The only things reliably taking off at airports this week are flight delay times. Travelers are beginning to feel the effects of the ongoing government shutdown as air traffic controllers—who are being asked to work without pay—use their sick leave instead of coming to work.

Staffing shortages have created havoc at more than a dozen airports this week:

• FlightAware, the flight tracking website you only use if your flight is disrupted, reported more than 6,150 delays of flights involving the US on Monday, more than 3,800 on Tuesday, and thousands more yesterday, although some could be attributed to poor weather.
• Burbank had zero available air traffic controllers for more than five hours on Monday, while Nashville reported the first full ground stop due to the shutdown on Tuesday.

Things are probably going to get worse

Unlike many government employees who are furloughed during the shutdown, air traffic controllers are deemed essential workers. That means they’re deemed essential enough to continue working, but not essential enough to get paid while the government is closed.

That’s leaving some to use sick days to work a side gig, like driving for Uber, that results in earning actual money (allegedly, we’re not rats).

While it’s illegal for air traffic controllers to coordinate absences as a form of protest, even a handful of people missing work of their own volition can widen cracks in a fragile system. And there’s already a shortage of air traffic controllers, forcing them to work a grueling schedule. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said some of its members were working 10 hours per day, six days a week before the shutdown. TSA agents have also historically called out during shutdowns, potentially adding to delays.

It could make a difference: Absences from air traffic controllers and TSA security agents during the last shutdown in 2019 were one reason why it ended after 35 days. But the present shutdown, now in its ninth day, currently has no end in sight.—DL

Israel and Hamas agree to hostage release, “first phase” of peace plan. President Trump said last night that Israel and Hamas had agreed on the initial phase of a deal to end the war in Gaza. That includes the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israel, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed-upon area. Israel and Hamas both subsequently said a deal was reached, with Hamas saying the agreement also called for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The Associated Press reports that Hamas would free the 20 living hostages this weekend, and Israel would also begin its withdrawal. However, more details, including whether Hamas will agree to disarm, likely still need to be worked out for additional phases of the agreement, which could have the potential to completely end the devastating two-year war.

Former FBI Director James Comey pleads not guilty. Comey appeared in court yesterday and pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding that stem from testimony he gave in 2020. The case was brought after President Trump publicly called for the prosecution of his perceived political enemies, including Comey, and following the replacement of a prosecutor who declined to bring it with one who had previously represented Trump personally. Comey’s attorneys said yesterday that they will seek a dismissal of the case as vindictive and selective prosecution based on Trump’s public demand for charges. The judge set a Jan. 5 trial date.

Authorities arrest man accused of starting destructive Palisades Fire. A 29-year-old Uber driver was arrested and charged with intentionally starting a fire that grew into the wildfire that killed a dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles. Authorities claim Jonathan Rinderknecht sparked the fire on a hiking trail during the early morning on New Year’s Day after watching a rap video featuring someone setting things on fire. Though firefighters initially contained the blaze, it remained underground and reignited, growing amid high winds to become one of two massive fires that ravaged LA in January.—AR

The Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury are currently duking it out for a championship title, but they’re facing a final boss together off the court. WNBA players and leadership have until Oct. 31 to shake hands on a new collective bargaining agreement, as the union asks for a bigger cut of the league’s growing revenue.

Tensions bubbled over last week, when the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, this year’s All-Star Game MVP, said the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.” She also claimed that WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told her in a private conversation that Caitlin Clark—whose first-year salary was $76,535—should be “grateful” for the platform the league provides her, which Engelbert has denied.

What players want: A roughly 50/50 revenue split with the league, like in the NBA (and NFL, NHL, and MLB):

• Under the current bargaining agreement, WNBA players only get 9.3% of the pie, according to MarketWatch. And individual player salaries max out at $250,000 a year.
• WNBA leadership long justified this relatively low pay as a result of low revenue, but players and some observers are calling foul now that viewership, ticket sales, brand sponsorships, and multibillion-dollar broadcast partnerships are booming.

Looking ahead…next year’s WNBA season could get delayed or canceled if there’s no deal by Halloween. Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA (which oversees the WNBA), said earlier this week that he’s confident an agreement will be reached.—ML

Gen Z is repackaging hustle culture on TikTok again. A new focus challenge called “The Great Lock In” kicked off on September 1 and promises to help you achieve your goals.

What is it? Influencers trying to run a marathon, grow their online presence, and build up their emergency funds are deeming the last 121 days of the year the perfect time to lock in, meaning to focus intensely on something, and get stuff done. The “challenge” is vague and pretty flexible, but it’s basically to adopt a pre-New Year’s resolution.

Locking in resembles previous stricter social media routine rewires, like 75 Hard (a total schedule overhaul with a strict diet), or last year’s Winter Arc trend, which fitness brands like Gymshark hyped up. At least this time, no one is saying their hair is distracting them from working out for three months.

Big picture: Routines to self-optimize and help you get through seasonal changes pop up every year, but this year, many young people are turning to one as they muscle through an especially precarious economic moment. The job market in general is bleak, and recent college graduates aged 22 to 27 are facing unemployment rates at 4.8%—higher than the overall unemployment rate of 4%, according to the most recent data from the NY Fed.—MM

Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved something that has so far eluded Lionel Messi—the Portuguese legend is now the first billionaire soccer player, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 40-year-old signed a two-year contract extension worth $400 million in June with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, a team based in the comedy hotbed of Riyadh, helping push his net worth to $1.4 billion. That includes a nearly $200 million deal with Nike and endorsements of Armani and Castrol.

As a player, Ronaldo earned $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023 before transferring to Al-Nassr, where his $200 million annual pay isn’t taxed (which has been a problem for him in the past). Messi has made $600 million in pre-tax salary, and his current deal with Inter Miami of MLS includes a revenue-sharing agreement with Apple. He could join Ronaldo in the footballer billionaire’s club when he takes an ownership stake with Inter Miami after he retires.—DL