The US government shutdown has entered its second week as the Senate again failed to pass competing bills to restore funding, deepening the political stalemate. Democrats and Republicans remain divided over whether to pair any funding bill with healthcare measures, particularly an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the year. The lapse in funding has forced federal offices, national parks, and agencies to close, with mounting pressure from unpaid workers and disruptions at airports and air traffic control centres (see https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/07/us/shutdown-impacts-travelers) House speaker Mike Johnson insists the GOP’s short-term funding bill is sufficient, while a top Democrat has accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate. Donald Trump continues to urge Democrats to accept the Republican plan, though some within the GOP have hinted at compromise. Without agreement, hundreds of thousands of military and civilian personnel will soon miss paychecks, further straining families and testing public patience with political gridlock.

Authorities arrested 36-year-old Aditya Singh after he had spent three months living in the secure side of Chicago's O'Hare international airport, relying on the kindness of strangers for food, sleeping in terminals and using the bathroom facilities. He was caught by an airport employee asking for his ID. Singh is one of many individuals residing in terminals for weeks, months or years. Since 2018 there has been a rise in the number of homeless people in large airports. Officials try to provide aid and crisis intervention teams to connect homeless people to housing and other services. But most would prefer a solution where airports no longer operated as homeless shelters.

Radio 4 reported that police and border control are once again going to run Operation Limelight at major airports to prevent children being taken abroad for female genital mutilation (FGM) or arranged marriages. Officers will be speaking to airline and airport personnel to raise awareness, and advise what signs to look for on outbound flights to countries where FGM and child marriage are prevalent. In school holidays families take girls abroad. The girls believe they are going on a family holiday and are unaware of what is about to happen to them. Research shows that 90% of police, health and social care professionals have not received training around these issues and did not feel confident in managing the safeguarding aspect of FGM or how to address cultural sensitivity and barriers.