Latest news with #jet
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump lashes out after reporter asks about Qatari jet
Politics Trump lashes out after reporter asks about Qatari jet May 21, 2025 | 10:33 PM GMT In a meeting on May 11, President Donald Trump slammed NBC reporter Peter Alexander for asking about a jet gifted by Qatar.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Now Kristi Noem wants her own pricey new private jet for Homeland Security
While Qatar may be gifting the U.S. a $400 million Boeing 747-8 for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem might be getting a plane, too, having put in a request for a new Gulfstream. The U.S. Coast Guard made a last-minute change to its 2025 budget to secure a $50 million new plane for Noem. Lavish spending on jets is something of a touchy subject in Washington, D.C., right now, not only because of the security and ethics issues over the Qatari gift, but also because it could cost $1 billion to retrofit the plane to meet communications and military requirements to transport the commander-in-chief. Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood brought up the request for a new jet for Noem during a Wednesday hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. 'I was horrified last Friday when we received a last-minute addition to your spend plan for Fiscal '25 — a new $50 million Gulfstream V for Secretary Noem's personal travel coming from the Coast Guard budget,' Underwood stated in a session with acting Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lunday. 'She already has a Gulfstream V, by the way. This is a new one,' the Democrat added. Underwood pressed Lunday on whether the request for the jet had come from the top levels of the Department of Homeland Security or elsewhere in the Trump administration. The admiral evaded answering the question, saying: 'Meeting the needs of our Coast Guard men and women that are doing frontline operations is my top operational priority, and it's a top operational priority of the secretary.' He added: 'She's been clear with that to me, and I know she testified to that effect before the subcommittee last week.' Lunday argued that the new plane was necessary, explaining that the Coast Guard operates two military long-range command and control aircraft in its fleet, and that the older one is 'approaching obsolescence and the end of its service life.' It's necessary to replace it as it 'provides a crucial service to Coast Guard leaders and to Secretary Noem,' he added. He explained: 'This aircraft is necessary to provide … secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward, visit our operating forces conducting the missions, and then come back here to Washington to make sure we can work together to get them what they need.' Underwood wasn't satisfied with his answer in that it had not addressed her question. 'I just want to note that I didn't hear the admiral answer the question about whether he was directed to purchase this new Gulfstream V,' she said. 'And I just want to note that as I conclude my time.' The Illinois lawmaker further said on X: 'We should be investing in our national security and improving the lives of our Coasties – not wasting taxpayer dollars on luxury travel and political stunts.' Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin backed up Lunday's response on the age of the aircraft currently in operation, telling The Daily Beast that the current Gulfstream is over 20 years old and outside of its service life, 'well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft.' 'This is a matter of safety,' she said in a statement. 'Much like the Coast Guard's ships that are well beyond their service life and safe operational usage, the Coast Guard's aircraft are too. This administration is taking action to restore our Nation's finest maritime Armed Service to a capable fighting force.' Noem faced her own grilling in the House on Wednesday over her 'many photo ops and costume changes' making the scene as the secretary of Homeland Security that have earned her the nickname 'ICE Barbie.' She also refused to acknowledge whether a photograph presented by President Trump depicting alleged gang tattoos apparently superimposed on the knuckles of wrongfully deported Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia was, in fact, doctored. Parts of the tattoos have not been seen in other photos of Abrego Garcia's hands. There was a lengthy back-and-forth with California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell on both matters. Sparring with Noem concerning her apparent cosplay efforts, he said: 'I don't need to wear costumes to show how tough I am.' Repeatedly asking her about the photo, he said: 'Madame Secretary, I have a 7-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 3-year-old. I have a bulls**** detector. I'm just asking you, is this doctored or not doctored?' Noem claimed to have no knowledge of the photo or what his point was, despite being one of the chief law enforcement officials in the country.
The National
14-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Former Air Force One director says Trump GCC trip is historic
Mr Fahmy called Qatar gifting of a jet to the US President a nice gesture, but Air Force One needs more assets to be President-ready.
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Out of the blue': search for answers goes on after North Sea tanker collision
In the North Sea, about 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the smouldering wreck of a 183-metre tanker is being kept in place by tugboats. The central part of the vessel has been caved in, with water gushing from a hole in its side. Sections are covered in black soot, evidence of the raging blaze that engulfed the ship when it was struck by a smaller cargo ship on Monday morning, with the flames from multiple explosions only just dying down on Tuesday afternoon. The 220,000 barrels of jet fuel the tanker was carrying for the US military has mostly burned up, experts say, though it had ignited to a degree that the huge plume of smoke was visible from space, a swirl of black clearly identifiable on satellite images. The vessel it was hit by, the 140-metre Solong, drifts about two miles south, also with grey smoke emanating from somewhere inside. Shipping containers on its deck are charred and beaten. It is likely to sink. 'Modelling suggests that should Solong remain afloat, it will remain clear of land for the next few hours. The assessment of HM Coastguard is, however, that it is unlikely the vessel will remain afloat,' the maritime minister, Mike Kane, told parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Though not entirely unique by global standards, a sight such as this is rare off the British coast, and a collision resulting in loss of life is even rarer. It was 9.48am when the alarm was first raised. The US-flag tanker, Stena Immaculate, had been stationary having arrived from a port in the Peloponnese region of Greece, ship-tracking software shows. It had been anchored while it waited for a berth to become available at the Killingholmeport, on the River Humber, its management company, Crowley, said. Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, at a speed of about 16 knots, equivalent to 18 miles an hour, when it collided with the tanker. Normally a ship should be detectable on radar 24 miles (39km) away, and visible approximately 10 miles away. Fog and haze meant the visibility was poor, though this is not something uncommon in the North Sea. There should have been at least one crew member on deck of the Solong but a crew member of the Stena Immaculate told CBS News that the Solong 'came from out of the blue' and it appeared no one was on its bridge when the crash happened. It is thought alerts set up to warn of an impending crash may have been disabled. These devices are prone to false alarms, according to one former captain, and can be a nuisance for crews. At 10.20am, after reports of a 'massive fireball', the coastguard put out a signal to nearby boats and ships, saying: 'Solong has collided with tanker Stena Immaculate in the outer anchorage, both vessels are abandoning. Vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search and rescue contact Humber coastguard on channel one six. Vessel Stena Immaculate is carrying jet 1A fuel, which is on fire and in the water. Request vessels remain at a safe distance.' Firefighting vessels raced to the scene to help control the blaze and lifeboats were scrambled to support the response and assist in evacuating the crew of both ships. A total of 36 people were taken to shore safely, with one treated in hospital. One man is missing presumed dead, having entered the water and not been accounted for among those rescued. Initial reports speculated the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide may have been aboard the Solong but these were later proved incorrect – it had four empty containers that had previously held the substance, its German owner, Ernst Russ, said. Fire crews battled to get the inferno under control throughout Monday and into Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon most of the fire was out and a multimillion pound salvage operation was beginning, with salvage experts and investigators arriving in Grimsby, attempting to understand how the crash occurred. While it remains unclear which country will lead the investigation into the collision – it is usually agreed between the 'flags' of the vessels – Humberside police on Tuesday said a 59-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
