Data: Major airlines’ service getting better
LOS ANGELES Federal data show that the nation's biggest airlines are doing a better job of getting you and your luggage to your destination.
In the first six months of the year, the nation's 15 largest airlines set a record for on-time performance and had new bests for the rates of canceled flights and lost luggage, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
What's behind the improvement? The Transportation Department attributes it to tough government oversight. The airline industry credits the hard work and improved service offered by carriers.
The nation's largest airlines landed within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time 83.7 percent of the time between January and June, surpassing the previous record of 82.8 percent, set in the same period in 2003, according to the DOT.
Postal service marks another default
WASHINGTON The nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service on Thursday reported losses of $57 million per day in the last quarter and warned it will miss another payment due to the U.S. Treasury, just one week after its first-ever default on a payment for future retiree health benefits.
From April to June, losses totaled $5.2 billion, up $2.1 billion from the same period last year.
The mail agency said it is being hurt significantly by mounting expenses for future retiree health benefits.
Google to pay record $22.5 million fine
SAN FRANCISCO Google is paying a record $22.5 million fine to settle allegations that it broke a privacy promise by secretly tracking millions of Web surfers who use Apple's Safari browser.
The penalty announced Thursday by the Federal Trade Commission matches the figure that The Associated Press and other media outlets had reported last month. It's the largest fine that the FTC has imposed against a company for violating a previous agreement with the agency.
Google Inc. isn't admitting any wrongdoing in the latest settlement.
Iraq’s oil production trumps Iran’s
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iraq's crude output rose above 3 million barrels a day last month for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Persian Gulf state for a second month outpaced Iran. The reduction from Iran came as full sanctions by the European Union started July 1 that led to the third monthly decline in the group's output. OPEC, which supplies 40 percent of the world's oil, produced 31.2 million barrels a day last month, versus 31.35 million in June.
From wire reports
