By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
Federal officials are giving Southwest Airlines till Dec. 24 to replace unapproved parts that were installed on dozens of airplanes. Southwest faced a Tuesday deadline and had appealed for more time to fix the problem.
A maintenance company hired by Southwest used parts that hadn't been approved by the FAA on more than 80 Southwest planes. Southwest has replaced the parts on about 30 and will get more time to complete the remaining work. The parts are designed to deflect hot engine exhaust away from the wings.
Southwest suspended the maintenance company, D-Velco, a unit of aviation parts maker Northstar Aerospace.
American to cut 921 flight attendants jobs
American Airlines is cutting 921 flight attendant jobs as it deals with a downturn in traffic and lower revenue. The airline said Tuesday that the cuts will take effect Oct. 1.
American, the nation's second-largest airline, says 228 employees will be furloughed - laid off but with rehiring rights - and the company put 244 more on leave for two months. Another 449 took voluntary options such as leave.
The company says it planned to cut 1,200 flight attendant jobs but was able to reduce the number by adjusting staffing requirements for the winter.
The airline said in June that it would cut jobs as it reduced flights to meet lower travel demand.
Report: Texas highest rate of repeat teen births
A new report says Texas has the highest rate of repeat teen births of any state at 23 percent.
The report by Washington-based research group Child Trends says that among 73 major U.S. cities in 2006, Dallas had the highest repeat percentage of repeat teen births at 28 percent.
San Antonio had a repeat teen birth rate of 26 percent. Fort Worth's was at 25 percent and Houston and Austin each had a repeat teen birth rate of 24 percent. El Paso was at 21 percent and Arlington was at 19 percent.
The year is the most recent for which city-level data are available. It;s the sixth consecutive year that Texas had the highest repeat rate of any state. This is the first time the group has ranked cities.
Texas did improve from having the highest teen birth rate in 2005 to the third highest in 2006.
Texas also leads the states in the number of girls under 15 giving birth and Houston leads cities.
A study by the Texas Freedom Network earlier this year found 94 percent of Texas schools don't give students any sex education beyond urging abstinence.
Peruvian nanny's murder conviction overturned
A Texas appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Peruvian live-in nanny convicted of fatally beating the toddler she had cared for in suburban Dallas.
The state's Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas concluded that two errors were made during the capital murder trial of Ada Betty Cuadros Fernandez.
The Collin County District Attorney's Office said Monday it hasn't yet decided whether to retry Cuadros or appeal Friday's decision.
Cuadros was sentenced to life in prison in the 2005 death of Kyle Lazarchik, one the twin boys for which she cared for nearly a year in the North Texas city of McKinney. Investigators contend she smashed the boy's head against a kitchen cabinet door.
Newspaper publisher Freedom files for Chapter 11
The owner of dozens of of daily U.S. newspapers, including several in Texas, is the latest publisher to seek bankruptcy protection.
Orange County, Calif.-based Freedom Communications says it's been hurt by a jarring drop in advertising revenue. In the filing in a Delaware bankruptcy court, Freedom cited debts of more than $1 billion and assets of $500 million to $1 billion.
Freedom says it's already reached agreement with most of its creditors on a reorganization plan.
The company's been struggling to bring in enough money to repay its debt for the past year. It's required workers to take unpaid leave and imposed an across-the-board 5 percent cut in wages.
In Texas, the company owns the Odessa American, The Monitor in McAllen, the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, The Brownsville Herald and the weekly Mid-Valley Town Crier in Weslaco. It also owns KFDM-TV in Beaumont.