Daily News Brief for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024. 
 
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https://thepostmillennial.com/faa-is-actively-recruiting-people-with-severe-intellectual-and-psychiatric-disabilities-as-part-of-diversity-and-inclusion-plan?utm_campaign=64487
 
Biden's FAA is actively recruiting people with ‘severe intellectual’ and ‘psychiatric’ disabilities as part of 'Diversity and Inclusion' plan
 
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) places a priority on hiring people with "severe intellectual disability" as part of its diversity and inclusion initiative. 
 
According to its website, the FAA claims, "Individuals with targeted or 'severe' disabilities are the most under-represented segment of the Federal workforce." 
 
Under its People with Disabilities Program, the agency says it "actively recruits, hires, promotes, retains, develops and advances people with disabilities." The FAA targets the following disabilities as a matter of policy: "Hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism."
 
The FAA told Fox News that it "seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position."
 
Its website reveals that those with disabilities or those who have a veteran status can also be hired via the non-competitive, "on-the-spot" process as long as a manager files the proper paperwork, thus giving them preferential treatment in the hiring process. 
 
The aviation industry has received further scrutiny from the public in the wake of an Alaska Airlines door plug being blown off the side of its two-month-old Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft causing it to make an emergency landing. 
 
In a post on X, tech mogul Elon Musk asked, "Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritize DEI hiring over your safety?" He added, "That is actually happening." 
 
"People will die due to DEI," Musk said.
 
Musk's comments came in response to a report that revealed in 2022 that Boeing began prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as part of its hiring process in 2022.
 
The Alaskan Airlines situation came on the heels of a shocking report in December, which showed there were 19 instances where planes nearly crashed into each other at airports in the first ten months of 2023.
 
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/2795955/shark-tank-powerhouse-investor-says-he-wont-invest-in-california-bad-policy/
 
Shark Tank powerhouse investor says he won’t invest in California: ‘Bad policy’
 
Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank revealed he would not make business investments in several Democratic states, including California.
 
O’Leary explained his reasoning in a yet-to-be-released episode of Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) show Unmuted. According to a transcript reviewed by Townhall, the politics of a state help O’Leary determine where to invest.
 
“I’m not trying to get involved in the partisanship of this statement. Just a fact, I don’t invest in New York, I don’t invest in Massachusetts, I don’t invest in California. In my mind, those are examples of states that are uninvestable because of bad policy,” O’Leary said. “So, I’m looking for the path of least resistance. If you make it hard for me to make money, I just take my money and go somewhere else.”
 
California in particular is ranked in the top ten for sales taxes and corporate taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, while New York is in the top ten only for its sales tax.
 
O’Leary pointed to Tennessee as an example of a state with “fantastic tax policy, reduced regulatory environment, reduced permitting time.” Any other state that doesn’t implement these business-friendly policies is at risk of “killing jobs,” according to O’Leary.
 
The Canadian investor started his own venture capital firm O’Leary Ventures last year, over 15 years after his first appearance on Shark Tank where he spends episodes deciding in what small businesses he desires to invest.
 
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/01/15/report-white-house-swatted-prank-caller-claiming-residence-on-fire/
 
White House Swatted by ‘Prank Caller’ Claiming Residence on Fire
 
Fire trucks and ambulances reportedly rushed to the White House Monday morning around seven o’clock after a “prank caller” claimed the residence was on fire and someone was trapped inside.
 
The incident represents the latest swatting event against political officials. Dangerous swatting events appear to have first been instigated by Democrat prank callers against political opponents.
 
The prank call at the White House forced fire trucks and ambulances to rush to a snow-covered White House, the Daily Mail reported.
 
After arriving, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the U.S. Secret Service determined the incident was a false alarm.
 
“Fire in the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” a Washington, DC, dispatcher said at 7:04 a.m.
 
Authorities gave an “all clear” order at 7:15 AM.
 
President Joe Biden was located at Camp David on Monday morning, far away from the residence.
 
Authorities traced the prank call to an apparently spoofed phone number, a source told CNN.
 
“Someone who was reached at the callback number for the 911 report indicated they did not place it, a source told the Associated Press, indicating it was likely spoofed,” the Daily Mail reported.
 
Recent politicians who were swatted include Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), along with celebrities Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian.
 
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/yemen-houthi-rebels-fire-missile-us-warship-red-106370679
 
Houthi rebels strike a U.S.-owned ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, raising tensions
 
Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea.
 
The attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, later claimed by the Houthis, further escalates tensions gripping the Red Sea after American-led strikes on the rebels. The Houthis' attacks have roiled global shipping, amid Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, targeting a crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe.
 
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday's attack happened some 110 miles (177 kilometers) miles southeast of Aden. It said the ship’s captain reported that the “port side of vessel hit from above by a missile.”
 
Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Eagle Gibraltar, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier. The U.S. military's Central Command later acknowledged the strike.
 
“The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey,” Central Command said.
 
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a recorded television address that aired Monday night.
 
“The Yemeni armed forces consider all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets,” he said.
 
The vessel is owned by Eagle Bulk Shipping, a Stamford, Connecticut-based firm traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In a statement to the AP, the company acknowledged the strike and said it caused “limited damage to a cargo hold but (the ship) is stable and is heading out of the area.”
 
“All seafarers onboard the vessel are confirmed to be uninjured,” the firm said. “The vessel is carrying a cargo of steel products. Eagle Bulk management is in close contact with all relevant authorities concerning this matter.”
 
Satellite-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed the Eagle Gibraltar had been bound for the Suez Canal, but rapidly turned around at the time of the attack.
 
Central Command said it detected a separate anti-ship ballistic missile launch toward the southern Red Sea on Monday, though it ”failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen."
 
The U.S. Maritime Administration, under the Transportation Department, also issued a warning Monday saying there continues to be “a high degree of risk to commercial vessels” traveling near Yemen.
 
“While the decision to transit remains at the discretion of individual vessels and companies, it is recommended that U.S. flag and U.S.-owned commercial vessels” stay away from Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden “until further notice,” the advisory said.
 
Sunday's missile launch toward the American warship also marked the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
 
The Houthi fire in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.
 
The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the U.S. said.
 
“An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported."
 
The Houthis did not acknowledge that attack.
 
It wasn’t presently clear whether the U.S. would retaliate for the latest attacks, though President Joe Biden has said he “will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
 
The first day of U.S.-led strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine. Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas, the U.S. has said.
 
The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.
 
U.S. forces followed up with a strike Saturday on a Houthi radar site.