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FAA to review airports with high nearby helicopter, airplane traffic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it has begun reviewing airports with high volumes of mixed helicopter and airplane traffic nearby after a fatal collision last week near Reagan National Airport in Washington.

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In the aftermath of the crash between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, the FAA has imposed significant restrictions on helicopter flights around Reagan National until at least late February, and two of the airport’s lesser-used runways remain closed.

US seizes Venezuelan government plane in Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday oversaw the seizure of a Venezuelan government plane in the Dominican Republic.

U.S. authorities had “determined that there is a basis to file a civil forfeiture action to recover the aircraft, based on violations of U.S. sanctions, export controls, and money laundering,” the State Department said in a statement.

Republicans say they are nearing deal on Trump’s tax cuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Congressional Republicans emerged from a five-hour meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday without having reached an deal on how to extend his sweeping tax cuts, though senior lawmakers said they believed they were close to agreement.

Republicans, who hold narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, have spent weeks trying to agree on a plan to cover the cost of extending the tax cuts — which nonpartisan analysts say could add another $4 trillion to the U.S.’s existing $36 trillion in debt over the next decade.

Following Trump’s order, the NCAA excludes transgender athletes from women’s sports

(NYT) — Transgender women will be barred from competing in NCAA women’s college sports, the sports organization announced Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump effectively forced the decision by reversing federal policy.

That decision, effective immediately, followed Trump’s signing of an executive order asking his agencies to withdraw federal funding from educational institutions if they defied him and let transgender girls and women compete.

White House preparing order to cut thousands of federal health workers

(Reuters) — The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

White House on Thursday denied it is drafting an executive order to cut workers across federal health agencies.

According to the Wall Street Journal, under the order, which could come as soon as next week, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies would have to cut a certain percentage of employees.