The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) will conduct low-altitude helicopter flights over downtown Washington, D.C. and areas in and around the Nation's capital beginning on October 19 in preparation for the Presidential Inauguration. The inauguration is scheduled to take place on January 20, 2021.

Local residents may see a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter, which is equipped with sensitive, state-of-the-art passive radiation sensing technology. The helicopter will fly in a grid pattern over the areas at 150 feet (or higher) above the ground at a speed of approximately 80 mph. Flyovers will occur only during daylight hours and are estimated to take approximately two hours to complete per area. The aircraft measurements will be purely scientific in nature, and no surveillance or other form of monitoring will occur during these flights.

The aerial surveys are a normal part of security and emergency preparedness activities. NNSA is making the public aware of the upcoming flights so citizens who see the low-flying aircraft are not alarmed.

The NEST survey aircraft is an element of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. For more information and video footage of NNSA's AMS aircraft, see https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/aerial-measuring-system-ams.

NEST is part of NNSA's Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation Program and provides the Nation's nuclear or radiological emergency response capability. NEST provides domestic and international reach through regional programs, offices, and personnel.

Cuomo is giving travelers a way to shorten their quarantine on arrival to three days from 14: show proof of negative Covid-19 tests before and after coming to the state.

The only exceptions are neighboring New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, because so many commuters to New York City live in those states, but non-essential travel within the region is discouraged.

New Yorkers who are returning home from trips outside the region are subject to the same rules. Those who leave the state for less than 24 hours can skip quarantine as long as they take a test proving they don't have the virus within four days.

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Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he was "saddened" to hear of Fisk's death. He was a " fearless & independent in his reporting, with a deeply researched understanding of the complexities of Middle Eastern history and politics. He helped many people understand those complexities better," Mr Martin tweeted.

Fine Gael TD and former minister for justice Charlie Flanagan said he was "saddened" to hear the news.

"Didn't always agree with his views but I admired his courage among many great qualities May he rest in everlasting peace," he tweeted.

Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, chief of staff at the Irish Defence Forces, described Fisk as a friend to Ireland and all in the Defence Forces.

Veteran journalist Patrick Cockburn paid tribute to his long time friend, describing Fisk as his best friend and a wonderful person.

Fisk's efforts to find out the truth and to report on what mattered had made him very special, Cockburn told RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland. In a world of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson it was important to have people like Robert Fisk, he said.

The two men met in Belfast in the early 1970s when Fisk was a reporter for the Times and Cockburn was completing his Phd in Queen's University. The two spoke at least once a week and remained in "constant touch".

Broadcaster Pat Kenny paid tribute to Fisk on his Newstalk programme. "On Friday I lost a friend, this programme lost a friend, our listeners lost an independent voice on world affairs and someone who could interpret for us the fractious divisions - both ancient and modern - of the Middle East.

"In the canon of contemporary journalism, Robert Fisk was a giant," he said.

"He had his distractors, but none among them would impugn his integrity.

"He put himself in harm's way so many times in the course of a career which took him from Belfast to Beirut, from Afghanistan to Iran. In spite of his analytical criticism of successive Israeli governments, he had many Israeli admirers.

"Others might have gone for a quite life, but not Robert: in an era of facile headlines, he was the opposite."He was the essence of rigour - his news-gathering and fact-checking were object lessons for those who would ever dream of filling his shoes.

"He found a happy working home in Beirut, a cross-roads in the Middle East, which allowed him to get to trouble spots quickly.

"But the place where he found healing from the vicissitudes of journalism on the front line was in Dalkey, where he's had a home for many, many years.

"He said that he'd found his own personal paradise here".

The BBC's John Simpson said he was "very sad to hear" of Fisk's untimely death. "He'll be greatly missed," he said.

In a tweet, Uzair Hasan Rizvi, journalist with AFP news agency, described Fisk as "one of the best foreign correspondents with an in-depth knowledge of Middle East".

The official Twitter page of Trinity College Dublin, where Fisk had studied, also expressed sadness at the death of the "renowned journalist and author".