Society's ChildS


Helicopter

'Falling apart' midair: Helicopter plunges into New York's Hudson River, killing six

Helicopter map
© OpenStreetMap/Flightradar 24Helicopter Crash Site
New York: A sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront, killing six people, including a family of Spanish tourists, in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the US, officials said.

The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and three children, in addition to the pilot, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.


Comment: Another view:

From the local Fox News channel ;
Certified pilot, meteorologist gives perspective

FOX 5 NY's meteorologist and certified pilot, Nick Gregory, says video footage made it "quite clear some sort of catastrophic failure happened exactly mid-flight." He explained that the rotor blades likely separated from the aircraft, which meant that "there's no way to maintain any lift," rendering the pilot powerless.

Gregory further noted that once the blades detached, "it took out the tail, the tail rotor," leaving the pilot with no control over the aircraft. He explained that in cases of engine failure where everything else remains intact, pilots can perform a maneuver called "autorotation," where they use the momentum of spinning blades to safely land the helicopter. However, in this case, "there's no power at all, no way to be able to control the situation."

While early reports suggested weather might have played a role, Gregory confirmed that the crash was a result of mechanical failure, not environmental factors. He pointed out that "the weather was deteriorating right during the recovery process" with winds gusting at about 30 mph, and rain starting to fall. He added that the water temperature in the Hudson was "in the 40s to about 50 degrees," limiting the time divers could spend in the cold water during recovery efforts.

Unfortunately, Gregory stated, the "crash was too intense," and all six people on board did not survive.
Condolences to the relatives of the Escobar family.


Mr. Potato

Dems hit bottom: Rep Jasmine Crockett argues the US needs illegal aliens because, "we done picking cotton"

jasmine crockett
© Getty Images/Fox NewsCrockett's weekend remarks are just the latest in a line of other questionable comments and controversies that have resulted in her facing possible censure in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat representing Texas's 30th Congressional District, is drawing renewed scrutiny following remarks made over the weekend at Grace Baptist Church in Connecticut.

Crockett, who is affiliated with the far-left progressive group known as "the Squad," spoke during the church's 125th anniversary celebration, where she addressed the topic of immigration.

Speaking to the congregation, Crockett said, "So I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain't none of y'all trying to go and farm right now," prompting laughter from some in attendance.

"OK, so I'm lying?" she added, reacting to a brief silence.

Comment: "We done picken' cotton" says the upper-crust, elite school educated infant playing at being a ghetto gangsta. Sad.






Bullseye

Read the room: Trump White House won't reply to reporters with pronouns in emails

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett
© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via GettyWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett
The White House will no longer respond to reporters who list their preferred gender pronouns in their email signatures because they "ignore scientific realities."

"It is official White House policy to IGNORE reporters' emails with pronouns in the signature," the Trump War Room account announced on X, confirming anecdotal instances of press getting a brush-off.

The official account then added a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that she doesn't respond to journalists who use pronouns "as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts."

Comment: Breitbart's John Nolte with some pungent editorializing on the MSM's ruffled feathers:
"Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story," Leavitt told the far-left, near-bankrupt Washington Post.

"The [far-left] New York Times reported earlier that three of its reporters were denied responses from the White House because they listed pronouns in their emails," the Post indignantly adds. "Matt Berg, a correspondent for the outlet Crooked Media, also said he listed his pronouns in his email to a Trump administration spokesperson as an experiment and was denied any information because of it."

Now we get to my favorite part...

"Including one's pronouns in introductions, over email and in-person, has become normalized across many industries in recent years as a way to show support with the transgender or nonbinary community and prevent misgendering," the Post writes, laughably using the word "normalized" in a sentence about lunatics and fetishists.

Today, it's "misgendering." Tomorrow it will be MSgendering because fascists love their tripwires.

My preferred pronouns are "Trump" and "won."

Now what do you have to say, Washington Post?

Leavitt is exactly right to ignore these anti-science freaks. Those who use preferred pronouns are proclaiming their delusional belief that gender is on a spectrum when neither a spectrum nor gender are real things.

What's the difference between gender and Bigfoot? Bigfoot might exist.

There is only SEX. There is only male and female. There are only XX chromosomes and XY chromosomes, and even those rare variations are either biologically male or female.

Denying this is like denying gravity or denying that humans need oxygen to breathe, or denying that Hillary Clinton is fat.

Beyond that, using preferred pronouns is an act of cry-bullying, of virtue-signaling arrogance, of proclaiming how special you are that we must all rewire our brains to spout nonsense because of your precious specialness.

There are only two reasons someone proclaims they are the opposite sex or on that stupid spectrum... You are either mentally ill or you are parading around your fetish while getting off on bullying others to join your delusion.

You want to pretend you're not gay by running around in a beard and a dress...? I don't care. You have every right to damn your soul in whatever way you choose. But to use the anti-science, emotional blackmail of "muh suicide" to force the rest of us to normalize your fetish makes you a woke little dictator, and I am heartened that we have a press secretary and presidential administration that both understands and openly acknowledges this.

Truly, the pro-science adults are back in charge.



Briefcase

The zoning police come for Cape Cod lobsterman

lobster fisherman
© Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod TimesLobsterman Jon Tolley stands alongside a row of lobster traps in the backyard of his West Yarmouth home on March 27, 2025, as he gets ready for the start of another season. Tolley intends to challenge a town decision that he is illegally selling lobster from his home
People looking for fresh lobster know where to go on Cape Cod. For 50 years, third-generation fisherman Jon Tolley has welcomed customers to his Yarmouth home, where he offers the day's catch. His father did the same thing at the same home, using a home-based business model that Tolley's grandfather pioneered in 1930 at a different location near the Bass Hole boardwalk.

The town of Yarmouth should celebrate this entrepreneurial spirit, and yet, the town ordered Tolley to cease and desist operations in March 2025 — weeks before the start of a new season.

The reason has nothing to do with public health, safety, sanitation, or environmental concerns. Tolley has commercial fishing and retail licenses, and he complies with all requirements. Nor has the town mentioned traffic or parking concerns. Tolley has two massive driveways that easily accommodate his customers, including many who just walk from nearby.

Cell Phone

FBI returns James O'Keefe's phones more than three years after raid over Ashley Biden's diary

james o keefe phone fbi retuns
© James O'Keefe/XJames O'Keefe shows FBI paperwork regarding the return of his phone after two years.
In a video posted on X, O'Keefe said he received a receipt addressed to his lawyer from the FBI.

James O'Keefe announced that the FBI has returned two iPhones seized during a raid on his home in November 2021, three and a half years after the devices were taken. The FBI raid was conducted over Project Veritas' possession of a diary belonging to then-President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley.

In a video posted on X, O'Keefe said he received a receipt addressed to his lawyer from the FBI, operating under the US Department of Justice. The receipt listed an "iPhone 12 Pro Max" and an "iPhone A1921." The document was signed by FBI Special Agent Anthony Casola, who was the same agent who placed O'Keefe in handcuffs during the original raid.

Comment: If the information from Ashley's diary had been properly reported, it would have cooked pervy dad Joe Biden's presidential campaign in short order. No amount of spin would have been able wash away a pedophile scandal.


Sherlock

DOJ finds Trump would-be assassin Ryan Routh attempted to buy weapon to shoot down plane

ryan routh
© cbs news
Federal prosecutors say Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate President Trump as he golfed last September during the 2024 campaign, also attempted to acquire an anti-aircraft weapon to shoot down Mr. Trump's plane.

In a filing Monday, the government said that in August, "Routh sought to purchase the devices online from an associate Routh believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military weapons."

Routh allegedly told an associate to "'send me an rpg [rocket propelled grenade] or stinger and I will see what we can do,'" according to the court document.

"I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected," Routh told his associate.

NPC

Democrats are forming an 'assassination culture' as Trump rises in power, new study reveals

luigi mangione mural
© Steven HirschA report found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics.
A disturbing new report reveals that violent political rhetoric online, including calls for the murder of public figures like President Trump and Elon Musk, is being increasingly normalized, particularly on the left.

The report, from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice. The chilling change appears to have accelerated in recent months.

"What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable," Joel Finkelstein, lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital. "We are seeing a clear shift — glorification, increased attempts and changing norms — all converging into what we define as 'assassination culture.'"

The NCRI study traces the cultural shift back to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly by Luigi Mangione, in December 2024. What followed, researchers say, was a viral wave of memes that turned Mangione into a folk hero.

Stock Down

EU's 'Russophobia' a costly obsession - Moscow

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
© Sputnik / Maxim BlinovRussian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Anti-Russian policies have cost the bloc's economy over $1.4 trillion, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The EU's "anti-Russian agenda" has proven to be an "expensive obsession" for the bloc, dealing a significant blow to its economy and citizens, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

The EU declared its intention to wean itself off Russian energy following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Supplies of more expensive US fuel have replaced much of the cheap pipeline gas that was previously provided by Russia.

According to data cited by Zakharova, the EU's push to abandon Russian energy has come at a steep cost, with GDP losses estimated at 3.8% by 2024 and the total economic toll reaching €1.3 trillion ($1.4 trillion).
"This is the true cost of the EU's anti-Russian agenda. Yes, Russophobia is an expensive obsession," the diplomat said during a regular briefing on Wednesday.

Gavel

NPR repeats false claim that the Court rejected claims of government involvement in censorship efforts

censorship
© cato.org/spearcenter.com/KJN
Leila Fadel and National Public Radio recently interviewed me on free speech. While the program ominously warned that "what you're about to hear is hate speech" in playing extreme voices on the right, it did interview me and former Columbia University president Lee Bollinger from the free speech community. I wanted to address a statement made about the program that is not accurate but has been repeated like a mantra by many seeking to dismiss the censorship system under the Biden Administration. The claim is that the Supreme Court rejected the claim of coordination between the government and social media companies. That is entirely untrue, but you do not have to take my word for it. The Supreme Court expressly stated that it was not doing so last year.

I appreciate the opportunity afforded by NPR to present the views of many in the free speech community. In all fairness to Fadel, it is also important to acknowledge that NPR was quoting a widely repeated claim by law professors. However, it is important to set this record straight on the matter.

R2-D2

AI is pro-Western - Russia's human rights chief

Fadeev
© Maria Devakhina/SputnikRussian Human Rights Council Leader Valery Fadeev
Neural networks have become "powerful propaganda machines," according to Valery Fadeyev.

Foreign artificial intelligence systems are pushing Western ideological narratives and could serve as powerful propaganda and censorship tools, Valery Fadeyev, the head of the Russian Human Rights Council, has stated.

Speaking at a roundtable on AI threats on Tuesday, Fadeyev said that he and his team had tested foreign neural networks by asking questions about hot-button political issues - including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Ukraine conflict. After the test run, he concluded:
"We are on the brink of an ideological and informational catastrophe. The texts that these chatbots produce contain ideologically charged content. They are ideologically driven Western texts. Powerful, unprecedented propaganda machines have been created."

Comment: Boundaries...are there such for AI?