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Transportation secretary: 10 percent of airspace will close if shutdown continues

admin - Latest News - November 5, 2025
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that 10 percent of airspace may close if the government shutdown continues. The shutdown, which is dragging into its second month, has meant that essential workers, including air traffic controllers, have been working without pay.



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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 5, 2025, 4:14 PM ESTBy Camila Bernal and David DouglasMinutes before a 10-hour surgical procedure, 8-year-old Olivia Olson sat on a hospital bed grinning. With quiet confidence she explained why the operation was so important to her.“I think I look beautiful, and I don’t really care what other people think of me,” Olivia said. “I just want to get a big ear so people don’t bully me in the future.”Olivia was born with a rare congenital condition, microtia, that prevents the development of the outer ear. Fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. have microtia, according to the National Institutes of Health. Olivia’s right ear developed normally, but her left was never fully formed. Her parents, Annie and Dave Olson, of Oro Valley, Arizona, knew from birth she would need surgery to reconstruct her ear. But up until the day of the operation last month, their insurance provider, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, had repeatedly refused to approve coverage for the procedure with the surgeon the Olsons wanted to use. Dr. Sheryl Lewin holds up the 3D-printed ear implant to Olivia’s right ear. The implant would become her left ear.Courtesy David OlsonOnly a handful of doctors in the U.S. regularly perform the operation Olivia needed. Most of them — including Dr. Sheryl Lewin, a pediatric craniofacial plastic surgeon in private practice based in Torrance, California — were out of network for the Olsons. “The anatomy of an ear, it’s very complex, lots of detail, shadows, highlights, etc., so just physically recreating something that complex is very difficult. It’s rare to have a surgeon that specializes in it,” Lewin said. “If you don’t have a lot of experience, you’re going to end up with a lot of problems with this complicated of a surgery.”The family chose Lewin after years of research. They believed her reconstruction method, which involved using a 3D-printed implant to rebuild the ear, was best for Olivia. (Another technique involves using the patient’s rib cartilage to reconstruct the ear.)“We got a denial letter, and it was literally like a stab in the heart,” said Annie Olson. “We’re like, what are we going to do now?”The family requested what’s known as a “gap exception,” which allows a patient to use in-network benefits for an out-of-network provider. The request was initially denied; instead, Anthem gave them a list of six in-network doctors, the Olsons said. NBC News reached out to all six. Not a single one said they performed the surgery.If you are dealing with bills that seem to be out of line or a denial of coverage, care or repairs, whether for health, home or auto, please email us at Costofdenial@nbcuni.com.“Very few programs really offer somebody enough surgical time experience to when they leave the program and go out in private practice, where they’ll feel comfortable enough to do this kind of surgery,” said Dr. Arturo Bonilla, a pediatric microtia reconstructive surgeon in San Antonio. “It’s very specialized.”Bonilla, who performs the rib-graft method for reconstructing ears, said he regularly requests gap exceptions for his patients — and while sometimes requests need to be appealed, they’re almost always approved by all insurers, including Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “Rarely will we get somebody that says, ‘No, we’re still not going to approve it,’” he said.The Olsons debated canceling the surgery but ultimately decided to keep the date and shield Olivia from the challenges they faced paying for it. Lewin prepares the 3D-printed ear in the operating room.NBC Nightly NewsAfter multiple appeals and denials, the Olsons fundraised, borrowed money from family members and turned to credit cards. But that was not enough. Eventually, Dave Olson pulled a huge portion of the surgery’s roughly $100,000 cost from his 401(k).He said he didn’t hesitate to take the money out of his retirement fund. “It is my responsibility as a parent to make sure that my kids have everything they need,” he said.“If we knew that this was going to be the outcome, we would have been responsible people and started saving since the day she was born, versus finding out last minute, and then also having to be penalized because of pulling out of your 401(k) early,” Annie Olson said.NBC News reached out to Anthem a couple days before Olivia’s surgery and was waiting for a complete response. On the day of the surgery, with Olivia on the operating table, the Olsons finally received word that Anthem would grant the gap exception — a change the Olsons attributed to NBC News’ involvement.“We went through literally what felt like a battle every day, day in and day out,” Dave Olson said. “Then at the 11th hour during the surgery, you say they’re gonna cover it. It’s like, what? Like, why? Why? Why now?”In a statement to NBC News nearly two weeks after Olivia’s surgery, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield said: “We are happy that the member was able to receive the treatment she needed. Even though the member’s plan does not cover out-of-network providers when an in-network provider is available, we were able to make a unique one-time exception to ensure her care was not delayed.”Lewin shows Olivia her new ear for the first time.NBC Nightly NewsLewin, who performs about 120 microtia surgeries a year, said that in 2025, getting denials overturned and getting gap exceptions approved for microtia surgery has been a lot more challenging. She said in 2024, more than 90% of her Anthem patients’ gap exceptions were approved, or denied and overturned. In 2025, with the exception of Olivia, none of her Anthem patients have been approved.“It’s just become kind of a very slow trend that’s very much peaked in the last year,” Lewin said. “It’s been rough, and we’ve had to work much harder to get a negotiation agreed upon.”Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield didn’t respond to questions about Lewin’s claim that her patients have been denied gap exceptions this year. However, it said it is reaching out to Lewin to offer a potential in-network arrangement.The financial details for Olivia’s case are still being finalized, but she said she is already excited for the future.“When it’s fully recovered, I’m gonna be like, ‘OK, that was just a short little bump,’ and then I’ll just go on with the rest of my life,” she said.Camila Bernal David DouglasDavid Douglas is a supervising producer for NBC News based in Los Angeles.
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Sept. 26, 2025, 2:33 PM EDTBy Aria BendixPresident Donald Trump on Friday gave a string of unproven medical advice about Tylenol and childhood vaccines, some of which directly contradicted guidance from his administration’s own health agencies under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.The comments, posted to Trump’s Truth Social platform, echoed his previous remarks at a Monday press briefing where he announced that the Food and Drug Administration was warning doctors not to prescribe acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — to pregnant women, claiming it may be tied to autism in children. The bulk of scientific research has not identified such a link.Trump again said Friday on Truth Social that pregnant women should not use Tylenol “unless absolutely necessary,” adding that young children should not take Tylenol “for virtually any reason.” The FDA warning applies to pregnant women, not children, and says Tylenol can be given during pregnancy in cases of high fever, when the fever may pose a health risk to the fetus. Trump’s comments also are inconsistent with those of Vice President JD Vance, who during an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday advised pregnant women to “follow your doctor” when it comes to taking acetaminophen.Trump does not have a medical or scientific background. The responsibility for setting vaccine or drug use recommendations falls to federal health agencies, not the White House.The president’s position on vaccines has wavered over the years. At times, he has encouraged their use and touted his first administration’s developing Covid vaccines at the beginning of the pandemic. However, his decision to appoint Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, as health secretary and his recent spreading of vaccine misinformation have raised alarms in the scientific community. At the White House event on acetaminophen last week, Trump seemed to offer his most emphatic support to date of Kennedy’s agenda, which has included commissioning a probe into the causes of autism. Trump embarked on a tangent about how children receive too many vaccines, echoing a common talking point among vaccine skeptics.“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies,” he said. “It’s a disgrace.”The Department of Health and Human Services deferred comment to the White House. A White House official said Trump was amplifying the latest HHS guidance urging people to exercise caution before taking pharmaceuticals.Trump also wrote Friday that kids should get hepatitis B shots at age 12 or older, which goes against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency says the first dose of the three-dose series should be given within 24 hours of birth because hepatitis B can be transmitted from mother to child during delivery. The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel had been considering delaying the shot until at least one month after birth — not until age 12 — but tabled the vote last week. Children can be infected at any age through contact with the bodily fluids of a person with hepatitis B. The incurable infection can lead to liver disease, cancer and death. Doctor, medical reporter fact-check Trump announcement on acetaminophen and autism14:31Trump also said Friday that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine should be broken up into three shots and not “mixed” — even though the shots have been combined since 1971 and aren’t made individually. And he recommended taking the “chicken p” vaccine — presumably a reference to the chickenpox vaccine — separately. Pediatricians commonly administer the chickenpox vaccine and MMR vaccine separately, though a combination shot is available to reduce the number of shots babies receive and increase the chances that kids will get all of their vaccinations. The CDC advisory committee voted last week not to recommend that combination vaccine for small children due to an increased risk of febrile seizures (seizures prompted by fevers that tend to resolve quickly). Doctors have known about the risk for years, and many public health experts viewed the committee’s decision last week as taking choice away from parents. The vote did not change the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule: Kids should get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella twice — once at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years, per the agency. Chickenpox vaccines can be given at the same doctor’s visit. Combination MMR and chickenpox vaccines can still be given to older kids, since there is no evidence of an increased risk of febrile seizure in this age group. Trump advised people on Friday to “take vaccine in five separate medical visits,” though it is unclear whether he was referring to specific shots or the childhood immunization schedule. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends seven well-child visits (when babies typically receive their shots) in the first year of life. However, not every doctor or parent follows that schedule to the letter, and the CDC offers ranges in which childhood immunizations can be administered.Aria BendixAria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.Monica Alba and Alana Satlin contributed.
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Nov. 23, 2025, 5:07 PM ESTBy Alexandra Marquez, Courtney Kube, Fiona Glisson, Megan Shannon and Julie TsirkinPresident Donald Trump inserted fresh tensions into the high-stakes Ukraine-Russia peace talks on Sunday, publicly accusing Kyiv’s leaders of showing “zero gratitude” for U.S. support just as U.S. officials in Geneva were working to show a united front.Trump’s Truth Social comments landed at a delicate moment: his administration is pressing Ukraine to accept a 28-point peace proposal by Thanksgiving, even as confusion over the plan’s authorship and concerns from European allies and U.S. lawmakers have raised questions about whose interests it serves.Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, met with Ukrainian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend to move peace talks forward with a goal of ending the war.Ukraine’s Andriy Yermak, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a press conference at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday.Fabrice Coffrini / AFP – Getty Images fileOn Sunday, after a full day of talks, Rubio told reporters “a tremendous amount of progress,” had been made. He added “there’s still some work to be done, but we are much further ahead today at this time than we were when we began this morning and where we were a week ago for certain.”“So it is in my personal view that we’ve had probably the most productive and meaningful meeting so far in this entire process since we’ve been involved in from the beginning,” he said. “We have a very good work product that was already built on a foundation of input from all the relative parties involved here, and we were able to go through some of those items now, point by point. And I think we’ve made good progress.”Another U.S. official told NBC News that Rubio, Witkoff and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with a Ukrainian delegation at the U.S. Mission in Geneva. The U.S. officials said the discussions were “positive and constructive.”In a post later Sunday on Telegram, Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. and European allies.“Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the help that, starting with the Javelins, is saving the lives of Ukrainians. We thank everyone in Europe, in the Group of Seven and the Group of Twenty, who is helping us protect lives,” he wrote.Ukrainian and European leaders have expressed concerns about the peace proposal, with some European leaders and U.S. lawmakers close to Trump have also expressed concerned that it benefits Russia.“While there are many good ideas in the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan, there are several areas that are very problematic and can be made better. The goal of any peace deal is to end the war honorably and justly — and not create new conflict,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a post on X Saturday.Another top Trump ally in the Senate, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., also expressed concerns on Friday. “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace,” he wrote in a post on X.Trump says 28-point Ukraine peace plan isn’t his ‘final offer’00:32On Saturday, Trump told reporters that this particular proposal is “not my final offer.” He added that if Zelenskyy didn’t accept the peace proposal, “then he can continue to fight his little heart out.”In a video after the proposal was made public, Zelenskyy said, “Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest.”He added, “Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, either the difficult 28 points, or a very difficult winter.”Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing” that the 28 points are a starting point for negotiations.“This is only the first proposal, unattainable, and indeed, it’s a wish list. It’s not a document or an agreement. It’s just a list of the points it’s been discussed right now, and it is an agreed line with Ukraine and the United States that it will be a constructive reconciling process,” she said.On Saturday night, several U.S. lawmakers questioned whether the peace proposal was drafted by the U.S. or Russia.Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on Saturday said “none of the information that was released on this particular proposal came back from the administration,” following his call Saturday afternoon with Rubio.“We asked, ‘Is this, you know? Where does this come from?’ And he said, ‘This was a product that had been presented to Mr. Witkoff, and that it was not our proposal, and that it was an opportunity, though, for the U.S. as an intermediary to bring it to the attention of the Ukrainians and I believe, the Europeans as well,’” Rounds added.In a post on X late Saturday night, Rubio said that the plan was endorsed by U.S. officials.“The peace proposal was authored by the U.S. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations,” he wrote. “It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”Alexandra MarquezAlexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Fiona GlissonMegan ShannonMegan Shannon is a White House researcher for NBC NewsJulie TsirkinJulie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.Isabella Colletta contributed.
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