East Coast on edge over drone sightings
|
LAWMAKERS ARE DEMANDING ANSWERS about the cluster of mysterious drone sightings across the Eastern Seaboard.
All eyes are turned to the skies, as citizens, political leaders and pilots across the northeast report encounters with drones as big as SUVs.
Some of the drones appear as orbs of light, while others have the shape of winged aircraft. There are reports of drones going dark after being spotted.
The sightings have provoked hysteria among residents and fears of in-air collisions with commercial planes and helicopters.
Among the eyewitnesses: Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who reported seeing dozens of “unexplained and unidentified” drones while patrolling with local police, and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who said the federal response has so far been “entirely unacceptable.”
• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) received a classified briefing on the matter.
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) wrote a letter to President Biden seeking “more federal resources” to “understand what is behind this activity.”
• Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) asked federal law enforcement agencies to “allow state and local law enforcement to deploy assets that can safely take down drones that shouldn‘t be in the air right now.”
• Shaun Golden, the sheriff of Monmouth County, called on New Jersey’s governor to declare a state of emergency.
• Michael Melham, the mayor of Belleville, N.J., instructed his fire department to wear hazmat suits if they’re called to approach a fallen drone. |
White House national security spokesman John Kirby downplayed the sightings.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” he said.
Kirby said authorities have not been able to “corroborate any of the reported visual sightings,” and available imagery suggests “that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”
Those remarks were met with anger, with New Jersey state assemblyman Brian Bergen (R) calling Kirby an “idiot” and Mine Hill, N.J. Mayor Sam Morris calling the remarks “ridiculous.”
Senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut demanded briefings from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“There hasn’t been enough transparency letting people know what’s happening,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). “It’s allowing a lot of potentially misinformation to spread, or at least fear. We should know what’s going on over our skies.”
“I am particularly concerned about the potential for these unmanned aerial vehicles — many of which are as large as a car — to disrupt air traffic and, more alarmingly, to be used maliciously to threaten national security,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). |
|
|
Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
|
|
Corporate execs cozy up to Trump
|
Money is flowing into President-elect Trump’s inaugural committee, as once-skeptical corporate executives indicate a willingness to work with Trump in his second term.
Amazon will follow Meta by making a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural committee. Trump will meet with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos next week. He met with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month.
OpenAI founder Sam Altman, who has feuded with Elon Musk, will make a similar donation. Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce and owner of Time magazine, which named Trump “Person of the Year” on Thursday, posted on X: “We look forward to working together to advance American success and prosperity for everyone.”
• Trump’s favorability rating in the RealClearPolitics average moved into favorable territory for the first time since he entered the political arena. In July 2015, Trump was at 22.7 percent favorable and 62 percent unfavorable. He’s now at 49.4 percent favorable and 47.6 unfavorable, a 41 point swing.
• Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend the Army-Navy college football game on Saturday. Trump will bring Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick to lead the Department of Defense. Vance will bring Daniel Penny, the former Marine who was acquitted this week in the chokehold case that polarized the nation.
• Trump posted on TruthSocial that he and Republicans want to end daylight saving time, which would require an act of Congress. |
💡Perspectives:
• USA Today: Time magazine’s desperate push for relevancy.
• The New Yorker: Donald Trump is picking fights. Will anyone hit back?
• BIG: Time to break up big medicine.
• The Wall Street Journal: Leaders of rich nations are deeply unpopular. |
Here’s whose talking on Sunday…
NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md) and Wisconsin Democratic Chairman Ben Wikler.
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
FOX’s “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.).
ABC’s “This Week”: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.). |
© Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press |
Washington roundup: Victims lash out at Biden pardons
|
• President Biden pardoned or commuted sentences for more than 1,500 people this week, sparking blowback from the victims of those who received clemency.
“Kids for Cash” Judge Michael Conahan, who with another judge received millions in kickbacks for sending thousands of juveniles to sentences at private detention centers, received a pardon.
Sandy Fonzo, whose son took his own life after he was placed in juvenile detention, called the pardon “deeply painful.” “It’s a big slap in the face for us once again,” said Amanda Lorah, who Conahan sentenced to five years for participating in a fight at a high school volleyball game.
Biden also commuted the sentence for Rita Crundwell, who embezzled more than $53 million in her role as comptroller for Dixon, Illinois. “The message seems to be crime pays,” said Dixon Mayor Li Arellano.
• Democrats are livid with Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who this week voted to sink Biden’s nomination of Lauren McFerran to serve another five-year term on the National Labor Relations Board. Both senators started their careers as Democrats but will leave Congress as independents. Manchin will be replaced by Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), while Sinema will be replaced by Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
• The Senate is moving toward a vote on a bill that would provide Social Security benefits to an additional 2.8 million people.
• The IRS is bracing for cuts with President-elect Trump and Republicans set to take over. |
💡Perspectives:
• The National Review: Meet the monsters released by Joe Biden.
• The Hill: Americans are mad as hell. Democrats must respond to voter anger.
• The Hill: Democrats should stop saving the Republicans from themselves.
• The Liberal Patriot: A golden opportunity for Republicans in California.
• The Hill: America voted for a dumpster fire. Democrats should let it burn out. |
|
|
|
