U.S. Thanksgiving air travel sets pandemic record, Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial set to begin, designer Virgil Abloh dies at age 41
Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman runs down some of the leading national headlines.
Video Transcript
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JULIE HYMAN: Air travel during the Thanksgiving weekend hit new post-pandemic highs, setting a pandemic record close to 2019 numbers. Over 2.3 million Americans flew for the holiday. That's in line with what the TSA was predicting. From last Monday through Saturday, airlines canceled only around 400 domestic flights and another 70 flights on Sunday. That's according to Flight Aware. The data comes after airlines experienced serious meltdowns, of course, during the pandemic. As more information, though, on the Omicron variant emerges and more travel bans could be set, airlines will be closely watched.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, is set to go on trial today. This will begin the final act of criminal proceedings against the British socialite. Maxwell faces a six-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with and aiding Epstein in recruitment and trafficking of underage girls. Federal prosecutors say she played a quote, unquote, "key role" in the trafficking circle in which she allegedly groomed minors to engage in sexual acts with Epstein and at times was involved in the acts herself. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been held without bail since her arrest in July 2020.
Virgil Abloh, the art director for Louis Vuitton Menswear and the founder of Off-White, has died at age 41 after a battle with cancer. Abloh was first diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare aggressive form of cancer in 2019. He had been undergoing his battle privately since that time. He played a big role in streetwear and hip hop culture and luxury fashion as one of the industry's best-known Black executives. His fashion house Off-White also shook up the luxury fashion industry, leading the way for the now common fashion look of sneakers paired with evening gowns.
