Staffing shortages at major airports across the country has snarled air travel Sunday after air traffic controllers missed their first paychecks during the ongoing government shutdown.
The big picture: On Friday, the FAA said that nearly 80% of controllers were absent from New York-area facilities and that half of the busiest facilities faced shortages.And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that if the shutdown stretches on, it's only going to get worse.
Some portions of the economy are already in a recession, and others could fall into one without more interest rate cuts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNN Sunday.
Why it matters: For as much as the economy is actually growing — close to 4% by some estimates — the administration continues to use the specter of economic weakness to lean on the Federal Reserve to cut more, faster.
China has been an "unreliable partner" in many ways, and the U.S. needs to get out from under the "sword" of Chinese control of rare earth minerals, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on CNN.
Why it matters: The framework struck by the world's two largest economies isn't even on paper yet, and already both sides are ramping up the rhetoric.
As the Trump administration deploys creativeways to keep parts of the government open without congressional approval, it runs the risk of colliding again with a 150-year-old legal wall: the Antideficiency Act.
Why it matters: The law bars spending without appropriations and underscores Congress' constitutional control of the purse. Every attempt to stretch the law fuels the broader rise of executive power, the defining trait of Trump's second term.
Five of the Magnificent 7 reported earnings this week, and all but Meta had a positive stock move afterward, with Amazon hitting a record high.
Why it matters: The results, and the market's response, capture the debate now taking place on Wall Street over the AI rally: How much return can the tech giants get on their biggest bet ever.
The U.S. Mint has stopped making pennies and the fallout is already hitting cash registers, as stores run short on change.
Why it matters: Roughly 250 billion pennies are still out there — though the American Bankers Association says the issue isn't supply, but circulation, with many coins collecting dust in jars.
Why it matters: Bank of America's and Visa's holiday spending reports show wealthier households are driving retail growth, while lower- and middle-income consumers are stretching to keep up.
The big picture: Millions of people expected to see their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) delayed for November due to the government shutdown. But a judge's ruling Friday might have changed that.
