News Wrap: Newark airport suffers another radar outage

Geoff Bennett:

The day's other headlines begin at Newark's International Airport, where air traffic controllers suffered a second radar outage in as many weeks.

The FAA says the facility in Philadelphia directing planes in and out of Newark went dark for 90 seconds early this morning. That's similar to last week's blackout, which led to hundreds of flight delays and cancellations. The knock-on effects of today's glitch are unclear.

It comes a day after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar proposal aimed at updating the nation's run-down air traffic control system.

The Trump administration will soon bring dozens of white Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees. That's according to multiple documents from the Office of Refugee Resettlement obtained by the "News Hour" and a government official familiar with the matter. Roughly 54 Afrikaners are expected to arrive Monday at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. They will then move on for resettlement in 10 states.

In a February executive order, President Trump made resettling the South African ethnic group a priority. That's all while the administration has blocked virtually all other refugee admissions. The White House today defended its decision to bring Afrikaners to the U.S.

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary:

This group in South Africa has faced racial persecution. In fact, the government there has vowed to take away their farmland that they own. And so the president has talked significantly about this.

Geoff Bennett:

Leavitt was referring to a recent South African law that allows the government to seize land from private owners. Its government says no such seizures have yet taken place. Officials also say that granting refugee status to Afrikaners, many of whom are descended from Dutch colonizers, ignores the country's history of apartheid.

Democrats are outraged after President Trump abruptly fired the librarian of Congress. Carla Hayden was appointed by President Obama back in 2016. Her 10-year term would have expired next year. She was the first woman in first African American to serve in the role. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called her firing unjust, saying it's part of Trump's ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history, and turn back the clock.

The Library of Congress holds a huge collection of rare books and historical artifacts. The Trump administration has not yet announced a replacement.

Meantime, the U.S. Postal Service has tapped a FedEx board member to lead the organization. The selection of David Steiner to be the nation's 76th postmaster general comes as President Trump and other officials have floated the idea of privatizing the service. Postal unions have protested that idea. The U.S. Postal Service continues to face serious financial headwinds. Just today, it reported a $3.3 billion loss for the quarter.

Turning now to England, where a jury found two men guilty today of cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree. The iconic tourist site once stood along the ancient Hadrian's Wall in Northern England, but was cut down in 2023. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were found guilty on two counts each of criminal damage.

The pair denied taking part, but prosecutors used digital evidence, including this grainy cell phone video, to show they cut the tree down at night with a chain saw. The judge ordered them held in jail until their sentencing in July, when they could face long prison sentences.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended the week on a subdued note. The Dow Jones industrial average ticked about 100 points lower on the day. The Nasdaq ended virtually unchanged. The S&P 500 dipped just four points, so roughly flat.

And Liam and Olivia are once again the most popular baby names in the country. That's according to an annual ranking from the Social Security Administration. When it comes to boys names, Liam is joined by, in order, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and James. And the top five names for girls include Emma, Amelia, Charlotte and Mia.

The Social Security Administration has been tracking names since the 1880s. The agency released this year's list in time for Mother's Day. Geoff, sadly, did not make the cut. Maybe next year.