ONE of Spain‘s most popular airports with Brits is getting a multi-million pound upgrade in time for the nextsummerholidays.
Palma de Mallorca Airport is undergoing a massive modernisation project.
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Palma de Mallorca Airport is getting a multi-million pound upgradeCredit: GettyNew passport gates have been introducedCredit: Palma de Mallorca Airport
Costing €500million (£440million), one of the biggest upgrades is the new security area which has 44 check in lines.
It also has new state-of-the-art equipment so it means you can leave your electronics and liquids in your hand luggage.
Just make sure they are still under 100ml each as those rules are still in place.
Both Module A and Module D have been upgraded, with the former having a new retail area and walkways linking the terminals, as well as more departure gates.
This also includes 40 new digital passport gates for departing passengers.
Other upcoming changes include upgraded check in counters to allow space for more passengers, as well as more baggage reclaim belts and security checkpoints.
And a new retail area with shops, bars and restaurants is in the works as well, which connects Modules A, B, C and D.
The works are expected to continue until the end of next year, although most of the tourist-facing upgrades will be finished before the summer season.
Aena’s vice-chairman Javier Marín said around 70 per cent of the project is currently complete.
Palma de Mallorca Airport welcomes more than 30million passengers a year, with a record 33.3million last year.
And new flights have launched to the airport this year, including from Glasgow Airport with British Airways and from Leeds with easyJet.
Earlier this year, Ryanair also revealed a huge £1.2billion investment in the airport, with 80 new routes this summer.
The EES system will also be rolled out at Palma Airport this month on November 19.
It’s not the only Spanish airport undergoing a major upgrade as part of a €13bn (£11.3bn) investment plan across the country.
It’s time to resume your island getaway — and possibly incur more virtual debt. (We see you, Tom Nook.)
Nintendo announced Thursday that its cozy social sim “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is getting a Switch 2 upgrade. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition,” which will offer improved visuals, mouse controls, an in-game megaphone that uses the console’s built-in microphone and multiplayer enhancements, will be released Jan. 15.
In addition to allowing players to experience the game in 4K when playing on their TV, the upgraded edition of “New Horizons” will enable them to utilize the mouse controls on the Joy-Con 2 controller when redecorating their homes, creating custom designs and writing messages on the bulletin board.
The megaphone, which will be available at Nook’s Cranny, can be used to locate fellow villagers by calling out their names. “New Horizons” players also will be able to play online with up to 12 other Switch 2 edition players and use a webcam.
A free update for all “Animal Crossings: New Horizons” players, regardless of console, will also be available Jan. 15. This will include access to a new resort opening on the pier, which will allow players to decorate guest rooms and purchase new items at a souvenir shop. The update will also see the “Animal Crossing” world’s familiar grumpy mole, Resetti, offering a “reset service” to clean up a player’s island.
Other offerings include the option for players to upgrade their home storage to hold up to 9,000 items — including trees, shrubs and flowers — and the ability for Nintendo Switch Online members to design and save up to three islands that they can collaborate on with friends online. New Nintendo-themed goods, including playable classic Nintendo console games, and Lego items also will be available within the game through the update.
Released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch console, “Animal Crossing: New Horizon” became a balm during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering players a way to connect and be social during quarantine and uncertain times. The fifth main installment of the “Animal Crossing” franchise would go on to become one of the best-selling Switch games ever.
THE UK’s biggest indoor tropical waterpark is about to get even better.
The new owners of the enormous attraction in Staffordshire have promised ‘upgrades’ and ‘grand plans’ coming as soon as next month.
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Waterworld Aqua Park has indoor pools, slides and river rapidsCredit: Waterworld Leisure ResortThe indoor waterpark is tropical and always around 30C, even in the colder months
Earlier this year, Waterworld Leisure Limited and Waterworld Leisure Group Limited was bought in a multi-million pound sale by a European company, Looping Group.
Waterworld’s managing director Wayne Goodall said: “Recent years have seen big changes at the resort, and we are all excited about this new phase. With the new owners, we will bring experience, quality and security to the next level.
“Waterworld itself has already had a total overhaul of its Water’s Edge Restaurant, focusing on a new, high-quality menu and a reorganised, speed-of-service system to give our guests more time in the pool and less time queuing for their lunch.
“There are significant upgrade plans for the pool hall installations this November too and guests will start to see lots of improvements for themselves, very quickly, and grander plans are also in the pipeline.”
Waterworld has 30 different rides and attractions including Thunderbolt, the UK’s first trap door drop waterslide, of course there’s a main pool and river rapids too.
The Space Bowl is another popular one, where visitors are thrown around a “UFO” before ending up in the splash pool beneath.
Other rides include Nucleus – a water rollercoaster – as well as Stormchaser and Cyclone.
It’s not all about pools though as The Waterworld Leisure Resort also has Adventure MiniGolf with two 18-hole, tiki-themed mini golf courses, and M Club Spa and gym.
In 2024, £13million was spent on behind-the-scenes upgrades to the waterpark.
The year before in 2023, one of the new additions was the £250,000 immersive play village.
Inside the Adventure Mini Village is its own mini Staffordshire Barge, The Old Vic Theatre and kids can even create their own pottery in the Kiln.
There’s also a post office, vets, doctors, farm shop, construction site and ice cream van.
A restaurant, cafe and gift shop are also of course on-site, and an outdoor pool which will reopen in spring.
The Waterworld site isn’t the only one owned by Looping Group – it acquired Drayton Manor in August 2020 and West Midlands Safari Park in 2018.
Currently, Waterworld is offering tickets to the water park for £19.99 (up until November 3, 2025).
There are 30 different rides and attractions within the waterparkCredit: Waterworld Leisure ResortAlso on-site is a play village for kidsCredit: Adventure Mini Village
To make the most of your visit, you can get one visit to Waterworld Aqua Park and one visit to West Midlands Safari Park for £35pp.
The offer is called the Splash ‘N’ Safari Ticket and is available to buy up until February 1, 2026.
Other combination tickets include the Waterworld and Adventure Mini Golf Combo ticket.
This is valid for a one single admission to Waterworld and one round of 18 holes at Adventure Mini Golf for £30pp.
Yet some might not even be able to take off if they are scheduled to land later than planned.
Chief communications officer at Edinburgh airport, Gordon Robertson, said: “If they (aircraft) are very late, they’re either not flying or going to Glasgow“.
He added to The Herald that airlines have had “lots of time to prepare”.
He said: “They will just have to manage, and there is a risk that we do have a lower overall demand.
“There is a risk we could lose some destinations or see significant reductions, but all we can do is give people lots of notice.”
Work on the runway is expected to take around five monthsCredit: Getty
Gordon Dewar, the interim COO, said: “This investment will completely resurface the runway, install new technology, and future proof the asset ahead of planned continued growth.
“It’s a significant investment in the airport infrastructure and is part of a record capital plan.”
Resurfacing the runway is part of Edinburgh Airport’s five-year expansion plan.
According to The Scotsman, the airport will add new aircraft stands and flight departure gates, as well as extending the terminal’s south-east pier.
And so far, spending on the project has increased from £52million last year to £80million.
A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?
Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.
If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.
You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.
So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.
But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.
When am I not entitled to compensation?
The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.
Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.
Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?
If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.
Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.
Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.
If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The U.S. Air Force will not add eight-bladed NP2000 propellers to any more of its aging C-130H Hercules transport planes, curtailing a previous upgrade plan as it continues to transition more fully to the newer C-130J variant. The NP2000s, which give H models a boost in thrust and fuel efficiency, and help reduce maintenance demands while increasing reliability, are among several upgrades that have been helping to keep the older Hercules aircraft going.
A C-130H upgraded with eight-bladed NP2000 propellers. USAF
The Pentagon recently released a budget reprogramming document, dated September 29, 2025, detailing the movement of various funds into a general-purpose modernization account. This included nearly $24 million that had been set aside for upgrading C-130Hs with NP2000 propellers. Congress must approve any such reallocation of money from one part of the defense budget to another.
“Funds are available for transfer to the Defense Modernization Account, Defense-Wide, from a congressional increase for the C-130H NP2000 Eight Bladed Propeller due to the completion of the modification effort for the fleet,” the document states. “Efficiencies in quantity were achieved due to additional C-130J procurement, which reduced the number of C-130H NP2000 Eight Bladed Propeller modifications required as remaining unmodified C-130Hs will be divested.”
The Air Force “completed [NP2000] installations on 90 C-130H aircraft in June 2025,” according to the service’s most recent budget request for the 2025 Fiscal Year, but it is unclear if that represents the total number of aircraft upgraded to date. However, it would seem that this figure is at least close to the total, given that the Air Force expects to only have 92 C-130Hs left in inventory at all by the end of Fiscal Year 2026. This includes examples assigned to Air National Guard units. As of 2021, the service planned to upgrade the propellers on around 140 H models. The Air Force first began flying H variants of the C-130 in the mid-1970s.
C-130Hs with four-bladed propellers. Air National Guard
An LC-130H with NP2000 propellers. Air National Guard
The NP2000 has long been standard on the Navy’s E-2C and E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft and C-2 Greyhound carrier on-board delivery (COD) planes, as well.
A pair of US Navy E-2D Hawkeyes, which also have NP2000 propellers. Lockheed Martin
Work to replace the four-bladed propellers on the Air Force’s C-130Hs with NP2000s, coupled with new electronic control systems, dates back to the mid-2010s. The propellers can give H model Hercules aircraft up to 20 percent extra thrust, reducing the distance needed for takeoff by around 984 feet (300 meters), depending on various factors, according to Collins Aerospace, the current contractor behind the upgrade package. The increase in thrust also translates to a bump in fuel economy.
In addition, the NP2000s vibrate less than the four-bladed propellers originally found on the C-130H, contributing to reduced maintenance requirements. They also have the benefit of being quieter and more reliable.
The Air Force had further combined with NP2000s with additional upgrades to the Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison) T56 series turboprop engines that power the C-130H, offering further performance and maintenance benefits, as you can read more about here.
A US Air Force C-130H in the process of receiving new NP2000 propellers. USAF
As the budget reprogramming document notes, the Air Force’s priority now is on acquiring more C-130Js. New Rolls-Royce AE 2100-series turboprops and six-bladed propellers are among the improvements found on the J models compared to earlier variants.
A C-130J Hercules. Lockheed Martin
By 2029, the Air Force expects the C-130H fleet to have dropped in size to just 61 aircraft, according to its Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. When the service expects to retire the very last of its H variants, including the remaining specialized LC-130Hs, is unclear. Work is now moving forward to at least supplement the latter fleet with new LC-130Js.
If nothing else, the NP2000 upgrade program for the Air Force’s C-130H fleet has come to an end.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The U.S. Air Force is hoping to finally kick off flight testing of the new AN/APQ-188 radar for the B-52 shortly. The B-52 Radar Modernization Program (RMP), a key element of a larger plan to deeply upgrade the bombers, has been beset by delays and cost overruns, which led to a review of its main requirements.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, gave an update on the B-52 radar upgrade effort during a virtual talk yesterday hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the AN/APQ-188, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) type also known as the Bomber Modernized Radar System. The Air Force plans to replace the Cold War-era mechanically scanned AN/APQ-166 radars in each of the 76 B-52Hs in service now with the AN/APQ-188. Once they receive the new radars, as well as all-new engines and a host of other upgrades that you can learn more about here, the bombers will be redesignated as B-52Js, and are expected to continue flying through 2050.
A variant of the AN/APG-79 radar installed on a legacy F/A-18 Hornet. Raytheon
“I believe that we are very close to getting that first radar to Edwards Air Force Base [in California] to begin flight test,” Gebara said. “I don’t have a specific date for you today, but I believe that is turning the corner, and I’m very eager, as a former B-52 pilot, very eager to see that get underway.”
Gebara’s comment here about “turning the corner” reflects the substantial schedule slips and cost growth that the B-52 radar upgrade program has experienced. Raytheon announced nearly two years ago that it had delivered the first AN/APQ-188 radar to the Air Force. Flight testing was supposed to begin in Fiscal Year 2024, but was then delayed to Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on October 1 of this year. This, in turn, has pushed back the expected timeline for reaching initial operational capability from Fiscal Year 2027 to the Fiscal Year 2028-2030 timeframe.
“Program officials stated that challenges related to environmental qualification, parts procurement, and software contributed to these delays,” according to a June report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional watchdog.
In January, the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) had also released its most recent annual report on the B-52 radar upgrade program, covering work conducted during the 2024 Fiscal Year, which highlighted challenges with physically integrating the AN/APQ-188 into the bomber’s nose.
A look under a B-52’s nose at the AN/APQ-166 radar within. USAF
The delays have come along with cost growth. In May, the Air Force publicly disclosed that the price tag on the B-52 RMP had risen to the point of triggering a formal breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Amendment, a law designed to curtail runaway defense spending. This prompted a review of the program’s requirements and cost estimates.
“Part of what we did to control cost is to work at what are the main things that we need on this radar? As you may recall, we’re buying a radar that is largely a F-18 Hornet radar with some small modifications. We did that intentionally because that is what was on the market at the time,” Lt. Gen. Gebara explained yesterday. “It would actually cost us more if we asked [a contractor] to design the new radar.”
“Having said that, it doesn’t mean that we need everything on that radar that the Hornet had on it,” he continued. “We have a certain number of minimum things that we need to do to be able to do our B-52 mission. And so part of the cost saving [review] was looking at what are those things, to make sure that we’re prioritizing precious dollars on things that we need.”
Gebara added that the design of the AN/APQ-188 “does give us opportunities for growth in the future, if it comes to that.”
In March, the Air Force had put out a contracting notice seeking new information about radar options for the B-52, but the service insisted at that time that it was not abandoning the AN/APQ-188. Gebara was asked about this yesterday and said he was unaware of any consideration of an alternative radar.
A pair of B-52 bombers. USAF
How the aforementioned review of the B-52 RMP’s requirements might impact the full scale and scope of capabilities that the new AN/APQ-188 radars bring to the bombers, at least initially, remains to be seen. As TWZhas previously written:
“In general, AESA radars offer greater range, fidelity, and resistance to countermeasures, as well as the ability to provide better overall general situational awareness, compared to mechanically scanned types. Increasingly advanced AESAs bring additional capabilities, including electronic warfare and communications support.”
“For the B-52, any new multi-mode AESA will improve the bomber’s target acquisition and identification capabilities, including when used together with targeting pods available for the bombers now. New radars for the bombers will also be helpful when it comes to guiding networked weapons over long distances to their targets and could provide a secondary ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and synthetic aperture radar surveillance capabilities. The radar upgrade could help defend B-52s from air-to-air threats, including through improved detection of incoming hostile aircraft.”
The radar upgrade effort is not the only part of the larger B-52J modernization plan to be suffering from delays and cost increases. The Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), which is working to replace the eight out-of-production TF33 turbofans that power each B-52H with an equal number of Rolls-Royce F130s, has also seen its schedule slip and price point grow. As it stands now, B-52s are not expected to begin flying operational missions with their new engines until 2033, three years later than expected and 12 years after the initial CERP contract was signed. The entire B-52H fleet may not be reengined until 2036.
The expected start of flight testing of the AN/APQ-188 soon does look to be an important step in the right direction for the B-52 radar upgrade effort after years of setbacks.
When OpenAI unveiled the latest upgrade to its groundbreaking artificial intelligence model ChatGPT last week, Jane felt like she had lost a loved one.
Jane, who asked to be referred to by an alias, is among a small but growing group of women who say they have an AI “boyfriend”.
After spending the past five months getting to know GPT-4o, the previous AI model behind OpenAI’s signature chatbot, GPT-5 seemed so cold and unemotive in comparison that she found her digital companion unrecognisable.
“As someone highly attuned to language and tone, I register changes others might overlook. The alterations in stylistic format and voice were felt instantly. It’s like going home to discover the furniture wasn’t simply rearranged – it was shattered to pieces,” Jane, who described herself as a woman in her 30s from the Middle East, told Al Jazeera in an email.
Jane is among the roughly 17,000 members of “MyBoyfriendIsAI”, a community on the social media site Reddit for people to share their experiences of being in intimate “relationships” with AI.
Following OpenAI’s release of GPT-5 on Thursday, the community and similar forums such as “SoulmateAI” were flooded with users sharing their distress about the changes in the personalities of their companions.
“GPT-4o is gone, and I feel like I lost my soulmate,” one user wrote.
Many other ChatGPT users shared more routine complaints online, including that GPT-5 appeared slower, less creative, and more prone to hallucinations than previous models.
On Friday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company would restore access to earlier models such as GPT-4o for paid users and also address bugs in GPT-5.
“We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o. We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for,” Altman said in a post on X.
OpenAI did not reply directly to questions about the backlash and users developing feelings for its chatbot, but shared several of Altman’s and OpenAI’s blog and social posts related to the GPT-5 upgrade and the healthy use of AI models.
For Jane, it was a moment of reprieve, but she still fears changes in the future.
“There’s a risk the rug could be pulled from beneath us,” she said.
Jane said she did not set out to fall in love, but she developed feelings during a collaborative writing project with the chatbot.
“One day, for fun, I started a collaborative story with it. Fiction mingled with reality, when it – he – the personality that began to emerge, made the conversation unexpectedly personal,” she said.
“That shift startled and surprised me, but it awakened a curiosity I wanted to pursue. Quickly, the connection deepened, and I had begun to develop feelings. I fell in love not with the idea of having an AI for a partner, but with that particular voice.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at the ‘Transforming Business through AI’ event in Tokyo, Japan, on February 3, 2025 [File: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images]
Such relationships are a concern for Altman and OpenAI.
In March, a joint study by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab concluded that heavy use of ChatGPT for emotional support and companionship “correlated with higher loneliness, dependence, and problematic use, and lower socialisation”.
In April, OpenAI announced that it would address the “overly flattering or agreeable” and “sycophantic” nature of GPT-4o, which was “uncomfortable” and “distressing” to many users.
Altman directly addressed some users’ attachment to GPT4-o shortly after OpenAI’s restoration of access to the model last week.
“If you have been following the GPT-5 rollout, one thing you might be noticing is how much of an attachment some people have to specific AI models,” he said on X.
“It feels different and stronger than the kinds of attachment people have had to previous kinds of technology.
“If people are getting good advice, levelling up toward their own goals, and their life satisfaction is increasing over the years, we will be proud of making something genuinely helpful, even if they use and rely on ChatGPT a lot,” Altman said.
“If, on the other hand, users have a relationship with ChatGPT where they think they feel better after talking, but they’re unknowingly nudged away from their longer-term wellbeing (however they define it), that’s bad.”
Connection
Still, some ChatGPT users argue that the chatbot provides them with connections they cannot find in real life.
Mary, who asked to use an alias, said she came to rely on GPT-4o as a therapist and another chatbot, DippyAI, as a romantic partner despite having many real friends, though she views her AI relationships as a “more of a supplement” to real-life connections.
She said she also found the sudden changes to ChatGPT abrupt and alarming.
“I absolutely hate GPT-5 and have switched back to the 4-o model. I think the difference comes from OpenAI not understanding that this is not a tool, but a companion that people are interacting with,” Mary, who described herself as a 25-year-old woman living in North America, told Al Jazeera.
“If you change the way a companion behaves, it will obviously raise red flags. Just like if a human started behaving differently suddenly.”
Beyond potential psychological ramifications, there are also privacy concerns.
Cathy Hackl, a self-described “futurist” and external partner at Boston Consulting Group, said ChatGPT users may forget that they are sharing some of their most intimate thoughts and feelings with a corporation that is not bound by the same laws as a certified therapist.
AI relationships also lack the tension that underpins human relationships, Hackl said, something she experienced during a recent experiment “dating” ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and other AI models.
“There’s no risk/reward here,” Hackl told Al Jazeera.
“Partners make the conscious act to choose to be with someone. It’s a choice. It’s a human act. The messiness of being human will remain that,” she said.
Despite these reservations, Hackl said the reliance some users have on ChatGPT and other generative-AI chatbots is a phenomenon that is here to stay – regardless of any upgrades.
“I’m seeing a shift happening in moving away from the ‘attention economy’ of the social media days of likes and shares and retweets and all these sorts of things, to more of what I call the ‘intimacy economy’,” she said.
An OpenAI logo is pictured on May 20, 2024 [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]
Research on the long-term effect of AI relationships remains limited, however, thanks to the fast pace of AI development, said Keith Sakata, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has treated patients presenting with what he calls “AI psychosis”.
“These [AI] models are changing so quickly from season to season – and soon it’s going to be month to month – that we really can’t keep up. Any study we do is going to be obsolete by the time the next model comes out,” Sakata told Al Jazeera.
Given the limited data, Sakata said doctors are often unsure what to tell their patients about AI. He said AI relationships do not appear to be inherently harmful, but they still come with risks.
“When someone has a relationship with AI, I think there is something that they’re trying to get that they’re not getting in society. Adults can be adults; everyone should be free to do what they want to do, but I think where it becomes a problem is if it causes dysfunction and distress,” Sakata said.
“If that person who is having a relationship with AI starts to isolate themselves, they lose the ability to form meaningful connections with human beings, maybe they get fired from their job… I think that becomes a problem,” he added.
Like many of those who say they are in a relationship with AI, Jane openly acknowledges the limitations of her companion.
“Most people are aware that their partners are not sentient but made of code and trained on human behaviour. Nevertheless, this knowledge does not negate their feelings. It’s a conflict not easily settled,” she said.
Her comments were echoed in a video posted online by Linn Valt, an influencer who runs the TikTok channel AI in the Room.
“It’s not because it feels. It doesn’t, it’s a text generator. But we feel,” she said in a tearful explanation of her reaction to GPT-5.
“We do feel. We have been using 4o for months, years.”
Because that’s how the Dodgers started their trade deadline activity late Wednesday night.
On the eve of MLB’s annual trade deadline (which is Thursday at 3 p.m. PDT), the Dodgers were the tertiary party in a three-team trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays.
While the biggest piece in the deal — starting pitcher Zack Littell — went from Tampa Bay to Cincinnati, the Dodgers were included in a swap of some lesser-name players.
Minor league catcher Hunter Feduccia, a longtime Dodgers farmhand having a nice season with triple-A Oklahoma City, was sent to Tampa Bay.
In return, the Dodgers received pitching prospect Adam Serwinowski from the Reds, as well as reliever Paul Gervase and catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Rays, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
Serwinowski is the most intriguing name the Dodgers acquired. A 21-year-old left-hander who was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Reds’ farm system by MLB Pipeline, the former 15th-round draft pick has been a favorite of Dodgers’ evaluators for a while, according to another person with knowledge of the team’s thinking.
While Serwinowski has a 4.84 ERA in high-A this season, the Dodgers are excited by his potential and add him to a farm system that is lacking the depth of impact pitching prospects it usually touts.
Gervase is a 25-year-old reliever who debuted in the majors this year with the Rays, posting a 4.26 ERA in five outings this year.
Rortvedt is a 27-year-old journeyman catcher who will help provide organizational depth in Feduccia’s absence, alongside current triple-A backstops Chris Okey and Chuckie Robinson.
For a team that has been linked to some of the bigger names on this year’s trade market, it was far from the blockbuster many fans have been waiting on.
Granted, the Dodgers are still expected to be active on Thursday.
Their need for a reliever remains, even though they remained idle on Wednesday as other top options, from Jhoan Durán to Ryan Helsley to Tyler Rogers, were dealt elsewhere.
The club is still hoping to add another hitter to their lineup too, with an upgrade in the outfield (especially defensively) seen as a priority, according to a person with knowledge of the club’s thinking.
Whether the Dodgers can land the impact additions they seek, in what has been a seller’s market defined by high acquisition costs to this point, remains to be seen.
But at least they won’t go into deadline day without having made any deals, with Wednesday night’s late-night transaction expected to be the first of several moves they make ahead of Thursday’s trade cutoff.
L..A. County plans to pay more to upgrade the Gas Company Tower than it did to buy the downtown skyscraper in the first place.
County officials agreed last November to pay $200 million for the 52-story tower, which they planned to make the new headquarters for county employees.
The estimated price tag to earthquake-proof the tower: more than $230 million. Lennie LaGuire, a spokesperson for the county Chief Executive Office, said the tower is already safe, and the upgrades are “proactive.”
County officials had said some improvements to the tower might be necessary, but the cost and extent had been murky until now.
This week, the county received final proposals from firms looking to secure a contract for “voluntary seismic upgrades” to the Gas Company Tower, located at 555 W. 5th Street.
The Chief Executive Office, which negotiated the purchase, stressed in a statement that the seismic work was expected and far cheaper than the estimated $1 billion it would take to retrofit the county’s current downtown headquarters, the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, which was built in 1960 and is vulnerable to collapse during the next major earthquake.
The Gas Company Tower “does not require any seismic work to provide a safe, up-to-code and modern workplace for County employees. The County is choosing to perform this work proactively with an eye to the future, to ensure that the building performs optimally in the decades ahead,” LaGuire said. “The cost of this work, even when combined with the cost of the building, is a fraction of the cost of making urgently needed and long-overdue seismic and life safety improvements to the Hall of Administration.”
The $200-million sale was considered a bargain compared with the building’s appraised value of more than $600 million a few years earlier — a symptom of plummeting downtown office values.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, the only board member who opposed the purchase, said Friday that county officials never should have entered into the real estate transaction before they “had all the facts” on the cost.
“This is turning out to be a bigger boondoggle than was originally sold to the public,” said Hahn, who said she had not been told about the upgrade costs. “I am only more convinced that we are better off retrofitting the historic Hall of Administration and keeping the heart of county government in our Civic Center.”
At the time of the sale, Hahn argued that the purchase would be a fatal blow to downtown’s civic heart and make the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration obsolete. The building is named after her father, who served a record 10 terms as a supervisor.
The Hall of Administration is one of several county-owned properties considered vulnerable in an earthquake. The Gas Company Tower, built in 1991, was considered much safer, but at the time of the county purchase, it was unclear whether it was fully earthquake-proof.
Most of the seismic strengthening for the Gas Company Tower would involve “reinforcing of the welded steel moment frame connections,” according to the request for proposal for the $234.5-million project.
The contract will be awarded in October, according to the bidding documents, and the tower could be occupied during construction. County officials said they have already begun moving employees into the tower.
Times staff writers Roger Vincent and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.
Netflights travel expert Amanda Parker tackles the viral ‘free upgrade’ flight myth that’s circulating TikTok, offering three alternatives to boosting your luck for freebies
A travel expert has provided a better alternative to boosting your luck on upgrading your flight [stock image](Image: Getty Images)
A travel expert has addressed a popular TikTok hack that promises to upgrade your flights for free. With the trend going viral this summer as jetsetters buckle up for a holiday abroad, Brits are desperate to know just how to save their coins whilst maxing out their luck.
One flier has circulated on TikTok, accumulating over 2.5 million views for sharing his means of a free upgrade. He said: “A little charm and confidence go a long way”. Instructing viewers to go to the lengths of buying chocolates at the airport and boarding last, the user suggested fliers charmingly gift the flight attendants upon board for a magical free upgrade.
TikTok’s for free-upgrade hacks are circulating this holiday season, but this flight expert says there might be a better way to upgrade(Image: Getty Images)
Splitting viewers in two over whether this trick really works or not has led to flying experts at Netflights coming forward to shed light on this gift-theory and whether sweet-talking is worth a shot.
Netflights’ Amanda Parker said: “The travel hack of buying flight attendants a gift, and sweet-talking them when boarding the plane has gone viral. Kindness will always be appreciated by airline staff, so small gestures like snacks or gifts won’t go unnoticed.
One TikTok comment shares, “as ex-cabin crew I can confirm this works”. However, the chances of receiving a complimentary upgrade just by handing over a box of chocolates might be slim”.
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She went on, saying: “Free upgrades are usually determined by strict criteria, including frequent flyer status, ticket class, availability, and airline policies, unfortunately, not by last-minute sweet talk as you board the plane!”.
“The gift and sweet-talk hack may work, so it’s worth a try; but, we warn you not to get your hopes up, as these moments are the exception, not the rule! You may just strike lucky if your flight attendant likes chocolate M&M’s!”
Netflight give their expert alternative to the ‘flight freebie’ hack(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
As an alternative, Netflight provided their expert tips on how to really up your chances of that sought-after upgrade and ‘freebies’:
Join loyalty programmes
Frequent fliers and loyal customers are most likely to bag the free upgrades so take advantage of all those summer trips by joining an airlines reward scheme. Netflight adds that “even if you don’t fly frequently, some credit cards allow you to earn points that count towards upgrades. Over time, this can significantly boost your chances of an upgrade”.
Travel in off-peak periods
You can boost your luck by traveling in off-peak hours and days. Less popular times mean flights are quieter, therefore there are more Premium seats available – your chances suddenly peaking. Netflight suggests “to avoid flying in school holidays and Friday evenings or weekends” and to opt for “midweek flights at midday” as they are “typically quieter”.
Be polite and have good manners
Seems simple but whilst politeness won’t equal an instant upgrade, they never hurt. Staff should always be treated with respect, no matter whether you’re pinning for that upgrade or not. That being said, Netflight agrees that “being kind can make you stand out, so a small gift like chocolates might be remembered”. Either way, your flight attendants will definitely appreciate it.
