Good morning. It's Sunday, November 15, 2026. Some 4,042 airplanes were in the sky when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, halting departures across the country for more than four hours.
The trouble, traced to a communication problem in the system that carries flight and radar data, rippled into the weekend and left travelers waiting at gates from coast to coast. It is a fitting symbol for a day defined by motion and its limits.
While crews worked to untangle the backlog at home, the White House and the Kremlin confirmed that three of the world's most powerful leaders will sit down together this week. Here is what you need to know this Sunday morning.
The Top Stories
First, the skies. The FAA lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, but the delay of more than 10,000 flights spilled into Saturday and Sunday. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no sign of a nefarious attack, and the cause remains under review.
If you or your family are flying this week, confirm your flight status before leaving home and allow extra time. Second, diplomacy. The White House and the Kremlin say President Trump, President Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir Putin will hold a first-ever three-way meeting on Thursday, November 19, in Shenzhen, China.
Officials describe nuclear arms as the central topic and call it the start of a conversation rather than a negotiation. For retirees watching their savings, such summits can steady or stir financial markets, so expect some movement in the days ahead.
Third, your health. The CDC reports flu activity is already higher than normal, with cases growing in 42 states. Adults 65 and older had the highest hospitalization rate last month, which makes a flu shot a timely priority for older readers.
Washington & the Nation
The ground stop was the first of its kind since January 2023 and ranked as the second longest on record. By Saturday, the FAA said its systems were operating normally, though airlines warned that rebooking and crew scheduling would take time to catch up.
Investigators are still working to pin down what disrupted the telecommunications link feeding several air route traffic control centers. Officials moved quickly to calm the public, with Secretary Mullin stressing there was no evidence of foul play and no connection to a separate technology outage earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, the president's travel plans continued on schedule. He is set to depart Washington on Monday, attend a summit of Southeast Asian nations in the Philippines on Tuesday, and arrive in China later in the week.
For travelers and taxpayers alike, the episode renewed long-running questions about the age and reliability of the nation's air traffic technology, a subject Congress has examined before and may well revisit in the months ahead.
Around the World
The headline abroad is the planned meeting in Shenzhen. No sitting leaders of the United States, China, and Russia have ever met together in a formal three-way setting, and this gathering brings together the heads of the world's three largest nuclear powers.
The White House announced the plan on Friday, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed it on Saturday. The session is tied to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which draws leaders from 21 economies on November 18 and 19.
American officials say President Trump intends to focus on nuclear arms control and on Iran, while the war in Ukraine is not on the formal agenda, a point that has drawn concern in Kyiv. China has been described as cautious about a three-way nuclear discussion, since its arsenal is smaller than those of the United States and Russia.
Officials on all sides have tempered expectations, calling the meeting a beginning rather than a breakthrough. For older Americans who lived through the Cold War, the image of these three leaders at one table is historic, whatever the outcome.
Your Money
Markets closed the week in mixed fashion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher, while the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the small-company Russell 2000 all slipped lower.
Gold moved up, a sign some investors sought safe footing, and oil prices eased. Two retirement items stand out this week. First, the Internal Revenue Service announced that the 401(k) contribution limit will rise to $25,500 in 2027.
The catch-up amount for workers 50 and older climbs to $8,500, and a special catch-up for those aged 60 through 63 reaches $11,750. Second, a new study from Empower found that about a third of Americans, 34 percent, may have lost track of retirement savings left at a former job.
Across the country, roughly 32 million forgotten accounts hold an estimated $2.1 trillion. That money is not gone. You can call a former employer's human resources office, dig up old statements, or search the Department of Labor's free Retirement Savings Lost and Found at lostandfound.dol.gov.
Health & You
With flu arriving early, the single most useful step for older adults is a seasonal flu shot. The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone six months and older, and protection takes about two weeks to build, so sooner is better than later.
Adults 65 and older carried the highest hospitalization rate of any age group during the week ending October 31, at 7.9 per 100,000 people, a reminder that this illness hits seniors hardest. This season brings a new choice as well.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved an mRNA flu vaccine, called mFLUSIVA, for adults 50 and older, adding to the standard options your pharmacy or doctor already offers. Ask your pharmacist which formulation is right for your age and health, keep a record of the date, and encourage the older people in your life to do the same.
A short trip to the clinic now can prevent a hospital stay later.
One Good Thing
Here is a hopeful note to close on. For years, millions of Americans quietly left retirement savings behind when they switched jobs, often assuming the money was lost for good.
It may not be. Thanks to a law passed by Congress, the Department of Labor opened a national Retirement Savings Lost and Found in late 2024, a free online tool designed to help people locate the administrators of old workplace plans.
The database draws on information that employers report to the government, so a person can search by name and Social Security number, through a secure login, to find the current contact details for a former plan in one place rather than chasing down records alone. Participation by plans is voluntary, so the tool may not show every account, but it offers a simple, no-cost starting point.
If you have worked several jobs over a long career, it is worth a look. A quiet afternoon, a few old records, and a free government website may be all it takes to begin tracking down a piece of the future you earned.
On This Day
In 1777, The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. In 1969, Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Washington for a march against the Vietnam War.
In 1630, Johannes Kepler, German astronomer. In 1887, Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter. (From the 50PlusHub Nostalgia archive.)
That is the briefing for this Sunday, November 15, 2026. If you take one thing from this morning, let it be this. Before you travel, check your flight; before the flu spreads further, check on your shot; and before the year ends, check whether any retirement savings are waiting to be claimed in your name.
Each is a small, steady action, and small steady actions are how we look after ourselves and the people we love. The world will keep turning, in Shenzhen and in Washington and right here at home, and we will be here tomorrow to help make sense of it together.
Thank you for spending part of your morning with us. Take care of one another, and have a peaceful Sunday. This is Alex, wishing you well.
Sources
- Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statement on Nationwide Ground Stop, FAA Newsroom (2026)
- Internal Revenue Service, 401(k) Limit Increases to $25,500 for 2027, Notice 2026-66 (2026)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report (FluView) (2026)
- Empower, The Retirement Drift, Empower Research (2026)
- Associated Press, Coverage of the Trump, Xi and Putin Trilateral Meeting (2026)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database (2024)
- U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields)
- Yahoo Finance (delayed market quotes)