A helicopter crash left a Siemens executive, his family and their pilot dead. Here's what we know
A sightseeing helicopter plunged from the sky into the Hudson River on Thursday, turning a family outing above Manhattan's misty skyline into a tragedy.
The helicopter carried six people, including three children and an executive from Siemens — a German multinational technology conglomerate. It lifted off from a Manhattan heliport and followed a familiar route: circling the Statue of Liberty, gliding north along the Hudson toward the George Washington Bridge and then turning south. About 16 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft crashed into the water, according to analysis by CNN and FlightRadar24.
Witnesses described the helicopter flipping and spiraling before crashing near the New Jersey shoreline upside down, scattering debris across the river.
'The helicopter was a little bit like nose down, slightly, and I saw the propeller separating from the helicopter. It kept spinning in the air alone. Nothing was attached to it,' Sarah Jane Raymond Ryer, who saw the crash unfold, told CNN affiliate WCBS. A video obtained by CNN shows the rotor blades detached from the helicopter and flying through the air.
Jersey City resident Jenn Lynk recalled hearing a startling noise. 'It sounded honestly like an engine came out. I looked outside my window. I saw a few people running towards the water, and some people were acting pretty normal. So I was like, 'It might not be anything.' Then I started to hear all the sirens come outside,' she told WCBS.
Here's what we know about the crash that killed everyone on board:
The victims include Agustín Escobar, 49, a Siemens executive, and his family. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the family was visiting from Spain.
'We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,' a Siemens Mobility spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
Escobar served as CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, the transportation solutions division of Siemens.
'Our hearts go out to the family of those who were on board,' Adams said during a news conference. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, expressed his condolences, calling the incident 'an unimaginable tragedy.'
The pilot was also killed, though officials have not yet released their identity.
CNN has reached out to the New York Police Department and the US Coast Guard for more information on the victims.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, but its sudden descent stunned witnesses as first responders raced to rescue the victims.
The helicopter took off at 2:59 p.m., from Manhattan's downtown heliport, following a popular sightseeing route, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. After circling the Statue of Liberty, it flew north along the Hudson River, reaching the George Washington Bridge by 3:08 p.m. It then turned south along the New Jersey shoreline, where it lost control shortly after, Tisch said.
Visibility at the time was 10 miles, though the region was cloudy with winds of 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. A weather system was expected to bring light rain later in the afternoon.
At 3:17 p.m., multiple 911 calls reported a crash near Pier A Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to stop midair before pieces broke off, consistent with preliminary emergency reports, Tisch said.
Jersey City resident, Ipsitaa Banigrhi, described the sound as 'such a loud sound. It felt like thunder,' she told WCBS. 'Then I saw black particles flying. Again, I thought maybe it's just dust or birds, and then we heard all the emergency vehicles and sirens go by. I think that's when it was like, 'OK, what's happening.''
First responders from NYPD and New York City Fire Department teams pulled six people from the water. Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others succumbed to injuries shortly after, Tisch said. Two children were transported to Jersey City Medical Center, where they were later pronounced dead, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said on X.
The aircraft's main fuselage was retrieved from the river on Thursday evening, though officials have announced that dive operations will continue Friday, WCBS reported.
The company operating the helicopter was previously involved in two safety incidents investigated by federal aviation authorities.
In 2015, a pilot for the New York Helicopter Charter company was forced to land in New Jersey after hovering 20 feet in the air for a short time. An initial inspection showed there 'may have been corrosion removed' from sections of the helicopter and that some of the helicopter's component parts may have been deformed to an extent to be 'considered unairworthy,' according to an FAA inspector at the time. The same helicopter was previously involved in a crash in Chile in 2010.
In 2013, a pilot for the company was forced to land a helicopter carrying four passengers on the water near Manhattan after hearing a 'bang' that was followed by the 'Engine Out warning horn.' The pilot inflated the helicopter's floats and got the passengers to safety on an approaching boat.
'The only thing I can tell you is that we are devastated,' Michael Roth, the CEO of the company operating the flight, told CNN of Thursday's crash. 'I'm a father, a grandfather and my wife hasn't stopped crying since this afternoon.'
When asked about the helicopter's maintenance, he said, 'That's something my director of maintenance handles.' The director of maintenance declined to comment.
Maintenance records are not publicly accessible, and the NTSB restricts what companies can disclose during an ongoing investigation.
The helicopter, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, was built in 2004 and held an airworthiness certificate issued in 2016 that was valid through 2029, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
Maintenance records are not public and during investigations NTSB rules prohibit companies from releasing certain information relating to the accident.
The investigation into the cause of the crash will pore over documentation on all the work that was done on the aircraft. That would include the company's compliance with two recent Federal Aviation Administration issued airworthiness directives.
One directive from May 2023, required the testing and possible replacement of tail rotor drive shafts on eight different Bell 206L models, including the 206L-4. That directive was prompted by an incident in which a Bell 206L helicopter experienced the loss of a tail-rotor drive due to a joint failure.
The FAA also issued a December 2022 airworthiness directive on Bell 206L models with specific parts requiring inspection and possible replacement of the helicopters' main rotor blades because of 'delamination.' That refers to layers within the blade separating due to material fatigue, damage (from bird strikes, for example), or manufacturing errors, potentially leading the rotor blade to fail.
It remains unclear whether any of these issues played a role in Thursday's crash.
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The NTSB has dispatched a 'go-team' to the site to examine the wreckage and review maintenance records, it said on social media.
The helicopter was flying within New York's Special Flight Rules Area in New York, where air traffic control support is limited, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a post on X. Duffy added that the helicopter had received air traffic assistance from LaGuardia Airport shortly before entering the uncontrolled zone.
CNN's Mark Morales, Alexandra Skores, Matt Stiles and Audrey Ash contributed to this report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
81 years later, a small Normandy town remembers the sacrifices of Pa.'s 28th Division
The aftermath of the battle between the 28th Division and German troops in Gathemo, France, in August, 1944. (Screenshot from National Archives film) The liberation of Gathemo, France, won't be found in many history books about the Second World War. After all, it was one town among hundreds on a map that needed to be taken from the occupying Germans in the slow, methodical, grinding Battle of Normandy that began on D-Day: June 6, 1944. That's when the Allies landed soldiers on five beaches and airborne troops dropped behind enemy lines as part of the war to wrest Europe from Nazi Germany. Public perception may condense what happened after the invasion into simple terms: The Allies landed, established a beachhead and the fight was over. Tragically, it did not all end in a matter of days and the cost was steep – nearly 210,000 Allied casualties, and around 400,000 German losses. Throughout the summer, the Allies pushed the German Army back through tiny villages, cities, farmland, hedgerows and plains in a war of attrition. U.S., British, Canadian, and other allied forces gained ground – sometimes only in mere yards — each day. By August, the Germans were retreating and desperately attempting to avoid becoming encircled. Gathemo soon found itself in the midst of the maelstrom. For the first time in the war, Pennsylvania's own 28th Infantry Division was leading the way to try to liberate the town, flanked by the veteran 4th and 29th divisions. The men and women of Gathemo have never forgotten the men who wore the red keystone patch – dubbed the 'bloody bucket' by the Germans – on their shoulders. Nearly 81 years later, the community will show its gratitude on Saturday by unveiling a memorial honoring nine men from the 28th who gave their lives so Gathemo could be free and are renaming a street after the division. At a time when international relations are tense and some American leaders are questioning alliances in Europe, the gesture is a reminder of how deep the bond runs between the French and their liberators. And the commemoration that will take place Saturday began because one man wondered what happened to his great-uncle in the war. He could never have imagined where his search would lead. Fifty-year-old Shaun Nadolny doesn't have any ties to Pennsylvania. The assistant airport operations manager for Milwaukee County in Wisconsin is a self-described history lover, whose grandfather Leo Nadolny fought in the Pacific Theater with the Marines against the Japanese. Shaun Nadolny's dad, born four years after the war ended in 1949, was named after Leo's brother Jerome Francis, who was one of nine men killed in Gathemo. The two brothers never knew each other's whereabouts while in combat, so Leo didn't learn about Jerome's death for nearly a year. Letters from his parents informing him about the loss weren't reaching him, so tragically, he kept asking about his brother when writing home. Like most families at the time, the Nadolnys didn't know much about Jerome's service, except that he died in France. A family member has the Purple Heart that was issued posthumously. 'I've learned a lot about my grandpa, Leo, because in about 2001, I sent a letter to the government saying, 'As part of the Freedom of Information Act, I was wondering if you could share his military file.' And they did,' he said. The packet arrived about 18 months later and provided him with a window into his grandfather's wartime experiences – where he fought, the battles he survived and even the ships he was transported on in the Pacific. 'It kind of led me down this path about his brother Jerome, that we knew nothing about. We just literally had a picture of his cross on his grave over in Brittany (France), and a picture of him. That's all my dad ever had,' he said. 'He just knew that, 'Hey, I was named after my uncle who I never met who was killed over in France.'' About a decade ago, he wrote the government again with a request for Jerome's military file. He wasn't as fortunate this time around. The records were believed to have been destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in 1973. It was one of up to 18 million service members' files lost. He did receive some basic information: Jerome's draft enrollment card and where he was originally buried in France before his remains were repatriated in the Brittany American Cemetery. Another key detail came from a picture of Jerome's grave marker. He served in the 109th Infantry Regiment, as part of the 28th Infantry Division. Prior to the war, the 28th was a Pennsylvania National Guard unit based at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County. It was nationalized by the federal government in February 1941. 'I just started kind of looking into that unit in that division,' Nadolny said. 'A friend said, 'Hey man, you're kind of at a dead end with this research on your great uncle. You should look at a 28th Infantry Facebook group or a family group, because you're not going to get anything more from the government.'' So in the group, he ended up in touch with a Frenchman, Christophe Clement, who works in logistics. But, his real passion is World War II history. When he was 15 or 16, he would ride his bike from cemetery to cemetery to make sure the graves of Allied soldiers were well kept. He's studied in Canada to be a historical adviser and volunteers with the Mike Pride Mobile Museum. Clement's Facebook page is filled with pictures and videos – historical and current – of his efforts to keep the memory of Allied soldiers alive. But, he has always felt a connection to the men wearing the keystone symbol on their uniforms and helmets. His hometown of Senlis was liberated by the division. During WWI, a soldier from the 28th died there and another five were killed in the same area during the second worldwide conflict. Clement connected Nadolny with a retired lieutenant colonel from the 28th – Corey Angell, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who has a passion for documenting the history of his beloved unit. Angell soon was able to add a few more pieces to the puzzle for Nadolny – Jerome's company, his death from a gunshot wound and how he was identified by his paybook. 'So, they kind of started filling in just some of the blanks,' Nadolny said. 'And all I ever was doing for the last 15 years was just learning a little bit more about my family history.' Clement had an idea after corresponding with Angell and Nadolny – to build a memorial to the 28th's fallen in the nondescript town of Gathemo in Normandy. The idea blew Nadolny's mind. He figured his great-uncle was just a typical grunt doing his job. After all, he wasn't part of the D-Day landings or some super soldier that earned a chestful of medals. 'He's just another guy. He came after the invasion, and was killed very early in – Aug. 12,' he said. 'Nothing heroic about it.' Nadolny didn't want his relative to be singled out, so Clement did some digging and learned the names of eight other members of the 28th who were killed in the fight to liberate the townspeople from four years of German occupation. 'When you search for information about soldiers or about combat actions or whatever, it really is like a police inquiry,' Clement said, speaking through a translator. Clement is an old pro at working to honor the memory of Allied soldiers who paid the ultimate price on French soil. About a dozen years ago, he started working to create monuments to members of the 28th around his part of France. He will turn 40 on Saturday, the same day as the ceremony, which will have special significance because Clement says it will be the last monument he helps build. Organizing the tributes is becoming increasingly complicated, said Clement, who has worked to preserve the memory of 15 members of the Bloody Bucket who were killed in France during the world wars and an estimated 400 other Allied soldiers. The 28th Infantry Division didn't enter the conflict until about a month-and-half after D-Day – July 22, 1944 – and landed at Omaha Beach. At that point, the Allies were building momentum toward a breakout inland. The division found itself in hedgerow country (known to the French as 'bocage'). The fighting across the terrain – made up of farm fields broken up by a series of overgrown hedges and trees that towered above walls of dirt that could reach up to six feet in height— was slow, brutal and hindered any sustained advance. Six days after arriving on French soil, the 28th suffered its first casualty when an officer was seriously wounded. But its biggest test to come was in Gathemo, beginning on Aug. 7. 'The 28th Division troops got their first experience in hedgerow warfare during the fighting at Percy and Hill 210, but they faced a far more intense test a week later at Gathemo and Hill 288, just outside the town,' said Walter Zapotoczny an author, Army veteran, former command historian of the 28th Infantry Division and president of the 28th Infantry Division Association. Jerome Nadolny and his fellow soldiers in the 109th regiment were among the first American troops moving toward the town around 6:30 a.m. Waiting for them, according to Zapotoczny, was at least half of the German 84th Infantry Division, an 88-mm anti-tank battalion, the 84th Division artillery and other enemy forces. After hours of heaving fighting and nightfall approaching, three battalions of the 28th dug in – without much forward progress. But, the Germans weren't done. As the Allies had learned through Africa, Sicily, and Italy, their enemy utilized the counterattack as a favored tactic. Major Paul F. Gaynor, who was commanding the regimental anti-tank company described what happened next: Three German tanks accompanied by more than 100 infantrymen came out of Gathemo. The tanks were equipped with searchlights which were used to illuminate the area where the men were digging in. Direct fire from the tanks' guns and machine guns at ranges of 60 to 75 yards caused heavy casualties. The accompanying infantrymen, who were equipped with a large number of automatic weapons, took advantage of the confusion. Bazookas were quickly brought into action (by U.S, troops)….the tanks and their infantry support withdrew to Gathemo upon meeting this resistance.' The next day didn't yield much gain in ground. The 28th advanced another 300 to 400 yards. The Germans may have been in retreat, but continued to fight tenaciously. It wouldn't be until the morning of Aug. 10 that American troops entered the town, and by the afternoon Gathemo was liberated. 'The battle of Gathemo caused the greatest losses and the most resistance up to that point in the 28th Division's experience,' Zapotoczny added, 'It was at Gathemo that the 28th Division endured its most brutal battle of the Northern France campaign.' The cost in and around Gathemo was the lives of nine members of the 28th, including three from Pennsylvania: An estimated 235 men were wounded. On Aug. 19, the 77-day Battle of Normandy came to an end with the Germans in full retreat and tens of thousands captured when the Falaise pocket was closed by Allied troops. 'Although not directly involved in the fiercest fighting at Chambois, where Polish and Canadian forces sealed the pocket, the 28th Division's aggressive advance helped prevent German units from escaping to the east or regrouping, effectively pressing the western and southern flanks of the pocket,' Zapotoczny said. A mere 10 days after the German defense of Normandy collapsed, the men of the Bloody Bucket were taking part in the liberation day parade throughout Paris. As plans for the dedication ceremony took shape, Cory Angell, the retired 28th Division officer, continued to try to reach as many families of the nine soldiers killed in Gathemo as possible to give them a chance to attend in-person or watch it online. He spends his spare time researching photos and videos throughout history of the men and women who served in the country's oldest Army division. 'We're kind of a small group, right? A lot of people just retire and move on. There's some of us that are just diehards and I'm one of them,' Angell said. 'I'm an old soldier, retired from the division which I grew up with. Really, the beginning and end of my career was in the division wearing the keystone patch.' Since Pvt. Irwin S. Fox was from Pittsburgh, he turned his attention to trying to find his relatives. Military records show Fox enlisted in the Army on Jan. 9, 1944, just months before the invasion. He was assigned to the 110th Infantry Regiment with the 28th Division. Angell started by Googling the names of the nine soldiers. With Fox, he was able to make a connection to Pittsburgh. He then reached out to the Heinz History Center, who put him in touch with the Pittsburgh Jewish Genealogy Society. 'The guy said, 'Last I can tell, that family moved to Columbus, Ohio. Let me put you in touch with a guy for Jewish history in Columbus, Ohio.' And that's how they go, 'Yeah, we got him. Here's her phone number.'' Soon, he was on the phone with Evelyn Fox Weiner, Irwin's 89-year-old niece. 'What was a real joy to me and I hope that all those that are involved can really appreciate it when we do find the family members, the three that we found have been amazed and thrilled,' Angell said. 'People are like, 'What? You're kidding me.'' Fox was a first-generation American. His grandfather was from Ukraine and his grandmother grew up in Latvia. He graduated from Schenley High School in Pittsburgh's North Oakland neighborhood. His mom, dad, sister and brother eventually moved to Squirrel Hill. He was married to Josephine Greenberg. A picture from 1944 shows a striking couple – Josephine sporting a knee-length skirt and a clean-shaven Irwin in uniform with his right arm casually, but firmly around her hip. He was 29 when he died in combat. 'He was very loving and nice,' said Weiner. 'He was revered enough that my family had another son who was named after him.' His namesake, Irwin S. Fox, is 77-years-old and lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife. He didn't know much about his uncle until about 1964, when he came across some old photos. 'All I knew was that he was killed shortly after D-Day. I didn't know any of the details until I saw the gravestone,' Fox said. The headstone is marked with his uncle's date of death, Aug. 13, 1944. 'I just knew from history that he was in hedgerow country in France.' Irwin Fox and his wife recorded a message on a record to his parents, after Passover in the spring of 1944. The audio and photos were provided to the Capital-Star by his namesake, Irwin S. Fox. (Audio slideshow produced by Tim Lambert) Fox's death in Gathemo hit the family hard and Weiner isn't sure her grandmother ever recovered from the loss of her youngest child. 'I remember the Blue Star in the window in their apartment and their home at that time, if you had somebody in the service, it was a small banner,' said Weiner, who still has the telegram from the War Department informing the family of his death. 'Then my grandmother became a Gold Star mother after he was killed.' When the war was over, families had to decide whether to bring the remains of their loved ones home or whether they would remain buried in Europe. Fox's mother chose to have his body returned to the U.S. In March 1949, he was buried at Shaare Torah Cemetery in Whitehall in Allegheny County. A family photo dated Sept. 15, 1964, shows his mother standing in front of his grave marked by an American flag. Her graying hair peeks out from her yellow headscarf and she's wearing a long, black coat. Her hands are clasped and her face is grief-stricken. 'I think that's the most poignant picture I have,' Irwin Fox said. The family is grateful to have learned a little bit more about Irwin's short time in France, but will not be able to make the ceremony. 'It meant enough, and Irwin was revered enough, then when we found out about it, which was only two weeks ago, that there were 15 members of our family that were ready to go to France, really, to be there at that dedication, that's how quickly we all wanted to be there to honor and to share what we could with him,' Weiner said. 'Due to logistics and complications due to travel, it's not happening. We all revered Irwin's service to the United States and what he did and the sacrifice that he made. It totally changed several generations.' She and Irwin are touched by the gesture of the people of Gathemo. 'The people actually cared what Americans did and the sacrifice they made (It) had an effect on the world. That is wonderful,' Irwin said. 'It kind of renews in me to want to make a difference in the world.' Weiner said it's gratifying that the town is remembering the soldiers who died to liberate it from the Germans. 'It never replaces a life, but does it give hope or meaning or set something up for generations to come,' she said. The next puzzle piece was tracking down another fallen soldier with Pennsylvania connections. Not much is known about Pfc. Merritt Boyle's military service. He was from Chinchilla, Lackawanna County, and served in the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. He's buried at the Shady Lane Cemetery in Dixon City. Angell had a lead on another namesake – 53-year-old Merrit Boyle of Old Forge,, who trains athletes, owns a gym and does life coaching. It turns out, though, that Merrit doesn't really answer his phone. So Angell reached out to the 109th Infantry Regiment Association in Scranton and one of their members just showed up at Boyle's doorstep. 'I came back from walking my dogs and I locked both doors and I'm setting up my schedule for the day and I heard a banging on the back door. I'm like, 'Who the hell is banging on my back door?'' he said. So, I'm looking at him and he said, 'Are you Merrit?'' The two talked for about 90 minutes about the division, about where Merritt was killed and the upcoming ceremony. The talk started to fill in some blanks for the younger Boyle. He had heard some stories about the man he was named after – like how he loved his country and was only in France a short time before his death. Like, how his grandmother, Marjorie, who was Merritt's mother, asked her daughter, Mary, to name one of her children after her fallen son. 'They weren't planning on having another kid. I'm the youngest by six years, so I was kind of like a surprise,' he said. 'Marjorie went to my mom and said, 'Look, it would mean a lot for me to keep his legacy alive,' because Merritt was a very special person to her. You could tell just from talking to her, telling me stories, and I remember sleeping over at her house and she'd be telling me great stories on how he was always into trouble. Video of tank crews and members of the 28th Infantry Division in an around Gathemo, France, during the Battle of Normandy in August 1944. (From the National Archives) The twist is they spelled his name wrong on his birth certificate. As his namesake, he has one 'T' in his name. 'I love that I have that legacy. I've always felt a connection to him when I pray at night, I always have that connection that there's someone watching me,' Boyle said. 'That's why it was such a rewarding experience to find out a little bit more of his history and I learned a lot from talking to many people that were very helpful and getting me up to pace with some of the details of where he was and what happened.' Boyle said his uncle didn't get a chance to live his life. 'I feel him live through me in many regards. … That I was named after him and (in) his honor and that just hearing how they spoke of him, it made me want to do better,' he said. Merrit does have a wooden carving Boyle made when he was in service and the flag that was put over his coffin when his remains were returned to Pennsylvania. He is grateful to know his uncle's memory will live on in the land where he fell. 'We kind of sometimes today get caught up in the politics and the cynicism a lot of times of Republican or Democrat, all this kind of stuff. To see 80 years later that there's still appreciation for what those great men did gives such a rewarding feeling,' he said. Tomorrow, read about Shaun Nadolny's trip of a lifetime, as Gathemo prepares to pay tribute to the 28th Division and the men who died to liberate it. If you would like to watch Saturday's dedication ceremony, it is set to begin at 5:00 a.m. EST and will be livestreamed on the Mike Pride Museum YouTube channel: SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
'Sick puppy' Tim Walz should never have been on Dems' 2024 ticket, Trump says
President Donald Trump called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a "sick puppy" who should not have landed on the Democrats' 2024 presidential ticket. "He's a sick puppy, that guy, that poor guy. I feel sorry for him," Trump said Thursday from the Oval Office while meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "But, they made a bad choice with him." Trump's comments followed a reporter asking Trump about his relationship with Elon Musk after the former Department of Government Efficiency chief repeatedly assailed the "big beautiful bill," the sweeping legislation that will fund the Trump administration's agenda and touted by the president as key legislation that demands GOP unity for passage. Musk was a key ally of Trump's during the campaign cycle, holding rallies in the top seven battleground states to rally support, including in Pennsylvania. Trump remarked that the Democrat Party should have tapped Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to join former Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate on the presidential ticket, but instead chose Walz. "Elon endorsed me very strongly. He actually went up and campaigned for me. I think I would have won. Susie would say I would have won Pennsylvania easily anyway, even if the governor had the real governor, not the governor, for a Minnesota," Trump said before calling Walz a "sick puppy." "But if you picked Shapiro or anybody else, I spoke to him recently about his, you know, his house being set on fire, which was terrible. But if they picked him, I would have won Pennsylvania," he added, referring to how Shapiro's home was targeted by arson while his family slept back in April. Walz joined Harris on the Democrat ticket in August 2024, just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July 2024 amid mounting concerns over his mental acuity, giving way to Harris at the top of the ticket. The Harris campaign had just more than 100 days between Biden dropping out and rallying support for the Harris-Walz ticket before Election Day on Nov. 5. After the election, Walz revealed he would run for president in 2028 if the opportunity presented itself. "Well, I had a friend tell me, 'Never turn down a job you haven't been offered,'" Walz told the New Yorker in March when asked if he would run for president. "If I think I could offer something ... I would certainly consider that," he said. "I'm also, though, not arrogant enough to believe there's a lot of people that can do this." He said that under the correct circumstances and if he had the right "skill set" for the 2028 race, "I'll do it." "You might do it?" the New Yorker asked. "I'll do whatever it takes," Walz said. "I certainly wouldn't be arrogant enough to think that it needs to be me."
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
What do you do when you're the lone Democrat on Trump's FCC? You go on tour
Anna Gomez, soon to be the lone Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, has been sounding the alarm about President Donald Trump's 'weaponization' of her agency against the press. And now she's taking it on the road. Gomez has embarked on a 'First Amendment Tour' of planned speeches across multiple states, saying Trump has shown a 'pattern of censorship and control' threatening free speech rights. Under Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC has conducted what she calls 'sham investigations' against news outlets. Last week, Gomez gave a speech at California State University in Los Angeles — her first tour stop outside Washington, DC. She'll soon make appearances in Kentucky and Illinois, and the tour is expected to last through the end of the year. 'I want to speak out, make sure we get the message out about what is happening and how this is a threat to our democracy,' Gomez told CNN. The FCC's efforts to investigate news outlets — including NPR, PBS, ABC, CBS and NBC — 'is a threat to the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press,' she added, 'and I want to encourage others to join me, to speak out and to push back against this violation of the First Amendment.' Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. Gomez suggested she could be fired for openly criticizing her agency. However, she said she's 'more worried about our democracy and the folks standing up to defend it.' (The FCC is an independent agency, and the president cannot fire a commissioner without just cause. If Trump removed anyone from the panel, it could trigger a legal fight.) 'I will continue to speak out, regardless of what happens, because I think it's important that we bring attention to these actions that are so contrary to our constitutional freedoms,' Gomez told CNN. After this week, Gomez, a 2023 Biden appointee, will be the only Democrat left on the five-seat commission. Her fellow Democrat, Geoffrey Starks, who was appointed by Trump and reappointed by Biden, will step down on Friday. Republican commissioner Nathan Simington, a Trump appointee, will also exit the agency at the end of this week. The departures will leave just two commissioners on the bench: Gomez and Carr, the latter of whom has openly signaled a willingness to pursue media outlets deemed unfavorable by the president. The FCC will be unable to vote on any matters until it fills a vacant seat and fulfills a required three-commissioner quorum. In the meantime, Gomez said she plans to be vocal about her chairman's actions. Since Trump returned to the White House, Carr has reopened probes into NPR and PBS over their sponsorship practices and into CBS over alleged 'news distortion.' He's reinstated complaints against ABC News for its handling of a 2024 presidential debate and opened new probes into NBCUniversal and Disney over their diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Those actions, Gomez said, have been justified by Carr using 'an undefined public interest standard,' which she translated as 'things we don't like to see.' These are 'sham investigations,' Gomez bluntly told CNN. 'They are intended to affect how these broadcasters and companies are doing their business, whether it's how they make their editorial decisions or how they change their fair hiring practices.' Gomez has also used the tour to delve into Trump's lawsuits against media companies — a tactic that has FCC connections, in the case of CBS News. The broadcaster's parent company, Paramount, is seeking the FCC's sign-off on its lucrative merger with Skydance Media. At the same time, Trump is suing CBS, accusing '60 Minutes' of deliberately mis-editing its October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to manipulate the election. Even though experts have deemed the lawsuit bogus, CBS is reportedly considering settling the lawsuit. Pressure to settle the case and clear the way for FCC approval has trickled down to the network. CBS News president Wendy McMahon, a '60 Minutes' ally, stepped down last month. 'It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,' she wrote in her farewell memo. Weeks before that, longtime '60 Minutes' producer Bill Owens resigned because he felt he could no longer make 'independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes,' as he wrote in a memo to the show's staff. Days later, the newsmagazine's anchor Scott Pelley said that Paramount had started 'to supervise our content in new ways' amid the political pressure, and that Owens felt 'he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.' 'That, to me, is completely against the public interest,' Gomez said of Owens and McMahon being pushed out, 'because what it says is that they are making news editorial decisions for reasons that have nothing to do with journalistic integrity, but everything to do with the corporate parent's desire to get their transaction done.' While Gomez is using her speeches to sound alarms, she said there are glimmers of hope. The audience at last week's Los Angeles show, she said, was thrilled to see press freedom groups pushing back against the administration. However, Gomez said, the overall takeaway from the L.A. event was just how pervasive the sense of fear for press freedom has become. 'There's a lot of fear about these actions being taken against broadcasters, in particular, and frustration,' Gomez said. 'We heard from a wide variety of people — reporters, broadcasters, professors, public media — and they all had the same message, which is that they are very nervous about the actions that this administration is taking.'
