CNN
—

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy made a major concession to critics of his bid for the House speakership during private conversations this week: lowering the threshold that would force a floor vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to six Republican sources. Internal discussions.

McCarthy has been Trying to find a compromise threshold That would be enough to win speaker votes from his critics, while palatable to the rest of the House GOP, and has been ringing all corners of the conference in private phone calls this week.

One of the numbers that came up in recent conversations between McCarthy and GOP lawmakers — and it was previously undisclosed — was the five-person limit, according to two Republican sources.

Currently, a majority of the House GOP must call for a motion known as a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair. But some conservative hardliners insist that a single member call for such a vote, which they see as an important mechanism to hold the speaker accountable.

However, a five-person threshold may be too low for the moderate wing of the party, some of whom have privately suggested they would be willing to agree to a 50-person threshold.

Some of McCarthy’s fiercest critics, including Reps. Matt Gates of Florida and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, told CNN that the five-person limit is still too high, underscoring the significant challenge McCarthy faces in the task of blocking the speakership.

“No, less than 5!!” Norman said in a text message of the proposed motion to vacate the threshold. “2 or less (in my opinion).”

Gates said: “He’s got to get down to 1.”

All of that will be a major topic of discussion during an important Friday afternoon conference call McCarthy has scheduled with various ideological caucuses in the House GOP, four days ahead of the Jan. 3 speaker vote.

A compromise on the resignation motion — which McCarthy previously said he would not budge on — could be key to unlocking the votes he needs to win the speakership. His willingness to negotiate on the issue also shows how desperate McCarthy is to seal the deal, even if he gives up some of his power.

Still, there are other challenges. McCarthy, for example, wants a pledge from holdouts to vote for him as speaker if he agrees to a motion to vacate, but his critics want an iron-clad commitment before giving him their support.

“The ‘devil is in the details’ as far as thresholds and other rule concessions go,” Norman said. “Until the details are spelled out, sealed in writing and with social media posts, people won’t move votes.”

GSC Sports World has released a new trailer and screenshots for Open world First person shooter Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Titled “Come to Me.”

The trailer contains cutscenes and gameplay footage and gives a better understanding of it adventure Beyond.

Here’s an overview of the game via GSC Game World:

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl A brand new entry in the famous series enjoyed by millions of players worldwide.

The unique blend of first-person shooter, immersive sim and horror is back. With unprecedented scale, advanced graphics, freedom of choices and the dense atmosphere of a deadly adventure, this will be the ultimate STALKER experience.

Welcome to The Zone, the designated area around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Full of radiation, mutants and anomalies, it attracts adventurers from beyond the periphery.

Bounty hunters live deep in a realm driven by its treasures and mysteries. These people are called hunters.

Are you ready to become one of them?

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Coming out Xbox series And pc via Steam, Epic Games Storeand GOG in 2023. It is also available via Xbox Game Pass.

Watch the trailer below. Check out the screenshots in the gallery.

“Come to Me” Gameplay Trailer

Screenshots

Along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, Dow Jones futures edged lower after hours, heading into the final trading day of 2022. Major indices rose strongly on Thursday based on jobs data. Apple (AAPL) iPhone news and Tesla (D.S.L.A) bounces continuously.

X

But the market is in a correction after breaking key levels on Wednesday. Thursday marked a day in a new stock market rally attempt. Investors should be very careful in taking new positions.

Medbase (MEDP) flashed a buy signal on Thursday KLA Corporation (Clutch), Starbucks (Sex), United Rentals (URI), Mobile (MBLY), Super Micro Computer (SMCI) and flour (FLR) set up. But these stocks rise or fall with the market.

MEDP stock, Fluor and United Rentals are in operation IBD Leaderboard. KLAC stock is active IBD long-term leaders. MBLY shares IBD 50. KLA Corporation and URI have shares IBD Big Cap 20.

Meanwhile, new Treasury Department guidance says many Model Y vehicles won’t qualify for U.S. tax credits without drastic price cuts starting Jan. 1. But there is a loophole that allows all Tesla vehicles — and any EVs — to qualify for higher tax breaks at any price.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures fell 0.1% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%.

Remember that it is an overnight operation Dow futures The next routine elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they examine stocks that could be in for a stock market rally on IBD Live

Market rally attempt

The stock market had a strong rebound, running in the morning and holding onto those gains in the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just 1% on Thursday Stock market trading. The S&P 500 index rose 1.75%. The Nasdaq Composite and the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 2.6%.

In the week ended December 24, initial jobless claims rose slightly more than expected, but remained below 225,000. Concurrent claims rose by 41,000 to 1.71 million in the latest week, the highest since early February.

AAPL shares rose 2.8% to 129.61 following another report of the latest iPhone launch woes, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Apple’s iPhone production is ramping up again.

U.S. crude oil prices were down 0.7% at $78.40 a barrel.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 3.83%.

ETFs

in the middle Best ETFsInnovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose 1.1%, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (Botrose 0.9%. The iShares Broadened Technology-Software Sector ETF (IGV) rose 3%. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose by 3.3%. Reflecting the more speculative story stocks, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) rose 5.2% and the ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) 4.1% Tesla shares are the dominant holding across Arc Invest’s ETFs.

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) advanced 1.9%. US Global Jets ETF (JETS) up 2.65%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB2.4% up. Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) was over 1% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (451.4% up. Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLVrose 1.1%.

Five Best Chinese Stocks to Watch Now

Tesla stock

Tesla shares rose 8.1% to 121.82, following Wednesday’s 3.3% bounce. Shares of DSLA are still down slightly on the week and down 37% in December. After such a big selloff, Tesla stock is due for a bounce, but remains below key levels.

Tesla Model Y tax credits

Tesla’s bull case for 2023 relies heavily on new U.S. tax credits of up to $7,500 under the Inflation Reduction Act to boost high-margin domestic sales, offset weak demand and prices in China and Europe.

On Thursday, the Treasury Department listed the vehicles that qualify for US EV credits. Most versions of the Model Y have a price threshold of $55,000 to receive EV credits, versus an $80,000 cap for SUVs, pickup trucks and vans.

But seven-seat Model Y vehicles that aren’t big sellers qualify for up to $80,000.

With the current base Model Y starting at $65,990 in the U.S., Tesla will need to lower the price, perhaps by reintroducing the lower-range Model Y SR+ to get tax breaks — unless it’s a seven-seat variant.

But, another twist! Treasury also said EVs leased by consumers may qualify for commercial EV tax credits. This makes EVs assembled outside of North America eligible, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Foreign automakers and US allies in Europe and Asia strongly opposed the North American Federation requirement. But the lease rules allow any electric vehicle at any price to qualify, with no income limits.

It will be interesting to see what Tesla and other automakers do with variations and pricing to maximize the benefits of the new tax credits.

But investors were pleased with the overall picture.

TSLA shares soared.

Tesla Vs. BYD: Which EV giant is the best buy?

Stocks near buy points

Medbase stock rose 3.4% to 215.62, breaking a downtrend line while rebounding from its 21-day and 50-day line. MEDP stock has consolidated well, forming a 16%-deep rally on top of a long, deep base. Officer Point to buy 235, but Jupiter provided the initial entry.

KLAC stock rose 3.3% from its 10-week line to 379.86. A move above the 21-day line may present an opportunity to buy KLAC shares as a long-term leader.

SBUX stock rose 1.2% to 99.77, rebounding from its 10-week high and breaking above its 21-day high. It can be an initial entry on a short-base basis. That’s considered a handle on a 17-month deep consolidation for Starbucks stock.

URI stock advanced 1.2% to 356.21, rebounding from a 21-day streak. United Rentals is nearing a 368.04 handle buy point at its 13-month consolidation, briefly topped earlier this month. URI stock has traded very tightly on its handle. The Relative strength line United Rentals shares outperformed and the S&P 500 index hit new highs.

MBLY stock rose 2.8% to 34.51, recovering from an intraday undercut of its 21-day moving average. The Mobileye IPO went public at the end of October at 21 per share. MBLY stock has shown strength in a weak market but like many new IPOs has had big whipsaw moves. Stocks are starting to calm down. An aggressive investor may look for a trendline break for an entry, but the mobile stock will make a new base.

FLR stock was up 0.8% at 34.95, continuing to trade tight and likely performing. Flat baseit is a Base-on-base method. Fluor’s earnings rise 80% in 2023 as infrastructure stocks show strength in public and private projects.

SMCI stock rose 1.6% to 81.91, rebounding from the 50-day line but meeting 21-day resistance. A strong move above the 21-day, clearing Wednesday’s high of 84.35, could provide an early entry. One of the strongest growth stocks of 2022, Super Microcomputer stock has been consolidating for several weeks after breaking the earnings gap on Nov. 2, advancing to 95.22 on Nov. 25. Next weekend.

Market analysis

There was a solid recovery in the stock market after Wednesday’s sell-off. Dec. After falling from 13 intraday highs, the major indices are definitely “charging” for a bounce.

The question is whether they will follow through in the coming days and weeks.

The market moved into a correction on Wednesday as the Dow Jones broke below its 50-day moving average and the Nasdaq set a two-year closing low.

So Thursday is a day to try a new market rally. It takes a lot more than that to feel more confident.

The Dow Jones is back above its 50-day line, but still below its 21-day line.

The S&P 500 is still below its 50-day, its 200-day line and further resistance at the December highs.

Shares of Tesla, Apple and several other beat-down chip and software names led Thursday’s bounce, with some leading stocks flashing buy signals or moving into position, such as MEDP stock.

Time the market with IBD’s ETF Market Strategy

What to do now

It is tempting to go back into the market when indices rise sharply and there is a sea of ​​green in leading and significant stocks.

But Oct. From the bear market bottom on the 13th, breakouts and buy signals were largely inactive.

Certain sectors, including industrials, metals and medicals, have performed well in recent weeks, so it’s easy to justify nipping at these sectors with specific stock or sector ETFs. But keep any exposure small to make quick profits and minimize losses.

Bottom line: This is a market correction. Don’t operate under bull market rules, especially 2020-esque Mad Bull rules.

Invest like you’re driving on an icy, windy road, not the open highway. Proceed carefully or wait on the side of the road.

Now is the time to plan your trip. Work on watch lists. Stocks from various sectors are showing strength.

According to Big picture Each day should be in sync with the direction of the market and the leading stocks and sectors.

Follow Ed Carson on Twitter @IBD_ECarson For stock market updates and more.

You may also like:

Get your next big hit with MarketSmith

Want to avoid quick profits and big losses? Try SwingTrader

Best growth stocks to buy and watch

IBD Digital: Open IBD’s premium stock lists, tools and analysis today

What’s in the stock market forecast for 2023?

CNN
—

Thousands of Southwest Airlines flights were canceled last week due to a blast of extreme cold weather. Complete melting Its flight structure. In the days since, the carrier’s fight for recovery has been slow, some passengers argue, and largely unsuccessful. But experts say Southwest’s mess is actually the culmination of problems that have been building for years.

Since Dec. 22, the affected airline has canceled more than half of its regular flight schedule, and as of late Wednesday 87% of all canceled flights in the U.S. were from Southwest alone, according to industry watchers FlightRadar24 and FlightAware.

The predicament has irritated the commuters caught the eye Government regulators say the week has been magnified as other major airlines recover from the bitter cold, snow and ice that gripped much of the U.S. over the holiday weekend.

The company apologized to its passengers and employees for the daily cancellations and cut its capacity by two-thirds on Thursday, according to a CNN review of airline data.

This week’s meltdown isn’t the first time the company has been in this predicament. In October 2021, Southwest canceled more than 2,000 flights over a four-day period. Southwest canceled flights, though the airline blamed bad weather in Florida for the crisis Much longer than its competitors.

But much of the Southwest’s confusion may be the result of long-term problems unrelated to weather.

Chief among them are outdated internal processes and IT. Planning Organization of the Southwest Not much has changed Since the 1990s, according to Capt. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.

Southwest canceled two-thirds of its flights. See how passengers are doing

Southwest also acknowledges the company’s outdated infrastructure. “We talked very badly about modernizing the operation and the need to do that,” CEO Bob Jordan told employees in a memo obtained by CNN.

Over the years, the flight cancellation rate has tripled from 2013 to September 2022, according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Tracks Performance of airlines and before the recent crisis.

The bureau has only released data up to September 2022. To ensure a fair comparison, CNN only analyzed the carrier’s data from January through September in previous years.

Cancellation rates between airlines vary from year to year, depending on weather and other factors such as Covid-19, resulting in major disruption across the industry in the early months of the pandemic in 2020.

But Southwest, like its rivals, has failed to keep up with the cancellations, according to bureau data.

In several years over the past decade, the airline had higher cancellation rates compared to other major airlines, the data shows.

This is not just a cancellation. Southwest has also seen its time percentage decline in recent years to its lowest point in a decade. As of September 2022, even before the carrier’s current struggles, only 7 of its 10 flights had arrived on time.

KYIV/BAKHMUT, UKRAINE, Dec. 29 (Reuters) – Russia fired more than 100 missiles on Thursday morning, sending air raid sirens ringing across Ukraine, an adviser to Ukraine’s president said. A massive airstrike. More than 100 missiles in several waves,” presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook, and the head of Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region also announced that Russian missiles were in the air.

According to a Reuters reporter and local media reports, explosions were heard in Kiev, Zhytomyr and Odesa.

A power outage was announced in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions to minimize potential damage to energy infrastructure.

After the Kremlin rejected a Ukrainian peace plan, Russia insisted that Kiev accept the annexation of the four regions.

Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its daily bombardment is destroying towns, cities and the country’s infrastructure, from power to medicine.

On Wednesday, Russian shelling hit the maternity ward of a hospital in the city of Kherson, although no one was injured, according to Kyrillo Tymoshenko, a deputy to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Staff and patients were moved to shelters, Tymoshenko said in a post on Telegram.

“It was scary … the explosions started suddenly, the window handle started tearing … Oh, my hands are still shaking,” said Olha Prysitko, a new mother. “When we got to the base, the shelling didn’t stop. Not even for a minute.”

Ukraine’s recently liberated southern city of Kherson continues to be bombarded by Russian forces, who retreated to the east bank of the river last month when the city was retaken in a major victory for Ukraine.

Zelenskiy, in a video address, urged Ukrainians to hug loved ones, express their appreciation to friends, support colleagues, thank their parents and be happy with their children often.

“Even though we have endured brutal months, we have not lost our humanity,” he said. “Even though we have a tough year ahead, we won’t lose it.”

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine. Kiev and its Western allies have denounced Russia’s actions as an imperialist-style land grab. Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for a “special military operation” to militarize neighboring countries.

Russia has been hit with heavy sanctions for the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, left cities in ruins and rocked the global economy, driving up energy and food prices.

Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines fell to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as the Ukraine conflict cut its biggest customer imports and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious explosions, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show.

‘Today’s Realities’

There is still no chance of talks to end the war.

Zelensky has been actively promoting a 10-point peace plan that would see Russia respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and withdraw all its troops.

But Moscow rejected that on Wednesday, reiterating that Kyiv must accept four oblasts — Luhansk and Donetsk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south — for Russian annexation.

“With the entry of four regions into Russia, there cannot be any peace plan that does not take into account today’s realities regarding Russian territory,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Zelensky’s idea of ​​forcing Russia out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea with Western help and forcing Moscow to compensate Kiev was an “illusion,” RIA news agency reported.

TASS quoted Lavrov as saying that Russia would continue to build up its combat power and technical capabilities in Ukraine. He said Moscow’s mobilized troops had undergone “intense training” and that while many were now on the ground, the majority were still not on the frontlines.

Zelensky called for unity in parliament and praised Ukrainians for helping the West “re-find itself”.

“Our national colors are today an international symbol of courage and indomitability for the whole world,” he said in an annual address held behind closed doors.

Gerson Attacks

On the frontline, Russia shelled more than 25 settlements around Kherson and Zaporizhia, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Wednesday. The Kherson region at the mouth of the Dnipro serves as the gateway to Russia’s annexed Crimea.

Fierce fighting continued around the towns of Swatov and Kreminna in Luhansk, and to the north of the Ukrainian-held town of Bagmut in the eastern province of Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces are trying to break through Russian defense lines.

Following Ukraine’s advance further west, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Russia may have strengthened the Greminna area of ​​the front line, which is logistically important and relatively vulnerable.

Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov noted that the city and region of Kharkiv came under heavy attack, which damaged a regional gas pipeline.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekov said in a Telegram post that the city had been hit twice “apparently” by Iranian Shahed drones, five of which Ukraine’s Eastern Air Force reported separately fell over the city of Dnipro.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.

Report by Reuters Bureaus; By Himani Sarkar; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Michael Perry

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Southwest Airlines grounded thousands of flights again Tuesday A massive winter storm It disrupted Christmas travel plans across the US, and the federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers.

A day after most US airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest grounded another 2,600 flights along the East Coast in the afternoon. Those flights accounted for more than 80% of the 3,000 canceled flights across the country on Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware.

And it seemed that the chaos would continue. The airline scrapped 2,500 flights on Wednesday and more than 2,300 on Thursday as it tried to restore its irregular schedule.

In a video Southwest released late Tuesday, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest will operate a reduced schedule for several days but hopes to “be back on track before next week.”

Jordan’s winter storm has severely disrupted the airline’s “extremely complex” network. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions “work 99% of the time, but we have to double down on the systems we’re improving to avoid a repeat this week.”

“We have some real work to do to fix this,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. “For now, I want you to know we’re committed to it.”

Lyn Montgomery, president of the Transportation Workers Union, which represents Southwest flight attendants, said she and other labor leaders have repeatedly told management that the flight’s scheduling technology is inadequate.

“It’s something we saw coming,” he said. “It was a very catastrophic event.”

The airline is now drawing unwanted attention from Washington.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has criticized airlines for previous disruptions, said his agency would investigate the reasons for Southwest’s widespread cancellations and whether the airline was meeting its legal obligations to stranded customers.

“While we all understand that you can’t control the weather, this is a direct liability of the airline from uncontrolled weather,” Buttigieg told NBC Nightly News. He said Southwest should at least issue refunds for canceled flights and cover hotel and meal costs for stranded passengers.

In Congress, the Senate Commerce Committee also pledged to investigate. Two Senate Democrats called for Southwest to pay “significant” compensation to stranded passengers, saying the airline has cash as it plans to pay a $428 million dividend next month.

Although Southwest had the largest number of canceled flights Tuesday at airports where Southwest is a major carrier, including Denver, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, Baltimore and Dallas, the size and intensity of the storm wreaked havoc on many airlines.

Spirit Airlines and Alaska Airlines both canceled about 10% of their flights, with much smaller cancellation percentages for American, Delta, United and JetBlue.

Daniel Janin vowed never to fly Southwest again after four days, several flights were canceled and she, her husband and their two children slept in the airport before flying home to Illinois from Albuquerque, New Mexico. They stopped at airports in Denver and Phoenix and arrived in Chicago only after paying $1,400 for four one-way tickets on American Airlines off Southwest.

“Oh my god, we’re getting on a plane! I was honestly shocked because I thought we were always stuck in airports,” he said.

Zanin plans to ask Southwest to reimburse them for a portion of their original tickets and new American tickets, as well as rental cars, parking, Uber rides and meals — a total of about $2,000.

“I don’t have good faith that they will do anything,” he said.

CNN
—

Relief is still days away for passengers who made reservations at Southwest Airlines this week, as the embattled airline continues to struggle after US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described the system as completely broken.

As of 3:15 a.m. ET, of the 2,714 flights already booked for Wednesday flights in or out of the United States, 2,504 were operated by Southwest, according to the flight tracking website. FlightAware. Meanwhile, the airline has already canceled another 2,356 flights on Thursday, the website showed.

The airports canceled Wednesday were Denver International, followed by Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Dallas Love Field, Nashville International, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and Phoenix Sky Harbor International.

Buttigieg says he spoke directly to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan on Tuesday about the thousands of canceled flights this week, with no immediate indication of when passengers will be able to rebook.

“Their system has literally completely melted down,” Buttigieg told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday.

“I made it clear to customers that our department needs to hold them accountable for their responsibilities to get them out of this situation and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Southwest canceled two-thirds of its flights. See how passengers are doing

According to FlightAware, 3,200 flights to, within or out of the United States were canceled on Tuesday.

Of those canceled flights, about 2,693 were Southwest flights — 84% of all canceled flights in the United States.

Passengers at Southwest ticket counters at several U.S. airports on Tuesday saw long lines trying to rebook or connect, while large piles of unclaimed bags continued to grow as passengers struggled to retrieve their luggage at airports including Chicago’s Midway International, Harry Reid in Los Angeles. Vegas in Houston and William B. Hobby Airport.

Passenger Trisha Jones told CNN at the airport in Atlanta that she and her partner had been traveling for five days and were trying to get home to Wichita, Kansas, after getting off a ship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

After his flight was canceled, he stayed with relatives and was later sent back to Atlanta to catch a connecting flight.

“We were lucky because we were in Fort Lauderdale — my family lives in the Tampa Bay area, so we rented a car to visit my family for Christmas,” Jones said. “We’ve seen so many families sleeping on the floor, it breaks my heart.”

Southwest blamed a number of factors for the travel disaster, including winter storm delays, aggressive flight scheduling and outdated infrastructure.

“All I can say is that Southwest can’t even find where their own employees are, let alone their own passengers, let alone their baggage,” Buttigieg said, adding that he also spoke with airline leaders representing flight attendants and pilots.

The secretary said the CEO told Jordan that he expected Southwest to provide advance refunds and expense reimbursements to affected passengers without them asking.

“I conveyed to the CEO our expectation that they go above and beyond to take care of passengers and address this,” he said.

Buttigieg told CNN that the Department of Transportation is prepared to issue fines against Southwest if there is evidence that the company failed to meet its legal obligations, but he said the department will closely monitor persistent customer service issues at the airline.

“All the rest of the aviation system is moving toward recovery and improving every day, and it’s actually moving in the opposite direction with this airline,” Buttigieg said.

“You’ve got a company here that needs a lot of cleaning up,” he said.

Jordan apologized to passengers and staff Video report The company made the announcement on Tuesday evening.

“We’re doing everything we can to get back to a normal operation, and please hear that I’m truly sorry,” Jordan said.

Although Jordan acknowledged the problems with the company’s response, the statement suggested that he did not expect massive changes to Southwest’s procedures in response to the mass cancellations.

“The tools we use to recover from disruptions serve us well 99% of the time, but we need to double down on existing programs to improve systems for these extreme situations so that we never have to face what’s happening now again,” said Jordan.

“We’re confident we’ll be back on track before next week.”

Flight delayed or cancelled? A travel expert shares his tips

Southwest has warned that this week’s cancellations and delays will continue for several more days.

So what should customers do?

“First things first, passengers still waiting on Southwest and needing somewhere to go should try to book a flight on another airline as soon as possible … right now, in fact,” said Kyle Potter, managing editor of the travel advice website. frugal traveller, In an email to CNN Travel on Tuesday afternoon.

“Every airline in the country is jam-packed right now, so your chances of finding a seat — let alone a half-decent price — get slimmer within the hour,” Potter said.

“The thick of it is travelers should save all their receipts: other flights, a rental car, hotel nights, meals, anything,” Potter said.

If you are left confused, your efforts to reach a customer service agent will go nowhere, Founder Scott’s Cheap Flights Recommend to try international number.

“The main hotline for US airlines will be clogged as other passengers are rebooked. To quickly reach an agent, call any of the airline’s dozens of international offices,” said Scott Keyes.

“Agents can handle your booking just like the US-based ones, but there’s practically no need to wait for it to be processed.”

Click here To get the international numbers that Southwest posted earlier.

Video: Canceled flight leads to viral road trip

02:20

– Source: CNN

Southwest spokesman Jay McVay said Monday night that Houston’s William B. At a press conference at Hobby Airport, the airline said, “The airline will do everything possible to fix the challenges passengers are experiencing, including hotels, ride assistance, vans … rental cars. Everyone go home as soon as possible.”

He assured that all customers, even those who had already left the airport or made their own alternative arrangements, would be taken care of.

“If you’ve already left, take care of yourself, do what you need to do for your family, keep your receipts,” McVay said. “We’ll make sure they’re taken care of, that’s not a question.”

Capt. Mike Santoro, vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told CNN on Tuesday. Problems facing the South West It was the worst disruption he had experienced in 16 years at the airline.

He described last week’s storm as helping to trigger major technical issues.

“What’s wrong is that our IT infrastructure for programming software is very outdated,” he said. “With our complex route network, it cannot handle the number of pilots, flight attendants in the system.

“We don’t have the normal hub that other major airlines have. We fly a point-to-point network that can put our crews in the wrong places without planes.

He added: “This is frustrating for pilots, flight attendants and especially our passengers. We are tired of apologizing for Southwest, the pilots at the airline, and our hearts go out to all passengers, they really do.

CNN
—

A Maricopa County judge on Tuesday ordered the Arizona Republican Kari Lake To cover some legal fees related to Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs Election case Lake challenged his loss, but he stopped short of granting Lake permission to file suit.

Judge Peter Thompson dismissed Lake’s case on Saturday, concluding there was no clear or convincing evidence of misconduct and upholding Hobbs’ victory. That Christmas Eve ruling was a major setback for Lake Lost to Hobbs He sued in November in an attempt to overturn the election by about 17,000 votes.

Lawyers for Hobbs — the current secretary of state — knew Lake and his lawyers could not prove their challenges in the election, which would violate legal ethics rules. They wanted sanctions against Lake and his group. Thompson disagrees. “The Court finds that Plaintiff’s claims presented in this case are without merit and constitute bad faith,” he wrote Tuesday.

But he ordered Hobbs to pay $33,040.50 in restitution, and he reaffirmed Hobbs’ election to take office on Jan. 5.

The latest rulings are the latest rebuke to election dissenters nationwide and a return to long legal losses suffered by former President Donald Trump as he sought to challenge his election loss in 2020. Maricopa County, which straddles the Phoenix area and contains the majority of Arizona’s population, has been the focus of unsubstantiated fraud allegations in the midterm and 2020 elections.

In a tweet after Saturday’s ruling, Lake, who sat in the courtroom during the trial and did not testify, said he would appeal the decision “to restore trust and integrity in our elections.”

Lake, a former Arizona television journalist, built his campaign around Trump’s lies about widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He doubled down by falsely claiming to have won the 2022 elections.

Thompson previously dismissed the eight counts in Lake’s lawsuit before trial, ruling that they did not constitute valid grounds for election contestation under Arizona law, even if they were true. But he allowed Lake to testify in a two-day hearing on two other accounts involving printers and a ballot chain in Maricopa County.

According to Thompson’s ruling Saturday, Lake’s team had to show someone intentionally disabled the district’s vote-on-demand printers — and as a result, enough “identifiable” votes were lost to change the outcome of the election.

“Each witness before the court denied personal knowledge of such misconduct. The court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in lieu of clear and convincing evidence,” Thompson wrote.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN
—

GOP Rep.-elect George Santos of New York admitted Monday in two separate interviews that he lied about parts of his application, but said he had committed no crimes and wanted to serve in Congress.

Santos has Confronted with studies on contradictions His employment and education history, as well as other public statements he has made about his biography. In interviews with WABC radio and the New York Post — the first time Santos spoke publicly about the controversy — he admitted to fabricating some facts.

“I am not guilty. I have never committed any crimes, not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world,” Santos said in an interview with WABC radio host John Casematidis.

“Just to be clear, I’m not a fraud. I’m not a criminal who defrauded the entire country and created this fictional character and ran for Congress. I’ve been around a long time. I mean, a lot of people know me. They know who I am. They’ve done business with me, ” he added.

“I’m not going to make excuses for this, but a lot of people overdo it on their resumes, or twist it a little bit. … I’m not saying I’m not guilty of it,” he said.

Santos also admitted that he did not work directly for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. New York Post To say that he worked for them is an “understatement”.

He also told the Post that he never graduated from any college or university, although he claimed to have graduated from Baruch College and New York University.

Reporter breaks GOP Rep.-elect Santos’ resume, says more to be explored

“I did not graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m ashamed and sorry for embellishing my resume,” she told the Post, adding that she “does stupid things in life.”

He told WABC, “I want to make sure that if I’ve misled anyone with resume embellishment, I’m sorry.”

First the New York Times revealed Last week Santos’ biography was somewhat fictional. CNN confirmed The report details, including his college education and employment history.

CNN’s KFile also reported As Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium changed their surnames last week, Santos said his grandparents “survived the Holocaust,” contradicted by family traditions, family trees compiled by genealogy websites, records of Jewish refugees and interviews with several genealogists. Santos’ attorney declined to comment to CNN.

“I never said I was Jewish,” Santos told the Post. “I am Catholic. I said ‘Jewish’ because I know my maternal family has a Jewish background.

In late November 2022, Santos said he was “very proud” of his “Jewish heritage”. appearance With the Jewish News Syndicate.

In the wake of Santos’ admission, CNN has reached out to House GOP leadership and the National Republican Congressional Committee. House GOP leadership remained silent amid last week’s revelations. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy would not answer questions from CNN on Thursday.

Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in a newly drawn district that includes parts of Queens and some nearby Long Island suburbs, flipping Republican control.

This is Santos’ second run — he lost to Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi in 2020 — and much of the criticism he faced during his recent campaign centered on his attendance at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, and a video showing alleged rioters in their legal ranks. He said he wrote a “nice check” to help with the bills.

This story has been updated with additional context.