Taliban crashes American Black Hawk helicopter, leaving three dead

Taliban crashes American Black Hawk helicopter, leaving three dead Sep 12, 2022 A Taliban pilot crashed a Black Hawk helicopter on Saturday in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing three people and injuring five others, a spokesperson for the group said.  "An American Black Hawk helicopter, which was flown... for training, crashed due to a technical problem inside the campus of the National Defense University," Ministry of Defense spokesperson Enaytullah Khowrazmi said Saturday.  A video posted by Afghan journalist Wais Barakzai appeared to show an out-of-control helicopter crashing into the ground nose-first.  AFGHANISTAN CHILDREN KILLED AFTER PLAYING WITH UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE THAT DETONATED IN CLASSROOM The US military left behind more than $7 billion in equipment when it pulled out of Afghanistan last year, including $923.3 million worth of military aircraft and $294.6 million worth of aircraft munitions. Some aircraft "were demilitarized and rendered inoperable during the evacuation," the Department of Defense Inspector General wrote in a report last month.  The Taliban also took over tactical ground vehicles and more than 300,000 small arms, including sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers.  A parade was held last November in Afghanistan's second-largest city of Kandahar, where the Taliban showed off the US military equipment they acquired following the withdrawal.  Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report, as well as Reuters.  Continue Reading NJ police sergeant accused of leading rogue cops sentenced to nearly 3 years in federal prison Sep 12, 2022 A former police sergeant who authorities said led a group of officers who illegally stopped and searched numerous people and vehicles and stole thousands of dollars from them was sentenced Monday to nearly three years in federal prison. Michael Cheff, 51, an Oakland resident who served on the force in Paterson, was convicted in May of a civil rights violation and filing a false report. Five Paterson officers who have already pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from the long-running corruption probe testified against Cheff, and some said they routinely gave him a portion of the funds they stole. EIGHT NEW JERSEY FIREFIGHTERS INJURED AFTER FIRETRUCKS RESPONDING TO BLAZE COLLIDE The officers have said Cheff knew about the thefts that occurred from 2016 to 2018. They said he approved their false reports and helped them log evidence to make it appear they were doing legitimate police work. They also said he ensured complaints against the officers went nowhere. Cheff, who maintains his innocence, received a 33-month prison term and will also have to serve three years of supervised release once he's freed. The five other officers were all sentenced last week and received terms ranging from probation to 24 months in prison. FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: 'IT DOESN'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE THIS OUT' Continue Reading Baby formula shortage still not over: White House has to take 330,000 pounds from Australia Sep 12, 2022 The White House said Monday it has organized the rapid importation of 330,000 pounds of baby formula from Australia to address ongoing shortages at retail stores across America. The Biden administration’s Operation Fly Formula was announced in May to address these shortages, and the Australia mission is the 23rd operation conducted so far under the effort. The latest effort involves two flights, one of which took place on Sept. 7 and another to occur on Sept. 16. Combined, the two flights will deliver the equivalent of 4.9 million 8-ounce bottles of Bellamy’s Organic Infant Formula to Dallas, Texas. The product will then be distributed to U.S. retailers. By the time this latest mission is flown, Operation Fly Formula will have moved the equivalent of nearly 90 million 8-ounce bottles of formula to U.S. consumers. Operation Fly Formula was launched after widespread reports of shortages in the months that followed the Food and Drug Administration’s decision in February 2022 to close an Abbott Nutrition production facility in Michigan, though the shortage had begun earlier because of supply chain problems. President Biden later acknowledged that he was unaware of supply problems until April and said, "I don’t think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility." MICHIGAN ABBOTT PLANT RESTARTS PRODUCTION OF SIMILAC BABY FORMULA Operation Fly Formula is a partnership between the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Defense and the General Services Administration to avoid the normal importing procedures that can sometimes add weeks to the process of getting overseas product into the hands of U.S. consumers. "Bypassing regular air freighting routes has cut a transportation process that typically takes three-four weeks down to approximately three days, speeding up the importation and distribution of formula and supporting families in the near-term as manufacturers continue to ramp up production," the White House said. BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE SENDS TENNESSEE MOM OF 8-MONTH-OLD INTO A PANIC: ‘I BROKE DOWN The Biden administration also worked with Abbott to reopen the closed facility and released guidance allowing the speedy import of formula. The administration has also instructed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate any "price gouging" that may be occurring as the result of short supplies. Continue Reading Tropical Storm Kay weakens and veers away from US-Mexico border Sep 12, 2022 Tropical Storm Kay became a post-tropical cyclone Friday night after veering away from the U.S.-Mexico border region, though it continued to cause rain in parts of northwestern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. Kay came made landfall as a hurricane near Mexico's Bahia Asuncion in Baja California Sur state Thursday, but it quickly weakend into a tropical storm after moving back out over open and cooler water. It was forecast to weaken into a remnant low by Saturday morning as it moved farther from land. TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW On Friday night, it had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It was centered about 145 miles southwest of San Diego, California, and was moving west-northwest at 8 mph. The storm was expected to turn to the southwest and then the south in the next few days. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that "flash, urban, and small stream flooding" was a threat across Southern California and southwestern Arizona. The center said southernmost California could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated areas getting 6 to 8 inches. It said the Sierra Nevada, Arizona and Southern Nevada might receive 1 to 2 inches, with isolated spots at 3 inches. Meanwhile in the Atlantic, Hurricane Earl continued heading out into the open seas after passing southeast of Bermuda. STILL A LONG WAY TO GO AFTER SLOW START TO HURRICANE SEASON: 'TOO EARLY TO WAVE VICTORY FLAGS' Late Friday, Earl was centered about 610 miles south-southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland. It had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and was moving northeast at 29 mph. Earl knocked out power to 1,500 customers as it brushed past Bermuda early Friday, downing several trees in the British territory. Crews had cleared roads by midday and worked to restore power to the few homes still in the dark. US VIRGIN ISLANDS RESCUE: COAST GUARD SAVES STRANDED SPEAR FISHERMAN DURING TROPICAL STORM, VIDEO SHOWS Government agencies and public transportation operated as usual, with ferries scheduled to restart service Friday afternoon. Continue Reading

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