At Nashville International Airport on Christmas Eve, a police officer threatened to arrest stranded Southwest passengers if they did not leave a secure area of ​​the airport. A video of the incident went viral on social media after it happened Posted by passenger to TikTok. Other videos circulating on social media also captured parts of the incident.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 910,000 times since it was posted two days ago, the officer warns passengers that they must leave the area or they will be “arrested for trespassing.”

“Now,” he continued. “Everyone to the unsafe side. The ticket counter will help you answer any questions you have.”

Shelly Morrison, who was among the passengers with her three daughters, was queuing at the southwest gate hoping to get more information about what was going on with her flight, to me the Tennessee.

After she and others waited nearly an hour for an explanation, one of the workers announced via the intercom that she was leaving – and called security. Morrison told the local newspaper that he did not tell a passenger that they had to leave if they had a canceled ticket.

“The Southwest is calling us”

Soon, two police officers from the airport’s Department of Public Safety arrived at the scene, just as Morrison’s daughter, Amani Robinson, began recording a video.

An officer tells passengers in the video, “If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t have to be on the safe side.” To someone who said they had tickets, he replied, “Your tickets just got cancelled.”

Morrison asked the officer again if he might be stopped, and he repeated to him: “If you don’t have a valid ticket and you’re on the safe side and you refuse to leave, you’ll be arrested… If your ticket’s canceled, they don’t have a ticket anymore. You understand that, right?”

He added, “Right now, Southwest is calling us because you guys are congregating here, and they’re trying to close that gate.”

The officer grew impatient when Morrison again tried to “establish a legal connection,” as she puts it in the video, and told him she was an attorney.

“Do you refuse to leave the safe side?” he asked clearly.

She replied, “No, I don’t refuse to leave.” “I ask for additional information. Can you mention the statue to me?”

He replied, “It is the security of airports and planes.”

“Don’t you have a department?” she asked.

“I don’t need to give you the code. If you’re a lawyer, you can look it up.”

Morrison thanked him and went with the others to where he had indicated.

Southwest responds

when called luckA Southwest spokesperson said that employees “did not request that customers be escorted outside the gate area.” Instead, the company required “that local law enforcement be present at the gate to assist with crowd control efforts while our team works with customers.”

A spokesperson for Nashville International Airport, also known by the airport code BNA, responded:

“The sheer number of flight cancellations over the past week has caused great stress for our passengers, and included an unfortunate incident involving a passenger, airline staff and an LNA officer. We are very sorry this happened and we take this situation very seriously. We are working with Southwest Airlines and our other airlines to promote better communication between team members so that every traveler enjoys the optimal experience at BNA:

luck She also contacted the Ministry of Transport regarding the airport incident, but did not receive any immediate response.

Southwest passengers trying alternative routes faced higher fares from other airlines, some of which — faced public backlash —Announce a price cap on the affected roads.

The Department of Transportation said this week it would open an investigation into Southwest Airlines. He. She he wrote in a tweet It was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations, delays, and reports of a lack of prompt customer service. The department will study whether cancellations are manageable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”

This article has been updated with responses from Southwest Airlines and the airport.

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Chinese education technology Ruanyun Edai Technology (Rhett) Apply to raise up to $35 million through an initial public offering in the United States.

Ruanyun said in file that she was considering offering 5 million common shares at between $5 and $6 a share, which might happen Raising about $28 million if priced midstream. that Attached filing fee schedule He indicated that the company was looking to raise up to $35 million.

Underwriters will be given a 45-day option to buy up to an additional 750,000 shares. Univest Securities and AC Sunshine Securities act as the lead bookrunners.

The company was operating in the red. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, Ruanyun reported a net loss of $740,000 on revenue of $13 million.

Founded in the Cayman Islands but headquartered in Jiangxhi, Ruanyun has been focused on bringing AI-based technology to schools in China to assist with teaching and learning assessments. The Company operates in China through an entity with variable interests and subsidiaries.

Ruanyun was the second Asian education technology company to file for an initial public offering in the United States on December 30. Earlier on Friday, based in Singapore IMMRSIV filed for $17 million IPO.

Brazil’s incoming president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has nominated as CEO of Petrobras, a close political ally, who has promised an overhaul of how the state-controlled oil and gas company collects fuel fees.

Senator Jean-Paul Pratis who advised Lola On energy matters and a member of his own Labor Party, he has been named the favorite of the incoming left-wing administration to run the $66 billion conglomerate.

said the Petrobras The practice of moving domestic fuel prices in line with international dollar prices—which Lula had denounced during the election campaign—was to be changed. Pratis told local reporters in the capital, Brasilia, on Friday that this was not to “shock investors or investment returns.” “It will be changed because the country’s politics will change.”

He added that new price guidelines would be drafted by a “government consortium,” including ministries and Petrobras.

market based system Latin america The largest hydrocarbon producer next for gasoline, diesel and cooking gas, fuel prices have been controversial lately. Opponents say it transmits volatility to consumers and fuels inflation.

It was criticized by outgoing right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who sacked three Petrobras executives in two years over soaring fuel prices.

But private investors, who own just under two-thirds of the company’s shares, fear any divergence from the current policy could be financially damaging to Petrobras.

Under the last Workers’ Party-led government, the Rio de Janeiro-based group suffered billions of dollars in losses after being forced to hand out handouts.

“De-dollarization of fuel prices is very difficult in my view. It is an international good and [Brazilian] “The real price component is very small,” said Marcelo de Assis of Wood Mackenzie, a consultancy.

“Given that we import more or less 30 percent of our refined oil products in Brazil, which has a very strong dollar component, you can’t switch this around overnight.”

Lula, who previously ruled Brazil between 2003 and 2010 and will be inaugurated again on Sunday, also called on Petrobras to invest more in refining capacity and play a bigger role in the clean energy transition.

The company has in recent years doubled down on its main business of pumping crude oil into deep waters, selling non-core assets such as fertilizer plants and gas stations to reduce debt.

“We need to think ahead and invest in the energy transition to meet the needs of the country, the planet and society, as well as the long-term interests of its shareholders,” Prats wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The 54-year-old politician is also an economist and lawyer, whose resume lists nearly four decades of experience advising public and private projects in the fields of oil, gas, biofuels, and renewable energy.

Petrobras said it has not yet received formal notification of the nomination, adding that the final appointment is dependent on board approval.

The Sao Paulo-listed preferred stock of Petrobras fell 1.2 percent on Friday. It has fallen by about a quarter since Lula’s narrow election victory over Bolsonaro in October.