NEW YORK —

JetBlue is going hostile in its effort to acquire Spirit, the latest twist in an industry battle for the low-cost carrier.

Spirit previously rejected a takeover offer from JetBlue, favoring an earlier deal to merge with fellow budget airline Frontier.

Now, JetBlue is appealing directly to Spirit's shareholders, urging them to vote against the Frontier deal while launching its own all-cash offer of $30 per share.

JetBlue said in a statement Monday that its offer represented a "60% premium to the value of the Frontier transaction." The airline added that it was willing to negotiate a $33-per-share deal if Spirit agrees to provide information about its business that JetBlue claims has been withheld.

"The Spirit Board failed to provide us the necessary diligence information it had provided Frontier and then summarily rejected our proposal, which addressed its regulatory concerns, without asking us even a single question about it," JetBlue said in a letter addressed to Spirit shareholders. "The Spirit Board based its rejection on unsupportable claims that are easily refuted."

Spirit's rejection

Spirit rejected a $33 a share cash offer from JetBlue on April 2, saying that it didn't believe a merger with the company would be cleared by regulators, and that "given this substantial completion risk, we believe JetBlue's economic offer is illusory."

Instead, the Spirit board said it was sticking with a cash and stock deal it reached in January with Frontier. That deal was valued at that time at $25.83 for each Spirit share. But Frontier shares have since fallen.

Shares of Frontier were slightly higher in premarket trading Monday on news of JetBlue's hostile takeover attempt, but even with the rise, its offer for Spirit is worth less than $20 a share. Shares of Spirit were also higher on the JetBlue news, while JetBlue shares were narrowly lower.

Spirit did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Creating a bigger competitor

If Spirit and Frontier were to combine, the new airline would leapfrog JetBlue and Alaska Air in the number of miles flown by paying passengers, according to 2021 statistics, putting it behind the four major airlines that control about 80% of the nation's air traffic — American, Delta, United and Southwest Airlines.

Both Spirit and Frontier operate as ultra-low-cost carriers, with very low base fares and extra charges for just about anything else a passenger needs, including carry-on baggage.

They depend much more on bargain-hunting leisure travelers and carry fewer business travelers than their larger rivals. Spirit argues that the fact that JetBlue charges higher fares on average than Spirit or Frontier is another reason that regulators are unlikely to accept a deal.

"Spirit believes that merging with Frontier will enable the combined ultra-low-cost carrier business to achieve scale, improve operational reliability, have increased relevance to consumers, and do an even better job of delivering ultra-low fares to more consumers and competing more effectively against the Big Four carriers, as well as against JetBlue," Spirit said two weeks ago when it rejected JetBlue.

But JetBlue argued at that time that its fares are lower than those on the four major airlines, and when it enters a new route, fares for the major carriers are cut by about 16% because of the competition. The company said that is greater than the reduction in fares by the big four when either Spirit or Frontier enter a market.

Spirit's reputation

Although passengers might like low fares, many don't like the experience of flying with low-cost airlines.

Spirit had by far the highest number of complaints, with 13.25 complaints per 100,000 passengers, from January through September 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. JetBlue had the second most complaints on that basis with 6.85, while Frontier had the third-most in the industry with 5.76. Frontier had by far the worst rate of complaints in the same period of 2020 when it recorded 60.24 complaints per 100,000 customers.

Frontier and Spirit also had the industry's worst customer satisfaction ratings, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Meanwhile, JetBlue scored at the top or near the top in customer satisfaction rankings in different categories of travelers in a recent survey of 7,000 airline passengers by JD Power.

Antitrust concerns

The Biden administration has been much more active in challenging mergers and other combinations with the stated goal of promoting greater competition.

For example, JetBlue recently entered into an alliance with American Airlines that allows the two carriers to book passengers on each other's flights. In September, the Justice Department sued to end the agreement, saying it was bad for competition and airfares in the Northeast.

Both American and JetBlue have argued that passengers benefit from the agreement and are fighting the suit. Spirit argues that as long as JetBlue's alliance with American remains in place, there is no chance that JetBlue would be allowed by regulators to buy Spirit.

Gas prices may be skyrocketing, but Americans still love their RVs despite the fact that they often get 10 mpg — or less.

RV popularity boomed during the pandemic as travelers looked for safe ways to travel while maintaining social distance. Americans continue to turn to RVs even as they've grown increasingly comfortable flying and staying in hotels.

RV production in North America hit an all-time high in 2021, with more than 600,000 vehicles produced, according to RV Industry Association spokeswoman Monika Geraci. The association expects 2022 will be its second-best year of production ever. RVs are especially popular in the South and West.

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Thor Industries, which owns popular RV brands Airstream and Jayco, said this month that its sales were up 34.6% in the latest three months, compared with the same period last year. Thor Industries says it still has a backlog of RV orders worth $13.88 billion.

RV experts say consumers are adjusting to high gas prices by taking shorter trips.

"If you live in Phoenix and were thinking of Yosemite in California, you might do the Grand Canyon instead," said Randall Smalley, who leads marketing and business development at Cruise America, which rents RVs.

Dane Lee and his wife Jenna sold their Dallas home in 2020 and bought an RV as their jobs became remote during the pandemic.

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They've crossed the country twice in their RV, but will be staying closer to family in Birmingham, Alabama this year. Lee said their 150-gallon diesel tank can cost close to $900 to fill from empty. But they don't plan to go back to a traditional house.

"We had the house in the suburbs with a pool and a fence and that stuff. It got a little monotonous going to the office and going back home," Lee said. "The flexibility of having a new view every week is awesome. We've found where we want to be."

Jon Gray, CEO of RV Share, an online marketplace for renting RVs, told CNN Business that customers' average trip in May was slightly less than 350 miles, 9% shorter than in May of last year.

RV Share will be giving away $500,000 in gift cards to customers this year to compensate for increased gas prices on trips. Even with the high gas prices, last week RV Share had its biggest day of bookings this year, Gray said.

Jennifer Young, co-founder of the RV marketplace Outdoorsy, said that "near-cations" are a big trend, as many people stay within 100 miles of home. Young said the average nightly cost of an Outdoorsy rental has increased $5 from last year. Outdoorsy's rentals for the 4th of July are up 4% from last year, Young said.

The increased fuel costs of RVs may be more acceptable to travelers due to inflation across the economy, including more expensive airfare. RV costs may not look as daunting when compared to alternatives. RV travelers often bring their own food and cook, helping to manage costs. Many RV travelers drive exclusively on the first and last day of the trip and leave the RV parked the rest of the trip.

"RVs are not gas-powered vacations," Young said. "They look like they are because they have a steering wheel and four wheels."

RV experts say a growing industry trend is having an RV delivered to an RV site for a vacationing family to use.

Gray, the RV Share CEO, said 20% of his rentals involve the RV's owner driving the vehicle to a campground or destination and leaving it there for the renters. That way travelers can drive their own fuel-efficient vehicle to the RV's location. Then they can enjoy the benefits of vacationing in an RV — which can feel like having a hotel room whose door opens to some of the country's most beautiful places, like national parks — without ever having to fuel up the vehicle to drive it long distances. RV Share started offering the service early in the pandemic.

Airlines dealing with major staffing shortages are bracing for the busy Fourth of July travel weekend.

Some airlines have already had to cancel or delay flights.

Earlier this week, Delta's CEO apologized to its customers in advance and offered free flight changes for travelers this weekend.

Some airlines will offer travel vouchers or gift cards for passengers willing to be bumped on oversold flights, but what happened on one flight from Michigan to Minnesota this week, is almost unheard of.

According to passengers on the flight, Delta offered $10,000 for eight people to give up their seats on the plane.

Multiple passengers on social media confirmed it, saying it all started at the gate with an opening bid of $5,000.

When there weren’t any takers by the time boarding began, delta bumped the offer up to $7,500.

Once passengers were on board, a flight attendant announced they were still looking for volunteers, and offering $10,000 cash each.

They say it still took about 20 minutes before enough people decided to get up and take the offer.

Delta has not confirmed or denied the offer.

Carnival Cruise Line said Friday that the cruise giant will now be able to lift some pandemic-era restrictions for passengers as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reduces some of the requirements for cruise passengers amid heightened COVID-19 vaccination rates.

The cruise line said that the changes will be made in phases, and they include:

• No pre-cruise testing requirements for those passengers who are fully vaccinated and are on cruises lasting five nights or less
• For passengers with cruises lasting six nights or longer, passengers can test up to 3 days before departing on their trip with Carnival.
• Unvaccinated guests will not be able to access in-terminal testing on their departure day
• Guests 2-years-old and older will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test that is lab-administered or a supervised self-administered antigen COVID-19 test that was taken at least 3 days before departing on the cruise.

Carnival said in an announcement that the first changes will be made starting on Aug. 4, focusing on cruise itineraries that are 5 nights or less.

For passengers who need to keep up-to-date on changes with their cruise, Carnival asks that they go to their webpage, which will continue to be updated as needed.

The Royal Air Force flight that transported Queen Elizabeth II's coffin from Edinburgh to Greater London was the most tracked flight in history, according to the website Flightradar24.

The flight, destined for RAF Northolt was tracked within its first minute in the air, and as the BBC reported, the huge amount of web traffic to the sight during the flights caused disruptions for administrators.

The previous record for the most tracked flight was when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's flight from the U.S. on her tour of Asia was followed as she flew to Taiwan. That flight was followed by some 2.2 million viewers of Flightradar24.

As the BBC reported, Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was transported on an RAF Globemaster C-17 after it finished lying in state at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. It then was flown to Greater London, where it was driven to Buckingham Palace in London.

Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, accompanied the coffin on the flight.

The princess said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys."

She said she felt fortunate to be with her "dearest mother" in her final hours of life before her death.

The airline industry has faced challenges recently, which is not surprising to most. Airline industry leaders quickly battled to regain their footing as lockdowns lifted, but a busy summer season this past year was filled with unprecedented cancellations and delays.

Still, the industry has recognized some standout global stars that've managed to push their way to the top despite the turbulence.

The Skytrax World Airline Awards 2022 in London recognized those global airline names that have kept customers as happy as possible through the rough flights.

Delta came out as the best leading airline in the United States and won six region-specific award categories, CNN Travel reported.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

While this year's winner for best airline worldwide might be one that not many in the U.S. have flown, it's known as a standout star for avid international travelers.

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways group chief executive, thanks his "incredible employees" after the airline took the number one spot. As CNN Travel reported, just two months ago, the airline won number one on AirlineRatings.com's global rankings.

Al Baker said, "to win these awards in the same year that we celebrate our 25th anniversary is even more rewarding."

Qatar's number one spot was followed by Singapore Airlines at number two, Emirates at number three, Qantas Airways at number five, Turkish Airlines at number seven, Air France at number eight, and Virgin Airways at number 19.

Singapore won for best cabin staff, ANA All Nippon Airways won for the world's best airline cabin cleanliness, Ryanair won for the best low-cost airline in Europe, and Scoot won for the best long-haul low-cost airline.

Skytrax is a UK-based airline and airport review and rankings site.

2022's ceremony was the first time the Skytrax World Airline Awards have been held in person since 2019.

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A prototype, all-electric airplane took its first flight Tuesday morning in central Washington state.

The Seattle Times reports that if the Federal Aviation Administration eventually certifies the small airplane to carry passengers, it could become the first all-electric commercial airplane.

The plane, built by startup Eviation, was built to carry nine passengers and up two pilots. It took off from Moses Lake, Washington, at 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, and landed eight minutes later.

The company's goal is to show such electric planes are viable as commuter aircraft flying at an altitude of about 15,000 feet (4,572 meters).

The plane, designed by engineers in Washington state and Israel, is powered by 21,500 small Tesla-style battery cells.

The high prices, the canceled flights, the booked-up lodging and rental cars. The summer of travel chaos still seems hot and fresh somehow.

But it's time to look forward, for there's another crunch time looming less than two months away: the 2022 winter holiday travel season.

So put away your T-shirts, break out your sweaters and get ready for the winter holidays. Here's what to know:

When should I buy tickets for winter holiday flights?

Decision-making on when to buy airline tickets seems more complicated that ever. Prices change daily, even hourly. The staffing and capacity ramifications of the pandemic are still being felt.

But October is probably the best window of opportunity. In other words, NOW.

"Typically ... travelers tend to start planning their holiday travel too late, and they miss out on some of the best prices available," said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, the planning and booking travel app. And she told CNN Travel she is seeing people waiting later than ever to seal the deal during the pandemic rebound.

"For the holidays in particular, that's a real problem because now is actually the best time to be booking your Thanksgiving and Christmas travel," Berg said.

Hopper suggested in an email to wait no later than mid-October.

It's not just a pricing issue, Berg said. She also noted another risk by waiting: "Flights may be sold out completely on the dates you want to fly."

The worst time to book? 'The last minute'

Scott Keyes, the founder of flight deals and travel advice site Scott's Cheap Flights, told CNN Travel the very best deals were actually this past summer (remember that for 2023). But don't be discouraged this year, he said.

"The second best time to be booking your flights is now -- because the worst time to book them is to wait until the last minute," Keyes said. "If you haven't booked those flights already and you're really hoping to travel over the winter holidays, try to get it booked in the next week or two."

Keyes thinks air fares are likely to get more expensive, not less, as we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Phil Dengler, a co-owner of the travel resource The Vacationer, uses a popular fall holiday as his guide.

"I view Halloween as the cutoff date for getting a reasonable price on a Thanksgiving flight, but aim to get booked before then," Dengler said in an email interview. "After Halloween, prices will increase considerably as Thanksgiving gets closer. For Christmas flights, you should really book before Thanksgiving, but the best deals are between now and Halloween."

The auto and travel club AAA had different pricing data for Thanksgiving air fares.

Based on booking data from 2019, 2021 and 2022 so far, AAA found the lowest average fares just seven to 14 days before Thanksgiving, with the highest prices 28 to 60 days before the holiday. However, the data also showed prices rising in the last seven days before the holiday.

So should you wait? A lot depends on personal circumstances such as your budget and how flexible you are with your flying plans, AAA told CNN Travel. If you don't have a lot of wiggle room, it might not be worth the risk to wait for a chance at a lower fare.

"Airlines have fewer flights than they did in 2019, which means fewer options for consumers," said AAA's Paula Twidale, senior vice president of travel. "With staff shortages and capacity being at its peak, you run the risk of being delayed or even missing flights, particularly if weather plays into the equation."

What are the best days to fly for Thanksgiving?

Expedia shared some insights on when to travel for Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 24):

To save money, the travel company suggested waiting until Monday (Nov. 21) to depart instead of Saturday (Nov. 19) and Sunday (Nov. 20), "as the weekend is the most expensive time to start your Thanksgiving week trip."

Average ticket prices for Monday are more than 30% lower than Saturday and nearly 15% cheaper than Wednesday (Nov. 23), it said.

As for returns, Expedia said Friday (Nov. 25) is the cheapest date. Coming back Monday (Nov. 28) instead of Sunday (Nov. 27) could save from 5% to 10%.

Hopper also suggests flying Thanksgiving Day if you can, offering savings of around $100 off peak prices. Plus planes should be less crowded.

Keyes said the Thanksgiving weekend comes with a bonus. "Thanksgiving is the hidden best week for international travel," Keyes said.

Why is that?

Christmas and New Year's are celebrated worldwide and thus come with global demand, but Thanksgiving is just a U.S. holiday, he said. Domestic flights are pricey, but not international ones.

"You find some incredible deals all throughout Europe over Thanksgiving week." He said that on one price check this week, he found cheaper fare from New York City to Lisbon, Portugal ($429 round-trip, than to Cedar Rapids, Iowa ($567 round-trip).

What are the best days to fly for Christmas?

Hopper had advice on when to travel for Christmas (Sunday, Dec. 25):

For departure, it said travelers can save $120 off peak prices by departing the Monday (Dec. 19) or Tuesday (Dec. 20) before Christmas. Leaving on Christmas Eve could save people about $100 this year, Hopper estimated. The site said avoid flying out Thursday (Dec. 22) or Friday (Dec. 23), as those will be the most expensive travel days.

For returns, the Tuesday (Dec. 27) or Wednesday (Dec. 28) after Christmas Day could save you $40 per ticket. It said avoid coming back on Monday (Dec. 26), New Year's Day or Jan. 2, the most expensive return dates.

Some other tips from the experts

Have your ducks in a row: "Preparation is the best way to reduce stress when flying over Thanksgiving and Christmas," Dengler said. "If possible, book a nonstop flight early in the morning" on a lower-volume travel day. He also advised not checking a bag if possible.

Treat yourself: If you fly several times a year or more and value a low stress level, Keyes suggested getting a credit card that includes "compelling perks." That includes access to special airport lounges that get you away from the crowds and offer free food, drinks and even massages.

Avoid the rush: If you're driving, Twidale said leave early in the morning before rush hour or after 8 p.m. If you need a rental car, reserve it early to lock into the rate and pay in advance to save money. If you're flying but driving to the airport, book parking spaces. She also suggested enrolling in TSA Pre-check to bypass long security lines.

Hotels: Berg said if you're headed to a big city (think New York, Chicago, etc.), you are likely to get a better deal if you wait until just a few days before your arrival date to book the room. The caveats: This is for people who aren't dead set on a certain hotel or specific neighborhood. And for smaller cities, she said people should still book earlier as choices are limited.

New electric-vehicle automaker Rivian recalled nearly all of its vehicles, causing a Monday slip of its stock during trading on Wall Street, intensifying concerns from investors.

The company fears that it could have problems meeting production and sales targets for 2023, Reuters reported. And the specific details regarding the latest large recall are a source of concern for investors, with a fastener on the vehicles that might not have been tightened correctly in the factory, CNBC reported.

The company announced late on Friday that it needed to recall over 12,000 vehicles, which amounts to just about every electric vehicle the company has produced so far.

Included in the recall are Rivian's R1T pickup and R1S SUV manufactured through September. Some EDV delivery fans produced by Rivian are also included in the recall, which was produced for Amazon.

The company estimates that only about 1% of the 12,212 total vehicles included in the recall have the defect, but that didn't stop the company's stock from dropping over 10% during Monday trading.

The fastener defect is related to the front suspension, which the company says may not have been fully tightened in some vehicles. If the fastener isn't tight, it could affect front-end alignment causing vibrations and noise and influencing the steering feeling.

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Starbucks customers can now earn more than just "stars" for their purchases.

Effective Wednesday, the coffee chain is partnering with Delta Air Lines and awarding 1 mile for every $1 spent at Starbucks in an alliance between "two of America's most highly regarded loyalty programs," the companies said in a press release.

Customers must first link their Starbucks Rewards and Delta SkyMiles accounts on a special website in order to start receiving miles on purchases made at U.S. Starbucks locations. As another perk, on days that members are scheduled to fly Delta, they will earn double stars, or rewards points, on their Starbucks orders.

To entice customers to join the partnership, members who link their accounts between now and Dec. 31 will earn an additional 500 SkyMiles and, after joining and making one Starbucks purchase, they will accrue 150 stars, enough for a free coffee.

The brands have two of the country's most popular loyalty programs. Starbucks has more than 27 million U.S. members and Delta has around 100 million global members (the airline doesn't break out numbers for the U.S.).

Expanding Starbucks Rewards is a goal for the company because it gives the chain access to customers' data and ordering habits, which in turn helps the company target members with deals. Plus, members typically spend more money on each purchase compared to non-members. Partnerships like these help Starbucks "increase awareness and drive growth," as well as attract new members, the chain said in the release.

The coffee giant is also taking a page from Delta's playbook, as the airline already has a number of partnerships allowing members to accrue SkyMiles without flying, including for Lyft rides, Instacart purchases and Airbnb stays. The carrier said in the release that this new partnership helps the company "deliver more moments and interactions that matter, both in the air and on the ground."

Starbucks' newest perk to its loyalty program comes as rival Dunkin' recently made changes to parts of its own program, which has sparked some outrage among members.

The weary Indigenous men gathered at their base camp, nestled among towering trees and dense vegetation that form a disorienting sea of green. They sensed that their ancestral land — Selva Madre, or Mother Jungle — was unwilling to let them find the four children who'd been missing since their charter plane crashed weeks earlier in a remote area in southern Colombia.

Indigenous volunteers and military crews had found signs of hope: a baby bottle, half-eaten fruit, dirty diapers strewn across a wide swatch of rainforest. The men were convinced the children had survived. But punishing rains, harsh terrain and the passing of time had diminished their spirits and drained their stamina.

The weak of body, of mind, of faith do not make it out of this jungle. Day 39 was do or die — for the children and the search teams.

That night at camp, Manuel Ranoque, father of the two youngest children, reached for one of the most sacred rituals of Indigenous groups of the Amazon — yagé, a bitter tea made of plants native to the rainforest, more widely known as ayahuasca. For centuries, the hallucinogenic cocktail has been used as a cure for all ailments by people in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil.

Henry Guerrero, a volunteer who joined the search from the children's home village near Araracuara, told The Associated Press his aunt prepared the yagé for the group. They believed it would induce visions that could lead them to the children.

“I told them, 'There’s nothing to do here. We will not find them with the naked eye. The last resource is to take yagé,'” Guerrero, 56, said. “The trip really takes place in very special moments. It is something very spiritual.”

Ranoque sipped, and the men kept watch for a few hours. When the psychotropic effects passed, he told them it hadn't worked.

Some searchers were ready to leave. But the next morning, 40 days after the crash, an elder reached for what little was left of the yagé and drank it. Some people take it to connect with themselves, cure illnesses or heal a broken heart. Elder José Rubio was convinced it would eventually help find the kids, Guerrero said.

Rubio dreamed for some time. He vomited, a common side effect.

This time, he said, it had worked. In his visions, he saw them. He told Guerrero: “’We’ll find the children today.”

___

The four children — Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin — grew up around Araracuara, a small Amazon village in Caquetá Department that can be reached only by boat or small plane. Ranoque said the siblings had happy but independent lives because he and his wife, Magdalena Mucutuy, were often away from home.

Lesly, 13, was the mature, quiet one. Soleiny, 9, was playful, and Tien, nearly 5 before the crash, restless. Cristin, 11 months then, was just learning to walk.

At home, Mucutuy grew onions and cassava, and used the latter to produce fariña, a type of flour, for the family to eat and sell. Lesly learned to cook at age 8; in the adults' absence, she often cared for her siblings.

The morning of May 1, the children, their mother and an uncle boarded a light plane. They were headed to the town of San José del Guaviare. Weeks earlier, Ranoque had fled his home village, an area where illegal drug cultivation, mining and logging have thrived for decades. He told AP he feared pressure from people connected to his industry, though he refused to provide details about the nature of his job or business dealings.

“The work there is not safe,” Ranoque said. "And it is illegal. It has to do with other people ... in a sector that I can’t mention because I put myself more at risk.”

He said he left Mucutuy $9 million Colombian pesos, about $2,695 U.S. dollars, before leaving to pay for food, other necessities and the charter flight. He wanted the children out of the village because he feared they could be recruited by one of the rebel groups in the area.

They were on their way to meet Ranoque when the pilot of the Cessna single-engine propeller plane declared an emergency due to engine failure. The aircraft fell off the radar a short time later.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday ... The engine failed me again ... I’m going to look for a river ... I have here a river to my right,” pilot Hernando Murcia reported to air traffic control at 7:43 a.m., according to a preliminary report released by aviation authorities.

“103 miles out of San José … I’m going to land."

___

The Colombian military launched a search for the plane when it failed to arrive at its destination. About 10 days later, with no plane and no signs of life found, the Indigenous volunteers joined the effort. They were much more familiar with the terrain and the families in the area. One man told them the plane was making an odd noise when it flew over his house. That helped them sketch out a search plan that followed the Apaporis River.

As they walked the unforgiving terrain and took breaks in groups, ants crawled on them and mosquitoes feasted on their blood. One searcher almost lost an eye to a tree branch, and others developed allergy- and flu-like symptoms.

They kept searching.

Historically, the military and indigenous groups have feuded, but deep in the jungle, after food supplies and optimism diminished, they shared water, meals, GPSs and satellite phones.

Sixteen days after the crash, with morale running low among all search parties, searchers found the wreckage. The plane appeared to have nosedived — it was was found in a vertical, nose-down position.

The group assumed the worst. The men had found the wreckage and seen human remains. Guerrero said he and others started packing up their camp.

But one of the men who'd walked up to the plane spoke up.

“Hey,” he said, according to Guerrero. “I didn't see the kids.” The man slowly realized that when they found the wreckage, they hadn't seen any children's bodies. He'd approached the plane and seen the children's bags outside. He noticed that some stuff appeared as if someone had moved it after the crash.

He was right. The bodies of three adults were recovered from inside the aircraft. But there was no sign of the children, nor any indications they were seriously injured, according to the preliminary report.

The military's special operations forces changed its strategy, based on the evidence that the children might be alive. No longer were they quietly moving through the jungle.

“We moved on, to a second phase,” 1st Vice Sgt. Juan Carlos Rojas Sisa said. “We went from the stealth part to the noise part so that they could hear us.”

They yelled Lesly’s name and played a recorded message from the children’s maternal grandmother asking them in Spanish and the language of the Huitoto people to stay in place. Helicopters dropped boxes with food and leaflets with messages. The armed forces also brought its trained dogs, including a Belgian Shepherd named Wilson who did not return to its handler and is missing.

On the ground, nearly 120 members of the military and more than 70 Indigenous people were searching for the children, day and night. They left whistles for the children to use if they found them, and marked about 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) with crime scene-like tape, hoping the children would take the markings as a sign to stay put.

They began to find clues to the children's location, including a footprint they believed to be Lesly's. But no one could find the kids.

Some searchers had already walked more than 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) — the distance between Lisbon and Paris, or Dallas and Chicago. Exhaustion was setting in, and the military implemented a plan to rotate soldiers.

Guerrero made a call and asked for the yagé. It arrived two days later.

____

On day 40, after Elder Rubio took the yagé, the searchers combed the rainforest again, starting from the site where they found the diapers. His vision had reignited hopes but provided no specifics on where the children might be. Groups fanned out in different directions. But as the day went on, they returned to base camp with no news.

Sadness set in at camp. Guerrero told Ranoque as teams returned: “Nothing. We couldn't ... there is nothing.”

Then came the news. A soldier heard via radio that the four children had been found — 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crash site, in a small clearing. Rescue teams had passed within 20 to 50 meters (66 to 164 feet) on several occasions but missed them.

The solider told Guerrero, who ran to Ranoque. “They found the four,” he said, through tears and hugs.

A helicopter lifted the kids out of the dense forest. They were first flown to San José del Guaviare and then to the capital, Bogota, each with a team of health care professionals. They were covered in foil blankets and hooked to IV lines due to dehydration. Their hands and feet showed scratches and insect bites.

Ranoque said Lesly reported that her mother died about four days after the crash. The children survived by collecting water in a soda bottle and eating cassava flour, fruit and seeds. They were found with two small bags holding clothes, a towel, a flashlight, two phones and a music box.

Tien and Cristin had birthdays while searchers looked for them.

All four remain in the hospital. A custody fight has broken out, with some relatives claiming Ranoque was violent against the children's mother. He has admitted to verbal and occasional physical fights, which he called “a private family matter.” He's also said he's not been able to see the two oldest children.

Officials, medical professionals, special forces and others have praised Lesly's leadership. She and her siblings have become a symbol of resilience and survival across the globe. The Colombian government, meanwhile, has boasted of the cooperation among Indigenous communities and the military as it tries to end national conflicts.

“The jungle saved them,” President Gustavo Petro said. “They are children of the jungle, and now they are also children of Colombia.”

That's true, Ranoque told AP, but the Indigenous culture and rituals saved them, too. He credits the yagé and the vision of the elder among their group.

“This is a spiritual world,” he said, and the yagé “is of the utmost respect. It is the maximum concentration that is made in our spiritual world as an indigenous people.”

That's why they drank the tea in the jungle, he said: “That was so that the goblin, that cursed devil, would release my children.”

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SHEREE: I THINK KINGS ISLAND IS TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE. THAT IS JUST THE WEATHER WE WILL BE FACING AT THE END OF THIS WEEK. KEVIN: I THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE TO CANCEL WINTERFEST IN THIS CASE. WE ARE TALKING WHEN CHILLS THAT ARE 20 AND 30° BELOW ZERO. IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE IT HAS BEEN THAT COLD. WHEN CHILLS WILL STAY BELOW ZERO THROUGH CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON. LIFE-THREATENING COLD WILL BE OF ALONG DURATION. LET’S BREAK DOWN THE STORM. WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR POWER OUTAGES TOO, WITH GUSTS THAT CAN GET UP TO 50 AT TIMES. WHEN YOU HAVE TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES ABOVE ZERO, IT IS EASY TO GET WIND CHILLS THAT ARE GREATER THAN 20° BELOW ZERO WHEN YOU ARE TALKING WIND SPEEDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE. THE OTHER WORRY CONTINUES TO BE THAT THIS -- DISRUPTION TO TRAVEL AS WELL. THE BIGGER PROBLEM IS, DO NOT EXPECT BIG IMPROVEMENTS DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY, BECAUSE OUR TEMPERATURES WILL BE BETWEEN ZERO AND FIVE ABOVE. ROAD TREATMENT IS LESS EFFECTIVE WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT TEMPERATURES THAT COLD. THE IMPACTS WILL BE HIGH ON FRIDAY EVEN THOUGH THE WORST OF THE WEATHER IS LIKELY TO MOVE IN WHILE WE GO TO BED THURSDAY NIGHT AND THE SNOW WILL BE OVER BY THE TIME YOU WAKE UP ON FRIDAY, BUT THE EFFECTS WILL LINGER THROUGH THE DAY. ON THURSDAY, A LITTLE RAIN AND WIND. THE WEATHER IS ESSENTIALLY QUIET UP UNTIL THURSDAY. WE WILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY TOMORROW. SHOWERS THURSDAY MORNING. THURSDAY EVENING, IT IS STILL RAINING. WE WILL LIKELY BE IN THE MID 40’S. A STRONG COLD FRONT COMES THROUGH BY 10:00 P.M. A QUICK TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW AND HERE IS THE PROBLEM. BY MIDNIGHT, TEMPERATURES ARE CRASHING TO THE TEENS AND SINGLE DIGITS. I THINK OVERNIGHT THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY, IT WILL BE IMPRESSIVE WITH THE SNOW AND WIND. IT WILL GET NASTY PRETTY QUICKLY. THE SNOW WAS GONE BY THE TIME YOU WAKE UP FRIDAY MORNING. RIGHT NOW, SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE 1-3 INCH RANGE, WITH SOME AREAS POSSIBLY SEEING AS MUCH AS FOUR. LOOK AT THESE WIND CHILLS AT 7:00 FRIDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES 25-30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. THAT IS DANGEROUS COLD. IT MAKES 33 FEEL WARM. TEMPERATURES IN THE 20’S IN THE SUBURBS IN MOST LOCATIONS. A NICE WARM UP TOMORROW AS WE GET CLOSE TO 50 BY AFTERNOON. 48 FOR A HIGH. HERE IS A LOOK AT YOUR DAY PLANNER, PRETTY NICE FROM START TO FINISH AROUND THE AREA. HOPEFULLY YOU ARE TRAVELING TOMORROW VERSUS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. 40° ON THURSDAY. -- 48 DEGREES ON THURSDAY. THIS LOOKS TO BE A VERY IMPACTFUL WINTER STORM.

A powerful and dangerous winter storm will impact our region before Christmas.

CINCINNATI —

A powerful and dangerous winter storm will impact our region before Christmas.