America in Brief

Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

Deadliest Air Crash in 2 Decades Kills 67

A passenger plane crashed headlong into a military helicopter in Washington on Jan. 29, killing 67 people, in what is considered the United States’ deadliest air disaster in two decades.

The American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members was travelling from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three crew members, causing both to come crashing into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Being close to the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon, questions are being raised about how this could have happened in one of the world’s most controlled and heavily regulated airspaces.

President Donald Trump looks on after signing the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29, 2025. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Signs Laken Riley Act

President Donald Trump signed the first bill of his second term into law on Jan. 29.

The Laken Riley Act enables Homeland Security to detain any illegal immigrants arrested or charged with a crime, including theft of any kind or any violence-related charge.

It was named after Laken Hope Riley, a 22- year-old nursing student who was murdered in Georgia, Atlanta, in 2024 by José Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

Ibarra, who entered the country illegally in 2022, had previously committed crimes but was unable to be detained by authorities owing to immigration policies at the time.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) departs Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on May 14, 2024. Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images

Former Sen. Bob Menendez Jailed for 11 Years in Bribery Case

Former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was jailed for 11 years on Jan. 20 for bribery and corruption, in which he was accused of acting as a foreign agent.

He was accused of currying favours with Egypt and Qatar and a New Jersey businessman in exchange for more than $400,000, including gold bars and a Mercedes Benz.

Menendez, 71, was a public servant for 50 years and a senator since 2006.

Menendez’s wife, who was accused alongside him, will be put on trial on March 18.

Specialists from the Environmental Protection Agency work to remove toxic and hazardous debris from a burned home following the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2025. Mike Blake/Reuters

LA Begins Clean-Up in Wake of Fires

Workers have begun removing hazardous debris from the charred remains of homes in Los Angeles County during the first phase of clean-ups in the wake of one of its most destructive fires.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 24 giving the Environmental Protection Agency until Feb. 25 to complete the first of two clean-up phases before rebuilding can begin.

The worst fires, the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, are now all but contained, having destroyed 37,469 acres between them.

KCC, a catastrophe risk modelling firm, has estimated the insurance loss for the Palisades and Eaton fires at close to $28 billion.