Poland sending jets to Ukraine, another US airport close call: March 17 rundown

KARAH RUCKER: POLAND HAS BECOME THE FIRST NATO ALLY TO SEND UKRAINE FIGHTER JETS IN ITS WAR WITH RUSSIA.

THIS IS STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS. UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS.

POLAND TO SEND JETS TO UKRAINE

UKRAINE WILL BE RECEIVING ABOUT A DOZEN FIGHTER JETS FROM POLAND –WITH THE FIRST SHIPMENT SET TO ARRIVE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

POLAND WILL BECOME THE FIRST NATO ALLY TO FULFILL UKRAINE’S INCREASING NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR WARPLANES. THEY WILL SEND ANYWHERE FROM 11 TO 19 OF ITS OWN FIGHTER JETS.

THE POLAND PRESIDENT SAID THEY ARE SOVIET-MADE AND ARE IN THEIR LAST YEARS OF FUNCTIONING.

POLAND WAS ALSO THE FIRST NATO NATION TO SUPPLY UKRAINE WITH TANKS. POLAND DID NOT SAY WHETHER OTHER COUNTRIES PLAN TO FOLLOW SUIT.

THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS POLAND’S DECISION DOES NOT CHANGE AMERICA’S STANCE ON HOLDING OFF TO SUPPLY SUCH JETS TO UKRAINE.

OUR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT RAY BOGAN DISCUSSED WHERE SOME SENATORS STAND ON THE ISSUE. YOU CAN FIND HIS REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM.

XI JINPING TO VISIT VLADIMIR PUTIN

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING WILL TRAVEL TO RUSSIA NEXT WEEK TO HOLD TALKS WITH PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN. CHINA’S VISIT COMES JUST ONE MONTH AFTER THE COUNTRY PUBLISHED A 12-POINT PLAN TO END THE WAR – WHICH WAS MET WITH SKEPTICISM BY MEMBERS OF NATO – SINCE CHINA HAS PREVIOUSLY VOWED A “NO LIMITS” PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA.

A SENIOR CHINESE DIPLOMAT CALLED UKRAINE’S FOREIGN MINISTER ON THURSDAY TO DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONS

WHILE XI IS VISITING PUTIN IN PERSON – THE DIPLOMAT ALSO SAID CHINA WILL HOLD VIRTUAL MEETING WITH UKRAINE’S VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY.

Wang Jiangyu | LAW PROFESSOR, City University of Hong Kong: “If China can do anything, given the slightest to end the war, or to a lesser extent, to bring the parties together, to have the talk, it marks the beginning of China playing a global leadership role, which used to be solely played by the United States.”

TWO TRAINS DERAIL, ONE SPILLS DIESEL

TWO BNSF TRAINS DERAILED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS THURSDAY – ONE IN ARIZONA AND ANOTHER IN WASHINGTON STATE THAT LED TO DIESEL FUEL SPILLING ON TRIBAL LAND.

NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED IN EITHER INCIDENT AND THE CAUSES ARE BOTH UNDER INVESTIGATION.

FIVE THOUSAND GALLONS OF SPILLED DIESEL CAME CLOSE TO REACHING A NEARBY BODY OF WATER BUT OFFICIALS SAID THERE’S NO INDICATIONS THE SPILL REACHED THE WATER OR AFFECTED ANY WILDLIFE.

THE OTHER SPILL IN ARIZONA INVOLVED TRAIN CARS CARRYING CORN SYRUP — A LESS DANGEROUS CARGO.

THE U.S. AVERAGES 3 TRAIN DERAILMENTS A DAY – BUT THERE IS ADDED SCRUTINY OVER THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR RIGHT NOW AFTER HIGH-PROFILE SPILLS THIS YEAR.

IT’S NOT JUST TRAIN DERAILMENTS CREATING HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY OF THE U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS AT AIRPORTS IN RECENT MONTHS. THE LATEST JUST COMING TO LIGHT YESTERDAY.

LAST MONTH IN SARASOTA FLORIDA – TWO PLANES ENCOUNTERED A CLOSE CALL AFTER ONE PASSENGER JET WAS GIVEN CLEARANCE FOR TAKEOFF – AND ANOTHER GRANTED CLEARANCE FOR LANDING ON THE SAME RUNWAY.

THE OUTBOUND AIR CANADA ROUGE FLIGHT WAS HEADED FOR TORONTO WHILE THE INCOMING AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT CAME FROM CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD – THE TWO PLANES CAME WITHIN SIX-TENTHS OF A MILE, OR ROUGHLY THREE THOUSAND FEET OF ONE ANOTHER.

THE PILOTS OF THE AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE ABORTED LANDING TO AVOID A POTENTIAL COLLISION.

AN AVIATION SUMMIT WAS HELD THIS WEEK WITH VARIOUS AIRLINE AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG – TO LOOK INTO OVERALL SAFETY OF THE INDUSTRY.

EXPERTS DISCUSSED HOW TO AVOID A CATASTROPHIC EVENT – AS U-S AIRPLANE NEAR-MISSES KEEP COMING.

FORD RECALLS 1.2 MILLION CARS

FORD HAS ANNOUNCED A RECALL OF MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION OF ITS VEHICLES OVER AN ISSUE WITH ITS BRAKE FLUID HOSES.

THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION SAID “FORD FUSIONS” AND “LINCOLN M-K-Z’S” SOLD BETWEEN 2013 AND 2018 HAVE AN ISSUE WHERE THE FRONT BRAKE HOSES MAY RUPTURE.

THE AGENCY SAID A BRAKE FLUID LEAK CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. FORD DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IMPACTED BRAKE HOSES FOR FREE.

TRUMP JAN. 6 SINGLE REMOVED FROM ITUNES

ON THURSDAY – ITUNES NUMBER ONE SONG ON THE CHARTS WAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED FROM THE PLATFORM FOR SEVERAL HOURS – ACCORDING TO A BREITBART EXCLUSIVE.

FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S DEBUT SINGLE “JUSTICE FOR ALL” FEATURES AN ENSEMBLE OF JANUARY 6TH PRISONERS – HAS SPENT ONE WEEK AT NUMBER ONE ON THE ITUNES CHART – BEATING OUT BIG NAME CELEBRITIES WITH RECENT RELEASES – INCLUDING MILEY CYRUS, TIM MCGRAW, AND MORGAN WALLEN.

BUT THE SONG ISN’T NUMBER ONE ANYMORE FOLLOWING ITS TEMPORARY REMOVAL.

A SENIOR APPLE MUSIC REPRESENTATIVE SAID THE SONG’S REMOVAL WAS DUE TO AN ERROR – AND HAS SINCE BEEN RESTORED.

UPSETS KILL HOPES OF PERFECT BRACKETS 

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY — MARCH MADNESS UPSETS IN ROUND ONE HAVE OBLITERATED MOST MARCH MADNESS BRACKETS CHANCES OF BEING PERFECT.

A NUMBER 15 SEED IN PRINCETON KNOCKED OFF NUMBER TWO SEED ARIZONA. THEN 13-SEED FURMAN PUSHED OUT A FAVORED FOURTH-SEED IN “VIRGINIA”.

OF THE MILLIONS OF BRACKETS SUBMITTED – THE NCAA’S MARCH MADNESS TWEETED ONLY 787 PERFECT BRACKETS REMAIN.

ANOTHER 16 FIRST ROUND GAMES ARE SLATED FOR TODAY.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP HEADLINES ON THIS FRIDAY MORNING.

THANKS FOR WATCHING THE DAILY RUNDOWN WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.

WE’RE ON A MISSION TO BRING BACK TRUSTWORTHY JOURNALISM BY ONLY SERVING YOU — NOT AN AGENDA. 

WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE MONDAY MORNING.

UNTIL THEN, I’M KARAH RUCKER…HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!