit in the car so I gotta order another Lyft?” Her driver, trying to be polite and apologetic, explained that he didn’t have enough room in his car to accommodate her build and that his “tired tires” weren’t sufficient. He assured her that he had “been in this situation before” with other large passengers, in which case, he encouraged them to “order an Uber XL.” See on Instagram Now Blanding is suing Lyft for discrimination. Pat Gray plays a clip from Fox 2 Detroit’s interview with Blanding about her experience being “discriminated” against. “I just want them to know, like, it really hurt my feelings,” Blanding told the network’s Jessica Dupnack. According to Blanding’s lawyers, discrimination based on someone’s weight violates Michigan’s law. “It would be no different than a driver pulling up and saying I don’t want to have black people in my car or I don’t want to have Christians in my car or Muslims in my car. Under the law, it’s the same,” says attorney Jon Marko. “Since she posted the encounter on social media, other full-figured folks have reached out saying the same thing happened to them,” Dupnack reported. Pat can’t help but laugh at the term "full-figured.” “Is that what we’re calling it now?” laughs Keith Malinak, calling the driver’s refusal “preventative maintenance.” To hear more of the story, watch the clip above. Want more from Pat Gray?To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A former Nebraska substitute teacher managed to avoid being sentenced to jail despite police reportedly catching the married woman in a state of undress with a naked underage student in her vehicle. Erin Ward, 45, was arrested last April. She was charged with one count of felony sexual abuse by a school employee.She allegedly told officers that the relationship had been going on for a few months and that she and the boy had sex only in her vehicle.In November, Ward pleaded no contest to an amended charge of felony child abuse. During her sentencing hearing Wednesday, Ward was sentenced to three years of probation.As Blaze News reported last year, deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to a call around 3 a.m. April 13, 2024, regarding a suspicious vehicle parked on a dead-end road in the neighborhood of Elkhorn — a western suburb of Omaha. Responding officers said they found two undressed people in the back seat of a gray 2015 Honda Pilot. After police confronted the pair, one of the individuals reportedly jumped into the driver's seat, sped off, and allegedly crashed into a yard about two blocks away from police. The driver, a teenage male, reportedly fled on foot.Deputies reportedly tracked down the teen within an hour of the incident. The driver later was identified as a 17-year-old student at Burke High School in Omaha. According to the police report, the female passenger in the vehicle was naked in the back seat and trying to put on her clothes as officers approached the crashed car.Inside the vehicle, police found Ward — a substitute teacher at Burke High School.The teen and Ward were transported to a local hospital to treat minor injuries from the car crash, police said. Police said they discovered Ward's ID for Omaha Public Schools and she informed them that she was a substitute teacher. Investigators claim Ward admitted to having sexual relations with the teen on multiple occasions. She allegedly told officers that the relationship had been going on for a few months and that she and the boy had sex only in her vehicle.Authorities said the crashed vehicle belonged to Ward and her husband.Omaha Public Schools spokesperson Bridget Blevins told USA Today that Ward served as a substitute teacher in the district starting in September 2023 but "was not considered a full-time or part-time employee."Burke High School principal Darren Rasmussen previously said in a statement regarding the substitute teacher's arrest: "We are writing to share that law enforcement has arrested a metro-area substitute teacher for inappropriate conduct with a minor. The individual worked at Burke High several days during the 2023-24 school year. They will not be returning to our school or any others in our district."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Government employees are being required to remove their preferred pronouns from email signatures following an executive order from President Donald Trump. Among the flurry of executive orders issued by Trump was one proclaiming that there are only two genders and another pledging to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the federal government. Workers were given until 5 p.m. on Friday to delete their preferred pronouns. 'I've never been told what I can and can't put in my email signature.' "Pronouns and any other information not permitted in the policy must be removed from CDC/ATSDR employee signatures by 5 p.m. ET on Friday," was one of the messages, according to an ABC News report. "Staff are being asked to alter signature blocks by 5 p.m. ET today (Friday, January 31, 2025) to follow the revised policy." Sources told ABC News that they were also told to remove pronouns from all documents including government grant applications. ABC News spoke to one government employee who wanted to remain anonymous but expressed his outrage at the order. "In my decade-plus years at CDC I've never been told what I can and can't put in my email signature," the worker said. Critics on social media raged against the Trump order. "It will get worse. ... Welcome to HIS 4th Reich," read one response. "Republicans claim they want small government out of people's lives but really they just want to control everyone. From now on I'm using pronouns in my X posts. He/him," read another reply. "This is just pointless culture war nonsense instead of real governance," said another critic. "Why the f*** does Trump care so much about people putting pronouns in their email signature? This guy is such a joke. It’s no surprise that other countries are laughing at us. What a disgrace to the office," responded an account calling itself Be Better. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

On Wednesday evening, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, resulting in the tragic deaths of all 67 people aboard both aircraft.This fatal collision has raised significant concerns about aviation safety in the U.S., particularly in light of numerous near misses — occurring at a rate of nearly three per week — that can largely be attributed to understaffed and overworked air traffic controllers.'The permanent bureaucracy at the FAA decided that it was producing too many white men.'In December, BlazeTV released a new original documentary, "Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster." BlazeTV host of "Stu Does America" Stu Burguiere delved into the bureaucratic red tape bogging down the Federal Aviation Administration, preventing it from adequately staffing its workforce and implementing essential, overdue technological upgrades. Rob Mark, a pilot and former controller, told Burguiere, "Half the controllers in the country are working six-day weeks, 10-hour days. And it's mandatory.""There are many other incidents that happen on a weekly basis in our system that don't make the nightly news. It's because some controller or some pilot caught it before it got out of hand," Mark added.The FAA has about 1,000 fewer fully certified controllers than a decade ago, even though air traffic has increased.A June 2023 Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General report found that 77% of critical facilities are staffed below the FAA's 85% threshold.In April, air traffic controllers at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport told a Southwest pilot to turn into the path of another commercial jet that was about to take off. Days later, the FAA issued a memorandum requiring controllers to have "at least a 10-hour break from the time work ends to the start of any shift."However, the new directive failed to address the underlying controller shortage issue.Robert Poole, the founder of the Reason Foundation, told Burguiere that the technology used by air traffic controllers is surprisingly outdated.He noted that one example is the use of "paper flight strips" to track planes."It comes off a little printer at the controller's workstation," Poole explained. The FAA has been trying to update the paper system to digital since 1983, but the plans remain behind schedule and over budget. Poole confirmed a November 2023 report from the FAA that revealed the agency is still using floppy disks.The report also stated that the agency uses such outdated equipment that replacement parts are unavailable."Beacons used to determine the location of aircraft with working transponders," the report reads. "Includes 331 units that are 28-46 years old. Many of these systems are pre-digital, and many parts are unavailable because the manufacturers no longer exist or no longer support these systems."Furthermore, many individuals with the expertise to fix such radar equipment have aged out of the workforce. The FAA is using more than 1,200 instrument landing systems that are no longer supported by the manufacturers that made them. "The FAA lacks the intellectual property rights to make its own parts," the report noted.Poole stated that the alarming safety report received "virtually no attention" in the media.Sean Nation, a lawyer with the Mountain States Legal Foundation, explained to BlazeTV that the FAA made significant changes to its hiring process for air traffic controllers a decade ago."Up until 2014, they used a merits-based test," Nation said. "But the permanent bureaucracy at the FAA decided that it was producing too many white men to become air traffic controllers. They decided to change the hiring process and introduce a new first step, which was called the biographical questionnaire."Nation, who is suing the FAA, argued that the agency's hiring practices are not legal. In 2022, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared that 3% of the FAA's workforce must "identify as individuals with 'targeted disabilities.'""Targeted disabilities" were defined as "individuals who suffer from total deafness in both ears, total blindness, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and dwarfism."In a statement to BlazeTV, the FAA — then still under the Biden administration — said that hiring more controllers was "a top priority" for the agency. The agency noted that it has "implement[ed] engaging hiring campaigns" with the goal of "reach[ing] more youth from diverse backgrounds."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Biden's first pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration was a disastrous choice when it came to possessing actual knowledge about aviation and regulations.In 2023, Biden nominated Phillip Washington, CEO of the Denver International Airport. Washington eventually withdrew his nomination after being subjected to questioning from senators like Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who revealed that Democrats may not have been focusing on merit when it came to who leads the country's airspace.Footage of those exchanges has resurfaced following the disaster at Reagan National Airport in which an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into a passenger plane. The collision killed 67 people.'I'm not a pilot.'With the country concerned about the hiring practices of the FAA, the video of Budd questioning Washington showed just how unqualified the nominee was for a position as important as director of the FAA."What are the six types of special-use airspace that protect this national security that appear on FAA charts?" Budd asked Washington at a confirmation hearing."Sorry, Senator. I cannot answer that question," Washington replied.Budd repeatedly asked other aviation questions: "Okay. So what are the operational limitations of a pilot flying under basic med?""Senator, I'm not a pilot. So ..." Washington answered. The nominee soon attempted to provide some examples like "high blood pressure," but Budd interjected to let Washington know the question actually had nothing to do with medical restrictions."What altitude you can fly under ... amount of knots; it's under 250 knots. So it's not having anything to do with blood pressure," Budd explained.In a video of the exchange that received over 1.3 million views, Washington mentioned that he was not a pilot multiple times, even when Budd asked a basic question like, "What causes an aircraft to spin or stall?""Again, Senator, I'm not a pilot," Washington answered.At the time, comments from viewers poured in about Washington being a prime example of diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices."Here is DEI at it's [sic] finest!" radio host Richard Mindler Jr. claimed."Perfect example of DEI," a viewer wrote, sharing the video."DEI = didn't earn it, below [is a] simple example of this," another viewer said of Washington's responses."DEI will always be dangerous and objectively a disaster wherever it’s deployed," another critic said in response. — (@) Despite former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calling Washington "an excellent nominee," Washington withdrew his nomination in the weeks that followed.Senator Budd then claimed that the Biden administration did not focus on "actual qualifications" and put forward a nominee who did not have "basic aviation knowledge."The nominee was then replaced by Biden's second choice, Michael G. Whitaker, a former deputy administrator at the FAA.Whitaker ended up resigning just 10 days before the D.C. crash in 2025, but his intent to step down was announced in December 2024.Elon Musk had reportedly called for the official's resignation amid a $600,000 fine against Musk's SpaceX for alleged regulatory violations.Musk described the fines as excessive and demanded Whitaker’s resignation. He also stated that the FAA was engaged in harassment and regulatory overreach.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

What a Mess: Hegseth Confirms Big Problems From 'Last Administration' at Walter Reed Medical Center

January Delivers More Dire Ratings News for the Dour CNN and MSNBC