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Duffy Seeking $10 Billion From Congress To Revamp Air Traffic Control System

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on April 21 the department requires $10 billion in additional funding from Congress to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control with a new software system.

Duffy told Reuters in an interview that the additional funding would go toward developing new software aimed at improving the efficiency of air travel and reducing flight delays.

“This tool lets us see and then spread flights in a way that allows for way less disruption,” he told the news outlet. “We could fix this.”

Congress allocated $12.5 billion last year under the One Big Beautiful Bill to upgrade air traffic control infrastructure and equipment to enhance aviation safety. At an April 21 event, Duffy provided an update on the project, saying it is expected to be completed in about two and a half years.

Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has replaced nearly 50 percent of ​copper ⁠wires, converted 270 radio sites nationwide, installed new surface awareness systems at 54 airports, and transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips using the allocated budget from Congress.

“We are going to need more money for the software side of this build,” he said at the event.

“Congress is ... going to have to find a pathway to get us the rest of that money. It’s going to take us time to develop it, deploy it, debug it, train on it. And so getting that software started now, hopefully as our build completes with all of the infrastructure, we will have the technology of the software ready to meet up in two and a half years and have a brand new system for America to use.”

The Transportation Department said in January the overhaul would involve launching an airspace modernization office to oversee the installation of a new air traffic control system and creation of an advanced aviation technologies office to oversee the integration of drones and other air mobility vehicles into U.S. airspace.

The FAA will also move more key leadership posts to permanent roles and consolidate management of finance, information technology, and human resources under the administrator, according to the Transportation Department, adding that the restructuring will not lead to workforce reductions.

Multiple safety-related incidents happened at airports over the past year due to equipment issues. In May 2025, air traffic controllers in Denver were forced to switch to emergency backup frequencies after they lost contact with aircraft for about 90 seconds. The controllers had to use emergency backup because both primary and main backup frequencies went down.

Another incident took place in late April 2025, when controllers overseeing Newark Liberty International Airport lost contact with planes for about 30 seconds, leading to flight delays.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:20

Kevin Durant thought he saw the best version of the Lakers’ defense a month ago. After the Lakers beat the Rockets on March 18 in Houston for the second time in three days, Durant said, “This is the best version of their defense that they’re gonna bring out against us … if we do play...

There is a two-man battle brewing for the first offensive lineman to be drafted between Francis Maulgoa and Spencer Fano.

Check out what the oddsmakers and prediction markets are saying about who the Jets will pick at No. 16 overall.

Google is reportedly investigating the issue.

Two Armed Robbers Steal $1.8 Million From Brinks Armored Truck In Philadelphia

Authored by Bryan Jung via PJMedia.com,

Two masked men armed with rifles carried out a brazen daylight robbery of a Brinks armored truck  in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia, escaping with what authorities say could be as much as $1.8 million in cash.

Philadelphia Police Department officials told ABC 6 that the robbery occurred around 9:45 a.m on April 21 on the 7200 block of Torresdale Avenue, as the Brinks truck was servicing a Budget Financial Center.

Brinks is a national security and cash logistics company that transports money for banks and retailers.

According to law enforcement officials, a blue Acura SUV pulled into the lot, with two suspects dressed in black jumping out, brandishing rifles and confronting the driver before seizing bags of cash.

No injuries were reported, with the suspects fleeing the scene within seconds, witnesses said.

Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators shows the men exiting the vehicle and pointing a rifle at the armored truck employee.

Shortly after the heist, police located a blue Acura believed to have been used in the robbery under Interstate 95 near Front Street and Fairmount Avenue in the city’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now leading the investigation alongside local police, as authorities work to identify the suspects and recover the stolen cash.

This robbery follows a year-long string of armored truck heists in the Philadelphia region, including separate incidents in 2025 involving armored delivery trucks.

Three men were charged last June for stealing around $2 million from a truck in the Port Richmond robbery, while later that month, another pair of robbers with AR-style rifles held up a Loomis driver who was delivering cash to an Aldi store on Whitaker Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, taking around $100,000 and the driver's handgun.

Three men robbed a Brinks driver on July 2 at the Holmesburg Shopping Center on Frankford Avenue, stealing an undisclosed amount of cash and the driver’s firearm.

On July 15, two armed men armed with AR style rifles attempted to rob a Brinks driver in the Rhawnhurst section of Philadelphia, but fled after the driver opened fire.

The Brinks employee drew his duty weapon and began firing in the direction of the suspects, one of whom fled on foot, while the second drove away in a black Nissan Maxima from the scene.

On July 22, an armed man robbed around $700,000 from a Brinks truck outside an H Mart grocery store in Cheltenham, which was the scene of another Brinks robbery on August 12 by two unknown suspects.

The two suspects took a bag filled with money and fled the scene in a black Acura, which was later recovered, according to the FBI.

In October, two more men were indicted on charges of robbing Brinks trucks in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, and on Castor Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

Federal investigators have previously linked the multiple 2025 incidents involving Brinks trucks to organized criminal gangs using similar tactics, including stolen vehicles and high-powered firearms.

Officials are asking anyone with information to contact law enforcement as the suspects remain at large.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 14:40

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Trump Deploys Five Defense Production Act Memos For American Energy

President Trump signed five presidential determinations under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act on Monday. All five declare critical energy capacities essential to national defense and authorize federal purchases, commitments, and financing to cut through financing shortages, permitting delays, and supply chain choke points. 

Any mention of renewables are noticeably absent, as the administration has been pounding the table on the reliability of coal and natural gas, especially through the recent winter storm...

"Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast https://t.co/CvAfdeiwts

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 27, 2026

They sit under the national energy emergency we flagged back in January 2025. The moves target fossil fuel production and the infrastructure that actually moves power, while nuclear and geothermal get their own lanes.

Section 303 of the DPA allows the government to act as the financial support for these industries due to the administration’s interpretation that the private sector can't do it on their own. 

Domestic Petroleum Production, Refining, And Logistics Capacity

This determination covers exploration, production, refining, gathering and transmission pipelines, storage, and marine terminals. DPA authorities now back projects to secure jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline for the military and industrial base, cutting reliance on foreign suppliers that have weaponized energy in the past.

Coal Supply Chains And Baseload Power Generation Capacity

Coal mining, rail and barge transport, terminals, on site stockpiles, and plant life extensions all get the treatment. The memo stresses that baseload coal power remains irreplaceable for defense installations and the exploding electricity demand from AI and manufacturing. Federal support will speed maintenance and logistics that markets alone have left stalled.

Natural Gas Transmission, Processing, Storage, And LNG Capacity

Pipelines, compression, processing plants, underground storage, LNG liquefaction, and export facilities fall under this one. The goal is steady domestic supply plus stronger exports to allies. Long lead times for equipment and construction are the stated problem. 

Development, Manufacturing, And Deployment Of Large Scale Energy And Energy Related Infrastructure

This broader determination is for engineering, site acquisition, permitting, early stage financing, and domestic manufacturing capacity for large energy projects. It removes the capital and regulatory friction that has slowed big builds across the sector, creating a practical foundation for faster scaling wherever the need is greatest.

Grid Infrastructure, Equipment, And Supply Chain Capacity

Transformers, transmission lines, substations, high voltage breakers, power electronics, and the full upstream supply chain are targeted here. Aging equipment, foreign dependence, and slow domestic output threaten reliability. The action backs US manufacturing to harden the grid that must carry power from every source.

Nuclear and Geothermal

As we have tracked since the May 2025 executive orders, the nuclear fuel supply chain is already moving under its own DPA Consortium and related authorities, with the explicit target of quadrupling US nuclear output by 2050. 

Geothermal development was also left out of today's batch. It too appears to be advancing on its own parallel track through existing federal programs and private sector momentum that do not require another layer of Section 303 intervention right now.

These efforts could benefit from the expanded DPA authorities granted to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on March 13, 2026. In an amendment to the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order, President Trump delegated additional powers directly to the Energy Department, enabling Wright to invoke Section 303 authorities swiftly to restart critical domestic oil infrastructure and counter supply disruptions caused by the war. That same streamlined authority now positions Wright to accelerate implementation of yesterday's five determinations.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 14:20