Flights Restrictions Lifted, Comey Case, & Ice Flowers

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Adam Rogers
November 18, 2025

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The FAA ended flight restrictions at 40 major US airports on Monday, allowing normal operations to resume after air traffic controller shortages caused massive travel disruptions. The agency had imposed the restrictions as 13,000 controllers worked without pay during the government shutdown, leading to tens of thousands of flight cancellations and delays.
Controller absences spiked due to stress and financial pressure, with more than 10,000 delays and 2,900 cancellations reported on November 9 alone. The FAA had reduced operations by up to 6% before gradually easing restrictions as the shutdown ended and staffing improved.
Air traffic controller staffing has recovered since the shutdown ended. Understaffing incidents at control facilities have dropped from a record 81 on November 8 to just one on November 16. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency can now refocus on controller hiring and building a new air traffic control system.

A federal magistrate judge said “government misconduct” may have tainted the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, ordering prosecutors to hand over secret grand jury records. He cited gaps in the timeline, missing documentation, and doubts about how prosecutors secured a revised indictment after the grand jury initially rejected one of the counts.
Fitzpatrick said lead prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s appointee with no prior trial experience, made key legal misstatements to grand jurors and relied on testimony from an FBI agent who may have improperly reviewed attorney-client-protected materials.
The judge said these errors suggest a “disturbing pattern” that could undermine the charges before trial. Halligan also faces a challenge to her appointment’s legality, and prosecutors may appeal the ruling as the statute-of-limitations clock looms. Comey faces false-statement and obstruction-of-Congress charges for allegedly lying in a 2020 testimony.

An international tribunal in Dhaka sentenced Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday for crimes against humanity over a crackdown on student protests that killed hundreds last year. The demonstrations opposed a job quota system critics said favored Hasina's party allies. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also received a death sentence.
Hasina fled to India when the uprising toppled her 15-year rule in August and was sentenced in absentia. India has refused extradition, making execution unlikely. Hasina denied ordering killings and called the verdict 'biased and politically motivated,' claiming she acted to minimize casualties during protests that spiraled out of control.
Bangladesh remains unstable eight months after Hasina's ouster, with nearly 50 arson attacks reported last week. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus leads an interim government and has banned Hasina's party ahead of February elections.

New York City Council member Chi Ossé, 27, filed to challenge House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the primary, criticizing leadership for failing to fight Trump or deliver a compelling vision. (More)

The Supreme Court rejected a Florida Christian school's appeal to broadcast pregame prayer over stadium loudspeakers, keeping a 25-year-old ban on student-led prayer at public school football games. (More)

New foreign student enrollment at US universities fell 17% this fall, the largest drop in over a decade. (More)

Poland's prime minister called an explosion on a key railway to Ukraine 'unprecedented sabotage,' saying the blast destroyed tracks on the strategic aid route and damaged other sections. (More)

Gunmen abducted 25 schoolgirls from a Nigerian boarding school before dawn Monday, killing at least one staffer. (More)

Ukraine agreed to buy up to 100 French Rafale fighter jets by 2035, bolstering air defenses as Russia continues launching missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. (More)

US stock markets closed lower on Monday (S&P -0.92%, Nasdaq -0.84%, Dow -1.18%). Stocks fell as tech shares declined again, with Wall Street awaiting key releases this week, including Nvidia earnings and the September jobs report. (More)

Novo Nordisk cut the monthly prices of weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic to $349 from $499 for cash-paying patients. (More)

Jeff Bezos is returning as co-CEO of AI startup Project Prometheus, which raised $6.2 billion to build AI tools for engineering and manufacturing in aerospace, autos, and computers. (More)

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as head football coach on Monday, just over a month after Penn State fired him following a 3-3 start that ended his 11-year tenure with the Nittany Lions. (More)

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will miss a few weeks with a left calf strain. He’s averaging a career high of 26 points per game and a league high of 3.6 blocks per game. (More)

Tom Cruise received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards on Sunday, his first Academy Award after four previous nominations but no competitive wins. (More)

Researchers used CRISPR to disable a resistance gene in lung cancer cells, making chemotherapy work again and shrinking tumors in animal tests. The findings could have applications for other treatment-resistant cancers. (More)

Scientists found parasitic ants spray rival queens with formic acid to mask their scent, tricking worker daughters into killing their own mother so the parasite can take over the colony. (More)

Three northern England hospitals will trial AI software to help doctors spot bone fractures and dislocations on X-rays faster. Clinicians are still making final diagnoses and treatment decisions for patients. (More)

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