Skli Mogensen, CEO of WOW air. Photo: Kristinn Ingvarsson
Icelandic low-cost airline WOW air carried 740,000 passengers last year up a massive 50% on the figure for 2014.
December was a particularly successful month for the airline, with 58,000 passengers choosing to fly with WOW air, some 80% more than the previous year.
2015 exceeded our most optimistic expectations and the airline achieved all of its objectives, says founder and CEO Skli Mogensen. We are very grateful for and proud of the positive response we have received on both sides of the Atlantic and in Iceland.
This year will see a raft of new destinations for WOW air, with passengers soon able to fly with the airline direct to Bristol, the Canary Islands, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nice, San Francisco, Stockholm and Toronto in 2016.
WOW air promises the announcement of even more new destinations over the coming months.
With two weeks until payday, Shefik Tallmadge, then 29, used his last $5 in his pocket to purchase a lottery ticket at a Circle K in Yuma.
When he checked his ticket the following day, he learned he"d won Arizona"s largest jackpot in the Pick lottery at the time $6.7 million.
That was in 1988. Today, Tallmadge is broke, has declared bankruptcy, and is struggling to afford retirement.
Tallmadges story is not that uncommon among multi-million-dollar lottery winners. In fact, nearly one-third of all lottery winners end up broke, according to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
On Tuesday night at least one person won the $1.5 billion Powerball lottery the largest jackpot in the world, according to lottery officials. A lump-sum cash payment of the winnings would net a single winner $930 million before taxes.
The winning numbers were: 8-27-34-4-19 with Powerball: 10. California lottery officials say a winning ticket was sold in Chino Hills.Results from other states weren"t immediately announced.
New Times reached out to Tallmadge for tips to the lucky lottery winner about what not to do with your winnings. He didn"t really have any, but his is a cautionary tale.
I cant believe its up to $1.5 billion. Its ridiculous money for the lotto, he says. Whoever wins that kind of money, theres no way I can give them much advice. With a billion and a half dollars they are in the league of their own.
Still, Tallmadge knows how easy it is to blow through millions.The day he got his check, he quit his $10.75 per hour job at Yuma Proving Ground, purchased a $60,000 nougat-brown Porsche 911 Carrera convertible, and took his mother and sister on a world tour.
When you get the money you feel infallible. You get into this attitude that its never going to end. Its a hard lesson to learn.
When you get the money you feel infallible, he says. You get into this attitude that its never going to end. Its a hard lesson to learn.
But as news of the jackpot spread through Yuma, so did the requests for money from friends, family, and strangers.
All the relationships with people changecompletely and utterly change, he says. All the people I knew before I won the lottery arent my friends anymore.
In 1988, Shefik Tallmadge won millions in the Arizona State Lottery. Today, he is broke.
Courtesy of Shefik Tallmadge
Shortly after winning, Tallmadge moved to Florida, where he married and had three children. The family lived in a beautiful estate near the beach.
Meanwhile, as the years passed, Tallmadge says the lump-sum payout offers were non-stop. Eventually he succumbed to it, taking out a lump sum to invest in four Shell gas stations in Florida, which struggled and sunk him into debt.
Two years later he was forced to sell the stations at a substantial loss. Tallmadge lost his second home and was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Today his finances are even more precarious. When he won the lottery, he paid taxes on the fortune but wasnt required to put any money aside for Medicare or social security. So now as he approaches retirement without a savings or much Social Security money, he is struggling to get by.
Theres a lot of happiness that comes with winning the lottery. But there is a lot of heartbreak, too.
Theres a lot of happiness that comes with winning the lottery, he says. But there is a lot of heartbreak too.
Still, while he says he has many regrets about how he spent the dough, he is still glad he won.
At least I got to experience it, he says. I was a very, very happy for a long time. I helped my mother and helped my sister. The good most likely outweighed the bad.
And just like many Americans Wednesday he will be playing the lottery, in the hope that lightning will strike twice.
Of course I still play, he says. Of course Id like to be back on top of the mountain.
Tehran, Iran All 10 U.S. Navy sailors detained by Iran after drifting into its territorial waters a day earlier have been freed, the U.S. and Iran said Wednesday.
The Navy said the American crew members returned safely and there were no indications they had been harmed while in custody.
The nine men and one woman were held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf after they were detained nearby on Tuesday. The tiny outpost has been used as a base for Revolutionary Guard speedboats as far back as the 1980s.
The sailors departed the island at 0843 GMT aboard the boats they were detained with, the Navy said. They were picked up by Navy aircraft and other sailors took control of their boats for the return voyage to Bahrain, where the U.S. 5th Fleet is based.
The Navy added that it "will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors" presence in Iran."
The Revolutionary Guard"s official website published images of the detained U.S. sailors before their release, showing them sitting on the floor of a room. They look mostly bored or annoyed, though at least one of the sailors appears to be smiling. The sole woman had her hair covered by a brown cloth. The pictures also showed what appeared to be their two boats.
"After determining that their entry into Iran"s territorial waters was not intentional and their apology, the detained American sailors were released in international waters," a statement posted online by the Guard said Wednesday.
US Vice President Joe Biden says that America did not apologize to Iran over U.S. sailors allegedly entering Iranian territorial waters.
Biden made the comments Wednesday in an interview with "CBS This Morning."
The vice president said: "There"s nothing to apologize for. When you have a problem with the boat you apologize the boat had a problem? No, and there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice."
Biden said that the Iranians realized the U.S. sailors "were there in distress and said they would release them and released them like ordinary nations would do."
Gen. Ali Fadavi, the navy chief of Iran"s powerful Revolutionary Guard, was quoted earlier Wednesday by Iranian state TV as saying that an investigation had shown the Americans entered Iranian territorial waters because of "mechanical problems in their navigation system."
U.S. officials also blamed mechanical trouble for the incident. They had said on Tuesday that Tehran assured them the crew and vessels would be returned safely and promptly.
Fadavi said the American boats had shown "unprofessional acts" for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country"s territorial waters. He said Tehran did not consider the U.S. Navy boats violating Iranian territorial waters as an "innocent passage."
The sailors were nonetheless allowed to make contact with the U.S. military, based on Iran"s "responsibilities and Islamic mercy" late Tuesday, he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif during the three years of nuclear negotiations, called his Iranian counterpart immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official. Kerry "personally engaged" with Zarif on the issue, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Kerry said in a statement Wednesday: "That this issue was resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure and strong."
Kerry has a close relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif after the recent nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers.
Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the official said.
Fadavi said Zarif "had a firm stance" during the telephone conversation with Kerry about the sailors" presence in Iran"s territorial waters and "said they should not have come and should apologize."
Carter said he was pleased with the sailors" release and he thanked Kerry for his diplomatic efforts. "Around the world, the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress, and we appreciate the timely way in which this situation was resolved," Carter said.
The Guard"s 200,000-strong force is different from the regular Iranian military and is charged with protecting the ruling system. Its naval forces are heavily dependent on armed speedboats that can be used in teams to swarm much larger vessels.
The incident came amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours before President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address to Congress and the public. It set off a dramatic series of calls and meetings as U.S. officials tried to determine the exact status of the crew and reach out to Iranian leaders.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press late Tuesday U.S. time that the sailors" boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.
The sailors were part of Riverine Squadron 1 based in San Diego and were deployed to the U.S. Navy"s 5th Fleet in Bahrain. When the U.S. lost contact with the boats, ships attached to the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier strike group began searching the area, along with aircraft flying off the Truman.
The Riverine boats were not part of the carrier strike group, and were on a training mission, the officials said. The craft are not considered high-tech and don"t contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to them, they added. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly.
In an earlier incident, in late December, Iran launched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the route for about a fifth of the world"s oil.
Last February, Iran sank a replica of a U.S. aircraft carrier near the strait and has said it is testing "suicide drones" that could conduct kamikaze missions on naval ships. It has also challenged foreign cargo ships operating in the Gulf, opening fire on at least two in April and May.
In one of those incidents, Iran temporarily seized a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship over what it said was a commercial dispute before releasing it with its crew more than a week later.
Meanwhile, Iran was expected to satisfy the terms of last summer"s nuclear deal in just days. Once the U.N. nuclear agency confirms Iran"s actions to roll back its program, the United States and other Western powers are obliged to suspend wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Kerry recently said the deal"s implementation was "days away."
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Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Lolita C. Baldor, Bradley Klapper and Richard Lardner in Washington, Jon Gambrell in Dubai and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.
25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family | Pop Up Santa - One Direction
If youre a fan of any show that runs during the ABC Family blocks, you know already that ABC will be changing the name of that segment of programming to Freeform. The change, set to take effect on Tuesday, January 12, is a bold move in that the parent company predicted confusion among viewers, but what, if anything, does it mean for television viewers? Will it change our television viewing experiences or affect our favorite shows?
Continue reading for answers to these and other questions, regarding the emergence of Freeform.
Why is ABC Family becoming Freeform?
Under most circumstances, a name change for a big company is a sign that there are problems too large to be cured by anything less than a complete overhaul. This isnt the case with the switch to Freeform, said ABC President Tom Ascheim, when he addressed the Television Critics Association 2016 Winter TV Tour in Los Angeles. The network president says that, despite assumptions to the contrary, ABC isnt suffering from the significant drops in either ratings or profits that might require marketing ploys (such as a name change) to attract new audiences.
So, why mess with a good thing?Ascheim said. We, like any business, need to grow. And growth only comes from two places: You make your core customers happy, and you get new customers.
The president of ABC went on to explain that, while the network has successfully attracted audiences looking for wholesome, family-oriented programing, thats not representative of all that the network airs. ABC is interested in attracting those that might be put off by the ABC Family connotations, people looking for programs that are more adult oriented.
Freeform hopes to attract Becomers
What are Becomers, you ask? Ascheim has a well-thought-out answer for you.
Its a life stage, Ascheim said. Its that place between childhood and adulthood. Proverbially we say between your first kiss and your first kid. Kind of starts in high school, goes till, I dont know, when youre 20 or something, maybe 30.
Basically, its a catch-all term that ABC uses to encompass a larger group than the traditional 18-24 year olds and 25-34 age groups. ABC hopes to use the Freeform name to attract younger audiences, based on the idea that the name will speak to younger generations in search of original and unique content from multiple sources. Its ABCs hope that the Freeform name will become synonymous with words like creativity and spontaneity, allowing the network to become even more essential to an interactive television experience.
The concept or feeling evoked when discovering something new is really what Freeform is all about and ABC Family was really quite limiting in that respect. Ascheim hopes Freeform, as a brand, will branch out to anything from streaming services to clothing lines.
As for programming, favorite shows normally aired under the ABC Family banner will still be found in their normal time slots. For example, a marathon of Pretty Little Liars episodes will usher in the introduction of Freeform. Additionally, the newly renamed network will be working on developing a comedy based upon Nicki Minajs life.
In spite of Ascheims assurances, the name change does seem like a desperate marketing ploy to attract a larger share of audiences. Its no secret that many networks are feeling the crunch, now that traditional television viewing has been upstaged by internet streaming services. There are now choices, and many of those choices, unlike network television, dont force viewers to sit through 15 minutes of advertising. Instead, ads are more subtle and typically come before or after the program, while ads that are shown in mid stream are short and limited to one or two at a time. Likewise, streaming services provide cheaper subscription plans than either cable or satellite packages. In the end, ABC Family becoming Freeform may do little to calm the changing tides.
The Chainsmokers - Good Intentions (Speaker of the House Remix) WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama knocked Republican presidential candidates for anti-Muslim rhetoric and accused critics on Tuesday of playing into the hands of Islamic State in a speech aimed at setting an optimistic tone for his last year in office.
Obama, delivering his last State of the Union speech to Congress before leaving office next year, said it was fiction to declare the United States was in economic decline or getting weaker on the international stage.
In a direct slap at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Obama said insulting Muslims hurt the United States and "betrayed" its identity.
"When politicians insult Muslims ... that doesn"t make us safer," he said, drawing applause from the crowd in the House of Representatives chamber. "It"s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals."
Businessman Trump is leading the Republican field in the race for the Nov. 8 election to replace Obama. Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, ideas Obama strongly opposes.
The Democratic president said critics played into Islamic State"s hands by comparing the fight against the militant group to World War Three, even as he acknowledged that the group and al Qaeda posed a direct threat to the American people.
"Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages, they pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence," Obama said.
The remarks were a repudiation of criticism of his strategy against Islamic State, which Republicans have called insufficient.
Obama"s address comes as 10 sailors aboard two U.S. Navy boats were taken into Iranian custody. Iran told the United States the crew members would be "promptly" returned, U.S. officials said. The event gave Republicans further fodder to criticize Obama"s nuclear deal with Tehran.
Obama did not address the issue in his speech. The White House expects the situation to be resolved quickly.
The address was one of Obama"s few remaining chances to capture the attention of millions of Americans before November"s election of a new president who will take office next January.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is delivering the Republican Party"s response to Obama"s address, will knock his record on fiscal and foreign policy while delivering a not-so-subtle jab at Republican presidential candidates such as Trump.
"During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country," she will say, according to excerpts of her remarks.
Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Shaping legacy
Obama stuck to themes he hopes will define his legacy.
He emphasized areas where compromise was possible with Republicans in Congress including criminal justice reform, trade and poverty reduction.
He called for lawmakers to ratify a Pacific trade pact, advance tighter gun laws and lift an embargo on Cuba.
The president also said he regretted not having been able to elevate U.S. political discourse during his time in office.
To help "fix" U.S. politics, Obama pressed for an end to "gerrymandering," the practice of drawing voting districts in ways that gives advantage to a particular party; reducing the influence of "dark money" or political spending in which funding sources do not have to be disclosed; and making voting easier.
Obama also said he had tasked Vice President Joe Biden, whose son died last year of cancer, to lead an effort to find a cure for the disease.
Politics loomed over the speech.
Obama is eager for a Democrat to win the White House to preserve his legacy, but anger over his policies and fears about security threats have helped push non-traditional candidates to the fore in the Republican and, to a lesser extent, the Democratic races to succeed him.
Self-described "socialist" Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont is giving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tough competition in early voting states for the Democratic primary contest.
Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan leave after speaking to reporters following the weekly House GOP Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 12, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Credit: Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
Republicans Criticize President Obamas Timing in State of the Union, Lack of Inclusion of American Detainment inIran
Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan leave after speaking to reporters following the weekly House GOP Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 12, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Credit: Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
Most Republicans didnt enjoy President Barack Obamas last State of the Union, except for the fact of it being his last.
The energy level in the Capitol for Obamas seventh and final SOTU address felt lower than in past years. Earlier in his term, lots of members of both parties stopped by Statuary Hall to give pre-buttals, pitch themselves for interviews, and chat up the issues they expected to hear about from the President. There wasnt as much such activity this year, only some brief commotion and camera flashes when leaders, cabinet members and Supreme Court justices walked through on their way to the chamber.
Obama did not mention the 10 American sailors taken into custody by Iran earlier Tuesday and still not released by the time of the speech, but he did promote the nuclear deal the administration reached with Iran and other countries last year.
I was very concerned that hes missing where the challenge of the world is with security he sits and talks positively about Iran when they just took 10 of our Navy sailors, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
National security is our number one issue and I think hes in a different place than the rest of the country, he added. I do believe weve taken a step back and weve allowed others to fill the void and its made the world unsafe. We need to take a stronger approach.
Sen. John McCain, Obamas old presidential campaign rival, said Obama completely omitted mentioning the sailors, this latest example of Irans provocative behavior, so as not to interfere with his delusional talking points about his dangerous nuclear deal with Iran.
Obama called for Congress to take up an Authorization for the Use of Military Force resolution this year, but Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, wasnt impressed.
If he asked for a real AUMF that didnt hamstring the next president, he would have support, Johnson said. Thats the problem. Right now by precedent hes using the AUMF thats in place that gives him the power. Nobody is challenging it. I dont see what he needs more than that, quite honestly. Hes not going to get support for a weaker AUMF than he already has.
Changing politics?
Obama used his speech to call for one last change to the political system that seems hopelessly broken and partisan. Economic opportunity, security and a sustainable, peaceful planet are possible, if the country could return to rational, constructive debates, Obama said. It will only happen if we fix our politics.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin came away saying that Obama missed a prime opportunity to fix politics in Washington, and Tuesdays speech came too late.
Ive been here for six years If you had seen this type of rhetoric and seen some follow-up with it, I think youd see a different Washington right now, Manchin said. Its never too little too late but its a shame he missed the opportunity. He recognized that.
Lets see what he does in this year. Knowing that were in a real toxic environment with the presidential campaign makes it more difficult but at least I give him credit for realizing it needs to change, Manchin added.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn labeled that part of the speech preachy.
Hes a product of politics in America, Cornyn said. I dont know. Its a little preachy for me.
Moonshot politics
Obamas nod to working to cure cancer was something that drew Republican support.
It was the one thing McCarthy said he could work with the president on. I want to cure cancer with him, the California Republican said, noting that he lost his father to cancer and the House already passed a bill attempting to boost the governments approach to finding a cure.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton echoed that sentiment.
I spent some time with Vice President Biden before the speech, and he is committed to helping us get important, bipartisan reforms through the Senate and into law, Upton said.
