- [[Los Angeles Times]]
- Judge halts federal job cuts
- Controversial plan aims to reduce future wildfire risk
- Animals and machines are part of prevention effort
- WADE CROWFOOT, top, records video during an aerial tour. Above, a fire crew walks in the Santa Monica Mountains in Topanga during a risk reduction project.
- Justices signal weakening of the Voting Rights Act
- If high court rejects race in redistricting, it would bolster GOP in next year’s midterms.
- L.A. County calls state of emergency over ICE sweeps
- County CEO gets payout after voters ax her job
- The secrets behind S. Korea’s cosmetics boom
- Thanks to K-pop nods and rapid product development, nation is now top makeup exporter to U.S.
- [[USA Today]]
- ‘Going rate’ for gifts, tips is going down
- Generosity a key economic indicator
- What insights can gifts, tips and teeth give us? While traditional indicators of the state of the economy may be things such as the monthly consumer price index, interest rates or gas prices, a financial services company has another suggestion: looking at how much people are spending on gifts, how much they leave as tips and even how much the Tooth Fairy is leaving under a pillow. ● And according to the new study of the “going rate” of several items by Empower, Americans say inflation and tariffs are visible in gift prices and consumers’ concern is showing up as “gift fatigue” and “no gift” policies. Tipping habits and even allowances are also feeling the brunt of rising prices. ● “The going rate tracks the cost of giving,” Rebecca Rickert, Empower head of consumer insights, told USA TODAY. “I think what we commonly frame as etiquette is really a lot more about economics. ... Generosity can be a surprisingly powerful economic indicator.”
- No exit plan is clear in shutdown
- But there are available avenues to watch for
- Exonerated after 43 years, but he’s still being deported
- Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, center, connected with family while in prison. He has been exonerated of a 1980 murder.
- ‘RoboCop’ icon could land in the junk heap
- Dallas City Hall, featured as the evil Omni Consumer Products headquarters in 1987’s “RoboCop,” has fallen into disrepair.
- [[The New York Times]]
- JUSTICES MAY BAN RACE AS A FACTOR IN DISTRICT MAPS
- CASE ON VOTING RIGHTS
- Nation’s Political Balance Could Shift if Court Guts 1965 Law
- Trump Weighs Transforming Refugee Policy
- White People Would Be Given Preference
- In Mississippi City, Even Adults Have a Curfew
- A Crackdown Opens Debate on How Far to Go to Fight Crime
- Police officers at a homecoming parade in Greenville, Miss., where stray bullets and drive-by shootings forced a stepped-up response.
- Hamas Killing Rivals in Gaza Since the Truce
- A Generation of Action
- A wave of protests in Africa led by young people reflects a lack of economic opportunity.
- F.D.A. Questioning Aluminum Use in Vaccines
- Removal Risks Some Childhood Shots
- U.S. Authorizes Covert Action In Venezuela to Pressure Maduro
- [[Wall Street Journal]]
- Trump Team to Overhaul IRS To Probe Left-Leaning Groups
- How Jefferies Found Itself at Center of First Brands Collapse
- Israelis Bury a Hostage as Pace of Handover Stalls
- U.S. Banks Score Big Helping China Firms Go Global
- Justices Question Election Maps’ Use Of Race
- America’s Favorite Apple Is a Farmer’s Nightmare
- Economy Shines for Lenders
- [[Financial Times]] A UK-based company owned by Nikkei.
- Financiers sound alarm on standards after collapses expose riskier lending
- ▸ First Brands and Tricolor rattle markets ▸ ‘Willingness to cut corners’ ▸ Fingers pointed at banks
- Modi rolls out Diwali tax cut
- People shop for lanterns at roadside stalls in Mumbai ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. The festivities have been turbocharged by Narendra Modi’s overhaul of the goods and sales tax, aimed at boosting demand in the world’s most populous country.
- Bank backed by Trump-friendly tech billionaires gets watchdog’s green light
- US regulators have approved a bank backed by a group of tech billionaires with ties to Donald Trump seeking to fill a gap left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
- ‘Clean hands’ drive seen as Turkish party’s asset grab
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is using a wave of inquiries and arrests to show he is tough on corruption. But the clean-up means a state fund has become one of Turkey’s biggest business holdings, as hundreds of companies remain seized while being probed. The fund controls 1,056 businesses, up from 675 in a year. The motive, analysts claim, is Erdoğan’s need to fund patronage networks as 2028 elections approach, with the aim ‘to reshuffle capital to loyal hands’.
----- AI Translation -----
📰 Los Angeles Times
A judge halts federal job cuts
The controversial government plan aims to reduce future wildfire risk.
Both animals and machines are being enlisted as part of the prevention effort.
Wade Crowfoot recorded video during an aerial tour, while a fire crew walked through the Santa Monica Mountains in Topanga during a risk reduction project.
Justices signal a weakening of the Voting Rights Act
If the court bars the use of race in redistricting, it would bolster Republicans in next year’s midterms.
L.A. County declares a state of emergency over ICE sweeps
The county CEO receives a payout after voters eliminated her job
The secrets behind South Korea’s cosmetics boom
Thanks to K-pop influence and rapid product development, the country is now the top makeup exporter to the U.S.
📰 USA Today
The ‘going rate’ for gifts and tips is falling… generosity as a hidden economic indicator
Traditional gauges of the economy include the consumer price index, interest rates and gas prices, but the financial services company Empower offers another lens — how much people spend on gifts, how much they leave as tips, and even how much the Tooth Fairy leaves under a pillow.
According to the new study, Americans say inflation and tariffs are visible in gift prices, and “gift fatigue” and “no gift” policies are spreading. Tipping habits and allowances are also feeling the brunt of rising prices.
Rebecca Rickert, Empower’s head of consumer insights, said “what we commonly frame as etiquette is really a lot more about economics”, adding that “generosity can be a surprisingly powerful economic indicator”.
No clear exit plan for the shutdown, but there are avenues to watch
Exonerated after 43 years, but still facing deportation
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam was exonerated of a 1980 murder but remains subject to deportation.
A ‘RoboCop’ icon could land in the junk heap
The Dallas City Hall building that appeared as the evil corporate headquarters in the 1987 film RoboCop has fallen into disrepair and now faces demolition.
📰 The New York Times
Justices may bar race as a factor in district maps — a major challenge to the Voting Rights Act
If the 1965 law is gutted, the nation’s political balance could shift.
Trump weighs an overhaul of refugee policy — including preference for white applicants
In a Mississippi city, even adults face a curfew — a debate over how far to go to fight crime
In Greenville, where stray bullets and drive-by shootings are frequent, a nighttime curfew now applies to adults as well, stirring controversy.
Hamas has been killing rivals in Gaza since the truce
A generation of action — a wave of youth-led protests across Africa reflects a lack of economic opportunity
The F.D.A. is questioning aluminum use in vaccines — removal risks halting some childhood shots
The U.S. authorizes covert action to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro government
📰 Wall Street Journal
Trump’s team moves to overhaul the IRS — a plan to probe left-leaning groups
It would install an ally at the criminal investigation unit to target progressive organizations and Democratic donors.
🔗 Read the original
How Jefferies found itself at the center of the First Brands collapse
🔗 Read the original
Israelis bury a hostage as the pace of handovers stalls
Under the cease-fire deal Hamas has returned the bodies of nine of the 28 dead hostages, and mediators are negotiating for more.
🔗 Read the original
U.S. banks score big by helping Chinese firms go global
🔗 Read the original
Justices question the use of race in election maps — a move to revisit protections for minorities
🔗 Read the original
America’s favorite apple, the Honeycrisp, is a farmer’s nightmare
The variety transformed the industry, but it is so hard to grow that farmers call it ‘an absolute diva’.
🔗 Read the original
Banks post strong third-quarter results — corporate spending and consumer activity stay healthy
🔗 Read the original
📰 Financial Times (U.K.-based, owned by Nikkei)
Financiers sound the alarm on standards after collapses expose riskier lending
The First Brands and Tricolor failures rattled markets, putting some banks’ ‘willingness to cut corners’ under scrutiny.
Modi rolls out a Diwali tax cut
Ahead of Diwali, India’s biggest festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi overhauled the goods and sales tax to spur demand. Streets in Mumbai are crowded with shoppers buying lanterns and decorations.
A bank backed by Trump-friendly tech billionaires wins regulators’ green light
The bank was founded to fill the gap left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, with backing from investors close to the president.
Turkey’s ‘clean hands’ drive — in reality a consolidation of power?
As President Erdoğan expands seizures and investigations in the name of fighting corruption, a state fund has come to control 1,056 companies.
Analysts call it “a strategy to reshuffle capital to loyal hands ahead of the 2028 elections”.
