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☆ UK regulator tells Heathrow to cut fees in win for airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A worker sanitises a barrier at the International arrivals area of Terminal 5 in London's Heathrow Airport, Britain, August 2, 2021. The lower fees will boost airlines such as IAG's (ICAG.L) British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, two of Heathrow's biggest, making the airport cheaper for them. They have long complained that fees at Heathrow, the busiest airport in western Europe, are the highest in the world. The strong bounceback in travel since the lows of the pandemic prompted the CAA to reduce the fees Heathrow can charge in the coming years. Improved forecasts for passenger numbers this year and next year mean Heathrow will be able to generate higher revenue, said the CAA, which uses passenger numbers to calculate the charges.

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG (ICAG.L) forecast 2023 profit could jump almost 90% after its financial performance improved substantially last year and it agreed a deal to buy all of Spain-based Air Europa. For 2023, the airline group, which also owns Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, forecast operating profit in the range of 1.8 billion euros ($1.91 billion) to 2.3 billion euros, compared to the 1.22 billion euros it made last year. That result came in ahead of analyst expectations and represented an improvement of 4 billion euros from the previous year when COVID-19 travel restrictions made airlines across the world loss-making. IAG agreed on Thursday to pay 400 million euros ($423.84 million) to Spain's Globalia for the remaining 80% of Air Europa it did not already own, a deal aimed at expanding its position in the Latin American market. Looking ahead, chief executive Luis Gallego said IAG was seeing robust forward bookings, although it remained conscious of the global macro-economic uncertainties.

☆ IAG takeoff weighed down by debt dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Its $11 billion net debt pile, a legacy of an epic collapse in revenue during the pandemic, is tangibly more than its $9.4 billion market capitalisation. While Friday’s 2022 results showed operating profit of only 1.22 billion euros, well below the 3.3 billion euros it delivered in 2019, the last few years have seen big operating losses. Operating profit could be as high as 2.3 billion euros in 2023, according to company forecasts. More holidaymakers mean revenue last year was over 23 billion euros, compared to less than 8.5 billon euros in 2021. IAG announced an operating profit of 1.22 billion euros for 2022 and forecast 2023 operating profit in the range of 1.8 billion euros to 2.3 billion euros.

☆ Super Bowl, Durant and Golf: The Week Phoenix Conquered Sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHOENIX—Mayor Kate Gallego woke up on Thursday to the news that many of her constituents considered the most important development of her tenure: the Phoenix Suns had traded for superstar Kevin Durant. “My most popular tweet of my entire political career was the one welcoming Kevin Durant,” the Phoenix mayor says. Gallego even noted the tweet’s popularity even outpaced an announcement about a $40 billion deal to build iPhone chips in the city. “That did not do as well as Kevin Durant.”

☆ As fans roll in, Arizona hosts embrace super-sized Super Bowl stakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 4 (Reuters) - A mega-watt spotlight falls on Arizona on Monday as a week-long celebration of the National Football League's title game will prove the ultimate test for the Super Bowl hosts. "Everything from liquor licenses to bus service is impacted by the Super Bowl, so we've been working since the day we earned the bid to be ready," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told Reuters. "We weren't very well positioned to leverage the benefit of the Super Bowl in 2015," said Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps. "We're (at) about $4 million of Glendale money to help make the Super Bowl come to reality. "From 2015 and Super Bowl 49, we had a very good blueprint of how we effectively hosted Super Bowl," said Jay Parry, the Arizona Super Bowl host committee president and CEO.

☆ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pulls in cash from Wall Street, real estate titans as she mulls reelection bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Real estate and private equity leaders, who have long helped to fill Sinema's campaign coffers, contributed to a healthy cash haul for the senator in the final months of last year. At the lunch, Sinema discussed the incoming Congress and how the tight margins in both chambers could create gridlock, according to attendees. Sinema's campaign had already seen more than $2 million from the securities and investment industry since the 2018 election cycle. The Sinema campaign saw dozens of contributions totaling over $145,000 from people who work at Apollo Global Management, another giant private equity firm, since October. Suzanne Clark, CEO of the massive pro-business lobbying group U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also donated $1,000 to Sinema's campaign on Dec. 31, the new FEC filing shows.

☆ Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, who's trying to unseat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, says 'nobody' in the state 'has really spoken to' her she joined the upper chamber
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"She doesn't speak to Arizonans anymore. This is why she is where she is," he said, arguing that she would have been unable to win a Democratic Party primary. Since the announcement, Sinema has so far continued to caucus with Senate Democrats, but her switch still puts the party in a bind. Such a contest would pit Gallego and Sinema against a Republican candidate — creating an unpredictable three-way race. Potential GOP entrants into the 2024 Senate election include Kari Lake, the party's gubernatorial nominee last fall, along with 2022 Senate nominee Blake Masters and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson.

☆ Arizona Senate hopeful Ruben Gallego posts record-breaking fundraising haul in bid for Kyrsten Sinema's seat, breaking state record
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Kevin Breuninger Christina Wilkie | Kevin Breuninger | Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Ruben Gallego's Senate campaign said Tuesday it raised more than $1 million in one day after the Democrat launched his bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's coveted seat in the 2024 election cycle. "There's a lot of really important work left on the table to get done for Arizona," Sinema said in that Friday interview. That Senate math shifted after Democrats outperformed expectations in the November midterms, extending their hold to an outright Senate majority, 51-49. When Sinema left the Democratic Party last month, she called the change "a reflection of who I've always been." "I think it is a big dilemma for the Senate Democratic majority to decide whether to support her or to support somebody running on the Democratic ticket," McConnell said.

☆ Mitch McConnell gloats about the 'big dilemma' facing Democrats over Kyrsten Sinema's independent Senate bid in Arizona
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democrats will soon have to decide whether to back a Democrat or Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona. But he took the opportunity to praise the first-term senator while boasting about the situation facing the Democratic Party as she prepares to run for re-election in 2024. "I think it is a big dilemma for the Senate Democratic majority to decide whether to support her or to support somebody running on the Democratic ticket," he added, visibly smirking. For now, Sinema's vote is crucial for maintaining the party's 51-seat majority in the Senate. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — another independent who caucuses with Democrats — has previously made noise about potentially backing a primary challenger to Sinema.

☆ Ruben Gallego Jumps Into Arizona Senate Race, May Face Kyrsten Sinema
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Eliza Collins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ruben Gallego, 43, has been representing Arizona in Congress since 2014. PHOENIX—Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced he is running for Senate Monday, a move that could pit him against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema , a Democrat-turned-independent who hasn’t announced if she will run again in 2024. In a video announcing his decision, Mr. Gallego tells veterans at a local American Legion Post he is running for Senate.

Sinema, who switched from Democrat to independent in December, had been a maverick within the Democratic Party, voting against several of President Joe Biden's priorities over the past two years. That angered many Democrats, some of whom had encouraged primary challengers even before Sinema left the party. The race represents a delicate balancing act for both parties, and the stakes are high. Arizona is among the most competitive states in the country, and Democrats and Republicans will be wary of splitting votes between their nominee and Sinema. Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate, when Sinema and two other left-leaning independents are counted among their ranks.

☆ Sanders’ Latinx ban delves into a generational, cultural Latino debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

— One of Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ first acts as Arkansas governor was to ban most state agencies from using the gender-neutral term Latinx, tapping into a debate that’s divided Hispanics along generational lines. Sanders’ order adds to the debate over a word that’s found little widespread support among Latinos and even prompted backlash from some Democrats. The Log Cabin Republicans, which represents LGBT members of the party, praised Sanders’ order. I’ve never met someone who says ‘thy.’”Hernandez called Sanders’ order “an attempt to erase” the LGBTQ Latino community. Castillo Reyes uses both Latinx and “Latine,” another gender-neutral term that’s been used by some in the Latino community to describe their ethnic identity.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced Monday he will run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. In his statement Monday, Gallego said: “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost to Lake in the 2022 primary after spending $20 million of her family’s money, is seriously considering a Senate run, a source close to her said. And Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, is also considering a Senate run in 2024, said an Arizona Republican source. A Gallego adviser said he's prepared for a two-way race if Sinema steps aside or a three-way race if she chooses to run.

☆ Rep. Ruben Gallego launches bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Arizona seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, speaks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S, on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona on Monday launched a 2024 campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who recently left the Democratic Party and faces an uncertain political future. "I will be challenging Kyrsten Sinema for the United States Senate, and I need all of your support," the 43-year-old Gallego said in a video posted Monday morning. In an interview with the Associated Press, Gallego said Sinema "clearly has forgotten where she came from." Arizona was one of the battleground states that helped Biden secure his 2020 presidential win over former President Donald Trump.

☆ Ruben Gallego launches Senate bid, saying Kyrsten Sinema has 'abandoned Arizona' as he tees up rare three-way race
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego officially launched his Senate campaign in Arizona on Monday. He said Kyrsten Sinema "abandoned Arizona" and branded her as an advocate for the rich and powerful. His launch tees up a likely 3-way race between him, the newly-independent Sinema, and a Republican. Gallego is well-positioned to win the Democratic primary after fellow Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton opted not to run for Senate. If Sinema runs as an independent, Arizona is likely to see a three-way race in the general election — a relatively rare occurrence.

☆ Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego expected to announce a bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Haley Talbot | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is expected to announce Monday that he's running for Senate in Arizona in 2024, according to a source familiar with his planned rollout. Gallego, a progressive Democrat, is running for the seat held by Sinema, who decided in December to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent. If she does, and Gallego wins the Democratic nomination, they'd face each other in the general election. In December, after Sinema announced she was changing her party affiliation, Gallego signaled to NBC News he was likely to launch a Senate bid. Gallego went on to say he believes if Sinema runs, “it will almost ensure the fact that the Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands” because of the GOP’s struggles to hold its coalition together.

☆ We asked House lawmakers about scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos. Most Republicans want nothing to do with him.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

But Santos is clearly a problem for House Republicans. But three days later, Miller — who actually represents Ohio's 7th district — became the eighth House Republican to publicly call for Santos to resign. said Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who said that Santos "seems nice" even as he appeared unaware of the extent of his controversies. At a press conference on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pointedly declared that Santos was "an issue that Republicans need to handle." Santos and Ocasio-Cortez briefly spoke on the sidelines of a gaggle of GOP lawmakers on the House floor on Wednesday, January 4.

☆ Revoke Bolsonaro's visa, 41 U.S. Democrats urge Biden administration
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

They sent a letter calling on the administration to support democracy and the rule of law in Brazil. State Department and White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. The State Department has said repeatedly its policy is not to discuss specific visa cases. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington had not received any specific requests from Brazil over Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro has said on social media that he would return to Brazil earlier than planned for medical reasons.

The Democrats’ 2024 Senate map was already going to be tough, and it got a little bit harder now that Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced Thursday she would not run for re-election. Michigan is one of the five states President Biden won in 2020 by less than 4 percentage points where the Democrats currently have a seat up for re-election next year. And there are three more Democratic seats up in 2024 in states that Trump won. In other 2024 news:Gallego makes more moves: Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is making high-profile hires as he considers a Senate bid, Politico reports. Chris Sununu told Fox News “a lot of folks” want him to run for president and took a swipe at Florida Republican Gov.

☆ Democrats will be defending a slim Senate majority in 2024. Here's an early look at the states that will likely be in play for both political parties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 2024 Senate elections — which will run concurrent with the presidential race — are approaching. In 2024, 34 senators will be up for reelection: 20 Democrats, 11 Republicans, and three Independents. But Sinema's election itself is another matter; she has not yet announced whether she will run for reelection in 2024. He has not yet decided if he will run in 2024, but Republicans have been eyeing his seat for years. But he has done it before, winning in 2018 despite Republicans going all-out to defeat him.

☆ Republicans boost outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey as a potential challenger to Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans hope that outgoing Arizona Gov. "I hope that he'll get in," Utah Sen. Mitt Romney told The Hill of a potential Ducey candidacy. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, told The Hill that Ducey would be "excellent candidate." This year, Arizona Republicans nominated venture capitalist Blake Masters as their Senate nominee, but he went on to lose to Kelly by 5 points last month. "He's not our only chance, but he's probably our best chance," an Arizona-based Republican operative told The Hill of Ducey.

WASHINGTON — Democrats are grappling with how to handle a potential re-election bid by newly minted independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024, fearing that a three-way battle could split their voters and throw the race to Republicans in Arizona. Asked how the DSCC should handle a possible Sinema 2024 run, Sinema's Arizona colleague, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, “I haven’t given that any thought." Schumer said he has granted Sinema’s request to preserve her committee assignments through the Democratic Party, meaning the 51-49 partisan organization of the chamber won’t change. She wouldn’t say if Democrats should back her but said her working relationship with Sinema won’t change. Prior to her party switch, Sinema had stronger relationships with Republican senators than just about any Democrat.

☆ House Democrats reject a rules change that could've empowered junior members amid concerns about aging leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Six years is a pretty long time," Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia told Insider at the Capitol earlier this month. "I'm not for term limits," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Insider during a briefing with reporters at the end of November. "I'm not taking a position on any single rules proposal that is before the House Democratic Caucus," he said. Another prominent young lawmaker — 33-year-old Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — has also been vocal in her criticism of the system. "Whatever the mechanism is, we need to have more opportunities for people to bring their leadership to bear in different places," she told Insider.

☆ Democratic senators won't say whether the party should support Kyrsten Sinema's re-election in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"It doesn't change my life one bit," said Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. "I don't think anybody's announcing anything," Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told reporters, saying he didn't want to get into "hypotheticals." Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the head of the DSCC for 2022, also declined to say whether the party should back Sinema. But she too declined to say whether the party should back Sinema in 2024, waving as the elevator closed. Asked by reporters on Monday what he made of Sinema's announcement, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware dramatically shrugged as he boarded an elevator.

2 Democrat, told CNN when asked if party leaders should stay out of the race. “I’m just not worried about folks who may not like this approach,” Sinema told CNN on Thursday. On Monday, he wouldn’t say if he believes Democratic leaders should try to knock her off in 2024. Like Sinema, party leaders are now watching Manchin closely as he weighs whether to run in 2024. “I worked very closely with Sen. Sinema – two years now to get stuff done,” Kelly said.

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