Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 2, 2022
A Pilot for a JetBlue Flight was removed from the jet after a TSA agent thought he was impaired and called the NFTA Police. 52 year old James Clifton of Orlando Florida blew a .17 on a breathalyzer test. He was taken into custody and federal authorities were notified. He was released to JetBlue security and may face federal charges. The flight, JetBlue 2465, was delayed four hours and 10 minutes according to data from FlightAware. JetBlue released a statement affirming their zero tolerance policies for alcohol use and say they are investigating and cooperating with law enforcement.
A judge has rejected an effort by New York’s attorney general to put the National Rifle Association out of business, but will allow her lawsuit accusing top executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the powerful gun advocacy organization to proceed. Manhattan Judge Joel M. Cohen said allegations of NRA officials misspending on personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures can be addressed by other remedies, such as fines and remuneration, and do not warrant the “corporate death penalty” that Attorney General Letitia James had sought.
This week, the New York Republicans gave U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin their stamp of approval heading into a potential primary in the race for governor. Gerard Kassar, chair of the New York Conservative Party, says the conditions are right for Zeldin to make it all the way to the Governor’s Mansion. Despite not being one of the major political parties, the Conservative Party remains an influential force in New York politics due to the state’s electoral fusion rules. These rules allow a candidate to run on multiple party lines in an election. The Conservative Party has traditionally supported the Republican statewide ticket and brought in over 200,000 votes for the GOP gubernatorial nominee in the last three elections. If Zeldin is successful in November, he will be the first Republican and Conservative backed candidate to win statewide office since George Pataki won a third term in 2002.
GLOW Arc and Notre Dame’s Athletics department will be having a fundraising 5k Run slash Walk, Running with the Irish on March 12th. The Fun Run starts at 9 a.m. and is for kids ages 3-12 and will be held at Vandetta Stadium. The Fun Run is 1/2 mile run (two laps around the track) and registration is $10 with an option to purchase a T-shirt for an additional $10. The 5K/Walk will start at 10 am across the street at Notre Dame, 73 Union St, in the driveway. Registration is $25 and comes with a free T-shirt if you register before March 5th. After that registration costs $30 and supplies of T-shirts maybe be limited. A corned beef and cabbage meal is also available for preorder from T.F. Brown’s and can be picked up at the race. There will only be 100 meals available.
The Buffalo Sabres won against the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night 5 to 1 breaking their 6 game streak of losses. Jacob Bryson, Victor Olofsson, Kyle Okposo, Jeff Skinner, and Tage Thompson scored for the Buffalo team. The Sabres go up against the Minnesota Wild at the Keybank Center on Friday at 7pm.
