Things To Do In SW Florida

By RIO YAMAT

If you have upcoming travel plans anytime soon, you might notice fewer options on the airport’s departure board.

Airlines are scaling back flights at dozens of major U.S. airports to ease the pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working unpaid and under intense strain during the ongoing government shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the decision is necessary to keep travelers safe. Many controllers have been putting in long hours and mandatory overtime while lawmakers are at a standstill over how to reopen the government.

Major hubs like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are among those affected, and the ripple effects could mean more cancellations, longer delays and fuller flights for travelers across the country. The cutbacks will impact hundreds if not thousands of flights daily.

Here’s what to know about the FAA’s order — and what you can do if your plans are disrupted:

Is my airport on the list?

There’s a good chance it is. The list spans more than two dozen states. read more

Conor Harrison

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina; Elena Louder, University of South Carolina; Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee, and Shelley Welton, University of Pennsylvania

(THE CONVERSATION) As fall turns to winter and temperatures begin to drop, millions of people across the U.S. will struggle to pay their rising energy bills. The government shutdown is making matters even worse: Several states have pushed back the start of their winter energy assistance because their federally allocated funds have yet to show up.

A 2023 national survey found that nearly 1 in 4 Americans were unable to pay their full energy bill for at least one month, and nearly 1 in 4 reported that they kept their homes at unsafe temperatures to save money. By 2025, updated polling indicated nearly 3 in 4 Americans are worried about rising energy costs.

Conservative estimates suggest that utilities shut off power to over 3 million U.S. households each year because the residents cannot pay their bills. read more

By GARY FIELDS and FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the combination of the longest government shutdown, the mass firings of government workers and a fresh cut in federal food aid, the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington is bracing for the swell of people who will need its help before the holiday season.

The food bank, which serves 400 pantries and aid organizations in the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and two Maryland counties, is providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to this budget year — a nearly 20% increase.

The city is being hit “especially hard,” said Radha Muthiah, the group’s CEO and president, “because of the sequence of events that has occurred over the course of this year.”

The nation’s capital has been battered by a series of decisions by the Trump administration, from the layoffs of federal workers to the ongoing law enforcement intervention into the district. The added blow of the shutdown, which has furloughed workers and paused money for food assistance, is only deepening the economic toll. read more

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is racing to prevent the shutdown of its only oil refinery before U.S. sanctions on the Russian owner take effect later this month.

Parliament in Sofia approved legal changes that grant additional state authority to a government-appointed manager of the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery on the Black Sea coast.

The move came after a top international commodities trader dropped plans to purchase Lukoil’s international assets, as the company rejected U.S. government allegations of being “the Kremlin’s puppet.”

Lukoil said it was selling its international assets in response to U.S. sanctions aimed at pushing Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine. The company has stakes in oil and gas projects in 11 countries, including the Burgas refinery, as well as gas stations in many countries.

Under the new amendments, the manager is granted significant operational control of the refinery, including the right to sell its shares. Opposition lawmakers criticized the changes, saying they could prompt legal action against Bulgaria. read more

By JOHN SEEWER

U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,500 weekend flights by Saturday evening as the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandate to reduce air traffic because of the government shutdown showed no signs of easing.

The slowdown at many of the nation’s busiest airports did not cause immediate widespread disruptions. But it deepened the impact felt by the nation’s longest federal shutdown.

“We all travel. We all have somewhere to be,” said Emmy Holguin, 36, who was flying from Miami to see family in the Dominican Republic. “I’m hoping that the government can take care of this.”

Analysts warn that the upheaval will intensify and spread far beyond air travel if cancellations keep growing and reach into Thanksgiving week.

Already there are concerns about the squeeze on tourism destinations and holiday shipping.

Here’s what to know about the flight reductions:

How many flights have been canceled?

Cancellations jumped Saturday — typically a slow travel day — to more than 1,500, following just over 1,000 the previous day, according to the tracking website FlightAware. By the evening U.S. airlines already had canceled another 1,000-plus for Sunday. read more