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A federal utility’s decision to resort to rolling blackouts after coal and natural gas units went offline during dangerously cold conditions has intensified questions about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent decision to double down on fossil fuels NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A federal utility ’s decision to resort to rolling blackouts after coal and natural gas units went offline during dangerously cold conditions has intensified questions about the Tennessee Valley Authority's recent decision to double down on fossil fuels. TVA experienced its highest ever winter peak-power demand on Dec. 23 as an arctic blast brought blinding blizzards, freezing rain and frigid cold from Maine to Seattle. The Tennessee Valley Authority said in an email that a combination of high winds and freezing temperatures caused its coal-burning Cumberland Fossil Plant to go offline at one point when critical instrumentation froze up. A second coal-burning plant, Bull Run, also went offline, TVA spokesman Scott...

France says it will require negative COVID-19 tests of all passengers arriving from China and is urging French citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China PARIS -- France, Spain and England will implement tougher COVID-19 measures for passengers arriving from China, authorities said Friday. France's government is requiring negative tests, and is urging French citizens to avoid nonessential Travel to China. France is also reintroducing mask requirements on flights from China to France. French health authorities will carry out random PCR tests at airports on passengers arriving from China to identify potential new coronavirus variants. The new rules take effect on Sunday, but officials said it would be a few days before they are fully in place. The U.K. government announced that anyone traveling to England on direct flights from China would be required to take a pre-departure test from Jan. 5. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said that the U.K. was taking a “balanced and precautio...

Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher following encouraging U.S. employment data but are headed for double-digit losses for the year BEIJING -- Asian stock market s followed Wall Street higher on Friday following encouraging U.S. employment data but were headed for double-digit losses for the year. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices edged higher. Wall Street's benchmark S &P 500 index gained Thursday after the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose only slightly last week despite repeated interest rate hikes to cool inflation by slowing economic activity. “Considering the market news was sparse, the shift higher has the hallmarks of a dead cat bounce,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management in a report. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6% to 3,092.50. The Chinese benchmark is on track to end 2022 down more than 14% after the world's second-largest economy was depressed by anti-virus controls and a crackdown...

Chemical and consumer products maker 3M will phase out the manufacturing of so-called “forever chemicals” and try to get them out of all their products within two years WASHINGTON -- 3M will phase out the manufacturing of so-called “forever chemicals” and try to get them out of all their products within two years, the chemical and consumer products maker said Tuesday. The decision announced Tuesday arrives after U.S. environmental regulators designated the chemicals — used in nonstick frying pans, water-repellent Sports gear, stain-resistant rugs, cosmetics and countless other consumer products since the 1940s - as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. While the designation is not an outright ban, polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS, require a report to federal, state or tribal officials if the amount released into soil or water meet or exceed a certain level. The Environmental Protection Agency could then require cleanups to protect public health and re...

Stranded Southwest customers details efforts to get home amid flight cancellations. Southwest customers across the country were left stranded this week, when a growing list of flight cancellations left many desperately seeking alternative Travel options in hopes of getting home in time for celebrations, work, their Health and more. A long ride home Dianne Martinez, 56, is currently driving from Charleston, South Carolina, to Nashville, Tennessee. She’s epileptic, and “only had so many days in medicine” from her stay in Charleston. She drove Tuesday for roughly 10 hours after a three-hour wait to get a rental car because there were no available Southwest flights to Nashville for days, she said, and prices had skyrocketed on flights on alternative airlines. Southwest Airlines passengers look for their luggage at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, Dec. 27, 2022. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images “We were looking at the other airlines and it was like $2,000, $3,000 for a ...

Ex-lovers and former executives are picking sides and turning against each other in the legal battle shaping up after the stunning collapse in November of the FTX crypto exchange. Caroline Ellison, the 28-year-old ex-lover and Business associate of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, is cooperating with the government and pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy, CNN reported. Ellison apologized before a federal judge in New York, saying that she and her former associates knowingly stole billions of dollars from FTX customers and tried to cover it up, according to court transcripts. SBF, by comparison, has claimed ignorance of conflicts leading to the FTX collapse. In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Nov. 30 New York Times annual DealBook summit, SBF said he didn’t “knowingly co-mingle funds” between FTX and his crypto trading firm and hedge fund, Alameda Research. Three weeks after FTX declared bankruptcy and $1 billion...

The Russian military says it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an air base deep inside Russia KYIV, Ukraine -- The Russian military reported Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an air base deep inside Russia, the second time the facility has been targeted this month — again revealing weaknesses in Russia's air defenses. Russia's Defense Ministry said debris killed three servicemen at the Engels air base, which houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bomber planes that have struck Ukraine with missiles in the 10-month-old war. Russia's Baza news outlet reported that four people were wounded and said a fire had broken out, with explosions, sirens and flashes on a video it posted on its Telegram channel. The Defense Ministry claimed no Russian aircraft were damaged. It wasn't clear whether the drone had been launched from Ukraine or Russian territory. If the drone had been launched from Ukraine, it would have traveled more tha...

Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is unveiling some of the faces that will comprise his incoming administration, including his much-awaited pick for finance minister: former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad BRASILIA, Brazil -- Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday unveiled some of the faces that will comprise his incoming administration, including his much-awaited pick for finance minister: former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad. Haddad's nomination ends weeks of suspense that have led to stock volatility and ups and downs of the country’s real currency, amid intense pressure from financial markets for da Silva to make his choice known. Haddad, 59, is a former education minister who has been a member of the leftist Workers' Party for more than 20 years. He has limited experience in the markets. Da Silva’s choice for a politician close to the party for the job rattled some experts. “This government's level of concern for the f...

Creditors in FTX's multibillion dollar bankruptcy could number more than a million. Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday to face federal charges, a major step as prosecutors seek answers for what they've described as "a fraud of epic proportions." More than one million possible victims, however, remain in the early stages of a likely yearslong bankruptcy proceeding that will probably return only a portion of the money they lost, some bankruptcy experts told ABC News. According to the indictment, Bankman-Fried -- who was ordered released on $250 million bond and did not enter a plea -- allegedly stole $8 billion from FTX investors and customers and used it to pay debts and expenses of Alameda Research, his privately held hedge fund. He also used the money to purchase lavish real estate and make political donations to mainly Democrats but also some Republicans as he sought influence in Washington, prosecutors said. Many...

A battering winter storm has knocked out power to 1.7 million homes and businesses across the United States on Saturday BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A battering winter storm knocked out power to 1.7 million homes and Business es across the United States on Saturday, left millions more to worry about the prospect of further outages and crippled police, fire departments and an airport in snow-blown New York state. Across the country, officials have attributed at least a dozen deaths to exposure, icy car crashes and other effects of the storm, including two people who died in their homes outside Buffalo, New York, when emergency crews couldn’t reach them amid historic blizzard conditions. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday that the the Buffalo Niagara International Airport will be closed through Monday morning, some roads would be closed through Christmas day and almost every fire truck in Buffalo was stranded in the snow. “No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get throug...

Thousands of travelers have been stranded at airports or stuck on hold trying to rebook flights this week as a massive storm snarled travel in the U.S. and Canada ahead of the holidays Thousands of Travel ers were stranded at airports or stuck on hold trying to rebook flights this week as a massive storm snarled Travel in the U.S. and Canada ahead of the holidays. As of Friday afternoon, more than 4,800 flights into or out of U.S. airports had been canceled , according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Wendell Davis, who plays basketball with a team in France, was scheduled to fly from Paris to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday. After multiple cancellations, Davis was still at O’Hare airport in Chicago on Friday. He debated driving to Columbus but decided not to. Instead, he booked a hotel room while he waits for a scheduled flight to Cincinnati on Christmas Day. “Everyone’s going through the same problems right now,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve just got ...

The Florida Supreme Court will convene a grand jury at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' request to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Supreme Court will convene a grand jury at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccine s, the court announced Thursday. The Republican governor, who is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2024, earlier this month called for the investigation. He suggested it would be in part aimed to jog loose more information from pharmaceutical companies about the vaccine s and potential side effects. Vaccine studies funded by pharmaceutical companies that developed COVID-19 vaccine s have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, and government panels reviewed data on the safety and effectiveness of the shots before approving them for use. DeSantis' request argues that phar...