January 31 2025

1. Control Tower Understaffed at Time of Fatal DC Air Collision
2. Controversial Trump Nominees Face Sharp Senate Scrutiny
3. SpaceX's Mars Plans Go Beyond Trump Term
4. Americans' Life Satisfaction Hits Historic Low
5. China Building Military Command Center 10 Bigger Than Pentagon
January 31, 1990: First McDonald’s opens in Soviet Union

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1. Control Tower Understaffed at Time of Fatal DC Air Collision

The air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was understaffed on Wednesday evening when a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided in midair, according to a government report about the circumstances surrounding the disaster that killed 67 people and sparked renewed debate around the airport’s crowded airspace. According to the report, described to The Washington Post, two people were handling the jobs of four among other colleagues inside National’s control tower at the time of the collision. The control tower staffing levels, the report concludes, were “not normal” for the time of day or the amount of air traffic over D.C., where an average of more than 100 helicopters a day zip around and underneath arriving and departing airline flights.

Article Source: WaPo

2. Controversial Trump Nominees Face Sharp Senate Scrutiny

Three of President Trump’s most controversial nominees for top posts in his administration faced sharp questioning from senators Thursday during their confirmation hearings, with lawmakers boring in on a range of issues from Edward Snowden to vaccines. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health secretary seemed shaky as senators spelled out their concerns during his second hearing, this time in front of the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Director of national intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard disappointed Democrats and Republicans alike in the Intelligence Committee for refusing to denounce Snowden as a traitor, though she received a pass on it from some GOP lawmakers.  Democrats questioned whether Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to be Federal Bureau of Investigation director, could be independent from the president, but they unearthed no new bombshells that might threaten his nomination. Republicans seemed to largely favor him. All three nominees have been sharply criticized by Democrats, and some also have drawn scrutiny from Republicans. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the chamber and can afford to lose no more than three votes if all Democrats are opposed.

Article Source: WSJ

3. SpaceX's Mars Plans Go Beyond Trump Term

The distance between Earth and Mars constantly shifts as they move around the sun, ranging from about 35 million miles to 250 million miles. To conserve fuel, spacecraft don’t launch toward the current position of Mars. Instead, they wait until the planet is properly aligned and then cruise to where Mars will be — seven or more months in the future. Mars and Earth come into alignment every 26 months, so time is one obstacle to President Trump’s pledge to launch astronauts to plant a flag on Mars. There are only two launch windows during his presidency, in late 2026 and late 2028. SpaceX’s Starship is the only vehicle that has a chance of being ready for an uncrewed mission to Mars in 2026. Elon Musk is developing the spacecraft with the goal of populating Mars and has suggested that he will launch multiple Starships in 2026 to attempt to land there. If those uncrewed missions were successful, the earliest that astronauts might hypothetically leave for Mars would be in late 2028, shortly before the end of Mr. Trump’s presidency.  

Editors note: for those that question why Elon Musk so strongly backs Trump and Republicans, the answer is simple: he needs the US federal government to help him go to Mars.

Article Source: NYT

4. Americans' Life Satisfaction Hits Historic Low

Forty-four percent of Americans say they are “very satisfied” with the way things are going in their personal life, the lowest by two percentage points in Gallup’s trend dating back to 2001. This also marks the continuation of a decline in personal satisfaction since January 2020, when the measure peaked at 65%. Another 37% of Americans today say they are “somewhat satisfied” with their personal life, while far fewer are “somewhat” (9%) or “very” (8%) dissatisfied. These findings are from Gallup’s annual Mood of the Nation poll, conducted Jan. 2-15, during President Joe Biden’s final weeks in office. Gallup has asked Americans whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with their personal life since 1979, adding the follow-up question measuring degree of satisfaction in 2001. The previous low point in Americans’ high personal satisfaction, 46%, occurred in 2011 when the country was still recovering from the 2007-2009 recession. Similar sub-50% lows occurred at other times of economic uncertainty, including 47% readings in December 2008 during the global economic crisis and last year amid persistently weak economic confidence. Americans’ economic confidence remains in negative territory today, which is likely a factor in their latest personal satisfaction reading. 


Article Source: Gallup

5. China Building Military Command Center 10 Bigger Than Pentagon

China’s military is building a massive complex in western Beijing that US intelligence believes will serve as a wartime command centre far larger than the Pentagon, according to current and former American officials. Satellite images obtained by the Financial Times that are being examined by US intelligence show a roughly 1,500-acre construction site 30km south-west of Beijing with deep holes that military experts assess will house large, hardened bunkers to protect Chinese military leaders during any conflict — including potentially a nuclear war. Several current and former US officials said the intelligence community was closely monitoring the site, which would be the world’s largest military command centre — and at least 10 times the size of the Pentagon.

Article Source: FT

January 31, 1990: First McDonald’s opens in Soviet Union

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Sources

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/01/30/dc-plane-crash-helicopter-recovery-no-survivors-potomac-river/

2. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/gabbard-patel-rfk-jf-nomination-hearings-a18bc52e?mod=hp_lead_pos10

3. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/30/science/mars-landing-trump.html

4. https://news.gallup.com/poll/655493/new-low-satisfied-personal-life.aspx

5. https://www.ft.com/content/f3763e51-8607-42b9-9ef9-5789d5bf353d