By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
An investigation of a battery fire aboard a Boeing 787 shows that mechanics and firefighters made repeated, unsuccessful attempts to put out the blaze through smoke so thick they couldn't see the battery.
Experts at the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to say next week whether they recommend accepting Boeing's plan to fix its troubled 787 Dreamliners so the planes can resume flying, the agency's head said Wednesday.
Despite a battery fire in one Boeing 787 Dreamliner and smoke in another, the batteries used to power the plane's electrical systems aren't necessarily unsafe — manufacturers just need to build in reliable safeguards, the nation's top aviation safety investigator said Wednesday.
At the same time the government certified Boeing's 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner's electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk.
Obama administration officials struggled Wednesday to defend their initial statements that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is safe, while promising a transparent probe of mishaps involving the aircraft's batteries.
It's likely that burning lithium ion batteries on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners were caused by overcharging, aviation safety and battery experts said Friday, pointing to developments in the investigation of the Boeing incidents as well as a battery fire in a business jet more than a year ago.
Lithium batteries that can leak corrosive fluid and start fires have emerged as the chief safety concern involving Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, a problem that apparently is far more serious than government or company officials acknowledged less than a week ago.
The government stepped in Friday to assure the public that Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" is safe to fly, even as it launched a comprehensive review to find out what caused a fire, a fuel leak and other worrisome incidents this week.
A new passenger screening program to make check-in more convenient for certain travelers is being expanded to 28 more major U.S. airports, including all three Washington-area airports by year's end, the government said Wednesday.
A new passenger screening program to make check-in more convenient for certain travelers is being expanded to 28 more major U.S. airports, the government said Wednesday.
A Pakistani man arrested in Massachusetts during the investigation last year into the failed Times Square bombing was deported Sunday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after pleading guilty in federal court to fraud charges.
For more than a year, a Massachusetts banker has held "savings circles" in Chelsea, Lynn and parts of Boston with the goal of training low-income immigrant families on financial literacy so they can put away money for college.
