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• A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered “severe turbulence” on Sunday.
• Local emergency services said at least 36 people were injured, 11 seriously.
• A Hawaiian Airlines executive said the plane had struck a “rare” air pocket.

Dozens of people were injured on Sunday when a Hawaiian Airlines flight traveling from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered “severe turbulence,” officials said.

Hawaiian Airlines flight 35 experienced turbulence shortly before landing in Hawaii at around 10:50 a.m., the company confirmed in a statement to Insider. The airline said 13 passengers and three crew members were transported to the hospital, while several others with minor injuries were treated at the airport.

—KWAM NewsTalk Memphis (@Mighty990KWAM) December 19, 2022

At least 36 people were injured, 11 of which had serious injuries, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said. Injuries included head injuries, cuts, bruises, and nausea. One person was also knocked unconscious, the director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, Jim Ireland, said at a press conference.

“The airline is supporting all affected passengers and employees and will provide additional information as it becomes available,” Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement.

—R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 18, 2022

According to Jon Snook, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines, the “fasten seatbelt” sign was on when the turbulence occurred, HawaiiNewsNow reported. “Sometimes, these air pockets occur with no warning. It’s rare to have that level of extreme turbulence. It was a very extreme case of mid-air turbulence,” he said.

Photos and videos shared on social media showed a damaged ceiling in the plane cabin, as well as passengers being taken away from the airport by emergency services.

—Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) December 18, 2022

One passenger told HNN that her mother had just sat down when the turbulence hit and as not yet buckled in: “She flew up and hit the ceiling.”

Another passenger, Jazmin Bitanga, told HNN that the plane experiences two “intense” altitude drops and that during one her boyfriend’s water bottle hit the ceiling so hard it caused a crack. She also said people around her were crying and bleeding.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

• Rep. Ro Khanna of California has long proposed regulations on Big Tech to preserve user rights.
• As controversies continue at Twitter, he argues for a balance of internal ethics and legal regulation.
• “I think the trajectory of technology is still a force for good,” he told Politico.

A self-described “technology optimist,” Rep. Ro Khanna of California is again advocating for balancing Big Tech ethics with consumer-protecting regulation as controversies continue following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

The Silicon Valley representative has long supported moderate regulation of online platforms, centering consumer data privacy and antitrust protections. In 2018, he proposed the Internet Bill of Rights, a list of principles designed to inform future legislation on tech issues, though he noted to Politico “there hasn’t been a lot of action” toward creating new laws since his proposal and no new antitrust legislation has been passed.

As Twitter has become central to the conversation around Big Tech in recent months — with potential international sanctions looming for Musk’s banning of journalists from the platform and some legislators calling for investigations into government requests to remove content prior to the change in leadership — Khanna recently made headlines as a rare Democratic voice criticizing the platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020.

“I say this as a total Biden partisan and convinced he didn’t do anything wrong,” Matt Taibbi reported Rep. Ro Khanna wrote in an email to the head of Twitter’s legal department, Vijaya Gadde, at the time. “But the story now has become more about censorship than relatively innocuous emails and it’s become a bigger deal than it would have been. It is also now leading to serious efforts to curtail section 230 — many of which would have been a mistake.”

Despite his concerns about Twitter, Khanna remains optimistic about the potential for technology companies to benefit society.

“I think most people are glad that they have the ability to search for information online in a way that’s probably greater than President Reagan had,” Khanna told Politico, maintaining his confident stance on the positive potential of technology that he has been known for since he was first elected in 2016. “They’re glad for the massive advancements in medical science that technology in Silicon Valley has afforded. They’re glad for the extraordinary achievements and climate, from batteries to electric vehicles to solar panels. I think the trajectory of technology is still a force for good.”

Khanna added that such technology has to be regulated “in the service of higher purpose,” with a realistic framework in mind to allow tech companies to create solutions to social problems.

“I think we need technology to solve climate,” Khanna told Politico. “We need technology to bring manufacturing back. We need technology to democratize voice in America. I don’t mind that we don’t have a Walter Cronkite telling us what the truth is; I think it’s a good thing that we have a proliferation of voices in this country.”

The current dominance of online platforms like Twitter over our political and economic lives, Khanna told Politico, leads him to believe more people need access to technology to address issues of data privacy and inequity and more technology companies are needed to prevent a digital monopoly.

“If technology companies are the architects of so much of modern life, then we need more people participating in it, more companies having an opportunity to shape that,” Khanna told Politico. “Otherwise, you have too few companies, too few individuals with power over American culture.”

The office of Rep. Khanna did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

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• Former Nixon attorney John Dean expects the Jan. 6 committee to recommend charges against Trump.
• He believes the committee has an “overwhelming case” against the former president.
• Dean argues Trump’s presidential bid “in a court of law should make no difference.”

John Dean, White House counsel for former President Richard Nixon, said he expects charges to be brought against former President Donald Trump this week because of the “overwhelming case” made by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection. 

According to Politico, the January 6 committee will decide through a vote Monday on whether to recommend charges against former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice and is poised to pursue that he be charged with insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the US government.

The committee is also expected to release a report on Wednesday, Insider previously reported. 

On Sunday, Dean, who is a CNN contributor, told CNN host Fredricka Whitfield that Monday will be a “historic day” because of the vote. He argues that the panel has a case to bring to the DOJ and that he would be surprised if no charges were filed given that the department has hired a special prosecutor.

“I think they have much more evidence than we know. We know from their ten hearings what they have generally laid out,” Dean said.

“I think even if they didn’t do Trump there are certainly many others, but I think they will include Trump. And that’s a unique problem in our system: We have not prosecuted a former president. There’s all kinds of political fallout from that. There are practical fallouts from that and there are legal fallouts from it,” he added.

Dean and Whitfield also compared Trump and former President Richard Nixon, who resigned after his involvement in Watergate began to be investigated. 

“The Senate Watergate committee didn’t venture this far when they were investigating Nixon,” Dean, who was appointed by Nixon to head the Watergate scandal investigation in 1972, said. But unlike Nixon, who was pardoned after the Watergate scandal led to his resignation, Trump has already announced his 2024 presidential bid.

“It’s hard to read his decision to run for president, and as early as he made it, as anything other than a defense of sorts that would cast the efforts to prosecute him in a very political light. That’s the way he would want it. That way he could attract attention to his base and say ‘Oh this is just a witch hunt, they don’t want me to win the presidency again.'”

Dean doubts his presidential bid will shield him from legal consequences: “Well I don’t think he’s going to win the presidency again. I’m not even sure he’ll with the nomination again, but this gives him some political cover which actually in a court of law should make no difference.”

“I think it’s very much about our democracy and not having our presidents abuse their power and use it to somehow corrupt the election process,” Dean added. 

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Ukraine’s military said Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the first official Ukrainian report of a Russian withdrawal on what is now the main front line in the south..

* Spain has stepped up security at public and diplomatic buildings after a spate of letter bombs, including one sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and another to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, where an official suffered minor injuries.

* Air raid alerts were issued across all of Ukraine following warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia was preparing a new wave of missile and drone strikes. “An overall air raid alert is in place in Ukraine. Go to shelters,” country’s border service wrote on Telegram messaging app.

* Ukraine’s military said it had found fragments of Russian-fired nuclear-capable missiles with dud warheads in west Ukraine, and that their apparent purpose was to distract air defences.

* The recently liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson has lost its power supply after heavy shelling by Russian forces, the regional governor said.

* European Union governments tentatively agreed on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, an EU diplomat said.

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on that big problems had accumulated in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), accusing the West of spurning the chance to make it a real bridge with Russia after the Cold War.

* Lavrov said that discussions with Washington about potential prisoner exchanges were being conducted by the two countries’ intelligence services, and that he hoped they would be successful.

* The European Union needs patience as it sanctions Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, as most measures will only have an impact in the medium and long term, Lithuania’s prime minister said in an interview at  the  Reuters NEXT conference.

* Switzerland has frozen financial assets worth 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($7.94 billion) as of Nov. 25 under sanctions against Russians to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.

* Russia said the German parliament’s move to recognise the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine as a Soviet-imposed genocide was an anti-Russian provocation and an attempt by Germany to whitewash its Nazi past.

* Ukraine sacked a top engineer at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, accusing him of collaborating with Russian forces, and urged other Ukrainian staff at the plant to remain loyal to Kyiv.

* Russia must withdraw its heavy weapons and military personnel from the Zaporizhzhia plant if the U.N. atomic watchdog’s efforts to create a protection zone are to succeed, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

* In a grim sign of the energy crisis caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid, nine people have been killed in fires over the past 24 hours as Ukrainians resorted to emergency generators, candles and gas cylinders in violation of safety rules to try to heat their homes after power outages.

* “Remember one thing – the Russians are afraid. And they are very cold and no one will help them, because they do not have popular support,” – Andriy Yermak, chief of Ukrainian presidential staff.

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Senator and insurrection enabler Tom Cotton of Arkansas went nuts this week, angrily spewing about the dangers of journalists being allowed to do their jobs. All of this started because of legislation is known as the PRESS Act. The purpose of this legislation is to offer journalists a measure of protection by not allowing the United States government to order them to disclose sources.

Sadly, Cotton did not like this legislation. And he let us know that loud and clear. “It would treat the press as a special caste of crusaders for truth,” he yelled. “The PRESS act would immunize journalists and leakers alike from scrutiny and consequences for their actions.”

This diatribe lives up to Cotton’s loony reputation. In recent years, Cotton, out of all the Senators, has been high on the list in his transition to being Donald Trump. These comments of his make little sense and actually sound a bit like something the Donald would say.

But it gets worse. Because Cotton, seemingly growing more unhinged by the moment, started carrying on about The Pentagon Papers. “During the Vietnam War,” Cotton pontificated, “The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers in an effort to demoralize the American people and turn them against the war effort.”

Sigh. Save us from lunatic republicans who know nothing about history. The PRESS act, which had bi-partisan support, unfortunately, did not make it to the omnibus Bill. And that is mainly because of Senator Tom Cotton. He evidently believes journalists are not supposed to do their job. In the meantime, Cotton might want to do a deep-dive into history to understand the Pentagon Papers. But being that he’s Tom Cotton, he most likely will not.

The post GOP Senator Tom Cotton goes off the deep end appeared first on Palmer Report.

A group of investors has tabled resolutions urging four of the world’s top oil and gas companies to set broad climate targets for 2030, reviving pressure on the sector after a year that saw governments shift their focus to energy security.

Activist group Follow This said it had co-filed the resolutions with six major institutional investors managing $1.3 trillion in assets ahead of the annual general meetings of BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Shell (SHEL.L) next year.

In the resolutions, the investors call on the companies to set targets to reduce by 2030 greenhouse gas emissions including those from fuel sold to customers, known as Scope 3 emissions, which account for the vast majority of the sector’s pollution.

Investors have in recent years ramped up pressure on the oil and gas sector to help tackle climate change, and the Follow This climate-related resolutions have drawn growing support among shareholders.

However, last year the efforts largely sputtered as investors turned their focus more to higher energy prices and energy security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BP, Shell and Chevron have all set some 2030 greenhouse emissions reduction targets that include Scope 3, though Follow This said they are not aligned with the United Nations’ ambitions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Chevron said it values input from shareholders and will evaluate any proposal received.

BP did not respond to requests for comment.

Shell said it believed its targets are aligned with the U.N. climate targets.

“Follow This has consistently proposed shareholder resolutions that are simplistic, unrealistic and against the best interests of Shell. We remain committed to constructive engagement with our investors,” a Shell spokesperson said.

The group of investors co-filing the resolutions includes Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, Degroof Petercam Asset Management and Achmea Asset Management. Follow This did not provide the names of the other backers.

“We recognize Shell has made tremendous improvement in its climate targets. Nevertheless, it still lacks an absolute 2030 (emission reduction) target,” Jean-Philippe Desmartin, head of Responsible Investment at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management told Reuters.

Shell, BP and European peers including TotalEnergies and Eni have set out strategies and targets to slash emissions to net-zero by 2050 by reducing oil and gas output and growing low-carbon and renewable energy businesses.

“The focus on Scope 3 by 2030 leaves the oil majors no wiggle room for smokescreens about ‘net zero emissions by 2050’,” Follow This founder Mark van Baal said.

In the United States, 2022 saw a wave of efforts driven by Republican politicians and right-leaning investors to focus executives’ attention away from environmental, social or governance (ESG) themes.

Activist investor Strive Asset Management, for instance, is seeking a shareholder vote at the springtime meeting of Chevron to reverse a Scope 3 emissions reduction mandate.

Exxon and Chevron have in the past successfully blocked attempts to file climate resolutions with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images

• Former President Donald Trump wanted reporters to cover a private event he was hosting.
• Advisers then had to explain why he could no longer call on a press pool for his events.
• Advisers found reporters who happened to be working near the area for his event, the Washington Post reported.

Aides and advisers to former President Donald Trump said he had a difficult time transitioning from the White House to life as a private citizen, according to a new report from the Washington Post.

According to the Post, one example of this was when Trump wanted his team to call on a press pool — reporters who travel with presidents — for an event at Mar-a-Lago. Advisers had to break the news to Trump that this was no longer a possibility. 

“We had to explain to him that he didn’t have a group standing around waiting for him anymore,” an unnamed former aide told the Washington Post.

The advisers ended up pulling reporters who were near Mar-a-Lago for other reasons, two sources told the Post.

Once Trump left office, he was frustrated at his downsized life, which included a smaller number of Secret Service, no access to Air Force One, and little press coverage compared to when he was president, four unnamed advisers to Trump told the Post. 

Trump has spent most of his post-presidency in isolation at Mar-a-Lago, playing golf six days a week and using dinner at the club as an opportunity to revel in the attention of admiring fans who applaud his entrances and exits from the dining room.

The praise he receives from guests at his Palm Beach, Florida, and Bedminster, New Jersey, clubs is how he gets the attention he became used to as president, an aide told the Post.

“The appetite for attention hasn’t waned, but that’s where he gets it now,” an unnamed Trump confidant told the Washington Post.”The networks don’t carry his rallies. He doesn’t get interviews anymore. He can’t stand under the wing of Air Force One and gaggle [with reporters] for an hour.”

He has also spent less time being challenged by aides and listening to opposition from political opponents, colleagues, and independent journalists, the Post reported.

Trump is now seeking a second term in the White House. On November 24, he announced his bid for president in 2024. Meanwhile, he continues to face mounting legal and political challenges.

The January 6 committee investigating Trump’s role during the 2021 insurrection at the Capitol is expected to recommend at least three criminal charges — insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the US government — against the former president to the Department of Justice.

Although the recommendations hold no legal weight, the committee hopes the action will influence Attorney General Merrick Garland to take action against the former president, Politico reported.

Trump is also still facing an investigation from the Department of Justice after the FBI, executing a search warrant, found classified documents that the former president took with him from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago home. 

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

(NewsNation) — After participating in an experimental vaccine trial, three people with terminal cancer saw their disease vanish in just months.

Dr. Thomas Marron, an oncologist, is a member of the team who helped develop the vaccine at Mount Sinai’s Vaccine and Cell Therapy Laboratory in New York.

Upon reviewing one of his patient’s scans following the vaccine, Dr. Marron said it felt like winning the lottery.

“Whenever you see something that you developed in the laboratory, you know, you develop most of the vaccines in mice, when you see it actually work in humans and really change someone’s life for the better, it’s the most rewarding feeling I can imagine,” Dr. Marron said.

The trial of the experimental vaccine, that includes at least 17 shots into the tumor and eight other immunotherapy injections, worked for less than half of the 10 patients enrolled.

The trial proved successful for Anna Bochenski, who describes it as a “second chance at life.” Bochenski was diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer four years ago. Now, her cancer is in remission.

“My tumors melted. I had three tumors. Within a time, they disappeared. Of course, I’m still going for treatments I have, you know, doctors watching over me and checking me. But if not for that vaccine, I don’t think I would be talking to you right now,” Bochenski told NewsNation Prime.

Bochenski said the vaccine trial had a physical impact on her, but she tried to keep a positive mind throughout the process.

“I was always trying to be very positive. I think it’s a big part of the fight, is that you have to put your mindset. I remember telling Dr. Marron, ‘Look, if the mouse made it, I’m going to make it as well.’ It was intense because I had to be there every single day, and once I started getting the vaccine, it was a very traumatic experience for me because my whole body went into a delirium for three hours,” Bochenski said. “I was shivering. I was not able to keep even a bottle of water in my hand … We found that my body was really fighting. My immune system was really fighting. If not for that vaccine, I don’t think I would be here.”

During the trial, researchers injected the vaccines directly into the site of the tumor, training the immune system to destroy it.

“Just like the flu shot or the coronavirus has dead flu or coronavirus along with the thing that activates the vaccine, the tumor itself is the dead stuff that we’re teaching your immune system to recognize and kill. So hopefully your immune system not only kills the tumor we’re directly injecting in the clinic but also all of the other cancer cells that are throughout the body. Those are the ones that are the real problem,” Dr. Marron explained.

The study is in extremely early stages, but researchers are trying to learn from their patients and develop new iterations of the vaccine. For Bochenski, she says the experience changed her life.

“It was just amazing. It was like you’re getting a second chance at life. So being really sad and worried that there’s nothing, there’s no hope. Then all of a sudden, there was hope,” Bochenski said. “I truly hope that one day cancer is going to disappear.”

Dr. Marron says the field of vaccines is moving quickly. At this time, he believes the more personalized vaccines are not practical for large-scale use just yet, but he hopes it will be able to help more people in the next few years.