December 29, 2022 4:28 am
DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines expects to return to normal operations this week after slashing about two-thirds of its schedule in recent days. After canceling another 2,350 flights Thursday, the company said it expects to be back to regular scheduling by Friday. Southwest is struggling to recover after being overwhelmed by a winter storm that left hundreds of pilots and flight attendants stranded out of position to operate flights. It is likely that far more than 1 million passengers have been affected. Southwest has canceled more than 13,000 flights since its meltdown began on Dec. 22.
December 29, 2022 4:22 am
BELLEVUE, Pa. — (WPXI) – It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t come down with something this month. “Yea they’ve gotten sick but nothing too severe or I’ve had to take them to the hospital,” said Allison Park mom Valerie Harper. Haper has two little ones and knows firsthand what it’s like dealing with the constant sniffles and colds. She’s not alone, a multitude of viral infections are making it’s rounds in western Pennsylvania. “We are actually seeing numbers of everything. Covid numbers are going up, especially people testing at home, we are seeing increased numbers in the hospitals. We are seeing increased numbers of the flu; flu really took off this fall and we aren’t even deep into flu season,” said Allegheny Health Network Dr. Brian Lamb. Combine that with RSV cases and the common cold, Dr. Lamb said it’s a perfect storm that will last you several weeks. That’s leading people to have weakened immune systems causing these cases to spike. Lamb told our news partners at Channel 11 he doesn’t think this is the end. Following the holidays, he believes COVID cases will keep rising and flu numbers too. Dr. Lamb does advise if you are going out in big crowds for New Years to at least carry a mask as some protection. Also remember to keep washing your hands and disinfecting to prevent spreading even more germs.
December 29, 2022 4:17 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Southwest saga continues. On Wednesday, Southwest Airlines had 38 cancelled flights at Pittsburgh International Airport and Thursday will be the same. Right now, there are rows and rows of luggage at the Southwest baggage claim at the airport after several cancelled flights. Some frustrated passengers finally arrived but their bags have not. A passenger said he had to book a flight on another airline to get here from Denver, but he doesn’t have his checked luggage with his hockey equipment that he needs for a game this Friday. A local mom said she had to drive to Chicago to get her son. They came to the airport to find his suitcase with Christmas presents and other personal items inside, but they had no luck. Southwest Airlines sent Channel 11 a statement saying,
“Information for Customers with lost baggage is here: https://www.southwest.com/help/baggage/lost-damaged-baggage [southwest.com] … Customers can also speak with a representative at the baggage service office in an airport where we operate or contact Southwest customer service, though we are experiencing abnormally high call volumes. Our team is utilizing its standard procedures for returning baggage during irregular operations. We will make every attempt to reconnect Customers with their baggage at no cost to the Customer – we will use shipping partners to return baggage, where appropriate. Additional info for Customers is here: https://www.southwest.com/traveldisruption/ [southwest.com]”
December 29, 2022 4:14 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – More than a dozen people say their constitutional rights were violated when they were fired from the county for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine. They’re asking for hundreds of thousand dollars in damages. One year ago, Shane Chesher was fired from Allegheny County for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after his religious exemption was denied. Since then, he and 12 other people have filed a federal lawsuit against the county, claiming that they were wrongfully fired. Last year the county decided to mandate the vaccine for all employees, and if they didn’t get it, they would be fired by Dec. 1, 2021. That’s exactly what happened to Chesher. The basis of the lawsuit claims he and the other former employees were put through public shaming, forced to release private medical information and were not granted a religious exemption. “We are saying to the county, you fired us, and we are going on offense back at you guys,” Chesher explained. “We believe you violated our rights, and we are going to settle this in court.” A county spokesperson said they do not comment on legal matters. The former employees are acting as their own attorneys.
December 28, 2022 7:45 am
The Mega Millions lottery jackpot has risen to $640 million after no one won the top prize in Tuesday’s drawing. The jackpot is the sixth-largest in the history of the nationwide lottery game. The grand prize winner will have the option of taking an annuity that pays the jackpot out over 30 years, or taking the cash payout, a one-time lump sum. The cash payout for $640 million would be $328.3 million. The last time anyone won the Mega Millions jackpot was on Oct. 14. Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays. The winning numbers drawn Tuesday are 9-13-36-59-61 and Mega Ball 11.
December 28, 2022 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Donald Trump’s tax returns are expected to be released by the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday. That’s according to a congressional aide, who was not authorized to discuss the timing of the release publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Friday is the next time the House is scheduled to meet for a routine pro forma session. The Democratic-controlled committee voted last week to release Trump’s returns, with some redactions of sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers and contact information. The new Congress, with Republicans in control of the House, begins Jan. 3.
December 28, 2022 4:21 am
DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines scrubbed thousands of flights again in the aftermath of the massive winter storm that wrecked Christmas travel plans across the U.S., and the federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers. A day after most U.S. airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest called off 2,500 more flights on the East Coast by midday Tuesday. The FlightAware tracking service reported that those flights accounted for more than 80 percent of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide Tuesday. The chaos seemed certain to continue. The airline also scrubbed 2,500 flights for Wednesday and nearly 1,000 for Thursday.
December 28, 2022 4:20 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Officials in New York say state and military police were sent to keep people from driving in snow-choked Buffalo. The Erie County executive said Tuesday that police are being positioned at entrances to Buffalo and at major intersections to enforce a ban on driving. Officials say more than 30 people died in the region. That’s in addition to about two dozen other deaths the huge storm caused around the country. And an emergency services commissioner in the Buffalo area says crews are keeping an eye on warmer weather forecast for later in the week that could bring a threat of flooding as the snow melts.
December 28, 2022 4:19 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s health has worsened over the past hours and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition. Pope Francis appealed Wednesday to the faithful to pray for his “very ill” predecessor “until the end.” A Vatican spokesperson said Francis went to visit the 95-year-old Benedict in the monastery on Vatican grounds where he has lived since retiring in February 2013. The spokesperson said Benedict’s situation “at the moment remains under control.” Benedict was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. Earlier, Francis departed from prepared remarks to ask the faithful to pray for the retired pontiff. Benedict has become increasingly frail in recent years as he dedicated his post-papacy life to prayer and meditation. (Photo: ABC News)
December 28, 2022 4:15 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Southwest woes- Across the country and here locally at Pittsburgh International. All of the airline’s 38 local flights were canceled Tuesday, leaving many families trying to get home, stranded. “As soon as we get there, we see lines down to terminals, people sleeping on the baggage claim things, there were no seats. It’s in a frenzy honestly,” said Elijah Hill, a stranded Southwest passenger. Nationally Southwest has canceled roughly 60% of its scheduled flights. At Pittsburgh International 114 flights were canceled this week. Hill said out of options he, his wife, and two young kids will make the nearly 15-hour drive back home to Pittsburgh early Wednesday morning. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating southwest to see if the company [Southwest Airlines] could have prevented this and if it’s complying with its customer service plan.
