The Wednesday Wire

2.9.22

We're nearly 72 hours into this week and there's already a lot to talk about. Here are the top stories making headlines halfway through the week:

• On Monday, Spirit and Frontier Airlines announced a multibillion-dollar merger. Executives at both airlines said the merger gives them hope that one day take off will no longer require passengers to pedal.

• A city in Sweden is battling litter by training crows to pick cigarette butts off the streets. Not to be outdone, Seattle just announced it's training the seagulls to pick up the needles.

• Build-A-Bear Workshop has announced it's launching a new “After Dark” collection for adults - just in time for Valentine's Day. A spokesperson said the process for the “After Dark” collection will be exactly the same as the original, except for the end - where patrons take their bears to a private room for stuffing.

• According to estimates released by the American Gambling Association, 31.5 million Americans will place bets on this Sunday’s Super Bowl - and on Monday, an estimated 15.75 million Americans will apologize to their wives.

• International soccer player Kurt Zouma had his two cats taken away after a video of him kicking and slapping the cats surfaced online. There is now discussion of a possible legal penalty as police are taking a closer look at the video to determine whether or not the offense took place inside or outside the litter box.