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- [00:01]
Windsor Johnston
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. American Airlines has resumed operations after grounding all flights earlier this morning. NPR's Joel Rose reports the airline suffered what it's calling a technical issue on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
- [00:21]
Joel Rose
American Airlines says the nationwide ground stop has been lifted after halting all of the carrier's flights for about an hour. Passengers on social media reported that boarding stopped and some planes had to return to their gates. In a statement, American blamed the problem on a, quote, vendor technology issue and apologized to customers for the inconvenience. The airline's pilots told passengers the outage was related to a software issue affecting calculations of weight and balance issues. The brief outage also affected flight planning. Hundreds of flights were delayed, particularly at airports in Charlotte, Dallas, Miami and other American Airlines hubs, and those delays could ripple across the country for the rest of the day. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.
- [01:03]
Windsor Johnston
Starting January 1st, millions of additional workers would have become eligible to earn overtime pay under a new federal rule issued by the Biden administration. That rule was struck down in court last month. An appeal is pending, but for the time being, millions of workers won't be making any additional money. NPR's Andrea Hsu explains.
- [01:27]
Andrea Hsu
Federal law requires that if you work more than 40 hours a week, your employer has to pay you time and a half. Now, there are some exceptions to this rule, and a big one is that if you're a manager or you have a role where you have significant decision making responsibilities, you're not eligible to earn overtime unless your salary falls under a certain threshold. And the Biden administration felt that threshold, which was about 35,500 a year, was way too low.
- [01:53]
Windsor Johnston
That's NPR's Andrea Hsu reporting. As 2024 comes to a close, it's almost certain to be the hottest year on record. NPR's Lauren Sommer reports. Global temperatures were even warmer than scientists expected.
- [02:10]
Lauren Sommer
The current title holder for hottest year is 2023. Last year, average temperatures across the globe were the warmest since record keeping began in the mid-1800s. Now it's looking like 2024 will take the top spot. That's largely due to cl. Burning fossil fuels is adding heat, trapping gases to the atmosphere. There was also an El Nino, a natural pattern where the Pacific Ocean releases heat. But even after the El Nino faded, temperatures stayed warm. So scientists are determining if other things played a role, like a lack of cloud cover. No matter what year claims the title, it's part of a bigger Trend. The past 10 years have all been the warmest 10. The past 10 years have been the warmest 10 years on record. Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
- [02:55]
Windsor Johnston
This is NPR News. In Washington, the union representing striking baristas at Starbucks as it expects more than 300 locations across the US to be affected by the walkout. This is the fifth and final day of the strike. In the remote coastal communities of Northern California, there's a rivalry over who has the tallest living Christmas tree. NPR's Alice Wolfley reports.
- [03:27]
Alice Wolfley
Jim Campbell Spickler is the director of the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka and kind of an expert when it comes to measuring tall trees.
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Jim Campbell Spickler
I would consider the measurements that we've completed to be official.
- [03:39]
Alice Wolfley
He says the coast redwood he strung with lights is 174ft, 9 inches tall. The zoo announced that it had the tallest known living decorated tree. But soon after, Campbell Spickler got a call.
- [03:51]
Jim Campbell Spickler
Well, hey, the folks down in Mendocino county at the skunk train claim to have a taller tree.
- [03:57]
Alice Wolfley
The historic railroad in the town of Willits says it decorated a redwood nearly 50ft taller. After seeing video evidence, Campbell Spickler agrees the rivalry is taller. He's offered to do an official measurement before next Christmas. Alice Wolfley, NPR News.
- [04:13]
Windsor Johnston
Former President Bill Clinton has been released from the hospital. The 78 year old was admitted in Washington, D.C. after developing a fever. On A spokesperson says it was a case of the flu and that Clinton is in good spirits. Wall street is closing early at this hour for the Christmas holiday. At last check, the dow was up 390 points. This is NPR News in Washington.