News

Solar Eclipse Tourism Spurs Surge In Hotel Bookings

Axios reports: A glimpse of next month’s once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse is already one of the country’s hottest attractions. Millions of people are planning to travel to areas with the best views, and businesses are cashing in on the hype by offering eclipse-themed goodies. Come April 8, as the moon’s shadow passes northeast across North America, it should completely engulf several …

Read More »

Targets Takes 10-Item Self-Checkout Limit Nationwide

NBC News reports: Target is set to limit the number of items that can be purchased in its self-checkout lanes to 10 items or fewer. The retail giant said Friday that the change would take effect Sunday at most of its almost 2,000 stores nationwide. Some self-checkout lanes may also close entirely at certain hours depending on foot traffic patterns, …

Read More »

Iceland Sees 4th Volcanic Eruption In Months [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: Emergency teams worked through the night to bolster defensive barriers around the evacuated fishing town of Grindavik as lava from the fourth volcanic eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula since December flowed towards it. After weeks of warnings that semi-molten rock was building up under the ground, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the eruption, at 8.23pm local …

Read More »

Manchin Won’t Rule Out Independent Senate Bid

The West Virginia Metro News reports: Senator Joe Manchin, following a national news report about the slim possibility that he could still run for his current seat as an independent, said there’s no way. Mostly no way. CNN reported this week that Schumer had talked with Manchin about the possibility of running as an independent for U.S. Senate, a decision …

Read More »

RBG’s Family Furious Over Namesake Award For Musk

The Washington Post reports: The family of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg and some of the Supreme Court justice’s former colleagues have denounced this year’s slate of honorees for an award that a philanthropic foundation bestows in the name of the liberal icon. In a statement Friday, the family called the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation’s plans to give its “Ruth …

Read More »

Realtors Group Slashes Commissions, Settles Lawsuits

The New York Times reports: American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after a real estate trade group agreed to a landmark deal that will eliminate a bedrock of the industry, the standard 6 percent sales commission. The National Association of Realtors, a powerful organization that has set the guidelines for home sales …

Read More »

Pope Francis Denies Plan To Resign In New Memoir

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis says he has no plans to resign and isn’t suffering from any health problems that would require doing so, saying in a new memoir he still has “many projects to bring to fruition.” Francis, 87, made the comments in an autobiography, “Life: My Story Through History,” which is being published Tuesday, the 11th anniversary …

Read More »

No Labels Names Committee To Select Candidate

The Washington Post reports: The centrist group No Labels announced a committee of 12 people Thursday who will decide in the coming weeks who should appear on the group’s potential third-party presidential ticket. Led by co-chairs of the group — including former senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair and civil rights activist Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. — …

Read More »

No Labels To Appoint Panel To Select Its Candidate

The Washington Post reports: No Labels, the centrist group planning a third-party presidential bid, plans to announce a nominating committee Thursday that will be charged with selecting a presidential candidate in the coming weeks, the group’s co-chair, Joseph Lieberman, said in an interview Wednesday. The new committee, which Lieberman, a former U.S. senator from Connecticut, expects to join, will also …

Read More »

Family Dollar Announces Closure Of Nearly 1000 Stores

NBC News reports: The parent company of Family Dollar said it would close approximately 1,000 stores, citing market conditions, store performance and other factors. Shares of Dollar Tree fell as much as 13% in Wednesday trading as the company also posted financial results that missed analysts’ expectations, including a net loss of more than $1.7 billion for the fourth quarter. …

Read More »

Pop Singer/Songwriter Eric Carmen Dies At Age 74

Billboard Magazine reports: Eric Carmen, the hitmaker behind ’70s and ’80s smashes like “All By Myself” and “Hungry Eyes,” has died at age 74, his wife Amy confirms. Carmen scored three top five hits on the Billboard Hot 100: the No. 2-peaking “All By Myself” in 1976, followed by the Dirty Dancing soundtrack standout “Hungry Eyes,” which peaked at No. …

Read More »

Senate Passes Govt Funding Bill With Hours To Spare

NBC News reports: The Senate voted 75-22 on Friday to pass a major government funding bill to keep a slew of agencies afloat through September, defusing fears of a partial shutdown and sending the legislation to President Joe Biden to become law. The 1,050-page measure is a collection of six appropriations bills negotiated by Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., …

Read More »

No Labels Votes To Field 2024 Presidential Candidate

Politico reports: The centrist political organization No Labels voted on Friday to move forward with its presidential ticket, according to details of a virtual meeting the group held with its delegates. But an official with the group acknowledged during the gathering, details of which were shared with POLITICO, that they currently do not have a candidate and may not find …

Read More »

TODAY: Sweden Formally Joins NATO In DC Ceremony

Reuters reports: Sweden is expected to formally join NATO in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced a complete rethink of its national security policy and the realisation the alliance offered the best guarantee of safety. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington to hand over the final documentation, with the White House saying in …

Read More »

Musk: “I Am Not Donating Money to Trump Or Biden”

CNBC reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday he will not donate to the campaigns of either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump. “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” Musk said in a post on his social media site X. Musk’s tweet came a day after The New …

Read More »

Oscar Mayer To Launch Plant-Based Hot Dogs

Axios reports: Oscar Mayer is introducing its first plant-based products: hot dogs and sausages in bratwurst and Italian flavors, made from ingredients like bamboo fiber, mushroom and pea protein. The splashy announcement shows there’s still momentum in the plant-based meat sector, for which many obituaries have been written. Oscar Mayer NotHotDogs and NotSausages will hit grocery stores in the second …

Read More »

Schiff And Garvey Advance In California Senate Primary

The Associated Press reports: Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff will compete in November for the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Dianne Feinstein. It’s a rare opportunity for the GOP to compete in a marquee statewide race in this Democratic stronghold. The matchup also means that California won’t have a woman in …

Read More »

Biden And Trump Score Easy Wins On Super Tuesday

CBS News reports: President Biden and former President Donald Trump won commanding victories across nearly all the states holding Democratic and Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday. Both notched wins in delegate-rich states like California, Texas, Virginia and North Carolina, the largest prizes out of the 15 states and one U.S. territory reporting results. Nikki Haley denied Trump a clean …

Read More »

OPEN THREAD: Super Tuesday 2024 Exit Polls & Results

Use this post exclusively to share exit polls and results as they come in. Later tonight I’ll bump this post up to the top. Of most interest to Democrats is the California US Senate primary.   NBC News reports: The NBC News Exit Poll interviewed voters about their decision in three Super Tuesday states — California, North Carolina and Virginia …

Read More »

FBI Alert: Iran Is Plotting To Assassinate Mike Pompeo

Semafor reports: The U.S. government is intensifying a manhunt for an Iranian intelligence operative whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation believes has been plotting to assassinate current and former American officials, including one-time Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The FBI’s Miami field office on Friday issued a public alert seeking information on Majid Dastjani Farahani, a suspected member of Iran’s …

Read More »