Royal Jordanian Airlines told passengers on flights to and from the U.S. Monday that because of a directive from the U.S. government, no laptops and other electronic devices could be brought into the cabin of a plane.
In messages posted on both Twitter and Facebook and now deleted, the international carrier said cellphones and electronic devices needed for medical reasons could be carried on-board,but everything else had to be stowed in checked baggage “following instructions from the concerned U.S. departments.”
The directive takes effect Tuesday, and applies to flights to and from New York, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal.
According to a Royal Jordanian spokesperson, so far there is no time frame and the airline has no information about any directives that may have been issued to other carriers. Royal Jordanian will provide an update with more details on Tuesday.
Major European clients are pulling their ad dollars out of Google and YouTube because of fears that their ads will end up next to videos promoting terrorism, racism and hate, and earn money for the extremists who posted the content.
Three of Britain’s biggest banks just removed their ads from Google when they saw their campaigns appearing next to extremist content.
According to Adweek and the Guardian, ad agency giant Havas Worldwide has also yanked all its ad money out of Google and YouTube in Britain, after Havas and Google couldn’t agree on how to keep the ads of French firm’s clients away from videos of terrorists and white supremacists.
McDonald’s, Audi, and the U.K. government have already stopped using the platforms in the U.K., amid concerns that extremist groups will earn money from their advertising. When an ad appears alongside a YouTube video, the individual or organization that posted video earns a small amount of money per viewing of the video.
President Donald Trump’s family is reportedly headed to the ski resort town of Aspen this weekend, a trip that could cost taxpayers a pretty penny in security costs judging by the clan’s recent globe-trotting.
The Trump family visit to Aspen has not been officially announced, but the Aspen Times, quoting anonymous local law enforcement sources, reported Thursday that Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka Trump and their families were expected and that the Secret Service had met with the Aspen Police Department.
There are no hotel bills for Aspen in the Federal Procurement Data System yet, but the database does show a $12,208.25 contract by the Secret Service with Aspen Valley Ski/Snowboard Club for “recreational good rental/ski equipment lease” between the dates of March 10 and March 23.
No further details were given, and the club’s spokeswoman did not respond to requests for more information.
Federal documents examined by NBC News outline hotel bills for the U.S. Secret Service and State Department coinciding with other out-of-town visits by Trump’s sons and daughters, including:
- $53,155.25 during Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump’s business trip to Vancouver in late February.
- $16,738.36 during Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s business trip to Dubai in mid-February.
- $97,830 for Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay in early January.
In addition, the records show the Secret Service spent $4,0162.02 on rental vehicles in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29, just ahead of Eric Trump’s business visit to Cap Cana.
Gondola at Aspen
Grafton Smith
/ Getty Images
March Madness is not a threat to our national security, but Pentagon officials are giving employees their annual reminder not to go crazy over college basketball. In an email sent Wednesday night, the Defense Department asked workers not to stream games from the tournament or they would feat up the Pentagon’s valuable internet bandwidth, and slow down the computers that run the U.S. military:
“Your JSP support team acknowledges and appreciates that college basketball fans within the DoD are excited to cheer on their favorite teams, update brackets, and otherwise obsess over the Big Dance.”
“Please keep in mind; if you’re streaming video to watch your favorite player shooting free throws, you’re consuming network resources that could be served to support the Warfighter.”
Documents released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee show a representative from RT, the Russian television network, successfully negotiating a lower speaking fee from Mike Flynn, the retired general who served briefly as Donald Trump’s national security advisor before stepping down amid questions about his foreign ties.
Flynn spoke at an RT conference in December 2015, and was famously seated at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin. The documents released this afternoon by the Oversight Democrats show Flynn’s booking agent for speeches, a company called Leading Authorities, negotiating logistics for the visit with the head of marketing for RT, a state-sponsored broadcaster.
Click Here to Read the Documents
While critics have suggested that Flynn was influenced by Russian money, the email chain shows RT asking for a discount, and getting a quick yes from Flynn’s rep.
“Sorry it took us longer to get back to you” writes Alina Mikhaleva of RT on Nov. 9, 2015, “but the problem is that the speaking fee is a bit too high and exceeds our budget at the moment, so we had to negotiate it with the management. Do you think there is any possibility to reduce the price to 45K?”
Flynn’s rep responds, “Great news! He has accepted (followed by a smiley face emoticon) … I can get a contract over to you stat.”
The size of the fee Flynn originally requested is not in the document, but at the time Leading Authorities was asking for up to $55,000 for appearances in Europe and $75,000 for events in Asia, according to Yahoo News.
The top Republican and top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Defense Department on Feb. 17 saying they were looking into Flynn’s speaking engagements.
“We are attempting to determine the amount Lieutenant General Flynn received for his appearance, the source of the funding, and whether he may have received payments from any other foreign sources for additional engagements,” wrote Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R.-Utah, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D.-Maryland.
The Russian spy ship that transited up and back down the East Coast of the United States in February is taking another lap — and making no waves in Washington.
Last month’s trip by the SSV-175 Viktor Leonov, though routine, made headlines because it appeared at an intriguing moment in U.S.-Russian relations.
After making its way back down the coast, it had a port call in Havana for a couple of weeks and then embarked on a return trip.
As of Wednesday morning, it was about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Georgia, staying well outside of U.S. territorial waters and conducting a perfectly legal transit, according to one U.S. military official.
The official said the ship is expected to head north along the coast and then turn back around and head to a port call in Jamaica. As NBC News reported last month, its limited and outdated electronic eavesdropping gear…
