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Flight delays, cancellations could continue for a decade, experts predict

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

Laurie Baratti | TravelPulse (TNS)The mess of flight disruptions that have come to characterize the aviation industry over the past couple of years promises to persist for as long as a decade, according to a CBS News investigative report.Experts say combined factors are contributing to this bleak forecast for the nation’s traveling public, who have been plagued by flight delays and cancellations that have left many stranded at airports instead of enjoying vacations or family gatherings.U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said his office is currently investigating several airlines for what a spokesperson called “unrealistic scheduling,” referring to practices that misrepresent the carrier’s ability to actually service the tickets it’s selling to customers.“We have active investigations underway right now with regard to that,” Buttigieg said. “We take that very seriously because when you sell a ticket to a paying customer and you make a profit off of that...

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Facial drooping in children

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

(TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkDEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband and I recently noticed our 5-year-old daughter was having difficulty blinking and eating, and one side of her face was drooping. The pediatrician referred us to a plastic surgeon who diagnosed her with facial paralysis. What is facial paralysis and what are the treatment options? Will this require surgery?ANSWER: Facial paralysis occurs when you cannot move some or all of the facial muscles. It can affect one or both sides of the face. Facial paralysis can disrupt eye closure, the smile and lower lip movement. It can cause asymmetrical facial muscle tone resulting in a sagging face. Though many people think of facial drooping as a sign of stroke, it can be among the first signs of facial paralysis, which is rare among children. When facial paralysis occurs in children, it impairs a child’s ability to move their facial muscles and show facial expression.It is essential to evaluate facial paralysis promptly as the cause ...

Patriots’ offense returning favor by challenging defense in training camp

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

FOXBORO — On the first day of Patriots training camp, quarterback Mac Jones raved about how valuable it is to compete against such a quality defense in practice.That defense — which lost just one starter from last season — was one of the NFL’s best in 2022, and they make things exceptionally difficult for Jones and the offense on a day-to-day basis.The offense is starting to return the favor.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte finally breaks out after ‘slow start’ New England Patriots | Patriots continuing to manage Rhamondre Stevenson’s workload in practice New England Patriots | Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster: Playing for Bill O’Brien helped draw me to New England New England Patriots | Cole Strange among six missing, three starters limited at Patriots’ padded practice Thursday New England Patriots | How Bill O’Brien’...

American fugitive who faked his death can be extradited to US to face rape charge, UK judge says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An American fugitive accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah can be extradited to the U.S., a judge in Scotland ruled Wednesday, calling the man “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.” The wanted man known in Scotland as Nicholas Rossi has fought his return since being arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19. He repeatedly appeared in court — and in several television interviews — in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and speaking in a British accent. He insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil. But Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court had previously dismissed the fugitive’s claims of mistaken identity as “implausible” and “fanciful” after the man said he had been framed by authorities who tattooed him and surreptitiously took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi.“I conc...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy leaving Italy vacation early after death of lieutenant governor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is cutting his Italy vacation short and returning to the state after the death this week of Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, his spokesperson said Wednesday. Murphy, a Democrat, will depart Italy Thursday morning and is expected back in New Jersey that afternoon, spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a phone call. He had been set to be in the country, where he owns a home, until Aug. 13. Oliver died after a short stay at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, for an undisclosed medical issue. She had been serving as acting governor when her hospitalization was announced Monday. She died the next day. No cause was given for her death in a statement from the governor’s office on behalf of Oliver’s family, which asked for privacy.Oliver, also a Democrat, was the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey, winning the vote alongside Murphy in 2017 and again in 2021. She was a well-known figure...

Gambling sting at Iowa and Iowa St. results in charges against 7 current and former athletes so far

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

Gambling investigations at Iowa and Iowa State have resulted in criminal charges filed against seven current or former athletes, with ex-Hawkeyes basketball player Ahron Ulis and Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers the ones with the highest profiles.Each is accused in the complaints of tampering with records related to an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. Current athletes also face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA gambling rules.According to Johnson County online court records, charges have been filed against Ulis, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and former Iowa kicker Aaron Blom.Dekkers was charged in Story County, as were ISU football player Dodge Sauser, ISU wrestler Paniro Johnson and former football player Eyioma Uwazurike, who who was drafted by Denver in 2022 and suspended indefinitely by the NFL for betting on Broncos games during his rookie season.The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday the investigation was ongoing and a...

Feds try to reclaim $347 million insurance payout to Suncor linked to Libya unrest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

The federal government is trying to reclaim nearly $350 million in insurance paid to Suncor Energy Inc. in the wake of political unrest in Libya.The oil giant claimed $300 million in risk mitigation payments for losses linked to Libyan energy assets after fighting between rival political factions spread to the country’s oil crescent region in 2015, a Federal Court judge said in a ruling this week. The total — $347 million with interest — was determined by an arbitrator.But Export Development Canada, which insures against losses caused by political violence, argues that Suncor’s oil production facilities still deliver returns for the Calgary-based company.“According to EDC’s May 15, 2022, notice of arbitration, the Libyan assets continue to have significant value and generate revenue for Suncor and its subsidiaries. EDC seeks to recover the amounts realized in connection with the assets until the $347 million has been repaid in full,” judge Christine Pallotta ...

Judge agrees to allow football player Matt Araiza to ask rape accuser about her sexual history

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Lawyers for former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza will be allowed to ask about the sexual history of the woman who accused him and other men of raping her at a house party near San Diego State University, a judge ruled this week. Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner said Monday he will allow deposition questioning in the woman’s civil suit to focus on the year before the alleged assault in October 2021. He also ordered that most of the questions be phrased to elicit a “yes” or “no” response, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday. The accuser’s credibility “will be a central issue in this case,” the judge wrote, and so Araiza should be permitted to ask the woman about her public statements regarding her age and number of sexual partners.The woman is suing Araiza and four other former Aztec football players. The lawsuit alleges Araiza had sex with her in a side yard of the house then brought her into a bedroom where she said men took turns raping...

The spread of rented lounge chairs on Greece’s beaches brings a pledge to increase inspections

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s finance minister promised Wednesday to intensify inspections of beach bars and other businesses renting out seaside chaise lounges and umbrellas, following complaints that non-paying island beachgoers can’t find a spot on the sand.Finance Minister Costis Hadzidakis issued a statement saying breaches of the law will not be tolerated. “I have given instructions … for inspections to be stepped up,” he said.Private beaches are illegal in Greece, where the constitution stipulates that all coastal strips are state property with guaranteed public access. However, rocketing numbers of vacationers in the tourism-reliant country have driven up demand for beaches offering sun loungers, shelters, refreshments, snacks and — all too often — loud music. Local authorities lease limited sections of beaches to entrepreneurs who bring in the amenities during the summer months and in some cases charge customers more than 100 euros ($109) for an umbrella ...

Mission Impossible: Montreal’s new light-rail train traps users in railway garage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:47:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Michel-André Grégoire’s plan to ride Montreal’s new light-rail train Monday night to the cinema for the new “Mission: Impossible” movie turned into an adventure of its own.Grégoire, his wife and a tourist from South America ended up trapped in the rail network’s garage after the driverless train unexpectedly drove backward from a station on Montreal’s South Shore instead of across a bridge toward the city’s downtown Central Station.They were eventually driven home by staff of the Réseau express métropolitain, the new rail network known as the REM.“No harm was done, they were responsible, as soon as we got in touch with someone, everything went fine,” Grégoire said in an interview Wednesday. “They did apologize.”The experience by Grégoire, his wife and the Venezuelan tourist, whom they didn’t know, was one of a handful of mishaps that have occurred on the network since opening day on Monday. There have...