Metro is suggesting it stop weekend rail service, close 19 of its stations and slash its bus routes by half, according to budget proposals released on Monday, as the transportation industry deals with financial struggles spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s proposed budget for next fiscal year, beginning July 1, aims to cut almost $500 million from its projected $1.945 billion operating expenses, The Washington Post reported. 

Wiedefeld told the Post that the desired reduction in expenses was so large it could only be reached by eliminating weekend rail service. 

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Metro recommends cutting 2,400 positions through attrition, buyouts and layoffs in addition to the 1,400 the agency is looking to remove this year. Metro employees may not receive raises in order for more jobs to be saved. 

“When I talk to my peers, we’re all facing these almost terrible decisions together,” Wiedefeld told the newspaper. “It’s like, how do we do this? It gets down, unfortunately, to very hard math that you just can’t get there from here without having significant impacts.”

In addition to rail service cuts on Saturday and Sunday, weekday rail wait times would be 30 minutes except at busier stations in the city. Rail service would also end two hours earlier at 9 p.m. About one-fifth of Metro’s stations would shut down. 

Metro’s board plans to discuss the proposal on Friday before it sets up public hearings and accepts public comments until February. The board will vote on the budget in March, according to the Post.

The transit agency could potentially stop some of its cutbacks if Congress were to pass a stimulus plan including assistance for transportation agencies next year. But Wiedefeld said even with a stimulus bill, Metro would need time to increase any service. 

Wiedefeld’s 2022 fiscal year plan is not based on Metro’s worst-case scenario but instead projects a rise in ridership up to 20 percent of current levels.

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“I don’t believe this is the worst-case scenario,” Wiedefeld said. “The reality is, the worst-case scenario is we stay where we are in terms of ridership. So we are projecting ridership to increase.”

Last week, Metrobus saw between 16 percent and 55 percent less travel than before COVID-19, while weekday rail travel was down between 77 percent and 86 percent, according to the Post.

Transportation agencies across the country have taken a hit as unemployment and telework has increased, and people have been hesitant to use public transportation out of fear they might catch the virus. 

The travel and hospitality industries have also struggled amid the pandemic, which has led to less ridership of Metro services as the agency depends on tourism.

European Union (EU) nations’ greenhouse gas emissions for 2019 were down 24 percent compared to the group of countries’ 1990 emissions levels, according to a new report. 

The report from the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, also said emissions had dropped by 3.7 percent compared to 2018 and were at their lowest level since 1990. 

Emissions are expected to drop even further in 2020 due to the economic slowdown linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The EU’s drop for 2019 was greater than the U.S.’s, which a preliminary analysis from January showed was about 2.1 percent. 

In a statement announcing the report, the commission’s executive vice president for the European Green Deal, the EU’s climate plan, argued that more needs to be done to help reach the plan’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

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“Today’s report again confirms we need to step up our efforts across all sectors of the economy to reach our common goal of climate neutrality by 2050,” said Frans Timmermans. 

“The transition is feasible if we stick to our commitment and seize the opportunities of the recovery to reboot our economy in a greener, more resilient way and create a healthy, sustainable future for all,” Timmermans said. 

The EU is aiming to reach a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030. In September, it proposed upping that goal to a 55 percent reduction. 

The report said that under existing national policies, the 27 countries are expected to reduce their emissions by 30 percent by 2030, however, it said that new planned measures would have the union reduce its emissions by about 41 percent. 

Two top Democrats on the House Transportation Committee on Monday called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the dangers of air travel during pandemics.

In a letter to the GAO, Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazioDemocrats ask GAO to study COVID-19 air travel risks Democrats were united on top issues this Congress — but will it hold? On the Trail: Five House results illustrate a politically divided America MORE (D-Ore.) and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Rick LarsenRichard (Rick) Ray LarsenDemocrats ask GAO to study COVID-19 air travel risks It’s time for Congress to act: Save jobs and stabilize the aerospace industry Democratic lawmaker calls for stronger focus on trade leverage to raise standards MORE (D-Wash.) wrote that further analysis is necessary to better determine the risks of traveling by plane, both from the coronavirus pandemic and from other communicable diseases.

“We request the GAO undertake a series of three studies that will help inform Congress about the risks of air travel during a public health crisis, better understand the Federal response that has been taken to address these risks, and to identify lessons learned that can inform future Federal legislation,” they wrote in the letter.

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The first requested study would examine government, academic and industry research into the transmission of communicable diseases during air travel. The second would examine the responsibilities of government officials as well as airports and airlines in addressing these risks, and a third would examine what the air travel industry has done specifically in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Five years ago, the GAO released its own analysis calling on the Department of Transportation to develop national guidance for viral pandemics, but no such plan was ever completed, according to The Washington Post.

Air travel has been one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic, reducing by as much as 90 percent compared with this point in 2019 and costing the industry billions, the congressmen noted.

A Defense Department-backed study released in October indicated that transmission risk on airplanes is significantly lower when passengers wear masks. The research found that ventilation systems and air particle filtration result in the removal of 99.99 percent of particles released in the air from masked infected people within six minutes of release.

Two nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) were confirmed to the panel by voice votes on Monday. 

Democrat Allison Clements and Republican Mark Christie will serve on the panel, which regulates natural gas and hydropower projects and the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil and electricity. 

Their confirmation brings FERC, which isn’t supposed to have more than three members belonging to any one party, up to its full capacity. Previously, the commission had been operating with fewer than the standard five commissioners. 

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Christie is a longtime utility regulator, serving as chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. He’s also held leadership roles in organizations of utility regulators. 

Clements has served as the founder and president of Goodgrid, LLC, an energy policy and strategy consulting firm. She also worked for a decade at the Natural Resources Defense Council and worked for two years as the director of the energy markets program at Energy Foundation, which advocates for energy efficiency and renewable energy.  

Their nominations were advanced to the full Senate, though it had not been clear whether they would reach confirmation by the end of the session. 

Despite her background in clean energy, Clements said during a September confirmation hearing that it wouldn’t be her job to pick one source of energy over another. 

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“The commission’s role is not to pick winners and losers when it comes to fuel choices,” she said, adding that in pipeline cases she would “commit to going into each of those proceedings with an open mind and reviewing the specific facts.”

Now, FERC has three Republicans and two Democrats. However, the chair of the commission is selected by the president, so President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenGeraldo Rivera on Trump sowing election result doubts: ‘Enough is enough now’ Senate approves two energy regulators, completing panel Murkowski: Trump should concede White House race MORE may decide to pick Clements or fellow Democrat Richard Glick to lead the regulatory body. 

Trump recently made headlines when he switched leadership from Republican Neil ChatterjeeNeil ChatterjeeSenate approves two energy regulators, completing panel OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats push Biden to pick Haaland as next Interior secretary | Trump administration proposal takes aim at bank pledges to avoid fossil fuel financing | Wasserman Schultz pitches climate plan in race to chair Appropriations Senate advances energy regulator nominees despite uncertainty of floor vote MORE to current chairman James Danly, also a Republican. News outlets reported that Chatterjee, a former energy aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate approves two energy regulators, completing panel On The Money: Biden announces key members of economic team | GOP open to Yellen as Treasury secretary, opposed to budget pick | GAO: Labor Department ‘improperly presented’ jobless data Senate GOP open to confirming Yellen to be Biden’s Treasury secretary MORE (R-Ky.), may have been demoted due to his openness to putting a price on carbon emissions or not wanting to follow a White House directive limiting diversity training.

WWE returns to The Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday evening, as the blue brand returns and the latest episode of 205 Live will take place.

The WWE.com preview for tonight’s show reads as follows:

SmackDown LIVE preview, July 25, 2017: Witness the aftermath of Jinder Mahal’s controversial Punjabi Prison win

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal’s victory over Randy Orton inside the Punjabi Prison at WWE Battleground left fans around the world stunned, as The Great Khali unexpectedly returned to keep The Viper trapped inside the menacing structure. With the WWE Title still in his possession, what lies ahead for The Modern Day Maharaja? Find out on SmackDown LIVE, tonight at 8/7 C on USA Network!

Additionally, the official WWE website is focusing on the following “Quick Hits” for tonight:

SmackDown LIVE Preview : Quick Hits

* Who will step up to challenge Jinder Mahal?
* Will AJ Styles continue his pursuit of the United States Championship?
* How will The New Day’s title win change Team Blue’s Tag Team division?
* Who blindsided The Fashion Police?

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Join us here later this evening for live play-by-play results coverage of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live!