Within the span of 90 minutes Tuesday morning, two airplanes, one at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another at Chicago’s Midway, were forced to abort landings to avoid collisions, federal aviation officials said.

American Airlines Flight 2246, arriving at Reagan National from Boston was making its final descent around 8:20 a.m. when it suddenly canceled its landing, climbed toward the skies and accelerated away from the airport. The last-minute move allowed it to avoid colliding with another plane that was ready to take off from the same runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The airplane’s pilots were told to scrap the landing by an air traffic controller to “ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway,” the FAA said in a statement.

Around 8:50 a.m. Central time, the pilots of Southwest Airlines Flight 2504, traveling from Omaha, Neb., canceled the plane’s landing at Chicago Midway after “a business jet entered the runway without authorization,” the FAA said in a statement.

Tuesday morning’s near misses continued a spotlight put on concerns raised about the safety of the nation’s airspace following last month’s deadly midair crash outside Reagan National. On Jan. 29, American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided above the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the Jan. 29 crash.

Driscoll confirmed as Army secretary

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dan Driscoll to be the next Army secretary, voting 66-28 to put the former soldier and Iraq War veteran at the helm of the service.

Driscoll, 38, of North Carolina, had served as an adviser to Vice President JD Vance, whom he met when both were attending Yale Law School. He served in the Army for less than four years and left at the rank of first lieutenant.

During his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, Driscoll noted that his father and grandfather served in the Army and he vowed to be a secretary focused on the needs of soldiers.

“We are a family that is grateful to have had the privilege of wearing the uniform of the United States Army,” he said during the hearing. “We are a family that understands the gravity of leading soldiers in and out of combat.”

Driscoll takes over an Army that has been moving steadily to overcome recruiting shortfalls through a sweeping overhaul of its programs and staffing, while also revamping and modernizing its weapons systems.

Israel airstrikes hit sites in southern Syria

The Israeli military said it had struck sites in southern Syria on Tuesday, just hours after the new Syrian leadership demanded that Israel withdraw from territory it has seized since the fall of the Assad regime.

The attacks were aimed at “military targets in southern Syria, including headquarters and sites containing weapons,” the Israeli military said in a statement. It added, “The presence of military assets and forces in the southern part of Syria constitutes a threat” to Israeli citizens.

Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement late Tuesday that the attacks were part of a “new policy” of ensuring a “demilitarized southern Syria.” He added that “any attempt” by either Syrian forces or militant groups to establish a presence in what Israel has deemed its “security zone” in the region “will be met with fire.”

Syria’s new government said Israel was violating Syria’s sovereignty and called on the international community to pressure Israel “to stop the aggression.”

Dockworkers approve six-year contract

Dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts over

whelmingly approved a six-year contract Tuesday, averting the threat of a strike that could have crippled the economy.

The yes vote was expected after the leadership of the International Longshoremen’s Association union reached a tentative contract agreement in January with the U.S. Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies.

The alliance approved the contract last month, and on Tuesday rank-and-file members voted for it with nearly 99% in favor, the union said in a statement.

The contract calls for a 62% pay hike over six years that would lift hourly wages at the top of the union pay scale from $39 an hour to $63 an hour.

ILA President Harold Daggett, who served as the union’s chief negotiator, was quoted in the statement as saying the agreement is “the ‘gold standard’ for dockworker unions globally.”

He remarked that it was a difficult contract to negotiate and even required a three-day strike last fall, but “We now have labor peace for the next six years.”

Power outage hits nearly all of Chile

Electricity providers across Chile scrambled to restore service Tuesday after a sweeping blackout plunged 90% of the country into darkness, stranding commuters, knocking cell service offline and paralyzing businesses and daily life.

The scale of the power outage appeared to take authorities off guard. The government declared a state of emergency alongside a mandatory nighttime curfew that will last until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry deployed thousands of soldiers across the country to help maintain order and enforce the curfew.

The lights began to return in spurts seven hours after the electric failure first struck.

At around 11 p.m., power was restored to around half of the 8 million affected households, said President Gabriel Boric.

— From news services