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If you haven’t started your Thanksgiving trip, you’re not alone. The busiest days are still to come

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

The late crush of holiday travelers is picking up steam, with about 2.7 million people expected to board flights on Wednesday and millions more planning to drive to Thanksgiving celebrations.Airline officials say they are confident that they can avoid the kind of massive disruptions that have marred past holiday seasons, such as the meltdown at Southwest Airlines over last Christmas.Airlines have added tens of thousands of employees in the last couple years, and Southwest says it has bought more winter equipment to keep planes moving even during sub-freezing temperatures.Security lines at airports could be long because of the crowds. Delta Air Lines is telling passengers to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their flight if they are traveling within the United States, three hours early if they’re flying overseas — and maybe earlier on Sunday and Monday.The holiday will also test the Federal Aviation Administration, which faces shortages of air traffic controllers ...

Today in History: November 22, John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Nov. 22, the 326th day of 2023. There are 39 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot to death during a motorcade in Dallas; Texas Gov. John B. Connally, riding in the same car as Kennedy, was seriously wounded. Suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president.On this date: In 1718, English pirate Edward Teach — better known as “Blackbeard” — was killed during a battle off what is now North Carolina. In 1906, the “S-O-S” distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin. In 1935, a flying boat, the China Clipper, took off from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the first trans-Pacific airmail flight. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Ca...

Messi’s Argentina beats Brazil in a World Cup qualifying game delayed by crowd violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad celebrated like they’d won the World Cup again after a dramatic 1-0 win over archrival Brazil on Tuesday. It was Brazil’s first home defeat ever in World Cup qualifying, a game that was delayed because of a brawl between fans in the stands.Many fans went to the Maracana to watch Messi in likely his last match in Brazil, a superclasico against the hosts. Instead, they saw Nicolás Otamendi score the only goal of the match.It was Brazil’s third consecutive loss in the round-robin tournament — another blow for new coach Fernando Diniz. It was also the first time since 2009 that the five-time World Cup winners failed to score in a home game.Messi left the pitch in the 78th minute amid a mixture of jeers and applause from Brazil fans. Dozens of children arrived at the Maracana wearing the shirts of Barcelona, the star’s previous club, and Inter Miami. The Argentine star was unable to end one of his last barriers in the...

Live updates | An Israel-Hamas deal for hostages and a four-day cease-fire has been approved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

Israel’s Cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week.The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and that it will last for four days.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached.Israel, the United States and Qatar have been negotiating for weeks over a hostage release that would be paired with a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid. Israel says Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields, while critics say Israel’s siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory’...

Scaloni wonders whether he’ll stay on as Argentina coach after winning in Brazil

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Copa America title, a World Cup trophy and now a first-of-a-kind win in Brazil has Lionel Scaloni wondering whether he’ll stay on as Argentina coach.“I need to think a lot about what I will do,” Scaloni said in a news conference after Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifying match in Rio de Janeiro. “I need this time to think.”Scaloni said he’d give it some thought before talking to Argentina’s soccer federation president Claudio Tapia and the players “because this national team needs a coach that has every possible energy, and that feels well.”The Maracana Stadium result was Brazil’s first ever home defeat in a World Cup qualifying match.“It is not a goodbye, it is not something else. But I need to think because the bar is set really high and it is tough to go ahead,” Scaloni said, “it is tough to continue winning.”He did not respond to other questions after making his comments...

Sam Altman to return as OpenAI’s CEO

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

Just days after he was fired by the OpenAI board, Sam Altman is set to return to the firm he co-founded as CEO, alongside a new board.In a post on X early Wednesday morning, the artificial intelligence firm said it had “reached an agreement in principle” for Altman to return, and that Bret Taylor, the former CEO of Salesforce, would chair a new “initial board,” which would also include former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, who is an existing board member.Altman, who took a job at Microsoft after his controversial ousting on Friday, said he was “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI, which created the famed ChatGPT language model-based chatbot.More than 730 of OpenAI’s employees — around 95 percent of the workforce — signed an open letter on Monday threatening to quit the firm if Altman wasn’t reinstated.

Chicago White Sox add another infielder with local ties, signing Paul DeJong after last week’s trade for Nicky Lopez

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

The Chicago White Sox continued their work to fill infield holes Tuesday by signing veteran Paul DeJong to a one-year deal, a source confirmed to the Tribune. The move is pending a physical.DeJong, who went to Antioch High School and Illinois State, has a .229/.299/.417 career slash line with 116 home runs and 344 RBIs in 729 career games over seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2017-23), Toronto Blue Jays (’23) and San Francisco Giants (’23).He finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 after slashing .285/.325/.532 with 25 home runs and 65 RBIs in 108 games. And he earned an All-Star selection in 2019, when he had career highs in home runs (30) and RBIs (78) in 159 games.The 30-year-old DeJong had a combined .207/.258/.355 slash line last season with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs in 112 games with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants. He has 656 career starts at shortstop and 20 at second base.Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network ...

Woman arrested after kidnapping attempt in East County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

SANTEE, Calif. -- A woman suspected of trying to kidnap a 1-year-old child in Santee was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.Isela Ortega, 31, faces a charge of attempted kidnapping, Lt. Chris Galve with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. She will be booked into Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. Substitute teacher arrested after suspected ‘inappropriate activity’ with teen: police The attempted kidnapping occurred Monday just before 6 p.m. when a woman tried to take the child from a shopping cart in the 100 block of Town Center Parkway, according to law enforcement. However, the suspect was unable to remove the child from the cart as they were secured with a lap belt. The woman left the scene and headed south toward Mission Gorge Rd., but she was not located.Around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Ortega was arrested in the 400 block of Orsett Street in Chula Vista, Galve said.

The US and the Philippines conduct joint air, sea patrols in South China Sea not far from Taiwan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The United States and the Philippines are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which come as the two countries step up cooperation in the face of growingly aggressive Chinese activity in the area.The Philippine Air Force said Wednesday its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols on Tuesday in the vicinity of Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines, which is only about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own. The patrols run through Thursday and also include both the U.S. and Philippine navies. They come only days after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called the situation in the South China Sea increasingly “dire” as China seeks to assert its presence in an area where multiple nations have competing territorial claims.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own waters, which has led to disputes not only with the Philippines but also with Vietnam, ...

The top contenders to lead the Netherlands, from a former refugee to an anti-Islam populist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:44 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — No fewer than 26 Dutch political parties are seeking a share of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament when the Netherlands holds a general election Wednesday. Only a few of them stand a realistic chance of providing the candidate who will succeed Mark Rutte as prime minister.Rutte, who is standing down once a new government is formed, led four coalitions over a record-breaking 13 years, making him the longest-serving Dutch prime minister. These are the main contenders to succeed him. Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, People’s Party for Freedom and DemocracyDilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, who could become the Netherlands’ first female prime minister, is a former refugee and now advocates cracking down on migration.The 46-year-old justice minister and leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, sees no contradiction in that.Instead, her party riffs on Yeşilgöz-Zegerius’ story in its manifesto as a reason to rein in immigration.“Th...