Fog at airport leads to delays, diversions

Fog at airport leads to delays, diversions

DENVER

Fog and wind caused delays at the Denver airport Sunday, and 46 incoming flights were diverted to other cities on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Most of the diverted flights landed in Colorado Springs, about 90 miles south, Denver International Airport spokeswoman Laura Coale said.

Incoming flights were delayed by about an hour Sunday afternoon, down from two hours earlier in the day. Departures also were delayed, but times weren’t available.

Weather prevented the use of three of the airport’s six runways, Coale said.

The Denver airport expected 166,000 passengers Sunday and 157,000 today as the Thanksgiving weekend wrapped up. Normally, about 144,000 passengers a day use the airport.

Pope, patriarch call for end to IS attacks

ISTANBUL

Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians demanded an end to the persecution of religious minorities in Syria and Iraq on Sunday and called for a “constructive dialogue” with Muslims, capping the pontiff’s three-day visit to Turkey with a strong show of Christian unity in the face of suffering and violence.

Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I issued a joint declaration urging leaders in the region to intensify assistance to victims of the Islamic State group, and especially to allow Christians who have had a presence in the region for 2,000 years to remain on their native lands.

Center to fly drones to aid farmers

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio

A joint venture between Ohio and Indiana is teaming up with an Ohio college to fly drone missions aimed at helping farmers boost crop yields.

The Ohio/Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center in Springfield, Ohio, and Ohio State University are teaming up to fly a small drone that will gather sensor data for the agricultural research.

The Ohio/Indiana UAS center in western Ohio says the Federal Aviation Administration granted authorization for the flight operations supporting research at OSU’s Molley Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.

No bomb on plane at JFK after threat

NEW YORK

Authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport said they found nothing dangerous Sunday on an American Airlines plane after a bomb threat was phoned in and the aircraft arrived from Spain.

Flight 67 from Barcelona landed safely in New York City about noon, according to Laura Masvideo, a spokeswoman for the airline.

The aircraft was taken to a location near the tarmac where the 200 passengers plus crew members were taken off the aircraft, according to Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police.

He said authorities were investigating the source of the call.

Woman found dead with arrows in head

MARY ESTHER, Fla.

A Florida man told police he shot his mother with a gun and a bow-and-arrow and then stabbed her Sunday because he claimed she “stole his diamonds and also gave his father cancer,” authorities said.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 2:48 a.m. Sunday reporting a man knocking over Christmas decorations and yelling at another person. When deputies arrived, they found 65-year-old Gloria Watkins slumped forward in a chair with arrows protruding from her head.

Her son, Michael Watkins, 42, admitted the killing, according to an arrest report.

Associated Press