Regional VP of the Natonal Air Traffic Controllers Association
Western Pacific Regional Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and a controller at Los Angeles Center
PROFILE
Hamid Ghaffari
Guest
FROM Hamid Ghaffari
To the Point
Mid-Air Near-Collisions Are a New Worry for FAA, Travelers Today's New York Post reports the Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into a spike of near-collisions in the air over JFK, Newark and La Guardia airports. Those incidents have generated alarm as airlines predict a record summer for travel. Planes are supposed to be three miles from each other, but aircraft got as close as 500 feet on five occasions just in the month of May. Air-traffic controllers say they are understaffed and overworked all over the country. In the age of global positioning satellites, they have World War II-era radar to keep track of planes in the air. How much change is needed? How soon? Would moving too fast endanger a system that still boasts a remarkable record for safety?
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.