Why flight cancellations could drag on long after the shutdown ends

Summary

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Apple News Today – November 11, 2025

Episode: Why flight cancellations could drag on long after the shutdown ends

Host: Shumita Basu
Main Theme:
A breakdown of the ongoing consequences of the US government shutdown on air travel, financial stress signaled by rising car repossessions, President Trump’s confrontation with the BBC, and literary news featuring the Booker Prize.

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Government Shutdown’s Lingering Impact on Air Travel

Key Points:

• Senate voted to reopen the US government, with hopes it could happen as early as Wednesday, but significant effects remain, especially at airports.
  • “But while the shutdown may be reaching its end game, its consequences are still being felt, especially at the airports.” – Shumita Basu [00:54]
• More than 2,000 flights canceled on Monday, following a record day for cancellations.
  • “The government is continuing to limit takeoffs across the US on Monday, more than 2,000 flights were canceled…” – Host [01:01]
• Airport scenes are tense and difficult.
  • “Been seeing the canceled flights and the frustration and the people sitting with their babies for hours because they can't get somewhere. So, you know, the irritability level is rising…” – Julie Gainsley, airport concierge [01:24]

Ongoing Flight Issues:

• FAA-mandated flight cancellations predicted to reach 6% today, may increase further.
• Even after the shutdown ends, issues will persist due to longstanding air traffic controller shortages and training backlogs.
  • “It's going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace. So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.” – Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy [01:50]
• FAA has operated with a shortage of approximately 3,000 air traffic controllers even before the shutdown.
  • “The system is about 3,000 controllers short of what it needs.” – Lori Aratani, Washington Post [02:11]
• Many controllers working 6-day weeks, 10-hour days, under mandatory overtime.

Safety Concerns and Confidential Reports:

• FAA flight reductions based on safety concerns and pilot reports.
  • “They were seeing these confidential reports come in where pilots are saying something's not right. They sound like they’re more stressed out…” – Lori Aratani [02:52]

Prolonged Disruptions:

• Recovery won't be immediate:
  • "Some experts have told us that you don’t just say, oh, hey, you can restore all your flights. There’s sort of the logistics of trying to rearrange your schedule again if you're an airline.” – Lori Aratani [03:18]

Notable Quotes:

• On controller stress: “There’s a lot of stress and strain on the controllers that are working because if you’re short 3,000 people… mandatory overtime…” – Lori Aratani [02:24]

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Labor, Pay, and Political Reactions

Key Points:

• Second missed payday for FAA staff and air traffic controllers.
• Mixed messages from administration – praise for workers, but stricter talk from President Trump:
  • “He also said controllers who missed no work during the shutdown could receive bonuses of up to $10,000.” – Shumita Basu [03:52]
• Union support for recognizing hardworking staff:
  • “Anything that recognizes their hard work is a good thing and called them unsung heroes during the government shut.” – Air traffic controllers’ union president [04:07]

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President Trump vs. the BBC

Key Points:

• President Trump demands $1 billion in damages after a BBC documentary stitched together portions of his speech, implying he incited January 6th violence.
  • “Trump now says he wants $1 billion in damages for the way the BBC stitched together his words...” – Host [05:01]
• Documentary edit controversy:
  • Edited version implied explicit encouragement:
    “We're gonna walk down to the Capitol... we fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.” – Donald Trump in documentary edit [05:35]
  • True version softened intent, with the “fight like hell” line coming an hour later.
• BBC leadership resignations and a leaked internal memo amplified the crisis:
  • “Nobody noticed it at the time... but about a week ago, an internal memo from a former BBC advisor... was leaked and covered by the Telegraph newspaper. And that's what has started this snowball effect…” – Brian Stelter, CNN [06:14]
• BBC apologizes, calls it an “error of judgment.”
• Trump known for using legal threats against media outlets:
  • “Trump was notorious for sending threatening legal letters and sometimes filing blustery lawsuits that would get thrown out of court.” – Brian Stelter [06:59]
• Settlements can harm news organizations’ reputations:
  • “When media companies cave when they try to write them a check to make them go away, the companies suffer. Reputationally, they suffer in the court of public opinion…” – Brian Stelter [08:07]

Notable Moment:

• BBC’s top leaders (Director General and CEO of News) resign amid these and domestic controversies.

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Warning Signs in the Economy: Car Repos on the Rise

Key Points:

• Car loan delinquencies, especially among subprime borrowers, have doubled since 2021.
  • “The percentage of subprime borrowers who are at least 60 days late on their car loans has doubled since 2021.” – Host [09:21]
• 1.73 million vehicles repossessed last year—the most since 2009.
  • “An estimated 1.73 million vehicles were repossessed last year, which is the most since 2009.” [10:04]
• The “repo man” business is changing:
  • Arrival of ‘forwarders’ (middlemen) has cut compensation per repo by half.
    • “As a consequence of that, the amount of money that the repossessors get per car has fallen by about half in a lot of cases.” – Scott Calvert [10:29]
• Repo work is dangerous and emotionally tough.
  • “People who are about to lose their car... there’s a certain amount of, I think, desperation. It’s pretty distressing to see that happen.” – Scott Calvert [11:19]
  • Violent incidents reported: one repo driver shot at, another narrowly escapes as owner drives car off tow truck.
• K-shaped recovery highlighted—economic fortunes diverge starkly between wealthy and struggling Americans.

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Other Major Stories Covered

Supreme Court:

• Declined to revisit same-sex marriage.
• Will hear a case on counting mail-in ballots after Election Day, a practice Trump opposes. [12:07-12:35]

US-Syria Relations:

• Historic meeting: Syria’s President Ahmed Al Sharah visits White House, agrees to help fight ISIS in exchange for sanctions relief and US support after Assad’s toppling. [12:44-13:16]

Booker Prize Winner:

• David Soloi’s “Flesh” wins; praised for its sparse style and “use of white space” on the page.
  • “The prize chair said he's never read a novel that uses the white space on the page so well, inviting the reader to fill that space.” – Host [13:42]

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “It's going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace. So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.” – Secretary Sean Duffy [01:50]
• “There’s a lot of stress and strain on the controllers that are working because if you’re short 3,000 people… mandatory overtime…” – Lori Aratani [02:24]
• “Been seeing the canceled flights and the frustration and the people sitting with their babies for hours...” – Julie Gainsley [01:24]
• “When media companies cave when they try to write them a check to make them go away, the companies suffer. Reputationally, they suffer in the court of public opinion.” – Brian Stelter [08:07]
• “People who are about to lose their car... there’s a certain amount of, I think, desperation. It’s pretty distressing to see...” – Scott Calvert [11:19]

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Episode Flow

1. Flight cancellations & air travel chaos [00:34–04:23]
2. Trump vs. BBC, documentary editing scandal [04:23–08:41]
3. Car repossessions & economic warning signals [09:10–11:52]
4. Quick news updates: Supreme Court’s docket, Syria relations, Booker Prize [12:07–13:49]

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Summary Useful For
Listeners who want context on the lasting impacts of the US government shutdown, current tensions between the White House and foreign media, worrisome economic signals in the auto market, and snapshots of top news headlines—all with memorable quotes and clear insight from trusted journalists.

Transcript

[Shemitah Basu]

Foreign It's Tuesday, November 11th. I'm Shemitah Basu.

[Apple News Host]

This is Apple News today.

[Shemitah Basu]

On today's show, President Trump's battle with the BBC explained why cars are being.

[Apple News Host]

Repossessed at record highs.

[Shemitah Basu]

And this year's Booker Prize winner could.

[Apple News Host]

Be a novel like no other.

[Shemitah Basu]

But first to the shutdown. Last night, the Senate formally voted to reopen the government, sending a funding measure.

[Apple News Host]

To the Republican majority House.

[Shemitah Basu]

As with the last vote, eight Democrats.

[Apple News Host]

Helped to get the compromise passed.

[Shemitah Basu]

According to cnn, GOP leaders are now.

[Apple News Host]

Hopeful of reopening the government as early as Wednesday.

[Shemitah Basu]

But while the shutdown may be reaching.

[Apple News Host]

Its end game, its consequences are still being felt, especially at the airports.

[Shemitah Basu]

With Washington still officially closed for the.

[Apple News Host]

Time being, the government is continuing to limit takeoffs across the US on Monday, more than 2,000 flights were canceled, and.

[Shemitah Basu]

That comes after Sunday was recorded as.

[Apple News Host]

One of the worst days for cancellations in nearly two years. Airport concierge Julie Gainsley captured the atmosphere of departure gates across the country when she spoke to San Francisco's KPIX tv.

[Julie Gainsley]

Been seeing the canceled flights and the frustration and the people sitting with their babies for hours because they can't get somewhere. So, so you know, the irritability level.

[Shemitah Basu]

Is rising and there are no indications of a quick fix if and when the shutdown formally ends. FAA mandated flight cancellations are set to.

[Apple News Host]

Hit 6% today, with potential increases later this week. Here's Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaking to CNN on Sunday.

[Sally Nugent]

It's going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace. So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.

[Shemitah Basu]

Part of the reason issues could persist beyond a successful funding bill in Congress is that the FAA had been short.

[Apple News Host]

Of air traffic controllers since before the shutdown even started.

[Lori Aratani]

The system is about 3,000 controllers short of what it needs.

[Shemitah Basu]

Lori Aratani is a national transportation reporter.

[Apple News Host]

For the Washington Post.

[Shemitah Basu]

She spoke with us before the Senate.

[Apple News Host]

Reached a tentative deal.

[Lori Aratani]

So there's a lot of stress and strain on the controllers that are working because if you're short 3,000 people, a lot of controllers even before the shutdown were working 6 day weeks, 10 hour days, mandatory overtime while they try and train enough traffic controllers.

[Shemitah Basu]

Duffy and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford say the mandated flight reductions are all in.

[Apple News Host]

The name of safety and that they were informed in part by what they were hearing from pilots.

[Lori Aratani]

They were seeing these confidential reports come in where pilots are saying something's not right. They sound like they're more stressed out. I mean, there were reports like that I'm sure coming in even before the shutdown. But it sounds like the data that Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford are looking at is concerning.

[Shemitah Basu]

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Aratani says airlines.

[Apple News Host]

Won'T be able to just flip a switch and put everything back to normal.

[Lori Aratani]

There are definitely going to be speed bumps along the way. I mean, some experts have told us that you don't just say, oh, hey, you can restore all your flights. There's sort of the logistics of trying to rearrange your schedule again if you're an airline.

[Shemitah Basu]

Today marks the second missed payday for.

[Apple News Host]

Air traffic controllers and other FAA employees.

[Shemitah Basu]

And the signals coming from the administration towards staff appear to have suddenly shifted throughout the shutdown. Duffy has heaped praise on the rank.

[Apple News Host]

And file workers even as absences rose. But yesterday, President Trump critic who took.

[Shemitah Basu]

Time off and demanded that air traffic.

[Apple News Host]

Controllers get back to work or be substantially docked if they don't. He also said controllers who missed no work during the shutdown could receive bonuses of up to $10,000.

[Shemitah Basu]

The president of the air traffic controllers.

[Apple News Host]

Union responded to Trump's offer of bonuses.

[Shemitah Basu]

By saying anything that recognizes their hard.

[Apple News Host]

Work is a good thing and called them unsung heroes during the government shut.

[Shemitah Basu]

Now to President Trump's latest battle with.

[Apple News Host]

The media, this time involving the BBC.

[Shemitah Basu]

The British broadcaster is in the middle.

[Apple News Host]

Of a full blown crisis. After accusations about some of its editorial.

[Shemitah Basu]

Decisions, in particular how it edited one of Trump's speeches over the weekend.

[Apple News Host]

Its top most senior leaders resigned.

[Shemitah Basu]

So over the past few days, the.

[Apple News Host]

BBC's leading news story has been, well, itself.

[Sally Nugent]

Good morning, 8 o'.

[Shemitah Basu]

Clock.

[Sally Nugent]

Welcome to Breakfast with Sally Nugent and John Koe.

[John Koe]

Our headlines today, the director General of the BBC, Tim Davy, has resigned along with the corporation's CEO of news, Deborah Turness.

[Shemitah Basu]

Trump now says he wants $1 billion.

[Apple News Host]

In damages for the way the BBC stitched together his words in a program released last year.

[Brian Stelter]

There was this moment in the documentary showing Trump's speech before the January 6th insurrection and the way it was edited, stitched together two different parts of Trump's speech in a way that any journalist would get in trouble for doing.

[Apple News Host]

That's Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media analyst. The edit gave the impression that Trump was explicitly encouraging the rioters to storm the Capitol. This was the edited clip in the documentary.

[Donald Trump]

We're gonna walk down to the Capitol and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell. You're not going to have a country anymore.

[Apple News Host]

But in reality, this was what he said.

[Donald Trump]

We're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.

[Shemitah Basu]

And Trump's reference to fighting like hell.

[Apple News Host]

Came nearly an hour later. Stelter described the whole incident as a drastic overreaction to a bad but understandable.

[Brian Stelter]

Mistake in a year old documentary. Nobody noticed it at the time, nobody called it out at the time, but about a week ago, an internal memo from a former BBC advisor detailing this mistake in the edit, but also a number of other complaints about BBC coverage was leaked and covered by the Telegraph newspaper. And that's what has started this snowball effect that is ongoing to this time.

[Shemitah Basu]

Trump's lawyers sent the BBC a legal.

[Apple News Host]

Note demanding a full and fair retraction of the documentary and to appropriately compensate the President or face a lawsuit.

[Shemitah Basu]

Since then, the BBC has apologized and.

[Apple News Host]

Said an error of judgment was made. For Stelter, Trump's letter is a familiar move.

[Brian Stelter]

Even before he was elected the first time, Trump was notorious for sending threatening legal letters and sometimes filing blustery lawsuits that would get thrown out of court. He oftentimes uses the courts in order to send a message in order to gain publicity, but not necessarily to actually win a legal victory. What we've seen now with Trump back in office is that he uses lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits in order to win settlements and win other concessions from media companies.

[Shemitah Basu]

Trump has pursued the New York Times.

[Apple News Host]

In a lawsuit that was recently thrown out. He's now refiled that claim and he.

[Shemitah Basu]

Has pending cases against the Wall Street.

[Apple News Host]

Journal and Iowa's Des Moines Register.

[Shemitah Basu]

He's also received out of court settlements.

[Apple News Host]

From news outlets like C, CBS and abc.

[Shemitah Basu]

In this case, Stelter doubts Trump would.

[Apple News Host]

Have a strong case for proving defamation in a year old documentary that caused little controversy at the time. Even with the BBC admitting to an.

[Shemitah Basu]

Error, if Trump does carry through on his threat, the BBC would face a.

[Apple News Host]

Choice of fighting it or joining other broadcasters in reaching a settlement.

[Shemitah Basu]

But with settling, the costs can be.

[Apple News Host]

More than just financial.

[Brian Stelter]

When media companies cave when they try to write them a check to make them go away, the companies suffer. Reputationally, they suffer in the court of public opinion. Remember when Disney briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel and the blowback? The backlash from the audience was ferocious.

[Shemitah Basu]

The resignations at the very top of the BBC come off the back of.

[Apple News Host]

A series of other domestic controversies and complaints, so they can't be attributed to Trump alone.

[Shemitah Basu]

But Stelter told us that the Trump.

[Apple News Host]

Administration, along with elements of a hostile press in the UK see a vulnerability here.

[Brian Stelter]

The BBC is unlike anything in the us, unlike anything in most other countries for that matter. But it's also a subject of never ending debate and argument. Every day you wake up to new front page headlines in the British papers all about the BBC scandals. Trump sees that weakness, and he sees it as an opportunity.

[Shemitah Basu]

In recent weeks, economists have turned their.

[Apple News Host]

Attention to one particular warning sign of what's under the hood of top line economic numbers. Car loan delinquency rates.

[Shemitah Basu]

The percentage of subprime borrowers who are at least 60 days late on their.

[Apple News Host]

Car loans has doubled since 2021.

[Shemitah Basu]

It's just another data point in what's.

[Apple News Host]

Being described as a K shaped economy.

[Shemitah Basu]

Where wealthier Americans keep seeing gains and.

[Apple News Host]

Lower income Americans are struggling.

[Scott Calvert]

It's been sort of building for a while. It kind of goes back in a way to the period after the pandemic.

[Shemitah Basu]

That's Wall Street Journal reporter Scott Calvert. He spent time with the people who.

[Apple News Host]

Are on the other side of that delinquency equation, the so called repo men who take these cars when people can't pay.

[Scott Calvert]

There are a lot of cars out there that are subject to repossession. And if you're in the repo business, that means there's a lot out there for the taking.

[Apple News Host]

An estimated 1.73 million vehicles were repossessed last year, which is the most since 2009.

[Shemitah Basu]

But the business has changed since then, Calvert reported as he rode along with repo men armed with laptops, license plate.

[Apple News Host]

Readers and maps dotted with locations where the cars could be found.

[Shemitah Basu]

What used to happen is that banks.

[Apple News Host]

Would work directly with the car repossessors. But more middlemen have gotten involved in the process.

[Scott Calvert]

Increasingly over the last few decades, there's been the emergence of these middlemen known as forwarders. And basically the bank or the credit union will hire the forwarder and then the forwarder does a whole lot of things, including finding the repossession company to actually go out and get the car. And as a consequence of that, the amount of money that the repossessors get per car has fallen by about half in a lot of cases.

[Shemitah Basu]

Speed Kings, a business Calvert followed in his reporting, makes an average of $550.

[Apple News Host]

For every car found on the road. When it deals directly a bank with a forwarder involved, that number drops to $275.

[Shemitah Basu]

And that's before the driver gets paid their share. These financial challenges are on top of.

[Apple News Host]

What was already a dangerous job that often takes place at night. Car owners are not inclined to necessarily part with vehicles so easily.

[Scott Calvert]

People who are about to lose their car, their ability to get to work, to take their kids to school, to do a lot of things that they need to do, there's a certain amount of, I think, desperation. It's pretty distressing to see that happen.

[Shemitah Basu]

One Speed Kings driver was shot at on the job, and in another case.

[Apple News Host]

A repo man went to tow a Dodge Charger and a man and woman jumped in the driver and passenger seats mid tow.

[Scott Calvert]

The man turned the car on, put it in drive and floored it and he eventually was able to drive off of the tow truck and the rear bumper was just left hanging in the air.

[Shemitah Basu]

The last time repossession numbers were so.

[Apple News Host]

High was during the 2008-2009 recession.

[Shemitah Basu]

Before we let you go, a few.

[Apple News Host]

Other stories were following. The Supreme Court had a busy day on Monday.

[Shemitah Basu]

First, the court decided to decline to.

[Apple News Host]

Revisit its landmark decision that recognized the constitutional right to same sex marriage.

[Shemitah Basu]

And it decided it will hear a.

[Apple News Host]

Case on whether counting mail in ballots after Election day is legal.

[Shemitah Basu]

30 states have laws that allow for.

[Apple News Host]

Tallying votes after Election Day.

[Shemitah Basu]

Officials have defended the practice, saying it helps voters like military service members that.

[Apple News Host]

Often have their ballots delayed for reasons they can't control. President Trump has been a vocal opponent of the practice.

[Shemitah Basu]

Yesterday at the White House, the president's.

[Apple News Host]

Guest of honor was the leader of Awans pariah state.

[Shemitah Basu]

Syria's president, Ahmed Al Sharah was not.

[Apple News Host]

So long ago labeled a terrorist by US Intelligence, but he is now leading his country's recovery following the toppling of Bashar al Assad last year.

[Shemitah Basu]

It was a historic meeting, the first.

[Apple News Host]

Ever for a Syrian leader, and he left with a deal that brings an end to many of the sanctions that would threaten the country's future. In return, he pledged to join the U S backed mission to defeat isis.

[Shemitah Basu]

And finally, the chair of the prestigious.

[Apple News Host]

Booker Prize in Literature says this year's winner was unlike anything he's ever read. Flesh by David Soloi tells the story of a Hungarian British man from the time he was a teenager into middle age.

[Shemitah Basu]

NPR describes the book's protagonist as a.

[Apple News Host]

Person of very few words in a.

[Shemitah Basu]

Novel that uses sparse language to convey.

[Apple News Host]

A tumultuous life and surroundings.

[Shemitah Basu]

The prize chair said he's never read.

[Apple News Host]

A novel that uses the white space on the page so well, inviting the reader to fill that space.

[Shemitah Basu]

You can find all these stories and.

[Apple News Host]

More in the Apple News app.

[Shemitah Basu]

And if you're already listening in the news app, right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The Atlantic has the story of a.

[Apple News Host]

Kayaker who went missing in a lake in Wisconsin, prompting a two month search that turned up nothing and baffled police. But when his passport was logged on the Canadian border, it led authorities to a much bigger mystery.

[Shemitah Basu]

If you're listening in the podcast app.

[Apple News Host]

Follow Apple News plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.