Luke Vargas

Officials don't have a concrete plan to end the communist government that's withstood U.S.

pressure and held onto power on the island for almost seven decades.

But a U.S.

official said the administration is searching for Cuban government insiders who can help to cut a deal to push out the leadership.

According to people familiar with the matter, the administration believes that Cuba's economy is now on the brink of collapse after losing the support of Venezuela.

The Air Force says that the Boeing plane donated by Qatar and intended to fly as a new Air Force One is on track to be delivered to President Trump by the summer.

Both of the modified 747s currently flown as Air Force One have been in service since George H.W.

Bush's administration in the early 1990s, and the timing seems right for an upgrade.

Earlier this week, the plane flying Trump and reporters to Zurich had to turn back to the Washington area after an electrical issue.

And Delta has lost its crown in the journal's annual airline rankings, bringing to an end a four-year winning streak.

That's travel reporter Allison Poley, who said that while Southwest spent billions improving its operations, other airlines struggled to navigate a turbulent year for travelers.

Earlier this week, United's chief financial officer likened 2025 to being hit with multiple asteroids, yet that didn't affect overall airline performance.

And that's it for What's News for this Thursday morning.

Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Hattie Moyer.

Our supervising producer was Sandra Kilhoff.

And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.

We will be back tonight with a new show.

Until then, thanks for listening.

Here is your morning brief for Thursday, January 22nd.

I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.