Bringing The World Home To You

© 2025 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Already a Sustainer? Click here to increase now →

Air Traffic Controllers helped end the last government shutdown and may again

By Joel Rose

Published October 1, 2025 at 4:22 PM EDT

A shortage of air traffic controllers may have played a key role in ending the last government shutdown in 2019. Those controllers could be in a powerful position this year as well.

Joel Rose

Joel Rose is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. He covers immigration and breaking news.

See stories by Joel Rose

Stories From This Author

Victim's widow files the first lawsuit after January's D.C.-area midair crash

Joel Rose

Family members of a passenger who died in the January collision are suing American Airlines, PSA Airlines, and the federal government. It's the first of what could be dozens of lawsuits.
A deadly assault in Charlotte underscores a shift in crime on public transit

Joel Rose

A violent killing in Charlotte's transit system has gotten a lot of attention. The numbers say trains and buses remain safe overall, but assault has eclipsed robbery and theft as the biggest concern.
High-speed train from California to Las Vegas tries to slow rising costs

Joel Rose

Brightline West is betting it can build the first true high-speed rail line in the U.S. But the company says costs are rising, despite its best efforts to keep them down.