The country's busiest airport may be too busy.

The latest: The Federal Aviation Administration is meeting with United Airlines and American Airlines to pare down the number of flights expected this summer at O'Hare Airport due to capacity issues.

Why it matters: If the FAA doesn't step in, delays and cancellations could run rampant.

What they're saying: "When you're over capacity at an airport, the first thing you would feel are delays," O'Hare's VP Omar Idris said at a media roundtable Tuesday.

Context: At the end of 2025, both major airlines entered into an "arms race," announcing hundreds of new flights, starting as early as this spring.

• There were roughly 2,500 flights (arrivals and departures) a day at the airport last summer. If the FAA doesn't act, that number could balloon to over 3,000 this summer.

Catch up quick: The clash traces back to October, when United secured five new gates under the city's usage-based formula.

• American sued but lost in court. It then announced more than 100 new flights this spring, which United views as a play to strengthen its claim to future gates.
• United countered with hundreds of additional flights, triggering a scheduling arms race that now has the FAA stepping in.

Between the lines: Gate control gives you more flights, which means more money for the airline.

Flashback: This isn't the first time the FAA has demanded decreased flight loads.

• In 2025, the FAA began limiting flights at Newark Liberty International Airport due to staffing shortages and ongoing construction.

What's next: The FAA could call both airlines to Washington, D.C., as early as this week.

Reality check: Officials say this is unrelated to recent long security lines and delays tied to the partial government shutdown.

The bottom line: In the battle to dominate O'Hare, airlines may be pushing the airport, and the nation's air traffic system, past its limits.

Go deeper

Inexpensive weed products still abound across the Michigan border despite worries of higher prices after a new 24% wholesale tax kicked in.

Why it matters: Michigan retailers warned last year that the tax could force them to raise prices and lose their edge over nearby states.

• But two and a half months into the tax, Michigan weed remains a bargain, with some products costing half the price of their Chicago counterparts.

State of play: Once a quiet vacation hamlet 70 miles from downtown, New Buffalo, Michigan (aka Weed City, USA), now attracts thousands of Illinois and Indiana residents, who regularly make day trips to its 29 dispensaries.

By the numbers: Axios recently compared prices on similar items at Vibe in New Buffalo and North Side dispensaries.

Here's what we found:

• 3.5 grams of Cresco LA Kush Cake Flower costs $14.25 at Vibe in New Buffalo but $28.80 at Sunnyside in Wrigleyville.
• A box of WYLD sour tangerine hybrid gummies delivering 200 mg of cannabinoids costs $15 at Vibe in New Buffalo, but a box of the same gummies with just 100 mg of cannabinoids costs $20 at Bud & Rita's in Chicago.
• Beyond product prices, weed buyers pay only 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax in Michigan but 20% excise tax and 16% recreational base tax in Illinois.
• These price differences reflect what Axios found when we compared costs in November 2024.

Between the lines: The lure of cheap pot just 70 miles from downtown could hurt Illinois social services.

• State data show that monthly cannabis sales dropped in Illinois from $153 million in December 2024 to $116 million in December 2025, reducing tax revenue for health, safety and agricultural programs.

Keep reading

🌪️ The National Weather Service says four tornadoes ripped through Kankakee County and Northwest Indiana Tuesday night. Authorities said the storms killed at least two people. (ABC 7)

The Department of Homeland Security and the Cook County Sheriff's Office are disputing a Skokie woman's story that she was detained by immigration officials at O'Hare. (Tribune)

🍺 Two major Chicago craft breweries, Half Acre and Maplewood, are merging. (Block Club)

A lot more people are putting cold, hard cash on the line to back up their Oscars predictions this year.

Why it matters: It's not just the Academy Awards. In the era of prediction markets, entertainment fans can invest their cash to forecast the outcomes of everything from Rotten Tomatoes scores to celebrity divorces.

By the numbers: The number of traders participating in culture-based prediction markets has multiplied by 10 over the past year, according to data from Kalshi, one of the space's top players.

Zoom in: Kalshi reports that the trading volume around this year's Golden Globes grew 165% compared to 2025's event.

• But some viewers weren't thrilled about the show's repetitive plugs of Polymarket — the prediction market it partnered with for this year's ceremony — claiming they spoiled the results.

State of play: Culture-based prediction markets can often be wildly reactive to recent events.

• Kalshi's market for the Best Supporting Actor race at the Oscars saw Stellan Skarsgard as the favorite for his role in "Sentimental Value" for most of December until he failed to be nominated for an Actors Award in early January.

The other side: There has been recent concern about insider trading on prediction markets, especially by government officials, after suspicious movement on the platform ahead of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

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It was a wild ride last night for our "Midterm Madness" show at the Hideout.

• Thank you to the candidates for being good sports and to Axios fans for packing the house!

We'll see you in the fall for another "Midterm Madness" show before the general election!