Carbon-neutral cruise line
MSC Cruises will be the first major cruise company to become carbon-neutral. Starting on Jan. 1, MSC will buy enough credits from companies that absorb carbon dioxide to offset all of the carbon emissions from its 17 ships throughout the year, the company announced. That amounts to 2.2 million tons. Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said the company plans to prioritize "blue credits," which finance projects in coastal communities. "The blue credit is a way where we want to invest through the MSC Foundation to create farming in the sea through kelp and algae, which have proven to be one of the best CO2 absorbents today," Vago said. Geneva-based MSC is the world's fourth-largest cruise company. It plans to build a new $300 million cruise terminal and headquarters office at PortMiami, with completion by 2022.
Miami Herald
JetBlue's new basic fares
JetBlue Airways is rolling out a new "basic economy" airfare, joining most major carriers in the U.S. Basic Blue, as JetBlue is calling it, will allow passengers to bring a carry-on bag and personal item, though overhead space could be at a premium, since they will board last. If they want to pick a seat in advance, travelers can pay an extra fee; otherwise, they can choose a seat when they check in 24 hours before a flight. Travelers still won't be able to make any changes or get money back if they cancel their flight. Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst, said the flying experience on JetBlue will still have the amenities that fans admire. "JetBlue does have more generous legroom, and once you're on the plane, it's the same onboard experience," Harteveldt says. "You're getting complimentary Wi-Fi, TV channels, satellite radio, the blue chips and the Dunkin' Donuts coffee and all that."
Washington Post
Bin Laden 'Revealed'
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City is taking visitors deep into the hunt for Osama bin Laden with a new exhibit that includes recently declassified information. The vast exhibit includes 60 artifacts and various personal accounts from those involved in finding, and ultimately killing, the infamous al-Qaida terror leader who planned the Sept. 11 attacks. "Revealed: The Hunt for bin Laden" also includes a detailed miniature of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the U.S. military captured and killed the terrorist in 2011. Visitors will also be able to see a detailed visualization of how the raid took place, and explore the aftermath and impact bin Laden's death had on the world and the war on terrorism (911memorial.org/revealed).
New York Daily News
Court rules against searches
A federal court in Boston has ruled that warrantless U.S. government searches of the phones and laptops of international travelers at airports and other U.S. ports of entry violate the Fourth Amendment. Tuesday's ruling in U.S. District Court came in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of 11 travelers whose phones and laptops were searched. ACLU attorney Esha Bhandari said the ruling strengthens the Fourth Amendment protections of travelers who enter the United States every year. The ACLU says border officers must now demonstrate individualized suspicion of contraband before they can search a traveler's electronic device. The government has vigorously defended the searches as a critical tool to protect America.
Associated Press
