NTSB Identifies Faults in Texas Near-Collision; Menendez Trial Highlights 'Gross' Meetings and More

The NTSB discovered that incorrect assumptions by an air traffic controller nearly caused a FedEx and Southwest Airlines collision in Texas. In other news, former New Jersey attorney general Gurbir Grewal testified against Senator Bob Menendez in his corruption trial. Also covered are key cases involving Biden's border policies, Trump's fundraiser, and more.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

NTSB finds incorrect assumptions by controller in Texas near air collision

The National Transportation Safety Board found incorrect assumptions on the part of an air traffic controller led to the February 2023 near-collision between a FedEx plane and a Southwest Airlines jet in Austin, Texas. The two planes came within about 170 feet (52 m) of each other when the FedEx Boeing 767 was forced to fly over the Southwest 737-700 to avoid a crash in poor visibility conditions. It was one of at least half a dozen near-miss incidents last year that raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control.

At Menendez trial, ex-prosecutor recounts 'gross' meeting with New Jersey senator

The former New Jersey attorney general Gurbir Grewal testified at U.S. Senator Bob Menendez's corruption trial on Thursday that the lawmaker sought to intervene in a local criminal case, including a meeting that Grewal's deputy described as "gross." Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have said Menendez sought to have Grewal, the state's top prosecutor from 2018 through 2021, intervene in cases involving two associates of insurance and trucking businessman Jose Uribe.

Texas seeks court block on Biden administration's destruction of border fencing

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday seemed open to barring the Biden administration from destroying razor-wire fencing that Texas placed along its border with Mexico while the Republican-led state pursues a lawsuit accusing the federal government of trespassing. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments for nearly an hour in an appeal by Texas of a judge's ruling that said the state's trespassing law cannot be applied to the federal government and U.S. immigration authorities were immune from the state's lawsuit.

Trump ally Bannon ordered to report to prison for defying Jan. 6 probe

Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, a federal judge said on Thursday. The decision means Bannon, a right-wing media firebrand who maintains influence in Trump's orbit, will likely be behind bars for a critical stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign as former President Trump faces Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.

Hunter Biden's sister-in-law says she found, threw away, his gun

Hunter Biden's sister-in-law testified on Thursday that she found his gun and threw it away out of fear of his spiraling addiction, potentially bolstering prosecutors' case that President Joe Biden's son broke a law barring illegal drug users from owning firearms. Jurors in the first criminal trial of a U.S. president's child saw surveillance camera footage of Hallie Biden tossing Hunter Biden's gun in a supermarket trash can, as well as texts where she said she feared for his life.

Trump in liberal San Francisco for high-dollar tech fundraiser

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will attend a fundraiser hosted by two tech venture capitalists in San Francisco on Thursday, a high-dollar event expected to draw Silicon Valley investors turned off by the Biden administration's policies. Venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, as well as Sacks' wife Jacqueline, will host the reception and dinner with Trump, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.

Biden campaign hires Republican to pursue 'never Trump' voters

U.S. President Joe Biden is making a pitch for his re-election to Republicans who do not support their party's standard-bearer, Donald Trump, in November's election, a Biden campaign official said on Thursday. The Democratic president's campaign has hired a national Republican engagement director: Austin Weatherford, who was chief of staff to former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, an outspoken critic of Trump, the official said.

Alex Jones asks to convert his bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 liquidation

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has asked a U.S. judge to convert his bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation, giving up on an effort to settle massive legal judgments related to his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Jones believes that "there is no reasonable prospect of a successful reorganization" of his debts, most of which stem from $1.5 billion awarded in defamation lawsuits, his attorneys said in a court filing late on Thursday. A Chapter 7 liquidation would not allow Jones to escape paying the legal judgments, but it offers a streamlined procedure for selling his assets under the supervision of a court-appointed trustee.

US election officials split on AI disclosure rules for political ads

The two top officials of the Federal Election Commission are split over whether broadcast radio and television political advertisements should be required to disclose whether content is generated by artificial intelligence (AI). FEC vice chair Ellen Weintraub on Thursday supported the May proposal by U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who asked the commission to advance a proposed rule that would require disclosure of AI content in both candidate and issue advertisements. FEC Chair Sean Cooksey criticized the plan.

US Appeals Court to hear net neutrality legal challenges

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear a series of industry legal challenges seeking to block the Biden administration's reinstatement of landmark net neutrality rules set to take effect on July 22, according to an order Thursday. The Federal Communications Commission voted in April along party lines to reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet and reinstate open internet rules adopted in 2015 that were rescinded under former President Donald Trump.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)