Elsewhere in the Pacific region, the early morning flights—takeoffs and unusually quick returns—by USAF F-15s flying routine training from Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa, caused an outcry from island residents, reports Stars and Stripes. Bad weather and some maintenance problems twice sent fighters back to the base shortly after their sunrise takeoffs. Just this past May, Japanese officials had asked the air base to cut back on F-15 noise.
The Senate voted Nov. 10 to approve a stopgap funding bill that would reopen the federal government and keep it funded through January, a significant step toward ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
