Plans for new air traffic control system unveiled by transportation secretary

May 8, 2025

Andres Kudacki/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Plans for a new air traffic control system were announced Thursday by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy amid a spotlight on the out-of-date ATC system and the air traffic controller shortage.

The Transportation Department said in a statement the current ATC system is “antiquated” and said the new “state-of-the-art” system will improve safety and cut back on delays.

Changes include swapping out old telecommunications for “new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies”; “installing new modern hardware and software”; replacing 618 old radars; and building six new air traffic control centers and replacing towers, the Transportation Department said.

The announcement comes as an outage at Newark Liberty International Airport last week caused ATC computer screens to go dark for roughly 60 to 90 seconds and prevented controllers from talking to aircraft during that time, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the incident. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted all departures to the airport.

Following the outage, several controllers went on medical leave, calling the experience a traumatic event. The controllers are entitled to at least 45 days away from the job and must be evaluated by a doctor before they can return to work.

The facility where controllers work the airspace around Newark airport is located in Philadelphia and was already short on air traffic controllers.

This increased shortage sparked massive delays and cancellations at Newark over the last two weeks.

The FAA in a statement Monday said the “antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce.”

“As Secretary Duffy has said, we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible,” the FAA said.

The new system will cost billions; Congress must pass a funding bill.

Search ongoing for cruise ship passenger who didn’t return from Alaska hike: Police

Alaska State Troopers

(JUNEAU, Alaska) — A search is ongoing for a 62-year-old cruise passenger who went missing while on a hike in Alaska, authorities said Thursday.

Marites Buenafe, of Kentucky, was reported missing Tuesday, a day after her birthday, when she did not return to the cruise ship Norwegian Bliss, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

That morning, she had texted her family “stating she was heading up Mount Roberts Tramway and then planned to hike Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak,” the Alaska State Troopers stated in a missing person bulletin.

Buenafe was captured on security footage at the top of Mount Roberts Tramway at about 7:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, troopers said.

She was reported missing to local state troopers Tuesday afternoon when she did not return to the ship by the all-aboard time while docked in Juneau, a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

Rescue crews have conducted a ground search, and the aerial search has included thermal drones and helicopters, troopers said.

On Wednesday, over a dozen professional volunteers from Juneau Mountain Rescue and SEADOGS joined state troopers and Juneau police officers “for an extensive search using drones, K-9s, and ground teams, with no signs of Marites,” Alaska State Troopers said in a dispatch.

“Weather conditions allowed limited helicopter searches late in the day,” it added.

The ground and aerial search is ongoing Thursday, troopers said.

Norwegian Cruise Line is “providing assistance to local authorities as appropriate” amid the search, the spokesperson said, adding, “Our CARE team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”

Buenafe is 5 feet tall and weighs 118 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, troopers said. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Alaska State Troopers in Juneau at 907-465-4000 and reference incident AK25063914.

Man sentenced to 53 years in prison in hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

(CHICAGO) — An Illinois man has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the 2023 fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy.

Wadee Alfayoumi was stabbed 26 times and his mother more than a dozen in the Oct. 14, 2023, attack inside their home in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield.

Their landlord, 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, was convicted in February on multiple murder charges, as well as attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime counts. A Will County jury found Czuba guilty of all counts after deliberating for less than two hours.

Prior to the sentencing on Friday in Joliet, the judge denied a motion from the defense team to overturn the jury verdict that claimed he did not receive a fair trial, Chicago ABC station WLS reported.

The defense has filed a motion to reconsider the sentencing, with a court appearance scheduled for May 7, WLS reported.

Czuba faced a mandatory prison sentence of 20 to 60 years up to a possible life sentence.

Authorities said he targeted his tenants because they were Muslim and in response to the war between Israel and Hamas that had just ignited after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Wadee’s great uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, addressed the sentencing outside the courthouse, telling reporters, “It doesn’t matter what numbers are. He took a life from us. He took a future.”

The child’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, was the first to take the stand in the weeklong trial.

She said Czuba attacked her first with a knife, stabbing her multiple times, saying, “You devil Muslim, you must die,” as her son watched, according to WLS, which was in the courtroom.

She testified that she called 911 from the bathroom when he appeared to leave, but then she started to hear her son screaming, according to WLS.

“I started hearing my son screaming, screaming, screaming, ‘Oh no, stop,'” Shaheen said, according to WLS.

Jurors also listened to the mother’s 911 call from the bathroom, in which she was heard telling the dispatcher, “He’s killing my baby,” WLS reported.

Jurors additionally heard remarks Czuba made in a law enforcement vehicle following the attack.

“I thought they were going to do jihad on me,” Czuba said, according to WLS.

He also said he was “afraid for my life” and his wife and said the family was “just like infested rats,” according to WLS.

Czuba and his wife rented part of their Plainfield home to the mother and son for two years.

His now-ex-wife testified for prosecutors that Czuba became withdrawn in the days after the war and wanted the family to move out immediately, while she wanted to give them 30 days’ notice, according to The Associated Press.

Czuba did not take the stand, waiving his right to testify.

Tory Lanez stabbed 14 times while in prison for Megan Thee Stallion shooting

Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

(LOS ANGELES) — Tory Lanez was hospitalized on Monday after a fellow inmate at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi attacked the rapper at around 7:20 a.m. local time, a spokesperson for the prison told ABC News.

“Staff immediately responded, activated 911 and began medical aid. Peterson was subsequently transported to an outside medical facility for further treatment,” the spokesperson said.

The rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting and injuring fellow hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, in July 2020.

The prison spokesperson did not provide further comment when asked about the nature of Peterson’s injuries, whether he has been released from the hospital or whether a suspect has been charged in the attack.

However, the rapper’s verified Instagram account shared a post to his stories, saying: “Tory was stabbed 14 times, including seven wounds to his back, four to his torso, two to the back of his head and one to the left side of his face. Both of his lungs collapsed, and he was placed on a breathing apparatus. He is now breathing on his own.”

“Despite being in pain, he is talking normally, in good spirits and deeply thankful to God that he is pulling through,” the post continued. “He also wants to thank everyone for the continued prayers and support.”

Crystal Morgan, an attorney representing Peterson, confirmed to ABC News on Monday afternoon that the rapper was attacked at the correctional facility and remains hospitalized.

Morgan said she had not been able to obtain any information about his condition and was “in the dark” like everyone else. Morgan added she called Peterson’s family to notify them of the attack.

The prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office launched a probe into the incident, while the Office of the Inspector General has been notified, the spokesperson said.

ABC News has reached out to the DA’s office for additional comment.

Peterson was found guilty on Dec. 23, 2022, of three charges for shooting and injuring Pete in both feet as they left a party in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020.

He was initially charged in October 2020 with one felony count each of assault with a semi-automatic firearm (personal use of a firearm) and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, according to charging documents obtained by ABC News.

He was also charged ahead of his trial in December 2022 with an additional felony count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Lanez, who chose not to take the witness stand during the trial, pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

His defense attorneys argued during the trial that Lanez was not the shooter and he has maintained his innocence in multiple social media posts since his sentencing last year.

During his sentencing hearing, prosecutors read an impact statement from Pete — who testified during the trial — in which she called for Peterson to “be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”

“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma. He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul,” Pete said in her impact statement.

Peterson was denied bond by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Sept. 14, 2023, as his legal team appeals his 10-year sentence.