World News Live Updates: Delays continue as flights resume in US after communications outage

Officials said there was no evidence of a cyberattack, while airlines warned that disruptions could continue for days as aircraft, crews and passengers are repositioned

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed domestic flights to resume after a nationwide ground stop lasting more than four hours due to a telecommunications outage that disrupted air traffic control systems, CNN reported. However, flight delays continue as the backlog of departures of grounded flights are cleared. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed ageing technology and overloaded routers, warning that further disruptions could occur unless Congress funds system upgrades, according to the report. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the outage was not caused by a security threat or linked to the recent Microsoft disruption. An estimated 1.5 million passengers were stranded, the report stated.

The outage resulted in more than 10,000 flight delays and 5,000 cancellations. Mullin said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. Initially, airlines warned that disruptions could continue for days as aircraft, crews and passengers are repositioned. There is, however, no official word on how long the flight delays would continue.  It was the longest nationwide flight halt in the US since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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Trump Cabinet secretary faces pressure over Nvidia crisis

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is now being blamed for part of the Nvidia crisis that allegedly threatened US national security. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed Lutnick for failing to ensure appropriate checks on the export of advanced AI chips to Megaspeed, which allegedly had access to Chinese funding.

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as CEO, president and board member, on November 12 following reports of two affairs, including one with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive suspected by US intelligence of working for Chinese intelligence. The relationship raised national security concerns over potential access to sensitive Nvidia information and Megaspeed’s reported $4.8 billion purchases of Nvidia-powered AI equipment. A third affair came to the fore barely hours after his resignation.

Singapore clarified that Alice Huang was investigated for suspected false declarations, not espionage, while China rejected the allegations. Huang’s other reported relationships involved Nvidia vice-president Kimberly Powell and another unidentified employee. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO, while the company completes its investigation.

SpaceX faces Starship setback as booster explodes; senators seek Musk records on Ukraine Starlink curbs

SpaceX’s 15th Starship test flight successfully reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites on Friday, but its Super Heavy booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico after failing to complete its planned return. The spacecraft’s upper stage is scheduled to attempt a return landing in Texas on Saturday as part of Elon Musk’s effort to develop a fully reusable rocket. Separately, Democratic US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons have asked Musk to preserve SpaceX records concerning restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink and military-grade Starshield services, setting a November 30 deadline for confirmation. The lawmakers cited national security concerns after Ukrainian forces reported communications disruptions affecting frontline operations and drone defence, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reporting fresh outages.

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