By JOSH FUNK

The flight restrictions that have been in place at New Jersey’s largest airport ever since air traffic controllers first lost their radar and radios briefly last month will remain in place into June, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday.

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The interim rule will cap the number of arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport at 28 apiece per hour. That’s in line with the limits imposed after about half a dozen controllers went on a 45-day trauma leave following the first outage on April 28.

In mid-June, the limit might be bumped up after a runway construction project largely wraps up, and the controllers on leave would be scheduled to return. After that, the FAA has said it might be able to increase the limit to 34 arrivals and 34 departures an hour, which would bring it closer to the 38 or 39 flights that typically took off and landed hourly before the problems.

The FAA has taken a number of steps to address the technical problems with a software update and new fiber optic lines that seemed to have helped keep the radar online even during subsequent disruptions. But a longer-term fix of building a new radar system at the Philadelphia facility that directs planes in and out of the airport will likely take months, and even after that, the aging infrastructure may remain vulnerable.

“Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,” acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said.

For now, the airlines that fly out of Newark will likely have to cut their schedules to match the limits. Once fewer flights are scheduled each day, there will likely be fewer cancellations, although operations at the airport have been much smoother this week with many fewer cancellations and delays.

Twice in the past month, the radar and communications systems that Philadelphia air traffic controllers who direct planes in and out of Newark rely on failed for a short time. That happened because the main line that carries the radar signal down from another FAA facility in New York failed, and the backup line didn’t work immediately.

The controllers were unable to see or communicate with the planes around Newark Airport for as long as 90 seconds on April 28 and May 9.

The lines — some of which were old copper wires — failed a third time May 11, but the backup system worked and the radar stayed online. The FAA said a fourth outage Monday knocked out radio communications for two seconds, but the radar stayed online.

After the initial outage, the already shorthanded control center in Philadelphia lost five to seven controllers to trauma leave. That left the airport unable to handle all the scheduled flights, leading to hundreds of cancellations and delays.

The FAA quickly limited the number of flights in Newark to between 24 and 28 arrivals and the same number of departures every hour to ensure the remaining controllers could handle them safely. At times when controller staffing has been especially lean because of sick leave, the FAA has limited traffic even further.

Officials have said the problems affecting the Newark airport are a prime example of why the entire air traffic control system nationwide needs to be overhauled.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan to upgrade the nation’s aging air traffic control system earlier this month. The House tentatively included $12.5 billion in the overarching bill that Republicans are trying to pass now, but officials have called that amount just a down payment on the overall plan.

By MATTHEW LEE and ELLEN KNICKMEYER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Democratic senators sparred Tuesday over the Trump administration’s foreign policies, ranging from Ukraine and Russia to the Middle East, Latin America, the slashing of the U.S. foreign assistance budget and refugee admissions.

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Rubio defended the administration’s decisions to his former colleagues during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, his first since being confirmed on President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day.

He said “America is back” and claimed four months of foreign-policy achievements, even as many of them remain frustratingly inconclusive. Among them are the resumption of nuclear talks with Iran, efforts to bring Russia and Ukraine into peace talks and efforts to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

America’s top diplomat praised agreements with El Salvador and other Latin American countries to accept migrant deportees, saying “secure borders, safe communities and zero tolerance for criminal cartels are once again the guiding principles of our foreign policy.”

He also rejected assertions that massive cuts to his department’s budget would hurt America’s standing abroad. Instead, he said the cuts would actually improve the U.S. reputation internationally.

Hearing opens with a joke, then turns serious

Committee Chairman Jim Risch opened the hearing with praise for Trump’s changes and spending cuts and welcomed what he called the administration’s promising nuclear talks with Iran.

Risch also noted what he jokingly called “modest disagreement” with Democratic lawmakers, who used Tuesday’s hearing to confront Rubio about Trump administration moves.

Ranking Democratic member Jeanne Shaheen argued that the Trump administration has “eviscerated six decades of foreign-policy investments” and given China openings around the world.

“I urge you to stand up to the extremists of the administration,” the New Hampshire senator said.

Other Democrats excoriated the administration for its suspension of the refugee admissions program, particularly while allowing white Afrikaners from South Africa to enter the country.

Some Republicans also warned about drastic foreign assistance cuts, including former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins. They expressed concern that the U.S. is being outmaneuvered by its rivals internationally after the elimination of thousands of aid programs.

“The basic functions that soft power provides are extremely important,” McConnell told Rubio at a second hearing later in the day before the Senate Appropriations Committee. “You get a whole lot of friends for not much money.”

Rubio says the US is encouraging but not threatening Israel on Gaza aid

Rubio told the Appropriations Committee that the Trump administration is encouraging but not threatening Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.

He said the U.S. is not following the lead of several European countries that have imposed sanctions or warned of actions against Israel amid the dearth of assistance reaching vulnerable Palestinians. However, he said U.S. officials have stressed in discussions with the Israelis that aid is urgently needed for civilians in Gaza who are suffering during Israel’s military operation against Hamas.

“We’re not prepared to respond the way these countries have,” but the U.S. has engaged with Israel in the last few days about “the need to resume humanitarian aid,” Rubio said. “We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks — it’s important that that be achieved.”

And Rubio acknowledged that the administration was approaching foreign governments about taking mass numbers of civilians from Gaza but insisted that any Palestinians leaving would be “voluntary.”

“There’s no deportation,” Rubio said. “We’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they will be open to accepting people not as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to reconstruction” in Gaza.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., condemned it as a “strategy of forced migration.”

Also on the Middle East, Rubio said the administration has pushed ahead with attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and promote stability in Syria.

He stressed the importance of U.S. engagement with Syria, saying that otherwise, he fears the interim government there could be weeks or months away from a “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.”

Rubio’s comments addressed Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions burdening Syria’s new transitional government, which is led by a former militant chief who led the overthrow of the country’s longtime oppressive leader, Bashar Assad, late last year. The U.S. sanctions were imposed under Assad.

Rubio and senators clash over white South Africans entering the country

In two particularly contentious exchanges, Kaine and Van Hollen demanded answers on the decision to suspend overall refugee admissions but to exempt Afrikaners based on what they called “specious” claims that they have been subjected to massive discrimination by the South African government. Rubio gave no ground.

In one tense exchange, Kaine pressed Rubio to say whether there should be a different refugee policy based on skin color.

“I’m not the one arguing that,” Rubio said. “Apparently, you are, because you don’t like the fact they’re white.”

“The United States has a right to pick and choose who we allow into the United States,” he said. “If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet, who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they’re going to do when they come here, they’re going to receive preference.”

He added: “There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It’s heartbreaking, but we cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can.”

A truck driver told a trooper he was looking at a map and a GPS unit when ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle in Washington County, after which the other driver died, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Shane Joseph Loughney, 48, was taken to Regions Hospital with life-threatening injuries following the collision last Wednesday and died at the hospital on Saturday.

State Patrol troopers responded about 1:50 p.m. to Denmark Township. Investigation showed a 27-year-old man was driving a semitrailer northbound on Minnesota 95 “at highway speeds,” the affidavit said.

Loughney was eastbound on 70th Street, stopped at a stop sign and began turning left onto Minnesota 95. The semi T-boned his pickup in the intersection. The collision pushed both vehicles into another pickup.

The semi’s driver told a State Patrol sergeant he was “at fault for the crash,” the affidavit said. He said he’d “been looking at a combination of maps on his phone and a separate GPS unit which distracted him from seeing the stop signs.”

The warrant, approved by a judge and filed in court Monday, was for a forensic search of the driver’s phone.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office had not received a case to review for charges as of Tuesday.

Loughney was from Woodville in St. Croix County, Wisconsin.

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“What’s really on the line here isn’t paperwork—it’s power. Without member deference, decisions about what gets built and where shift away from accountable elected leaders and into the hands of deep-pocketed developers who answer to no one but their investors.”

Members of the City Council during a stated meeting in November. (Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit)

In the fight over the future of New York City, one thing must stay non-negotiable: our neighborhoods don’t belong to developers—they belong to the people who live and work in them.

That’s why we must reject the Charter Revision Commission’s proposal to eliminate member deference in the City Council. It’s not some obscure procedural rule—it’s one of the last lines of defense New Yorkers have against profit-first developers who treat our city like a Monopoly board.

Member deference gives locally elected councilmembers the ability to fight for the people they represent on major land use decisions. It’s not just a courtesy—it’s a shield. It’s how working people protect their homes, their jobs, and their neighborhoods from being steamrolled by billionaire real estate interests that see every block as an investment opportunity.

Yes, we need to build more housing. Yes, we need to do it faster. And the carpenters are ready to roll up our sleeves to get it done. But efficiency can’t come at the cost of fairness. It can’t mean giving developers a blank check while stripping communities, and the workers who build this city, of a voice. Streamlining the process is one thing. Silencing the people? That’s something else entirely.

What’s really on the line here isn’t paperwork—it’s power. Without member deference, decisions about what gets built and where shift away from accountable elected leaders and into the hands of deep-pocketed developers who answer to no one but their investors. That is not reform, it is a sellout. 

We need a process that makes damn sure the people at the table are thinking about their neighbors, not the donors lining their pockets. Member deference holds councilmembers accountable. If they stop listening to the people and start siding with developers, voters can show them the door. That’s real democracy.

We’ve seen what happens when development is done right—with labor standards and community input. Good jobs are created, affordable housing goes up, and neighborhoods thrive. And we’ve seen what happens when developers get free rein: rents skyrocket, workers get shut out, and communities are hollowed out.

If we’re serious about solving the housing crisis, then we need to build more housing that is affordable, union-built, and community-driven. And that only happens when local voices are part of the process from the start, not pushed out of the way for the sake of speed.

This isn’t about protecting a political norm. It’s about protecting working people. Weakening their voice doesn’t move us forward; it hands the reins to the powerful few.

Let’s build a city for the people who power it—not the people who profit off it. 

Paul Capurso is the executive secretary-treasurer pro tem of the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters.

The post Opinion: Build a City for People, Not Developers appeared first on City Limits.