A West Point diploma, a communist slogan, an other-than-honorable discharge, and now a fully funded doctoral program. Spenser Rapone’s academic trajectory is quite the résumé, though probably not the recruiting pitch most Americans associate with military service. According to The Gateway Pundit, citing Townhall and the Washington Free Beacon, Rapone is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago. The former Army officer first attracted widespread attention in 2017 after posting a photograph from his May 2016 West Point graduation. In that picture, Rapone raised his fist and displayed the inside of his service cap. The message read: “Communism will win.” Subtle it was not. Townhall’s account says the Army investigated Rapone and found that he had advocated online for socialist revolution and disparaged senior officers. He resigned in 2018 and received an other-than-honorable discharge. That is a rather different ending from the military career a West Point graduation would ordinarily suggest. His subsequent move into academia has brought the episode back into circulation. A December 2024 social media post highlighted his departure from the Army and his academic path, taking a sarcastic swipe at higher education in the process. https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1866913798701060352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The newer reporting goes beyond an old graduation…

The nationwide ground stop is over, but the travel headache is not necessarily going anywhere. The FAA halted departures across the United States Friday afternoon after air traffic control communications problems, then lifted the order, according to an update reported by The Gateway Pundit. That is welcome news for passengers waiting to leave. It is not, however, a promise that the departure board will suddenly become their friend. “National Ground stop has been lifted. Expect a whole lot of residual delays/cancelations and some start and stops along the way tonight and tomorrow.” Kris Van Cleave wrote in the update dated November 14, 2026. https://twitter.com/krisvancleave/status/2121413798712201381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The original FAA order covered all U.S. airports. Departing aircraft had to remain on the ground, while flights already airborne were allowed to land. The distinction matters: This was a halt to departures, not an instruction to leave planes circling indefinitely. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications issue affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that FAA technicians were investigating. His statement identified the scope of the disruption, but did not provide a detailed explanation of what caused it. “The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue…