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Manhunt underway for suspect in shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO
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Airline executives blasted at Senate hearing over carrier fees
Officials from some of the largest U.S. airlines faced intense questioning on Capitol Hill Wednesday over so-called junk fees passengers are being charged for baggage, seat selection and other services.
“Our investigation found that in 2023 alone, American, Delta, United, Frontier and Spirit collected more than $3 billion in seat fees — only seat fees. That’s not airfare, that’s just fees for booking a specific seat in advance, or selecting a slightly better seat,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal in a hearing by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on the impact of such charges on consumers.
“And that’s an increase of 50% from 2018, just six years ago,” added the Connecticut Democrat, who chairs panel.
Overall, tive U.S. carriers collected $12.4 billion in seat fees between 2018 and 2023, in addition to baggage and other charges, according to a report released last week by Democrats on the subcommittee.
“Terrible experience”
Sen. Josh Hawley criticized Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines during the two-hour hearing for bonuses paid to gate employees to charge customers extra fees for large carry-ons. The subcommittee says Spirit and Frontier paid employees $26 million in incentives to strictly enforce airline bag policies in 2022 and 2023.
“You guys do appreciate that flying on your airlines is a disaster, don’t you?” the Missouri Republican said, adding, “Flying on your airlines is horrible, it’s a terrible experience. I mean, I say this as a father of three young children. But I can’t tell you — nobody enjoys flying on your airlines, it’s a disaster.”
Spirit charges between $15 and $77 for a carry-on bag that won’t fit under a seat.
Airlines say that their fee policies are transparent and allow passengers to choose various travel experiences at different price points. Frontier said its incentive program aims to ensure “that all customers are treated equally and fairly,” CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave reported ahead of the Wednesday hearing.
“We respectfully disagree with numerous statements and conclusions contained in the report,” Spirit said.
Asked for his response to the subcommittee’s findings, United CEO Scott Kirby told Van Cleave, “At United at least, we’re 100% focused on getting customers to choose to fly United. If you don’t want to check a bag, you shouldn’t have to pay the implied cost of checking a bag. We’re creating options for customers and it’s working.”
Airline fees have been a frequent target of criticism by the Biden administration, all the way up to President Joe Biden. A Transportation Department rule that took effect in October entitles airline passengers to automatic refunds when flights are canceled or significantly delayed, while also requiring airlines to reveal fees upfront.
The airline industry is suing to block another regulation requiring more prominent disclosure of baggage and cancellation fees. An appeals court has blocked that rule, and its fate is uncertain under President-elect Donald Trump.
CBS News
Bullets fired at UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had words written on them, officials say
Bullets that an unidentified gunman used to shoot and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning had words written on them, CBS News has confirmed.
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” appeared on shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting in New York City, according to law enforcement officials. The officials said they are examining whether the words relate to a possible motive involving insurance companies and their responses to claims. ABC News first reported this information.
Thompson, 50, was shot multiple times before 7 a.m. ET Wednesday, by a masked gunman who fled the area before police arrived.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CBS News
Mexico announces the largest fentanyl seizure in its history. The timing may not be a coincidence.
Mexican soldiers and marines have seized over a ton of fentanyl pills in two raids in the north, with officials calling it the biggest catch of the synthetic opioid in the country’s history.
The raids came after a sharp drop in fentanyl seizures in Mexico earlier this year, and days after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico unless those countries cracked down on the flow of migrants and drugs across the border.
Experts say the timing may not be a coincidence.
“It is clear that the Mexican government has been managing the timing of fentanyl seizures,” said security analyst David Saucedo. “But under the pressure by Donald Trump, it appears President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration is willing to the increase the capture of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington is demanding.”
Saucedo said it’s clear the Mexican government “doesn’t see fentanyl as one of its own problems, and fighting it isn’t its priority,” He added there would only be big busts “when there is pressure from Washington.”
Mexico’s top security official said soldiers and marines late Tuesday spotted two men carrying guns in the northern state of Sinaloa, home to the drug cartel of the same name.
They chased the men, who ran into two houses. In one house soldiers found about 660 pounds of fentanyl, and in the other a truck packed with about 1,750 pounds of the drug, mostly in pill form.
“In Sinaloa, we achieved the biggest seizure in history of fentanyl,” Public Safety Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote in his social media accounts. Several guns were also seized and two men were arrested.
President Sheinbaum said Wednesday that “this is an investigation that had been going on for some time, and yesterday it bore fruit.”
But that claim contrasts with the seemingly random nature of the bust, which started when a military patrol “noticed the presence of two men carrying what appeared to be guns.”
In the past, Mexican security forces have sometimes used the story of following armed men running into houses as a pretext to enter homes without search warrants. In at least one case, the government version was disproved by security camera footage.
The latest haul was striking because fentanyl seizures in Mexico had fallen dramatically in the first half of the year. At some points during the summer, under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, federal forces reported seizures amounted to as little as 50 grams (2 ounces) per week.
Figures for the first half of 2024 show that Mexican federal forces seized only 286 pounds (130 kilograms) of fentanyl nationwide between January and June, down 94% from the 5,135 pounds (2,329 kilograms) seized in 2023.
The synthetic opioid has been blamed for about 70,000 overdose deaths annually in the United States, and U.S. officials have tried to step up efforts to seize it as it comes over the border, often in the form of counterfeit pills made in Mexico from precursor chemicals largely imported from China.
As “60 Minutes” reported, the fentanyl crisis began 10 years ago when the cartels started to wrestle control of the supply chain from China, purchasing the drug’s precursor chemicals to make fentanyl themselves in clandestine labs in Mexico. In 2019, China “scheduled,” or blocked, finished fentanyl from being exported to the U.S., further cementing the cartels’ domination of the pipeline.
López Obrador always denied that fentanyl is even produced in Mexico, though experts – and even members of his own administration – acknowledge that it is.
And if Mexico doesn’t go after those fentanyl production facilities, then they will still be churning out similar quantities in the future.
“It’s a very very big seizure,” Saucedo said. “But if they don’t dismantle the labs, this kind of production will continue.”
Also Wednesday, the U.S. State Department announced it was increasing the reward for the top leader of another cartel, Nemesio Oseguera, from $10 million to $15 million.
Oseguera, known by his nickname “El Mencho,” leads the Jalisco cartel, which like Sinaloa, is heavily involved in the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamines.
Last month, the son-in-law of “El Mencho” was arrested in California and charged with drug trafficking. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa “allegedly faked his own death and assumed a false identity to evade justice and live a life of luxury in California.”