To the Point
Turbulent Times for America's Airlines
After whistle-blowers told Congress the Federal Aviation Administration allowed Southwest Airlines to by-pass inspections, thousands of flights have been grounded. Is it really about safety, or is the FAA trying to reassert itself? Has the Bush Administration gone overboard with deregulation? Can the airline industry as we know it survive the skyrocketing price of fuel? Also, former President Jimmy Carter will meet with Hamas leaders in Syria. On Reporter's Notebook, will an atom smasher in Switzerland swallow the Earth?
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenAfter whistle-blowers told Congress the Federal Aviation Administration allowed Southwest Airlines to by-pass inspections, thousands of flights have been grounded. Is it really about safety, or is the FAA trying to reassert itself? Has the Bush Administration gone overboard with deregulation? Can the airline industry as we know it survive the skyrocketing price of fuel? Also, despite concerns about its "despicable crime," Jimmy Carter will meet with Hamas leaders in Syria, and an $8 billion project in Switzerland will re-created the conditions that existed just after the Big Bang. Will a quantum advance into the unknown also carry unknowable risks?
Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesCool Reception for Jimmy Carter in Israel
Former President Jimmy Carter said today he was "distressed" by Hamas rocket fire into Israeli border towns and that the deliberate effort to kill innocent civilians is a "despicable crime." But he still plans to meet with the leader of Hamas in Syria.
Read the story6 minTurbulent Times for America's Airlines
Since deregulation, America's airlines have expanded by a factor of ten and there has not been a major crash since 2001.
Read the story36 minOf Atom Smashing and Black Holes
The Large Hadron Collider now being completed near Geneva, Switzerland, will accelerate atomic particles to almost the speed of light, crash them into each other and generate energies more powerful than the sun.
Read the story6 min
