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Drone Collision Grounds Firefighting Plane in Los Angeles

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Drone Collision Grounds Firefighting Plane in Los Angeles

A firefighting plane flying over the Palisades fire in Los Angeles collided with a civilian drone on Thursday, officials said, putting the plane out of service and further stretching the resources available to battle the raging fires in Southern California.

The plane landed safely after the incident, said the Federal Aviation Administration, which will investigate the episode. The collision punctured a wing and put the plane out of commission, said Chris Thomas, a Cal Fire spokesman.

The blazes that broke out this week in the Los Angeles area were fueled by fierce winds that initially prevented aircraft from taking off safely. Once conditions improved, dozens of helicopters and planes joined the fight to contain the fires. More were on the way Thursday night, the authorities said.

The plane involved in the collision on Thursday is a Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper, leased by the Los Angeles County Fire Department from the Canadian province of Quebec, said Kenichi Haskett, a department spokesman. The department said on social media that the collision on Thursday, at around 1 p.m., involved a civilian drone.

The CL-415 can fly very low and scoop up water to dump on fires, according to its maker, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada. Mr. Thomas, the Cal Fire spokesman, said the Super Scooper holds 1,600 gallons and can refill in about five minutes.

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In an hour, even if a refill takes 10 minutes, “that’s six water drops,” he said while discussing the setback to firefighting efforts. “So whose house is not going to get that water to protect it?”

The F.A.A. has imposed temporary flight restrictions in the Los Angeles area while firefighters work to contain the fires. The agency said Thursday that it has not authorized anyone who is not involved in the firefighting operations to fly drones in the restricted zones. Despite that, many videos of wildfire areas that appear to be from drones have been posted on social media this week.

Flight restrictions are often imposed by the F.A.A. when wildfires break out, and the authorities have warned for years about the threat posed by drones to firefighting aircraft. In September, at least two drone incursions were reported as firefighters battled the Line fire in Southern California.

Drone sightings force the authorities to ground firefighting aircraft for a minimum of 15 minutes and for as much as 30 minutes while they confirm it is safe to fly again, Mr. Thomas said.

“We have a saying: ‘If you fly, we can’t,’” he added. “But I don’t know how effective it is because everybody thinks it’s so cool to fly a drone up through the fire.”

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Disrupting firefighting on public lands is a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, according to the F.A.A., which said it can also impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 on a drone pilot who interferes with efforts to suppress wildfires.

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Manhattan DA’s office to investigate Swalwell sexual assault allegation

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Manhattan DA’s office to investigate Swalwell sexual assault allegation

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York has launched an investigation into a sexual assault allegation against Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., NBC News confirmed Saturday.

Multiple women in the last two days have come forward alleging that Swalwell sexually assaulted or harassed them while serving in Congress, including one who alleged he assaulted her in New York. Swalwell has denied the allegations.

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A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office urged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373. Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner.”

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that one woman said she had sexual encounters with the congressman when he was her boss and alleged that he twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. One of those incidents, the woman alleged, took place in New York in 2024.

And later Friday, CNN reported on sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell from three additional women, including one who said he kissed her without her consent in public and two others who said the congressman sent them unsolicited photos or videos of his penis.

NBC News has not independently corroborated their stories.

CNN was the first to report of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigation.

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Representatives for Swalwell’s office and campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Swalwell on Friday denied the allegations in a video posted to X, telling viewers: “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They’re absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have.”

The CNN and San Francisco Chronicle stories were reported just weeks before California voters are set to begin voting in the state’s primary for governor, where Swalwell has been a leading candidate in a crowded field of Democrats, including former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer and former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.

On Friday and Saturday, multiple high-profile figures and groups rescinded their previous endorsements of Swalwell, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

Democratic leaders in the House, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., on Friday called the allegations against Swalwell “disturbing” and urged him to “immediately end his campaign to be California’s next Governor.”

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On Saturday, two Republican congresswomen vowed to seek punishment against against Swalwell in the wake of the sexual assault allegations.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said in a post on X that she plans to force a floor vote this week on a resolution to censure Swalwell, which would require a simple majority to succeed.

And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said in a post on X that she plans to introduce a resolution to expel Swalwell from Congress. That resolution would have a higher threshold for passage, with two-thirds of the chamber needing to vote in favor.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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WATCH: Artemis II astronauts splash down on Earth

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WATCH: Artemis II astronauts splash down on Earth

After a nearly 10-day journey that took the Artemis II astronauts around the moon, in front of an eclipse and farther away from Earth than any humans before them, the crew of four have made a dramatic return home.

The Artemis II astronauts share a group hug aboard the Orion capsule.
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NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were ensconced in the Orion space capsule when they dropped into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Friday. The USS John P. Murtha is stationed near the splashdown zone to help recover the crew.

To get back to Earth, the space capsule had to withstand predicted temperatures of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit and slow down from nearly 25,000 miles per hour — or more than 30 times the speed of sound — to a gentle 19 mph or so before splashdown. 

The roughly 13-minute journey from the top of the atmosphere to the surface is like “riding a fireball through the atmosphere,” NASA astronaut and Artemis II crew member Victor Glover said before the maneuver. 

But, he said, it’s also a necessary one. 

“We have to get back,” Glover said. “There’s so much data that you’ve seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us.” 

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The crew of four, who looped around the far side of the moon on Monday April 6, took photos and made observations as they passed over the lunar surface. The crew is set to bring that data and more back to the team on the ground.

Nell Greenfieldboyce and Central Florida Public Media’s Brendan Byrne contributed to this report.

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Trump proposes painting executive office building white

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Trump proposes painting executive office building white

President Trump has submitted plans plans to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white to a group that advises on architecture in Washington, D.C.

The French Second Empire-style, slate-gray building houses office space for members of the president’s team, including the National Security Council. 

An America 250 flag outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 9, 2026. 

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Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images


The building sits across a driveway from the West Wing and was completed in 1888. The plans submitted by the president say that the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is an eyesore that has long been criticized and has fallen into disrepair since its completion. The plans say “the color, design, and massing of the existing structure does not align visually with the surrounding architecture and lacks any symbolic cohesion with the White House.” The plan points to examples of cracks and poor exterior maintenance and argues, “The benefit to painting the stone is that it is repeatable.” 

“The inability to bring the stone facade back to a baseline color has plagued the maintenance of the [Executive Office Building] in the past, and and will continue to plague it if not addressed,” the plan says.

The plans included renderings of what the building would look like if it’s painted white. 

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Rendering from President Trump’s plans showing what the Executive Office Building would look like if it were painted white.

The Executive Office of the President submitted a design proposal to the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel of Trump appointees who advise on public architecture and design in the nation’s capital. 

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The CFA will hear a presentation on the plan on April 16.

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