NPR News: 10-26-2025 6PM EDT
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What are the implications of the federal government shutdown on air travel?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Amid the federal government shutdown, more flight delays and cancellations are expected at U.S. airports this week. The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport today are being held due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted travelers would see more flights delayed and canceled in the coming days. NPR's Luke Garrett has the latest.
More and more air traffic controllers are calling out sick and not showing up for work, says Duffy. The reason? They aren't getting paid because of the government shutdown, the secretary tells Fox News.
No paycheck is coming on Tuesday.
How is the U.S. addressing air traffic controller staffing shortages?
And so I've been out talking to our air traffic controllers and you can see the stress.
Duffy says he will stop flights if air traffic staffing levels get too low.
What I see coming forward as we get to Monday, tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, that you're going to see more staffing shortages and towers, which means you're going to see more delays, more cancellations.
The shutdown is the second longest in U.S. history. The longest was 35 days in 2019. It ended on the same day air traffic staffing issues limited flights at major East Coast airports. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Also today, the Agriculture Department is announcing that federal food aid will not go out on the first day of November unless there's a resolution approved. of the federal spending impasse. Russia says it has successfully carried out a test of a nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile from Moscow. NPR's Charles Maines reports.
In a video released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful test of the Budovestnik cruise missile and ordered its integration into Russia's defenses. Nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable, Budovestnik is one of a crop of next-generation Russian weapons that that Moscow claims are invincible to all existing air defenses. In the video, Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov, tells Putin the missile maneuvered for nearly 15 hours during its test launch. The exercise comes as Putin has vowed Russia will not bend to Western pressure over Ukraine. It also comes just months before the last remaining nuclear arms reduction treaty with the U.S. is set to expire. Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow.
The National Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Melissa is packing maximum sustained winds of more than 130 miles an hour, about 100 miles away from Jamaica. The hurricane is expected to make landfall in Jamaica Monday night or Tuesday morning. Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are possible. Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica's Minister of Local Government and Community Development, is urging maximum caution.
There is nothing more we can do as a government. but to beg and beseech persons to heed the warning.
Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic are also in the storm's path. This is NPR News. as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to meet in South Korea Thursday. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is saying today that a deal is taking shape on rare earth, metals and tariffs. Two of the four men suspected of breaking into the Louvre Museum and stealing $100 million worth of royal jewels have been caught and are being questioned. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports they were apprehended thanks to video surveillance footage and their DNA.
French media are reporting that the men were under surveillance for several days and are known to police. The Paris prosecutor confirmed one of the men was picked up at Charles de Gaulle Airport about to take a flight to Algeria. French media are also reporting that more than 150 samples of the men's fingerprints and DNA were discovered on items left behind at the scene of the crime, such as a circular saw, a reflective vest, a motorcycle helmet, a jerry can, gloves, a walkie-talkie, and Empress Eugenie's diamond and emerald crown that was dropped.
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