Latest news with #Newark-area
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WATCH: Democrat lawmaker charged with assaulting federal agents laughs off fundraising questions
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., refused to answer Fox News' questions over whether her motivations for storming a federal immigration detention center earlier this month was to increase her public image, after it was uncovered McIver had been fundraising off the incident that has led to federal charges for the New Jersey Democrat. The Department of Justice publicly outlined federal charges against McIver on Tuesday, accusing her of allegedly "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" earlier this month at a Newark-area immigrant detention facility known as Delaney Hall. McIver was there with two other members of Congress to conduct what they claimed were their congressionally mandated oversight duties, as well as the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras Baraka, who was subsequently arrested following the incident but later had his charges dropped. "Congresswoman, would you be able to tell us what made you decide to fundraise off the incident, the charges?" McIver was asked. Dem Lawmaker Fundraises Off Federal Assault Charges After Ice Facility Confrontation: 'Doing My Job' "No comment," McIver said as she laughed off the reporter asking the question. "Have a wonderful day." "How do you respond to people who might think that's why you went to the ICE facility? That you wanted to fundraise off of it?" Read On The Fox News App But the follow-up question went unanswered as the congresswoman repeatedly ignored the reporter's questions and instead focused her attention on a discussion with her staff that were accompanying McIver at the time. "Any comment, congresswoman, on the fundraising? Anything you could have done different to avoid the charges?" Doj Cites Bodycam Footage In Charging Document For House Dem Mciver On Tuesday, Fox News Digital uncovered McIver was fundraising off her charges shortly after they came down from the Justice Department. Investigators accused McIver of assaulting two federal agents at Delaney Hall, according to the charging documents. Law enforcement says McIver assaulted the agents when she "slammed her forearm into the body of a uniformed" immigration official while trying to "restrain the agent by forcibly grabbing him." McIver also allegedly tried to block agents from arresting Baraka and, after he was put in handcuffs, allegedly "pushed an ICE officer and used her forearms to forcibly strike the agent." "As you know, Trump is using his Department of Justice to target political opponents. Less than two weeks ago, I was doing my job and conducting oversight at an ICE facility in my city," a fundraising text obtained by Fox News Digital stated. "Now, the Trump admin has filed charges against me. This is a first-and it's a flashing red light for our democracy," it continues. "I'm sounding the alarm and asking you to donate now so we can fight these charges and keep speaking truth to power."Original article source: WATCH: Democrat lawmaker charged with assaulting federal agents laughs off fundraising questions
Epoch Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Duffy Calls for Probe Into Biden Admin's Moving Newark Air Traffic Communications to Philadelphia
The Department of Transportation will request an investigation into the Biden administration's decision last year to move the telecommunications system that handles Newark's air traffic from New York to Philadelphia, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on May 12. While speaking at a Monday press conference with Chris Rocheleau, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Duffy said the recent air traffic control equipment outages at Newark Liberty International Airport were due to a decision made in July 2024 by the Biden administration. At the time, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg decided to reassign control of the Newark-area airspace sector from New York's Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) to the Philadelphia TRACON. The FAA previously defended the move as an attempt to alleviate short staffing at the New York facility. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a labor union representing America's air traffic controllers, On Monday, Duffy said that the decision was particularly dangerous because the Philadelphia TRACON has to be fed data from New York through old, copper data lines, which were already vulnerable. The NATCA mentioned this risk last year, Related Stories 5/8/2025 5/11/2025 Duffy described it as adding 'more risk to the system' without 'addressing the underlying infrastructure.' So far, he said the FAA has implemented a software patch to fix the problem that led to the three communications failures at Newark airport over the last two weeks. The first incident took place on April 28 when air traffic control lost all contact with planes for 30 seconds, causing some controllers to take trauma leave. Two additional incidents occurred on May 9 and Since then, the FAA has slowed traffic in and out of Newark until it can ensure safety, Rocheleau said at the press conference. For now, the agency is only allowing 24 to 28 departures and arrivals per hour at Liberty, he added. In addition to the software patch, Duffy said the FAA has already replaced copper communication lines with fiber optics at Newark, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, but that subsequent testing will likely take up to two weeks before the FAA can 'flip the switch and make them live.' The secretary said he huddled with data contractor Verizon to add three new telecommunication connections between New York and Philadelphia to 'provide more high-speed reliability and redundancy.' Duffy's also going to request an Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation on the Biden administration's decision to move the control of the Newark and New York-area airspace to the Philadelphia TRACON, which he blamed for the three air traffic control equipment failures over the two-week span. 'There were issues in October and November under Biden and Buttigieg that would have highlighted to the prior administration that the underlying hardware would continue to cause problems,' Duffy said. 'That, along with their overall neglect of our whole aviation system, and the aging issues that we've highlighted over the course of the last several weeks, were clear mistakes of their administration.' The secretary is also hosting a delay reduction meeting on May 14 with the FAA and all airlines that service Newark to make the ongoing traffic reductions more efficient for travelers. 'Families shouldn't have to wait four or five hours for a flight that never takes off. By lowering the number of flights, we can ensure the ones that are kept do actually take off, and they do actually land,' Duffy said. Rocheleau said the FAA has initiated an emergency task force composed of industry experts, FAA experts, and representatives from Verizon and the L3Harris Corporation, an information technology defense contractor, to make sure travel is safe in and out of Newark. That task force will be involved in Wednesday's meeting, the acting administrator said. 'We're working with the airlines and the airport, the Port Authority of New York [and] New Jersey, to make sure that the travel into Newark this summer is safe,' Rocheleau said. Duffy emphasized that since multiple airports and control towers need immediate safety upgrades, the Transportation Department and FAA will likely 'have to do more than one location at a time.' 'But ... priority number one is going to be Newark,' he said.
