Le Journal

From this Friday through Sunday, a winter storm is expected to affect millions of people in the United States, impacting air travel. “When adverse weather conditions or other uncontrollable events affect your flight and travel dates, you may be able to change your trip without an additional charge,” American Airlines states on its website. As thousands of people may have questions about the status of their flights, the airline says it is working 24 hours a day to assist customers. They assure that affected passengers will be contacted via email or through app notifications. Extreme Weather Jan 21 A January freeze is taking hold across the U.S. with little sign of letting up Weather Jan 21 How to prepare for the winter storm that is set to hit half of the U.S. this weekend However, they note that change fees will be waived if you: Are traveling on an American Airlines flight Have a reservation in any fare class, including Basic Economy Purchased your ticket before Jan. 19, 2026 Are scheduled to travel between Jan. 23-25, 2026 Can travel between Jan. 21-28, 2026 Do not change your origin or destination city Rebook in the same cabin or pay the fare difference Please note that: Changes must be booked by Jan. 25, 2026 Travel must be completed within one year of the original ticket date; a fare difference may apply To change your trip, if you meet the requirements, you can do so online by following these steps: Find your trip on the website or app. If your trip qualifies, you will see the “change trip” option in the toolbar. If you are unable to change your trip through the website, you can call American Airlines reservations at 800-433-7300. Delta offers flight changes with no additional fees Delta Airlines reported that due to the approaching adverse winter conditions, it will help customers manage their travel by allowing those with existing reservations to change their flights without additional fees. “The safety of Delta customers and our staff remains our top priority, so we closely monitor forecasts to determine necessary adjustments to flight schedules,” the company said. To change your flight, visit Delta.com or the mobile app, and “as always, if a flight is canceled or a delay causes a missed connection, Delta will rebook passengers on the next available flight,” the airline stated. “If travel is rescheduled for Jan. 28, 2026, or earlier, in the same class of service as the original reservation, no fare difference will apply. A fare difference may apply if the waiver is restricted to a specific class and the original booking class is not maintained on the rescheduled itinerary,” they said. If the trip is rescheduled after Jan. 28, 2026, a fare difference may apply. Passengers are advised to check their flight status frequently for the most up-to-date information. Customers can also receive updates directly on their mobile devices or by email, where Delta will notify them as far in advance as possible about changes to flight schedules.

The U.S. has finalized its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, one year after President Donald Trump announced America was ending its 78-year-old commitment, federal officials said Thursday. But it’s hardly a clean break. The U.S. owes more than $130 million to the global health agency, according to WHO. And Trump administration officials acknowledge that they haven’t finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a new pandemic. The withdrawal will hurt the global response to new outbreaks and will hobble the ability of U.S. scientists and pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines and medicines against new threats, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. “In my opinion, it’s the most ruinous presidential decision in my lifetime,” he said. The WHO is the United Nations’ specialized health agency and is mandated to coordinate the response to global health threats, such as outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries; helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments; and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer. Nearly every country in the world is a member. Trump cited COVID-19 in pulling U.S. from WHO U.S. officials helped lead the WHO’s creation, and America has long been among the organization’s biggest donors, providing hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of staffers with specialized public health expertise. On average, the U.S. pays $111 million a year in member dues to the WHO and roughly $570 million more in annual voluntary contributions, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In an executive order issued right after taking office, Trump said the U.S. was withdrawing from WHO due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises. He also cited the agency’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms” and its “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.” Health Jan 20 The U.S. is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status. Here's why that matters Trump Administration Jan 15 HHS quickly reverses $2 billion in mental health and substance abuse cuts after pushback Vaccines Jan 10 Doctors say changes to U.S. vaccine recommendations are confusing parents and could harm kids WHO, like other public health organizations, made costly mistakes during the pandemic, including at one point advising people against wearing masks. It also asserted that COVID-19 wasn’t airborne, a stance it didn’t officially reverse until 2024. Another Trump administration complaint: None of WHO’s chief executives — there have been nine since the organization was created in 1948 — have been Americans. Administration officials view that as unfair given how much the WHO relies on U.S. financial contributions and on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel. Public health experts say U.S. exit will hobble responses to threats Experts say the U.S. exit could cripple numerous global health initiatives, including the effort to eradicate polio, maternal and child health programs, and research to identify new viral threats. Dr. Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called the U.S. withdrawal “shortsighted and misguided” and “scientifically reckless.” The U.S. has ceased official participation in WHO-sponsored committees, leadership bodies, governance structures and technical working groups. That would seem to include the WHO group that assesses what flu strains are circulating and makes critical decisions about updating flu shots. It also signals the U.S. is no longer participating in global flu information-sharing that guides vaccine decisions. Such disease…

Top Massachusetts House Democrats on Tuesday suggested policymakers might be facing a reality check as to how impactful their actions can be on the energy affordability front. “There isn’t enough that you can give these people off the bill, with our tools, that’s significant to have an impact. That’s the reality,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said after meeting privately with representatives to discuss possible approaches to lowering energy costs. “Everyone’s shocked at the rates, the increase of the rates. The fact that the feds took all our alternative energy sources off the table — we had invested in offshore wind, we were committed to bringing that in, as an alternative energy source, and the feds pulled the rug right out from underneath us,” Mariano said, referring to the Trump administration’s consistent efforts to stop large-scale offshore wind power projects. “It’s absolutely hard to have an impact on the bills when the things you’re going to use for alternatives, you can’t use them anymore,” Mariano added. House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, who co-hosted the meetings Tuesday and Thursday, suggested the House might be considering long-term utility bill relief when asked Thursday about specific solutions. “One thing we’ve talked about is long-term, trying to figure out, you know, create some stability and predictability in these electrical bills long-term, while also maintaining the balance of sticking to our principles and what we’ve done in the past, in terms of trying to commit to our climate goals and reducing our carbon emission,” Michlewitz said. The North End Democrat confirmed on Tuesday that changes to the state’s 2030 emissions reduction mandates are “off the table” in any near-term energy affordability legislation. Environmental advocates in the fall slammed a House bill drafted by Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities Committee members for the rollbacks it would have made to the state’s emissions reduction statutes. “It’s a tricky balance to do both,” Michlewitz added Thursday. “I think we’re trying to find the — thread the right needle, in relation to this legislation to find a pathway to some type of goal of reducing the bills while also sticking to our principles.” Energy Committee Co-Chair Rep. Mark Cusack added: “And also being realistic of what we can actually affect on a bill as policymakers.” “Trying to get immediate relief, there’s very few different buckets you can actually access — like Mass Save, ACP [alternative compliance] payments. Clearly, the governor is using that money as well. So different areas like that,” Cusack said when asked about what realistic options could be. “But, you know, the utilities aren’t thrilled with what was in the bill that came out of the committee — there’s a lot of haircutting going on for them,” Cusack added. “But just explaining to the membership in the larger picture that this is very technical, difficult, but fitting all the pieces together. It’s not as simple as saying, ‘Oh, we’re just going to cut bills in half. It’s not realistic.” Gov. Maura Healey announced Thursday that the state will use $180 million to help temporarily reduce residential electric and gas bills this winter. That $180 million stems from alternative compliance payments that can only go toward electric ratepayer relief and covers an estimated 15% reduction in electric bills, the administration said. House and Senate Republicans last week proposed a bill that requires 50% of alternative compliance payments made in connection with the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to be returned to utility customers in each of the next three years. The ACP revenue is currently deposited in a fund overseen by the Massachusetts Clean…

Aucune description.