And plenty of these ticking time bombs are still there. The post The FAA’s DEI Traffic Controllers Were an Accident Waiting to Happen appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

John Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, a former Senior Adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was arrested today on charges that he conspired to steal Federal Reserve trade secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Chinese Communist Party has its hands in the top levels of […] The post Former Senior Adviser for the (FRB) Arrested for Espionage appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Sen. Chris Murphy has reached a new level of TDS, blaming Trump for something he couldn’t possibly have caused. This follows months of crazed X posts bashing Donald Trump nonstop. He also blamed President Trump for the high cost of eggs. The gaslighting is off the charts. Murphy is a total fraud. https://t.co/E1tDFMulPm — Rob […] The post Chris Murphy Blames Trump for the Potomac Plane Crash appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Questions continue to abound in this horrifying tragedy outside Reagan National Airport, where an American Airlines flight coming from Wichita, Kansas, was struck by a Black Hawk helicopter. Was this an air traffic control problem? Was this a pilot error issue? All of that is still very much up in the air. There have been near-misses in the past. A lot of people are now asking why Black Hawk helicopters are operating at night in an area where passenger jets are taking off and landing. Apparently, near-misses of this sort tend to happen a lot more often than expected. According to Reuters, “U.S. commercial pilot Rick Redfern was preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport about a decade ago when he spotted a bright red Coast Guard helicopter hovering about 50 feet (15 m) above the Potomac River. Air traffic control promptly warned the helicopter pilot to stay clear, and Redfern said he used evasive maneuvers to avoid it and avert a potential disaster – and that was in daytime, when visibility was clearer.” It’s almost unthinkable that this even happened, considering how sophisticated our machinery is now and how sophisticated our ability is to see planes in the air — even at night. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show But to attribute it to anything other than an accident at this point would be to move beyond the available evidence; it’s unclear what caused the crash. Apparently, the black boxes have been recovered, so we’ll have a better window into what was going on aboard the two aircraft before they collided. Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll said during a Senate hearing that the crash may prompt the military to reconsider conducting training operations near the Washington, DC airspace. Yesterday, when President Trump spoke to the press, he brought up the DEI policies of the Obama and Biden administrations that he felt had weakened the air traffic control systems.  That suggestion made Democrats insane. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for example, slammed Trump for speculating about DEI issues. You could make the case that President Trump shouldn’t be talking about DEI and the FAA until we have more details, but I think what Schumer really objected to was the idea that DEI is bad at all. Like all Democrats, he tends to think DEI is good. And it pervaded every aspect of the Biden administration. As The Washington Times noted: Years before Wednesday’s fatal collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, critics warned that the Obama and Biden administrations had jeopardized safety by prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion at the Federal Aviation Administration. … Critics warned that the FAA’s focus on DEI diverted time and resources from air travel safety. It hobbled the agency as it grappled with air traffic controller shortages, antiquated monitoring equipment and an increase in near misses on crowded airport runways, they said. An unidentified source told The Associated Press on Thursday that the air traffic controller in charge of monitoring the airspace at the time of the fatal collision was performing the work of two people. In other words, because they couldn’t get enough “diverse members” in the FAA, they were simply under-hiring. That meant that they were short-staffed during critical times. The Times continued: Air safety concerns prompted 11 Republican attorneys general to write to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker last year to question the administration’s hiring practices and priorities. “Unfortunately, the Biden FAA, under your administration, appears to prioritize virtue-signaling ‘diversity’ efforts over aviation expertise. And this calls into question the agency’s commitment to safety,” That is not wrong. It is true that the Obama and Biden administrations prioritized DEI over safety. The Times added: The Biden-era FAA website, now scrubbed, said, “The FAA’s mission involves securing the skies of a diverse nation. It only makes sense that the workforce responsible for that mission reflects the nation.” In 2022, the FAA pledged to “diversify its workforce by rethinking its hiring practices,” and administration officials assigned long-term goals to amplify diversity, accessibility and LGBTQ issues. A 2022 performance target required that the agency “host a national symposium with internal and external stakeholders to socialize efforts on the use of gender-neutral language at FAA.” … In 2013, the FAA started using a “biographical assessment” to increase the hiring of preferred minority racial groups at air traffic control centers. The assessment asked applicants about their participation in school sports … One of the questionnaires circulated by the FAA reportedly awarded points for factors such as having the lowest grade in high school in science — which is psychotic. There is a lot of heartburn on the Left because Trump is suggesting DEI had something to do with this accident. I can’t name the number of times that Joe Biden came forth right after some sort of school shooting — before any of the evidence was available — to discuss how gun control was obviously the solution. Here’s the salient point: It is very clear that the FAA has been operating along these lines for a very long time. Regardless of whether this crash was a result of DEI or not, there is a reason why the blowback is coming in that form. We’ll have to wait and see what the cause of this particular plane crash was, but it is certainly the case that procedures have to change. This is why President Trump took executive action yesterday, signing a memorandum to end DEI practices in the aviation sector and to assess aviation safety, as well as issuing an Executive Order to appoint a new head of the FAA. Regardless of what led to this crash, DEI procedures must change. Trump is correct about that.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called transgender procedures on children a “barbaric” practice in remarks she made in response to a question from Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan. Olohan asked Leavitt during Friday’s press briefing about the executive orders that Trump has signed on the issue of protecting children. “Is he interested in backing congressional legislation on this point?” Olohan asked. “And does the Trump administration have interest in investigating doctors who perform these irreversible procedures on kids such as a double mastectomy on a minor girl?” Leavitt responded: “Well, the president has already taken a very strong stance on this issue this week with the signing of his executive order, a few executive orders in this space.” “First, he made it the official policy of the federal government that there are only two sexes, male and female, and we have directed all federal agencies to comply with that policy,” she said. “As for congressional legislation to support the president’s agenda in this space, and certainly ending the mutilation of young children, the chemical castration of young children, which is a barbaric practice that the vast majority of Americans do not support, for young, minor children, certainly, the president would support Congress’ efforts, as he has already made that very clear this week.” WATCH:

After 16 months in captivity, Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel is slated to be released Saturday.   Siegel is 65 and from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but moved to Israel decades ago. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas took Siegel and his wife Aviva Siegel from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and drove them in their own vehicle into Gaza. Siegel was shot in the hand and his ribs were broken when he was taken captive. For 51 days, Aviva Siegel was held in Hamas tunnels with her husband until she was released in November 2023 during a brief ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.   “You be strong for me, and I’ll be strong for you,” Aviva Siegel, 63, recalls saying to her husband when she parted from him in the tunnels beneath Gaza. Since her release, Aviva Siegel has dedicated her time and energy to advocating for her husband’s freedom, and the freedom of all the hostages.   “My heart will explode,” Aviva Siegel told The Daily Signal during an interview in December when asked about her hope for her husband’s release. “I will scream. I will jump into the air, and it’s just going to be … I don’t know, I’ll dance. I’m sure that I’ll dance and scream.”   Keith Siegel is one of three Israeli hostages expected to be released Saturday, along with Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Yarden Bibas, 34. Kalderon and Bibas and were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Bibas’ wife Shiri Bibas and their two young children, now 5 and 2, were also taken hostage. The release of Yarden Bibas before his wife and children has increased fears over the status of his wife and their children. Last year, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but this was never confirmed.   The release of the three men comes about two weeks into a six-week ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. A total of 33 hostages are slated to be released during the six-week period, along with additional hostages during phase two of the ceasefire deal.   So far, 15 hostages have been released during the ceasefire, including: Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; Doron Steinbrecher, 31; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; Liri Albag, 19; Agam Berger, 20; Arbel Yehoud, 29; Gadi Moses, 80; and five Thai hostages, including: Pongsak Thanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao, and Surasak Lamnao. After Keith Siegel’s release Saturday, two American Israeli hostages will still be Gaza—Edan Alexander, 21; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.   The post American Israeli Hostage on List to Be Released appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After Months of Using Them as Cannon Fodder, North Korean Troops Are Pulled From the Front Lines

NYT: Trump's War on NPR/PBS Is Real, and It's Spectacular

Following the tragic mid-air collision at Reagan Washington National Airport, MSNBC seemed mostly concerned with its potential as fuel for demonizing President Trump. On Thursday’s episode of Chris Jansing Reports, Jansing dove directly into President Trump’s comments on the tragedy and took issue with him calling out the possible role DEI programs played, particularly their effort to hire people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities. She even invited a former acting FAA administrator to shoot down Trump’s assertions, but he didn’t; because he oversaw them. Standing near the accident scene, on the bank of the Potomac, Jansing huffed that “without evidence” Trump suggested “DEI policies from the previous Biden administration somehow played a role in the crash.”     She then cut to a video from the conference, in which Trump seemed to read from a New York Post article about how, “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.”  That policy was indeed spelled out on the agency’s website, and, regardless of whether it was responsible for this particular accident, it was not exactly a policy to instill confidence in the current state of air travel in America. Anyone who has actually flown a plane is acutely aware that when you take off or land, your life is in the hands of whoever is in that control tower. If there is reason to believe that the air traffic controller guiding your flight has a severe mental illness, or some sort of other severe impairment, that is, to say the least, not a comforting thought. To address Trump’s point, Jansing interviewed former acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, a Biden appointee who actually bore some responsibility for the aforementioned DEI initiative. Jansing asked him directly for his response to Trump’s statement that “the FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer mental or physical conditions, under a diversity hiring initiative.” Nolen was then allowed to ramble on about his career-long devotion to safety, his approval of the leadership of the FAA and faith in the International Transportation Safety Board, and some words of condolence to those affected: Look- let me just say, you know, my focus has been, across the arc of my career, about how to improve safety, how to improve, you know, the work that we do. And that's what I did during my time as acting FAA administrator. I was very proud and honored to do that. (…) We've had this incredible 16 year run of a really good safety record, worked very hard to drive down the number of close calls. But he never actually answered the question, and Jansing just let that slide. Whether or not it was the best move for Trump to make those comments in that way at that time, it is hard to rationally argue with the point. What happened Wednesday was a terrible thing for a great many innocent people, and whatever caused it in this case, if we don’t want it to happen again, a serious reevaluation of FAA hiring policies would seem a very good idea. There are lots of great things that people with severe disabilities can do in this world, but in a reality where we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, responsibility for the safe operation of an airliner is not at the top of the list. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s CHRIS JANSING REPORTS 01/30/2025 01:51 PM [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP BASELESSLY BLAMES DEI POLICIES FOR DEADLY CRASH]  CHRIS JANSING: Today, just moments after President Trump offered his condolences and a moment of silence for the victims of the Potomac collision, he suggested, without evidence, that DEI policies from the previous Biden administration somehow played a role in the crash. [Cuts to video] DONALD TRUMP: 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? (...) 01:54 PM [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP BASELESSLY CLAIMS DEI POLICIES TO BLAME FOR DEADLY MIDAIR COLLISION OVER POTOMAC] JANSING: And joining us now is former acting director of the FAA, Billy Nolen.  Thank you for being here. And I wonder what your response is to President Trump suggesting that somehow they are active re-, the FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer mental or physical conditions, under a diversity hiring initiative. BILLY NOLEN (former acting FAA director): Well, thanks for having me. Look- let me just say, you know, my focus has been, across the arc of my career, about how to improve safety, how to improve, you know, the work that we do. And that's what I did during my time as acting FAA administrator. I was very proud and honored to do that.  I had some- some strong quality people. I commend the President for the announcement today of Chris Rocheleau who I've worked closely with- is a- is a wonderful leader- as the new acting administrator, which then gives the administration time to think about who will be that next leader, so-  But where we are, I want to just stop and take a moment to say I- you know- I offer my sincere sympathies. I spent a career at American Airlines so- you know my heart breaks- for American, and for- the PSA team. And our- our collective focus now- is to work very closely together.   And you now have the International Transportation Safety Board on point, and we will get the answer- answers that all of us are so desperately seeking, so I would say, let's let that process play itself out. And then, in due time, and I don't think it will take that long, to be quite honest- but right now we are in that recovery phase of recovering the bodies of the victims and getting- you know- securing the- in- this airplane and this helicopter, and then really digging into what the- the root cause is.  The NTSB is an exceptional organization, and they are very good. In fact, they're the best. In the world, by Billy Nolen's estimation, at what they do. And they will get to the bottom of this. And you've got all the stakeholders around the table you heard from. See, from Robert Isom at American, all of us. It's all about coming together. We've had this incredible 16 year run of a really good safety record, worked very hard to drive down the number of close calls. So, when something like this happens, we, you know, we step back and say, look, we're not going to rest on our record. We're going to continue to dive in, figure out what happened, why it went wrong, and how do we prevent that going forward. That's what we owe certainly to the families, and that's what we owe to the American people. (…)