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Were now one month into a partial U.S. government shutdown due to a Department of Homeland Security funding lapse. Yet, employees with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are still expected to show up for work. As of last Friday, many TSA employees missed their first full payday and instead received $0 paychecks. Due to financial concerns, many have been calling out sick or resigning to find alternative income sources. Staffing issues have led to longer lines and increased wait times at U.S. airport security checkpoints nationwide. Now the CEOs of major U.S. airlines are publicly calling on Washington to end the shutdown. In an open letter to Congress, the executives demanded that lawmakers immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The letter was signed by Robert Isom of American Airlines Group, Ed Bastian of Delta Air Lines, Scott Kirby of United Airlines, and Bob Jordan of Southwest Airlines, among others. Executives from UPS, FedEx, and the trade group Airlines for America (A4A) where the letter was published on Sundayalso signed the letter. Its difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid,” the letter reads. The senior executives further urged Congress to take action to ensure essential airline workers never go without pay again. Specifically, they want Congress to pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would ensure that air traffic controllers are paid regardless of the governments funding status. The letter also urges Congress to come together to pass the Keep America Flying Act, which would extend the same protections to TSA workers. Travel demand is expected to increase in the coming months The letter notes that U.S. airports are likely to face heavier crowds this spring and summer. An increase in travelers is anticipated to occur during spring break and for events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026. According to Airlines for America, U.S. airports are expected to see 171 million passengers this spring, up 4% from 2025. The group projects that U.S. airlines will carry about 2.8 million passengers per day from March 1 through April 30. Airline stocks have faced a challenging start to 2026 U.S. airline stocks have had a rough start to the year. Most recently, shares have fallen significantly due to soaring jet fuel prices amid the war in Iran. The three major U.S. airline stocks have fallen significantly since the start of the year: Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL): Down more than 12% YTD. United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL): Down more than 20% YTD. American Airlines (NYSE: AAL): Down more than 30% YTD.
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E-Commerce
A few meters below the former site of Sevilles 1992 World Expo, a promising climate experiment blending ancient technology and modern science is underway. Rows of black pipes run along the ceiling and down the bare concrete walls. These, in turn, connect to bright blue and green tubes and enormous silver pumps. In a control room to the side, an array of monitors display the heat, humidity and wind speed above. We have deployed several types of cooling systems here, each one used depending on climatic conditions, says Maria de la Paz Montero Gutiérrez, a researcher at the University of Seville, from down in the buildings bowels where she is helping supervise the project. In 2020, authorities began to install these cooling systems in two public spaces in the Isla de La Cartuja neighborhood of what is one of Europes hottest cities. Every day about 30,000 people come to work and study in this northwestern district, which is mostly non-residential and home to university campuses, museums, and businesses. Under the EU-funded project CartujaQanat, the so-called qanatsnetworks of underground aqueductswere constructed in a newly-built 750-square meter site known as the Agora, which is large enough to fit about 400 people, as well as in a renovated amphitheater from the 90s that has a capacity of about 200 people. The design of the CartujaQanat. [Rendering: University of Seville] The system, created millennia ago but updated for the 21st century, works by cooling water underground in the naturally low temperatures at night. To cool water more quickly, some is also sent to the roof via solar-powered pumps and sprayed out of nozzles in a thin layer through a method known as a falling film, before draining back down underground. By day, as outdoor temperatures peak, the cool water is sent above ground into the ceiling to counteract the heat. Water is also funneled into subterranean pipes that cool air (up to 36,000 square meters an hour), which is then released via ducts in the public spaces. Outside, mist is sprayed in order to lower temperatures through evaporation. We have half re-invented the qanats, taking from their engineering ingenuity, says head of the multi-stakeholder project, Lucas Perea Gil, whose team began operating the cooling system in 2022, running seasonally from March to October every year. Maria de la Paz Montero Gutiérrez, a researcher at the University of Seville helping to supervise the project. [Photo: Peter Yeung] The original qanats, according to Nilou Vakil, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Kansas, date back 3,000 years to ancient Persia, or modern day Iran. The same system has been used in many regions across the Islamic world, from Balochistan to Jordan. Historically, she says, they were used in arid areas to transport water from underground sources to irrigate crops and feed animals, but also for cooling homes. Thats how they were able to create civilization in places you couldnt have humans living in before, explains Vakil, who has researched the history of the qanats. They allowed people to live with heat before the arrival of electricity. The project also represents something of a revival of past local practices. Similar water management technologies were deployed by the Moors across Andalusia, including at Granadas Alhambra, several hundred years ago. Sevilles low-emission solution is an encouraging response to the rising threat of extreme urban heat in Spains fourth largest city, home to 1.5 million people. Last year, Seville broke a record after recording 30 days above 40C (104F)compared with an average of 12.8 days a year over the previous decade. The city gets so hot these days its earned the unenviable nickname of the Frying Pan of Spain. And scientists project that due to manmade climate change, by 2050, Seville is likely to hit summer peaks of 50C (122F) while suffering an average 20% decline in rainfall. That extreme heat, an increasing reality for cities around the world, is already causing serious harm to the population. The Carlos III Health Institute estimated that about 1,180 people died because of high temperatures during a heatwave in Spain between May and July last year. Meanwhile, researchers have calculated that more than 11,000 people died due to extreme heat in Spain during summer 2022. Its a really serious health issue, says Anna Beswic, a policy fellow at the London School of Economics working on climate adaptation and resilience. Global average temperatures are rising, and so are extreme temperatures. Cities have specific vulnerabilities since they hold and retain heat more than other areas. City authorities are urgently trying to find solutions to beat the heat, especially ones that arent energy intensive like air-con, which can be costly and counterintuitive for climate goals. In Los Angeles, for example, the use of heat-reflective white paint on the streets has been effective in cutting temperatures. In Rotterdam, green roofs are helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect and to keep air clean. Others such as Freetown, Sierra Leones capital city, have gone as far as to hire Chief Heat Officers. Theres a lack of visibility over heat, its a silent killer, which is why governance on this is so important, says Beswick, who last year published a report about low-cost, low-carbon cooling systems. Seville has historically adapted to heat through its narrow streets and shaded courtyards and more recently by becoming the first city in the world to name and categorize heatwaves. Now, its showing impressive impact with the updated qanatsas well as other cooling techniques that are part of the project, including deploying heat-reflective paint, wind and sun blockers, and vegetation on interior walls. Research by the University of Seville, shared with Next City, found the project led to indoor temperatures being as much as 12 degrees Celsius lower than outdoors in the summer of 2025. At the same time, the project, which received 80% of its 5 million budget from the European Unions Urban Innovative Actions office, requires zero energy. During the summer of 2025, CartujaQanats 380-square-meter rooftop solar panels produced 55,000 kWh, while running the machinery such as pumps consumed 42,000 kWh. It demonstrates that ancient tech can hold a very important point in our current environment, says Vakil. Cooling is one of the biggest issues that we are going to face in the future. Sevilles project serves as a scalable prototype. Theyve already learned important lessons for future iterations, such as the fact that they only needed three of the nine water pumps they purchased. We thought we needed more, says Gil. But we didnt. We learned from that. So, in the future, this model can be cheaper. CartujaQanats success has led to delegations from California, Germany and Dubai, among others, to visit the site to draw inspiration and take notes. But it wont work in all cities. As Vakil points out, the qanat system is unlikely to be effective in humid climates since it relies on evaporation. The Agora space. [Photo: Peter Yeung] The project is also helping to revitalize the Isla de la Cartuja neighborhood, which despite its proximity to the city center, is a largely underused area. Local workers come to relax in the Agora during lunch breaks, teenagers use it to skateboard, and there are regular classes for all kinds of dance: hip hop, flamenco, swing and tango. According to Gil, the reclaiming of space for the public is a significant motivation, particularly as extreme heat could force people to hide in their homesat the loss of socializing. It also shows how cities can re-develop large and unused public spaces. We wanted to create a comfortable space that people dont have to pay for, he says. Charo Sollero, who since last year has been running tango classes for groups of up to 60 people, is one of the beneficiaries. Its an open space thats not too hot, its perfect for us, she says. We get together to eat and drink and then dance for hours and hours. While the floor is not made of wood, the material traditionally used for tango dancing, the space is a much cooler option than the hotel they previously met up. Its clear the temperatures are getting hotter in Seville every year, adds Sollero. And the city is wasting no time in rolling out this low-emission cooling model to other locations. Next year it will inaugurate the systems at a bus stop, square and school in the citys Macarena neighborhood. In time, it will expand further. We believe that they can help us live with the heat that is coming, says Gil. This story was originally published by Next City, a nonprofit news outlet covering solutions for equitable cities. Sign up for Next Citys newsletter for their latest articles and events.
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Every day more than $4 billion worth of goods cross the United States’ borders with Canada and MexicoU.S. auto parts headed for car factories in northern Mexico, cartons of Mexican avocados bound for California supermarkets, Canadian aluminum destined to become cans of Campbell Soup.Much of this bustling cross-border commerce is duty-free, thanks to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, that President Donald Trump negotiated with America’s northern and southern neighbors during his first term.But the future of the USMCA , which took effect July 1, 2020, is cloudy as the three countries begin what could be a tempestuous attempt to renew the pact this year. The United States is demanding changes to the treaty, and the top U.S. trade negotiator told Politico in December that Trump would be willing to pull the United States out of the pact if he can’t get the deal he wants. Trump also suggested last fall that the United States could negotiate separate deals with Canada and Mexico, ending the three-country North American bloc that previous administrations saw as crucial to competing economically with China and the European Union.The talks kick off Monday between U.S. and Mexican trade officials.The North American economies could agree to renew USMCA as it is for another 16 years a prospect that appears unlikely. Or they could keep working on ways to improve it; under a convoluted renewal process, they have until 2036 to reach an agreement or the pact expires.Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice an option that Canada and Mexico, heavily dependent on trade with the United States, fear the impulsive Trump might end up choosing.At stake is $1.6 trillion worth of annual trade in goods between the United States and its two USMCA partners. Mexico and Canada are far ahead of China in both exports to and imports from the United States. American farmers are especially keen to see the deal renewed: Last year, they shipped nearly $31 billion in agricultural products to Mexico and $28 billion to Canada.U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico were spared the worst of Trump’s 2025 tariffs; many goods compliant with USMCA rules continued to enter the United States duty free. Still, a number of products did not get protection from the U.S. levies, including medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which face a 25% tariff. A 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper remains in effect, as does a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes.The USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement negotiated by President George H.W. Bush and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.Trump and other critics had criticized NAFTA as a killer of U.S. jobs because it encouraged U.S. companies to relocate factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor and then send goods back to the United States duty free.The USMCA, ratified by Congress with rare support from Republicans and Democrats alike, ended up being very similar to NAFTA. But it did contain provisions designed to encourage factories in the region to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America.The new pact updated North American trade rules for the digital age. The USMCA, for instance, bars the United States, Mexico and Canada from slamming each other with import taxes on music, software, games and other products sold electronically.A proud Trump declared the USMCA “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed.”But the president’s enthusiasm seems to have waned. In January, he expressed little interest in the upcoming talks to renew the agreement. The effort, he said, offered “no real advantage to us. It’s irrelevant to me.”The USMCA did little to ease one of Trump’s biggest complaints: The U.S. deficit in the trade of goods with Mexico, which rose last year to a record $197 billion as the United States reduced its reliance on Chinese imports. The U.S. also ran a merchandise trade deficit with Canada of $46.4 billion last year, a decrease from 2024.“Improvements are required for it to deliver the high-wage U.S. manufacturing powerhouse and balanced trade (Trump) promised and we need,” said Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project.The United States plans to push for a series of changes, including stronger rules to ensure that goods from China won’t slip into the United States under USMCA; to encourage more production in the United States; and to ensure more access to Canada’s protected dairy market for U.S. farmers.Mexico’s core priorities are to avoid a major rewrite of the agreement and to make rules of origin more flexible allowing imports of parts from outside North America when they are not available in the region. Mexican negotiators also want assurances that anything agreed to will stick, providing insurance against Trump’s unpredictability and his enthusiasm for tariffs.Mexico wants to minimize tariffs as much as possible. Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico wants to strengthen the dispute resolution system already in place under the treaty. That would not eliminate the possibility of tariffs, but it would provide clear, swift channels for seeking solutions when problems arise, he said.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration will have to simultaneously manage existing security issues, which are ongoing after the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s leader in late February, and which could influence economic matters.Mexico anticipates that Canada will join the talks later, but its top priority in the coming months is to reach agreements and maintain the free trade with the United States, its main commercial partner.Mexico is pushing the idea that the treaty is also good for the US. “The integration of our countries is an absolute prerequisite for the United States to remain competitive,” Ebrard said recently. “We must move forward together; otherwise, we will not succeed.” Paul Wiseman and María Verza, Associated Press
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