GROUND HOLD: The Trump administration announced that it will cut 10 percent of air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports, forcing airlines to cancel flights in a move that appears in part an effort to pressure Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown.

  Air traffic has been clogged and delayed by a shortage of controllers who have been calling in sick as they go unpaid during the shutdown. The affected airports are expected to be announced today and the reductions in traffic would go into effect tomorrow as the country approaches the Thanksgiving travel crush. 

  Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the reductions were an attempt to “alleviate the pressure” on air traffic controllers. Airlines are scrambling to adjust and a lot of travelers are going to have to change their plans.

  Democrats expressed skepticism that the traffic reductions are motivated by safety concerns, but the air controllers’ union said this is necessary.

  The FAA was short of 3,000 air controllers before the shutdown began. With absences, the controllers who show up for work have been working overtime without getting paid.

TARIFFS: A majority of Supreme Court justices yesterday sounded skeptical about President Trump’s declaration of emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports from nearly every American trading partner. The court’s ultimate decision has enormous implications for trade, the economy, and President Trump’s agenda. 

  The NY Times reports that nearly half the goods imported to the US are now subject to steep tariffs … roughly $300 billion worth of imports so far this year. 

  Several judges sharply questioned  the Trump administration’s assertion that it has the power to unilaterally impose tariffs without Congressional approval. They noted that Trump is the first president in nearly 50 years to claim that a 1977 emergency powers statute allows the president to impose tariffs.

   “Is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base?” asked Justice Amy Comey Barrett, who has become somewhat of a swing vote on the court “I mean, Spain? France?,” she asked. “I mean, I could see it with some countries but explain to me why, as many countries needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy, as are.”

  Justice Neil Gorsuch warned of the President using emergency powers as “a one-way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives” in Congress.

  Echoing President Trump’s apocalyptic warnings, Solicitor D. John Sauer told the court that rolling back the tariffs could lead to economic ruin for the US comparable to the Great Depression, as well as interruption of trade negotiations, becoming a diplomatic embarrassment.

IT’S POLITICAL: Now with the government shutdown the longest in history, President Trump celebrated himself with a social media post. “Happy Anniversary!,” he wrote. “On this day, November 5th, one year ago, we had one of the Greatest Presidential Victories in History” and that, “Our Economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down.” 

  Speaking to Republican senators yesterday morning, Trump campaigned to get rid of the vote-blocking filibuster and the 60 vote rule to pass most legislation. He said, “We will pass legislation that you’ve never seen before, and it’ll be impossible to beat us.”

  Getting rid of the filibuster appears to be Trump’s hope for ending the shutdown rather than negotiating with the Democrats over healthcare subsidies. Republican leaders have not agreed to his filibuster demand because they know that what goes around comes back around the next time they’re not in power.

  Trump also repeated his longtime demand for mandatory voter ID, leaning on his also longtime fiction that, “You go to a grocery store, you have to give ID. You go to a gas station, you give ID.” He doesn’t go to the grocery or fill up the presidential limousine.

THE REGIME:

— A federal judge in Virginia ordered prosectors to produce their investigative materials in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, accusing them of moving to indict first and investigate later. Comey is accused of allowing or ordering an FBI subordinate to leak information to the press.

— Armed ICE officers yesterday ran into the lobby of a Chicago pre-school and daycare, grabbing a teacher in front of children, parents, and staff. It appears to be the first incident in which agents have entered a school.

RIPPLE THE NETS: The Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin last night became the first NHL player to score his 900th goal in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Ovechkin scored against Jordan Binnington with a blind backhanded shot from the right circle. He wasn’t even looking at the net.

  The goalie, Binnington, tried to pocket the valuable puck but the ref made him hand it over.

  The 40-year-old Russian Ovechkin celebrated with a wide smile that’s missing a front tooth just like a real hockey pro.

THE SPIN RACK: At least 12 people are dead … nine of them on the ground … after the crash of that UPS cargo plane in Louisville on Tuesday. The left engine fell off and the wing was on fire moments before the plane went down loaded with 220,000 pounds of jet fuel for a flight to Honolulu. — Some of Tesla’s major investors are resisting a proposal by the board to give Elon Musk a $1 trillion pay package. The question is, if he makes only billions instead of a trillion, will he quit? 

BELOW THE FOLD: The man accused of a federal crime for hurling a submarine sandwich at a Border Patrol agent in protest went on trial in Washington this week. The victim testified that, “It smelled of onions and mustard.” 

 In a blistering cross examination, defense lawyer Sabrina Shroff demanded to know, “Can you tell if it’s a turkey sandwich? Lettuce? Tomatoes?”

-30-