Jan 11, 2019

National Air Traffic Controllers Association sues Trump over shutdown

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration is being sued by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association for forcing employees to work without pay, NBC News reports.

The big picture: On Thursday, air traffic controllers received their first paycheck showing $0.00 as a result of the government shutdown. The administration is also being sued by the National Treasury Employees Union and the American Federation of Government Employees, with other organizations likely to follow as the shutdown officially ties the record for longest in U.S. history.

Go deeper: Shutdown, Day 21 — "Payday without pay"

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Bryan Walsh

18 mins ago - World

How new tech raises the risk of nuclear war

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some experts believe the risk of the use of a nuclear weapon is as high now as it has been since the Cuban missile crisis.

The big picture: Nuclear war remains the single greatest present threat to humanity — and one that is poised to grow as emerging technologies, like much faster missiles, cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, upset an already precarious nuclear balance.

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Zachary Basu

21 mins ago - Politics & Policy

White House, Democrats remain "trillions of dollars apart" on stimulus talks

Meadows and Mnuchin. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration and Democrats have not agreed to any "top-line numbers" and remain "trillions of dollars apart" on coronavirus stimulus negotiations, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday.

The state of play: Meadows told reporters, "At this point we’re either going to get serious about negotiating and get an agreement in principle or — I’ve become extremely doubtful that we’ll be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday.”

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Axios

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

23 million Americans face eviction

Natasha Blunt of New Orleans, who is at risk of eviction. Photo: Dorthy Ray/AP

The coronavirus pandemic threatens America with a new wave of homelessness due to a cratering economy, expiring unemployment stimulus payments and vanishing renter protections.

What they're saying: "I've never seen this many people poised to lose their housing in such a short period of time," said Bill Faith of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio to AP.