Author: News Room
Just after 8:43 p.m. on Jan. 29, an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, posed a question to the pilots of American Airlines Flight 5342: Could they land at a different runway?There was nothing unusual about the request or the pilots’ assent to it. But the decision to switch runways was fateful, bringing the plane closer to the Army Black Hawk helicopter that it would collide with in a crash that killed 67 people.Exactly what happened is still being pieced together. The National Transportation Safety Board is recovering and examining wreckage from the icy Potomac River.…
President Trump’s social media company is moving to position itself as a financial services firm that will allow his supporters to put money into investment products geared to what the company has called the “patriotic economy.”Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social platform, said on Thursday that it had applied for trademark applications for a number of investment products, including several exchange-traded funds, which are similar to mutual funds.The products, which Trump Media said would be available this year, will bear names such as “Truth.Fi Made in America ETF” and “Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF.” Trump…
Asanda Zondi received a startling phone call last Thursday, with orders to make her way to a health clinic in Vulindlela, South Africa, where she was participating in a research study that was testing a new device to prevent pregnancy and H.IV. infection.The trial was shutting down, a nurse told her. The device, a silicone ring inserted into her vagina, needed to be removed right away.When Ms. Zondi, 22, arrived at the clinic, she learned why: The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded the study, had withdrawn financial support and had issued a stop-work order to all organizations around…
On Jan. 19, almost two weeks after the Eaton fire broke out near Altadena, Calif., technicians for Southern California Edison began testing electrical equipment near the origin of the blaze. They soon noticed small white flashes appearing on high-voltage transmission lines when power was being restored — signs that the system was functioning abnormally.The incident is one of several irregularities that Edison has been reviewing as it examines its electrical system in the wake of the deadly fire, Pedro J. Pizarro, president and chief executive of Edison International, Southern California Edison’s parent company, said in an interview Wednesday.He cautioned that…
In Washington, Elon Musk has been at the forefront of Trump administration efforts to gut programs designed to promote diversity.At the same time, Tesla, the electric car company that Mr. Musk leads, has in recent days, with little notice, tried to appease critics who have accused the company of racial discrimination.In a little-noticed section of the company’s annual report published on Jan. 29, its board promised to monitor “how Tesla recruits, develops and retains excellent talent.”For shareholders who have long pushed Tesla to address complaints of racism at its factory in Fremont, Calif., the generic wording seemed to represent a…
Jamieson Greer, President Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. trade representative, defended the president’s plan to impose sweeping tariffs on all imported products and told senators he would work to restructure international trading relationships during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.Mr. Greer, a trade lawyer and former Trump administration official, told the Senate Finance Committee that he believed the United States “should be a country of producers” as well as consumers, and that he would work to open international markets for U.S. farmers and try to “reverse” the deindustrialization of the nation.“I am convinced that we have a relatively short…
President Trump’s claim that China controls the Panama Canal has placed a Hong Kong tycoon and his conglomerate at the heart of a showdown between the United States and China.That sprawling company, CK Hutchison Holdings, is one of Hong Kong’s most valuable publicly listed firms and counts some of the world’s biggest investors as shareholders. One of its subsidiaries, Hutchison Ports, has been involved in the Panama Canal since 1997.Of Panama’s five ports, Hutchison’s are the biggest — one at each end of the canal. According to the Panama Maritime Authority, Hutchison’s ports last year served vessels carrying 39 percent…
President Trump amplified unfounded claims on Thursday that the government had been paying news media outlets to generate positive coverage of Democrats.The conspiracy theories appear to have been generated by records showing payments for something much more innocuous: subscriptions.Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social site that “billions of dollars” from U.S.A.I.D. and other agencies had improperly gone to the “fake news media.” He spread a claim that Politico, a “left wing rag,” had received $8 million, and questioned if The New York Times and other outlets had also received payments.Users on X this week tried to make a connection…
One of the oldest power plants in the United States, perched on the edge of the nation’s largest coal mine, was slated to close in 2027. But the plant’s operator recently cancelled the retirement of the 66-year-old station, according to a draft utility plan published in late December. Now, three coal-burning units at the Dave Johnston Power Plant, near Glenrock, Wyo.,are among dozens nationwide that could keep burning coal far past scheduled retirement dates. Utilities like Rocky Mountain Power, which operates the Glenrock plant, could be taking advantage of growth in energy demand and changes in environmental regulations to keep…
Just in: The Justice Department agreed to temporarily restrict workers from Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team from gaining access to information in the Treasury Department payment system.The news comes as Washington grapples with a big debate: Can President Trump unilaterally decide to spend less on an area than what Congress has approved? It has taken on more significance amid the torrent of headlines about what Musk’s panel has discovered about where taxpayer money is going — and in some cases what should be “deleted.”This question is likely to determine how successful Musk can be in reducing government spending. The Impoundment Control…