Airlines Expect Interference from 5G Coming Online Near Airports

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Airlines Expect Interference from 5G Coming Online Near Airports

(Headline USA) Airline passengers could face a new source of disruptions starting Saturday, when wireless providers are expected to power up new 5G systems near major airports.

Aviation groups have warned for years that 5G signals could interfere with aircraft equipment, especially devices using radio waves to measure distance above the ground and which are critical when planes land in low visibility.

Telecom companies agreed to limit the power of the signals around busy airports, giving airlines an extra year to protect their planes.

The leader of the nation’s largest pilots’ union criticized the way the wireless licenses were granted, saying it had added unnecessary risk to aviation.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently told airlines that flights could be disrupted because a small portion of the nation’s fleet has not been upgraded to protect against radio interference.

Most of the major U.S. airlines say they are ready. American, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier and United say all of their planes are protected against 5G interference.

The big exception is Delta Air Lines. Delta says it has 190 planes, which include most of its smaller ones, that still lack upgraded protections because its supplier has been unable to provide them fast enough.

The airline does not expect to cancel any flights because of the issue, Delta said Friday. The airline plans to route the 190 planes carefully to limit the risk of canceling flights or forcing planes to divert away from airports where visibility is low because of fog or low clouds.

Jason Ambrosi, a Delta pilot and president of the Air Line Pilots Association, accused the FCC of granting 5G licenses without consulting aviation interests, which he said “has left the safest aviation system in the world at increased risk.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Universities Selling ‘Plan B’ in Vending Machines

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Universities Selling ‘Plan B’ in Vending Machines

(Headline USA) Since last November, a library at the University of Washington has featured a different kind of vending machine. It’s stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy tests and the morning-after pill.

With some states protecting unborn life and others legalizing the premeditated and intentional ending of human life in the womb,  the machines are part of a push by leftist college campuses to engage in the culture war.

There are now 39 universities in 17 states with emergency contraceptive vending machines, and at least 20 more considering them, according to the American Society for Emergency Contraception.

Washington this year became the first U.S. state to set aside money — $200,000 to fund $10,000 grants that colleges can obtain next year through an application process — to expand access to emergency contraceptives at public universities and technical colleges through the automatic dispensers.

The University of Washington’s machine was installed after a student-led campaign.

It offers boxes of generic Plan B for $12.60, about a quarter of what the name-brand versions sell for in stores, and more than 640 have been sold.

The drug is even cheaper in some machines than it is in UW’s, as low as $7 per box.

That’s because it is sold at just above wholesale cost, compared with pharmacy retail prices that might go up to $50.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

French President Says Social Media Outlets are Inciting Riots

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French President Says Social Media Outlets are Inciting Riots

(Headline USA) Social media companies are once again under scrutiny for stirring domestic unrest, this time in France as the country’s president blames TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms for helping fuel widespread riots.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron accused social media of playing a “considerable role” in encouraging copycat acts of violence as officials try to tamp down riots wreaking havoc in the country.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said police made 917 arrests on Thursday alone.

More than 300 police officers have also been injured attempting to quell the rioting over the death of the teenage driver at the hands of police.

Macron, who in tandem castigated video games for the rioting, said the French government would work with social media sites to take down “the most sensitive content.”

Macron also expressed an interest in identifying users who “call for disorder or exacerbate the violence.

A French official, speaking anonymously, said the name and address of the police officer who shot at Nahel were published on social media.

A prison officer also has seen his professional card going on social media sites, the official said, suggesting it could put the person’s life and family at risk.

During his speech on Friday, Macron did not specify what type of content he viewed as “sensitive,” but he said he expected “a spirit of responsibility” from the social media platforms.

Talks between the government and social media platforms including Snapchat and Twitter, have started with the aim to speed up the process to remove content inciting to violence, the official said.

The French government is also pushing for identifying people who launch calls for violence but it’s still at the “discussion” stage.

Darmanin said that in a meeting with social networks, he’d delivered a warning that they can’t allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence.

“They were very cooperative,” he said. “We’ll see tonight if they really are.”

Darmanin said on Friday that French authorities will provide social media companies with “as much information as possible” so that, in return, they get identities of people who incite violence, adding that authorities will “pursue every person who uses these social networks to commit violent acts.”

He also said that the country will take “all necessary measures if we become aware that social networks, whoever they are, don’t respect the law.”

France has a law against cyber harassment. Online threats of crimes, like rape and murder, as well as online insults, and incitements to violence can be prosecuted.

In 2020, the country’s parliament approved a bill that would compel platforms and search engines to remove prohibited content within 24 hours.

Rachel Racusen, spokesperson for Snapchat, one of the social media platforms Macron blamed for contributing to the upheaval, said that since Tuesday, it has increased its moderation to detect and act on content related to the riots in France.

But many of the others are keeping mum. TikTok as well as Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately reply for comment on Friday. Twitter answered only with an automated reply of a poop emoji, as it has done for months under Elon Musk’s tenure.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Former Pfizer Employees Charged with Insider Trading Related to COVID-19 Treatment

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Former Pfizer Employees Charged with Insider Trading Related to COVID-19 Treatment

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Federal investigators charged a former Pfizer employee on Thursday after the latter was accused of insider trading related to the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid.

After federal investigators realized that Amit Dagar, 44, used his knowledge of Paxlovid trials to purchase stock in Pfizer ahead of the release of positive test results, they charged him with four counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, the Daily Wire reported.

Aside from purchasing short-dated, out-of-the-money call options in Pfizer stock, Dagar also tipped his close friend, Atul Bhiwapurkar, about the coming drug results, which led to Bhiwapurkar also purchasing purchased short-dated, out-of-the-money Pfizer call options that expired around two weeks later, the Southern District of New York‘s Department of Justice’s office said.

This exchange resulted in Bhiwapurkar telling his other friend about the news. The friend followed the advice of Bhiwapurkar and purchased short-dated, out-of-the-money Pfizer call options that expired approximately three weeks later.

Bhiwapurkar was charged with two counts of security fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit security fraud. Both Dagar and Bhiwapurkar are accused of purchasing the stocks in November 2021 after the former saw positive results from the company’s testing of Paxlovid ahead of the public release.

“Insider trading is not a quick buck. It’s not easy money. It’s not a sure thing. It’s cheating. It’s a bad bet. It’s a ticket to prison. Because my Office, the Southern District of New York, is watching,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

“And we’re working quickly to investigate and prosecute anyone who corrupts our financial markets. And we’ll keep at it as long as it takes. You can bet on that.”

Dagar and Bhiwapurkar made over $350,000 on the stocks after Pfizer released the testing data, which led to the company’s stock increasing by about 10%, according to the DOJ. If convicted, both of them could face 20 years in prison for each of the security fraud counts.

“The charges announced today center on the defendants’ alleged participation in illegal securities trading based on material, non-public information,” FBI official Michael Driscoll said.

“Insider trading schemes not only yield ill-gotten gains for those directly involved but also damage the public’s faith in the fairness of our financial markets.”

Hunter Biden Ranks High on Long List of White House Visitors Shrouded in Secrecy

Mark Pellin
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Hunter Biden Ranks High on Long List of White House Visitors Shrouded in Secrecy

(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) The son of billionaire globalist and leftist money machine George Soros has visited the White House at least 17 times since 2021, but exactly how many times he’s slipped in off-record for privileged visits might never be known.

The same holds true for an army of unaccounted guests to the White House under the Biden administration, according to a Bloomberg analysis of visitor logs. The records, which included more than 300,000 visitors from January 2021 through February 2023, were rife with “duplications, anomalies and missing names.”

Even more disturbing, a separate review of White House records conducted by Fox News Digital “found that the visitor logs from the beginning of the Biden administration through February 2023 have not included any of Hunter Biden’s White House visits or extended stays.”

The shocking omissions come from what was promised to be “the most transparent administration in American history,” but instead has produced official records that remain disturbingly opaque.

The gaps in visits from embattled first son Hunter have raised renewed alarms about what type of access is being allowed, as evidence mounts linking the president to his son’s allegedly corrupt businesses, which have reportedly funneled millions of dollars of illicit funds into Biden family coffers.

Fox News compared White House logs to news reports with visits from Hunter Biden, including events like the annual Easter egg roll, a Medal of Freedom ceremony, a State Dinner for France and the annual Christmas tree lighting.

“However, they are all absent from the visitor logs, including what appear to be extended stays at the White House,” the outlet reported.

When pressed for an explanation, the most transparent administration in history shut down inquiries with a terse and evasive response, pointing to “a policy released at the start of the administration,” which stated “The White House will not release access records related to purely personal guests of the First and Second Families (i.e., visits that do not involve any official or political business).”

Other notable omissions from White House visitor logs rooted out by Bloomberg included a slew of unaccounted visits from Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and several foreign dignitaries.

Publicly available records, for example, show a mere five visits from Pelosi during her stint as House Speaker, “despite at least 20 known instances when she was there,” Bloomberg reported.

“And Biden’s former Chief of Staff Ron Klain, whose job would have made him one of the most sought-after people in the complex, is shown hosting only six visitors over two years,” according to Bloomberg.

Visitor logs for Biden’s residence in Delaware are even more dubious, to the point of non-existence. In January, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called on the Secret Service “to provide all internal documents, communications, and visitor information maintained for” Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.

“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Biden’s mishandling of sensitive, highly classified documents. Recent reporting indicates the President’s aides discovered classified documents at his Wilmington, Delaware home,” Comer wrote.

“The FBI found additional documents after its own 13-hour search of the premises last week. The U.S. Secret Service protected President Biden during the time he stored these classified materials at his Wilmington residence,” Comer added.

“I’m sure all the records have either been destroyed or never existed to begin with. But at any rate, this is very concerning.”

WATCH: Reporters Scold Biden over ‘False Hopes’ of Student Loan Scam

Luis Cornelio
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WATCH: Reporters Scold Biden over ‘False Hopes’ of Student Loan Scam

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden faced intense scrutiny as reporters scolded him on Friday following the Supreme Court’s striking down his highly-criticized student-loan amnesty plan.

During his remarks in response to the Court’s ruling, a reporter questioned Biden, saying, “Mr. President, why did you give millions of borrowers false hopes? You’ve doubted your own authority here in the past.”

In a petulantly irked response, Biden, who had previously acknowledged his lack of unilateral forgiveness=authority, claimed, “I didn’t give any false hope. The question was whether or not I would do even more than what was requested. What I did, I thought was appropriate and achievable.”

In a defensive manner, Biden added, “I didn’t give false hope. But the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given, and it’s real, real hope.”

Another reporter asked Biden, “Did you overstep your authority?” In a seemingly confused state, Biden replied, “I think the Court misinterpreted the Constitution,” before swiftly leaving the White House’s Roosevelt Room.

Biden was accompanied by his Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, who, during a White Press press conference, stated, “Today, the Court substituted itself for Congress.”

However, it is important to note that Congress had not authorized any student-loan forgiveness.

The Court invalidated Biden’s plan, which aimed to assist approximately 43 million student borrowers by giving them other peoples’ money. The Court’s conservative majority, as reported by the New York Post, ruled that Cardona did not possess the authority to rewrite a law intended to aid veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“The question here is not whether something should be done; it is who has the authority to do it,” stated Chief Justice John Roberts in the Court’s majority opinion. “Similarly, the Secretary of Education claims the authority, on his own, to release 43 million borrowers from their obligations to repay $430 billion in student loans. The Secretary has never previously asserted powers of this magnitude.”

The Court’s ruling on the plan also referenced former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s own statements, which undermined the dubious claims that the Biden administration enjoyed authority to roll out the plan.

“As then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi explained: ‘People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not,’” Roberts said, quoting a Pelosi press conference in July 2021. “‘He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.’”

Tim Scott Blasts Obamas for Affirmative Action Response: ‘Lie from the Pit of Hell’

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Tim Scott Blasts Obamas for Affirmative Action Response: ‘Lie from the Pit of Hell’

(Headline USA) Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., blasted former President Barack Obama over his response to the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action this week, calling Obama’s comments “a lie from the pit of hell.”

Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama offered brief statements after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday, which struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.

“Like any policy, affirmative action wasn’t perfect,” Barack Obama said. “But it allowed generations of students like Michelle and me to prove we belonged. Now it’s up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve — and help students everywhere benefit from new perspectives.”

Michelle Obama agreed, claiming her heart was broken for minority students who will no longer have their race considered as a factor when applying to colleges.

“So often, we just accept that money, power, and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level,” she said.

Scott accused the Obamas of depriving minority students of opportunities by making them believe they’ll only succeed if they are wealthy.

“I’m running for president because I know America can do for anyone what she has done for me. But sending the message that somehow the color of your skin means that you will not be able to achieve your goals from an educational perspective, from an income perspective or family formation, that is a lie from the pit of hell,” he said, reported Fox News.

The Supreme Court’s ruling simply affirmed a timeless American truth, Scott argued: “We will not be judged solely by the color of our skin.”

“That’s what the ruling said today. But that is the story of America. That is a story of American progress and we can all celebrate that today,” he added.

Scandal-‘Consumed’ Biden Lashing Advisers over Treatment of First Son

Luis Cornelio
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Scandal-‘Consumed’ Biden Lashing Advisers over Treatment of First Son

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) In the past few weeks, President Joe Biden has found himself embroiled in a series of scandals, with Hunter Biden’s guilty plea to tax crimes and shocking revelations from IRS whistleblowers that Biden’s DOJ interfered in the criminal probe of the first son.

According to NBC News, Biden has been “consumed” by the onslaught of revelations that continue to plague his administration and has scolded advisors who advised him to limit the embattled Hunter Biden.

“It’s consumed him,” a Biden adviser revealed to NBC News, referring to the backlash. Insiders at the Biden administration claimed that Biden’s panic has been clear, and the strategy has been described as “Hands off my family,” the source told NBC.

Biden appears to be fiercely protective of his son, particularly amid new documents that directly implicate the president in the business dealings of his son.

The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee released a WhatsApp text message allegedly between Hunter and a Chinese contact that contained a damning dialogue.

The message, which was released by IRS whistleblowers who accuse the DOJ of thwarting the criminal investigation against Hunter, said, “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made was not fulfilled. Tell the director I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.”

The Biden White House has refused to answer questions about the context of that conversation, but several Republican leaders argue that Hunter received millions of dollars shortly after that text message.

Biden had for years claimed he did not speak to his son about his business dealings, but reversed course earlier this month to claim that he was “not in business with his son.”

The dodgy claim directly contradicts Biden’s 2019 assertion. At the time, Biden said, “I’ve never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.”

Earlier this week, an angry Biden barked at a reporter who asked whether he was involved in Hunter’s Chinese dealings. “How involved were you in your son’s Chinese shake-down text message? Were you sitting there? Were you involved?” a reporter asked Biden, who proceeded to laugh.

A second reporter asked, “Were you?” to which an angry Biden shouted, “NO!”

CNN Ends Segment w/Guest Who Pushes Back on Affirmative Action

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CNN Ends Segment w/Guest Who Pushes Back on Affirmative Action

(Headline USA) CNN abruptly ended an interview about the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision on Thursday after the guest began pushing back on the use of race in college admissions.

The guest, Kenny Xu, is a board member for Students for Fair Admissions, the plaintiffs in the case decided by the Supreme Court this week.

During his interview with CNN’s Abby Phillips, Xu insisted that the court was right to rule that “excellence,” not race, “should be prioritized” in the admissions process, reported The Blaze.

“I think that admissions should be only based on merit,” he said. “Why are we asking a university to calculate somebody’s level of diversity? I think that sets a very bad precedent for anybody trying to get into college. We should be treated on the basis of our merits. We should be treated on the basis of how hard we work, or study, our SAT scores, our grades.”

Phillips asked why admissions board should not consider “other factors” that students “bring to the table,” such as their economic background, race, and gender.

Xu, who is Asian, argued that doing so elevates immutable characteristics in a way that is discriminatory.

“We don’t want that,” he said. “We want black students to succeed. We want every student to succeed, low-income students to succeed … Lowering your standard to admit somebody of a socio-economic status or race would not help you do that. In fact, you would harm their graduation rate and excellence.”

Phillips then tried to interrupt Xu repeatedly, but Xu continued to cite statistics to support his case.

“Asians have to score 273 points higher in the SAT to have the same chance of admission as a black person,” he explained. “So, the standard is lowered for black Americans.”

Phillips finally cut Xu off and ended the segment before he could finish his sentence.

“Kenny Xu, thank you for your perspective. Really appreciate you joining us today,” she said.

White House Removes Footage of Arguments Between Press Sec. and African Reporter

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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White House Removes Footage of Arguments Between Press Sec. and African Reporter

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The White House purposefully deleted one of the heated exchanges between an honest reporter and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre from Monday’s official live stream.

“I’m black, I’m an immigrant and I’m the little guy… I’m just trying to do my job,” the White House correspondent for Today News Africa, Simon Ateba said.

The missing portion showed Ateba accusing the White House of discriminating against him for trying to expose the leftists.

“Are you going to take questions from me?… you’ve been discriminating against me for the past nine months,” Ateba asked Jean-Pierre after she stated that the White House was committed to freedom of the press.

Jean-Pierre gaslighted Ateba by calling him “incredibly rude.” She then threatened to end the press briefing if Ateba wouldn’t stop doing his job.

“I’ve been in this briefing room. I’ve been trying to ask you one question,” Ateba responded.

The portion of the missing video was restored to the stream only after the White House was reached out for comment. As an excuse, the White House said that the portion missing was caused by an error with the encoder that feeds the live stream to YouTube.

However, Ateba said that the interaction was removed on purpose because, according to him, the White House has been consistently marginalizing him, icing him out of White House events, not answering his emails and ignoring him in press briefings for months.

Ateba then added that this could happen to anyone whom the White House would claim problematic.

“They blacklist you,” he said.

Ateba said that it is not his job to be friends with the White House. Instead, he is supposed to be the one who makes “those who are comfortable uncomfortable.”

“But what happens is if you do that… they try to sideline you. And the other people will be afraid to even come near you because [they] don’t want to be seen close to you because then they won’t get questions at the next press briefing and then they won’t be invited to social events,” he said.

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