02/11/25 - The News

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

At least 1 dead and 3 injured after a private jet owned by Vince Neil crashed into another upon arrival in Arizona

February 11, 2025 0

 At least one person is dead and three injured after a small business jet crashed into a parked plane as it arrived at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, just east of Phoenix, on Monday afternoon.

The arriving plane is owned by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil, according to a representative for the singer. The jet had two pilots and two passengers, but Neil was not onboard, attorney Worrick Robinson said in a statement.





“Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today,” Robinson said.

One person died in the crash and three were hurt, according to city spokesperson Kelli Kuester. Officials earlier said four were hurt. The three who were injured were taken to hospitals, Kuester said.Monday’s crash is the fourth deadly US aircraft accident in the past two weeks, following a fatal midair collision near Washington, DC, that killed all 67 people onboard both aircraft, the crash of a medevac jet in Philadelphia, killing seven, and a crash near Nome, Alaska, that claimed the lives of all 10 people on board a commuter flight.

Neil’s Learjet 35A aircraft – emblazoned with a maroon and gold paint scheme resembling flames – was arriving from Austin, Texas, when it veered off the runway and crashed into a parked Gulfstream G200 jet, Kuester said at a Monday news conference. One person was inside the Gulfstream at the time of the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“It appears that the left main gear failed upon landing resulting in the accident,” she said.

The Gulfstream is operated by JetPros, a private charter service.“There were no injuries on board the Gulfstream, but external damages were sustained to the aircraft,” the company said in a statement provided to CNN.

“We are cooperating fully with airport authorities and relevant agencies as they conduct a thorough review of the situation.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is at the scene and leading the investigation into the crash, said Kuester. In response to a CNN inquiry, the NTSB said only that it is investigating.

Scottsdale Airport is a popular aviation hub for private jets coming in and out of the Phoenix area, especially during major events like last weekend’s Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament, which brands itself as the largest zero-waste sporting event in the world.

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What is Fort Bragg? Hegseth restores Army base name from Fort Liberty.

February 11, 2025 0

 The base was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 to disassociate from Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. It’s now named after Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero.Outside Fayetteville, North Carolina, lies one of the largest military bases in the world. You may know it as Fort Bragg, as it was named in 1922, or Fort Liberty, as it was renamed in 2023 to disassociate it from the Confederate general it was named after. On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth restored its name to Fort Bragg but said it would honor a World War II hero who shares the same last name.

Here’s what to know about Fort Bragg and the controversy surrounding its name.

The facts

  • The base was originally named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, a plantation owner who enslaved people.
  • Its name was changed from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty in 2023 as part of efforts to rename military installations honoring Confederate officers.
  • On Monday, Hegseth directed the Army to rename the base Fort Roland L. Bragg in honor of “a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge,” the Pentagon said. Pfc. Roland Bragg was an Army paratrooper and mechanic who was credited with saving a wounded soldier’s life by driving him in a stolen German ambulance to an Allied hospital in Belgium.
  • President Donald Trump pledged to restore the base’s original name during the 2024 campaign.

 




What is Fort Bragg?

The military installation is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command.

Established in 1918 as Camp Bragg, the facility was upgraded in 1922 and renamed Fort Bragg.

It is now one of the largest military complexes in the world, according to the Army, hosting some 57,000 service members, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family members.

Who was Braxton Bragg?

Braxton Bragg, after whom the military base was originally named, was a sugar plantation owner who enslaved 105 people. He described Abraham Lincoln as a “despotic ruler,” and biographers have noted Bragg’s racism.He was also “considered one of the worst generals of the Civil War,” since “most of the battles he was involved in ended in defeat,” according to a 2022 report by the commission appointed by Congress to rename the military installations.

“Bragg was temperamental, a harsh disciplinarian, and widely disliked in the pre-Civil War U.S. Army and within the Confederate Army by peers and subordinates alike throughout his career,” the report said.

What prompted the name change to Fort Liberty in 2023?

On Jan. 1, 2021, months after the murder of George Floyd sparked mass protests and public scrutiny of Confederate symbols, Congress passed a defense authorization bill that included an order for the Pentagon to change the names of installations honoring members of the Confederacy within three years.

Trump, then in his first term, vetoed the bill, but it had bipartisan support. Other opponents of the legislation included Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), both of whom blamed the move on “political correctness.”

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