Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball
DALLAS (AP) — Travelers who counted on Southwest Airlines to get them home suffered another wave of canceled flights Wednesday, and pressure grew on the federal government to help customers get reimbursed for unexpected expenses they incurred because of the airline’s meltdown.
Exhausted Southwest travelers tried finding seats on other airlines or renting cars to get to their destination, but many remained stranded. The airline’s CEO said it could be next week before the flight schedule returns to normal.
Adontis Barber, a 34-year-old jazz pianist from Kansas City, Missouri, had camped out in the city’s airport since his Southwest flight was canceled Saturday, hoping to reach a New Year's gig in Washington, D.C.
He left his airport vigil Wednesday. “I give up,” he said. “I’m starting to feel homeless.”
By early afternoon on the East Coast, about 90% of all canceled flights Wednesday in the U.S. were on Southwest, according to the FlightAware tracking service.
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Judge orders longest prison term so far in Gov. Whitmer plot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — 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., 47, who was the fourth and final federal defendant to learn his fate. Judge Robert J. Jonker described him as “the idea guy” behind the plot and called him “a very convincing communicator" for people who were open to his views.
“However twisted or irrational it may seem to many of us, it did resonate to the targeted audience," the judge said. "That is as important a method of leadership as being out in the field telling people where to go.”
Defense attorney Joshua Blanchard said he would appeal the sentence.
Croft and Adam Fox were convicted in August of conspiracy charges in Grand Rapids. Croft also was found guilty of possessing an unregistered explosive.
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NY Rep.-elect Santos investigated for lying about his past
NEW YORK (AP) — 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 has shown no signs of stepping aside — even as he publicly admitted to a long list of lies.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, a Republican, said the fabrications and inconsistencies were “nothing short of stunning.”
“The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” she said. “If a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
Santos’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
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US 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 the country's infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
The new U.S. requirements, which start Jan. 5, apply to travelers regardless of their nationality and vaccination status.
In a statement explaining the testing, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited the surge in infections and what it said was a lack of adequate and transparent information from China, including genomic sequencing on the viral strains circulating in the country.
“These data are critical to monitor the case surge effectively and decrease the chance for entry of a novel variant of concern,” the CDC said.
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EXPLAINER: Kansas' Democratic governor imposes TikTok ban
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly banned the use of TikTok on the state-issued devices of government workers under her control on Wednesday, becoming one of the first Democratic governors to restrict the popular social media app.
Kelly's action came five days after Congress approved the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices for employees. Republican governors in at least 15 states have already imposed such restrictions.
In Louisiana on Monday, the state's commissioner of administration — a Republican appointed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards — banned the use of TikTok on state networks under Edwards' control, with his approval. Also, Indiana's GOP attorney general has sued TikTok's owner. U.S. armed forces have already prohibited the app on military devices.
TikTok has become the world's second most-popular domain and is consumed by two-thirds of American teenagers, some of whom use it to fill gaps in their school lessons. The provision in the congressional spending bill reflected bipartisan concerns about security and the spread of misinformation because of the app’s Chinese ownership.
Here's a look at Kelly's action and the broader debate over TikTok:
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Vatican says health of retired pope Benedict XVI 'worsening'
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's health has worsened over the past hours due to advanced age and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition, the Vatican said Wednesday, as Pope Francis appealed to the faithful to pray for his “very ill” predecessor “until the end.”
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Francis went to visit the frail, 95-year-old Benedict in the monastery on Vatican grounds where he has lived since retiring in February 2013.
"Regarding the health condition of the emeritus pope, for whom Pope Francis asked for prayers at the end of his general audience this morning, I can confirm that in the last hours, a worsening due to advanced age has happened,'' Bruni said in a written statement.
“The situation at the moment remains under control, constantly monitored by doctors," the statement said.
At the end of his customary Wednesday audience with the public in a Vatican auditorium, Francis departed from his prepared remarks to say that Benedict is “very ill” and asked the faithful to pray for the retired pontiff.
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Paul Pelosi attack: Suspect enters not-guilty plea
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 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 the time of the attack — when he broke into the couple's San Francisco home on Oct. 28, authorities said. Instead, the 42-year-old defendant severely beat her husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer in an attack that was witnessed by two police officers and shocked the political world.
Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious and woke up in a pool of his own blood. He later underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. He has since appeared in public wearing a hat and a glove that covered his wounds.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence during a preliminary hearing to move forward. Wednesday's appearance was another arraignment, a procedural move where the defendant enters a plea on the charges that will be brought to trial.
DePape is still being held without bail; his state case returns to court Feb. 23. The public defender's office declined to comment. A federal case in which DePape has also pleaded not guilty is also ongoing.
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Albert Rivera knows well how dangerous Mexico can be: He sometimes wears a bulletproof vest around the compound of bright yellow buildings that he built into one of the nation's largest migrant shelters.
His phone stores more evidence in the form of stomach-churning videos that gangs sent migrants to warn of consequences for disobeying demands. The images include severed limbs being thrown in a pile, a decapitated head getting tossed in a barrel of steaming liquid and a woman squirming while her head is sawed off.
But across town from the Agape Mision Mundial shelter, many migrants are grateful for a chance to settle here. That's where Mexico's asylum office greets foreigners who consider the border city of Tijuana a relatively safe place to live with an abundance of jobs.
The jarring contrast speaks to Mexico's conflicted status. It is a country where violence and inequality chase many people to seek a better life in the United States. For others it offers a measure of peace and prosperity beyond what's available in their homelands.
A safe, robust asylum system in Mexico eases pressure on the United States, which is looking more to other governments to manage migration. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday kept pandemic-era limits on asylum in place for now.
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Pelé nears 1 month in hospital with no sign of improvement
SAO PAULO (AP) — One of Pelé's daughters said Wednesday she and her family are enduring moments of sadness and despair as the 82-year-old Brazilian soccer great's hospitalization nears one month.
The three-time World Cup winner's cancer has advanced and doctors at Albert Einstein hospital recently said he's under “elevated care” related to “kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.”
Pelé was admitted to the Sao Paulo facility on Nov. 29. The hospital hasn't published any updates in the past week.
“These moments are hard to explain. Sometimes it is a lot of sadness and despair, in other moments we laugh and speak about fun memories," Kely Nascimento said on Instagram.
Other family members are also at the hospital.
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Rocky ride: Tesla stock on pace for worst year ever
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Owning Tesla stock this year has been anything but a smooth ride for investors.
Shares in the electric vehicle maker are down nearly 70% since the start of the year, on pace to finish in the bottom five biggest decliners among S&P 500 stocks. By comparison, the benchmark index is down about 20%.
While Tesla has continued to grow its profits, signs of softening demand and heightened competition have investors increasingly worried. And then there’s CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Some of Musk’s actions since taking over the social media company, including doing away with a content moderation structure created to address hate speech and other problems on the platform, have unnerved Twitter’s advertisers and turned off some users.
That’s stoked concerns on Wall Street that Twitter is taking too much of the billionaire’s attention, and possibly offending loyal Tesla customers.
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter opened up a political firestorm and has caused Musk and Tesla’s brand to deteriorate, leading to a “complete debacle for the stock,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note this week.
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