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Father of sailor on US aircraft carrier released from immigration detention
A Nicaraguan immigrant was taken into custody by the?U.S. His family reported that Border Patrol agents released his son, who was a U.S. Navy Sailor and was deployed at sea on an aircraft carrier in the U.S. - Israel war against Iran. Three days after Joshua Aviles made public his father's arrest and the pain he felt while serving his country, his family announced on Facebook that Luis Manuel Aviles Roa was released. Joshua Aviles wrote on Facebook that his father had been detained by immigration officials despite possessing a driver's licence, Social Security card, and work permit. He said his dad was waiting for a "green" card, which would grant him legal permanent U.S. residency. The sailor wrote: "I have been on deployment for more than nine months in the Middle East, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. I am fighting for a nation that has given me everything." "I don’t know how to continue working 12-plus-hour days when my dad is?somewhere, possibly being treated as a criminal." According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol agents arrested a sailor’s father following a traffic stop in Key West. DHS, the parent agency of Border Patrol, stated that Luis Manuel Aviles Roa entered the U.S. in an illegal manner and would remain at Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention facility pending removal procedures. In a statement released on Sunday, the DHS stated that "having a family member serving in the military does not give you a pass to break our nation's law." A post on the son's account of Facebook said: "Luis was released to his family." It added, "We appreciate all the support for both Luis and Josh during this situation." The father's new status was not explained. The DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separate news reports have highlighted the challenges that the crew of the Abraham Lincoln faced during its long deployment to the Middle East for the Iran War, after not having made a port call in over 200 days. Democratic lawmakers claim that the aircraft carrier set a record for the longest period of time at sea. The issue gained national attention when sailors' families expressed concerns over the worsening conditions aboard the warship. (Reporting and writing by Kanishka Sing in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman, Los Angeles; Editing done by Thomas Derpinghaus).
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Sources say RPT-Air India is seeking $1.5 billion in compensation from Tata and Singapore Air, as its losses continue to mount.
Air India wants 'about $1.5 billion of fresh equity from its owners Tata Sons & Singapore Airlines. This comes months after Air India posted a record-breaking annual loss. This would be the largest request for funding from Air India made public since Tata acquired control of the former government-owned carrier in 2020. The letter highlights the challenges that the airline faces as it undergoes a multibillion-dollar overhaul, including refurbishment of the existing fleet. In the fiscal year ending March, the carrier and Air India Express' budget unit posted combined losses of 2,33 billion dollars. This is more than twice the losses from the previous year. Singapore Airlines has also suffered from the losses. Air India is looking for the money immediately. However, the infusion will likely happen in several tranches. Singapore Airlines will need to pay its share of the infusion to make the investment happen, according to one source. The two people stated that the company is looking for funding in the form of new equity. The two people said that discussions are still ongoing and there has not been a decision made on the request. They declined to be identified as they weren't authorised to speak publicly about the matter. Air India and Tata Sons have not responded to any requests for comments. Singapore Airlines, who owns about 25% of Air India said that it worked closely with Tata Sons in order to support Air India’s transformation programme but refused to comment on its finances. AIR INDIA'S TURNAROUND EFFORT Air India was also affected by the ban on Indian carriers flying in Pakistani airspace, the disruptions caused to its international network due to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran, and the fallout from a fatal crash that occurred last year. Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran is preparing to step down from his position in February after months of disagreements with the group's charitable trust over Air India's losses. Chandrasekaran said that Air India's turnaround may take up to 10 years. He cited the persistent disruptions in the supply chain and the need for the airline to revamp its legacy systems, culture, and fleet. Air India is delaying the delivery of hundreds of aircraft ordered from Airbus and Boeing, as Tata pressures it to reduce costs and record losses. One of the sources said that Air India would continue to require capital infusions over the next few years. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Abhijith Kalra, Aditya Kahlra)
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Judge criticizes US Postal Service for mail-in voting rules but will not block them
The U.S. A federal judge declined on Tuesday to block the?final rule' that was issued by the U.S. Postal Service?adopted a?final rule?that President Donald Trump?directed?that would?tighten the requirements for mail-invoting, but she still concluded that the agency violated a judge's order by issuing the ruling. U.S. district judge Indira Talwani ruled in Boston a day after U.S. Supreme Court lifted her two court orders that prevented USPS implementing the executive order Trump had signed targeting mail-in votes. USPS is still unable to fulfill Trump's directive despite these rulings. Various challenges to the executive order are still being played out in federal court, so the fate of this measure remains uncertain. USPS and plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. These legal battles are occurring less than three months from the November midterm elections in which control of Congress will be at stake. The fate of the rule could determine if new voting requirements will be required this fall for tens of millions of Americans who rely on mail-in balloting. Trump signed the executive order in march after calling for years to tighten the rules of voting by mail. He also pushed the false claim that the reason he lost the 2020 election was due to widespread voter fraud. According to the U.S. Constitution, the states have the responsibility of administering federal election. Talwani issued rulings on two separate cases that blocked implementation of Trump’s order. First, in a case brought by 23 states largely led by Democrats - the case addressed by the Supreme Court - and later in a suit by voting rights organizations including the League of Women Voters. The Supreme Court with its conservative majority of 6-3 put on hold one of these decisions, saying that a challenge from Democratic-led states was premature, as courts review final rules and not proposed rules. The injunction that the voting rights groups had obtained was still in effect even after the Supreme Court's ruling. They urged Talwani, however, to conclude USPS violated the injunction when it released the final version of the rule implementing Trump's order on Friday. This rule would require that states provide USPS lists of voters who have received mailed ballots, and unique barcodes on outbound and returned ballot mail envelopes. Talwani - a Democrat appointed by Barack Obama - agreed on Tuesday, saying that USPS "feigned" compliance with her ruling, and had ignored 'her explicit directive not to initiate or complete rulemaking to comply with Trump's executive orders. She said, however, that since USPS has acknowledged that it cannot implement the rule until?her injunction is lifted, she will not block it at this time. She said that the violation "may end up benefiting Plaintiffs," since the voting rights groups can challenge a "final rule" instead of one they might draft. California and Democratic Party arms have announced separate plans to continue challenging Trump’s executive order. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Deepa Babington, and Nate Raymond from Boston)
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US FAA relocates antenna after Marine One Safety Incident
On Tuesday, the?head of Federal Aviation Administration announced that an antenna had been relocated and procedures changed after a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump came too close to a passenger jet departing Reagan Washington National Airport. The incident on August 4 raised serious concerns about the reason why the passenger plane was allowed to leave while Marine One was near, at a time commercial traffic would normally be halted. After an aviation event, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford assured reporters that?the issue of communication had been resolved. The National Transportation Safety Board investigates the incident. After a crash in January 2025 between a military heli and a commercial plane that resulted in the deaths of 67 people the FAA banned mixed jet and helicopter traffic around the airport. Congress granted FAA $12.5 Billion last year for the replacement of outdated air traffic control telecom infrastructure and radar surveillance systems. This was after a number of failures, including major outages that affected Newark and Washington traffic and a failure in 2023 of an FAA System which forced a short nationwide ground stop. Bedford, who asked Congress for an additional $10 billion, stated that the FAA "is already starting to delay phase 2 and phase 3 because of a lack of funding." We will fail to modernize if we do not get funding to modernize the data architecture, and the operating platform. As part of an $875 million 12-year contract with Air Space Intelligence, the FAA will deploy a new system named SMART in order to reduce congestion. The FAA will launch SMART as a test mode on Sept. 14, and it is working with a number of commercial airlines to "start testing the 'predictive analytics, to see if we can actually achieve what we think they are capable of." The FAA has been struggling to address congestion for years due to rising demand, runway construction and a lack of air traffic controllers. In April, the agency told airlines to reduce 300 flights daily at Chicago O'Hare, citing concerns about congestion. It has now extended these cuts until October 20, 2027. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski, David Shepardson)
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Bids for the Panama Canal Transit Auction exceed $1 million as demand soars
The authority of the Panama Canal?said that some vessels paid more than $1,000,000 at an 'auction' to secure transit slots. They cited a shift in global trade demand and supply. Panama Canal Authority (ACP), said that the high bids are due to temporary fluctuations in the market, and not an increase in tariffs set by the waterway. According to the authority, while median auction prices between October and January averaged around $55,000, high demand in recent months has driven median prices up by three times. The?ACP stated that "Auction prices?are determined by a number of factors, such as each client's commercial priorities and urgency, as well as the overall supply and demand conditions." The canal will limit daily transits to 34 vessels beginning Sept. 4 and then tighten the limit on Sept. 15 to 32. The Panama Canal is a gravity-fed system that relies on the freshwater of the Gatun Lake and Alajuela Lake. El Nino has reduced the seasonal rainfall required to refill?these reservoirs. This has forced?the authority? to restrict traffic. Some shippers are rerouting their ships around Africa's Cape?of Good Hope to avoid delays and high auction fees. In August, roughly half of U.S. LNG carriers headed for Asia took the Cape route. This extended a typical journey from Houston to Japan by 45 days. Reporting by Elida Moroe and Marianna Paraga, Writing by Natalia Siniawski and Editing by Inigo Alexandra
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SpaceX will build Starship rocket facility in Louisiana
SpaceX announced that it will 'build a Starship Launch Site in Southern Louisiana' as part of a deal with the state governor. The company plans to begin construction on its fourth spaceport by next year. The site will be called Starbase, Louisiana and cover 125,000 acres (50,585 hectares). It is intended to expand Starship launch operations beyond South Texas. SpaceX revealed?the plans at a?large?event that featured Governor Jeff Landry, and other senior state officials. SpaceX said that the?coastal marshland will be more than eight-times larger than Manhattan and will serve as a "selfsustaining spaceport". It will have "propellant generation, power generation capabilities, deep-water ship-building, vehicle processing facilities, an airport, and deep-water shipping capability," SpaceX explained. Landry called the deal "an inflection point" for Louisiana. This project is more than just steel, technology and capital. This project represents jobs for our families. It represents a boost for our communities and protection for our coastline. SpaceX has been launching rockets for many years from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and Starbase, a company town in South Texas, where it conducts its Starship test-launches and development. (Reporting and editing by Mark Porter, Rod Nickel, and Joey Roulette)
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Supreme Court gives Trump's order to mail in ballots a boost, but legal battles continue
A federal judge has blocked the implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order that restricts the use of mail-in votes ahead of the November midterm elections. Monday, the?U.S. The Supreme Court lifted the judicial order and gave him a victory, but there are still other challenges. What is the Executive Order? The order, issued in March, directed that the Department of Homeland Security compile and send to each state a list of U.S. Citizens eligible to vote, and that the Justice Department investigate and possibly prosecute state and local officials who give ballots to those deemed to be "not eligible" for federal elections. The U.S. Postal Service must?deliver only ballots to voters who are on the approved mail-in voter list of each state. How did the legal challenges play out? California, along with a grouping of 22 states, and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit to stop Trump's directive, claiming that it would lead to confusion and disenfranchise many voters before the midterm elections. In June, U.S. district judge Indira Talwani blocked this order from being implemented in these states. She found that the President lacked authority to order any changes to the way states administer federal election, and that federal agencies lacked the ability to compile "accurate" citizen lists for every state. What did the Supreme Court do? The Supreme Court ruled that the state's legal claims are premature, and they have not suffered any concrete harm. The court's ruling left open the possibility of a new legal challenge once the federal agencies have finalized how they plan to implement Trump's orders. The court's decision does not mean, however, that the measures taken by the government in order to implement the orders will be legal. The majority decision said that time will tell. Three liberal justices of the court dissented. WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON MAIL-IN VOTING? As another injunction, issued by Talwani last August in a different case that prevents the USPS to implement Trump's orders remains in effect, it is unclear what impact this will have. The Supreme Court's ruling did not change that judicial order. The USPS published a final rule Friday, despite the court orders, to implement Trump's directive regarding mail-in voting. The rule requires that states provide the USPS with a list of recipients for mail-in ballots, and that all envelopes used to send and receive ballots have unique barcodes. According to the administration, the USPS will check whether envelopes comply with the rules, but it won't be responsible for determining whether voters are eligible to cast ballots. The rule has already been challenged in court by Judge Talwani. How did the White House and Democrats react? California Governor Gavin Newsom is a Democrat who has promised to take further legal action. "The Supreme Court has just allowed the Trump administration to move forward (for the moment) with its plan of disenfranchising voters across the nation. California will "sue AGAIN" to stop these Orwellian laws from being implemented, he stated in a press release. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis called the decision a victory for election security. "These measures are common sense and protect the security of ballots sent by mail, ensuring that only Americans elect American leaders." Bis stated that this administration would continue to follow the lawful agenda on which President Trump was elected, including the safety and security our elections. (Reporting and editing by Michael Learmonth, Lisa Shumaker, Nate Raymond. Additional reporting by Andrew Chung.
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United CEO anticipates gradual fare increases by 2027, as demand remains strong
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said that he expected airfares to increase gradually in the first six months of 2027 but by less than they did this year due to a strong travel demand. "I believe you will still see gradual increases to fares." Kirby told journalists that the jump was not as large as it had been this year. These comments highlight the continued strength of the travel market, despite rising fares and broader economic uncertainty. Kirby stated that United has not seen a decline in demand, and they expect?that strength will help them recover higher fuel prices in the fourth quarter 2026. According to the Labor Department's statistics, U.S. airlines fares increased by?25.5% from a year ago in July. They were also nearly 25% higher than average between April and July. Kirby said, however, that airfares are still about 13% lower than pre-pandemic prices after inflation is taken into account and they're moving back to what he called more normal levels. He said, "We are going to return to a sort of normalized fare where airlines can be profitably enough to reinvest." Kirby, when asked about the?demand during geopolitical unrest and extreme heat in Europe's regions, said that there had been no significant decline. He said that there hasn't been even a "blip" in the demand. "Demand across the board is extremely strong." A STRONG DEMAND HELPS? OFFSET FUEL PRSURE Kirby also correlated United's ability recover higher fuel prices with the strength of demand. Kirby, when asked if United could still recover the higher costs of jet fuel at $4 per gallon, pointed out that demand was strong but did not give a forecast. He said, "We'll have to see." But given the strength of demand, I still think we will recover 100% in the fourth quarter. Kirby said that aircraft deliveries are "back on track" after United's supply-chain issues proved to be worse than it had expected when placing large aircraft orders years ago. Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo, Writing by Rajesh Kumar Singh, Editing by Nick Zieminski
What did Trump and Xi agree on regarding tariffs, export control, and fentanyl
On Saturday, the White House released details of an agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was reached this week to de-escalate both countries' trade conflict. This included U.S. Tariff reductions and a pause on Beijing's restrictions on rare earth mineral and magnets. The agreement, which includes the resumption by China of its purchases of American soybeans and averts Trump’s threatened 100% tariff against Chinese goods, extends for approximately a year a fragile trade truce between two of the largest economies in the world. Here are some key elements of the Trump - Xi agreement reached in Busan on Thursday.
TARIFF REDUTION ON CHINESE GOODS RELATED TO FENTANYL The U.S. is halving the 20% tariff placed on Chinese goods relating to the supplies of fentanyl precursor chemicals that come from China. According to U.S. officials, the reduction in tariffs from February to 10% will reduce the U.S. overall tariff rate for Chinese imports by about 57% to 47%.
This total includes tariffs of approximately 25% on Chinese imports imposed during Trump's initial term as President, a 10% "reciprocal tariff" imposed in April along with previous "Most Favoured Nation" rates.
CHINA ABANDONS RARE-EARTH CONTROL OF EXPORTS China has agreed to a pause of one year on the export controls that it announced this month. Rare earth minerals and magnets play vital roles in cars and planes as well as weapons. They are Beijing's strongest source of leverage during its trade war against Washington. These controls would have required export licensing for products that contained even trace amounts of an expanded list of elements, and were intended to prevent their use in weapons.
White House: China will issue general export licenses for rare earths and other materials such as gallium, germanium and antimony to the U.S. and its suppliers. White House stated that this amounted "to the de facto removal" of controls China had imposed between April 2025, and October 2022.
The White House announced that China has also agreed to cease all retaliatory duties it has imposed since March 4. These include duties on U.S. poultry, wheat, corn and cotton, soybeans, pork and beef, as well as aquatic products, fruits, vegetable, and dairy products.
Beijing said it would also suspend all non-tariff countermeasures that had been taken by the Chinese government against the U.S., such as the listing of certain American companies in the Chinese government’s lists of end users and unreliable entities.
Export controls by the Trump Administration have been paused
The U.S. agreed on a one-year suspension of an expanded Commerce Department Blacklist of companies that are prohibited from purchasing U.S. Technology Goods, including semiconductor manufacturing machinery. This was to avoid the use of subsidiaries or other firms in order to circumvent export controls. The expanded blacklist automatically included companies that were more than half owned by the companies already listed. This would have been the most significant impact on Chinese firms, as it would have banned U.S. Exports to thousands of Chinese firms.
CHINA COMMITS PURCHASE OF SOYBEAN
The White House announced that China had agreed to purchase at least 12,000,000 metric tons (or 25,000,000 metric pounds) of U.S. soya beans in 2025's last two months, and at least 25,000,000 metric pounds of U.S. soya beans in each of three subsequent years. The White House also announced that China had agreed to resume its purchases of U.S. hardwood logs and sorghum.
China has stopped purchasing U.S. beans in large quantities this fall, and purchased none in September. It now sources its beans from Brazil or Argentina. Washington demanded more purchases due to the loud complaints of U.S. Farmers, who are a major Trump constituency.
Analysts have noted that China's soybean purchases will not exceed their previous levels. The U.S. exported almost 27 million tons to China in 2024. China had promised to increase soybean purchases as part of the "Phase One", a Trump-negotiated trade agreement that stopped a trade conflict in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from meeting their targets.
China will also take steps to resume trade with chipmaker
Nexperia's facilities
The White House stated in its fact sheet that the production of legacy chips is now allowed to be exported to other countries.
The White House announced that Beijing would also extend its market-based exclusion process of imports from America, and the exclusions will remain in effect until December 31, 2026.
The White House announced that China would end its antitrust, antimonopoly, and antidumping investigations against U.S. semiconductor firms.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUTS OFF NEW PORT FEE
The White House announced that Beijing had agreed to lift the sanctions imposed against various shipping companies and remove the measures taken in retaliation to Washington's Section 301 inquiry into China's dominance in the global maritime, logistic and shipbuilding sectors.
The Trump administration has agreed to suspend for one year the new port fees that are imposed on Chinese built, owned and flagged ships. The fees were intended to revive U.S. shipbuilding and could have added thousands of dollars per voyage to U.S. port. On October 14, the port fees and 100% tariffs were implemented, along with ship-to shore cranes built in China. The fees disrupted the cargo flow and caused container prices to rise as shippers tried to avoid China-linked ships. China has set its own fees for U.S. linked ships, which includes those owned by global shippers who have 25% U.S. equity. White House announced that it would continue to talk with South Korea and Japan about revitalizing American shipbuilding while negotiating with China on the issue.
COOPERATION AGAINST FENTANYL TRACKERS
The White House announced that China had agreed to "significant measures" in order to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. This included a halt to the shipment of certain chemical precursors to North America, and a strict control of exports of chemicals around the world. U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Network that in the next few weeks, working groups of both countries will "set very objective measurements" to reduce flows and measure the success of curbing the deadly drug blamed for tens thousands of U.S. deaths from overdoses every year.
The tariffs were put in place by the Trump administration because they were worried about China's promises to help. They said that the tariffs would be in place until Beijing took concrete steps. Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Paul Simao, David Gregorio, and Doina Chiacu.
(source: Reuters)