Good morning. In this edition:

• 🏛️ Gov’t shutdown breakthrough?
• ✈️ “Quiet” supersonic jet
• 💎 Long-lost jewel

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.77-minute read (1,003 words).

P.S. We’ll be off tomorrow for Veterans Day.

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“Happiness must be grown in one's own garden.”

–Mary Engelbreit (b. 1952)

US airlines canceled 2,000+ flights on Sunday, marking the third straight day of widespread travel disruptions stemming from the FAA’s new mandate to reduce air traffic due to the ongoing federal gov’t shutdown.

The FAA directive calls for cutting air traffic at 40 of the busiest airports across the country. (See if your airport is affected)

The cuts began at 4% of all flights at those airports last Friday, and will continue to tick upward until reaching 10% this coming Friday, with officials citing a shortage of air-traffic controllers and urging Congress to reopen the federal government immediately for travelers.

Driving the trend

Airports were already dealing with a preexisting shortage of air-traffic controllers—but the situation has been made worse by the shutdown, which is the longest in US history at 41 days and counting (as of Monday).

• Controllers are considered essential workers, and required to work without pay while the gov’t is closed.
• The resulting financial pressure has caused an increasing number of controllers to take sick leave and/or pursue secondary employment to help make ends meet.

It doesn’t stop there. Most of the TSA’s 64,000 agents also aren’t getting paid during the shutdown, adding to an already massive logistical headache for US airports.

An end in sight?

The Senate reportedly reached an agreement yesterday evening on the rough outlines of a funding measure that would end the government shutdown, with at least eight Democrats supporting the bill alongside all 53 Republicans in the chamber, according to multiple reports.

• Until this point, Democrats had refused any GOP funding deals that didn’t also include an extension of Covid-era enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire in 2026.
• But Republican lawmakers are seeking to fund the government at current levels through FY 2026, and want to negotiate the health insurance subsidies separately.

Looking ahead…Any deal in the Senate will still need approval from the House, which has been out of session since September 19. Members are currently on notice from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to return within 48 hours as soon as the Senate approves a spending bill.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, how will the ongoing US government shutdown end?

• Democrats’ demands win out
• Republicans’ demands win out
• Some sort of middle-ground compromise
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💳 Visa and Mastercard reportedly nearing settlement with merchants that would end a 20-year-old legal dispute by lowering fees stores pay and giving retailers more power to reject certain credit cards.
• 🏛️ President Trump says each American—“not including high income people!”—will receive at least $2,000 from tariff revenue collected by the administration. | Trump officials confirm his admin is “working on” a plan to introduce 50-year mortgage terms for home buyers.
• 🍽️ Sweetgreen agrees to sell its kitchen automation division for $186 million to Wonder Group, a startup that acquired Grubhub last year.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎶🏆 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts 2025 class, including Outkast, Bad Company, and Cyndi Lauper. | 2026 Grammy nominations: Kendrick Lamar leads the way with nine nods, including album of the year; he’s followed by Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, and Leon Thomas.
• ⚾ Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz indicted on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to throw certain types of pitches.
• 🏟️ CFB: Week 11 is in the books (recap). | NFL: See a full Week 10 recap (link). | President Trump wants the Commanders to name their new stadium after him, ESPN reports.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ✈️ NASA and Lockheed Martin’s experimental X-59 aircraft held its first-ever test flight; the “flying swordfish” plane is the first supersonic aircraft designed to make a soft "thump," instead of thunderous sonic booms.
• 🤖 Microsoft launches superintelligence team focused on using AI to improve digital companions, diagnosing diseases, and generating renewable energy.
• 🌌 The universe's expansion may be decelerating, new research shows; the findings challenge a Nobel Prize-winning theory that our universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🎓 Cornell University announces $60 million deal with Trump admin to settle federal investigation centered around its diversity efforts; school will also submit to greater federal oversight of its admissions process in return for a resumption of ~$250 million in funding; Cornell is the fifth school to reach such a deal since July.
• 🇬🇧 Two top BBC leaders resign amid criticism following the publication of an internal whistleblowing memo saying the network “completely misled” viewers ahead of the 2024 US election by editing together clips from a Trump speech on Jan. 6, 2021.
• 🍽️ SCOTUS grants the Trump admin's emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments; Trump officials say states should “immediately undo” any actions to provide full food stamp benefits in November.

☝️ The Florentine Diamond, a 137-carat gemstone thought to have disappeared in 1918, recently resurfaced in a Canadian bank. Descendants of Charles I—the emperor of Austria-Hungary as World War I was ending—recently revealed that they were entrusted with the jewel’s location, and required to keep it a secret for 100 years after Charles’ death.

🤔 Did you know? The Radio City Rockettes celebrate their 100th anniversary this week. The high-kicking troupe began as the “Missouri Rockets” in St. Louis before moving to New York City and rebranding as the “Roxyettes” in 1932, with some of their original routines still performed today.

📰 Worth a read: Guilty pleasures are more than just giving in to temptation

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The two types of jokes that everyone tells
• Dungeons & Dragons provides real scientific benefits
• Is microwave cooking nuking all the nutrients?

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On Friday, we covered how a college education was once widely seen as the golden ticket to success, but many high-school students—and Americans more broadly—are rethinking whether it’s the best step forward for young adults.

❓ Our question to you: If you were a high-school senior currently, which of the following would you most likely choose?

• Attend a four-year university: 44%
• Attend community college: 17%
• Attend a non-college jobs program: 28%
• Try to find employment immediately: 5%
• Other: 6%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 752 votes and 103 longform responses.

Monday: National Civic Pride Day

Tuesday: Veterans Day; second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings

Wednesday: Playdate debuts on Prime Video

Thursday: Monthly US Treasury Statement

Friday: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 release date; Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Running Man both hit theaters

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Coll
2. Fric
3. Lav
4. Noct
5. Phon

🎤 Performing at your local karaoke bar isn't only for the fun of it. Newly published research reveals that regular singing can also carry significant physiological effects that positively impact people's lives.

1. Coll = Neck (e.g., collar)
2. Fric = Rub (friction)
3. Lav = Wash (lavatory)
4. Noct = Night (nocturnal)
5. Phon = Sound (microphone, phonetic)

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