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BREAKING: Two Pilots Dead at LaGuardia

An air traffic controller at LaGuardia Airport cleared a Port Authority fire truck onto an active runway at 11:40 PM Sunday, then screamed “stop” at least ten times as Air Canada Express Flight 8646 barreled in from Montreal at 150 miles per hour. Both pilots were killed instantly. Flight attendant Solange Tremblay was ejected from the aircraft while still strapped to her seat, thrown dozens of feet from the wreckage — her daughter called it “nothing short of a miracle.” The escape slides never deployed, leaving 72 passengers to organize their own evacuation in the dark, scrambling over the wings. “The flight attendant in the front got ejected from the plane, so we really did not have direction,” said passenger Rebecca Liquori. Dean noted the controller “has got to live with this for the rest of his life” and pointed out that air traffic controllers have the second-highest burnout rate of any profession in the world. The crash came at an airport already buckling — earlier that same day, travelers endured hourslong security lines because of TSA staffing shortages tied to the DHS shutdown. LaGuardia is 40% below safe staffing levels, controller retirements have surged from four a day to 15-20 during the shutdown, and DOGE fired 400 FAA employees back in February 2025. It is the first fatal accident at LaGuardia since 1992.

5️⃣ Trump Blocks TSA Deal, Sends ICE to Airports

Senate Majority Leader John Thune had a deal with Chuck Schumer to end the 43-day DHS shutdown — fund everything except ICE, get TSA workers back on the job, end the airport chaos. Trump killed it on Truth Social. “Donald Trump doesn’t give a f**k if that lasts,” Dean said, describing how Trump told Thune he wanted to keep the fight going for political leverage. “I don’t care how dangerous flying the friendly skies of the United States are. Because it’s more important to me that I look like I win this fight.” Trump’s solution: deploy untrained ICE agents to 15-20 airports starting Monday. “None of them are trained to do any TSA work, any screening, none of that,” Dean noted. “They’re trained for customs and border enforcement.” Meanwhile, ICE agents were filmed at airports without masks, some directing travelers to TGI Friday’s, others leaning on mezzanine railings with their heads in their hands. “I don’t know what the f**k we’re doing here, but we’re here.”

4️⃣ SAVE Act: Do It for Jesus

Trump appeared at an event in Tennessee and delivered what may be the most revealing moment of his presidency. He told Republican senators to tie voter ID and proof of citizenship to the DHS funding bill — the SAVE America Act — and skip Easter recess to get it done. Then he said it: “Make this one for Jesus.” Dean, who grew up in the evangelical faith, broke it down: “When you’re out of answers, when you need them to do something, you tell them it’s their God-given duty. Jesus died for you so you could pass the SAVE Act.” Trump was laughing as he said it, unable to keep a straight face. “He knows he’s misusing Jesus’s name,” Zev observed. “The idea that Jesus would have endorsed anything Donald Trump is doing is nonsensical.” The SAVE Act would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote — targeting communities of color, women, trans people, and anyone who’s undergone a name change. Trump has made it clear: this bill is more important to him than funding TSA, more important than airport safety, more important than ending the shutdown.

3️⃣ SCOTUS Signals Kill on Mail-In Voting

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could eliminate mail-in ballot grace periods in 18 states just in time for November’s midterms. The RNC is challenging Mississippi’s own Republican-passed law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive five days later. Only the three liberal justices appeared sympathetic. “This is part of the SAVE Act,” Dean said. “The SAVE Act is just this enormous go f**k yourself — we don’t want you voting. If you’re Black, if you’re trans, if you’re a woman, if you’ve undergone a name change, we want you to stay as far away from the polls.” A ruling by June would reshape the midterm elections.

HERE’S HOW GROUND NEWS ANALYZED THIS STORY

Ground News tracked coverage across the political spectrum: left-leaning outlets framed it as voter suppression targeting minorities and the elderly, center outlets focused on the legal question of federal versus state authority, and right-leaning outlets called it an election integrity measure to prevent late-arriving ballots from swinging results. Get 40% off Ground News by clicking here:

2️⃣ Columbus Statue Returns to the White House

While two pilots lay dead at LaGuardia, the White House installed a 13-foot replica of the Christopher Columbus statue torn down in Baltimore in 2020, rebuilt with pieces of the original. They also reinstalled the Confederate General Albert Pike statue. Dean had a take that surprised: “I actually applaud the return of the Christopher Columbus statue. Because to me, that’s truly what America was built on — a lie.” Zev pushed back, insisting America’s foundational ideas — government for and by the people — remain “the most incredible, beautiful things the world has ever been given.” Dean countered with data: Canadians have a 40% greater chance of moving between economic classes. The two sparred over whether America’s promise was real or myth, eventually agreeing the country needs “a reset of some sort.”

1️⃣ Iran: Trump’s Ghost Talks

Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran expired with no strikes and no explanation — just a Truth Social post about “very good and productive conversations.” Iran’s response: “There is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington.” Dean called it what it is: “Donald Trump had an entire two-day negotiating session with the Iranian regime that no one knew about — including the Iranian regime.” Zev noted that Trump’s entire financial future — his crypto holdings, his business interests — is tied to the region he accidentally set on fire. “I probably would invent an imaginary negotiation too,” Dean admitted. The new deadline is Friday. Iran is still enriching uranium. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. And the president of the United States may be talking to no one.

The Spring from Hell is here. Trump is blocking deals, invoking Jesus, deploying ICE to airports, and negotiating with ghosts — while two pilots lie dead on a runway. Welcome to the FiveStack.

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