Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The Senate adjourned on Saturday without taking action to end the federal government shutdown, which is about to begin its 40th day. As the shutdown drags on, thousands of flights are being canceled and SNAP food benefits are not being paid. New York Democrat Chuck Schumer says his party is ready to negotiate, but Republicans won't engage.
Chapter 2: What is the current status of the federal government shutdown?
If Republicans want to talk about long-term fixes to ACA affordability, Democrats are ready. We said so yesterday. But in the meantime, doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker. And that's what will happen if this Congress fails to act.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, calls a Democratic proposal to extend health care benefits a non-starter.
Officials are warning, meanwhile, that more flights could end up being canceled if the shutdown persists into the Thanksgiving holiday, as NPR's Liz Baker reports that possibility is already causing some holiday travelers to reconsider their plans for the busiest travel days of the year.
Air travel is often stressful, especially around the holidays. Aside from the logistics and the money involved, there are a lot of emotions involved in travel. Aixa Diaz is a spokesperson for AAA, which releases a holiday travel forecast before big travel days like the day before Thanksgiving. She says this year has been tricky to predict given the uncertainty around the government shutdown.
Because anything could happen and things change daily. On Friday, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy warned that by Thanksgiving, as many as 20% of flights could be impacted if the shutdown continues. Many more than have already been affected since the Federal Aviation Administration announced reduced flights to and from 40 major airports earlier this week. Liz Baker, NPR News.
The effects of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history are now also being felt overseas. Local workers at some American military bases in Europe have not received their paychecks. In Italy, about 2,000 workers haven't been paid since September. In Germany, meanwhile, that country is covering the salaries of some 11,000 employees at U.S. bases there.
Workers in Ukraine are trying to restore power in several regions after Russian drone attacks on energy infrastructure caused blackouts this weekend. Residential areas were also hit, killing at least six people. The BBC's James Landale has more from Kyiv.
A lot of the targets were energy infrastructure. There's a clear attempt by Russia now to make living in Ukraine very, very hard. They want to make it very hard, particularly in the east, for people to get access to electricity and to get heating. And that's not just a question of trying to damage Ukrainian morale, but it's also trying to damage Ukraine's economy.
They just want to make it very, very hard to do stuff in Ukraine. simply because they think that is a long-term strategy that could put some political pressure on the government here in Kiev.
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Chapter 3: How is the government shutdown affecting air travel and holiday plans?
Julian Sand threw for 303 yards and one touchdown as the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes beat Purdue today 34-10. Jeremiah Smith had a season-high 10 catches for 137 yards in the win. No. 2 Indiana needed a last-minute acrobatic touchdown to beat Penn State 27-24. No. 6 Oregon escaped with an 18-16 win over Iowa. Texas Tech beat 8-ranked BYU by a score of 29-7.
And Alcorn State overpowered Southern 35-17. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.