What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash

Summary

Apple News Today: Detailed Summary of "What We Know About the Figure Skaters Lost in the Plane Crash"

Release Date: January 31, 2025
Host: Shemitah Basu

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Tragic Plane Crash Claims Lives of Elite Figure Skaters

On a somber note, the episode opens with the heart-wrenching news of a plane crash involving an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night. Tragically, all 67 individuals aboard both aircraft lost their lives. Among the victims were 14-year-old Everly and 11-year-old Olidia Livingston, along with their parents from the D.C. area, and six members from the prestigious Skating Club of Boston. Notable skaters such as 13-year-old Gina Hahn and 16-year-old Spencer Lane, hailed as the future stars of the sport, were among those deceased. The crash also claimed the lives of two Russian figure skating coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the 1994 World Champions in pairs figure skating.

Doug Zeghibe, CEO and Executive Director of the Skating Club of Boston, addressed the media with profound sorrow:

[01:34] Doug Zeghibe: "Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they're here at our facility in Norwood six, sometimes seven days a week. It's a close, tight bond and I think for all of us, we have lost family."

Echoing this sentiment, Nancy Kerrigan, an Olympic silver medalist from the same club, shared her emotional response:

[02:09] Nancy Kerrigan: "Here has been saying is not sure how to process it. Oh, shoot, I'm sorry."

Kerrigan further emphasized the unity within the figure skating community:

[02:21] Nancy Kerrigan: "We've been through the same thing, that training, that rigorous schedule of falling over and over and somehow picking yourself back up, which is like the main lesson I think learned in skating is you get back up, keep on trying and even when it's hard, you get back up and move forward. It's not easy, but that's what we all have to do now together."

Historical Parallels and Investigation Insights

This tragedy echoes a similar catastrophe from 60 years prior on Valentine's Day, where a plane crash resulted in the loss of 73 lives, including all 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating Team headed to the World Championships in Prague. Reflecting on the historical impact, Zeghibe stated:

[03:15] Doug Zeghibe: "It had long reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It's been a long time in redeveloping it, and I personally feel that this club, the Skating Club of Boston, has just now, almost 60 years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash."

Preliminary findings from the Federal Aviation Administration indicate that the crash may have been influenced by inadequate staffing at the air traffic control tower, where a single controller was managing duties typically handled by two individuals:

[03:39] Shemitah Basu: "A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration found that staffing at the air traffic control tower was, quote, not normal at the time of the crash and that just one controller was doing work that's typically assigned to two."

Senate Confirmation Hearings for Trump's Cabinet Nominees

Transitioning from the tragic news, the podcast delves into the Senate confirmation hearings for three of President Trump's controversial Cabinet nominees:

1. Kash Patel – Nominee for FBI Director

   • Background: A lawyer and former Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee, Patel has a history of supporting Trump and engaging with the QAnon community.
   • Controversies:
     • Played a role in defending Trump during the 2016 Russian election interference investigations.
     • Board member of the parent company for Truth Social, Trump's social media platform.
     • Involved in selling pro-Trump merchandise and children's books.
   • During Hearings:
     • Senator Dick Durbin questioned Patel on Trump's blanket pardon for individuals involved in the Capitol attack. Patel stated:

       [05:07] Juan Ferrero: "I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have, including in that group specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6th. And I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement."

     • However, it was later revealed that Patel's foundation supported families of January 6th rioters, contradicting his stance.

2. Tulsi Gabbard – Nominee for Director of National Intelligence

   • Background: Former Democratic congresswoman with bipartisan scrutiny during the hearings.
   • Key Issues:
     • Faced intense questioning regarding her comments on Edward Snowden.
     • Deflected direct questions about labeling Snowden a traitor.

     [06:31] Michael Bennett: "Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? As someone who has worn uniform in combat, I understand how critical our national security is. Apparently you don't."

3. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – Nominee to Lead Health and Human Services

   • Background: Notorious for his anti-vaccine activism, including efforts to revoke COVID-19 vaccines.
   • During Hearings:
     • Senator Bernie Sanders pressed Kennedy on his stance:

       [07:22] Michael Bennett: "Was the vaccine COVID vaccine successful in saving millions of lives?" [07:27] Nicholas Carr: "I don't know. We don't have a good surveillance system."

     • Senator Bennett countered:

       [07:35] Michael Bennett: "That, you know, Bob, you say if I show you, you're applying for the job. I mean, clearly you should know this. And that is the scientific community has established that the COVID vaccines save millions of lives, and you're casting doubt. That is really problematic."

Potential Roadblocks: These nominees may face hurdles even within their own party, with figures like Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, potentially opposing Kennedy’s nomination.

Migrant Deportations Under the Trump Administration

President Trump's campaign promised the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants, focusing primarily on those with criminal records. However, reports suggest discrepancies in this approach:

• Juan Ferrero from the Wall Street Journal highlights cases like the recent deportation of over 100 Colombian migrants, none of whom had criminal records.

  [08:50] Juan Ferrero: "There were no outstanding issues with the justice system in Colombia, and there was no outstanding issues with the justice system in the US. Many people."

Deportation Practices and Costs:

• Migrants are being transported on military cargo jets instead of commercial planes, significantly increasing costs. For instance, a recent flight to Guatemala cost approximately $4,675 per migrant:

  [09:02] Shemitah Basu: "Are being transported not on commercial planes but on military cargo jets, and that comes at a significant cost."

Allegations of Mistreatment:

• Reports of migrants being handcuffed or shackled during flights, leading to physical and emotional distress. A Colombian migrant described the experience as humiliating:

  [09:53] Juan Ferrero: "He said what others said, which was basically that he'd lost his clothes, they'd taken away his stuff, he was in a cold detention center, that kind of thing."

International Repercussions:

• Leaders like Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Brazil's President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva have criticized the U.S. for mistreating deported migrants. An incident involving Brazilian deportees getting stuck on a tarmac highlighted these tensions, with reports of physical assaults and mistreatment.

Policy Shifts:

• In response to the high costs associated with detention facilities, Trump announced plans to open a detention center at Guantanamo Bay capable of housing up to 30,000 individuals:

  [10:54] Shemitah Basu: "Earlier this week, Trump announced an order to address that by opening a detention center at Guantanamo Bay that he says will be able to house up to 30,000 people."

Additional Stories Covered

1. Managing News Overload:

   • Shemitah Basu shares tips from the publication Lawfare on coping with an overwhelming news cycle:
     • Prioritize stories that matter to you.
     • Rely on trusted news sources to avoid "doom scrolling."
     • Wait for measured analysis by giving it 12 to 72 hours after breaking news.

2. National Women's Soccer League Expansion:

   • Denver has been awarded the league's 16th franchise, set to begin play in 2020.
   • Factors contributing to Denver’s bid success included the ability to provide their own stadium, despite efforts from WNBA star Caitlin Clark to secure the Cincinnati franchise.

3. Beyoncé’s Grammy Aspirations:

   • Beyoncé is poised to become the fourth Black woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, potentially breaking her personal nomination drought. Her album "Cowboy Carter" is among the contenders.

4. Interview with Nicholas Carr:

   • Discussed the inherent issues with social media platforms, asserting that the system is functioning as intended rather than being fundamentally broken.

Conclusion

Shemitah Basu wraps up the episode by directing listeners to the Apple News app for more stories and upcoming interviews, encouraging them to enjoy their weekend.

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This comprehensive summary captures the multifaceted discussions presented in the January 31, 2025, episode of Apple News Today. From the devastating loss in the figure skating community to the intricate political and social issues surrounding Trump’s cabinet nominations and migrant deportations, the episode offers deep insights and notable commentary on pressing current events.

Transcript

[Shemitah Basu]

Good morning. It's Friday, January 31st. I'm Shemitah Basu. This is Apple News today. On today's show, inside the tense hearings for some of Trump's more tenuous cabinet nominees. Some migrants say they're being subjected to inhumane conditions while being deported. And practical tips for navigating this overwhelming moment in the news. But first, the elite ice skating community is reeling after the crash between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac river on Wednesday night. All 67 people on board these aircraft died. 14 of the victims were en route to Washington from a national figure skating development camp in Wichita, Kansas. Among them, two sisters, 14 year old Everly and 11 year old Olidia Livingston, and their parents from the D.C. area. Six of the victims were from the Skating Club of Boston. 13 year old Gina Hahn and 16 year old Spencer Lane were described as the future of the sport. Their mothers were also on board, as well as two coaches at the club, Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. They were married and they won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994. In Paris, Doug Zegheib, the CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston, addressed reporters yesterday.

[Doug Zeghibe]

Skating is a very close and tight knit community. These kids and their parents, they're here at our facility in Norwood six, sometimes seven days a week. It's a close, tight bond and I think for all of us, we have lost fam.

[Shemitah Basu]

The Skating Club of Boston is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in the country. It's produced Olympic and world champions like Nancy Kerrigan, who won the silver medal in the 1994 Olympics. She joined Zeghibe in addressing the crash while holding back tears, much like everyone.

[Nancy Kerrigan]

Here has been saying is not sure how to process it. Oh, shoot, I'm sorry.

[Shemitah Basu]

Kerrigan also spoke about how close this community is.

[Nancy Kerrigan]

You don't have to know everybody to feel that connection. We've been through the same thing, that training, that rigorous schedule of falling over and over and somehow picking yourself back up, which is like the main lesson I think learned in skating is you get back up, keep on trying and even when it's hard, you get back up. Even when you're crying, hurt, pain, you get back up and move forward. It's not easy, but that's what we all have to do now together.

[Shemitah Basu]

This is not the first airplane tragedy to hit the figure skating community. Many recalled an eerily similar event that took place 60 years ago on Valentine's Day that killed 73 people, including all 18 members of the U.S. figure Skating Team headed to the World championships in Prague. Here's Doug Zegheib again reflecting on the parallels between the two events.

[Doug Zeghibe]

It had long reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It's been a long time in redeveloping it, and I personally feel that this club, the Skating Club of Boston, has just now, almost 60 years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash.

[Shemitah Basu]

We're still learning more details about all of the victims of this crash, and it's too early to know what caused it. A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration found that staffing at the air traffic control tower was, quote, not normal at the time of the crash and that just one controller was doing work that's typically assigned to two. Turn now to the Senate confirmation hearings yesterday for three of President Trump's more controversial Cabinet nominees. That's Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Who's nominated to lead Health and Human Services Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for director of National Intelligence and Kash Patel, who's been tapped to lead the FBI. Patel, a lawyer and former Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee, has been a Trump loyalist for years and has in the past courted parts of the QAnon community. As a congressional aide in 2016, he helped the GOP defend Trump during investigations into Russian election interference. Patel was a board member of the parent company for Trump's social media platform Truth Social, and he has a side hustle selling pro Trump T shirts and children's books. However, during questioning by Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Patel broke from the president slightly when Durbin asked if Trump was wrong to issue a blanket pardon for over 1500 people charged in connection to the Capitol attack.

[Juan Ferrero]

I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have, including in that group specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6th. And I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.

[Shemitah Basu]

That's not entirely true. Patel's personal foundation has worked to support families of January 6th rioters, including some accused of and convicted of violent felony crimes against police. In the past, Patel has described January 6 rioters as political prisoners and promoted conspiracy theories that falsely claimed undercover FBI agents instigated the riot. If confirmed, Patel could serve up to 10 years in the role of FBI director. In Gabbard's hearing with the Intelligence Committee, senators from both parties pressed the former Democratic congresswoman on her qualifications as Director of National Intelligence. She would oversee 18 intelligence agencies, including the NSA. She she was asked about her previous comments expressing sympathy for Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor responsible for one of the largest intelligence leaks in U.S. history. Gabbard testified that Snowden broke the law, but she repeatedly deflected questions about whether she believes he's a traitor. Things got tense during this exchange with Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennett.

[Michael Bennett]

Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high. Senator, as someone who has answered yes or no, is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? As someone who has worn uniform in combat, I understand how critical our national security is. Apparently you don't.

[Shemitah Basu]

And in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. S second and final day of hearings, he faced more questions about his history of anti vaccine activism, which included petitioning the fda, an agency he would oversee if confirmed, to revoke the COVID 19 vaccine. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked Kennedy if his position on the vaccine has changed.

[Michael Bennett]

Was the vaccine COVID vaccine successful in saving millions of lives?

[Nicholas Carr]

I don't know. We don't have a good surveillance system.

[Michael Bennett]

Unfortunately, we don't know.

[Nicholas Carr]

I don't think anybody can say that. If you show me science that says.

[Michael Bennett]

That, you know, Bob, you say if I show you, you're applying for the job. I mean, clearly you should know this. And that is the scientific community has established that the COVID vaccines save millions of lives, and you're casting doubt. That is really problematic.

[Shemitah Basu]

These three nominees might face skepticism from some of the same Republicans that had issues with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which could complicate their path to confirmation. One senator who didn't vote for hegseth was Mitch McConnell, who, as a survivor of polio, may not back Kennedy's nomination. One of President Trump's core campaign promises was to deport millions of migrants living here without legal documentation. Hundreds have been deported already since he took office. Trump says he's focusing on people with criminal records. But Juan Ferrero, bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal in South America, told us that isn't always what's happening. In the case of a large group of Colombian migrants who were recently deported, over 100 men, more than 70 women and 16 children. The Colombian government says none of them had criminal record.

[Juan Ferrero]

Here's Ferrero There were no outstanding issues with the justice system in Colombia, and there was no outstanding issues with the justice system in the US Many people.

[Shemitah Basu]

Are being transported not on commercial planes but on military cargo jets, and that comes at a significant cost. One military deportation flight to Guatemala earlier this week was estimated to have cost at least $4,675 per migrant, according to data provided to Reuters by U.S. and Guatemalan officials. That's much higher than the cost of a commercial charter flight by ice. Some deported people are sharing their stories and saying US Authorities mistreated them. Some say they were put in handcuffs or shackles, making it difficult and painful to move or eat. Immigration officials told the Journal it's long standing US Policy to handcuff deported migrants in order to prevent outbursts while in the air. Ferrero spoke with a 23 year old from Colombia who was on one of these flights who described the conditions as humiliating.

[Juan Ferrero]

He said what others said, which was basically that he'd lost his clothes, they'd taken away his stuff, he was in a cold detention center, that kind of thing.

[Shemitah Basu]

Colombia's president Gustavo Petro has criticized the Trump administration for the treatment of Colombian migrants, as has Brazil's president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Ferrero told us about a plane of Brazilian deportees that recently got stuck on the tarmac in the Amazon during sweltering heat with no air conditioning due to technical issues with the plane. According to local media, a number of people fainted, children were crying, and people were begging to be let off the plane before some finally used emergency exits to get out. Still bound in handcuffs. Some say U.S. officials physically assaulted them. You U.S. authorities have not commented on that, but it was Brazil's federal police who eventually removed their cuffs.

[Juan Ferrero]

This is something that is causing tensions with some of these governments around the region and leading to dust ups.

[Shemitah Basu]

Costly flights aside, holding immigrants in detention facilities before deporting them is by far the most expensive part of the deportation process, according to Axios. Earlier this week, Trump announced an order to address that by opening a detention center at Guantanamo Bay that he says will be able to house up to 30,000 people. Here are some other stories we're watching today. First, a little meta commentary on the news. It's been an incredible newsy few weeks. I've been seeing lots of essays and opinion pieces about how to not feel overwhelmed by it all. So here are just a few tips that my team and I have appreciated reading and are trying to remember ourselves. First, you don't have to follow every breaking story the news will break, whether you're there to stress about it or not. Instead, try to take in what feels important to you and don't feel pressured to read up on the rest. Another tip? Let trusted sources that show their reporting work do the heavy lifting for you. It's far more productive than doom scrolling on your own. And remember, the hours immediately following a breaking story are usually filled with questions and hypotheticals. But if you wait 12, 24, even 72 hours later, you're more likely to come across measured, researched analysis. These tips are from the publication Lawfare, and we'll link to their longer list in our Show Notes page. Moving on to some sports news, the National Women's Soccer League decided yesterday to award Denver the league's 16th franchise. The new team will begin to play in 2020, and the Wall Street Journal has an interesting story about some of the negotiations that happened behind the scenes. WNBA star Caitlin Clark was part of a bid to give Cincinnati the next franchise soccer league, but her star power wasn't enough to close the deal, and the Journal says what helped tip things in Denver's favor was their ability to offer the team its own stadium. And finally, only three Black women have ever taken home the top Grammy Award album of the year. But this weekend, Beyonce could become the fourth while at the same time breaking a personal drought in the ceremony's biggest category. Beyonce is already the winningest artist in Grammy history with 32 awards, but she's never taken home album of the year, despite four previous nominations. If she wins, she'll join Natalie Cole, Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston as the only black women to win it. Her country album Cowboy Carter, is up for the prize. The Grammy ceremony is on Sunday in Los Angeles. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app, and check out our weekly interview show Apple News in Conversation this week, I talked to tech writer Nicholas Carr about social media and the fundamental problem with platforms today.

[Nicholas Carr]

Because we tend to say, oh, we can fix social media or we can fix the Internet by tweaking the algorithms or by banning TikTok or by breaking up Meta. I actually don't think that is going to work because I would argue that the system is not broken. The system is operating exactly as it is meant to operate.

[Shemitah Basu]

If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend and I'll be back with the news on Monday.