Six months ago, Libby Klinner lost her husband to the Iran War. The Air Force recently told her that because the U.S. hasn't officially declared war on Iran, her family isn't eligible for certain benefits.

If you've been counting on September and October to deliver the post-summer price drop that used to be a near-guarantee for savvy travelers, you may need to recalibrate. The window between Labor Day and the holiday rush — long considered a sweet spot for cheaper flights and vacation rentals — is getting smaller every year, and new data shows it's shrinking fast.

Since the Trump administration took office in early 2025, the number of pregnant women held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody has risen sharply, even as ICE's own policy directs that pregnant individuals should not be detained at all except in narrowly defined "exceptional circumstances" — limited to cases involving national security threats or an imminent risk of serious violence.