Things To Do In SW Florida

By GARY FIELDS and FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the combination of the longest government shutdown, the mass firings of government workers and a fresh cut in federal food aid, the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington is bracing for the swell of people who will need its help before the holiday season.

The food bank, which serves 400 pantries and aid organizations in the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and two Maryland counties, is providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to this budget year — a nearly 20% increase.

The city is being hit “especially hard,” said Radha Muthiah, the group’s CEO and president, “because of the sequence of events that has occurred over the course of this year.”

The nation’s capital has been battered by a series of decisions by the Trump administration, from the layoffs of federal workers to the ongoing law enforcement intervention into the district. The added blow of the shutdown, which has furloughed workers and paused money for food assistance, is only deepening the economic toll. read more

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is racing to prevent the shutdown of its only oil refinery before U.S. sanctions on the Russian owner take effect later this month.

Parliament in Sofia approved legal changes that grant additional state authority to a government-appointed manager of the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery on the Black Sea coast.

The move came after a top international commodities trader dropped plans to purchase Lukoil’s international assets, as the company rejected U.S. government allegations of being “the Kremlin’s puppet.”

Lukoil said it was selling its international assets in response to U.S. sanctions aimed at pushing Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine. The company has stakes in oil and gas projects in 11 countries, including the Burgas refinery, as well as gas stations in many countries.

Under the new amendments, the manager is granted significant operational control of the refinery, including the right to sell its shares. Opposition lawmakers criticized the changes, saying they could prompt legal action against Bulgaria. read more

By JOHN SEEWER

U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,500 weekend flights by Saturday evening as the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandate to reduce air traffic because of the government shutdown showed no signs of easing.

The slowdown at many of the nation’s busiest airports did not cause immediate widespread disruptions. But it deepened the impact felt by the nation’s longest federal shutdown.

“We all travel. We all have somewhere to be,” said Emmy Holguin, 36, who was flying from Miami to see family in the Dominican Republic. “I’m hoping that the government can take care of this.”

Analysts warn that the upheaval will intensify and spread far beyond air travel if cancellations keep growing and reach into Thanksgiving week.

Already there are concerns about the squeeze on tourism destinations and holiday shipping.

Here’s what to know about the flight reductions:

How many flights have been canceled?

Cancellations jumped Saturday — typically a slow travel day — to more than 1,500, following just over 1,000 the previous day, according to the tracking website FlightAware. By the evening U.S. airlines already had canceled another 1,000-plus for Sunday. read more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY

OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues.

The lawsuits filed Thursday in California state courts allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter and negligence. Filed on behalf of six adults and one teenager by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, the lawsuits claim that OpenAI knowingly released GPT-4o prematurely, despite internal warnings that it was dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative. Four of the victims died by suicide.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

The teenager, 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey, began using ChatGPT for help, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court. But instead of helping, “the defective and inherently dangerous ChatGPT product caused addiction, depression, and, eventually, counseled him on the most effective way to tie a noose and how long he would be able to “live without breathing.’” read more

By JEFF AMY

ATLANTA (AP) — A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.

Related Articles

• 
  Progressives warn Democrats against alienating the left and blast Schumer’s Senate leadership

• 
  Letitia James calls mortgage fraud case against her vindictive and asks judge to dismiss it

• 
  Florida is suing Planned Parenthood over the safety of abortion drugs. Here’s what to know

• 
  Alleged Iranian plot to kill Israel’s ambassador to Mexico was thwarted, US and Israel say

• 
  FACT FOCUS: Trump says Thanksgiving dinner will cost 25% less this year. His numbers are misleading

Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said Friday that it will also lay off 300 workers from staffing agencies at its plants in Dalton and Cartersville, both northwest of Atlanta.

The company says U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been detaining imported components at ports on suspicion that they contain materials that may have been made with forced labor in China, meaning it can’t run its solar panel assembly lines at full strength. read more