World championships pause to remember young figure skaters and supporters who died in plane crash

BOSTON (AP) — Before the skaters in their sequins and brightly colored costumes took the ice at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday night, a choir dressed all in black sang a solemn hymn for those who died in a plane crash on their way back from a camp for up-and-coming skaters this winter.

Boston's Coro Allegro performed “Precious Lord” to close an emotional ceremony before the pairs competition at the TD Garden in Boston, about a half-hour's drive from the home club for six people who were killed in the accident.

“Tonight we honor those members of our skating community who are no longer with us,” said emcee Ben Agosto, an Olympic ice dance silver medalist. “Their spirit remains in every edge traced on this ice, in every moment of triumph, and every heart that beats for this sport."

Sixty-seven people died on Jan. 29 when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the icy Potomac River. Among those killed were more than two dozen members of the skating community returning from a national development camp after the U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas.

“For many of us, it feels like we are frozen in time,” International Skating Union president Jae Youl Kim said. “We see their spirit in the skaters who would take to the ice today. … Their legacy will continue to shine, inspiring young skaters around the world, fueling dreams and reminding us this sport is so much more than what happens on the ice.”

A benefit earlier this month in Washington, where many of the victims lived, included skating performances and raised more than $1.2 million for their families. The Boston ceremony featured speakers who encouraged the crowd to remember those who never got a chance to skate in a competition like the one taking place at the TD Garden this week.

“The world figure skating championships is an event to which they aspired,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said. “While they may not be here in person, in body, their spirit, their passion, their love for the sport, the relationships they built and the memories they created will never fade.”

The victims’ names were shown on the dasher boards and scoreboards during the tribute, along with their home clubs in Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Delaware and Virginia. Videos and photos showed the young skaters practicing the jumps they were still perfecting.

“They will live in every title that’s achieved in their name,” U.S. Figure Skating interim CEO Samuel Auxier said, reading a poem he composed. “True skaters never die, we just adopt the passion of their flame.”

Among those who died were two skaters, their mothers, and two coaches from the Skating Club of Boston, a prestigious rink where Olympians and recreational skaters alike have trained for more than a century.

The club is also the home of reigning U.S. pairs champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who took the ice less than an hour after the ceremony. After their performance, they brought pictures of the Boston victims to the kiss and cry couch while they waited for their scores.

When their marks placed them first — still early in the night — they received another large ovation from the hometown crowd.

“I feel like the impact they had in the relatively short time we knew them was immense,” Efimova said. “I think they played a big role in getting us here. I feel their strength and love every day.”

Doug Lane, whose wife and son died in the crash, was the final speaker, and he asked the skating fans as they remember those who were lost to "Take extra care to lift up the young skaters that are still here.

“They’re hurting,” he said. “I hope we can support them in their skating journeys, but I also hope we can help them find happiness off the ice as well.”

His final hope was that people work to prevent similar accidents in the future.

“Some accidents are avoidable. This one was not,” Lane said. "Even a lay person like me can easily identify the systematic breakdowns that allowed this to happen. But rather than looking to place blame, I hope that we can work with our elected officials to make air travel safer for everyone and for all of our families.”

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this report.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, of the United States, perform during their pairs short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, of the United States, perform during their pairs short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Jae Youl Kim, President of the International Skating Union, remembers the victims of the American Airlines plane crash, in which 28 people associated with the figure skating community were killed on their way home from the national championships, at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Spencer Lane is remembered on the screen as names are illuminated at ice level who died in the American Airlines plane crash in January, in which 28 people associated with the figure skating community were killed on their way home from the national championships, at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A remembrance is shown of Jinna Han, who died in the American Airlines plane crash in January, in which 28 people associated with the figure skating community were killed on their way home from the national championships at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, of the United States, perform during their pairs short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)