Details Emerge on Boeing’s Terrifying Mid-Air Fuselage Blowout

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Details Emerge on Boeing’s Terrifying Mid-Air Fuselage Blowout

(Headline USA) The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights, a federal official said Sunday.

Alaska Airlines flight 1282 took off from Portland at 5:07 p.m. Friday for a two-hour trip to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, the chunk of fuselage blew out as the plane was climbing at about 16,000 feet.

One of the pilots declared an emergency and asked for clearance to descend to 10,000 feet, where the air would be rich enough for passengers to breathe without oxygen masks.

Videos posted online by passengers showed a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been. They applauded when the plane landed safely about 13 minutes after the blowout. Firefighters came down the aisle, asking passengers to remain in their seats as they treated the injured.

It was extremely lucky that the airplane had not yet reached cruising altitude, when passengers and flight attendants might be walking around the cabin, said National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

At a news conference Sunday night, Homendy provided new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane.

The explosive rush of air damaged several rows of seats and pulled insulation from the walls. The cockpit door flew open and banged into a lavatory door.

The force ripped the headset off the co-pilot and the captain lost part of her headset. A quick reference checklist kept within easy reach of the pilots flew out of the open cockpit, Homendy said.

The plane made it back to Portland, however, and none of the 171 passengers and six crew members was seriously injured. Homendy said the two seats next to the part that tore off were unoccupied.

Alaska Airlines had previously decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared, Homendy said.

She cautioned that the pressurization light might be unrelated to Friday’s incident in which a plug covering an unused exit door blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it cruised about three miles over Oregon.

The warning light came on during three previous flights: on Dec. 7, Jan. 3 and Jan. 4—the day before the door plug broke off.

Homendy said she didn’t have all the details regarding the Dec. 7 incident but specified the light came on during a flight on Jan. 3 and on Jan. 4 after the plane had landed.

MISSING DOOR PLUG DISCOVERED

The NTSB said the lost door plug was found Sunday near Portland, Oregon, by a school teacher—for now, known only as Bob—who discovered it in his backyard and sent two photos to the safety board.

Investigators will examine the plug, which is 26 by 48 inches and weighs 63 pounds , for signs of how it broke free.

Investigators will not have the benefit of hearing what was going on in the cockpit during the flight. The cockpit voice recorder—one of two so-called black boxes—recorded over the flight’s sounds after two hours, Homendy said.

Before the discovery of the missing plug, the NTSB had pleaded with residents in an area west of Portland called Cedar Hills to be on the lookout for the object.

On Sunday, people scoured dense thickets wedged between busy roads and a light rail train station. Adam Pirkle said he rode 14 miles through the overgrowth on his bicycle.

“I’ve been looking at the flight track, I was looking at the winds,” he said. “I’ve been trying to focus on wooded areas.”

Searchers located two cell phones that appeared to have belonged to passengers on Friday’s terrifying flight. One was discovered in a yard, the other on the side of a road. Both were turned over to the NTSB, which vowed to return them to their owners.

FLIGHTS GROUNDED

Hours after the incident, the FAA ordered the grounding of 171 of the 218 Max 9s in operation, including all those used by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, until they can be inspected. The airlines were still waiting Sunday for details about how to do the inspections.

Alaska Airlines, which has 65 Max 9s, and United, with 79, are the only U.S. airlines to fly that particular model of Boeing’s workhorse 737. The companies operate nearly two-thirds of the 215 Max 9 aircraft in service around the world, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Alaska Airlines has grounded its entire fleet of 65 Max 9s for inspections and maintenance. The airline initially kept 18 of its Max 9s in service Saturday because they had received in-depth inspections as part of recent maintenance checks. But the airline pulled those jets from service Saturday night to comply with an FAA directive for all operators of Max 9s to conduct specific inspections.

Alaska Airlines said it had canceled 170 Sunday flights, affecting 25,000 passengers, and expects cancelations to continue through the first half of the week. Early Monday, 20% of the carrier’s flights were cancelled, 139 in all, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.

Passengers whose flights are canceled will be moved the next available flight, the airline said, or they can request a change or a refund without incurring fees under a flexible travel policy.

United Airlines, the world’s biggest operator of Max 9s, grounded its entire fleet of 79 Max 9s and is seeking to “clarify the inspection process and requirements for returning” them to service. The airline had cancelled 204 flights early Monday, or 7% of all planned departures, according to FlightAware.

United said it was waiting for Boeing to issue a “multi-operator message,” which is a service bulletin used when multiple airlines need to perform similar work on a particular type of plane.

Boeing was working on the bulletin but had not yet submitted it to the FAA for review and approval, according to a person familiar with the situation. Producing a detailed, technical bulletin frequently takes a couple days, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a matter that the company and regulators have not publicly discussed.

Six other airlines use the Max 9: Panama’s Copa Airlines, Aeromexico, Turkish airlines, Icelandair, flydubai, and SCAT Airlines in Kazakhstan, according to Cirium. Copa Airlines said it had temporarily suspended 21 Boeing 737 Max 9s to comply with the FAA’s order.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, chair of the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said she agreed with the decision to ground the Max 9s.

“Aviation production has to meet a gold standard, including quality control inspections and strong FAA oversight,” she said in a statement.

It remained unclear why Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had yet to publicly comment on the matter as of Monday, but would not be the first time that the former South Bend mayor and train enthusiast, considered to have been a diversity hire due to his LGBT identity, has been absent on the job.

Buttigieg’s latest disappearing act comes as a scandal continued to plague the White House following news that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spent several days in the hospital while apparently lying to the White House and withholding the details of his medical emergency.

PLANE SAFETY CONCERNS

Federal officials and airline executives regularly tout the safety of air travel.

There has not been a fatal crash of a U.S. airliner since 2009, when a Colgan Air plane operated for Continental crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one on the ground. However, a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports in the past year prompted the FAA to convene a “safety summit” last year, in which officials encouraged airlines and pilots to redouble their attention to careful flying.

The incident has also renewed questions about the safety of Boeing’s Max aircraft, which the newest version of the company’s storied 737. There are two versions of the aircraft in service: the Max 8 and the Max 9, which is the larger of the two.

Regulators around the world grounded Max 8 planes for nearly two years after a Lion Air flight crashed in Indonesia in 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 crashed in 2019. Boeing changed an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.

The aircraft involved rolled off the assembly line and received its certification two months ago, according to online FAA records. It had been on 145 flights since entering commercial service Nov. 11, said FlightRadar24, another tracking service. The flight from Portland was the aircraft’s third of the day.

The Max is the newest version of Boeing’s venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. The plane went into service in May 2017.

Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years until Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.

The Max has been plagued by other issues, including manufacturing flaws.

Last year, the FAA told pilots to limit use of an anti-ice system on the Max in dry conditions because of concern that inlets around the engines could overheat and break away, possibly striking the plane. And in December, Boeing told airlines to inspect the planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder-control system.

However, those past issues are unrelated to Friday’s blowout, which is an exceedingly rare event in air travel.

Anthony Brickhouse, a professor of aerospace safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said it’s too soon to say whether the blowout involved an issue with Max 9s or that specific flight. Brickhouse said passengers should feel confident that regulators and airlines will make sure the grounded Max 9s are safe before returning them to service.

Brickhouse said it it was lucky that the emergency occurred shortly after takeoff when passengers were all seated with their seatbelts on. But he said that doesn’t mean passengers should feel scared to leave their seats once the pilot turns off the “fasten seatbelt” sign because it’s so unlikely for holes to open in the fuselages of airliners.

There have, however, been rare instances of holes opening in the fuselages of airliners. In most cases, they have been the result of metal fatigue in the plane’s aluminum skin.

In the most horrific case, a flight attendant for Aloha Airlines was blown out of the cabin of a Boeing 737 over the Pacific Ocean in 1988 after an 18-foot-long chunk of the roof peeled away. Her body was never found.

The tragedy led to tougher rules for airlines to inspect and repair microscopic fuselage cracks before they tear open in flight.

In 2009, a hole opened in the roof of a Southwest Boeing 737 flying 35,000 feet over West Virginia. And in 2011, a 5-foot gash unfurled in another Southwest Boeing 737, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing at a military base in Arizona. No one was injured in either of those cases, both of which were blamed on metal fatigue.

In 2018, a passenger on a Southwest Airlines jet was killed in when a piece of engine housing blew off and shattered the window she was sitting next to. That incident involved an earlier version of the Boeing 737, not a Max.

“When passengers board a flight they should feel confident that the aircraft they are flying on is safe,” Brickhouse said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

DOJ Signals Plan to Arrest Thousands of Additional Jan. 6 Protestors

Ken Silva
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DOJ Signals Plan to Arrest Thousands of Additional Jan. 6 Protestors

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) US Attorney Matthew Graves gave a long-winded speech Saturday to commemorate the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising, recounting what he said were “scenes reminiscent of a medieval battle.”

Along with his melodramatic account of the roughly four-hour riot, Graves also suggested that thousands of additional protestors are to be charged for simply stepping on Capitol grounds.

“We have used our prosecutorial discretion to primarily focus on those who entered the building or those who engaged in violent or corrupt conduct on Capitol grounds. But if a person knowingly entered the restricted area without authorization, they had already committed a federal crime,” Graves said.

“Make no mistake, thousands of people occupied an area that they were not authorized to be present in in the first place.”

The Justice Department has already made several high-profile arrests of defendants who stepped on Capitol grounds but didn’t enter the building.

Those include Infowars host Owen Shroyer, whose presence on Capitol grounds violated a deferred prosecution agreement he had from 2019—when he was arrested for shouting during a House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing.

Infamous Jan. 6 provocateur Ray Epps has also been charged with only being on Capitol grounds. In Epps’s case, many have accused the government of letting him off easily, as prosecutors have admitted that Epps’s conduct was “felonious” that day. Among other actions, he encouraged others to go into the Capitol and he pushed a sign into a group of Capitol Police officers.

But when it comes to additional prosecutions, conservative journalist Julie Kelly noted that the DOJ might be checked by the courts. Kelly noted that an appeals tribunal recently subjected prosecutors to probing questions over their decision to charge  Couy Griffin, a defendant who stepped on Capitol grounds after initial barriers and signage were torn down.

“During oral arguments on Griffin’s appeal last month, a three-judge panel sounded skeptical that the government had met its burden of proof in Griffin’s case,” Kelly wrote of that case.

“Debate centered on whether Griffin knew the vice president was still on the premises when he entered and remained on the west side.”

In another case,  Judge Christopher Cooper acquitted Jeremy Groseclose on a trespassing charge on the grounds that government didn’t prove he knew he was in an unauthorized area.

“The government presented almost no evidence that Groseclose knew that Vice President Pence was inside the Capitol that day,” Cooper wrote on January 5, according to Kelly.

Kelly lamented that a few adverse court rulings probably won’t curb the DOJ’s zeal for charging as many Trump supporters as possible.

“Graves accomplished his mission of accelerating the government’s campaign of fear related to January 6 and its relentless criminalization of political activity,” she said.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Abbott Slams NYC’s ‘Baseless’ $700M Lawsuit Against Immigrant Buses

Luis Cornelio
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Abbott Slams NYC’s ‘Baseless’ $700M Lawsuit Against Immigrant Buses

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, responded to the “baseless” lawsuit filed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams against the buses transporting illegal aliens into the city. 

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Abbott told host Shannon Bream that Adams should be suing the Biden administration, not the busing companies for transporting illegal aliens to formerly welcoming sanctuary cities. 

“The mayor sued the wrong party,” Abbott said on Sunday morning. “If the mayor really is trying to cut down on the number of illegal immigrants coming into New York, he needs to be suing Joe Biden, not this bus companies, because it is Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s policies that [are] causing the massive multimillion influx to the United States that leads to many of them wanting to go to New York.” 

On Jan. 4, Adams filed a $708 million lawsuit against 17 charter bus and transportation companies to recover the cost of providing taxpayer-funded shelter and other health services to illegal aliens bused into New York City. 

The lawsuit cited a social services law pertaining to anyone bringing a person from another state into New York to obtain taxpayer-funded services. The law says that the transporting individual must support the person in need or take them out of the state. 

While the State of Texas is not a defendant in the lawsuit, the New York City government is specifically targeting the bus companies that contract with Abbott. 

Addressing the lawsuit, Abbott added, “The lawsuit is completely legally baseless and the mayor is going to lose very badly for this very specific reason and that is everybody who is bused… to New York is already authorized by the Biden administration to be within the United States legally.” 

The Texas governor implied that illegal aliens pending court orders or refugee status can remain within the U.S. and thus can travel anywhere within the country.

Abbott specifically continued, “They have the legal right to travel wherever they want to in the United States and lawsuit by the mayor violates the United States Constitution in civil respects and the mayor is going to lose and lose badly.”

Abbott expressed his hope that Adams is “forced to pay the legal fees” of the defendants in the lawsuit.

Ex-AOC Protégé Pocketed 70% of PAC Cash Meant to Fight Manchin

Luis Cornelio
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Ex-AOC Protégé Pocketed 70% of PAC Cash Meant to Fight Manchin

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known for catapulting the congresswoman to victory, reportedly pocketed nearly all the funds he raised to fight the Senate filibuster, according to a scathing Daily Beast report. 

Corbin Trent, co-founder of the far-left Justice Democrats and Ocasio-Cortez’s initial communications director, cashed in $140,000 out of the $197,239.61 raised by his political action committee, No Excuses PAC, intended to combat Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., according to FEC filings cited by the Daily Beast. 

In stark contrast to his hefty paycheck, the No Excuses PAC allocated a mere $14,831 toward its original anti-filibuster goal. The report estimated that Trent paid himself “nearly 10 times” the amount the PAC invested in combating Manchin and Sinema. Trent’s self-pay totaled over 70% of its raised funds. 

The expenditure breakdown includes credit card fees, hotels and payments to accounting firms. Although Trent claimed in 2022 that his income stemmed from television appearances, he has continued paying himself despite not appearing on television since then, the scathing report alleged. 

In his LinkedIn profile, the former Ocasio-Cortez aide touted his role as the producer of the Building the Dream podcast, funded by the PAC. However, the Daily Beast discovered that the podcast hasn’t released an episode since late 2021. 

In response to the scathing report, Trent defended most expenses as “mostly admin at this point.” The report indicated that a scant $1,552.51 remains out of the funds spent. 

The generous pay received by Trent raises concerns regarding the PAC’s legality, according to Jordan Libowitz, communications director of the leftist non-profit CREW. 

“If 70 percent of all the money a group raises ends up in your pockets, then the group’s primary purpose is enriching you,” Libowitz said. “Looking at the PAC’s filings, it’s hard to see how its focus is anything other than redirecting donor funds into Trent’s bank account.” 

MI GOP Members Vote to Expel Chair Karamo; Party Decries Plot as Illegal

Luis Cornelio
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MI GOP Members Vote to Expel Chair Karamo; Party Decries Plot as Illegal

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The leaders of the Michigan Republican Party allegedly overwhelmingly voted to expel Kristina Karamo from her position as the Republican chair. 

The vote, however, caused internal turmoil regarding its legitimacy. The Michigan GOP issued several statements accusing the alleged vote of violating the party’s bylaws.

A subsequent video from Dan Hartman, the Michigan GOP general counsel, stated that the vote was fraudulent and did not constitute a legitimate vote.

In contrast, Bree Moeggenberg, a committee member of the state’s Republican Party, said that over 88% of members voted against Karamo.

“We have made history today!” exclaimed Moeggenberg in a statement, as reported by ABC 7 Detroit. “With over 88% of the members that were present and voting, we have taken the first step to engage and protect the various voices and liberties of all Republicans… we have voted to remove Kristina Karamo as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party.”

Moeggenberg said that Malinda Pego, the party’s co-chair, would serve as the new interim chair.

Despite the vote, Karamo allegedly refused to resign, describing the meeting as unlawful.

“The rogue cabal of anti-grassroots establishment operatives, led by Malinda Pego, initiated the attempted coup when they colluded with Matt DePerno and other unethical individuals from the Oakland County Republican Committee,” a Michigan GOP press statement read.

The statement added, “They called today’s bogus gathering as a preemptive ploy to illegally remove the chair, and many other State Committee members. This entire process is illegitimate according to the rules of the Michigan Republican Party bylaws and is illegal based on Michigan election laws.”

ABC 7 Detroit reported that Karamo’s refusal to step down could initiate a court battle. Moreoever, according to media reports, Pego confirmed Karamo’s expulsion in a subsequent statement.

“The Michigan Republican State Committee, including former General Counsel Daniel Hartman, convened today to discuss previously requested issues including transparency and accountability regarding party leadership,” Pego said. 

She further stated that the vote had surpassed the required 75% threshold and followed the bylaws of the Michigan GOP.

Investigative journalist and pro-Donald Trump activist Laura Loomer’s damning report alleged that Karamo clandestinely led UnAuthorized, a non-profit assisting Democratic election efforts. These accusations further undermined Karamo’s already weakened position as party chair. 

In response, Karamo defended her involvement as unpaid and aimed at reaching non-conservative voters. A spokesperson from UnAuthorized stated Karamo had left the non-profit after her election as Michigan GOP chair. 

Before the expulsion vote, some party committee members referenced Loomer’s accusations in a scathing letter to Karamo.

This is a developing story and updates will follow accordingly.

Game On: Missouri Official Vows to Apply Colorado Standard on Biden Ballot

Luis Cornelio
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Game On: Missouri Official Vows to Apply Colorado Standard on Biden Ballot

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Missouri State Secretary Jay Ashcroft has threatened to enforce the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s anti-Donald Trump ballot standard to remove President Joe Biden from the Show-Me State’s primary ballot. 

Ashcroft made this pledge on Twitter in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the infamous Colorado ruling that disqualified Trump from holding elected office due to the insurrection clause of the Constitution.

“What has happened in Colorado & Maine is disgraceful & undermines our republic. While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden!” Ashcroft wrote.

He said that it was “time to stand and be counted” in a follow-up post. “The future depends on it,” he continued. 

Ashcroft filed a pro-Trump brief to the Colorado Supreme Court, urging the Democratic judges to dismiss the effort to block Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballots.

The efforts to block Trump from the ballot were based on questionable allegations that the former president was involved in an alleged insurrection on Jan. 6.

Despite the absence of any criminal conviction or indictment against the former president, the Colorado judges ruled that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution disqualified Trump from holding elected office. 

Following the Colorado decision, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, described as a far-left activist, unilaterally barred Trump from the Pine Tree State’s Republican primary ballots. 

In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ashcroft expressed his disagreement with the idea that secretaries of state can unilaterally disenfranchise voters from supporting their preferred candidates. Nevertheless, he cautioned that such a precedent would be applied “equally.” 

Ashcroft said, “I’m not in favor of going down this path. But if we will go down this path, it’s inevitable, if the Supreme Court does not stop this.” 

He added, “The rules will be applied equally. I just hope they will not be the rules of Colorado and Maine.” 

Ashcroft is not the only Republican politician threatening to support measures to prevent Biden, who faces accusations of bribery, influence-peddling and corruption, from appearing on their states’ ballots.

State Reps. Aaron Bernstine, R-Pa.; Charlice Byrd, R-Ga.; and Coty McGarr, R-Ariz., have proposed legislation to bar Biden from featuring on their states’ ballots. 

“Today, we are joining forces to introduce legislation to REMOVE Joe Biden from the ballot in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania,” remarked the lawmaker in the letter, mocking the Colorado decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear initial arguments on Feb. 8, and a swift decision is anticipated since Colorado will hold its primary on March 5.

Media Matters Bankrolled by Dem. Megadonors, Leaked Donor List Reveals

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Media Matters Bankrolled by Dem. Megadonors, Leaked Donor List Reveals

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A confidential donor list that was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon revealed that Media Matters for America, a far-left activist group that pretends to be an unbiased media watchdog, is bankrolled by some of the largest Democratic donors in the country.

Since Media Matters is considered a charity, it is not required to disclose its donors to the public. However, in November 2023, the group mistakenly identified its five largest contributors in a public filing to the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.

One of those contributors was Indiana-based shopping mall magnate Deborah Simon who donated $4 million to Media Matters. She previously exposed her Trump Derangement Syndrome when she pledged to do everything in her power to defeat Donald Trump and contributed $53 million to leftist politicians and groups since 2018.

Among others who contributed to Media Matters were Bain Capital co-chairman Joshua Bekenstein and his wife, Anita, both of whom constantly donate to Democratic super PACs. They contributed $1.75 million to the leftist organization.

The list also identified the private foundation of Tim Gill, an advocate of sexual deviants, as another major contributor to Media Matters. Gill became infamous for working with Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., to bring “dark money” to the state level in the mid-2000s.

The Stephen Silberstein Foundation and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation were also among the major Media Matters’s contributors.

The donor list is another evidence of Media Maters’s far-left political bias. The activist group that pretends to be a watchdog was founded in 2004 by Bill Clinton loyalist David Brock and received tax-exempt status after claiming to the IRS it would identify and correct conservative “misinformation” in the news by presenting a “full and fair exposition of the pertinent facts.”

However, the group completely stopped pretending that it was unbiased when it openly supported and endorsed Hillary Clinton as a 2016 presidential candidate. In addition to that, Media Matters previously shared an address with American Bridge 21st Century, one of the largest Democratic super PACs in the country.

“We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” State Attorney General Ken Paxton, R–Texas, said after launching investigations into Media Matters.

Pro-Democracy? DNC Threatens NH Primary in Last-Ditch Effort to Save Biden

Luis Cornelio
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Pro-Democracy? DNC Threatens NH Primary in Last-Ditch Effort to Save Biden

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Two DNC operatives issued a scathing letter to the New Hampshire Democratic Party regarding the state’s Jan. 23 primary, Politico reported.

The New Hampshire primary directly hinders the DNC and President Joe Biden’s last-ditch effort to persuade dissatisfied black voters by moving the first primary to South Carolina on Feb. 3.

Addressed to Raymond Buckley, Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, the letter claimed that the Jan. 23 primary was “non-compliant” with DNC rules and bylaws.

Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt Jr, co-chairs of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, wrote: “The event on January 23, 2024 cannot be used as the first determining stage of the state’s delegate selection process and is considered detrimental.” 

They further claimed that the Jan. 23 primary is “detrimental” to the DNC. The letter urged the New Hampshire party to inform primary voters the event is “meaningless” and advise Democratic candidates against participating. 

New Hampshire and Iowa have been traditionally the first states to select their presidential nominees. However, in a desperate bid to persuade black voters, who recent polls suggest are increasingly discontented with the Democratic Party, the DNC chose South Carolina as the initial primary state. 

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan announced in November 2023 that the state would hold the primary on Jan. 23. However, in 2022, Biden urged the DNC to abandon New Hampshire as the lead state. 

In a letter dated Dec. 2, 2022, Biden claimed, “Just like my Administration, the Democratic Party has worked hard to reflect the diversity of America – but our nominating process does not.” 

The president added, “For fifty years, the first month of our presidential nominating process has been a treasured part of our democratic process, but it is time to update the process for the 21st century.” 

Despite his hawkish focus on identity politics, a Jan. 1 USA Today/Suffolk University Poll indicated that Biden faces challenges with black voters.  

According to the USA Today poll, Biden garnered a meager 63% of support—down from the 92% he secured in 2020, as reported by Fox News. The poll also revealed that former President Donald Trump received 37% of support among black voters under 35, four points higher than Biden. 

Chinese Firm Deletes Website After Communist, Military Ties Exposed

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Chinese Firm Deletes Website After Communist, Military Ties Exposed

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) After the Chinese parent company firm of an American company that was seeking to build a manufacturing facility near several U.S. military bases was exposed for having Chinese government ties, it scrubbed its website in less than a week after that.

The Daily Caller, the news source that exposed the firm, reported that the Chinese parent company of Cnano Technology USA (Cnano USA) removed all mention of the firm’s involvement in the Chinese government’s 863 Program, which the U.S. government has accused of working to steal U.S. technology.

Cnano USA intends to manufacture liquid conductive paste for electric vehicles and other devices at a forthcoming $95 million Kansas facility that is located just 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth and other Midwestern military sites, the online publication previously wrote.

In addition to that, on Dec. 22, 2023, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence revealed to the news source that Cnano Jiangsu employs 28 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, promotes CCP ideology and participates in the Chinese government’s “863 Program,” which supports the development of China’s military and “provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire U.S. technology and sensitive economic information.”

The news source cited Cnano Jiangsu’s English-language website. At the time of the reporting, it stated that the firm had “undertaken a number of national 863” projects.

After the report by the Caller was released, the company removed all evidence of its participation in the 863 Program from the “About Us” page by Dec. 29, 2023, so that the only way to see the evidence of the firm participating in the program is by accessing an archived version of Cnano Jiangsu’s English-language website from Dec. 24, 2023.

Cnano Jiangsu’s Chinese-language website also removed references to the program by Dec. 29, 2023, even though the connection to the program was mentioned before that.

“The Chinese Communist Party has no place in Kansas or anywhere in the United States… Discussions with state and federal officials have begun, and I look forward to taking concrete steps to stop any CCP-backed company from expanding their foothold in Kansas and other communities across the country,” Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Ka., said in response to the Caller’s report.

Rays’ Wander Franco Alleged Sex Abuse of Minor, Family Bribes Rock Dom. Rep.

Luis Cornelio
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Rays’ Wander Franco Alleged Sex Abuse of Minor, Family Bribes Rock Dom. Rep.

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco appeared before a federal judge in the Dominican Republic over sickening allegations he sexually exploited an underage child and paid thousands in laundered money to the child’s mother in exchange for her consent. 

The news of these alleged crimes sent shockwaves through the small Caribbean Island nation, renowned for producing some of the world’s most famous baseball players. Local authorities estimate that the baseball player paid the family several thousand dollars to maintain silence and evade criminal prosecution. 

Franco, aged 23, made his MLB debut in 2021, becoming an All-Star in 2023. According to an MLB press release, he received a $182 million contract with the Rays in 2021. He has been placed on administrative leave pending the sexual exploitation criminal investigation.

The ordeal started when Franco allegedly began a relationship with a 14-year-old girl from the Dominican Republic in 2023. While the age of consent is 18, he allegedly bribed the girl’s mother in exchange for permission for the relationship. 

Prosecutors said that the payments exchanged for consent are deemed as instances involving both money laundering and the exploitation of individuals in a sexual context.

Federal prosecutors conducted a raid on the girl’s mother’s residence, where they discovered several thousand dollars, which they claim was part of a significant money laundering scheme originating from the bribes.

A federal judge mandated Franco to post bail of approximately $37,000 ($2,000,000 in Dominican pesos). Additionally, he was instructed to make regular appearances before the judge. The mother of the child (pictured in the tweet below), who allegedly received the bribes, has been placed under house arrest pending the trial.

Local media reported that the relationship, spanning four months, ended when Franco started dating someone else. The details of this relationship surfaced when the heartbroken underage girl took to social media, accusing Franco of being a pedophile and exploiting underage girls in the Dominican Republic.

The social media scandal triggered a federal investigation. Subsequent interviews uncovered that the girl grew weary as she realized her mother was utilizing Franco to exploit money and was not sharing any of the alleged extorted money with her. 

According to local outlet Telemicro, disturbing WhatsApp messages, reportedly obtained by federal prosecutors from Franco’s phone, suggest his alleged manipulation of the girl, instructing her not to date anyone besides himself. 

“You’re just a girl and you don’t know how to get along with me, that’s why you failed. But I’ll give you one chance, you should be just for me, don’t look at anyone else,” Franco reportedly said in Spanish text messages.

In another text, Franco allegedly expressed his desire to “raise” the girl and have her “forget everything” her family taught her. In a third WhatsApp message, Franco allegedly admitted that his relationship with the underage would kill his career. “I took the risk and I loved it,” he told the girl.

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