Southwest cuts 2,300 flights, schedule in sustained chaos
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines continued to extract itself from sustained scheduling chaos Thursday, canceling another 2,350 flights after a winter storm overwhelmed its operations days ago. The Dallas carrier acknowledged it has inadequate and outdated operations technology that can leave flight crews out of position when adverse weather strikes. Southwest...
Israel swears in Netanyahu as PM of hard-line government
JERUSALEM — Israel on Thursday swore in Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister of the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in the country’s history. Netanyahu took the oath of office moments after Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, passed a vote of confidence in his new government. The coalition, made up of...
Gov. Wolf ends term with strong ratings after tumultuous times
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will wrap up eight years in office next month, having steered Pennsylvania through unpredictable times when the Democrat made life-and-death decisions in the ravaging covid-19 pandemic and managed the battleground state’s presidential election amid unprecedented Republican efforts to overturn it. Wolf, 74, leaves office with...
E.U. doesn’t follow Italy with covid checks on China arrivals
BRUSSELS — The European Union is assessing Beijing’s rollback of its strict anti-infection controls but refrained Thursday from immediately following EU member Italy in requiring coronavirus tests for airline passengers coming from China. Health officials from the 27-member bloc promised to continue talks on seeking a common approach to travel...
Christmas tree recycling is a good alternative to landfills
Taking down the Christmas tree is only one task after the holiday season. For those with a real tree, figuring out what to do with it can be as easy as placing it by the curb. In most states, it can be the gift that keeps on giving. Discarded Christmas...
Applications for U.S. unemployment aid rose slightly last week
WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose only slightly last week with the labor market remaining strong despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and hiring. Applications for unemployment aid for the week ending Dec. 24 climbed 9,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday....
Fire after highway crash in South Korea kills 5, injures 37
SEOUL, South Korea — A freight truck collided with a bus on a highway near the South Korean capital Seoul on Thursday, causing a fire that killed at least five people and injured 37 others, officials said. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the collision and fire, nor what cargo...
Buffalo roads reopen as search for storm victims contines
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roads reopened Thursday in storm-besieged Buffalo as authorities continued searching for people who may have died or are stuck and suffering after last week’s blizzard. The driving ban in New York’s second-most-populous city was lifted just after midnight Thursday, Mayor Byron Brown announced. “Significant progress has been...
Starbucks refused union contract talks at 21 cafes, NLRB says
Starbucks Corp. has illegally refused to negotiate at 21 recently unionized cafes in Washington state and Oregon, U.S. labor board prosecutors alleged in a complaint. In a Tuesday filing on behalf of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel, the agency’s Seattle regional director wrote that Starbucks “has been failing...
N.Y. Rep.-elect George Santos investigated for lying about his past
NEW YORK — U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos of New York was under investigation by Long Island prosecutors on Wednesday, after revelations surfaced that the now-embattled Republican lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office. Despite intensifying doubt about his fitness to hold federal office, Santos...
Family files missing persons report for Theophilus London
LOS ANGELES — The family of rapper Theophilus London filed a missing persons report with Los Angeles police this week and are asking for the public’s help, saying he hasn’t been seen in months. London’s family and friends believe someone last spoke to the musician in July in Los Angeles,...
Private Afghan universities risk closure after ban on women
KABUL, Afghanistan — A quarter of Afghanistan’s private universities risks closure because of the ban on female students imposed by the Taliban government, a spokesman for the sector said Thursday. Afghanistan’s rulers last week barred women from attending universities effective immediately, dealing another blow to women and girl’s rights and...
Lack of info on China’s covid-19 surge stirs global concern
BEIJING — Moves by several countries to mandate covid-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. There have been no reports of new...
Russia launches massive missile barrage across Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital, faced a massive Russian missile attack Thursday, the biggest wave of strikes in weeks targeting power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing weather. Air raid sirens rang out across the country. Ukraine’s military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said preliminary...
Hold on to receipts if you were affected by Southwest’s flight cancellations
To the many people affected by the cancelation this week of nearly 10,000 flights by Southwest Airlines, be sure to hold onto your receipts. From having a longer stay at the airport to hotel rooms to rental cars and more, if you incurred additional costs due to Southwest stranding you,...
U.S. will require covid-19 testing for travelers from China
The U.S. announced new covid-19 testing requirements Wednesday for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections. The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. China’s “zero covid” policies had kept China’s infection rate low but...
Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack enters not guilty plea
SAN FRANCISCO — The man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October pleaded not guilty Wednesday to six charges, including attempted murder, prosecutors said. The suspect, David DePape, had planned to kidnap the speaker — who was in Washington at...
Judge orders longest prison term so far in Gov. Whitmer plot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Delaware trucker described as an architect of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s governor was sentenced Wednesday to more than 19 years in prison — the longest term yet given to anyone convicted in the plot. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Barry Croft Jr.,...
7 hurt as Grand Canyon tour helicopter makes hard landing
LAS VEGAS — A Grand Canyon tour helicopter made a hard landing at a Las Vegas-area airport, injuring seven people, officials said Wednesday. Authorities are investigating the cause. Local responders and the National Transportation Safety Board characterized it as a “hard landing” around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Boulder City Municipal...
Mega Millions jackpot up to $640M after no big winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — A giant Mega Millions jackpot grew larger Wednesday to an estimated $640 million after another drawing without a winner. No one won the lottery game’s top prize Tuesday night, making it 21 straight drawings without anyone matching all six numbers. The next drawing will be Friday...
Pat Toomey looks back at his years in the Senate, gives his thoughts on taxes, Trump, the filibuster and Fetterman
In his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Pat Toomey considers his part in getting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 passed his biggest accomplishment. The act was the first sweeping federal tax legislation since Ronald Reagan was president during the 1980s....
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball
DALLAS — Families hoping to catch a Southwest Airlines flight after days of cancellations, missing luggage and missed family connections suffered through another wave of scrubbed flights, with another 2,500 pulled from arrival and departure boards Wednesday. Exhausted travelers sought passage by other means using different airlines, rental cars, or...
Nonprofit creates free online course to tackle Pennsylvania’s opioid crisis
The Rothman Opioid Foundation for Opioid Research & Education is offering a free online curriculum that will aid current and future prescribers to fight opioid addiction across Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region. Launched in 2019, the Philadelphia nonprofit is dedicated to raising awareness of the risks and benefits of opioids,...
With warming, snowbound Buffalo braces to find more dead
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo was set to emerge from a deep freeze Wednesday, bringing some relief but also the tragic possibility of finding more victims amid melting snow from the area’s deadliest storm in decades. Officials said more than 30 people so far have been reported to have died because...
U.S. marks anniversary of Paul Whelan’s detention in Russia
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan, whose continued imprisonment is one of several major irritants in tattered relations between Washington and Moscow. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday that securing Whelan’s release...
