 |
|
|
|||||
The flight disruptions during the record government shutdown that ended last week inspired a rare act of bipartisanship in Washington on Tuesday, when congressional representatives from both parties introduced legislation that would allow air traffic controllers to get paid during future shutdowns. The bill proposes funding salaries, operating expenses, and other Federal Aviation Administration programs by tapping into a little-used fund with $2.6 billion that was created to reimburse airlines if the government commandeers their planes and they are damaged. The bill’s sponsors, which include four of the top Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hope that relying on the fund might make their bill more attractive than other proposals because it would limit the potential cost of doling out paychecks. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, the GOP chairman of the committee, said in a statement that the bill would help keep the traveling public safe during future shutdowns. The other sponsors include Democratic U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen of Washington and Andre Carson of Indiana, along with Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, who leads the aviation subcommittee. We all saw that the system can be vulnerable when Congress cant get its job done, Graves said. This bill guarantees that controllers, who have one of the most high-pressure jobs in the nation, will get paid during any future funding lapses and that air traffic control, aviation safety, and the traveling public will never again be negatively impacted by shutdowns. The bills introduction comes ahead of a scheduled hearing Wednesday by a Senate subcommittee to examine the impacts of the 43-day shutdown on aviation. But it’s not clear whether this bill or any similar proposals that have been floating around Congress since the 2019 shutdown will have a chance to get approved before the next government funding deadline at the end of January. Nearly all the other proposals, including one from U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, would rely on the aviation trust fund that collects money from fees the airlines pay, and the Congressional Budget Office has given those bills a much higher price tag. Fixes have been proposed, but none approved Over the years, lawmakers have tried a handful of fixes for a long-term solution to keep air traffic controllers and other essential aviation workers paid during funding lapses. The proposals often gained bipartisan attention, especially after the 35-day shutdown that ended in 2019 during President Donald Trumps first term, but none made it over the finish line. Moran’s bill, known as the Aviation Funding Stability Act, for example, is a recurring proposal in Congress that would allow the FAA to tap into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Lawmakers in both chambers have reintroduced versions of it over the years, including in 2019 and 2021. The legislation resurfaced in March when Moran, the Republican chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, put it forward. It came up again in September, weeks before the shutdown began, when Carson and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, also a Democrat, introduced it in the House. The new bill introduced Tuesday would cut off the money if the insurance fund dips below $1 billion. But Transportation Committee staffers estimate that would still provide enough funding to keep FAA operating for four to six weeks. Air traffic controllers stretched thin during shutdown The issue gets so much attention because of all the flight delays and cancellations that happen during a shutdown as more air traffic controllers call out of work. The existing shortage of controllers is so severe that just a few absences in an airport tower or other FAA radar facilities can cause problems. The controllers and the FAA technicians who maintain the equipment they rely on are expected to continue working without pay during a shutdown to keep flights operating. But as the shutdown dragged on this fall, more controllers began calling out of work, citing the financial pressures and the need to take on side jobs. The delays got so bad during the latest shutdown that the government ordered airlines to cut some of their flights at 40 busy airports nationwide, in what the FAA said was an unprecedented but necessary move to relieve pressure on the system and controllers. Thousands of flights were canceled before the FAA lifted the order entirely and airlines were able to resume normal operations Monday. Why the insurance fund was created The fund that the bill introduced Tuesday would use was created years ago to pay for claims an airline might file if the government uses one of its planes for a military operation or other use. But that’s not common anymore. The last time a claim was made was after Americas withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The fund has continued to grow as it collects interest. For a time, it was also used for an insurance fund at a time when airlines were having trouble getting any insurance coverage after 9/11. For years, airlines paid into the fund regularly to get coverage from the government. But by the early 2010s, the insurance market for airlines had stabilized. Congress let the insurance program expire at the end of 2014. Josh Funk and Rio Yamat, AP transportation and airlines writers
Category:
E-Commerce
New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, hasn’t taken office yet. But he’s already the new avatar of evil for conservative media figures. He’s been called downright sinister and incompatible with America. His labels include commie, Marxist, jihadist sympathizer and seething leftist. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham warned her viewers not to be fooled by smiling socialists who rule like Soviet tyrants. A New York Post post-election cover that depicted Mamdani holding aloft the Soviet Union’s hammer and sickle symbol sold out on newsstands by noon and was offered on e-Bay for $75. By the end of the day, the Post was selling baby onesies and commemorative plates emblazoned with the cover. Already, conservative outlets see Mamdani joining Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton as someone guaranteed to make their audiences’ blood boil. And by doing so, they can help Republicans in the midterm elections. It’s very clear that he’s going to be the No. 1 target of right-wing media for the foreseeable future, well into 2026, said Howard Polskin, publisher of the Righting, a newsletter that follows conservative media. He’s colorful, controversial and not afraid of a fight. The new bogeyman for conservative media The head of an outlet that Polskin regularly monitors, the Daily Signal, said Mamdani is likely seen as a threat because his appeal to working-class Americans who feel left behind by the economy is similar to that of President Donald Trump, although they have different ideas about how to handle that. Remember years ago there was Nancy Pelosi who was the bogeyman for Republicans, said Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of the Daily Signal. I think Mamdani is probably going to be the new person. I think thats why you see a lot of emphasis on him in conservative media. In the Washington Examiner, editor-in-chief Hugo Gurdon saw ominous signs in Mamdani’s election night victory speech. He was downright sinister, glorying not just in his achievement but in having laid low his vanquished enemies and stuck it to others besides. He took off his smiling campaign mask and revealed his venomous self, Gurdon wrote. Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt called Mamdani the mayor for the foreign-born. We have flooded the country with diversity, and diversity delivered us Zohran.” In an interview, Schmitt said he wasn’t quite ready to anoint Mamdani as a deliberate target for the conservative media. A go-to bogeyman makes it sound like it’s manufactured, he told The Associated Press, whereas we are just appropriately concerned about people that are spewing or trying to push an ideology that is destined to not work. The Post recognized Mamdani as a target of interest well before the election. Between Oct. 27 and Nov. 5, he was the subject of seven of the tabloid’s covers. One, headlined Mam-Child,” depicted Mamdani in a little boy’s overalls to illustrate a column warning that the city wasn’t a toy to hand to a baby like Zohran. Another front page blared Not Zo Fast to herald a tightening race in the polls. Election Day’s lead headline was Trump to New York: Keep the Commie Out. Mamdani reached out to the White House post-election for a meeting with Trump and the president said Sunday that we’ll work something out. A socialist or a communist? Mamdanis status as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and his Muslim background are behind many of the conservative media attacks. Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press this spring whether he was a communist, Mamdani said, No, I am not. Webster’s defines socialism as a political theory where the community or government owns and controls the production and distribution of goods. Communism, advanced by revolutionary Karl Marx, is considered a step beyond, where private property and capitalism no longer exist. Many of Mamdani’s critics make no distinction. Commie takeover in the Big Apple, one Fox News onscreen headline read. They elected a communist, World Net Daily wrote. Communist, not socialist, Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview last month. Communist. He’s far worse than a socialist. Some Jewish groups have expressed skepticism about Mamdani, who has supported Palestinian rights and criticized Israel’s attack in Gaza as genocide. But he has denounced Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and said he will work to combat antisemitism. Republicans have a clear interest in seeing more American Jews traditionally a group that leans toward Democrats switch over. But that doesn’t account for some of the hostility seen in the media. The National Review said Mamdani’s win meant it’s open season on New York Jews. Megyn Kelly said the tenets of Islam are inconsistent with American values and Muslims should not be elected mayors or governors. Podcaster Michael Savage called him a Marxist jihadist sympathizer. Influencer Laura Loomer predicted Mamdani would encourage Muslims to commit political assassinations to acquire power and silence critics. Mamdani’s staff did not return messages from The Associated Press. In the waning days of his campaign, he spoke out against some of the religious-based attacks on him. I thought that if I behaved well enough or bit my tongue enough in the face or racist, baseless attacks all while returning back to my central message, it would allow me to be more than just my faith, he said. I was wrong. No amount of redirection is ever enough. Making Mamdani the leader of his party in consumers’ eyes Some of the attacks reflect a common theme in politics and the media not unique to Mamdani to associate all members of a political party with the beliefs of one who could be depicted as on the fringe. The Daily Signal wrote after his election that Mamdani is now the putative leader of his party. The Victory Girls conservative blog used an illustration of the incoming mayor in a military uniform. “The socialists are coming, and Mamdani is just the begining, the blog wrote. If we ignore them, we will all be in big trouble. He’s the new AOC in the sense that they have found someone who is relatively unknown that they get to define and hold up as the example of what it means to be a Democrat, said Angelo Carusone, president of the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America. Carusone said he’s not sure if Mamdani will become a villain of the conservative media on the level of a Clinton or Pelosi, but he can understand the urgency. If you don’t check him now,” Carusone said, he’s going to capture the young people.” David Bauder, AP media writer
Category:
E-Commerce
In todays hyper-competitive B2B landscape, marketing leaders face a paradox: The pace of change is relentless, yet the need for clarity and purpose has never been greater. With artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping every facet of business, the imperative is not just to keep up but to lead the charge. To navigate this complexity, we must lead with vision and innovate with intentfocusing our efforts, aligning teams, and making decisions that drive the business forward. Below is a no-nonsense framework for CMOs to fulfill our mandate of not just keeping up with the market but shaping what comes next. VISION IS THE STRATEGIC COMPASS Vision is more than a lofty statement on a corporate website. Its a strategic compass that sets a clear direction for decision-making, inspires bold thinking, and aligns marketing with broader business transformation goals. AI is not just a technology trendits a strategic lens through which visionary CMOs anticipate market shifts, personalize at scale, and create new sources of value. Vision encourages us to look beyond quarterly targets and toward long-term value creation. Its not just about where were going, but why our destination matters. Peter Druckers insight that the best way to predict the future is to create it reminds us that visionary marketers dont wait for trends to unfold. They shape themoften by harnessing AIs predictive and generative power. Consider Microsofts transformation under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella. By repositioning itself as a cloud-first, AI-forward enterprise leader, Microsofts market cap soared from ~$300 billion in 2014 to over $3 trillion by 2024. Unified branding, thought leadership, and marketing aligned with product visionand a bold embrace of AIwere instrumental in this journey. The lesson is clear: A rebrand aligned with long-term strategy and market trends, especially those driven by AI, can unlock massive shareholder value. INNOVATION IS THE DIFFERENTIATION ENGINE In saturated markets, differentiation is survival. Innovation allows us to stand out, not just in what we offer, but in how we engage, deliver, and evolve. AI-driven insights empower marketers to test, learn, and iterate at unprecedented speed, turning data into differentiated experiences that set brands apart. Whether through product, experience, or brand voice, marketers must respond to evolving customer needs and emerging technologies. The challenge is to build a unique voice, foster a culture of innovation, and lead with empathy and agility, even while navigating internal barriers like silos and legacy systems. Steve Jobs captured this imperative when he said, Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. For marketing leaders, innovationnow supercharged by AIis the engine that powers strategic impact. Apples journey from the dot-com bust to unprecedented growth is a testament to visionary leadership and relentless innovation. Strategic repositioning built a premium brand and loyal customer base. The transformation wasnt just about technology. It was about storytelling, experience, and strategic marketing, now increasingly powered by AI-driven personalization and creative tools. When marketing aligns with product innovation, long-term strategy, and the intelligent application of AI, it can redefine industries and drive valuation from billions to trillions. VISION MEETS INNOVATION At onsemi, our own transformation showcases how aligning vision and innovation can redefine a brand. Once known primarily as a reliable supplier, onsemi has emerged as a high-value technology leader in intelligent power and sensing. Under CEO Hassane El-Khoury, our identity evolved from traditional, engineering-focused to forward-looking, innovation-driven. Marketing played a pivotal role in translating the strategic vision into measurable results. Marketing leaders operationalize and bring vision and innovation to life with a strategic framework that tightly aligns marketing with business goals. Today, they must put AI at the center of every pillar. The backbone of a modern AI-centered marketing engine includes these eight fundamentals: Brand purpose and positioning: AI-powered sentiment analysis and competitive intelligence inform meaningful, consistent messaging. Market and audience intelligence: AI enables dynamic segmentation, lookalike modeling, and predictive analytics for personalization at scale. AI-powered demand generation: Generative AI creates dynamic content, while predictive models fuel pipeline growth through targeted outreach. Optimized digital experiences and customer intelligence platforms: AI-driven personalization engines and recommendation systems ensure every interaction is seamless and insight-rich. Unified messaging architecture: AI helps keep the story coherent across channels, adapting in real time to audience feedback. Innovative tactics: Agile marketing models, strategic AI personalization, and customer journey mapping empower teams to iterate quickly and adapt to change. Customer experience: A relentless focus on customer experience transforms every touchpoint into a strategic advantage. AI tools can anticipate needs and deliver value before customers even ask. Cross-functional collaboration: Marketing collaborating with sales, product engineering, and corporate strategy ensures that marketing is at the table, shaping the future rather than just communicating it. Taken together, these elements create a marketing engine that drives growth, relevance, and long-term impact. LEAD WITH VISION, EXECUTE WITH INNOVATION, DELIVER WITH IMPACTPOWERED BY AI If theres one takeaway for marketing executives, its this: Lead with vision, execute with nnovation, and deliver with impact. Vision inspires teams and aligns stakeholders. Innovationnow inseparable from AIkeeps us relevant and unlocks differentiated value. Impact is measured not just in impressions and engagement, but in pipeline, revenue, and strategic growth. When we connect vision to execution, harness the power of AI, and measure our impact, we elevate marketing from a function to a force. The future belongs to those who shape it. Lets continue to lead with clarity, execute with creativity, and deliver with purposeembracing AI as a core leadership competency for the next era of marketing. Felicity Carson is chief marketing officer at onsemi.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||