Northwest in trouble but gets reprieve

"A U.S. judge temporarily blocked Northwest Airlines Corp. flight attendants from going on strike, a tactic the company said could force it out of business.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said he was delaying for ``a few days'' a decision on Northwest's appeal of a bankruptcy court ruling that would have allowed the work stoppage. The flight attendants union, which had planned strikes by its 9,300 Northwest members beginning at 10:01 p.m. New York time, said it would obey Marrero's temporary order. "