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Busiest holiday travel season in year is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush hit its peak Friday as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raised hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year.U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, seeking to avoid the delays and suspensions that marred travel last year and culminated with the Southwest Airline debacle that stranded more than 2 million people.Airlines have canceled just 1.2% of U.S. flights so far this year, the lowest in five years, but bad weather is always a threat. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Earlier this week, Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for its meltdown last y...

Saturday Forecast: Dense Fog Advisory, drizzly, mid 40s

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

Saturday: Dense Fog Advisory until noon. Overcast, damp, drizzly & mild. SSE 5-10 mph. High: 48Saturday Night: Overcast and areas of dense fog forming. Unseasonably mild. SSE 5-10 mph. Low: 44Sunday: Overcast, drizzle and near record highs. Chance of late day rain. SSW 5-10 mph. High:57Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for some rain on Christmas but continued mild with highs in the mid 50s. We're in a soggy weather pattern for the beginning of the week-- each day we'll get a bit cooler with highs in the mid to low 40s. Rain/snow mix is possible by Thursday with high temps near 40. Mostly cloudy on Friday with highs back towards normal in the mid to upper 30s. 

Increasing rain/thunderstorm chances

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Saturday is starting with with dense fog in many areas from I-35 eastward. For now, only Milam County is under a Dense Fog Advisory until 10 a.m. That may change in the next few hours.Rain totals since Thursday are averaging around .10" to .50". Only a gauge 8 miles south-southeast of Harper (Gillespie Co.) has recorded one inch.The upper-level low responsible for this rain has moved into southern Arizona.This morning will be cloudy with areas of fog and light rain. The fog will slowly lift during the late-morning hours. Patchy fog returns this evening and hovers over the area through Sunday morning.Rain chances increase during the early- to mid-afternoon. Thunderstorms will also be increasing late this afternoon into tonight.Thunderstorms will increase this eveningBased on present model trends it does look like the showers and thunderstorms will continue late tonight into tomorrow morning. The disturbance responsible for this rain will move east taking the rain and...

As mushers wait for snow, organizers consider postponing Beargrease sled dog race

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

A lack of snow may delay next month’s annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.Erin Altemus’ dog sled team pauses on a recent snow-free training run near Grand Marais, Minn. The team is pulling an ATV instead of a sled. The warm and dry winter could disrupt the 2024 Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. (Courtesy of Erin Altemus)Mike Keyport, president of the Beargrease board of directors, said a decision will be made in the first week of January on whether to postpone the race’s Jan. 28 start date to March 3.With the 300-mile route from Duluth to Grand Portage, Minn., nearly snowless, Keyport is hoping this winter’s warm weather will cool and enough snow will fall to reach the preferred 18-inch base of snow on the trails.But the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s eight- to 14-day outlook and January through March outlook both predict above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation for the region.“I would say I’m not in panic mode, but very concerned...

QR codes can hide deceptive links from identity thieves, FTC warns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

QR codes, the square bar codes that can be scanned and read by smartphones, are seemingly used everywhere: to board flights, enter concerts and look at restaurant menus.But scammers trying to steal personal information have also been using QR codes to direct people to harmful websites that can harvest their data, Alvaro Puig, a consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission, wrote in a blog post Wednesday on the agency’s consumer advice page.Would-be scammers hide dangerous links in the black-and-white jumble of some QR codes, the FTC warned.The people behind those schemes direct users to the harmful QR codes in deceptive ways, using tactics that include placing their own QR codes on top of legitimate codes on parking meters or sending the patterns to be scanned by text or email in ways that make them appear legitimate, the post said.Once people have clicked those links, the scammer can steal information that is entered on the website. The QR code can also be used to ...

Prep roundup: Mountain View beats St. Francis in boys basketball. ‘This was huge,’ coach says.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

Boys basketballMountain View 56, St. Francis 50Score one for the public school.For the first time in more than a decade, Mountain View was on the winning side against the Peninsula town’s West Catholic Athletic League school, beating visiting St. Francis on Friday night in a nonleague game.The victory improved Mountain View’s record to 7-2.St. Francis, in its first season under coach Rodney Tention, lost its third game in a row to fall to 3-4.Mountain View, which was coming off a 49-34 loss to Carlmont on Saturday, led 26-22 at halftime. St. Francis evened the score 38-38 after three quarters, but Mountain View opened up enough of a cushion in the final period to hold on down the stretch.Jayden Minor (16 points), Ben Maller (14 points) and Jaden Feller (13 points) scored in double figures for Mountain View. James Jordan (15 points) and Max Haberlach (11 points) led St. Francis.The win was Mountain View’s first over St. Francis since a 48-46 triumph on December 2012...

How $750 a month helped Bay Area homeless people spend less time on the street

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

Over the course of the year, a hundred homeless people in the Bay Area and Los Angeles received $750 a month, no questions asked, to spend as they pleased.How did they manage their money?Newly released results from the “guaranteed income” program that handed out the payments found participants overwhelmingly used the cash to cover everyday necessities — food, housing and transportation. Crucially, the assistance helped some recipients get off the street once they could afford rent or the costs of moving into an apartment. “It’s what we all need as people, just a little bit of support when times are tough,” said Kevin F. Adler, founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit in charge of the program.In recent years, local governments and private organizations across the Bay Area have funded at least 20 other guaranteed income pilot programs to determine whether unconditional payments can help alleviate the region’s staggering wealth ...

49ers’ Warner, Greenlaw share center stage with Ravens’ Smith, Queen

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

SANTA CLARA — As much as the 49ers’ Christmas game against the Baltimore Ravens is being looked at as a referendum on this year’s Most Valuable Player, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Lamar Jackson have other concerns Monday night.Purdy and McCaffrey will be on the lookout for Ravens’ linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.Smith and Queen would be the consensus pick as the best duo in the NFL were it not for the 49ers’ pairing Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.Warner and Greenlaw will have all the attention of Jackson, whose skills as a runner and passer put defenses in a constant state of stress.“I think those are the two guys who jump off the tape and I think they’re the most comparable to our guys that I’ve seen this year and in a couple years,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “To me, those two guys make the defense go.”Shanahan was talking about Smith and Queen, but it could have just as easily have been Warne...

Now ‘a little wiser,’ Sharks goalie won’t be surprised by anything at trade deadline

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

SAN JOSE – Kaapo Kahkonen can easily recall when he found out he had been traded from the Minnesota Wild to the San Jose Sharks.“I was in the middle of a morning skate,” Kahkonen said of the March 21, 2022, deal. “I got pulled off the ice and told I was traded, jumped on a plane, and met these guys in Calgary that same night.“I had no idea that was coming.”Kahkonen won’t be blindsided if he’s dealt by the Sharks to a playoff-contending team between now and the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline. Not only is he a pending unrestricted free agent on the NHL’s last-place team, but he’s also having a bounce-back year, buoyed by a solid month of December in which he’s arguably been the Sharks’ top goalie.“A little wiser this time around,” said Kahkonen, 27. “Obviously, understanding that my contract’s up and in this league, anything can happen.”Going into Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Kahkonen is 3-2-1 in six games this month with a .914 save percentage, which ranks 15th ...

Political cartoons: Who’s naughty and who’s nice this Christmas?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:49:31 GMT

As we reach Christmas 2023, cartoonists across the country have drawn clear conclusions about who has been naughty and nice at a time when Americans face angst about issues such as the upcoming presidential election, high interest rates, war in the Middle East and Ukraine, an ethically challenged Supreme Court and large influxes of undocumented immigrants.David Horsey/The Seattle TimesRivers/CagleCartoons.comLisa Benson/Counterpoint MediaChris Britt/Creators.comClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressFrank Hansen/PoliticalCartoons.comDave Whamond/PoliticalCartoons.comMike Luckovich/Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyGary Markstein/Creators SyndicateJoel Pett/Tribune Content AgencyLiam Simonelli/Counterpoint MediaLisa Benson/Counterpoint MediaMichael Ramirez/Las Veg...