A Lufthansa flight to Spain last year went without a pilot for 10 minutes after the co-pilot fainted while he was alone in the cockpit, German news agency dpa reported on Saturday. During the flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain, on Feb. 17, 2024, the co-pilot of an Airbus A321 fainted while the captain was in the restroom, dpa reported, referring to a report by the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC. The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report. Lufthansa told dpa that it was aware of the investigation report and that its own flight safety department had also conducted an investigation. The company didn’t disclose its results, dpa said. Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue flying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. During this time period, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported. The captain initially tried entering the regular door opening code, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit so that the co-pilot can open the door. He did so five times without being able to enter the cockpit. A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone. Finally, the captain typed in an emergency code that would have allowed him to open the door on his own. However, shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot opened it from the inside despite being ill, dpa reported. The pilot then decided to make an unplanned landing in Madrid, where his colleague was taken to a hospital. (AP)
Senior Hamas officials held a high-level meeting in Gaza on October 2, 2023, during which Yahya Sinwar proclaimed that an “extraordinary act” must be carried out to sabotage the normalization process between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Minutes of the meeting were found by the IDF in a Gaza tunnel and reviewed by the WSJ. During the meeting, Sinwar claimed, “There is no doubt that the Saudi-Zionist normalization agreement is progressing significantly,”—a process he said would “open the door for the majority of Arab and Islamic countries to follow the same path.” According to the report, Hamas aimed for an action that would create a profound shock that would prevent any continuation of the reconciliation process between moderate Arab countries and Israel. The WSJ also reviewed another document uncoved by the IDF that showed that in October 2022, a job advertisement was published on behalf of Hamas’s Arab-Islamic Cooperation Department, seeking to recruit a person for a position whose purpose was to “market the movement’s programs against normalization,” including recruiting civil organizations in Arab countries to call for boycotts. Another document from September 2023 found in Gaza recommended the escalation of attacks in Yehuda and Shomron and Jerusalem in order to make an Israeli-Saudi deal more difficult. The report said that another meeting regarding the October 7 attack took place in Beirut, with the participation of Hamas representatives and Iranian security officials, during which Iran approved the planned attack. However, it should be noted that some Hamas and Hezbollah senior officials dispute this account, saying that the details of the October 7 attack were kept secret by Hamas’s military wing in Gaza. The documents show that Iran also provided Hamas with weapons, funding, and training for the attack, including combat training in the weeks leading up to October 7. However, both Iran and Hezbollah told Hamas that they do not want to reach a direct and full-scale war with Israel. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a long-awaited approval of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine but with unusual restrictions. Novavax makes the nation’s only traditional protein-based coronavirus vaccine – and until now it had emergency authorization from FDA for use in anyone 12 and older. But late Friday, the FDA granted the company full approval for its vaccine for use only in adults 65 and older – or those 12 to 64 who have at least one health problem that puts them at increased risk from COVID-19. Vaccines made by Novavax’s competitors Pfizer and Moderna already are fully licensed for use in anyone 12 and older, and also are authorized for use in children as young as 6 months. Next month, influential advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were set to debate if yearly COVID vaccines still should be recommended for everyone or only certain people at higher risk. The Novavax decision suggests the Trump administration may already have decided how to proceed in advance of that meeting. Novavax chief executive John C. Jacobs welcomed the licensure. “Market research and U.S. CDC statistics indicate that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are the populations most likely to seek out COVID-19 vaccination seasonally. This significant milestone demonstrates our commitment to these populations and is a significant step towards availability of our protein-based vaccine option,” he said. In its Friday approval letter, the FDA didn’t explain the restrictions although they reflect skepticism about vaccines from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump officials. Novavax originally showed its vaccine was safe and effective in a 30,000-person clinical trial. The FDA had been on track to grant Novavax full approval – without restrictions — by its April 1 target date, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. Novavax later announced the FDA instead was asking it to run an additional trial after approval, which is highly unusual. FDA did order several additional trials to be completed in the next few years, some examining whether the vaccine might be associated with some heart conditions. Another required study must assess the benefits of continuing vaccination in 50- to 64-year-olds who don’t have health problems that increase their risk from COVID-19. (AP)
The body of Hamas leader Mohamed Sinwar was found in the ruins of a Hamas tunnel complex in Khan Younis, five days after it was bombed by the IDF, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported on Sunday. According to the report, the bodies of 10 of Sinwar’s aides were found alongside his body, including the Rafah Brigade commander, Muhammad Shabana. The IDF has not yet confirmed that Sinwar was killed. However, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said at a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Sunday that, according to all indications, Mohamed Sinwar was eliminated, Ynet reported. Last week, IAF fighter jets dropped at least nine heavy MK-84 bombs, weighing one ton each, on the underground complex where Sinwar was believed to be hiding with his aides. Sinwar, the 49-year-old younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, was one of the few people involved in the planning of the October 7th massacre and became the leader of Hamas after Israel eliminated Yahya in October 2024. He was considered the main opponent of any proposed hostage deal. Separate reports from Gaza on Sunday said that Dr. Zakaria Sinwar, the brother of Yahya and Mohamed, was killed in an IDF strike on Motzei Shabbos on the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, along with his three sons. Two days ago, Defense Minister Katz hinted at the possibility that Mohamed Sinwar had been eliminated: “If the Houthis continue to fire missiles at the State of Israel – they will be severely harmed and their leaders will also be harmed – just as we did to Deiif and the Sinwars in Gaza, Nasrallah in Beirut, and Haniyeh in Tehran – so we will also do to Abdel Malek al-Houthi in Yemen.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Mayor Eric Adams reports two fatalities from the Mexican Navy ship collision with the Brooklyn Bridge. Two others are seriously injured, and up to 19 have minor injuries.
The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law enacted when the nation was just a few years old. Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law. The case will now go back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to intervene in April. President Donald Trump quickly voiced his displeasure. “THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” he posted on his Truth Social platform. The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration’s effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally. The president and his supporters have complained about having to provide due process for people they contend didn’t follow U.S. immigration laws. The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations, in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month. Officials seemed “poised to carry out removals imminently,” the court noted Friday. Several cases related to the old deportation law are in courts The case is among several making their way through the courts over Trump’s proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoking the 1798 law to deport people. The high court case centers on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States — without determining whether Trump’s invocation of the law was appropriate. “We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion. At least three federal judges have said Trump was improperly using the AEA to speed deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members. On Tuesday, a judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law. The legal process for this issue is a patchwork one The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington, D.C., and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held. In April, the justices said that people must be given “reasonable time” to file a challenge. On Friday, the court said 24 hours is not enough time but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. The administration has said 12 hours would be sufficient. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days in her opinion, in which she otherwise said deportations could legally take place under the AEA. The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito complaining that his colleagues had departed from their usual practices and seemingly decided issues without an appeals court weighing in. “But if it has done so, […]
Eight inmates, including four convicted murderers, remain at large after escaping a New Orleans jail through a hole behind a toilet, using blankets to scale a barbed wire fence, and running across the freeway.
Days before Republicans unveiled their sweeping tax cut plan, the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee had one last person to consult. He went to the White House, where he and President Donald Trump went over the legislation “line by line.” “He was very happy with what we’re delivering,” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri. Trump had every reason to be pleased. His imprint is all over on the bill making its way through the House, starting with its title — the “ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The legislation realizes many of Trump’s campaign promises, temporarily ending taxes on overtime and tips for many workers, creating a new $10,000 tax break on auto loan interest for American-made cars, and even creating a new tax-free “MAGA account” — a nod to his ”Make America Great Again” movement, but in this case, it means “Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement.” This would contribute $1,000 to children born in his second term. The Trump-inspired contours of the legislative package, months if not years in the making, reflect not only the president’s considerable influence over the Republican Party, but also the hard political realities in the House, where Republicans have only the barest of majorities and often find it difficult to find consensus without Trump’s involvement. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., effectively owes his job to Trump and has kept in constant contact with him during the negotiations, including during his overseas trip this week. “He’s excited about our forward progress,” Johnson said. “You know, I keep him apprised of the developments, and he’s had a busy time over there in the Middle East, and it’s been good — he’s in good spirits and we’re in good spirits.” The Republican bill runs a whopping 1,116 pages and includes more than $5 trillion in tax cuts, costs that are partially offset by spending cuts elsewhere and other changes in the tax code. The legislation would make permanent the tax cuts from Trump’s first term while reducing funding for programs involving food assistance, college financing and environmental protection. As talks over the bill have progressed, divisions have emerged among Republicans, particularly between fiscal hawks most concerned about federal deficits and others more focused on the impact of cuts back home. That’s where Trump usually comes in, playing the “closer” who turns no votes to yes. “President Trump has gone out of his way to ask us: ‘Are there any members you want me to call? Anybody that you want me to talk to?’ And he calls them right then,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. “He’s been incredibly hands-on and incredibly helpful at getting the bill to where it is.” Trump’s involvement seems certain to grow as Johnson labors to get the tax package through the House by a self-imposed Memorial Day deadline. Conservatives slowed the process Friday, refusing to advance the tax package out of the House Budget Committee until it includes faster implementation of Medicaid changes and a more wholesale repeal of Biden-era green energy credits. They vowed to hold firm until their demands are met. Trump took notice, applying pressure even before the gavel went down on the failed committee vote. “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on social media. “STOP TALKING, AND GET […]
Following the Mexican navy ship accident at the Brooklyn Bridge, all lanes of the bridge are closed in both directions. Consider using alternate routes.
Ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail Friday in an audacious overnight escape by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall while the lone guard assigned to their cell pod was away getting food, authorities said. Seven of the escapees, including suspects charged with murder, remain on the lam following the breakout that the local sheriff says may have been aided by members within the department. Surveillance footage, shared with media during a news conference, showed the escapees sprinting out of the facility — some wearing orange clothing and others in white. They scaled a fence, using blankets to avoid being cut by barbed wire, and then some could be seen sprinting across the nearby interstate and into a neighborhood. A photograph obtained by The Associated Press from law enforcement shows the opening behind a toilet in a cell that the men escaped through. Above the hole are scrawled messages that include “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing at the gap. The absence of the 10 men, who also utilized facility deficiencies that officials have long complained about in their escape, went unnoticed for hours. It was not until a routine morning headcount, more than seven hours later, that law enforcement learned of the escape. Officials from the sheriff’s office say no deputy was at the pod where the fugitives had been held. There was a technician, a civilian there to observe the pod, but she had stepped away to get food, they said. Soon after the escape, one of the men, Kendall Myles, 20, was apprehended after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter. He had previously escaped twice from juvenile detention centers. By Friday evening, two more fugitives had been captured. Officials found Robert Moody, 21, in New Orleans thanks to a Crimestoppers tip, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. Dkenan Dennis was found near the Chef Menteur Highway, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on the social platform X. Louisiana State Police say search is active Seven escaped inmates remain at large, Louisiana State Police said in an update Saturday morning. State police used a helicopter to transport the captured inmates to a state correctional facility outside the New Orleans area, the agency said. The search remains active with numerous local, state, and federal agencies working together around the clock to locate and apprehend the remaining individuals, police said. Sheriff blames ‘defective locks’ and possibly inside help Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks.” Hutson said she has continuously raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for money to fix the ailing infrastructure. Hutson said there are indications that people inside her department helped the fugitives escape. “It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help,” she said of the jail, where 1,400 people are being held. The escapees yanked open a door to enter the cell with the hole around 1 a.m. At least one of the steel bars protecting plumbing fixtures “appeared to have been intentionally cut using a tool,” according to a statement from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on Friday night. The men shed […]
UPDATE: Three people are reportedly in critical condition and roughly a dozen others are being reported in injured after a Mexican navy tall sailing ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. “Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,” Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth Social. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Monday’s call. Trump’s remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire. Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations — although not at the presidential level — as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S. Also on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. During a visit to Rome, Rubio suggested that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. In Ukraine, a northeastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul, after agreeing to what would be the biggest prisoner swap to date between the warring parties. Zelenskyy faces a gamble as talks stall The talks in Istanbul on Friday broke up after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchange could happen as early as next week. But the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement, and the parties remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. Since U.S.-brokered talks began in March, Ukraine’s strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Putin is unreliable, and that Kyiv is serious about peace. Trump has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to abandon his efforts if results aren’t achieved. He has also said that no peace would be reached until he held a face to face meeting with Putin. On Friday, Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi that he may call Putin soon. “He and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it, or maybe not,” Trump said. “At least we’ll know.” The political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground in Ukraine. In a war of attrition against Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on, unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U.S. continues arms deliveries. Zelenskyy said that he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland. In an X post from a European leadership meeting in Albania […]
President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs. As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats could increase in price. Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing. “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump posted. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!” The posting by the Republican president reflected the increasingly awkward series of choices that many major American companies face as a result of his tariffs, from deteriorating sales to the possibility of incurring Trump’s wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs. So far, those tariffs have darkened the mood of an otherwise resilient U.S. economy. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment on Friday slipped to its second lowest measure on record, with roughly 75% of respondents “spontaneously” mentioning tariffs as they largely expected inflation to accelerate. In April, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was among the retail executives who met with Trump at the White House to discuss tariffs. But the Trump administration went forward despite warnings and has attacked other companies such as Amazon and Apple that are struggling with the disruptions to their supply chains. Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said he thinks $350 car seats made in China will soon cost an additional $100, a 29% price increase. “We’re wired to keep prices low, but there’s a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday after the company reported strong first-quarter sales. The administration recently ratcheted down its 145% tariffs on China to 30% for a 90-day period. Trump has placed tariffs as high as 25% on Mexico and Canada due to illegal immigration and drug trafficking, harming the relationship with America’s two largest trading partners. There is a universal baseline tariff of 10% on most countries as Trump promises to reach trade deals in the coming weeks after having shocked the financial markets in early April by charging higher import taxes based on trade deficits with other countries. Trump insists he intends to preserve the tariffs as a revenue source and that a framework agreement with the United Kingdom would largely keep the 10% tariff rate in place. Trump has also placed import taxes on autos, steel and aluminum and plans to do […]
One person was killed when a car bomb exploded outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, earlier today. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
At least 27 people have been killed by storms systems that swept across part of the U.S. Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition. A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state’s southeast, including Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather. The other fatality was in Pulaski County. Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said most of the victims were in their 60s and 70s and the death toll could still rise. “It’s hard to see,” the governor said after touring the impacted areas. “Homes that there isn’t a single wall left standing. Some homes that have all four walls yet lost the person inside. You can not only see the destruction but feel it.” State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged, Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in a tub in their basement in London, the county seat, as the tornado raged. “You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train,” she recalled. “It was terrible.” The family eventually emerged to the sounds of sirens and panicked neighbors. While their home was spared, others right behind it were demolished, Patterson said Saturday, as power tools buzzed in the background. The neighborhood was dotted with piles of lumber, metal sheeting, insulation and stray belongings — a suitcase, a sofa, some six-packs of paper towels. Rescuers searched for survivors all night and into the morning, the sheriff’s office said. An emergency shelter was set up at a high school, and donations of food and other necessities were arriving. Another resident, Chris Cromer, said he got the first of two tornado alerts on his phone around 11:30 p.m. Friday, about a half-hour before the tornado struck. He and his wife grabbed their dog, jumped in their car and sought shelter in the crawlspace of a relative’s nearby home because their own crawlspace is small. “We could hear and feel the vibration of the tornado coming through,” said Cromer, 46. A piece of their roof was ripped off, and windows were broken, but other homes nearby were destroyed. “It’s one of those things that you see on the news in other areas, and you feel bad for people — then, when it happens, it’s just surreal,” he said. “It makes you be thankful to be alive, really.” The storm was the latest severe weather to cause deaths and widespread damage in Kentucky. Two months ago at least 24 people died in a round of storms that swelled creeks and submerged roads. In late 2021 another storm spawned tornadoes that killed 81 people and leveled portions of towns in western Kentucky. The following summer historic floodwaters inundated eastern parts of the state, killing dozens. Beshear said that since he became governor in 2019, he has dealt with at least 14 federally declared disasters, all but one of them weather-related. He called Friday’s tornado […]
