Trump administration stay updates: President’s essential assembly with China’s Xi Jinping nears as shutdown impacts airport delays | EUROtoday

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said Wednesday South Korea was “trolling” when gifting President Donald Trump a replica of a golden crown after an estimated 7 million Americans marched in “No Kings” demonstrations, protesting against what they viewed as an authoritarian administration, earlier this month.

Read more about the crown from Kelly Rissman:

President Donald Trump has announced that he has permitted South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine after the country promised to invest billions into the U.S.

“South Korea has agreed to pay the USA 350 Billion Dollars for a lowering of the Tariff’s charged against them by the United States. Additionally, they have agreed to buy our Oil and Gas in vast quantities, and investments into our Country by wealthy South Korean Companies and Businessmen will exceed 600 Billion Dollars,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday evening.

He continued: “Our Military Alliance is stronger than ever before and, based on that, I have given them approval to build a Nuclear Powered Submarine, rather than the old fashioned, and far less nimble, diesel powered Submarines that they have now. A great trip, with a great Prime Minister!”

Reuters reported Wednesday that South Korea’s chief policy advisor Kim Yong-beom said the U.S. agreed to lower tariffs on imports of Korean auto and auto parts to 15 percent from 25 percent.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked an order by Illinois District Judge Sara Ellis, forcing Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom every day.

Ellis ordered the meetings, which were set to take place over the next week until November 5, on Tuesday following allegations that Bovino and his officers violently detained protesters and indiscriminately fired tear gas into neighborhoods.

But on Wednesday, before Bovino’s first meeting with Ellis, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted the Trump administration’s request for an administrative stay on Ellis’ order, “only to the extent it required Gregory Bovino to appear in court, in person, each weekday at 5:45 PM,” the filing read.

Read more Ellis’ ruling from Alex Woodward:

The ground delay went into effect at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will last until 11 p.m.

Passengers can expect their planes to be delayed by an average of 40 minutes.

Air traffic controller shortages have been a major burden on Americans during the government shutdown, and it will only get worse with the busy Thanksgiving and winter holidays fast approaching.

There were more than 7,000 flight delays within, into or out of the U.S. on Monday, more than 4,000 Tuesday and nearly 3,000 so far on Wednesday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

A man living in Alabama who claims to have U.S. citizenship was deported to Laos despite a federal court order blocking his removal from the country.

But Homeland Security officials told The Independent “there was no mistake,” labeling him a “criminal illegal alien” who was stripped of his green card and merely sought a last-ditch “Hail Mary” attempt to claim citizenship after he had previously been ordered out of the country.

Chanthila Souvannarath, 44, was born in a Thai refugee camp but has lived in the United States since he was an infant. He gained citizenship as a child when his father was naturalized, making him eligible for derivative citizenship under immigration law at the time, according to his attorneys.

Alex Woodward has the story.

As of Wednesday evening, more than 2,800 flights were delayed nationwide and 133 were cancelled, according to FlightAware.

As shutdown-linked staffing shortages disrupt air travel, thousands of flights were delayed Wednesday and Newark Liberty International Airport was forced to ground planes.

Air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck Tuesday. Newark serves the New York City metropolitan area; the ground stop occurred days before the New York City marathon on Sunday.

After a 75-minute ground stop, the FAA issued a “ground delay.” Flights were averaging delays of 40 minutes.

The New Jersey International Airport grounded all departing flights for 75 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, NBC New York reported.

Later on Wednesday, the FAA issued a “ground delay,” with flights delayed an average of 40 minutes as staffing shortages plague air travel.

Wednesday marks the 29th day of the shutdown; air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck on Tuesday.

Speaking at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of the impacts of the shortages, noting many air traffic controllers have taken on second jobs.

“I’ve made clear to our air visitors controllers: they should present up for work. They do actually vital work for our nation, and they should present up. But I’m not going to misinform anyone to not say that they don’t seem to be feeling the stress,” Duffy stated.

Two federal prosecutors were told they were being placed on leave after describing the January 6 Capitol riot as being executed by “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters” in a legal filing, ABC News first reported.

Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were informed they’d be placed on leave Wednesday, mere hours after submitting a sentencing memo for Taylor Taranto, who was pardoned by Trump earlier this year for his involvement in the Capitol attack.

The sentencing memo deals with a separate case. Taranto was found guilty in May of illegally carrying two firearms without a license and other charges after he livestreamed near former President Barack Obama’s home in June 2023.

The sentencing memo in question states:

“On January 6, 2021, thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election Taranto was accused of participating in the riot in Washington, D.C., by entering the U.S. Capitol Building. After the riot, Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021.”

The prosecutors asked that he serve a 27-month prison sentence.

Before they were put on leave, the pair of prosecutors had been furloughed due to the government shutdown, ABC News reported.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents searched more phones at the border than ever this year, with some officers turning tourists away for liking or sharing memes about Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, according to reports.

The number of phones probed by border agents jumped by 17 percent during the last year, with the CBP digging into more than 55,424 devices, according to statistics seen by Wired. Just a year earlier, the CBP had conducted 47,000 searches.

The aggressive increase in inspections has coincided with a collapse in the number of tourists visiting the U.S., as people from Canada and Europe seek alternative vacation destinations.