MON SIX

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

A timeline of the deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport

Frank Jenkins March 25, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — It took less than a minute for a routine landing to spiral into a deadly crash Sunday at New York's LaGuardia Airport. But the collision between an Air Canada flight and a fire truck crossing the runway was the culmination of a series of events that began much earlier.

The Associated Press created this timeline based on a review of air traffic control recordings and information from the Federal Aviation Administration, publicly available flight tracking data and the National Transportation Safety Board, including information it obtained from the jet's cockpit voice recorder.

A late departure from Montreal

10:12 p.m.: Air Canada Express Flight 8646, operated by Jazz Aviation, leaves Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, two hours and 13 minutes late. By the time the aircraft reaches New York, it is part of an influx of late-arriving flights, including some waiting extended periods for a gate.

Issues on the ground at LaGuardia

11:16:42 p.m.: A United aircraft, Flight 2384, aborts takeoff for a second time because of an anti-ice warning light in the cockpit.

11:20:48 p.m.: "We have an odor on the plane as well here at this time," the United pilot reports. "We are going to be going back to the gate, request fire as well," using shorthand for the airport's fire rescue team.

11:21:12 p.m.: Another pilot chimes in: "If that's a sewer smell … we smelled that too going around the terminal there."

11:22:24 p.m.: A controller asks the United pilot if it is a smoke odor. He responds: "No, it was a weird odor. I don't know exactly how to describe it," and says he can't get ahold of anyone to obtain a gate assignment.

11:24:49 p.m.: The controller confirms there is no gate available. He asks the pilot, "Do you still need us to send fire there?" The pilot says yes, citing the odor.

11:27:44 p.m.: United 2384's pilot tells the controller he doesn't plan on evacuating the plane. The controller instructs the pilot to move to another taxiway.

11:29:54 p.m.: United 2384 makes a wrong turn and ends up in a different part of the taxiway, but the controller doesn't sound concerned. "You can just stay over there … and we'll have the guys go over there," he says.

11:31:41 p.m.: United 2384 declares an emergency. The pilot says: "The flight attendants in the back are feeling ill because of the odor. We will need to go into any available gate at this time."

11:31:59 p.m.: The controller asks again if there's an available gate, telling the person he's speaking with, "now they're declaring an emergency. They want to get out."

11:33:39 p.m.: The controller tells United 2384 there is still no open gate, but fire trucks are headed over with a stair truck if they want to evacuate. "Let me know if you do," he says.

Flight 8646 is cleared to land

11:34:18 p.m.: In a routine step near the end of a flight, the air traffic controller handling approaches into LaGuardia instructs the pilots of Air Canada Express Flight 8646 pilots to contact the airport's control tower, which will guide them the rest of the way.

11:35:08 p.m.: Flight 8646 is cleared to land on Runway 4/22.

Fire truck is cleared to cross

11:36:45 p.m.: At the airport, a controller asks: "Is there a vehicle that needed to cross the runway?"

11:37:00 p.m.: "Truck 1 and company, LaGuardia Tower, requesting to cross 4 at Delta," the firefighter says, meaning he is requesting clearance to use Taxiway D to cross Runway 4 — the same runway where Flight 8646 is about to land.

11:37:05 p.m.: "Truck 1 and company cross 4 at Delta," the controller says, authorizing the truck and other emergency vehicles to cross Runway 4. Simultaneously, on a different frequency, the pilot on the odor-stricken United flight reports that his plane has finally been cleared to go to a gate.

11:37:08 p.m.: "Truck 1 and company crossing 4 at Delta," a firefighter in Truck 1 repeats, confirming that the controller has cleared the vehicle to cross.

11:37:11 p.m.: An electronic call out in Flight 8646's cockpit indicates the plane is 50 feet above the ground.

11:37:12 p.m.: A controller tells the pilot of an outbound Frontier Airlines flight to stop on a taxiway.

Flight 8646 lands and collides with the fire truck

11:37:15 p.m.: "Sorry, Truck 1," a controller says as Flight 8646 bears down on Runway 4/22.

11:37:16 p.m.: A controller then frantically tells the fire crew: "Stop. Stop Stop. Stop. Truck 1. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop."

11:37:17 p.m.: Flight 8646's cockpit voice recorder captures a sound that investigators say is consistent with the plane's landing gear touching down..

11:37:19 p.m.: Flight 8646's first officer, who was flying the plane, transfers control to the captain.

11:37:20 p.m.: The controller continues, "Stop Truck 1. Stop. Stop Truck 1. Stop." As he speaks, an alarm begins to beep.

11:37:25 p.m.: Flight 8646 slams into the fire truck. The cockpit voice recording stops.

Aftermath

11:37:45 p.m.: A controller tells the pilot of the next plane set to land to "go around," meaning he should keep flying instead of landing.

The controller then tries to raise the pilots of Flight 8646. "I see you collided with a vehicle there. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now." Other rescue vehicles race to the crash site.

11:55:37 p.m.: The pilot of another plane tells a controller: "That wasn't good to watch." The controller responds: "Yeah, I know. I was here ... We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up." The pilot says: "Nah, man, you did the best you could."

Nonverbal 5-year-old who met Ms. Rachel over Zoom is released from ICE detention

Frank Jenkins March 25, 2026

A 5-year-old nonverbal boy whose plight in a South Texas immigration detention center drew national attention aftera video call with children's entertainer Ms. Rachelhas been released with his family, their attorney said Tuesday.

Leonardo with his son, Gael. (Courtesy Elora Mukherjee)

Gael, who has significant developmental delays and other medical challenges, had been held for three weeks at theDilley Immigration Processing Center— a remote, prisonlike facility that has become a flash point in the debate over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

His parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia who asked to be identified only by their first names for fear of retaliation, said their son's physical and emotional health deteriorated at Dilley. He struggled to eat, often gagging on food, and went more than a week without a bowel movement, leaving his stomach visibly swollen and causing him pain, they said.

As his condition worsened, Gael grew increasingly distressed and began hitting himself, according to the family's lawyer, Elora Mukherjee.

The terms of the family's release weren't immediately clear, Mukherjee said. She said they plan to return to their home in El Paso and most likely will be required to attend regular check-ins with ICE as their case moves forward.

The decision to release them came about a week after Mukherjee requested their release on medical grounds and days afterNBC News detailed the family's experience.

The family, who had no criminal history in the U.S., were arrested March 3 in El Paso at an immigration check-in, Mukherjee said.

"This family should never have been arrested and detained," she said. "Law-abiding people who are living their lives and complying with all their immigration requirements must not be abruptly seized out of their communities and taken to detention centers."

The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gael's case came into public view this month when Rachel Accurso — the educator known to millions of young children and parents as Ms. Rachel —spoke with him over Zoom.

Gael during a video call (Rachel Accurso)

During the call, arranged byan N+ Univision journalist, Accurso slipped into character, wearing her signature pink headband and trying to engage him — singing "Wheels on the Bus," holding up a toy and speaking gently about his love of trains. But Gael appeared overwhelmed and in distress as his mother described his worsening condition.

Afterward, Accurso posted about the encounter on Instagram, writing: "This little guy needs us."

"Imagine if your child hadn't pooped in nine days," she later told NBC News. "This is not normal. This is an important medical situation."

More coverage of those in ICE detention

Mukherjee, a professor at Columbia Law School and director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic, learned of Gael's case through Accurso's post and took on the family's representation.

In filings to immigration officials last week, she warned that Gael's condition was deteriorating in custody and that he was not getting the specialized care he relied on at home. Before he was detained, Gael had been undergoing evaluations for autism and receiving therapy, where the family had been living while it pursued asylum, Mukherjee said.

In an interview last week, his parents, Leonardo and Nelsy, described Gael's struggles over a video call from Dilley as the boy wandered around a bare meeting room.

Gael with his parents. (Courtesy Elora Mukherjee)

"No child should be here, regardless of their condition," Leonardo said in Spanish. "Even for us as adults, it's hard."

Dilley faces mounting scrutinyfrom immigration lawyers and advocates, who say children have struggled emotionally and physically in an environment where lights remain on around the clock and guards patrol.Families have described contaminated food, lax education and inadequate medical care. DHS has disputed those accounts, saying families are provided appropriate care in a facility designed for their needs.

Accurso has emerged as a prominent voice in that debate.

After having spoken with Gael and another boy who pleaded for help getting out of Dilley so he could attend a spelling bee, Accurso told NBC Newsshe is working with lawyers and advocates"to close Dilley and make sure that kids and their parents are back in their communities where they belong."

For Gael and his parents, the focus now shifts to recovering from their ordeal, Mukherjee said.

They plan to return to the Texas community where they'd been living, she said, where Gael can resume medical care and therapy while the family continues to pursue asylum.

"Nelson and Leonardo are so eager to take Gael to their pediatrician so that he can get the medical care that he urgently needs," Mukherjee said. "That's their top priority."

At least 1,000 US troops from 82nd Airborne set to deploy to Mideast, AP sources say

Frank Jenkins March 25, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Divisionto the Middle Eastin the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

FILE - An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper participates in artillery training during a field exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan, File)

FILE - A sign at an entrance gate at Fort Bragg, N.C., is photographed on Jan. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Iran US Military

The unit is considered the Army's emergency response force and can typically be deployed on short notice. The force would include a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team as well as Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the division's commander, and division staff, according to the people, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans or private conversations.

It's the latest addition of American troops to the Iran war effort after U.S. officials recently said thousands of Marines aboard several Navy ships will be heading to the region.

While the Marine units are trained in missions that include supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief, the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, are trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields.

When asked about the deployment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly deferred to the Pentagon but noted that "President Trump always has all military options at his disposal."

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are scheduled to receive a classified briefing from Pentagon officials Wednesday on Capitol Hill where the potential deployment is expected to be discussed, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The New York Times earlier reported the possible deployment of the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East.

U.S. officials previously have said the Japan-based USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit had been ordered to the Middle East — shifting them from exercises near Taiwan.

They also confirmed that the Navy has rushed to deploy a set of ships carrying a rapid-response Marine force to the Middle East from their home post of San Diego.

The pair of Marine Expeditionary Units will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region, where the U.S. already has about 50,000 troops.

The troops are being added just as the Trump administration says it hasbegun negotiations with Iranto end the war. Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran has denied that any negotiations are taking place.

While speaking Tuesday at the White House, Trump said the U.S. is "in negotiations right now" and his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are involved in the talks, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

"We have a number of people doing it," Trump said. "And the other side, I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts. ButMohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, denied Trump's claim of direct talks, and an Iranian military spokesman issued a newly defiant statement vowing to fight "until complete victory."

Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

Coen Carr lifting Michigan State's March Madness hopes in Sweet 16 with high-flying play

Frank Jenkins March 25, 2026

Dunks are always worth two points, or at most three if you're fouled, complete the dunk and add the free throw.

The math is different for Coen Carr and Michigan State.

"Like, his dunks are worth 10 points because they bring so much to the entire team,"Spartansguard Trey Fort said.

Or "more than two, at least," said freshman forward Jordan Scott.

Their math is iffy, but this much is certain: Carr, a 6-foot-6 junior and first-year starter, brings a certain explosiveness that triggers the Spartans' momentum, giving Michigan State a puncher's chance of surviving and advancing through a loaded East region.

Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) drives the ball against the Louisville defense during the 2026 NCAA men's tournament at Keybank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

He had one of the best games of his career in the second round against No. 6 Louisville, posting 21 points and 10 rebounds to pace the 77-69 win and send the Spartans back to the Sweet 16 for the 17th time under Tom Izzo.

"Coen Carr played like the player we've all been waiting for," Izzo said. "Coen was like an ever-ready bunny, he just kept going and going and going."

RE-SEEDING THE SWEET 16:Separating the contenders from pretenders

As proved over the first weekend of tournament play, an active and aggressive Carr could give the Spartans the jolt they need to make the program's ninth Final Four under Izzo.

"Just to be in March Madness, one of the greatest stages on earth, and to have a game like this, I just credit it to my coaches, my teammates, just for always believing in me," Carr after the Louisville win. "They want me to go out there and be aggressive, and that's what I tried to focus on."

University of Akron:
Yvette Nicole Brown, Alexa Bliss, Dominique Moceanu, The Black Keys and George Wallace