Technologies

Government Shutdown Could End, but Travel Delays Continue: What Travelers Can Do

There’s progress toward ending the government shutdown, but airports are not yet back to normal.

Although the government shutdown may be ending, air travel won’t immediately return to normal. On Sunday, senators approved a preliminary agreement to end the impasse, yet the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday that it will continue to cancel flights at 40 high-traffic US airports.

According to NBC News, more than 2,600 flights were canceled on Sunday, representing approximately 10% of all scheduled flights.

The record-long government shutdown has affected air traffic controllers, who are working without pay and were already shorthanded before the disruption began on Oct. 1.

A representative for the FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even before the flight reductions began last week, passengers had already begun bracing for potential flight disruptions. Last Wednesday morning, CNET Senior Editor Corinne Reichert was buckled into her seat on a Southwest Airlines aircraft, getting ready for an in-state flight in California. While on the runway, the pilot informed passengers that it was unclear whether the shutdown would affect that day’s flights and advised, «Keep your fingers crossed.»

Read on below for what to know about traveling amid the government shutdown. And for other travel tips, see our smart travel checklist, guidelines on travel essentials to pack and how to avoid TSA checkpoint headaches.

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Is my airport affected?

These are the 40 airports currently affected, listed in alphabetical order by their three-letter airport code.

Anchorage International (ANC)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
Boston Logan International (BOS)
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
Dallas Love (DAL)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Denver International (DEN)
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
Honolulu International (HNL)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Indianapolis International (IND)
New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)
Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Orlando International (MCO)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Memphis International (MEM)
Miami International (MIA)
Minneapolis/St Paul International (MSP)
Oakland International (OAK)
Ontario International (ONT)
Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
Portland International (PDX)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
San Diego International (SAN)
Louisville International (SDF)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
Teterboro (TEB)
Tampa International (TPA)

When will delays end?

The flight reductions began with Friday’s flights.

There appears to have been some progress made toward ending the government shutdown. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that even if the government shutdown ends, flights won’t return to normal instantly, as it will take time to restore staffing levels and schedules.

What should I do before I go to the airport?

Download relevant apps

Load any apps related to your airline or airport onto your phone — they can send you information about delays and cancellations.

Print or download your boarding pass at home

Even if your flight seems unaffected, be prepared for long security and ticket lines, as well as possible changes to your flight schedule. If you can, print or download your boarding pass in advance to save time.

Shorten your time in the security line

Check to see if your airport has a website that displays the shortest security lines and their corresponding wait times. If you have TSA PreCheck or another expedited security service, now is the time to use it. When booking a flight, make sure your TSA PreCheck number is entered, or you may not see the important logo appear on your boarding pass.

Numerous airports — including SeaTac, Denver, MSP, JFK, LAX, Phoenix , and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental — offer free programs that allow you to reserve a specific time in a security lane and be ushered right to the front.

Stay on top of delays

Bookmark the National Airspace System Status site and check it to see if there are weather or other delays at the airport you’re using.

What if my flight is canceled?

Don’t waste your time in line

Consult your airline to see if they can reschedule you or refund your payment. You may have to stand in a long line at a service counter, but while in line, you can try rebooking online or calling the airline’s support number.

Some travelers use social media to send messages to their specific airline, and if those accounts are monitored, it’s possible you’ll get a response that way. And we like this smart suggestion from PBS: Look up your airline’s international support number and call it, because it might be less busy. (At least until word of this trick leaks out.)

Treat the employees with respect

When you finally reach an airline employee for help with rebooking, be patient. This isn’t their fault, and they’re more likely to help you if you’re understanding.

Be flexible

You’ll have better luck if you’re flexible with times and dates, and you might ask to be rebooked on a partner airline if there’s room available.

Can you get there another way?

You can also consider canceling your flight and choosing to drive or take some other form of transportation if that fits your circumstances, but if your sister’s wedding is tomorrow, you might not have a choice.

What are the airlines saying?

Delta Air Lines said in a statement before the reductions began that it would work to «minimize customer impact» and would allow passengers «additional flexibility» when it comes to changing or canceling flights without penalty. Details on fee waivers are here.

American Airlines made a similar statement about waiving penalties.

«To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund without any penalty,» American Airlines said.

A United Airlines statement, directed to employees, followed suit. «Any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly — even if their flight isn’t impacted,» the statement said. «That includes nonrefundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.»

Southwest has a similar statement that says «all Southwest Customers, with travel booked through Wednesday, Nov. 12, may adjust their travel plans at no cost, or receive a refund if they choose not to travel, regardless of whether their flight is affected.»

If you’re on another airline, it’s best to check the website for a similar notice. Note that airlines are not required to provide accommodations in a hotel or cover other expenses resulting from travel delays.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Nov. 12

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 12.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I was doing great until I stumbled on 6-Across, but filling in the Down answers solved that for me. If you need the answers, read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Place with ships and slips
Answer: DOCK

5A clue: Assignment for a delivery driver
Answer: ROUTE

6A clue: Way in
Answer: ENTRY

7A clue: What might leave stains on a gardener’s pants
Answer: SOIL

8A clue: Fearsome dinosaur, for short
Answer: TREX

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Person giving blood
Answer: DONOR

2D clue: Kind of belly button that 10% of the world has
Answer: OUTIE

3D clue: Shortcut for «cut,» for short
Answer: CTRLX

4D clue: Door opener … like 6-Across?
Answer: KEY

5D clue: «Oh, give it a ___ already!»
Answer: REST

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 12, #415

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 12, No. 415.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. The purple category trusts that you know your pro teams, and that you can spot them out of context. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Great White North.

Green group hint: Famous baseball places.

Blue group hint: Alma mater groups.

Purple group hint: Hoops first.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Canadian NHL teams, minus the S.

Green group: MLB stadium landmarks.

Blue group: College conferences.

Purple group: Starts with an NBA team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Canadian NHL teams, minus the S. The four answers are Canuck, Jet, Maple Leaf and Oiler.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is MLB stadium landmarks. The four answers are Green Monster, Home Run Apple, McCovey Cove and Monument Park.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is college conferences. The four answers are Ivy, Missouri Valley, Patriot and Sun Belt.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starts with an NBA team. The four answers are buckskin, heat check, Magic Johnson and sunscreen.

Technologies

November Nights Are Dazzling With These 3 Meteor Showers. How to Watch Like a Pro

You won’t need binoculars or a telescope, but you will need to get away from city lights to see one of the meteor showers peak tonight.

Skygazers, get ready for an active night sky this week and next. Following the supermoon last week, we’ve also got three annual meteor showers happening right now: the Northern Taurids, which peaks Tuesday night; the Southern Taurids, which has already peaked but is ongoing through November; and the Leonids, which peaks early next week.

While these showers aren’t as prolific as the biggest ones, including August’s Perseids and January’s Quadrantids, you can still marvel at meteors with a bit of luck and some tips we’ll provide.

Not everyone understands what a meteor shower actually is, but it’s fairly simple. Shooting stars are a common occurrence in space around planet Earth. According to NASA, 48.5 tons of meteoritic material hit Earth’s atmosphere every year. Sometimes, enough of that material comes from the same spot, and we humans refer to those as meteor showers.

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Southern Taurids: Ongoing

The Southern Taurids shower, one of the longest meteor showers of the year, lasts for two months.

Southern Taurids peaked on the evening of Nov. 4, spawning upwards of five meteors per hour during that peak, but is expected to hang around through this week and next. Southern Taurids is known for its increased chance of fireballs, which are meteors that are brighter than most. According to some reports, these fireballs can be brighter than the planet Venus when they streak across the night sky.

All meteor showers are named for the constellations where they appear to originate, a spot known as the radiant. For the Southern Taurids, the radiant is in the Taurus constellation near the Pleiades star cluster, so that is where you’ll want to look for them. Taurus will be visible in the eastern sky shortly after sunset and end its evening in the western sky as the sun rises.

Northern Taurids: Peaks Nov. 11-12

The Northern Taurids meteor shower is set to peak over the next couple of days, on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s identical to the Southern Taurids, only with a later peak date. The origin point will be the Taurus constellation, producing an average of five meteors per hour with an increased chance of fireballs.

The Leonids: Peaks Nov. 16-17

Of the three November meteor showers, Leonids should be the most active. It is fed by the Tempel-Tuttle Comet, which can produce some dense debris clouds, resulting in very strong showers. The Leonids meteor shower is set to peak this weekend, on Nov. 16 to 17.

Some sources say that seeing as many as 15 visible meteors per hour is possible, while NASA estimates a more conservative three per hour under dark skies. It’s impossible to know for sure how active this shower will be until the peak occurs.

As the name implies, Leonids will appear out of the Leo constellation. Leo is visible in the eastern sky between midnight and 1 a.m. local time.

According to the American Meteor Society, Leonids has produced some intense meteor showers as recently as 2002, but isn’t scheduled to do so again until 2031, 2064 and 2099 as the comet returns to the solar system. During these rare meteor storms, NASA says that it’s possible to see upwards of 1,000 meteors per hour.

Tips for watching meteor showers

Here are some tips and tricks that will help increase your odds of spotting a meteor in November.

Get away from light pollution

This is the most important guideline to follow. Simply put, city lights make meteors harder to see.

«Light pollution will definitely hamper your viewing of meteors,» Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, told CNET. «The more light pollution you are under, the fewer meteors you’ll see.»

Nichols says that unfavorable conditions can reduce the number of meteors you see by as much as 75%.

Head to the countryside and find a spot that is as dark as possible. (There are other sources of light pollution that humans can’t do anything about, like the moon.)

The Southern Taurids peaked during November’s full moon, which is also a supermoon, meaning it shares the maximum amount of light pollution you can get from the moon. If you’re going to skip any of these showers, the Southern Taurids is probably the best choice. The other two showers will have much more favorable celestial conditions.

Don’t take any equipment

Meteor showers typically have an origin point, but you won’t need binoculars or telescopes.

«You want to just use your eyes,» said Nichols. «Binoculars or telescopes both look at ever-smaller pieces of sky, and you want to be able to look around at the entire sky.»

Meteors are very fast, and a magnification device may obstruct your ability to see the whole path. Nichols says that Taurids meteors tend to travel at 17 to 18 miles per second, while Orionids may travel as fast as 41 miles per second.

Also, meteors don’t last for a long time.

«Look for short-lived, quick streaks of light,» Nichols says. «Meteors tend to last a fraction of a second to maybe a few seconds for the longer-lived ones.»

Nichols also notes that much of the material falling to Earth’s surface is «only about the size of a grain of sand.» As such, the streak humans often see isn’t the meteor itself, but rather the «glowing, superheated air that surrounds that bit of comet material» as it plummets toward Earth.

Dress for the occasion

Unless you live in the Deep South, it’s likely to be cold outside in November. Dressing for the occasion means you’ll be able to stay out longer, even if it’s chilly.

«When you go outside, dress warmly in layers, even if it’s not terribly cold where you are,» says Nichols. «You’ll be out there for a while, and at night, you may easily get chilled, especially if it’s damp out.»

Nichols recommends bringing an extra chair to put your feet on to keep them off the cold ground, especially if it’s wet, and also recommends against drinking alcohol, which causes blood vessels to dilate, causing the body to lose heat faster.

Patience is a virtue

The phrase «it’s a marathon, not a sprint» is about as apropos as it gets for meteor watching. Showers are unpredictable, and every number you’ve seen in this article or elsewhere online is essentially an estimate. You’ll want to make sure to give yourself as much time as you can to get settled.

«Give your eyes at least 20-30 minutes to adjust to the darkness,» Nichols advises. «You may not see meteors right away. And when you do, they’ll be sporadic.»

If it were easy to spot meteors, then it wouldn’t be special. You can help yourself by reducing your phone screen brightness to its lowest setting to preserve your night vision, and by using flashlights, not big camping lanterns.