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2 dead, 2 alive in Mexico kidnapping

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN

Tragic news out of Mexico: Two of the four Americans kidnapped last week were found dead. Meanwhile: The Department of Justice sued to block JetBlue and Spirit Airlines merger — all in the name of costs to customers.

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2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico; 2 survivors returned to US

Two of the four Americans missing since their brazen and violent abduction last week after crossing the border into Mexico have been found dead and two are alive, Mexican officials said Tuesday. One of the surviving U.S. citizens was found wounded and the other was unharmed, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said after confirming two Americans died. One suspect was in custody, authorities said. Mexican officials said the Americans vanished Friday after getting caught in the crossfire of rival cartel groups in the border city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state, just below Brownsville, Texas. More updates.

Biden budget proposal includes tax increase on wealthiest Americans

Wealthy Americans will pay higher taxes under the proposed budget that President Joe Biden will send to Congress on Thursday, but Biden says he will keep his promise not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans. "I want to make it clear: I’m going to raise some taxes," Biden said last week. However, people making less than $400,000 a year "will not pay an additional single penny in any tax," he said. The budget blueprint will be the first that Biden has submitted to the Republican-controlled House, which is unlikely to go along with his proposal. Here's what we know about the proposed tax increases.

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DOJ sues to block JetBlue Spirit merger

Are JetBlue and Spirit merging? Not if the Department of Justice has anything to do with it. The DOJ filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block JetBlue's bid to merge with Spirit Airlines, the opening salvo in a coming antitrust trial as the agency fights to prevent the carriers from combining. The lawsuit said that the deal would end direct competition between JetBlue and Spirit and eliminate Spirit, the nation’s biggest "ultra-low-cost carrier," ultimately driving up ticket prices for passengers across the country. Here's what to know.

Ukraine: A stalemate in the skies

An estimated 60 Ukrainian aircraft have been downed since Russia's invasion began a year ago, but Moscow has lost more than 70, the top U.S. Air Force commander in Europe said. Gen. James Hecker said Russia’s larger air force failed to establish air superiority in the early days of the war, but that a virtual stalemate now exists in the skies. Russian air defenses are located in Russia, Belarus and parts of occupied Ukraine, he said, which will make it difficult for Ukraine to use air power in the counteroffensive the Ukrainians are planning for the spring and summer.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at Paste BN. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to Paste BN here.

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