FlyDubai Midair Attack, Trump Midterm Campaigning, Hegseth Reshaping Military

Up First from NPR

The episode opens with the emergency landing of a FlyDubai flight after one pilot allegedly stabbed another and tried to crash the aircraft, with

Key takeaways

Israeli officials said one pilot stabbed another on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv before passengers entered the cockpit and helped prevent a crash.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun described putting the attacker in a chokehold and pulling the controls up, while passenger Dan Zoller said he tried to calm his son during the incident.
President Trump is beginning his midterm push in Oklahoma and Alabama rather than first visiting swing states such as New Hampshire, Maine, or Michigan.
Republican strategist Alex Conant compared the trip to the 2006 midterms when George W. Bush campaigned mostly in red states because of low favorability.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has cut about 10% of flag officers and wants to reach a 20% reduction, while also announcing a new four-star autonomous warfare command.

Main topics

FlyDubai cockpit attack and emergency landing
Trump's midterm campaign strategy in red states
Republican turnout concerns without Trump on the ballot

Notable quotes

The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top.

Conclusion

The episode offers a compact briefing on three major national-security and political

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Good morning. A quick note before we get started. Today marks one year since federal funding for public media ended. Here at NPR, we are proud to continue to work to uphold your First Amendment rights. And Speaker 5 (0:11) your support empowers us to continue to stand up for those rights. It really takes all of us to protect the future of public media. You Speaker 1 (0:18) can join the community that makes this work possible at donate.npr.org. And thank you. Speaker 5 (0:26) A flight bound for Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a fight in a cockpit. Speaker 1 (0:32) Israeli officials say one pilot stabbed the other and tried to crash the plane. But why? I'm Speaker 5 (0:38) E. Martinez, that is Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Speaker 5 (0:45) President Trump promised to campaign in the toughest midterm races. Today, he's going to Oklahoma, the state where his party dominates. Would he help or hurt Republicans in the real battleground states? Speaker 1 (0:55) And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he wants to cut even more generals and admirals. He told junior officers he's remaking the military around what he calls a warrior ethos. What does his leadership purge mean for a military already seven months into a war with Iran? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day. Speaker 8 (1:17) This message comes from WISE, the smart way to manage your money around the world. With WISE, you can send, spend, and receive money in over 40 currencies at the mid-market rate. Learn more at WISE.com. T's and C's apply. This message comes from the podcast Before and After with Lester Holt. One moment can change a life forever. Hear Lester's conversations with Jeremy Renner, Gabby Giffords, and others about rebuilding after the unimaginable. Search before and after to follow now. Speaker 7 (1:49) A free press is a critical protection for we the people. The NPR network proudly upholds your First Amendment rights with independent journalism that answers only to you. Your support keeps our reporters on the ground holding power to account and the power to decide what's next for public media is yours. Give at donate.npr.org. Speaker 3 (2:13) This fall, there are a lot of movies and TV shows on tap for you to see, and we're as excited for all of it to arrive as you are. On Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've got a guide to what's worth keeping on your radar. Listen via the NPR Speaker 1 (2:27) app or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 1 (2:31) Passengers on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv are describing what happened on board a fly Dubai airplane that caused them to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The Speaker 5 (2:40) plane signaled a distress call on Wednesday after one of the pilots apparently stabbed the other pilot and seemed to be trying to crash the plane with everyone on board. Many of the passengers were Israelis and officials in Israel are calling it an attempted terrorist attack, although the motive is still unknown. Speaker 1 (2:55) NPR's Kat Lomstorff is with us now from Tel Aviv. Good morning, Kat. Hey, good morning. It sounds like a really harrowing situation on that plane. What can you tell us? So yeah, like you said, Speaker 3 (3:05) the plane was operated by Fly Dubai. That's an airline based in the UAE. There's still a lot we don't know, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement after speaking with some of the passengers who told him that the plane went into a spin and began to plunge as one of the pilots was trying to sabotage the aircraft systems after stabbing his co-pilot. He said some passengers sprang into action and were able to enter the cockpit after the pilot, who was stabbed, unlocked the cockpit door during the attack. Those passengers managed to subdue the attacker. Israeli officials released a video of Netanyahu talking to one of those passengers, a man named Yaniv Hayun. Once he landed back in Israel, Hayun's clothes were still covered in blood in the video. Speaker 3 (3:48) He described how he put