American Airlines resumes flights after nationwide ‘technical issue’
ABC News
A “technical issue” briefly disrupted American Airlines flights nationwide early on Tuesday, the airline said, at the start of a busy Christmas Eve for travelers around the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration said American requested a ground stop for all its flights. An hour later, American said flights were again beginning to board and the FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop.
“We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights,” the airline wrote in a post to X.
The post added, “Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.” Replying to questions from other social media users, the airline said it was not able to estimate how long the fix would take.
The airline wrote that it didn’t yet have a “timeframe” but that “they’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.”
In a statement sent to ABC News, the airline added, “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The disruption will be unwelcome for a record number of Americans expected to travel across this holiday season. The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen nearly 40 million travelers from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2 — a 6.2% increase from 2023.
American Airlines said it was expecting Dec. 27 and Dec. 20 to be its busiest and second-busiest days, respectively, during its holiday period, which began on Dec. 18.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali, Clara McMichael and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(LAKELAND, Fla.) — A Florida woman was arrested and charged this week for ending a phone call with her health insurance provider with threats that mimicked wording associated with the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter.
The incident occurred Tuesday when Briana Boston, a 42-year-old woman from Lakeland, was speaking with a representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield after she had been told that her medical claim was denied.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by ABC News, police said that near the end of the recorded conversation with the insurance provider, Boston can be heard saying, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”
Boston’s apparent threats nearly echo the words that were engraved on the bullet shell casings that authorities recovered from the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot earlier this month.
Those engraved words were “deny,” “defend” and “depose.”
However, Boston’s words do match the title of a 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
The book was written by legal scholar and insurance expert Jay Feinman, a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. It explores abuses of auto and homeowners insurance to “avoid paying justified claims,” according to its summary.
Luigi Mangione is a suspect in the killing, which has catapulted the nation’s health care industry into the spotlight. Mangione faces second-degree murder and a slew of other charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.
When Lakeland Police confronted Boston about the perceived threats, she apologized and said that she “used those words because it’s what is in the news right now,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Boston told authorities she does not own any guns and is not a threat, but went on to say that health care companies “deserve karma” and that they are “evil,” according to the document.
“Boston further stated the health care companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil,” police said in the affidavit.
ABC News has reached out to Blue Cross Blue Shield for comment.
Following the investigation, Boston was charged with threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism and booked at a jail in Polk County, according to police.
(OCHOPEE, Fla.) — At least 16 people were hospitalized Friday afternoon after two airboats collided in Florida, investigators said.
Officers responded to the 911 call around 3:15 p.m. and found several people injured at the site of the collision near Ochopee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement.
One boat was carrying 13 passengers while the other was carrying 20, the commission said.
The conditions of the injured passengers were not immediately released.
Investigators were working to determine the cause of the collision and the probe was ongoing.
A still from body-camera footage of the suspect talking to an officer in Edmonds, Washington, Nov. 4, 2024. Via Edmonds Police Department
(EDMONDS, Wash.) — An 82-year-old white woman was arrested for a suspected hate crime and assault following an altercation with Trump supporters in which she confronted one about voting for the former president based on her skin color, according to a police report.
The incident occurred on Monday, a day before the general election, at an intersection where several Trump supporters were gathered in Edmonds, Washington, located about 17 miles north of Seattle.
The suspect, who was not publicly identified by police, is accused of pushing and punching a 55-year-old female Trump supporter after getting into a verbal altercation, Edmonds police said. She is accused of then punching in the chin a 66-year-old female Trump supporter who intervened while demonstrating how she pushed the initial supporter, according to the probable cause statement.
“Neither victim suffered significant injury nor required medical treatment,” the Edmonds Police Department said in a press release on Wednesday.
The suspect has not been charged in the incident, a Snohomish County prosecutor’s office spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday. The case will be reviewed by the prosecutor’s office for any charging decision.
The suspect, who was wearing a Harris-Walz pin, told a responding officer that she approached the first supporter and said, “I want to know why you’re voting for Trump,” according to body camera footage obtained and reviewed by ABC News. “And I said, ‘Because you’re brown-skinned.'”
“I hate the racism in this country, I hate how people are treated,” the suspect continued. “And so I’m wondering, why would somebody with brown skin support this man? And that was my question.”
She told the officer the Trump supporter “immediately started screaming ‘racist'” in her face.
“And my response was to push her away, and I put my hand to her chin, and I pushed on her shoulder,” the suspect said. “And it wasn’t hard. But I did do that.”
“I didn’t help the situation,” she added.
“I said why? Because of my skin color? I said, ‘You’re a racist,'” she said. “Then she came up and she pushed me. And then she hit me in the frickin’ chin.”
“She obviously didn’t hurt me,” she continued. “But it’s like, you know what, we have freedom of speech, you can say whatever you want. You can’t touch me.”
When asked if she wanted to press charges, the woman said yes. “That makes me nervous, you can’t do that,” she said.
The second Trump supporter said the suspect hit her face while demonstrating the initial altercation. “It was pretty forceful,” she told the officer.
The suspect told an officer at the scene that she has been wanting to talk to people of color who are supporting Trump.
“I am definitely not a racist,” the suspect said. “But I definitely want to flag people with brown skin or other color skins that, ‘Hey, you realize what’s gonna happen?'”
“That’s kind of racist if you’re targeting certain individuals,” the officer responded.
“I’m not targeting them,” she responded.
The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for an alleged hate crime and assault, police said. She was released on personal recognizance following a probable cause hearing on Tuesday, according to the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office spokesperson.
There is no timeline on the case or any scheduled hearing dates, the prosecutor’s office spokesperson said.
ABC News was unable to reach the suspect for comment.
The Trump supporter who was initially approached in the incident told Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO she was still in “shock.”
“She made it very clear it was my skin color,” the woman told the station.
Edmonds Police Chief Michelle Bennett said in a statement that the officers “properly determined that this was more than just an assault and arrested the suspect for the appropriate charge.”
“The constitution protects peaceful rallies in our community, and community members should never be met with violence while exercising those rights,” she said.
Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen said he was “disheartened that this violence has occurred in our community.”
“Community members peacefully showing political support should not be subject to hateful violence,” he said in a statement. “I’m thankful there were no serious injuries, and the suspect was held accountable.”
