Latest news with #CharlesSchumer
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian bridge traffic down from last year
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – Canadian border crossing at New York ports of entry have dropped by over 20-percent from last year according to Senator Charles Schumer's office. In an announcement released on Wednesday, border crossings have dropped by around 290,000 according to the senator's office. Schumer said that tariff's imposed by President Donald Trump have caused a 'nose dive' in entries. What is the 'TACO trade' on Wall Street? According to statistics from Schumer's office, crossings at the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge saw the second-steepest decline percentage at 27.51-percent. Last year saw 43,945 entries, but that's down to 31,857. The Thousands Islands Bridge also saw a drop of 20.2-percent from last year with 117,953 crossings. That number was 147,814 at this time last year. The Seaway Bridge in Massena only saw a decrease of 1.91-percent 205,518 entries as opposed to 209,524 from last year. According to Customs & Border Patrol (CBP), almost 290,000 fewer travelers crossed the Upstate New York-Canadian border last month than over the same period in 2024, a whopping 22% decrease. Burning bridges and ruining relationships with our closest ally and key trading partner, Canada, right when summer tourism season is arriving, is about as destructive as it gets. Upstate NY is on the frontlines of Trump's destructive tariff war, and this shocking new data shows our tourism economy is paying the price from Buffalo to Ogdensburg. United States Senator Charles Schumer The announcement was made in conjunction with the start of summer tourism season occurring with recent passing of the Memorial Day holiday. According to a recent North Country Chamber of Commerce survey, 66% of businesses are already experiencing a dip in Canadian bookings. Canada is the top source of international visitors to the U.S., with 20.4 million visits in 2024, generating $20.5 billion in spending and supporting 140,000 American jobs. Schumer said if there were even a 10-percent reduction in Canadian travel, it could mean as much as $2 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses across America. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Who Oversaw National Recording Registry & Gershwin Prize, Fired by President Trump
President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday (May 8) as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those it sees as opposed to the president and his agenda. Hayden was notified of her dismissal in a curt email from the Presidential Personnel Office. More from Billboard Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter Fired Ahead of Previously-Announced Exit (Updated) 'The Judd Family: Truth Be Told' - How to Watch the TV Special Online With Philo 15 Makeup Products From Amazon's Summer Beauty Haul Event Worth Your Time 'Carla,' the email began. 'On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.' Hayden had been appointed to the post by President Obama in 2016 and had been confirmed by the Senate. She was the first woman and the first African American to serve in that post. Her 10-year term was set to expire next year. Hayden's firing angered congressional Democrats. 'Enough is enough,' said Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, who called Hayden 'a 'trailblazer, a scholar, and a public servant of the highest order.' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also blasted the firing. 'Donald Trump's unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,' Jeffries said. Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian, said he would serve as acting librarian of Congress 'until further instruction. I promise to keep everyone informed,' he wrote to colleagues. In February, Trump fired Deborah F. Rutter as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, following his announcement that he was elected as Kennedy Center chair. Rutter had served in that position since 2014. The Library of Congress is the world's largest library, home to more than 10 million collection items. The library says its holdings constitute 'the creative record of the United States.' It acquires, preserves and provides access to the world's largest collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings. It also has collections of rare books, prints and photographs, as well valuable artifacts, such as a flute owned by President James Madison, which Lizzo played in a widely-publicized (and, in some quarters, controversial) 2022 performance arranged by Hayden. The library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. The Librarian of Congress oversees two high-profile awards — the National Recording Registry and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The National Recording Registry, which dates to 2001, vies with the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame as the most prestigious institutional award for classic recordings. Established in 2007, the Gershwin Prize honors living musical artists for exceptional contributions in the field of popular song. The Library calls the Gershwin Prize 'the nation's highest award for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.' The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Recording Academy might argue with that, but it has definitely become one of the most prestigious awards — and relatively quickly. The most recent class of National Registry inductees was announced on April 9. The Library has not yet announced the 2025 recipient of the Gershwin Prize. Elton John and Bernie Taupin were announced as the 2024 recipients on Jan. 30, 2024. Gershwin Prize honorees during Hayden's tenure were Smokey Robinson (2016), Tony Bennett (2017), Gloria & Emilio Estefan (2019), Garth Brooks (2020), Lionel Richie (2022), Joni Mitchell (2023) and John & Taupin. Criteria for selection include artistic merit; influence in promoting music as a vehicle of cultural understanding; impact and achievement in entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations of musicians. According to the Library of Congress site: 'The [Gershwin Prize] honoree is selected by the Librarian of Congress in consultation with a board of scholars, producers, performers, songwriters and music specialists.' The Librarian of Congress also takes the lead role in selecting the 25 titles each year that are inducted into the National Recording Registry. According to the site: 'Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' and are at least 10 years old.' In announcing what turn out to be the final batch of National Recording Registry inductions under her tenure, Hayden said: 'These are the sounds of America — our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation's playlist.' Best of Billboard Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble, Pentatonix & Train Will Bring Their Holiday Hits to iHeart Christmas Concert Fox Plans NFT Debut With $20 'Masked Singer' Collectibles 14 Things That Changed (or Didn't) at Farm Aid 2021
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Really a mess': America's air traffic control system suffering from years of neglect
Twice in the past two weeks, communications between air traffic controllers and airplanes at Newark Liberty, one of the US's busiest airports, have failed – leaving controllers unable to communicate with pilots. The outages have, thankfully, only led to massive delays, not disaster. But they have also once again focused a harsh light on the persistent safety problems at US airports, which handle over 50,000 flights a day. As a result of that estimated 90-second communications breakdown on 28 April, many air traffic controllers said they felt traumatized, and thousands of passengers suffered from the hundreds of canceled and delayed flights. A brief radar outage on Friday morning left radar screens black for another 90 seconds – underlining a growing crisis. Political leaders were quick to criticize the rickety state of the air traffic system. Senator Charles Schumer of New York said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was 'really a mess', while New Jersey's governor, Phil Murphy, decried 'decades of underinvestment' in air traffic control infrastructure, 'delays' in modernizing technology, and 'inadequate air traffic control staffing'. The transport department's inspector general has found that at 20 of the nation's 26 most critical airports, air traffic control staffing falls below the 85% minimum level, with many controllers forced to work 10-hour days and six-day weeks. After the communications breakdown in Newark, several air traffic controllers there was so shaken that they went on 'trauma leave', leaving that airport even more understaffed. The Trump administration moved swiftly to respond after the alarming episode at Newark. On Thursday, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, unveiled a plan to build a new state-of-the-art system that would overhaul the technology used by the nation's air traffic controllers. Duffy said his plan would replace 'antiquated telecommunications, with new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites'. 'A lot of people have said: this problem is too complicated, too expensive, too hard,' Duffy said on Thursday. 'But we are blessed to have a president who actually loves to build and knows how to build.' Airlines and the air traffic controllers' union applauded Duffy's proposal, but several airline industry experts voiced fears that it would fall short, as have many past plans to fix the system. In a statement, the Modern Skies Coalition, a group of industry associations and experts, said: 'We are pleased that the secretary has identified the priorities of what must be done to maintain safety and remain a leader in air navigation services.' The air traffic control system has been through some tough months. In January, a commercial jet collided with an army helicopter near Reagan Washington National airport, killing 67 people in the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001. Trump upset many aviation industry experts and outraged many Americans when he, even before an investigation was begun, rushed to blame the crash on diversity, equity and inclusion. On 1 May, another army helicopter forced two flights to abort their landings at Reagan airport. Newark airport has suffered at least two other similar communications breakdowns since last August. A New York Times investigation in 2023 found that close calls involving commercial airlines occurred, on average, several times each week – with 503 air traffic control lapses occurring in the 12 months before 30 September 2023. For some these latests issues are part of a much older story. 'The system's staffing problems started when Ronald Reagan fired over 10,000 air traffic controllers,' after they went on strike in 1981, said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. 'And those problems were worsened by his pushing the hatred of government and the dismantling of government. That's what's put us on the track to where we are today. There were budget cuts and tax cuts for the rich, and all that stopped us from doing the infrastructure projects and hiring and training that we needed to have a stable system.' The nation's air navigation system has just under 10,800 certified controllers, but their union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, says there needs to be more than 14,300, the number recommended by an arm of the FAA, called the Collaborative Resource Workgroup. There are over 2,000 controllers in training, and the union has urged the Trump administration to increase the number in the pipeline. Training usually takes 18 to 24 months, and getting up to speed to work at the most demanding airports such as JFK and Newark can take more than three years. 'There is a shortage of controllers nationwide, but not to the degree it's occurring at Newark,' said Jeff Guzzetti, an industry consultant who was an investigator for the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board. 'There's been a shortage of controllers for years, if not decades. That shortage was exaggerated by Covid; they couldn't conduct training for new controllers. Beyond that, they've always had a problem finding the right people with the right skills to control traffic and to get people to pass the course work at the training academy and then to get them up to speed.' Many trainees drop out and don't pass their exams, and many controllers don't stay in the job because it is so stressful. In recent years, the number of controllers has been relatively flat. The total has declined by 10% since 2012 due to retirements and trainees failing to finish their requirements. 'It's not only the shortage of air traffic controllers. It's antiquated facilities and equipment and software,' Guzzetti said. Many facilities still rely on floppy disks and copper wire. He said: 'It's all coming to a head now in New York and Newark. Newark has always been the worst in terms of air traffic staffing and modernizing its equipment.' Last September, the Government Accountability Office said the FAA needed to take 'urgent action' to deal with its antiquated air traffic control systems. It said 51 of the FAA's 138 air traffic control systems were unsustainable. On Thursday, Duffy did not say what his modernization plan would cost. The House transportation and infrastructure committee says it would cost $12.5bn to overhaul the air traffic control system, but Duffy says his plan would cost more than that. 'Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age,' he said. 'Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity.' On May 1, Duffy announced a related plan filled with incentives that he said would 'supercharge the air traffic controller work force.' It includes $5,000 bonuses to new hires who successfully finish the initial training. Joseph McCartin, a labor historian at Georgetown University who wrote a book about the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike, said that ever since Reagan fired 11,345 striking controllers, 'the system has been out of sync'. 'The natural rhythm of the system broke down and we never fully recovered,' he said. 'We've improved over time, but the FAA still has grave difficulty staffing facilities.' McCartin added: '[Elon Musk's] Doge has made things only worse. The entire system that federal employees operate under has been terribly destabilized. The FAA exists in a world where this entire project of the federal government is teetering.' Robert W Mann Jr, an aviation industry analyst, said that for 40 years there have been FAA reauthorizations approved by Congress, but they haven't fixed the problems. 'Unless you do it right, it doesn't make a difference what you spend,' he said. 'You won't have solved the root causes.' Nonetheless, Mann said he remained confident about airline safety. He said: 'There's a primacy in this business. Whether you're working at airlines or the FAA, safety is the first thing.' Mann said that days when an airport faces severe understaffing of air traffic controllers or a crush of airplanes eager to take off as bad weather lifts, there will often be delays to ensure safety. 'I'm not worried about safety,' Mann said, 'but I might be worried that my flight will be four hours' late.' Nelson, the flight attendants' president, said that the US should be thankful to air traffic controllers because their job is so hard, stressful and important. 'They should be commended for working in a system that's crumbling,' she said. 'They're the ones we all need to applaud right now. They're like the nurses during Covid, when everyone came out at 6 o'clock to bang pots and pans.' A big question now is whether Congress will approve the money for Duffy's ambitious modernization plan. Nelson said: 'I hate to say we're a canary in the coalmine, but those of us in the airline industry have known for a long time that a lot of this [the air traffic control equipment] has been a problem. What happened in Newark is a sign of what will come in other airports if we don't get the budget we need.'
Chicago Tribune
19-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Schumer, Johnson deserve praise for averting government shutdown
The leader of the minority Democrats in the United States Senate, Charles Schumer, D-New York, has quietly but effectively aided the Republicans on an important spending vote, and thereby increased his own standing and perhaps the prospects of his beleaguered party. Ten Senate Democrats led by Schumer joined with Republicans to pass a stopgap spending bill on March 14 that averts a shutdown and guarantees that the U.S. government will continue to operate through the end of September. The threat of the government shutting down is an ongoing problem dating from the administration of President Jimmy Carter. Before 1980, the expiration of appropriations legislation did not disrupt government functions. Politicians worked things out, flexibly, pragmatically and behind the scenes. Then, during the Carter years, curious U.S. Rep. Gladys Noon Spellman, D-Maryland, inquired about the 1884 Antideficiency Act, which prohibits spending public funds without congressional authorization. Able Elmer Staats, comptroller general, head of Congress' audit arm, responded with the opinion that Congress did not intend work to cease when an appropriation ended. However, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti disagreed. He declared agencies must close when funding ends. Crises have regularly followed. The congresswoman's request for opinions arose in connection with funding for the Federal Trade Commission. That agency shut down briefly in May of 1980. While the doors soon reopened and employees returned to work, the resulting disruption continued long after that. There were three shutdowns of the federal government during the administration of Ronald Reagan, and one under George H.W. Bush. In 1994, Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives after 40 years in minority status. Their majority was led by new Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, who dramatically accelerated the trend of shifting that office from a relatively nonpartisan to highly partisan pulpit. White House Democrats and congressional Republicans played an escalating game of budgetary chicken. The federal government was shut down briefly. In the political and public media maneuvering, President Bill Clinton was able to put the onus squarely on the Gingrich Republicans. Publicly cool and politically cunning, Clinton moved ahead in the public opinion polls. He was helped by emphasizing fiscal restraint. In the 1996 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas. In 2013, Republicans managed to shut down the government for 16 days as part of the effort to derail the Affordable Care Act. Then as before, Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, used the Republican effort for partisan political advantage. Along with Sen. Schumer, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-Lousiana, deserves credit for maintaining relative stability, conducting business in an orderly manner and avoiding intense partisan vitriol. Johnson has only been in the speakership since October 2023, but so far has generally managed to avoid the turmoil that characterized the relatively brief tenures of predecessors Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and John Boehner, R-Ohio. Resolution of intense congressional conflicts over spending that have led to shutdowns is aided, indirectly but powerfully, by the evidence of public unhappiness with the practice of not handling appropriations in an orderly, adult manner. Democrat Sam Rayburn of Texas remains distinctive as a remarkably durable speaker of the House. From the 1940s into the 1960s, he successfully led the House, despite the difficult politics of that era. Rayburn holds the record for longest service as speaker, reflecting his exceptionally effective pragmatic political skills. Speaker Johnson and Sen. Schumer demonstrate similar skills, something that is now more important than ever. Arthur I. Cyr is the author of 'After the Cold War – American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia' (Palgrave/Macmillan and NYU Press).
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Schumer fights against NOAA cuts
PLATTSBURGH — Potential cuts and mass layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could have a serious negative impact on the North Country. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said the unplanned and sudden layoffs at NOAA and the suspension of weather balloon launches and cuts to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory would cause great harm. 'Upstate New York knows the power of Mother Nature, from lake effect snowstorms to flooding to tornadoes that ravaged the region last summer. From homeowners to businesses to shippers, we know National Weather Service and NOAA satellites are lifesaving tools we need to keep our economy humming and Upstate New York safe from extreme weather,' Schume rsaid. 'But right now 'DOGE' is recklessly taking a chainsaw to the National Weather Service and that could lead to major gaps and Swiss cheese holes in Upstate New York's weather map when we need more frequent and advanced technology tracking storms.' Schumer said these tools are how Upstate New York families get weather reports on a daily basis, how communities get emergency alerts, and it is how the region knows if a snowstorm is going to drop two inches or two feet overnight. 'These massive cuts to the National Weather Service are already starting to manifest in our backyard with weather balloons not being sent up in Albany, staff being fired, and services for Upstate New York shuttering,' he said. 'I'm demanding any and all cut services be immediately restored and answers about just how deep these cuts have already gone in Upstate New York. The safety of our communities during the next storm depends on it.' Schumer said the impact of cuts is already being seen. In Albany, the National Weather Service said it is suspending weather balloon launches due to 'DOGE' (Department of Government Efficiency) layoffs. Weather balloons give forecasters a three-dimensional picture of the atmosphere in real time, helping meteorologists provide New York residents fast and accurate predictions of what conditions they can expect when they step outside. Schumer said these new cuts mean that weather balloons will not be going up in Albany as frequently, and meteorologists will have less data to predict how storms are evolving. He also said the hyper local forecasting by the local NWS offices is especially important in instances of extreme weather like these tornados and lake effect snowstorms, it is important for New Yorkers to have fast, reliable, accurate weather forecasts so they can make the best decisions to keep themselves and their families safe. 'How is it in the public's interest to have less accurate weather information? It is cutting for the sake of cutting with no plan or forethought about the impacts it is having. I am all for rooting out fraud, but decimating weather forecasting people rely on every day is not waste, it is lifesaving information,' Schumer said. Schumer said mass layoffs at NOAA are part of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's 'DOGE's indiscriminate slashes to the federal workforce and federal spending that are creating chaos and confusion in New York and across the country. He said major cuts to the National Weather Service will make weather forecasting less reliable across Upstate New York. The Trump administration has planned mass layoffs at NOAA that would result in a reduction of its workforce by approximately 20%. The Trump administration fired 586 probationary NOAA employees – including 108 NWS employees – last month. The National Weather Service was already short-staffed, Schumer said, and meteorologists warn that these additional cuts will hurt the agency's ability to make accurate weather predictions.
