Lawmakers to encourage private airport screeners
Lawmakers to encourage private airport screeners — Four years after Congress put the federal government in charge of aviation security, it is about to change course and encourage private security companies to run airport checkpoints. (USA Today)
Insurers: Katrina losses are worst ever — Insured losses from Hurricane Katrina property damage have reached $34.4 billion, the industry’s official statisticians say, confirming it as the most costly disaster in U.S. history. (Reuters)
Diesel hits new record, gas levels off — Gas prices were relatively unchanged Wednesday while the price of diesel climbed to its third-straight record as the flow of fuel remained disrupted following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to AAA. (CNN/Money)
Marriott accused of discriminating against disabled golfers — Disabled golfers sued Marriott International Inc. on Tuesday, accusing the travel chain of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing so-called “adaptive†golf carts. (AP)
Hurricane strikes Mexican coast — Hurricane Stan has ploughed through mainland Mexico after killing at least 66 people in Central America. (BBC News)
More airline jobs could be leaving Pittsburgh — Hundreds of high-paying jobs could be leaving Pittsburgh for Tempe, Ariz., in about two years, when the newly merged US Airways and America West Airlines start operating as a single unit. (Beaver County Times)
Space tourist says voyage is a ‘dream come true’ — Speaking from the International Space Station in orbit about Earth, American space tourist Greg Olsen said on Tuesday the experience was “indescribable†and “a dream come trueâ€Â. (Sapa-AFP)
Storms could be hurting Florida’s tourism industry — Mother nature’s fury might finally be blowing tourists away from Florida. Hotel tax collections in vacation hotspots Orange County and Panama City Beach both dropped in August compared to last year, a potentially bad sign amid an otherwise strong recovery from a post-Sept. 11 freefall. (AP)
Tammy forms off Florida coast — Tropical Storm Tammy formed just off Florida’s east coast Wednesday and could bring tornadoes, heavy rain and coastal erosion to northern Florida and parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. (AP)
Evacuee hotel program extended — More than 400,000 people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina will remain in hotel rooms beyond the Oct. 15 deadline set for their relocation, the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday, extending a program that is costing an estimated $8.3 million a day. (Washington Post)
Airlines face billions in pension payments — The nation’s struggling airlines face at least $10.4 billion in payments for defined-benefit pension plans through 2008, significantly more than some are able to afford, a congressional report says. (AP)
Hurricane Stan claims 99 lives — Heavy rains pounded Central America for a fourth day Wednesday, pushing rivers over their banks and unleashing at least two deadly mudslides as the region’s death toll increased to nearly 100 people. (AP)
Trump, developer to make tulip-shaped hotel — U.S. real estate and gambling kingpin Donald Trump is joining forces with top Emirates developer Nakheel to build a tulip-shaped hotel on a man-made island shaped like a palm tree. (AP)
Carrie Charney, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.