Chicago: News

Coronavirus Daily News Brief – April 8: Long Covid Linked to Ongoing Inflammation, Global Covid Case Figures Largely Unchanged, and Today’s Statistics

Good afternoon. This is Jonathan Spira, director of research at the Center for Long Covid Research, reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on its 1,489th day as well as the day of the Great North American Total Solar Eclipse.
In news we cover today, a new study links Long Covid to ongoing inflammation in the blood, pertussis – better known as whooping cough – is …

The Last Days of What Was Once Boston Chicken. From Humble Beginnings, the Once-Flourishing Boston Market Fast-Casual Chain is Now Mired in Ignominy

Poor Boston Market. The once-great chain of what we now refer to as “fast-casual” restaurants has gone from its humble origins as Boston Chicken followed by a rebranding ten years later to Boston Market, and ultimately an expansion to some 1,200 restaurants.

Now it exists… barely… in ignominy.

What exactly is ignominy in this business? It’s when a franchise business is so desperate to survive that it would move to allow anyone …

Flight Attendants at Multiple U.S. Airlines on Picket Lines to Demand Better Contracts and Working Conditions

Some passengers wondered if they would be able to fly when they arrived at one of 30 major U.S. airports where flight attendants were picketing. What they saw wasn’t a walkout but an informational.
Tuesday is Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action and the flight attendants were not on strike but on picket lines to make a point.
The informational campaigns come just as approximately two-thirds of flight attendants, namely those at …

United Airlines Reports Record Passenger Traffic on Revenue of $53.7 Billion for 2023

United Airlines announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full calendar year 2023.
The carrier reported a profit of $2.6 billion on revenue of $53.7 billion, up $737 million and $45 billion from 2022 respectively.
The Chicago-based airline said it had carried 165 million passengers in 2023 at a load factor of 86.4%, the most passengers ever in a year, making it the world’s largest airline by available seat miles in …

Father Winter Steps It Up: ‘Life Threatening’ Blizzards, ‘Dangerous Frigid Temperatures,’ and Flight Delays Are the Totality of the Weekend’s Forecast

More than 66 million people are under winter weather alerts Friday from Oregon to New York and air travel in many parts of the United States is in a state of chaos as the holiday weekend in the United States arrives.
“A powerful winter storm will bring heavy snow, strong winds, and blizzard conditions from the mid-Missouri Valley, Midwest to the Great Lakes through Saturday,” the National Weather Service said Friday …

FAA Puts Boeing 737 Max 9 Return to Service on Hold. CEO Admits Error, Says Mid-Air Door Blowout ‘Can Never Happen Again’

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that Boeing’s instructions as to how Alaska and United airlines should check their Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft were insufficient and that the airplane maker would have to revise them..
The move will delay the manufacturer’s effort to get the jet back in the air after a panel known as a plug in one of Alaska’s planes blew out during a flight last Friday.
The …

Thousands of Flights Delayed and Cancelled Amidst Back-to-Back Storms, Boeing 737 Max 9 Grounding, and Every Winter Weather Threat Imaginable

The Lower 48 and Hawaii should see virtually every form of severe weather possible in the coming days and it will be accompanied by widespread power outages, hazardous road conditions, and numerous flight cancellations and delays.
“Significant winter storms will track across the Lower 48 through this week,” the National Weather Service said in a statement early Monday. “Blizzard conditions for the Plains and Midwest, strong to damaging winds, severe thunderstorms …