AP-Newswatch

Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter is feared dead

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead. Officials said it was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. John Donnelly is the fire chief in the nation’s capital. He says authorities are now switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

The Latest: Collision between passenger jet and Army chopper near DC leaves no survivors

There wer no survivors after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter. President Donald Trump said at a briefing on Thursday that there were no survivors. The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River. There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas.

2 teens from a Boston skating club, their mothers, and coaches among passengers on downed flight

WASHINGTON (AP) — Passengers aboard the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River included teen figure skaters returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and their Russian coaches. U.S. Figure Skating said Thursday that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on the flight after attending a development camp that followed the championships that wrapped up Sunday in Wichita, Kansas. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight Wednesday and three soldiers aboard the training flight on the Blackhawk helicopter. The Kremlin confirms coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane. It’s believed there were no survivors.

Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Israel begins releasing Palestinian prisoners after delay

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Dozens of Palestinian prisoners were released in the West Bank Thursday evening to a welcoming crowd in the latest swap for hostages held by militants in the Gaza Strip. Earlier on Thursday, Hamas-led militants freed eight hostages. But the chaotic handover of some of the captives drew an angry protest from Israel. The hostages were shuttled through a rowdy crowd of thousands by masked militants. The prisoner-swap was initially put on hold by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He demanded that mediators assure the safe exit for hostages going forward — a commitment he said he later received. Later in the day, Hamas confirmed the death of Mohammed Deif, head of its military wing, six months after Israel announced he was killed

Trump’s FBI chief pick, Kash Patel, says the bureau has lost trust and he’s the one to restore it

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, is portraying himself to senators as the right leader of a law enforcement agency he says has lost public trust. At his confirmation hearing Thursday, Kash Patel told senators he would commit himself to “due process and transparency” if confirmed. Patel is a Trump loyalist who, before being nominated to lead the FBI, railed against the bureau over its investigations into the president and claimed that Jan. 6 rioters were mistreated by the Justice Department. Patel is facing deeply skeptical questioning from Democrats about his loyalty to the president and stated desire to overhaul the bureau.

President Trump sounds the same. His White House — so far — couldn’t be more different

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump 2.0 is, so far, very much the same as his first go around. But eight years after he was last sworn into office, the new Republican president is emboldened, far more experienced and surrounded by a very different team. The marathon Q&A sessions are back, along with the cream Oval Office rug and old Diet Coke button. So, too, are the late-night social media posts that ricochet across the globe and swallow news cycles. Trump has signed a barrage of executive orders that are testing the bounds of presidential power, sowing confusion and drawing fury from Democrats unsure how to stop him.

Rihanna appears at trial of A$AP Rocky and outshines key testimony on alleged shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Superstar singer Rihanna made her first appearance at the trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, and may have outshined key testimony in the case. Rocky is on trial for two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and could get more than 24 years in prison if he’s convicted. As Rihanna watched on in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Rocky’s former friend and accuser testified that Rocky pulled out a gun, shot at him and injured his hands on a Hollywood street in 2021. The man, known as A$AP Relli, will undergo cross-examination on Thursday.

FBI wrestles with a spike in sexual misconduct claims and male-dominated culture

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has recorded a sharp spike in complaints that its own agents and employees have engaged in sexual misconduct, ranging from assault to harassment, despite a pledge by the bureau’s leaders to eliminate the longstanding problem. An Associated Press investigation found the FBI tallied a nearly 50% increase in sexual misconduct allegations since launching an agency-wide crackdown in 2021. Advocates say the increase shows the bureau is struggling to protect women in a male-dominated workplace. The FBI says the increase indicates its reforms are working by making it easier to report misconduct.

Hospital nurse in Uganda dies in country’s first Ebola outbreak in 2 years

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan health official says a nurse in the capital, Kampala, has died of Ebola, in the first recorded fatality since the country’s last outbreak ended in 2023. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters Thursday that the 32-year-old male patient was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in Kampala. After developing a fever, he was treated at multiple locations in Uganda before lab tests confirmed he had been suffering from Ebola. The patient died on Wednesday, and Ebola was confirmed following postmortem tests, Atwine said. Ebola, which is spread by contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, manifests as a deadly hemorrhagic fever.

U.S. economy grows solid 2.3% in October-December on eve of Trump return to White House, 2.8% in ’24

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy ended 2024 on a solid note with consumer spending continuing to drive growth. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.3% annual rate from October through December. For the full year, the economy grew a healthy 2.8%, compared to 2.9% in 2023.