Category: U.S. News

PHILADELPHIA — While air travelers at Philadelphia International Airport Monday might have anticipated lengthy security waits, the most impressive queue was actually made up of cheesesteaks.

Event coordinators announced they successfully established a new Guinness World Record for the most cheesesteak sandwiches arranged in a single line, displaying 1,291 sandwiches throughout a departure terminal in honor of National Cheesesteak Day. This achievement more than doubled the existing record of 500 sandwiches.

“We went for the world record for the longest cheesesteak in history,” stated Clarence LeJeune from MarketPlace PHL, which manages airport food services. “Today we accomplished that goal here in Philadelphia.”

The iconic cheesesteak sandwich, which first appeared in Philadelphia during the early 1900s, remains the city’s most recognizable culinary creation. LeJeune described it as being “synonymous” with Philadelphia, along with the city’s athletic teams.

Workers wearing black aprons constructed the sandwiches at tables positioned along the corridor connecting Terminals B and C, loading bread rolls from metal containers while moving past retail locations.

Once officials verified the record, volunteers distributed the sandwiches to passengers, airport employees, and Transportation Security Administration personnel, who had been working without compensation during the federal government shutdown.

LeJeune humorously noted that cheesesteaks have minimal strict guidelines, which contributes to the “beauty of the experience” — with one exception: “You don’t ask for Swiss cheese,” he said, alluding to a 2003 incident when presidential hopeful John Kerry faced backlash in Philadelphia for requesting Swiss on his cheesesteak.

Michael Empric, an official Guinness World Records judge, explained that regulations mandate all food in record attempts must be consumed or given away.

“In this case, they are going to TSA agents who definitely could use some lunch,” Empric noted.

Passengers at airports nationwide are experiencing extended delays at security checkpoints due to insufficient Transportation Security Administration personnel. Keith Jeffries, who previously served as the TSA security director at Los Angeles International Airport, is providing his analysis of the widespread travel disruptions.

The workforce shortage has resulted in security checkpoint wait times stretching for hours at numerous airports across the United States, creating significant inconvenience for travelers trying to reach their flights on time.

A 27-year-old professional cornhole competitor who lost all four limbs as an infant faces murder charges after authorities say he shot and killed a passenger during a dispute while driving in Maryland.

Dayton James Webber gained national attention when ESPN highlighted his inspirational story in 2023, showcasing how he transitioned from playing traditional sports like football and wrestling to competing professionally in cornhole. That same year, he penned an article for the Today show detailing his journey as a competitive athlete.

Virginia police in Albemarle County took Webber into custody Sunday evening on fugitive charges, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. Maryland officials are working to bring him back to face first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and additional related charges.

Attempts to reach Webber’s legal representation were unsuccessful Tuesday, and messages were left with his mother seeking comment.

In his 2023 Today show piece, Webber explained that medical professionals removed his arms and legs when he was just 10 months old following a severe blood infection that threatened his life. His doctors gave him only a 3% survival rate, he revealed.

Despite his physical challenges, Webber mastered the sport of cornhole, where competitors toss bean bags toward holes cut into angled wooden platforms for points. In his Today show article, he described developing a technique to grip the bean bags with the corners using his residual limbs to make accurate throws.

According to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Webber stopped his vehicle in La Plata, Maryland, following the shooting and requested that two backseat passengers help remove the wounded person from the car. When those witnesses declined and exited the vehicle, they immediately contacted law enforcement officers in the area.

Authorities report that Webber drove away with the injured victim still inside the car. Approximately two hours afterward, a Charlotte Hall resident discovered a body on their property, roughly 10 miles from the initial shooting location. Police identified the deceased as 27-year-old Bradrick Michael Wells from Waldorf, who was declared dead at the scene.

The American Cornhole League acknowledged the charges against Webber in a Facebook statement but declined to provide additional commentary, citing the ongoing legal proceedings as an “active legal situation.”

Violent crimes from Boston to Washington D.C. and New York have one troubling connection: firearms originally purchased legally in Southern states and illegally transported north to areas with tougher gun restrictions, new research reveals.

Everytown for Gun Safety released findings Tuesday showing how weapons move from authorized retailers to criminal hands through so-called straw purchasers – individuals who legally buy firearms only to sell them illegally. The analysis tracked over 250 firearms acquired during a three-year period from approximately two dozen Academy Sports + Outdoors locations.

While Academy Sports faces no allegations of misconduct and the trafficked weapons represent a fraction of their total sales, gun control advocates argue the cases reveal warning signs that authorized dealers might overlook as thousands of firearms reach people legally barred from purchasing them.

Academy Sports representatives did not respond to requests for comment sent Tuesday to their corporate communications team.

Federal data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shows tens of thousands of guns have crossed state lines illegally since 2017. The agency has mapped three primary trafficking corridors: weapons flowing from Southern states with looser regulations to more restrictive jurisdictions.

Most firearms documented in Tuesday’s report traveled from locations like South Carolina and Georgia northward via the Interstate 95 corridor. Additional common routes include the Mississippi River pathway from Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee toward Illinois, plus a southwestern pipeline connecting Arizona and Nevada to California.

ATF statistics indicate fewer than 30% of trafficked firearms since 2017 were recovered outside their purchase state, suggesting opportunities for state and local enforcement to disrupt criminal gun flows, according to advocates.

The research identifies four primary trafficking methods: straw purchases for prohibited buyers, bulk buying for unlicensed resale without background checks, theft from licensed dealers, and theft from vehicles or residences for black market sales.

Since three methods involve licensed sellers, advocates emphasize retailers’ crucial role in prevention efforts.

“Gun trafficking often begins at the sales counter,” stated Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law. “This is not an either/or proposition. Straw purchasers and gun traffickers must be prosecuted, and retailers like Academy operating on the front lines also have a critical responsibility to stop gun trafficking when faced with clear red flags.”

Industry representatives acknowledge straw purchasing concerns but note the difficulty in detecting when buyers provide false information about their intentions.

Everytown attorneys tracking straw purchaser prosecutions observed Academy Sports mentioned repeatedly in recent court cases. Though no charges targeted Academy directly, the chain paid $2.5 million in 2023 to families of a serial killer’s victims who illegally obtained weapons at one store, without admitting fault.

Court records detail one case where two straw buyers purchased firearms across Georgia and Texas during 2021 and 2022. Authorities later recovered over two dozen weapons, with nine connected to Washington D.C.-area shootings.

In Arkansas, a defendant admitted guilt last year after acquiring more than 100 guns between September 2020 and January 2021 from three Academy locations, transporting many to New York for resale. At least 12 weapons were recovered in New York City, including one from a minor and another tied to a robbery.

Another case involved four individuals buying 119 firearms from more than a dozen Academy Sports stores around Atlanta in 2020, later transported to Philadelphia. Law enforcement in Philadelphia and New York recovered three of these weapons.

A South Carolina straw purchaser used another person’s credit card to buy four pistols later found in Boston, with one linked to a shooting occurring two weeks after the purchase.

Researchers identified consistent warning signs across cases, including multiple gun purchases, duplicate weapon models, cash transactions, or using others’ credit cards.

“Legal gun owners look at guns as a tool. You don’t go to Home Depot and buy 10 hammers to complete a project,” observed Marianna Mitchem, a senior industry consultant at Everytown and former ATF official.

Mitchem, who departed the agency last year, noted the ATF’s increased focus under the Biden administration on studying trafficking pathways and analyzing crime gun data. Suspicious indicators might include buyers with shopping lists or purchasing multiple identical firearms despite limited gun knowledge.

“It is the responsibility for all gun stores to not sell guns when they have reasonable cause to believe that there is an illegal sale,” she emphasized.

Thomas Chittum, former ATF official and University of Nevada Las Vegas adjunct law professor, advocates for collaborative rather than adversarial relationships between federal authorities and gun retailers.

“The reality is there are red flags that authorities will never see on paperwork,” Chittum explained, emphasizing the need for seller cooperation.

“Most of them are responsible business owners who realize they have a vested interest in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals,” he added.

UTICA, N.Y. — The murder trial began Tuesday for a former New York correctional officer accused of delivering fatal head injuries to a young inmate during a vicious group assault by prison guards.

Jonah Levi stands as the first of ten indicted guards to face a jury following the death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi at Mid-State Correctional Facility on March 1, 2025. The incident occurred during a period of chaos when the state’s prison system was struggling through an unauthorized guard strike.

According to prosecutors, Nantwi endured 69 individual strikes from correctional officers who attacked him with fists, footwear, and nightsticks across multiple assaults.

Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick of Onondaga County informed jurors during opening statements that forensic teams discovered DNA evidence on boots seized from Levi and another guard who also faces second-degree murder charges.

“With utter depravity and recklessness, you will hear eyewitness testimony that Jonah Levi multiple times stomped Messiah Nantwi on the head. And pathetically, his brother officers did nothing,” Fitzpatrick stated.

Medical evidence shows Nantwi died from severe head trauma and additional bodily injuries sustained during the attacks, prosecutors revealed.

Defense attorney Lewis G. Spicer argued that his client’s actions that morning were warranted based on Nantwi’s hostile conduct. Spicer maintained that Levi did not employ any force that caused Nantwi’s death.

“Mr. Levi was doing everything he was supposed to do,” Spicer told the jury.

The fatal incident occurred months after another inmate, Robert Brooks, was beaten to death at a neighboring prison facility. Advocacy groups point to both deaths as evidence of systemic brutality within New York’s correctional system.

Nantwi’s death also happened while New York prisons operated under severe strain from a three-week unauthorized strike by guards protesting workplace conditions, prompting the governor to deploy National Guard personnel.

Levi belonged to an emergency response unit summoned to Nantwi’s cell to assist National Guard members who requested help after Nantwi resisted during a prisoner count. Fitzpatrick said the situation had already been resolved when the response team arrived.

Multiple guards initiated the assault on Nantwi after he resisted handcuffing and grabbed an officer’s vest. The violence escalated when Nantwi bit a guard’s hand, according to prosecution claims.

“He’s dead because he protested cuffing up and because he tried to bite someone’s finger,” Fitzpatrick explained.

Prosecutors allege guards fabricated evidence by claiming they found a homemade weapon as part of a conspiracy to conceal their actions.

Spicer countered that prosecutors presented an “extremely sanitized” account of events. He described Nantwi, who had consumed synthetic marijuana, as the primary aggressor in the confrontation.

“You’re going to hear him fighting back,” Spicer said.

Unlike the Brooks case, which featured body camera recordings, video evidence may play a smaller role in this trial. Prosecutors say several guards involved in Nantwi’s death either weren’t wearing required body cameras, switched them off, or deliberately avoided recording the incident.

Beyond murder, Levi faces charges including first-degree manslaughter, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault, fifth-degree conspiracy, and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Levi represents the initial guard to stand trial in this case. More than six other officers have accepted plea agreements for reduced charges connected to both the incident and the alleged cover-up attempt.

Nantwi had entered the state correctional system in May 2024, serving a five-year term for second-degree criminal weapon possession stemming from a 2021 gunfight with police officers. During that encounter, Nantwi sustained multiple gunshot wounds while the officers remained unharmed.

Manhattan prosecutors also connected Nantwi to the April 2023 shooting death of 19-year-old Jaylen Duncan on a Harlem street. They allege he killed 36-year-old Brandon Brunson the next evening at a Harlem smoke shop following a dispute.

A U.S. Park Police officer wounded in what officials describe as a targeted attack in Washington, D.C. has been discharged from the hospital, authorities announced Tuesday through social media.

The officer, whose name has not been made public, sustained injuries Monday evening while operating an unmarked patrol car in a Washington neighborhood close to the Maryland border. During a news conference, Park Police Chief Scott Brecht explained that the officer was conducting investigative work when two armed suspects opened fire on the vehicle. Brecht would not provide additional details about the nature of the investigation.

According to a law enforcement source who requested anonymity due to lack of authorization to speak publicly, the officer suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

A joint investigation between the Park Police and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department remains ongoing. Chief Brecht confirmed that law enforcement is actively seeking two suspects in connection with the shooting.

During the same news briefing, Washington’s interim police chief Jeffery Carroll indicated that the officer appeared to have been deliberately targeted, and suggested the shooters may have been aware of his law enforcement status.

Federal authorities have also joined the investigation effort.

A 27-year-old man who became a professional cornhole competitor despite losing all four limbs as a child now faces murder charges for allegedly shooting someone during a confrontation.

Dayton Webber stands accused of fatally shooting a man while the victim sat in his vehicle during what authorities describe as an altercation. The charges mark a dramatic turn for someone who had previously been recognized for his remarkable athletic achievements following a devastating childhood illness.

Webber lost both arms and legs due to a bacterial infection he contracted as a young child. Despite this life-altering challenge, he went on to pursue competitive sports and eventually achieved professional status in cornhole, inspiring others with his determination and skill.

In recent years, Webber had become known for sharing his journey of athletic success after his amputations, demonstrating how he adapted to compete at the highest levels of his sport. His story had served as motivation for others facing similar physical challenges.

The shooting incident represents a stark contrast to the inspirational narrative that had previously defined Webber’s public profile. Law enforcement officials have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding the alleged crime or the relationship between Webber and the victim.

Federal crash investigators are examining cockpit voice recordings and air traffic control tower communications from the moments leading up to a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport between an Air Canada aircraft and an emergency vehicle.

The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to release preliminary findings from their investigation during a Tuesday press briefing.

The aircraft, which had more than 70 people on board, struck the fire truck during its Sunday evening landing approach, resulting in the deaths of both pilots and injuries to multiple passengers. The majority of those aboard managed to evacuate the damaged plane, including a flight attendant who survived being ejected from the aircraft while still secured in her seat.

Key unanswered questions center on why the emergency vehicle was positioned on the active runway during the aircraft’s approach and why it failed to move despite urgent last-minute alerts from air traffic control.

Federal investigators are also examining the actions of air traffic controllers and whether they may have been overwhelmed while managing the late-night emergency alongside another aircraft situation.

The incident occurred during a period of widespread travel disruptions across the United States, including extended security checkpoint waits due to the federal government shutdown, severe winter weather, and increased airfare costs.

Although LaGuardia Airport – the New York area’s third-largest aviation facility – resumed operations Monday, the crash site runway remained shuttered and numerous flights experienced significant delays continuing into Tuesday.

The damaged aircraft continues to occupy the closed runway, which NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy indicated will likely remain inaccessible for several days while the investigation proceeds.

“Investigators need to sift through a lot of debris,” Homendy explained.

Recovery teams extracted the aircraft’s voice and flight data recording devices by cutting through the plane’s roof structure, then transported them to NTSB laboratories in Washington for detailed examination, according to Homendy.

The Jazz Aviation aircraft carried 72 passengers and four crew members on its route from Montreal, operating under Air Canada’s banner, the airline confirmed.

Approximately 40 individuals, including two fire truck occupants, required hospital treatment. While some sustained significant injuries, most patients were discharged by Monday morning, with others requiring no medical attention.

The deceased pilot and co-pilot involved in LaGuardia’s first fatal aviation accident in 34 years were both Canadian-based crew members, according to Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport.

When spring temperatures rise after months of cold weather, boat owners naturally want to get their vessels back on the water. But marine safety experts warn that proper preparation is crucial before that first seasonal launch. Neglecting pre-season maintenance can result in mechanical failures, dangerous situations, or expensive damage.

1. Examine Hull and External Components

Winter storage and previous season wear can cause significant damage to your boat’s exterior. Start by carefully examining the hull for any cracks, blisters, or structural problems. Any discovered damage should be addressed by a qualified marine repair facility. Look over all fittings, railings, and seals around the transom, hatches, and windows for looseness or deterioration. For trailer-stored boats, examine the trailer’s frame, tires, and lights while lubricating wheel bearings. Tires showing low tread depth, visible steel belts, cracks, or bulges need immediate replacement. Early attention to minor problems prevents major issues down the road.

2. Examine Engine and Fuel Components

The engine requires special attention following months of non-use. Conduct a visual check of engine parts for cracks and loose wires or belts where applicable. Remove and replace old fuel if stabilizer wasn’t added before winter storage. Check fuel lines for leaks and verify tank cleanliness before adding fresh fuel. Look over the lower unit for visible cracks. Replace oil and filters as necessary, ensuring oil levels meet manufacturer specifications. Verify the battery is fully charged and maintaining power. Attach a hose with “rabbit ears” to the lower unit’s water intake ports before starting the engine. Never operate a water-cooled boat motor without adequate water flow to the impeller to avoid serious damage! Consider scheduling professional service with a trusted marine mechanic well ahead of your planned launch date.

3. Verify Electrical and Navigation Equipment

Storage conditions can cause corrosion and moisture damage to electrical components. Activate all lighting systems, including navigation and anchor lights, to confirm proper operation. Test your horn, operate the bilge pump, and check electronic equipment like GPS units or depth finders. Replace any corroded connections and verify all wiring is properly secured and free from fraying or damage.

4. Evaluate Safety Equipment

Safety equipment serves as essential protection during emergencies, not just legal compliance. Verify you have adequate U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFDs (life jackets) in proper sizes for all passengers, checking their condition for any damage. Rodents frequently use PFD materials for winter nesting. Confirm your throw cushion is undamaged and easily reachable. Check fire extinguishers for proper charge levels and accessibility. Test marine radio functionality, verify flare expiration dates, and ensure first-aid supplies are complete. Confirm current boat registration and carry your Boating Ed card while operating the vessel.

5. Check Steering and Control Mechanisms

Proper steering and throttle operation are essential for safe boat handling. Examine steering cables or hydraulic systems for leaks, stiffness, or excessive play. Apply manufacturer-recommended lubrication to moving components. Test throttle and shift controls for smooth engagement without binding or delays. Verify your Emergency Cut-Off Switch (ECOS) lanyard is in good working condition.

Final Recommendations

Completing these inspections before your first spring trip prevents mechanical problems, safety hazards, and costly surprises. Proper boat maintenance ensures reliable performance and provides confidence, letting you concentrate on enjoying your time on the water. Additionally, keep a spare drain plug onboard and always file a float plan before departing.

For additional boating resources or to register for boating education courses, visit: https://dwr.virginia.gov/boating/ or call 804-367-9288

Manny Overby serves as DWR’s Regions 2 & 4 Boating Safety Education Coordinator.

RICHMOND—Whether it’s checking text messages or adjusting dashboard screens, daily distractions continue to be a major cause of traffic accidents, where even a momentary loss of focus can result in tragedy.

This April represents Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a national campaign encouraging drivers to eliminate dangerous habits and pledge to drive more safely. During this period, transportation safety experts are stressing that just one moment of lost concentration can lead to tragic and permanent outcomes.

Any behavior that takes a driver’s focus away from operating their vehicle counts as distracted driving, including sending messages, making phone calls, consuming food, putting on cosmetics, engaging with passengers, and operating a car’s GPS or entertainment features.

“We’d like drivers to use this month as an opportunity to identify their bad driving habits and correct them,” said Rich Jacobs, senior communications manager for Drive Smart Virginia, of which Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. is a founding member.

Across the United States, 3,275 individuals lost their lives in car accidents caused by distracted drivers during 2023. Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles documented 20,758 crashes involving distracted driving in 2024, which caused 11,256 injuries and claimed 90 lives.

Virginia’s most frequent causes of distraction-related accidents involve drivers looking away from traffic, mobile phone usage and messaging, and “rubbernecking” or staring at accidents and roadside events.

Despite Virginia’s ban on handheld cellphone use while driving, the issue continues to grow. VDOT statistics show mobile device-related distractions rose 3% between 2023 and 2024—highlighting how widespread phone use remains among drivers.

Traffic safety experts say false beliefs also worsen the situation.

“Multitasking is the biggest myth,” Jacobs noted. “Driving requires your full attention.”

While many people think they excel at juggling multiple activities, scientific studies demonstrate that human brains cannot process several demanding tasks at once. Rather, the brain alternates between different activities, which decreases concentration and delays response times.

Even though mobile devices and cars now feature voice-activated technology, these systems present their own dangers. Research conducted at the University of Utah discovered that drivers need up to 27 seconds to completely regain focus after using voice controls.

Another widespread assumption is that younger drivers are primarily responsible for distracted driving incidents. However, AAA research indicates that seasoned and elderly drivers are more susceptible to distractions from vehicle entertainment systems—requiring more time to operate these features and reacting more slowly to traffic situations.

Transportation authorities suggest implementing basic measures to minimize distracted driving, including activating phones’ Do Not Disturb mode, programming GPS and music selections before departure, and only handling calls or texts after safely stopping—never while stopped at traffic signals.

Adults and parents should also demonstrate proper driving behavior for new drivers, who frequently copy observed actions.

“Put the phone away and wear your seatbelt,” Jacobs added. “A seatbelt is your best defense against a distracted driver.”

Media: Contact Jacobs at 804-929-2988.

Legendary investigative journalist Bob Woodward is preparing to share the untold stories behind his decades of groundbreaking reporting in an upcoming memoir scheduled for release this fall.

The new book, titled “Secrets: A Reporter’s Memoir,” will provide readers with unprecedented access to Woodward’s experiences covering government officials and breaking major news stories, spanning from the historic Watergate investigation through his coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Publishing house Simon & Schuster revealed on Tuesday that the memoir will hit bookstores on September 29th.

According to the publisher’s statement, “He has kept notes, transcripts and files of all of his interviews with the most important players in Washington.” The announcement continued, “For the first time in this one-of-a-kind reporting memoir, Woodward lifts the lid on his historic reporting relationships, some spanning several decades.”

The celebrated reporter, who celebrates his 83rd birthday this week, first gained national recognition during the 1970s alongside Washington Post colleague Carl Bernstein for their investigative work exposing the Watergate controversy and additional revelations about the Nixon White House that ultimately forced President Richard Nixon to step down.

Throughout his distinguished career, Woodward has authored or collaborated on more than 20 bestselling publications, including notable titles such as “All the President’s Men,” “Bush at War,” and his recent works about Trump titled “Rage” and “Fear.”

In a recent conversation with The Associated Press, Woodward explained his motivation for the memoir, saying he viewed it as an opportunity to “get into the reporting process in detail,” emphasizing that he conducted extensive, multi-hour discussions with presidents and other high-ranking officials. “I’ve had the benefit of not being in a hurry,” he says.

While many of Woodward’s previous publications have focused on documenting sitting administrations and were often released during election cycles, he expressed uncertainty about future Trump coverage following the 2024 election results, noting he had extensively covered Trump’s initial presidency.

“I think we know who he is,” Woodward said this week. “He’s so transparent. He’s out there talking, two or three hours a day.”

An Afghan national who provided assistance to American military forces has died while being held in immigration detention, prompting demands for accountability from family members and veterans’ advocacy organizations.

The man, who was seeking asylum in the United States, had previously worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces during military operations in Afghanistan. His death occurred while he was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Both relatives of the deceased and groups that support U.S. military veterans are pressing for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to his death. They are calling for complete transparency regarding what happened during his time in detention.

The case highlights ongoing concerns about the treatment of Afghan nationals who assisted American forces and later sought refuge in the United States following the conclusion of military operations in their home country.

Federal safety officials have launched an investigation into a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada regional aircraft and an emergency fire vehicle on the runway. The tragic accident claimed two lives and left dozens of passengers injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board is working to determine what led to the fatal crash between the commercial jet and the airport fire truck. Both pilots lost their lives in the incident, while numerous passengers aboard the aircraft sustained various injuries.

The investigation will focus on understanding the sequence of events that resulted in this devastating runway accident at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

Despite the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to airports across the nation, travelers continued to experience extended waits at security checkpoints during the initiative’s first day of operation.

The federal agents were assigned to assist Transportation Security Administration operations in an effort to reduce processing times at busy terminals nationwide. However, airports maintained heavy passenger volumes with substantial queues persisting throughout the day.

NEW YORK — In the aftermath of a devastating collision between an Air Canada aircraft and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport that claimed the lives of both pilots, passengers became their own rescuers in a desperate bid for survival.

As fuel fumes filled the air and wreckage hung from the destroyed cockpit area, travelers forced open emergency exits, leaped from the aircraft’s wings, and then assisted fellow passengers who were following behind them, including some who were bleeding or had sustained head injuries.

“Strangely enough, I wasn’t scared or panicked. On the contrary, I think most of us were pretty aware of what happened,” passenger Clément Lelièvre recalled. “So we all went outside; we got other people out.”

Approximately 40 individuals from the regional aircraft traveling from Montreal, along with two fire truck occupants, required hospital treatment. While several sustained significant injuries, the majority were discharged by Monday morning, with others able to leave the scene without medical attention.

While investigators pressed forward Tuesday with their examination of what led to the devastating accident, accounts of how people survived began surfacing — including the story of a flight attendant who was discovered injured but alive outside the plane.

Lelièvre praised the pilots’ “incredible reflexes” for preventing additional casualties. He described how the flight crew applied maximum braking power immediately upon landing.

The Sunday evening disaster occurred after the fire truck received authorization to inspect another aircraft that had canceled its departure due to an unusual smell and began moving across the airport surface. Airport communications captured an air traffic controller urgently instructing the fire truck to halt.

About 20 minutes following the incident, the same controller appeared to accept responsibility. “We were dealing with an emergency earlier,” the controller stated. “I messed up.”

According to Mary Schiavo, former Department of Transportation Inspector General, investigators will focus heavily on how airport air traffic and ground vehicle coordination functioned during the crash.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that while LaGuardia maintains adequate staffing levels, the facility struggles with a controller shortage.

The runway where the accident took place will remain shuttered for “days” throughout the investigation, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy announced during Monday’s press briefing. She explained that investigators must examine extensive debris.

Officials retrieved the aircraft’s cockpit and flight data recorders by creating an opening in the plane’s roof, then transported them to the NTSB laboratory in Washington for examination, Homendy reported.

She indicated it remained premature to address many accident-related questions, though additional details were anticipated Tuesday.

The incident forced LaGuardia’s complete closure — affecting the New York area’s third-largest aviation facility — during an already challenging period for American airports due to a partial government shutdown.

Operations resumed Monday afternoon using a single runway with significant delays. The shutdown created additional complications at other airports, particularly affecting Delta, which maintains substantial LaGuardia operations.

The Jazz Aviation flight, operating under Air Canada’s banner, carried 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Canadian authorities also dispatched an investigative team.

Both the pilot and copilot who perished in LaGuardia’s first fatal accident in 34 years were Canadian-based, according to Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport.

Jeannette Gagnier, great aunt of one pilot, named him as Antoine Forest and said aviation had always been his dream.

Air traffic controllers remain unaffected by the partial government shutdown that has created extended security checkpoint delays at airports recently, though previous shutdowns have impacted them.

The FAA has faced persistent air traffic controller shortages for years.

LaGuardia operates one of 35 major American airports equipped with advanced surface surveillance technology designed to monitor aircraft and vehicle movements across airport grounds.

Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick explained that an alarm audible in the background of air traffic control recordings likely originated from this system and would have warned the tower about the impending collision.

FAA data indicates 1,636 runway incursions occurred last year.

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A massive blast at a Valero oil refinery along the Texas coastline Monday sent thick smoke clouds into the sky, prompting authorities to issue shelter-in-place orders for nearby communities.

The explosion at the Port Arthur facility, located approximately 90 miles east of Houston, caused no injuries, according to Mayor Charlotte M. Moses. She advised residents on the city’s west side to remain indoors while firefighting crews responded to the scene.

“There’s been an explosion, yes, but we’re OK; everybody’s OK,” she said. “They’re trying to put the fire out as quickly as possible.”

The incident occurs as gasoline prices continue climbing due to concerns about global oil supply amid the Iran conflict.

According to Valero’s website, the facility employs approximately 770 workers and has the capacity to process roughly 435,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The plant converts heavy sour crude into gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel.

Social media posts captured dramatic footage showing massive smoke plumes and flames erupting from the facility. Local residents described hearing a thunderous blast that rattled windows in surrounding areas.

“For your safety please remain in place until the ‘All Clear’ is given by emergency personnel,” officials with the City of Port Arthur announced on their Facebook page.

Valero representatives had not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press at the time of this report.

Texas state Representative Christian Manuel posted on social media that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had deployed to the scene with air quality monitoring equipment and was coordinating with local and state agencies.

He advised area residents to stay indoors.

“Please limit outdoor activity, keep windows and doors closed, and follow guidance from local officials,” he said.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion provider serving a life sentence for murdering three newborn babies, passed away earlier this month at a Pennsylvania medical facility, according to state corrections officials who announced his death Monday.

The 85-year-old doctor’s unsanitary West Philadelphia facility earned the notorious nickname “house of horrors.” Workers who previously served at the clinic testified that Gosnell regularly conducted unlawful abortions beyond Pennsylvania’s 24-week legal threshold, delivered infants who showed signs of life including movement and crying, and eliminated these newborns by severing their spinal cords in what he called “snipping.”

Maria Bivens, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, confirmed Gosnell died March 1 at a medical facility outside the correctional system. He had been serving his sentence at State Correctional Institution-Smithfield, located approximately 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. Officials did not reveal the cause of his death.

The doctor had presented himself as a champion for impoverished and vulnerable women seeking reproductive services. Beyond the three first-degree murder convictions, Gosnell was also found guilty of numerous additional offenses, including breaking Pennsylvania’s reproductive health regulations.

The horrific conditions inside his medical practice came to light during a 2010 investigation into illegal prescription drug distribution. Law enforcement officials found a facility reeking of foul odors, containing containers filled with fetal remains and preserved body parts, alongside blood-stained equipment and unsanitary medical tools.

Pennsylvania regulatory agencies had neglected to perform required inspections at reproductive health clinics statewide for a 15-year period leading up to the raid on Gosnell’s operation. Following the public outcry over the scandal, the state dismissed two senior health department leaders and enacted stricter oversight requirements for such facilities.

During his 2013 criminal trial, Gosnell chose not to take the witness stand, while his legal counsel maintained that no infants had been born alive and that any observed movement represented natural post-mortem reflexes.

Federal safety investigators announced Monday they plan to interview an air traffic controller who was handling multiple emergencies just before a fatal collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport between an Air Canada Express aircraft and a fire truck.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy addressed reporters at LaGuardia, explaining that questioning the controller represents just one element of the comprehensive federal investigation, which will “rule nothing out.”

The tragic landing accident claimed the lives of both pilots and left nine additional people with serious injuries, sparking renewed debate about air traffic control staffing shortages at America’s busiest airports.

According to Homendy, the collision occurred just before midnight Sunday during the controller’s overnight shift. Standard protocol requires removing controllers from active duty following such incidents.

“It’s pretty traumatic for that air traffic controller as well,” Homendy explained. “We’ll want to interview that air traffic controller as well as others that were in the tower.”

Aviation safety specialists emphasized that communication patterns between the landing aircraft, control tower personnel, and ground vehicles will be crucial components of the investigation.

Recent Federal Aviation Administration statistics reveal 80 runway incursions involving vehicles or pedestrians during the final quarter of last year, compared to 54 incidents during the same timeframe in the previous year.

Investigators have successfully retrieved both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder for detailed analysis. The NTSB noted that aviation accidents typically result from multiple contributing factors.

PREVIOUS EMERGENCY SITUATION

Air traffic controllers hold responsibility for authorizing aircraft landings and takeoffs, as well as permitting ground vehicle runway access. Audio recordings from liveatc.net indicate the controller directing Air Canada flight 8646 to land had been simultaneously working to locate a gate for a United Airlines flight reporting hazardous odors.

The United crew ultimately declared an emergency after flight attendants became ill from the mysterious smell, deciding to cancel their departure.

Emergency vehicles that the same controller had apparently authorized to cross Runway 4 were responding to the United Airlines situation when the Air Canada Express CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation with 72 passengers and four crew members, attempted its landing approach.

“Stop, truck one, stop,” the controller urgently commanded after initially clearing the runway crossing. Moments later, the incoming aircraft struck the fire truck.

Additional audio recordings captured an unidentified controller, believed to be the one involved in the accident, explaining to another pilot that he had been managing an earlier emergency situation.

“I messed up,” he said with obvious distress in his voice.

The other pilot, who had witnessed the collision, responded supportively: “Nah man, you did the best you could.” That pilot had earlier described the previous incident as something that “wasn’t good to watch.”

STAFFING CONCERNS

Managing multiple aircraft simultaneously represents standard procedure for air traffic controllers. Four commercial pilots speaking with Reuters confirmed that having a single controller handle both ground operations and tower duties at LaGuardia and similar major metropolitan airports occurs regularly.

“The really more fundamental question is ‘What was the work schedule and sleep schedule of that controller and is fatigue an issue?’” questioned aviation safety expert and pilot John Cox.

Homendy indicated it remained premature to address staffing considerations at this stage of the investigation.

While specific staffing details during the accident remained unclear, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rejected suggestions of inadequate personnel levels.

Speaking to reporters at LaGuardia Monday, Duffy emphasized that the airport maintains appropriate staffing with 33 air traffic controllers against a target of 37. He also disputed reports suggesting the controller was working alone Sunday night, calling such claims inaccurate.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed 51 aircraft arrivals and departures at LaGuardia during the hour preceding the Air Canada Express crash—more than double the 23 flights scheduled during the accident hour. The reason for this significant increase remains unexplained.

Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia Airport were managing a complex nighttime emergency when tragedy struck – an Air Canada aircraft collided with a fire truck on the runway, killing both pilots of the regional jet from Montreal.

The emergency began when a United Airlines plane had to abort takeoff twice due to a strange smell coming from the aircraft’s rear section. With no gate available for the troubled plane, controllers and the pilot engaged in urgent radio communications as officials scrambled to find solutions. Audio recordings reveal the escalating crisis as the cockpit reported increasing concern.

“Flight attendants in the back are feeling ill because of the odor,” the pilot can be heard saying. “We will need to go into any available gate at this time.”

Unable to find parking space for the aircraft, controllers sent emergency vehicles to the plane’s location and arranged for stairs to evacuate passengers while continuing to coordinate other airport operations. Then urgent radio traffic broke through: “Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop.”

Shortly afterward, the incoming Air Canada flight touched down and struck one of the fire trucks as it moved across the runway toward the United plane. Both pilots of the regional aircraft died in the late Sunday collision.

This tragic incident has brought renewed attention to the challenges facing America’s air traffic control system, which has struggled for years with personnel shortages, exhausting work schedules, aging technology, and disruptions from government shutdowns.

Approximately 40 passengers and crew aboard the Air Canada aircraft, plus two occupants of the fire truck, required hospital treatment, with some sustaining serious injuries. Medical officials reported that most patients were discharged by Monday morning.

As investigators begin examining what caused the runway collision, aviation specialists note the incident illustrates the complex environment controllers must navigate daily – coordinating arriving and departing flights, aircraft movement between terminals and runways, and various ground vehicles from emergency responders to maintenance crews.

“In the best of times, air traffic controls and air traffic controllers are under a great deal of stress,” said Alan Diehl, a former federal crash investigator. “These are people with very high cognitive levels. They’re carefully selected, extensively trained. And one of the problems is there is a shortage of 3,000 of them in this country right now.”

During a Monday press briefing, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, whose agency oversees the Federal Aviation Administration, refused to specify how many controllers were working at LaGuardia when the Canadian aircraft and fire truck carrying Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officers collided. However, he characterized the airport’s control tower as typically “well staffed” and slightly below its goal of 37 controllers. He noted the facility currently employs 33 controllers, with seven additional trainees.

Duffy received confirmation as President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary one day before an Army helicopter and commercial aircraft crashed over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, resulting in 67 deaths. Since assuming office, he has committed to improving air controller staffing levels and modernizing traffic control systems.

The FAA has experienced chronic understaffing for years. Air traffic controllers regularly work extended hours and six-day schedules while operating aging equipment.

Former FAA air traffic control director Mike McCormick noted that while LaGuardia is “not a control tower that has perennial staffing problems,” the overnight period when the accident happened would normally have lighter staffing. Investigators plan to review local controllers’ overtime hours and consecutive work days to assess whether exhaustion might have contributed.

Such inquiries are routine following crashes. John Cox, CEO of aviation consulting firm Safety Operating Systems, said National Transportation Safety Board investigators would carefully study human factors related to tower operations.

“The staffing issue and the controller’s work schedule will certainly be something that they look at and only then can we determine if it’s a staffing or fatigue issue,” Cox said.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association issued a Monday statement highlighting the profession’s responsibilities.

“Air traffic controllers work every day to keep passengers and cargo moving safely and efficiently,” the statement said. “We serve quietly, but moments like this remind us of the responsibility we carry — and how deeply it stays with us when tragedy occurs.”

About 20 minutes following the crash, a controller appears to accept responsibility.

“We were dealing with an emergency,” he said, “and I messed up.”

Workforce pressures have intensified over recent years. During a record 43-day U.S. government shutdown last fall, and a 35-day closure spanning December 2018 and January 2019, controllers had to continue working without compensation, prompting some to resign or retire early. Simultaneously, training and recruitment programs were suspended or delayed.

Since certification requires years to complete, experts, union representatives, and agency leaders have cautioned that consequences would persist long after funding restoration, worsening staff losses and complicating recruitment efforts. Shutdowns also damage workplace morale, Diehl explained.

Nevertheless, industry leaders highlight ongoing efforts to modernize controller technology and equipment. Chris Sununu, CEO of airline trade organization Airlines for America, said Congress has allocated billions for upgrading obsolete technology and enhancing the system.

“I think the air traffic control system has been under a lot of strain for 30 years,” Sununu said. “And that’s why Congress has put billions of dollars behind rebuilding the entire system. And we’ve already seen some pretty good successes.”

He cited the shift from paper flight progress strips to electronic systems at numerous airports, plus hundreds of new radar installations nationwide. A modernized traffic flow system with improved backend technology is scheduled for deployment later this year, he said.

“By and large, the air traffic controllers work really, really well with a very antiquated system and every day that goes by the system is now getting upgraded,” Sununu said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida circuit court judge has dismissed criminal charges against three additional police officers connected to the fatal shooting of a UPS driver during a 2019 hostage situation.

Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra determined Monday that Miami-Dade officers Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee and Rodolfo Mirabal cannot face prosecution for manslaughter in Frank Ordonez’s death due to Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ statute. This follows the judge’s September decision to clear officer Jose Mateo using identical legal reasoning.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office announced plans to challenge all four dismissals on appeal.

“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defense presented to a jury from this community,” prosecutors stated. “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”

The deadly incident unfolded on December 5, 2019, when Ordonez, age 27, was making deliveries in Miami-Dade County. According to police, two suspects attempting to rob a jewelry store kidnapped the driver and commandeered his delivery truck to flee the scene. The pursuit continued through rush-hour traffic before ending at a crowded intersection in Broward County.

Authorities determined that Mateo fired the fatal shots that killed Ordonez. The confrontation also claimed the lives of both robbery suspects and bystander Richard Cutshaw in the exchange of gunfire at the Miramar intersection.

Court proceedings included body camera footage showing Mateo’s pursuit of the delivery truck. The video captured his partner holding a rifle in the passenger seat and showed Mateo approaching the vehicle, firing all rounds from his weapon, reloading, and then removing Ordonez from the truck.

Judge Kollra determined the officers reasonably believed lethal force was required to resolve the dangerous situation.

All four officers remain on suspension from their positions with the department.

CONCORD, N.H. — The reasons behind air travel stress have multiplied dramatically, extending far beyond traditional flight anxieties to include extensive security checkpoint waits at airports across the nation.

Recent months have brought a cascade of travel disruptions: consecutive winter weather systems, international conflicts involving Iran, federal government shutdowns, and a deadly collision between an aircraft and emergency vehicle on a runway. These incidents, combined with standard travel frustrations such as baggage charges, seat assignment fees, overbooked aircraft, and departure postponements, are causing even experienced travelers to reconsider air travel plans.

Extended security checkpoint delays resulting from Congressional budget disputes, along with President Donald Trump’s authorization for Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to assist with airport screening operations, dominated passenger concerns this Monday.

At Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, John Hoffman returned for a second consecutive day after missing his Spokane, Washington flight due to four-hour security wait times. Though federal immigration officers helped reduce Tuesday’s delays by supporting Transportation Security Administration workers, Hoffman questioned the cost-effectiveness of the solution.

“The lines are shorter today,” Hoffman said. “But in my mind, we can fund TSA a lot less expensive than we can send ICE here, put them up in hotels and all the things that go along with that.”

At Reagan Washington National Airport, college student JD Foster experienced only a 10-minute security wait Monday morning but still missed a crucial appointment and forfeited a $500 deposit when his Boston flight faced repeated postponements.

“They just kept saying ‘it’ll be a little bit longer’ every 15 minutes until they admitted it was a part malfunctioning and they switched planes,” Foster said in an email. “I would have had enough time to get an earlier flight if they would have been honest about the delay.”

Despite ongoing challenges, the airline industry’s trade association leader encourages travelers to anticipate summer vacation planning with optimism.

“The issues we’re dealing with today are truly temporary,” Chris Sununu, former governor of New Hampshire and president and CEO of Airlines for America, said in a phone interview. “People should know that solutions are being presented, and I think we think there are some solid long-term fixes and even some short-term fixes here, so people should feel confident buying in.”

Air travel naturally triggers anxiety for numerous individuals, and current stressors compound these feelings, according to Dr. Michael Ziffra, a psychiatrist and associate professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. While complete elimination of travel anxiety may be impossible, he suggests multiple strategies for reducing its impact.

Approaching travel with an adventurous mindset, or at minimum acceptance of potential issues, represents his primary recommendation.

“You’re gonna get delays, you’re gonna get complications, you might get long lines,” he said. “So just try to somehow be at peace with the fact that air travel can be inherently unpredictable.”

Advance preparation through flight status verification and wait time monitoring proves helpful, though attempting to plan for every conceivable situation becomes counterproductive, he noted. Instead, passengers should pack entertaining snacks, movies and music while steering clear of alcohol, medications or online complaints that might worsen their emotional state.

“The best thing people can do is really avoid anything that might be exacerbating the negative feelings,” he said. “People should take care of themselves and do their best to enjoy whatever travel they’re doing.”

Dr. Zaid Fadul, a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and physician, emphasizes maintaining mental stability before physical departure.

“I always tell people, all’s fair in love and travel. Delays are normal, it’s a part of life, and you have to find ways to really reground yourself,” said Fadul, CEO of Bespoke Concierge MD.

This approach involves concentrating on controllable elements, particularly breathing patterns, he explained. His recommendations include deep breathing routines or simple techniques like focusing attention on foot-to-floor contact sensations. During a recent airport visit with his son, he demonstrated another preferred method by managing line frustration through expressing appreciation to a TSA worker.

“She lit up,” he said. “Just seeing her response made me feel a little better, and it made it less about me.”

Fadul encourages others to explore ways of making travel experiences “a little less annoying.”

“Those little acts of kindness can really land,” he said.

A cabin crew member who was ejected from an Air Canada aircraft during a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York has miraculously survived the crash, according to her family.

Sarah Lepine described her mother Solange Tremblay’s survival as a “total miracle” when speaking to Canadian television station TVA Nouvelles on Monday.

Lepine reported that Tremblay sustained several fractures in one leg requiring surgical treatment, but is otherwise in stable condition. The flight attendant remained secured in her seat during the ejection from the aircraft.

“I’m still trying to understand how all this happened,” Lepine explained, “but she definitely has a guardian angel watching over her.”

The aircraft was attempting to land Sunday evening with more than 70 passengers aboard when it struck a fire truck that was responding to an emergency involving a different aircraft. The collision completely destroyed the front section of the plane and resulted in the deaths of both the captain and first officer.

Former federal crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti also described Tremblay’s survival as miraculous given the extensive damage to the aircraft’s nose section.

Guzzetti explained that flight attendants use specialized jump seats that fold against the cockpit wall and are secured with four-point harnesses. “It’s a very robust seat,” Guzzetti noted. “It’s designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash.”

A similar incident occurred in 2013 when multiple flight attendants were ejected from an Asiana Airlines aircraft that crashed into a barrier wall during landing at San Francisco International Airport. That accident involved 291 people and resulted in three fatalities.

A tragic accident at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday evening claimed the lives of two pilots and left numerous passengers hospitalized after an Air Canada Express aircraft crashed into an emergency fire truck.

The deadly incident occurred at 11:47 p.m. when Air Canada Express Flight 8646, arriving from Montreal and operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle during what should have been a routine landing.

Investigation sources confirmed that both the pilot and co-pilot perished in the crash, with the New York City medical examiner taking charge of the case, NBC News reported.

More than a dozen passengers suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious, according to a senior official briefed on the investigation. Medical teams transported several of the wounded to Elmhurst and Queens Presbyterian hospitals for treatment.

Two other individuals were also reported hurt in the collision, though authorities have not disclosed details about their injuries or conditions.

Conflicting passenger counts emerged from different sources. Airport officials reported 76 passengers and four crew members aboard the CRJ-900 aircraft, while Jazz Aviation’s preliminary manifest showed 72 passengers and four crew members, noting these numbers await final verification.

The emergency vehicle that was struck had been responding to a separate incident elsewhere at the airport when the collision occurred, a Port Authority spokesperson revealed, though no additional information about that original call was provided.

“Emergency response protocols were immediately activated,” the spokesperson stated. “The Port Authority Police Department is on scene along with the agency’s chairman and executive director.”

LaGuardia Airport operations ceased around midnight to accommodate emergency responders and investigation teams. Officials anticipate reopening the facility sometime Monday.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will send a specialized investigation team to examine the crash, with federal investigators scheduled to arrive Monday. Port Authority Police indicated they will provide additional information as their investigation develops.

NEW YORK — Two pilots lost their lives when their passenger jet struck a fire truck during landing at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday evening, marking a tragic accident that has shut down one of the nation’s busiest airports.

The fatal incident happened at approximately 11:45 p.m. Sunday as the Air Canada regional aircraft was completing its arrival from Montreal. The emergency vehicle was crossing the runway to assist with an unrelated situation involving another aircraft that had reported strange odors.

Tower communications reveal that air traffic control had originally given permission for the fire truck to cross the runway, but then frantically attempted to halt the vehicle when they realized a collision was imminent. Controllers can be heard repeatedly ordering the truck to stop while simultaneously redirecting other incoming flights away from the runway.

Dramatic images captured after the crash show the aircraft’s front section completely destroyed and angled skyward, with wreckage scattered around the severely damaged cockpit area. Emergency evacuation slides were deployed at the plane’s exits, while the overturned fire truck could be seen lying on its side close to the wreckage.

Both the pilot and copilot died in the collision, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages LaGuardia. Officials have not yet identified the crew members, though both were Canadian-based aviators.

Approximately 40 passengers and crew members were transported to local medical facilities, with some sustaining significant injuries, the Port Authority reported. The majority of those hospitalized had been discharged by Monday morning.

The two Port Authority workers who were aboard the fire truck also sustained injuries, though officials say their conditions are not considered life-threatening.

The Jazz Aviation aircraft, flying under the Air Canada banner, was carrying roughly 70 passengers along with four crew members when it departed from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

Airport operations ceased completely following Sunday’s accident, with all air traffic rerouted to other facilities. LaGuardia is expected to stay shuttered until at least 2 p.m. Monday while National Transportation Safety Board officials conduct their investigation.

The closure compounds existing travel difficulties as U.S. airports face disruptions from an ongoing government funding standoff during the peak spring break travel period.

LaGuardia ranks as the nation’s 19th most active airport among more than 500 facilities nationwide, based on 2024 Federal Aviation Administration data.

The facility began serving commercial flights in 1939 and sits in Queens, roughly 9 miles from Manhattan.

While it’s premature to determine what led to this fatal accident, the incident highlights ongoing pressures facing air traffic control personnel in recent years.

Though air traffic controllers aren’t directly impacted by the current government shutdown, they’re classified as essential personnel and have previously been required to perform their high-stress duties without compensation during similar funding lapses.

The current partial shutdown has stretched beyond a month, creating lengthy delays and passenger frustration at airports nationwide.

Numerous Transportation Security Administration workers have either called out sick or resigned rather than continue working without pay.

In response, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of immigration enforcement personnel to assist TSA operations on Monday.

Congressional leaders remain at an impasse over funding approval for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA operations.

WASHINGTON — The nation’s highest court declined Monday to hear an appeal from a Texas death row prisoner who has spent decades trying to get DNA testing on evidence he claims would prove his innocence.

The Supreme Court’s decision leaves standing a federal appeals court ruling that went against Rodney Reed for the second time in under three years.

Three liberal justices disagreed with the majority’s decision.

Reed received a death sentence for murdering 19-year-old Stacey Stites in 1996. Texas prosecutors have consistently blocked DNA analysis of the woven belt used to strangle Stites as she traveled to her job at a grocery store in Bastrop, located roughly 30 miles southeast of Austin in a rural area.

While prosecutors claim Reed sexually assaulted Stites, he insists they were involved in a consensual romantic relationship.

Reed has consistently argued that Stites’ fiancé, ex-police officer Jimmy Fennell, committed the murder. According to Reed, Fennell was enraged about the interracial relationship. Stites was white while Reed is Black. Fennell, who completed a prison sentence for sexual assault in 2018, has denied any involvement in Stites’ death.

“The killer held that belt tight against her throat for minutes, and must have left his sweat and skin cells—and thus his DNA—where he gripped the belt, both on the surface and deep within the webbing,” Reed’s attorneys wrote.

Both state courts and lower federal courts have supported prosecutors in blocking the testing, even though Reed’s legal team would cover all costs.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor called it “inexplicable” that prosecutors would prevent testing of the belt, “despite the very substantial possibility that such testing would exculpate Reed and identify the real killer.”

Because the Supreme Court refused to intervene, “the State will likely execute Reed without the world ever knowing whether Reed’s or Fennell’s DNA is on the murder weapon,” Sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion supported by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Texas’s highest criminal court determined that the state’s DNA testing statute doesn’t cover potentially contaminated items. However, Reed’s legal team argued that Texas regularly uses contaminated evidence in criminal cases, and regardless, the state bears responsibility for how the evidence was handled.

In 2023, the justices voted 6-3 to return Reed’s case to a lower court regarding his constitutional challenge to Texas’s DNA testing law.

The previous Supreme Court issue centered on whether Reed, who received his death sentence over 25 years ago, had waited too long to file his lawsuit arguing that untested evidence would clear him. Both Texas courts and the New Orleans federal appeals court determined he had missed the filing deadline.

Reed’s campaign to halt his execution has drawn backing from high-profile figures including Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey.

The nation’s highest court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Texas citizen journalist who challenged her arrest after publishing information she received from law enforcement sources.

The justices refused to consider Priscilla Villarreal’s case seeking to overturn a lower court decision that shielded police officers and prosecutors from her lawsuit through qualified immunity protections. By declining to hear the appeal, the court allowed the previous ruling to stand.

Only Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed with the decision to reject the case.

Villarreal had received backing from major media organizations and advocates for free speech rights.

The legal principle of qualified immunity can protect government workers from being held liable in civil lawsuits concerning their official duties. Villarreal wanted the Supreme Court to rule that this protection shouldn’t apply when officials use state laws in ways that clearly breach First Amendment rights, which she claimed happened during her arrest.

Operating as one of Laredo’s most followed news sources, Villarreal has built an audience of more than 200,000 followers on her Facebook page where she regularly covers criminal cases, local happenings and municipal affairs.

Authorities filed two felony charges against her for improper use of information after she posted the names of people who died in a suicide and vehicle accident on Facebook in 2017, details she confirmed through conversations with a Laredo police officer.

The Texas law used to charge her criminalizes requesting non-public information from government workers with the goal of gaining an advantage. Officials claimed she sought the information to grow her Facebook following.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled 10-5 last year that the officers and prosecutors deserved qualified immunity protection and that police weren’t expected to determine if the Texas statute was constitutional before making the arrest.

In the court’s opinion, Judge Edith Jones stated it was wrong to “portray her as a martyr for the sake of journalism,” noting that Villarreal had circumvented Texas law “to capitalize on others’ tragedies to propel her reputation and career.”

Attorneys from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression representing Villarreal argued to the Supreme Court that the 5th Circuit’s decision “doubled down on granting officials free rein to turn routine news reporting into a felony.”

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press supported her appeal. Leading news organizations including ABC, the New York Times and the Washington Post also encouraged the Supreme Court to review Villarreal’s case.

Flight operations came to a temporary standstill at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday morning when air traffic controllers were forced to evacuate their control tower because of a burning odor emanating from an elevator, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The source of the smell remained unclear, though officials confirmed no actual fire took place. The disruption lasted under one hour with no reported injuries.

While flights were suspended, FAA personnel moved operations to an alternate control tower at the facility, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported. Controllers eventually returned to their main tower location.

This incident follows a similar situation from earlier in January when airports in the Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Richmond areas suspended all air traffic for more than an hour due to a powerful chemical odor that affected air traffic control operations. Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later identified an overheated circuit board as the culprit, which was subsequently replaced.

Monday’s flight suspension at Newark Liberty had no connection to the deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening. That tragic incident resulted in two fatalities and multiple serious injuries when an Air Canada regional aircraft collided with a fire truck during landing, according to authorities.

WASHINGTON – Federal immigration enforcement officers started arriving at major airports across the country Monday to assist with security operations as widespread absences among unpaid TSA workers create extensive flight delays.

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed the deployment of hundreds of ICE personnel to help with airport security screening at facilities experiencing severe staffing shortages.

Officials report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents along with Homeland Security Investigations personnel are being sent to 14 airports nationwide. The affected locations include major hubs such as Atlanta, New York’s JFK, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, and Fort Myers.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – which handles more passenger traffic than any other U.S. airport – issued advisories Monday recommending travelers plan to arrive a minimum of four hours before their scheduled departure times.