U.S. and world news for Nov. 11

Flight delays around the U.S. continue

Airlines are required to cut 6% of their flights at 40 major airports today following an order from the FAA. This is expected to trigger more widespread delays and cancellations at some of the nation’s busiest airports. The reductions are due to air traffic controller shortages and FAA-mandated cuts implemented during the government shutdown to slow air traffic amid limited staffing. Massive delays have impacted thousands of travelers in recent days, with some of the most severe disruptions occurring in Chicago, New York and New Jersey. On Monday, arrivals in Chicago were delayed an average of five hours — and that was with just a 4% service reduction. Aviation experts say the situation could worsen, with airlines required to cut 8% of their flights by Thursday and 10% by Friday.

Senate votes to end government shutdown

The longest shutdown in U.S. history could be over within days after the Senate on Monday approved a bill to reopen the federal government. The House is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday, and then it will head to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. The deal would restore critical services like federal food aid, as well as pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. This comes after a bloc of eight moderate Democrats on Sunday broke ranks and joined Republicans to support a funding measure to reopen the federal government — without securing their party’s demand to guarantee an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which help millions of Americans afford insurance.

Trump mortgage plan would heap debt on homeowners

Donald Trump has come up with a plan that he says would make homes more affordable: having people take out 50-year mortgage loans instead of the 30-year loans that are common today. While Trump’s proposal is light on details, many housing experts warn the plan could backfire, raising the cost of home ownership, adding more interest over time, driving up home prices and keeping Americans in debt for their lifetime. On a $450,000 home, with a 30-year fixed mortgage at a 6.25% interest rate, over the life of that loan, the homeowner would pay more than $547,000 in interest. With a 50-year loan at the same rate, total interest would balloon to about $1.02 million, or 87% more than on the 30-year loan.

Frigid temperatures sweep into U.S.

Some cities in the southeastern U.S. today could face some of their coldest early-November temperatures in decades. On Monday, a foot of snow piled up in the Great Lakes, snarling travel and forcing business closures. Daily record lows will be threatened today in parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas, southeast Louisiana and even Florida. Jacksonville, Florida, is expected to hit 30 degrees within hours, marking the earliest it has been that cold in the fall since 1976. Washington, D.C., and New York City are also likely to log their coldest morning since an arctic blast developed over the eastern half of the country on Sunday.

Camp Mystic lawsuits filed

The families of seven campers and two counselors who died in the catastrophic flooding that swept through Camp Mystic this summer are suing the Texas camp and its owners, accusing them of gross negligence, according to three lawsuits that have been filed. This marks the first legal action taken by victims’ families against the camp since the flooding that claimed their daughters’ lives. More than two dozen campers and staffers — the “Heaven’s 27,” as they are known — died on July 4 after torrential rainfall caused flash flooding at the 99-year-old summer camp in Texas Hill Country. The flooding killed at least 136 people across the region as parts of the Guadalupe River rose from about 3 feet to almost 30 feet in just 45 minutes.

Climate change conference underway

The planet’s biggest climate conference, COP 30, has kicked off with representatives from more than 190 countries descending on the Brazilian city of Belém. They will spend two weeks deep in negotiations on how to halt catastrophic climate change. The stakes of the summit are high: Last year was the hottest on record, capping a decade of unprecedented heat. Data also shows that global warming is fueling stronger hurricanes, floods and wildfires. Notably, the Trump administration is not be sending a high-level delegation to the summit. It follows a pattern of disengagement with global climate action that began with President Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement in January.