Monday 03.10.25

Air travel across Germany has been disrupted due to a one-day strike by workers at 13 German airports. The so-called “warning strike” is a common tactic in German wage negotiations. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.
 

By Tricia Escobedo

(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)

Government funding

House Speaker Mike Johnson formally unveiled plans over the weekend for a government funding stopgap through September 30 — a measure intended to stave off a potential government shutdown ahead of Friday’s deadline and buy time for President Donald Trump and GOP leaders to steer key pieces of the president’s agenda through Congress this summer. House Republicans hope to vote on the bill this week. Democratic leaders quickly slammed the door on supporting the measure, raising the specter of a high-stakes clash this week. The president has endorsed the measure. GOP leadership aides said that it would increase defense spending by about $6 billion while domestic spending would drop by about $13 billion. If Democrats block the measure, they will risk taking the blame for shutting down the government unless they can convince the public it’s Trump’s fault. If they allow the measure to pass, they could again look like they lack the strength and purpose to resist Trump’s presidency.

Canada's next leader

Mark Carney has been elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party in a months-long, high-stakes race to replace Justin Trudeau. While Carney will take over immediately as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau will remain as Canada’s prime minister for an as-yet undisclosed transitional period while his successor settles in. Carney will be expected to lead the party into the next federal elections where he is likely to face stiff competition from the Conservative Party, which is currently leading in the polls. President Trump has repeatedly blamed Canada for illegal immigration into the US and threatened to turn Canada into a 51st state and impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports, which the White House says is necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl over its borders. In his first remarks following the result of the vote, Carney referenced the tensions with the US, saying his government would “create new trading relationships with reliable trading partners.” He also vowed to keep retaliatory tariffs on the US “until the Americans show us respect.”

Missing student

Authorities in the Dominican Republic are interviewing a young man believed to have been with a missing student from the University of Pittsburgh right before her disappearance in Punta Cana, a local police source told CNN. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old US resident, was last seen on a surveillance camera with seven other people entering the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana after 4:15 a.m. Thursday, the Dominican National Police said in a statement. Police said she arrived in the country on Monday with five other people. They learned of her disappearance after 8 a.m. Friday through a call from the US Embassy in Santo Domingo. Authorities have interviewed the young man to determine what happened when the two were alone. Police are also questioning others last seen with Konanki on Thursday to establish where their search should be focused. Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki, told CNN that his daughter had gone to Punta Cana for spring break, ahead of pre-med studies at Pittsburgh. “My daughter is a very nice girl. She’s ambitious. She wanted to pursue a career in medicine.”  

Syria violence

Armed men loyal to the Syrian government carried out field executions and spoke of purifying the country, according to eyewitnesses and video, providing a gruesome picture of a crackdown against remnants of the former Assad regime that spiraled into communal killings. Syria has seen the worst outbreak of violence since the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad late last year, after armed men descended on Alawite heartlands on Thursday in what Syrian authorities said was an attempt to put down an insurgency by rebels still loyal to the former government. A UK-based independent monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said that at least 642 people have died in the violence, including scores of civilians who were killed after government forces committed “widespread field executions” of young men and adults. Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on Sunday blamed the violence on the remnants of Assad’s forces and said his government would hold accountable anyone involved in the deaths of civilians. “We will not tolerate the remnants of Assad’s forces,” he said. “They have only one option: to surrender themselves to the law immediately.”

Plane crash

A small plane crashed into the parking lot at a retirement community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Sunday afternoon, injuring the five people aboard and damaging around a dozen vehicles, according to local authorities. There was no structural damage to the Brethren Village retirement community building and no one on the ground was injured, according to the Manheim Township Fire chief. Video of the scene showed the wreckage of the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza plane engulfed in flames and dark smoke. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the crash, which comes after a devastating midair collision in January and a string of plane crashes across the country. The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it is also opening an investigation and will evaluate the documentation and initial examination gathered by FAA investigators at the crash site. The pilot reported the plane had an open door in a radio conversation with an air traffic controller. The controller instructed the pilot to “pull up” moments before the crash. The plane was scheduled to depart from Lancaster Airport, just north of the crash site, and was headed toward Springfield, Ohio, according to FlightAware.

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2,000+

That’s how many acres were scorched by a wildfire near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that authorities believe was started by a woman who was burning yard debris on her property. She was arrested last week and, if convicted, could face 30 days in jail or multiple fines. 

(South Carolina Forestry Commission/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images)

The US government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech.

— Amy Greer, attorney of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested over the weekend by federal immigration authorities. Khalil helped lead last year's student anti-war movement at Columbia University, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. His arrest comes days after President Trump vowed to deport foreign students and imprison “agitators” involved in “illegal protests.”

This tropical paradise is a short ferry ride away from Miami
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