"We Have A Possible Mayday": Pilot Reported Bird Strike Before US F-16 Crash

09/18/26 9:18 AM

The plane was participating in training exercises at a National Guard base in Alpena, about 190 miles (305 kilometers) north of Detroit.

'Buckle up': Leaked photos ignite furor after unmasking Hegseth’s Iran ‘disaster’

09/16/26 4:23 PM

A collection of leaked photos showing “major damage” to U.S. assets in the Middle East sparked renewed calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s removal, just as the House narrowly avoided having to consider articles of impeachment against the Trump Cabinet member.“This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public,” a deployed U.S. service member told CBS News on the condition of anonymity. “We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”On Tuesday, a CBS News report revealed new photos it had exclusively received from “active service members” showing significant damage to U.S. military assets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, including a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft with its entire back half destroyed. The revelations come as Hegseth continues to downplay the damage Iran has managed to inflict on U.S. military assets.“This is why SecDef Hegseth should be impeached and removed from office. What a disaster,” wrote Tom Ryan, an Arizona-based attorney and trial lawyer, in a social media post on X.Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) informed the House Tuesday that he intended to introduce eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, largely centered around his overseeing of the deeply unpopular — and allegedly, unlawful — U.S. war against Iran. Massie also said he intended to invoke House rules that would force his articles of impeachment to be brought up for consideration within two legislative days.Those plans were foiled, however, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) abruptly canceled all House votes for Thursday, which would have been the last legislative day before the midterms.Democratic congressional nominee Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army veteran, said the leaked photos were “shocking” given that he had “served at some” of the locations pictured. Ali Abunimah, a prominent author and activist, appeared to mock Hegseth by sarcastically noting, reacting to the photo of the heavily damaged Boeing E-3 Sentry, “That plane looks like it just needs a lick of paint and it will be up and flying in no time.”U.S. Air Force veteran and podcaster Ryan Shead demanded that Congress “Impeach Pete Hegseth immediately,” and Jeremy Johnson, a trucker activist with a substantial online following for his political commentary, warned that the revelations revealing the extent of the damage Iran had inflicted were “just the beginning,” telling his more than 670,000 followers on X to “Buckle up.”That plane looks like it just needs a lick of paint and it will be up and flying in no time https://t.co/daviOPWXMC pic.twitter.com/H3QOwGitVJ— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) September 15, 2026

'Come fly the deadly skies': Ex-official claims United using passengers as 'human shields'

09/14/26 3:58 PM

A bombshell report from The Intercept revealed that United Airlines is resuming shipments of military equipment to Israel aboard civilian passenger flights, sparking several blistering condemnations from prominent figures.United previously used passenger flights to transfer military cargo to Israel between July 2025 and Feb. 27 of this year, just one day before President Donald Trump launched his deeply unpopular war against Iran, according to a new report jointly produced by Movement Research Unit, Palestinian Youth Movement, People’s Embargo for Palestine and the Democratic Socialists of America.The new development, uncovered by The Intercept after reviewing “shipping data” and other documents, appears to be, the outlet noted, a “return to status quo for United.”“We all get on our flights and have to worry about taking too much water in our water bottles, and meanwhile, there are ammunition handling systems and F-35 parts and tank sites that are being transported on these flights, without us actually knowing,” said Movement Research investigator Abdullah, speaking with The Intercept on the condition that only his first name be used “due to the sensitive nature of his work.”Craig Mokhiber, a former senior United Nations official and human rights lawyer, was taken aback by the report’s findings.“United Airlines has not only been shipping weapons components to the Israeli regime during the ongoing genocide in Palestine (itself the crime of complicity under the Genocide Convention), but it has been doing so by hiding them in the cargo of passenger planes filled with unknowing civilians,” Mokhiber wrote in a statement Saturday published on social media. “United Airlines is therefore using its passengers as human shields to unlawfully arm the Israeli regime. These arms onboard constitute an ‘effective contribution to military action’ under [international humanitarian law], violating the Geneva conventions, and potentially making these planes ‘military objectives’ under the law, eroding or stripping their protected status, and putting every passenger at risk.”Others, like journalist and activist Ali Abunimah, took a jab at United by mocking its slogan, “Fly the Friendly Skies,” with his own revised version: “Come Fly the Deadly Skies,” he wrote in a social media post on X.And Natali Morris, journalist and former CBS News reporter, questioned United’s recently increased bag fees given its presumably lucrative contracts to ship military equipment overseas.“If they're taking military contracts to ship weapons to the [Israel Defense Force], why do we have to pay $50 per bag?” she wrote in a social media post on X.When contacted for comment, a United spokesperson told Raw Story that the company had “nothing to share” regarding The Intercept’s report and the underlying allegations.United Airlines has not only been shipping weapons components to the Israeli regime during the ongoing genocide in Palestine (itself the crime of complicity under the Genocide Convention), but it has been doing so by hiding them in the cargo of passenger planes filled with… https://t.co/AXAwlFT7K2— Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) September 12, 2026