Business/Economy (General/Chat)

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  • Shoplifters love Lego. The colorful plastic toy bricks are a goldmine for criminals

    06/30/2024 7:10:18 AM PDT · by Diana in Wisconsin · 17 replies
    Channel 3000 News/CNN ^ | June 30, 2024 | CNN Staff
    Lego’s fanbase, which famously cuts across kids, teenagers and grownup collectors, is seeing some unsavory characters break into the mix, and for all the wrong reasons. Lego products, especially the pricier sets that range from over $100 to $1,000 or more, are being targeted for theft both by individual shoplifters and larger organized retail crime rings who make a beeline for sets sitting on store shelves because they can fetch a good profit at resale both in legal and illegal channels. Miguel Zuniga, who operates a Bricks & Minifigs Lego resale franchise store in Lumita, Los Angeles County, is still...
  • Carville on Biden’s dismal debate: He relies on ‘employees’ not ‘advisers’

    06/30/2024 6:54:13 AM PDT · by Libloather · 9 replies
    The Hill ^ | 6/29/24 | Lauren Irwin
    Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said President Biden does not have advisers telling him what to do, he has employees, in comments after his poor debate showing on Thursday night. Since the debate between Biden and former President Trump, the conversation has been centered around if Biden should step aside and allow another Democrat to take on Trump in the polls. Carville told Axios that he never thought Biden running “was a nifty idea” and predicts that Biden will be off the ballot by Election Day. Some Democrats are sounding the alarm after the debate while others are sticking behind...
  • Pelosi on Democrats calling for Biden to step down: ‘I’m not doing it’

    06/30/2024 6:36:35 AM PDT · by Libloather · 26 replies
    The Hill ^ | 6/29/24 | Tara Suter
    Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she isn’t calling for President Biden to step down when asked about calls from Democrats for the president to do so in the wake of his negatively-reviewed presidential debate performance. “I don’t know who’s doing that,” Pelosi said of the calls for Biden to step aside and make room for someone new to enter the race against former President Trump, according to MSNBC, in an audio clip played on anchor Ali Velshi’s show Saturday. “I’m not doing it,” Pelosi said in the clip. Biden’s debate performance, during which he had a raspy voice...
  • Democrats fret about hit to Senate chances after Biden debate debacle

    06/30/2024 6:03:21 AM PDT · by Libloather · 24 replies
    The Hill ^ | 6/30/24 | Al Weaver, Alex Gangitano
    Democrats are worried President Biden’s dismal debate performance could doom any slim chance the party has for holding its Senate majority by further depressing turnout in critical battleground states. Democrats were already in a tough electoral spot, with Republicans only needing Montana or Ohio — in addition to their guaranteed pickup in West Virginia — to take the upper chamber. Thursday’s debate debacle only makes the road for incumbents in red or purple states more treacherous. “Last night was a bad night for the president and it was not a good night for the Democratic Party writ large,” said John...
  • Mother of murdered Texas girl, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, receives 'shock' phone call from Trump just minutes before he took the stage to debate Biden (Brandon's illegal aliens)

    06/30/2024 5:37:34 AM PDT · by Libloather · 34 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/29/24 | Ruth Bashinsky
    The mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray who was brutally murdered by two illegal migrants received a 'shock' phone call from former President Donald Trump only minutes before he took the stage to debate President Biden. Victoria Galvan - who is best friends with Jocelyn's mother Alexis Nungaray - shared how unexpected the call was and how much it meant to the heartbroken mom, whose daughter was strangled and found floating in a bayou only miles from their Houston home on June 16. 'He was like, "I'm actually about to come on for a debate" … He gave his condolences, and...
  • The End Of "Chevron" Deference

    06/30/2024 5:30:22 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 18 replies
    Manhattan Contrarian ^ | 28 Jun, 2024 | Francis Menton
    The rush of end-of-term decisions from the Supreme Court, not to mention last night’s presidential debate, gives me many more potential topics to write about than I could ever get to. How to choose? On the subject of the presidential debate, I doubt that I have anything to say that a hundred others have not said in the past 24 hours. So then, which of the latest crop of Supreme Court decisions is the most important? On that last question, my vote goes to Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This is the case that has rather emphatically overruled the 1984...
  • Michigan Democrats pass budget after giving Republicans just 45 minutes to read it: ‘Pork projects’

    06/29/2024 10:37:04 PM PDT · by Libloather · 18 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/29/24 | George Caldwell
    Michigan Democrats passed a sweeping $83 billion state budget, cutting teachers’ pensions and school-safety spending to fund ambitious new business projects — and more than $330 million for lawmakers’ pet projects. Thursday was a difficult day for Republicans, who “were given 45 minutes roughly to read the bill,” a 1,000+-page document, according to state Rep. Ann Bollin. **SNIP** With their extensive control of Michigan’s government bodies, Democrats are earmarking massive funds to specific businesses, as well. As state Rep. Mike Harris said, “The budget earmarks $17 million for zoos, $2 million for a boxing gym, $5 million for a theater,...
  • Biden claims at posh NJ fundraiser that his debate debacle impressed undecided voters

    06/29/2024 9:54:42 PM PDT · by Libloather · 18 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/30/24 | Katherine Donlevy
    President Biden went to a posh fundraiser at a New Jersey mansion Saturday and reportedly claimed to the crowd that his gaffe-filled, disastrous debate against Donald Trump actually converted undecided voters to his camp. The 81-year-old Commander-in-Chief made the dubious declaration at a private event at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, which his wife announced had raised $3.7 million, NJ.com reported. While Biden admitted to the small crowd that his debate performance was lackluster — prompting several major newspapers to call on him to bow out of his reelection bid — he said voters interpreted the event...
  • Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg slammed in hundreds of thousands of online posts: data

    06/29/2024 9:10:07 PM PDT · by Libloather · 2 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/29/24 | Lauren Elkies Schram
    His reputation is nothing to brag about. It’s an open and shut case online against soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who scored a dismal 56% in negative sentiment in discussions, articles and mentions across various platforms in the US over the last three months, according to data provided to The Post by social media expert Rila Global Consulting. In 483,000 posts, critics pointed to an array of policy failures and poor decisions, including his kid-glove pro-criminal approach to crime in Gotham, his leniency with anti-Israel protesters, his stance on policing and his criminal pursuit of former President Donald Trump....
  • Illegal immigrants setting up organized crime of every category in the U.S.

    06/29/2024 12:44:40 PM PDT · by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin · 17 replies
    Customer at work | 29 June 2024 | Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin
    The flood of illegal immigrants is starting to take effect on the crime situation. It's already bad with our homegrown bunch reared with little or no values, but now we have to deal with thousands out of the millions of illegal immigrants who not only have no values, they have been TAUGHT FROM THEIR YOUTH how to steal from and defraud others. A Spanish-speaking customer who just now stopped by told me he took another hard-working Hispanic friend from Austin to Houston to buy a 2023 Tacoma 4WD TRD pickup from an Hispanic. He made several mistakes, but that is...
  • EVs are giving new owners more headaches, and Tesla is a big reason why: J.D. Power study

    06/29/2024 10:02:29 AM PDT · by Signalman · 13 replies
    yahoo finance ^ | 6/28/2024 | Pras Subramanian
    Automotive research firm J.D. Power’s highly watched initial quality study is out — and it appears EVs are giving consumers big headaches. J.D. Power’s study tracks responses from nearly 100,000 purchasers and lessees of 2024 vehicles within the first 90 days of ownership, and for the first time in the study’s 38-year history, it incorporates repair visit data. Overall, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles averaged 180 PP100 (or 180 problems per 100 vehicles), while battery electric vehicles (BEVs) averaged a whopping 266 PP100, 86 points higher than ICE vehicles. Automakers have typically said that EVs are generally less problematic and...
  • Former doctor to Obama, Trump calls on Biden to resign: ‘National security issue’

    06/29/2024 7:07:03 AM PDT · by Libloather · 17 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/29/24 | Jon Levine
    President Biden likely suffers from a “cognitive disease” and should not only drop out of the presidential race but resign immediately, according to the former White House physician and current Republican Congressman who served former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. “This is a national security issue,” Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson told The Post after Biden’s disastrous debate performance. “As an American, I think he needs to step down and he needs to be immediately removed from office.” Before entering politics, Jackson served as Obama’s personal physician between 2013 and 2016. He served as Trump’s between 2016 and 2018. Trump...
  • White House aides fill group chats with distraught messages about the debate: 'Abysmal'

    06/29/2024 6:38:32 AM PDT · by Libloather · 24 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/28/24 | Geoff Earle
    There was chaos inside the White House on Friday as Democrat party operatives, long-time aides, and party donors came to terms with their candidate and boss spectacularly flopping in his disastrous debate with Donald Trump. A sense of foreboding set in among some Biden acolytes as they absorbed his car crash performance that has veterans of the Obama and Bill Clinton campaigns openly mulling whether he should be replaced. ‘Right now the people are all talking to each other,’ Bill Clinton guru James Carville told DailyMail.com. ‘Trust me it’s way more than the consultant class. And particularly the donor class,’...
  • Tractor Supply ends ‘woke’ DEI, climate change policies after boycott campaign

    06/29/2024 4:34:11 AM PDT · by dennisw · 29 replies
    NY POST ^ | June 28, 2024, | Taylor Herzlich
    66 Comments A major farm supply retailer said it will eliminate DEI roles, end its carbon emissions goals and cut ties to an LGBTQ advocacy group following a social media campaign calling for the firm to revoke its “woke” policies. Tennessee-based Tractor Supply — an 85-year-old company with 2,250 stores — made the decision after conservative commentator Robby Starbuck called for a boycott over the past three weeks on X. “We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them,” Tractor Supply said in a statement on Thursday. “We have taken this feedback to heart.” The retail chain — which...
  • Prosecutors will say in secret whether they used controversial spying tool against neo-Nazi accused in Baltimore power grid plot

    06/29/2024 3:56:20 AM PDT · by Libloather · 12 replies
    The Baltimore Sun via Yahoo ^ | 6/27/24 | Madeleine O'Neill,
    Federal prosecutors said they are willing to disclose whether they used a controversial surveillance program to foil a Florida neo-Nazi leader’s alleged plot to attack Baltimore’s power grid last year, but will only do so in secret, during a classified meeting with the judge handling the case. Government lawyers refused Thursday to disclose publicly whether they used Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to build the case against the accused plotter, Brandon C. Russell, but agreed to a private meeting with Senior U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar where they will provide more information. Russell’s defense team remains...
  • These Are The World's Least Affordable Housing Markets: Plus, Which Cities are More Affordable?

    06/28/2024 9:57:41 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 7 replies
    Visual Capitalist ^ | 06/28/2024 | Marcus Lu
    Many cities around the world have become very expensive to buy a home in, but which ones are the absolute most unattainable?In this graphic, Visual Capitalist' Marcus Lu highlights a number of housing markets that are deemed to be “impossibly unaffordable” in 2024, ranked by their median price-to-income ratio.This data comes from the Demographia International Housing Affordability Report, which is produced by the Chapman University Center for Demographics and Policy.Data and Key TakeawayThe median price-to-income ratio compares median house price to median household income within each market. A higher ratio (higher prices relative to incomes) means a city is less...
  • Harsh Reality for Record Number of Computer Science Grads: Software Employment Has Peaked

    06/28/2024 8:32:27 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 46 replies
    The Average Joe ^ | 06/27/2024 | Noah Weidner
    Tech companies and startups overhired, overspent, and overpromised — so what they’re doing now that the money isn’t coming as easily should be no surprise. Since 2022, the industry has laid off over 528K workers, echoing the downturns of the Dotcom Bubble and the Great Recession. Even with an improving economy and record stock valuations, jobs aren’t returning. This time, things might really be different.Peak software: ADP reports that the US employs fewer software developers than pre-pandemic — with a 17% drop since 2018. Job opportunities in traditionally stable tech fields are also drying up as software companies’ growth slows...
  • Large analysis finds that for healthy adults, taking multivitamins daily is not associated with a lower risk of death

    06/28/2024 6:01:25 PM PDT · by ChicagoConservative27 · 44 replies
    Medicalxpress ^ | 06/26/2024 | National Cancer Institute
    A large analysis of data from nearly 400,000 healthy U.S. adults followed for more than 20 years has found no association between regular multivitamin use and lower risk of death. The study, "Multivitamin Use and Mortality Risk in 3 Prospective US Cohorts" led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute, was published June 26, 2024, in JAMA Network Open.
  • Europe Endorses Its First mRNA Vaccine for RSV

    06/28/2024 4:41:09 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 9 replies
    Medscape ^ | June 28, 2024 | Peter Russell
    The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended granting a marketing authorization for the mRNA respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine mRESVIA (mRNA-1345) to protect adults aged 60 years or older from lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV infection. RSV is a highly contagious seasonal respiratory virus and a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. It is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can lead to serious consequences in older adults. mResvia (Moderna Biotech) is an mRNA vaccine that consists of an mRNA sequence encoding...
  • Houthi Attacks Causing More Damage in the Red Sea, Merchant Traffic Through Suez Canal Down More than 50%

    06/28/2024 3:23:08 PM PDT · by Retain Mike · 14 replies
    U.S. Naval Institute ^ | JUNE 20, 2024 | HEATHER MONGILIO
    “And I would say that really, it’s the Houthis that have failed to deter the United States and the international community from continuing to operate in the Red Sea. You know, they’ve conducted over 190 attacks, the vast majority of which have been knocked down, thanks to U. S. and international efforts to help safeguard shipping and the lives of mariners through operations like Operation Prosperity Guardian,” Ryder said.“The United States has continued to destroy Houthi offensive capabilities in Yemen, but the terror group continues to have sufficient means to threaten shipping. This offers insights regarding the size of the...