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Md. couple recounts reimbursement struggle with Southwest Airlines after December debacle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

Back in December, Mark Hessie and his wife Stephanie showed up at BWI Marshall Airport in Maryland ready to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Cancun, Mexico, for a long-anticipated Christmas vacation. That flight would never happen. The Hessies would instead be among the thousands of travelers caught in a wave of cancellations by the airline.“We were stranded there,” Stephanie Hessie said.The couple and their son made alternate plans which involved booking a flight for $3,000 on American Airlines out of Philadelphia.“We had to Uber from BWI to Philadelphia in order to make that flight with no luggage,” she said. “We basically had the clothes on our back to get us to Cancun.”They arrived in Cancun without their luggage but made the most of their trip. In watching news coverage of the situation involving Southwest, they felt some comfort in seeing reports that the airline planned to compensate passengers.“We were relieved to hear that (the)...

Mexico finally sells unwanted presidential jet to Tajikistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — After almost 4 1/2 years of trying, Mexico’s president said Thursday he has finally sold the unwanted presidential jet — to the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the government of Tajikistan paid the equivalent of about $92 million for the Boeing 787 jet. López Obrador refused to use the jet after taking office on Dec. 1, 2018, saying it was too luxurious. The austerity-loving president usually takes commercial flights. López Obrador had tried to lure corporations and business executives to buy the jet, but found no takers. He even symbolically “raffled off” the plane, which would be expensive to convert back into a normal airliner.The plane was purchased for $200 million and was used by the previous president, Enrique Peña Nieto. It has been difficult to sell because it is configured to carry only 80 people and has a full presidential suite with a private bath. Experts said it would be costly to reconfigure into a ty...

Clark-Hossler, O’Hair-Matthews take early lead at Zurich

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

AVONDALE, La. (AP) — The teams of Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler, and Sean O’Hair and Brandon Matthews, each shot an 11-under 61 in the better-ball format on Thursday to tie for a one-shot lead through the first round of Zurich Classic.The 40-year-old O’Hair has four PGA Tour wins, the last in 2011. Matthews, 28, has never finished higher than 35th.The highlight of their round — if not the entire day — was Matthews’ eagle on the par-4 12th hole. He launched a 313-yard drive into the fairway, then holed a wedge from 135 yards.“Sean played really a stress-free round of golf himself, and that took a lot of pressure off me,” Matthews said. “I could attack little bit more.”Clark and Hossler combined for 11 birdies — seven by Hossler — at the TPC Louisiana.While the 28-year-old Hossler and 29-year-old Clark do not have a PGA Tour victory between them, both have several top-20 finishes this season. Clark finished fifth at the Valspar Championship. Hossler tied for 1...

Scherzer suspended 10 games for sticky substance ejection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets pitcher Maz Scherzer was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday following his ejection for having a foreign substance on his hand during a game.Scherzer appealed the suspension and $10,000 fine imposed by Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations, and can continue to play until the appeal is decided. The appeal, which is usually scheduled to be held within 10 days, would be heard by MLB special assistant John McHale Jr.Scherzer didn’t have much to say before New York’s game against San Francisco on Thursday night, stopping by a group of reporters in the Mets clubhouse and offering a brief statement: “We’re talking to MLB right now.”He became the third pitcher suspended by MLB since the crackdown on sticky substances started in June 2021. Seattle’s Héctor Santiago was penalized that June 28 and Arizona’s Caleb Smith that Aug. 24, also 10-game penalties.All three inspections that led to suspensions involved ...

Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum to reopen in time for hoops

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, which closed after a chunk of concrete fell from the roof in early March, will reopen in time for the next college basketball season.The school announced Thursday that an extensive structural review conducted by several engineering firms has been completed.The timeline for repairs will allow the men’s and women’s teams to compete at their longtime home arena when the hoops season begins in November.The gymnastics team will also return to the 10,523-seat coliseum next spring after being forced to move a pair of home meets to Gas South Arena in suburban Atlanta near the end of this past season.The volleyball program, which begins its season before the other sports, will be the only team affected by the repair schedule. It will relocate temporarily to the Ramsey Student Center, where it played from 1995-2017.Stegeman Coliseum has been closed since March 2 after a small piece of concrete fell from the ceiling of the nearl...

Avanzan los planes para que Biden anuncie la próxima semana que buscará la reelección

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

(CNN) — Ya están en marcha los preparativos para que el presidente Joe Biden anuncie formalmente su aspiración a un segundo mandato en la Casa Blanca la próxima semana, con un video de campaña que se lanzará para responder definitivamente a la pregunta de si buscará la reelección y encender un esfuerzo agresivo de recaudación de fondos para ayudar a los demócratas a mantenerse en la Casa Blanca.El pequeño círculo de asesores y aliados de Biden se prepara para un anuncio en video este martes que coincidiría con la fecha en que el ahora presidente dio a conocer en 2019 su intención de llegar a la Casa Blanca, según cuatro fuentes familiarizadas con el asunto.Asesores dentro y fuera de la Casa Blanca advierten que la fecha todavía podría cambiar, ante acontecimientos imprevistos, pero se llegó a la decisión de que “ya no es útil ni necesario evitar decir simplemente lo obvio: se postulará”, dijo a CNN un alto funcionario demócrata.Estos son los republicanos que están ...

Rizzo enjoys no shifts, helps Yanks take 2 of 3 from Angels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Rizzo is among the players happiest with the new restrictions against defensive shifts.He singled in the opening run in a five-run first inning, going 3 for 3 with a pair of walks to help New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-3 Thursday and take two of three in the high-profile matchup of MVPs.“Not having nine guys on the right side of the field definitely helps out a lot more,” Rizzo said. “It’s not really much in the back of my mind when I’m hitting but more after the fact or even when other guys are hitting.”Rizzo is batting .344, fourth in the American League and up from .224 last season. He has four homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.027 OPS.With the rise in shifts in the past decade, the left-handed hitter’s average dropped steadily from what had been a .273-to-.293 range from 2014-19.“He feels really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Really started his to find his stroke a little bit literally the last couple days of spring training and obv...

Poll: Johnston holds slight lead over Brough in Denver mayoral race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The race to lead the state's largest city is heating up. The former CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Brough, is taking on former state Sen. Mike Johnston in the June 6 runoff.This week brought a first look at how Denver voters feel about the candidates ahead of that race. A bipartisan poll shows Johnston leading Brough 39% to 34%, but the margin of error is nearly 5%, making this a statistical tie. Also, 27% of voters said they're still undecided. GOP groups call Rep. Caraveo’s seat ‘vulnerable’ in 2024 Brough talked about that poll and, if elected, how she will tackle all the issues Denver is facing on "Colorado Point of View" this week.The new poll also showed 34% of voters said crime is the most important issue in the race. Brough said she wants to get the Denver Police Department up to full staff. She also discussed dealing with a rise in gun violence in Denver.“We’ve seen the buyback strategies, the really trying to address the consequences, ...

Extra room could mean extra income — and affordable housing for older adults

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

(KDVR) — A Front Range program pairs homeowners with extra space with renters looking for a room. The nonprofit organization is called Sunshine Home Share.“We work with older adults, 55 and over, who have an extra room in their house and they’re looking to rent that out to someone who needs affordable housing,” Sunshine Home Share's Becky Brazell said. How much do fees tack onto a Colorado short-term rental? A Sunshine Home Share flyer poses the question: “What would you do with an extra $11,196 per year?” Brazell said the intake process includes:ReferencesCriminal background checkCredit history"It’s affordable housing for someone who needs it and extra income for a provider, who also needs that extra income," Brazell said.Sunshine Home Share also serves the Colorado Springs Area.

Wife of victim carjacked during multi-county chase speaks out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:50 GMT

The wife of a man who had his Tesla stolen in a carjacking during a dangerous police chase spoke with 7News about the phone call he made to her as it was happening. He was caught in the chaos of a police chase and was forced out of his car at gunpoint, Wednesday.It’s hard to imagine what that victim and his family have been through after South Florida watched the whole thing play out.“I thought he was dead; I didn’t know what was happening,” said Daniela Cristea. “I heard sirens, and it was just extremely scary, scariest moment ever.”Cristea said she could only fear the worst when her husband frantically called her on his Apple Watch minutes after he was carjacked at gunpoint on live TV.“I know there was something wrong because I heard sirens, and I couldn’t hear him,” Cristea said. The frightening moments happened along Commercial Boulevard in Tamarac after Edward Foster, 22, and Matthew Geimer Jr., also 22, led police on a tri-...