A devastating mid-air collision has left no survivors, as officials confirm all 67 individuals aboard two aircraft have died.

An American Airlines regional passenger jet collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.

The collision occurred as the aircraft was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, sending both aircraft into the frigid waters of the Potomac River.

The passenger jet, operating as American Eagle Flight 5342, had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and was nearing its destination when the accident took place.

The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved was carrying three soldiers and was on a training mission at the time of the collision.

Rescue operations commenced immediately, with over 300 first responders deployed to the scene.

Officials have confirmed that there were no survivors from the passenger jet.

“Despite all those efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly during a press conference Thursday.

He continued, “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident. We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter. The District Office of the Medical Examiner has the lead on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones, and we will continue to work to find all the bodies, collect them, and reunite them with their loved ones.”

WATCH:

Young members of the U.S. Figure Skating Team and a renowned Russian figure skating couple were tragically among the passengers on a domestic flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” a statement by U.S. Figure Skating said.

A source told Reuters that as many as 15 people on the flight may have been involved in figure skating.

Renowned figure skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were also among the passengers.

The couple, who clinched the pairs gold medal at the 1994 World Championships, had transitioned into coaching after their competitive careers and were based in the United States.

Their 23-year-old son, Maxim Naumov, is a U.S. citizen and competes internationally for the United States, having secured the U.S. national junior champion title in 2020. There are also fears that he may be among the passengers.

The post NO SURVIVORS: All 67 Individuals Feared Dead After Mid-Air Collision – Recovery Operation Underway with 27 Dead Bodies Recovered So Far appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify this morning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a second confirmation hearing for the role of Health and Human Services Secretary. 

Trump FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Nominee Tulsi Gabbard are also testifying in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, RFK Jr. sat before the Senate Finance Committee for his first hearing on Wednesday.

As expected, Democrat Senators sneered at RFK Jr. as he confronted the lawmakers about wasting taxpayers’ money.

The Gateway Pundit reported that Fake Indian and Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) got triggered and shouted at RFK Jr. after he exposed her for defending Big Pharma. She was zealous in her defense of her donors, ironically asking at one point RFK Jr. to vow that he will not accept money from drug companies or big pharma “in any way shape or form.” RFK laughed and asked her to repeat the question. “Who? Me?” he responded, subtly pointing out the hypocrisy in her question.

WATCH:

Warren has received millions of dollars from healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies.

RFK Jr. Sets Fake Indian Elizabeth Warren on a Warpath After He Exposes Her For Defending Big Pharma (VIDEO)

RFK also shut down wacky socialist Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

More fireworks are expected during today's hearing.

Watch the full hearing live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: RFK Jr. Testifies Before Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in Second Confirmation Hearing appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, will sit this morning before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing. 

Gabbard’s hearing begins at 10 am ET.

She is expected to face pushback from the Democrats and some Republicans today.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Senator Susan Collins (RINO-ME) may derail Gabbard’s confirmation as DNI due to concerns about Gabbard’s stance on Section 702 of the FISA, which allows the government to spy on supposed foreign targets without a warrant.

Charlie Kirk, who has close contacts on Capitol Hill, recently said that the Senate Intel Committee may hide the vote tallies on Gabbard following Collins’ possible opposition, making it impossible to know how members voted.

Gabbard facing opposition from the Democrats and establishment Republicans is a good sign that she’s the right pick.

However, Gabbard’s relationship with the McCain family does leave questions surrounding whether or not she will root out and expose past Deep State efforts within the intelligence agency to sabotage President Trump.

Gabbard, a close friend of Trump-hating Biden supporter Meghan McCain and Godmother to McCain’s daughter, would seemingly be unwilling to expose how Trump’s coup-plotting former DNI Dan Coats and late Senator John McCain colluded to stop Trump. It can be recalled that the two traveled to a 2017 forum in Italy to trash Trump and seemingly signal a conspiracy to the Italian Deep State.

Hmm… Trump Hater Meghan McCain Defends and Endorses Close Friend Tulsi Gabbard for Trump’s DNI, Gabbard is Also Godmother of McCain’s Daughter – Will Gabbard Expose John McCain’s Collusion with Deep State?

Still, Gabbard is opposed by some of the worst people in America, including warmonger and former Trump national security advisor John Bolton, who came out in opposition to Gabbard immediately after her appointment was announced.

Bolton lost his mind, calling former Attorney General Nominee Matt Gaetz, who turned down the position amid increasing smears from the Swamp, the “worst” and Tulsi Gabbard the “second worst” cabinet nominations in American History.

Failed Neocon presidential candidate Nikki Haley also targeted Gabbard, along with RFK Jr., baselessly calling Gabbard a "Russian, Iranian, Syrian, or Chinese sympathizer."

Trump FBI Director nominee Kash Patel and Health and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee RFK Jr. are also testifying in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Watch Tulsi Gabbard's hearing live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: Tulsi Gabbard Testifies Before Senate Intelligence Committee for Confirmation Hearing at 10 AM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday began the process of rolling back fuel economy standards set by the Biden administration that he said “put coercive pressure” on automakers to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.

A news release posted on the website of the Federal Highway Administration said that Duffy’s “first act” was issuing a directive that will reset the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.

“I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me by President Trump to lead this important Department and for the Senate in swiftly confirming my nomination,” Duffy said, according to the release.

“We are already hard at work executing the president’s vision to usher in a golden age of transportation by taking immediate action to remove government overreach and lower costs for hardworking Americans.

“The memorandum signed today specifically reduces the burdensome and overly restrictive fuel standards that have needlessly driven up the cost of a car in order to push a radical Green New Deal agenda,” he continued.

“The American people should not be forced to sacrifice choice and affordability when purchasing a new car.”

In a post on X, journalist Thomas Catenacci said the standards rolled back by Duffy “were seen by critics as a de facto EV mandate.”

Breaking: In his first action, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy axed Biden’s CAFE fuel economy standards that were seen by critics as a de facto EV mandate.

Duffy said the rules had “needlessly driven up the cost of a car in order to push a radical Green New Deal agenda.” pic.twitter.com/5R1kr6FFi2

— Thomas Catenacci (@ThomasCatenacci) January 29, 2025

As noted by Reuters, the standards implemented under the Biden administration sought to boost Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements to about 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031. The current standard for light-duty vehicles is 39.1 miles per gallon.

The memorandum Duffy issued said that the Biden era standards were out of line with Trump administration priorities.

“These fuel economy standards are set at such aggressive levels that automakers cannot, as a practical matter, satisfy the standards without rapidly shifting production away from internal-combustion­-engine (ICE) vehicles to alternative electric technologies,” the memo said.

“Artificially high fuel economy standards designed to meet non-statutory policy goals, such as those NHTSA has promulgated in recent years, impose large costs that render many new vehi­cle models unaffordable for the average American family and small business owner,” the memo said, using the acronym for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The standards “put coercive pressure on automakers to phase out of production various models of popular ICE vehicles and reengineer their fleets in a way that reduces dramatically the power and durability of the ICE models they are able to offer, thereby fundamentally distorting the market and destroying consumer choice at the dealership,” the memo said.

The memo decried “[f]uel economy standards that diminish the strength of America’s auto industry and deny American the full range of affordable ICE vehicles they need and are willing to pay for.”

The memo said the goal of the CAFÉ program “is not to force the electrification of the Nation’s auto fleets.”

Instead, the memo said, its purpose is “to establish the maximum average fuel economy standards that are realistic and feasible for fleets of vehicles of all sizes and uses that run on combustible liquid fuels like gasoline and diesel fuel and that the auto industry is capable of producing and selling in sufficient volume to meet the real-world market demand of American buyers.”

The FHA release said that from March 2021 to March 2024, the average cost of a car rose 15.5 percent.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Trump’s New Transportation Secretary Takes a Sledgehammer to Biden’s ‘De Facto EV Mandate’ As His First Act in Office appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Ukraine has long been infamous for its endemic corruption, and all that grift is yet another factor hindering the country’s war effort.

Now, it arises that Ukrainian investigators have opened a criminal case involving Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

This is expected to worsen the standoff in his ministry over weapons procurement – one that could end up straining Kiev’s ties with important Western allies.

Reuters reported:

“The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) told Reuters in a statement that its investigation, requested by a corruption watchdog, would examine whether there had been an abuse of authority by Umerov but gave few other details.

The watchdog, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, has accused Umerov of acting illegally by sidelining the head of the Defense Procurement Agency, whose contract Umerov is refusing to renew after criticizing the agency’s work.”

Read from September 2023: Ukraine’s New Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, Is Already Under Investigation for Corruption: Sources

Just last week, Umerov said that the DPA’s coordination of weapons purchases did not deliver results for Ukrainian forces.

This caused the ministry infighting over arms procurement to burst out into the open.

“’Despite the publicized scale of procurement, our defenders on the frontlines have not experienced its tangible impact’, he wrote on Facebook.”

The bitter dispute comes as IUS President Donald J. Trump is reviewing all support for Ukraine’s military.

The tanks, rockets, missile defenses and ammunition supplied by the US and western powers are vital to Kiev’s fighting capabilities.

“Umerov’s appointment as defense minister in September 2023 followed months of corruption allegations against the ministry, and the DPA was charged with introducing more accountability in arms buying.”

The agency tried to cut out intermediaries and minimize corruption, but Umerov accused the agency of playing ‘political games’ and leaking information.

“’This has effectively spoiled a year of our work to a significant degree’, [DPA’s head Maryna Bezrukova] said. ‘Confidence is built over a long time, but it can be destroyed very quickly’.”

Read more:

Russia’s Putin Claims Charges Against Trump Are Simple ‘Political Persecution’

The post Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau Investigators Open Criminal Case Against Defense Minister Rustem Umerov appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.