Passenger numbers to nearly double by 2032, FAA predicts

Airline travel will nearly double over the next two decades, growing enough to add another airline every year, the Federal Aviation Administration predicted Thursday.

The number of passengers will grow from a projected 732 million this year to 1.2 billion in 2032, according to the FAA's annual forecast. Under another measure, the number of miles those passengers fly will grow from 815 billion last year to 1.57 trillion in 2032.

MORE: FAA says fares will stay high as capacity remains tight

For comparison, that annual growth rate of 3.2% would add the equivalent of a JetBlue Airways every 10 months. JetBlue's passengers flew 2.5 billion miles in January.

"This year, more people will be flying more miles and we expect that to continue in future years," says Michael Huerta, acting FAA administrator.

The forecast released in conjunction with a two-day conference in Washington also projected growth of commercial operations at the largest 30 airports. Airports that are expected to grow the fastest, at more than 2.5% a year, are New York's John F. Kennedy, Washington's Dulles, Chicago's Midway, Orlando, Houston and Las Vegas.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the report underscored the importance of updating the country's air-traffic control system, under a project called NextGen.

"More and more Americans are relying on air travel and the Obama administration is committed to making sure the U.S. can meet our growing aviation demands," LaHood said.

Growth is expected despite expectations for higher fuel prices and a U.S. economy growing slower than some of the rest of the world. But FAA's pace of growth is slightly slower than last year's forecast, with a projection to reach 1 billion passengers three years later, in 2024.

The price of oil is projected to stay above $100 a barrel this year and reach $138 in two decades. Economic growth is projected at 2.6% each year domestically and 3.2% worldwide, according to FAA's projections by IHS Global Insight.

Salido retains WBO featherweight title over Lopez

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Mexico's Orlando Salido retained his WBO featherweight title Saturday by handing Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico his second big defeat in under a year.

The 31-year-old Salido earned a technical knockout in the tenth round at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum to improve to 38-11-2 with 26 KOs, while Lopez fell to 31-2 with 28 KOs.

"I was analyzing him…he was already tired," said Salido, who was warned several times for hitting below the belt. "It is a great victory."

Salido said he wanted to maintain constant pressure on Lopez, who knocked down Salido in the dying seconds of the fifth round with a forceful right.

Two of three judges had Lopez ahead on points when the fight ended.

"It was no doubt a difficult fight," said Peter Rivera, vice president of PR Best Boxing Promotions. "It could have ended for either fighter. Both were tired. We lost this fight, but it won't be the end."

Last April, Salido handed 28-year-old Lopez his first loss with another technical knockout in the eighth round.

Cheering the fighters were Puerto Rican boxing greats Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Ivan Calderon along with Mexican greats Julio Cesar Chavez, Jorge Arce and Juan Manuel Marquez.

The judges included Puerto Rican Cesar Ramos, who replaced Raul Nieves, along with Michael Pernick and Dennis Nelson of the U.S.

During Friday's final weigh in, Salido tipped the scales at the maximum 126 pounds (57 kilograms) and Lopez came in at 125.75 pounds (57 kilograms).

Salido, who is known for his powerful right hand, previously won two other fights before Saturday's rematch. He beat Filipino Weng Haya in an eighth-round TKO in a non title bout in December and obtained his first title defense against Japanese Kenichi Yamaguchi in an 11th-round TKO in July.

Lopez previously fought Mike Oliver (25-3, 8 KOs) in October, a non-title fight that he won in the second round.

Since June 2006, Lopez has won 16 of his last 18 fights by stoppage. The two other was the loss to Salido last year and a unanimous points win over Tanzanian Rogers Mtagwa in October 2009, when Lopez retained his WBO super bantamweight title for the fifth and final time before moving up to 126 pounds (57 kilograms).

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2013 Chevy Malibu is 4-cylinder only, turbo an option

Chevrolet's 2013 Malibu -- when all models are finally on sale this year -- will follow the pattern of other redone mid-size sedan in dropping a V-6 option to go all four-cylinder all the time -- with a turbo four as the performance option and a hybrid four as the green machine.

So it has gone with the redone 2012 Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima and will be for the coming 2013 Ford Fusion.

Out this summer, the standard Malibu will be come with a new 197-horsepower 2.5-liter, direct-injection four -- compared with the 169 hp. 2.4 in the 2012 model -- and 191 pounds-feet of torque -- up a healthy 31 lbs.ft. Chevy boasts that both numbers will beat the standard fours in the archrival Toyota Camry and coming new Fusion.

But coming in the fall will be the fun one -- the turbo model with a turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injection four that puts out 259 hp. -- seven more than the current 3.6-liter V-6 -- and 260 pounds-feet of torque -- up 8 lbs.ft. from the V-6. Chevy says the turbo four will be able to muster an 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds.

The one 2013 Malibu model on sale now is upmarket Malibu Eco e-assist mild hybrid with a 2.4-liter, 182 hp. direct injection four. It's in showrooms alongside the previous-generation models being sold as 2012s. The Eco stickers for $25,235 plus shipping, while the regular 2013 Malibu should be closer to the 2012's base of $22,110 plus shipping.

Chevy says the 2013 Malibu is its first global mid-size and that it's already on sale in South Korea and China, with sales coming this year in more than 70 additional countries.

China: More than 20K abducted women, children rescued in '11

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese police rescued more than 24,000 abducted women and children across the country last year, the country's Public Security Ministry said Sunday.

Trafficking in women and children is a big problem in China, where traditional preference for male heirs and a strict one-child policy has driven a thriving market in baby boys, who fetch a considerably higher price than girls. Girls and women also are abducted and used as laborers or as brides for unwed sons.

A report from the ministry said police rescued 8,660 abducted children and 15,458 women in 2011 as nearly 3,200 human trafficking gangs were broken up.

It did not give any figures for the total number of women and children abducted last year. Exact numbers of victims are difficult to obtain as China's vast size, rural poverty and population of 1.3 billion mean many such cases never get reported beyond local areas.

The rescued children are usually put into orphanages while authorities try to reunite them with their families. In order to identify the rescued children, an "anti-abduction" DNA database has been set up to match missing children with their families.

"Public security organs across China will deepen the campaign against abductions to save more women and children and work hard to reduce the number of abduction and trafficking cases," the ministry said.

The report posted on the ministry's website said there were also cases of abductions to traffic women outside of China, saying police were sent to Angola, where they helped bust a gang trafficking Chinese women for prostitution. Nineteen Chinese women were rescued and 16 suspects detained.

It also cited a case from July last year when police broke up a crime ring where the main suspects were Vietnamese abducting children in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in southern China.

The ministry said that in addition to a hotline, an official microblog account has been opened to collect tips on missing cases.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.