ALL AIRLINES were grounded and those airborne had to land (Shutterstock).

A five-hour stoppage of airplane flights taking off from American airports finally ended Friday night, but not before it snarled the travel plans of millions of travelers.

The Associated Press reports that in addition to the ban on takeoffs, all airborne flights – more than 3,000 – were safely landed.

Blame for the unprecedented interruption was placed on the impact of new technology being employed by the nation’s air traffic control system caused an “overload” that is believed to have caused “intermittent” gaps in systems of communications and radar.

There’s no indication of a cyberattack, said Markwayne Mullin, secretary of homeland security. He added that once the “ground stop” was lifted, a limited number of flights were allowed to depart, but it would take days for the airlines to resume their regular schedules of operation.

Long count continues in some races

More than a week after Election Day, some races of national significance remain undecided.

In Alaska – long a deep red state – two Democratic challengers hold leads for a U.S. Senate seat and the governorship.

With 88.2 percent of the expected votes counted, challenger Mary Peltola has 49.1 percent for Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan’s 46.8 percent. If she achieves a majority (50 percent plus one) she will be the next senator. If not, it goes to ‘ranked-choice tabulation.”

As of late Friday night, Democrats will hold 55 seats (of 100) in the new Senate, with Republicans holding 44.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has garnered 50 percent of the vote for the governor’s job, followed by two Republican candidates who total about 44.7 percent.

It could have been worse for GOP

In the Nov. 3 election, Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives. So far, accorded to MSN, 44 districts flipped from red to blue, with just two going the other way.

Republicans, fearing a typical mid-term setback for the incumbent party, sought to redraw districts to favor their party. Democrats responded in a similar but less effective way.

However, an analysis of the outcome indicated that the re-districting – called “gerrymandering” by critics – saved four to seven seats for the GOP, not nearly enough to block the “blue wave” from prevailing.

NBC News on Friday showed 259 Democratic seats in the House (218 needed for control) to 176 for the Republicans

Weather: Cooler with some showers

Genuine autumn weather is in store for our West Orange County cities over the next few days. Saturday is forecast for partly cloudy skies with a daytime high of 72 and with an overnight low of 56. Sunday is expected to bring partly cloudy skies with an 11 percent chance of rain with temps of 74 (57). Monday should be a bit cooler at 71 (54), cloudy with a 34 percent chance of rain. Tuesday should check in with partly cloudy skies and a high of 70 and a low of 47.

Great Thoughts (delays)

“You may delay, but time will not.”
– Benjamin Franklin

“A delayed game is eventually good; a bad game is bad forever.”
– Shigeru Miyamoto

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”
– Simone de Beauvoir.