British Airways flight to Chicago drops 28,000 feet, returns to London

About 30 minutes into its journey, the aircraft dropped from 36,000 feet to 9,000 feet in around seven minutes, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

LONDON — A British Airways passenger jet flying from London to Chicago descended 28,000 feet in just seven minutes after declaring an emergency due to an unspecified “technical issue,” the airline said Monday.

The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET)but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET).

“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in an emailed statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”

Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Passengers will likely be put up in hotels by the airline until another flight can be arranged, as stipulated by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority.

Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) came under scrutiny last month after two technical problems in the space of two weeks caused major delaysat several U.K. airports and hundreds of flights were canceled.

NATS blamed software issues for the delays.

Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the situation had been “deeply frustrating” for passengers.

With 84.5 million passengers last year, Heathrow ranked seventh in the table of the world’s busiest airports, according to data published by Airports Council International.

Travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March last year when a massive fire at an electricity substationcaused a predawn power outage at the global transport hub.

The closure affected more than 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers.

After investigating 600 items of evidence related to the substation, the National Energy System Operator ruled out suspicious activity in a report saying a preventable moisture fault caused the fire, leaving almost 70,000 homes without power.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/british-airways-flight-chicago-drops-27000-feet-returns-london-rcna601668

Poll Shows Broad Consensus on Showing Valid Photo ID, Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Hannah Knudsen5 Oct 2026

The vast majority of Americans agree that one should have to show a valid photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote, the latest monthly Harvard-Harris survey revealed.

Contrary to the position of Democrat lawmakers, who generally disapprove of such measures, the survey found that 82 percent across the board believe there should be a requirement for an individual to present a valid ID to vote. Not only that, but there is a consensus across party lines.

The vast majority of Republicans, 95 percent, support requiring an individual to show a valid photo ID to vote, as do 73 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of independents.

The survey also asked respondents if they support or oppose requiring proof of citizenship to vote, and 79 percent across the board said they support that, while 21 percent oppose.

Again, 95 percent of Republicans support requiring proof of citizenship to vote, as well as 66 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents.

Further, the survey found that 72 percent support “tightening voter ID requirements for the 2026 Congressional midterm elections.” Once again, there is a majority consensus across party lines, with 92 percent of Republicans, 56 percent of Democrats, and 68 percent of independents agreeing.

The survey was taken September 26-28, 2026, among 2,200 registered voters. It has a +/- 2.1 percent margin of error and coincides with Vice President JD Vance announcing that he and President Trump have “war-gamed” a plan to take control of the Senate floor in order to pass the SAVE America Act. The SAVE America Act specifically requires a person to present a valid ID and proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. Additionally, it directs states to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.

As Breitbart News reported:

In the interview, Vance said one scenario they have discussed is whether or not he has the authority to take over as chair and fire the Senate parliamentarian. He said he has the authority to do so, but that “four, five, maybe ten” Republicans would then vote with Democrats to overrule the new chair.

“There is no shortcut, I think our people want to think the parliamentarian is the problem … the parliamentarian is a bureaucrat … the problem is we have a number of Republican senators who vote more with Democrats than their own party, and that is the issue,” Vance declared.

He said if 50 GOP senators and the vice president stick together, they could fire the parliamentarian, get rid of the filibuster, pass the SAVE America Act, and more.

“The problem is not who’s in the chair, the problem is four or five Republicans who are going to stand with the Democrats,” Vance said. “We have war-gamed this to every detail and I wanted to do this a few months ago, and we ultimately decided it doesn’t make sense because it’s not going to go anywhere.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/05/poll-shows-broad-consensus-showing-valid-photo-id-proof-citizenship-vote/