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cancelled

Thousands Of US Flights Canceled Amid Storms And TSA Agent Shortage 

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Thousands of flights across the US were canceled or delayed over the weekend and into Monday amid powerful storms across the eastern half of the country, and a partial government shutdown impacting TSA screenings for a second month. 

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The shutdown that began on February 14th has greatly strained staffing at security checkpoints at a time where airports are crowded with spring break travelers and fans heading to March Madness games, according to reports from AP. 

This week, flights were greatly delayed and canceled at some of the nation’s largest airports due to major storms and snow throughout the Midwest and moving to the East Coast. Airports in New York, Chicago, and Atlanta were affected by high potential for heavy winds and tornadoes, the National Weather Service said on Monday. 

Specifically, over 4,400 flights scheduled to fly into, out of, or throughout the US on Monday were canceled with about 10,400 being delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking site. About 290 flights in the US scheduled for Tuesday have been canceled as well. 

“The nationwide cancellations included about 570 in and out of Chicago O’Hare International, more than 430 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International and over 270 at John F. Kennedy International Airport,” according to FlightAware.

The current partial government shutdown impacts only the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration. Many airport security screeners missed their first full paycheck over the weekend. 

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AP reports that Democrats in Congress have stated Homeland Security won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis this year. 

This is the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay, and once the government reopens, employees will have to wait longer for back pay. 

Some airports are seeing longer security lines due to staffing shortages with TSA workers needing to take on second jobs to pay for their basic needs. Homeland Security stated that over 300 TSA agents have quit since the beginning of the shutdown. 

TSA union leaders in Atlanta held a news conference this week outside Hartsfield-Jackson where they said that air travelers could experience increasingly long wait times as the shutdown continues. 

TSA workers “are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts,” said Aaron Barker, a local leader with the American Federation of Government Employees. 

jobs

US Lost 105,000 Jobs In October But Added 64,000 In November, Data Shows 

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According to official data, the US labor market grew by more than expected last month, showing recovery is occurring after the damage caused by the federal government shutdown. In October, it was estimated that around 105,000 jobs were lost while 64,000 were added in November.

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Many economists were not convinced that job growth would be as high as it was in November, with many forecasting only 40,000 to be added. 

Last month, however, the unemployment rate continued to grow, hitting a four-year high and hitting 4.6%. The latest data and job numbers are normally released monthly but were delayed due to the government shutdown. Federal government jobs declined by 162,000 in October and 6,000 in November. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that full October jobs data would not be released and November’s jobs data was delayed due to the 43-day federal government shutdown. These delays have caused a lot of questions regarding the reports accuracy. 

For example, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned last week that the data from BLS should be “treated with a skeptical eye” while the “hangover left from the shutdown works through the system,” the Guardian reported. 

ADP reported that the US private sector employers got rid of around 32,000 jobs in November after they added 47,000 jobs in October, showing signs of the job market weakening. 

​​The September jobs report, released late in November due to the federal government shutdown, showed that the US added 119,000 jobs, higher than economist predictions. The increase in the unemployment rate from 4.3% to 4.4% in September is the highest level since 2021. 

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Powell himself warned that job figures are likely to be worse than the numbers reported and that Trump’s immigration policies have hurt the US labor supply, keeping the unemployment rate “relatively flat.”

He made these assumptions after the Fed announced it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point, moving towards “risk management” over concerns of a weakening labor market. 

“Labor supply has also come down quite sharply. So, you know, if you had a world where there is just no growth in workers and you really don’t need a lot of jobs to have full employment, some people argue that is what we are looking at.”

“So, there is an over-count in the payroll job numbers, we think, continuing, and it will be corrected. I don’t have an exact month in my head right now. Again, I think forecasters generally understand that. We think it is about 60,000 a month, so 40,000 jobs could be negative 20, but that could be wrong by 10 or 20 in either direction,” said Powell. 

Powell also warned that the accuracy of the jobs report data needs to be questioned due to the government shutdown. 

“We are going to get data, but we are going to have to look at it carefully and with a somewhat skeptical eye by the January meeting,” he said.

The BLS also has been under fire from the Trump administration. Back in August, Trump got rid of BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer just hours after the July jobs report was published. Trump claimed that the report was “rigged” to make him look bad, which there was no actual evidence to back up.

flights

Airlines Slash Routes as FAA Faces Staff Shortages During Government Shutdown

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Airports across the country are facing turbulence, and it’s not the kind that comes from the sky. Following the Trump administration’s announcement of a 10 percent reduction in air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports, airlines and travelers are now scrambling to adapt.

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cdc

Hundreds Of Fired CDC Staff By Trump Administration Have Been Reinstated 

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Hundreds of staff members that were fired by the Trump Administration from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been reinstated.

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delay

Government Shutdown’s Impact On Air Travel In The US 

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The US government is currently shutdown, impacting a wide range of essential industries and systems within the nation. Air travelers throughout America are now feeling parts of the shutdown as airports have been experiencing major delays and staffing issues in air traffic control.

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shutdown

How A US Government Shutdown Will Impact The Travel Industry

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If lawmakers don’t pass a federal budget or stopgap measure within the week, a government shutdown will take effect on October 1st, which could drastically impact the travel industry throughout the country.

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