Southwest
Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden slaps hotel with lawsuit over incident that derailed career: 'Didn't happen'
FIRST ON FOX: Former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill, the man credited with killing Usama Bin Laden, is speaking out after recently filing a lawsuit against the hotel where he allegedly assaulted a security guard and used a racial slur, which he vehemently denies and says has crippled his business career.
“I’ve lost a ton of business. There was a point in my career where I was giving 300 speeches in one year, between 250 and 300 speeches and that many cities in a year, and now it’s just dried up, because it’s a bad look that didn’t happen,” O’Neill told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview about the notorious incident at the Omni Hotel in Frisco, Texas, in August last year when he was accused of assaulting a loss-prevention officer while intoxicated and calling that guard, who is White, the “N word.”
O’Neill, a former SEAL Team Six member who has received two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars, says he never assaulted anyone and never used the slur, which prompted him to file a lawsuit against the Omni Hotel. In the lawsuit, O’Neill argues that the security guard, Johnny Lee Loomis, should never have been hired, due to his allegedly checkered past, and alleges that he made false statements about that night.
“Hotel Defendants knowingly, recklessly, and negligently hired and retained Loomis as a security guard, despite Loomis’ publicly available history as a pedophile and child sex purveyor,” the lawsuit states. “Hotel Defendants also knowingly, recklessly, and negligently hired and retained Loomis as a security guard despite his known history of violence and of making false accusations of violence and misconduct against Hotel guests.”
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O’Neill acknowledges that he had had a drink after a long day after a speaking engagement, falling asleep at the hotel bar, and that he had encountered Loomis while trying to get back into his room, but denies striking Loomis or calling him a racial slur.
“It had been a long day flying from New York to Dallas, and then we had a dinner meeting and whatnot and went to the cigar bar and then came back, and generally just being in a hospitality environment such as a hotel, you know, you sit at the bar having a try to have a nightcap and then fell asleep at the bar, which, unfortunately, has happened before and then getting semi-escorted up to my hotel room, which is fine. I guess that can happen,” O’Neill recounted.
“It’s odd that it’s only one guy that did it. It’s odd the way that he knew he was going to a place with no audio and video, and also it’s just odd that he’s trying to use my wallet, my key, when as a loss-prevention officer, he has a key to a room. And any time I’ve seen it happen or been around security guys from a hotel, they have their own key. They don’t need the guy’s keys. So I was actually surprised at first when the police showed up.”
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O’Neill continued. “It wasn’t until later that I found out that not only had I been accused of assault, I’d been accused of using a racial slur. And that, to me, was odd, too, along with the one guy escorting me up to him being a middle-aged white guy, like a dude in his 60s and all of a sudden he’s claiming assault and claiming a racial slur, which with two guys alone in a hallway is just to me, silly.”
O’Neill said the slur is a “horrible word” that he would “never use” and says he supports law enforcement and was treated well by local police, but alleges in the lawsuit that Loomis has a track record of false statements and altercations with guests.
The lawsuit states that Loomis has “been involved in several other physical altercations with guests at the Hotel” and that in one case, Loomis “published false statements and instigated that guest’s arrest, claiming the guest had started the altercation.”
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“On at least one occasion before August 22, 2023, law enforcement personnel specifically warned Hotel Defendants about Loomis and his background,” the lawsuit states. “Yet, Hotel Defendants retained Loomis in his supervisory role, giving him continued, unsupervised access to Hotel premises and guests of all ages. Hotel Defendants also took no remedial or disciplinary action against Loomis.”
“This lawsuit seeks substantial compensatory and punitive damages against Hotel Defendants for negligent hiring, screening, retention, and supervision arising from Hotel Defendants’ employment of Loomis, for Loomis’ false statements, and for events that occurred at the Hotel on or about August 22, 2023,” it said.
The lawsuit also states that Loomis did not hold the proper security guard registration credentials in accordance with Texas law and that Louisiana law enforcement, where Loomis had been previously employed, had called to warn the hotel about Loomis and the hotel continued employing him.
O’Neill told Fox News Digital that a main reason he filed the lawsuit was to restore his name that he says has been forever sullied due to false allegations.
“There’s a ton of damage done, and the internet is forever,” O’Neill said. “And it’s just hard to just sit here and say, well, that’s not really me, when it’s already out there. People that know me know this is not me. Obviously, I want to restore my reputation. I want to restore the way my family is treated and the way that they think about my reputation and their relationships with me. And most importantly, I’ve been thinking about this for a year, and I assure you, that’s a long time to keep my mouth shut, especially with my platforms. But, I really don’t want anyone else to have to deal with this.”
“When my grandkids Google my name or Neptune’s Spear or 9/11, this article that’s not even true will come up, and that affects everything from my family life, my legacy, my business, my military career,” O’Neill added.
“Even friends and family, when they’ve gone places, they’ve heard whispers and stuff like that, it’s just, it’s a shame. And. I mean, the lawsuit speaks for itself, but again, just the fact that there are people out there that will print anything for a headline.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Omni Hotel, which provided the following statement: “On August 23, 2023, the Frisco Police Department was dispatched to the Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star due to a disturbance call regarding guest, Robert O’Neill. Upon arrival on the scene, the responding police officers conducted their own investigation and made the determination to take Mr. O’Neill into custody.”
“The Frisco Police Department arrested Mr. O’Neill for public intoxication and assault. The security staff at the Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star followed all appropriate protocols to ensure the safety of its guests and associates.
“We will let due process play out in the court of law. Omni Hotels & Resorts followed all standard and legal protocols, including background checks upon hiring Mr. Loomis, which includes all national registries. No convictions and arrests were found. Omni has placed Mr. Loomis on suspension while this incident is under investigation. There will be no further comment at this time.”
Loomis did not respond to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
EXCLUSIVE: Red state sues insurer for using customer data to build ‘world’s largest driving behavior database'
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Allstate insurance company for allegedly illegally collecting, using and selling the driving behavior data of over 45 million Americans.
Paxton filed the suit in the District Court for Montgomery County, Texas, on Monday morning. In the suit, he accuses Allstate, and its subsidiary data analytics company “Arity,” of secretly using driving data from over 45 million Americans’ mobile devices, in-car devices and vehicles to build the “world’s largest driving behavior database,” consisting of “trillions of miles” worth of data.
“Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid millions of dollars to install Allstate’s tracking software,” Paxton said in a Monday statement. “The personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law. Texans deserve better and we will hold all these companies accountable.”
A representative for Allstate Corporation, however, claims that its data collection system “fully complies with all laws and regulations.” Allstate is one of the largest auto, home and life insurance companies in the U.S. It is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois.
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The suit said that in 2015, Allstate and Arity developed and integrated software into several third-party apps so that when a consumer downloaded these apps onto their phone, they unwittingly downloaded the tracking software. Once Allstate’s software was downloaded onto a customer’s device, they could monitor the consumer’s location and movement in real time.
According to the suit, the company used the driving data to justify raising customers’ insurance rates and further profited by selling the data to third parties, including other insurance companies.
“Defendants [Allstate and Arity] never informed consumers about their extensive data collection, nor did Defendants obtain consumers’ consent to engage in such data collection,” the suit said. “Finally, Defendants never informed consumers about the myriad of ways Defendants would analyze, use, and monetize their sensitive data.”
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Paxton said that because tens of millions of Americans, including millions of Texans, were never informed about their driving data being gathered, Allstate’s data-gathering scheme violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the Data Broker Law, and the Texas Insurance Code’s prohibition on unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the insurance business.
He is asking the court to permanently block Allstate from continuing to gather and use customers’ data and to impose thousands of dollars in civil penalties per customer.
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Meanwhile, a representative for Allstate Corporation told Fox News Digital that its data collection system is completely legal.
“Arity helps consumers get the most accurate auto insurance price after they consent in a simple and transparent way that fully complies with all laws and regulations,” the representative said.
According to Paxton, this suit is the first enforcement action ever filed by a state attorney general to enforce a comprehensive data privacy law.
Fox News Digital reached out to Allstate but did not immediately receive a response.
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Los Angeles, Ca
The wildfires have created an entirely new housing crisis in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Recent wildfires have left a devastating mark on the Los Angeles area, displacing families and exacerbating an already dire housing crisis.
Rents in the region are on the up, with accusations of short-term price gouging by landlords making national headlines. While experts say rents increasing by as much as 20% is unlikely, KTLA 5 consumer reporter David Lazarus noted that the upward trend is undeniable and adds significant stress for displaced residents.
Lazarus spoke with Marco Giacoletti, a housing expert at the University of Southern California, to better understand the crisis.
One potential solution to help with the ongoing housing crisis involves revisiting zoning laws to permit higher-density housing in working-class neighborhoods like Altadena, which was ravaged by the Eaton Fire.
“Rather than putting up single-family residences, we could allow developers to build duplexes and apartments,” Lazarus said.
And while this could increase housing availability, Lazarus says it would undoubtedly “change the character of many neighborhoods,” and would be a tough sell for longtime residents.
“I think it would be highly controversial,” Giacoletti said. “So it’s hard to say whether this is going to happen or not.”
Lazarus pointed out that most major cities globally have adopted higher-density housing to address similar challenges, avoiding long commutes and keeping residents closer to urban centers.
But for residents in Pasadena, Altadena, Malibu and Pacific Palisades, distance from the city center may have been a selling point for laying roots there, not a detriment.
“As with the rest of the world, at some point, L.A. is going to have to perhaps consider these steps, that these neighborhoods, these very homey neighborhoods that we’ve enjoyed for decades now, might not be in step with the times,” he said.
The fires have also renewed calls for a rent freeze in Los Angeles County.
While consumer advocates argue such measures are necessary, Giacoletti warned of potential unintended consequences in the form of landlords taking their properties off the marketplace altogether, further worsening the housing crunch.
For those who lost their homes, rebuilding poses significant hurdles, Lazarus said.
“In Altadena, there’s a number of people who are uninsured. They’re just off the playing field at this point,” Lazarus explained. Even for those with insurance, Laz said, overages and delays could prolong the process for years. “Some estimates say it could take five years or more for many of these residents to rebuild.”
Compounding the difficulty are offers from predatory buyers and lowball settlement offers from insurers. Lazarus says to be very skeptical of any cash offer you might receive.
“If you get such an offer, not saying walk away from it, but get a second opinion first,” Lazarus advised. He emphasized the importance of consulting real estate professionals or other insurers to understand the long-term value of properties.
“The value of the structure, if your house is burned down, is zero,” Lazarus said. “The value of the underlying land can still be profound,” accounting for up to two-thirds of the overall value, according to the Los Angeles County Assessor.
As Los Angeles faces an uncertain future, the path to recovery will require innovative solutions, resilience, and adaptability in the wake of the crisis.
Southwest
Abbott orders flags at full-staff for Trump's inauguration despite one month order to honor Carter
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that flags at the state Capitol building in Austin and at all state office buildings will be raised to full-staff next Monday, Jan. 20, to mark President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
The move comes despite the official order by President Biden after the Dec. 29 death of former President Jimmy Carter that flags across the country would fly at half-staff for a 30-day mourning period.
Abbott said in his announcement that “on January 20, our great nation will celebrate our democratic tradition of transferring power to a new President by inaugurating the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. As we unite our country and usher in this new era of leadership, I have ordered all flags to be raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings for the inauguration of President Trump.”
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“While we honor the service of a former President, we must also celebrate the service of an incoming President and the bright future ahead for the United States of America,” added the conservative three-term Texas governor.
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An Abbott adviser told Fox News that flags at the Texas Capitol and at state offices would resume flying at half-staff on Jan. 21.
“Texas continues to mourn with our fellow Americans across the country over the passing of former President Jimmy Carter,” Abbott said in his statement. “President Carter’s steadfast leadership left a lasting legacy that will be felt for generations to come, which together as a nation we honor by displaying flags at half-staff for 30 days.”
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According to the U.S. flag code, U.S. flags are flown at half-staff for a 30-day period to mark the passing of a current or former president, at federal government buildings, military installations and vessels, and at U.S. embassies and other facilities around the world.
Since the U.S. flag code dictates that no flag should fly higher than the American flag on the same or nearby poles, state flags also are lowered during such mourning periods.
Trump earlier this month claimed on social media that “Democrats are all ‘giddy’” about flags being flown at half-staff during his inauguration.
“Nobody wants to see this,” Trump argued. “No American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The U.S. flag code isn’t mandatory, which means that Trump could technically override it once he’s inaugurated as president.
The Associated Press observed that a flag at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida was flying at full height on Monday.
The flag had been flying at half-staff, but had been raised in the days after Carter’s funeral service at National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and burial in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, both of which took place on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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