The Headlines - A Plane Crash Near Washington, and 3 Contentious Senate Hearings

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

Plus, the latest hostage and prisoner release.  On Today’s Episode:Many Deaths Feared After Plane Collides With Army Helicopter Near Washington, by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Minho Kim, Chris Cameron, John Yoon and Jin Yu YoungThree Contentious Trump Nominees Will Appear Before the Senate, by Chris CameronWith Sweeping Executive Orders, Trump Tests Local Control of Schools, by Dana GoldsteinInside the Chaotic Rollout of Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze, by Jonathan Swan and Zolan Kanno-YoungsHamas Is Releasing 8 Israeli and Thai Hostages, by Aaron Boxerman and Adam RasgonTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, January 30th. Here's what we're covering. I'm standing outside along the banks of the Potomac River just south of Reagan National Airport, probably half a mile from where a passenger airplane collided with a military helicopter just a few hours ago. My colleague Robert Jemison has been reporting from the Potomac near Washington, D.C., after

a passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair last night and crashed into the water. I see about half a dozen spotlights that have been put up, shining bright lights into the water. You can see tons of sirens and lights going off, blue and red lights all along the banks of the river there. The plane was an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, headed to Reagan National Airport. 64 people were on board.

The helicopter was a Blackhawk, operating out of a base in Virginia with three crew members. Officials haven't confirmed any casualties, but many are feared to be dead. We're told by law enforcement that the plane is in the water in two pieces and they are coming through every inch of the river between the collision site and the airport. I talked to one law enforcement official who said there are dive teams in route, but they might have to wait until the sun comes up because the conditions are too dangerous to enter the water. Not only is it dark, but it's also very cold.

Details are beginning to emerge about who was on the plane. Some of the passengers were figure skaters from the US and Russia. US figure skating said the group was headed back from a training camp for skaters, which was held in Wichita. Mr. Kennedy, you have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines. You say one thing and then you say another.

On Capitol Hill today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will continue to face questions from the Senate as they consider whether to confirm him as Secretary of Health and Human Services. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety. Kennedy was grilled for three hours yesterday, with protesters interrupting him at some points. But he appears to have won over most of the Republicans, whose support he'll need to get confirmed.

The Senate is also holding confirmation hearings today for two other contentious nominees. Cash Patel will be making his case for why he should lead the FBI. He's promised to reshape the Bureau by firing its top officials and vowed to go after those who've opposed Trump. He previously published a list of people who he said were Trump's enemies. And Tulsi Gabbard will be questioned about her qualifications to be director of national intelligence, overseeing the country's spy agencies. Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who broke from her party and embraced Trump.

If Tulsi Gabbard is confirmed in this role, she'll become one of the most influential advisors to Donald Trump, talking to him every day about critical foreign policy issues. Julian Barnes covers national intelligence for the Times. He says Gabbard's confirmation hearing today is expected to be rocky. Multiple senators, including Republicans, have raised concerns about her lack of relevant experience and about some of the positions she's taken on foreign policy. For example, she's been such a vocal some of the positions she's taken on foreign policy. For example, she's been such a vocal supporter of the Russian government, she's become a

darling of Russian state TV. Not only is Tulsi Gabbard a defender of Vladimir Putin's positions, she's been actively hostile to Ukraine, deeply critical of the Ukrainian government, and has parroted much of what Russia has said to justify their war in Ukraine. Gabbard has also been a supporter of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was in power until rebels drove him out of Damascus. She famously went to meet him years after the US had cut diplomatic ties and while the CIA had a covert program to drive him from power.

That has raised questions about her judgment, questions about who she has chosen to meet with and these are the kinds of things lawmakers are going to be pushing her on today. Last night, President Trump signed a series of executive orders targeting the country's public education system. The most sweeping one aims to promote, quote, patriotic education by changing how race, gender, and American history are taught in schools. It pushes schools to eliminate any instruction about topics like white privilege and unconscious bias, as well as transgender issues. It also restarts an effort from Trump's first term to challenge how slavery is taught and to condemn left-wing political movements. The order threatens to withhold federal funding from schools that don't comply, but it's not clear how much leverage the White House has.

90% of public schools are funded by state and local governments, and they're the ones who control curriculums and teaching methods. Plus, individual classroom teachers have significant say over what they cover. Previous efforts to control the curriculum like this haven't had much of an effect, even in some of the most conservative parts of the U.S. Surveys of teachers in states with laws that echo Trump's order show that the majority of them did not change their teaching methods even after restrictions were put in place. Meanwhile, the White House has dropped its effort to freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding

in the first significant reversal by the White House since Trump took office. The president had tried to temporarily cut off the money until his administration could root out so-called woke ideology in federal agencies. A judge paused the plan, and yesterday the administration withdrew its order altogether. Another judge also weighed in, saying the funding freeze was so disruptive that he plans to issue a restraining order blocking the Trump administration from trying similar moves in the future. And finally, in Israel this morning, people are celebrating the release of another group

of hostages who've been held since the October 7 attacks. Eight people are being set free by Hamas in exchange for the release of over 100 Palestinian prisoners. The trade is part of the fragile ceasefire agreement that has paused the fighting in Gaza. But a new Israeli law that kicks in today could worsen the humanitarian situation for people in the territory. The law targets the UN agency known as UNRWA that provides food, water, and shelter to millions of Palestinians. It bans the group from operating in Israel, making it effectively impossible for UNRWA

to continue delivering aid. Israel has accused the group of employing members of Hamas. UNRWA has fired several staff members amid the claims, but said Israel has provided little evidence to back up its accusation. UNRWA says the effect of the ban won't be felt immediately, since it already has several weeks of supplies on the ground in Gaza. But the head of the group said that over time, the law will, quote, immeasurably worsen already catastrophic living conditions.

Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look at how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the face of the health freedom movement and what that could mean for public health in America if he's confirmed. That's next in the New York Times audio app or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.