Month: December 2023

Alaska Airlines announced on Sunday that it has made a deal to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. The deal, which is forecast to take nine to 18 months, will see both companies keep their brands, a unique decision that Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci and Hawaiian Airlines CEO and President Peter Ingram say was made out of respect for the nearly hundred-year legacy of both airlines. The combined organization will be based in Seattle under the leadership of Minicucci.

Minicucci said at a news conference: “this is a fantastic deal that bring two airlines that have amazing loyalties in our regions together,” and added that the merger will give customers expanded domestic and international choices. Said Minicucci: “this combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai’i travelers.”

Said Ingram: “In Alaska Airlines, we are joining an airline that has long served Hawai‘i, and has a complementary network and a shared culture of service With the additional scale and resources that this transaction with Alaska Airlines brings, we will be able to accelerate investments in our guest experience and technology, while maintaining the Hawaiian Airlines brand.”

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Four members of a family, including two children, were killed on Sunday morning in Far Rockaway, a residential neighborhood on the beach in the Queens borough of New York City.  The male suspect later set the family house on fire and stabbed two NYPD officers who responded to the incident, one of whom later shot the man dead.

The suspect was identified as Courtney Gordon, 38, but the NYPD did not identify any of the victims. Gordon had one prior arrest for strangulation domestic violence incident in the Bronx, NY. An 11-year-old girl was found dead from her injuries in front of the house, but officers were unable to enter because of a fire inside the living room. When the fire was extinguished, police found a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man dead inside a back room. Another victim, a 61-year-old woman, is hospitalized in critical condition.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said in a news conference from Jamaica Hospital in Queens that two officers responded to a 911 call around 5:10 a.m.  Described as a young female, the 911 caller said that her cousin was killing her family members at a home. Maddrey said: “I just want to kind of set the stage for you. It’s a residential block with homes on it but at this particular location there’s a driveway and you go up the driveway and you go to the end of the driveway, there’s another four or five private two-homes there. So, our officers pull up to the driveway. As they get to the driveway, they see a male pulling out. He’s carrying luggage. Our officers ask the male a question or two in an encounter that lasted about ten seconds where the male draws a knife on the officers.”

The suspect used a kitchen steak knife to stab one of the officers in the neck and chest, and stabbed the second officer in the head before one of the officers, a 28-year veteran of the department, drew his firearm and shot the suspect. The officers were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they are expected to recover.

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Michael Latt, a prominent Hollywood social justice advocate, was shot and killed in his Los Angeles home on Monday. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that the 33-year-old Latt was fatally shot by an intruder in his home, identified as a homeless woman, 36-year-old Jameelah Elena Michl.

Police responded to Latt’s home at around 6 p.m. Monday and he was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries. Michl remained at the scene after the alleged shooting, where she was arrested at the residence and booked on suspicion of murder; she is being held on a $3 million bond. It is unclear if she has retained an attorney.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Latt is the son of Hollywood producers David Latt and Michelle Satter, and his brother is a Creative Arts Agency agent. Latt was the CEO of Lead With Love, a marketing company dedicated to promoting artists of color. Its website states: “Michael Latt is an award winning strategist, producer and founder of Lead With Love who has developed and led nationwide campaigns, impact initiatives and creative projects alongside influential artists, brands and organizations like Common, Ryan Coogler, Netflix, Emerson Collective, Sundance Film Festival, DGA, Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY, Frieze, UCLA, Barry Jenkins and more … Aligning his purpose and passion, Michael continues to dedicate his career to being of service, supporting influential women and artists of color and utilizing storytelling, art and more to spark lasting change and bring hope, love and inspiration to communities.”

A post on Latt’s Instagram page read: “Our beloved son, brother, grandson, fiancé Michael Latt, fell victim to a tragic act of violence Monday night. Our family, Michael’s extraordinary friends and colleagues are shattered by the profound grief of losing our Michael. He devoted his career to supporting others, championing organizations that raised up women and artists of color, along with leveraging storytelling, art and various mediums to create enduring change and instill communities with hope, love and inspiration. Michael will never be forgotten and we can all carry on his legacy of love, compassion and fierce dedication to positive and lasting change.”

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Former President Donald Trump has been barred from making public comments about court staff in his ongoing civil fraud trial, after a New York appellate court sided with the judge in the case who imposed the gag order after Trump disparaged his clerk, reinstating it. Attorneys for Trump argued the gag order violated U.S. and New York constitutional protections for free speech. They noted that the clerk, Allison Greenfield, is a Democrat, and that she sits next to the judge, often passing him notes.

On the second day of the trial, Oct. 3, New York Judge Arthur Engoron issued a limited gag order after Trump published a social media post about his clerk. Over the next month, Trump and his campaign violated the gag order twice, fining him $15,000. Engoron eventually broadened the order to bar attorneys in the case from commenting on court staff.

After a panel of judges in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court considered Trump’s request to have the gag order lifted, it was temporarily stayed on Nov. 16. The appeals court ruled against Trump and lifted the stay in a brief order on Thursday; however Judge Engoron immediately advised lawyers in the case that he expects the ruling to be followed: “I intend to enforce the gag orders rigorously and vigorously, and I want to make sure counsel informs their client.”

Trump attorney Christopher Kise said the decision to reinstate the gag order represented “a tragic day for the rule of law … In a country where the First Amendment is sacrosanct, President Trump may not even comment on why he thinks he cannot get a fair trial. Hard to imagine a more unfair process and hard to believe this is happening in America.”

Trump, his two adult sons and their company have already been found liable for fraud in the case, in which they’re accused of benefiting at least $250 million through a decade-long scheme to artificially inflate Trump’s net worth during deals with banks and insurers. The former president and his co-defendants have denied all wrongdoing, blaming accountants for any inaccuracies in their financial statements. President Trump is expected to be re-called as a witness by his own lawyers on Dec. 11.

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