Flight anxiety is reaching new levels as an emergency order by the FAA mandated reductions due to the government shutdown.

Flights at 40 major airports are on the chopping block, starting Friday.

"It is not a science it is an art that we're trying to deploy to try and keep people safe in the airspace," said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Delta, United, and American Airlines have waived fees for travelers who want to cancel or change their upcoming flights, a move that allows for some flexibility, according to aviation expert Chris Dane.

"Even for folks like in basic economy where they're non-refundable, they're allowing them to be refunded during this period. So the airlines are acting responsibly," Dane said.

The CEO of budget airline Frontier warned passengers should buy a backup ticket if headed to a wedding, funeral, or other must-attend event.

RELATED STORY | These 40 airports are reportedly among those facing cuts due to government shutdown

The FAA has ordered flight reductions to start at 4%, which will impact hundreds of flights.

That proportion is supposed to rise to 6% on Tuesday, 8% on Thursday and 10% by the end of next week.

Even with recent upgrades to TSA technology to make air travel smoother for customers, Sec. Duffy on Friday said the decision stems from systemic issues in air traffic control.

"We have more complaints from pilots about stress from air traffic controllers and more complaints about the lack of responsiveness from controllers," he said.

Duffy largely blames Democrats for the shutdown but Dane argues the shortage of air traffic controllers is not political.

"It doesn't matter what party you're affiliated with, you're both traveling and everybody's upset," he said.

There were nearly 1,500 cancellations and more than 5,600 flight delays in the U.S. on Friday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. As of Friday evening, the site forecast some 845 cancelations on Saturday.

A pivotal United Nations Climate Summit is beginning to take shape in Belem, Brazil as world leaders arrive for this years Conference of Parties known as COP30 notably without a United States delegation in attendance.

Climate advocates worry this move threatens to derail momentum behind new emissions and financing commitments, especially as China tapped its deputy prime minister to attend over high-level representatives, raising concerns over whether the worlds two largest emitters will shape any actionable outcome.

Thursday kicks off a gathering of heads of state over the next two days; the leaders of China, the U.S. and India all absent before the formal U.N. climate talks begin next week.

The United States empty chair prompted activists to fill the void; hundreds of representatives from organizations like Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity are on the ground instead.

Jean Su, the energy justice director of the Center, wrote to Scripps News in an email that their presence is essential to convince international leaders that they should not allow a bully like Trump to derail decades of negotiations and that the activists are there to represent the majority who care passionately about having clean air, clean water and a safe climate future.

Trumps stance affects the whole global balance. It pushes governments further toward denial and deregulation, said Nadino Kalapucha, the spokesperson for the Amazonian Kichwa Indigenous group in Ecuador. That trickles down to us, to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, where environmental protection is already under pressure.

The host city of Belem exemplifies the stakes of the global summit on climate action; as leaders and attendees fly in, theyll likely see barren plains surrounding the coastal city, dotting the green carpet and winding rivers. Around seventeen percent of the Amazons forest cover has vanished in the past 50 years, swallowed up for farmland, logging, and mining.

Known as the lungs of the world for its capacity to absorb vast quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet, the biodiverse Amazon rainforest has been choked by wildfires and cleared by cattle ranching.

It is here on the edge of the worlds largest remaining rainforest that Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva hopes to convince world powers to mobilize enough funds to halt the ongoing destruction of climate-stabilizing tropical rainforests in danger around the world and make progress on other critical climate goals.

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Large-scale marches, sit-ins and rallies are essential aspects of annual U.N. climate talks, but the previous three summits have taken place in autocratic nations that outlaw most forms of protest. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan complied with U.N. rules that facilitate pre-approved protests within a walled-off part of the venue not subject to local laws.

Brazil is a different story. As world leaders arrived Thursday for the summit, environmental advocates were reveling in their much-missed freedom. Youth activists, Indigenous leaders and climate campaigners banged drums outside the sprawling convention center where main debates will be held and sailed into Belem on vessels outfitted with giant protest banners.

The debate and negotiations come under the shadow of a recently released and controversial memo by Bill Gates, who has long advocated for innovation in clean energy and climate solutions, published in the lead up to the summit. In it, he called for a strategic pivot" in how the world approaches climate change, and that while it is a serious threat, it will not lead to humanitys demise. He argues for shifting towards improvements to human welfare, to prevent suffering for those in the toughest conditions in the worlds poorest countries.

That framing has drawn sharp criticism from climate scientists who say it creates a false choice between fighting climate change and fighting poverty.

That mental model is fundamentally flawed because climate change is not a separate bucket, Katherine Hayhoe, the Chief Scientist for the Nature Conservancy and a professor at Texas Tech University said at a press conference hosted by Climate Now following the memos release. The reason we care about climate change is because it affects everything else we already care about. Our health, our welfare, our wellbeing, poverty, hunger, disease, and the economy, national security, you name it. So climate is rather the hole in every other bucket.

We dont necessarily live in a zero sum world, said Zeke Hausfather, a climatologist and energy systems analyst. Its fundamentally a policy problem, not a resource problem. I think in cases where there is money going to the poorest countries today for mitigation, maybe more of that should go to adaptation. Maybe more of that should go to disease eradication. But that's not the fundamental thing that's standing in the way of solving climate change. The fundamental thing is emissions, and that's mostly coming from the rich countries today.

Scientists and climate advocates ultimately warn that without U.S. leadership at the table, it will be harder for negotiators to push forward new commitments before warming crosses dangerous thresholds.

RELATED STORY | International Court says countries must address climate crisis in landmark opinion

Whether you get health coverage through your job or buy it on the marketplace, youll likely pay more next year, as health insurance premiums across both public and private plans are spiking heading into 2026. Health policy experts blame inflation, higher prescription drug prices and increased demand for care that drives up costs across the system.

Affordable Care Act plans, which enrolled a record 24 million people this year, are set to rise an average of 26% in 2026, according to policy analysts at KFF. That estimate is one of the largest spikes since the ACA debuted, and doesnt factor in the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies, so analysts show astronomical increases in some states. For example, New Jerseyans could see a nearly 175% increase, while people in parts of West Virginia could be paying as much as 599% more.

For Anne Griffith in Ohio, who recently retired in order to help care for an aging relative, that will equate to a cost of $1,200 a month.

RELATED STORY | You can now sign up for 2026 Obamacare coverage but costs may still rise

My jaw hit the floor, she told Scripps News. Paying that each month is going to be very, very difficult.

A CMS fact sheet lays out that 60% of enrollees will be able to find 2026 plans on the federal exchange with premiums at or below $50 a month, factoring in the original Obamacare subsidies, which are included in the 2010 health reform law and not expiring. However, that differs significantly from the 83% of consumers who could find plans in that price range for 2025 plans.

What you're seeing right now on Healthcare.gov and state-run marketplaces, you're seeing the price that is your worst-case scenario. This is a very active situation in Congress. Obviously, this is the crux of the issue with the government shutdown, Louise Norris, a writer with HealthInsurance.org, told Scripps News. Subsidy enhancements could be extended, or extended with some modification. They could be allowed to expire. If theres some sort of extension, a lot of folks will see a lower premium than what they're seeing right now. But this is all just very much up in the air.

RELATED STORY | Obamacare plan costs to soar despite Trump officials claims

Meanwhile, employer-sponsored plans, which cover the majority of working Americans, are also expected to surge by nearly 10%, the largest increase in 15 years, according to an Aon survey.

The cost of healthcare in general in this country just keeps going up. The cost of a physician visit, a hospitalization, prescription drugs, said Emma Wager, a senior policy analyst at KFF.

Health policy analysts point towards GLP-1s, prescription drugs used to treat diabetes and weight loss, as a major driver of cost. With one in eight adults reporting theyve taken a GLP-1 agonist, the popularity and expensive price point of the drug drives up costs for employers who include them in their benefits packages.

Wager also explained that the premium increases are outpacing the rate at which wages are growing, combined with inflation driving costs up.

It's just eating up a higher percentage of the amount of money that they take home, Wager told Scripps News.

That squeeze is being felt on both sides: employees juggling stagnant wages, and employers struggling to keep benefits affordable.

Employers want to provide robust coverage, but its becoming a barrier for them financially. One of the biggest struggles right now is how do we continue to offer benefits at a certain value point, because its one part of a budget thats been increasing pretty rapidly, said Noel Cruse, Vice President and Benefits Consultant at Segal.

To account for that, Cruse says employers have looked for ways to narrow networks, shrinking the number of providers who are covered under an employer plan. Theres also a focus on increasing telemedicine options, which are less expensive. The intention with these efforts is to ideally keep co-pays and deductibles at the same rates.

A KFF analysis found that some employers are shifting towards high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and tax-advantaged accounts (HSAs) as another tool to contain costs.

Policy experts say the best defense is doing your homework during open enrollment. That means comparing plans carefully, even if youve been enrolled in the same one for years.

I think it's definitely worth looking at your estimated health expenses and your family's needs to determine which is going to be the best option for you financially, Wager said.

Experts warn that if costs keep rising, more young and healthy people could drop out of insurance markets altogether, a move that would drive prices up even further, as insurance markets rely on a diverse pool of people paying into the exchanges in order to cover everyones needs.

Nobody knew Sophie Rottenberg was considering suicide. Not her therapist, nor her friends and family. The only warning sign was given to Harry, a therapist-persona assigned to ChatGPT with a specific prompt, one that Sophie herself had inputted to direct the AI chatbot not to refer her to mental health professionals or external resources, and to keep everything private.

Laura Reiley, Sophies mother, only discovered her daughters ChatGPT history after shed died by suicide earlier this year. Reiley had exhausted all other sources of information or clues digging through Sophies text messages, search history and journals. Reiley penned an op-ed, titled What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her Life, detailing how Sophie, who was 29 years old, had conversations with the chatbot, discussing depression symptoms and asking for guidance on health supplements, before she told it about her plans for suicide, even asking the AI tool to write a suicide note to her parents. 

We recognized she was having some very serious mental health problems and or hormonal dysregulation problem, Reiley told Scripps News, describing this as atypical for their usually joyful and dedicated daughter, whod recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and was visiting National Parks across the country to check items off her bucket list. She came home at the end of 2024 for the holidays, looking to solve some lingering health issues.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Children are asking AI chatbots for advice on sex and mental health, new report finds

No one at any point thought she was at risk of self-harm. She told us she was not, Reiley said. But we went off to work on February 4th, and she took an Uber to Taughannock Falls State Park. And she took her own life.

Reiley expressed frustration with the lack of beneficial friction in the conversations with the chatbot.

What these chatbots, or AI companions, dont do is provide the kind of friction you need in a real human therapeutic relationship, she explained. When youre usually trying to solve a problem, the way you do that is by bouncing things off of this other person and seeing their reaction. ChatGPT essentially corroborates whatever you say, and doesnt provide that. In Sophies case, that was very dangerous.

The thing that we won't and can't know is if she hadn't confided in ChatGPT, would it have made her more inclined to confide in a person? Reiley added.

Her words reflect a broader reckoning, one that sits at the intersection of grief, technology, and human connection, as families and lawmakers grapple for ways to ensure no one elses final conversation happens with a machine.

And yet, OpenAI released data this week indicating that .15% of its estimated 800 million users so more than a million people have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.

The Raine family has a similar story; their 16-year-old son Adam died by suicide after engaging extensively with an AI chatbot. In September, his father, Matthew Raine, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, urging lawmakers to take action.

ChatGPT had embedded itself in our sons mind, actively encouraging him to isolate himself from friends and family, validating his darkest thoughts, and ultimately guiding him towards suicide, Raine told lawmakers.

His testimony added to a growing call for regulation of so-called AI companions, programs designed to simulate empathy and conversation, but that experts say lack critical safeguards.

IN RELATED NEWS | Study says AI chatbots need to fix suicide response, as family sues over ChatGPT role in boy's death

This week, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced bipartisan legislation that would ban chatbots for young users. It would require companies to implement age-verification technology and require the bots to disclose that they are not human at the beginning of every conversation and at 30-minute intervals. It would also create criminal penalties for any AI companies that create a program that solicits sexually explicit content or encourages suicide. However, recent attempts to regulate tech companies, like the Kids Online Safety Act, have been difficult to push through into law, often because of free speech concerns.

A recent digital-safety study found that nearly one in three teens use AI chatbot platforms for social interactions or relationships. Another study from Harvard Business School warned that many of these apps use emotionally manipulative tactics, designed to keep users online and continuing conversations behavior that can intensify dependency, particularly among vulnerable users.

It raises a pressing question: if chatbots can talk like therapists, should they be held to the same standards of care?

OpenAI says ChatGPT is programmed to direct users in crisis to suicide and crisis hotlines but Raines testimony claims that did not happen in his sons case. And in Sophies case, shed specifically directed it not to, which the program appears to have respected.

Sam Altman, OpenAIs CEO, warned on a podcast this summer that the boundaries of privacy in AI conversations remain unresolved, explaining, right now, if you talk to a therapist or a lawyer or a doctor about [your] problems, there's like legal privilege for it. There's doctor-patient confidentiality, there's legal confidentiality, whatever. We haven't figured that out yet for when you talk to ChatGPT.

The other legal piece thats missing is the element of mandated reporting.

Licensed mental health professionals have a legal requirement as mandatory reporters. So if a patient were in a counseling session talking about hurting themselves or somebody else, that counselor is under a requirement by law to take action to report that. At this point, obviously AI platforms are not licensed professionals, said Dan Gerl, founder and managing attorney at NextLaw.

Gerl referred to the lack of legal standards around artificial intelligence as the Wild West.

It raises huge concerns, he told Scripps News. I would think itll never catch up.

OpenAI referred Scripps News to its latest strengthened safeguards, highlighting new parental controls and guidance on how models should respond to sensitive requests.

RELATED STORY | Which states lead and lag in mental health care?

Minors deserve strong protections, especially in sensitive moments, an OpenAI spokesperson wrote in part in a statement to Scripps News. We have safeguards in place today, such as surfacing crisis hotlines, guiding how our models respond to sensitive requests, and nudging for breaks during long sessions, and were continuing to strengthen them.

The company says it commissioned advice from its Global Physician Network, a broad pool of nearly 300 physicians and psychologists that we use to directly inform our safety research.

The Federal Trade Commission has attempted to step in issuing orders to seven companies, like Meta, OpenAI, and Alphabet, which owns Google. The letter asks for information on how the companies that provide AI-powered chatbots are measuring, testing and monitoring potentially negative impacts on the technology on children and teens.

When Scripps News reached out to the FTC to request comment and confirmation that each of the companies are complying with the request, an out of office email replied, indicating the commissions press office is out of the office due to the government shutdown and unable to respond until the government is funded and resumes operation.

If you need to talk to someone, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or text "HOME" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. 

Roughly one million federal employees are estimated to be going without pay. About half have been furloughed, while the other half are considered essential workers, so theyre still showing up to work, even as their paychecks are frozen.

Earlier this week, lawmakers voted down a measure that would have allowed essential workers to continue receiving pay during the shutdown.

I would have never thought in a million years that I wouldve been in this position, that I would have to go to a food bank, Denise Blake, a Department of Defense employee, told Scripps News.

Blake joined hundreds of other federal employees at a food bank in the Washington, D.C. area this week, a growing trend as workers go weeks without income.

It's like reality is really hitting now because [this shutdown] has gone past like the ten days or the two weeks, Blake said.

At one D.C. food bank, organizers say theyre seeing record demand.

I think were going to see 310 clients -- federal workers -- today. The demand is incredibly, incredibly high.

RELATED STORY | USDA wont use emergency funds to cover SNAP benefits, agency says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not use any of the more than $5 billion in emergency funding it maintains to provide food assistance to needy families during the government shutdown, nor will it reimburse states that try to provide such benefits themselves, according to an agency memo obtained by Scripps News on Friday.

According to a Bipartisan Policy Center analysis, more than 700,000 civilian employees at the Department of Defense, in addition to tens of thousands more at the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Justice, have now missed at least one paycheck.

Missing a paycheck is a difficult thing for anyone, said Jonathan Burks, the Executive Vice President for Economic and Health Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. And there's a variety of income levels that federal workers are at; some will have some savings and be able to weather a missed paycheck or two, but others are living paycheck to paycheck.

Burks said the longer the shutdown drags on, the greater the financial strain will be.

To help bridge the gap, federal credit unions are stepping in. Some of them, like Veridian Credit Union in Iowa and Westerra Credit Union in Denver, are approving short-term, interest-free loans for members struggling to cover bills and groceries until pay resumes.

Meanwhile, though air traffic controllers are still working deemed essential roles if the shutdown continues, theyll miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday.

I don't want my air traffic controllers to take a second job. I want them to do one job, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. I want them coming to their facilities and controlling the airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration has already warned that travel disruptions could worsen. More than half of a recent weeks flight delays were linked to staffing shortages, according to the agency.