Only dogs can be service animals when it comes to air travel

The government has decided that when it comes to air travel, only dogs can be service animals, and companions used for emotional support don't count. The Transportation Department issued a final rule that aims to settle years of tension between airlines and passengers who bring their pets on board for free by saying they need them for emotional support. Airlines believed passengers abused the rules to bring a menagerie of animals on board including cats, turtles, pigs and, in one case, a peacock. The agency said that it was rewriting the rules partly because passengers carrying unusual animals on board "eroded the public trust in legitimate service animals." The new rule will force passengers with emotional-support animals to check them into the cargo hold — and pay a pet fee — or leave them at home.

Associated Press

Mexico may seem like the perfect winter getaway for U.S. travelers. While they may be subject to health screenings, American tourists do not need to show proof of a negative test or undergo quarantine if they fly into the country. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said recently that citizens should avoid all travel to the country, citing the "very high level" of coronavirus. Airlines are adding flights for the season, however. And travel search company Kayak says three of the most-searched destinations for the holiday season are in Mexico: Cancun, San José del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. Authorities are sending a mixed message on Mexico: Unlike the CDC, the State Department eased its advisory for the country in September, lowering it to "reconsider travel" from "do not travel."

Washington Post

Climate change is increasingly damaging the U.N.'s most cherished heritage sites, a leading conservation agency warned, reporting that Australia's Great Barrier Reef and dozens of other natural wonders are facing severe threats. Climate change that has led to shrinking glaciers, increasing fires, floods and droughts, and the bleaching of coral reefs are among the troubles facing 83 of the 252 World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO. Sixteen World Heritage sites have deteriorated since the last World Heritage Outlook was released three years ago, while only eight improved, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The islands of protected areas in the Gulf of California in Mexico have entered the "critical" category in the listing. Spain's Garajonay National Park, Olympic National Park in the United States, and Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve are among those under "very high" threat, the new report said.