NASA auditor blasts Boeing’s quality control in latest setback for company – National & International News – FRI 9Aug2024

NASA auditor blasts Boeing’s quality control in latest setback for company.

Remnants of Hurricane Debby bring flooding to Northeast.

UK riots: Over 700 arrests in far-right violence.

NATIONAL NEWS

NASA auditor blasts Boeing’s quality control in latest setback for company

NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has issued a damning report on Boeing’s quality controls. Boeing is also in the hotseat for helium leaks and thruster failures on its Starliner crew capsule, which have stranded two astronauts on the International Space Station for over two months. However, this report specifically examines Boeing’s work on components that will help propel NASA’s future lunar missions. As part of this mission, NASA is developing a megarocket and Boeing has the contract to build part of the Space Launch System for this rocket, 

Many of NASA OIG’s findings echo criticisms leveled at Boeing’s commercial airliner division by federal authorities and whistleblowers from within the company. Specifically, the report indicates that between 2021 and 2023, federal oversight officers issued Boeing 71 “Corrective Action Requests” to address “deficiencies in quality”. The report states that Boeing has been “nonresponsive” when asked to take corrective action, and that the same issues often reoccur. Ultimately, many of these problems have not been corrected, according to the report.

The report also says that many of Boeing’s workers are not sufficiently experienced or trained, a deficiency which whistleblowers have frequently cited in Boeing’s commercial aviation factories. NASA OIG also blames Boeing for massive delays and cost overruns.

Boeing’s original estimate to deliver its part of the SLS was $962 million in 2017. Now the projected cost for the work through 2025 is$2.8 billion. Boeing has also pushed back its delivery date from February 2021 to April 2027.

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Remnants of Hurricane Debby bring flooding to Northeast

Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and has been moving up the East Coast all week. So far the storm has brought devastating flooding to parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and left at least 8 people dead. At this point, Debby has been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still wreaking havoc in the Northeast.

Forecasters are predicting 15-25 inches of rain across New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England. More than 35 million people from South Carolina to Vermont are under flood watches or warnings. There’s also a threat of possible tornadoes.

Over 1400 flights have been canceled on Friday due to the storm moving through. Officials are warning residents in affected areas to stay off the roads. More than 360,000 people in four states are without power.

Debby may bring Vermont its third round of catastrophic flooding in the last month. Less rainfall is expected here than further south, but the ground in many areas is still saturated or eroded from the other recent floods.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UK riots: Over 700 arrests in far-right violence

British police agencies have reported 741 arrests so far in connection with anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant violence across the country over the past two weeks. Over 300 have been criminally charged. The bulk of the charges relate to violent disorder, but 32 are for online offenses such as incitement. Courts across the country are holding special sessions to swiftly arraign suspects. Authorities hope that this rapid judicial response, in addition to stepped-up policing efforts, may deter further violence. However, police still expect dozens of gatherings this weekend. 

Police expect “hundreds” more arrests in the coming days. Investigators are combing through surveillance footage as well as social media and livestreams using facial recognition software to identify those perpetrating violence. These investigations and arrests are likely to continue for months.

The violence began after three young girls were stabbed to death at a dance even in Southport, a seaside town on England’s west coast. Far-right influencers spread misinformation online indicating the attacker was a recently arrived Muslim asylum seeker. In fact, the assailant was a 17-year-old male born in Wales to Rwandan parents, who reports indicate is Christian. This news has not stopped far-right agitators from violently attacking Muslims and people of color (many of whom are people born and raised in Britain) as well as attempting to set fire to hotels and other residential centers housing asylum seekers.

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