Free Republic

Early Thanksgiving travelers are expected to stuff Interstate 15 with heavy traffic and delays this week. The Utah Department of Transportation is predicting heavy delays — of up to 45 minutes — on Interstate 15 along the Wasatch Front during the evening commute on Wednesday, as many people head out of town or escape from work a bit early for the holiday. UDOT said its engineers expect a 25 percent increase in traffic on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, compared to a typical weekday commute of about 200,000 cars per day. It expects heavier than normal traffic on Tuesday from...

It’s easy to get lost in the idea of FICO Eataly World, dubbed by many in the media as the “Disney World of food.” The park, located 30 minutes east of Bologna, Italy and open to the public today, is less of a Disney World and more of a industrial showroom and souped-up mall food court with contrasting surprises. There’s a dairy plant and outdoor livestock stalls housing more than 200 cows, goats, and chickens. There’s a mini-plot of forest land that’s home to truffle dogs (aka some of the sweetest Labradors around) who show guests how they can sniff...

The six fully enclosed cabins for its Boeing 777 jets feature seats that recline into flat beds and a 32-inch television. These virtual windows - which are used in some cruise ships - project the view from outside the aircraft using real-time camera technology. "Emirates pioneered the First Class private suite concept back in 2003, and today it's the industry benchmark when it comes to first class travel". Emirates, the largest airline in the world, unveiled a new first class suite on the first day of the Dubai Air Show for its Boeing 777 fleet- and said it is rolling...

In the winter, when Interstate 70 shuts down at exit 205 due to car crashes or a deluge of snow, Silverthorne police chief John Minor gives his officers the same piece of advice: “You better have your head on a swivel and your head in the game, because it’s about to get a little sporty.” For the officers and state patrollers who ride herd over the chaotic cattle drive of cars and semis during an interstate evacuation, being on high alert means the difference between life and death. “If you’re actually on the interstate staffing that closure just before the...

Singapore Airlines has unveiled the new interior for its fleet of Airbus A380s. •Features include an all-new first class suite, business class seat, as well as new premium economy, and economy products. •The new interior for its 19 superjumbos will cost the airline $850 million. On Thursday, Singapore Airlines unveiled the all-new cabins that will be installed on its fleet of Airbus A380 Superjumbos. Singapore Airlines is the A380's launch customer and the aircraft's second largest operator. After a decade in the airline's inventory, the double-decker fleet is getting an all-new look. "The significant investment that we are making with...

We’re not surprised American Airlines is not interested in blinged-out first and business class cabins. But we’re still slightly puzzled at the U.S. carriers’ anger toward the Gulf airlines. Yes, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar receive government assistance, but so do a lot of airlines. Don’t expect American Airlines to introduce on-board bars, first class showers, or business class seats that convert to double beds anytime soon. That news shouldn’t come as a surprise to frequent flyers, who know U.S. carriers such as American prefer more utilitarian premium cabins — with flat-bed seats and gourmet food, but without the over-the-top luxury...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed its remaining case against President Trump's travel ban, leaving the court's calendar devoid of travel ban cases until any challenges related to Mr. Trump's third and latest travel ban make their way up to the highest court. The Supreme Court dropped the case, first filed in Hawaii over the second version of the travel ban, because the Trump administration's 120-day restrictions on travelers from some Muslim-majority nations and on refugees expired on Tuesday. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the order. The order did not address the merits of the case.

Fans of the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers will be able to sign up for the TSA's $85 PreCheck program at their respective stadiums. The drive is expected to expand to other stadiums in the current weeks.

A federal judge in Hawaii blocked President Donald Trump's latest bid to impose restrictions on citizens from eight countries entering the United States, which had been set to take effect this week. The open-ended ban, announced last month, targeted people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as certain government officials from Venezuela. It was the latest version of a policy that had previously targeted six Muslim-majority countries but had been restricted by the Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson on Tuesday granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the federal government from enforcing the...

Trump's Air Force One looks similar to the one that Obama flew. But plans for a bigger one are now under way. The US president walked down the stairs of Air Force One at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey. He gave a thumbs-up to journalists standing on the tarmac and as he walked past the cameras, he straightened the lapel of his jacket. An image-conscious businessman, he brags about the size of his hands and his ability to make a deal. For the new presidential aircraft, he wants both - a big machine that'll save the taxpayer money. Trump...

The Trump administration is getting ready to add countries to its list of six nations whose citizens are banned from traveling to the U.S. due to national security concerns, according to a report Friday morning. The Department of Homeland Security proposal would go into effect Sunday, the expiration of the 90-day travel ban against select countries in the Middle East and North Africa. DHS recently flagged 17 unspecified nations that have failed to meet U.S. standards for screening travelers and ignored other government mandates. About half of those countries made changes to be more in line with U.S. security standards,...

Beginning Jan. 22, 2018, travelers from nine states will no longer be able to travel with only their driver’s licenses. Residents of Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington will have to use alternate ID forms (passport, military ID, or permanent resident card) to pass TSA security checkpoints—even for domestic travel.

We are gun-toting Texans who have to travel to California in about a week. We will be crossing the AZ/CA border on I-40. Is there anything we should know? I drove to CA on 1-10 in 1985 packing guns, and didn't have a problem then. Has anything changed?

Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) — A looming US travel ban has prompted some daring American globetrotters to fast-track their vacations to North Korea. Beginning September 1, United States passports will be invalid for travel to the hermit kingdom. "With the upcoming travel ban I felt like it was now or never," said Virginia resident Nicholas Burkhead, who lamented that he had run out of time to learn Korean before the travel ban.....

Donald Trump loves a good deal. And the United States Air Force just found one for the president, sitting in a Mojave Desert boneyard: two brand new Boeing 747-8's, the very same planes that the military plans to convert into the next Air Force One aircraft. These two have an interesting origin story, too. The two 747-8’s were originally ordered by Transaero, a Russian airline that went bankrupt and couldn’t pay for them. Aeroflot, the company that acquired Transaero and Russia’s largest airline, absorbed much of the bankrupt company’s fleet but never took ownership of the 747-8’s, which carry a...

This is the moment a group of women were forced off a plane for rowdy behaviour - much to the relief of the other passengers. The women, who were part of a hen party, had reportedly been drinking alcohol, screaming and swearing during the FR9898 Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Alicante on Thursday night. In the video, which was uploaded by Josh Daley, a group of women are seen arguing with staff in the aisle of the plane, as another shouts: 'Sit down, sit down!'

A Delta Airlines pilot and a flight attendant flew off the handle Monday at LaGuardia Airport, causing a two-hour delay, sources said. The 54-year-old pilot had a dispute with a 26-year-old flight attendant prior to takeoff aboard the plane bound for Portland, Maine, sources said. He and the attendant exchanged words in the aisle and he called her “a piece of s---,” a source said. “His conversation was racist, inconsiderate and unprofessional,” the source said. Each alleged the other had aggressively grabbed the other’s arm. As many as six Port Authority police officers, some carrying “huge” guns, interviewed flight attendants...

NEW YORK — Last winter, the U.S. tourism industry fretted that Trump administration policies might lead to a “Trump slump” in travel. But those fears may have been premature. International arrivals and travel-related spending are up in 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. There might even be a “Trump bump,” says Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit representing the travel industry....

Just hours after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied its most recent challenge to the Trump travel ban, the state of Hawaii filed yet another motion challenging it in federal court: In its June 26 decision, the Supreme Court let stand the temporary travel and refugee ban contained in that executive order but added that the ban would not apply to refugees and visa applicants with a “bona fide relationship” to an American resident. The Trump administration quickly defined “bona fide relationship” as parent, child, sibling, spouse or fiance. The state of Hawaii wants a broader definition that would...

China’s fake travel spending masks capital flight, warns Fed Outflows have also artificially cut country’s trade surplus, says discussion paper Capital flight disguised as overseas tourism spending has artificially cut China’s reported trade surplus while masking the extent of investment outflows, according to research by the US Federal Reserve. A significant share of overseas spending classified in official data as travel-related shopping, entertainment and hospitality may over a 12-month period have instead been used for investment in financial assets and real estate, the Fed paper argued. The findings could provide fresh ammunition to US President Donald Trump and other critics...