Month: November 2025

At least seven people were killed Tuesday evening and 11 more injured when a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, igniting a massive fire and sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky. Authorities warned the death toll could rise as crews continue searching the wreckage and nearby businesses affected by the impact.

The aircraft, identified as UPS Flight 2976, went down around 5:15 p.m. local time, just three miles south of the airfield, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, which was bound for Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, had three crew members on board. Officials said the plane was carrying roughly 38,000 gallons—about 220,000 pounds—of jet fuel when it crashed while departing from the west runway.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called it “a catastrophic crash,” confirming at least seven fatalities and 11 people injured, several of them with severe burns. “With that number expected to rise,” he said, urging residents to pray for those affected and expressing his condolences and urged Kentuckians to support those waiting for updates on loved ones. “Anybody who has seen the images and the video know how violent this crash is, and there are a lot of families that are going to be waiting and wondering for a period of time. We’re going to try to get them that information as fast as we can.”

Video footage captured the harrowing moment the aircraft, heavily loaded for a long-distance flight to Hawaii, erupted into a fireball after hitting an industrial area just outside the airport. Two nearby businesses—Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts—were struck by debris and flames. Beshear said Kentucky Petroleum Recycling appeared to have been “hit pretty directly,” while Grade A Auto Parts reported two employees missing. “Because of the nature of these facilities, it may be some time before we can account for everyone or know that no one else was on the grounds,” he added.

Louisville Metro Emergency Services Director Edward Meiman said emergency crews were going door to door to ensure all employees and residents in the surrounding area were safe. “Obviously, everybody can see how big this site actually is,” Meiman said, noting several explosions occurred following the crash.

UofL Health reported receiving 10 patients from the incident, including two in critical condition in its burn center. Authorities also issued a shelter-in-place order soon after the crash due to the intensity of the fire and hazardous smoke. Initially extending five miles from the airport, the order was later reduced to a one-mile radius after air quality assessments.

Police warned residents north of the Outer Loop up to the Ohio River to stay indoors, while Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg described the scene as “an incredible tragedy that our community will never forget.” He confirmed multiple injuries and urged people to “stay away from the area” as road closures remained in effect. Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday due to the shelter-in-place advisory.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian C. O’Neill said the fire spanned an area roughly the size of a city block, fueled by the jet’s massive fuel load and nearby petroleum and auto parts storage facilities. Firefighters faced intense conditions as the blaze “was kind of creating its own atmosphere and doing really what it wanted to do,” officials said. The flames were eventually contained late Tuesday night.

Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash, though preliminary reports suggest a possible engine issue during takeoff. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have launched a joint investigation, and a team of federal investigators was dispatched to the scene. Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said, “Our concern is for the safety and well-being of all those affected. We stand ready to support our customer and have offered technical assistance to the NTSB.”

UPS, whose global air operations and main hub—known as Worldport—are based in Louisville, said it was suspending package sorting operations at the facility Tuesday night. “We are terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville. Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved,” the company said. It added that family members seeking information could call 800-631-0604.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the images from the scene “heartbreaking” and said, “Please join me in prayer for the Louisville community and flight crew impacted by this horrific crash.”

Authorities expect the site to remain an “active scene for the next several days,” according to Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey. “That’s still going to be a mess in that area,” Fire Chief O’Neill added. The FAA said the airport will remain closed until at least 7 a.m. Wednesday, with only relief aircraft permitted in the area under temporary flight restrictions.

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Zohran Mamdani was elected New York City’s 111th mayor, marking the end of a closely followed election that transformed the once little-known state assemblyman into a major political force. The 34-year-old democratic socialist captured voters’ attention with his campaign centered on making life in America’s largest city more affordable.

Mamdani defeated both Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary—a race he initially entered as the clear favorite. The election also drew national attention when President Donald Trump endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the vote and warned he would consider cutting federal funding to New York City if Mamdani won.

After securing victory, Mamdani delivered a defiant speech that positioned him as Trump’s political foil. “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light. Together, we will usher in a generation of change, and if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves,” he continued, later issuing a direct challenge to the former president  “This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one,” Mamdani said. “So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”

The rally in Brooklyn saw Mamdani opening his remarks by quoting the famed American socialist Eugene Debs and promised to deliver the “most ambitious agenda” to tackle the city’s affordability crisis since Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s administration nearly a century ago.

Unofficial results show Mamdani winning by roughly nine points over Cuomo, with Sliwa far behind. Current Mayor Eric Adams, who launched an independent bid for reelection after his 2021 win as a Democrat, exited the race in September and later endorsed Cuomo.

Mamdani’s triumph caps a remarkable ascent through New York politics. Just a year earlier, he was an obscure lawmaker with little name recognition. In a short time, he managed to topple one of New York’s most established political figures twice—first in the Democratic primary and again in the general election.

Now Mamdani faces the challenge of turning his sweeping campaign promises into reality while leading one of the most complex city governments in the world. His agenda includes freezing rent for stabilized apartments, expanding universal child care, introducing a free citywide bus program, and establishing municipally run grocery stores.

Mamdani’s win is expected to reshape New York politics and reverberate across the national stage. His success has sparked interest among Democrats searching for new strategies to connect with voters on economic issues and harness social media to build grassroots movements.

NBC News exit polls showed that Mamdani’s message resonated broadly across racial lines—winning majorities among white, Black, Latino, Asian, and multiracial voters. Age, however, revealed a sharp divide: voters under 45 favored Mamdani over Cuomo by a wide 43-point margin, while those over 45 supported Cuomo by 10 points.

Educational background and residency also played a role, with newer arrivals to New York largely backing Mamdani, while lifelong residents leaned toward Cuomo. Meanwhile, Mamdani’s outspoken support for Palestinian causes became a key issue during the race. Exit polling found Jewish voters favored Cuomo by 29 points, 60% to 31%.

After conceding, Cuomo addressed supporters alongside prominent allies, including Eric Adams, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Governor David Paterson. He thanked his backers and described his campaign as a necessary stand. “This campaign was the right fight to wage,” Cuomo said. “And I am proud of what we did and what we did together. This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic Party, the future of this city and the future of this country. And this coalition transcended normal partisan politics.”

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern American politics, died on Monday, November 3, at the age of 84. According to his family, the cause of death was “complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”

In a statement, his loved ones said, “His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed. Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”

Cheney’s death marks the end of a political career that spanned more than four decades and left a lasting imprint on U.S. policy. He first rose to prominence as White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford, later serving as Wyoming’s sole congressman, Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush, and finally as vice president to George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

Throughout his life, Cheney battled severe and chronic heart problems. His first heart attack struck in 1978, when he was just 37 years old. Over the following decades, he suffered four more. In his 2013 memoir HEART: An American Medical Odyssey, Cheney wrote about the toll these health crises took on him, recounting how by 2010—17 months after leaving the vice presidency—he was in end-stage heart failure and had begun to prepare his family for the possibility of his death.

Unable to perform even basic tasks like walking to retrieve the morning paper, Cheney had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgically implanted in 2010. The device helped pump blood through his body, keeping him alive until he received a heart transplant from an anonymous donor in 2012 at the age of 71. “Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift,” a statement from his office said at the time.

Cheney often acknowledged that he felt he was living on borrowed time. In 2013, he reflected on that sense of gratitude, saying he now awoke each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day,” a striking image for a man long known for his stoic and guarded demeanor. During his time as vice president, Cheney revealed that he had the wireless capability of his defibrillator disabled years earlier, fearing that terrorists might exploit the technology to deliver a fatal electric shock to his heart.

Cheney’s long battle with cardiovascular disease and his eventual heart transplant made him a symbol of both medical resilience and personal determination. At the time of his death, doctors noted that his age and history of heart and vascular disease made him particularly vulnerable to serious complications from pneumonia.

Tributes to Cheney poured in from across the political spectrum. On NBC’s Today Show, co-host Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, shared: “When you hear of a politician who passes, there’s tons of coverage about what they are like as a politician. But as a daughter of a politician, as a granddaughter of a politician, I just am thinking of his daughters and who they are missing which is not necessarily a man who casts votes, but rather a man who raised them.  So I am thinking of Mary and Liz this morning, who I’m going to reach out to as well just to send my love and I know my parents are thinking the very same.”

Cheney is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lynne, and daughters Liz and Mary. Cheney also leaves behind seven grandchildren. Liz and husband Philip Perry are the parents of five, while Mary and her partner, Heather Poe, share two children.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that parts of U.S. airspace could be forced to close if the ongoing government shutdown extends into next week, marking a potential escalation in the disruption already spreading across the nation’s aviation system.

Duffy had told ABC News’ “This Week” that the safety of passengers will dictate how the department responds to worsening staffing levels. “We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe,” adding that “there is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that’s doing two jobs instead of one.”

Duffy said during an event in Philadelphia: “So if, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays. You’ll see mass cancelations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers. We will restrict the airspace when we feel it’s not safe … These hard-working Americans have bills to pay, and they are being forced to make decisions and choices. Do they go to work as an air traffic controller, or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, to put food on their table, to put gas in their car? And as every day goes by, I think the problem is only going to get worse, not better.”

On Tuesday, he echoed those remarks at a press conference in Philadelphia. “You will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations,” Duffy said. “And you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it, because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.” He added,

The Department of Transportation has been grappling with severe staffing shortages as the shutdown drags into record-breaking territory. Nearly half of all major air traffic control facilities are short-staffed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). About 13,000 air traffic controllers are currently working without pay, and officials say absentee rates are climbing — with the FAA reporting last week that 80% of New York-area staff had called out.

Since the shutdown began Oct. 1, Duffy has maintained that commercial air travel remains safe, though passengers are experiencing more delays as officials slow air traffic to match reduced staffing levels.  The transportation secretary’s tone has shifted notably since then, when he warned that air traffic controllers could be terminated for failing to show up for work. “When you come to work, you get paid. If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid. … If we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated, we’re going to let them go,” he said at the time. However, Duffy has since reversed that position, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he would not fire controllers for missing work amid the crisis. “They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck. They don’t need to be fired,” he said.

As the shutdown continues, the stress on the aviation workforce has intensified. Duffy has discouraged controllers from taking on side jobs such as food delivery, warning that their positions require complete focus. Still, many are struggling to make ends meet. National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said at a press conference last week that the strain is taking a toll: “Air traffic controllers have to have 100% of focus 100% of the time. And I’m watching air traffic controllers going to work. I’m getting the stories. They’re worried about paying for medicine for their daughter. I got a message from a controller that said, ‘I’m running out of money. And if she doesn’t get the medicine she needs, she dies. That’s the end’.”

The U.S. Travel Association has urged Congress to end the funding impasse, warning that continued disruption could upend the busy Thanksgiving travel period. In a letter to congressional leaders, the group wrote, “A shutdown places extraordinary strain on federal personnel who are essential to keeping America moving — from Transportation Security Administration officers to air traffic controllers, who are forced to work without pay. When staffing shortages worsen, airport wait times grow longer and flight delays and cancellations become more frequent, threatening to derail family travel plans across the country.”

Meanwhile, the shutdown has now officially become the longest in U.S. history. The Senate on Tuesday failed for the 14th time to advance a House-passed continuing resolution that would reopen the government, voting 54 to 44 — short of the 60 votes required. The previous record, set during the 2018–2019 shutdown, lasted 35 days. Unless a last-minute breakthrough occurs, this shutdown will surpass that milestone by Tuesday evening, with air travel chaos and essential services increasingly caught in the crossfire.

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