"As United States lawmakers fail to agree on a deal to end the government shutdown, around 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed, millions of Americans go without food assistance, and air travel is disrupted across the country. The shutdown began on October 1, after opposing sides in the US Senate failed to agree on spending priorities, with Republicans rejecting a push by Democrats to protect healthcare and other social programmes."
"The shutdown has created major disruptions for the aviation industry, with staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers. More than 1,530 flights were cancelled across the US on Saturday, while thousands more were delayed as authorities ordered airports to reduce air traffic. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, Saturday's cancellations marked an increase from 1,025 the previous day. The trend looks set to continue, with at least 1,000 cancellations logged for Sunday."
The government shutdown began on October 1 after Senate negotiators failed to agree on spending priorities and has become the longest in US history. Around 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed and payments delayed following 14 failed funding measures. Millions of Americans have lost access to food assistance and other social programmes. The aviation sector has faced major disruptions, with staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers causing thousands of cancellations and delays and FAA reporting shortages at dozens of control towers. Congressional negotiations have stalled despite a narrowed Democratic offer of temporary healthcare subsidy extensions, which Republicans rejected. Experts warn that economic harm has already started.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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