Day: January 3, 2023

Southwest provides points; extends elite status and Companion Pass for select travelers

January 3, 2023 Published by

The Points Guy 

Southwest Airlines had a rough end to 2022 as it canceled thousands of flights around the Christmas holidays and suffered what could be the largest operational meltdown in its history.

Now the carrier is extending olive branches to several groups of affected flyers. Besides offering refunds to travelers, Southwest is also giving points to select travelers and extending the qualification period (and for select travelers, the benefit period) for A-List elite status and Companion Pass. Some of this news was first reported by Thrifty Traveler and View from the Wing.

Here’s what you need to know.

25,000 Southwest points as an apology

On Jan. 3, 2023, some Southwest members reported receiving an email entitled “A message from Southwest CEO Bob Jordan.” Several TPG staffers received this email, including senior reporter Zach Griff, who was traveling as a group of four over the holidays. Here’s a screenshot of the email Zach received:

EMAIL FROM SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Zach received codes for each of the four travelers in his party. Each of the 25,000-point codes is worth about $375 based on TPG’s valuations. Zach said he got codes for 25,000 bonus points per passenger in addition to:

Full refund for the canceled flights.
$250 per traveler Southwest travel credits.
Refund for last-minute replacement flights on Hawaiian Airlines.

It’s unclear how Southwest decides which passengers get these emails with codes. But, we suspect that Southwest may still be in the process of sending these emails. And it seems you may get the email even if you already accepted travel credits, refunds and expense reimbursements. So, if your travel was affected by Southwest’s holiday operational issues and you haven’t gotten an email yet, keep checking.

Related: How to redeem points with the Southwest Rapid Rewards program

A-List and Companion Pass extensions

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Some Southwest members whose Companion Pass, A-List or A-List Preferred status expired on Dec. 31, 2022, received an email about an extension. A Southwest spokesperson told TPG, “Members who were either impacted by or at risk of being impacted by the operational challenges received an email last week.”

The spokesperson went on to state:

“For our Members, A-List, A-List Preferred and Companion Pass Members that had not yet qualified or requalified for A-List, A-List Preferred or Companion Pass for 2023, we have extended the date by which they must requalify from the end of December, (as is typical every year) to the end of January 2023.”

So, Southwest is extending the qualification period through Jan. 31, 2023, for all members who hadn’t yet qualified or requalified for Southwest elite status or Companion Pass by the end of 2022.

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Although Southwest is extending the qualification period for all members, only select travelers will get their A-List, A-List Preferred and Companion Pass benefits extended through Jan. 31, 2023.

However, my Companion Pass expired at the end of 2022, and I didn’t get an email about an extension, nor do I see an extended Companion Pass in my account.

I asked Southwest about this and got the following response:

“If you had the Companion Pass in 2022 and were impacted during our operational event, then your status should be extended to Jan. 31. When you go to make a booking in January, you should be able to see and have the ability to add your companion (let us know if you don’t see it).”

As such, Southwest is only extending elite status and Companion Pass benefits through Jan. 31, 2023, for travelers affected by the airline’s holiday operational issues.

However, note that Southwest phone agents have given some travelers conflicting information. TPG’s Emily Thompson didn’t have any holiday travel booked with Southwest, yet multiple Southwest phone agents told her that her Companion Pass, which expired at the end of 2022, would be extended through January 2023. Both agents explained that the extension would take a few days to appear in all eligible accounts.

A Southwest spokesperson told us that only those who had travel affected by the operational meltdown would see elite status and Companion Pass extensions. So if you didn’t have any bookings to travel with Southwest during the affected period and don’t see an extension in your account, you’ll likely only get an extension of your qualification period (not your benefit period).

Related: Wondering what happened to your favorite Southwest route? Here’s what to know

How does the elite-qualification extension affect Companion Pass earning?

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

All Southwest members who didn’t qualify for a Companion Pass by the end of 2022 will have extra time to earn a Companion Pass valid through the end of 2023. If you were relying on flights or other activities at the end of 2022 to earn a Companion Pass, you now have until the end of Jan. 31, 2023, to reach the qualification requirements.

You might wonder what this extension means if you were looking to earn a Companion Pass valid through the end of 2024 by earning 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points in early 2023. Southwest confirmed to AwardWallet that “all earning activity in January 2023 will also count toward your 2024 Companion Pass (earned in 2023, valid through 2024).”

If you’re looking to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass, now’s a good time to earn the sign-up bonus on any new Southwest credit cards you may have opened at the end of 2022.

Bottom line

While there’s no way to make up for lost time with friends and family during the holidays, it’s great that Southwest is offering refunds, bonus points and status extensions to passengers affected by its operational meltdown. It’s the right thing for the airline to do after wrecking many travel plans over the holidays.

However, it’s disappointing that Southwest’s phone agents gave some travelers incorrect information. These travelers presumably called in after reading other websites reporting that Southwest would extend elite status and Companion Pass for all members. However, a Southwest spokesperson told TPG the airline was only extending elite status and Companion Pass benefits for travelers affected by Southwest’s operational issues over the holidays.

Read More 

Apple Stock Extends Slide, Falls Below $2 Trillion Level, As Investors Count iPhone Delay Hit To Earnings

January 3, 2023 Published by

Updated at 1:23 pm EST

Apple  (AAPL) – Get Free Report shares slumped lower Tuesday, extending their recent decline to the lowest levels in more than eighteen months, amid concerns that supply chain disruptions in China, as well as fading demand in key markets, will soften earnings for the world’s biggest tech company. 

Exane BNP analyst Jerome Romel cut his rating on Apple stock to ‘neutral’, from ‘outperform’, and lowered his price target by $40 to a share to $180 each, in a Tuesday note that highlighted weakened iPhone and Mac shipment estimates and cautious consumer spending.


source

The latest on the new Congress and House speaker vote

January 3, 2023 Published by
US Rep. Jim Jordan speaks on behalf of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
US Rep. Jim Jordan speaks on behalf of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Conservative hardliners nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Tuesday to be speaker of the House during the chamber’s second and third votes amid the floor fight for House leadership.

Jordan, in an effort to show party unity, nominated GOP leader Kevin McCarthy in the second round of voting. Speaking on the House floor Tuesday, Jordan said the differences among Republican lawmakers “pale in comparison” to the differences between Republicans and Democrats.

“We need to rally around him,” Jordan said of McCarthy.

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida nominated Jordan in the second round where he earned 19 votes. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who already voted twice against McCarthy, nominated Jordan for speaker in the third round.

Jordan’s nomination by another member marks a new layer of leadership drama as Republicans take control of the House.

The first order of House business as the 118th Congress convenes is the selection of a new speaker, but McCarthy is being stonewalled by a group of conservative hardliners. Because the GOP holds only a narrow majority, those hardliners hold more influence in the conference and have already denied McCarthy the votes necessary to secure the gavel on initial rounds of balloting.

Key things to know about Jordan: Jordan is a high-ranking conservative and a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chair from 2015 to 2017, and as its vice chair since 2017. He was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee from 2019 to 2020. He vacated that position to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he is expected to become chairman in the newly GOP-held House.

Jordan is a close ally of former President Donald Trump. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump refused to concede while making claims of election fraud, Jordan supported lawsuits to invalidate the election results and voted not to certify the Electoral College results.

source

Byron Donalds sets House floor abuzz by switching vote from McCarthy to Jordan

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Rep.-elect Byron Donalds, R-Fla., set the House abuzz on Tuesday when he switched his vote for House Speaker from embattled Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – as McCarthy struggles to meet the threshold to gain the gavel.

Donalds had supported McCarthy for the first two votes, which both resulted in no candidate reaching the necessary 218 votes after 19 Republicans defected — the first time in nearly a century that additional votes were needed for a majority’s nominee.

Some rebel Republicans had cast votes for Reps.-elect Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Jordan, Jim Banks, Lee Zeldin, R-NY, and Donalds himself in the first round. Jordan secured all non-McCarthy GOP votes in the second and third rounds. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united around Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY.

On the third vote, Donalds was asked his selection, and chose Jordan, raising the number of Republicans voting for someone other than McCarthy to 20. Jordan has said he is supporting McCarthy.

MCCARTHY FALLS SHORT IN THIRD HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE AS JORDAN GAINS MOMENTUM

The vote by Donalds immediately sparked murmurings throughout the chamber, as well as a round of applause from Republicans lawmakers opposed to McCarthy’s candidacy. Ultimately, Jordan received 20 GOP votes, while McCarthy received 202 and Jeffries received all 212 votes from his fellow Democrats.

In an interview on “Kudlow” after the vote, Donalds said he changed his vote because he doesn’t believe McCarthy has the 218 votes at the moment.

“I voted for Kevin on the first two ballots, and it’s just not clear that he has the votes,” he said.

MCCARTHY SHORT OF VOTES AS HOUSE SPEAKER CONTEST ENTERS FINAL HOURS

He said that McCarthy does have the ability to get to the threshold but “there’s a lot of work to be done.”

“I think just if you’re going to ask members to vote over and over and over again to try to wear people down, I think it actually has the opposite effect,” he said. “My view has been for us to call a recess, get in a room, figure it out, have those conversations and then go back to the floor.” 

Shortly after the vote, the House moved to adjourn until noon on Wednesday, meaning that the chamber will not be electing a speaker until at least that time. No members have been sworn in and cannot be until a speaker is elected.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
 

 

​Read More 

 

Jessica Simpson shares photo after finding her 8th grade cheerleading letterman jacket

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Jessica Simpson has still got spirit. 

The Jessica Simpson Collection mogul shared a throwback with fans earlier this week when she posted a photo of herself with her middle school letterman jacket on. 

“Found my 8th grade head cheerleader letter jacket,” Simpson, 42, wrote on Instagram along with a selfie of her in the green and yellow keepsake. Simpson finished the look with an orange beanie and hoop earrings. 

“Yes! Go Vikings!” her younger sister Ashlee Simpson, 38, commented along with a laughing emoji. 

JESSICA SIMPSON, ALICIA SILVERSTONE LEAD HOLLYWOOD STARS PURSUING FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH VIA NONSURGICAL PROCEDURES 

“U go girl,” Sharon Stone wrote, and Paris Hilton left a heart eyes emoji. 

In recent years, Simpson has been open with her fans about her weight loss journey. The Jessica Simpson Collection mogul said in September after losing the baby weight from her third pregnancy she’s able to fit back into all her old clothes. 

“Oh, gosh, no,” she told Extra at the time when asked if she’s gotten used to the attention on her weight loss. “Would any woman? But Lynda Carter warned me on the set of ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’ She was like, ‘I will always be Wonder Woman and compared to Wonder Woman, and that’s what you’re doing here as Daisy Duke. Just know the words ‘Daisy Duke’ will follow you for the rest of your career.’”

Simpson added, “I’ve been criticized, and it hurts, but I’ve been every weight and I’ve been proud of it. I decided, ‘Okay, everybody is going to talk about my weight all the time, I might as well make money off of it and turn it into a business of selling clothes and acceptance.”

JESSICA SIMPSON HAS SOME FANS CONCERNED OVER RECENT INSTAGRAM VIDEO

The mom of three added that she lost the weight she gained after having her daughter, Birdie, in 2019 with the help of a nutritionist. 

“I went to a nutritionist, and I needed to get my eating habits right,” she said.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“I absolutely feel healthy,” she told the outlet. “I feel like my old self before I had children and all the hormones going wild. I feel younger, actually. I have a lot more energy and yeah, I get to wear all the clothes that are in storage that I saved for [10-year-old daughter] Maxwell and [3-year-old daughter] Birdie. Maybe Birdie will outgrow them because Maxwell has already outgrown me!”

Simpson and husband Eric Johnson also share 9-year-old son Ace. 

 

​Read More 

 

Texas grandfather accused of capital murder in stabbing death of 8-year-old grandson

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

A Texas man is accused of stabbing his grandson to death on New Year’s Day while his grandson was in his custody. 

Richland Hills Police Department responded to a 911 call from someone at a home on Labadie Drive in Richland Hills, Texas around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1. Responding officers found the body of an 8-year-old boy who had been stabbed to death.

A family member identified the boy as Brenym McDonald. 

“Upon arrival, officers made entry to the residence and located what we now know to be a deceased 8-year-old male,” Richland Hills officer Sheena McEachran. “There was a weapon, edged blade weapon involved in this incident and that weapon has been recovered.”

POLICE IN FLORIDA OFFERING $10K REWARD FOR INFO ABOUT ‘HEINOUS’ MURDER OF MARRIED COUPLE

The young boy’s great-grandmother Linda Hubbard said the boy and his parents were living with the boy’s grandfather, 62-year-old Phillip Hughes.

CHICAGO BOY, 9, FATALLY SHOT IN OWN HOME

“They were staying here with the grandfather until they could get him another place to live,” Hubbard said. “They kind of stayed away from him. I can’t say much about that.”

After finding the body, first responders located Hughes, who was walking near the middle school a few blocks away from the home. His arrest was captured on a neighbor’s doorbell camera.

Police are still investigating to determine a motive for the violent stabbing.

“We have lots of questions, just like everyone else has. And throughout the investigation we’ll hopefully be able to answer all the questions and why this tragedy occurred,” said Officer Sheena McEachran with the Richland Hills Police Department. “There’s not a lot of words right now to describe a lot of the feelings involved, but we are doing everything we can to investigate this fully and making sure we bring justice for the family.”

Hughes did have a previous arrest and was convicted for driving while intoxicated.

Hughes is being held at the joint detention center at the North Richland Hills Police Department, where he is being held for capital murder. On Monday, Jan. 2, Hughes appeared in court, where a judge set his bond for $2 million.

 

​Read More 

 

At Benedict’s summer home, a town mourns its beloved visitor

January 3, 2023 Published by

Top News: US & International Top News Stories Today | AP News 

FILE – Pope Benedict XVI greets faithful from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the scenic town where he spent his first post-Vatican days and made his last public blessing as pope, Feb. 28, 2013. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s death has hit Castel Gandolfo’s “castellani” particularly hard, since many knew him personally, and in some ways had already bid him an emotional farewell when he uttered his final words as pope from the palace balcony overlooking the town square. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — The shopkeeper named her daughter after him. The parish priest wears his old vestments. The former mayor dedicated a plaque to him on City Hall, and residents up and down this picturesque hilltop town reminisce about hearing him play the piano behind the palace walls on cool summer evenings.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is particularly beloved in Castel Gandolfo, where he joined a centuries-long list of pontiffs who summered at the papal villa overlooking Lake Alban in the hills south of Rome. Benedict’s death has hit its residents hard, since many knew him personally, and had already said their emotional farewells when he uttered his final words as pope from the palace’s balcony overlooking the town square on Feb. 28, 2013.

On that night, thousands had thronged Castel Gandolfo’s main piazza and gave Benedict a thundering round of applause as the palace’s brass-studded doors swung shut at 8 p.m., signaling the official end of his papacy.

Benedict then began the first papal retirement in 600 years in the seclusion of the palace’s grounds, where he waited out the conclave that elected Pope Francis. He returned to the Vatican two months later to live his remaining years in a converted monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where he died Saturday, nearly 10 years after that momentous night in Castel Gandolfo.

Hub peek embed (PopeBenedictXVI) – Compressed layout (automatic embed)

“It was really awful seeing the big door close that night,” said Stefano Carosi, who runs the coffee shop on the main piazza, a stone’s throw from the palace entrance. “It made us realize that this pope wouldn’t be with us anymore … that he had left us.”

It was Pope Urban VIII who had the palace built on the northern end of town in 1624, to give popes an escape from the sweltering Roman summers. It was enlarged over succeeding pontificates to its present size, which is now bigger than Vatican City itself.

Aside from the extensive gardens and a pool that St. John Paul II installed, the palace grounds are home to a working farm that supplies the Vatican with fresh dairy, eggs, honey and produce, as well as an observatory that boasts a world-class meteorite collection.

In the decade since Benedict retired, Castel Gandolfo has had to adapt its livelihood and seasonal rhythms to a new pope who has chosen not to vacation here. Francis has spent every summer of his papacy in Vatican City, depriving Castel Gandolfo’s souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels of the visitors who would pack the town each summer Sunday for noon papal blessings and then stay to enjoy a cool afternoon in the countryside.

Francis has tried to make it up to them, opening the palace and its immaculate gardens to the public in an extension of the Vatican Museums, where visitors can see the papal bedroom, vestments and old uniforms of the papal court.

But even with a year-round tourism opportunity, the absence of a pope still rankles a community that for centuries had a privileged relationship with popes, especially Benedict because of his obvious love for the town and his decision to mark his final moments here as pope.

“When he arrived here (at the beginning of each summer) he looked very tired, but just with the two months he spent in Castel Gandolfo he flourished again,” said Mayor Maurizio Colacchi, whose two terms covered nearly Benedict’s entire eight-year papacy. “It was clear that the air, the atmosphere, the tranquility, the serenity were of great benefit for him.”

Colacchi recalled the visits by heads of state that turned main street into the center of the media universe for a day, as well as Benedict’s lower-profile but more frequent visitor: his late brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, who often spent weeks visiting the pope in summer.

In one of his many papal encounters, Colacchi gave Georg honorary citizenship. In another, Colacchi unveiled a plaque on the façade of City Hall with a quote Benedict once uttered in expressing his love for the town. “Here I have everything: mountains, lake and I can even see the sea, and good people,” the plaque reads.

“We got to know him very well, in the sense that we had the fortune of appreciating him in a more direct way than anyone else, because here everything’s smaller,” said Patriza Gasperini, whose family has run Gasperini Souvenirs, a shop right next to the palace entrance, for three generations.

She remembered how Benedict would greet residents in the main square when he would return from his walks in the gardens, without any bodyguards, or when he’d play his beloved Mozart in the evenings, and passersby could hear it faintly in the main square.

“He was very, very good,” said Gasperini, whose shop still features Benedict-themed religious souvenirs and who named her daughter, Benedetta, when she was born a few months after his 2005 election.

Benedict was remembered with prayer during several moments of the Tuesday morning Mass in the parish church on the main square, where a large photo of him with a black ribbon across the frame was placed next to the altar.

The parish priest, the Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, donned a white vestment that Benedict had worn during a Mass he celebrated for the Castel Gandolfo faithful in their church and then left behind as a gift.

“The popes who came here didn’t come as guests,” Rozmus said after Mass. “This was their home.”

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Pope Benedict XVI at https://apnews.com/hub/pope-benedict-xvi

 

​Read More 

Burger King Adds Hefty ‘Suicide Burger’ to its Menu Nationwide

January 3, 2023 Published by

TheStreet 

While that’s its secret menu name, not its official one, the fast-food giant is adding a burger that makes the Whopper and McDonald’s Big Mac look like a snack.

Fast-food fans want bigger sandwiches. That’s why Wendy’s  (WEN) – Get Free Report lets you add a burger patty to its doubles and why fans regularly order double-patty sandwiches like McDonald’s (MCD) – Get Free Report Big Mac and Burger King’s Whopper.

Those are meaty burgers, but in reality, a single patty at McDonald’s comes in at 1.6 ounces, so a double is 3.2 ounces, which is less than the Quarter Pounder (4 ounces before cooking). And when you go to nicer burger chains like Five Guys and Shake Shack (SHAK) – Get Free Report single burger patties actually get bigger (3 and 4 ounces respectively.

So, even a double-patty sandwich like the Big Mac, the Whopper or a Dave’s Double at Wendy’s is a relatively puny sandwich when it comes to the meat (some of which cooks off anyway). That’s why many fast-food fans have looked for ways to get more meat on their sandwiches.

Wendy’s makes it easy by allowing customers to bring any burger to a triple by adding patties. McDonald’s and Restaurant Brands International’s QSR Burger King generally allow the practice, but neither publicizes it. That has led to the creation of a number of “secret menu” items like ordering a Big Mac made with Quarter Pounder patties (you will pay an upcharge) or building custom monster burgers.

Now, Burger King has decided to lean into the trend and add a true monstrosity to its menus nationwide.

Burger King

Burger King Has Done This in Global Markets

Burger King Japan has a tradition of offering very large takes on the hamburger, but the biggest (for now) is the King Yeti Super One Pound Beef Burger: a four-patty and six-cheese slice sandwich with a similarly high price to match.

“While Japan is known for its high cost of living, the roughly $15 (or 1,750 Yen) that the King Yeti Super One Pound commands is certainly steep for a Burger King menu item: the most expensive sandwich on the U.S. menu, the Texas Double Whopper commands $8.19,” wrote TheStreet’s Veronika Bondarenko in Feb. 2022.

In addition to a potential heart attack, the King Yeti Super One Pound Beef Burger comes with four 100% beef patties, six slices of Gouda cheese, caesar sauce, pickles, onions, and a combination of Parmesan and Camembert cheese on a brioche bun.

Burger King Mades the Quad Stacker ‘Suicide Burger’ Official

While Burger King has never embraced the name, the Quad Stacker has semi-affectionally been known as the “Suicide Burger” by secret menu aficionados. That version of the sandwich is generally ordered with four burger patties, four slices of American cheese, and eight slices of bacon served between two buns with some of Burger King’s secret sauce.

The menu version, which will be rolled out nationwide as part of the new BK Stackers lineup starting Jan. 5, will be a little different Chew Boom reported.

“The Quad BK Stacker features four beef patties, four slices of American cheese, bacon, and Stacker Sauce all sandwiched between a sesame seed bun,” the website shared.

There will also be a Double and a Triple Stacker offered. The only difference is that the Double will have two patties and two slices of cheese, while the Triple will have three of each.

Read More 

More forecasts: 30 days Toronto weather