These lies about climate change just wouldn’t die in 2022

USA Today

These lies about climate change just wouldn’t die in 2022

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY – December 29, 2022

There was a time – a recent time – when concern about the environment was relatively bipartisan, not a cultural flashpoint.

A Republican, President Richard Nixon, established the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. In the 1980s and 1990s, bipartisan majorities voted to strengthen the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, led by a Republican – Rhode Island’s Sen. John Chafee.

Those days are gone, and today a wide range of misleading statements and outright lies about the reality of human-caused climate change circulate widely.

The sheer volume of misinformation can distort perceptions of how many people don’t believe the science that shows the Earth’s climate is changing because of human activity, said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and professor at Texas Tech University.

“I call them ‘zombie arguments’ because you can explain that they’re not true but they still go stumbling around because they’re not about facts but excuses,” she said.

In truth, a small number of people actually believe these lies, she said. Surveys by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication in Connecticut have found 8% to 9% of Americans are totally dismissive of climate change, believing it is either not happening, not human-caused or not a threat. Many of these people also endorse conspiracy theories about global warming.

“They’re just 8% of the population. A loud 8%, and very present online, but only 8%. So I would rather answer from the perspective of everybody else,” said Hayhoe, who is also an evangelical Christian whose most recent book is “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.”

Here are some of the most common climate myths and lies experts say have been circulating this year:

Wrong: Summer heat waves show renewables can’t work

Power grids in TexasCalifornia and the Pacific Northwest all faced extreme heat events this summer. Each power system was pushed to the brink by the draw on electricity for air conditioning. And yet none broke.

Nonetheless, a false narrative circulated saying that solar and wind energy had made those power grids – and especially California’s – fragile and unable to cope with high demands.

In fact, the opposite is the case. While renewable energy does present challenges, especially during heat waves, this year proved that careful planning and green innovations can successfully meet those challenges.

In California, battery storage and conservation allowed the state to avoid power outages during a 10-day September heatwave. In the Northwest, battery storage and voluntary programs that rewarded customers for reducing demand kept the system running.

More: ‘A ‘Wow’ moment’: US renewable energy hit record 28% in April.

In Texas in July, a heat wave caused the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to take emergency measures, including urging residents to restrict their use and paying power operators as much as $5,000 per megawatt hour to keep generators running. ERCOT said two factors affected its ability to meet soaring demand: low wind power generation and outages at coal- and natural gas-fed power plants.

Blaming renewable energy as the cause of power crunches is unfair, said David Doniger, senior strategic director in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s climate and clean energy program.

“Their answer is always ‘Stick with fossil fuel because renewables and efficiency can’t fill the need.’ This is the lie; those are the problem and not the solutions,” he said.

“Some of the biggest lies these days are focused on slowing the transition from fossil energy to cleaner alternatives by saying problems or shortcomings for renewables make it impossible.”

Energy experts say the percentage of U.S. power that comes from renewables can go much higher than today’s relatively low numbers without causing severe stress on electrical systems. In April, records were set when 28% of U.S. electricity came from renewable resources.

They do acknowledge that decarbonizing the final 10% of the electric grid will be tricky but say that’s not a reason to avoid decarbonizing the first 90%.

Grace Suzanna Mashensic, 16, of Columbus, Ohio, cheers for Jane Fonda as she speaks during "Fire drill Fridays," a climate change rally, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington.
Grace Suzanna Mashensic, 16, of Columbus, Ohio, cheers for Jane Fonda as she speaks during “Fire drill Fridays,” a climate change rally, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington.
Wrong: Using ESG criteria is ‘woke’ capitalism

Making investment decisions with environmental, social and governance factors in mind has been around for decades.

But recently it has been decried as “woke capitalism,” and a concerted effort has been waged to stop companies from taking all three, known as ESG, into consideration when they make investments. That’s especially true when it comes to taking environmental risk management.

More: GOP vs. ESG: Why Republicans are fighting ‘woke’ ESG investing

In the past year, 18 states have either proposed or adopted rules limiting the ability of the state government and public retirement plans to do business with entities found to “discriminate” against certain industries based on environmental, social and governance criteria, according to JD Supra, a legal news source. For example, Arizona’s State Board of Investment said in August that ESG considerations could not be considered in the investment management of its assets.

“It’s a sinister lie that’s deeply counterproductive, not just to the climate but also to people’s pocketbooks and pensions,” said Alicia Seiger, who teaches sustainability and energy finance at Stanford University’s law and graduate schools of business in California.

Telling companies they can’t consider all available information to make solid long-term investments “is insanity,” she said. “That should be determined by the investor, not the political system.”

Wrong: Believing in climate change is only for the far left

Experts have noted an effort by some to lump in climate change with other liberal and progressive causes, such as racial justice. The implication is that those who believe global warming is an issue to be dealt with must also support a host of other objectives that are considered “far left.”

This also comes amid a movement to pressure businesses to view climate change as a hot-button political issue.

“Conspiracy theorists connect climate change to other lightning-rod issues to generate emotional, irrational responses that drive online engagement,” said David Di Martino, co-founder of triplecheck, a nonprofit that works to combat the spread of misinformation, including climate misinformation.

But that position ignores the many conservatives who are concerned about global warming and are working to fight it. They include the American Conservation CoalitionConservatives for Clean Energy, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and Congress’ Conservative Climate Caucus.

Wrong: There’s no hope for fixing climate change, so why try?

An increasingly frequent message centers around “doomerism,” the lie that it’s totally impossible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to near-zero without devastating the economy and significantly reducing our standard of living, so there’s no point in even trying.

This is wrong because the technology to decarbonize much of the electrical grid already exists. Meanwhile, wind and solar, along with battery storage, are increasingly cheaper than coal and natural gas. Decarbonizing more hard-to-reach areas, such as steel and cement production and aviation fuel, will take longer but are in the works.

An Oxford University study released in September found a fast transition to decarbonized energy systems is cheaper than a slow one or not transitioning at all. Achieving zero-carbon energy systems is “possible and profitable” and will save the world at least $12 trillion compared with continuing current levels of fossil fuel use, it found.

A long-term lie has been that climate change isn’t real, but as shifting climate patterns have made that argument harder to make, it has moved to one that says there are either no good alternatives to fossil fuels or the alternatives themselves cause problems and are too expensive.

“In other words, we are stuck with fossil fuels and there are no good alternatives, so burn baby burn,” said Jason Smerdon, a professor of climate physics at Columbia University in New York.

These arguments are mostly in aid of fossil fuel producers who want to keep making money as long as they can.

“Climate disinformation has always been about delaying any action on global warming,” Smerdon said. “They simply perpetuate the false assumption that we have no choice but the same old reliance on fossil fuels.”

More: We have the tools we need to fix climate change

If fact, the business community is jumping in with both feet because they see solid opportunities, said Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm and former professor at Columbia University.

“We have the technology we need and we have a lot of the market-aligning policies we need,” he said.

It’s no longer a question of “Is this even possible?” but instead “How quickly can we do it?”

“It’s a fundamentally different mindset,” Friedmann said. “That’s why I’m bullish on our ability to round these corners and get the job done.”

Arizona recount shows Democrat Kris Mayes beat Republican Abe Hamadeh

ABC News

Arizona recount shows Democrat Kris Mayes beat Republican Abe Hamadeh

Alexandra Hutzler – December 29, 2022

Democrat Kris Mayes is the winner of Arizona’s attorney general race, a state judge announced Thursday.

Mayes defeated Republican Abraham Hamadeh by 280 votes after a mandatory recount was triggered due to how close they were separated after the initial tally in November, when Mayes led by roughly 500 votes out of 2.5 million cast.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason unveiled the results of the recount in a hearing on Thursday.

MORE: After beating election deniers, bipartisan group of secretaries of state talk democracy

Mayes’ lead from November was nearly halved in the recount. The results showed she had 1,254,809 votes to Hamadeh’s 1,254,529 votes.

Mayes’ victory is another win for Democrats this midterm cycle against candidates who endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election denialism. In Arizona, a traditionally red state, Democrats defeated GOP election deniers in races for Senate, governor, secretary of state and now attorney general.

“I will say once again that I’m thankful to everyone who took their time to vote, and democracy is truly a team sport,” she said after the results were announced. “I’m thankful for my campaign, transition and legal teams. I’m excited to get to work as your next Attorney General and vow to be your Lawyer for the People. Onward…”

PHOTO: Kris Mayes, a Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, smiles before a debate against Republican Abraham Hamadeh, Sept. 28, 2022. (Ross D. Franklin/AP, FILE)
PHOTO: Kris Mayes, a Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, smiles before a debate against Republican Abraham Hamadeh, Sept. 28, 2022. (Ross D. Franklin/AP, FILE)

Hamadeh, who was backed by Trump, denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

In late November, he sued Mayes and a range of state officials alleging there were procedural and tabulation errors that, if corrected, would make him victorious.

The lawsuit was thrown out last week by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen, who said Hamadeh failed to prove the errors he claimed happened. Hamadeh’s attorney also acknowledged he hadn’t gained enough votes during the litigation to change the outcome of the contest.

After the lawsuit was tossed, Hamadeh said he would wait for the results of the recount before deciding “next steps,” but continued to maintain the election was mishandled.

Following the announcement of the recount results, Hamadeh again claimed discrepancies and questioned the outcome of the race. He wrote on Twitter, “We MUST get to the bottom of this election. Transparent elections are fundamental to a democracy.”

PHOTO: Abraham Hamadeh, a Republican candidate for Arizona attorney general, is seen prior to a debate against Democrat Kris Mayes on Sept. 28, 2022. (Ross D. Franklin/AP, FILE)
PHOTO: Abraham Hamadeh, a Republican candidate for Arizona attorney general, is seen prior to a debate against Democrat Kris Mayes on Sept. 28, 2022. (Ross D. Franklin/AP, FILE)

Mayes celebrated the case’s dismissal last week and said she believed the results of the mandatory recount would still show her ahead of Hamadeh.

“The will of Arizona voters will not be undermined,” she said at the time.

MORE: Arizona’s attorney general candidates spar in debate on abortion, election lies, more

Mayes, a former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission and a former Republican, campaigned heavily on reproductive rights and voting rights. She’s vowed not to prosecute abortion ban violations and to pursue threats to election workers.

Judge Thomason on Thursday also announced the recount results of two other tight races for state superintendent and for a state legislative seat. Republican Tom Horne won the race for superintendent of public instruction and Republican Liz Harris won the state legislative seat for House District 13.

Trump’s tax returns released after long fight with Congress

Associated Press

Trump’s tax returns released after long fight with Congress

Michael R. Sisak and Jill Colvin – December 29, 2022

Signatures of former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump appear on their individual tax returns for 2016, released by the Democratic controlled House Ways and Means Committee, are photographed Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. The returns, which include redactions of some personal sensitive information such as Social Security and bank account numbers, span nearly 6,000 pages, including more than 2,700 pages of individual returns, and more than 3,000 pages in returns for Trump's business entities. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Signatures of former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump appear on their individual tax returns for 2016, released by the Democratic controlled House Ways and Means Committee, are photographed Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. The returns, which include redactions of some personal sensitive information such as Social Security and bank account numbers, span nearly 6,000 pages, including more than 2,700 pages of individual returns, and more than 3,000 pages in returns for Trump’s business entities. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Democrats in Congress released thousands of pages of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns Friday, providing the most detailed picture to date of his finances over a six-year period, including his time in the White House, when he fought to keep the information private in a break with decades of precedent.

The documents include individual returns from Trump and his wife, Melania, along with Trump’s business entities from 2015-2020. They show how Trump used the tax code to lower his tax obligation and reveal details about foreign accounts, charitable contributions and the performance of some of his highest-profile business ventures, which had largely remained shielded from public scrutiny.

The disclosure marks the culmination of a yearslong legal fight that has played out everywhere from the presidential campaign to Congress and the Supreme Court as Trump persistently rejected efforts to share details about his financial history — counter to the practice of transparency followed by all his predecessors in the post-Watergate era. The records release comes just days before Republicans retake control of the House and weeks after Trump began another campaign for the White House.

The records show how Trump limited his tax liability by offsetting his income against corporate losses as well as millions of dollars in businesses expenses, asset depreciation and other deductions.

While Trump paid $641,931 in federal income taxes in 2015, the year he began his campaign for president, he paid just $750 in 2016 and 2017, according to a report released last week by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. He paid nearly $1 million in 2018, but only $133,445 in 2019 and nothing in 2020, the year he unsuccessfully sought reelection.

The records also detail Trump’s foreign holdings.

Trump, according to the filings, reported having bank accounts in China, Ireland and the United Kingdom in 2015 through 2017, even as he was commander in chief. Starting in 2018, however, he only reported an account in the U.K. The returns also show that Trump claimed foreign tax credits for taxes he paid on various business ventures around the world, including licensing arrangements for use of his name on development projects and his golf courses in Scotland and Ireland. In 2018, according to Joint Committee on Taxation figures, Trump paid more in foreign taxes than he did net federal income.

The documents show that Trump’s charitable donations fluctuated during his presidency but, in his final years, represented only a sliver of his income. In 2020, the year the coronavirus ravaged the economy, Trump reported no charitable donations at all. In 2019 and 2018 he reported writing checks for about $500,000 in donations. In earlier years the numbers were higher — $1.8 million in 2017 and $1.1 million in 2016.

It’s unclear whether the reported sums included Trump’s $400,000 annual presidential salary, which he had said he would forgo and claimed he donated to various federal departments.

The release marks the latest setback for Trump, who has been mired in investigations, including federal and state inquiries into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The Department of Justice also has been investigating reams of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago club and possible efforts to obstruct the investigation.

In a statement Friday, Trump lashed out at Democrats and the Supreme Court for the release.

“It’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people,” he said. “The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street!”

He said the returns demonstrated “how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions” to build his businesses.

Presiding over a routine pro forma session of the House on Friday, Rep. Don Beyer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said great care had been taken to ensure the returns were treated with sensitivity, with personal and other identifying information redacted.

“We’ve been trying to be very careful to make sure that we weren’t ‘weaponizing’ the IRS returns,” said Beyer, D-Va. He also is a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, which held a party line vote last week to make the returns public.

The returns detail how Trump used tax law to minimize his liability, including carrying forward massive losses from previous years, as allowed by tax law. Trump said during his 2016 campaign that paying little or no income tax in some years “makes me smart.”

His tax returns show he did that by structuring his company as a massive sole proprietorship, with nearly every dollar, pound, euro and yuan passing through his golf courses, hotels and other assets affecting — and in many cases helping — his own bottom line.

For instance, in 2020, more than 150 of Trump’s business entities listed negative qualified business income, which the IRS defines as “the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss from any qualified trade or business.” In total for that tax year, combined with nearly $9 million in carryforward loss from previous years, Trump’s qualified losses amounted to more than $58 million for the final year of his term in office.

Another of Trump’s money losers: the ice rink his company operated until last year in New York City’s Central Park. Trump reported a total of $2.6 million in losses from Wollman Rink over the six years made public. The rink, an early Trump Organization jewel run through a contract with New York City’s government, reported a loss of $1.3 million in 2015 despite taking in $9.3 million in revenue, according to the tax returns. The rink turned a $298,000 profit in 2016, but was back to melting cash in each of the next four years.

Aspects of Trump’s finances had been shrouded in mystery since his days as an up-and-coming Manhattan real estate developer in the 1980s.

Trump, known for building skyscrapers and hosting a reality TV show before winning the White House, did provide limited details about his holdings and income on mandatory disclosure forms and financial statements he provides to banks to secure loans and to financial magazines to justify his place on rankings of the world’s billionaires.

Trump’s longtime accounting firm has since disavowed the statements, and New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit alleging Trump and his Trump Organization fraudulently inflated asset values on the statements. Trump and his company have denied wrongdoing.

In October 2018, The New York Times published a Pulitzer Prize-winning series based on leaked tax records that contradicted the image Trump had tried to sell of himself as a self-made businessman. It showed that Trump received a modern-day equivalent of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate holdings, with much of that money coming from what the Times called “tax dodges” in the 1990s.

A second series in 2020 showed that Trump paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years because he generally lost more money than he made.

In its report last week, the Ways and Means Committee indicated the Trump administration may have disregarded a requirement mandating audits of a president’s tax filings.

The IRS only began to audit Trump’s 2016 tax filings on April 3, 2019 — more than two years into his presidency — when the Ways and Means chairman, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., asked the agency for information related to the tax returns.

Every president and major-party candidate since Richard Nixon has voluntarily made at least summaries of their tax information available to the public. Trump bucked that trend as a candidate and as president, repeatedly asserting that his taxes were “under audit” and couldn’t be released.

Associated Press writers Paul Wiseman and Farnoush Amiri in Washington, Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again

Associated Press

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again

Don Thompson – December 29, 2022

FILE-This Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 file photo conveyors carry mixed plastic into a device that will shred recycle them at a plastics recycling plant in Vernon, Calif. California in 2014 enacted the nation's first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But in 2022, state Attorney General Rob Bonta says consumers who think they're helping the environment with reusable plastic bags had better think again. He says manufacturers can't back up their claim that the thicker, more durable bags are recyclable in California. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE-This Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 file photo conveyors carry mixed plastic into a device that will shred recycle them at a plastics recycling plant in Vernon, Calif. California in 2014 enacted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But in 2022, state Attorney General Rob Bonta says consumers who think they’re helping the environment with reusable plastic bags had better think again. He says manufacturers can’t back up their claim that the thicker, more durable bags are recyclable in California. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
This undated photo shows a plastic bag, in Los Angeles. California in 2014 enacted the nation's first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But state Attorney General Rob Bonta says the thicker, reusable plastic bags that many retailers now use may not be recyclable as required by law. (AP Photo/John Antczak)
This undated photo shows a plastic bag, in Los Angeles. California in 2014 enacted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But state Attorney General Rob Bonta says the thicker, reusable plastic bags that many retailers now use may not be recyclable as required by law. (AP Photo/John Antczak)
FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2013, file photo, a plastic bag sits along a roadside in Sacramento, Calif. California in 2014 enacted the nation's first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But in 2022, state Attorney General Rob Bonta says consumers who think they're helping the environment with reusable plastic bags had better think again. He says manufacturers can't back up their claim that the thicker, more durable bags are recyclable in California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
In this Oct. 25, 2013, file photo, a plastic bag sits along a roadside in Sacramento, Calif. California in 2014 enacted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. But in 2022, state Attorney General Rob Bonta says consumers who think they’re helping the environment with reusable plastic bags had better think again. He says manufacturers can’t back up their claim that the thicker, more durable bags are recyclable in California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Since California adopted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags tin 2014, most grocery stores have turned to thicker, reusable plastic bags that are supposed to be recyclable.

But Attorney General Rob Bonta is now investigating whether the bags are truly recyclable as required by law.

“We’ve all been to the store and forgotten to bring our reusable bags,” Bonta said recently. “At least the plastic bags we buy at the register for 10 cents have those ‘chasing arrows’ that say they are 100% recyclable, right? Perhaps wrong.”

He asked six bag manufacturers to back up their claims that the bags can be recycled and threatened legal action that could include banning the bags temporarily or issuing multimillion-dollar fines.

His office declined to say last week how many of the companies responded, citing an ongoing investigation. The American Chemistry Council, a plastics industry group, said that manufacturers disagree with Bonta’s characterization.

Other states, including New YorkNew Jersey and Oregon, have followed California in banning single-use plastic bags. Beyond California, only a handful of states require that stores take back plastic bags for recycling, with Maine first adopting such a law in 1991, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Policy experts and advocates estimate that just 6% of plastics are recycled in the United States, with the remaining burned, trashed or littered. More plastic bags ended up in California landfills in 2021 compared with 2018, according to data from the state’s recycling department.

Californians Against Waste Executive Director Mark Murray in part blames pandemic policies.

Consumers are supposed to be able to return their plastic bags to grocery stores and other retailers. But many removed their bag recycling bins during the early days of the pandemic, fearing contamination.

For the system to work, retailers must collect the bags and sell them back to manufacturers for use in making new bags that must include 40% recycled content and be reusable at least 125 times. Murray suspects that most are reused once.

“That’s not meeting the standard and it may be time to phase these bags out,” he said.

The California Retailers Association declined comment because it said each retailer has its own policy, and the California Grocers Association did not respond to a request for comment.

As of now, makers of the bags get to self-certify to the state that their bags can be recycled. But Bonta said that requires a comprehensive system to collect, process and sell the used bags, none of which exist. Putting the bags in most curbside recycling bins interferes with recycling other products by clogging equipment and increasing the risk of worker injury, he said.

Plastic bags and similar products are “a top form of contamination in curbside recycling bins,” California’s Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling wrote in a 2021 report.

Bonta asked six manufacturers — Novolex, Revolution, Inteplast, Advance Polybag, Metro Polybag and Papier-Mettler — to prove their bags can be recycled in California. His office hasn’t said if they all responded, citing an “active and ongoing investigation.”

Revolution Chief Executive Sean Whiteley said the company has been recycling more than 300 million pounds of plastic material annually for decades and is “confident in our own sustainability and compliance record.”

He noted lawmakers publicly introduced the single-use bag ban legislation in 2014 at one of the company’s Southern California subsidiaries.

“At our core, we are an environmental recycling company that also makes sustainable plastic solutions,” he said in a statement.

Novolex said it is “committed to complying with all state laws and regulations.” The company responded to Bonta’s request but declined to share its full response with The Associated Press, a spokesman said.

Novolex’s bags have been certified as eligible for recycling by an independent laboratory and, therefore, must be marked that way, the company said in a statement.

The other four companies did not respond to multiple emailed requests.

Manufacturers are “aggressively working so that all plastic packaging that is manufactured is remade into new plastics,” said Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at the American Chemistry Council.

It’s not Bonta’s first plastics-related clash with industry. Earlier this year he subpoenaed ExxonMobil as part of what he called a first-of-its-kind broader investigation into the petroleum industry and the proliferation of plastic waste.

Thompson recently retired from The Associated Press.

Russia fires dozens of missiles across several Ukrainian cities

Yahoo! News

Russia fires dozens of missiles across several Ukrainian cities

Niamh Cavanagh, Reporter – December 29, 2022

Local resident Yana embraces a friend as they stand next to her mother's house, which was damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv
Local resident Yana embraces a friend as they stand next to her mother’s house, which was damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Thursday. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

LONDON — Ukraine faced a barrage of missiles on Thursday morning in one of the biggest bombardments the country has faced since Russia invaded earlier this year.

According to Oleksii Gromov, a Ukrainian general, Russia launched more than 69 missiles “aimed at critical and energy infrastructure.” Of the dozens launched, 54 were shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses, he said.

A map of Ukraine showing the cities hit by Russian missile attacks on Thursday.
Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Three people in the capital, Kyiv, were hospitalized following the explosions, including a 14-year-old girl. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 40% of the city was left without power due to the strikes. “Charge your phones and other devices,” he wrote on Telegram via translation. “Stock up on water.” He added that engineers were working on restoring power back to the capital.

In the south, missiles were shot down in the regions of Mykolaiv and Odesa. Meanwhile, several explosions were reported in the western city of Lviv. No casualties were immediately reported.

Rescuers clear debris of homes destroyed by a missile attack in the outskirts of Kyiv.
Rescuers clear debris of homes destroyed by a missile attack in the outskirts of Kyiv. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine’s foreign minister hit out at Russia for launching missiles during the holidays, describing it as “senseless barbarism.” Earlier Thursday, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that more than 120 missiles had been launched.

Neighboring Belarus’s Defense Ministry said it had downed a Ukrainian missile on Thursday morning. The S-300 Soviet-era air defense missile was shot down near the village of Harbacha, just 9 miles from the border with Ukraine. Oleg Konovalov, a military official, played down the strike, stating that it was “absolutely nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, these things happen.”

People take shelter inside a metro station in Kyiv.
People take shelter inside a metro station during massive Russian missile attacks in Kyiv on Thursday. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

Similarly in November, an S-300 that accidentally landed in NATO member Poland, leaving two people dead, was likely fired by Ukrainian air defense. The missile sparked fear that there had been an escalation in tensions.

Russia has upped its airstrikes on Ukraine since October when the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects the peninsula of Crimea to mainland Russia, was targeted. The bridge was partially damaged after a truck exploded. Russia blamed Ukrainian intelligence for the attacks and has made several arrests since the explosion.

A search and rescue worker sits amid debris.
A search and rescue worker is seen sitting amid debris following the missile attacks across Ukraine. (Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

What’s going on with the Greenland ice sheet? It’s losing ice faster than forecast

The Conversation

What’s going on with the Greenland ice sheet? It’s losing ice faster than forecast and now irreversibly committed to at least 10 inches of sea level rise

Alun Hubbard, Arctic Five Chair, University of Tromsø – December 28, 2022

A turbulent melt-river pours a million tons of water a day into a moulin, where it flows down through the ice to ultimately reach the ocean. Ted Giffords
A turbulent melt-river pours a million tons of water a day into a moulin, where it flows down through the ice to ultimately reach the ocean. Ted Giffords

I’m standing at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, mesmerized by a mind-blowing scene of natural destruction. A milewide section of glacier front has fractured and is collapsing into the ocean, calving an immense iceberg.

Seracs, giant columns of ice the height of three-story houses, are being tossed around like dice. And the previously submerged portion of this immense block of glacier ice just breached the ocean – a frothing maelstrom flinging ice cubes of several tons high into the air. The resulting tsunami inundates all in its path as it radiates from the glacier’s calving front.

Fortunately, I’m watching from a clifftop a couple of miles away. But even here, I can feel the seismic shocks through the ground.

A fast-flowing outlet glacier calves a ‘megaberg’ into Greenland’s Uummannaq Fjord. Alun Hubbard
A fast-flowing outlet glacier calves a ‘megaberg’ into Greenland’s Uummannaq Fjord. Alun Hubbard

Despite the spectacle, I’m keenly aware that this spells yet more unwelcome news for the world’s low-lying coastlines.

As a field glaciologist, I’ve worked on ice sheets for more than 30 years. In that time, I have witnessed some gobsmacking changes. The past few years in particular have been unnerving for the sheer rate and magnitude of change underway. My revered textbooks taught me that ice sheets respond over millennial time scales, but that’s not what we’re seeing today.

A study published Aug. 29, 2022, demonstrates – for the first time – that Greenland’s ice sheet is now so out of balance with prevailing Arctic climate that it no longer can sustain its current size. It is irreversibly committed to retreat by at least 59,000 square kilometers (22,780 square miles), an area considerably larger than Denmark, Greenland’s protectorate state.

Even if all the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming ceased today, we find that Greenland’s ice loss under current temperatures will raise global sea level by at least 10.8 inches (27.4 centimeters). That’s more than current models forecast, and it’s a highly conservative estimate. If every year were like 2012, when Greenland experienced a heat wave, that irreversible commitment to sea level rise would triple. That’s an ominous portent given that these are climate conditions we have already seen, not a hypothetical future scenario.

Our study takes a completely new approach – it is based on observations and glaciological theory rather than sophisticated numerical models. The current generation of coupled climate and ice sheet models used to forecast future sea level rise fail to capture the emerging processes that we see amplifying Greenland’s ice loss.

How Greenland got to this point

The Greenland ice sheet is a massive, frozen reservoir that resembles an inverted pudding bowl. The ice is in constant flux, flowing from the interior – where it is over 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) thick, cold and snowy – to its edges, where the ice melts or calves bergs.

In all, the ice sheet locks up enough fresh water to raise global sea level by 24 feet (7.4 meters).

Greenland’s terrestrial ice has existed for about 2.6 million years and has expanded and contracted with two dozen or so “ice age” cycles lasting 70,000 or 100,000 years, punctuated by around 10,000-year warm interglacials. Each glacial is driven by shifts in Earth’s orbit that modulate how much solar radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. These variations are then reinforced by snow reflectivity, or albedo; atmospheric greenhouse gases; and ocean circulation that redistributes that heat around the planet.

We are currently enjoying an interglacial period – the Holocene. For the past 6,000 years Greenland, like the rest of the planet, has benefited from a mild and stable climate with an ice sheet in equilibrium – until recently. Since 1990, as the atmosphere and ocean have warmed under rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, Greenland’s mass balance has gone into the red. Ice losses due to enhanced melt, rain, ice flow and calving now far exceed the net gain from snow accumulation.

What does the future hold?

The critical questions are, how fast is Greenland losing its ice, and what does it mean for future sea level rise?

Greenland’s ice loss has been contributing about 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) per year to global sea level rise over the past decade.

This net loss is split between surface melt and dynamic processes that accelerate outlet glacier flow and are greatly exacerbated by atmospheric and oceanic warming, respectively. Though complex in its manifestation, the concept is simple: Ice sheets don’t like warm weather or baths, and the heat is on.

Meltwater lakes feed rivers that snake across the ice sheet - until they encounter a moulin. Alun Hubbard
Meltwater lakes feed rivers that snake across the ice sheet – until they encounter a moulin. Alun Hubbard

What the future will bring is trickier to answer.

The models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict a sea level rise contribution from Greenland of around 4 inches (10 centimeters) by 2100, with a worst-case scenario of 6 inches (15 centimeters).

But that prediction is at odds with what field scientists are witnessing from the ice sheet itself.

According to our findings, Greenland will lose at least 3.3% of its ice, over 100 trillion metric tons. This loss is already committed – ice that must melt and calve icebergs to reestablish Greenland’s balance with prevailing climate.

We’re observing many emerging processes that the models don’t account for that increase the ice sheet’s vulnerability. For example:

In August 2021, rain fell at the Greenland ice sheet summit for the first time on record. Weather stations across Greenland captured rapid ice melt. <a href=
In August 2021, rain fell at the Greenland ice sheet summit for the first time on record. Weather stations across Greenland captured rapid ice melt. European Space Agency
The issue with models

Part of the problem is that the models used for forecasting are mathematical abstractions that include only processes that are fully understood, quantifiable and deemed important.

Models reduce reality to a set of equations that are solved repeatedly on banks of very fast computers. Anyone into cutting-edge engineering – including me – knows the intrinsic value of models for experimentation and testing of ideas. But they are no substitute for reality and observation. It is apparent that current model forecasts of global sea level rise underestimate its actual threat over the 21st century. Developers are making constant improvements, but it’s tricky, and there’s a dawning realization that the complex models used for long-term sea level forecasting are not fit for purpose.

Author Alun Hubbard’s science camp in the melt zone of the Greenland ice sheet. Alun Hubbard
Author Alun Hubbard’s science camp in the melt zone of the Greenland ice sheet. Alun Hubbard

There are also “unknown unknowns” – those processes and feedbacks that we don’t yet realize and that models can never anticipate. They can be understood only by direct observations and literally drilling into the ice.

That’s why, rather than using models, we base our study on proven glaciological theory constrained by two decades of actual measurements from weather stations, satellites and ice geophysics.

It’s not too late

It’s an understatement that the societal stakes are high, and the risk is tragically real going forward. The consequences of catastrophic coastal flooding as sea level rises are still unimaginable to the majority of the billion or so people who live in low-lying coastal zones of the planet.

A large tabular iceberg that calved off Store Glacier within Uummannaq Fjord. Alun Hubbard
A large tabular iceberg that calved off Store Glacier within Uummannaq Fjord. Alun Hubbard

Personally, I remain hopeful that we can get on track. I don’t believe we’ve passed any doom-laden tipping point that irreversibly floods the planet’s coastlines. Of what I understand of the ice sheet and the insight our new study brings, it’s not too late to act.

But fossil fuels and emissions must be curtailed now, because time is short and the water rises – faster than forecast.

Southwest Airlines grew to become the US’s largest domestic carrier by offering free checked baggage, easy-to-change tickets — and still sticks to unassigned seats

Business Insider

Southwest Airlines grew to become the US’s largest domestic carrier by offering free checked baggage, easy-to-change tickets — and still sticks to unassigned seats

Taylor Rains – December 28, 2022

Southwest Airlines flight attendants
Southwest Airlines flight attendants in an undated historic picture.Southwest Airlines
  • Southwest Airlines, the US’s largest domestic carrier, experienced an operations meltdown in this holiday season.
  • Despite its problems, Southwest celebrates its customer- and employee-focused mission.
  • The airline found success using unconventional marketing strategies focused on humor, booze, arm wrestling, and go-go boots.

Southwest Airlines is the US’s largest domestic carrier, serving over 100 destinations across the country. The carrier has been in operation since 1971 and just celebrated its 51st anniversary in June.

Southwest Airlines Palm Springs
Stephen M. Keller/Southwest Airlines

With Southwest’s immense size, it has a lot of systems at play to keep it running efficiently and on time. But, sometimes a nasty winter storm can derail even the best carrier’s operations.

Southwest Airlines.
Elliott Cowand Jr/Shutterstock

But, Southwest suffered from more than just the weather in the holiday season of 2022.

Canceled flight travelers line for booking in front of a Southwest Airlines sign at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado
Canceled flight travelers line up in front of Southwest Airlines sign at Denver International Airport.Hyoung Chang/Getty Images

Captain Mike Santoro, vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told Insider the storm was the catalyst of the meltdown, but “outdated” scheduling software created the snowball.

Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines cabin.Thomas Pallini/Insider

Frustrated Southwest pilot and union rep says the airline’s flight meltdown was caused by outdated scheduling software

Southwest confirmed to Insider that its systems were unable to handle the “magnitude” of disruptions, which amounted to over 7,000 from Christmas to December 28 alone.

Travelers wait at a Southwest Airlines baggage counter to retrieve their bags after canceled flights at Los Angeles International Airport, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Los Angeles.
Travelers wait at a Southwest Airlines baggage counter to retrieve their bags after canceled flights at Los Angeles International Airport on December 26, 2022.Eugene Garcia/AP Photo

Source: FlightAware

The company acknowledged its software needs an update, with a spokesperson saying, “we are focused on making investments in technology upgrades to work toward that solution.”

Southwest
Passengers line up at the Southwest ticket desk at San Francisco International Airport on December 26, amid widespread delays and cancellations for the airline.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Despite its operations issues in the holiday season of 2022, Southwest prides itself on being a customer- and employee-focused airline, bringing “LUV” to its operation, and keeping safety, hospitality, and customer service at the forefront of its mission. (LUV is its stock symbol.)

Southwest flight attendant.
Southwest Airlines

According to financial information company BrightScope, Southwest has one of the highest-rated employee 401k plans. Meanwhile, J.D. Power reported in May that customers ranked Southwest as having the best economy product in North America.

Southwest Airlines.
The grieving owner is planning to sue the airline.MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Source: BrightScopeJ.D. Power ranked airlines across 3 fare classes according to its annual customer satisfaction survey — see the results

Haley Woods, founder of Girls LOVE Travel — a Facebook group with over one million members — told Insider that when her flight was canceled over the holiday week, she encountered the most “professional” and “upbeat” Southwest employees.

Southwest Airlines counter.
V_E/Shutterstock

“While this disruption might derail others from using SWA in the future — their customer kindness has reminded me that I will absolutely be looking past this and onward for future adventures,” she said.

Passengers wait in line to check in for their flights at Southwest Airlines service desk at LaGuardia Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in New York.
Passengers wait in line to check in for their flights at Southwest Airlines service desk at LaGuardia Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in New York.Yuki Iwamura/AP

While it’s could still lose some trust from customers, Southwest is likely to eventually bounce back. See how the airline has grown over the years to be the powerhouse it is today.

Southwest Airlines.
Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Source: Southwest Airlines

Southwest started as a small carrier based in Texas and only operated intra-state routes between three cities, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. The airline, which was originally called Air Southwest, was dreamt up by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher on a cocktail napkin in 1966.

Herb Kelleher and Rolland King
Herb Kelleher (left) and Rollin King (right)Southwest Airlines

King mapped the network he envisioned, making a triangle between the three key cities. He explained to Kelleher that operating solely in Texas would make the company exempt from the Civil Aeronautics Board’s federal regulations, which controlled fares, routes, and schedules.

Napkin with Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston
Rollin King’s “Texas Triangle”Southwest Airlines

From 1938 to 1978, the airline industry was federally regulated under the CAB as means to ensure major carriers like United and Pan Am were profitable. Fares were sky-high and only business travelers and deep-pocket leisure customers could afford the luxury of flight. The downside was that a lot of the time, planes flew half-empty.

Convair 880 club cabin
Convair 880 club cabinBettmann/Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Because Air Southwest was certified under the state’s aviation regulator, the Texas Aeronautics Commission, it was not bound to federal rules — a clever loophole King unapologetically copied from California carrier Pacific Southwest Airlines.

Rollin King in front of Southwest jet
Rollin KingSouthwest Airlines

The loophole allowed Air Southwest to fly freely in Texas and undercut competitors’ fares, offering more customers the option to fly instead of drive in the large state. The business model was game-changing and a threat to legacy airlines.

Herb Kelleher with model of Southwest aircraft
Herb Kelleher with model of Southwest aircraftSouthwest Airlines

In 1967, three airlines operating under federal rules, Braniff, Trans-Texas Airways, and Continental Airlines, took legal action against Air Southwest, saying it does not have the right to fly in Texas.

Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, greets well wishers upon landing aboard a Braniff International Airways Lockheed Electra dubbed "The Lady Bird Special"
Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, steps off Braniff Airways jetHarvey Georges/Associated Press

The lawsuit took three years to resolve, and in 1970, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Air Southwest could fly in the state. The three airlines then took the case to the US Supreme Court, which declined to review it.

Herb Kelleher (left) Lamar Muse (second from left) and Rollin King (center)
Herb Kelleher (left) Lamar Muse (second from left) and Rollin King (center)Southwest Airlines

Air Southwest’s right to fly in Texas was finalized in December of 1970. The carrier officially changed its name to Southwest Airlines in 1971 and commenced operations on June 18 of the same year.

Southwest flight attendant points to schedule
Southwest flight attendant points to schedule Southwest Airlines

The carrier launched with two routes from Dallas Love Field to Houston and San Antonio using three new Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Flights between Houston and San Antonio commenced in November 1971.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-2T4 at Los Angeles International Airport in 1991.
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-2T4 at Los Angeles International Airport in 1991.Torsten Maiwald/Airliners.net

Part of Southwest’s immense success was due to Kelleher’s focus on unconventional marketing and unique corporate culture.

Southwest Herb Kelleher on_Plane_Tail source
Herb Kelleher on Southwest tail Southwest Airlines

Kelleher used Pacific Southwest Airways’ idea of “Long Legs And Short Nights” for hostesses, as they were called at the time, keeping with the theme of hiring attractive women to work Southwest flights.

Southwest Airlines flight attendants
Southwest Airlines flight attendants in an undated historic picture.Southwest Airlines

The airline’s first flight attendants were described as long-legged dancers and were handpicked by a committee that included the same individual who picked the hostess on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy jet.

Southwest Airlines flight attendants
Southwest Airlines first flight attendant uniformsSouthwest Airlines

Kelleher dressed the flight attendants in a bright orange top, orange hot pants, a white belt around the hips, and white side-laced go-go boots. He also pushed for a laid-back, casual inflight experience and only hired female hostesses who were fun, engaging, and had a sense of humor.

First Southwest Airlines hostess class
First Southwest Airlines hostess classSouthwest Airlines

Source: Texas Monthly

Southwest also provided a winter version of the uniform, which included orange and white striped hot pants, a blazer, a white top, and an ascot.

Southwest winter version of hot pants uniform
Southwest winter version of hot pants uniformSouthwest Airlines

Source: Texas Monthly

Kelleher continued the playboy theme by creating a “love” culture at Southwest. The carrier was called the “love airline,” automatic ticket dispensers were “love machines,” inflight snacks were “love bites,” and drinks were “love potions.”

Southwest "love" ad
Southwest “love” adSouthwest Airlines

Source: Texas Monthly

The airline also crafted its own special inflight cocktails, which were free for passengers. A few were appropriately named Kentucky Matchmaker, the Pucker Potion, and the Lucky Lindsay.

Southwest Airlines flight attendant preparing beverage orders in the galley
Southwest Airlines flight attendant preparing beverage orders in the galleySouthwest Airlines

Source: Texas Monthly

He even went on to create ads centered around humor and attractive women. In the context of the 1970s, using attractive female flight attendants to gain customers was an industry norm.

A 1968 photo of three flight attendants for Southwest Airlines
A 1968 photo of three flight attendants for Southwest AirlinesAlan Band/Keystone/Getty Images

Source: Texas Monthly

In 1972, Southwest made a game-changing, innovative marketing move. The company introduced the “two-tier” fare system, which established two separate price points aimed at different types of travelers.

A Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent checks in a Customer at the gate
A Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent checks in a Customer at the gateDavid Woo/Southwest Airlines

The fares were the regularly priced “Executive Class Service” at $26 one-way and the “Pleasure Class” at $13 one-way or $25 roundtrip. “Pleasure Class” fares were available after 6:59 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Southwest airlines customer service agents with customers at the ticket counter
Southwest airlines customer service agents with customers at the ticket counterSouthwest Airlines

The two-tier structure was a wild success, with Southwest increasing its average passenger load from 17 before the move to 75 after.

Southwest pilots
Southwest pilots Southwest Airlines

In 1973, the company launched a $13 one-way “half-fare” sale on all flights to San Antonio. Southwest’s rival, Braniff, responded with its own “get acquainted sale” with $13 fares between Dallas and Houston. This was the start of the $13 Fare War.

Southwest’s advertisement of a full-page declaration of war against Braniff’s fare cut
Southwest’s ad declaring war against Braniff’s fare cut Southwest Airlines

Southwest knew $13 fares on its only profitable route would run it straight into bankruptcy, so King quickly came up with a marketing campaign that would put Southwest on top. “Nobody’s going to shoot Southwest out of the sky for a lousy $13,” read the bold ad.

Southwest ad against Braniff's $13 fare war
Southwest ad against Braniff’s $13 fare war Southwest Airlines

Southwest matched Braniff’s fare between Dallas and Houston, which was met with praise and respect from customers. As part of the campaign, the airline also offered a free fifth of liquor for passengers who paid the full $26 fare.

Ticket agent poses with a bottle of Chivas Regal in front of ad
Ticket agent poses with a bottle of Chivas Regal in front of adSouthwest Airlines

Business travelers loved the promotion, and lucky for Southwest, three-fourths of its customers opted to pay full price and pocket the free booze. The airline soon became a fan favorite among many Texas business communities, and Braniff was fuming.

Southwest customer holding advertisement and receiving free liquor
Southwest customer holding advertisement and receiving free liquor Southwest Airlines

By the end of 1973, Southwest finally turned its first profit and would continue to profit for 47 years until the coronavirus pandemic ended the streak. Meanwhile, Braniff lost the battle and the war, ceasing operations in 1982.

Braniff Airways aircraft in Peru
Braniff Airways aircraft in PeruCarl & Ann Purcell/Getty Images

Source: SouthwestBraniff International Airways Boutique

Southwest’s early challenges did not end with Braniff. In 1964, the Civil Aeronautics Board demanded the city of Dallas build an airport to serve the entire Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 1968, every air carrier operating out of Love Field agreed to move to DFW when it opened in 1974.

British Airways Concord at DFW in 1973 after the airport was finished
British Airways Concord at DFW in 1973 after the airport was finished-/AFP via Getty Images

Source: Encyclopedia.com

However, Southwest was not a part of that agreement and filed suit that it would not move from Love Field when the new airport opened. The airline claimed there was no legal reason to end commercial traffic at Love Field and that the company made no written agreement to move its operations.

Concord and Boeing 747 at DFW after the airport's completion in 1973
Concord and Boeing 747 at DFW after the airport’s completion in 1973-/AFP via Getty Images

Source: Encyclopedia.com

The city and the DFW Airport Board sued Southwest, saying the CAB rule applied to the airline even if it was made before Southwest was officially founded. However, Southwest argued that its intra-state flights fell outside the jurisdiction of the CAB, so it did not have to leave Love Field.

Opening day of new Love Field terminal in 2013
Opening day of new Love Field terminal in 2013Southwest Airlines

Source: Encyclopedia.com

A federal district court agreed with Southwest and ruled that it could operate out of the airport as long as it remained open. When DFW opened in 1974, every airline except Southwest left Love Field.

Southwest aircraft takes off from Love Field
Southwest aircraft takes off from Love Fieldstock_photo_world/Shutterstock

Source: Encyclopedia.com

Southwest continued to grow through the 70s, acquiring 10 aircraft and carrying its five-millionth customer by the end of 1977.

Southwest's 3 millionth passenger
Southwest’s 3 millionth passenger Bob Pianta in 1976 (middle)Southwest Airlines

By 1976, Southwest Airlines had been profitable for three years and proven that government regulation was not necessary for airlines to be successful. Deregulation was a top priority for Jimmy Carter’s administration, and it passed the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, effectively abolishing the Civil Aeronautics Board.

President Carter signs the airline deregulation bill at the White House
President Carter signs the airline deregulation bill at the White HouseBettmann/Getty Images

Source: National Review

Finally, Southwest Airlines was free to operate interstate flights and the airline began to thrive. Meanwhile, major carriers like Eastern Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Pan Am spread themselves too thin as they tried to rapidly expand.

Southwest Boeing 737-300
Southwest Boeing 737-300Southwest Airlines

Source: US Centennial of Flight Commission

Unlike major carriers, Southwest maintained a simple strategy for success after deregulation, like only operating one aircraft type, cleaning the aircraft before landing to allow for a quicker turn, and focusing on humor in marketing.

Southwest flight attendant cleans the aircraft
Southwest flight attendant cleans the aircraftSouthwest Airlines

Source: USA Today

And its strategy worked. Southwest was prospering while other airlines like Pan Am and TWA collapsed. However, it was not long before the Wright Amendment put another wrench in the company’s plans.

Colleen Barrett with Wright is Wrong petitions
Colleen Barrett with Wright is Wrong petitionsSouthwest Airlines

After deregulation, Southwest wanted to commence interstate flights from Love Field to New Orleans in 1979, but officials at DFW airport feared the increased traffic would hurt the airport financially. So, US Congressman Jim Wright drafted, sponsored, and helped pass a bill restricting passenger traffic at Love Field.

Wright is Wrong sign on top of Southwest Airlines HQ
Wright is Wrong sign Southwest Airlines

The law, known as the Wright Amendment, was signed in early 1980 and amended the International Air Transportation Act of 1979. It restricted flying out of Love Field to cities in Texas and the surrounding states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico. The law was meant to keep Southwest from expanding operations out of Dallas.

Wright Amendment protest
Wright Amendment protestersSouthwest Airlines

Source: The Dallas Morning News

It only applied to carriers that operated aircraft with more than 56 seats, which Southwest did. So, the airline had to rely on short-haul flights in the five-state area to bolster Love Field operations.

Southwest employees protest the Wright Amendment
Southwest employees protest the Wright AmendmentSouthwest Airlines

Source: The Dallas Morning News

In 1997, Kansas, Alabama, and Mississippi were added to the list of reachable states. In 2005, Missouri was also added.

Southwest employees celebrate end of Wright Amendment
Southwest employees celebrate end of Wright AmendmentSouthwest Airlines

Source: The Dallas Morning News

However, in 2004, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly launched efforts to repeal the Wright Amendment, using the slogans “Set Love Free” and “Wright is Wrong” in the campaign.

Herb Kelleher with "Wright is Wrong" slogan
Herb Kelleher with “Wright is Wrong” slogan Southwest Airlines

In 2006, an agreement was made between Southwest, American Airlines, Dallas, and Forth Worth to phase out the law. They agreed that in eight years, the amendment would be gone, but until then, carriers could fly to any US destination out of Love Field as long as at least one stop was made in any of the nine states under the Wright Amendment.

Passengers sit in new Love Field terminal
Passengers sit in new Love Field terminalSouthwest Airlines

Source: SouthwestThe Dallas Morning News

On October 13, 2014, at exactly 12:01 a.m., a countdown clock at Southwest’s Headquarters in Dallas hit zero, officially ending the Wright Amendment. A few minutes after, the airline’s first scheduled flight outside of the nine Wright states took off from Love Field to Denver.

Wright Amendment sign at Southwest HQ
Wright Amendment ends Southwest Airlines

The deal also capped the number of gates at Love Field to 20, and the airport still only has 20 to this day.

Southwest aircraft at gate 2 at Love Field
Southwest aircraft at gate 2 at Love Fieldstock_photo_world/Shutterstock

Source: The Dallas Morning News

While the Wright Amendment restricted expansion out of Love Field, Southwest was still able to bolster its network out of other Texas cities in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Customer service employee at Houston Hobby
Customer service employee at Houston HobbySouthwest Airlines

Throughout the 1980s, the airline expanded north into cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Kansas City, and west to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and California. The airline moved east in the late 1980s with flights to Nashville and into the Midwest with flights to Chicago Midway and Detroit.

Southwest flight takes off from Vegas
Southwest flight takes off from Vegas Southwest Airlines

The airline also updated its livery in the 1980s. Southwest wanted to stand out in the skies and make its brand easily recognizable, so it wrapped its fuselage in desert gold and other warm colors. It received its first 737-300 jet in 1984, dubbed Spirit of Kitty Hawk.

Herb Kelleher with Spirit of Kitty Hawk aircraft
Herb Kelleher with Spirit of Kitty Hawk aircraft Southwest Airlines

Southwest’s flight attendant uniform was also updated by the 80s. Instead of hot pants and go-go boots, the airline allowed employees to wear real pants and skirts.

Southwest Airlines 90s flight attendant uniforms
Southwest Airlines 90s flight attendant uniformsSouthwest Airlines

SourceRacked

In the 1990s, the network expanded further east to cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Providence, Islip, and Raleigh-Durham. The airline also began its Pacific Northwest expansion with the acquisition of Morris Air in 1994.

Southwest aircraft dedicated to Rollin King
Southwest aircraft dedicated to Rollin King Southwest Airlines

In 1991, the “Friends Fly Free” campaign was launched to battle the recession. The promotion allowed anyone 18 or older to bring a friend of any age free on their flight. It was so popular that Southwest offered the promotion for the next five years.

Southwest's Friend Fly Free ad
Southwest’s Friend Fly Free ad Southwest Airlines

In 1992, Southwest’s most infamous marketing stunt occurred between Herb Kelleher and Kurt Herwald, chairman of Stevens Aviation.

Kelleher and Herwald at the Malice in Dallas
Kelleher and Herwald at the Malice in Dallas Southwest Airlines

Southwest had been using the slogan “Just Plane Smart” in its ads, but Stevens Aviation sent a letter to Kelleher noting its similarity to its “Plane Smart” slogan.

Kelleher wearing "Just Plane Smart" slogan
Kelleher wearing “Just Plane Smart” slogan Southwest Airlines

Instead of entering a legal battle over the phrase, a Steven Aviation executive suggested an arm-wrestling competition between Herwald and Kelleher. The victor would have full rights to the slogan.

Herb and Herwald arm wrestle at the Malice in Dallas
Herb and Herwald arm wrestle at the Malice in Dallas Southwest Airlines

Kelleher marketed the event, dubbed the “Malice in Dallas,” which received worldwide press coverage. “Smokin” Herb Kelleher and “Curtsy” Kurt Herwald put on a full show at the arena, which even earned a congratulatory note from President George Bush.

Malice in Dallas artwork in Southwest HQ
Malice in Dallas artwork in Southwest HQ Southwest Airlines

At the turn of the century, Southwest revealed the livery that most people know today. The Canyon Blue color scheme debuted in January 2001.

Debut of Southwest's Canyon Blue livery in 2001
Debut of Southwest’s Canyon Blue livery in 2001 Southwest Airlines

While many airlines opted to introduce fees for things like checked bags and flight changes to recuperate funds, Southwest refused. Instead, the airline launched its “bags fly free” campaign which allows customers two complimentary checked bags. Southwest has not gone back on the offer to this day.

Ramp crew with Bags Fly Free on their chests
Southwest ramp crew promotes free bags Southwest Airlines

Throughout the 2000s, Southwest continued to focus on humor in its marketing. Its Wanna Get Away commercials proved successful, which promoted $49 one-way fares.

Southwest Boeing 737-800
Southwest Boeing 737-800Steven M. Keller

By 2010, Southwest added “Transfarency” to its brand. The airline would not have any hidden fees and would remain customer-focused with an emphasis on Hospitality and Heart. The recognizable tri-color heart was added to its airplanes and workplace.

Heart One
Heart One Southwest Airlines

In 2011, Southwest acquired AirTran Airways, which opened slots up out of Atlanta and gave it more network expansion opportunities in Mexico and the Caribbean. The two were fully integrated by 2014.

Southwest acquires AirTran
Southwest acquires AirTran Southwest Airlines

Also in 2014, the company’s livery got another new look, with a harder focus on the heart, a new logo, and a sleek new color scheme.

Southwest Airlines updated 2014 livery
Southwest Airlines’ updated 2014 livery Southwest Airlines

In July 2014, the airline officially became international with its first flight to Oranjestad, Aruba. In the same month, Southwest also started service to Nassau, Bahamas, and Jamaica.

First international Southwest flight lands in Montego Bay, Jamaica
First international Southwest flight lands in Montego Bay, Jamaica Stephen M. Keller

The company’s flight attendant uniform got an update in 2017, marking the first time in 20 years the airline changed the look. Womenswear included two dresses, one black with blue and red stripes and the other gray with red and black stripes. Menswear included a black blazer, a gray shirt and pants, and a red tie.

2017 Southwest flight attendant uniforms
2017 Southwest flight attendant uniformsSouthwest Airlines

Source: Travel + Leisure

In October 2017, Southwest became the launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet, with its first revenue flight occurring on October 1. However, the aircraft was grounded in 2019 after two fatal accidents involved the MAX. The airline did not fly the plane again until March 2021.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 Southwest Airlines

In 2019, Southwest reached its goal of operating flights to Hawaii with its inaugural service from Oakland to Honolulu.

Passenger boards first Southwest flight to Hawaii
Passenger boards first Southwest flight to Hawaii Southwest Airlines

In 2020, Southwest ended its 47-year profit streak when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Since last March, the airline has remained focused on the health and safety of its customers and employees.

Southwest flight attendant greets passengers during the pandemic
Southwest flight attendant greets passengers during the pandemicStephen M. Keller/Southwest Airlines

SourceCNN

While the pandemic was a major blow to Southwest’s operation, the carrier has continued to grow with 18 new cities announced in 2020.

Passengers board Southwest flight during covid-19
Passengers board Southwest flight during covid-19Stephen M. Keller/Southwest Airlines

And, it is continuing to expand with new routes and destinations, thanks to newly-appointed CEO Bob Jordan, who took over in February 2022.

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan.Southwest Airlines

Bob Jordan is Southwest Airlines’ new CEO. Experts outline a 100-day plan for keeping customers, employees, and investors happy

Since the pandemic, Southwest has become profitable again and, like other carriers, is trying to keep up with the surge in air travel.

Southwest Heart One
Southwest Heart One Southwest Airlines

Despite its operations meltdown over the holiday of 2022, the carrier has vowed to get its operation back on track, compensate passengers for their time and added expenses, and continue to bring low fares to customers.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 at Austin International Airport, Texas
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 at a gate in Austin, TexasGeorge Rose/Getty Images

Southwest Airlines pilots union official describes how problems snowballed

The Biden administration is getting involved after a major meltdown causing delays and cancellations of thousands of Southwest Airlines flights across the U.S. Captain Michael Santoro, vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, joins CBS News to discuss the problems what what it will take to fix things.

What about my right to live without violence? Supreme Court decisions on guns harm survivors.

USA Today

What about my right to live without violence? Supreme Court decisions on guns harm survivors.

Richard Alba – December 27, 2022

I have lived since the age of 2 with the damage inflicted by a gun death.

My father was killed while serving in the U.S. military in late 1945 by another soldier test firing his souvenir Luger in a barracks. I can still feel the powerful reverberations of that shot. It immediately threw the life of what remained of my family onto a much more difficult trajectory – less upwardly mobile, much less happy – than it had been on before.

My mother, though she remarried for a time and bore additional children, never knew sustained contentment and took her own life at the age of 60, three decades later. I struggled through an emotionally fraught childhood into a prickly young adulthood. Only years of psychological therapy and finally finding love in my 30s made it possible for me to break with my anger and melancholy.

The 1939 wedding photo of Richard and Mary Alba. Sgt. Alba died in 1945. He was shot by a soldier test firing a gun in the barracks.
The 1939 wedding photo of Richard and Mary Alba. Sgt. Alba died in 1945. He was shot by a soldier test firing a gun in the barracks.

This personal background gives me an unusually intense interest in the current rash of American mass shootings and its relation to our Constitution, as interpreted by a conservative Supreme Court. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 609 mass shootings (those with four or more victims) by Thanksgiving this year, though last year’s record of 690 looks safe.

The gun violence in America far exceeds that in any other high-income country not at war – for example, the rate of gun homicide here is more than 10 times that in France. Armed attacks in schools have become so common that elementary school children must train for the intrusion of an “active shooter.”

There’s a simple explanation for this level of violence: The American rate of gun ownership is exceptional because of the Second Amendment. That part of the Bill of Rights has made it difficult for government to limit gun ownership and even now to restrict concealed arms in public places.

Right to guns vs. right to live free of gun violence

Recent Supreme Court decisions have torqued that difficulty. The District of Columbia v. Heller decision of 2008 established for the first time an individual right to gun ownership and invalidated a widespread previous understanding that the Second Amendment referred to a collective “right of the people,” organized in a “well regulated Militia.”

Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority opinion offers a tutorial on the conservative doctrine of originalism, as he strove to demonstrate the general acceptance in the 18th and 19th centuries of the principle that guns are necessary for individual self-defense.

But there is a glaring lack of balance in the opinion because Scalia, while admitting limits on Second Amendment rights in the abstract, provides no systematic reasoning or principles that might help us establish where the individual’s right to gun ownership ends and the right of the community to live without the constant threat of gun violence begins.

Recent Supreme Court decisions have hampered government efforts to limit gun ownership and restrict concealed arms in public places.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have hampered government efforts to limit gun ownership and restrict concealed arms in public places.

The majority opinion in the newest decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen this June, which tossed out New York’s century-old law restricting gun carrying outside the home, wrenched that lack of balance to a new extreme. Written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the opinion equates Second Amendment rights with other constitutional rights such as that of free speech.

It then opines, “The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need (as the New York law did).” Ergo, Second Amendment rights should not require it, either.

One would hope that the average law student could spot the flaw in this reasoning: For when the right of speech is abused, an injured party can seek redress in the courts. But what redress is open to the person shot dead or grievously wounded by a gunman?

This distinction makes evident why government and the public have compelling interests in the exercise of Second Amendment rights that they do not for other rights.

It matters that guns are more deadly

Gun rights pose a severe test for the idea of originalism because of the enormous technological advance of weapons since the 18th century. Today’s semi-automatic firearms bear almost no resemblance to the muskets and rifles of the 18th century, which had to be reloaded after a single shot. Can originalism logically justify the right to own a weapon that could not be conceived when the Constitution was written?

In a recent speech, Justice Samuel Alito declared that the court’s decision extending the anti-discrimination provision in civil rights legislation to sexual orientation and gender was wrongly decided. His originalist reasoning: “It is inconceivable that either Congress or voters in 1964 understood discrimination because of sex to mean discrimination because of sexual orientation, much less gender identity.”

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It seems highly doubtful that the Second Amendment as now understood can survive the Alito test. Can anyone seriously maintain that the Founders, whose knowledge of guns was limited to single-shot weapons, would have sanctioned constitutionally the widespread keeping and bearing of modern arms of war, which can tear the human body apart in seconds? Can anyone really believe that they would have intended such sanction for these weapons if given the knowledge that they are being used regularly to massacre American schoolchildren?

When is a society civilized?

The damage of gun violence is a spreading blight on American society. It affects not only the victims themselves but also their survivors, who must live with emotional loss and psychic trauma indefinitely.

In refusing to consider how to balance the Second Amendment’s right to gun ownership with the right of other citizens to live without the constant threat posed by ubiquitous weaponry, the court is contributing to the deterioration of the United States as a civilized society.

In common understanding, a society is civilized when citizens can go unarmed about their daily business without fear of violence. Today, pedestrians in many parts of the United States have to fear that the person walking by may be armed, and that the police can do nothing to protect them until he or she pulls out the weapon and starts shooting.

And then it is too late, as so many recent mass shootings instruct us.

Richard Alba is a distinguished professor of sociology at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York.
Richard Alba is a distinguished professor of sociology at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

Richard Alba is a distinguished professor of sociology emeritus at The Graduate Center, CUNY.

George Santos deleted his campaign biography and blamed ‘elitist’ New York Times for his lies about his employment history

Business Insider

George Santos deleted his campaign biography and blamed ‘elitist’ New York Times for his lies about his employment history

Bryan Metzger – December 27, 2022

Rep-elect George Santos speaks at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on November 19, 2022.
Rep-elect George Santos removed his biography from his campaign website on Tuesday.David Becker/Washington Post via Getty Images
  • GOP Rep-elect George Santos admitted he fabricated much of his background before he was elected.
  • On Tuesday, he removed his biography from his campaign website.
  • In one interview, he blamed the “elitist” New York Times for his lies about his employment history.

As he faced numerous questions over a series of apparent falsehoods in his resume last week, Republican Rep-elect George Santos said he had a “story to tell and it will be told next week.”

On Monday, he began to do just that via a series of largely friendly interviews — and admitted that whole sections of his biography were fake.

And on Tuesday, he removed his campaign biography from his website.

The biography included the lie that he had graduated from Baruch College and that his grandparents had “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine.” The Forward found that his grandparents were born in Brazil.

In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, he came clean about lying about his employment and education history, as well as the fact that he isn’t Jewish.

“I never claimed to be Jewish,” he told The Post. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.'”

And in an interview with City & State NY that was published Monday night, he blamed the New York Times for misrepresentations he had made about his employment history.

“I worked as a customer service agent for six, seven months of my life or so — eight, maybe, in some — at some point in 2011, 2012,” he said. “The moment I put that on a resume, and I put it out there, elitists like the New York Times like to call blue-collar jobs like that ‘odd jobs.’ “

Santos was apparently referencing a story from the Times that noted that the congressman-elect worked at a Dish Network call center around the same time he purportedly worked on Wall Street.

“It’s those expectations, and those negative connotations, from elitist organizations, such as the New York Times that lead people — like me,” he said before abruptly changing course mid-sentence, saying he was “very comfortable in saying, I come from poverty, I come from a family of absolute nothing.”

“The reality is, yes, I omitted, like, past employment history that was irrelevant to the role,” he added.https://www.youtube.com/embed/E20WpTB4ZgA

During his interview with City & State NY, Santos also addressed his prior marriage to a woman; Santos is the first non-incumbent gay Republican ever elected to Congress.

He said he initiated a divorce after deciding to come out as gay.

“At least I had the courage to do it,” he said. “So many people… live in denial for their entire life, or are frustrated, and then eventually become a trans woman in their 60s.”

Santos: The Devil Media Made Me Do It !

Rolling Stone

Santos Blames ‘Bourgeois’ Media for Pointing Out His Many, Many Campaign Lies

Nikki McCann Ramirez – December 27, 2022

george-santos-admission.jpg U.S. Congressman-elect George Santos - Credit: Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM/Getty Images
george-santos-admission.jpg U.S. Congressman-elect George Santos – Credit: Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM/Getty Images

“Did I embellish my resume? Yes I did. And I’m sorry … but I’m still the same guy, I’m not a fraud.”

New York congressman-elect George Santos admitted on Monday to having engaged in “résumé embellishment” and lying about his education and work history. Santos has been embroiled in controversy following a New York Times report that raised discrepancies in the incoming congressman’s background. In various interviews responding to the controversy, Santos has now admitted to misrepresenting his job history, lying about his educational background, and exaggerating his financial position.

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Despite repeatedly apologizing for misleading the publicSantos still attempted to deflect blame for his lies onto other entities. Santos pointed the finger at elitism in the media as the motivation behind the exaggeration of his credentials. “I worked as a customer service agent for 6-7 months of my life…elitists like the New York Times like to call blue-collar jobs like that ‘odd jobs’ because it just doesn’t fit their bourgeois-style lifestyle.”

And that, Santos says, is what’s to blame for him making a litany of false statements to voters while seeking office. “It’s those expectations and those connotations from elitist organizations such as the New York Times that lead people like me” to embellish their history.

The investigation by the Times was unable to verify claims by Santos regarding his self-reported work for major financial groups Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as well as his assertion that he had graduated from Baruch College in New York and New York University. In an interview with the New York PostSantos admitted that he had “never worked directly” with Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. He explained that a financial firm he had worked for, Link Bridge, had done work with the companies and blamed the discrepancy on his “poor choice of words.” “If I was trying to really defraud the people, like everybody keeps saying, I could have just listed bigger — just as big names,” Santos said in an interview with City & State New York.

“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning,” Santos admitted to the Post. “ I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he stated. “I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.”

Santos further denied accusations that he had lied about having Jewish heritage, telling the Post that he “never claimed to be Jewish.” “I am Catholic,” Santos said, “because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’” Santos had previously claimed that his grandparents were Holocaust survivors who escaped persecution in WWII.

Regarding questions on discrepancies in his finances, Santos admitted to little besides a history of bad tenancy and never actually having owned property. Addressing claims that he owned more than 13 properties to City & State Santos said he “never claimed to” have owned property himself. “No I do not own property,” he said, “I’ve never purchased property under my name.”  Santos clarified that while his family members owned various properties he helped manage, none outright belonged to him.

The revelations have prompted calls from Democrats for Santos’ resignation, including accusations from his future colleagues that Santos “[defrauded] the voters of Long Island about his ENTIRE resume.” However, the incoming congressman plans to see his term through. ”I will be sworn in. I will take office.” Santos told New York’s WABC.