Closings

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The new American Airlines may close a flight operations center outside Pittsburgh in a couple of years, and the jobs would move to American's larger operations control center in Dallas, US Airways chief executive officer Doug Parker said. Parker, who will lead the new American after the merger with US Airways, said this week that no decision had been made, but that the combined airline, which will be based in Fort Worth, Texas, would not need two operations control centers. Many of the 500 workers who now coordinate US Airways' 3,000 daily flights near the Pittsburgh airport will be offered jobs in Dallas, he said.

Pennsylvania's prison halfway houses are a failure. More felons who spent time in halfway houses return to jail than among those released directly from prison to the streets. That stunning conclusion comes from Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, who gets points for having the vision to look for the system's flaws and try to fix them. Wetzel ordered an in-house study, which showed that 67 percent of inmates released from halfway houses wound up back in jail within three years, compared with 60 percent of inmates released directly from prisons.

One day in 2003, Mike "Slo-Mo" Brenner walked into a music store in Cambridge, Mass., and happened upon a VHS tape offering to teach him "How to Play Hindustani Slide Guitar. " "It had a picture of an Indian gentleman playing this way-out-looking thing," says the Philadelphia guitarist and bandleader, who was then on tour with the roots-rock band Marah. "I asked the guys in the store, 'What is this?' They had no idea. " When he got home and popped it in his VCR, Brenner recalled over lunch at a University City Indian restaurant this week, he heard "the most amazing sound.

Mark Harris, 42, lives in East Germantown. Last summer, after another friend was shot, he made a list. "One night I was throwing a couple back and I said, 'Let me see how many people I know that got killed.' " He stopped at 70. "I just wanted to see how many people I lost," he said. "It scared me, though. Even though I'm not out there on the street, that's my worst fear, too. I get hit by a stray bullet. " Following the slaughter of innocents in Newtown, Conn., in December, the U.S. Senate next week will debate several gun bills, including one to expand criminal background checks.

DAYTON, Ohio - Scootie Randall sat at the podium and stared at the box score. He knew full well that no matter how long he peered, the numbers were not going to change. Still, he couldn't divert his eyes. Randall missed every shot he took, but going 0-for-12 wasn't what was eating him up the most. It was the final score indicating Indiana had beaten Temple, 58-52, to deny the Owls, a No. 9 seed, what would have been the biggest NCAA Tournament upset in school history. "I've had days like this," said Randall, a senior.

DAYTON, Ohio - Iowa State came up a half-second short of yet another wild West upset. Making it hurt even more, the nation's leaders in three-point shots ended up being beaten by a trey. Aaron Craft dribbled in place as the clock ran down and hit a three-pointer with a half-second left Sunday, sending second-seeded Ohio State to a 78-75 victory and a school-record fourth straight trip to the round of 16. Tenth-seeded Iowa State (23-12) overcame a late 13-point deficit by hitting threes - the Cyclones' specialty - but couldn't stop the one that made the difference.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - A concours d'elegance is the royalty of collectible car shows. It features rare, important automobiles that have been exquisitely restored and impeccably maintained. These vehicles, whose values are often expressed in seven digits, don't just show up on the concours grounds. They appear by invitation, and are judged by experts flown in from around the country. The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is one of the nation's very best - and most popular. The recent 2013 edition, which attracted 300 vehicles and 25,000 spectators, was held at the island's Ritz-Carlton.

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats neared approval of their first budget proposal in four years on Friday, calling for almost $1 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade while sheltering safety-net programs targeted by House Republicans. The Democrats also would reverse automatic spending cuts that are beginning to strike both the Pentagon and domestic programs. The nonbinding but politically symbolic measure caters to party stalwarts on the liberal edge of the spectrum just as the House GOP measure is crafted to appeal to more recent tea party arrivals.