Investigation into the fatal plane-helicopter crash. And, future of nuclear testing

By Brittney Melton

=> Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/31/g-s1-45756/up-first-newsletter-black-hawk-plane-crash-investigation-target-boycott-germany-friedrich-merz | Return to NPR feed

Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear TestingGood morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. [1 link] Subscribehere to get it delivered to your inbox, and [2 link] listento the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today's top storiesFederal investigators have retrieved the cockpit voice and flight data recordersfrom the American Airlines jet that collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night. The collision happened mid-air over the Potomac River as the jet attempted to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All 67 people on both aircraft were killed. [3 link] Here's the latest.

[4 image] In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington.Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor B/U.S. Coast Guard/APhide caption

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Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor B/U.S. Coast Guard/AP

🎧It is unclear how the two aircraft that were supposed to pass at a safe distance ended up in the same placeat the same time, NPR's Frank Langfitt tellsUp First. Investigators will use the regional jet's black boxes to examine the final conversations in the cockpit, the plane's performance and data points such as its altitude right before the collision. Authorities will also [5 link] need the recorder from the Army Black Hawk, which is still in the river, to compare. Federal investigators emphasized that they would be careful to confirm facts before releasing them and that a preliminary report should be completed in 30 days.➡️At least a dozen [6 link] elite figure skaters, coaches and their family memberswere aboard the plane.➡️Crowded airspace has beena [7 link] concern at the D.C.-area airport. More than 23,000 flight operations took place there each month last year.➡️Here's how many [8 link] near-misses have happened atReagan Airport, according to the FAA.A push to restrict immigration in Germany has erupted into a fierce debateover the degree to which a country should allow its extreme political elements into mainstream politics. At the center of the debate is Friedrich Merz, the man who is the frontrunner to become Germany's next chancellor. Merz heads the Christian Democratic Union, a center-right party that's ahead in the polls.

🎧The motion comes on the heels of recent deadly attacks committed by migrants, NPR's Rob Schmitz says. None of the mainstream parties were interested in voting with Merz's party on the proposal, but the AfD, the Alternative for Germany party, was. The AfD has advocated deporting all Germans with a migration background, some members use Nazi slogans and the party is under domestic surveillance for the threat it poses to the country's democracy. Merz has now [9 link] signaled he's open to cooperating with the AfDon the immigration motion.Target is scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a promise that seemed important to the company headquartered where the murder of George Floyd in 2020 by a police officer set off waves of protests. With DEI initiatives under attack by the Trump administration, companies such as [10 link] Walmart, McDonald's and Meta have decided tocurtail or eliminate these programs. With Target falling in line, activists called for a boycott of the store. However, Black business owners selling products at Target say it could hurt their business.Morning Editionhost Michel Martin spoke to April Showers, founder and CEO of Afro Unicorn, whose products include apparel, hair products and books, are sold at Target, about her thoughts on the boycott and [11 link] a possible compromise for those participating.

Deep dive [12 image] Thousands of feet underground, in a laboratory northwest of Las Vegas, the U.S. conducts some of its most sensitive nuclear weapons research. Nuclear testing seems like a Cold War relic, but amid growing tensions, Russia, China and the U.S. are upgrading their testing facilities. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the civilian agency maintaining America's nuclear stockpile, [13 link] allowed journalists, including NPR, to toura secretive laboratory.

💥 In the early 1960s, nuclear tests went underground to protect people and the environment from the dangerous radioactive fallout.💥 The stockpile program, a way to test nukes without setting them off, consists of supercomputers at the labs used to conduct large-scale digital simulations of nuclear weapons from "button to boom."💥 Project 2025, a conservative agenda published by the Heritage Foundation, says the government should be able "to conduct nuclear tests in response to adversary nuclear developments if necessary."Here's a [14 link] look inside the lab.

Weekend picks [15 image] Citizen Sleeper 2's android protagonist, in a scene from the game's trailer.Fellow Travelerhide caption

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Fellow Traveler

Check out what [16 link] NPRis watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies:In [17 link] Presence, a family moves into a haunted house, but what sets this film apart is that it's told from the ghost's perspective.

📺 TV:Hospital drama [18 link] The Pitt, starring Noah Wyle, takes elements common to the medical genre and mixes them with contemporary thinking about health care and an inventive episode structure.

📚 Books:As we welcome the Year of the Snake, here are [19 link] two Lunar New Year romancesto add to your to-read list.

🎵 Music:Jazz vocalist Christie Dashiell's sophomore album, [20 link] Journey in Black, earned her a Grammy nomination for the first time. The music reflects "the expansiveness of the Black experience."

🎮 Games: [21 link] Citizen Sleeper 2,out today, puts you in the shoes of an android who's escaped a dystopian corporation. The sci-fi game grapples with trauma and communities in crisis.

🍚 Food:Dumplings are a dish NPR readers just can't go without for the Lunar New Year. Here's a [22 link] no-fuss Chinese dumpling recipeyou can try.

❓ Quiz:If this were school, I would have scored a B. I will take it. Do [23 link] you think you can achieve an "A"?

3 things to know before you go [24 image] English singer Marianne Faithfull in her Kensington flat in 1965.Stephan C Archetti/Getty Images/Hulton Archivehide caption

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Stephan C Archetti/Getty Images/Hulton Archive

British musician and actress Marianne Faithfull, whose 1964 version of "As Tears Go By" made her a music star, [25 link] died yesterday at the age of 78.Brendan Carr, the newly appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission, has opened an [26 link] investigation of NPR and PBS for allegedlyrunning commercials, which public broadcasting stations are prohibited from doing.The U.S. economy [27 link] grew at an annual rate of 2.3%in October, November and December of 2024 as consumers ramped up their spending.This newsletter was edited by [28 link] Obed Manuel.

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