A business jet with six people crashed at a regional airport in North Carolina, erupting in a large fire and killing multiple people. Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Authorities say the Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte. Federal aviation officials are investigating. AccuWeather reports some drizzle and clouds at the time of the crash. The airport serves NASCAR teams and Fortune 500 companies. Video showed first responders rushing to the scene as flames burned near the wreckage.
Authorities are investigating a connection between the mass hooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor two days later, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two of the people said Thursday that investigators had identified a person of interest in the shootings and were actively seeking that individual. The shooting at Brown on Saturday killed two students and wounded nine others. The attacker got away. About 50 miles away, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was fatally shot in his home Monday and died at a hospital Tuesday.
House Democrats released several dozen more photos Thursday from the estate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, showing his associations with the rich and famous, as the Department of Justice faces a deadline to release many of its case files on the late financier by the end of the week.
The photos released Thursday were among more than 95,000 that the House Oversight Committee has received after issuing a subpoena for the photos that Epstein had in his possession before he died in a New York jail cell in 2019. Congress has also passed, and President Donald Trump has signed, a law requiring the Justice Department to release its case files on Epstein, and his longtime girlfriend and confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, by Friday. Anticipation about what those files will show is running high after they have been the subject of conspiracy theories and speculation about his friendships with Trump, former President Bill Clinton, the former Prince Andrew, and others.
House Democrats have already released dozens of photos from Epstein's estate showing Trump, Clinton and Andrew, who lost his royal title and privileges this year amid scrutiny of his relationship with the wealthy financier. The photos released Thursday showed Epstein cooking with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman. The photos also include the billionaire Bill Gates and images of a 2011 dinner of notable people and wealthy philanthropists hosted by a nonprofit group. The committee made no accusations of wrongdoing by the men in the photos.
There were also images of passports, visas and identification cards from Russia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, South Africa and Lithuania with personally identifying information redacted, as well as photos of Epstein with women or girls whose faces were blacked out. The committee has said it is redacting information from the photos that may lead to the identity of victims being revealed.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, said in a statement that the "new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DOJ must release the Epstein files now.”
On today’s jam-packed show, Josh breaks down the president’s primetime address—what he thought the president got right, and the key points he believes were missing. He also calls out the bad actors who completely misled the public about what the speech would actually cover. Josh then gives the latest on the Brown University murders and the increasingly botched investigation into finding the suspect. Finally, he takes aim at the voices on the Left who refuse to confront the threat of radical Islam, insisting instead that Donald Trump is somehow a bigger danger to America than the extremists committing real-world terrorism.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order recommending the loosening of federal regulations on marijuana, a move that could further reverse decades of tough-on-weed policy.
Trump's order directs his attorney general to quickly move ahead with reclassifying marijuana, according to senior administration officials, a process that could lead to the psychoactive plant being listed alongside common painkillers, ketamine and testosterone as a less dangerous drug.
Such a decision would represent one of the most significant federal changes to marijuana policy in decades. It could reshape the cannabis industry, ease criminal penalties, unlock billions in research funding and lead to the opening of doors long closed to banks and investors. Marijuana will still remain illegal federally, and subject to a patchwork of local laws across the country.
"We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades," Trump told reporters at the White House.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has to review the recommendation to list marijuana as a Schedule III drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and will decide on the reclassification. The text of Trump's order is not yet public.
Senior administration officials said the primary purpose of the order was to increase medical research of marijuana and related products to understand their risks and potential for treatment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to allow some beneficiaries to use hemp-derived CBD products.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the world and the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. residents use it a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Millions of Americans have been arrested for possession of the drug, even while growing businesses listed on stock exchanges sell cannabis-related products.
Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance like heroin, ecstasy and peyote. That classification indicates it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs are seen as less addictive and as carrying legitimate medical uses.
Even under a reclassification, marijuana would still be treated as a controlled substance on a federal level and its use subject to tight restrictions and criminal penalties.
Nonetheless, initial reports that Trump might loosen restrictions on the psychoactive drug sent stocks of cannabis-related companies higher. Funding remains one of the biggest challenges for cannabis producers, as federal restrictions keep most banks and institutional investors out of the sector, forcing pot producers to turn to costly loans or alternative lenders.
"Organigram Global views the potential reclassification of cannabis in the United States as a significant regulatory signal for the global cannabis industry," said a spokesperson for that cannabis company. "This shift marks an important step toward greater regulatory clarity and institutional acceptance of cannabis worldwide."
A patchwork of laws exists at the local level, from states where use and possession are fully legal to states where they are fully illegal. Since California first allowed medicinal use of marijuana in 1996, a 30-year trend has moved toward loosening regulation.
The issue is one that crisscrosses partisan lines. Most Americans tell pollsters they favor full legalization. During his 2021-2025 term in office, Democratic former President Joe Biden issued a blanket pardon for most federal marijuana possession charges and kickstarted the review of marijuana's status. After that review, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended moving marijuana to Schedule III classification.
Trump has honed a reputation as a law-and-order Republican, bombing alleged drug traffickers in international waters and deploying military into cities to combat crime, efforts that have drawn legal scrutiny. But he has also bucked tradition to reward favored groups and individuals, including pardoning several who were convicted of federal violations related to drugs.
There are brutal realities in the world today. Terrorism is one. And political division is one that could wreck this country. What will it take to confront and rise above them?
Michele Tafoya is a four-time Emmy award-winning sportscaster turned political and cultural commentator.
Record-setting, four-time Sports Emmy Award winner Michele Tafoya worked her final NBC Sunday Night Football game at Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, her fifth Super Bowl. She retired from sportscasting the following day. In total, she covered 327 games — the most national primetime TV games (regular + postseason) for an NFL sideline reporter.
Learn More about “The Michele Tafoya Podcast” here: https://linktr.ee/micheletafoya
Subscribe to “The Michele Tafoya Podcast” here: https://apple.co/3nPW221
Follow Michele on twitter: https://twitter.com/Michele_Tafoya
Follow Michele on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realmicheletafoya/
Learn more about the Salem Podcast network: https://salempodcastnetwork.com/
Michele Tafoya is a four-time Emmy award-winning sportscaster turned political and cultural commentator.
Record-setting, four-time Sports Emmy Award winner Michele Tafoya worked her final NBC Sunday Night Football game at Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, her fifth Super Bowl. She retired from sportscasting the following day. In total, she covered 327 games — the most national primetime TV games (regular + postseason) for an NFL sideline reporter.
Learn More about “The Michele Tafoya Podcast” here: https://linktr.ee/micheletafoya
Subscribe to “The Michele Tafoya Podcast” here: https://apple.co/3nPW221
Follow Michele on twitter: https://twitter.com/Michele_Tafoya
Follow Michele on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realmicheletafoya/
Learn more about the Salem Podcast network: https://salempodcastnetwork.com/
Another Anti-Semitic Terror Attack...This Time In Australia
With Yael Eckstein, President & CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews | IFCJ.org
In his year-end address, President Trump announced a $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” for members of the U.S. military, aimed at rewarding service members for their dedication. The announcement was highlighted in his speech aired on Salem News Channel.
The Trump administration has unveiled a $10 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, including medium-range missiles and drones. The move underscores ongoing U.S. support for Taiwan amid heightened tensions with China and aims to bolster the island’s defense capabilities.
The Senate has given final approval to a $901 billion defense bill, the annual measure guiding U.S. military policy. The legislation includes a 3.8% pay raise for troops and directs the Pentagon to modernize how it purchases weapons systems. The bill also pressures Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide Congress with video of U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats near Venezuela, though some lawmakers have expressed concerns over releasing the footage publicly.
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Jay Sekulow Live is the daily radio outreach of the American Center for Law and >>Jay Sekulow Live is the daily radio outreach of the American Center for Law and Justice. This live call-in program airs on over 500 stations nationwide, and focuses on the protection of constitutional freedoms in America. The program includes . . . <<
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