officials are investigating multiple factors to understand black box is from the plane crash have been recovered and rescues have been paused to crash have been recovered and rescues ha conditions. sed to which included two teenage figure skaters from boston. five thai nationals — among them a monk and an agricultural worker — are released by hamas after being held in gaza. three israelis were also released as part of the ceasefire agreement.

i'm katie silver. it's the worst us air disaster in 20 years. a mid—air crash between a passenger plane and an army helicopter in the skies above the nation's capital. 64 people were onboard the american airlines flight now all 67 are presumed dead. and that process continues. it's still much too soon to speculate about the cause to ronald reagan airport after flying in from wichita, kansas. the new york times is reporting that staffing at that's according to our us media partners cbs news.

officers, not knowing if there are any lives they can save. inflatable boats are needed to reach the wreckage. the fuselage of the american airlines plane was inverted. is going to go on today. as morning came, it was clear everyone had lost their lives. 60 passengers and four crew on american airlines where we are switching from a rescue to a recovery operation.

cctv pictures show the moment of impact. on closer footage, we see the crash quite clearly. sam lily.

it's been shocking to everyone. coming in and i see the helicopters all the time, ijust — i don't know, it'sjust kind of shocking. an investigation is already an investigation is already under way into under way into how this accident how this accident could have occurred could have occurred on a clear night when both on a clear night when both aircraft were following aircraft were following standard flight patterns. standard flight patterns. military helicopters to fly opportunity policies over and around washington all the time. all the time. this black hawk was on a night this black hawk was on a night time training flight. time training flight. president trump asked for a moment's silence for what he called a tragedy

of terrible proportions, before quickly blaming equal before quickly blaming equal opportunity policies at air traffic control for making flying less safe. the initiative is part of the faa's diversity and inclusion hiring plan. think of that, the initiative is part of the faa's diversity and inclusion hiring plan, which says diversity is integral to achieving faa's mission of achieving safe and efficient travel. i don't think so, i think it's the opposite. how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash? because i have common sense, 0k? and it is just common sense, apparently. no evidence has been presented to connect diversity policies with this or any air accident.

it's important for legislators who are seeking answers battleground in the political and cultural wards in america. battleground in the political and cultural ward in america. —— cultural wars in america. our north america correspondent merlyn thomas is at and gave us this update in the last hour. do we know the rescue do we know when the rescue opposite —— operation will opposite operation will resume? it it is still unclear opposite -- operation will resume?— resume? it is still unclear when this _ resume? it is still unclear when this will _ resume? it is still unclear when this _ resume? it is still unclear when this will _ resume? it is still unclear when this will resume - resume? it is still unclear| when this will resume and they have been paused, just to resume? it is still unclear when this will resume - resume? it is still unclear| when this will resume and resume? it is still unclear- when this will resume and they have been paused, just to emphasise, because emphasise, because of these dangerous conditions. it is is very cold here in washington, here in 7 here in washington, very cold here in washington, dc and the conditions in the dc and the conditions in the river are extremely icy and so river are extremely icy and so officials have said that officials have said that

they've put that, those assets, they've put that, those assets, to search for those remaining to for bodies from the river, on pause until they can say that it is safe to do so because they've emphasised they don't want to lose any more people in this ongoing effort and they've done so, you know, the us national coastguard has already been moving metal degree from the plane crash, the sight of the crash, in the potomac river, just beside me. it is icy blackout there, very cold out here, these are treacherous conditions that the refugee efforts that are going on throughout the day, trying to retrieve bodies and we know already there have been at least 28 bodies that have been recovered from those are

been recovered and so those are flight data recorders. investigators hope that they offer some clues exactly went wrong on what exactly went wrong on this — in this incident of this z in. this incident. at this the has said that they've taken the black boxes to lab nearby the boxes to their lab nearby the site and they will be analysing black for more the black boxes for more information. now, are iflfmmat'nfl hmfif etnelciflc w’ the iflfmmat'fifl hfflfif etfielcahc ' ,, the similar questions iflfmmat'fifl hfflfif etfielcahc ' w the similar questions as asking the similar questions as what happens. to what happens. there are still no known causes and to what happens. there are still no are wn causes and to what happens. there are still no are asking ;es and to what happens. there are still no are asking questions people are asking questions. the unusual staffing of asset. tbs efi�*f�*jél =tafflflqfif aircraft —— $352.42 t.he 24h24=24el etefflheef aircraft —— air e5342 t.he 24h24=24el etefflheef aircraft —— air traffic the aircraft —— air traffic control team but it is w " ie important to emphasise that is just coming from media i24e2. 5922in frer2'2 5532255?” ~ ~ so far i2452. 5922in fr922 245272225997 ~ ~ so far and j2452. 5922in fr922 245272225997 ~ ~ so far and we still outlets so far and we still don't know what caused this incident. �* , , ., 902 go, we understand that you go, we understand that operations at the operations have resumed at the airport and are all flights on? , �* , back on? yes, we've seen planes bein: back on? yes, we've seen planes being taken _ back on? yes, we've seen planes being taken off _ back on? yes, we've seen planes being taken off and _ back on? yes, we've seen planes being taken off and landing - back on? yes, we've seen planes being taken off and landing and l them 'ust as can �* them just as we

flights have not stopped :—= obviously there was 7 obviously there was a and obviouslyfthere was a pause in and obviouslyfthara was a pause in operations - 1,0f ,, srofthe " —22 7 srofthe planer aftermath of the plane crash but now flights are back on. airport resumed the airport has resumed operations and, you know, the are operating with the elsewhere is w ”elsewhere’iszstill’ ' 7 w 77 elsewhere is still very mood elsewhere is still very much grave because as the mayor wichita, in kansas, the where commercial place where that commercial airline came from, she place where that commercial airline came howr, she place where that commercial airline came how those emphasised how those are grieving. the communities are grieving. the city hosted the national for figure championships for figure iceskating camp championships forfigure iceskating camp as well the championships where national championships where some of those figure skating some of those figureeskating were that plane that members were on that plane that crashed and so those then crashed and so those communities still grieving communities are still grieving and still searching for answers. very sad time indeed for all of those _ for all of those communities. thanks for your reporting there. is still undetermined. but i've been speaking about what may have gone wrong from the university of southern california, and a former faa appointed accident

prevention counsellor. well, to put things in perspective, we have in every commercial aircraft worldwide to aid in the prevention of midair collisions. so there have been millions of flights. the system is not perfect, but it is still very, very safe. now, as we've just been hearing, we understand closely at is the communication factors. the helicopter pilots said that they had the other

that other aircraft falls upon the pilot. of the aircraft. that's one of the things to look at. but there is a lot of data points associated with this accident. a lot of latent conditions that somehow, some way, turned into this tragedy. —— turned into this active error that resulted in this tragedy. cbs news say that there was only one air traffic controller working rather than two. theirjob is done. of the other air traffic controllers wouldn't have played a part?

tells the controller that he sees the other that pilot is responsible for the separation. the helicopter pilot said they saw the aircraft, now we're going to focus on some of the people onboard the american airlines plane, with at least 15 of the passengers being athletes, coaches laura scott reports on the impact of the crash on the tight knit skating community. brimming with enthusiasm at a training camp for the figure among them the teenager spencer lane, a regional only yesterday he said

a national development camp in wichita had been an amazing experience. confirming, tragically, what many within the figure skating community had feared — that he had been on board flight 53122. so too had fellow skaterjinna han. which has been left reeling. and the athletes�* moms. for our skating community. the two coaches known to be on board were married couple who, in 1994, won world championship

they'd been helping to develop young skaters in boston since 2017. tonight, two more clubs said they were mourning the loss might have been involved in figure skating. you keep on trying. you get back up and move forward. it's not easy, but that's what we all have to do now together. and talent taken too soon. around the world and across the uk.

let's look at some other stories making news. the driver of a car that crashed into a school in wimbledon in southwest london, killing two eight—year—old girls, has been released on bail pending further investigations. on tuesday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. the bishop of liverpool has announced his retirement, john perumbalath had been accused of sexual assault and harassment by two women, which he denies. he said his resignation is not an admission of fault. the english singer, songwriter and actress, she rose to fame in the 60s, after meeting her career was overshadowed by a battle with heroin addiction, which continued until the 1980s.

surrounded by her family. eight more hostages have been released under the gaza ceasefire deal — israel still lists 82 captives in gaza, of whom around 45 are thought to be still alive. crowds in the occupied west bank welcomed the release after an initial delay following what israeli officials called unacceptable and chaotic scenes at lucy williams reports. hostages to the surging crowd.

dependent on his captors for protection. and 29—year—old arbel yehoud, lost in the crush of gunmen and cameras — put your hands together. you are defeated today by our resistance and disappointed. are gone. highly controlled and choreographed. jibes at israel's military units hung on the stage.

watched her appear. it's felt like something is missing inside of us, of our hearts. in exchange, israel released 110 palestinian prisoners. and the former head of an armed and the former head of an armed palestinian group palestinian group in the occupied west bank, released back tojenin. reunions here seen by many photo was released by as a triumph for hamas... ..seen in israel as the price it pays to get its hostages home. to get its hostages home. lucy williamson, bbc news, tel aviv. those five thai hostages lucy

mentioned in her report have been pictured together.this been pictured together.this photo was released by the royal thai embassy in tel aviv. thailand's prime minister also expressed her relief at the news of the thai nationals being released. one of them is named watchara sriaoun. soon after reaching safety, he was able to video—call his family, who is in thailand. his mother, pictured here on the right, was overwhelmed with relief at seeing her son. the bbc�*s south asia correspondent, jonathan head joined me earlierfrom bangkok to talk more about the thai hostages released. well, they're all youngish men. four of them in their 30s. one in his late 20s. very typical of the kinds of thais who go in quite large number, many thousands every year, to work on farms in israel. all kidnapped in those very early stages of the hamas attacks on october seven. two of them are fathers of young children. they all come from pretty poor parts of thailand.

four of them are from the northeast. that's a very dry, arid part of thailand, where it's very hard to make a living as a farmer or from any other kind ofjob incomes which tend to be low. so very typical of the profile of those who go out to israel. some of them had been there a long time, one had been there for six years. another, who had come from the province in the north, he'd only been there for nine months. so, variable. normally, their contracts run up to five or six years, maximum. so very typical, i think, of those who go to israel. and it's been a pretty gruelling experience for theirfamilies. they really had no idea what had happened to them. the only news they'd received was when other thai hostages were released at the end of 2023, and some of them were able to bring news that the other hostages were alive. 0thers — there's been very little information that time. there is one man still missing from thailand —

a man from the northeast. so his wife is still left without any information at all about whether he is alive or dead. yes, i understand that overall, there were 31 thais taken hostage. this might surprise some of our viewers — can you give us a sense of how many thais go to israel or used to go to israel in order to work there? normally, the numbers in any one year are around 30,000. and this is a practice that goes back many, many decades. back in the 1990s, israel was looking for alternatives to palestinian labour following the first intifada,

back in thailand, so they're able to go out and save money both those taken hostage and those who survived the initial attacks. but they did resume it injune last year. israel. and yet, they still think that it is worth going. by the israelis. so both thailand and israel want to resume this. to go back, but they would prefer not to work close to the border with gaza. and i would say, others have

been killed in the past few as well. upended relief efforts around the world. sanitation projects and aids prevention, have been shut down, and staff have been told to stop working. the us is the world's largest foreign aid donor. eu institutions gave the second most, providing more than $34—billion. the state department to review which programmes will continue on the impact in the country. the anand date —— the united

states funds programmes and so a crosscourt of —— cross—border conflict could add more that extends to pressure. that extends to schools. are more than 20 schools. there are more than 20 million out of school miltipn'chitdran 'aut'of school and miltion'chitoran 'oot'of school and the millioh'chilorah 'oot'of school and the us was finding here and the us was finding education e9953!— education programmes. also several education programmes. also afghani pakistan also hosts afghani refugees, it 3 million ’efeeeee it. hfiete é minifi’fi” 7 ”7” 7 7 n w and ’efeeeee it. hfiete é minififi” 7 777” 7 7 77 77 and the ’efeeeee it. hfiete 3 “2415757 7 77777 7 7 77 77 and the us it says only afg hansana the 145 itrsays only 4 million afghans'ana'tha ei—sfit'says only 4 million are documented. i 3.14 million are documented. i spoke to one afghan refugee, a woman who was and she spoke to one afghan refugee, a woman ' to d was and she spoke to one afghan refugee, a woman ' to be as and she spoke to one afghan refugee, a woman ' to be as in and she spoke to one afghan refugee, a woman ' to be as in thei she m states sto - that united states stop that programme has also frozen. also receiving she was also receiving medical care was funded by the states 7 states ji’e’e ~ , many united states because for many countries in region, countries in this region, humanitarian is a lifeline. humanitarianaid isalifeline. asks me how she can afford 71}: amp; 7 7 77 77 7 in; when that {low 77 77 7 in; when that {low is 77 7 cut off. in afghanistan already2 aiireadi;2 stretched already stretched thin. programme said 7 programme said7that world food programme said that more than 6 million people were one 01’ one or two meals a

we're re or two meals a we're notr two meals a we're not talking eals a we're not talking about day. we're not talking about full meals, about full meals, talking about things like bread and tea and they're saying that given so they're saying that given the united states is —— or the united states is all —— or was single largest donor in was the single largestrdonor in the this aid freeze will be felt of this aid freeze will be felt immediately and disastrously. now, there news that be waivers when it to )e waivers when it to funding rs when it to funding life—saving comes to funding life—saving services but organisations are trying to that 7 especially when actually means, especially when it comes to medical care. two nasa astronauts who have been unable to return have taken their first spacewalk together since their arrival eight months ago. the pair, butch wilmore and suni williams, performed they are due to come back to earth by april.

so we've got this frontal system pushing its way eastwards, but it is a very weak affair, builds in behind it. tending to clear away. for a good part of the day, and we will keep a fair bit of cloud as well across central and eastern england, northern england up into scotland. across the southwest of england, wales, northern ireland. temperatures around 6—10 degrees. now, during friday night we will see this zone

and another zone of cloud pushing to freezing or a touch below, so there could be a frost of england, some misty conditions for a time as well. with for sunday is, yes, a band of clouds and bits and pieces of rain, but nothing too significant.

and in that sunshine, temperatures like these seven, weather around once again. some rain at times, particularly up

us president donald trump takes aim — without evidence — at diversity policies after a deadly mid—air collision. hello and welcome to business today. efforts to hire a more diverse workforce. directing his administration to assess and undo diversity initiatives in aviation safety roles. here's what trump said when asked whether diversity

policies played a role in the crash.