NEW YORK (AP) — Alaska Air Group Inc. is buying Virgin America in a deal worth $2.6 billion, making Alaska the biggest carrier on the West Coast and reigniting the debate over airline consolidation. The proposed merger also would give Seattle-based Alaska a foothold in key airports in New York and Washington D.C., increasing the … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Monday, April 4, 2016, giving California the nation’s highest statewide minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2022. That and a similar effort in New York mark the most ambitious moves yet to close the national divide between rich and poor. Experts say … Continue reading
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man convicted for his role in a gunfight that killed one bystander and left nine people injured on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street was sentenced Monday, April 4, 2016, to 60 years in prison, the maximum penalty. State District Judge Byron Williams sentenced Trung Le, 22, to 40 years for … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Phife Dawg, a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016, from complications resulting from diabetes, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. He was 45. Born Malik Isaac Taylor, he was known as the “Five … Continue reading
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The estranged wife of an internationally known pianist pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016, to charges that she killed the couple’s young daughters at their Texas home. Sofya Tsygankova entered her plea during a brief court appearance in Fort Worth. Her arraignment came one day after she was charged … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Jon Casey has no confidence in his NCAA bracket picks this year. The 28-year-old technician from Scranton, Pennsylvania, spends hours absorbed in delegate counts and debate strategy instead of his usual winter evening routine of watching college basketball. For Casey and tens of thousands of other Americans now, the presidential campaign … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is kicking off a busy week: Today the giant tech company will host reporters and analysts at its Silicon Valley headquarters for a product launch event. On Tuesday, its lawyers will square off with authorities in federal court over the FBI’s demand for help unlocking a San Bernardino killer’s encrypted … Continue reading
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to build a giant wall on the border hits close to home for people like Berenice Andrews. The front door of her family’s home is just feet away from a fence separating the U.S. and Mexico. The home is so close to Mexico that the sounds of … Continue reading
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Three Franciscan friars charged with allowing a suspected sexual predator to hold jobs where he molested more than 100 children surrendered Friday, Mar 18, 2016, in Pennsylvania, where they were arraigned. Robert D’Aversa, 69, Anthony Criscitelli, 62, and Giles Schinelli, 73, are free on unsecured bond until an April 14 preliminary … Continue reading
CIMARRON, Kan. (AP) — An Amtrak train carrying 131 passengers derailed in rural Kansas early Monday, Mar 14, 2016, moments after an engineer noticed a significant bend in a rail and applied the emergency brakes, an official said. At least 32 people were hurt, two of them critically, authorities said. The train known as the … Continue reading
DETROIT (AP) — Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are putting the global economy at the center of their pitch to Democrats, trading charges about who would best represent American workers as their presidential campaign shifts to a series of Rust Belt primaries. Clinton planned to deliver a policy address Friday, March 4, 2016, in Detroit … Continue reading
With its rugged off-road prowess and reputation for reliability, Toyota’s stalwart 4Runner sport utility vehicle is enjoying a sales revival, thanks to low gasoline prices. Sales in the U.S. of the 4Runner, which ranks in the bottom third in fuel economy among gasoline-powered SUVs with 17 mpg in city driving and up to 22 mpg … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Peter Mondavi, a Napa Valley wine country innovator who led his family’s Charles Krug Winery through more than a half-century of change, has died. He was 101. Mondavi died Saturday at his home in St. Helena, California, said Wendy Lane Stevens, a member of the C. Mondavi and Family board of … Continue reading
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Bill Cosby’s wife, an enigmatic figure who has publicly stood by her husband despite the dozens of sexual assault allegations against him, was slated to answer questions under oath Monday, Feb 22, 2016, in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by seven accusers. The deposition, believed to be the first she … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Harper Lee, the elusive novelist whose child’s-eye view of racial injustice in a small Southern town, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” became standard reading for millions of young people and an Oscar-winning film, has died. She was 89. Lee died peacefully Friday, Feb 19, 2016, publisher HarperCollins said in a statement. It … Continue reading
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Investigators combing through an Oregon wildlife preserve occupied by an armed group for nearly six weeks have so far discovered firearms, explosives and trenches dug near an area containing tribal artifacts, according to federal prosecutors. The FBI also was concerned that numerous vehicles found at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge might be … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — The good news for those trying to catch up on Oscar-nominated flicks: A little more than half are available for streaming online. The bad news: Nearly half aren’t. The somewhat-less-bad, but still-not-good news: Apart from documentaries, few of the nominees are available through all-you-can-watch subscriptions such as Netflix and HBO Now. … Continue reading
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A woman accused of cutting an unborn baby from a stranger’s womb was obsessed with pregnancy, taking elaborate measures to convince friends and family she was expecting, a prosecutor said Wednesday as Dynel Lane’s trial got underway. But a defense lawyer said Lane didn’t plan the attack and didn’t know what … Continue reading
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Earl Johnston was 12 when he got his first job, a paper route that he quickly expanded by “buying out” additional routes from other, less industrious boys. After high school, he enrolled in a program to become an industrial electrician. “With that journeyman’s card in my back pocket, I had never … Continue reading
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The international debate over eliminating sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products that women must use has made its way to conservative Utah. Governments that make money off the products penalize women for their biology, some say. That perspective has picked up momentum, with at least five U.S. … Continue reading
HALEIWA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii’s big wave surf competition was called off early Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016, when the 40-foot swells predicted failed to materialize, event spokeswoman Jodi Wilmott said. The competition was last held six years ago, when swells met organizers’ strict minimums. The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau event began in 1984, … Continue reading
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Encouraged by Marco Rubio’s stumbles, the Republicans’ second-tier candidates are seeing fresh hope for survival as they sprint to the finish line in New Hampshire. The Democrats’ Clinton-Sanders duel is veering into gender politics. A day before the nation’s first primary, Donald Trump ramped up his schedule in the state where … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — The Golden Age of Online Television may be in peril. Streaming TV has gotten popular as several online services such as Netflix make past seasons of TV shows available for binge-watching, while Hulu offers episodes from the current season. Now, some television companies are balking at giving them timely access to … Continue reading
LAS VEGAS (AP) — From the taco bar to the chicken wings, Me Ray Shook has long had the potluck planned for her annual Super Bowl party. It’s how to watch the big game that she hasn’t figured out. Like tens of thousands of other Las Vegas football fans, Shook and her husband are scrambling … Continue reading
BALTIMORE (AP) — A defense lawyer’s failure to call an alibi witness was a key point of contention as a convicted murderer returned to court Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, to argue he deserves a new trial in a case that gained fresh notoriety through the podcast “Serial.” A three-day hearing began in Baltimore for 35-year-old … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 