Veterans sue over bathroom access in flight
A veterans group is turning to the courts for help in its efforts to make airplane bathrooms more accessible for travelers with disabilities.
Paralyzed Veterans of America filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit asking the court to force the Transportation Department to restart efforts to make bathrooms on single-aisle aircraft accessible to those with disabilities.
After years of debate, advocates were heartened when, in 2016, a committee convened by the Transportation Department reached a consensus on improving bathroom accessibility.
Airplanes, unlike other modes of transportation, are not subject to accessibility rules spelled out in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Abortions in Illinois
CHICAGO — One woman came to Chicago by bus from Indianapolis in mid-2017, pregnant but with medical complications that would have made labor and delivery potentially dangerous. Another woman traveled here from Wisconsin in March because she didn’t have the financial means or will to have a baby.
Although they were strangers, 28-year-old Timna Axel hosted them in her Uptown neighborhood apartment for a few nights before and after their abortions at local clinics.
More women are crossing state lines to have abortions in Illinois.
Last year, 5,528 women traveled to Illinois from other states to terminate pregnancies, almost a thousand more than the 4,543 women who came from out of state in 2016.
3 in truck killed at border
Three people in a packed pickup truck were killed on Thursday afternoon after the driver ran over tire spikes and crashed on a Southern California highway while trying to flee Border Patrol officers, the authorities said.
The officers turned on their vehicle’s emergency lights and began chasing the pickup truck on Interstate 8, near Boulevard, Calif., at about 4:20 p.m., according to the United States Customs and Border Protection.
The authorities said they believed that the pickup truck had been illegally driven over the southern border and had crashed through an “iron bar vehicle barrier.”
The pickup truck reached speeds of over 100 mph, weaving between cars and bypassing others on the side of the highway, before it drove over spikes that the Border Patrol had placed on the road.
Slimmer airline food
The food served on airlines is not as fattening as it used to be.
A study found that the average food choice offered by commercial airlines in the U.S. — including snacks, entrees and drinks — has fewer calories this year than in the past two years.
The average number of calories per menu choice on U.S.-based carriers rose from 392 calories in 2016 to 405 calories last year but dropped to 373 calories this year, a 32 percent calorie decline over last year, according to the study from the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center.
The calorie count dropped because airlines have replaced foods such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with salads and began offering new options, including oatmeal for breakfast and vegan lunches, the study said.