Delta offers passengers $10,000 each to get off oversold flight

Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight from Michigan to Minnesota reported that the airline offered them $10,000 this week to give up their seat on an oversold flight.

Yes, $10K.

The airline offered the money to each passenger who volunteered to be bumped from a domestic flight out of Grand Rapids Monday morning, according to media outlets.

Delta did not immediately return a request for comment from USA TODAY.

Jason Aten, a tech columnist at Inc. magazine, wrote he was sitting on the outbound plane for waiting for the aircraft to leave the gate when a flight attendant got on the intercom. The crew was looking for eight volunteers to give up their seats on the "apparently oversold" flight, offering them $10,000 each.

“If you have Apple Pay, you’ll even have the money right now,” the flight attendant said, Aten wrote.

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Aten told Fortune his group of eight – whose final destination was Alaska – didn't raise their hands because they didn't immediately know how many volunteers were needed.

"Had we known it was eight, we would have gotten off," he told the media outlet. "By the time that was clear, four or five people had already left."

"Spoiler alert: We did not take it for reasons I'm not going to get into because my wife is still not pleased about it," Aten wrote.

At least one other passenger confirmed Aten's account.

"It’s a true story. I was on that flight!" ToddMcCrumb tweeted. "Unfortunately, I could not take advance (sic) the offer, as I was flying with my wife who has very limited eyesight. She has to have me nearby when traveling."

Delta cuts 100 daily flights this summer:Here's what to know if yours is one of them.

Flying on July 4 weekend?:Delta has good news for you: No fare difference when rebooking travel

McCrumb told KTVB 7 the offer started at $5,000 but increased to $10,000.

"I looked at my wife and I thought, 'No way,'" McCrumb told the outlet. Although the couple did not volunteer, he said, but he saw at least four others accept the offer.

It was not immediately known how many people volunteered, but eventually the flight departed 20 minutes later than scheduled from Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, according to Cirium’s flight tracker.

It arrived in Minneapolis at 7:16 a.m. CT.

Delta CEO apologizes for flight delays

On Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized for flight delays and cancellations that have tormented travelers in recent weeks as the airline's pilots took to picket lines to complain about overscheduling, "poor reliability" and contract disputes.

In a LinkedIn post, Bastian wrote: "If you’ve encountered delays and cancellations recently, I apologize. We’ve spent years establishing Delta as the industry leader in reliability, and though the majority of our flights continue to operate on time, this level of disruption and uncertainty is unacceptable."

Delta nixes fare changes:Flying on July 4 weekend? Delta has good news for you: No fare difference when rebooking travel

The move also comes on the heels of Delta announcing in late May it was cutting 100 daily flights this summer as travel demand heats up.

"From July 1-Aug. 7, we’ll reduce service by approximately 100 daily departures, primarily in markets in the U.S. and Latin America that Delta frequently serves," the airline announced on its website.

Earlier this week, the airline announced that passengers flying over the July Fourth weekend will not have a fare difference when rebooking travel.

Why are airlines canceling flights?

Airlines have been struggling with reliability throughout the summer. Thousands of flights were canceled around Memorial Day weekend, and more delays, cancellations and difficulties have been stacking up pretty much every day since.

In large part, it's a result of staffing shortages after airlines downsized earlier in the pandemic. Now, they're struggling to catch up – and staff up – to meet this summer's surging demand.

Contributing: Zach Wichter. Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

If airline bumps you off a flight, make it worth your while

David Koenig

The Associated Press

DALLAS — Allison Preiss became a hero to airline passengers this spring when she scored a $10,000 travel voucher for losing her seat on an oversold flight.

Negotiating skill mixed with a bit of luck helped Preiss land the elusive payoff.

With the peak summer travel season right around the corner, other passengers can learn from Preiss's example if they wind up on an overcrowded flight.

There are two situations that passengers might find themselves in, and their rights — and bargaining power — vary greatly between them.

In the first, an airline forces a passenger off a flight for lack of space — called bumping. Under federal rules, the passenger is entitled to cash compensation, not just a voucher, and a seat on a later flight. Bumped passengers whose travel is delayed for at least an hour are entitled to up to $1,350 in compensation, with the amount based on the length of the delay and the one-way price of the ticket.

"The vast majority of Americans take one airline trip a year, and since vouchers are usually valid for just one year, most people should ask for cash," said George Hobica, a travel expert who founded the airfarewatchdog.com website. But, he added, frequent fliers might want to negotiate to see how high the airline will go with a voucher.

That's what Preiss did back in March. Thanks to a broken seat, United bumped her from a flight from Dulles Airport outside Washington to Austin, Texas. But Preiss had leverage because United couldn't find anyone willing to give up their seat. She calculated that she was entitled to about $650 in cash based on the price of her ticket, and she turned down a $2,000 voucher. Then a second United employee said she could offer a voucher up to $10,000 plus a seat on a later flight, and Preiss took it.

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The second situation occurs when the airline hasn't yet kicked anyone off an overbooked flight but instead looks for people to take a later flight in exchange for compensation — usually a voucher; the airline is not legally required to pay cash to volunteers.

When airlines know a flight is overbooked, they will make lowball offers to customers at ticket counters, kiosks and gate areas. They will raise the amount of the vouchers until they find a taker, pitting passengers against each other in a kind of reverse auction.

"My advice would be to start high," said Brian Kelly, CEO of travel website The Points Guy. "If you're going to be displaced for several hours, don't take the quick and easy $200 (voucher)."

Kelly said a $400 voucher for getting off a domestic flight or $800 for an international one would be "a solid starting point."

Travel experts suspect that airlines prefer vouchers partly because a high percentage of them never get used. The airlines do not disclose redemption rates.

Airlines have gotten very good at buying off passengers on overbooked flights. Last year, about 23,000 passengers were forcibly bumped — the lowest rate since the federal government started keeping track in 1995 — while nearly 342,000 people took an airline's offer and gave up their seat.

You might wonder how airlines ever come up short on seats.

Airlines can legally oversell flights — although some, like JetBlue, say they don't — on the assumption that some people won't show up. Overbooking can also occur when bad weather or a mechanical breakdown causes flights to be canceled, forcing the airline to scramble to accommodate stranded passengers.

Sometimes airlines switch a flight to a smaller plane with fewer seats. Occasionally, they need to make room for an air marshal or employees. And airlines may cancel flights or limit seating on smaller planes in hot weather because the thinner air makes it harder to generate enough lift for takeoff.

If you take a voucher for getting off a flight, there are some rules you should know. For instance, most airlines won't replace lost vouchers, and they can't be sold, although Delta allows them to be transferred to someone flying on the same reservation as the person who got the voucher.

On Southwest, vouchers can only be applied to airfare while American also lets them cover taxes and fees and Delta vouchers can be applied to government taxes. But you can't use vouchers to purchase extra legroom or an in-flight meal.

If your airline looks for volunteers to get off an overcrowded flight, experts offer this advice before accepting a voucher:

Insist on a confirmed seat, not standby, on the next available flight in addition to the voucher for future travel.

If you will be stuck for an extended time, ask for meal or hotel vouchers too.

Ask when the travel voucher expires — typically they are good for one year — and whether it can be combined with other discounts.

Find out if the voucher can be used on other airlines; American and Delta vouchers can be used on some partner airlines, United and Southwest certificates cannot.

Kelly, the travel-points expert, advises that no matter what, "don't get stressed."

"Look at it as an opportunity for a nice little payday."

Major airline guidelines on vouchers: American, Delta, United, Southwest, U.S. Department of Transportation

David Koenig can be reached on Twitter.

United moves to ease criticism with settlement, new policies

DAVID KOENIG

AP Airlines Writer

DALLAS (AP) — United Airlines moved to staunch criticism — and any customer defections — by reaching a settlement Thursday with a passenger dragged off one of its planes two weeks ago and issuing new policies designed to prevent similar customer-service failures.

On April 9, Kentucky physician David Dao was forcibly removed from a flight after refusing to give up his seat to a crew member. The incident ignited a debate about poor service and a lack of customer-friendly policies on U.S. airlines.

United and lawyers for Dao declined to disclose financial terms of the settlement Thursday. Earlier, United announced steps it would take to reduce overbooking of flights. Among other things, the airline said it will raise the limit on payments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights to $10,000, and it will improve training of employees.

Dao's lead attorney, Thomas Demetrio, praised the airline and its CEO, Oscar Munoz, for accepting responsibility and not blaming others, including the city of Chicago, whose airport security officers yanked Dao from his seat and dragged him off the United Express plane.

Dao never filed a lawsuit against United, but Demetrio had said legal action was likely.

Dao was waiting to fly to Louisville, Kentucky, an April 9 when the airline decided it needed four seats for Republic Airline crew members who needed to travel to work another United Express flight in Louisville the next morning. When Dao and his wife were selected for bumping, he refused to leave.

Video of the incident has sparked more than two weeks of withering criticism and mockery of United. Munoz initially blamed Dao, but later said he was horrified by the event and called it a failure on United's part.

On Thursday, United released a report on the incident that outlined new policies to prevent a repeat. The airline vowed to reduce, but not eliminate, overbooking — the selling of more tickets than there are seats on the plane.

United won't say whether ticket sales have dropped, but the airline's CEO acknowledged the Dao incident could be damaging.

"I breached public trust with this event and how we responded," Oscar Munoz told The Associated Press. "People are upset, and I suspect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us."

To head off customer defections, United had already announced that it will no longer call police to remove passengers from overbooked flights, and will require airline crews traveling for work to check in sooner. On Thursday, it added several other new policies including:

— Raising the limit on compensation to $10,000 for customers who give up their seats starting Friday. That is a maximum — it's unclear how many, if any, passengers would see that much. The current limit is $1,350. Delta Air Lines earlier this month raised its limit to $9,950.

— Sending displaced passengers or crew members to nearby airports, putting them on other airlines or arranging for car transportation to get them to their destinations.

— Giving gate agents annual refresher training in dealing with oversold flights. Munoz said he also wants agents and flight attendants to get more help at de-escalating tense situations.

While not a factor in this month's incident, United also said that starting in June it will pay customers $1,500 with no questions asked if the airline loses their bag.

For United, the timing of the viral video could hardly have been worse. The airline struggled badly after a 2010 merger with Continental, enduring several technology breakdowns that angered customers. In the past year, however, the airline has flown more on-time flights and lost fewer bags. It recently rolled out plans for expanding service this summer.

Instead of being commended for those signs of progress, United has been pilloried. Munoz apologized again and faulted his own initial response, in which he defended airline employees and called Dao belligerent.

"That first response was insensitive beyond belief," Munoz said. "It did not represent how I felt," saying that he got "caught up in facts and circumstances" that weren't initially clear, instead of expressing his shock.

United said it will reduce overbooking, particularly on flights with a poor track record of finding volunteers to give up their seats, but won't end the practice. Munoz said if airlines can't overbook there will be more empty seats and fares will rise.

Earlier Thursday Southwest Airlines, which bumped the most passengers off its planes in 2016, announced plans to stop overbooking flights, citing the United incident as a catalyst.

___

David Koenig can be reached at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter

Delta will now offer up to $9,950 to fliers on overbooked flights

Bart Jansen

USA TODAY

Delta Air Lines began Friday offering its agents greater flexibility for dealing with overbooked flights, including eye-popping compensation up to $9,950 to travelers who agree to give up their seats.

While it sounds generous, tickets themselves such as a last-minute fare from Atlanta to Johannesburg can reach those heights. But the memo that Delta sent its workers reinforced the company’s priority for reaching an agreement with passengers voluntarily over missing a flight, rather than involuntarily denying boarding.

United Airlines has suffered a firestorm of criticism this week, all coming after Chicago aviation department security officers dragged a passenger off a flight Sunday in order to make room for a crew member. The passenger had declined an offer of $800 to take a flight to Louisville the next day.

Congress, the Transportation Department, the city of Chicago and United are each investigating the incident, in which passenger David Dao suffered a concussion and lost two teeth. United CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized and the airline expects to complete its review by the end of the month.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told reporters during a coincidental earnings call Wednesday that no new legislation or regulations are needed to deal with overbooking because travelers could choose different airlines based on bumping. Delta denied boarding involuntarily among the least in the industry, just once in every 100,000 passengers last year, or 1,238 times.

IN PICTURES: 30 cool aviation photos (story continues below)

For comparison, United involuntarily denied boarding at more than four times that rate per passenger enplaned, or 3,765 times. The largest dozen airlines involuntarily denied boarding 40,629 times, according to department figures.

But airlines found 434,425 passengers willing to take a payment and perhaps a hotel room to voluntarily take another flight. Those arrangements are typically made at the gate, rather than after passengers have boarded the plane.

The Delta memo reminded staffers of those statistics offered greater flexibility in compensation “to reinforce our commitment to our agents and their ability to care for our customers.”

A customer-service agent will be able to offer $2,000 per change from the previous $800. A higher-ranking worker such as an operations service manager could offer up to $9,950, from the previous cap of $1,350.

“If more volunteers are needed, solicit early and often,” the memo states. “Be prepared to explain options to customers traveling to their final destinations.”

For comparison, the Transportation Department requires airlines pay passengers in exchange for being involuntarily bumped. The compensation tops out at four times a flier's one-way ticket cost -- up to a maximum of $1,350 -- for those whose arrive at their final destination more than two hours late (four hours internationally) because of being bumped involuntarily. The penalty is two times the one-way fare -- capped at $675 -- for fliers who arrive to their final destinations one to two hours late (one to four hours, internationally) because of being bumped.

The nearly five-figure compensation plan at Delta sounds generous, but tickets occasionally get that pricey. A last-minute Delta One ticket Saturday from Atlanta to Johannesburg listed at $9,740 on Friday afternoon.

IN PICTURES: 30 cool (more) aviation photos

Flight prices increase: Airlines say travel demand and fuel costs up

In presentations at an investor conference, airline officials said they expect to offset their higher fuel bills with higher ticket prices thanks to surging demand.

Another COVID-19 wave and other factors could hurt bookings again, but for now the trend in ticket prices is up.

Don't wait for prices to go down, especially to popular spring and summer vacation destinations.

Thanksgiving-like crowds are returning to security checkpoints and airport parking lots are filling up in popular destinations.

But few things say air travel is roaring back more than airline executives taking a spike in oil prices in stride. Fuel is airlines' second-biggest expense after labor.

In presentations at an investor conference in New York Tuesday, officials from Delta, American, United, Southwest and JetBlue said they expect to offset their higher fuel bills thanks to sizzling travel demand from vacationers and an uptick in business travel.

That's bad news for travelers who haven't bought tickets for spring break or summer vacation yet, as strong bookings enable airlines to raise ticket prices.

Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said the airline needs to collect an extra $30 or $40 per the average $400 round trip ticket to cover its rising fuel costs and so far is having no trouble doing so given a surge in bookings.

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"We are very, very confident of our ability to recapture over 100% of the fuel price run-up in the second quarter and through probably the end of the summer," he said at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference.

Hauenstein said he has never seen travel demand rebound as quickly as it has following the sharp decline in bookings from the omicron variant in late 2021 and early this year. One day last week, the airline had the highest sales day in its 100-year history, he said.

Delta is not alone in its confidence in the industry's recovery and ability to pass along fare increases.

► American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said "demand is higher than it's ever been" for domestic travel and that overall bookings are "incredibly strong." Last week, the airline had three record ticket sales days, he said.

► United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella called the spike in demand unprecedented.

"The pandemic really does seem to be behind us here in the U.S.," Nocella said. "Bookings across most of the network are at normal levels.''

Nocella said United expects to be able to offset a "large chunk" of its higher fuel bill by boosting fares and will cover the rest by trimming some flights.

United purposely held back seats for sale for summer travel in anticipation of a rebound so it could charge more for tickets when bookings resumed post-omicron. And it's working, he said.

"We're pretty happy about that," he said.

► Southwest Airlines's spring break bookings are strong and above 2019 levels, according to chief financial officer Tammy Romo.

The airline increased fares across its network in early February and demand has remained strong, she said.

"We are really encouraged by what we are seeing thus far," she said.

► JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes as the airline has been seeing "incredible revenue momentum."

He said a key revenue metric for Easter travel in mid-April is ahead of 2019 levels despite an increased number of flights.

It all adds up to more sticker shock for consumers fighting inflation on every front this year. Another COVID-19 wave and other factors could hurt bookings again and reduce airlines' ability to raise fares, but for now, the trend in ticket prices is up. With domestic travel bookings and revenue surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time in the second week of February and ticket prices were up 5%, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index.

"This is a major turning point, and it shows a level of consumer confidence we've not seen in many months," Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights said in a statement.

'How much can the consumer bear?'

The big question for airlines and travelers is how high ticket prices can go before travelers resist.

"How much can the consumer bear?" J.P. Morgan airline analyst Jamie Baker asked airline executives.

Delta's Hauenstein said the airline is pricing summer flights to a level that will cover higher fuel costs and so far, bookings are above 2019 levels.

"We haven't actually found the breakpoint yet," he said.

JetBlue's Hayes said the airline also has not seen any so-called "demand destruction."

"We're still dealing with pent-up demand from people," he said.

Airfares are on the rise: 5 tips for travelers shopping for airline tickets

► Don't wait for prices to go down, especially to popular spring and summer vacation destinations. If you see a palatable ticket price on the dates and times you need, book it and don't look back. (Or look back occasionally and rebook if the flight price has dropped since major airlines have dropped change fees on most tickets and Southwest has never charged change fees. You'll receive a credit for any fare difference.)

► Don't overlook airline and travel website flexible date calendars and airfare alerts from apps including Hopper and Kayak if your travel plans are flexible.

► Do include online travel agencies like Expedia and search engines like Google Flights and Kayak in your research as they combine flights from different airlines for the itinerary, which can save money over flying one airline for the trip. Just make sure you aren't flying into one airport and out of another in metro areas with more than one option if that's a dealbreaker.

► Don't limit your search to the major airlines. Discount airlines Spirit and Frontier, which recently announced plans to merge, and Allegiant have been expanding rapidly. As have newcomers Avelo and Breeze. On all, add up the fees for extras, including a carry-on bag or seat assignment to make an apples-to-apples comparison with major airlines.

► Do skip that summer trip in favor of a fall or other off-season getaway if your travel plans are flexible and you're on a budget.

How often do airlines bump passengers?

Andrew Wolfson

@adwolfson

Airlines commonly overbook flights to account for passengers who don’t show up. When a flight is oversold, they ask for volunteers, offering a travel voucher and a seat on a later flight.

When not enough volunteers emerge, airlines may involuntarily bump passengers from a flight under federal rules.

Last year, 434,425 passengers voluntarily gave up their seats on the nation’s 12 largest airlines but only 40,629 were involuntarily bumped, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

About 63,000 passengers gave up seats on United voluntarily, while 3,765 were denied boarding.

Seven of the 12 airlines denied boarding to a higher percentage of passengers.

Delta was the king of overbooking airlines; it had to find twice as many passengers as United to give up their seats. But United involuntarily bumped about four times as many.

More Flight 3411 coverage

►Experts: United bungled removal of passenger

►How often do airlines bump passengers?

►A timeline of United Flight 3411

►United Airlines was just plain wrong | Joseph Gerth

►United’s stock price down after dragging incident

►Who's the worst for bumping passengers?

►Male High teacher aboard United flight: ‘This didn’t need to happen’

►David Dao, passenger removed from United flight, now in spotlight

►Jimmy Kimmel rips United with fake ad

►United Airlines video has already become a meme

►Jeff Ruby offers United passenger free steak

►United's fiasco prompts apology, suspension

►United Airlines video has already become a meme

►Security officer placed on leave after United flight incident

►United CEO says passenger dragged from plane was 'an upsetting event'

►Social media explodes after man dragged from plane

►United Airlines had a right to remove that flier. But, was there a better way?

In United’s case, the airline's contract of carriage with passengers allows it to deny boarding to passengers, who may be picked based on their fare, itinerary, membership in a frequent flier program and the time they checked in.

United’s contract allowed passengers to be removed from a flight because they are barefoot, inappropriately dressed, “have or cause a malodorous condition” or are “disorderly, offensive, abusive, or violent.”

But the contract does not provide for removing, once boarded, a passenger because of overbooking.

A United spokeswoman, Eric Benson, did not respond to a request for comment on that or the basis on which Dr. David Dao or three other passengers were selected for removal from United Express Flight 3411 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Sunday.

United initially said the four passengers were selected at random, but passenger Will Nevitt, a teacher in Louisville, said he heard Dao and others being asked to leave because they had paid the lowest fares.

End of an era: American Airlines is retiring its in-flight magazine ...

In the first issue of American Airlines' in-flight magazine, flight attendants were called stewardesses and business travelers were pitched family fares offering half-price tickets for "your wife.''

It was 1966.

The cover story in the latest issue of American Way: LGBTQ neighborhoods across the country.

The changes in the seatback pocket staple reflect how times have changed in the past 50 years.

But perhaps no sign of the times is more telling than this: the June issue of American Way will be the airline's last.

American is ceasing publication of what it calls the industry's longest continually published in-flight magazine, joining Delta and Southwest, which stopped publishing their magazines during the pandemic and decided against bringing them back. American continued publishing during the pandemic but added an "antimicrobial process," which it touts on the upper right hand corner of the cover.

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Why are airlines no longer offering in-flight magazines?

Dana Lawrence, American's managing director of global brand marketing, said airlines are eliminating magazines due in large part to travelers' changing tastes for in-flight entertainment and airlines' increasingly long lineup of free options, much of it powered by in-flight Wi-Fi.

American now offers 600 movies and television shows and recently added a new lifestyle channel that includes free language lessons from Rosetta Stone. Passengers can stream them to their smartphones, tablets, laptops and other electronic devices for free.

"It's really just keeping up with our customers and their preferences and how we can offer them the most content,'' Lawrence said.

At the same time, the popular travel information passengers sought out at the back of the magazine – airport maps, in-flight food and drink menus, movie listings and more – are now available on airlines' websites, mobile apps and, in the case of airlines offering seatback screens, the seat in front of them.

Lawrence said the move will play a "small role'' in helping the environment, as it uses 2 million pounds of paper for the 4 million copies printed each year – a benefit also touted by other airlines.

Veteran travel analyst Henry Harteveldt, co-founder of Atmosphere Research in San Francisco, said in-flight magazines overstayed their welcome on planes.

"These are relics from the decades past that probably should have been killed off a long time ago or at least digitized,'' he said.

Harteveldt, a former airline executive whose responsibilities at TWA included oversight of the in-flight magazine, said interest in thumbing through the magazines fell off when travelers started loading books, movies and TV shows onto their phones, tablets or laptops or spent the flight tuning into the airline's entertainment options. Advertiser interest fell off as a result, he said.

"American Way was an institution,'' he said. "But … I don't think frequent travelers or infrequent travelers will notice or really care to any great degree if the magazine disappears. And certainly nobody ever chose an airline because of the in-flight magazine.''

The CEO of in-flight magazine publisher Ink Global, the London-based travel media company that has published American Way for six years and publishes United's magazine, among others, doesn't agree. He said American Way has inspired millions of American's passengers and "will be missed.''

"Although American is ending American Way, many of our other airline partners are doubling down on inspiring travel-focused customer communication,'' Michael Keating said, citing United's decision to put Hemispheres magazine back on its planes this month and Virgin Atlantic's plans to bring its magazine back in September.

From 22-bage booklet to 122-page monthly magazine

American's in-flight magazine started as a 22-page booklet called The American Way in early 1966 and started as an annual publication.

The first issue included a welcome note from American Airlines President Marion Sadler.

"We're delighted to welcome you aboard and we hope this booklet will add to the pleasure of your trip,'' he said. "Here you'll discover in words, pictures and artwork those special qualities of excellence that continue to distinguish American Airlines' people, services and equipment as the finest in the industry.''

The magazine eventually became a monthly publication, serving as many as 16 million passengers before the pandemic decimated travel.

American Way had a couple pop culture moments. In 2005, the magazine got a shoutout the season finale of the first season of "The Office."

Character Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, bragged that he subscribed to the in-flight magazine (and to USA TODAY).

"Some great articles in there,'' he cracked in reference to the magazine. "They did this great profile last month of ("Everybody Loves Raymond' actress) Doris Roberts and where she likes to eat when she's in Phoenix. Illuminating.''

(American said a 2005 American Way article did feature Terry Bradshaw and where he likes to eat in Phoenix.)

A dozen years later, "The Office'' actress Mindy Kaling referenced the episode when she landed on the cover of the magazine.

"Proud to grace the cover of Michael Scott's favorite magazine, American Way,'' she said in a Twitter post.

The satirical publication The Onion took a crack at American Way in 2012 when American Airlines was a year into its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. (The airline emerged from Chapter 11 in 2013 via a merger with US Airways.)

The article said American planned to quit the flight business to focus on the magazine and that then-American CEO Thomas Horton was becoming editor-in-chief of American Way.

“Our first love is and always has been our travel and lifestyle magazine – in fact, distributing American Way is the reason we first got into air travel back in 1930,” the spoof said. "Sadly, the publishing industry is changing, and we can no longer afford to use the seat-back pockets of a major international airline to maintain our print circulation. It’s simply not a cost effective way to run our magazine.”

Delta CEO: Airlines need shared unruly passenger 'no-fly' list

Delta Air Lines wants the Justice Department to help create a national no-fly list of unruly passengers across all commercial airlines.

A comprehensive no-fly list would “help prevent future incidents,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a letter to the DOJ.

Some recent 'air rage' incidents have resulted in flights turning around and returning to their departing airports.

Delta Air Lines has asked the Department of Justice to help create a national no-fly list of people convicted of unruly behavior on an airplane so they can be banned from flying on any commercial airline.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian, in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, asked for the DOJ's support in "the much-needed step" of a comprehensive list of "any person convicted of an on-board disruption." Inclusion on the list should prevent them from commercial air travel, he said.

In the letter, a copy of which was provided to USA TODAY and was first reported on by Reuters, Bastian said such a list "will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft."

Delta's request comes as airline staff have had to deal with a wave of unruly passengers over the past year or so. Unruly passenger cases spiked after the U.S. introduced a mask mandate on airplanes and in airports on Feb. 1, 2021. That mandate has been extended through March 18.

In November, Garland directed U.S. attorneys across the country to swiftly prioritize prosecution of federal crimes that happen on commercial flights amid a historic number of investigations into passenger behavior.

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Unruly passenger rate down, but still problematic

The rate of unruly passenger incidents has dropped about 50% since record-highs in early 2021, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. So far in 2022, the FAA has gotten 323 reports of unruly passengers – 205 of them related to face masks.

In September 2021, flight attendants urged Congress to do more to reduce the number of air rage incidents. Ahead of that hearing, Delta's senior vice president of inflight service, Kristen Manion Taylor, sent a memo to flight attendants saying the airline has asked other airlines to share their no-fly lists to further protect employees. "A list of banned customers doesn't work as well if that customer can fly with another airline," the memo said.

Among recent unruly passenger incidents, last month a man on a Delta Air Lines flight from Ireland to New York refused to wear a mask after being asked to do so many times and mooned a flight attendant, according to a federal complaint. The passenger – who also threw an empty beverage can at another passenger, kicked the seat in front of him, and put a fist up close to the flight captain’s face – was taken into custody upon arrival and has been charged with the felony of intentionally assaulting and intimidating a member of a flight crew.

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Flights diverted due to problem passengers

Some flights have been recently diverted due to unruly passengers. Two weeks ago, an American Airlines flight from Miami to London returned to the U.S. after a passenger refused to wear a face mask. A day later, a United Airlines flight from New Jersey to Israel turned around after two passengers decided to help themselves to empty business class seats on the half-full flight.

The FAA can impose a fine of up to $37,000 per violation for unruly passengers, and an incident can result in multiple violations. The agency levied more than $1 million in fines against problem passengers in 2021.

In the letter, Bastian noted that while unruly passenger incidents happen on a small fraction of Delta's overall flights, the rate of incidents on the airline has increased nearly 100% since 2019.

Delta has its own no-fly list of nearly 1,900 people who refused to comply with masking requirements, he said.

There should be “zero tolerance for any behavior that interferes with flight safety," Bastian said.

Contributing: Dawn Gilbertson and Bailey Schulz of USA TODAY and The Associated Press

Airline seating: How to keep your family together on flights

Christopher Elliott

Special to USA TODAY

Airlines love to play musical chairs with their passengers, a game that pressures travelers to pay extra for assigned seating.

If you don't believe me, listen to Amy Faust's story of flying from San Francisco to Paris recently. Although she had initially reserved a seat next to her partner for the 11-hour flight, her airline separated the couple shortly before boarding.

"The only seats left together for the outbound flight were against the bathroom wall," says Faust, an artist from Oakland, California. "Even though they were an extra $69 each, they did not recline. I was never more uncomfortable on a plane, sitting upright for the entire flight."

No one knows how many passengers get separated on flights. No one even knows for certain how much money the U.S. airline industry makes from seat reservation fees; the government doesn't require they report those figures.

But we do know there are thousands of frustrated passengers such as Faust. Fortunately, we also know there are ways to sit together without paying extra, whether you're a business traveler, a couple or a family with kids.

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Whether airlines separate passengers on purpose in an effort to convince you to pay extra for a seat assignment, or unintentionally, it's never fun. Business travelers often book seats together to get work done. Leisure travelers vacationing together don't want to be separated or are traveling with young children that need attention.

In 2016, Congress passed a law requiring airlines to seat families with children together without charging them more. But the Transportation Department hasn't written the required regulation and seems unlikely to do so anytime soon. Airlines claim they seat families together whenever possible, but they're also motivated by the fees they collect whenever someone reserves a seat.

So what do you do if you can't sit together on a plane? Here's a checklist:

• Remember, you still have a seat: Airlines like to leave you with the impression that you don't have a seat on the plane if you don't pay for a reservation. That's not true. If you don't pay extra for a reservation, you'll receive a seat when you check in. It might be a middle seat next to the galley, but trust me, you'll still fly.

• Make a special request: Airlines allow you to register any special needs when you book your ticket. "Check for methods of notifying the airline of special needs or requests," advises Grainne Kelly, a mother of two and former travel agent who owns a car booster seat company. "In some cases, changes can be made right at check-in." For example, Delta Air Lines publishes a page on travel with kids that has useful information about seating. Calling a few days before your departure can yield positive results.

• Don't panic: Airlines want you to freak out and immediately shell over a seat reservation fee. Resist the temptation, even if you're traveling with kids. "Don't try to solve the problem with the airline before getting on the plane," says David Leventhal, a frequent traveler and hotelier based in San Francisco.

• Talk to a gate agent: The first real opportunity to find a seat together comes at the gate. Gate agents have a lot of flexibility in moving seats around. This time, money isn't their primary motivator — it's getting everyone in a seat in time for departure. "There have been multiple times where we’ve told the gate agent that we don’t have seats together but would like to, and they’ve been able to make it happen," says Nina Thomas, a frequent traveler and author of the book "How to be Your Own Travel Agent."

•Ask for help from a flight attendant: That's what Sarah Wilson, who travels with three young girls, does. "On several occasions, the airline does not seat us together, despite my requests," says Wilson, a marketer who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. In fact, flight attendants often will do their best to reseat passengers when they see a separated family or even a couple.

•Ask a fellow passenger to switch: "That's the easiest way to sit together," says frequent flier Rob Chimsky, a partner in a Sonoma, California, winery. "Just ask your respective seat neighbor if they would be willing to switch." It helps if you can offer a better seat — preferably an aisle seat near the front of the aircraft. Otherwise, you're likely to get a "no."

What if none of these strategies work? Then you might try an unconventional strategy (see below). The most common, at least when it comes to kids, is threatening to not switch seats. Anyone want to sit next to a rambunctious child? Air travelers have also feigned illness and threatened the crew, both tactics I don't recommend. And if all else fails, you could always pay the seat assignment fee.

Pro negotiating strategies for sitting together

Typically, you can switch seats with another passenger in your class of service after the cabin doors close. Here's how to do it:

• Be polite: Sometimes, you won't have any leverage, like a better seat or a set of extenuating circumstances. A "please" and "thank you" can overcome all of that — and land you in a seat next to your friends or family.

• Sweeten the deal: Offer to buy the passenger a drink or slip them a few $20 bills. It's still less expensive than paying the airline's seat assignment fee.

• Wait, then ask your flight attendant again: After your flight reaches cruising altitude, try asking the flight attendant for help again. You may also want to ask for the purser, or chief flight attendant, if your requests to be reseated are rebuffed. But don't forget your manners.

Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or visit elliott.org.

Airline complaints rise despite better performance

Charisse Jones

USA TODAY

Virgin America was number one in overall performance for the fourth year in a row, according to the 2016 Airline Quality Rating.

The 26th annual report released Monday noted that industry wide, U.S. airline performance got better in three of four key categories in 2015. But the flying public still filed complaints at a rate not seen in at least 15 years.

“Generally speaking, the system works,’’ said Dean Headley, co-author of the report, and associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University’s W. Frank Barton School of Business. But “while (airlines) got better in those three areas, most of that is not going to be noticeable by a particular consumer unless they lose their bag or get bumped off an airplane.’’

JetBlue and Delta grabbed the number two and three spots behind Virgin America, while Alaska, which announced Monday that it plans to buy Virgin America for $2.6 billion, came in at number five.

The rating ), which is based on data from the Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report,found that collectively U.S. carriers did a better job last year of landing flights on time, handling baggage, and making sure everyone who had a ticket for a given flight was able to get on board.

Overall, 79.9% of flights landed on schedule last year, vs. 76.2% in 2014. Nine of 13 carriers, including United, Southwest, American and Delta, improved their on-time arrival rate over the previous year. Hawaiian Airlines was the most punctual with an on time rate of 88.4%, while Spirit was at the bottom, with 69% of its flights touching down on schedule.

The industry lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered 3.24 bags per 1,000 fliers in 2015, down from 3.62 the previous year. Virgin America had the best record handling baggage. The Burlingame,Calif.-based carrier mishandled 0.84 pieces of luggage per 1,000 customers. Regional carrier Envoy had the worst record, improperly handling 8.52 bags per 1,000 fliers. ExpressJet, with 5.06 mishandled bags per 1,000 fliers, and SkyWest with a rate of 4.05, had the second and third-worst track records behind Envoy.

And the rate of involuntary denied boardings – when a passenger loses their seat because the flight has been oversold - dropped significantly for U.S. carriers, to a rate of 0.76 per 10,000 fliers vs. 0.92 the previous year.

“Given that the industry is getting more complex, and more people are flying, it says at least the industry is trying to do the right thing,’’ Headley says.

Still, performance varied, sometimes widely, by airline. For instance JetBlue’s denied boarding rate was the lowest in 2015, at 0.02 per 10,000 passengers, while Envoy Air had the worst record, with a rate of 2.35 per 10,000 fliers. “Some airlines focus on different things,’’ Headley says. At “JetBlue, this is part of their corporate philosophy and culture ... It also tells me if they figured out how to make that not happen, why can’t more?’’ airlines do the same.

The worst performers tended to be regional and low cost carriers. No-frills Spirit, which charges to carry on a bag or to even select your own seat, had the highest complaint rate, with 11.73 per 100,000 fliers. Alaska Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints, .50 per 100,000 fliers.

The regional carriers tend to ferry passengers from smaller markets into larger hubs, putting them farther away from their main base if, for instance, a plane has a mechanical issue that needs to be addressed, Headley says. "The Envoys and the ExpressJets tend to fly those types of routes,'' he says. "That’s their role. So they’re inherently going to have a few more problems with performance outcomes than those who fly out of hubs.''

But passengers seem to feel that across the board, airlines can do better. Complaints were up to 1.90 per 100,000 fliers last year, the worst rate since 2001, Headley said. The largest number of gripes had to do with flight issues, luggage, and reservations, ticketing, and boarding.

For "a lot of fliers, somebody’s landed on their last nerve,'' Headley says. But complaints can also show the airlines where to improve, and if they respond well, "You can by policy and employee commitment, which trickles down from managerial commitment, change the culture and the performance outcome.''

Airlines with best overall performance in 2015

1. Virgin America

2. JetBlue

3. Delta

4. Hawaiian

5. Alaska

6. Southwest

7. SkyWest

8. United

9. ExpressJet

10. American

11. Frontier

12. Envoy Air

13. Spirit

Best performing U.S. airlines by category

On-time arrival: Hawaiian (88.4%)

Denied boardings: JetBlue (.02)

Mishandled bags: Virgin America (.84)

Customer complaints: Alaska Airlines (.50)

Worst performing U.S. airlines by category

On-time arrival: Spirit (69%)

Denied boardings: Envoy (2.35)

Mishandled bags: Envoy (8.52)

Customer complaints: Spirit (11.73)

Source: 2016 Airline Quality Rating


Brad Pitt says he suffers from facial blindness - CNN

(CNN) If you run into Brad Pitt, chances are he won't recognize you the second time around.

That's because the award-winning actor says in a new interview with GQ that he suffers from facial blindness, also known as prosopagnosia, causing him to struggle to remember people's faces.

Although he has not been officially diagnosed, Pitt, 58, says he believes he has it.

"Nobody believes me!" he said. "I wanna meet another [person with it]."

Pitt told GQ he wants to remember the people he meets and fears his struggle has given people the impression he's aloof.

Read More

Brad Pitt GQ cover: Actor talks retirement, sobriety, prosopagnosia

Brad Pitt may not be gracing the the silver screen as often in the future, and he's opening up about being in the last stages of his film career.

The actor told GQ magazine in a cover story interview published June 22 that he's approaching retirement.

“I consider myself on my last leg,” Pitt said, “this last semester or trimester. What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?”

Pitt is still slated for acting gigs in 2022, including director David Leitch’s action blockbuster “Bullet Train” about five assassins aboard a fast moving train, and the historical drama film “Babylon.”

The 58-year-old actor, known for his performances in “Fight Club” and “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” has gradually receded from onscreen roles and instead has taken a more prominent position behind the camera as a film producer. Pitt is the current CEO of Plan B Entertainment that helmed works such as 2016 "Moonlight," Golden Globe-winning film "Minari" and the just-released remake of "Father of the Bride."

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The production company will be behind various movies in 2022, including Netflix’s "Blonde" starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe and "Women Talking," an adaptation of Miriam Toews’s novel, which the Academy Award winner said is "as profound a film as anything made this decade."

Although Pitt has not been formally diagnosed, he told GQ he may have prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face blindness, which prohibits him from recognizing new faces or remembering people he meets in social settings (though Pitt says "nobody believes" he suffers from the condition).

Pitt also said he quit smoking altogether during the pandemic because reducing the number of cigarettes per day wasn’t enough.

“I don’t have that ability to do just one or two a day,” Pitt said. “It’s not in my makeup. I’m all in. And I’m going to drive into the ground. I’ve lost my privileges.”

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Angelina Jolie exits train station as air-raid sirens go off during Ukraine visit, video shows

Pitt delved deeper into discussing his sobriety, saying when Angelina Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, he that year getting sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“I had a really cool men’s group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe,” Pitt told GQ. “Because I’d seen things of other people who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and that’s just atrocious to me.”

The ex-couple have been embroiled in a custody battle since the initial divorce filings where Jolie asked for physical custody of all six of their children — Maddox, 20, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 13. Pitt was tentatively awarded joint custody last spring, though Jolie’s team criticized the private judge for not allowing the couple’s children to testify in the custody proceedings.

In October, California's Supreme Court rejected Pitt's appeal and decided it won't review an earlier decision by a state appeals court which handed Jolie a major victory by disqualifying the private judge the couple hired to handle their divorce. Jolie’s team filed a petition in August 2020 to disqualify the judge from the case because of a disclosure issue regarding the judge’s business connection with an attorney on Pitt’s team.

According to Holly Davis, a trial lawyer and founding partner of Austin divorce firm Kirker Davis LLP, the custody case will likely start over with a new judge.

Contributing: Maria Puente


Natural gas projects are 'green' or 'sustainable,' EU parliament says ...

(CNN) European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday in favor of calling natural gas and nuclear power "green" or "sustainable" sources of energy, backing a proposal from European Commission , the EU's executive arm, that has spurred criticism from scientists and environmental advocates.

The new rules, if accepted by member states, could unlock billions of dollars of private investment and state subsidies for natural gas and nuclear projects.

The rules will go into effect in 2023, unless 20 of the union's 27 member states reject them, which is unlikely. Most member states — including heavyweights such as Germany and France — backed at least one of the two energy sources.

The European Commission has argued that natural gas — a fossil fuel primarily made of methane, a significant contributor to the climate crisis — plays a key role in transitioning to renewable energy, angering climate activists and some lawmakers. Natural gas typically emits less carbon dixoide than coal , but critics argue more focus should be place on boosting renewable energy, and that supporting new gas projects will only prolong the life of the fossil fuel.

Bas Eickhout, a Green lawmaker from the Netherlands who sits in the European Parliament, recently said he had "never seen such a strategic mistake by the Commission," and calling natural gas "sustainable" contradicts the European Union's pleas to the rest of the world to rapidly decarbonize their economies.

"We are undermining the entire credibility of our Green Deal," he previously told CNN, referring to the EU's centerpiece climate legislation. "And on the gas side, I really I don't see it. I fail to see the added value."

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While the proposal came months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it gained momentum after the EU responded to the war by banning Russian energy sources such as coal and oil, which European countries have been highly dependent on.

The EU has vowed to cut planet-heating emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and become a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. Net zero is where emissions are dramatically reduced, and any that remain are offset, whether using natural methods like tree planting or technology to "capture" emissions. The effectiveness of such technology is currently limited.

But climate and energy advocates say Wednesday's decision will instead hinder Europe's green transition.

"This will delay a desperately needed real sustainable transition and deepen our dependency on Russian fuels," Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, tweeted in response to the vote . "The hypocrisy is striking, but unfortunately not surprising."

Environmental groups are expected to challenge the new rules in court. Already, groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Federation have said they plan to sue the EU over the policy.

"Gas and nuclear are not green, and labeling them as such is blatant greenwashing. This harms the climate, and future generations," Ester Asin, director at WWF European Policy Office, said in a statement. "We've lost this battle, but we won't give up the fight. [We] will explore all potential avenues for further action to stop this greenwashing and protect the credibility of the whole EU Taxonomy - and calls on Member States and MEPs to do the same."

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Ivana Kottasová
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Rachel Ramirez

News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: Tobacco shops in the state are no longer able to advertise vaping as a healthy alternative to smoking. A wide-ranging law regulating vaping that passed the Legislature earlier this year went into effect Thursday. It also prohibits opening vape shops within 1,000 feet of a school, church or child care facility and limits advertising on billboards to include only three vaping flavors, tobacco, mint and menthol. Critics say fruit-flavored vaping liquids attract younger users. One of the law’s sponsors, Democrat Rep. Barbara Drummond, told WBRC-TV she was shocked to see a 12-year-old in her Sunday school class with a vape, which she initially thought was a flash drive. Alabama was one of three states that previously did not regulate vaping.

Alaska

Juneau: The governor is moving ahead with a plan to increase prices at assisted living homes, a report says. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed increasing Alaska Pioneer Home rates between 40% and 140% by Sept. 1, The Anchorage Daily News reports. The Dunleavy administration submitted the proposal to offset the state budget’s $12.3 million cut to funding for the homes, state officials said. There are currently three levels of service ranging from about $2,500 a month to $6,800 a month depending on the level of care needed. The proposal includes five levels of service ranging from about $3,600 a month to $15,000 a month, officials said. This new plan is intended to increase revenue, but some residents fear the higher prices will make the homes unaffordable.

Arizona

Phoenix: The Phoenix Police Department will train officers to track when they point their guns at people as the agency works to increase trust and transparency after a record number of shootings last year and national outrage over a cellphone video showing officers cursing and aiming guns at a black family. The department said Friday that the new policy was recommended by the National Police Foundation, which found Phoenix had 44 officer-involved shootings last year, more than any other U.S. department. Of those, 23 were fatal. A separate database that tracks fatal shootings by police showed Phoenix officers also killed more people than any other agency in 2018. The city is now the nation’s fifth largest, with about 1.6 million people.

Arkansas

Little Rock: State election officials have rejected an attempt to hold a referendum next year on a new law expanding what procedures optometrists can perform that’s sparked an unusually expensive and public lobbying fight. Secretary of State John Thurston’s office said Friday that supporters of the referendum fell short of the nearly 53,500 signatures from registered voters needed to put the issue on the November 2020 ballot. Thurston’s office said it determined the petitions submitted had 23,953 signatures. The new law allows optometrists to perform several procedures that currently only ophthalmologists can. It’s drawn heavy opposition from ophthalmologists who say the change puts patients at risk. Safe Surgery Arkansas, the group behind the referendum effort, says it’s prepared to go to court to challenge the petitions’ rejection.

California

San Francisco: San Francisco International Airport is banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. The unprecedented move at one of the nation’s major airports will take effect Aug. 20, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The new rule will apply to airport restaurants, cafes and vending machines. Travelers who need plain water will have to buy refillable aluminum or glass bottles if they don’t bring their own. As a department of San Francisco’s municipal government, the airport is following an ordinance approved in 2014 banning the sale of plastic water bottles on city-owned property. The shift away from plastics is also part of a broader plan to slash net carbon emissions and energy use to zero and eliminate most landfill waste by 2021, airport spokesman Doug Yakel says.

Colorado

Commerce City: Officials closed parks and canceled a Major League Soccer game’s fireworks display after plague was confirmed in prairie dogs in this Denver suburb. The Tri-County Health Department said Thursday that prairie dog burrows in Commerce City were being sprayed with insecticide to kill fleas that could transmit the disease to the rodents, people and pets. Health officials said Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Gateway Open Space were temporarily closed. Colorado Rapids officials canceled a fireworks show planned for after Saturday’s game against the Montreal Impact. They also restricted parking to asphalt lots. Rapids officials said the precautions would minimize the risk of exposure to fans, players and employees.

Connecticut

Hartford: A contingent of Republican lawmakers is urging the state’s Department of Public Health commissioner not to comply with a request from top legislative Democrats to provide policy recommendations concerning vaccinations for schoolchildren. The five state representatives say it’s “wholly inappropriate” for the agency to be asked to provide an opinion on whether the General Assembly should eliminate its religious exemption. The group says it’s not the charge of the Department of Public Health to “offer opinions on civil rights issues.” Democratic Attorney General William Tong in May issued a nonbinding ruling that said there’s nothing in state law to prevent lawmakers from scrapping the exemption.

Delaware

Wilmington: Police are offering a reward as they investigate the theft of a historical marker that memorializes the lynching of a black man accused of raping and killing a white girl. New Castle County said Saturday that a $2,000 reward is available to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those responsible for the theft. A concerned citizen noticed on Thursday that the state marker erected in June to commemorate the lynching of George White was missing. White, an ex-convict, was accused of killing 17-year-old Helen Bishop, whose throat was cut. In June 1903, a mob stormed a workhouse where White was being held, dragged him to the scene of the assault on Bishop, then burned him to death.

District of Columbia

Washington: A man has pleaded guilty to felony bribery for paying more than $40,000 to police employees in the nation’s capital for confidential information from traffic crash reports. The Washington Post reports Marvin Parker, 60, admitted Wednesday to bribing the two employees for the information, to which the department restricted access in 2015. Prosecutors say Parker owns RPM Associates, a Maryland-based consulting firm. Court records say he bribed the workers from 2015 through 2017 and used the data to identify people involved in crashes. They say he would then contact them and offer to help them obtain legal and medical services. Police say the workers are no longer with the department. Parker hasn’t been detained.

Florida

Fort Lauderdale: A state senator has filed legislation that would outlaw declawing of cats except under certain circumstances. The bill filed Friday by Democratic Sen. Lauren Book of Plantation would impose fines of $1,000 on veterinarians who declaw cats when it is not medically necessary. They could also be disciplined by the Board of Veterinary Medicine for doing so. There are health exemptions for such things as infections or disease that might make it necessary to declaw a cat. In many cases, people declaw cats because they can damage furniture and attack wildlife, such as birds. The bill is similar to a New York measure signed into law last month by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Book’s legislation is filed for the 2020 Florida session, which begins in January.

Georgia

Jekyll Island: A handmade flag that pranksters stole from Jekyll Island more than 40 years ago has been returned to the state park. The Brunswick News reports the flag featuring a crest of a seashell and a cotton ball was handed over to its executive editor and president, Buff Leavy, recently along with a handwritten note explaining that it had been swiped by Georgia Tech fraternity pledges in 1975. Leavy returned it to the Jekyll Island Authority. Rose Marie Kimbell, the archivist of the island’s Mosaic museum, says she suspects the flag was one of two that once flew atop flagpoles at the entrance to the Jekyll Island causeway. The flag will be placed on display at the museum, where Kimbell says it will be watched closely by a security camera.

Hawaii

Hilo: Multiple sharks have been found without their fins, raising concerns among marine biologists, a report says. Three sharks were found and photographed Wednesday on the Big Island without fins, one of them gutted, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports. Two of the sharks were threatened oceanic whitetip shark species found alive and photographed off the coast of west Hawaii by dive tour operators, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources says. The third was a whitetip reef shark found without fins and disemboweled, officials say. “Shark finning is not a new phenomenon, but the recent number of incidents is concerning,” department monitoring technician Stacia Marcoux says. “This is especially true for the threatened oceanic whitetip.”

Idaho

Boise: Officials at Boise High School want the mascot’s name changed. Officials tell the Idaho Statesman in a story on Saturday they hope to change the name from Braves to Brave. The plan will be presented at a Boise School District board meeting Aug. 12. Boise High Principal Robb Thompson says he wants the new name in place by Aug. 19 so it can be used for the 2019-2020 school year. But Thompson says it will take three to five years to change uniforms and imagery on campus. Last month Teton High School in eastern Idaho voted to retire its Redskins mascot. The Shoshone-Bannock tribes in June submitted a position paper to the Idaho State Board of Education asking that the state ban Native American mascots.

Illinois

Springfield: Two Democratic lawmakers say more money is needed to address the shortage of affordable, permanent and stable homes in the state. In June, Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved $200 million to fund Illinois’ affordable housing program through the state’s first capital plan in 10 years. Sen. Mattie Hunter and Rep. Delia Ramirez tell the State Journal-Register the money will make a “significant difference,” but it would take $1 billion more to address Illinois’ infrastructure concerns. Illinois Housing Council officials say more investment in permanent, supportive housing is needed to assist the “most vulnerable” renters, such as people with disabilities, veterans and homeless people. Ramirez says she hopes to propose legislation in January that would create a task force to examine housing needs across Illinois.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The Indiana State Fair has started its 17-day run during which it will be honoring everyday Hoosiers for their commitment to others. The fair opened Friday with its annual variety of food, farm animals, amusement rides and entertainers. It continues through Aug. 18. This year’s theme is “Heroes in the Heartland,” which each day will recognize teachers, farmers, police officers, firefighters, military members and others for their community service. This year’s fair queen cut a ceremonial ribbon during opening ceremonies with Gov. Eric Holcomb at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Organizers are hoping weather cooperates again for this year’s fair after it drew about 860,000 visitors last year and nearly 907,000 in 2017. Rain and high temperatures knocked attendance down to about 730,000 people three years ago.

Iowa

Greenfield: Hopes by a small aviation museum that a stamp in its possession was rare enough to parlay a potential fortune crashed Friday when experts told them it wasn’t real – and likely not even worth the paper upon which it was glued. The Iowa Aviation Museum has had what it thought was a 1918 “Inverted Jenny” stamp on public display for some 20 years, dating back to when it was donated to the museum, glued to a board along with several other stamps. A notation from the donor attached to the board speculated it was worth about $73,000. An examination under a microscope confirmed it was likely cut out from a printed catalog. The news was disappointing for those at the museum, which also serves as the home of the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame and had hoped to auction the stamp for hundreds of thousands of dollars and build a new museum hangar.

Kansas

Topeka: The governors in Kansas and Missouri have moved to end an economic “border war” that has gained their states unwanted national attention for using millions of dollars in incentives to entice companies into shifting jobs close to the Kansas City-area border. Their truce appears shaky. An executive order that Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed Friday showed that officials in both states have yet to fully resolve a final sticking point: the ability of cities, counties and other local governments in Missouri to offer more lucrative local tax breaks than their counterparts in Kansas. If Missouri officials don’t stop their generous local tax breaks, Kelly in her order threatens to call off the two states’ big, bipartisan deal, even with Friday’s declarations that the border war is over.

Kentucky

Louisville: The Louisville Zoo has announced the birth of a baby elephant. According to the zoo, a “strong and vigorous” African elephant male calf was born just before midnight Friday. The calf’s mother, Mikki, has been pregnant since October 2017 after being artificially inseminated. The 200-pound calf measures 98 centimeters tall, 77 centimeters long from head to tail, and 198 centimeters from the tip of his trunk to the tip of his tail. This is the zoo’s third elephant, joining 33-year-old Mikki and 47-year-old Asian elephant Punch. The zoo will now give the calf to bond with Mikki and Punch. The elephants will not be on exhibit until further notice. The calf has not yet been named.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Thousands of college students in the state face a surprising change as they start courses this month and pay their registration bills – their costs for attending class aren’t rising. For years, many students across Louisiana’s public university campuses faced repeated tuition hikes and, more recently, regular fee increases. But none of the state’s four college systems has enacted such mandatory, systemwide increases for upcoming fall semester classes. The decision not to raise fees comes after Gov. John Bel Edwards and lawmakers boosted state spending on higher education by $47 million in the $30 billion-plus state operating budget that started July 1. Nearly one-third of the increase ensures TOPS covers full tuition for all eligible students.

Maine

Cape Elizabeth: A pair of Kenyan runners celebrated victories in the state’s most anticipated road race Saturday. Alex Korio won the men’s championships while Joyciline Jepkosgei won for the women at the annual Beach to Beacon 10K race in Cape Elizabeth. It was the 22nd installment of the race, which was founded by Cape Elizabeth native Joan Benoit Samuelson, the winner of the first women’s marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The first Maine man to finish this year’s race was Dan Curts of Ellsworth, while the first Maine woman was Sofie Matson, who is heading into her junior year at Falmouth High School. The race starts near Crescent Beach State Park and ends in Fort Williams near Portland Head Light. It’s the biggest race in Maine, and it attracted more than 6,500 runners this year.

Maryland

Baltimore: U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., took the high road in inviting President Donald Trump and other Americans to visit Baltimore but declining to respond in kind to the barrage of presidential tweets and comments disparaging him and the majority-black city he has long represented. “We are a great community,” Cummings, the chairman of a powerful House committee investigating the administration, said Saturday in his first public remarks about the controversy as he participated in the opening of a small neighborhood park near his home. Community leaders and residents gathered to cut the ribbon on a pocket of greenery and flowers, built from what had been a vacant lot often used as a dumping ground for trash. “Come to Baltimore. Do not just criticize us, but come to Baltimore, and I promise you, you will be welcomed,” he said.

Massachusetts

Orleans: Shark sightings have forced officials to temporarily bar swimming at several of the state’s popular beaches in recent days. Nauset Beach in the Cape Cod town of Orleans was twice closed for swimming for periods of about one hour Saturday after great white sharks were spotted within a half-mile or so of shore, according the Sharktivity app, which is operated by the Atlantic White Shark Conservatory. Beaches in Wellfleet and Truro also kept swimmers out of the water for a time Saturday, as did several south-facing beaches on the island of Nantucket. A Martha’s Vineyard beach was twice closed earlier in the week over shark concerns. Surveillance has been stepped up this summer after two shark attacks off Cape Cod last year, including one that killed a 26-year-old Massachusetts man.

Michigan

Silver City: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula is getting $550,000 in emergency shoreline repairs along a main entry road. MLive.com reports the state says high water levels along Lake Superior and recent storm damage have caused erosion that’s threatening County Road 107. Work is scheduled to begin Monday. Eric Cadeau, a regional field planner with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, says the work aims to prevent visitors from needing to take an 80-mile detour to get to another park entry point. The state is teaming with the Ontonagon County Road Commission on the project. High water levels on the Great Lakes, including Lake Superior, have been blamed for flooding and contributed to hazardous conditions along shorelines this year in the region.

Minnesota

Moorhead: Pennington County is about to become the state’s first to let cellphone callers stream live video and audio to dispatchers when they call 911 for help. Sheriff Ray Kuznia tells the Minnesota Public Radio News that the technology will be implemented later in August. Kuznia said it should help dispatchers make better decisions in responding to emergency calls such as car crashes and domestic incidents. A caller will dial 911 on a cellphone within the Pennington County service area. The dispatcher can send a text message to the caller’s cellphone if they want to take over the caller’s camera. The caller has to option to accept or decline. The emergency dispatcher would then be able to see wherever the caller points the camera.

Mississippi

New Albany: A family dog is being hailed as a hero after a man says the canine saved him and his son from a house fire. Marvin Foster of New Albany tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal he was getting out of the shower Tuesday when Dudley the dog bumped the bathroom door and alerted him about a fire in the kitchen. Foster got dressed and yelled to his son, Terrance, that they needed to get out of the burning home. The two men escaped, but a wall fell and jammed the bathroom door, trapping Dudley inside. New Albany firefighters rescued the dog and gave him water and oxygen. Dudley had burns to an ear and his eyes, and he inhaled smoke. He is recovering at a veterinarian’s office. Foster says the dog is his hero.

Missouri

Cape Girardeau: Thousands of marriage records, some predating statehood, in Cape Girardeau County will be digitized and stored electronically as part of an effort to preserve historic documents. The Southeast Missourian reports that county commissioners signed off on the project Thursday. Half of the estimated $31,000 cost will be paid for through a grant. County recorder of deeds Crew Blattner says the work is critical because non-digitized records can be lost if there’s a natural disaster or water damage. The effort also will allow records to be searched through an online database. Some of the marriage records predate both Cape Girardeau County, founded in 1812, and Missouri, which gained statehood in 1821. Although they have been laminated, many of the oldest documents are yellowing and the meticulous, handwritten records starting to fade.

Montana

Helena: Gov. Steve Bullock has ordered flags lowered across the state Monday to mark the 70th anniversary of the deadly Mann Gulch fire. The Aug. 5, 1949, blaze north of Helena near the Missouri River killed 13 firefighters and was the subject of the Norman Maclean book “Young Men and Fire.” Bullock says in his proclamation that flags will fly at half-staff in memory of all wildland firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty. The U.S. Forest Service is planning a ceremony at the Meriwether Picnic area near Mann Gulch on Monday. It includes plans for a flyover by the plane that transported 15 Missoula-based smokejumpers to the fire in 1949. The plane, now known as Miss Montana, also participated in the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Nebraska

Omaha: Swarms of mayflies have emerged from water along the Missouri River and are caking drivers’ windshields. The Omaha World-Herald reports mayflies spend 99% of their lives in water, but they rise above when they become winged adults to take part in a mating swarm. They quickly die after that. But their mating season is a nuisance. Pam Frana, a membership specialist for the Nebraska City Tourism and Commerce Department, blames the flooding for stirring up the mayflies. Dominator Fuel in Rock Port, Missouri, sold out of windshield wiper fluid in light of the mayflies’ arrival. Andrew Wagner, who works in Hamburg, Iowa, says they covered windshields so much that drivers couldn’t see where they were going. But he says the situation is better now that flooding has gone down.

Nevada

Reno: People driving between Reno and Las Vegas probably won’t notice anything unusual as they pass Walker Lake, at the base of Nevada’s Wassuk Range in one of the nation’s least-populous counties. But people who waited decades yearning for the lake to recover from its human-driven death spiral are marking a historic milestone. On July 5, for the first time since Europeans settled the remote and scenic Walker Basin, there’s water flowing through the Walker River exclusively for the benefit of the lake’s fish and wildlife. “It’s kind of a historical moment,” says Jeff Bryant, executive director of the Walker Basin Conservancy. From 1936 until April 16, it was illegal for the federal water master, or anyone else, to move water through the Walker River for anything other than nourishing crops or cattle.

New Hampshire

Durham: The University of New Hampshire has been awarded a $108 million grant from NASA to use a space-based instrument to identify hazards like oil spills and algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, the southeastern United States and the Amazon River. The Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer instrument, overseen by UNH’s Joseph Salisbury, will allow observations of ocean biology, chemistry and ecology in coastal waters as part of efforts to protect ecosystems and improve resource management. It is the largest NASA contract awarded to the university. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said findings from the instrument “will bring economic benefits to fisheries, tourism and recreation in the coastline area.”

New Jersey

Jersey City: Bruce Springsteen’s youngest son is becoming a firefighter in Jersey City, his mom says. Patti Scialfa on Thursday posted congratulations to their youngest child, Sam, on Instagram. She wrote that “you followed your dreams” and told her son to “stay safe” and “love your brave heart!” The 25-year-old took the civil service exam to become a firefighter in New Jersey’s second-largest city in March. He has served as a volunteer firefighter in Colts Neck. Springsteen and Scialfa have three children.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: State health officials are seeking to shore up and standardize safeguards against brain injuries in youth sports beyond schools in non-scholastic athletic leagues and clubs. Coaches and many youth athletes automatically would undergo training to detect signs of a concussion and understand the potential consequences of a brain injury under rules proposed by the New Mexico Department of Health. The agency has scheduled a public hearing later this month on the proposal requiring annual training about concussions not only for coaches but also for parents and young athletes themselves – once they turn 11. Those children would sign a form each year that shows they completed a brain-injury prevention training session linked to standards from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York

New York: In a reckoning five years in the making, an administrative judge on Friday recommended firing a police officer over the 2014 chokehold death of an unarmed black man whose dying cries of “I can’t breathe” fueled a national debate over policing, race and the use of force. The city’s police commissioner will make a final decision this month on whether to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, for his role in Eric Garner’s death. Pantaleo was suspended shortly after the judge’s decision became public, about two weeks after federal prosecutors closed the book on criminal charges. Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed the judge’s report as “a step toward justice and accountability,” while Pantaleo’s lawyer and a union leader said it penalized an officer for properly doing his job. Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said the report brought her “some relief” but was overdue and fell short of true accountability.

North Carolina

Raleigh: A judge has dismissed charges against two students accused of disorderly conduct and defacing a public monument after placing Ku Klux Klan hoods on statues at a Confederate monument. N.C. State students Enzo Niebuhr and Jody Anderson were arrested Easter Sunday during a protest at the North Carolina Women of the Confederacy monument in Raleigh. News outlets report that a judge dismissed the charges Friday after a hearing in which the students’ lawyer argued that their actions were protected speech. The officer who arrested them testified that the students used profanity and that placing hoods on the statues was like a hate crime.

North Dakota

Bismarck: A federal appeals court says the state’s voter identification requirements are constitutional, rejecting an argument by a group of American Indians who said they are a form of voter suppression. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state Wednesday, overturning a lower court ruling. North Dakota’s law requires voters to show ID with a residential street address, which American Indians have argued is not always evident on reservations. They also say many tribal members aren’t aware of their address, don’t have a provable one because they’re homeless or stay with friends or relatives, or can’t afford to get an updated ID with a street address. Members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa sued the state in 2016 over the ID requirements.

Ohio

Twinsburg: Twin brothers driving separately to the Twins Days Festival say each got pulled over for the second time in two years. But this time they got off without a ticket and just a laugh. Andy Baker says he and his twin brother, Chad, were driving from Nashville, Tennessee, to Twinsburg on Thursday when they were stopped. He says they were pulled over because the trooper thought the identical twins had identical license plates. But there’s a slight difference because one plate has a zero, while the other has the letter “O.” Baker told WEWS -TV in Cleveland that the trooper got a good laugh out of it and was a good sport. He says the brothers weren’t so lucky last year when they got tickets for speeding.

Oklahoma

Tahlequah: Expansion of the city’s Greenbelt Trail is on the horizon, and officials say the work should begin sooner rather than later. The Tahlequah History Trail originally started as a conceptual drawing of paths near Town Branch Creek in 1992 and expanded to a 2-mile trail system connecting all city parks to form the “Greenbelt.” The 10-foot-wide portion of the trail will use many features already available in the existing park system by connecting Sequoyah Park to Ross Park, and then to Felts Park, the Tahlequah Daily Press reports. Mayor Sue Catron, other city officials and curious residents recently took a “walk and dream” tour of the trail and exchanged thoughts and ideas while they painted a picture of plans. Tahlequah Planning and Development Director Clinton Johnson said the trail will include two emergency phone stations.

Oregon

Portland: The latest homelessness count shows more people are sleeping outside in Multnomah County on any given night in 2019 than the last decade. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports about 20% more people were found living somewhere unfit for human habitation - in places including tents, in cars and under bridges – when the count was done on a single night this past winter compared to 2017, the last time the federally required count occurred. The 2,037 people who were found sleeping outside in Oregon’s most populous county are the highest the count has found and represent some of the area’s most entrenched issues – they are disproportionately of color, mentally ill or facing a substance abuse problem. The Point in Time count, released Thursday, is conducted by the county every two years.

Pennsylvania

Bradys Bend: A cat in western Pennsylvania is bucking stereotypes with its love of swimming. Tissy is an orange Maine Coon who regularly cools off in the family pool in Bradys Bend Township, about 55 miles north of Pittsburgh. Sonny Herr tells the Tribune Review she rescued Tissy as a homeless kitten about five years ago from a parking lot near the county fair. She says Tissy got curious about water when the kitty was about a year old and started to swim. Tissy’s favorite thing is to swim with Herr’s 9-year-old daughter, Taylee. Tissy even wears a floatie around the waist and likes to be snuggled in the pool. The cat also loves bubble baths. According to the Cat Fancier’s Association, many cat breeds enjoy water, including the Turkish Angora, American shorthair, Norwegian forest cat and American bobtail.

Rhode Island

Central Falls: A bill renaming a local post office in honor of a 19th-century abolitionist and suffragist has cleared the U.S. Senate. Rhode Island’s congressional delegation introduced legislation in both chambers to honor Elizabeth Buffum Chace by naming the Central Falls post office after her. Democratic Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse say it passed the Senate last week and must now clear the House of Representatives. Chace dedicated her life to advocating for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. The Rhode Island Historical Society says the home she built with husband Samuel Chace in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, in 1858 became a way station for escaped slaves and abolitionist speakers. Chace led the Rhode Island Women’s Suffrage Association in the late 1800s.

South Carolina

Charleston: The city’s tourism marketing organization is rolling out a new online platform about African American history and culture in the region. The Post and Courier reports the new website, “Voices: Stories of Change,” is a complete overhaul of its predecessor, which had not been updated in about a decade. Explore Charleston Deputy Director Perrin Lawson says work on the new site started about 18 months ago. The main takeaway, he says, was the wide range of perspectives gathered that led the team to seek local contributors with personal connections to the subject matter. For example, an article on Robert Smalls was written by International African American Museum CEO Michael Boulware Moore. Smalls, who famously stole a Confederate ship in Charleston Harbor and later became one of the first African Americans elected to Congress, is Moore’s great-great grandfather.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The Sioux Empire Fair is waiving entry fees for its livestock competition for the first time this summer as South Dakota farmers and ranchers deal with tariffs on foreign agriculture markets and spring flooding. Traditionally, the entry fees have been $10 to $25, depending on the class or species of animal being shown. It’s the 80th anniversary for the fair, which began over the weekend. Hundreds will showcase their cows, lambs, goats and pigs they’ve been raising in hopes of taking home some prize money. Many show more than one animal, so fair officials say the fees can add up quickly. Fair director Scott Wick says the fee waiver will be extended in future years.

Tennessee

Memphis: School officials have removed a piece of student art depicting President Donald Trump and the Statue of Liberty after receiving a threat. The painting has been hung in the hallway of Southwind High School – located just outside Memphis – since 2016. The painting shows Trump with his mouth covered by white brush strokes and the Statue of Liberty covering her face. School officials say the painting has not sparked any complaints over the years. However, the painting recently gained attention on social media, and the school decided to remove it after receiving a threatening phone call Friday. The district says it respects students’ rights to free speech and encourages students to express themselves “through art or in any other peaceful manner.”

Texas

Austin: The city’s airport has begun testing a driverless shuttle outfitted with cameras and sensors to ensure passengers are transported safely and without the danger of being hit. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday announced the electric autonomous vehicle called Easy Mile EZ10 will be tested for six months in an environmental and people-moving project. An airport attendant is present to help travelers and for safety purposes. The shuttle, with seating for six and room for other passengers to stand, has a pre-programmed route between the Barbara Jordan Terminal and the rental car/ground transportation sites. The shuttle, operating on the upper level of Garage 1, complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and has wheelchair accessibility. Airport spokesman Bryce Dubee says it’s another mobility option for travelers.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The state’s Supreme Court says language in a law that prevented gay couples from reaching a workable agreement with a surrogate to bear their child is unconstitutional. The Deseret News reports an opinion released by the high court Friday threw out that section of law because it denied same-sex couples a benefit long enjoyed by a husband and wife in Utah. The decision says that “same-sex couples must be afforded all of the benefits the state has linked to marriage.” The law in question allowed judges to approve surrogacy agreements if the intended mother – meaning a woman – could not bear a child or the pregnancy would be risky. A judge had refused to approve an agreement between a surrogate and a gay couple because both partners were male.

Vermont

Montpelier: Select farms around the state will again be opening their operations to the public for a week this summer, starting next weekend. The fifth annual Open Farm Week takes place from Friday through Aug. 15 at over 40 farms across the state. The activities for visitors vary from farm to farm and range from milking cows and goats, picking vegetables and learning to make cheese to taking a farm tours and eating an on-the-farm dinner. A listing of the events can be found online at DigInVT.com.

Virginia

Wachapreague: Scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are doing research this summer that could result in a way for commercial fishermen to keep sharks from interfering with their fishing lines. VIMS Eastern Shore Lab has the advantage of being right on the water and near the last undeveloped stretch of barrier islands on the East Coast. The sandbar sharks researchers are observing this summer in a tank at the Seawater Lab come from right off the dock. When the research is over, the sharks are returned to the same waters. The research examines the response of the sharks to an electronic “tickler” device – officially called a bycatch reduction device. The hope is that with the right combination of electronic signals, sharks will be discouraged from attacking a baited fishing line.

Washington

Olympia: This week’s primary election doesn’t have any statewide races for voters to contend with, but it will be the first one where same-day voter registration, automatic registration and prepaid postage are all in effect in the state. On Tuesday, more than 360 local races will be decided by voters, ranging from city council races and school director races to two legislative seats where two recent appointees face primary challenges as they seek election to a full term. Laws passed over the last two legislative sessions that seek to make it easier for voters to register and cast their ballots are now all in effect. The state’s more than 4.4 million registered voters started receiving their ballots in the mail weeks ago for the top two primary, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot, regardless of party.

West Virginia

Princeton: A local railroad model is drawing people from across the globe even before it’s finished. The work-in-progress replica, at the Princeton Railroad Museum, has already drawn in thousands of guests. Measuring at a whopping 22 by 16 feet, the model is something to behold, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports. Artist Dan Hosier says many guests have told him that visiting the model was a “priority destination” in their trip. The model itself offers both replications of places throughout the area and inspirational design. Places that can be spotted on the model include the Elkhorn tunnel, the Maybeury coke ovens, Pinnacle Rock and the former tree on Crumbpecker Hill. The entire project is Hosier’s “artistic representation of coal, railroad and lumber history in southern West Virginia.”

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: State health officials say they’ve linked vaping to 11 recent cases in which teenagers and young adults developed “severe lung disease” that required hospitalizations. Officials say they’re investigating another seven cases that may also be linked to vaping. The health department says all the patients they interviewed reported vaping in the weeks and months prior to being hospitalized after experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, coughing and weight loss. Officials say the severity of the cases varied, and some patients needed assistance breathing. Some of the patients improved with treatment, but officials say they’re investigating whether the lung disease will cause long-term damage. Officials say investigators are trying to find out what vaping products were used.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The U.S. Forest Service wants to reduce designated habitat in the state and in Nevada for a ground-dwelling bird. The agency said Friday that its plan would target 200 square miles now set aside for sage grouse in Wyoming and Nevada, with nearly all of the reduction in Wyoming. A state official says the proposed changes simply align Forest Service plans with Wyoming’s map of state-designated sage grouse habitat. More than 8,000 square miles of national forest land has been set aside as protected habitat for the birds in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. The Natural Resources Defense Council says the proposed reduction “unravels” a 2015 Forest Service conservation plan. The agency said then the birds would not be listed as threatened or endangered because state and federal agencies had come up with plans to conserve its habitat.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports


76 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton in 'pristine' condition to be ...

A 76 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur skeleton, the only specimen of its kind available for private ownership, will be auctioned off this month in New York City, Sotheby's announced Tuesday.

At nearly 10 feet tall and 22 feet long, the Gorgosaurus skeleton was found in the Judith River Formation near Havre, Montana, in 2018. The discovery was “exceptional” because of the rarity of Gorgosaurus material found in the United States, according to Sotheby's.

Sotheby's presale estimate for the fossil is $5 million to $8 million.

'It’s amazing':Mummified, baby woolly mammoth frozen over 30,000 years ago found in Canada

“In my career, I have had the privilege of handling and selling many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this unbelievable Gorgosaurus skeleton,” said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's global head of science and popular culture.

A Gorgosaurus has never before been offered at auction, and all of the other known skeletons are in museum collections, Hatton said.

The apex carnivore, whose name translates as “fierce” or “terrifying” lizard, roamed what is now the western United States and Canada during the late Cretaceous period, about 10 million years before its relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex.

Distinctive features of the Gorgosaurus include its large head, dozens of curved, serrated teeth, and small two-fingered front limbs. A typical adult male could weigh up to 2 tons, according to Sotheby's.

“This specimen, which was a very large, mature individual at the time of death, has a particularly well-preserved skull, including a left maxilla and an assortment of cranial bones. Crucially the specimen also contains the three major bones which create the orbit, the feature which distinguishes the Gorgosaurus from the T. rex,” Sotheby's said.

The area of excavation provided for a “remarkably pristine” skeletal condition because of the slowly deposited sediments of the river.

The Gorgosaurus will go on public display for the first time on July 21 at Sotheby's York Avenue galleries in New York. Sotheby's natural history auction will highlight the skeleton on July 28.

Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team. She loves to make pizza, photograph friends and spoil her loving cat Pearl.

Contributing: Associated Press