Start your week smart: Trump tariffs, DC air collision, hostages released, medevac jet crash, FAA system outage

(CNN) — Today is that most sacred of American holidays. A day when people from all walks of life set aside their differences and focus their undivided attention on the prognostication abilities of a subterranean rodent. Yes, it’s Groundhog Day — and if you like the cold, you’re in luck. Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• President Donald Trump announced extraordinary new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — signing the long-promised economic policy at his Mar-a-Lago club. The Trump administration said tariffs are aimed at curbing the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants into America, but they potentially risk substantial price increases for American consumers across a wide array of common goods. Hours later, Canada, Mexico and China announced retaliatory actions.
• All 67 people on board the American Airlines regional jet and US Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided midair near Washington, DC, are presumed dead – a grim tragedy that has left a heartbreaking trail of mourning families in its wake. The somber day will be remembered as the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001. Here are some of the victims identified so far.
• Hamas released three Israeli hostages from captivity in two orderly handover ceremonies that stood in marked contrast to chaotic scenes earlier last week. In exchange, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, of whom 18 were serving life sentences. It is the fourth hostage exchange since a ceasefire went into effect on January 19.
• Seven people are dead, including one in a car on the ground, after a twin-engine medevac jet carrying a child patient and her mother crashed in a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia, the mayor said. At least 19 were injured on the ground. The plane crash — about 150 miles to the northeast of the Washington, DC, area — came as authorities continue their probe into Wednesday’s deadly collision there.
• Flights across the US could experience “residual delays” as the Federal Aviation Administration works to restore a critical warning system that experienced an outage, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. The system has gone down before; an outage in January 2024 briefly halted all US flights.

The week ahead

Monday
February 3 is the deadline for at least six senior FBI leaders to retire, resign or be fired, according to sources briefed on the matter, extending a purge that began at the Justice Department days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The senior officials are at the executive assistant director level or special agent in charge level and include those who oversee cyber, national security and criminal investigations, the sources told CNN. Some were notified while Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the agency, sat answering questions from senators during his confirmation hearing last week. Trump transition officials in recent months have signaled plans to push aside leaders promoted by former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Tuesday
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House. Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during Trump’s second term.

And it’s World Cancer Day.

Thursday
February 6 is the deadline for federal workers who don’t want to return to the office to accept buyouts and receive severance paid through the end of September. According to a memo posted to the Office of Personnel Management’s website last week titled “Fork in the Road,” employees who wish to accept the offer should send an email from their government accounts with the word “Resign” in the subject line. “A fork in the road” was the subject line of an ultimatum email Elon Musk sent to his employees at Twitter in 2022.

Friday
The first monthly employment report of 2025 will be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US economy closed out 2024 with another month of massive job growth, adding 256,000 positions in December for a total of about 2.2 million jobs for the year. December was also the 48th consecutive month of job gains, tying the second-longest period of employment expansion on record. Looking ahead, economists say there’s plenty of uncertainty as to what 2025 could bring for the trajectory of the labor market — in part because of Trump’s promised policy changes involving trade, immigration, taxes and the federal workforce.

Saturday
The Boy Scouts of America marks its 115th anniversary and will change its name to Scouting America. The organization said the new name is meant to help everyone, including boys and girls, feel welcome. The Boy Scouts of America has faced a storm of controversy in recent years, including widespread allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. The organization filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after spending more than $150 million to settle abuse lawsuits.

Listen in

One Thing: 🎧 Air safety lessons
In this episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety investigator David Soucie examines what lessons might be learned from the midair collision of a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, DC. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
The Grammy Awards, music’s biggest night, will air live from Los Angeles tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+. Beyoncé leads the nominations with 11, followed by Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish with seven nods each. Beyoncé now has a career total of 99 Grammy nominations — more than any other artist — but she’s not yet won the Recording Academy’s top prize, album of the year. Will tonight be the night?

In theaters
Coming to the big screen a week before Valentine’s Day is the action comedy “Love Hurts,” starring Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan ( “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), as well as the horror comedy “Heart Eyes.” Both films feature copious amounts of bloody violence, so, yeah, perfect for a romantic date night …

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
One week from today, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off once again for the NFL’s biggest prize in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Here’s everything you need to know before the big game.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 79% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)’
Step into the 5 Things time machine and travel back to 1959 to hear the winner of the first Grammy Award for Record of the Year. (Click here to view)

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