Trump will rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ among 1st executive orders
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(WASHINGTON) — Among the first executive orders set to be signed by President Donald Trump will be an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the newly named “Gulf of America.”
“A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he said during his inaugural address at the Capitol Rotunda on Monday.
During his January press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared he would change the name, saying the gulf is currently run by cartels and that “it’s ours.”
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”
Presidents do have the authority to rename geographic regions and features, but it needs to be done via executive order.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names typically has the jurisdiction for geographic names.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest and most important bodies of water in North America. It’s the ninth-largest body of water in the world and covers some 600,000 square miles.
Half of the U.S. petroleum refining and natural gas processing capacity is located along the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it supplies about 40% of the nation’s seafood, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested in a woman’s 1979 cold case murder after investigators used genetic genealogy to zero in on his identity, police in Maryland announced.
On March 3, 1979, the body of 31-year-old secretary Kathryn Donohue was discovered in a parking lot in Glenarden, Maryland, the Prince George’s County Police Department said.
The Arlington, Virginia, resident was beaten, raped and killed in a “brutal murder,” Bill DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, said during a news conference on Tuesday.
No suspects were identified and the case went unsolved for decades, leaving Donohue’s family waiting for answers, authorities said.
But police said DNA was left on her body.
In 2024, police said they identified a relative of the suspect through genetic genealogy, an investigative tool in which the unknown DNA from the crime scene is identified by comparing it to family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database.
“Additional investigation ultimately led” police to identify the suspect as Rodger Zodas Brown, who lived in Prince George’s County at the time of the murder, police said.
Brown, now 82, was arrested last week at his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, police said. He was “solemn,” “cold” and showed “no reaction” when he was arrested, police said.
There’s no apparent connection between Donohue and Brown, police said.
Brown was charged with first-degree murder, rape and related charges. He’s in custody in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Maryland, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Brown had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
In a statement released by police, Donohue’s family thanked the investigators, saying their “relentless pursuit of the truth” “has finally given us a sense of closure that we never thought possible after all this time.”
“This case serves as a reminder that we will never give up seeking the truth no matter how much time has passed,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz said.
The investigation remains active. Police asked anyone with information to call the department at 301-516-2512.
(WASHINGTON) — Even as crews continued to comb the Potomac River for the remains of victims, the Army Corps of Engineers began on Monday the delicate task of removing from the frigid water the wreckage of American Airlines Flight 5342 and a military Black Hawk helicopter that collided in midair last week near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
With the roar of commercial jets taking off and landing from the airport’s nearby runway, and against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol Building, the salvage operation began at the crack of dawn, officials said.
A large crane on a barge in the middle of the icy river had lifted one of the passenger plane’s engines and the aircraft’s crumpled fuselage from the river by noon, Col. Francis Pera of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. He said crews began lifting a wing of the passenger plane from the water at about 2:30 p.m.
The pieces were moved to a flatbed trailer to be taken on Tuesday to a nearby hanger where investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will search for answers to what caused the deadliest U.S. air disaster in 16 years.
Pera said the goal for Tuesday is to bring the jet’s cockpit to the surface.
The crash killed 64 passengers and crew aboard the regional jet and the three-person flight crew aboard the Black Hawk, which was on a nighttime training mission when it crashed into the jet, officials said.
At least 55 victims have been removed from the river and positively identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, D.C. Assistant Fire Chief Gary Steen said at Monday afternoon’s news conference.
“Our process is committed to the dignified recovery of the remains of personnel and passengers of the flight,” Pera said.
During Monday’s operation, several work stoppages were ordered to recover multiple sets of remains amid the wreckage, Pera said. Those remains were removed and taken to the medical examiner for identification.
“Should any remains be found during our process, an automatic work stoppage happens and we will definitely begin to begin the proper coordination with the appropriate authorities. Reuniting those lost in the tragic incident is really what keeps us all going. We’ve got teams that have been working this since the beginning and we’re committed to making this happen,” Pera said.
He added that preparation for the salvage operation began on Friday, with divers equipped with multiple cameras surveying the submerged wreckage, focusing on large pieces of wreckage to remove from the river first. He said that during the survey on Saturday, remains were also recovered from the water.
“I just want to make sure that everyone is crystal clear in understanding that all salvage operations will be completed in close coordination with the Unified Command, all of our partners just really to ensure strict adherence to our central priority that the dignified recovery of missing flight passengers and personnel takes precedence,” Pera said at a news conference on Sunday.
Crews working with multiple agencies, including the Navy and 200 members of the U.S. Coast Guard, conducted rehearsals on the best way to remove the wreckage while simultaneously preparing for the discovery of more victims, according to Pera.
“We’ve got a wide debris field. Within that wide debris field, we’re employing different techniques to make sure we understand what’s in the water,” Pera said.
Family members of the crash victims were driven to the banks of the Potomac River on Sunday to pay respects to their lost loved ones. Among those killed in the crash were a civil rights attorney, a biology professor, several champion figure skaters and many others.
“These people have suffered a terrible loss and they’re grieving and I think that that’s exactly what you’d expect,” said Fire Chief John Donnelly of the Washington, D.C., Fire Department, who has visited with the families. “There’s a whole range of emotions in that. I would say they are a strong group of families that are focused on getting their loved ones back, and I think that’s the appropriate place to be at this point.”
If pieces of wreckage removed from the water contain remains, those pieces will be moved close to a barge and a tent will be erected so “we have full discretion and then we will bring in proper personnel to deal with at the time,” Pera explained.
Donnelly said that local teams will continue to search the shoreline and around the river to make sure that all the debris is collected.
“And if by chance as a member of the public you come across some of that, you should call 911 and report it to them and we will get it taken care of and get it examined,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly called the salvage and recovery mission a “tough operation” for those doing the work. He said each agency supporting the mission has peer counselors to help divers and others working to clear the river to cope with the grim task.
“For our first responders, all of the people that are coming in here to support, this is a tough operation — and if you are a responder listening to this, we want you to know that you can have a lot of different feelings about this, and there are people out here to help you,” Donnelly said.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A medical transport plane, carrying a child, her mother and four other people, crashed in Philadelphia Friday night near a busy mall, killing all aboard and resulting in an untold number of injuries on the ground.
The Learjet 55 crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to authorities.
The exact number of the injured is not yet available, officials said.
“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured; the number of injured is yet to be released but the information shared at this time reports that a number of people were transported to Temple University Hospital, Jeans Campus in the Northeast,” the office of Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday.
“Right now, we’re just asking for prayers,” Parker told reporters Friday night. She urged residents to stay away from the scene.
In a statement, Shriner’s Hospital said the child had received care from the Philadelphia hospital and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico along with her mother on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened.
The company that operated the flight, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, said in a statement there were four crew members on board.
“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in the statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified. Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”
The air ambulance was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to Flight Radar24 data.
“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement Saturday. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”
A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a significant response.
“We heard a loud explosion and then saw the aftermath of flames and smoke,” eyewitness Jimmy Weiss told local ABC station WPVI near the scene.
He added, “It felt like the ground shook .. it was a loud boom. It was startling.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
An NTSB investigator arrived at the scene Friday night with additional team members expected to arrive Saturday.
Temple University Hospital told ABC News it had received six patients hurt in the crash, although it was not clear if they were in the plane or people who were on the ground.
Three of those patients were treated and released and three remain hospitalized in fair condition, the hospital said.
Speaking at a follow-up press briefing Friday night, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said dozens of state troopers and other state personnel were on on hand to offer help and praised local responders and community members.
“We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another,” he said.
In a statement posted to social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.”
Immediately after the crash, the FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to “an aircraft incident.”
The FAA had initially reported there were two people on board the aircraft but later corrected that report.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
