‘Unsustainable’ fiscal path, debt limit fight awaits Congress

WASHINGTON — A grim new milestone for U.S. debt and surging interest rates haven’t sparked much urgency for a new round of deficit cutting on Capitol Hill. Yet.

But with federal debt topping $40 trillion for the first time last month, lawmakers will likely have to lift the $41.1 trillion statutory debt ceiling within the next year or so. That task usually involves a debate over curbing deficits, even if the default in recent years has been to do little to nothing.

Some Republicans have floated raising the debt limit as soon as the post-election lame-duck session through budget reconciliation, a hard-enough lift even at a simple-majority vote threshold. A flip in party control of either chamber in November effectively removes reconciliation as a tool lawmakers can use next year for a debt-limit bill that wouldn’t require 60 Senate votes.

That would leave a bipartisan agreement as the only path forward short of eliminating the legislative filibuster, which so far neither party has shown an appetite for. But with few exceptions, both parties have generally retreated to familiar talking points only palatable to their own sides when it comes to cutting deficits.

—CQ-Roll Call

Plane’s flight data indicates pilots tried aborting landing right before crash

MIAMI — The pilots of the Amazon Prime plane that crashed at Miami International Airport Sunday may have been trying to go airborne again as they struggled to regain control of the Boeing 767 jet before it overshot the runway and killed five people, federal investigators said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators reviewed the jet’s flight data recorder, which showed the plane was still traveling almost 140 mph 15 seconds before crashing.

The pilots released the brakes and increased throttles “to values consistent with go-around thrust,” meaning the pilots were likely trying to abort the initial landing, take off and try again, Chihoon Shin, the NTSB’s chief investigator in charge, said at a news briefing Tuesday night.

This gels with what former big jet pilots told the Miami Herald after they watched videos circulating online of the plane coming in far from where it should have touched down to safely land and at speeds they say looked too fast.

—Miami Herald

Mayor Mamdani, NYPD assure Jewish New Yorkers they will be safe this Rosh Hashanah

NEW YORK — Mayor Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch vowed Wednesday that the NYPD will do everything in its power to make sure Jewish New Yorkers can celebrate Rosh Hashanah safely as the city faces an uptick in antisemitic hate crimes.

“I want to speak directly to our Jewish New Yorkers now,” Mamdani said at a press conference at NYPD headquarters in lower Manhattan. “Your safety during these sacred days is of the utmost importance to our administration, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that you can observe the holiday securely.”

Jewish leaders in the five boroughs have felt uneasy about this year’s High Holy Days celebrations because of the uptick in antisemitic crimes. They were also concerned that, since Rosh Hashanah will begin on the same day the city marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, police resources that day would be divided.

Mamdani admitted that “there have been moments of immense sadness over this past year” for Jewish New Yorkers. “Too many of our neighbors have been the victims of antisemitic hate crimes, and too many are understandably afraid to come together and celebrate openly,” he said.

—New York Daily News

Europe to send Kyiv US air defenses for Russian winter blitz

European countries will buy Ukraine more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems and send missiles from their own stocks to help Ukraine repel an expected Russian winter onslaught.

The influx of missiles will arrive both through individual donations and a NATO program that lets European countries purchase U.S. weapons for Kyiv. The commitments were made Tuesday, as Ukraine’s allies gathered for a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, established to help orchestrate ongoing military aid as Russia’s full-scale war grinds through a fifth year.

Germany was one of the countries that said it would donate some of its own PAC-2 Patriots, which are in short supply globally because of the Iran war. “I am aware that it is not easy to strike a balance between one’s own security requirements and urgently needed support for Ukraine. But please: if in doubt, decide in favor of Ukraine,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The new interceptors are much-needed for Ukraine. The country has been running low on air defenses and is struggling to shoot down Russian missiles. The upcoming winter will also be especially challenging, as Moscow is likely to boost its strikes on critical infrastructure as the temperature drops.

—Bloomberg News