We Know the How Things Were at the Reagan Control Tower Before the Crash. It’s Not Good.

The nation is reeling from the Reagan National Airport disaster. There are no survivors. The American Airlines flight that collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter last night around 9 PM spared no one. All 67 people on the aircraft and the chopper perished in what is the worst aviation accident in recent memory. For some, this was an event waiting to happen, given the congestion, the length of the runway, and variating flight patterns.

Reagan Airport has seen more than a few close calls. It doesn’t help that the air traffic control tower has one staffer doing the work of two people. The conditions before the tragic crash were described as “not normal.” The media lambasted President Trump for insinuating the DEI initiatives were partially to blame, along with the control tower. He was right about the latter (via NYT):

Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that was reviewed by The New York Times.

The controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways. Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one.

This increases the workload for the air traffic controller and can complicate the job. One reason is that the controllers can use different radio frequencies to communicate with pilots flying planes and pilots flying helicopters. While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other.

(Read more from “We Know the How Things Were at the Reagan Control Tower Before the Crash. It’s Not Good.” HERE)

Dems Worry Kash Patel Could Weaponize FBI Against Political Enemies Like They Did

In a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, feckless Democrat senators grilled Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, trying to paint him as a Trump henchman hellbent on seeking revenge for all the crap the FBI put Trump and American citizens through.

It’s no wonder they are worried; the nation has seen how the FBI has been turned into a political weapon, and Democrats don’t want it pointed at them.

The Federalist has written extensively about corruption within the FBI under Democrats’ watch, including the Russia collusion hoax that Patel helped disprove; the gun-toting dawn raids on the homes of nonviolent citizens; the overreaching invasion of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home; and the tampering in the federal election by concealing the legitimacy of Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop.

Democrats called Patel a conspiracy theorist and a Trump loyalist. They asked him many times whom he intended to go after on Trump’s behalf and whether he would ever tell Trump he would not pursue a case, implying that it is both Trump’s and Patel’s plan to misuse the FBI.

“Any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair,” Patel said. “I will have you reminded that I have been endorsed by over 300,000 law enforcement officers to become the next director of the FBI.” (Read more from “Dems Worry Kash Patel Could Weaponize FBI Against Political Enemies Like They Did” HERE)

Connecticut Bureaucrat Charged With Fraudulently Changing Republican Voter Registrations To Democrat

A Connecticut state mental health worker has been accused of fraudulently changing Republican voter registrations to Democrat following a September voting event.

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services employee Arlanda Brantley, 57, faces “five counts each of Fraudulent Registration and Primary or Enrollment Violations,” according to Fox61. As the Hartford Courant reported, police arrested her Monday.

After a “national voting event” at the Western Connecticut Mental Health Network in Torrington, Connecticut on Sept. 17, Brantley allegedly changed “several” voter registration cards with an affiliation of “Republican” or “No” to “Democrat” “without the consent of the registrants.” Police said she then submitted the cards to the Torrington Registrar of Voters clerk, according to Fox61.

Officials noticed white out on the voter registrations, Torrington Registrar of Voters Clerk Melissa Russell told The Federalist. A “handful” of registrations — close to 10 — were affected, according to Russell. She said she does not know if Brantley altered registration cards in other jurisdictions, but the affected Torrington voters fixed their party affiliation before November’s election.

The Torrington Police Department and State Elections Enforcement Commission led the investigation, according to reports. (Read more from “Connecticut Bureaucrat Charged With Fraudulently Changing Republican Voter Registrations To Democrat” HERE)

‘Bowing to Wokeness Since 2010’: Fmr Air Traffic Controller Says Short Staffing Is ‘Attributable to Obama Admin’

A former air traffic controller blamed the Obama administration Thursday on Fox News for the short staffing in the aviation industry, which reportedly led to the air collision at the Washington Reagan National Airport.

A military helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., resulting in the deaths of everyone on board both aircraft. An internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety report reviewed by The New York Times revealed that staffing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport air traffic control tower was insufficient for the time of day and traffic volume when the collision occurred. Former air traffic controller Michael Pearson said on “The Ingraham Angle” that the short staffing was “attributable to the Obama administration.”

“The system has been under attack due to DEI and the FAA bowing to wokeness since 2010, since the Obama administration,” Pearson said. “The lack of staffing is directly attributable to the Obama administration terminating the lists of eligible, well-trained air traffic control statements in 36 universities across the country in 2013 because they were too white.”

Simultaneously, the FAA rolled out an immunity program which, Pearson said, has fundamentally altered the handling of operational errors. (Read more from “‘Bowing to Wokeness Since 2010’: Fmr Air Traffic Controller Says Short Staffing Is ‘Attributable to Obama Admin’” HERE)

Senate Committees Waging War On RFK Jr Are Knee Deep In Big Pharma, Food Industry Cash

Contentious hearings to consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services this week have shined a spotlight on some of Washington’s most powerful lobbies.

Senators aiming critical questions at Kennedy this week found their contributions from the health care industry and their personal investments in the pharmaceutical industry and companies that make highly processed food being spotlighted on X to millions of views. The dynamic has pitted Kennedy’s legion of online supporters against senators critical of Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines.

At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing Thursday, several senators directly addressed the popular support of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican, was highly critical of Kennedy’s prior statements about the measles vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine, but conceded that his phone “blows up” with his supporters.

As the hearing concluded Thursday, Cassidy said that he was struggling with whether to vote to confirm Kennedy.

(Read more from “Senate Committees Waging War On RFK Jr Are Knee Deep In Big Pharma, Food Industry Cash” HERE)

UPDATE: New Videos of Collision; Jet Flying from Wichita, Kansas Crashes Midair with Blackhawk Carrying 3 Soldiers; 64 People on Downed American Airlines Jet, First US Commercial Plane Crash Since 2009

New Video Released of the Collision

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By Breitbart. An airplane has reportedly crashed at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC, grounding all takeoffs and landings.

Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region media chief Heather Chairez told CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, “We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir during a training flight. We are working with local officials and will provide additional information once it becomes available.”

A closeup video published on X shows what appears to be the Black Hawk approaching the CRJ jet from the left of the screen. The faint dot of the helicopter continues to approach and eventually collides with the CRJ. An explosion ensues and both aircraft fall from the sky.

Vice President JD Vance asked for prayers for everyone involved in the collision. “We’re monitoring the situation, but for now let’s hope for the best,” the vice president wrote.

An Air Traffic Control audio posted on X appears to indicate the controller asked the helicopter (PAT-25) if they had the airliner (CRJ) in sight. Moments later, the controller seems to instruct PAT-25 to pass behind the CRJ). The exchange occurs in the opening seconds of this audio. About 30 seconds later, an unknown pilot asks “Tower, did you see that?”

(Read more from “Jet Flying from Wichita, Kansas Crashes Midair with Blackhawk Carrying 3 Soldiers (VIDEO)” HERE)

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64 People on Downed American Airlines Jet, First US Commercial Plane Crash Since 2009

By Fox News. Rescue efforts underway concentrated near Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge for mid-air collision involving a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet and Army UH-60 helicopter Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time.

Flight 5342 for American Airlines had 60 passengers and four crew on board the flight that collided.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating, according to a statement released by the FAA. (Read more from “64 People on Downed American Airlines Jet, First US Commercial Plane Crash Since 2009” HERE)

Elon Musk Threatens to Sue ‘Creepy’ Tim Walz for Accusing Him of Nazi Salute; Billionaire’s Mom Urges Lawsuit Against CNN

Elon Musk has threatened to sue Tim Walz after the Minnesota governor said “of course” the billionaire did a Nazi salute at an inauguration rally for President Donald Trump.

Walz declared during an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday, “We spent three days, you know, them trying to debate that President Musk gave a Nazi salute — of course he did!”‘

Also during his MSNBC appearance, Walz revealed that losing the 2024 election was “pure hell.”

“To the voters, I’m with this, too. Everybody’s fatigued. Trust me, I get it,” Walz told host Rachel Maddow. “It was pure hell, and the disappointment and the frustration, and I’m, you know, soul-searching — what could we have done to make the case? Because we knew this was coming. We knew the implication. And they’re throwing so much at us that we’re fatigued.” . . .

Musk replied to the post on the X social media platform by proclaiming he may bring a lawsuit against the former Democrat vice presidential nominee, “I think I will. Tim Walz is a creepy [clown face emoji].” (Read more from “Elon Musk Threatens to Sue ‘Creepy’ Tim Walz for Accusing Him of Nazi Salute; Billionaire’s Mom Urges Lawsuit Against CNN” HERE)

Trump Hilariously Roasts Joe Biden: ‘He’s Probably Not Listening Right Now Because It’s a Little Late’

Donald Trump tends to take the humorous road rather than the high road, especially when it comes to poking fun at Joe Biden. It’s a trait his supporters typically find hilarious. We all remember when he made at least half the country laugh in the embarrassing debate that resulted in Biden’s ousting when he said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Then in his inauguration speech last week, Trump pulled no punches, lambasting the Biden regime for its long list of failures — even though Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sat directly behind him, staring daggers into his back.

And by the looks of it, Trump still isn’t done giving his predecessor heat for ushering in an era of economic decline, unapologetic censorship, open borders, and rising crime, nor has he had his fill of cracking jokes about Biden’s mental acuity.

Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” plays a recent clip of Trump hilariously ragging on Sleepy Joe again.

(Read more from “Trump Hilariously Roasts Joe Biden: ‘He’s Probably Not Listening Right Now Because It’s a Little Late’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

USDA Responds to Report That Official Was Escorted From Office After Trump Firing

The former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was reportedly escorted out of her office Monday after she “refused to comply” with her termination – though the USDA denies that she was forcibly removed.

Phyllis Fong, who has worked for the USDA for 22 years, was fired on Friday, but she reportedly told her colleagues that she planned to continue working. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Fong was removed by security officials and “refused to comply” with her termination.

Before her firing, the government employee said she believed that the newly inaugurated Trump administration was acting improperly by terminating officials so suddenly.

In an email obtained by Reuters, Fong said the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) had “taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”

The USDA, however, denied that security officials were involved in the incident in an email to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night. (Read more from “USDA Responds to Report That Official Was Escorted From Office After Trump Firing” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Chinese Communist Party Quietly Operates Shadow Justice System In US Cities

China is imposing its justice system on American soil using a web of U.S.-based nonprofits linked to a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence agency, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

Located throughout California, the greater Washington, D.C. area, Hawaii, and New York, the network of more than a dozen nonprofits share information with Chinese law enforcement officials, and some also host unsanctioned courtrooms in the U.S., a months-long investigation discovered. Although the Chinese government claims it appoints law enforcement officials overseas in order to more conveniently handle mundane matters like Chinese driver’s license renewal and international divorce cases, U.S. lawmakers and intelligence analysts say China’s underground courts could easily be weaponized to punish dissidents and expand communist influence abroad.

Liu Pengyu, a Chinese Embassy spokesperson, told the DCNF that “Chinese law enforcement agencies conduct foreign law enforcement cooperation strictly in accordance with international law, fully respect foreign laws and judicial sovereignty, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects in accordance with the law.”

However, the DCNF found that not only are all the identified nonprofits led by individuals working with a Chinese intelligence service called the United Front Work Department (UFWD), but some of their leaders have also explicitly discussed forced repatriation operations with Ministry of Public Security (MPS) officials in China. Furthermore, several of the individuals appointed to operate overseas Chinese courts in the U.S. also belong to the nonprofit that ran a Chinese police station in New York, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) found sought to forcibly repatriate individuals back to China.

“The Chinese government’s attempt to impose its repressive legal system on U.S. soil through the CCP’s United Front network is an unacceptable assault on U.S. sovereignty and the rule of law,” Michigan Republican Rep. John Moolenaar told the DCNF. (Read more from “Chinese Communist Party Quietly Operates Shadow Justice System In US Cities” HERE)