nintendo switch sold for less than $20. go to dealdash.com and see how much you can save. >> and welcome back to our continuing coverage of the tragedy here on the potomac. they are continuing at this hour despite the frigid temperatures and the darkness, to search on the surface of the water of the potomac. they're not going they're not sending divers down into the water to continue with their recovery. but they are searching, continuing overnight. we're told to search on the water. we've seen a couple of blue lights on small, small, small boats and that the debris field is actually quite large from here. so it's going to be a long night for for those crews. divers will continue tomorrow morning with light to try to recover. more 40 people have been recovered thus far, but obviously there is a lot more work to do and it is difficult and dangerous and it's going to

take some time. that's it for our coverage. the news continues right here on cnn. >> it's friday. >> january 31st, right now on cnn this morning. and we're here. to assure. >> the american. >> people that we. >> are going. >> to. >> leave no. >> stone unturned searching. >> for answers. investigators recovered data recorders from the wreckage of yesterday's. >> disaster ahead. >> cnn's cnn will show you exclusive new footage of the moment of the collision. plus. >> we just wanted to be here and be part of our community. >> a nation in mourning, family, friends, entire communities beginning to grieve. the 67 lives lost in this tragedy. >> to be clear, are you saying race or gender played a role in this tragedy? >> it may have. i don't.

>> know. >> president donald trump suggesting that diversity may somehow be linked to the collision. ahead. more on the president's comments on this disaster. all right. it is 5 a.m. here on the east coast. here's a beautiful look at the statue of liberty in a darkened new york harbor on this friday morning. everybody, we made it to the end of january. can you believe that? today is january 31st? it's only been the longest month of the year already. good morning, everyone. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we do begin this morning with the latest on the tragedy in the sky over the potomac river overnight. cnn exclusively obtained two new videos. so these were shot on cell phone. but what it shows is surveillance camera replay of the moment that the collision occurred. so let's look at this first video. you can see the

black hawk helicopter. it's going to come in on the left hand side of your screen. and it's moving towards flight 5342 on the right. wow. a bright explosion erupts the plane and the helicopter both splashing out of control into the river below. all right, let's watch the second video we have. now, this seems to be surveillance video from inside the airport itself. you can see the helicopter is moving along the river on the right, with the plane on final approach to the runway. excuse me. on the left you can see the light from the helicopter and the plane shining onto the water below. and then the collision. explosion occurs, sending both aircraft plunging into the potomac river. that, of course, the moment when 67 souls were to lose their lives, at least 14 of the victims are still missing. first responders are expected to resume those recovery operations this morning. they have already pulled dozens of victims from the water.

>> a lot of the effort has been focused on removing people from inside the plane, who they were not able to remove last. >> night. >> as well as just continuing to scan the entire area to see who they can locate. >> and new. this morning, the new york times reporting this quote, the military helicopter appears to have been flying too high and outside its approved flight path at the time of the crash, according to four people briefed on the matter, but not authorized to speak publicly. a senior army official also telling the times that the blackhawks pilots had flown that route before crews recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the plane, and special equipment is being brought in to pull the wreckage of both of these aircrafts out of the water. you need. >> to give us time. you need. >> to give ntsb. >> it's not that we don't have information. we do have information. >> we have data. we have substantial. >> amounts of information we need to verify. >> information. we need. >> to.

>> take our time to. >> make sure it. is accurate. all right. joining us now to discuss is mary schiavo, cnn aviation analyst, former inspector general at the u.s. department of transportation. mary, good morning. good morning. it's nice to see you again. so what have we learned so far about how this happened? i mean, obviously, the times is reporting these new details about the helicopter. >> and the new details are very helpful, as is this new video. but it does reinforce a lot of the details that we had yesterday. so first of all, we do know that the airplane, the psa flight was on air traffic control, an approved route. it was where it was supposed to be in the sky, and it was landing. it had priority and it was being completely advised by air traffic control. and that's what has to happen with commercial passenger service aircraft. they must be under positive aircraft air traffic control. we've now learned, of course, as some of the things that we had looked at on radar and had had thought about yesterday, but that the

helicopter was on the path where the helicopters usually fly in washington, d.c., but it may have been too high. it may not have been at its assigned altitude or the altitude where they usually operate, which is below the landing path for the airport. and then finally for this video and the other videos we saw yesterday, we do see other lights in the area, and in particular, one bright light of another aircraft. and when the air traffic control tower asked the helicopter, do you have the plane in sight? i know the first time that i looked at that video, i focused on the moving light, not on the stationary light, which wasn't stationary. it's just your van. >> appears that way. >> and so obviously there's a concern that the helicopter pilot may have looked at the brighter moving light and thought that that was the plane that he was supposed. >> to have. because on this approach, it's possible that the light of the plane he ultimately hits would have appeared to be stationary to him.

>> that's right. and the first time i saw that video, i looked at the brighter moving light. and you know, when you fly it light at night, that's what you look at. i mean, night flight is wonderful and beautiful for a pilot, but the movement of the lights is where you focus first, and you have to learn that, that, you know, that may be a distraction, right? >> it may not actually be what what matters. let's we spoke with a former blackhawk pilot who has flown this route through washington, dc before. i want to show you what he had to say about this and we'll talk about it. watch i've flown this route too many times to count you before you proceed south along the river. >> you called reagan tower at key bridge. and you say. you say you're at key bridge. you don't proceed without their permission. you stair step down your altitude and you're at 200ft, and you keep that 200ft plus or minus, you know, ten, 20ft. and so as this investigation proceeds, i'm going to really want to see what altitude was that blackhawk at. and if it was well above 200ft, that might have been a decisive explanation here for what happened.

>> so how does a mistake like that happen in a helicopter flying this much? i mean, it would have to be relatively twice as high, almost. >> right? well, i mean, in many ways, you know, first and foremost, you have to watch your instruments, but you also have to be aware of your surroundings. your situational awareness is very important. but sometimes there's so many things that could be. and the ntsb will figure out what was really going on. it could be, you know, a lack of situational awareness, losing, just losing your focus on on where you are and what you're doing and what you're supposed to be looking at, not paying attention to your instruments. and in this particular flight operation environment, keeping that altitude exactly where it's supposed to be is very important. it might also depend what equipment they had in that helicopter. they they, you know, commercial passenger service jets in the united states, by law, have to have collision avoidance. they have to have a lot of equipment. and the black hawk helicopter does not have that same civilian equipment. so it will also depend what

equipment they had, what they were paying attention to. and of course, we know that they were practicing, or at least it's been reported that they were practicing with night goggles. what equipment did they have on that they were focused on as opposed to their altitude? the other traffic in the area, the controls and commands from air traffic control. so there are a lot of things out there that could have distracted them. and it could be as simple as they focused on the wrong aircraft to follow. >> mary. we we know that the staffing was quote, unquote, not normal in the tower, that there was one person doing the planes and the helicopters, when there are typically two people who do that, how did it end up that way? >> well, and that is a very good point, because i won't say that it's not normal. you should have one person assigned to every job in air traffic control, be it a tower or tracon and enroute center, but it has become practice. it's not unusual for the faa at less than

peak hours. it's not supposed to interfere with their duties, but to assign one person to work two roles. now, of course, there's a lot of focus right now on the shortage of air traffic controllers. again, there's lots of explanations for that. but the top one is that during covid, the faa reduced hiring and training, and you constantly have to have people in the pipeline because training for an air traffic controller fully experienced, fully authorized, one can take up to two years. and so there was this gap of people in the pipeline. so one of the measures that that the faa did and air traffic control does is to assign in less than peak hours, one person to do two roles. but, you know, sometimes just extra eyes on the situation is very important. but i don't know if in that environment with all the other lights, they could have seen that coming. that will be something the ntsb will look at. >> all right. mary schiavo, thanks for starting us off this morning. i appreciate it. thank you. all right. still ahead here on cnn this morning,

confirmation showdown, several of president donald trump's cabinet level nominees facing a bipartisan grilling on capitol hill. could any of the nominations be in jeopardy? plus, playing the blame game. president trump lashing out at his political opponents in the hours following the disaster over the potomac and remembering those who were lost in this tragedy, including young figure skaters and their parents returning home from a u.s. skating event. >> it seemed like the. >> flight had landed. >> but their. >> phones weren't. >> on, and they weren't, like, popping up anywhere. >> it just. >> said small. >> plane in the potomac. >> and i was just like, oh, my god. and my. >> heart just started, like exploding out of my chest., dry, tired, itchy, burning my dry eye. >> symptoms got worse over time. my eye doctor explained the root was inflammation. shejaiya was made for that. so relief is lasting. >> shejaiya treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. don't use if allergic to hydra and seek medical help if needed. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort, blurred vision, and unusual taste sensation. don't touch

container tip to your eye or any surface before using to remove contact lenses and wait 15 minutes before reinserting. >> dry eye over and over. it's time for hydra. >> hi grandma, i played baseball today. >> oh that's great. >> what position. >> did you play? >> first base. >> that's what grandpa. >> used. >> to play when our. >> hearing wouldn't allow us to use a regular phone. >> it made us feel isolated. >> it became difficult to communicate with our friends and family. >> clear captions was an. easy solution for us. >> clear captions provides captions on a phone, like captioning on your tv so you can see what the caller is saying. live as they say. >> it. >> making it easy. >> to understand. >> and respond immediately. >> there is no insurance or medicare required. clear caption service is provided at no cost to you through a federally funded program. we deliver, install and train you on how to use your phone, all at no cost to you. >> give your loved. >> ones the independence and connection they deserve. >> call now to see if you qualify to get a clear captions

phone at no cost to you. >> call one( 800) 592-1334. that's one 805 92133 for. >> most men over 40, look into the mirror and see this when they could be seeing this. most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when they could be seeing this. most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when they could be using this. particles six and one face cream for men. the first of its kind, anti-aging cream designed specifically for men, fights, eyebags, dark spots and wrinkles. visit schulman.com and use the promo code on your screen to receive 25% off your entire order. plus, we've got free shipping and a 30 day money

back guarantee. w-w-w dot particle men.com. because seeing is believing. >> ever feel like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine? 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more? botox prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. in a survey, 91% of users wish they'd started sooner, so why wait? talk to your doctor. >> botox effects may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as trouble swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. those with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. side effects may include allergic reactions like rash, breathing problems, dizziness, neck and injection site pain and headache. don't receive botox if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history. muscle or nerve conditions like als, myasthenia gravis or lambert-eaton syndrome, and medicines like botulinum toxins, which may increase the risk of serious side effects.

>> chronic migraine may still keep you from being there. ask your doctor about botox today. learn how abbvie can help you save. >> after homoglaea cleaned our place for $19, we fired our old housekeeper. pomerleau tackled everything from our kitchen to our bathroom, all our laundry. you just pick a date, pick a cleaner, and enjoy a spotless house for $19. >> 48% of americans don't get enough magnesium, which is vital for bone, nerve, and muscle health. i recommend kunal's magnesium glycinate. it's formulated for high absorption and is gentle on the stomach. kunal, the brand i trust. >> cnn news central today at seven eastern. >> she was just such. a such an outstanding. >> student, outstanding young lady. you know, just the kind of person. that we need many, many more of. >> that was a former high school principal from cincinnati

talking about one of his former students, elizabeth keys. she was one of the 67 people killed in the collision between an american airlines plane and the military helicopter wednesday night. there were no survivors. the figure skating community also devastated this morning, having lost several of their most promising young athletes. cnn's ed lavandera shows us how they are being remembered. >> we just wanted to be here with each other. >> six members of the skating club of boston died wednesday. olympic medalist nancy kerrigan came together with the boston skating community after the unimaginable tragedy. >> not sure how to process it. >> among the 67 victims of the deadly collision, two teenage figure skaters, spencer lane. >> would you please welcome to the ice. >> jinna han and jinna han. >> we watched gina. just grow up. here from just a tiny little

tyke into this amazingly mature 13 year old, and we talk a lot about the athletes, but i think we're going to miss their moms as much. just really good people. >> their mothers were also on the plane, along with two coaches, evgenia shishkova and vadim naumov from boston, seen here winning the 1994 world figure skating pairs championship. >> i really. can't believe that it. >> happened. because i picture them. >> right. >> here. the coaches always stood at that entrance. the skaters just flew all. >> over the ice doing remarkable. >> things, inspiring. >> all of us. >> they were just a handful of a larger group of skaters on american eagle flight 5342. >> 14 skaters returning home from the national development camp at wichita, kansas, put on by u.s. figure skating, were lost in the plane crash. >> the russian couple's son,

maksim, returned home on an earlier flight, just medaled at the u.s. men's figure skating championship over the weekend. an eerie silence at the wichita ice center as the magnitude of the loss keeps growing. a mourner left a simple tribute on the bare ice days after an intense three day training took place here. >> there are some of my daughter's best friends. >> one of the crash victims was playing a video game with this man's ten year old daughter from the plane just before the accident occurred. >> she would always be there to talk to me. >> tragedy has struck this skating community before. in 1961, when the entire boston club's team was killed in a plane crash heading to the world championships. other victims in wednesday's crash over the potomac river were three u.s. service members aboard the black hawk helicopter and four crew members on the plane that left wichita, including american airlines flight attendant ian

epstein, first officer samuel lilley and captain jonathan campos. >> this is. >> a terrible. tragedy that will unite those. >> in washington. dc and wichita, kansas, forever. >> just absolutely heartbreaking. all right, coming up next here, we're going to turn to politics. kash patel hit back at senate democrats at his confirmation hearing. what he's saying now about some right wing conspiracies. plus, a u.s. hostage held in gaza could be released later today after this chaotic scene during yesterday's hostage release. >> lumify. >> it's kind. >> of amazing. >> wow. >> my go. >> to is lumify eye drops. >> lumify dramatically reduces redness. >> in one minute. >> and look at the difference. >> my eyes look brighter and whiter. >> for up. >> to eight hours.

>> lumify really works. >> see for yourself. >> it's a good. >> day to cough. >> oh no. >> bye bye cough later. >> chest congestion. hello, 12 hours of relief. >> 12 hours. >> not coughing at the movies. >> still not coughing ah. mucinex dm 12 hour. doesn't just quiet coughs. it treats coughs caused by excess mucus at the source and controls them for 12 hours. its comeback season. stubborn chest congestion. try mucinex 12 hour. >> doping for hair. >> with the. >> alpecin caffeine. >> shampoo. washing with the alpecin caffeine. formula boosts. >> the performance. >> of hair. >> alpecin. doping for hair. >> only for hair. get yours today on amazon. >> life. >> diabetes. there's no slowing down. each day is a unique. >> blend of people to see. >> and things to do. that's why you choose glucerna. >> to help manage blood sugar response. uniquely designed with. >> carb steady glucerna. >> bring on the day. >> a childfund hope means

helping children worldwide grow up healthy, educated, skilled. and safe. and that means safe at home, at school, online. hope means walking that path together. all of us. hope includes you, childfund. because we need each other. >> a single touch can say a thousand words. it says, i see you. i feel you. i got you. and i'm never letting go. ever. say it all with irresistibly touchable skin. get in touch. gold bond.

>> what's this? >> my new pony. and i love him. >> yeah. no, no, no. thank you. >> i ran the numbers on quicken. it's totally in my budget. bad. mr. sparkles. >> someone's birthday money, investments. >> quicken tracks all my income and spending and even built me a personalized budget so it's easier to save more. >> this is amazing. >> i know. it is. yeah. >> do more with your money. >> i save up to 50% today. >> that's a lot of money. >> we lose 1% of our collagen. >> every year, starting in our 20s. >> which means we. >> must start banking collagen. >> for plump or glowing skin. do it. with neutrogena collagen bank. again.(

800) 858-2816. >> i'm oren liebermann. >> at the pentagon. >> and this. >> is cnn. >> all right. 22 minutes past the hour. here's your morning roundup. at least six senior fbi leaders were told you have to retire or resign or be fired by

monday. sources say that those include those who oversee cyber, national security and criminal investigations. trump transition officials had signaled that the leaders promoted by former fbi director christopher wray, could be pushed aside. >> what efforts are underway to make sure the americans get home as soon as possible? >> thank you very. >> much, sir. >> we're on top. >> of it all. >> what is coming out tomorrow? >> that was president trump's envoy to the middle east, steve witkoff telling reporters in tel aviv that an american hostage will be released today. it's unclear who he was referring to. two israeli and five thai nationals were released from gaza on thursday. the fda has approved a new pain relief drug for the first time in 25 years. it will be sold under the name journavx. it is not an opioid, so doctors say that there's not a risk of addiction, unlike the one that does exist with opioid painkillers. it's taken every 12 hours after a large starter dose. all right. still coming up

after the break. could confirmation of one of president donald trump's most controversial cabinet picks be in jeopardy? one key republican senator expressing uncertainty about robert f kennedy jr.. plus, president trump suggesting without evidence that federal diversity programs could be linked to wednesday night's deadly mid-air collision. >> that's why i'm trying to figure. >> out how. >> you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this. >> crash. >> because i have common sense. >> man. remember that time when our eye bags made us look sexy? yeah. me neither. now we can reduce our eye bags by drinking less alcohol, sleeping more. cold compresses, blah blah blah blah and blah. one that's way too much work. and two don't worry, there's particles. 6 in 1 face cream for men. all you have to do is wash your face daily and then rub in some particles for 30s and boom, you'll look a

lot less like that guy and a lot more like this guy. particles 6 in 1 face cream for men. first of its kind, anti-aging cream designed specifically for men. fights eyebags, dark spots and wrinkles. visit schulman.com and use the promo code on your screen to receive 25% off your entire order, plus free shipping and a 30 day money back guarantee. w-w-w dot particle men.com. because seeing is believing. >> hi grandma. i played baseball today. >> oh that's great. >> what position. >> did. >> you play? >> first base. >> that's what. >> grandpa used. >> to. >> play when our. >> hearing wouldn't allow us to use a regular phone. it made us feel isolated. >> it became difficult to communicate with our friends and family. >> clear captions was an easy solution for us. >> clear captions provides captions on a phone, like captioning on your tv so you can

see what the caller is saying. live as they say. >> it, making. >> it easy to. >> understand and respond immediately. >> there is no insurance or medicare required. clear caption service is provided at no cost to you through a federally funded program. we deliver, install and train you on how to use your phone, all at no cost to you. >> give your. loved ones the independence and connection they deserve. >> call now to see if you qualify to get a clear captions phone at no cost to you. >> call one( 800) 592-1334. that's one 805 92133 for. with the vision. >> to see what's possible. >> and the grit to make it happen, morgan stanley. >> can help. >> create the future. only you. >> can. >> see. >> after homan, glo cleaned our place for $19, we fired our old housekeeper. glo tackled everything from our kitchen to our bathroom, all our laundry. you just pick a date, pick a cleaner, and enjoy a spotless

house for $19. >> if you have heart failure or. >> chronic kidney disease. vasagar can help you keep living life because there are places you'd like to. >> be. >> serious. side effects include increased ketones in blood or you're in, and bacterial infection between the and genitals, both of which may be fatal. severe allergic reactions. dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. stop taking and tell your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, rash, swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing. tell your doctor about lightheadedness, weakness, fever, pain, tenderness, redness or swelling between the and genitals. ask your doctor about vasikka today. >> for s. e. cupp. >> hank used to suffer from what felt like a cold and flu medicine hangover in the morning. then he switched to mucinex nightshift. mucinex is uniquely formulated to leave your system faster, so you wake up ready to go. hang dry.

mucinex nightshift and feel the difference. >> advil liquid gels are faster and stronger than tylenol rapid release gels. also from advil advil targeted relief, the only topical with four powerful pain fighting ingredients that start working on contact and lasts up to eight hours. >> work. >> play blink. >> relief. work. >> play. >> blink. >> relief the only 3 in. >> 1 extended relief formula for dry eyes. >> blink. >> i brought in ensure max protein with 30g of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. here, i'll take. >> that. >> ensure. max protein, 30g protein, one. >> gram of sugar. >> and a protein blend to feed muscles up to seven hours. >> kobe. >> the making of a legend tomorrow at. >> nine on. >> cnn. >> all right, it's 5:28 a.m.

here on the east coast. a live look at the washington monument here in the nation's capital, which, of course, has been in mourning since that horrible plane crash a night or so ago. good morning, everyone. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. there are no survivors. there are only questions after the deadly collision between an american airlines jet and an army helicopter near reagan national airport overnight, cnn obtained exclusive new footage of the moments leading up to and after the tragedy. this cell phone video. it recorded surveillance footage. it appears to have been taken from the airport grounds, and you can see the helicopter approach from the left of the screen as the plane approaches from the right until this incredibly tragic moment of impact, an explosion and the jet appears to turn upside down before crashing into the icy potomac below. cnn's aviation correspondent pete muntean has more on the investigation into

how this could have happened. >> the national transportation safety board is now investigating what caused the deadliest aviation disaster in the united states in more than 23 years. >> we are all. >> here because. >> this is an all hands. >> on deck. >> event, and we're. >> here to assure. >> the american people that we. >> are going. >> to leave. >> no stone unturned. >> american eagle flight 5342, a canadair regional jet operated by psa airlines, callsign blue streak, directed to land at reagan national airport's runway 33. one of the most complicated approaches in the country, and running very close to a special corridor used for helicopters flying close to the ground. >> yeah, we can do. 336 3342. >> the flight's captain had nearly six years of experience with the airline, and the first officer nearly two years, according to american airlines ceo. >> runway three three

switzerland. >> four minutes later, the control tower tells a u.s. army black hawk helicopter call sign priority air transport, or p.a.t. 2-5, on a training mission to look out for the passenger plane and go behind it. >> zubeidi james risch. p.a.t. 2-5 pam bondi george. p.a.t. 2-5 has an aircraft in sight. separation. >> despite the helicopter pilot saying he saw the jet about 13 seconds later. disaster. as they slam into each other. >> crash crash crash. >> this is layer three. >> the plane shattered into three pieces, plunging into the dark potomac river, where both aircraft landed upside down. >> it was probably out in the middle of the river. um, i just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. so i haven't seen anything since they hit the river, but it was a crash and a helicopter that hit. >> more than 301st responders descended on the scene for a desperate search in near freezing cold water. but not one

of the 64 people on the plane and the three people on the helicopter survived. >> a loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the united states, and our heartfelt sorrow goes out to everyone that's affected. it affects us. it affects everyone around us. >> pete muntean, cnn, washington. >> just remarkable. so, of course, this plane crash meant that president donald trump was confronted with his first national tragedy. it was just two weeks into his second term, and not even 24 hours after those two aircraft collided. and all of those people died. president trump began to speculate from behind the white house press briefing room podium, and he used wednesday night's deadly crash as an opportunity to criticize diversity programs across the government. >> the faa is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual

disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website. their lives are actually shortened, very substantially shortened because of the stress where you have many, many planes coming into one target. 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 ensuring safe and efficient travel. i don't think so. i don't think so. i think it's just the opposite. >> he didn't offer an actual connection between dei and the horrible tragedy that our nation went through, and that all of those victims and their families are going through. no investigation has blamed air traffic control for what happened on wednesday night. the ntsb is still investigating. and as they continue to tell us, these investigations take time.

when the president was pressed on what evidence he had, the president said this, quote, i have common sense. democrats were quick to criticize his reaction. again, this is a tragedy that killed 67 people. >> i was. >> absolutely appalled when those words came out of president trump's mouth, because we are in the middle of a national tragedy and a real tragedy for our region. and yet he decided to politicize it, throwing out these theories with no basis in fact. in fact, he. admitted that he had no basis for these claims. i think he owes. the families who lost loved ones, and i think he owes the country an apology for taking this moment where we're trying to come together and figure it out and inserting gross politics. >> all right. joining us now is the co-founder of punchbowl news, john bresnahan. perez, it's always wonderful to have you on the show. it is, of course, a sober time for all of

us. the president's remarks obviously just ricocheted around town yesterday. i actually want to give a moment to one of my colleagues, pete muntean, to talk about how he reacted to what he saw from the president, just because i think it kind of gives us a framework to think about it. here's why. pete is a personal pilot himself. he loves flying more than anyone i have ever met in my life. he's a birthday party every year at the hangar where he keeps this little plane that he flies. his parents were both pilots, and his mother was actually killed in a plane crash, which is something that he has talked about publicly. here's what pete had to say in the wake of the president's comments on our air here on cnn yesterday. let's watch it. >> it is just so, so soon, way too soon to make any sort of indictment or insinuation that air traffic control was to blame here, that hiring policies were

to blame here, that the pilots of the black hawk were to blame here. this is something that investigators will have to go through not only on the scene, and they are there now doing the lord's work. this is only the precipice. and so for the families that are going through hell right now, and i know this because i've lost my mother to a plane crash uh, this made it even more hellish. what was that? i just cannot i'm sorry to get angry, but what is the point of of making some sort of speculative, wide ranging, rudderless claim about anything about hiring at the faa.? >> and, you know, i also just would note that the way that trump responded when this happened is very different from, i mean, the republican senator from kansas, jerry moran, responded with deep empathy to the families that, you know, he may know. i mean, he's he's he talks about how he flew that

route from wichita. were you surprised to see president trump do this? and what has the reaction been to it, especially among republicans who have just been toeing the line? >> yeah, not. >> only jerry moran. >> but the other republican senator, roger marshall. >> roger marshall. >> went to a. >> press conference. with dc mayor muriel bowser in the. >> middle of the night. to show their. >> you know, sympathy, their, their. their solidarity with these families that lost loved ones. i mean, it was, you know, marshall, the whole kansas delegation, congressional delegation put out a statement. i mean, i think when you're seeing with the republicans just kind of shock. i think, listen, they're this is trump's second go around. none of this is new to them. trump is always going to be trump. he's going to say whatever he wants whenever he wants it. and you know, this is a guy who, you know, went after a gold star family. this is a guy who criticized john mccain. you know, this is someone who's who, you know, what would what

would be what would be, you know, horrific career ending statements for any other politician. trump has made them regularly. so when they, you know, they basically did the usual thing they did with trump. they didn't hear it. they weren't aware of it. you know, they wouldn't. that's not what i would say is basically what they did. they scattered and ran from it, you know. but i do want to read. i mean, i was just struck by house minority leader hakeem jeffries statement. now, jeffries is the highest ranking black elected official in the country. he he was really upset about this. you know, he talked about trump peddling lies, conspiracy theories and attacking people of color and women without basis any basis whatsoever. have you no decency? have you no respect for the families whose lives have been turned upside down? and this is really very personal for jeffries to to make that kind of statement. he's not that kind of leader to do that. so i was just kind of struck by the tone that he really, really offended tone that he took. >> yeah. no, i mean, you're right, he usually is pretty

measured. and obviously he has good relationships with a lot of republicans on the hill. he's not you know, he's not someone who to say, have you no decency? i it's remarkable. >> yeah, i was stunned. i mean, the tone and you know, schumer went to the floor. senate minority leader chuck schumer went to the floor. i think a lot of members, they were really shocked that trump, you know, is, you know, nobody was really sure what to expect of trump in the second go around here. and i think he showed that he's you know, trump is never going to be anything other than trump. he's going to be who he is. you know, uh, you know, and he's going to exploit tragedies for his own gain. so, you know, or what he thinks is his political gain. i just think in this instance with what had happened earlier in the week on the funding freeze, i think republicans are like, wow, this is, you know, this is real. you know, this is a real punch in the face. trump is going to

be a problem for them. and he's he's you know, he led them to victory in november. but he is going to be a problem for them in a lot of ways. if he doesn't stay, you know, with and cause himself problems politically that he just doesn't need for no reason. this is there is no reason for trump to do anything like this, to say anything like this at this moment. so i think a lot of them were just surprised. >> it did strike me as that. you know, donald trump had this high right, wins the popular vote unexpectedly before california came in. he even spent some time above 50% in the vote count. that obviously dropped to a plurality. but in the first week, you know, he's inaugurated, there's this flood of executive orders. people in his orbit are very excited. and then i think you're right to point to the funding freeze. it seems like his first real major political mistake, right? he's got to walk it back. it's on the front pages in local newscasts everywhere. there's people who don't know if they can send their kids to the head start programs. people don't show up for their week appointments.

right. it really affects a lot of people who voted for him. and then this for democrats who've been demoralized and really, you know, couldn't figure out how to scrape together any sort of opposition to him initially. is this going to change that for them? >> oh, yeah. the leadership, schumer and jeffries in particular are pointing to this. the funding issue in particular, as you know, this is just the beginning. this is where the republicans are going. and we've been talking about this at punchbowl news for a while. there are huge pitfalls for republicans ahead. they're going to try and cut social spending, medicaid, other social programs to extend the trump tax cuts. a lot of that went to wealthy, the wealthiest americans. they're going to try and cut, uh, corporate tax rates. that's going to be an issue. of course, he's going to try and cut for social security recipients and other people. there will be other tax cuts there. but how you get there is a huge issue. there's government funding. there's you know, he's talked about you know, ukraine would be the ukraine war would be over by the time i get to office. that

hasn't happened. and there's a lot of pitfalls out there for republicans. and democrats were definitely on their heels coming out in november. this was a this is a depressing loss for them. they not only lost the popular vote, their their messaging was terrible. they lost with they lost ground with hispanic men. they lost ground with african american men, young people. i mean, this is a bad beating they took in november. this is the first time since then they've really kind of rallied. >> yeah. all right. john bresnahan always grateful to have you, sir. i hope you have a good weekend. thanks for being here. >> thanks. >> all right. coming up next here on cnn this morning, leaving no stone unturned. the ntsb says they have not ruled out any factors in their investigation into this deadly midair disaster. plus, the talented young athletes and their coaches killed in the collision. how the international figure skating community is grappling with this devastating loss.

>> what would you look at that? >> jerry. >> you got to. >> see this. >> saying that. >> trust me, after 15. >> walks gets a little old. >> yeah. >> that really. >> should be retired by now. i wish i invested when i had the chance to the moon unbelievable stop waiting. >> start investing. >> etrade from morgan stanley. >> your best defense against erosion and cavities is strong enamel. nothing beats it. i recommend pronamel active shield because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. try pronamel mouthwash. >> what's this? >> my new pony. and i love him. >> yeah. no no, no. thank you. >> i ran the numbers on quicken. it's totally in my budget. bad. mr. sparkles.

>> someone's birthday money, investments. >> quicken tracks all my income and spending and even built me a personalized budget so it's easier to save more. >> this is amazing. >> i know it is. yeah. >> do more with your money. >> i save up to 50% today. >> that's a lot of money. >> okay, everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength. >> and energy. >> ensure with 27. >> vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. >> and ensure complete with 30g of protein. >> icy hot. >> ice works fast. heat makes it last. feel the power of contrast. >> therapy. >> so you can rise from pain. icy hot. >> with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, my skin was no longer mine. >> my active. >> psoriatic arthritis joint symptoms held me back. >> don't let symptoms define. >> you emerge. >> as you. >> with clearer skin.

>> with tremfya. most people saw 100% clear skin that. >> stayed clear. >> even at five years. tremfya is proven to significantly reduce joint pain, stiffness and swelling. >> serious allergic. >> reactions, and increased risk of infections may occur before treatment. your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. >> emerge as you. with clear skin. ask your doctor about tremfya. >> work play. >> blink. relief. >> work.

dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business. send info kit. com for all the details. >> physicians mutual. >> physicians. >> mutual all there is with anderson cooper. listen, wherever you get your. >> podcasts. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a

free book to answer questions you may have. call now and we'll come to you. >> 800 821 4000. >> other friends of hers are in there cuddled up and crying. um, my my daughter is very prone to crying when when it's emotional. and i think she's trying to hold it in right now. and i don't know if she knows why she's holding it in. on the way to school this morning, when we told her this, she got out of the car and she told my wife, i don't know how to feel. i don't know what to do with this. >> as the parent of a young child, that is just devastating thing to hear. there are so many people, young children, sitting with this unimaginable grief this morning. as these questions swirl about what exactly caused the deadly midair disaster over the potomac river on wednesday night, an air traffic control source tells cnn that one air traffic controller was covering two different positions. when the plane and the helicopter collided. the head of the

national air traffic controllers association says a setup like that is not uncommon. but the new york times, citing an internal preliminary faa report, says the staffing was, quote, not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic, end quote. the ntsb is leading the investigation. >> we don't know what we know just yet. we do not know enough facts to be able to rule in or out. human factor, mechanical factors. that is part of the ntsb investigative process. >> we will look at all the. >> humans that were involved. >> in this accident. >> again. >> we will look. at the aircraft. >> we will. >> look. >> at the helicopter. we will look at the. >> environment in which they were operating in. >> cnn. cnn investigation found that in the three years before this deadly disaster, at least two other pilots reported near-misses with helicopters while they were landing at reagan national airport. joining us now is les abend, retired 777 captain and a contributing

editor to flying magazine. les, good morning. thank you so much for being here. >> good morning. >> can you talk a little bit about what it might mean that there was only one air traffic controller doing the job for two, and i know that you were a pilot at american airlines as well. for many years. so if you could talk about what it's like to work with the towers, what's normal, what's not? >> yeah. the case, this hits very close to home to me. 43 years ago this month, i flew in the next day after air florida had crashed in the potomac. so i flew in looking at pieces of airplane. it stays with you forever, so i can't imagine what these folks are going through, let alone the families. it's just it's just horrible. um, i have, uh, experienced going into particular facilities where a ground controller and a tower controller are combined into one

because of the volume of activity has been reduced for that particular time of day. so it's not unusual. i know the ntsb is not focusing on this. they they they don't want to make this necessarily an issue. are they going to be investigating this? yeah, there's a good potential. what i can say is that flying into washington, one of the best controllers all they're just fantastic people. they have protected my life numerous times. um, and just do a tremendous job going into washington in a very, very challenging airspace situation, challenging approaches. um, you got to be on your a game, whether you're a controller or a pilot. >> les, we obviously heard from president trump as well yesterday. i'm interested to know what you think. you know, he had theories about what may have caused this that came out well before. we've learned anything from the ntsb. what do

you think is appropriate at this point in terms of how you think about what may have been a factor here in this crash? and is there any truth to what the president said yesterday? >> i'm sorry, but i was disgusted by that entire press conference and the statements that were made for people that i depended upon throughout my career. um, there's the qualifications that are required for a controller are stringent, and it's it's a lot of work. it's it's at least five years before somebody can actually be soloed. for instance, at a particular facility. and each facility has its own difficulty level. same thing for pilots. um, we pilots aren't hired. there's a specific standard for hiring pilots, whether they're black, white, purple, brown. it doesn't make any difference. those standards have to be have to be met. and nobody is going

to get hired that doesn't meet those particular those particular standards. casey. >> all right. les abend, thank you so much for joining us. retired american airlines captain. i really appreciate having your perspective on the show. all right. this is also, of course, a devastating part of this story. the figure skating community is in mourning after this deadly crash. a number of athletes, very young athletes and their family members were on board the american airlines jet. andy schultz has this morning cnn's sports update. andy. good morning. yeah. >> good morning casey. so the global figure skating. >> community just devastated. >> as. >> 14 of its members were on board that plane that crashed yesterday. the european figure skating championships did. carry on in estonia. and what was a very somber atmosphere. >> please join us now in a moment of silence, as we think of those who have been lost and their loved ones.

>> and the competition which runs through sunday, did pause for that moment of silence before the free skate pairs event. the skating club of boston named six victims, including a pair of teenagers representing the future of the sport. 16 year old spencer lane took first place at the 2025 intermediate eastern sectionals and attended the national development development camp and the u.s. figure skating championships there in wichita. his mother, christine lane, was also killed. jinna han was also on that plane. he was only 13. was described by the executive director of the skating club of boston as a great performer, a great competitor, a great kid. her mom, jean hahn, was also on board. the plane. also killed were evgenia shishkova and vadim naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the olympics. they represented russia, but moved to the u.s., where they launched successful

coaching careers. now, legendary skater nancy kerrigan trained at the skating club of boston as a youth, and she just broke down in tears over the lives that were lost. >> i feel for the athletes, the skaters and their families, but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters, um, because it's just such a tragic event and we've been through tragedies before, as americans, as people, and we are strong. and i guess it's how we respond to it. and so my response was to be with people i care about and i love and need i needed support. so, um, so that's why i'm here. >> yeah. it's just so hard. the tragedy, casey, is certainly going to have a profound impact on the world figure skating championships in march, which will be held in boston this year. >> it was so hard to watch nancy kerrigan there without getting emotional yourself. andy, thank you very much. and as we

remember, all of the lives that were tragically lost, we'll be right back. >> with my moderate. >> to severe plaque. psoriasis held me back. but now with skyrizi, i'm all in thanks to skyrizi, i saw dramatically clearer skin. >> and many. >> even achieved 100% clear skin. don't use if allergic serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur before treatment. get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines with skyrizi. nothing on my skin means everything. ask your. dermatologist about skyrizi today. >> most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when they could be seeing. >> this. >> most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when

they could be seeing this. most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this. when they could be using. >> this. >> particle. 6 in 1 face cream for men. the first of its kind, anti-aging cream designed specifically for men, fights, eyebags, dark spots and wrinkles. visit schulman.com and use the promo code on your screen to receive 25% off your entire order. plus, we've got free shipping and a 30 day money back guarantee. w-w-w dot particle men.com. because see. >> is believing. >> one law firm. >> kline and specter, has won some of the biggest verdicts in american history. so if a defective product motor vehicle accident or medical malpractice caused a catastrophic injury, contact kline inspector.

>> force factor score. hardcore is for men. ready to take on the day and night. score. hardcore boosts libido, increases stamina and improves performance. that's why score hardcore is the number one men's libido supplement in america. step up your game. find score hardcore at walmart. >> after glow cleaned our place for $19, we fired our old housekeeper home. glow tackled everything from our kitchen to our bathroom, all our laundry. you just pick a date, pick a cleaner, and enjoy a spotless house for $19. >> wounded warrior. >> project has been. >> with. >> me every step of my journey. >> they've helped me realize it's. >> possible to. >> rise to the top again. >> it's possible to. >> get the help i. >> need. for me. >> and my family. >> it's possible to hate push ups again. >> to feel understood. >> to begin healing. >> both inside and out. >> to feel like myself again. >> and now i. >> know anything is possible.

>> work. >> play. blink. relief work. play. blink. for all those making it big out there... ...shouldn't your mobile service be able to keep up with you? get wifi speeds up to a gig at home and on the go. introducing powerboost, only from xfinity mobile. now that's big. xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half vs. t-mobile, verizon, and at&t for your first year.

plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us. 800) 858-2816. this is cnn the. >> world's news. >> network. >> it's friday, january 31st right now on cnn this morning. >> we do not know enough facts to be able to rule in or out human factor, mechanical factors. >> new details and new footage. the latest on the investigation into the worst u.s. air disaster in decades. plus, new video exclusive to cnn showing the moment of the collision. and a dangerous recovery. first responders battling icy waters and mangled wreckage as they recover the victims from the collision. >> and