Plane crash tragedy exposes other close calls

Amid the tragedy of a deadly plane and helicopter crash at Washington, DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport that has shaken the entire country, it’s becoming increasingly clear how many close calls have been avoided over the years — and that changes may be coming to the status quo.

While it’s been almost two decades since the last major commercial airline crash in America, reports are beginning to emerge about how many near misses have happened, especially in DC’s busy airspace.

Just days before an army helicopter collided with the plane coming in from Wichita, Kansas, several other planes had already aborted landings at Reagan due to helicopters in the way. Additional reports have shown how undermanned many of the control towers are and how short-staffed many airports across the country have been for years.

One report even claimed that an air traffic controller left their shift early just prior to the crash.  

In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophe, President Donald Trump suggested that DEI policies could have played a role in the crash, whereas some Democrats and some journalists seemed eager to pin the blame on the new Trump administration for the disaster, honing in on things like the recent pause in federal spending. The White House, for its part, noted that federal air traffic controllers are exempt from the freeze in federal spending and suggested that Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett apply to become an air traffic controller herself.

An unfortunate consequence of the disaster was the engagement-farming practices of both traditional and social media, which included journalists hectoring people at the airport for comments while they waited to see if their loved ones were alive, and several viral posts that seem to have falsely claimed that a transgender servicemember was responsible for the crash.

At times like these, when life itself can seem so ephemeral, all would be wiser to let cooler heads prevail. 

-Matthew Foldi

On our radar

DeepSeek DOOMED? The Pentagon is scurrying to block DeepSeek, a Chinese ChatGPT-style app, from Department of Defense computers over national security concerns.

MAPPED OUT Donald Trump was not joking about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and even signed an executive order to make it so. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, however, is asking Google maps not to make the change on its products. Google announced that it will cooperate with the Trump change. 

CHUCKED OUT Chuck Todd, who has been a regular face on NBC News for eighteen years, announced he is leaving the network.

Trump issues tariff warning to our neighbors

I overheard at the gym today two men talking about the new Trump administration. “When was the last time you experienced a politician following through on what he promised to do?” asked one, as the other guy nodded in agreement.

President Donald Trump is making good on a lot of his campaign promises, and if you’re Canada or Mexico, you’re probably not as pleased about it as my fellow gym-goers.

Trump told reporters yesterday:

We’ll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons. I’ll be putting the tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and we will really have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries. Those tariffs may or may not rise with time.

The tariffs are set to go into effect this Saturday and, according to ABC News, “The price impact remains unclear, however, since businesses within the supply chain could opt to take on some or all of the tax burden, some experts added, noting the tariffs may not take effect at all since Trump has previously used them as a source of leverage in international negotiations.”

“Look, Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade,” Trump added. “They’ve treated us very unfairly on trade, and we will be able to make that up very quickly because we don’t need the products that they have.”

–Teresa Mull

Gabbard faces uphill climb to confirmation

The confirmation processes of President Donald Trump’s cabinet marches on. Eight of his picks have been confirmed so far, including yesterday’s confirmation of former governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum as secretary of the Interior. 

Looking ahead, the Senate’s schedule for Monday includes up to three roll-call votes. The motions include a vote to confirm Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget, as well as Christopher Wright as secretary of Energy and Pam Bondi as attorney general. Majority Leader John Thune also filed cloture on the nomination of Eric Turner to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development Thursday. 

As these hearings come to an end, the three most contentious cabinet nomination processes left have just began. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel — nominated as secretary of Health and Human Services, director of National Intelligence and FBI director, respectively — all had hearings Thursday.

Of the three, the one who appears to be facing the most roadblocks is former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who was questioned by Democrats and Republicans alike. Senator Todd Young of Indiana, viewed as one of the potential Republican no votes, asked Gabbard to condemn the “greatest whistleblower in American history” Edward Snowden for harming national security. Gabbard acknowledged that Snowden violated the law, but when Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, asked twice if Snowden was a “traitor,” she avoided using the term. “I’m focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again,” she said.

In an interview with Fox News’s Jesse Watters following the hearing, Missouri senator Josh Hawley told Watters: “I have to tell you I’m worried by what I hear from some of my Republican colleagues, I’m worried that her nomination may be in jeopardy. And I’m just worried about what that will mean.”

–Juan P. Villasmil