Part of our “News That Matters“ Series, “Midweek Update” is a weekly feature that offers brief overviews of important news that might have been overlooked in the course of a busy week. Here’s what you may have missed in the period January 6 through January 9, 2025.
@IN DEPTH
TODAY IS A DAY OF NATIONAL MOURNING FOR THE LATE PRESIDENT CARTER
January 9 is a national day of mourning for the late former president Jimmy Carter, who died on December at the age of 100.
The last national day of mourning for a former president was on December 5, 2018 for President George H.W. Bush, the 39th president of the United States, who died at the age of 94.
The longest period during which a current or former U.S. president did not die was from January 22, 1973 – the day on which former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the 35th president, died – to April 22, 1994, the day on which former President Richard Milhous Nixon, the 36th president, died.
Welcome to Hamleys, the World’s Finest Toys and Games
@CES BRIEFING
Just ahead of the start of CES, United Airlines said that its first commercial flight with Starlink in-flight Internet service will take place before the start of spring. The carrier added that it expects to have its entire two-cabin regional fleet is outfitted by end of 2025 and first mainline plane expected to fly before end of year. All members of the airline’s MileagePlus frequent-flyer program will have free access to the service.
Delta Air Lines, which is celebrating its 100th year in 2025, on Tuesday announced an AI-powered assistant that is built into its mobile app as well as free onboard YouTube Premium and Music. On Monday, it said it plans to replace all of its seatback screens with 4K HDR OLED ones. Finally, the Atlanta-based carrier said that it was adding Bluetooth connectivity to all of its cabins. The new AI tools, known as the “Delta Concierge,” will help travelers ahead of their flight. The Delta Concierge will notify a passenger when his passports is nearing expiration or if he has specific visa requirements for the destinations he is flying to.
@DEADLINE
AT&T to Reimburse Customers for Network Outages
AT&T announced that it would credit customers for network outages as part of the new “AT&T Guarantee.” Fiber optic customers who experience an outage of 20 minutes or more or mobile customers who experience an outage of 60 minutes or more will be entitled to a credit equal to one full day of service.
Israeli Army Repatriates Body of Hostage
The Israeli military said Wednesday that its troops had recovered the body of a hostage taken during the terror attacks on October 7, 2023, and brought it back to Israel as part of a “complex and difficult operation.” The body of Bedouin Arab hostage Youssef al-Siyanda was located in “an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza strip,” it said.
Corpus Christi Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, in Corpus Christi, Texas
@A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME …
North of the border…Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he is fine with President-elect Trump’s idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, provided that the incoming president works with Democrats “on an actual plan to lower costs for Americans.”
Meanwhile, south of the border…Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested that the continent of North America be renamed “Mexican America,” based on a 1607 map she used as a visual aid at a news conference which labeled the continent “América Mexicana.”
Perhaps it’s just a toy bomb. Regent Street, the Central London media and shopping district, was evacuated on Wednesday after a bomb scare. The evacuation took place after an auto parked outside Hamleys toy store aroused suspicion. “Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street while officers investigate a suspicious vehicle,” City of Westminster Police said in a statement.
Jesse Sokolow, Timothy Perry, Jonathan Spira, Kurt Stolz, and Paul Riegler contributed to this issue of Midweek Update.
(Photos: Accura Media Group)
