President Trump on Thursday reiterated that tariffs are coming against Canada and Mexico on Saturday, though he said the scope of those levies is still up in the air.

Why it matters: Canada and Mexico are the top U.S. trading partners, and his ongoing tariff threats have sparked fears of an economically damaging trade war.

Catch up quick: In a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed his previously stated plan to impose tariffs on Feb. 1.

• "Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade. They've treated us very unfairly on trade," Trump said, adding: "We don't need what they have."
• The U.S., Mexico and Canada have been joint parties to free trade agreements for decades, first NAFTA and then the USMCA.

Yes, but: The president left the door open to the possibility the tariffs would not be blanket levies on all imports; specifically, he said Canadian oil imports might be exempt.

• "We may or may not, we're going to make that determination tonight," he told reporters.

By the numbers: Trump has previously spoken of a 25% tariff on both countries.

• S&P Global Ratings, in a research report Thursday, said those levies would most affect the Mexican auto industry and the Canadian paper and rubber industries, among others.
• Both nations are expected to retaliate in some way if Trump goes ahead with his plan.
• The U.S. dollar rose to its strongest levels against the Canadian dollar in five years after his statement.

The intrigue: Trump had previously spoken of a 10% tariff on China as of Feb. 1, as well, but he wasn't as firm Thursday on proceeding with that levy.

• Instead he said he was "thinking about doing something" because of the alleged volumes of fentanyl coming to the U.S. from China.
• "China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that and we're in the process of doing that … we'll make that determination what it's going to be."

President Trump ordered a review of all federal aviation hiring and safety decisions in response to Wednesday night's deadly air collision near Washington.

Why it matters: The order shows Trump is doubling down on his claim, without evidence, that DEI policies were a factor in the crash. His memo explicitly mentions "diversity equity and inclusion," and reflects how anti-DEI efforts are a centerpiece of his second administration's policy.

• It's also the latest example of Trump trying to blame the Biden administration and Democrats on issues that arise during his term.

Zoom in: Trump signed the new memo today, according to a person familiar with the matter. It directs the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the FAA administrator to:

• "Review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior four years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards."
• "This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration."

Reality check: It's unclear what caused Wednesday night's crash involving American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Blackhawk military helicopter. The investigation into the collision is just beginning.

• Trump's memo alleges that Biden's administration "egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all agencies to implement dangerous 'diversity equity and inclusion' tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with 'severe intellectual' disabilities in the FAA."

The "disabilities" language that Trump now opposes was in FAA regulations during his entire first term and first appeared around 2013, according to the fact-checking website Snopes.

Democrats on Thursday pointed fingers at Trump and criticized him for suggesting DEI played a role.

• "He's in charge. This happened on his watch," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a video message on X. He blamed Trump for throwing the FAA into chaos by "ousting the sdministrator and the whole FAA safety board."

Catch up quick: Trump issued a blizzard of executive actions and orders in his first week in office, including the "Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation" action, which his new memo largely repeats.

• Trump dismantled DEI hiring in the federal workforce in a Day 1 order.
• Trump's administration established an email reporting site to root out DEI programs.
• Trump placed DEI staffers on paid leave on his third day in office.

The deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport outside D.C. Wednesday marks the deadliest air carrier crash in the U.S. since November 2001, when a passenger jet crashed in Queens, New York killing 265. Another 265 were killed in airplane crashes during the 9/11 terror attacks.

The big picture: Fatal crashes of commercial aircraft in the U.S. have become uncommon in the 21st century, as regulations have increased, technology has advanced and safety measures and controls have improved.

Driving the news: An American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people on board collided late Wednesday with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers.

• Both aircrafts went plunging into the Potomac River. There are no known survivors.

Zoom out: The last deadly aircraft incident with a mass casualty was in 2009 near Buffalo, N.Y. All 49 passengers and crew on Colgan Air Flight 3407 were killed when the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house. One person on the ground also died, bringing the death toll to 50.

• Prior to that, a Comair plane crashed while taking off from Lexington, Kentucky, on Aug. 27, 2006, killing 49 people onboard.
• The deadliest of the last quarter century in the U.S. was when 265 people died onboard in four plane crashes on Sept. 11, 2001. They were among nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks.
• Two months later, on Nov. 12, 2001, an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area in Queens, N.Y., killing 265 people.

Zoom in: Prior to 9/11, Wednesday's crash is the worst air tragedy in the D.C. area since Jan. 13, 1982, when Air Florida Flight 90 crashed, killing 78 people on board.

Go deeper: D.C. plane crash: What we know about the collision as all passengers feared dead

No survivors are expected after an American Airlines passenger flight collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday night near Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.

The big picture: While the cause of the crash remains unknown, details are slowly emerging about the victims aboard the aircrafts.

• American Eagle Flight No. 5342 had 64 people on board while the helicopter was carrying three soldiers.
• John Donnelly, chief of D.C. Fire and EMS, said at a press conference Thursday morning that 28 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River so far.

State of play: The flight was en route from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C. when it collided with the helicopter.

• Officials said Thursday that there had been nothing unusual about the flight paths for each aircraft leading up to the collision, nor was there a breakdown in communications.
• The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters confirmed Thursday that four of its members were aboard the American Airlines flight, though it did not reveal the victims' identities.
• Virginia's Loudon County Public Schools confirmed Thursday that "multiple victims were former LCPS students." Fairfax County Public Schools similarly said it had "lost members" of its community in the incident.
• U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a statement that "several members" of its community had been aboard the airplane, including "athletes, coaches, and family members."

Zoom in: Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, confirmed at a press conference Thursday that "to the best of their knowledge" 14 skaters were on board the flight, returning home from a development camp put on by U.S. Figure Skating in Wichita.

• Of the 14, six people were affiliated with the club, including two coaches, two teenage athletes and two parents, Zeghibe said.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Telegram that Russian figure skaters and other citizens were on board. Russian state news agency TASS reported that there might have been coaches of Russian origin on board as well.

Here's what we know about the victims so far:

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov

The two Russian skaters aboard the American Airlines flight were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, TASS reported.

• The pair were married and former world champions, having won the pair title in 1994. They competed together at the Olympics in 1992 and 1994.
• After marrying in 1995, the pair moved to the U.S. in 1998 to coach at the International Skating Center in Connecticut, per Radio Free Europe.
• The Skating Club of Boston lists both Shishkova and Naumov as coaches.
• Their son, Maxim Naumov, is a skater at the club, but returned home earlier in the week, Zeghibe said.

Jinna Han and Jin Han

Jinna Han was one of the athletes aboard the American Airlines flight, the Boston Skating Club confirmed Thursday.

• Zeghibe described her as a "wonderful kid" and a "great competitor" who was "loved by all."
• Her mother, Jin Han, was accompanying her during her time at the development camp and was also killed in the crash.

Spencer Lane and Christie Lane

Spencer Lane was another skater from the Boston Skating Club who died in the crash.

• Lane was a "highly talented" skater "rocketing to the top of the sport," Zeghibe said.
• His mother, Christine Lane, was also among the victims.

Inna Volyanskaya

Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed on X Thursday that one of his constituents, Inna Volyanskaya, was aboard the American Airlines flight.

• Volyanskaya was a coach at the Washington Figure Skating Club, which said in a statement Thursday that it was "devastated" to hear of the crash but did not confirm details about any potential victims.
• Inna Volyanskaya was a former professional skater who had competed for the Soviet Union, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Sam Lilley

One of the American Eagle flight pilots was 28-year-old Sam Lilley, his father Timothy Lilley told FOX 5 Atlanta.

• Sam Lilley had started his pilot training in 2019 and was engaged to be married.
• "This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life," his father said.

Go deeper: D.C. plane crash: What we know about the collision as all passengers feared dead

Editor's note: This story will be updated with additional information as it is available.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg swiftly shot back against President Trump's criticisms of him during a Thursday press conference, less than a day after a deadly plane collision outside Washington D.C.

Why it matters: Buttigieg's comments represent one of his strongest public rebukes of Trump since he took office last week.

• Buttigieg, an outspoken Democratic surrogate during the 2024 campaign, is widely considered a 2028 presidential contender.

Driving the news: Buttigieg defended his record as Transportation Secretary, saying, "we put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch."

• "As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," Buttigieg said.
• Buttigieg also said that "one of [Trump's] first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe."
• "Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again," he added.

State of play: During his first press conference after the fatal plane crash, Trump expressed his condolences for the lives lost before skewering his political rivals and the FAA's diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

• Trump took specific aim at Buttigieg, saying: "A real winner. Do you know how badly everything has run since he's run the Department of Transportation? He's a disaster."

Between the lines: Buttigieg drew heightened scrutiny during his time as Transportation Secretary, as he navigated multiple transportation crises.

• Republicans repeatedly criticized Buttigieg over his handling of the crises, often trying to paint him as underqualified.

Go deeper: Trump touts national unity over air disaster before bashing Biden and Obama

White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the Middle East that rebuilding Gaza could take between 10 and 15 years.

Why it matters: The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire continue and Gaza stabilized so it can move forward with its ambitious plans for the Middle East, which include getting a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel and trying to get a deal with Iran on its nuclear program.

• The administration is working on concluding implementation of the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas to release hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.
• But the White House is already thinking about the next phases of the agreement and a plan for reconstructing Gaza, which has been decimated by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations during 15 months of war.

"What was inescapable is that there is almost nothing left of Gaza," Witkoff told Axios.

• "People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there," he said.

Driving the news: Witkoff left Israel on Thursday several hours after Hamas released another eight hostages who were being held in Gaza and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal.

• The White House envoy spent much of his day on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip inspecting the situation from the ground and from the air. He was the first U.S. official to visit Gaza in 15 years.
• Witkoff said aid is entering Gaza as planned, people are returning to northern Gaza in accordance with the agreement and the security arrangements at the Netzarim corridor and Philadelphi corridor are "working better than he expected."

"This is why I went to Gaza — to inspect the implementation because it is so important. How this happens will influence our ability to get to phase two of the deal," Witkoff said in the interview.

State of play: Witkoff said from what he saw on the ground, from lookout points on the Israeli side and during a helicopter flight over Gaza, the destruction is immense.

• Witkoff, a real estate developer, assesses that the demolition and moving of the debris alone will take five years.
• The process of assessing the potential impact of the many tunnels under Gaza on building new foundations could take another few years. The reconstruction itself would take another few years, he said.

"There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years. But its impossible. This is a 10 to 15 year rebuilding plan," he said.

Earlier this week, President Trump floated the idea of moving Palestinian civilians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan while the enclave is rebuilt. Both countries publicly rejected the idea and said they wouldn't take part in the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

• Witkoff told Axios he hasn't discussed with Trump the idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza. He said that from what he saw during his visit Gaza is "uninhabitable."
• "There is nothing left standing. Many unexploded ordnances. It is not safe to walk there. It is very dangerous. I wouldn't have known this without going there and inspecting," he said.

The big picture: Witkoff met in Riyadh with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday before heading to Israel.

• "I had a very good meeting with the Crown Prince. He felt we are making progress with the ceasefire and release of hostages," Witkoff said.
• The White House envoy said he briefed MBS, who is a key stakeholder in the region, about his plan to visit Gaza and the Trump administration's push to begin negotiations on the second phase of the deal.
• Witkoff said they also touched generally on the issue of normalization with Israel "but we didn't dig into it. Hopefully it will happen in due course."

Between the lines: Witkoff confirmed he met in Riyadh with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' deputy Hussein al-Sheikh at the request of the Saudi government.

• "It was a cordial meeting. He gave me his vows about where Gaza should go. We agreed to continue the dialogue," Witkoff said.

What to watch: Witkoff met during his trip to Israel with hostages who were released last week and with families of hostages who are still in Gaza. He told them Trump is committed to bringing all remaining hostages home.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is committed to the process — like the rest of the country he enjoys watching the families who get their loved ones back," Witkoff said.
• Witkoff said his message to Netanyahu and to other Israeli politicians he met during the trip, including those who are critical of the Gaza deal, is that the results have so far been positive.
• "We don't have violence in Gaza. It has been quiet. Let's all take notice of the positive things that are happening. We've got to finish phase one and implement it correctly and then move to phase two," he said.

President Trump after briefly offering condolences and sharing plans to investigate a deadly plane collision outside D.C., took partisan hits against former presidents Obama and Biden.

The big picture: Trump said the White House had "strong opinions" on the collision, railed against his political opponents and blasted the FAA's diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

• Trump vowed to "find out how this disaster occurred" and "ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."
• Trump confirmed the midair collision of a regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter left no survivors. The incident was the first mass casualty event involving a commercial aircraft in the U.S. in at least 15 years.

Driving the news: The president revealed he was "immediately appointing" Chris Rocheleau as acting Federal Aviation Administration administrator.

• Former FAA chief Mike Whitaker departed the agency at the start of Trump's term.
• Trump ally Elon Musk had publicly pressured him to resign last fall after Whitaker told lawmakers SpaceX must operate at the "highest level of safety" and defended a proposed fine against the space giant.

"I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," Trump said Thursday, repeatedly suggesting without evidence that DEI initiatives had hampered aviation safety.

• Trump, during his first week in office, signed a memorandum instructing the Transportation secretary and FAA administrator to "stop Biden DEI hiring programs."
• He slammed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as "a disaster," claiming he ran the agency into the ground "with his diversity."

The other side: Buttigieg condemned the president's comments as "despicable" in a statement.

• "As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he wrote. "We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch."

What they're saying: Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a statement shared just as Trump began speaking that it "never does any good to speculate on the causes of aviation accidents before we have the facts and the details."

• During Thursday's briefing, Trump rejected the idea that he was getting ahead of the investigation by placing blame Democrats, DEI initiatives, air traffic control and others.
• Asked how he reached the conclusion that DEI policies somehow triggered the crash, Trump replied, "because I have common sense."

Catch up quick: The Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers conducting a training run, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday morning. American Airlines confirmed Wednesday that 60 passengers and four crew members were on the plane.

• Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River. Remnants of both have been discovered.
• American Eagle Flight 5342 was traveling from Wichita to Reagan National Airport (DCA), which is something described as having "America's busiest runway."
• Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said at a Thursday press briefing that "everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash."

Go deeper: D.C. plane crash: What we know about the collision as authorities say no survivors found

• What to know about the victims of the D.C. plane crash

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional developments.

After being pressed by senators from both parties to call Edward Snowden a traitor, Tulsi Gabbard repeatedly refused during her confirmation hearing on Thursday morning.

Why it matters: Gabbard's past comments and legislation defending Snowden have threatened her confirmation to be President Trump's director of national intelligence.

Zoom in: "This is a big deal to everybody here, because it's a big deal to everybody you'll also oversee," said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who has publicly said he supports her nomination. "So, was Edward Snowden a traitor?"

• Gabbard would not give a yes or no answer, saying only that she is "committed if confirmed as director of national intelligence to join you in making sure that there is no future Snowden-type leak."
• Lankford asked a second time if Snowden was a traitor, to which Gabbard responded, "I am focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again."

What they're saying: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) pounced on the moment, pressing her in a heated back and forth immediately after to say that Snowden is a traitor.

• "Let me ask you again, do you believe — as the chairman of this committee believes, as the vast majority of members of our intelligence agencies believe — that Edward Snowden was a traitor to the United States of America," he demanded.
• When she began answering without a yes or no, he interrupted, "This is when the rubber hits the road. This is not a moment for social media."
• "It's not a moment to propagate theories, conspiracy theories or attacks on journalism in the United States," he continued. "This is when you need to answer the questions of the people whose votes you're asking for to be confirmed as the chief intelligence officer of this nation."

What to watch: Prior to Gabbard's hearing, the White House believed she would still get confirmed but might face the greatest difficulty of all of Trump's nominees

• "She has two problems: [Section] 702 and Snowden," a senior White House official said.

Go deeper: Scoop: Trump team sweats McConnell's vote on Tulsi Gabbard

Thursday's GDP report, at first glance, points to a year-end slowdown in growth. But that's a mirage. Under the hood, there isn't much cooling underway at all.

Why it matters: America's economy continued to chug along in the final months of 2024, with few signs of wavering demand.

• The economy is not overheating but is holding in a steady state — an outcome welcomed by economic policymakers still battling inflation with huge uncertainties ahead.
• The GDP report's details "tell a more robust story that will keep the Fed wary about easing monetary policy too far too fast," James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, wrote Thursday morning in a note.

By the numbers: The economy expanded at a 2.3% annualized rate in the October to December period, backing off from the 3.1% pace in the third quarter.

• Economic growth last quarter was powered by stronger consumer spending, which added almost 3 percentage points to the headline figure as unemployment remains low and wages grow in real terms.
• Spending on goods was particularly strong, growing 6.6% from the previous quarter, the quickest quarterly pace since the pandemic recovery in 2021. Service sector spending rose 3.1%, compared to 2.8% in the third quarter.
• The housing sector showed signs of life after being crushed by higher interest rates: Homebuilding was a slight GDP boost after two straight quarters of pulling down growth.
• Businesses slowed spending on buildings, equipment and more, with activity dropping 2.2% last quarter after strong investment for most of 2024. The category is being closely watched for signs of AI-related spending.

The intrigue: A measure of economic activity that captures underlying growth dynamics — as opposed to one-off forces — shows the economy is keeping pace.

• Final sales to private domestic purchasers increased at a 3.2% annualized rate, just 0.2 percentage points below that in the third quarter.

Between the lines: Inventory destocking was a key factor holding back headline GDP growth.

• That is among the most volatile components of GDP, and appeared to reflect a surge in demand.

What they're saying: "The auto industry wasn't keeping up with demand on dealer lots, causing lower inventories at both retail and wholesale levels," Comerica chief economist Bill Adams said in a note, pointing to demand for EVs and replacement vehicles for those destroyed by hurricanes.

The bottom line: Fed chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that central bank officials agreed they could be patient in assessing its next move, in part because the economy is in a "good place."

• Thursday's data suggests that judgment was correct.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% annualized rate in the final three months of 2024, the Commerce Department said on Thursday — closing out a year of strong growth.

Why it matters: Despite some lost momentum at the end of the year, President Trump still inherits an economy expanding at a healthy clip, even as interest rates and inflation remain elevated. 

By the numbers: The fourth-quarter growth figures are a slowdown from the 3.1% rate in the previous three-month period.

• Consumer spending and government spending picked up pace, though the higher trade deficit and a slowdown in business investment weighed on growth.
• Housing activity bounced back, after two straight quarters that the sector dragged growth down.

The big picture: Last year was yet another period that defied economists' growth expectations. But either way you measure growth last year, it was still a slower than 2023.

• By one measure, annual growth increased 2.8% in 2024, a small dip relative to the of 2.9% in 2023.

The big picture: The Federal Reserve took measures to loosen its grip on the economy in the second half of the year. The central bank cut rates by a full percentage point as inflation receded and the unemployment rate inched up.

• Since the Fed's initial interest rate cut, conditions have reversed. Progress on inflation has slowed and the labor market has bounced back.
• That is a key reason the Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Fed chair Jerome Powell said the economy was healthy and the central bank could afford to take its time in deciding its next move.
• "We see things as in a really good place for policy and for the economy," Powell told reporters at a news conference. "We feel like we don't need to be in a hurry to make any adjustments."

What to watch: Fed officials and some economists caution that huge uncertainty about Trump's policies — tax, trade and immigration — make it difficult to forecast how the economy may fare in the months ahead.

Go deeper: About that 2022 "technical recession"

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with details on the GDP report.

Eight hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released on Thursday as part of the ceasefire deal.

Why it matters: The release was an important benchmark: There are now no more women who are believed to be alive that are held hostage by Hamas.

Driving the news: Thursday's exchange took place in two stages and in two different parts of Gaza.

• Agam Berger, an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped during the October 7 attack and held hostage by Hamas since then, was released first in Gaza city.
• Later two other Israeli civilians — Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses — were released in Khan Younis near the destroyed house of the deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
• Moses, who is 80 years old, is the first man who was released by Hamas since October 7.
• Five Thai nationals who were kidnapped by Hamas from Israel on October 7 were also released.
• The Thai nationas — Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak — were released after in-direct negotiations between their government and Hamas via Qatar and Egypt.

State of play: During the release in Khan Younis the two Israelis were paraded among the huge crowd that gathered in a scene that quickly turned chaotic.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel protested to the mediators Qatar and Egypt for the way the release took place, which he said, endangered the safety of the hostages.
• The Israeli government retaliated by delaying the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners by several hours.
• Netanyahu said Israel won't release the Palestinian prisoners without assurances from the mediators that the next hostage releases will not be as chaotic as Thursday's.
• Hamas said the huge crowds that gathered signaled the group's popularity in Gaza and the support it has among to local population.

What they are saying: White House envoy Steve Witkoff met on Thursday in Israel with four women soldiers who were released last Saturday.

• He then visited the hostages square in Tel Aviv and met with families of hostages who are still held in Gaza.
• Witkoff told the families that President Trump is committed to bringing back home all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including the bodies of dead hostages.

What's next: Witkoff told reporters that an American hostage is expected to be released Friday.

• The next release is scheduled for Saturday with three hostages expected to come out of Gaza. It wasn't clear whether Witkoff misspoke or whether the release would be expedited.

Authorities have said there are likely no survivors from a tragic plane crash near Reagan National Airport outside D.C., late Wednesday night.

The big picture: John Donnelly, chief of D.C. Fire and EMS, told reporters Thursday: "We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation."

• An American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people on board collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers, sending both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River.

Go deeper: Here's what we know on the victims.

• "At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," he told reporters.
• The airport resumed flight operations at 11am ET, but dozens of flights were delayed or canceled. Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for specific flight information.
• President Trump delivered remarks from the White House Thursday afternoon, briefly calling for national unity before attacking his Democratic predecessors.

Catch up quick: Remnants of the two aircrafts have been discovered, including the fuselage of the American Airlines plane, which was found in three sections in "waist-deep" water, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said at a press briefing Thursday morning.

• Frantic rescue operations along the frigid river began soon after the crash at around 9pm ET. Around 300 people were involved in those efforts, Donnelly said.

Speculation mounts on "absolute tragedy"

"Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash," Duffy said, while declining to speculate about where things went so tragically wrong.

• Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth said in a video statement Thursday that the Army unit involved in the collision, the 12th Aviation Battalion, had been placed on a 48-hour operational pause while the incident is reviewed.
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said Thursday morning that National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.
• President Trump's Army Sec. nominee Dan Driscoll called the incident an "absolute tragedy" during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. He added: "I think we might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be near an airport like Reagan."

How the crash happened

American Eagle Flight 5342 traveling from Wichita was approaching DCA, sometimes described as having "America's busiest runway."

• Visibility was good at the time of the crash, with winds blowing out of the northwest. An advisory for high winds had expired earlier in the evening.
• Both the jet and the helicopter were following "standard flight patterns," Duffy told reporters.
• Hegseth noted that the helicopter had been manned by a "fairly experienced crew" that was appropriately equipped with night vision goggles.

The U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter was on a training exercise out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

• The helicopter was told to maintain visual separation with the plane — essentially, "see and avoid," Axios aviation expert Alex Fitzpatrick notes. That's not an unusual procedure, despite a Truth Social post from President Trump questioning why the control tower hadn't given more direct instructions.
• It's also not unusual to see Black Hawks flying low along the Potomac. This is some of America's busiest airspace due to the presence of both military and commercial aircraft.
• An aviation battalion based at Ft. Belvoir is responsible for transporting senior military and government officials and also conducts training flights around the D.C. area, per DOD News.
• "This was not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at DCA," Duffy said.

What remains unclear is why the military aircraft did not divert from its path and collided with the jet as it made its final descent.

• "Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely," Duffy said, without offering specifics.

Who was on board

A figure skating group said skaters, coaches and their families were on the flight following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Telegram that Russian figure skaters and other citizens were on board.

• U.S. Figure Skating confirmed "several" of its members were on board.
• The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew, while the Black Hawk was carrying three soldiers.

Recovery operations continue

Recovery efforts are ongoing in and around the Potomac. Based on an initial count, around 30 people had yet to be recovered as of Thursday morning.

• Dive teams scoured the site as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in a methodical search for bodies, AP reports.

Deadly plane crashes in the U.S.

Fatal crashes of commercial aircraft in the U.S. have become a rarity.

• The last was in 2009 near Buffalo, N.Y. All 49 passengers and crew above Colgan Air Flight 3407 were killed when the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house. A person on the ground also was killed.
• Other than the Pentagon attack on 9/11, last night's collision is the worst air tragedy in the D.C. area since the Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982, which killed 78 when it hit the 14th Street Bridge and crashed into the Potomac.
• Duffy claimed that American airspace remains the safest in the world.

This story has been updated throughout and will continue to be updated as new information comes in.

OpenAI's Sam Altman is making the rounds in D.C. on Thursday in an attempt to show unity with President Trump and announce a new initiative to make sure the government has the most capable AI.

Why it matters: Tech companies see an opportunity in the new Trump administration to shape AI policy.

Driving the news: Altman is in D.C. to give lawmakers, their staff, White House personnel and federal agency officials a first look at new technology, a source familiar told Axios.

• Infrastructure investors and advocates will also see the tech before it's released publicly.

Behind the scenes: Altman and OpenAI's Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil will preview new AI capabilities coming in Q1 and focus on how those capabilities will support science, education, health and government services.

• This is the second week in a row Altman is in D.C. after attending Trump's inauguration and announcing Stargate — a partnership among companies including OpenAI to invest billions in AI development.

Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier will sit down with President Trump for a pre-taped interview at Mar-a-Lago that will air during the network's Super Bowl LIX pregame show, Fox News confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: The four biggest U.S. broadcasters — Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC, air the Super Bowl on a rotating schedule. Trump's first Super Bowl back in office coinciding with Fox's broadcast this year is fortuitous, given the president's friendly relationship with the network.

• The tradition of presidents being interviewed during the Super Bowl pregame show by journalists from the game's host network goes back to 2004. Trump upended the tradition by skipping the pregame interview with NBC in 2018.
• Former President Biden skipped pre-game interviews for the past two years. He opted out of an interview with Fox News in 2023 and CBS News in 2024.

The big picture: The interview follows a dizzying two weeks of headlines around Trump's swift efforts to repeal Biden-era policies and introduce a slew of his own.

• Fox has not offered details about the length of the conversation but said the interview will be wide-ranging.

Flashback: The last time Trump was interviewed by Fox during its Super Bowl pregame show was in 2020 when anchor Sean Hannity sat down with him at Mar-a-Lago.

• Trump was interviewed by former Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly at the White House for a Super Bowl pregame interview in 2017.

What to watch: The Super Bowl is expected to drive big ratings for Fox.

• Sunday's AFC Championship nail-biter between the Buffalo Bills and reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs averaged a record 57.7 million viewers on CBS.
• The Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles, who they narrowly defeated for the Super Bowl title just two years ago.
• The NFL has seen a spike in female viewers ever since Chiefs' star Travis Kelce started dating pop icon Taylor Swift in 2023.
• Fox has sold out its Super Bowl advertising inventory, with nearly a dozen spots selling for a record $8 million.

A workforce discombobulated by chaotic recent events receives an email with the subject line "Fork in the Road." Inside, a deadline to quit or commit to the new mission.

• That's the scenario Twitter employees faced in Nov. 2022 — and the one now confronting some 2.3 million government workers.

Why it matters: If Musk's takeover of Washington is anything like his takeover of Twitter, federal workers — and Americans more generally — had better buckle up. His "slash first, ask questions later" management style has already been reflected in some of President Trump's biggest moves.

The big picture: Federal workers received that email on Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management, effectively the executive branch's HR department.

• The upper echelons of that fairly obscure agency are now packed with Musk allies and loyalists, many of whom have worked at his companies or in tech more broadly, the NYT reports.
• Cutting the federal workforce is part of Musk's mandate at DOGE, and he appears to see the OPM — which he visited last Friday — as a key vehicle.
• The email, scooped by Axios, gave federal workers nine days to quit and be paid through September or embrace a new "performance culture" — and accept the risk their jobs could be cut or downsized later. It had Musk's fingerprints all over it.

Flashback: Some Twitter employees who left in the chaotic period after Musk purchased the company, renamed it X and fired or drove out thousands of workers say they were promised severance packages that failed to materialize. Some have sued, Axios' Scott Rosenberg notes.

• There are key differences here: Musk doesn't own the U.S. government and can't just order mass firings. Also, many federal workers belong to unions.
• "We are all shaking our heads in disbelief at how familiar this all feels," former top Twitter engineer Yao Yue told WIRED. "Except, the federal government and its employees have specific laws in terms of spending, hiring, and firing."

State of play: Some unions and Democratic lawmakers have urged workers not to take the buyouts.

• "If you accept that offer and resign, he'll stiff you," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) warned, referring to Trump's history of refusing to pay contractors.
• The offer also sparked immediate concerns about how government departments will continue to function properly if large numbers of highly knowledgeable workers leave.

Similar "brain drain" concerns loomed large over the Twitter saga.

• While Musk and his allies claimed vindication in how Twitter continued to function after the employee exodus, the platform was plagued by tech glitches and frustrations over the non-responsive support team.
• Musk ultimately asked some employees he fired to come back, and some blue chip advertisers fled the platform after Musk's radical changes.
• Still, the site survived and X today undoubtedly remains a powerful platform — albeit a very different one.

Zoom out: Applying such radical, sudden changes at the scale of the federal government is far more difficult — as the second Trump administration learned this week when it issued then rescinded a sweeping memo freezing hundreds of billions in spending.

False rumors and panic have hit cities coast to coast after federal authorities began a nationwide immigration crackdown, prompting advocates and community leaders to warn people to seek reliable sources of information and keep calm.

Why it matters: Misinformation can ripple through already tense communities, leading to people staying home from work and school.

State of play: Within a couple days of the Trump administration announcing it would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to conduct enforcement in schools, a false report that ICE offers had showed up to a Chicago elementary school was shared in news reports and even by the governor.

• A similar rumor spread in Philadelphia, prompting the School District of Philadelphia, home to over 198,000 students, to release a statement denying that ICE had been in schools.
• In San Francisco, a middle schooler's claim she'd encountered an ICE agent on a city bus set off panic among parents and others in the city, per a report in the San Francisco Standard.

In immigrant communities in Colorado, online posts warning of raids spread quickly before local police stepped in, saying they were not aware of any action.

• And in Boston on Tuesday, leaders of the Boston Children's Hospital reassured the public that ICE had not raided the facility after several popular social media accounts reposted a false rumor.

What they're saying: "Misinformation is really dangerous because it creates panic and it creates chaos in any community, and immigrant communities are no different," says Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP).

• "I think that part of what is so difficult about this moment for so many immigrants around the United States is that a lot of the executive orders, a lot of the policy changes that are being announced are really not clear."

Between the lines: Top Trump administration officials have made contradictory statements about whether ICE raids would target people with criminal records, or anyone in the country illegally.

• Immigration officials have also not offered specifics as to the circumstances under which they would attempt to arrest someone at a school, for example.
• Whether by design or not, that ambiguity is feeding into the climate of fear and confusion.

President Trump is pushing legal boundaries by design — testing the limits of his own power and the willingness of a conservative high court to enhance it.

Why it matters: Trump's shock-and-awe agenda is setting in motion multiple future Supreme Court showdowns. These legal challenges threaten to scuttle some of his priorities and delay parts of his swift, decisive show of force.

State of play: The White House yesterday rescinded a freeze on trillions of dollars in federal grants — two days after it was issued, and one day after a judge temporarily prevented it from taking effect.

• The freeze had sparked enormous on-the-ground confusion, and reignited a long-simmering legal debate about whether presidents have the power to refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated.
• That's a serious constitutional question only the Supreme Court can ultimately answer.

Between the lines: The spending freeze was on a fast track to the high court the moment it was signed. The White House backed down this time, but it's prepared — and in many cases, eager — to fight many of these fights all the way to the end.

Trump's efforts to end birthright citizenship through an executive order have also been blocked in court.

• "This is a blatantly unconstitutional order," said U.S. District Judge John Coughenour of Seattle, who put a temporary stay on Trump's plans.
• Multiple suits over the citizenship order have been filed in multiple jurisdictions. So there'll be more rulings on the issue as it works its way toward the Supreme Court.

Legal experts largely think the Justice Department will have a hard time constructing a case against birthright citizenship.

• The 14th Amendment says, in part, that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States." That has long been read as establishing birthright citizenship.

But in other areas, the Trump administration will be on much friendlier terrain.

• Inspectors general fired by Trump last week have argued their dismissals were illegal, citing federal oversight laws.
• But taking those claims to court could backfire. The Supreme Court's conservative majority generally takes an expansive view of presidential power, including the power to fire senior executive branch officials.

Zoom in: Unions representing government workers have filed multiple suits challenging Schedule F — the executive order that strips civil-service protections from scores of federal employees, making it easier for Trump (or any president) to fire them.

• Trump's efforts to slash the bureaucracy depend heavily on Schedule F — which means they'll depend on the outcome of those cases.

What to watch: Liberal advocacy organizations have sued over Trump's surprise decision to give DOGE, initially conceived as an outside advisory group, a home inside the government. That can't happen without congressional approval, they argue.

• There's also a suit pending over Trump's order on transgender inmates. More civil-rights cases are sure to arise as the White House and federal agencies further roll back diversity programs and protections for LGBTQ people.
• Some Trump spending cuts could also end up in court.

The bottom line: Almost everything of any significance the Trump administration does, or attempts to do, will end up in court. In less than two weeks, it has already touched off two fights that would likely put enormous constitutional questions before the Supreme Court.

• There will be many, many more.

Rescue teams were combing the Potomac River after a plane carrying 64 people and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday night.

The big picture: Both the American Airlines regional jet that was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to D.C. and the helicopter was carrying three people while on a training exercise were in the river, officials said.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more photos and further details on the collision.

Top congressional Democrats smell blood over President Trump's federal spending freeze.

Why it matters: The base is loving the party's muscular signs of life and wants more. Phone lines lit up in Democratic offices on Wednesday, sources told Axios.

• "This is only the beginning," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told House Dems on an emergency call Wednesday afternoon.
• House Democrats are planning a "day of action" Thursday on the funding freeze, even after the White House withdrew the memo and blamed media coverage for the public's confusion.

Zoom in: The Trump White House is in retreat.

• Top Trump advisers said the memo was an unforced error and skipped the proper channels, the N.Y. Times reported on Wednesday.

Now, Democrats will try to turn the public backlash into durable opposition to other (and more popular) parts of his agenda.

• Senate Dems will flood the floor into the overnight hours Wednesday night with speeches about the dangers of Trump's move.
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has demanded the creation of "strike teams" to combat the budget reconciliation plan by Republicans, sources tell Axios.

The bottom line: After weeks of internal frustration over his leadership, Schumer has taken a heavier hand.

• Schumer obsesses over issue polling and privately acknowledges that some of Trump's priorities play well with voters.
• But the magnitude and scope of the OMB memo jumped out to Schumer and leadership as a massive overstep by Trump.

President Trump on Wednesday announced an order to open a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to house up to 30,000 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally.

The big picture: Trump made the announcement just before signing the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes such as theft.

Driving the news: "We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people," Trump said.

• "We don't want them coming back so we're going to send them out to Guantanamo," he continued.

Zoom in: There were still 15 prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay as of the Pentagon's Jan. 6 update, but a separate facility will hold immigrants.

• The White House directed the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security "to take all appropriate actions to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity."

Zoom out: Holding immigrants in facilities is by far the largest cost of the deportation process.

• An Axios review of various estimates put yearly detention costs at $66 billion under Trump's possible mass deportation plan.
• ICE only has about 38,000 people in detention — prioritizing noncitizens the border patrol arrested at the Southwest border and noncitizens with criminal histories, according to ICE's annual report.

A backlog of 3.7 million cases in immigration courts, where immigrants are entitled to make their case to stay in the country, means detained immigrants could wait months, if not years, for their hearing.

• To hold more people from a raid surge would require a mass building project of "soft detention" centers, or temporary facilities, to house people.
• The Trump administration will have to award private contracts to build such detention centers, and offer health care and education to detainees.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details from the White House's order.

Go deeper: All undocumented immigrants are "criminals," Trump administration says