NEW YORK -- JetBlue has canceled 68 flights into and out of Kennedy Airport today because forecasters expect a winter storm to drop up to seven inches of snow. JetBlue was heavily criticized this month after bad weather stranded passengers in planes at Kennedy, its main hub, for up to 10 1/2 hours. A spokeswoman says today's cancellations are to make sure crews and planes are in place so the company can quickly resume operations after the storm. (AP)
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mental health help for vets falls short
Many Iraq war soldiers, veterans, and their families are not getting needed psychological help because the military's mental health system is overwhelmed and understaffed, a task force of the American Psychological Association found. The report, released yesterday, cited a 40 percent vacancy rate in active duty psychologists in the Army and Navy, resources diverted from family counselors, and a weak transition for veterans leaving the military. (AP)
New enrollment up for public assistance
Although the number of US families receiving cash welfare benefits has plummeted since the government set time limits on the payments a decade ago, other programs for the poor, including Medicaid, food stamps, and disability benefits, are bursting with new enrollees. An analysis found that nearly 1 in 6 people rely on some form of public assistance, a larger share than at any time since the government started keeping track two decades ago. (AP)
Vietnam veteran to get Medal of Honor
Bruce Crandall of Bremerton, Wash., a former Army helicopter pilot, flew through heavy enemy fire 41 years ago to take ammunition in and wounded Americans out of one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War. Today, a week after his 74th birthday, Crandall will receive the Medal of Honor from President Bush. Crandall's actions in the November 1965 Battle at Ia Drang Valley were depicted in a book, which became the movie "We Were Soldiers." (AP)
Rice says race is less of a barrier
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the appeal of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama shows that it won't be much longer before race is not a barrier to the White House. "When a person walks into a room, I still think people see race. But it's less and less of a barrier to believing that that person can be your doctor or your lawyer or a professor in your university or the CEO of a company," Rice said on "Fox News Sunday." (AP)
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