Month: January 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, was back on Capitol Hill on Thursday for a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.

Kennedy, a Democrat who ran as an independent but ended up supporting Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign, faced confirmation grillings over his controversial views, facing sharp questioning from Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee.

Day 2 of Kennedy’s hearing wrapped around 1 p.m., with top senators of both parties still expressing questions and concerns. Kennedy will likely need 51 votes to become the next HHS secretary. If a vote in the Senate is tied, Vice President JD Vance would break the tie. (per CBS News).

For a detailed synopsis and updates from Kennedy’s heading, head to news outlets: ABC NEWS; CBS NEWS or NBC NEWS.

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President Donald Trump confirmed during a press conference on Thursday that there were no survivors after the deadly midair collision in Washington DC on Wednesday.

American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas – which was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members – collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter (carrying three people) when the chopper entered the airliner’s landing path as it approached Ronald Reagan National Airport about 9 p.m. local time Wednesday. Among the passengers on board Flight 5342 include figure skaters, coaches and family members who had been at a camp in Wichita; additionally, Russian state media confirmed that Russian figure skaters and coaches were also on board.

Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said during a press conference Thursday there were no survivors in the crash: Donnelly said several local and state agencies responded in addition to Washington first responders and the Department of Defense, working in harsh conditions, heavy wind, ice on the water. Donnelly said responders will continue to work to find all the bodies from the crash:

Newly-appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: “We have located the two aircrafts. The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted. It’s been located in three different sections. It’s in about waist-deep water,” adding that the government will not rest until it gets answers for the families and for the flying public about what caused an airliner to collide with a military helicopter.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in video statement Thursday the military helicopter was on an annual proficiency training flight: “it was a fairly experienced crew that was doing the required annual night evaluation. They did have night vision goggles. We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor at the right altitude at the time of the incident .. It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner and of course the three soldiers in that Blackhawk. They’re in our prayers. We are actively investigating to find out what happened and why.”

In a briefing from the White House, President Trump said the FAA, the NTSB and the U.S. military will be carrying out a systematic and comprehensive investigation, and expressed condolences for the victims: “I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for a nation…Sadly there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions. As one nation we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly … our hearts are shattered. In moments like this the differences between Americans fade to nothing compared to the bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all, both as Americans and even as nations. We are one family and today we are all heartbroken. We’re all searching for answers.”

Trump later said that the crash was a ‘tragedy that didn’t have to happen,’ and heavily criticism of diversity in the FAA and attacked the Biden and Obama administrations for what he claimed were bad administrative decisions at the FAA and DOT.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a statement: “I want to express my sincere condolences for the accident that happened at DCA last night. We’re absolutely heartbroken for the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew members and also for those that were on the military aircraft. Our focus right now is to doing everything that we can to support all of those involved and also the PSA Airlines team. This is devastating. We are all hurting incredibly.”

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The Trump’s administration is offering federal workers the chance to take a “deferred resignation,” which would mean they agree now to resign but get paid through September; the offer is meant to end work-from-home practices, per CBS News. Trump administration officials said that only about 6% of federal employees work full-time in office, and there are about 2 million federal government employees across the country, which means that the administration expects that as many as 200,000 may take the government’s offer. Senior administration officials told NBC News that the percentage of federal workers resigning could potentially lead to around $100 billion in savings.

News outlet Axios was first to report the news of the Trump administration’s buyout offer. The White House expects up to 10% of federal employees to quit, issuing a memo offering to pay federal workers who don’t want to return to the office through Sept. 30, as long as they resign by Feb. 6.  The offer went out to the federal workforce through a new system the Trump administration set up that gives officials the ability to email all federal employees at once. All full-time federal employees are eligible, except for members of the military, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security and other jobs excluded by agencies.  The email included a draft resignation letter for them to review; if an employee wishes to resign, they will be able to reply with the word “resign.

The email send to federal workers read (in part): “If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce. At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions. … you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason).”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees, and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers. If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, criticized the program. AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement: “purging the federal government of dedicated career civil servants will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government. This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”.

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The Justice Department on Wednesday abandoned all criminal proceedings against the two co-defendants of President Donald Trump in the Florida classified documents case. U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne requested that the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court dismiss the case against the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in a way that it could never be filed again.

Prosecutors informed the  11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it had withdrawn the appeal, formally ending the case:  “The United States of America moves to voluntarily dismiss its appeal with prejudice. The government has conferred with counsel for Appellees Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who do not object to the voluntary dismissal.”

The DOJ had asked a federal appeals court to drop the criminal case against Nauta and De Oliveira, who were accused of conspiring to hide classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.  Former special counsel Jack Smith had previously dropped two federal cases against Trump, on charges he tried to steal the 2020 election and that he unlawfully retained national defense records after leaving the White House, after he won the Nov. 5 election. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira in July, by ruling Smith was appointed illegitimately. Smith’s team ended its case against Trump after his November election win, citing longstanding department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted.

Trump was charged with mishandling classified documents, including by willfully retaining national defense information after his presidency. Those documents allegedly included information on U.S. and foreign military capabilities. Trump valet Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager De Oliveira were charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents that Tru,p took with him when he left the White House after his first term.

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During a virtual hearing on Tuesday afternoon, a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s freeze on all federal foreign and domestic aid. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued a brief administrative stay, which came minutes before the funding freeze was scheduled to go into effect.  Judge  AliKhan said that the stay preserves federal disbursements at least until Monday at 5 p.m. EST.

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget has instructed all federal agencies to cease spending on any financial assistance programs if they suspect it might conflict with President Trump’s recent executive orders. A memo from the White House budget office ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, potentially impacting trillions in government spending and halting public programs that affect millions of Americans.  The memo stated that federal departments faced a 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday to cease spending on any financial assistance programs (per NBC NEWS.)

White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Matthew Vaeth said in the memorandum that federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”  The memo specified the pause will not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits, nor does it include “assistance provided directly to individuals,” but it applies to other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.

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In the first White House press briefing of President Donald Trump’s second administration on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the mystery drone sightings over New Jersey and along the East Coast late last year were “authorized to be flown by the FAA.   The drone activity was first reported on Nov. 19 by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, and caused temporary flight restrictions in New Jersey throughout November/December 2024.

Leavitt said: “I do have news directly from the president of the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office, from President Trump directly, an update on the New Jersey drones. After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”

In December, mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and other states on the East Coast prompted a demand for officials to find the source of the flying objects, some of which were spotted near military installations.  Trump suggested at the time that the Biden administration knew more than it was revealing to the public about the drones: “they know where it came from and where it went. “And for some reason, they don’t want to comment. And I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.”

The Biden administration shared a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense on Dec. 16 that said while there were indeed drones flying over New Jersey, they constituted a “combination” of lawful aerial activity. Their joint statement read: “having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”

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