Daily News Brief for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024
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This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024.
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Biden's FAA is actively recruiting people with ‘severe intellectual’ and ‘psychiatric’ disabilities as part of 'Diversity and Inclusion' plan
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) places a priority on hiring people with "severe intellectual disability" as part of its diversity and inclusion initiative.
According to its website, the FAA claims, "Individuals with targeted or 'severe' disabilities are the most under-represented segment of the Federal workforce."
Under its People with Disabilities Program, the agency says it "actively recruits, hires, promotes, retains, develops and advances people with disabilities." The FAA targets the following disabilities as a matter of policy: "Hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism."
The FAA told Fox News that it "seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position."
Its website reveals that those with disabilities or those who have a veteran status can also be hired via the non-competitive, "on-the-spot" process as long as a manager files the proper paperwork, thus giving them preferential treatment in the hiring process.
The aviation industry has received further scrutiny from the public in the wake of an Alaska Airlines door plug being blown off the side of its two-month-old Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft causing it to make an emergency landing.
In a post on X, tech mogul Elon Musk asked, "Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritize DEI hiring over your safety?" He added, "That is actually happening."
"People will die due to DEI," Musk said.
Musk's comments came in response to a report that revealed in 2022 that Boeing began prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as part of its hiring process in 2022.
The Alaskan Airlines situation came on the heels of a shocking report in December, which showed there were 19 instances where planes nearly crashed into each other at airports in the first ten months of 2023.
Shark Tank powerhouse investor says he won’t invest in California: ‘Bad policy’
Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank revealed he would not make business investments in several Democratic states, including California.
O’Leary explained his reasoning in a yet-to-be-released episode of Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) show Unmuted. According to a transcript reviewed by Townhall, the politics of a state help O’Leary determine where to invest.
“I’m not trying to get involved in the partisanship of this statement. Just a fact, I don’t invest in New York, I don’t invest in Massachusetts, I don’t invest in California. In my mind, those are examples of states that are uninvestable because of bad policy,” O’Leary said. “So, I’m looking for the path of least resistance. If you make it hard for me to make money, I just take my money and go somewhere else.”
California in particular is ranked in the top ten for sales taxes and corporate taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, while New York is in the top ten only for its sales tax.
O’Leary pointed to Tennessee as an example of a state with “fantastic tax policy, reduced regulatory environment, reduced permitting time.” Any other state that doesn’t implement these business-friendly policies is at risk of “killing jobs,” according to O’Leary.
The Canadian investor started his own venture capital firm O’Leary Ventures last year, over 15 years after his first appearance on Shark Tank where he spends episodes deciding in what small businesses he desires to invest.
White House Swatted by ‘Prank Caller’ Claiming Residence on Fire
Fire trucks and ambulances reportedly rushed to the White House Monday morning around seven o’clock after a “prank caller” claimed the residence was on fire and someone was trapped inside.
The incident represents the latest swatting event against political officials. Dangerous swatting events appear to have first been instigated by Democrat prank callers against political opponents.
The prank call at the White House forced fire trucks and ambulances to rush to a snow-covered White House, the Daily Mail reported.
After arriving, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the U.S. Secret Service determined the incident was a false alarm.
“Fire in the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” a Washington, DC, dispatcher said at 7:04 a.m.
Authorities gave an “all clear” order at 7:15 AM.
President Joe Biden was located at Camp David on Monday morning, far away from the residence.
Authorities traced the prank call to an apparently spoofed phone number, a source told CNN.
“Someone who was reached at the callback number for the 911 report indicated they did not place it, a source told the Associated Press, indicating it was likely spoofed,” the Daily Mail reported.
Recent politicians who were swatted include Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), along with celebrities Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian.
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/yemen-houthi-rebels-fire-missile-us-warship-red-106370679
Houthi rebels strike a U.S.-owned ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, raising tensions
Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea.
The attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, later claimed by the Houthis, further escalates tensions gripping the Red Sea after American-led strikes on the rebels. The Houthis' attacks have roiled global shipping, amid Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, targeting a crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday's attack happened some 110 miles (177 kilometers) miles southeast of Aden. It said the ship’s captain reported that the “port side o