Wednesday, December 10

U.S.

National coverage of federal policy, Supreme Court rulings, and major stories impacting every state across the U.S.

American Airlines posts $114 million Q3 loss despite record revenue, expects profitable Q4
U.S.

American Airlines posts $114 million Q3 loss despite record revenue, expects profitable Q4

FORT WORTH, TX – American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) reported a third-quarter 2025 net loss of $114 million, or ($0.17) per diluted share, despite posting record third-quarter revenue of $13.7 billion. Photo Courtesy of American Airlines Excluding net special items, the adjusted net loss was $111 million, or ($0.17) per diluted share. However, the company expects a turnaround in the fourth quarter, projecting adjusted earnings per share between $0.45 and $0.75. For the full year, adjusted EPS is forecast between $0.65 and $0.95, with free cash flow expected to exceed $1 billion. CEO Robert Isom stated the company is maintaining strong cost management and enhancing its balance sheet. “Looking forward, I’m confident that continued investments in our network, customer experie...
American Airlines names Nat Pieper as Chief Commercial Officer
U.S.

American Airlines names Nat Pieper as Chief Commercial Officer

FORT WORTH, TX – American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) announced that Nathaniel (Nat) Pieper has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer, effective Nov. 3, 2025. Pieper currently serves as CEO of the oneworld alliance and will report directly to American Airlines CEO Robert Isom. Photo Courtesy of American Airlines As Chief Commercial Officer, Pieper will oversee American’s commercial strategy and performance, including alliances, cargo, co-branded credit card programs, loyalty, network planning, revenue management, and sales. He will also co-lead the airline’s Customer Experience team alongside Chief Operating Officer David Seymour. Pieper’s recent tenure at oneworld began in April 2024. Under his leadership, the alliance integrated two new member airlines, launched sust...
American Airlines unveils Airbus A321XLR with lie-flat Flagship Suites and three-cabin layout
U.S.

American Airlines unveils Airbus A321XLR with lie-flat Flagship Suites and three-cabin layout

FORT WORTH, TX – American Airlines has announced the debut of its Airbus A321XLR, becoming the first U.S. airline to operate the aircraft and the only global carrier to offer a three-cabin configuration on the model. The inaugural flight will take place December 18, 2025, operating as Flight 3 from New York’s JFK Airport to Los Angeles. Customers can now purchase tickets for this route, as well as other select transcontinental flights through February 11, 2026. The A321XLR is configured with 20 Flagship Suite® seats, 12 Premium Economy seats, and 123 Main Cabin seats. The Flagship Suite® section features lie-flat seating with privacy doors, personal storage, wireless charging, a cocktail tray, and reading lights. Premium Economy includes enhanced winged headrests, footrests, wire...
California teacher arrested for lewd acts following student allegations
U.S.

California teacher arrested for lewd acts following student allegations

EMPIRE, CA – A teacher with the Empire Union School District has been arrested after two students at Glick Middle School reported being inappropriately touched, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. File Photo (November 2022) On October 22, 2025, at approximately 1:30 p.m., investigators from the Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit responded to the campus after school staff notified law enforcement of the allegations. The inappropriate contact allegedly occurred during the 2024–2025 school year, with the most recent incident reported on October 20. Detectives identified 52-year-old Javier Villanueva, primarily an 8th grade English teacher, as the suspect. He was arrested near his home in Patterson with assistance from Patterson Police Services and booked into the Stanisl...
Federal court rejects retired United Airlines pilots’ bid for FICA tax refunds on lost retirement benefits
U.S.

Federal court rejects retired United Airlines pilots’ bid for FICA tax refunds on lost retirement benefits

WASHINGTON, DC – Dozens of retired United Airlines pilots have been denied claims for FICA tax refunds after a federal appeals court ruled they missed strict statutory deadlines and lacked entitlement under current tax law. (File Photo) September 2025 On October 23, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ decision to dismiss the pilots’ lawsuits. The case involved multiple pro se plaintiffs, including James H. Biestek and others, who sought refunds for employment taxes they paid on retirement benefits they never received due to the airline’s bankruptcy and termination of its nonqualified deferred compensation plan. The court found the pilots failed to timely file refund claims with the IRS as required under 26 U.S.C. § 6511...
Court denies Guatemalan brothers’ asylum appeal, rules gang threats were not based on ethnicity
U.S.

Court denies Guatemalan brothers’ asylum appeal, rules gang threats were not based on ethnicity

CINCINNATI, OH – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a petition from two Guatemalan brothers who sought asylum in the United States, ruling that their claims failed to show that persecution by local gangs in Guatemala was based on their indigenous heritage. According to court records, Cristian and Kevin Macario-Tzoc entered the U.S. illegally with their mother in 2014, fleeing after gang members threatened their family and injured one of the boys. They claimed asylum on the grounds that they were part of a particular social group: "Indigenous Maya Quiche family members of victims of extortion." An immigration judge denied the claims in 2020, stating that the group was not legally recognizable under asylum law and that the threats were motivated by gang extortion rather ...
Attorney General reinstates asylum ban for those involved in persecution, even under duress
U.S.

Attorney General reinstates asylum ban for those involved in persecution, even under duress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice has reinstated a 2020 opinion holding that individuals who participated in the persecution of others are barred from asylum in the United States, even if they acted under coercion or duress. In a decision dated October 22, 2025, Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated a stay previously imposed on the Board of Immigration Appeals' March 16, 2021, ruling in the case Matter of Negusie, 29 I&N Dec. 285 (A.G. 2025). As a result, the opinion issued by former Attorney General William Barr in Matter of Negusie, 28 I&N Dec. 120 (A.G. 2020), once again becomes binding. The case involves a man who entered the U.S. as a stowaway in 2004 and was initially found ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal under the “persecutor bar...
Coca-Cola wins patent case over smart beverage dispensers after appeals court affirms noninfringement ruling
U.S.

Coca-Cola wins patent case over smart beverage dispensers after appeals court affirms noninfringement ruling

ATLANTA, GA – Coca-Cola has prevailed in a patent lawsuit over its Freestyle beverage dispensers after a federal appeals court upheld a ruling that the company did not infringe a patent held by Rothschild Connected Devices Innovations, LLC. In a decision issued October 21, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment of noninfringement. The case stems from Rothschild’s claim that Coca-Cola’s smart drink dispensers violated U.S. Patent No. 8,417,377, which outlines a system for dispensing beverages based on user preferences transmitted to and from a server. At the center of the dispute was claim 11 of the patent, which describes a communication module that must (1) transmit a user's identity and beverage choice to a server,...
Appeals court says investors can’t sue Lordstown Motors execs over failed Foxconn deal
U.S.

Appeals court says investors can’t sue Lordstown Motors execs over failed Foxconn deal

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit against former executives of Lordstown Motors Corp., ruling that the failed partnership with Foxconn did not amount to securities fraud. The ruling came in Lim v. Hightower et al., Case No. 24-3960, which was filed after Lordstown filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Investors accused the company’s leadership of misleading them about the health of its business relationship with Foxconn. But the court found the executives’ public statements were either non-actionable opinions, forward-looking, or not intentionally misleading. The court also agreed with the district judge’s decision to deny investors the chance to revise their complaint, saying they did not submit a proper re...
Court rejects appeal from Michigan man convicted of murder, says lawyer didn’t need to fight search
U.S.

Court rejects appeal from Michigan man convicted of murder, says lawyer didn’t need to fight search

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the denial of a habeas corpus petition filed by Andrew Maurice Randolph, a Michigan man serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, ruling there was enough evidence to support his conviction and his trial attorney wasn’t required to challenge the search that uncovered the murder weapon. Randolph was convicted after his girlfriend’s mother was found shot to death in 2012. Police found ammunition linked to the crime in Randolph’s belongings at his father’s house, and later recovered the gun from his brother’s home. Randolph argued his lawyer was ineffective for not filing a motion to suppress the evidence, but state courts found he had no reasonable expectation of privacy in either location. In case N...