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How behavioral economics can help you save on airfare

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

It’s not just you: Shopping for airfare is harder than ever. Choosing between basic economy and regular economy fares and navigating add-on fees makes booking more complicated, and that’s no accident. Airlines are harnessing lessons from a still-emerging academic field known as behavioral economics to nudge customers into spending more.“Behavioral economics was developed by incorporating ideas from psychology into standard economic theories,” says Cait Lamberton, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “If you see a deal that is available for only a short amount of time, and you pay more than you usually would, standard economics would say you’ve made an irrational decision. Behavioral economics says that no, what your brain is doing is responding to scarcity.”These seemingly irrational choices are called “biases,” many of which can affect how we shop. For example, “loss aversion” makes us hyper-sensitive to losing money and more likely to ...

Thailand’s Election Commission says a reformist candidate for prime minister may have broken law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Election Commission said Wednesday it concluded there is evidence that the top candidate to become the country’s next prime minister, a reformist with strong backing among progressive young voters, violated election law and referred his case to the Constitutional Court for a ruling.The commission’s decision included a request that the court order Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat suspended as a member of Parliament until the ruling is issued. Thai media reported that the court would not make any ruling on Wednesday and indicated that it might need some time to consider the issue.Pita can still be nominated on Thursday when Parliament meets to vote for a new prime minister. But the commission’s move raises new doubts about whether he can muster enough votes to get the post, already a struggle because of Thailand’s deep political divisions. The Move Forward Party, with a progressive reformist platform, swept to a surprise first-place fin...

3 tax prep firms shared ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ data about taxpayers with Meta, lawmakers say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years. Their report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer shared with the social media giant. In a letter to the heads of the IRS, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog, seven lawmakers say their findings “reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms.” Their report said highly personal and financial information about sources of taxpayers’ income, tax deductions and exemptions was made accessible to Meta as taxpayers used the tax software to prepare their taxes.That data came to Meta through its Pixel code, which the tax firms installed on their websit...

Muere una escaladora solitaria después de caer más de 150 metros desde una cresta en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas de Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

(CNN) — Una mujer de 26 años de Boulder, Colorado, murió después de caer aproximadamente 152 metros mientras escalaba una cresta en solitario en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas del estado este domingo, dijo el Parque.El compañero de escalada de 27 años de la mujer no identificada llamó a los guardaparques para informar que su compañera había caído de Blitzen Ridge en la montaña Ypsilon, dijo el Servicio de Parques Nacionales en un comunicado este lunes.El free-soloing es una técnica de escalada en roca arriesgada en la que los escaladores ascienden sin cuerdas, asistencia ni equipo de seguridad, dejándolos sin protección en caso de caída.Mueren cinco mexicanos en accidente de helicóptero rumbo al EverestLos miembros del equipo de búsqueda y rescate alcanzaron al compañero de escalada ileso este domingo por la noche, aunque su ubicación les obligó a solicitar la asistencia de la Guardia Nacional Aérea de Colorado, dijo el Parque. Se utilizó un helicóptero de la Base ...

Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's shakes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Investigators say a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife researched how to poison her and get away with it, searching online for answers to questions like "Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”On Wednesday, prosecutors are set to present their evidence against James Craig to a judge to show that he should stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig in March.Police believe James Craig, 45, laced her pre-workout protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide, so he could be with a woman he was having an affair with, according to court documents. He has yet to be asked to enter a plea to the charge. Aurora dentist accused of poisoning his wife to death James Craig's lawyer, David M. Beller, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.Angela Craig died after being taken off life support during her third trip to the hospital in March. She was married to her husband for 23 years and the mother of six children, according to her obituary.As s...

Messi arrives in South Florida ahead of expected announcement from Inter Miami

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

Soccer sensation Lionel Messi arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, solidifying his status as a star in the South Florida region ahead of Inter Miami’s unveiling event scheduled for this weekend. The Argentinean athlete, who recently clinched a World Cup victory and has been named the World Player of the Year seven times, was caught on camera as he disembarked from a private jet alongside his wife and children.In anticipation of the arrival of the renowned forward, Inter Miami CF made significant preparations to accommodate the massive crowds expected to welcome Messi to town. Additional seats were installed at DRV PNK Stadium, ensuring that the fervent supporters have ample space to witness their new hero’s performances.https://twitter.com/InterMiamiCF/status/1678783418534883328?s=20Excitement is running high among fans, as Messi is scheduled to make his debut for the club on July 21. Messi’s presence in South Florida marks a significant milestone for the regi...

Back to the 90s as Sunak and Starmer’s deputies stand in (again)

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO U.K.’s weekly run-through.THANKS, NATO: For the second week running, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour’s Keir Starmer were missing in action at PMQs — thanks to the former’s starring role at the NATO summit in Vilnius. That left us with the dubious honor of watching deputies Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner have a pop at each other.History lesson: Rayner pointed out that the last time a PM missed two of these sessions in a row was … March 1996.Alternative history lesson: Dowden made the reasonable excuse that Sunak is at the big military summit — before claiming that, under Rayner’s old boss and former leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour would have abandoned Ukraine (probably not really true but hey, it’s PMQs) … Leave NATO (not true) … and abolish the army (really not true). What the...

Boris Johnson’s ‘political assassination’ laid bare in new book from ally Nadine Dorries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

LONDON — What brought down Boris Johnson — a cascade of self-inflicted scandals or a shadowy plot?The former British PM’s closest political ally Nadine Dorries believes the latter — and is penning a book as she seeks to prove it.The ex-culture secretary — already a bestselling author — has written ‘the Plot’, which, according to a Harper Collins release, will tell the “seismic, untold story of how the most charismatic politician of his generation was driven from office.” The book is due for release on September 28 this year. The release states that Dorries spoke to “dozens of inside sources” for the book to piece together “a profoundly shocking story of powerful, unaccountable forces operating behind the scenes who became the architects of a prime minister’s downfall.”Johnson resigned in Summer 2022 as restless Tory MPs demanded change. Ministers already wounded by the Partygate scandal resigned en masse when Johnson w...

Former Chelsea owner Abramovich sanctioned for fame, his lawyers argue in EU court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

LUXEMBOURG — Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich never stood a chance of avoiding EU sanctions despite having no link to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, his lawyers argued Wednesday.“A real myth has grown around the personality of Roman Abramovich,” his lawyer Thierry Bontinck told the EU’s second highest court, the General Court.“He can’t go for a coffee at Starbucks without the next day’s headlines announcing his intention to buy the chain. His visit to any city in the world will automatically imply that he will buy the local football club,” he added. The former owner of Chelsea Football Club was sanctioned in March last year for allegedly benefiting from his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and for contributing to the Kremlin’s war chest through his economic activities. The EU’s measures include assets freezes and visa bans.Shortly after, Abramovich sold the English Premier League club for the highest price ever paid for a football team. A foundation set up to distr...

Zelenskyy puts brave face on lackluster NATO membership signal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:28 GMT

VILNIUS — NATO didn’t give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy what he was looking for, but on Wednesday he toned down his public anger over the alliance’s cautious stance on Kyiv’s membership bid.“Nobody is willing to have a world war, which is logical and understandable,” Zelenskyy told reporters gathered at the NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, speaking through an interpreter. The Ukrainian leader’s muted tone contrasted sharply with his messaging from a day earlier, when he blasted a NATO leaders’ communiqué as “absurd” for not providing Kyiv with a timeline and concrete path to membership. On Wednesday, rather than fixate on the terms under which the alliance would accept Ukraine once the war ends, the Ukrainian president praised Western capitals for offering Kyiv security assurances while insisting that the ultimate goal for Ukraine remains NATO accession. The assurances “will surely become a very important and specific success,” he said. “We can state that t...