Anti-Drone Laser Is Said to Have Caused El Paso Airport Chaos, and Bondi Refuses to Apologize to Epstein Victims
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What caused the El Paso airport chaos involving anti-drone technology?
My name is Thomas Gibesneff. I'm a journalist at the New York Times. I served in the Marine Corps as an infantryman. When it comes to reporting on the front line, I think nothing is more important than talking to the people involved, hearing their stories and being able to connect that with people thousands of miles away. Anything that can make something like this more personal, I think, is well worth the risk. New York Times subscribers make it possible for us to keep doing this vital coverage. If you'd like to subscribe, you can do that at nytimes.com slash subscribe.
From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, February 12th. Here's what we're covering.
I want to be very, very clear that this should have never happened. You cannot restrict airspace over a major city. without coordinating with the city.
In El Paso, Texas, local leaders sharply criticized the abrupt and mysterious closure of the airspace over the city yesterday.
All aviation operations were grounded, including emergency flights. This was a major and unnecessary disruption. one that has not occurred since 9-11.
The chaos began late Tuesday night when the Federal Aviation Administration announced a 10-day closure of El Paso's airspace with no warning. It was rescinded just hours later, but competing explanations for what happened have caused even more confusion. Top Trump administration officials said the shutdown happened after Mexican cartel drones suddenly crossed the U.S. border and The Secretary of Transportation claimed on social media that, quote, the threat has been neutralized. But that explanation was undercut by multiple people the Times talked to who'd been briefed on the situation. They said the FAA issued the shutdown order after Border Patrol used an anti-drone laser on loan from the Pentagon.
And aviation officials felt they didn't have enough time or information to make sure commercial flights wouldn't be affected. Border Patrol agents who used the laser thought they were targeting a cartel drone. It turned out to be a party balloon. Even before this incident, the ramped-up use of anti-drone technology, like the Pentagon's laser, has raised safety concerns. In recent years, the military has developed a range of defensive systems, including microwave zappers and rocket-launched counter drones. But most of those are intended for war zones. One drone expert told The Times that using those kinds of deterrents domestically, where there are thousands of passenger planes flying around, raises the risk of collateral damage.
Now, three quick updates from Washington.
Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give is true and correct?
On Capitol Hill yesterday, Attorney General Pam Bondi faced off with lawmakers in a bitter back and forth as they grilled her about the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein investigation.
How many have you indicted? Excuse me. I'm going to answer the question.
Answer my question.
No, I'm going to answer the question the way I want to answer the question.
The hearing with the House Judiciary Committee quickly turned combative as Democrats and at least one Republican on the panel questioned why the department didn't redact the names of some of Epstein's victims from the files it released.
It is about you taking responsibility for for your Department of Justice and the harm that it has done to the survivors who are standing right behind you.
In one particularly tense exchange, Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington tried to get Bondi to apologize to a group of victims who were in the hearing room.
I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.
How did the Trump administration handle the El Paso airspace closure?
Bondi refused to apologize and defended her record, saying that as a prosecutor, she spent her, quote, entire career fighting for victims. Also in the House yesterday, lawmakers voted to rescind the tariffs President Trump imposed on Canada last year. It's a largely symbolic move because Trump can just veto it. But it's notable that six Republicans joined with Democrats to push back on the president.
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