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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 29, 2014
September 29, 2014
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The Airlines:
The air traffic problems that cancelled hundreds of flights over the weekend to Chicago's two main airports may not be over.
On Friday, BRIAN HOWARD, a contract employee for the Federal Aviation Administration, reportedly set a fire at the FAA's Chicago traffic control center in nearby Aurora, IL. He was apparently upset because he had recently been told he was going to be transferred to Hawaii.
So he apparently went to the Center, cut some cables, laid out some towels soaked with gas from a can he brought in and lit them on fire.
When the first responders got there, they found him lying on the floor and trying to cut his throat with a knife. Howard, who's 36, reportedly told the paramedics to "leave me alone."
On Friday, there were more than 23-hundred flights which had to be cancelled across the country in the wake of the fire; another 845 flights cancelled and more than 17-hundred delayed on Saturday. On Sunday, Fox News reported 580 flights were cancelled at O'Hare and Midway.
CNN reports Howard could get up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250-thosuand dollars for the fire.World's busiest airports 2014 (Takeoffs and landings):
10. Paris; 478,306
9. Houston; 496,908
8. Las Vegas; 520,992
7. Charlotte; 557,948
6. Beijing; 567,759
5. Denver Int'l; 582,653
3. Dallas /Ft Worth; 678,059
4. Los Angeles Int'l; 696,443
2. Chicago (O'Hare); 883,287
1. Atlanta, 911,074 takeoffs and landings.
(Source: Airports Council International)Fast Food:
Dunkin' Donuts is celebrating National Coffee Day today with FREE medium hot Dark Roast Coffees for all. You may have to pay the tax, but bottoms up! (Kaye)
Sucking the life out of the wire services:
The private memorial for ROBIN WILLIAMS was held Saturday in San Francisco, CA, with Robin's family and a who's who of stars gathering at the Curran Theatre.
STEVIE WONDER performed during the musical portion of the tribute, and BILL CRYSTAL spoke at the memorial, as did WHOOPI GOLDBERG, BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT, BONNIE HUNT and ERIC IDLE, along with Robin's three children, CODY, ZELDA and ZAK and his wife, SUSAN. Admiral MIKE MULLEN, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007-2011, also spoke as well.
The Hollywood Reporter says other attendees included BETTE MIDLER, BEN STILLER, CHRISTINE TAYLOR, GEORGE LUCAS, PENNY MARSHALL, DANNY DE VITO, RHEA PERLMAN, SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR, GUS VAN SANT, CHRIS COLUMBUS, JEFF BRIDGES, MINNIE DRIVER, MARLO THOMAS, JOSH GROBAN, SETH GREEN, EDDIE IZZARD, RICHARD LEWIS and PAM DAWBER.Someone finally managed to tame the grey fox. As expected, GEORGE CLOONEY said "I Do" to AMAL ALAMUDDIN at the Aman Canal Grande Venice on Saturday in front of big-name guests like MATT DAMON and his wife, LUCIANA, BILL MURRAY, Vogueeditor ANNA WINTOUR, JOHN KRASINSKI, EMILY BLUNT, BONO and his wife, ALI HEWSON. Water taxis escorted everyone to the venue with "AG" flags flying high and the newlyweds got lots of support from the locals --one told Us Weekly they've "never seen anything like this." People lined the streets, bridges and balconies over the Grand Canal and some even hung from rooftops to show their enthusiasm.
The ceremony took place at eight-p.m., the lovebirds were announced man and wife at 8:18 and even wrote their own vows. Everyone chowed down on a five-course dinner that included lobster, risotto, sea bass, beef and canapes, while the groom reportedly created his own cocktail for the big day.
It sounds like quite a party --a few good-timin' guests didn't leave the joint until five-a.m. the next morning! (Lee)On the Beat:
A lady in Florida spent over a month in jail for possession of canned pasta.
Police arrested 23-year old ASHLEY GABRIELLE HUFF after they allegedly found a spoon covered with suspicious residue inside her vehicle. Huff insisted she wasn't using drugs, but cops arrested her anyway. After sitting behind bars for a month awaiting trial, the lab results finally came back. Officials confirmed it wasn't drug residue all over the spoon, it was dried up SpaghettiOs. Huff says she may pursue legal action against police and prosecutors. (Still) -
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