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Connecticut man allegedly killed 2-year-old son, buried body in plastic bag at park

January 4, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

A Connecticut man allegedly killed his two-year-old son and then buried the child’s body in a plastic bag at a local park, according to police.

Edgar Ismalej-Gomez, 26, was arrested Tuesday for violating probation and is expected to face additional charges for his son’s death. He was on probation for a conviction in connection with the then-eight-month-old son suffering a broken arm in July 2021. He pleaded guilty in April and was ordered to serve 60 days and three years of probation.

The body of Liam Rivera was discovered Monday in a plastic bag under fresh dirt at Cummings Park in Stamford, Connecticut, Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw said in a press conference. Charges have not been filed yet in connection with the child’s death.

Ismalej-Gomez is also accused of holding the child’s mother at gunpoint within the past week, according to prosecutors. He allegedly held the mother hostage with a gun as the two drove to and from West Virginia before the mom was able to alert police on Monday.

NORTH CAROLINA MARINE ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH DEATH OF HIS BABY

“What we learned is that in just about a week ago, the defendant is alleged to have gone into the child’s room and the child ended up deceased,” prosecutors said, according to FOX 61. “The defendant would not let the mother of the child call for an ambulance. They placed the child in a bag and bury the child at Cummings Park.”

“The mother of the child has reported that the defendant has held her captive for the past four days,” the prosecutors continued. “He is alleged to have carried a handgun and that she had been driven. They left the state drove down to West Virginia and came back to Connecticut that has been corroborated.”

The state’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled the child’s death a homicide because of multiple blunt force trauma to the head.

Ismalej-Gomez was arrested at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday while in a cab to New York, officials said. 

He is being held on a $3 million bail.

FALLEN CT FIREFIGHTER DIED OF HEART DISEASE DURING BLAZE, CORONER SAYS

A protective order prohibited Ismalej-Gomez from seeing his son due to the child’s broken arm in 2021, but Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning said during his arraignment for violating probation that he was living with his son and the child’s mother the last few weeks.

 

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Last surviving Apollo 7 astronaut has died

January 4, 2023 Published by

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CNN
 — 

Walter Cunningham, a retired NASA astronaut and pilot of the first crewed flight in the space agency’s famed Apollo program, died early Tuesday morning at the age of 90, NASA said.

Cunningham was one of the earliest members of NASA’s human spaceflight program as a member of its third astronaut class, joining the space agency in 1963. He was selected to pilot Apollo 7, the first crewed mission of the NASA program that went on to land humans on the moon for the first time.

“We would like to express our immense pride in the life that he lived, and our deep gratitude for the man that he was — a patriot, an explorer, pilot, astronaut, husband, brother, and father,” the Cunningham family noted in a statement shared by NASA. “The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him dearly.”

Cunningham writes with a Fisher Space Pen during the flight of Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight and the Space Pen's first trip to space. The pens have been used on every NASA human spaceflight mission since.

The Apollo 7 mission launched in 1968 and lasted roughly 11 days, sending the crew on a journey into orbit that amounted to a test flight that could demonstrate the Apollo capsule’s ability to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit and pave the way for future exploration deeper into space. It was also notable for featuring in the first live TV broadcast of Americans from space, according to NASA.

Cunningham was the last surviving member of the Apollo 7 crew, which also included astronauts Wally Schirra and Donn Eisele.

Born in Creston, Iowa, and a recipient of an honors bachelor’s degree in physics and a masters with distinction in physics from the University of California at Los Angeles, Cunningham was 36 years old when the Apollo 7 mission launched. During an interview with NASA’s Oral History Office in 1999, he reflected on his career path and motivations.

The crew for NASA's first Apollo manned flight — (from left) Cunningham, Donn F. Eisele and Walter M. Schirra — prepares for mission simulator tests in 1968 at the North American Aviation plant.

“I’m one of those people that never really looked back. I only recall that when someone asked me after I became an astronaut,” Cunningham said. “All I remember is just kind of keeping my nose to the grindstone and wanting to do the best I could as — I didn’t realize at the time, but that was because I always wanted to be better prepared for the next step. I’ve always been looking to the future. I don’t live in the past.”

Though he ventured into outer space only once, Cunningham went on to become a leader in NASA’s Skylab program, the United States’ first space station that orbited Earth from 1973 to 1979.

Before joining NASA, Cunningham enlisted in the US Navy and began training as a pilot in 1952, according to his official NASA biography, and he served as a fighter pilot with the US Marine Corps on 54 missions in Korea.

“The only thing I can ever recall doing specifically to become an astronaut, because I looked at it that I had become one of, if not the best, fighter pilot in the world,” Cunningham said in the interview with NASA’s Oral History Office.

Cunningham also completed a doctorate in physics at UCLA without completing a thesis, and later, in 1974, he completed an advanced management program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business, according to NASA.

Cunningham testifies on space exploration during the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation's Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competiveness hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 24, 2015.

He worked as a physicist for the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit military think tank, prior to joining the astronaut corps.

After leaving the space agency, Cunningham wore many hats, taking on various roles in the private sector. According to his NASA biography, he served in a number of executive roles at development companies, worked as a consultant for startups, became an entrepreneur and investor, and, eventually, became a radio talk show host.

In later years, Cunningham also became an outspoken critic of prevailing notions about humanity’s impact climate change.

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Texas rejects more than 5,000 personalized plates in 2022: ‘LA KILLA,’ ‘SHE MAD’ among thousands

January 4, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles announced thousands of personalized license plates were rejected from January to October in 2022. Data for November and December was not available yet.

License plates with phrases like “LA KILLA,” “2@BADASH,” and “MR.CRAZY” were three of over 5,000 denied by TxDMV, according to Fox 26 Houston.

Though vehicle owners pay extra for personalized plates, guidelines have to be followed in order for the plates to get approved. State guidelines say Texas license plates can contain letters, numbers, spaces and symbols like hyphens, periods, hearts, stars or the state silhouette, but cannot have indecent, vulgar or derogatory content.

Some people do try to outsmart the system by omitting or adding letters, creatively using symbols and disguising forbidden phrases such as “TATTD*AF.” Other vehicle owners are a little more bold and will submit requests with blatant swear words, Fox 26 said.

TENNESSEE WOMAN SUES AFTER STATE OFFICIALS DEEM VANITY LICENSE PLATE ‘OFFENSIVE’

Even if the reference is not derogatory, plates can also be rejected for references to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, drugs, crime, law enforcement or military branches.

TxDMV also said plates can be rejected if it conflicts with a current or proposed plate pattern issued by the state, if the plates are “objectionable,” “misleading,” or “indecent.”

The department said references to publicly or privately funded colleges or universities are allowed.

KENTUCKY POLICE PULL OVER DRIVER AFTER SPOTTING DRAWN-ON LICENSE PLATE

Some of the license plates denied over the past year include:

SHE MAD, COOLAF, F@RT, SCAM, SHECAPN, BADAZZ, SAV4G3, ROADRG3, UR NEXXT, SADGRL, ASHOOOL, SNAZZY B, KONVICT, STONED1, STONERR, KSSTHIS, COKANE, SPICEGL, TOOTED, NO EFFS, N4KD, NF*GVN, GOT BUNS, JAN-6TH, F BDN, OLD MANS, FELLON, TOESUKR, VENGNC, SMKE*EM, 4MAGA, BYE@H8RZ , IM PSSD, UPRISE, FN FANCY , TX AF 1, URDONE4, SHITTYB, BLU BLLS, SKMYBLS, 69BLUE, and ST@NER.

The department said Texans are proud of their distinctive character and a personalized license plate is just another way to showcase that pride. 

The state has offered specialty license plates since 1965.

 

​Read More 

 

3 strikes for McCarthy — but he's not out yet

January 4, 2023 Published by

GOP lawmakers now hope to resolve their leadership battle privately after several humiliating hours on the floor. McCarthy and his allies have already begun talks with some of the 20 defectors in a desperate attempt to break the detente before the House will resume at noon Wednesday.

“We’re going to go have some more conversations tonight, to see what’s next,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of McCarthy’s chief antagonists. He declined to say whether McCarthy’s 20 dissenters would be meeting on their own, but said the talks would include members “across the conference.”

But by the time lawmakers return at noon on Wednesday, it’s not clear if McCarthy would still be the one seeking votes — or another member entirely.

After 14 years in leadership, McCarthy has now tried and failed three times to fulfill his decade-long dream of becoming speaker. In another troubling sign for the GOP leader, he lost the vote of someone who had been supporting him: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) flipped on the third ballot to support Jordan.

For most of Tuesday, McCarthy’s allies insisted they would keep voting until a path emerged for him to seize the gavel, an attempt to grind down his opponents. What resulted was a game of high-stakes chicken — just the second time since the Civil War that a party required multiple attempts to elect a speaker on the House floor.

But that sentiment began to shift by the third vote, with many GOP lawmakers seeing no path for McCarthy to win without a major shift in dynamics. And some feared that the California Republican could lose even more support beyond Donalds without some personal intervention.

“I think it’s going to be increasingly clear that he’s not going to be speaker. We will never cave,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said after conservatives blocked McCarthy from winning the gavel, urging him to drop out.

In a bid to cut off McCarthy opponents at their knees, Jordan gave an impassioned speech nominating the Californian, but that did little to move the detractors. Unlike in the first round of voting — where McCarthy picked up undecided House Freedom Caucus members, including Reps. Ben Cline (Va.) and Clay Higgins (La.), and Rep.-elect Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who had previously pledged to vote against McCarthy — the GOP leader didn’t pick up any new support in the second round.

How long the speaker’s fight will last remains the House’s favorite parlor game. McCarthy acknowledged on Tuesday that it “could” last for days, while one of his opponents, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), said they could persist for “six more months.” In the meantime, the House GOP risks a chaotic floor fight, with no rules of the chamber yet in place. The chamber cannot even swear in its members without a speaker.

Those 20 opposition votes came despite fierce pressure from McCarthy and his wide band of allies that he has honed over the years — with some members even vowing to punish defectors from removing them from committees.

“No one in this body has worked harder for this Republican majority than Kevin McCarthy,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who leads the GOP conference, said in a booming floor speech delivered moments before lawmakers began to vote.

After brewing for years, the revolt against McCarthy materialized on the floor in front of all 434 members (with the seat of the late Democratic Rep. Don McEachin still vacant). On a day of plenty of pomp and circumstance, dozens of lawmakers brought squirming children, including at least one crying infant, as they sat through the full roll call vote.

The substantial bloc of opposition against McCarthy marks an increase from the day prior, when only five House Republicans had publicly declared they would vote against their party leader.

But storm clouds were brewing over McCarthy throughout Tuesday. Just before heading to the floor, House Republicans gathered for a tense — and at times, raucous — meeting where McCarthy and his top supporters erupted at the dozen-plus conservative hardliners vowing to block his speaker’s bid.

In a fiery speech to his conference in the closed-door meeting, McCarthy underscored the extensive concessions he has made to those who have vowed to oppose him, largely those in the House Freedom Caucus, according to multiple members in the room. He also told members that there are about 20 GOP lawmakers who plan to vote against him, far more than the five who have publicly opposed him — in a preview of the chaos that he met on the floor.

“I earned this job. We earned this majority, and Goddammit we are going to win it today,” McCarthy said to a standing ovation, according to lawmakers in the room.

It wasn’t just the California Republican calling out the conservative hardliners at the conference meeting. Many of McCarthy’s frustrated supporters, too, unloaded on the band of detractors. At one point, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, pushed the idea that any Republican who opposes McCarthy should be stripped of committee assignments.

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Burger King Adds Hefty 'Suicide Burger' to its Menu Nationwide

January 4, 2023 Published by

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.


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Louisiana police officer is charged with negligent homicide after a high-speed pursuit crash that killed two teenage girls

January 4, 2023 Published by



CNN
 — 

A Louisiana police officer was charged with negligent homicide after he crashed into a vehicle carrying three teenagers while in pursuit of a suspect in a different vehicle during a high-speed chase, according to the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District of Louisiana.

Addis Police Department Officer, David Cauthron, 42, was arrested on New Year’s Day in connection with the crash that killed Caroline Gill, 16, and Maggie Dunn, 17, a statement from District Attorney Tony Clayton says. Maggie’s brother, Liam Dunn, was also in the vehicle and is in critical condition.

Cauthron is facing two counts of negligent homicide and one count of negligent injury in connection with the fatal crash, according to Clayton.

The crash happened on New Year’s Eve in the town of Brusly – about 7 miles south of Baton Rouge.

Clayton says Cauthron was in pursuit of a man – Tyquel Zanders, 24, – accused of stealing a car when he ran a red light and crashed into the vehicle carrying the three teens.

CNN is attempting to reach Zanders. It is unclear if he has obtained an attorney.

Meanwhile, the suspect Cauthron was pursuing was eventually arrested and charged in West Baton Rouge with two counts of manslaughter in connection to the crash, Clayton says.

“My office will conduct a thorough investigation of the case, including analyzing all police unit dash camera and officer camera footage, communication with the officer, and interviews with witnesses,” Clayton said in a statement Tuesday. “Sirens and police vehicles do not give an officer the authority to cut through a red light. They must slow down or come to a complete stop when human life is in danger.”

Clayton added that his office will present the case to a grand jury.

A statement from Brusly High School says Maggie Dunn was in 11th grade, while Caroline Gill was in 10th grade. Both girls were members of the high school cheerleading squad, according to a Facebook post.

“As we mourn the tragic deaths of Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill please keep their families, friends, and the BHS community in your thoughts and prayers. Their enthusiasm and bright smiles will be missed more than can be imagined,” a statement from Brusly High School Cheerleading says.

Cauthron’s bond has been set at $100,000, and he remains in jail, according to Clayton. No attorney information for Cauthron is available at this time.

The Addis Police Department would not comment on Cauthron’s arrest, following a request from CNN.

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A war between China and Taiwan is the economic ‘black swan’ investors should be most worried about, ex-Fed chair Alan Greenspan warns

January 4, 2023 Published by

Business Insider 

A war between China and Taiwan poses the biggest ‘black swan’ risk to markets right now, Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan has warned.

Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is the most significant `black swan’ scenario threatening markets, according to Alan Greenspan.
The former Federal Reserve chair said in his 2023 investment outlook that a conflict between the two countries would be “a nightmare scenario” for the global economy.
Chinese president Xi Jinping tightened his grip on power when he was appointed for a third term last year.

Investors should start worrying more about China – because it could invade Taiwan and trigger a global economic crisis that fuels major market sell-offs, Alan Greenspan has warned.

The former Federal Reserve chair said Tuesday that a war between the two Asian countries poses the most significant “black swan” risk to financial markets right now.

Black swans are unpredictable events – such as the 2008 financial crisis or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year – that end up having unexpected and severe consequences for stocks and other financial asset classes.

“The black swan event I think markets, and really the world at large, ought to be most worried about is some kind of conflict erupting between China and Taiwan,” Greenspan, who is an economic advisor to Advisors Capital Management, said in a year-end question-and-answer investment commentary published on the firm’s website.

“Xi Jinping has methodically consolidated power and made himself essentially president for life,” he added. “He has been fairly candid in his intention to eventually bring Taiwan back into the fold, and he may begin to feel his window is closing.”

President Xi tightened his grip on power last year when he secured a third consecutive five-year term as Chinese leader.

He proceeded to elevate political allies with defense backgrounds to key posts – and told the Chinese people to “prepare to undergo high winds and waves and even for the stormy seas of a major test“, which many western political strategists saw as a reference to an eventual invasion of Taiwan.

An attack on Taiwan would rock the global economy because of the island’s importance to the global semiconductor trade, Greenspan said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world’s largest independent chipmaker and the 15th-largest stock by market capitalization, with a total valuation of just under $400 billion.

“Taiwan has shown no willingness to acquiesce to Xi’s plans and so the conditions for some type of conflict in the near future are there,” Greenspan said.

“The sheer amount of world trade that currently flows through that region, and the number of semiconductors fabricated by Taiwanese firms upon which the technologies we enjoy rely, make any conflict a potential nightmare scenario,” he added.

Greenspan isn’t the only major voice in markets to raise the alarm about a war over Taiwan in recent months.

In November, Bridgewater Associates co-CIO Ray Dalio said that China and the US are “dangerously close” to a military conflict over the island.

Hayman Capital Management chief Kyle Bass warned in the same month that Xi had installed a “war cabinet” that could set the stage for China invading Taiwan within the next two years.

Read more: China could be gearing up to invade Taiwan now that President Xi has installed a ‘war cabinet’, veteran investor Kyle Bass warns

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Stock futures rise as Wall Street tries to recover from Tuesday’s rocky session

January 4, 2023 Published by

US Top News and Analysis 

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VIDEO4:5604:56
‘Buy cheap and out of favor’ this quarter, says Paul McCulley, fmr. PIMCO chief economist
Fast Money

Stock futures traded higher Wednesday as Wall Street tries to recover its footing after a tough first session of the year.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

Sentiment was boosted in part by encouraging inflation data from Europe, including a greater-than-expected decline in the French consumer price index and a drop in German import prices.

U.S. stocks started 2023 on a downbeat note Tuesday as rising rate concerns, high inflation and recessionary fears crushed hopes that Wall Street could kick off the new year on a positive note. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Dow closed just below breakeven. The major indexes were also pressured by steep declines in Apple and Tesla shares.

“U.S. stocks were unable to hold onto earlier gains as restrictive policy and recession fears remained front and center for investors,” wrote Oanda’s senior market analyst Ed Moya in a note to clients Tuesday. “Discount buying triggered another bear market rebound that didn’t last long at all.”

Investors will gain more insight into what Fed members are thinking on Wednesday afternoon as minutes from the central bank’s latest policy meeting are released. Earlier in the day, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, and ISM manufacturing data are due out.

Friday’s December jobs report also will be closely watched as it is the last read on the labor market before the Fed meeting in February.

“It is too early to start betting on a Fed pivot this year and that should make this difficult environment for stocks,” Moya said.

5 Hours Ago

CNBC Pro screens for low-volatility stocks amid fears of a bumpy ride ahead

Stock markets endured a horrible 2022 as major indexes clocked their worst performances in more than a decade.

As market pros warn investors of bumpy times ahead, CNBC Pro used FactSet data to screen for low-volatility stocks that not only beat the market in 2022 but are expected to rise further this year.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

9 Hours Ago

CNBC Pro: Wall Street is bullish on this chip giant, with Morgan Stanley giving it 55% upside

The once-hot chip sector suffered in 2022, but Wall Street looks to be turning more optimistic on semiconductor stocks for the year ahead.

Recently, several pros have urged investors to take a longer-term view on the sector, given the importance of chips in several key secular trends.

Analysts named one stock in particular they’re bullish on, citing its earnings potential and future profitability.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

7 Hours Ago

Alibaba shares rise after Ant Group receives approval for capital plan

Shares of Alibaba listed in Hong Kong rose 7.11% in Wednesday’s morning trade – after China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved a plan for Ant Group’s capital expansion plan for its consumer financial unit based in Chongqing.

According to a notice posted last week, Chinese regulators gave the greenlight to billionaire Jack Ma’s financial technology firm to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).

Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba in which the e-commerce giant owns 33%. Ant Group runs the Alipay mobile payments wallet in China. Alibaba’s shares rose 2.78% on Tuesday, the first trading session after the notice was posted.

Other companies named in the notice included Hangzhou Jintou Digital Technology Group, Nanyang Commercial Bank, Zhejiang Sunny Optical and China Huarong Asset management.

The approval marks progress in the state-led regulatory overhaul of the fintech giant.

– Jihye Lee, Evelyn Cheng

11 Hours Ago

Software could outperform in 2023, says Trivariate Research’s Parker

watch now

VIDEO3:3903:39
Software will outperform this year, says Trivariate Research’s Adam Parker
Closing Bell: Overtime

Don’t be surprised if software stocks outperform in 2023, according to Trivariate Research’s Adam Parker.

“I’ll bet you the software index beats the S&P 500 in 2023, and I think it’s because the Fed will start getting less hawkish — maybe even dovish by year end — and that will be good for multiples,” he told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday.

Software stocks suffered in 2022 as growth tumbled in the wake of rising interest rates. After this reset, Parker said he sees “tons” of stock opportunities in the $3 billion to $20 billion market cap range, down 80% and projected to improve productivity going forward.

“The numbers have been reset massively from where we were, and so, I just think the risk-reward is getting from horrendous a year ago to not terrible,” he said.

— Samantha Subin

11 Hours Ago

Breaking down Apple and Amazon’s ‘staggering’ $800 billion market cap losses

Apple and Amazon were biggest losers of market cap in 2022, shedding $846.34 billion and $834.06 billion in market cap, respectively.

The value shed by each of the two companies overshadows the total size of some other popular tech stocks, with Bespoke Investment Group calling the numbers “staggering” in a tweet.

Broken down, Amazon’s market cap losses alone equates to 10 PayPals and 49 Rivians. Read more on the sheer size of Apple and Amazon’s losses and what that means in relation to other companies here.

— Alex Harring, Samantha Subin

11 Hours Ago

Stock futures open slightly lower

Stock futures opened slightly lower in overnight trading Tuesday.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.14%, or 48 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.14% and 0.13%, respectively.

— Samantha Subin

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'Avatar' Strong at the Box Office. Here's the Disney Chart Setup.

January 4, 2023 Published by

Disney  (DIS) – Get Free Report is trying to buck the early selling pressure on the first trading day of 2023.

Some other big names are taking it on the chin. Apple  (AAPL) – Get Free Report shares are down more than 3.5% and making a new 52-week low, while Tesla TSLA is down 13%.

For Disney’s part the shares were up 1.6% at last check. The rally comes on reports of strong box-office results for “Avatar: The Way of Water.”


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I’m an airport baggage handler. We’re not sitting around when your bags are late — we’re hustling as hard as we can behind the scenes.

January 4, 2023 Published by

Business Insider 

Courtesy of Rachel Bacha

Rachel Bacha is a 23-year-old airport baggage handler in Boise, Idaho.
Bacha gets to see the “behind the scenes” of how airports function and finds it really interesting. 
“If I could tell the public anything, it’s that we work hard to make sure your bags are on time,” she says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rachel Bacha, a 23-year-old baggage handler in Boise, Idaho. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When people ask what I do for work, I usually just say I work in aviation. If they ask more questions, I’ll tell them that I’m actually a baggage handler. I’ve been one for four years. 

People are usually really surprised because they don’t think of a young woman when they think of a baggage handler, but I really love my job.

My favorite part of being a baggage handler is working with airplanes

I get to see the “behind the scenes” of how airports function, and it’s really interesting. It also gives me some useful insight for when I’m traveling.

For example, if my flight is delayed, I’ll look down at the ramp to see what’s going on and estimate how long the delay will actually be. I also get standby flight benefits, which I recently used to fly to and from Paris.

When I’m working, sometimes I’ll look up at the plane and be astonished. It’s wild to see a massive aircraft and realize my job is part of the ecosystem that keeps it running. When I have to get up before dawn for a shift, it can be really cold, but then I watch the sun rise over the airplanes and it’s all worth it.

I work two different kinds of shifts as a baggage handler

One is a “mid” shift, which is usually from about 2 in the afternoon to 8 in the evening. I also work morning shifts which are from 4 in the morning to 11 in the morning.

On one shift, I check the flight map for the day and see what planes are coming in and when. I do this so I know where I need to be to unload the bags, and either scan them onto the next leg of their journey or take them to baggage claim. 

On Fridays and Saturdays, I work in the ‘bag room’

I have to wake up at 2:45 a.m. to clock in for my shift at 3:50 a.m., and in the bag room, there can be hundreds of bags dropping from the plane at the same time. Sometimes I walk 17,000 steps on the days that I work.

Courtesy of Rachel Bacha

Once the bags drop, I sort them according to their next location. It can get chaotic, because sometimes people check multiple bags.

People can check their bags up to four hours before their flight, which means I have to sort bags for all the flights that are leaving within four hours. I read the tags and make sure each bag gets on the right cart to go to the next correct destination. It’s my fault if it goes on the wrong cart and is sent to the wrong city.

The job can be pretty physically demanding

I’m active outside of work, so I don’t usually get too sore from baggage handling. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were suddenly no flights and no bags because people weren’t really traveling.

When people started traveling again, more flights were added to the schedule, and it got so busy again. There were so many bags! 

I’ve started sharing my experiences of being a baggage handler on TikTok

Courtesy of Rachel Bacha

I started making the videos because my family wanted to see what I was doing at work, and then the videos took off, and now I have almost 45,000 followers.

People really like baggage handler content, and I do fun videos like rating people’s suitcases. I also show people what I wear and what I do during a shift.

I never thought anyone would be interested in what I do as a baggage handler, but that’s what makes TikTok so cool. It’s full of these niche worlds that you can look inside, even if they may seem strange to you.

I’ve loved being able to share my work online

The first TikTok I ever shared that blew up was me rating people’s bags. People ask me for more bag rating videos all the time, and it’s so fun.

It’s interesting because I often get people in my comments asking how they can apply or what they can do to get a job like mine. I never thought people would be this interested!

We work as hard as we can behind the scenes to make sure your bags are on time and everything is running smoothly

If I could tell the general public anything, it’s that. If you have to wait a long time at baggage claim, just know that behind the scenes, everyone is hustling and working really hard to find a solution as quickly as possible.

I feel like people think we’re just sitting around in the back when their bags are late, but we’re not. We’re doing everything we can, but not everything is in our control.

I don’t know how long I’ll continue to be a baggage handler

I know it can be tough on my body, but I love it. I think my work as a baggage handler has changed my future path. Now I think I want to stay in aviation.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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