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Alaska Airlines pilot who safely landed plane after panel blew out says Boeing unfairly blamed him

Alaska Airlines pilot who safely landed plane after panel blew out says Boeing unfairly blamed him

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By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press

The Alaska Airlines pilot who has been universally praised as a hero for safely landing a jet after a door plug panel flew off shortly after takeoff is suing Boeing because he believes the plane maker wrongly tried to blame him and the rest of the crew in past legal filings.

Captain Brandon Fisher was commended by the heads of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and even Boeing executives for helping ensure none of the 177 people aboard flight 1282 were killed when the blowout happened in January 2024.

FILE – This photo released by the National Transportation Safety... FILE – This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug that fell from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP, file) File – A door plug area of an Alaska Airlines... File – A door plug area of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft awaiting inspection is pictured with paneling removed at the airline’s facilities at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) FILE – The door plug from the Alaska Airlines Flight... FILE – The door plug from the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282’s Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane is shown at the National Transportation Safety Board laboratory, in Washington, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

1 of 3 FILE – This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug that fell from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP, file)

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But Fisher’s lawyers say that Boeing’s attempts to deflect liability in past lawsuits despite what the NTSB investigation found led to the pilot being sued by some passengers and caused him great distress.

“Boeing’s lie infuriated Captain Fisher as well, as he was being castigated for his actions as opposed to being lauded,” Fisher’s lawyers, William Walsh and Richard Mummalo, wrote in the lawsuit filed in an Oregon court. “Because he had flown Boeing aircraft for the entirety of his employment with Alaska Airlines, Boeing’s attempts to blame him felt like a deep, personal betrayal by a company that claimed to hold pilots in the highest regard.” read more

Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children

Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children

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By KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing a backlash from governments around the world after a recent surge in sexualized images of women and children generated without consent by the artificial intelligence-powered tool.

On Tuesday, Britain’s top technology official demanded that Musk’s social media platform X take urgent action while a Polish lawmaker cited it as a reason to enact digital safety laws.

The European Union’s executive arm has denounced Grok while officials and regulators in France, India, Malaysia and Brazil have condemned the platform and called for investigations.

Rising alarm from disparate nations points to the nightmarish potential of nudification apps that use artificial intelligence to generate sexually explicit deepfake images.

FILE - Elon Musk attends the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE – Elon Musk attends the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Here’s a closer look:

Image generation

The problem emerged after the launch last year of Grok Imagine, an AI image generator that allows users to create videos and pictures by typing in text prompts. It includes a so-called “spicy mode” that can generate adult content. read more

Florida ranks 2nd for attracting and maintaining residents, survey says

Florida ranks 2nd for attracting and maintaining residents, survey says

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A new U-Haul survey ranked Florida highly for attracting and maintaining residents.

Florida ranked second on the U-Haul Growth Index, which analyzes one-way customer transactions during 2025, according to the moving company.

It’s a two-spot improvement over 2024 and consistent with the state’s top-five finish in 2023.

U-Haul’s report focuses on the net gain or loss of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer, or U-Box moving container in one state and dropped their equipment off in another state.

The company’s data is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way transactions across America and Canada.

The report said rankings aren’t tied directly to population or economic growth, but are good indicators of how well cities and states attract and maintain residents.

Chad Rome is the marketing president for U-Haul Company of southern Alabama, whose territory also covers the Florida panhandle.

Rome said people are moving to Florida thanks to “low barriers for entry” and “low regulatory hurdles” for both corporate and smaller businesses. read more

Elvis guitar car debuts at Orlando Auto Museum on Thursday

Elvis guitar car debuts at Orlando Auto Museum on Thursday

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Orlando Auto Museum will unveil the restored version of the pink, guitar-styled Cadillac once used by Elvis Presley on Jan. 8 — the rock star’s birthday.

The Dezerland Park attraction plans to make the 41-foot-long vehicle its centerpiece, and it’s planning some Elvis-related promotions for the following days.

The car, a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado that was modified to include strings and frets, was driven once by Elvis Presley a concert in Las Vegas. It was purchased this year by Michael Dezer, a South Florida developer, car collector and the owner of Dezerland Park. The car had been in France, spending an extended amounts of time in a junkyard and on top of a mall.

It arrived in Orlando in September and has been undergoing refurbishment to address rusted-out spots and other damage.

“Few cars capture the spirit of American music and culture the way this one does,” Dezer said in a news release last fall. “We are proud to bring this extraordinary piece of Elvis history back to the U.S. and to make it available for fans to see up close.” read more

Defying Trump’s NASA proposal, Congress looks to maintain budget, including science, near current levels

Defying Trump’s NASA proposal, Congress looks to maintain budget, including science, near current levels

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Last year President Trump pitched a severe chop to NASA’s proposed annual budget for 2026, but the House and Senate on Monday released an appropriations bill that would mostly ignore those cuts.

The minibus bill put forth by both congressional bodies’ appropriation committees includes NASA as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Science Foundation, It aims to put $24.44 billion into NASA’s hands for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2025 and runs through Sept. 30, 2026.

That’s slightly less than the $24.8 billion that the agency worked with in 2025, but a far larger number than what Trump had proposed, which was only $18.8 billion.

The bill still has to be passed by both House and Senate, and then signed by Trump.

Part of Trump’s proposed cuts were to nearly halve the science and technology budgets, but also kill off future launches of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft after Artemis III. This congressional bill keeps those mostly intact. read more