03A-01 Apocalypse Select

NASA has increased the likelihood of Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting the earth from one-in-83 to one-in-77. The asteroid is of significant concern because it’s nearly 200-foot-wide diameter means if it hits near a city, it will level it completely, For this reason, this is an asteroid that fits into the category of “city-killer.” If it hits, it will be on December 22, 2032.

NASA: Chances of ‘city-killer’ asteroid hitting Earth have increased – MSN
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The odds of a ‘city-killer’ asteroid smashing into the Earth on December 22, 2032 appear to have ticked up slightly. NASA previously estimated that Asteroid 2024 YR4, a nearly 200-foot-wide space rock, has a one-in-83 chance (1.2 percent) of striking our planet. But now, the agency’s ‘Sentry’ Earth Impact Monitoring system reports a one-in-77 chance (1.3 percent) of a direct hit.

The mid-air collision over the Potomac River that led to the deaths of 67 people, 64 people on the jet and three on the helicopter, was caused by pilot error an initial NTSB report claims. The report cites the altitude of the helicopter, which was at 300 feet, 100 feet over the 200 feet limit.

Video of the crash leaked by airport workers shows the helicopter appears to have had plenty of time to see the plane and get out of the way. The airport workers were arrested. The pilot is Rebecca Lobach, whose social media presence appears to have been scrubbed before her name was released. Her family, reportedly, was worried she would be called a DEI hire.

NTSB Update Confirms Black Hawk Helicopter Made Crucial Error Before Plane Crash– www.westernjournal.com
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The National Transportation Safety Board released an update on Tuesday informing the public that the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines plane in Washington, D.C., last week was flying too high at the time of the crash.

The agency found that the Black Hawk was positioned at 300 feet on the air traffic control display.

That is 100 feet higher than the ceiling of 200 feet for helicopters in the National Capital Region, according to a report from Fox News.

The report confirms earlier analysis of the crash, including from President Donald Trump, who wrote in a post on Truth Social that the “helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit.”

But it leaves key questions unanswered, particularly the cause of the error: Malfunctioning equipment? A mistake by the pilot? Some other reason?

The NTSB also recovered various parts of the Bombardier CRJ700 operated by American Airlines from the Potomac River.

The parts include the “right wing, center fuselage, part of the left wing and left fuselage, significant portions of the forward cabin and cockpit, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, tail cone, rudder, elevators, TCAS computer and quick access recorder.”

 

Two DC Airport Workers Arrested Over Plane Crash Footage

But he said that the American commercial air travel system remains safe.

“We have the safest skies in the whole world. Traveling by air is the safest mode of transportation,” Duffy said.

“It’s not just air traffic controllers, but we do have technologies on airplanes to keep them separated,” he added. “So, yeah, no, this is the safest system.”

Duffy also criticized the diversity hiring that has occurred for air traffic controllers and said that the country should instead focus on hiring the most qualified candidates.

“You can’t focus on diversity, equity and inclusion when you try to hire air traffic controllers. You focus on the best and brightest,” Duffy added.

“I mean, again, some people like me like to have this conversation around equity. But if it’s your pilots or if it’s your air traffic controllers, you want the best. You want the brightest protecting yourself and your family. That’s what we’re going to do with the department.”

Timeline: How the LA fires erupted into the worst natural disaster in California history – Independent UK

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For a ninth consecutive day, thousands of firefighters are still battling the wildfires that are ravaging Los Angeles County.

The Palisades and Eaton fires, along with other smaller blazes, have spread more than 40,000 acres (larger than the land area of Washington, DC), with the flames being fanned by a fierce windstorm known as the Santa Ana winds.

As of Wednesday morning, at least 25 lives had been lost, more than 12,000 homes and structures destroyed and hundreds of thousands of residents still placed under evacuation orders. The economic losses from the fires may reach $275 billion, according to estimates.

With slowing wind speeds earlier this week offering some respite, later on Tuesday, the National Weather Service warned that Angelenos are “not out of the woods yet”.

Firefighters are bracing for the return of bruising winds as the agency again declared a “particularly dangerous situation” – the most extreme advance warning – with local gusts expected to reach 65mph before sunrise up until noon on Wednesday.

Below is a timeline of key events from before the first blaze broke ou

LA wildfire insurance-loss estimates approach $40bn– www.moneyweb.co.za
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The cost of wildfires ravaging swaths of Los Angeles keeps rising, with new estimates of the total losses for the insurance industry now seen as high as $40 billion.

The fresh figure Tuesday from Keefe Bruyette & Woods analysts is double their rough initial estimate from just a day earlier. In a note to clients, they cited “continuing upside insured loss potential” as the fires across the region remain largely uncontrolled. Their most optimistic scenario implies insured losses of $25 billion.

Los Angeles is bracing for increased fire risk through at least Wednesday as hot, dry winds pummel the area. After raging for a week, the blazes killed at least 24 people and incinerated entire neighbourhoods.

The containment of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which unleashed the most devastation over the past week, stood at 17% and 35%, respectively, as of Tuesday, according to California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Allstate Corp, Travelers Cos and Chubb are the firms that could face the most gross primary losses from the fires, according to the KBW analysts.

However, insurers for high-net-worth homeowners such as Chubb, American International Group and Cincinnati Financial Corp, may have

LA Fire Chief Made DEI A Top Department Priority, Docs Show– thefederalist.com
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Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has been transforming the department with “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” according to documents obtained by The Federalist. Meanwhile, the department is strapped for resources — and city payroll glitches have left it struggling to even compensate its firefighters and paramedics correctly.

The city’s poor handling of recent wildfires sparked reports that Crowley and other department officials have been pushing DEI, with the diversity chief drawing a salary of $300,000. But The Federalist found Crowley, who has been fire chief since 2022, also distributed a “Strategic Plan” for 2023 to 2026 — advancing DEI across the department, as shown in various internal memos.

“Our Strategic Plan outlines our commitment to an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Crowley wrote in a July 2023 memo to staff, which The Federalist obtained from a firefighter who wished to remain unnamed. “We have an opportunity to expand, innovate, and establish systemic equality and inclusivity throughout the organization.”

Crowley’s wording may sound innocuous enough, but DEI is the left’s favorite buzzword for racial discrimination.

Journalists Echo Gavin Newsom’s ‘Misinformation’ Talking Points on California Wildfires– freebeacon.com
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‘Spreading as fast as the flames’

Wildfires are wreaking havoc on Los Angeles, a heavily Democratic city in a heavily Democratic state renowned for being a cesspool of corruption and incompetence. Naturally, the mainstream media have been arguing Republicans are to blame.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is inexplicably considered a strong contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, helpfully suggested “local folks” should “figure out” how to address the lack of water to fight the fires and found the time to sit down for a friendly chat with the Pod Save America bros. Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, who was traveling in Ghana when the fires started, are both Democrats, so mainstream journalists are unwilling (or fundamentally unable) to criticize their leadership in a time of crisis. “Speaking truth to power” only applies when Republicans are in charge.

Instead, the media have been regurgitating Newsom’s talking points about all the “hurricane-force winds” of right-wing “mis- and disinformation” swirling around on the internet, suggesting California’s elected (Democratic) leaders might have failed to adequately prepare for the wildfires, which are common in the Los Angeles area. MSNBC hosts and their guests appear to be competing amongst themselves to see who can come up with the dumbest puns involving fire-related disinformation, defined by most journalists as “information that makes Democrats look bad.”

Disinformation is “spreading as fast as the flames.” It’s “spreading, sorry to say it, like wildfire.” They’ve called it a “dumpster fire of disinformation,” as well as a “firehose, so to speak, of disinformation.” In this time of tragedy, it’s important to keep in mind that our nation’s esteemed journalists are indeed no less courageous than the actual firefighters combating the actual flames.

Notoriously Woke GoFundMe Skimming Mind-Blowing Amount of Money from LA Fire Donations– www.westernjournal.com
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A senior Los Angeles official took aim at crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, claiming the site charges exorbitant fees for users who want to support those affected by the wildfire crisis.

Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, asserted at a news conference over the weekend that she had to pay $95 in tips or fees while she tried to give $500 to a family rendered homeless by the fires, according to a Monday report by the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

“I was shocked to find out that to give $500, they were going to charge me $95,” Barger said.

The official commented that the company does deserve to “be able to pay for their overhead,” but remarked that “at the same time, we are in a crisis.”

She asked GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan to “cut the cost in order to ensure that the money goes directly to the family.”

The news outlet concluded that GoFundMe, which is based in Redwood City, California, has raked in $400,000 in tips and fees from just a single fundraiser related to the fires, and there are hundreds of fundraisers on the site at the moment.

The platform adds a suggested 14 percent “tip” for GoFundMe on its donation page, but consumers can alter the online form if they want to tip a lower amount — or nothing at all.

GoFundMe said in a statement to the Daily Mail that the comments from Barger were not accurate, noting that she appeared to include the optional suggested tip.

“The only fee on GoFundMe is a standard transaction fee of 2.9 percent + $0.30 per donation, which helps us pay our payment processors and safely deliver funds,” a spokesperson said.

Would you trust GoFundMe with your money?

“GoFundMe is primarily powered by voluntary tips and relies on these completely optional contributions from donors,” the spokesperson added.

Tyler Perry blasts insurance companies over ‘greed’ amid LA fires – USA TODAY
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Tyler Perry is speaking out against insurance companies amid devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

The movie producer took to Instagram Sunday to voice his dissatisfaction with insurance providers who have canceled plans in the state as wildfires become more common.

“Does anyone else find it appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars out of communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies for the very people they became rich on?” Perry wrote.

Videos on social media show LA firefighters using professional gear, not ‘women’s handbags’– www.politifact.com
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As wildfires continue to burn this week in California, with more strong winds expected, disinformation also continues to spread.

A Jan. 9 Instagram post said, referring to the Los Angeles Fire Department, “The LAFD are using women’s handbags to hold water to put out fires.”

The video shows firefighters wearing yellow jackets and pouring water into what appears to be a plastic bag with two handles before throwing the water into a smoke-filled structure.

Other Instagram posts make similar claims about the fires, which have killed at least 24 people so far.

“California firefighters are using women’s handbags to fill them with water and pour it over flames in an attempt to extinguish the ongoing wildfires,” says a Jan. 10 Instagram post.

But the firefighters are using professional gear — not “women’s handbags.”

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, recently launched a website to combat disinformation about Southern California’s wildfires.

Jimmy Kimmel claims Donald Trump Thinks LA Firefighters “Aren’t White Enough”– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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Donald Trump has only said positive things about the firefighters putting their lives at risk to fight a blaze that should have never gotten this bad in the first place. And he ESPECIALLY has not said anything about the skin color of any first responders. Despite these facts, Jimmy Kimmel decides to make up things no one has said to gaslight his viewers to believe his lies.

You cannot convince people Trump is racist if you solely resort to facts, which is why he is lying.

People take his word for this as if it were the Gospel, which is deeply concerning yet unsurprising given how naive one must be to choose to watch his show.

He does not even believe the crap he makes up, which is exactly why his voice cracked like that the moment he lied about the firefighters. Any criticism that has come out of Trump’s mouth or social media has to do with the incompetence of leadership from people like Newsom, not the ones actually risking their lives to put out their mess.

The blatant disregard for basic fire prevention is so appalling and has been predictable for years and something Trump has spoken about since at least his first term.

This is what Trump said on Truth Social:

The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?

People like Jimmy are objectively stupid. It seems he has no clue that “incompetent pols” is short for “incompetent politicians,” but that is neither here nor there. When Trump claims, “They just can’t put out the fires,” he is not talking about the first responders; he’s talking about the fact that officials did everything they could to make it nearly impossible to put out the fires.