Investigators are searching for explanations for the rare mid-air collision that resulted in the nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in more than two decades. USA TODAY tracked how Project 2025 is showing up in President Donald Trump’s actions so far. The Grammy Awards are this weekend, and we’ve got everything you need to be ready for music’s biggest night.
🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. “We can’t forget about Ham.”
‘Black box’ flight data recorder recovered in DC plane crash
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to USA TODAY that investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the passenger airplane that collided in midair with an Army helicopter, leaving 67 people dead near Ronald Reagan National Airport.
What happens next: The agency said the recorders, a key component of determining the final moments and circumstances of air disasters, are at NTSB labs “for evaluation.”
Figure skating community devastated over fatal DC plane crash
“I’ve never seen someone love skating as much as these two, and that’s why I think it hurts so much. When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it’s even a bigger blow.”
~ Two-time Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan revealed during a press conference on Thursday she knew at least two skaters on the plane − Spencer Lane and Jinna Hahn. Both Lane and Hahn’s mothers, Molly Lane and Jin Hahn, were reportedly also on the flight. The skaters were returning from a national development camp following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. The exact number of victims with ties to figure skating is still unknown.
They were parents, coaches, professionals, teenage athletes, soldiers and children:Read the stories of the lives lost in the DC area plane crash.
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Project 2025 is turning up in Trump’s actions
President Donald Trump distanced himself from the conservative project known as Project 2025 on the campaign trail, but many policies he’s choosing to enact already align closely with it. Project 2025, led by policy experts at the conservative Heritage Foundation, has provided the Republican presidential administration with a blueprint of policy ideas. Some of the language in Trump’s executive orders mirrors language from Project 2025. In other cases, he’s calling for the same actions that authors in Project 2025 also said the next Republican president should take. From gender to hiring to foreign aid, here’s how Project 2025 is showing up in the White House so far.
Californians could sue oil and gas firms for wildfire damages
Two California Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that could allow people and insurers to sue oil and gas companies for damages sparked by climate change-related disasters such as wildfires and mudslides. The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act accuses fossil fuel companies of misleading the public about the impact of their products on climate change. The bill comes during the very early recovery stages of the devastating wildfires in Southern California earlier this month which have killed at least 28 people and burned more than 35,000 acres. If the measure passes, California would be the first state in the U.S. to allow for such legal action.
Today’s talkers
Are you Grammys-ready?
We’re on vocal rest until Sunday. The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be held at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles (here’s how to watch), and we’ll be singing along as music’s major acts take the stage for awards and performances. Ahead of music’s biggest night, USA TODAY has all you need to know:
Photo of the day: Red Hot for Los Angeles
Thursday night’s FireAid benefit concert will go down in history not only because it featured some of the biggest names in music on the same stage, but for the message of hope artists spread: The performances raised a monumental sum to aid those affected by wildfires in California. Donations can be made at fireaidla.org.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.
