TRAVEL NEWS

• Calif. commuter train in crash; minor injuries 11/20/2008, 3:40 p.m. CST
RIALTO, Calif. (AP) — A commuter train collided with a freight train Thursday in Southern California, producing no serious injuries but bringing back memories of a deadly commuter-train wreck in the region just two months ago.

• Baltimore police: Armed man mentioned White House 11/19/2008, 8:00 p.m. CST
BALTIMORE (AP) — A man who mentioned the White House and other landmarks before boarding a Washington-bound commuter train with an assault rifle was captured Wednesday after breaking an ankle while running from two officers, police said.

• Crisis in paradise: Meltdown leaves ghost resorts 11/19/2008, 3:16 p.m. CST
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The ocean glows a milky turquoise. Tiny waves lap at the powder-beige sand, in no rush to reach the line of postcard-perfect palm trees.

• Baltimore police: Armed man mentioned White House 11/19/2008, 3:15 p.m. CST
BALTIMORE (AP) — A man who mentioned the White House and other landmarks before boarding a Washington-bound commuter train with an assault rifle was captured Wednesday after breaking an ankle while running from two officers, police said.

• Philippine Airlines reports $114M loss in 1st half 11/19/2008, 9:07 a.m. CST
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The national carrier Philippine Airlines said Wednesday an unprecedented surge in fuel prices left it with a loss of $113.8 million during the fiscal first-half.

• Philippine Airlines reports $114M loss in 1st half 11/19/2008, 4:54 a.m. CST
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The national carrier Philippine Airlines said Wednesday an unprecedented surge in fuel prices left it with a loss of $113.8 million during the fiscal first-half.

• Steps proposed to ease air travel congestion 11/18/2008, 4:45 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is opening some military airspace to ease airline congestion over Thanksgiving and Christmas, though the effort is likely to have only limited results. And if the weather's bad, all bets are off.

• Bush trying again to stem holiday flight delays 11/18/2008, 11:03 a.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anticipating another holiday travel crunch, President Bush said on Tuesday that his administration was taking steps to prevent frustrating flight delays during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

• Bush trying again to stem holiday flight delays 11/18/2008, 10:17 a.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anticipating another holiday travel crunch, President Bush on Tuesday said his administration is taking steps to prevent the frustrating flight delays that many travelers experience.

• Homes sought for retired dogs amid track closings 11/18/2008, 8:30 a.m. CST
CINCINNATI (AP) — Pet adoption agencies are pushing to find homes for a growing number of retired greyhounds amid a struggling dog racing industry and a weak U.S. economy that's left some prospective and current owners unable to afford a pet.

• Homes sought for retired dogs amid track closings 11/18/2008, 3:43 a.m. CST
CINCINNATI (AP) — Pet adoption agencies are pushing to find homes for a growing number of retired greyhounds amid a struggling dog racing industry and a weak U.S. economy that's left some prospective and current owners unable to afford a pet.

• Bush trying again to stem holiday flight delays 11/18/2008, 2:22 a.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of those closest to the frustrating delays many travelers experience at U.S. airports are hoping President George W. Bush plans more expansive steps than he took last year to combat the holiday crunch.

• Irvington man watching auto races killed by train 11/17/2008, 5:03 p.m. CST
IRVINGTON, Ala. (AP) — Mobile County authorities say a man struck and killed by a train in Irvington was 49-year-old Jeffrey Burch.

• Australia hopes Nicole Kidman film spurs tourism 11/17/2008, 3:16 p.m. CST
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — The film camera sweeps across the landscape, taking in flat plains, gushing waterfalls and a dusty country town. The color is brilliant, the emptiness palpable, and the soundtrack soars dramatically as warplanes bomb a city.

• More trouble for runaway boy who boarded airplane 11/15/2008, 5:20 a.m. CST
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A boy who ran away at age 9 and talked his way onto airplane flights to Texas has blown too many chances to clean up his act and must live with a felony record for a prior car theft, a judge has decided.

• Amtrak CEO steps down; had differences with board 11/14/2008, 6:53 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amtrak's CEO, Alex Kummant, resigned Friday after two years on the job and following unspecified differences with the board of the national passenger railroad.

• Amtrak CEO steps down 11/14/2008, 3:40 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amtrak Chief Executive Alex Kummant resigned Friday after two years marked by significant growth in ridership and revenue, the national passenger railroad said.

• Airlines from Angola banned from flying to the EU 11/14/2008, 8:43 a.m. CST
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Union on Friday banned all Angolan airlines from flying to the 27-nation bloc, citing safety concerns.

• New US travel security measure takes effect Jan 12 11/14/2008, 6:40 a.m. CST
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — U.S. officials say Europeans and others who travel visa-free to the United States must start registering their trips electronically as part of a new online security screening process which takes effect Jan. 12, 2009.

• Austria: Lufthansa sole bidder for airline 11/13/2008, 12:51 p.m. CST
(AP) — VIENNA, Austria (AP — Austria's privatization agency said Thursday it had chosen Lufthansa for exclusive final negotiations on selling the state's 41.6 percent stake in Austrian Airlines.

• Jury recommends death in Mobile slaying 11/12/2008, 5:15 p.m. CST
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A jury has recommended death for a 34-year-old drifter convicted of capital murder in the death of a motel owner in Mobile.

• Gov't offers little help for stuck air passengers 11/12/2008, 4:38 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Passengers stranded for hours aboard planes on the tarmac would still have to depend on the goodwill of airlines and airports for relief under guidelines adopted by a federal task force Wednesday.

• Gov't offers little help for stuck air passengers 11/12/2008, 2:24 a.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Airline passengers looking for protection against being stranded for hours on tarmacs shouldn't count on help from a federal task force that's been wrestling with the problem for nearly a year.

• Vacation rental Web startup reaps $250M investment 11/11/2008, 9:59 a.m. CST
NEW YORK (AP) — Even as the sinking economy is making many people think about turning their vacations into "staycations," an online vacation rental service recently managed to raise $250 million to fund its growth.

• Man convicted of killing Ala. motel owner 11/11/2008, 8:25 a.m. CST
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jurors in Mobile convicted a drifter of capital murder in the Dec. 2003 slaying of a motel operator.

• CrossFit training program in Birmingham intense 11/9/2008, 11:00 p.m. CST
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Richard Rigor clicked his stopwatch and told three clients that the 18-minute Fight Gone Bad workout had ended.

• Comair last in on-time performance for Sept. 11/7/2008, 11:40 a.m. CST
ATLANTA (AP) — The government says Comair was the U.S. airline with the worst on-time performance during September.

• Airlines' on-time performance improved in Sept. 11/7/2008, 11:31 a.m. CST
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. airlines' on-time performance and baggage handling improved in September, though the carriers overall posted a higher rate of domestic cancellations compared to the same month a year ago, the Transportation Department said Friday.

• Singapore Airlines profit drops on fuel costs 11/6/2008, 8:50 p.m. CST
SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore Airlines Ltd. said its July-September profit fell 36 percent as fuel costs boosted expenditures. The airline warned passenger demand may drop next year.

• Huntsville welcomes explosives training center 11/6/2008, 2:31 p.m. CST
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Huntsville is being billed as the future "explosives capital of the world" when construction of a new explosives training and research center opens in 2010.