Monday morning news: October 5, 2026

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FlyDubai attempted hijacking update » New details about the co-pilot who tried to crash a commercial airliner last week en route to Israel, raise questions about how he was cleared to fly.

Officials say 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami had been barred from flying in his home country, Oman, over concerns about extremist views. Australian police are investigating whether he was radicalized while studying there.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also praised Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun, who helped overpower the attacker:

HUCKABEE: He was a very humble, gracious guy. You know, he is the most non-heroic type hero, but he really is an incredible hero. Had he not acted, 174 people, including 30 children, would absolutely have been lost.

The FlyDubai airlines flight left Dubai for Tel Aviv last Wednesday, filled mostly with Israelis. The UAE says the co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit's crash ax and tried to take control as the jet plunged.

The wounded captain, Smit Machchhar, opened the cockpit door, and passengers and crew tackled the attacker.

The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where police arrested him and later transferred him to the UAE.

Missing medical flight » The Coast Guard is turning to sonar to search the ocean floor off Massachusetts for a missing air ambulance with six people aboard.

The medical jet vanished early Saturday on a flight from Bermuda to Boston. Over the weekend, searchers found something in the Atlantic near Nantucket island. Rear Admiral Matt Lake leads the Coast Guard in the Northeast:

LAKE: During the search, Coast Guard crews were successfully able to locate a debris field that's been now determined to be associated with the missing aircraft.

No one aboard has been found. Crews have searched thousands of square miles, and the Coast Guard's response chief, Captain John McTamney, said Sunday that they weren’t giving up.

MCTAMNEY: We'll continue to search, um, and saturate the area until we're at the point where we are confident that if there were any survivors remaining on the surface of the water, we would have found them.

The jet, run by an Ontario-based air ambulance company, carried four Canadian crew members and two passengers from Bermuda. Air traffic audio posted online shows the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as a storm loomed.

This was part of the tower’s final message to the plane:

AUDIO (air traffic control): Roger, you said you’re coming in (blind is that what you said)?

But there was no further response from the cockpit.

Tracking data show the jet dropped sharply from about 24,000 feet.

U.S. pulls bombers out of British base » The U.S. military has pulled its bombers out of a British air base it was using in the war with Iran.

The Pentagon says all the bombers at R.A.F. Fairford have flown home. British police last week arrested six men over a suspected plot at the base. Britain's prime minister links the plot to Iran.

The Pentagon gave no reason but says U.S. strike power is undiminished.

Trump posting Cotton's phone number » Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are not thrilled with President Trump releasing the personal cell phone number of GOP Sen. Tom Cotton in an effort to pressure him on a bill that would end daylight savings.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy told NBC's Meet the Press:

KENNEDY: He can be tempestu- tempestuous. Uh, I don't think he should have given out Tom's cell phone number. I don't think that's going to, uh, help convince Tom.

On Saturday, Trump posted the Arkansas senator's number and told people to "Call Tom on his cellphone."

Trump wants a Senate vote on the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The House passed it in July, 308 to 117.

But any senator can block an effort to fast-track the bill. In that case, supporters may need 60 votes to move it forward, and Senate leaders haven't scheduled one.

Cotton says the change would send Arkansas kids to school in the pitch dark in winter.

Germany announces new aid for Ukraine » Germany is sending Ukraine another round of weapons, and its leader delivered the news in person. WORLD's Benjamin Eicher has more:

SOUND: [Air raid siren]

BENJAMIN EICHER: Air raid sirens sounded as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday. During his visit, a Russian drone struck one of the city's main bridges. Kyiv's mayor says two people were wounded.

MERZ: [Speaking German]

EICHER: Merz said, "We will not be intimidated by a drone attack occurring at the very time of our visit.”

Merz pledged about $1.1 billion dollars in additional military aid, including long-range weapons and drones that shoot down Russia's jet-powered drones. Another $400 million will help repair Ukraine's power grid, a frequent Russian target, before winter.

For WORLD, I'm Benjamin Eicher.

Pike’s lawyer says she has not regained consciousness » Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is still unconscious in a hospital days after a failed execution. That, according to her lawyer.

Last Wednesday, prison staff gave Pike two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital. It didn't kill her. Her lawyers say the drug burned and blistered her arms, and it's not clear whether she'll recover. The state says it followed its execution rules.

Pike was 18 in 1995 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Prosecutors say Pike saw her as a romantic rival.

Since the failed execution, Tennessee's prison chief has resigned, and the governor has ordered an independent review.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: We’ll have a look at the start of a new Supreme Court term on Legal Docket. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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