Nation and world news in brief for October 10

US races to replenish supplies of IV fluids at hospitals

(NYT) — U.S. officials approved airlifts of IV fluids from overseas manufacturing plants on Wednesday to ease shortages caused by Hurricane Helene that have forced hospitals to begin postponing surgeries as a way to ration supplies for the most fragile patients.

The current shortage occurred when flooding coursed through western North Carolina and damaged a Baxter plant, which is now closed for cleaning. The plant makes about 60% of the United States’ supply of fluids used in IVs, for in-home dialysis and for people who rely on IV nutrition. They include premature babies in intensive care and patients who rely on tube feeding to survive.

The situation could become even more dire now that Hurricane Milton is hitting Florida. On Tuesday, workers at B. Braun, makers of a fourth of the nation’s IV fluids, loaded trucks at the company’s plant in Daytona Beach with the medical bags and drove them north through the night to what they hoped would be a safer location.

The Baxter plant, in Marion, North Carolina, and the B. Braun site in Daytona Beach manufacture about 85% of the nation’s supply of IV fluids. Experts on shortages have long pointed out the risk of such over-concentration of critical supplies, citing exposure to disasters like those now at hand. Even before the latest storm, supplies were tight and reflected a long-standing problem of how few companies are willing to produce crucial but low-cost and low-profit medical products.

Voting rights groups seek to extend Florida voter registration deadline

(Reuters) — Voting rights groups have asked a federal judge to extend Florida’s voter registration deadline ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, citing disruptions from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tallahassee on Tuesday, the League of Women Voters of Florida and the state NAACP chapter said they had asked Governor Ron DeSantis last week to extend the Oct. 7 deadline by 10 days, but he declined.

DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Harris campaign, groups raise $1B since she became presidential candidate: Source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and related political committees have raised $1 billion since she became the Democratic candidate in July, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Since Harris replaced President Joe Biden on July 21, dollars have flowed into her campaign coffers and affiliated political action committees and Democratic Party at an unprecedented pace. Harris raised $25 million on the day she was named the candidate, and had amassed $500 million in about a month.

Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party raised $130 million in August, leaving $295 million cash on hand at the end of that month, vs. Harris and Democrats’ $404 million.

Two planes cleared to use same runway in Nashville near-collision, NTSB says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Air-traffic controllers cleared an Alaska Airlines jet last month to take off at Tennessee’s Nashville International Airport on the same runway where a Southwest Airlines plane had been cleared to cross, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday.

The Sept. 12 incident prompted Alaska Airlines Flight 369, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane with 176 people on board, to abort takeoff to prevent a collision. The Alaska pilots quickly applied the brakes, blowing the plane’s tires.

The NTSB said a ground controller cleared the Southwest plane to cross Runway 13 just after 9:13 a.m. and 23 seconds later another controller cleared the Alaska plane to depart.

The Federal Aviation Administration referred questions to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation. The FAA has a separate investigation into the incident, where Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 — a Boeing 737-700 with 141 people onboard — was scheduled to depart for Jacksonville, Florida.

Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing after pilot dies

(NYT) — A Turkish Airlines flight traveling from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing at Kennedy International Airport in New York early Wednesday morning after the pilot died, the airline and federal aviation authorities said.

The plane, an Airbus A350, took off at 7:02 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, according to Flight Aware data. The pilot, Ilcehin Pehlivan, lost consciousness during the flight, the airline said, and after unsuccessful attempts to revive him, a decision was made to land at JFK after about eight hours in the air. The plane, Flight 204, was over Baffin Island in northern Canada when it took a sharp right turn and headed for New York. It landed there at 5:57 a.m. Eastern.

Pehlivan, 59, died before landing, the airline said, without specifying a cause. The airline said that he had had regular health examinations and that no problems were found.

Hungary’s Orban gets a hostile reception at European Parliament

BRUSSELS (NYT) — Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, a hard-line champion of “illiberal democracy,” has for years taken swipes at the European Union and its officials.

On Wednesday, some in the European Parliament fired back — in song. After Orban finished his speech at the assembly in Strasbourg, France, progressive members started singing “Bella Ciao,” an Italian antifascist resistance song from the World War II era.

Their singing, which lasted for less than a minute, was shut down by the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as conservative members more politically in tune with Orban chanted slogans supporting him.

The European Union — which Hungary joined in 2004 — has long been at odds with Orban for his right-wing nationalist stance on minority rights, immigration, the rule of law and other issues, including what Brussels sees as his sympathies for President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Orban is also the fiercest critic-from-within of the EU’s staunch backing of Ukraine, and an ally of former President Donald Trump.

Orban has often accused the EU of meddling in Hungary’s internal politics and promoting liberal values that he says differ from his country’s traditional, conservative ones.

Honda recalls over 1M cars for steering issue

(TNS) — Honda has recalled more than one million 2022-2025 Acura and Honda vehicles over a possible steering risk.

The car manufacturer said the steering gearbox, which controls steering, might have been manufactured incorrectly.

This can cause excessive internal friction, resulting in difficulty steering and ultimately leading to crashes.

Gearbox defects can be identified by an abnormal noise and a “sticky” feeling when trying to turn the steering wheel while driving, the car manufacturer said. The recall applies to 1,693,199 vehicles across 28 models..

Trump rejects Fox News invite to debate Harris

(Reuters) — Republican former President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will not debate Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, hours after Fox News invited the two presidential contenders to participate in a possible second debate on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 27.

Trump and Harris debated each other for the first time on Sept. 10. Trump has said there would not be another debate before the Nov. 5 election. He rejected a past invitation from CNN for an Oct. 23 debate, accepted by Harris.