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US-bound flights from Eurocontrol nations, among them Israel, halted at FAA’s request
All US-bound traffic departing from Eurocontrol member states has been suspended at the FAA’s request because of technical issues, Eurocontrol’s website shows.
There are 42 Eurocontrol member states, including Israel.
Homeland security chief says no current signs that ‘a nefarious attack’ grounded flight across US
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says there is no indication of a threat to the country after a ground stop was issued at airports nationwide.
“There was no prior indication. There was no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage as of now,” he says, adding officials are “not ruling out anything at this point.”
“The last time, I believe, that we had a national ground stoppage was 9/11,” Mullin continues. “We’re getting a ton of calls, saying, ‘Is this a terrorist attack?’ …Everybody’s safe. There is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying.”
He notes that “there’s many cyberattacks,” but “that’s not known” to be the case here, stressing the investigation is under way.
Nearly 7,000 US flights have been delayed or cancelled due to nationwide plane grounding
Nearly 7,000 flights in the US have been delayed or cancelled due to the nationwide grounding of flights ordered by the FAA, according to the FlightAware aviation tracker.
Aviation expert suggests US flight groundings caused by technical error, says she’s not heard any suggestion of terrorism
Aviation expert Mary Schiavo suggests that the Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of all US flights was due to technical error and not a terrorism.
“The FAA had announced [earlier today] that it was about to deploy… their new AI tool called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories) to assist in managing air traffic across the entire national airspace system,” she tells CNN.
“Many times in the past… we have seen… mismatch of systems… new computer systems often have difficulties” interacting with older systems, she says, suggesting that a similar mismatch is what just occurred.
“One of the goals of the SMART system was to manage the en route traffic… [offering a] “tremendous amount of convenience,” she says.
“We have not heard that it’s threats or criminal terrorism” that caused the FAA directive.
“If I had to guess, [the grounding was caused by] modern computer systems trying to interact with older systems,” she adds.
Trump aide says US flight halt due to ‘comms issue impacting air traffic control centers’
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the flight halt just announced by the Federal Aviation Administration is due to “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.”
“FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” Duffy tweets.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026
FAA halts all flights from US airports due to unspecified ‘extraordinary circumstances’
The US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
“All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice,” the alert says without offering additional information.
Here is @FAANews statement from its website pic.twitter.com/QeMOyNDzk1
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) November 13, 2026
Iran’s IRGC says two tankers hit sea mines in Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy says that two oil tankers had exploded and caught fire after striking sea mines while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with Iranian authorities, state TV says, without giving further details.
Houthis say they fired missiles at Saudi forces in Jazan
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they fired two ballistic missiles at what they described as concentrations of Saudi forces in Al-Tuwal in Jazan province, hours after Saudi civil defense issued an all-clear for the province.
It was not immediately clear whether the attack claimed by the Houthis was related to the alerts issued by Saudi civil defense in Jazan earlier on Friday.
Jazan is home to a Saudi Aramco refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Southern Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen, has come under repeated missile and drone attacks by the Houthis on military installations and energy infrastructure, including the Jazan refinery.
The terror group also says in a separate statement that it had attacked Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a pumping station on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline. There is no immediate Saudi confirmation of the Houthi account.
With the conflict in the Middle East disrupting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh has rerouted about 4 million barrels per day of crude via the East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, equivalent to about 4% of global supply.
Fighting between the Houthis and the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government has intensified after the Houthis advanced in September towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic shipping chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, across the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.
In new memoir, Biden says Netanyahu made repeated empty promises to reduce civilian harm in Gaza
Then-US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Former US president Joe Biden writes of his frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly breaking promises to take steps to mitigate civilian harm during the Gaza war.
“I had been calling on Israel to take precautions to reduce civilian suffering since the beginning of the conflict,” Biden writes in an advance copy of ‘Promise me, America,’ which was obtained by CNN.
“I had expressed these concerns privately in many conversations with Bibi, who acknowledged the damage that these rising casualties were doing to Israel’s image, and to US support for the war.”
“But a familiar pattern established itself: He would promise to do more, and then another aggressive action would follow, killing more civilians.”
“When we called them on it, the Israelis always had an explanation or excuse, but the result was the same. Bibi had no qualms about making promises he had no power — or intention — to keep,” Biden writes.
“While I understood that he was working under severe pressures, I was frustrated by his failure to think like a statesman and safeguard Israel’s long-term interests, not just his own short-term political needs,” he adds.
Key Update
US says it responded to ‘suspected unauthorized drone activity’ over UK air base
The US Air Force “responded to suspected unauthorized drone activity” over a British air base hosting American troops.
“No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected” in the incident at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, a US Air Force spokesperson says in a statement.
“We continue to work closely with our host nation counterparts to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, US and host nation civilians, contractors, and all of our families. Protecting our shared community is a joint responsibility, and we encourage everyone to support this effort by reporting any unusual or suspicious activity to local authorities,” the statement adds.
The incident comes amid heightened security concerns at military bases in Britain following reports of an Iranian threat against American forces in the country.
Key Update
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