U.S. and world news for Nov. 3

Trump’s poll numbers

A new CNN poll shows Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%. It’s the worst of his second term in CNN polling and roughly equivalent to his 36% approval rating at this point in his first term. Americans are also broadly unhappy with the state of the country, according to the CNN poll, with 68% saying things are going badly. Dissatisfaction is even higher with the economy, with 72% rating it in poor shape — and 47% naming the economy and the cost of living as the top issues facing the U.S. The CNN poll results are about the same as results of a new NBC poll, which shows that 34% support what Trump has been doing to the economy, and 30% say Trump has lived up to their expectations on handling inflation.

FBI fires official in charge of jets

Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, whose responsibilities included overseeing use of FBI jet planes, has been fired. FBI Director Kash Patel was said to be outraged over news reports disclosing that he had used an FBI jet to fly to see his girlfriend. Patel posted on the internet that the news reports about his flight to a location in Pennsylvania and later to Nashville were fake news. However, Bloomberg News reported that the movements of the FBI’s jet plane in question, which has a tail number of N708JH, were shown on the publicly accessible flight tracking system Flight Aware. It now appears that flights of the airplane with the tail number N708JH have since been blocked from being shown on the flight tracking system.

Trump holds a party while millions worry

While an estimated 42 million Americans were set to lose their SNAP food aid on Saturday, Donald Trump held a themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate late Friday for several hundred wealthy people that also was attended by leading Republican politicians and Trump administration officials. The party had a Great Gatsby Roaring ’20s theme and many attendees were in costume. Trump wore his usual business attire. Reporters were allowed in for a few minutes, but then were ordered to leave Mar-a-Lago. After SNAP benefits did expire on Nov. 1, Trump went golfing at his Palm Beach golf course.

Flight delays continue to get worse

The government shutdown continues to disrupt air travel in the U.S., with this past weekend marking the most severe air traffic control shortages yet, according to a CNN review of FAA operations. Between Friday morning and Sunday night, there were 98 “staffing trigger” reports at FAA facilities, meaning that air traffic controllers had to adjust operations to maintain airspace safety with fewer personnel on duty. Such alterations can include rerouting planes or delaying flights when there are not enough controllers to handle the normal workload. Air traffic controllers are considered essential staff and must work during the government shutdown, despite not getting paid. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday that “it’s only going to get worse” if air traffic controllers continue to go without their paychecks.

Obamacare enrollment begins for 2026

Open enrollment is underway for 2026 health insurance under the Affordable Care Act as Congress remains deadlocked over whether to extend Obamacare’s enhanced premium subsidies. Without the subsidies — set to expire in December — many Americans will see steep increases in next year’s premiums. Congressional Democrats insist that any federal funding package contain an extension of the beefed-up subsidies. Republicans say they’ll only discuss the matter after the government reopens. The monthly premium for the benchmark plan on healthcare.gov will soar 30%, on average, according to an analysis by the health policy research group KFF.

Trump admits he wasn’t serious about missiles for Ukraine

Donald Trump said Sunday that he was “not really considering” sending U.S. Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to aid in its war against Russia even though he made public pronouncements that he was going to do so. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has tried to secure the long-range weapons to expand his country’s striking distance and Trump finally agreed to allow them to go to Ukraine. Trump’s flip comes just days after the Pentagon gave the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with the weapons after assessing that it would not negatively impact U.S. stockpiles. Separately, Trump said that he ordered the Defense Department to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria as he accuses the nation of allowing widespread persecution against Christians, an accusation Nigeria has repeatedly denied.