Rocky road ahead for traffic reporters as GPS technology grounds aircraft, silences mics

Signal fading on radio traffic reports

CORONA, Calif. — For more than 20 years, Mike Nolan was known to radio listeners as the “eye in the sky.” He flew over Southern California freeways in his single-engine plane, reporting on the nation’s worst traffic.

APNewsBreak: Report: Officials failed to properly supervise parolee accused in Dugard kidnap

Report: Kidnap suspect improperly supervised

Antenna sensors turn out to be key to Monarch butterflies finding their way to Mexico

WASHINGTON — Millions of Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter and scientists have long speculated on how the insects find their way. Turns out, their antennas are the key.

California to reduce inmate population to meet court order but falls short of judges’ mandate

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California prison officials on Friday released a plan to reduce the state’s inmate population by more than 23,000 over the next two years, falling short of a federal court mandate.

NYC to track its building inspectors with GPS to make sure they’re actually doing their jobs

NEW YORK — New York City will track its hundreds of building inspectors with GPS technology to make sure they are actually doing the inspections they report, the Department of Buildings said Friday.

Ask AP: Friday bank failures, finding black boxes

When a plane goes down at sea, why is it sometimes so difficult to find the black boxes? Shouldn’t it be as simple as equipping them with GPS devices?

Don’t reach out and touch anyone: Japan to see if phones can help limit pandemics

TOKYO — A few months from now, a highly contagious disease will spread through a Japanese elementary school. The epidemic will start with several unwitting children, who will infect others as they attend classes and wander the halls.

GPS tracks phones, cars, but not planes; Air France crash renews call for end to radar systems

CHICAGO — Get lost in the woods and a cell phone in your pocket can help camping buddies find you. Drive into a ditch and GPS in your car lets emergency crews pinpoint the crash site. But when a transcontinental flight is above the middle of the ocean, no one on the ground can see exactly where it is — in the air, or worse, in the water.