Not Home For Christmas: Holiday Flight Cancellations Continue

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning and happy Sunday! It’s Dec. 26, and just six days remain in 2021. As you relax after a day of Christmas festivities with family, or are spending the planning for the week and New Year ahead, we hope you will check out some of the headlines we’re following:

• Travel disruptions due to coronavirus illnesses are continuing, with more flights canceled and cruise ships having to turn back to port due to outbreaks.
• A COVID-19 outbreak has forced the USS Milwaukee to stay in port in Guantanamo Bay.
• Two humanitarian workers from Connecticut are missing following an attack by government troops in Myanmar that killed more than 30 people on Christmas eve.
• New York City is scaling back on the number of people who will be allowed in Times Square on New Year's Eve amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases.

Holiday travel continued to be disrupted, as hundreds more flights were canceled by U.S. airlines on Saturday because of staffing issues due to people who have tested positive for COVID-19, reports said.

More than 900 flights were canceled Saturday, and 200 flights scheduled for Sunday had been canceled as of noon Saturday. JetBlue, Delta, and United all were affected Saturday, with a United spokesperson saying, "This was unexpected." Christmas Flight Cancellations Drag On As Airlines Short-Staffed, via Across America Patch

Flights aren't the only holiday travel affected, however; on Saturday, Carnival reported its ship Carnival Freedom was forced to return to Miami because of passengers and crew in isolation due to the coronavirus. It's the third outbreak in recent days. Cruise Lines Forced To Turn Back Following Coronavirus Outbreaks, via Miami, Florida Patch

COVID-19 Outbreak Keeps U.S. Battleship In Port

The USS Milwaukee was in port in Guantanamo Bay after an unspecified number of U.S. Navy sailors aboard the battleship tested positive for COVID-19, U.S. Navy officials said.

The ship deployed Dec. 14 to support efforts to fight drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

"The crew is 100 percent immunized and all COVID-19 positive sailors are isolated," the Navy said. "A portion of those infected have exhibited mild symptoms. The vaccine continues to demonstrate effectiveness against serious illness." Christmas COVID Outbreak Keeps Navy Ship At Guantanamo Bay Port, via Across America Patch

Staff From Connecticut-Based Save The Children Missing In Myanmar Attack

Two members of Save the Children staff, a Connecticut-based humanitarian organization are missing after government troops attacked a village in Myanmar on Christmas Eve, killing more than 30.

The Associated Press reported government troops in Myanmar rounded up people, killed over 30 and burned their bodies in the Mo So village. Villagers were reportedly headed to refugee camps. Some of the victims are believed to be women and children. 2 Missing From CT-Based Save The Children In Myanmar Attack, via Fairfield, Connecticut Patch

New York Scales Back New Year's Eve In Times Square

The throngs in Times Square will be scaled back Friday's New Year's Eve celebration, limiting the crowd to about 15,000 to ring in 2022 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

The announcement is an attempt to settle weeks of speculation about whether the show could go on as planned given the surge in virus cases. De Blasio has held firm about moving forward with the festivities, noting that the event will be outdoors and require proof of vaccination, which both reduce the likelihood of virus transmission. Times Square New Year's Eve Scaled Back Amid Omicron, Mayor Says, via Midtown-Hell's Kitchen, New York Patch

More national headlines on Patch, other news websites:

• U.S. Children's Hospitals Filling Fast As Omicron Spreads: Report
• 'Unabomber' Moved From Colorado Supermax To NC Prison
• Photos: Most Memorable Pop Culture Moments of 2021
• Martha Stewart Selling Nativity She Made In Prison Pottery Class
• Oregon father who told President Biden ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ on Christmas Eve call said he meant it in jest, via Oregon Live
• Arnold Schwarzenegger buys 25 tiny homes for homeless veterans in Los Angeles, via New York Post
• As Omicron Spreads, Unvaccinated Remain Defiant, via New York Times

Around 'The Patch'

• Bucks County Man, 2 Sons Die In Christmas Fire, via Doylestown, Pennsylvania Patch
• Hope The Dolphin Presents New Aquarium Pal With 1st Holiday Gift, via Clearwater, Florida Patch
• 1 Person Shot Dead In Christmas Day Hamptons Home Invasion: PD, via Southampton, New York Patch
• 2-Alarm Jamaica Plain Fire Injures Firefighter, via Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Patch
• I-680 Shooting In Danville Leaves Man Critically Injured: CHP, via Danville, California Patch

This Day In History

English mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, who is credited with having conceived the first automatic digital computer, was born.

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