U.S. and world news for Oct. 8

Air travel getting worse because of shutdown

Travelers could face more delays at major airports nationwide due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The aviation problems come as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says more controllers are calling out sick amid the government shutdown. Like TSA agents, air traffic controllers are considered essential employees and must work without pay during the government shutdown. Numerous airports were affected on Tuesday, including Chicago’s O’Hare, which was expected to operate without a full complement of controllers for over nine hours. The FAA also issued a ground stop for flights heading to Nashville International Airport due to staffing shortages. The issues are similar to what happened Monday at Hollywood Burbank International Airport in California, where the entire tower was forced to shut down.

Trump may not pay furloughed federal workers

President Trump says that he may withhold back pay from all federal employees once the government shutdown ends even though federal law requires that they be paid. Trump also said he’ll soon announce which government programs he intends to permanently eliminate amid the standoff over federal funding. Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed during this shutdown, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis. Several top GOP leaders have distanced themselves from Trump’s idea, as they made clear they supported back pay for government workers. An increasing number of Republican lawmakers have also acknowledged the potential political perils of implementing mass layoffs of federal workers during this time.

Marjorie Taylor Greene emphasizes break with fellow Republicans on health care

Right-wing Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has emphasized her break with Republican leadership on the issue of health care premiums by again calling for immediate negotiations with Democrats on the matter. Greene, who receives free lifetime health care by virtue of serving in Congress, said yesterday that the premiums her adult children pay for their Obamacare insurance will double if federal premium credits are allowed to expire in December. A survey shows that the 10 states that will see the worst effects of the health care insurance premium increases all are Republican states. Some residents of those states will see their health care premiums jump by almost 400%.

Attorney General Bondi uses prewritten insults against senators

Donald Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday referred to prewritten papers she had brought with her when hurling insults at senators who were questioning her during a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bondi did not answer numerous direct questions from senators but instead called some of the senators doing the questioning “a lair,” “a failed lawyer,” and a recipient of money from a confidant of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi refused to answer whether the FBI had photos of Donald Trump with young girls supplied by Epstein. She also refused to answer whether Trump’s immigration chief Tom Homan kept the $50,000 in cash he took from undercover FBI agents or whether he paid income tax on the money.

James Comey enters not guilty plea at arraignment

Former FBI Director James Comey entered a not guilty plea today when he appeared for arraignment in a federal court to answer an indictment brought by the Trump administration. In 2017, President Trump fired Comey, who was overseeing the investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. Trump had made it plain that he would be going after Comey on criminal charges as part of a political vendetta. Comey was indicted last month on federal charges of giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding for allegedly lying to Congress during testimony in 2020. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, was randomly assigned to oversee the trial.

Gaza ceasefire talks

Negotiations continue in Egypt to finalize a peace deal for Gaza. Israel and Hamas have made “progress” during the first two days of the talks, a source told CNN, although it remains unclear whether either side will make the necessary compromises for a breakthrough. Also in the region, another fleet of Gaza-bound aid ships carrying journalists, activists and medical professionals has been intercepted by Israeli authorities, organizers said. It comes just days after Israel detained dozens of people on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a separate Gaza-bound convoy that included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.