jili178 promo code Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday suggested that a rule change by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September of 2023 "may be one of the reasons" for the reports of drone sightings at night in the northeast of the country. Drones have been spotted in recent weeks across New Jersey and neighboring states, prompting concern among residents and lawmakers and launching investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The FBI says that it has received over 3,000 tips related to the drone sightings, with most of the purported observations occurring at night. "In September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night," the Biden administration official told ABC News' This Week on Sunday. "And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk." Mayorkas acknowledged that "there's no question that drones are being sighted." The Biden admin official noted that "thousands" are flying in the U.S. everyday, and that "more than one million drones" are registered nationwide. "I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings," he said in the interview. Newsweek has reached out to DHS for comment. How Has the Government Responded to Mystery Drones? Mayorkas comments came after governors, members of Congress , local officials and police have all publicly raised concerns about the uptick in sightings. While some of the videos shared to social media have been deemed to be of airplanes or normal aircraft activity, others remain unexplained. Leading politicians and officials have also publicly talked about their own experience observing the flying objects. "At this point, we have not identified any basis for believing that there's any criminal activity involved, that there's any national security threat, that there's any particular public safety threat, or that there is a malicious foreign actor involved in these drones," one senior official of President Joe Biden 's administration told reporters during a press call on Saturday. A National Security Council spokesperson added: "At least some portion of what has been reported to be drones have on further inquiry turned out to be manned aircraft that were lawfully in the airspace and that is not uncommon for people to see things that appear to be drones that turn out not to be drones." Backlash to Government's Drone Response The federal government response has sparked significant criticism, with some accusing officials of "lying" or malicious activity. "They're lying to us. First, they say you're not seeing what you're seeing. There's nothing here, nothing here to be seen. And then they tell us that they don't know what it is. They don't know what's happening. It's all a lie," New Jersey Assemblyman Erik Peterson told CNN on Saturday. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene , a Georgia Republican , suggested the government is behind the drones. "The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on. It really is that bad," the lawmaker wrote on X, formerly Twitter .On September 25, coaches with the Gabriola Soccer Association made a presentation to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District Board, requesting an increase in access to the sports field at Gabriola Elementary school Field. On Oct. 9, the Nanaimo Ladysmith School Board received a report from NLPS staff that was discussed at the meeting. The report does not recommend an increase in usage, and states the field will be closed again this year to community groups for the winter. The report - prepared by Mark Walsh, Secretary-Treasurer - states that the district’s main focus with the sports field is to provide an outdoor learning space for its students, as well as working collaboratively with the public and community for extra curricular activities. Walsh says the District has implemented a strategy with limitations to meet both focuses that will - in their eyes - allow the field to have optimal use and not have to be closed as it was last year. The district has agreed to the field being rented and used by the soccer association three days a week, this allows for two practice days and a game day on Sundays for the Gabriola rep team. The other three Gabriola teams, who play games on Saturdays, are still playing their ‘home’ games on fields in Nanaimo. The report cites the limits in the strategy were put in place to allow for the field to have an opportunity to ‘recover’ from use and to provide time for staff to maintain and mow. According to Walsh, in the past, over-use has made the field condition nonoptimal, to the point of closure, and has led to an increase in maintenance and operating costs. The sports field is expected to be closed to recreational activities outside of school hours during winter months, as the weather is not conducive to grass growing/repair, causing significant damage to the field and major maintenance budget and labor requirements in spring. The report states that with previous closure the field was brought up to excellent condition - but is already showing sighs of wear and tear into September. This was referenced during the Oct. 9 meeting by Kelsey Bakewell, Maintenance Manager, and Walsh. Both were questioned by board members about the option of allowing more usage by Gabriola residents. The response from Bakewell and Walsh was that it comes down to the fact that the field has a use capacity threshold that will not meet the demand being asked for, and that the field will need the time to regenerate. When posed the question of extra funding being made available to facilitate usage Mark Walsh responded with, “if the board did have additional funding, I would suggest that our first priority would not necessarily be increasing the usability for user groups on Gabriola.” He said there are a number of serious maintenance deficits in a variety of the District sites has. “We have dangerous trees we need to find funding for to be able to take down. I want to put that into context.”After absorbing their worst defeat of the year , the San Jose Sharks will be looking for a response Saturday against the Florida Panthers. The Sharks reverted to some bad habits during their 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, as they strayed from their identity and were generally outworked from start to finish. The seven-goal loss was the Sharks’ most lopsided of the season, unceremoniously ending a three-game winning streak. While the Sharks have been playing better hockey l ately, the loss in Tampa offered a blunt reminder that they can still get embarrassed when their details and competitive level are not where they need to be, particularly against playoff-caliber teams. “Break out pucks, defend hard, box out, you name it,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters when asked about the defense’s shortcomings. “What a defenseman’s responsibilities are, we could have done a lot better.” The forward group wasn’t let off the hook, either. “Didn’t pay a price,” Warsofsky said. “You watch (the Lightning), they’re blocking shots. (Mikey) Eyssimont), (Luke) Glendining (when it’s) 8-1. And that’s the price to pay to win games in this league and that’s what we’ve got to learn.” The Sharks have done a fairly good job this season of responding after blowout defeats. After an 8-3 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 18, they returned home and played a much more competitive game two days later against the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-1 loss. Two days after getting blown out 7-3 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 26, the Sharks erased a three-goal deficit in the final five minutes of the third period against the Utah Hockey Club and won 5-4 in overtime. Now the Sharks face the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who, before Friday, were the third-highest scoring team in the NHL at 3.78 goals per game. Florida entered Friday tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I’m not deflated. It’s an 82-game season,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said after Thursday’s loss. “We’ve got another game in a couple of days and another opportunity to play a really good hockey team and surprise them. So it’s not deflating, but it’s definitely not something that’s acceptable, so we’ve got to be better.” The Sharks have lost 10 straight games to the Panthers, with their last victory in South Florida coming on Dec.1, 2017. The Sharks might have to face the Panthers without rookie forward Will Smith, who did not practice Friday. Warsofsky told San Jose Hockey Now that Smith is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, although it remained unclear when the 19-year-old was injured. Against the Lightning, Smith played late into the third period and finished with 15:50 in ice time. Smith has 11 points in 23 games this season and has recently been playing on a line with Mikael Granlund and Klim Kostin. Regardless of who plays against the Panthers, the Sharks still need to prove that they can consistently produce a strong performance against quality opponents. “We’ll obviously take a look at everything and talk within the group and figure it out,” Sharks winger Luke Kunin said, “so it doesn’t happen again.” GOODROW RETURNS: Forward Barclay Goodrow, who has been on injured reserve since Nov. 28 with an upper-body ailment, skated Friday, per San Jose Hockey Now. Goodrow was injured by a high hit from Ridly Greig in the Sharks’ Nov. 27 game against the Ottawa Senators. He is questionable to play against the Panthers. TEDDY BEAR TOSS: The San Jose Barracuda are hosting its annual Teddy Bear Toss at Tech CU Arena on Saturday when it plays the Coachella Valley Firebirds at 6 p.m. Fans are urged to bring stuffed animals to the game and throw them on the ice after the Barracuda scores its first goal. The Barracuda will then distribute some of the stuffed animals to children at local Kaiser Permanente hospitals, as well as other kids who might not get a gift during this time of year. The AHL franchise is also joining forces with San Jose-based Working Partnerships USA, which, per the team, helps to tackle “the root causes of inequality and poverty by leading collaborative campaigns for quality jobs, healthy communities, equitable growth, and a vibrant democracy.” For Saturday’s game, the Barracuda will also wear specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game, with part of the proceeds going to Working Partnerships. The team is also giving away Barracuda stockings to the first 1,500 fans in the building.

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