Donald Trump oversees America's military, and every decision that is made is ultimately his responsibility.
That's why it's fair to say that Donald Trump has FIRED Captain Dave Snowden of the US Navy.
Snowden was the commanding of a nuclear-powered US Navy aircraft carrier when it crashed with a merchant ship.
America's military demands near-perfect standards be met, and it's safe to say that running a Navy ship into a merchant ship does not fit that definition.
"The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met," the Navy said in a statement.
At the time of writing, Snowden has been replaced by Captain Christopher Hill and temporarily assigned to Naval Air Forces Atlantic. Snowden had been in charge of the Truman for over a year, starting in December 2023.
He has a background in aerospace engineering and "flying combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan," per his military biography.
The Navy released a photo confirming there had been major damage to the Truman after it collided with a merchant ship for unknown reasons just before midnight on February 12.
Although there were serious concerns because of the ship's nuclear propulsion plants, they were all assessed to be in "safe and stable condition" after the incident, the Navy said.
No injuries were reported after the incident, and the Truman did not appear to be taking on water.
The carrier, which was built for a crew of 5,000, was deployed last fall to protect American interests in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile barrage on Israel. The Truman has been undergoing repairs near the Greek island of Crete since the incident.
"While the ship is fully mission capable and the ship conducted flight operations following the collision, pulling into port for emergent repairs will enable the ship to continue deployment as scheduled," Snowden said after the accident, according to CBS News.
Most of the damage on the ship was on the deck and storage areas. The Truman had recently been involved in a series of strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. At the time of writing, the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Do you agree with the decision to replace Snowden?
Two people are dead after a collision between two small airplanes in Arizona on Wednesday.
Huge plumes of smoke were visible after the midair collision around 8:30 a.m. near Marana Regional Airport, north of Tucson.
The airport is an uncontrolled airfield, meaning there is no air traffic control tower and pilots must instead communicate with each other using a common radio frequency.
“On behalf of the Town of Marana and the Marana Regional Airport, our hearts go out to all the individuals and families impacted by this event,” said Airport Superintendent Galen Beem. “This is an unprecedented event, and we are grateful for the swift response from the Marana Police Department and Northwest Fire District.”
The two fixed-wing, single-engine planes collided while upwind of runway 12, according to a preliminary investigation. There were two people on board each of the planes, a Lancair 360 MK II and Cessna 172S.
The Cessna landed safely, but the Lancair crashed, causing a fire.
"The Cessna landed uneventfully; the Lancair impacted terrain near runway 3 and a post-impact fire ensued," according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The two victims haven't been identified. The two people on the Cessna were unharmed, said AeroGuard, a flight training school that operates the plane.
"We are deeply saddened by the two fatalities from this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones during this difficult time," the company told the AP.
The deadly incident comes after several high-profile aviation accidents that have caused concern since January, beginning with a deadly mid-air collision in Washington D.C. that killed all 67 people onboard an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight.
Days later, a medical transport helicopter crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven people and setting homes on fire.
Two private jets, one of them owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil, collided at Scottsdale Airport last week, killing one of Neil's pilots.
Then, after a Delta airlines flight flipped upside down while landing in Toronto on Monday, with all 80 people surviving, Democrats blamed President Trump's cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a perceived downgrade in aviation safety.
Marana airport was scheduled to get its own air traffic tower by the end of 2024, but the FAA project was delayed during the COVID pandemic. Most airports in the U.S. do not have control towers, and small plane crashes are more common than commercial crashes.
The former president of New York University's College Republicans chapter is speaking out after she was axed for calling Barron Trump an "oddity' on campus.
Kaya Walker, an undergraduate at the famously liberal college, was pressured to resign after appearing to insult the president's son in an interview with Vanity Fair.
"He's sort of like an oddity on campus. He goes to class, he goes home," Walker said.
Despite his college's lefty reputation, Barron Trump hasn't had any notable issues since beginning studies at NYU's Stern School of Business in the fall.
Given his status as the son of the president, the freshman lives in something of a bubble, with Secret Service agents watching his every move. His barebones social life exists mostly online, where he has been known to chat with classmates over videogames.
Despite never speaking with the media directly - or perhaps because he is so private - Barron has been the subject of intense and ongoing public speculation about his personal life.
Walker's comments were seen by some as disparaging toward the president's elusive son, who has tried to stay above the political fray. Will Donahue, the president of the national College Republicans organization, said her remarks carelessly contributed to a "misleading and negative" portrayal of Barron.
"The conversation that we have with Kaya is, look, this is blowing up out of proportion, to protect your reputation and the organization, the prudent move would be for you to step down," Donahue said.
Meanwhile, Walker said she regrets quitting, and she defended her comments as being taken out of context.
"They took it to say that I was saying that Barron was strange for being a commuter — which I thought was crazy because I'm a commuter," she told the New York Post.
"They [made it] look like I was calling the president's son weird, but I feel like anybody who can read would know that's not what I was doing."
Walker said she campaigned for President Trump's re-election, as she expressed regret for the impact her remarks made.
"I've been killing myself trying to support the conservative movement, everybody knows that it's an uphill battle being a Republican at NYU," she said.
"I've put my everything into building up my chapter. I built [attendance] up exponentially. It's been insane, especially this past year, we've seen such a rise in membership and had such a great time."
President Trump stopped his motorcade to show some love to supporters who gathered outside his Florida golf course on President's Day.
The president momentarily exited the presidential limousine - known as "The Beast" - to wave back to an adoring crowd, Breitbart reported.
The motorcade was leaving Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, which is the location where a gunman tried to assassinate Trump in September.
While his security detail took necessary precautions for his safety, Trump made it clear he would not let past attempts on his life deter him from connecting with his supporters.
The president - surrounded by Secret Service - got out of the limousine and paced the street from behind a parked car.
Trump - sporting a red MAGA hat and golf polo - pumped his fists and waved as the crowd chanted, "USA!"
After getting back into his limo, Trump continued waving from behind the tinted windows as supporters cheered over chants of "lock him up!"
The spectacle came a day after Trump met with an enthusiastic reception at the Daytona 500. Trump - joined by his granddaughter, Carolina - shared a message of support with the drivers over radio as his limo made two laps around the racetrack.
"This is your favorite President. I'm a big fan, a really big fan of you people. How you do this, I don't know," he said. "But I just want you to be safe. You are talented people and you are great people and great Americans. Have a good day, have a lot of fun and I will see you later."
President @realDonaldTrump addresses the drivers before the 2025 Daytona 500. pic.twitter.com/DP9hXWjDpm
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 16, 2025
Later, Trump discussed the "fantastic" race with Fox Sports as he hailed a new spirit of optimism all over the world.
“It’s great for the country. Our country is doing well again. And we have spirit — all over the world, there’s spirit again,” he said. “We brought it back, and it’s been less than four weeks. So, you’ll see what we do in — in a little period of time, it’s going to only get better. But this is very exciting.”
A few weeks into his second term, the public is giving Trump positive ratings as he takes aggressive action to put America back on track.
While Trump's scattered opposition has struggled to regain focus, crowds of protesters did gather in the streets on President's Day to voice their anger toward Trump and his close adviser, Elon Musk.
President Trump's showdown with the administrative state has reached the Supreme Court, with the president's lawyers asking the top court to uphold his power to fire executive branch officials.
The case is a test of Trump's power, and the willingness of the Supreme Court to let him exercise the full scope of executive authority granted by the Constitution.
Trump's firing of Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee in charge of the Office of Special Counsel, is at the center of the dispute. The Office is responsible for guarding federal employees such as whistleblowers from retaliation.
Dellinger has said the Office of Special Counsel is needed "now more than ever" to stop Trump's purge of the federal bureaucracy.
Despite Dellinger's clear opposition to the administration's priorities, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, ordered Trump to reinstate Dellinger for at least two weeks. The judge ruled that Trump cannot, under federal law, fire Dellinger without cause.
"Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the President to retain an agency head whom the President believes should not be entrusted with executive power and to prevent the President from relying on his preferred replacement," the DOJ's motion says.
On Saturday night, a divided panel of the appeals court in D.C. denied Trump's appeal, finding the president did not face any harm that warranted immediate relief. But Trump appointee Greg Katsas dissented, calling Jackson's order "virtually unheard of."
“The extraordinary character of the order at issue here — which directs the President to recognize and work with an agency head whom he has already removed — warrants immediate appellate review,” Katsas wrote.
While it remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will respond, it is likely that at least some of the conservative jurists will sympathize with Trump's broad view of executive power.
The Justice Department has called on the court to overturn the 1935 precedent Humphrey's Executor, which constrains the president's power to fire officials at independent agencies with a "quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial" function. Some conservatives - including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas - have said Humphrey's Executor threatens the constitutional power of the president.
In her emergency motion to the Supreme Court, Trump's Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris called Jackson's temporary restraining order (TRO) an "unprecedented assault" on the separation of powers. Since the Special Counsel is an "investigative and prosecutorial" agency, it falls squarely under the president's authority, and well outside Humphrey's narrow exception to his "unrestricted" power of removal, Harris said.
The implications of the case extend far beyond the president's power to fire officials, Harris noted, pointing to a series of sweeping court injunctions against the Trump administration that appear to "intrude upon a host of the President’s Article II powers."
"This Court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the President how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will," Harris wrote.
President Donald Trump and his administration have made it clear that DEI programs are not welcomed on their watch, and they've already made tremendous headway in shutting a lot of that silliness down across several federal agencies.
According to Breitbart, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Office for Civil Rights, under President Trump's direction, notified all 50 states that state education departments shall remove such programs, or else.
The consequences could include being cut off from federal funding. The states have been given two weeks to comply with the order.
DOE’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor penned the letter to all 50 state education agencies.
Trainor held nothing back in the letter, spelling out the Trump administration's stance on the state of DEI programs.
"The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions," Trainor wrote.
He added, "The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent."
Trainor added a hard deadline for states to comply with the letter's instructions, or else face the prospect of losing federal funding.
"The Department intends to take appropriate measures to assess compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations based on the understanding embodied in this letter beginning no later than 14 days from today’s date, including anti-discrimination requirements that are a condition of receiving federal funding."
It concluded with, "Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding."
Elon Musk's DOGE unit posted information about the developing situation and posted a link to the letter.
This letter was sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, notifying them they have 14 days to remove all DEI programming in all public schools. Institutions which fail to comply may face a loss of federal funding. https://t.co/IufnJMln20
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025
One X user wrote, "This needs to include our Post-Modern Maoist reeducation camps, generously referred to as colleges and universities -- student debt enabling criminal enterprises."
Another X user added, "Nice 14 days for all 50 states to terminate and remove all DEI programming in all public schools ,if they don’t they will lose all federal funding!"
The Blackhawk helicopter that crashed into a commercial airliner last month over Washington D.C. sent shockwaves through the aviation industry and across the globe.
Many have wondered how such a deadly and seemingly avoidable incident could even occur, and according to ABC 7 News, new information about the lead-up to the fatal event has been revealed.
As authorities continue to investigate the bizarre and nightmarish accident that resulted in over 60 deaths, it was revealed over the weekend that the crew of the Blackhawk helicopter may have experienced inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash.
Additionally, the Blackhawk crew reportedly might not have heard instructions from Air Traffic Control prior to the crash.
Speaking with reporters, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy revealed that "the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left the crew without understanding how it should shift position" before the crash.
She noted that the crew was likely unable to hear the instruction "pass behind the" because the helicopter's microphone key was pressed.
"That transmission was interrupted -- it was stepped on," Homendy told reporters.
The outlet noted:
Homendy said the helicopter was on a "check" flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.
Eager reporters questioned her about the length of time it could take to uncover the reason for the crash. She said it could be up to a year.
"We're only a couple weeks out," from the crash, Homendy said. "We have a lot of work to do."
New information was also revealed regarding the helicopter crew's alleged confusion prior to the crash.
The outlet added:
Cockpit conversations a few minutes before the crash indicated conflicting altitude data, Homendy said, with the helicopter's pilot calling out that they were then at 300 feet, but the instructor pilot saying it was 400 feet, Homendy said.
She added, "At this time we don't know why there was a discrepancy between the two."
It'll be interesting to see what the investigation uncovers, and how such situations will be avoided in the future.
President Trump is preparing to enact reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax American goods unfairly, delivering on his threats to get even with trade partners that take advantage of the United States.
Joined by his pro-tariff Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, the president signed a memorandum declaring "fair and reciprocal" trade as America's policy from this day forward.
"On trade, I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff,” he added.
Trump has long supported using tariffs to promote American industry and reduce America's vast trade deficit, which hit a record $1 trillion in 2024.
Indeed, Trump has often pointed out that other countries have higher tariffs than America does, but "those days are over," he said in the Oval Office on Thursday.
The White House released a fact sheet listing examples of unfair and "non-reciprocal" trade arrangements that Trump will correct. The U.S. tariff on ethanol is a mere 2.5%, but Brazil charges a tariff of 18% on American ethanol, for example.
"The U.S. average applied Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff on agricultural goods is 5%. But India’s average applied MFN tariff is 39%. India also charges a 100% tariff on U.S. motorcycles, while we only charge a 2.4% tariff on Indian motorcycles,” the White House noted.
"Gone," the White House added, "are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security."
While Trump has embraced tariffs to promote an "America First" economic agenda, he has also leveraged the threat of tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
Earlier this month, Trump paused sweeping tariffs on America's two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, after both countries agreed to reinforce their borders.
While critics of Trump's protectionist agenda say tariffs will raise the cost of consumer goods for average Americans, the president has said the pain of any economic shocks will pay off in the end when America emerges stronger and more self-reliant than before.
“TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
President Trump's EPA chief, Lee Zeldin, has pledged to reclaim $20 billion in taxpayer funding that was "tossed off the Titanic" by the Biden administration at the 11th hour.
In a video on X, Zeldin accused the Biden administration of a hidden scheme to funnel billions to a private bank before President Trump's inauguration.
“Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said. “This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”
President Biden's climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, allocated $20 billion for a program called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also known as Biden's "Green Bank."
In December, a hidden camera recording made by Project Veritas showed a Biden EPA official boasting about a scramble to distribute climate spending, which the person compared to tossing "gold bars" off the Titanic.
"An extremely disturbing video circulated two months ago featuring a Biden EPA political appointee talking about how they were tossing gold bars off the Titanic, rushing to get billions of your tax dollars out the door before Inauguration Day,” Zeldin said.
🚨The Biden EPA tossed $20 billion of “gold bars off the Titanic”.
BIG UPDATE! We found the gold bars and they are now being recovered for you, the hardworking American taxpayer.
Here are more of the details: pic.twitter.com/DM4C0TQcpj
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) February 13, 2025
Zeldin alleged the funding was "parked" at a private bank so that it could be spent by left-wing nonprofits with minimal oversight.
The criticism from Zeldin isn't necessarily new - Republicans have repeatedly blasted Biden's green bank as a slush fund for left-wing special interests.
Zeldin noted that just eight organizations are in control of the $20 billion, with nearly $7 billion going to a single organization, the Climate United Fund.
"How do these organizations decide how to allocate funding? How much money have they given out so far and to whom? Are there any former Biden EPA staffers who are now working at these entities?" Zeldin asked.
Zeldin said he will terminate the EPA's contract with the bank, and he said the EPA is in contact with the Inspector General and the Justice Department.
"Let me make one thing abundantly clear: At this point, there is zero reason to suspect any wrongdoing by the bank,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin's push is part of a wider Trump administration effort to end taxpayer-funded largesse towards left-wing projects and non-governmental organizations (NGO).
“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” Zeldin said. "The American public deserves a more transparent and accountable government than what transpired these past four years.”
Melania Trump has been out of the picture in recent days as her husband shakes up Washington D.C. and world politics.
As reported by Daily Mail, the First Lady has not been seen publicly since she toured the devastation of natural disasters in California and North Carolina on January 24.
The First Lady received widespread media attention with her sharp Inauguration Day outfit, followed by an equally unconventional White House portrait.
The stark, black-and-white image emphasized that Melania is returning to her role with more confidence than she had previously, and she has made no secret of her wishes to do things on her own terms.
"I will be in the White House. When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach," she told Fox News in early January.
After stealing the show at her husband's historic second inauguration, Melania has receded from view - as the president pursues a dramatic overhaul of the federal government at breakneck speed, sending the liberal media into a frenzy.
The First Lady did not join the president at the Super Bowl - and while football may not be to her taste, the glamorous Slovenian-born model has also failed to grace state engagements like Trump's meetings with the King of Jordan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, Melania has continued to maintain a minimal social media profile. She made her third post on her official X account on Wednesday, announcing the return of White House tours.
"The President and I are excited to reopen the White House to those interested in the extraordinary story of this iconic and beautiful landmark. There is much to learn about the American Presidency, the First Families who have lived here, and our Nation’s rich history from a firsthand experience at the White House. This opportunity is unique among nations around the globe—a tradition we are honored to continue for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come each year," she wrote.
With Melania garnering more public fascination than ever before - she released a best-selling memoir last year and has an Amazon documentary in production - the famously elusive First Lady is in no rush to make a spectacle of herself.
Melania's more selective approach to her role stands in stark contrast to her predecessor Jill Biden, who was frequently in the political spotlight while supporting her cognitively impaired husband. While some may criticize Melania's style, others, like her photographer Regine Mahaux, have praised her "soft power."
“She’s always in the right place,” Mahaux told Hello! “She’s always behind her husband. He’s in the light; she doesn’t need the light. She’s a very good number two. It’s always her husband first, and I like that; she has strong family values, to be a good wife and to make sure they’re happy.”