Just One Thing: Crash at DCA
UPDATE:
At about 6 AM MT, officials said they believe there are no survivors. New Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who cannot have ever wanted to deal with a tragedy like this, much less in his first days on the job, said that the fuselage was upside-down in three pieces. As of about 6 AM, at least 28 bodies have been recovered.
Last night there was a crash between an American Airlines flight from Wichita, KS and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter as the plane was about to land at Washington DC's Reagan Airport. As I write this at 4:30 AM MT, they have not yet found any survivors as the plane is apparently in pieces in a cold Potomac river in what are described as "difficult" cold and windy conditions. Apparently the helicopter was on a training flight, was told to watch for the plane and stay out of its way, and didn't. (That info may change but that's the early reporting.) People nearby described a fireball in the sky. The plane contained, among others, Russian world-champion figure skaters, and US skaters and coaches and family members.
I was living in DC when the Air Florida flight crashed into the Potomac, killing 74 of the 79 people on the plane. This is the first major US airplane crash since 2009: Pilot Error to Blame in Deadly Flight Accident Last February - ABC News
I don't know how long this link will work, but this is a livestream from the site:
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One More Thing: Go fork yourself
These stories as a group, esp the NYT and Wash Post stories, are a prostate-jarring shift in the perception of Trump 2.0 from aggressive but competent to aggressive but out-of-control. The difference between public perception as competent vs as out-of-control could well be the single biggest factor in the 2026 and 2028 elections.
Trump, or Susie Wiles, better herd these cats in a hurry and make sure NOBODY says anything major about policy without running it by one of a very small number of Trump's most senior and trusted advisors, and probably by Trump himself.
Really, this is rather remarkable.
Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze: Who Was Behind It and How Did It Unfold? - The New York Times
Trump says funding freeze was to 'quickly look at the scams, dishonesty, waste and abuse' | AP News
Trump administration offering to pay federal workers who resign by Feb. 6
More detail on potential contractual and budget issues with the severance offer (which they're not calling that): https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-markets-35299f60-de68-11ef-a6e1-8be922c423c2.html?chunk=1&utm_term=emshare#story1
Musk team’s push for federal worker buyouts bypassed key Trump officials - The Washington Post
(To be clear, this doesn’t quite say that Musk totally freelanced this without Trump; just implies something like that.)
Judge Cites Trump's Press Secretary in Looming Restraining Order Decision
Funding freeze rollback further confuses health providers and researchers
My article about the now-rescinded Trump spending freeze memo
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Today's Guests
Dave Tepper is the Program Director of KOA, therefore my boss. Yesterday he was almost selected to be on the jury for a likely 3-week murder trial. He found the jury-selection process interesting and joins us to talk about it.
Colorado Assault Weapons Semi-Auto Gun Ban: Bill SB25-003 - We The Second Colorado
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Eli Shupe is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director, Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program at the University of Texas at Arlington
We'll discuss a fascinating piece she wrote for the Washington Post about medical schools using unclaimed cadavers for teaching and research
Dr. Eli B. Shupe - Faculty Profiles - The University of Texas at Arlington
Opinion | The University of North Texas was wrong for using unclaimed bodies - The Washington Post (gift link...no subscription needed)
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Lesley Hollywood is co-founder of We The Second, a gun-rights group here in Colorado that is fighting against the draconian SB25-003, a new "Assault Weapons Ban" that goes even further than previous such efforts. A lot of good information here:
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Other Stuff
Offered without comment: Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Mozes, 5 Thais, freed amid mayhem in Khan Younis; Agam Berger released | The Times of Israel
Find every terrorist still wearing a green headband in Gaza and terminate them with extreme prejudice: IDF reveals it killed Hamas terrorist seen dragging Naama Levy to captivity on Oct. 7 | The Times of Israel
And all of these terrorists too: Large Islamic Jihad convoy seen heading to release site in southern Gaza
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Finally, this corruptocrat gets his due: Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison, no fine in federal bribery case
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Not THAT part of Guantanamo: Trump says U.S. will send "worst criminal illegal aliens" to Guantanamo Bay
Defense Secretary Hegseth says Guantanamo Bay 'perfect place' to hold migrants | Fox News
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Congrats to my friend Leland Vittert, to Chris Cuomo, and to other folks on and off the air at News Nation: MSNBC viewers ditch network, switch to NewsNation in January
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Interesting data points, including about perceived safety of dating apps and what women think of how rapey men are:: Romantic Recession: How Politics, Pessimism, and Anxiety Shape American Courtship - The Survey Center on American Life
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This was always an outrageous prosecution, regardless of what you think about the underlying issues regarding transgender youth. And, yes, I would punish the prosecutors on the case, at least the ones who made the decision to bring it and keep it going. Not junior attorneys who just had to follow the bosses' orders. 'We Never Gave Up': Texas Whistleblower Went Toe-to-Toe with the Gender-Industrial Complex — and Won | National Review
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This will be thrown out in court: Oklahoma schools leader Ryan Walters moves to require students to prove citizenship0
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RFK Jr is a liar and a grifter and manifestly unfit to run HHS. Unanswered questions from RFK Jr.'s first confirmation hearing
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I don't know the solution but this is a huge problem: American students' reading skills drop to record lows
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This reminds us of how lonely many Americans are. So while to some of us who grew up in a time before smart phones and social media and politics kept people apart, in today's environment I'm glad for anything that brings people together in person: Axios: 1 big thing: Embracing the "errand hang"
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A massive sinkhole ate a truck in Japan. During rescue efforts another huge hole opened up. Pretty remarkable how the area under the asphalt was just empty. It appears that the cause of the empty space was at least one corroded/broken pipe deep under ground with a pipe nearer the surface visibly leaking water into the massive hole. The 74-year old driver was initially communicating with rescuers and said water and debris was entering the truck but he stopped communicating on Tuesday. Rescuers pulled out the main body of the truck but the driver's compartment was not attached and remains in the hole. Hope is fading to find the driver alive.
Race to rescue driver trapped in Japan sinkhole for two days | Japan | The Guardian
Massive sinkhole swallows truck in Japan, trapping driver inside - CBS News
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Definitely the cheapest way out for Meta: Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension | AP News
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An activist group commissioned a study about toxins in black plastic such as the kind many people's spatulas are made out of. They found that there are high levels of toxic flame retardants in them, probably acquired by recycling some safe plastics with other plastics from electronics that contain fire-retardant chemicals. While the results of that particular finding haven't changed, the researchers made a math error so basic that it's remarkable that it was made to begin with and not caught by reviewers, but the reviewers probably wanted the result to be true. In short, the original paper claimed that the likely daily exposure to these chemicals from using these black plastics at home exceeded government recommended limits but the actual recommended limit was 10 times higher and the exposure is therefore a bit over a tenth of the limit. It's unclear whether exposure at this level actually poses any risk. That said, I don't really need exposure to byproducts of recycled electronics and given that I'd be spending less than $20 or so, I will likely look to replace the several black plastic cooking utensils we have in the house.
Toxic Flame Retardants in Recycled Plastics - Toxic-Free Future
Today's Video
The worst alarm clock ever