Free Republic

'Equity' means realizing 'treating everybody the same might not be enough,' VA official Shawn Liu says .. Joe Biden's Department of Veterans Affairs is offering race-based training programs and workshops that exclude white veterans—programs that one legal expert says are "of dubious constitutionality and legality." The programs are taking place in at least four states, a Washington Free Beacon review of online offerings found. In Battle Creek, Mich., for example, the VA offers a "BIPOC Support Group," an "8-week curriculum designed to provide support for Veterans that identify as people of color/BIPOC, or as multiracial or biracial," according to a...

A state examination of the office that handles criminal prosecutions in St. Louis is being delayed because auditors can’t find former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said Monday. Fitzpatrick said in a news release that auditors have tried for several months to contact Gardner, including trying to serve her with a subpoena. Her whereabouts remain unknown, he said. “This is a pattern of behavior with Kim Gardner, who hasn’t shown a willingness to be transparent or accountable,” Fitzpatrick, a Republican, said in a news release. “Without question, she knows our audit is ongoing and that we want...

Survey comes after federal judge shouted down on campus More than one third of Stanford University students say using physical violence to stop a speech is acceptable in at least some circumstances, according to a new report. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression conducted the survey after federal Judge Kyle Duncan’s speech on campus was shouted down last year. The report evaluated students’ perspectives about free speech on campus and protests in the aftermath of the event. FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens told The College Fix the research found “considerably higher” support for canceling a speaker among Stanford...

Top aides to Biden secretly hatched a plan this past fall to replace White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre by recruiting outside allies to nudge her out the door ... Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 by becoming the first black and first openly gay person to hold the position, had developed the exasperating habit of reading canned answers directly from a binder to reporters at her regular briefings — offering what her superiors viewed as a less-than-compelling pitch for the 81-year-old Biden as he readied his re-election campaign. De facto White House communications chief Anita Dunn, 66, the...

Southwest Airlines issued a press statement Thursday declaring their intention to fire around 2,000 employees and cancel service to four airports following financial difficulties. “[W]e are implementing cost control initiatives, including limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs. We now expect to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer Employees as compared with the end of 2023,” Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest Airlines ... Jordan also announced that the company was shutting down its service to three airports in the United States and one in Mexico. “[W]e have made the difficult decision to close our operations at...

Program will address ‘insidious problem’ with racism in medicine: nurses association Nursing students at the University of Illinois soon will receive “diversity, equity, and inclusion” training via virtual reality courtesy of a $20,000 grant to address racism. The American Nurses Association, which awarded the grant through its National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, says the funds will address an “insidious problem” with racism in nursing. But other medical professionals and scholars say the project is a waste of money. The university’s College of Nursing plans to use the grant to hire a software engineer to create virtual reality training...

An armed U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris‘s protective detail fought unarmed with other detail agents on Monday morning. The incident occurred at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base, before Harris arrived, and after the agent suffered what the Secret Service has characterized as a medical incident. The Washington Examiner is aware of the agent’s name and specific detail responsibilities but is withholding those details for privacy reasons. The Washington Examiner understands that the agent became aggressive with other agents. When the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor attempted to calm the...

Swiss Air flight aborts takeoff from JFK, safely leaves minutes later... A Swiss Air flight traveling from New York City to Zurich last week had to abort takeoff, averting a "potentially dangerous situation," the airline confirmed. Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR. "Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a...

Are you aware that there have been two near-catastrophes at major American airports (DC Reagan and NY JFK) where airplanes were cleared to cross runways as another airplane was taking off? A runway collision on takeoff is almost by definition the deadliest form of airline disaster, since two or more airplanes, at least one fueled up for the coming journey, collide at takeoff speed, likely engulfing them in fireballs. That is how the deadliest airline disaster in history, happened in Tenerife, killing 583 people. The first incident took place last Thursday, April 18, at Reagan National Airport when the tower...

That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

Authorities are investigating the events that led up to the ships crash into the bridge, causing the collapse. ... The FBI has opened up a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland after a boat crashed into it last month. ... The boat reportedly lost power briefly before veering one of the bridge's support, sending the bridge cascading into the water below. Six lives were lost. On Monday, federal agents boarded the crashed boat to conduct a search. Agents wore yellow and orange life jackets as they boarded the Dali, standing where it...

University of Texas which was laying off around 60 employees in order to belatedly comply with a state law prohibiting DEI. I say belatedly because the law in question took effect at the beginning of the year but it seems UT's first reaction wasn't to get rid of DEI offices and employees but instead to simply rebrand them. For instance, at the University of Texas the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was renamed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement. But one of the authors of SB 17, the Texas DEI prohibition, caught wind of what was happening and...

From corporate boardrooms to college campuses, there are growing signs that conservatives are turning the tide in the battle against so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” policies. In the most recent setback for the DEI movement, the University of Texas at Austin announced on April 2 that it was laying off dozens of employees in compliance with a new state law which effectively bans DEI programs at state-funded institutions. In addition to outlawing DEI offices, the Texas law prohibits schools from requiring students and faculty to submit “DEI statements.” A month prior, the University of Florida also announced that it was...

Increase includes vice chancellor for diversity, other DEI positions The University of Nebraska at Lincoln added more than 350 new positions in the past decade – nearly all of them administrative – while student enrollment numbers remained steady... Among the new hires is a vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. His salary for the current year is $267,585 .. During the 2022-23 school year, the most recent data available, the public university’s Lincoln campus employed 4,014 full-time administrators and support staff... In 2013-2014, IPEDS data shows UNL employed 3,720 administrators and support staff – meaning it added 294 administrative positions...

The University of Texas at Austin is laying off dozens of employees who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles in response to a state law that banned such programs, according to the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Employees who had previously worked in DEI roles received layoff notices Tuesday. That came months after the university had reassigned them from those positions to comply with the legislation, which went into effect Jan. 1. The school declined to provide a specific tally of the number of people affected, though the AAUP said 60 is a “conservative...

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 flight to Houston returns to Denver after engine cover tears away during takeoff

A Virgin Atlantic 787 has collided with a British Airways Airbus A350 while pushing back from the terminal building at Heathrow airport causing minor damage to both aircraft. The Virgin jet was being guided by a tug when its winglets struck the tail of the neighbouring BA jet. Emergency services raced to the scene following the low-speed impact. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: 'We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3. 'The safety of our customers and crew is...

The University of Texas at Austin has sent layoff notices to an estimated 60 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, according to the Texas NAACP and the Texas Conference of American Association of University Professors. The staffing cuts come as the university works to comply with the state’s anti-DEI law, or SB17, that bans public colleges and universities from maintaining DEI offices, holding mandatory DEI training, and having departments focused on “promoting differential treatment” based on race, sex or ethnicity. In a statement released Wednesday, the Texas NAACP and AAUP said impacted staff members were...

DENVER (KDVR) — A United flight diverted to Denver after crews reported an issue with an engine. United Airlines confirmed to FOX31 that a flight from San Francisco to Paris had to land at Denver International Airport Thursday evening. Crew members on the Boeing 777-200 reported having an issue with one engine. Even though the issues were reported, United said the flight did not declare an emergency landing, but emergency services were standing by for the plane’s arrival as a precaution. United said the flight landed safely, and all 273 passengers and 12 crew members deplaned. Since the flight was...

The new head of Boeing’s troubled commercial airplane unit said the planemaker faces a “pivotal moment” as it works to boost quality and address significant concerns from regulators and airline customers after a panel flew off a 737 MAX 9 jet in January. “This is a pivotal moment for us, and we have serious work ahead to build trust and improve our operations,” said Stephanie Pope, who was named president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes ... Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would leave by the end of the year, while the company’s long-time head of commercial airplanes, Stan...