January 30, 2025

DC AIR TRAGEDY | An American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided around 9pm last night as the plane was approaching Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, to land, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River. All 64 people aboard the American flight from Wichita, Kansas, and the three crew members aboard the military helicopter are believed to have died in the incident, according to officials. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• In a continuation of the cease-fire and hostage exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, three Israelis and five Thai nationals held by Hamas since October 2023 are set to be returned to Israel today in exchange for the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners by Israel. [more]
• A law went into effect in Israel today banning operations on Israeli territory by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, members of which Israeli officials have accused of taking part in the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1071 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed, and nine others were injured, overnight in a Russian drone attack that struck an apartment building in the northeastern Sumy region. Additionally, damage to two apartment buildings and a hospital was reported from the attack in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT | President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law yesterday, which requires the pre-trial detention of unauthorized immigrants accused to theft and violent crimes. After signing the measure, Trump said the U.S. will use the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to hold tens of thousands of "criminal aliens." [more]

U.S. SPENDING FREEZE | The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget yesterday rescinded a memo issued earlier this week that temporarily suspended spending on federal loans and grants. The move followed an earlier court stay on the memo’s orders. [more]

META TRUMP SETTLEMENT | Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta agreed yesterday to pay roughly $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit that President Donald Trump brought against the company over the suspension of Trump’s accounts on its platforms following the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. [more]

MENENDEZ | In sentencing related to his July 2024 conviction on 16 felony counts, including bribery, fraud, and acting as a foreign agent, former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey was sentenced to 11 years in prison yesterday. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | According to Commerce Department data released today, the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product, grew at an annualized rate of 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024. [more]

PHILIPPINES AND CHINA | Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has suggested that his country could remove U.S.-provided missile systems from its territory if China halts what he says is “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the disputed South China Sea. [more]

CONGO | Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi called yesterday for a massive military mobilization to fight Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo. [more]

SWEDEN | Swedish media reports say Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man who emigrated to Sweden in 2021 and who carried out several Quran burnings, was killed in a shooting yesterday. [more]

EUROPEAN ECONOMY | European Union statistics agency Eurostat reports that economic output in the 20-nation eurozone, as measured by gross domestic product, showed zero growth in the final quarter of 2024 – down from 0.4% in the third quarter. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, was arrested and is expected to appear in court today to face terrorism charges related to allegations of inciting violence during riots in 2021 in which more than 350 people were killed. [more]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | A newly released report backed by 30 countries, including the U.S. and China, suggests that advanced artificial intelligence systems could create extreme new risks, fuel widespread job losses, and strain government attempts to regulate and oversee the systems. The International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI was released ahead of a major AI summit in Paris next month. [full report] [more]

AI AND COPYRIGHT | In new guidance released yesterday, the U.S. Copyright Office says that while copyright applications for works that are fully machine-generated will continue to be rejected, artists can copyright works created with the help of artificial intelligence if there is a “centrality of human creativity” in the creation process. [full report] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1948, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi—considered the father of his country and internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress—was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. [more history]