WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration received 12,000 applications in 24 hours after its annual air traffic control hiring window opened Friday, a figure Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described as record breaking amid the agency’s new campaign to recruit video gamers to the job. 

In a post on X over the weekend, Duffy said the 12,000 applications marked “the most in one day since the FAA was created 68 YEARS ago!” He told Fox News in an interview Sunday that 11,000 of those applicants were considered qualified and 8,000 have already been sent a skills test required to move forward in the process. 

Duffy specifically credited the Transportation Department’s fresh effort announced earlier this month — just a week ahead of the opening of its hiring window at midnight April 17 — to seek out those who play video games to apply. 

“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt,” Duffy said in a press release on the new campaign at the time. “This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”

The transportation chief told Fox News on Sunday that the idea was sparked by a poll the agency took of students at an FAA academy in Oklahoma City in which all but three of the 250 people randomly surveyed said they were gamers. 

“And so we thought, listen, there’s a connection here,” Duffy said. “They problem solve, they are spatially aware, they do multiple things at the same time. It is very reminiscent of what air traffic controllers do.”

Since then, Duffy said the agency has reached out to the community, including with a video appearing to target gamers he posted earlier this month. He called the response the agency has received “remarkable.” 

“YOU can be the future of air traffic control,” Duffy said in a post on X earlier this month that included the video ad. “It’s not a GAME, its a CAREER.”

The push comes as the FAA has been plagued with air traffic controller staffing issues for years, a reality that has been amplified amid recent government shutdowns, which leave them working without pay until the matter is resolved.

During the government shutdown last fall, Duffy told CNN in an interview that the FAA was seeing 15 to 20 air traffic controllers retiring a day, up from four before the lapse in funding. He added at the time that the FAA was short “about 1,000 to 2,000” air traffic controllers in general and noted he had embarked on an effort to pay experienced people in the position to stay on the job and not retire. 

A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office released earlier this year found that the number of air traffic controllers in the country has declined by about 6% over the last 10 years. The GAO cited government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018-2019, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, as contributing factors in the decline, noting both disrupted training. 

In the report, the GAO also noted that there has been a 10% increase in the number of flights that rely on the air traffic control system over the same period, exacerbating the issue. 

President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget proposal to Congress includes a request of a $481 million increase to “continue to support the Administration’s air traffic controller hiring surge, as well as enhancements to aviation safety, commercial space operations, and updates to FAA’s outdated telecommunications systems,” according to a fact sheet from the White House. 

There are a number of prerequisites to qualify to be an air traffic controller, including being under 31 years old and being able to “Speak English clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment,” according to the FAA website. 

Those interested must also pass a medical exam, as well as the agency’s air traffic pre-employment tests. The FAA notes that less than 10% of all applicants meet all of the requirements and are accepted into the training program.

AUSTIN, Texas – It was initially believed that both of Athena the owl’s owlets at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center had died, but officials reported some hopeful news.

What we know:

On April 19, the wildflower center had posted that both of Athena’s owlets had not survived after they had been born on April 9 and April 11.

The first owlet died on April 17 and the second owlet was reported to have died overnight on April 18. 

Athena was not seen at the nest and was not spotted in nearby trees.

The wildflower center continued to monitor the nest and on April 20, the second owlet was found to be alive and showing signs of movement. 

In coordination with Austin Wildlife Rescue, the owlet was retrieved and is being rehabilitated.

What we don’t know:

Officials say early signs are encouraging and that the owlet is showing strength and appetite.

The exact cause of the death of the first owlet is now known, but the wildflower center says a variety of natural factors can affect survival, including food availability.

The backstory:

Since 2012, a pair of great horned owls have made a specific corner of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center their home. Like clockwork, the pair return each year to nest above the archway of the courtyard entrance, greeting visitors who pass beneath them.

The female owl, affectionately named Athena, has become a staple of the center.

Athena’s reach extends far beyond the local Austin community. Through a partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the center hosts a 24/7 livestream of the nest, allowing bird-watchers from around the globe to monitor her progress in real-time. 

The City of Austin also recently designated Athena the official Owl Ambassador of Austin.

A “joyful” 10-year-old Alabama girl was found dead soon after being reported missing — with another juvenile charged with her murder.

Katheryn Bigbee, 10, was reported missing just before 11 p.m. Friday, when police were called to an undisclosed address in Calhoun County, AL.com reported.

“Officers responded immediately to the residence,” Piedmont Police Chief Nathan Johnson said in a statement. “They tragically discovered a deceased juvenile inside the home.”

It remains unclear where the house was, or whether it was the young girl’s family home — but another juvenile was soon taken into custody and hit with murder charges.

Their identity and connection to Bigbee have not been disclosed due to their age.

Bigbee’s cause of death also remains unclear, with police saying the investigation was still ongoing.

“Our family has been torn to pieces, and we have lost the most amazing, sweetest little girl,” relative Blake Trammel wrote on Facebook.

“She was a light in any room she walked into. I cannot express the pain, guilt, and emptiness that has come from all of this. We don’t have answers, only more questions,” he added.

The girl’s school also recalled her as a beloved member of its community.

“Our entire Piedmont Elementary School family is grieving as we remember a sweet little girl who brought smiles, kindness, and a bright light to our halls each day,” the school said in a statement.

“Katheryn had a joyful, spunky personality that made her truly special,” the school said. “She was an enthusiastic reader and will be remembered for the happiness she shared so freely.”

“She will always be a part of our school family, and her memory will live on in the hearts of her classmates, teachers, and all who knew and loved her.”