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US-based employers announced plans to slash 172,017 jobs in February, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’s latest monthly job cuts report released Thursday. That’s a 103% increase from a year ago and the highest February total since 2009. It’s the 12th highest monthly total in the 32 years Challenger has been tracking job cuts. The 11 others (four came during the Covid-19 pandemic) all occurred when the US was in a recession, Challenger data shows. The largest share of job cut announcements came in the government sector, where the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency has axed jobs, slashed federal…
CNN — Boy did Americans and other visitors make good use of US National Park Service sites in 2024 — enough to set a record. The NPS has reached a new overall milestone, with almost 331.9 million recreation visits logged at all of its 433 units, which include famous national parks such as Yellowstone but also places such as parkways, battlefields, national seashores, memorials and historic sites. That number beats out the previous record, which was set in 2016 with roughly 330.9 recreation visits. It’s also an increase of 6.36 million recreation visits, or 2%, from 2023, the NPS reported.…
AP — References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press. The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be…
CNN — As President Donald Trump prepares to order the dismantling of the Department of Education, the financial arm of the agency – which makes loans directly to borrowers and manages trillions of dollars in student debt – faces an uncertain future, with steep staff cuts and lack of communication exacerbating the uncertainty, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former department employees. The $1.64 trillion financial portfolio is managed separately from the department’s policy apparatus, the latter of which Trump has sought to wind down or reassign to other agencies. But Trump acknowledged Thursday that the…
CNN — A senior Hamas figure in Gaza has accused US President Donald Trump of “blatant double standards” in his demand for the immediate release of hostages still held in Gaza – but told CNN that Hamas’ direct meetings with US officials “aim to achieve stability in the region.” Mushir al-Masri was speaking to CNN from Gaza after the White House confirmed it had negotiated directly with Hamas with the aim of securing the release of hostages in Gaza, breaking a long-standing US policy of not talking to groups it deems to be terrorist organizations. The comments also come with…
New York CNN — For decades, Wendy’s offered only two Frosty flavors: Chocolate or vanilla. That’s about to change, as the fast food chain is giving its iconic ice cream treat a makeover. In the coming months, Wendy’s is rolling out new ways to customize the sweet treat with offerings called Frosty Swirls and Frosty Fusions, the company announced Thursday at its investor meeting. The former option lets customers add in various sauces, while the latter are mix-ins. Both can be combined together for new flavors that Wendy’s hadn’t offered before. The change to a signature menu item comes at…
New York CNN — A grassroots movement’s call for Americans not to shop at major chains for 24 hours in an “economic blackout” last week went viral — and now, its organizer is launching a weeklong boycott against Amazon that starts Friday. John Schwarz, the 57-year-old founder of The People’s Union USA, is calling on Americans to boycott Amazon and its companies, including Zappos, Ring, Whole Foods, Twitch and Prime Video, for one week. The Amazon boycott is about “sending a message loud enough to shake up the system” and rattle the company, Schwarz said Thursday on his Instagram account.…
Beijing CNN — If every country were to put itself first, the ‘law of the jungle’ would return, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday in response to a question from CNN’s Steven Jiang about US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. “There are more than 190 countries in the world,” the Chinese diplomat said during a news conference in Beijing. “Should everyone stress ‘my country first’ and obsess over a position of strength, the law of the jungle would reign again, smaller and weaker countries would bear the brunt first, and international norms and order would take a…
CNN — It was the week reality began to catch up with the White House. President Donald Trump made clear in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night there will be no let-up in his relentless pace, his attempts to maximize executive power and his shake-up of the country and the world. Yet every political action causes a counter reaction. And the first signs of friction are appearing that could slow the president’s shock-and-awe start to his administration. It’s unlikely to stop Trump’s aggressive power plays, but it shows that even he is not immune to…
A version of this story appeared in CNN Business’ Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. New York CNN — The crypto industry is buzzing ahead of Friday’s White House summit on digital assets. That’s a sentence that would have been laughable just a couple of years ago. Crypto kingpins rubbing elbows with the president and the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission? Hogwash! Regardless of what you think about their products, there’s no denying that the onetime financial pariahs have come a long way. No White House in the past 15 years,…