Trump and Putin have no plans to discuss Washington DC plane crash despite Russians on board: Live

MSNBC contributor Katty Kay slammed Donald Trump for appearing to fuel conspiracy theories around the Washington, DC plane crash which saw an American Airlines jet collide with a military helicopter on Wednesday night.

“Whether he’s actually informed speculation or just reacting to what he saw on television, seems really irresponsible to get ahead of the investigation,” she said on Thursday.

The president, who has been fully briefed on the situation, wrote on Truth Social that the crash “should have been prevented,” as he grieved over the victims on what he called a “terrible night”.

Trump questioned the conditions of the crash, noting it was “a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn”.

He added: “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

A military deportation flight to Guatemala ordered by Donald Trump likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant, according to data provided by US and Guatemalan officials.

That is more than five times the $853 cost of a first class ticket on American Airlines from El Paso, Texas, the departure point for the flight, according to a review of publicly available airfares.

It is also significantly higher than the cost of a commercial charter flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Robert F Kenedy Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel are among Donald Trump’s controversial, high-ranking picks will face Senators in their indivdiual confirmation hearings today.

Daniel Driscoll is set to be considered as secretary of the Army; Kash Patel as FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard as National Intelligence director; RFK Jr (again, today facing the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee after facing the Senate Finance Committee yesterday); Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations; and Russell Vought as director of Office of Management Budget.

There is no word on whether the hearings will be postponed after the American Airlines-U.S. helicopter crash in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening.

More Americans are in favor of President Donald Trump’s attempt to curb birthright citizenship than are against it, a new poll reveals, as presidential approval is improving post-inauguration.

The controversial executive order issued by Trump at the inauguration aims to end birthright citizenship for children of migrants, who are in the US on temporary visas or illegally. The move has already faced lawsuits from dozens of states and affected parties.

Yet a new poll from Emerson College post-inauguration, carried out from 27 to 28 January, shows 45 per cent of Americans support Trump’s efforts to roll back birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants.

The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian has the details.

British billionaire Lord Sugar has addressed the mass deportations being carried out in the US at the order of his former Apprentice peer Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, President Trump’s new immigration policy was implemented, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids leading to the arrest of 1,179 people across major cities in the US.

It has been reported by The Washington Post that senior ICE officials have been told by Trump’s team to aggressively ramp up the number of arrests they carry out, with the figure reportedly raised from a hundred every day to at least 1,200 to 1,500.

Jacob Stolworthy has te story.

President Donald Trump has questioned the actions of both the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers prior to a deadly mid-air collision on Wednesday night outside Reagan Washington National Airport.

The crash involved an American Airlines aircraft carrying 64 passengers and crew and a US Army Black Hawk chopper carrying three people. All those on board are feared dead, though officials said they would not be able to provide confirmation on the status of rescue efforts until Thursday morning.

Mr Trump said he has been briefed on the “terrible accident” in a brief official statement offering prayers for those on board.

The American Airlines-U.S. helicopter crash in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening, has cast doubts over whether Robert F Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services secretary will go ahead on Thursday.

RFK Jr was supposed to face the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee after being grilled by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.

According to the Senate schedule, the hearing is still due to go ahead.