Your World Tonight - Midair crash in Washington, Trump blames DEI, Canada’s largest province braces for tariffs, and more

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

Sixty-seven people are dead after a midair collision near Reagan airport in Washington, D.C. A Blackhawk helicopter collided with a passenger jet carrying 64 people. Many of the dead are from the world of figure skating.U.S. president Donald Trump spread the blame around, but focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. He says it’s “common sense” that DEI is part of the problem. But Trump was unable to say why, or what led to the crash.Also: The deadline for Trump’s tariff threat is February 1st. Canada is still trying to stop it from happening. But if it does – Ontario businesses are planning for the future. Full tariffs could affect 500,000 jobs. The damage will likely come quickly – within three or four weeks.Plus: Another hostage/detainee exchange, protecting the B.C. wine crop, and more.

When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of a deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers are finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he? I'm Sam Mullins and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncovered, available now.

This is a CBC Podcast. As part of any investigation, we look at the human, the machine and the environment. So we will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. Investigators probe for answers. Why did an army Blackhawk helicopter collide with a passenger jet attempting to land at Washington's Reagan airport? The crash plunged both into the Potomac River, killing 67 people. In the aftermath, a day of questions, blame and grief. I was watching like all night, so I probably looked tired. And then when you find out, you know some of the people on the plane, it's even a bigger blow.

The heartache of those left behind. The safety concerns raised about the airport in the U.S. Capitol, one of the busiest in the country, and the political finger pointing. We have extensive coverage of the worst aviation disaster in the U.S. in decades. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Thursday, January 30th, coming up on 6pm Eastern. Also on the podcast, Donald Trump repeats tariffs are on the way.

It's coming on the first Saturday. So I'm calling on the Liberal government to recall Parliament, bring Parliament back. Let's pass legislation that supports workers because we're going to have an election in the spring. Jagmeet Singh joins conservatives calling for Parliament to be recalled. His message get help to Canadians before the minority government falls. The answers may not surface for months. Investigators say the black boxes from both the passenger jet and the helicopter

remain underwater in the wreckage. But there's already been plenty of speculation about who is to blame. Some of it coming from the president. We have comprehensive coverage for you tonight, beginning with Paul Hunter in Washington, who takes us through what we know and what we don't. Paul Hunter in Washington who takes us through what we know and what we don't. In the ice cold waters of the Potomac River in Washington, divers and recovery teams spent the day in the grisly task of finding bodies.

The passenger jet and military helicopter that horrifically crashed into each other mid-air last night, now laying silently in waist-deep water, the plane upside down in three large pieces. John Donnelly is chief of the Washington Emergency Services. John Donnelly, Chief of the Washington Emergency Services Despite all those efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident. Crash, crash, crash. This is Alert 3.

Crash, crash, crash. This is Alert 3. It is off the approach end of runway 33. Approach end of runway 33. Helicopter crashed. On final approach to Washington National Airport, one of the busiest and most tightly controlled air spaces in America, somehow a military helicopter on a training flight crossed into the path of American Airlines Flight 5342 carrying 60 passengers. There was a fireball and both

plummeted into the river. Do we know what helicopter company? Pat. Pat? Yeah. Is that military? Yeah. The passenger jet was a Canadian-made Bombardier, and Canada's Transportation Safety Board will

now support U.S. investigators in the work that lies ahead. Early indicators are the two aircraft were in standard flight patterns, air traffic controllers were aware of both, and the helicopter was told of the passenger jet. Investigators stress they are in absolute early stages of this and have given few other details. I'd like to request a moment of silence for the victims and their families please. At the White House, US President Donald Trump called it a dark and excruciating night. We are a country of really we are in mourning. Trump then quickly turned to politics, seeming to blame the Biden and Obama administrations

for putting diversity hires ahead of merit at the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority. The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. This was in January 14th, so that was a week before I entered office. They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA's program. Joe Biden's transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg called that despicable, said Chuck Schumer, senior Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

It just turns your stomach. And though there's been no evidence so-called diversity hires played any role at all in the crash, We have a presidential memorandum titled immediate assessment of aviation safety. Back in the White House, Trump then signed off on a new executive order emphasizing no more diversity hires specific to the FAA. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. For families and friends of the victims on board both aircraft, the past day has been filled with immeasurable grief.

The figure skating community is struggling with the loss of several of the sport's top American athletes and their families. Katie Simpson has that story for us. We mourn with all those who have been impacted. Trying hard not to break down into tears, Wichita Mayor Lily Wu offered what comfort she could to her heartbroken community. After learning the American Airlines flight that departed her city was involved in a crash,

she rushed to the airport to console grief-stricken families joined by faith leaders. All of us are going to know people who know people. So it's a great time to double down on caring for each other. It could take days to recover the bodies of the 60 passengers and four crew members on the commercial jet, as well as the three soldiers inside the helicopter. But slowly, details about the victims and the lives they lived are emerging. More than a dozen people on the plane were members of the competitive ice skating community. Young skaters, their parents and coaches returning to the East Coast after attending a training

camp in Wichita, including several who trained at the Boston Skating Club, run by Doug Zegby. Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they're here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It's a close, tight bond, and I think for all of us we have lost family. Douglas Lane lost his wife Christine and 16 year old Spencer who was a part of that skating club. He said Spencer was a star athlete with a growing social media following. We were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we went to a skating rink and

everyone was like Spencer Lane's here, oh my god Spencer Lane's here. He remembers his wife Christine as a community leader. She just was one of those people that could kind of plug in anywhere and just connect with people and build a real bond. Traveling with the Lanes, 13-year-old skater Gina Ha and her mom, Jin, along with well-known and widely respected coaches Vadim Nomov and Genia Shishkova.

Their pair's routine earned them gold for Russia at the 1994 World Championships. Much like everyone here has been saying is not sure how to process it. U.S. Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan losing her words as she paid tribute to everyone lost in this horrific event. The kids here really work hard. Their parents work hard to be here. But I just, I feel for the athletes, the skaters, their families, but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it's just such a tragic event. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will be spending time with the victims' families

to offer private briefings in their moment of grief as they wait to recover the bodies of their loved ones. Katie Simpson, CBC News at Reagan National Airport. Aviation experts called Ronald Reagan National Airport one of the world's most controlled air spaces, leaving many dumbfounded about how Wednesday's tragedy could have happened. Thomas Dagla reports on what we know about the conditions before the disaster. In air traffic control recordings before the crash, the Army helicopter crew is heard confirming they have a jet in their sights.

What's not clear now is whether those inside the chopper had indeed spotted the airliner they were about to slam into, or whether crew members were looking at something else altogether. It's a very challenging environment to call out, yes, I have visual with the aircraft that you're identifying. Airline pilot Dennis Tager has decades of experience and says bright city lights after dark can prove confusing. He points to a series of hurdles when landing at one of three major airports serving the Washington

area, especially Reagan National, the smallest of them all. It's very unique. Not only is it Reagan National, the smallest of them all. It's very unique. Not only is it congested, the runways are quite short as well, but you have the airspace is restricted. DC's busy airspace features two no-fly zones covering the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and other key government buildings.

Flight paths for commercial airlines and military aircraft sometimes overlap. And aviation lawyer Mary Schiavo says this incident is again highlighting decades-old concerns. This will renew the debate again about Reagan National. Is it too close, too congested? How many aircraft can we put in this very small space? The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says it's examining a series of factors that could have led to the crash, from human error to mechanical failure.

Investigators wouldn't comment on a preliminary report from federal regulators. According to U.S. media, the FAA found Reagan's air traffic control tower Wednesday night was understaffed. We have not reviewed any specific reports about the controllers at this time. The NTSB's Todd Inman says the focus now is to recover the victims' bodies and then to pull the flight data recorders. We have not recovered any of the boxes involved yet. We feel comfortable and confident that we will be able to.

Airliners are each equipped with what's known as a traffic collision avoidance system to reduce the risk of a mid-air crash. But experts say even that wouldn't have been effective as the jet was approaching the runway. Investigators expect it will take months to fully understand what went wrong. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. Coming up on the podcast, Donald Trump repeats he will put 25% tariffs on Canada. Politicians and businesses hear brace for pain. Another hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

This one got a little tense, plus BC BC winemakers scrambled to protect their crop. Donald Trump says those crippling tariffs against Canada are coming. And with just one business day left to convince the new US administration otherwise, Canada's strategy seems to be all hands on deck, from several cabinet ministers in Washington to another federal leader calling on Justin Trudeau to recall Parliament. Tom Perry reports from Ottawa.

A show of force for a very specific audience. the RCMP displaying one of its two newly leased Blackhawk helicopters on patrol along the Canada-U.S. border. The federal government is hoping this beefed-up air power gets noticed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened tariffs against Canada over what he regards as its lax border controls, accusing this country of allowing migrants and fentanyl to flow freely into the U.S. We heard their message about fentanyl and the border. It's in the interest of Canadians to interdict fentanyl to come

and to protect our border. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canada is more than happy to work with the U.S. on securing the border, but the fact remains, he says, Canada is the source of less than 1% of the fentanyl and migrants entering the U.S. Not that any of that seems to matter to Donald Trump, who was back in the Oval Office today signing more executive orders and repeating his now familiar threats. So we'll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons. Number one is the people that have poured into our country so horribly and so much. Number two are the drugs, fentanyl and everything else that have come into the country.

Trump also repeated the latest variation of his threat that the tariffs will come in this Saturday, February 1st, leaving Canadian officials once again bracing for what comes next and vowing to respond. That message coming today from Labour Minister Steve McKinnon. One thing that you can be very sure about is the government of Canada is prepared. The government of Canada will retaliate. The government of Canada will protect workers. But while Trump is turning the screws on the federal government, it's also facing mounting pressure from its political opponents here at home. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh today called on the federal government to recall parliament so MPs can pass legislation to support Canadian

industries that could be devastated by U.S. tariffs. Let's put before Parliament a package to protect workers, support workers that are impacted by these tariffs and to support communities. Parliament is prorogued until March 24th as federal Liberals choose a new leader to succeed Justin Trudeau. The government says it can protect Canadian workers and businesses without Parliament being in session, but the question remains, protect them from what? Just how far is Donald Trump prepared to go? Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. If Ontario were a country, it would be the third largest trading partner of the U.S.

after Mexico and China. So the potential impact of large-scale tariffs would be severe in that province. And even before those tariffs land, some businesses are feeling the financial consequences. Alexander Silberman reports. The threat of tariffs is already hurting sales at Conquest Steel, a family-run plant in Toronto. With sales to the U.S US grinding to a halt, several machines are powered down and production hours cut back. It has potentially devastating consequences for our business. Rahim Moulu manages the small factory, which employs a dozen people, manufacturing landscape

and building materials. Up to 25% of those products go to the U.S. We've had our U.S. distributors cancel orders because they're unwilling to take the chance on the cost going up 25% overnight. So we have a lot of stuck inventory. Tariffs are expected to hurt Ontario's manufacturing sector the most. Up to half a million jobs in the province rely on cross-border trade. Greenhouses, which export 85 percent of vegetables to the U.S., could also see layoffs. Richard Lee is executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. So if tariffs were implemented overnight, that would cause a catastrophe to the border crossing. The provincial government is preparing to fight back.

It's considering taking American-made alcohol off the shelves of liquor stores, restricting exports of critical minerals for EV batteries, even threatening to cut off power supplied to U.S. homes. So this would be a tremendously bad shock to the Ontario economy. Peter Morrow is a professor of economics at the University of Toronto. He says targeted, specific counter tariffs are Ontario's most effective response, but warns the provincial economy is vulnerable. I don't think it would be pain-free.

I think we should be realistic about this and come in this with clear eyes. At the Toronto Metal Factory, Molu is trimming production costs to try and avoid layoffs and searching for new customers in Canada. It's a lot to swallow, but at the same time I think we have to have a face that will find a way to navigate the situation together as Canadians. Molu wants to see governments step in and support manufacturers. He hopes a silver lining in a trade war could be a new push to buy Canadian if businesses like his can find a way to survive. Alexander Solberman, CBC News, Toronto.

The federal liberal leadership race just got tighter. Jaime Batiste is ending his bid to be leader of the federal Liberal Party. He is the first Mi'kmaq member of Parliament in Canada and was running to be the first Indigenous Prime Minister. The Cape Breton MP now says he will endorse Mark Carney. There are now five people left in the race. The Liberals announced today there will be two leadership debates,

one in English and one in French. After nearly 500 days in captivity, three Israeli and five Thai hostages were freed by Hamas today in exchange for more than 100 Palestinian prisoners. This marked the third swap between Israel and Hamas since the ceasefire began earlier this month. Senior International correspondent Margaret Evans reports on the chaotic scenes that unfolded. This was the stage, quite literally, for the first hostage release of the day, set up in the apocalyptic-like ruins of Jabalia in what's left of northern Gaza, Palestinian flags draped

down the sides of buildings that were still standing. There was music playing for small crowds and a Hamas video team in full swing, instructing kidnapped Israeli soldier Agam Berger to wave for the cameras before handing her over to the Red Cross and a journey home. Cheered on by crowds in Tel Aviv, watching on big screens in what's known as Hostages Square. The release of two other Israelis and five Thai farm workers further south in Gaza in Hanunis was also choreographed,

but far more chaotic. Masked to mask fighters and those from Palestinian Islamic Jihad were involved in the handover. 29-year-old Arbel Yehud and 80-year-old Gadi Moses led by their captors through a crowd crushing in on them. I couldn't hope for a better moment where the world thinks we're broken, but we are victorious said Umm Mahmoud Shakura, a mass supporter in the crowd. God willing, she says, all our detainees will be released. Buses in the occupied West Bank carrying Palestinian prisoners due to be released from Israeli jails were ordered to turn back at one point.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemning what he called shocking scenes. We will not accept any violations, he said. Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay the price. In the end, 110 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons as scheduled. Boys and men between the ages of 15 and 69. jubilant crowds surrounding the buses when they finally arrived, sirens blaring and horns honking. Under the terms of the ceasefire, it was agreed that 33 hostages would be released over a six-week period in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Each of the exchanges so far, a reminder of how fragile the agreement is and how difficult for families waiting for loved ones to come home. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. It is the evening of the day I sit and watch the children play The melancholy breakthrough hit for Mary Ann Faithfull, 1964's As Tears Go By. The British pop star, actress and muse who helped write some of the Rolling Stones' greatest songs died today in London.

Faithfull and Stones' frontman Mick Jagger were one of the most glamorous couples of London's swinging sixties. Faithfull was homeless for a time after their breakup but years later in 1979 she won fans and accolades again for her raw confessional album Broken English. It's undercurrent her years of drug abuse. Marianne Faithfull was 78. After a string of harsh winters devastated BC's wine grape crop, growers are testing new ways to shield their vines from the cold. Brady Strachan explores old techniques and new science aimed at keeping them in business no matter the weather. Wine grape grower Bobby Arcego pulls back a layer of straw to expose the grape vine beneath.

I just want to protect the rootstock of the plant. For Arcego, protecting these delicate grape vines is crucial. At Black Hills Estate Winery south of Oliver, British Columbia, he saw the devastating effects of last winter's extreme cold, which wiped out 90% of the province's wine grape crop. We saw temperatures dip down to minus 29 and that caused extensive damage and death with our vines. This winter Okanagan growers are testing ways to mitigate extreme cold.

Orsego is using straw, composted mulch and a technique called hilling, piling up soil over the vine base for insulation. It's a very common practice in other cool climate regions in the world. We just haven't had to use it here in the Okanagan quite yet. On another row, a white fabric layer flaps in the gusty January wind. Arcego says this geotextile fabric traps ground heat and even a few degrees can save a crop. If we can't protect against the cold weather, we're going to be questioning if it's a region we can grow wine grapes in.

Lee is actually trying to simulate the whole event. An hour to the north, researcher Ben Min Chang pulls a tray of vine samples from a freezer in his lab. Unfortunately, the current European wine grapes, they are super tender. He's helping growers test cold protection methods by measuring temperature differences between insulated and exposed vines. The danger zone is around like a minus 22 to minus 25.

Even if the temperature just increased slightly, that save you a lot. He says techniques like hilling with soil can be easily adopted in the Okanagan. He also encourages planting hardier vines or replacing less resilient European varieties with hybrids. At Quails Gate Winery in West Kelowna, Rowan Stewart is testing a high-tech solution. At night, four rows of vines glow with LED lights that emit infrared heat. If you can warm six degrees, you've gone from having a crisis like we had last year to maybe even having a full crop.

At $10,000 to $20,000 per acre, it's costly. But Stewart says even saving one crop makes it worthwhile. You know, that's the nice thing about frost protection. You have it function one time and you've paid it off. If successful, he'll expand this trial next winter. Despite recent losses, he thinks BC's wine industry will bounce back. I'm pretty confident we'll find a solution and we'll be back making amazing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in a couple years. Brady Strachton, CBC News, Kelowna. Bon voyage, le soleil priera mais en toi.

The song Bon Voyage performed by Canadian musical royalty, the McGarigal sisters Kate, Anna and Jane. Jane McGarigal died this week at the age of 84. Jane was the lesser known of the sisters, often more behind the scenes than in front of the microphone. Working as the manager, producer and songwriter, she penned some of their most beautiful and heartbreaking songs such as Love Is. Love is a shiny car. Love is a steel guitar.

The song was recorded not only by her sisters but also by Nana Muscuri and Love is a steel guitar. The song was recorded not only by her sisters but also by Nana Muscuri and Emmylou Harris. Jane McGarigal was also later on an author. In 2015 she and her sister Anna wrote a book about their childhood. She spoke to CBC's Tom Power about what it was like to be part of the famous McGarrigles, Quebec's first family of folk. I was a church organist in that church when I was 15 and I started singing. I got Kate and Anna singing with me. We'd always all been singing together in the house but I just, we just started trying out some stuff, some pop music at the time and they put harmonies on things that really

sounded nice and I entered us in a talent contest at this summer resort and of course we won the talent contest and I like to think that's how I launched them. Jane McGarigal died Friday in Montreal where the sisters grew up. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Thursday, January 30th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.