The FAA says human error is to blame for grounded flights; U.S. lawmakers get pay raise; and young girl finds a megalodon tooth. These stories and more highlight the midday rundown for Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.
FAA blames human error for outage
The FAA is now saying personnel, not following procedure while accessing their system, caused an error and damaged a data file. The system is apparently 30 years old and there are no plans to update it for at least another six years. The human error grounded all flights across the U.S. for several hours on Wednesday.
It is now being reported that Canada also experienced an issue in their system at the same time as the U.S. outage, but officials have said the outages are unrelated.
House could expunge Trump impeachment
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he’s willing to look at expunging former president Donald Trump’s impeachment.
The two impeachments on Trump were largely partisan as Republicans in the House were outraged at the time. Now that the GOP is back in control, they could possibly take up a resolution that would expunge the impeachment and remove it from the historical record.
House lawmakers get pay a raise
A new rule passed quietly in the House last year could give house lawmakers as much as a $34,000 tax-free pay raise. The rule was passed late in December, while Democrats still had control of the chamber.
The House was able to pass a new policy that reimburses members for any expenses that may occur on the job in Washington.
That includes the cost of lodging, food and travel while on official business in Washington, D.C. The place they live for about one-third of the year. Washington, D.C. has one of the highest costs of living in the country.
Maryland girl finds megalodon tooth
A family from Maryland discovered a shark tooth in the waters off the east coast.Not just any shark tooth, but a tooth that belonged to a megalodon.
A paleontologist examined the fossil and confirmed it once belonged inside the jaw of a massive 50-foot shark. A specific species of megalodon that once roamed the ocean 4 million years ago.
The family’s nine-year-old daughter discovered the tooth in shallow water during a low tide.