The top local stories this evening from KERA News:
Two of the nation’s busiest airlines, American and Southwest, are reporting fourth-quarter profits -- and they're predicting a strong start to the new year.The world’s biggest carrier, Fort Worth-based American Airlines, says it earned 258 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2017.
That beat analysts estimates, but also represented a drop in income of more than 10 percent from 2016. The company predicts first quarter revenues will be higher than they were last year.
Over in Dallas, Southwest airlines turned in a record fourth-quarter profit of $1.9 billion. Earnings also beat analyst predictions. Despite increased bookings and a surge in high-priced, last-minute sales, these and all carriers must navigate increased fuel prices.
Other stories this evening:
- The annual homeless “point in time” count starts in about a half-hour. More than 15-hundred volunteers will be walking the streets across Dallas and Collin Counties, searching for people sleeping outside.
- As the former White House Social Secretary for President George W. Bush, Lea [LEE] Berman was responsible for planning just about every event on the White House grounds. And Berman believes the biggest lesson she learned on the job is that everyone deserves to be treated well. On Think, she talked with Krys Boyd about why manners matter.
- Clowning may look silly but it can take lots of practice to get those laughs. Juggling, plate-spinning. Pratfalls. For Russ Sharek, it also took a major personal transformation. For this week's Art & Seek Artist Spotlight, Jerome Weeks ran away and joined the circus.
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.