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White House threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers

admin - Latest News - October 7, 2025
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The Trump administration has drafted a memo arguing that furloughed federal workers will not be entitled to back pay when the government shutdown ends. NBC News’ Melanie Zanona reports on how Democrats are reacting to the threat.



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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 7, 2025, 3:21 PM EDTBy Maya Rosenberg and Jay BlackmanWASHINGTON — Federal funding for air travel in rural areas will run out Sunday if the government shutdown continues, threatening to isolate remote communities across the country.The Essential Air Service (EAS), established in 1978, provides funds to airline carriers to operate out of rural airports for routes that would otherwise be unprofitable. The program is a lifeline for remote communities because it connects them to cities with larger airports, ensuring access to medical treatments, work opportunities and commercial goods that would otherwise be a lengthy travel away. “Money runs out this Sunday. So there’s many small communities across the country that will now no longer have the resources to make sure they have air service in their community,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press conference Monday. “Every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities.”The EAS gives money to regional air carriers in 177 communities across all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, according to DOT. The Regional Airline Association, an advocacy group for regional airlines that receive EAS funds, said that “commercial air service at EAS airports had an economic impact of $2.3 billion and supported more than 17,000 U.S. jobs” before the pandemic. FAA announces possible staffing issues potentially caused by government shutdown 02:10“This program is an essential economic lifeline for over 500 rural communities who are often hit the hardest whenever there is disruption in the National Airspace System,” the association said in a statement. “[We] continue to urge Congress to come together and reopen the government for the good of the American public. The current government shutdown only adds stressors to an air transportation system that is already plagued with delays, disruptions, and cancellations.”As the shutdown continues with no end in sight, the Federal Aviation Administration is already confronting staffing shortages and slight increases in sick calls as air traffic controllers work without pay. NBC News reported Monday that no air traffic controllers were expected at Hollywood Burbank Airport in the Los Angeles area for hours, and that the main airports in New Jersey and Denver also experienced staffing issues.We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.Congress appropriated nearly $500 million to the EAS in 2024; The expenditure is typically bipartisan, serving rural communities in states across the country. However, earlier this year, President Donald Trump looked to slash the program’s budget by $308 million in his discretionary budget. He had recommended eliminating the program in its entirety in a budget blueprint during his first term. The federal funding is particularly important for Alaska, where the state’s hundreds of islands and vast swaths of tundra make traveling by air a necessity. According to an October 2024 Transportation Department report, Alaska received more than $41 million in EAS subsidies. Duffy told reporters that the “number one user” of rural airspace is Alaska, and that the state “will be impacted” if funding runs out. “This is almost breathtaking, when you think about the implications for these communities, because there is no road for any of these places,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told NBC News on Monday. “This is a big stressor right now.”Murkowski said that Alaska Airlines would maintain service at a handful of airports regardless of EAS funding but that she was worried for smaller carriers. She added that she was trying to get in touch with Duffy. Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Meanwhile, Murkowski’s fellow Alaska senator, Republican Dan Sullivan, said he was already in talks with the transportation secretary about the issue. “We’re working through it to make it have as little impact as possible. These are EAS subsidies, but this just goes to the whole damn Schumer shutdown,” Sullivan said, referring to the GOP nickname for the shutdown, which Republicans say was caused by Democrats. “But right now, what I’m trying to do is work with the secretary of transportation, who I was exchanging text messages and voice messages with, to try and limit that kind of damage.”Ryan Huotari, the manager of the Sidney-Richland Airport in Sidney, Montana, said the airport and his community depend on EAS funding.“If the EAS didn’t exist, I don’t think it would be able to function,” Huotari said of the airport. “Our winters out here are 20-below, they’re pretty treacherous. It’s pretty scary driving from here to Billings. I’d rather be in an airplane than a car.” Sidney is only an hour flight away from Billings, Montana’s largest city, but it’s about a four-hour drive each way. Huotari says that the airport is crucial for people who can’t make the eight-hour round trip, like the elderly who need medical care in Billings, or the oil workers who commute between the two areas. Huotari, who helmed the airport during the last shutdown in 2018, said he’s used to the EAS being on the budgetary chopping block but, with no solution in Congress in sight, this time he’s worried.“My biggest concern is getting people paid. There are a lot of federal grants out there that I’ve got right now,” he said. “There’s a lot of money hanging out there, like in the millions.”Maya RosenbergMaya Rosenberg is a Desk Assistant based in Washington, D.C.Jay BlackmanJay Blackman is an NBC News producer covering such areas as transportation, space, medical and consumer issues.Brennan Leach and Frank Thorp V contributed.
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Oct. 7, 2025, 11:21 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 7, 2025, 11:49 AM EDTBy Matt Lavietes and Corky SiemaszkoFlight delays were reported across the country for a second straight day Tuesday as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the government shutdown. Delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused delays Tuesday at airports in Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Houston, Chicago and Las Vegas, the FAA reported.These delays came on the heels of slowdowns at airports in Denver, Phoenix, Burbank, California and Newark, New Jersey that the FAA reported during the first 24 hours that air traffic controllers began working without pay due to the shutdown. Meanwhile, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association reminded members it does not “endorse, support, or condone” federal employees participating in coordinated activities that could affect flight safety or cause delays.”Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” the union posted on its website. “It is not only illegal, but it also undermines NATCA’s credibility and severely weakens our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families.”Despite the delays, the FAA had not issued a “staffing trigger” Tuesday that would reduce the number of flights in and out of airports that don’t have enough controllers to handle the traffic safely.But the number of domestic and international flight delays have been surging in recent days, with more than 6,000 reported Monday compared with roughly 3,000 delays Saturday, according to flight tracker website FlightAware. There were just over 1,000 delays within, into, or out of the U.S. as of Tuesday morning, according to the site.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday at Newark International Airport that there had been a slight increase in sick calls since the government shutdown began Wednesday. “Our priorities are safety,” Duffy said. “And so, if we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people.”
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October 4, 2025
Oct. 4, 2025, 2:01 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 4, 2025, 2:06 AM EDTBy Arata Yamamoto and Jennifer JettTOKYO — Japan’s governing party elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader on Saturday, setting her up to become the U.S. ally’s first female prime minister.Takaichi defeated Shinjiro Koizumi 185 to 156 in a second-round runoff vote to become leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted since the end of World War II.The leadership race was triggered last month when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would step down after a year in office. Though Takaichi is likely to succeed him as prime minister of Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, when parliament votes later this month, it is not guaranteed since the LDP-led coalition lost its majority in both houses in the past year. Takaichi, 64, a conservative nationalist who lists former British leader Margaret Thatcher as one of her role models, was an ally of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader.But there are concerns that Takaichi’s nationalistic historical views could cause friction with China, Japan’s top trading partner.Koizumi, 44, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, would have been Japan’s youngest leader since Hirobumi Ito, who was just a few months younger than Koizumi when he became the country’s first prime minister in 1885.The party voted on five candidates in the first round, with Takaichi securing 183 votes to Koizumi’s 164. Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, the top spokesperson for the current Japanese government, came third with 134 votes after a recent surge in polls.Votes in the first round were divided evenly between 294 LDP lawmakers and almost 1 million rank-and-file party members who were represented by 295 votes. Lawmakers favored the more moderate Koizumi, while party members preferred Takaichi, who has a passionate hard-line base. In the second round, lawmakers had the same number of votes while rank-and-file party members had 47, representing the 47 prefectures of Japan.Lawmakers in the second round voted 149 to 145 in favor of Takaichi, while party members gave her 36 votes compared with Koizumi’s 11.Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.Arata YamamotoArata Yamamoto has been an NBC News producer in Tokyo since 1993.Jennifer JettJennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.
October 9, 2025
Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 9, 2025, 5:15 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 9, 2025, 9:34 AM EDTBy Alexander Smith and Freddie ClaytonPresident Donald Trump’s announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal was widely welcomed Thursday by world leaders, the families of hostages and Palestinians who have endured more than two years of war.But huge questions remain about whether Trump’s 20-point plan can successfully resolve the long-term future of the Gaza Strip, with uncertainty over its directive for Hamas to disband, as well as the governance of the shattered enclave.The plan, which was mediated by Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, will also need formal agreement at 5 p.m. local time Thursday (10 a.m. ET) by Israel’s government, an Israel official briefed on the matter told NBC News. That does not appear a sure thing, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowing to vote against it.A spokesperson for the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a ceasefire would then take effect 24 hours after the Cabinet had agreed the deal and hostages would be released after 72 hours. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to President Donald Trump during a roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House on Wednesday.Anna Moneymaker / Getty ImagesTrump said in a social media post Wednesday that the sides had taken the “first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace,” calling it “a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding nations, and the United States of America.”Among those to welcome the announcement was United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who urged “all concerned to abide fully by the terms of the agreement” and described it as a “momentous opportunity” to recognize “the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.”Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “praised the great efforts made by President Trump and all mediators to reach this agreement.”Palestinians celebrate the news in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Thursday.AFP via Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had “a very moving and warm conversation” with Trump in which they “congratulated each other on the historic achievement of signing the agreement to release all the hostages,” his office said in a statement.”If indeed this deal can hold, it’ll bring in an era of peace that we haven’t seen now in the Middle East for several years, ever since that terrible attack on Oct. 7,” Col. Steve Warren, former principal deputy chief of public affairs at the Pentagon, told NBC News on Wednesday.Celebrations and cautious optimismThe announcement came after indirect talks involving Israel, Hamas and Steve Witkoff, U.S. ambassador at large, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump announced the breakthrough one day after the second anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which 1,200 were killed and another 250 were kidnapped, and the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in which more than 67,000 people — mostly women and children — have been killed, according to local health officials.While many governments defended Israel’s initial right to respond to the attack, the scale of civilian death and suffering wrought by its war have drawn increasing international condemnation and isolation for the Jewish state. Last month, the United Kingdom became the latest Western nation to recognize Palestine as a state, joining a majority of countries that now do so worldwide.What happens next in Israel-Hamas ceasefire process?01:58Much of Gaza is now a rubble-strewn wasteland, with most of its buildings damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N. And the world’s leading body on hunger, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, has declared that a famine is now playing out inside the cramped territory.Israel’s military operation has been deemed a genocide by a U.N. commission of inquiry, the world-leading International Association of Genocide Scholars, and human rights groups such as Amnesty International. Israel denies the charge, saying it is only attempting to destroy Hamas, which it blames for putting Palestinians in harm’s way.After news arrived that the first ceasefire phase had been agreed to, some Palestinians on the ground inside Gaza were celebrating — cheering, dancing and singing, video showed.The first phase of Trump’s deal would see the return of the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive, while the Israeli military said it was poised to withdraw from Gaza to an agreed-upon line.There were celebrations in “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv early Thursday, the culmination of two years in which families and friends of the remaining captives have angrily campaigned for their government to prioritize their loved ones over the continuation of the conflict.Relatives of Israeli hostages celebrate in Tel Aviv after the announcement Thursday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan.Emilio Morenatti / APThey could be heard in video chanting “Nobel prize to Trump” — a reference to Trump’s long-standing ambition to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is being announced Friday.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of Israeli hostages, said its members were feeling “a mix of excitement, anticipation, and concern” at the news. It expressed its “profound gratitude to President Trump and his team for the leadership and determination that led to this historic breakthrough: an end to the war and a comprehensive agreement to return all the hostages.”Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, a U.S.-Israeli dual citizen, said on “Stay Tuned NOW” that while he shared this cautious hope, the captors had not “provided any sign of life” for his son.Lasting agreement unclearWhile Hamas has agreed to participate in the hostage and prisoner exchange, it has not said it will disarm and disband — a key stipulation of Trump’s proposal. The first phase also does not address Gaza’s medium- and long-term future. Trump’s plan says the enclave should be temporarily governed by a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” overseen by a “Board of Peace” led by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. That is until the Palestinian Authority, the chief political organ in the region, can be “reformed.”The Israel Defense Forces said it was moving to “adjusted deployment lines soon” but warned that parts of Gaza were “still considered a dangerous combat zone” and that its troops were “deployed and operating anywhere in the Strip.”Israel shattered the previous ceasefire — which lasted from Jan. 19 to March 18 — by launching a barrage of deadly airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, ending two months of relative calm and plunging Gaza into a renewed humanitarian crisis. Israel blamed Hamas for the resumption of hostilities, citing the militant group’s refusal to meet Israel’s demand to release more hostages.Alexander SmithAlexander Smith is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital based in London.Freddie ClaytonFreddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London. 
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