American Airlines crew rejects contract

American Airlines crew rejects contract

WASHINGTON

Flight attendants at American Airlines rejected a five-year contract Sunday, forcing the world’s largest carrier and its union for cabin-crew workers into binding arbitration.

Just 16 votes blocked the contract — with 8,180 voting for and 8,196 voting against, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in a statement.

The rejection of the contract affects roughly 24,000 workers and complicates the integration of American Airlines and US Airways.The two merged last year to form the world’s biggest airline operator. The proposed contract included guaranteed raises but ended a profit-sharing plan.

Gas prices fall in US

CAMARILLO, Calif.

A national survey of gas prices reports that the average cost of U.S. regular grade gas dropped 13 cents per gallon in the last two weeks.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the average for regular-grade gas is $2.94 per gallon, while midgrade averages $3.18 and premium $3.34. Retail diesel averages $3.64.

Lundberg said the price has dropped 78 cents per gallon since its peak in May.

She said the drop has been driven by a decrease in the price of crude oil.

Small plane crashes in Bahamas, killing 9

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama

A small plane crashed Sunday on approach to the island of Grand Bahama, killing all nine people on board, the government of the Bahamas said.

The Lear 36 Executive Jet had taken off from the Bahamian capital of Nassau and crashed while attempting to land around 5 p.m. local time in Freeport, according to a statement from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation.

Names of the victims were not immediately available. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

The crash occurred as people were gathering in Grand Bahama for an annual Christian leadership conference. The Bahamas Tribune newspaper reported that Myles Munroe, a prominent Bahamian minister who organized the event, was among those killed.

Queen leads UK memorial ceremony

LONDON

Queen Elizabeth II honored fallen soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth on Sunday in a dignified ceremony at the heart of central London.

The 88-year-old monarch placed a poppy-laden wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph, built after World War I to remember those who lost their lives.

Prime Minister David Cameron called this year’s event particularly poignant because 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. He also cited the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the conclusion of Britain’s military operations in Afghanistan.

Alaska storm brings frigid weather to US

JUNEAU, Alaska

A massive storm fueled by the remnants of Typhoon Nuri did not do much damage in Alaska’s sparsely populated Aleutian Islands, but forecasters say it’s anchoring a system that will push a frigid blast of air into the mainland United States and send temperatures plunging early this week.

Parts of the lower 48 states could see temperatures between 20 and 40 degrees below average, the National Weather Service said Sunday. Snow was expected to move over the northern high plains and into the upper Great Lakes by Monday evening, with accumulations of close to a foot in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin and up to 2 feet in the upper peninsula of Michigan, forecasters said.

Associated Press