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*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.
NEWS OF THE MORNING
Sooooo, the FAA grounded all flights this morning. No big deal or anything:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all domestic flights from around 4 a.m. until 9 a.m. due to a widespread computer outage.
Keep in mind: This applies to all commercial and military flights.
The question many are wondering — was it a cyberattack?: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted, “There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes.”
How many flights have been affected: More than 6,000 flights within, into or out of the United States have been delayed so far today, according to FlightAware.
Check out FlightAware’s live map of U.S. air travel right now
Here are the FAA’s live updates throughout the morning
SECRETARY (MAYOR) PETE IS ON IT:
President Biden said he was briefed on the FAA outage this morning and told reporters that he spoke with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Biden told reporters: “They don’t know what the cause is. I told them to report directly to me when they find out. Aircraft can still land safely, just not take off right now. They don’t know what the cause of it is, they expect in a couple of hours they’ll have a good sense of what caused it and will respond at that time.”
EXPLAINER — ‘WHAT IS NOTAM? HERE’S WHAT CAUSED THE F.A.A. GROUNDSTOP.’:
The New York Times’s Niraj Chokshi explains
‘YOUR CANCELED-FLIGHT EMERGENCY KIT’:
The ’s Courtney Beesch writes, “Here’s what to pack before you head to the airport — literally and figuratively.” Full read
It’s Wednesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
???? In the White House
Jill Biden is having an outpatient procedure today:
First lady Jill Biden is at Walter Reed National Medical Center today to have a skin lesion removed. President Biden accompanied her to the procedure.
What we know: “The first lady was scheduled to undergo Mohs surgery to remove a small lesion above her right eye after doctors recommended it be excised out of an abundance of caution following a skin cancer screening.
