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For the second time in less than five months, one of the company’s new 737 Max jets went down shortly after takeoff. The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday near Addis Ababa killed all 157 people onboard. Here are the latest updates.
The circumstances were eerily similar to the crash of a Lion Air flight off Indonesia in October that killed 189. Early information on Sunday’s crash is incomplete and does not rule out pilot error or a different malfunction.
The 737 Max is an update to a model that is a linchpin for airlines around the world. After the crash in Indonesia, some American aviation officials said that a software update for the Max’s flight control system wasn’t adequately explained to pilots. Many airlines have since provided training, but whether Ethiopian Airlines did so was not immediately known.
The passengers: The flight, which was bound for Nairobi, Kenya, had been nicknamed the “U. N. shuttle” because of how often United Nations staff members took it. At least 22 employees of U. N.-affiliated agencies were among those killed. Basic questions: In the U. S., American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all use the 737 Max. Here are some answers to common questions.
After a spending dispute that closed parts of the government for a record 35 days, the president plans to ask for $8.6 billion for a wall on the southwestern border in the budget that he submits to Congress today, aides said.
Mr. Trump will also ask for an additional $3.6 billion to replenish military construction funds that he has diverted by declaring a national emergency.
On Sunday, the Democratic leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, declared the deal dead on arrival: “Congress refused to fund his wall, and he was forced to admit defeat,” they said in a joint statement. “The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again.”
The details: Aside from the proposed wall funding, Mr. Trump will call for increased military spending and significant cuts in domestic programs, neither of which Democrats are likely to accept.
The extremist group in Somalia that is affiliated with Al Qaeda has been the target of intensifying airstrikes by the U. S. military, even as President Trump has sought to scale back other counterinsurgency operations.
Last year, 47 disclosed attacks in Somalia killed 326 people thought to be Shabab fighters, Defense Department data show — the third record high in three years. So far this year, the intensity is on a pace to eclipse the 2018 record.
