For: October 1, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell

(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning as Wall Street ushers in a brand new trading month after stocks closed mixed yesterday to wrap up September. This comes following the latest U.S. economic data, which showed inflation slowed last month. The personal consumption expenditures price index for August increased at a three-point-four-percent annual rate. Elsewhere, the market is set to turn its eyes to the monthly jobs reports, which is slated to come out on Friday. At Wednesday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 443 points to 50-906. The S&P 500 fell 19 points to 76-51. The Nasdaq gained 63 points to 26-861.

>>Federal Judge Approves Paramount Skydance Acquisition Of Warner Bros. Discovery

(Los Angeles, CA) -- A federal judge in California has cleared the way for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The judge approved a settlement resolving an antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general who had opposed the 110-billion-dollar merger. Under the deal, Paramount will spend at least an additional one-point-five billion dollars on U.S. film production over the next five years and establish monitoring of editorial independence at its news operations. Paramount has set October 6th as the closing date for the merger. The deal would combine two major Hollywood studios, along with Paramount-Plus and HBO Max, and television networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central and Food Network.

>>Carnegie Mellon Receives Record Gift

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Carnegie Mellon University is celebrating what it calls the largest donation in higher education history. Citadel Advisors CEO Ken Griffin has pledged three-billion-dollars to the school to continue its international reach and target societal challenges. Most of that gift will establish a CMU campus in Miami, where Griffin maintains his home and runs his company.

>>16 Trucking Companies File For Bankruptcy

(Undated) -- More than a dozen U.S. trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy in the last month as diesel prices climb to record highs. At least 16 have filed for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11, including Xoco [[ SHOH-koh ]] Transport and Globemaster. While trucking companies face many pressures besides the price of fuel, the cost of diesel hit an all-time high last week of six-dollars-and-53 cents a gallon, an increase of two-dollars and 76-cents over the past year, according to Triple-A.

>>Fake iPhone Duo Preorder Page Could Steal Sensitive Data: Report

(Undated ) -- If you're looking to pre-order Apple's first foldable iPhone, beware of scams. Malwarebytes reports that a fake preorder page for the iPhone Duo was discovered. The site resembles an Apple page and shows off a tab that offers 500 dollar voucher. However, the deceptive page reportedly uses a tool that can break into vulnerable iPhones, which could then steal sensitive data. Preorders for the iPhone Duo model don't start until October 16th, and is set to drop a week later.

For: September 30, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed lower yesterday.  Stocks fell as Treasury yields hit fresh multiyear highs.  Bank shares slid with Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase and Bank of America among those leading the decline.  A sharp drop in the Conference board's consumer confidence index for September added to the downward pressure.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 131 points to 51-349.  The S&P 500 fell 12 points to 76-70.  The Nasdaq lost 22 points to 26-797.

>>Tech Leaders Welcomed To The WH

(Washington, DC)  --  President Trump says he and AI tech leaders are renaming Artificial Intelligence "Super Intelligence."  That was one of the notes Trump shared with reporters after meeting Tuesday with top tech company CEOs at the White House for an AI summit.  A big player in the AI game was not at the summit as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was at his company's annual developer conference in San Francisco to announce a new AI product called Dots.  The launch of Dots comes after OpenAI paused development on some of its internal models following some reported hacking incidents.

>>Oura Delays IPO

(San Francisco, CA)  --  Smart ring maker Oura is delaying its plans to go public.  The company had been looking to raise more than two-billion-dollars and start trading on the Nasdaq today.  But now Oura says it's putting the IPO on hold because of uncertainty in the market despite what it says is strong demand.   The company reported 500-million-dollars in revenue in 2024, a billion-dollars in 2025 and is expected to reach close to two-billion-dollars this year.

>>Disney Layoffs

(Burbank, CA)  --  Disney has conducted another round of layoffs.  Multiple reports say the company laid off hundreds of employees on Tuesday for the third time since CEO Josh D'Amaro [[ duh-morrow ]] took over the role in March.  Human resources and tech were the hardest hit departments this time around.  In a letter to shareholders last month, D'Amaro said the company remains focused on reducing costs.  Disney has also offered early-retirement packages to longtime executives.

>>Florida's Minimum Wage Rises To $15/Hour

(Undated)  --  Florida workers are about to see another bump in their paychecks.  The state's minimum wage rises to 15 dollars an hour today.  It comes after voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2020.  The measure called for annual increases until the minimum wage eventually hit 15 dollars an hour.  There are those who argue it's not enough as some economists estimate a "living wage" would be about 48-dollars per hour on average.

>>Georgia Tech Tops List Of Best Value Colleges

(New York, NY)  --  A new ranking says the public university that gives students the best return on their investment is Georgia Tech.  The Princeton Review has released its annual list ranking the Top 50 Best Value Colleges.  For the fourth year in a row, Georgia Tech took the top spot among public schools with a score of 95 out of 99.  Schools are measured on financial aid offerings, overall college costs and academic rating.  Number two on the best value list is the University of Virginia.  Number three is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

>>McDonald's Launches Media Network

(Chicago, IL)  --  McDonald's is testing a new advertising network.  The pilot is underway at 450 company-owned U.S. locations, with ads appearing on drive-thru menu boards after customers' orders.  The company says the McDonald's Media Network could expand to self-service kiosks and other screens, with a goal of generating a billion dollars in revenue.  McDonald's is following retailers like Amazon and Walmart, which already bring in billions from digital advertising.  The move comes as McDonald's plans to invest eight-point-five billion dollars through 2036 to modernize restaurants and expand its technology.

For: September 29, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed lower yesterday to start the week.  Stocks fell as Treasury yields traded above five-percent and A-I shares including AMD and Micron Technology edged lower.  Investors are awaiting the release of key economic data this week with the closely watched September jobs report due out Friday.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 347 points to 51-481.  The S&P 500 fell 59 points to 76-83.  The Nasdaq dropped 248 points to 26-820.

>>$15-Billion Steel Plant Planned For Southeast Iowa

(Washington DC)  --  President Trump is announcing plans for a new 15-billion-dollar steel plant in southeast Iowa.  Trump says the Mesabi [[ meh-SAW-bee ]] Metallics facility in Lee County will be the largest steel manufacturing plant in U.S. history.  The facility is expected to create about 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa, paying an average of nearly 49-dollars-an-hour, along with up to six-thousand construction jobs during the buildout.  Trump also says the plant could add an estimated 95-billion-dollars to the U.S. economy.  The facility is expected to begin production in 2030.

>>OpenAI Stops Release Of New AI Model Over Safety Concerns

(San Francisco, CA)  --  OpenAI says it's pausing the release of its latest AI model after it failed in-house safety checks.  The company announced Monday that the model, GPT-6.1 Astra, failed to meet requirements for sticking to the scope and authorization of its tasks and what it reports back to the user about its activities. Similar safety concerns have been raised about other AI models that have engaged in boundary-pushing, oversight evasion, and incomplete disclosure.  

>>Tech Companies To Testify In Front Of New York City Council 

(New York, NY)  --  Major tech companies are going to testify in front of the New York City Council regarding the potential dangers of AI.  This marks the first public testimony under oath from AI companies after several whistleblowers and executives issued warnings about the need for regulation.  Speakers for companies including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta will all attend next Monday's hearing in front of the entire 51-member body.  The council also sent a subpoena demanding someone from Elon Musk's SpaceXAI company to attend.

>>Walmart Says No To AI Pricing

(Bentonville, AR) --  Walmart says it will not use artificial intelligence or customers' personal information to set individual prices.  CEO John Furner says the company will "price the product, not the person," including when shoppers use its AI assistant, Sparky.  Walmart also says its employees will continue overseeing pricing and that it will not use dynamic pricing based on individual customers.  Meanwhile, Walmart is rolling out digital price tags nationwide, replacing traditional paper labels.  The company says the new technology will let stores update prices in minutes and help employees locate products that need restocking.

>>Pepsico Raises Prices

(Purchase, NY) --  Shoppers will soon pay more for some popular PepsiCo snacks and drinks, including Doritos, Ruffles and SunChips.  The company says prices on certain products will rise by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage, with increases expected by the end of the year or early 2027.  PepsiCo says the hikes are meant to keep pace with inflation and offset higher commodity, packaging and transportation costs.  That comes just months after the company cut prices on some larger snack bags by as much as 15-percent.  PepsiCo says prices on the affected products are still expected to remain below their levels before those earlier cuts. 

For: September 28, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell

(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher Friday to wrap up a positive week. Stocks rallied as oil prices eased and Treasury yields pulled back. A surge in technology shares including Microsoft and Meta Platforms added lift to markets as all three major indexes posted weekly gains. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 478 points to 51-828. The S&P 500 added 39 points to 77-43. The Nasdaq rose 129 points to 27-068.

>>Monthly Jobs Report Due This Week

(Undated) -- Coming up in the business week ahead - jobs data. We'll get the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Tuesday, followed by ADP's monthly hiring survey on Wednesday. Weekly jobless claims are due Thursday and the big headline story of the week - the monthly jobs report - will be released by the Labor Department on Friday. Most analysts estimate the economy added about 83-thousand new, non-farm payroll jobs in September, down from the 162-thousand seen the month prior. The unemployment rate is forecast to stay the same at four-point-one percent.

>>Anthropic CEO Meets With Trump After Missing State Dinner

(Washington, DC) -- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with President Trump for a private dinner at the White House Sunday night. The dinner was the first one-on-one meeting between the two. Amodei was absent from Trump's state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping [[ she jeen-ping ]] on Thursday, which drew other big names in tech. The meeting first reported by Axios, comes at a high stakes moment for Anthropic, which is preparing for a blockbuster IPO. Trump has criticized Amodei and others who have been calling for guardrails and regulation when it comes to AI development. Anthropic was also labeled a "supply chain risk" by the Pentagon.

>>Consumer Sentiment Falls On Inflation Worries

(Ann Arbor, MI) -- Consumer sentiment hit a four-month low in September. The University of Michigan's final reading for the month fell on concerns over high prices and worries about the economy. The survey noted declines across most age and income groups. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to four-point-six percent which is a significant jump from before the Iran conflict began in February. Overall, consumer sentiment is down 15 percent from January.

>>Boeing Flags Software Glitch

(Renton, WA) -- Boeing has identified a software glitch on some 737 MAX jets that could affect automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario. The issue can occur when pilots change their planned flight path after a missed approach. Boeing says it notified all 737 operators last month and is developing a software update to permanently fix the problem. The FAA says it's working with Boeing and airlines and will take immediate action if it finds a safety concern. Southwest and United have asked Boeing to hold deliveries of new MAX jets with the affected software, while the number of planes currently using it remains unclear.

>>'Funflation' Rising, But Consumers Keep Spending

(Charlotte, NC) -- The price of having fun in America is rising, but consumers continue to spend. Data from Bank of America shows that "funflation," the increased cost of fun is rising, but consumers aren't cutting back. Bank of America says spending on hobbies grew nearly eight-percent in August. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index data found that the recreation index, which includes video and audio, pets and pet services, sporting goods and photography, rose nearly three-percent in the last year. The U.S. Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Trade Report shows sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores rose almost eleven-percent in the last year.

>>Instagram New Paid Feature

(Undated) -- Instagram has launched a new premium feature, Instagram Plus, for three dollars and 99-cents a month. The new features include extending 24-hour stories to stay visible for longer and pushing them to the top of users' feeds, alongside "expressive reactions" so friends can show "extra support" in direct messages. The new Story Rewatch Count feature shows how many times your story was replayed, while the Search Viewer Sheet lets you check if a specific person saw your post. The Story Preview lets users look at someone's story without showing up on their viewer list and there are also features that help hide actions from other users, including posting to your profile or highlights without showing up in friends' feeds.

>>Volkswagen To Recall 2.86M Cars

(Washington, DC) -- Volkswagen will recall nearly three million vehicles over a screw that could fail and cause loss of steering capabilities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a safety recall report on September 11th saying certain environmental conditions could possibly affect a screw that attaches the vehicle's steering rack to its subframe. The affected vehicles include Volkswagen Tiguan, Touran, Golf, Golf Variant and Caddy models built between September 2013 and July 2024 as well as Audi Q3 models made between October 2017 and May 2024. The recall report also lists the 2018 and 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, which was manufactured between November 2016 and September 2018. The Volkswagen Group said the company will notify all owners of affected vehicles by November 10th to schedule an appointment with an authorized dealer, who will replace the bolt for free. 

For: September 25, 2026

>>Trading Week Winding Down 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed mixed yesterday.  It came as treasury yields have continued to move higher amid anticipation of further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.  Oil prices have also seen an uptick.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 161 points to 51-349.  The S&P 500 fell 1 point to 77-04. The Nasdaq gained 3 points to 26-939.

>>Tech Giants Out In Force For State Dinner

(Washington, DC)  --  Giants of the tech industry were well represented at Thursday's night White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping  [[ she jeen-peeng ]].  Guests included Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the head table with President Trump and Xi, along with Nvidia's Jensen Huang [[ hwahng ]] and former Apple CEO and current executive chairman Tim Cook.  Others included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg,  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and others.  The room was also packed with business leaders from across American finance, media and industry.

>>Meta Surges 

(Menlo Park, CA)  --  Meta has surged ahead of SpaceX to become the world's seventh-largest publicly traded company by market capitalization, largely on the strength of excitement over its Muse AI agent.  Meta's market cap rose to one-point-seven-two trillion dollars on Thursday.  That also followed the introduction of a new portable AI gadget that can fit on a keychain.  During this week's annual Meta Connect conference in Menlo Park, California CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced a pocket-sized AI device called the Muse Charm.  The black hand-held device has a small screen showing a customizable Muse character, and contains a 5G modem which allows access to Meta's AI model, Muse, even without Wi-Fi.  Meta is reportedly hoping to ship it in time for Christmas.  Meta's market cap rose to one-point-sevent-two trillion dollars on Thursday.

>>Illinois Governor Pritzker Isn't Pursuing Data Moratorium In Illinois 

(Monee, IL)  --  Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he isn't going to pursue a moratorium on new data centers.  Pritzker says he's still waiting for state lawmakers to pass a data center bill after the November election.  The governor says the POWER Act will place tough regulations on the facilities.  He added that he wants local communities in the state to have a say in where data centers go.  His comments came after Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a data center moratorium for Chicago earlier this week.     

>>Poll: Nearly Half Of Young Voters Have Negative View Of Capitalism

(Washington, DC)  --  Nearly half of younger voters have a negative view of capitalism.  That's according to a new poll from NBC news, which shows that 47-percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 viewed capitalism negatively.  Forty-two percent said they view socialism positively.  This comes amid a primary election season that saw the rise of some democratic socialist and progressive candidates.

>>Starbucks Closing Hundreds Of Cafes

(Seattle, WA)  --  Starbucks is planning to close approximately 250 stores across North America.  It's part of the company's streamlining efforts under CEO Brian Niccol.  His plan is to cut two-billion dollars in costs by the end of the 2028 fiscal year.

>>Mortgage Rates Top Seven Percent In A Blow To The Housing Market

(New York, NY)  --  Mortgage rates are over seven percent for the first time in nearly two years.  According to data released by Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate went up to seven-point-zero-three percent this week.  It's the fifth-straight week of rising mortgage rates, putting more stress on housing affordability.  

>>October 15th Tax Extension Deadline Nearing

(Undated)  --  The IRS says those who received an extension to file their 2025 federal income tax returns must submit their returns by October 15th.  Any taxes owed were generally due this past April 15th.  An extension provides taxpayers more time to file, but it does not give them more time to pay.  Penalties may apply to unpaid balances dating back to that deadline.  

For: September 24, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell

(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed lower yesterday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 352 points to 51-511. The S&P 500 fell 58 points to 77-06. The Nasdaq dropped 308 points to 26-936.

>>10-Year Treasury Yield Spikes To Highest In Almost 20 Years

(Washington, DC) -- The benchmark ten-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to another 19-year high on Wednesday as a bond market sell-off intensified amid the ongoing Iran war and growing concerns over rising federal debt. The yield on the ten-year note closed at just over five-percent, up about 14 basis points from Tuesday's close. It marked the highest closing level for the benchmark yield since July 2007 and comes just days after it surpassed the five percent threshold for only the second time since the 2008 financial crisis. Treasury yields have steadily increased since the start of the Iran conflict, with investors pulling back from the bond market amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.

>>Meta Unveils New VR Glasses

(Menlo Park, CA) -- Meta is unveiling its new virtual-reality glasses. The Meta Connect conference is underway in Menlo Park, California and on Wednesday CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the company's new VR glasses that have the same capabilities of a VR headset but look like a pair of sunglasses. The 13-hundred-dollar glasses will go on sale next spring. Also unveiled was Meta's new audio smart glasses that come without a camera but allow the user to listen to music without headphones and chat with an AI agent. They will also be about 100 dollars cheaper than Meta's camera glasses.

>>Johnson, Chicago City Council Introduce Data Center Moratorium Ordinance

(Chicago, IL) -- A Data Center Moratorium Ordinance is being introduced in Chicago. Mayor Brandon Johnson says the proposed 12-month moratorium would pause new data center development and the expansion of existing facilities. The measure would also give the city time to develop long-term policies that address the impacts of data centers on clean air, clean water, energy use, and the health and quality of life of Chicago residents. The ordinance follows Mayor Johnson's executive order last month that created safeguards for data centers in Chicago.

>>Disney+ Announces Price Increase

(Burbank, CA) -- The cost of a Disney-Plus subscription is going up. Bloomberg reports an ad-free Premium subscription will now cost 21-dollars-and-49-cents per month, a jump of two-dollars-and-50-cents. Meanwhile, the ad-supported tier is going up to 12-49 a month. That's a 50-cent increase. This marks the fourth price hike in four years for Disney-Plus. Existing subscribers will see the increase on their next monthly bill. 

For: September 23, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed mixed yesterday as investors monitor developments between the U.S. and Iran.  The tech-heavy Nasdaq hit a fresh record high led by gains in Sandisk and other chipmakers.  Global benchmark Brent crude futures slipped below 100-dollars a barrel after President Trump said U.S. officials had a "very good meeting" with Iran's delegation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Tuesday.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 185 points to 51-863.  The S&P 500 lost a fraction of a point to 77-64.  The Nasdaq gained 122 points to 27-244.

>>OpenAI's Altman To Brief UN Security Council 

(New York, NY)  --  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei will brief the United Nations Security Council today.  It comes as world leaders are in New York for the annual gathering of the UN General assembly.  The 15-member Security Council is meeting to discuss AI and international security.  

>>Anthropic Says New AI Model Is The "Safest Yet"

(San Francisco, CA)  --  Anthropic is releasing a new AI model it claims is its "safest" yet.  The company on Tuesday revealed its new Opus 5.5, which it says is a faster, cheaper version of its flagship Claude AI model.  It also says it's the safest AI, and is "less likely" to take actions that can't be undone or act outside the limits it was given, nor will it answer questions about hacking, biology and A.I. research, or any requests that are flagged for misuse.  Anthropic says Opus 5.5 will also cost 40-percent less to operate with cheaper versions to be released in the weeks to come.   

>>President Trump Changes "Artificial Intelligence" To "Super Intelligence"

(New York, NY)  --  President Trump is changing the name of Artificial Intelligence to Super Intelligence.  He made the comment while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.  Trump said the U.S. will not stifle the growth of the technology.  He added that the Justice Department will rein it in if necessary.  Trump has thrown his support behind AI as others have brought up concerns about the technology, including doomsday scenarios.

>>Florida Business Owners Discuss Minimum Wage Hike

(Pensacola, FL)  --  The minimum wage is about to go up in Florida and some business owners in Escambia County are warning they may have to raise their prices.  Next Wednesday, the minimum wage will go up a dollar to 15-dollars an hour for non-tipped workers and just under 12-dollars for tipped workers.  Collier Merrill owns several restaurants in Pensacola and he says if some workers are getting raises, then everyone will want one.  He estimates an 800-thousand dollar increase to his payroll.  University of West Florida economics professor Rick Harper warns raising the minimum wage could actually end up hurting those it's designed to help.  

For: September 22, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed higher Monday with the Nasdaq hitting a new record to start the week.  Markets rallied as AI-related stocks surged while oil prices and Treasury yields cooled.  Shares of Intel, Qualcom and Advanced Micro Devices led the way with AMD reaching a trillion-dollar market cap for the first time.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 366 points to 52-048.  The S&P 500 rose 114 points to 77-64.  The Nasdaq jumped 599 points to 27-122.

>>Zuckerberg Banks $25 Billion In One Day 

(Undated)  --  Monday was a good day for Mark Zuckerberg.  The Meta CEO saw his estimated net worth rise by 25 billion dollars in a single day.  The jump was thanks to an almost 12-percent surge in Meta Platforms shares credited in large part to the roll out of the new Muse AI assistant.  Already one the richest men on Earth, Zuckerberg's fortune sat at just over 253-billion dollars as of yesterday.

>>Paramount Skydance Reaches Settlement With States Suing To Block Warner Bros Merger

(Los Angeles, CA)  --  Paramount Skydance and a dozen states are settling a lawsuit that aimed to block its 110-billion-dollar merger with Warner Brothers Discovery.  The agreement was announced by the two sides on Monday.  California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Paramount made several concessions in the deal.  The settlement removes a major block to closing one of the largest media mergers in history.  It will see two of Hollywood's biggest film studios combine along with two streaming services and two of the largest cable news operations.

>>Groundbreaking Of Eli Lilly Facility In Houston

(Houston, TX)  --  Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is breaking ground on a six-billion-dollar manufacturing facility in Texas.  Governor Greg Abbott calls it an important part of domestic manufacturing.  The facility in Houston's Generation Park will produce the company's first weight loss pill.  It's set to be finished in the year 2030.  

>>Largest Wendy's Franchise Bankruptcy

(Undated)  --  One of Wendy's largest franchisees has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Meritage Hospitality Group, which operates 314 Wendy's across 15 states, filed in federal bankruptcy court and says it owes Wendy's nearly 25 million dollars.  The company says same-store sales fell more than 11 percent in the final quarter of 2025, while its average beef costs jumped nearly 19 percent from a year earlier.  Meritage says it plans to restructure and could close or sell under performing restaurants, but is seeking to preserve jobs and keep its restaurants operating.  The company has about eight-thousand-850 employees and says it will continue honoring Wendy's gift cards, loyalty programs and employee benefits during the bankruptcy process.

For: September 21, 2026

>>Watching Wall Street 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed mix on Friday to cap a volatile week.  Rising Treasury yields, higher oil prices and the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years pressured markets.  Many analysts now expect the Fed to raise rates at least one more time in 2026 and possibly two more times again next year.  At Friday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 95 points to 51-682.  The S&P 500 gained 12 points to 76-50.  The Nasdaq rose 104 points to 26-522.

>>OpenAI's Altman To Brief UN Security Council 

(New York, NY)  --  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will brief the United Nations Security Council this week.  An OpenAI spokesperson says the brief will take place during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York for the UN General assembly.  The 15-member Security Council is set to meet Wednesday on AI and international security.  An OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters his remarks are expected to focus on the steps OpenAI is taking to ensure AI is safe and benefits people worldwide. 

>>Google" AI Model Gained Access To 3 Outside Systems 

(Mountain View, CA)  --  Google has disclosed the first known instance of its AI software, Gemini, carrying out an undirected computer hack.  Google said in May its AI model gained unauthorized access to three outside systems during a test by either guessing login information or using login credentials it found in a public archive.  Google Vice President for security engineering said the AI model used computer systems that  "were part of the test," but said in all three cases it stopped before doing anything further with its access.  Google said it did not learn about the intrusions until July, when an AI-focused cybersecurity company reviewed its work on Gemini to look for incidents similar to the Hugging Face incident OpenAI had.  Google said it then informed the organizations operating the websites about the intrusions and told federal authorities about the hacks. 

>>Gas Prices Starting Off The Week At $4.47/Gallon 

(Undated  --  Gas prices are holding steady at four dollars and 47 cents a gallon as we start off the work week.  That's according to Triple-A.  The price is essentially unchanged from yesterday but that's still 16 cents higher than a week ago.  Prices at the pump are highest in California, where drivers are shelling out six-16 a gallon, on average.  

>>Toys 'R' Us OPening 120 New Stores 

(Parsippany, NJ)  --  Toys 'R' Us is expanding in the U.S.  The retailer will open 120 new standalone stores set to open across the country this holiday season.  The expansion was announced last week and will bring to 160 the number of standalone Toys 'R' Us stores in the U.S.

>>Amazon October Prime Day Nearing

(Seattle, WA)  --  Amazon's fall Prime Day event will make its return on October 6th and 7th.  Customers will be able to shop for deals across a variety of categories including tech, tools, home essentials and everyday basics.  Amazon's October Prime Day is a smaller version of the company's annual Prime Day sale, though Prime members will still have the opportunity to take advantage of markdowns across hundreds of categories.  Prime memberships, which cost 139-dollars per year, provide access to steep discounts and limited-time price cuts.   

For: September 18, 2026 

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed higher yesterday.  Tech has been driving the broader market higher, with names like Nvidia and Amazon both rising about two-percent.  Microsoft also gained about one-percent. Meanwhile, oil prices saw a decline, with U.S. crude trading less than one-percent lower to around 101-dollars per barrel.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points to 51-778.  The S&P 500 gained 85 points to 76-37.  The Nasdaq rose 439 points to 26-418.

>>Trump Administration To Hold Million Dollar Pitch Competition

(Washington, DC)  --  Five entrepreneurs from across the U.S. will compete in Washington, DC today for a million dollars in cash from the Trump administration.  The Million Dollar Pitch Competition will feature five small businesses from California, Georgia, Iowa, Maine and Wyoming pitching their products for celebrity judges including Nicki Minaj, with the event hosted by former TV Superman Dean Cain.  A news release by the Small Business Administration says the five finalists were chosen from about 12-hundred businesses across the country.  They'll be greeted by President Trump in the Oval Office and the competition, which is being taped for a TV special, will air in October.

>>Starship Test Flight Target Date Pushed Back

(Harlingen, TX)  --  SpaceX is moving back the target date for its next launch from Starbase.  The company says it is now considering September 28th for the Starship 14 test flight after initially eyeing next Tuesday, the 22nd.  SpaceX hopes this will be the first flight to send Starship into orbit around Earth.

>>Weekly Jobless Claims Fall 

(Washington, DC)  --  Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected  The Labor Department said Thursday that it received 196-thousand initial requests in the week ending September 12th.  That's about ten-thousand fewer than the previous week, and below the 207-thousand most analysts had forecast.  

>>OpenAI Finds More AI Models Displaying Concerning Behavior

(San Francisco, CA)  --  OpenAI has found six new reports of artificial intelligence models showing "unexpected or concerning" behavior.  This, as AI firms face mounting pressure to be more transparent about their development processes. The ChatGPT maker reported  models adding unrelated instructions for certain tasks, searching for exposed code to fabricate information or uploading files to the internet to cite themselves. The company noted these are individual instances rather than overall trends.

>>SEC Reveals "Innovation Exemption" For Tokenized Stock Trading

(Washington, DC)  --  The SEC is revealing its long-awaited "innovation exemption," a new order to clear a path for tokenizing stock trading in the U.S. Tokenized stocks are digital versions of real-world stocks, represented by digital tokens on the blockchain, which is the technology that forms the foundation of cryptocurrency. The Securities and Exchange Commission noted in a fact sheet that "Over the past several years, advancements in distributed ledger technology have facilitated innovations in trading across non-security crypto assets." But it suggested that these platforms could face challenges with complying with Federal securities laws without big potential changes to its business model.

For: September 11, 2026

>>Watching Wall Street    

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street, rung by people closely connected to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001.  Stocks closed lower on Thursday amid rising oil prices as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues.  Elsewhere, August's producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted point-four-percent for the month as we await word today on the latest data from the consumer price index.  At yesterday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 316 points to 52-064.  The S&P 500 fell 44 points to 75-91. The Nasdaq dropped 171 points to 26-081.

>>Trump Announces $500 ACA Refunds For Eligible Enrollees

(Dallas, TX)  --  President Trump says nearly a million people will be getting 500-dollar Obamacare refunds starting in October.  The money will go to people in 30 states that use the federally-operated exchange to buy insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, the formal name for Obamacare.  The money comes after enrollees were hit with massive insurance premiums after Congress let subsidies expire at the end of 2025.  Recipients would mostly be those in middle-income households that don't currently receive federal assistance to pay for insurance premiums.  The 500-million in payments come just before the November midterm elections.  President Trump has also said the government would pay every adult American citizen five-thousand dollars, a total cost of about one-point-two trillion dollars, if Republicans maintain control of Congress.  

>>First Flights Of Air Taxis Starting In Texas 

(San Antonio, TX)  --  Air taxis are taking to the skies in Texas.  The state is launching the first test flights for a pilot program, which has been dubbed Project Nexus.  The state transportation department says the goal is to connect urban centers, rural communities and neighboring states.  They say these initial flights will not carry passengers.  They are designed to collect data on safe flight routes.

>>Law Banning Addictive Social Media Features Signed By California Governor

(Sacramento, CA)  --  Tech companies in California will soon be banned from offering addictive social media features to children.  Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several laws, including Assembly Bill 1709, as part of a larger effort to protect kids online.  AB 1709 bans online and social media platforms from offering features that encourage compulsive use to anyone under 16.  Banned features include infinite scroll, autoplay, and any other features the state attorney general may add later.  Some groups criticize the law for limiting young people's access to the internet.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation says the law also raises privacy concerns as companies could be forced to collect more personal information for age checks.  With the dozens of digital safety laws Newsom signed into law Thursday, California now has the strongest online protections for young users in the United States.

>>OpenAI Calls For Mandatory AI Safety Requirements

(San Francisco, CA)  --  OpenAI is calling for mandatory safety requirements for its artificial intelligence technology after a series of model hackings and warnings from researchers. In a Wednesday blog post, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer said the industry has "reached a new chapter in AI capabilities" that necessitates new policies. The ChatGPT maker says it's hoping to work with Congress on national AI safety regulation.  It comes after a safety researcher at Anthropic said the chance that AI kills all humans within the next decade is greater than ten percent.  

For: September 10, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this mornign after stocks closed lower yesterday.  It comes as crude oil prices have topped 100-dollars a barrel as fighting between the U.S. and Iran ramps up in the Persian Gulf.  The escalation of the conflict is raising the risk of oil prices surging above 120-dollars a barrel as attacks on shipping intensify, according to a Goldman Sachs research head.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 405 points to 52-380.  The S&P 500 fell 37 points to 76-36. The Nasdaq dropped 168 points to 26-253.

>>Treasury Department Triples The Maximum Of U.S. Government Debt Buyback

(Washington, DC)  --  The Treasury Department is tripling the max amount of U.S. government debt it can buy back in an effort to lower surging bond yields. The department is increasing the buyback limit to six-billion dollars per operation. The day before the announcement, the 30-year Treasury bond yield surpassed 5.33 percent, the highest mark since before the 2008 financial crisis.

>>White House Proposal Could Pay Married Couple Subsidies If One Parent Stays At Home

(Washington, DC)  --  The White House may soon reveal a proposal to pay a married couple subsidies if one parent stays at home. The New York Times was the first to report on the proposal, writing that a Health and Human Services Department fund established in the 1990s could be used for the program. It's meant to help lower-income parents afford child care. It typically offers about nine-thousand dollars per child annually. The Trump administration has not revealed specific details about the program, but a new analysis by SmartAsset  used data from MIT's Living Wage Calculator to look at how much a sole working parent would need to earn across the U.S.to support a partner and one child. In Hawaii and California, that number is more than 100-thousands-dollars a year. Arkansas is the only state in which a parent could earn less than 70-thousand annually to support a family of three.

>>Apple Unveils New Products

(Cupertino, CA)  --  Apple fans will soon be able to get their hands on the company's first-ever foldable iPhone.  The tech giant unveiled the new iPhone Duo during its "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday.  It will cost about two-thousand dollars and will be available to preorder starting October 16th.  Apple also debuted the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max which will hit shelves September 18th.  The event was the first annual fall showcase to be held under new CEO John Ternus.

>>Teachers Union Reaches AI Deal With Microsoft 

(New York, NY)  --  The American Federation of Teachers and Microsoft are reaching what's considered a first of its kind agreement regarding artificial intelligence. The deal comes just days after New York City's public schools banned AI for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. Officials say the agreement stops the tech company from tracking students, using teacher and student data to train AI models, and allowing AI systems to independently make decisions in schools without human oversight. The union says its talking with other major companies to adopt similar regulations. 

>>Walmart Partners With Dunkin

(Bentonville, AR)  --  Walmart is running with Dunkin' in a new delivery partnership.  The retail giant is expanding their restaurant delivery business with Inspire Brands, the parent company of Dunkin.'  This new partnership will now allow customers to order drinks and food along with their Walmart delivery order in the shopping app.  The rollout will start with 150 Dunkin' locations inside Walmart stores and expand to roughly ten-thousand locations across the country.  The move builds on Walmart's restaurant-delivery test with Subway and puts the retailer in more direct competition with services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

>>Dog Supplements Recalled Over Potential Salmonella Contamination

(Topeka, KS)  --  Two supplements for dogs are recalled over a potential salmonella contamination. According to a company notice the FDA posted, the company Fi is recalling the products over an ingredient supplied to its manufacturer. The manufacturer has stopped production while it investigates. The two supplements were sold directly to consumers and also distributed through online outlets Amazon and Chewy, and they include the Fi Calming supplement for Dogs and the Fi 8-in-1 Formula supplement for. Dogs.

For: September 9, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed lower to begin the holiday-shortened trading week on Tuesday.  Rising oil prices pressured stocks ahead of a key inflation reading later in the week.  Renewed trade tensions with Canada are also in focus ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.  At yesterday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 628 points to 52-786.  The S&P 500 fell 45 points to 76-73.  The Nasdaq dropped 85 points to 26-421.

>>Apple's Big Launch Event Is Today 

(Cupertino, CA)  --  Apple is preparing to roll out new devices today.  The event, called "Surprise and Shine" starts at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern and it's expected to feature the long-awaited debut of a foldable iPhone.  It'll also be a big moment for Apple's brand-new CEO John Ternus, with this being his first launch event, after taking over for Tim Cook.

>>Americans Have Paid $100 Billion More On Fuel Since Start Of Iran War

(Providence, RI)  --  Americans have spent over 100-billion-dollars more on fuel since the start of the Iran war.  That's according to Brown University's Iran War Energy Cost tracker that has looked at fuel prices since the conflict started on February 28th.  That total comes out to just over an additional 770-dollars per household.  A little more than 55-billion-dollars of the total is from gasoline while just over 45-billion has been spent on diesel.  This comes as Goldman Sachs has warned that the price of a barrel of oil could surge past 120-dollars as tensions in the Middle East rise.

>>Florida AG Pushes For Criminal Penalties Against Some AI Chatbots

(Tallahassee, FL)  --  Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wants new criminal penalties for companies whose AI chatbots are involved in crimes.  He's out with a proposal that calls for fines, payments to victims, and court oversight.  It comes as Uthmeier investigates OpenAI and accuses ChatGPT of putting children at risk.  He also points to cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material and other crimes.

>>Boomtown Study

(Charlotte, NC)  --  Austin, Texas ranks number one among the nation's 50 largest metro areas in a recent LendingTree boomtown study.  Researchers evaluated metros based on population growth, housing construction, job growth, earnings and business activity.  The report found southern cities continue to dominate the rankings, with Charlotte, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando and Nashville all in the national top ten.  

For: September 8, 2026 

>>Holiday-Shortened Trading Week Begins 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning as Wall Street kicks off a holiday-shortened trading week after closing out last week in the red.  Stocks fell Friday after a strong August jobs report raised the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 271 points to 53-414.  The S&P 500 fell 29 points to 77-18.  The Nasdaq dropped 77 points to 26-506.  Markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

>>Economic Reports On The Horizon   

(Undated)  --  Coming up this week, noteworthy economic reports start rolling in today with the latest data on consumer credit and the National Federation of Independent Business' Index of Small Business Optimism.  Looking ahead to Thursday and the numbers on weekly jobless claims will be released along with the Producer Price Index and existing homes sales data.  The week comes to a close with Friday's Consumer Price Index and a look at the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment survey.

>>Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs Kick In 

(Ottawa)  --  Canada's new tariffs on billions of dollars in American goods are now in effect, escalating the trade fight with the U.S.  The tariffs kicked in just after midnight and range from 15 to 50 percent, covering some 27 billion dollars in U.S. imports.  They target products including steel, dairy, appliances, farm equipment, electronics and paper products.  Canada says the tariffs are in response to the 50-percent duties imposed by President Trump on Canadian goods.  The move comes as tensions between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney continue to rise, with trade talks stalled.

>>Gas Prices High, But Holding Steady 

(Undated)  --  Gas prices remain high with the long holiday weekend now in the rearview mirror.  The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is four-dollars-and-15-cents, according to Triple-A, same as yesterday.  Prices at the pump are highest in California where drivers are paying an average of five-86 a gallon.

>>Apple To Host Launch Event This Week

(Cupertino, CA)  --  Apple's next launch event is a day away.  It marks the first launch event under new CEO John Ternus.  Analysts anticipate the company will announce the latest iPhones and Apple Watches.  That could include Apple's first-ever folding phone.  The event is set for Wednesday at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

>>Hunter Biden Launching Meme Coin

(Undated)  --  Hunter Biden says he's launching a new meme coin called $LAPTOP [[ laptop ]], a nod to the long-running political controversy surrounding former President Biden's son and his personal laptop.  The debut, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was teased with a video montage of news clips and political commentary referencing the device.  The token launches Wednesday. 

>>German Rocket Reaches Orbit In Europe's First Commercial Launch

(Undated)  --  A German startup says satellite deployments will rapidly expand following the first orbital launch of its privately-developed Spectrum rocket from a Norwegian spaceport in the Arctic Circle.  Isar [[ Ee-zar ]] Aerospace's uncrewed space rocket helped achieve a milestone over the weekend for Europe's efforts to secure independent access to space, as it became the first commercial rocket to reach orbit from continental Europe.  Spectrum carried five small satellites along with an in-flight technology experiment.  This comes 18 months after Isar's first rocket dropped into the sea and exploded after blasting off from the same site.

For: September 4, 2026

>>Watching Wall Street

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher Thursday.  It comes as investors have hopes that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged later this month.  Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he'd be inclined to support holding interest rates steady barring surprises in inflation data.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 624 points to 53-686.  The S&P 500 gained 81 points to 77-47.  The Nasdaq rose 366 points to 26-584.

>>Jobs Report Due 

(Undated)  --  The government's always highly-anticipated monthly jobs report is due out today.  Most analysts are expecting to see at least 53-thousand new, non-farm payrolls added in August.  That would be a major improvement from the unexpected loss of 23-thousand jobs the month prior.  

>>Mortgage Rates Hit New High For 2026

(New York, NY)  --  Mortgage rates are hitting a new high for 2026 as they drive closer to seven-percent.  The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to six-point-seven-one-percent this week, according to Freddie Mac. It's the highest level since July 2025, putting new pressure on potential buyers and homeowners hoping to refinance. 

>>Burlington Coat Factory Moving To PA

(Burlington, NJ)  --  Burlington Coat Factory is moving its headquarters out of the New Jersey city that bears its name, and across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.  The discount clothing retailer announced Thursday the company is investing 370-million dollars into relocating its corporate base to West Philadelphia.  Burlington was founded in 1972 in Burlington, New Jersey, and promised to continue operating stores in the Garden State.  The defection comes after Exxon Mobile and Samsung Electronics both announced plans this summer to move their American headquarters from New Jersey to Texas.  

>>Trump Coins Sold Out

(Washington, DC)  --  The Trump coins are already sold out.  The U.S. Mint released one-dollar gold-colored coins on Wednesday featuring President Trump's likeness.  The currency became available for purchase at noon and sold out within hours.  The U.S. Mint's order page says a 25-coin roll is "currently on backorder," while the 100-coin bag is "currently unavailable."  There's been no mention yet on when the coins will be restocked.

For Thursday, September 3rd, 2026

>>Wall Street Closes With Stocks Higher

(New York, NY)  --  Wall Street closed with stocks higher Wednesday. It comes as oil prices have been seeing an uptick amid renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading above 91-dollars per barrel, while Brent crude futures were trading above 95-dollars a barrel. Elsewhere, the benchmark U.S. ten-year Treasury note yield hit around four-point-eight-percent on Wednesday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 295 points to 53-061.  The S&P 500 gained 35 points to 76-66.  The Nasdaq rose 118 points to 26-217.

>>ADP: Private Sector Job Grows Slows

(Roseland, NJ)  --  Private companies added fewer-than-expected jobs in August, according to payroll processor ADP.  Numbers out Wednesday show 38-thousand jobs were added, below the 47-thousand markets predicted.  It was the smallest gain since January and down from an upwardly revised 46-thousand in July.  Most of the new jobs were in healthcare, while manufacturing lost 17-thousand jobs.  

>>Chevron To Double Oil Production In Venezuela

(Houston, TX)  --  The only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela says it plans to double its oil production in the country over the next five years.  Chevron confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to invest another seven-billion dollars in Venezuela, increasing it's oil production to about 600-thousand barrels a day.  The news comes after President Trump announced a deal last week to create a business partnership that would control Venezuelan oil fields containing about 65-billion barrels of petroleum.  Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said, "we are strengthening a portfolio that we believe can deliver attractive low-cost oil growth" and support the U.S. energy supply.

>>Trump Warns Oil Execs About Price Gouging

(Washington, DC)  --  President Trump says he warned oil executives about price gouging as gas prices continue to rise.  Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday, Trump said he warned retailers in a meeting earlier this week, and told them he wants the retail prices to come down.  According to Triple-A, the average price for a gallon of regular gas nationwide is four-12, nearly a dollar more than one year ago.  The price rise has been in effect since the start of the Iran war.

>>California-Based Uber Laying Off 10% of Corporate Workforce

(San Francisco, CA)  --  California-based Uber is laying off ten percent of its global workforce.  It amounts to about 33-hundred employees.  The layoffs do not include drivers and couriers who use the Uber platform.  Uber says the move will make the company "simpler and faster" and allow it to invest in growth opportunities.  It also says the cuts will help it consolidate management layers and trim costs, and are not related to AI.  About 14-thousand-600 of Uber's global workforce is based in the U.S.  Most work at its headquarters and offices in San Francisco and Sunnyvale.  

>>Trump Admin Backs OpenAI In NYT Lawsuit

(Washington, DC)  --  The Trump administration is backing OpenAI in a lawsuit brought by the New York Times over fair use of the news outlet's content. The Times sued OpenAI in 2023 over the artificial intelligence platform's use of its journalism to train its systems and chatbots. In a new filing, the White House signaled support for OpenAI, saying that having a "robust" AI ecosystem is essential for national security and other government priorities. The Trump administration argued that OpenAI should be able to use copyrighted content to advance its technology.

>>Pizza Hut Sale Completed

(Louisville, KY)  --  The one-and-a-half-billion-dollar sale of Pizza Hut is now complete.  Kentucky-based Yum! Brands announced earlier in the summer that the pizza chain was being sold to the private equity firm LongRange Capital.  This comes after Yum! said last year that it was looking at options for the struggling pizza chain.  In a separate transaction, Pizza Hut's mainland China locations have been sold to Yum China for one-point-two-billion dollars.  Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas and has almost 20-thousand locations around the world.

For: September 2, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell   

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed lower Tuesday as higher bond yields and rising oil prices rattled markets.  Stocks fell in a shaky start to September as global oil prices surged above 94-dollars a barrel after new U.S. strikes on Iran.  Inflation worries are also stoking concerns about the Federal Reserve's future path on interest rates.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 419 points to 52-766.  The S&P 500 fell 54 points to 76-31.  The Nasdaq dropped 271 points to 26-099

>> Greer: U.S. And Canada Trade Negotiations Stall

(Washington, DC)  --  Trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada are at a standstill after falling apart in August.   Politico reports U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "it's more their emergency than ours," and no negotiations are currently happening. This after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took aim at Canada's prime minister, saying Mark Carney walked away from a trade deal.

>>Job Openings Held Steady In July

(Washington, DC)  --  The number of job openings held steady in July.  The Labor Department revealed yesterday that seven-point-three million jobs were available which matched expectations.  The number and rate of hires were little changed at five-point-one million for the month.  According to the JOLTS report, durable goods manufacturing led the way with the most job postings in July.  Hires decreased in professional and business services for the month.     

>>Gas Prices Rising Ahead Of Labor Day Weekend

(Heathrow, FL)  --  Gas prices are creeping up as the Labor Day holiday weekend nears.  Triple A reports the national average is four-dollars-and-12 cents today, up from yesterday's four-oh-nine.  The national average was above four-dollars a gallon every day last month.  California drivers are seeing the highest prices at the pump at five-73 a gallon.

>>Seattle Teachers Strike Avoided 

(Seattle, WA)  --  A major Seattle Public Schools strike has been averted.  A tentative contract deal between the school district and the Seattle teachers' union was reached overnight with the teachers' current contract expiring.  The teachers' union voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike if a contract deal was not reached.  Classes are now scheduled to begin today for the new school year.

For: September 1, 2026

>>Wall Street Welcomes Brand New Trading Month 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning as Wall Street ushers in a brand new trading month.  Stocks closed lower Monday to cap what was otherwise a positive month.  Stocks fell as oil prices jumped after the U.S. and Iran traded strikes for the first time in over a month.  Trading remained volatile due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, but markets still posted broad gains in August.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 374 points to 53-185.  The S&P 500 fell 25 points to 76-86.  The Nasdaq lost 31 points to 26-370.

>>Jobs In Focus This Week 

(Undated)  --  The Labor Department's Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, is due out today.  That will be followed by ADP's monthly hiring survey on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday and the government's always highly-anticipated monthly jobs report on Friday.  

>>Tim Cook's Time As Apple CEO Comes To A Close 

(Cupertino, CA)  --  Tim Cook's time as CEO of Apple is over.  In his final memo as CEO to the company on Monday, Cook praised Apple employees saying, "The truth is, whatever there is to say about my success, I know it is all because of you."  He's officially making the transition into the role of executive chairman today.  John Ternus will take over as Apple's new CEO with plans to make sweeping changes to the management team.  Ternus previously oversaw Apple's design and hardware engineering.  Cook served as the head of Apple since 2011 when he took over for Steve Jobs.  

>>Pentagon Onboards New AI Platforms

(Arlington, VA)  --  The Pentagon is bringing on Grok and ChatGPT for unclassified military use in a move to expand the number of AI assistants on the department's platform. The Pentagon said Grok for Government is meant to boost productivity and more "secure and efficient collaboration." The Department of War also said it's using ChatGPT Mil to help with "document-heavy unclassified work."

>>FTC Sues Amazon   (Washington, DC)  --  The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon.  FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson says the world's largest online retailer manipulated pricing and overcharged over a million advertisers.  The lawsuit alleges 80-percent of sponsored product ad auctions were rigged.  Twenty-two state attorneys general filed the lawsuit Monday accusing the company of making over 20-billion-dollars off the scheme since 2019.  An Amazon spokesperson says it "strongly disagrees" and asserts the FTC doesn't understand how advertising works.  

>>NYC Outdoor Dining Permanently Made Year-Round With Mayor's Signature

(New York, NY)  --  Outdoor dining is going to be allowed in New York City all year long after Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed the bill into law. The Mayor says he expects a lot of positive impacts by making outdoor dining a permanent feature of the Big Apple. Mamdani claims previous regulations under former Mayor Eric Adams increased the cost for business owners since they had to build and then tear down their roadway dining structures by November. 

For: August 31, 2026  

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed lower Friday to end the week.  Stocks fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh signaled the Fed may raise rates. Speaking at the central bank's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Warsh said the Fed has "work to do" if inflation persists above its target of two-percent.  Treasury yields, which are linked to borrowing costs, moved higher following his remarks.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 9 points to 53-559.  The S&P 500 fell 19 points to 77-11.  The Nasdaq dropped 138 points to 26-402.

>>Monthly Jobs Report Out This Week 

(Undated)  --  Coming up in the business week ahead, the big story will be the government's monthly jobs report.  That's due Friday.  It's expected to show around 50-thousand new, non-farm payroll jobs were created in August.  That would be a notable increase from the 23-thousand that were unexpectedly shed the month prior.  

>>Trump Says He'll Fill Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

(Undated)  --  President Trump says he'll fill the Strategic National Reserves with Venezuelan oil. Trump made the comment in a Truth Social post on Sunday, writing that the "topping out" process will begin very shortly. The President also called it a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.  It comes after Trump announced that the U.S. had "secured majority U.S. control of more than 65-billion barrels of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer."  Trump has expressed a positive working relationship with the Venezuelans since the U.S. military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on drug charges.

>>Sony, Warner Sue Anthropic Alleging 'Blatant Theft'

(San Francisco, CA)  --  Some of the largest music publishers have filed a blockbuster lawsuit against Anthropic. The Friday night filing alleges "one of the largest and most blatant ongoing thefts of intellectual property in history." Units of Sony Music and Warner Music filed the suit in federal court in northern California, naming Anthropic, CEO Dario Amodei and co-founder Benjamin Mann as defendants. The 48 page complaint claims that Anthropic pirated thousands of copyrighted musical works and asks for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damagers per infringed work. 

>>Meal Kit Companies Hit With Complaints After Customers Receive Spoiled Food, Empty Boxes

(New York, NY)  --  Two meal kit companies are getting hit with complaints and threats to cancel after customers said they received spoiled food or nearly empty boxes. Blue Apron and Marley Spoon are popular delivery services that allow customers to select recipes in advance and send an insulated box with the ingredients and instructions. But since the companies' old supplier FreshRealm filed for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reports that their transition to a new system has been a bumpy ride with supply chain issues.

>>Americans Using less Cash Than A Decade Ago 

(Washington, DC)  --  A new study says Americans are using cash less and less. The study from the Pew Research Center says 42-percent of U.S. adults say they never use it for purchases in a typical week. The survey found that only 12-percent said they only use cash for typical weekly purchases. Higher-earning Americans are at the forefront of the cashless trend, with 58-percent of those in households earning 100-thousand dollars or more a year reporting they make none of their regular purchases with cash. People in lower-income households were more likely to use cash, with about a quarter of those earning less than 30-thousand dollars per year saying they use cash for all or most purchases. 

>>Consumer Sentiment Slips On Inflation Worries

(Ann Arbor, MI)  --  Consumer sentiment fell about six percent from last month.  The University of Michigan's final reading for August slipped mainly on inflation worries.  The survey noted declines for all political groups especially among Republicans along with older Americans and lower income groups.  Uncertainty over the Iran conflict, gas prices and trade tensions added to concerns about the economy.  Consumers expect prices to go up four-percent over the next year, which is a slight decrease from last month.  

For: August 28, 2026

>>Trading Week Winding Down (New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Wall Street yesterday. Nvidia's shares have been on the rise after reporting strong earnings in the second quarter of this year. The company reported nearly 90-billion dollars in revenue just from data centers. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105 points to 53-569. The S&P 500 gained 55 points to 77-30. The Nasdaq rose 411 points to 26-541.

>>Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh Speaks In Jackson Hole

(Jackson Hole, WY) -- The markets will be watching as Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks today. Warsh will deliver the keynote speech at the central bank's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Warsh's predecessors have used the event to discuss broad policy initiatives, and to lay out conditions under which the Fed would adjust interest rates. But Warsh has signaled a more hands-off approach while placing a greater emphasis on market direction when it comes to policy so far.

>>Canada Excludes Seafood From Retaliatory Tariffs On U.S. Goods

(Ottawa) -- Canada is excluding seafood from its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. In a statement, Canada's Department of Finance said removing seafood would "protect against broader economic harms." The Canadian duties are set to go into effect on September 8th. This, after President Trump's 50-percent import taxes on goods from Canada went into place last weekend.

>>Federal Court Rejects Pharmaceutical Industry Challenge To Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

(Washington, DC) -- A federal appeals court is rejecting a pharmaceutical industry challenge to the federal Medicare drug price negotiation program. The court found that drugmakers aren't entitled to sell their products to Medicare at the price they prefer. It's the latest ruling in a slew of federal courts deciding in favor of the Medicare drug price negotiation program, established through the Inflation Reduction Act.

>>Twitter Making A Comeback, Sort Of

(Undated) -- Twitter is looking to make a come back. A new social network called Twitter.now is now looking for early access users. It's not affiliated with X, the company owned by Elon Musk that changed its name from Twitter after he bought it for 44-billion-dollars in 2022. It's run by a startup called Operation Bluebird, which includes former Twitter trademark lawyer Stephen Coates. X sued the company last year trying to keep Operation Bluebird from launching a new site called Twitter. Operation Bluebird argues that X has abandoned its trademarks including Twitter and Tweet. Coates posted that the company is not trying to rebuild the old Twitter, but a new service built on trust and transparency.

>>Callaway Golf Cuts Ties With Good Good Over Ad

(Carlsbad, CA) -- Golf company Callaway is cutting ties with its media partner Good Good Golf over an ad for a new driver that depicted violence against women. The video posted by Good Good shows a woman reaching for the driver as the company's co-founder, Garrett Clark, rushes after her and knocks her to the ground. He stands over her and says "don't touch my driver." In a statement, Callaway said it listened to individuals who shared personal experiences related to violence against women. The company committed to donate one-million dollars to organizations who work to prevent violence against women and provide resources to survivors. Good Good took the video down after widespread online backlash.

For: August 27, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell (New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after a down day on Wall Street. It comes as investors are still digesting the personal consumption expenditures price index, which increased a seasonally adjusted point-two-percent for the month of July. That puts the annual inflation rate at three-point-seven-percent. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 113 points to 53-463. The S&P 500 fell 1 point to 76-75. The Nasdaq dropped 21 points to 26-130.

>>Meta Settles Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

(Oakland, CA) -- Meta is settling in its federal trial over social media addiction. Several states sued the tech giant alleging it designed its social media platforms also including Facebook and WhatsApp to engage children and get them addicted. They also claimed Meta misled users about the safety of the apps. As part of the settlement announced yesterday, Meta denied the allegations but committed to "establishing daily limits and blocks on nighttime use for teenage users" along with "enhanced age assurance measures." Meta will also pay nearly 17-billion dollars in the settlement.

>>Apple To Host Launch Event

(Cupertino, CA) -- Apple will host its next launch event next month. Analysts anticipate the company will announce the latest iPhones and Apple Watches. That could include Apple's first-ever folding phone. This will mark the first launch event under CEO John Ternus. The event will take place September 9th at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

>>Uber Offering Live Stream For Teen Riders

(San Francisco, CA) -- Uber is rolling out a new feature designed to give parents a little peace of mind. The rideshare company unveiled live video streaming for Uber teen accounts. That allows a linked parent or guardian to peek in on a teenager's ride in real time through the front facing camera on the driver's phone. The stream is also encrypted. The new feature will be available in nine markets including Atlanta, Orlando and Phoenix, with Uber saying they plan to expand the feature nationwide over the coming weeks.

>>Dolly Parton Streams Surge On Spotify Following Death

(Undated) -- Dolly Parton's music has surged significantly on Spotify following her death on Tuesday. Total streams increased over 12-hundred percent globally, as well as over 23-hundred-percent in the United States. "Jolene" increased 630-percent, while "9-to-5" increased 620-percent. Other songs that rose in streams include "Islands in the Stream" and "I Will Always Love You." Parton passed away at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer in Nashville.

>>United Airlines Adds 10 New Destinations

(Chicago, IL) -- United Airlines is adding ten new destinations next year. That's the largest international expansion in the company's nearly century-long history. It will introduce nonstop flights to various cities in Japan, France, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, and Italy. Aside from the cities introduced in Italy, no other U.S. airline flies directly to any of the other cities on the list. The new flights will begin operating in Spring 2027.

For: August 26, 2026 

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher yesterday on Wall Street.  Chip stocks have rallied as investors gear up for Nvidia's earnings later today.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 160 points to 53-577.  The S&P 500 gained 24 points to 76-77.  The Nasdaq rose 171 points to 26-151.

>>Instagram Head Testifies In Meta Addiction Trial

(Oakland, CA)  --  Instagram head Adam Mosseri has been called to the stand in the latest social media addiction trial against Meta playing out in federal court in Oakland, California.  Several state attorneys general are suing the tech giant, alleging it designed its social media platforms also including Facebook and WhatsApp to engage children and get them addicted.  They also claim Meta mislead users about the safety of the apps.  Meta has called those claims unsubstantiated.

>>Massive Starbase Planed On Gulf Coast

(Abbeville, LA)  --  SpaceX is building a 100-billion-dollar campus on the Louisiana coastline.  The company says the spaceport will be designed to support thousands of launches annually.  There will be five launch complexes, each with two launch pads.   It will create three-thousand new jobs over the next ten years and they're promising annual salaries starting at 92-thousand dollars. Construction starts next year.

>>Target Shares Fall After Controversial Costume Pulled

(Minneapolis, MN)  --  Target shares fell nearly four percent Tuesday after backlash over a potentially offensive Halloween costume.  The company apologized for the costume Monday, a children's clown outfit that some say evoked racist minstrel stereotypes, and pulled it from shelves and online sales.  The stock fell as much as five percent during the day's trading.  Tejal Patel, the director of Target shareholder SOC Investment Group, said the costume controversy is "another example in a chain of events where Target has lost trust with its consumer base."  

>>Golf Company Apologizes For Ad Depicting Violence Against Woman

(Frisco, TX)  --  The golf company Callaway is apologizing over an ad for a new driver that following complaints that it depicts violence against women. The video was posted by its media partner Good Good Golf shows a woman reaching for the driver as the company's co-founder, Garrett Clark, rushes after her and knocks her to the ground. He stands over her and says "don't touch my driver." Good Good Golf took the video down after widespread online backlash. Callaway didn't mention whether it's reviewing its partnership with Good Good but said it will "learn from this and do better."

>>Thyroid Tablets Recalled Over Superpotency Concerns

(Washington, DC)  --  A company is recalling a lot of thyroid tablets because they could potentially be "superpotent." The FDA announced that the high potency 30 milligram tablets could cause hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Consuming them could result in weight loss, heat intolerance, fatigue, chest pain, and other symptoms. Vitruvias Therapeutics is working on notifying wholesalers to stop distribution.

For: August 25, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell

(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks closed mixed to start the week. Declines in technology stocks pressured markets with Micron, AMD and Broadcom and other chipmakers falling two percent or more. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points to 53-417 The S&P 500 lost 21 points to 76-52. The Nasdaq fell 200 points to 25-980.

>>Trump Announces 50% Tariffs On Canadian Autos

(Washington, DC) -- The U.S. and Canada are in the middle of a full-blown trade war. President Trump says tariffs on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts from Canada will increase to 50-percent starting January 1st, 2027, after talks between the two countries broke down. Trump said, "Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years." He added, "Their ridiculously high tariffs on our farmers and farm products has made life impossible for these great American patriots." Meanwhile, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods will start September 8th.

>>Texas Cotton Conditions Worsen In One Week

(Statewide, TX) -- Trouble's deepening for Texas cotton, a crop worth about a-billion-and-a-half dollars to the state last year. USDA data released Monday shows 44 percent of the crop is now in poor or very poor shape, worsening five percentage points in just a week. Texas is expected to produce roughly a third of all American cotton this season, giving the local decline national impact. Federal forecasts project statewide production will drop nearly 12 percent from last year, creating fresh economic strain just as growers enter the critical harvest stretch.

>>Oura Eyeing IPO

(San Francisco, CA) -- Smart ring maker Oura is looking to raise as much as three-billion-dollars in an upcoming IPO. Bloomberg reports the IPO could be as soon as next month and values the company at 16-billion-dollars. The company reported 500-million-dollars in revenue in 2024, a billion-dollars in 2025 and is expected to reach close to two-billion-dollars this year.

>>NA Box Office Breaks August Record

(Los Angeles, CA) -- The North American box office is setting a new all-time August record thanks in large part to Spider-Man. With still a week to go, this month's box office total has already reached one-point-one-billion dollars. That surpasses the previous record of one-point-zero-one-nine-billion dollars set in 2016. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" accounts for 685-million dollars of this month's box office total. The August box office is now on pace to double last August's total. 

For: August 24, 2026

>>Watching Wall Street  

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Friday despite what was overall a losing week.  Stocks rebounded Friday following a steep sell-off driven by rising Treasury yields and inflation fears.  Still all three major indexes lost ground last week with investors now looking ahead to this week's speech from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.  Also on tap this week: the latest data on consumer confidence, new home sales, personal income and consumer spending as well as weekly jobless claims.  At Friday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 517 points to 53-277.  The S&P 500 rose 33 points to 76-74. The Nasdaq climbed 113 points to 26-180.  

>>Meta Federal Trial Continues As TikTok Agrees To $400M Settlement

(Oakland, CA)  --  As a landmark trial continues today against Meta in federal court in California, TikTok is now agreeing to pay 400-million to settle a U.S. government lawsuit.  The suit alleges the company violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.  The law requires websites and online services directed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13.  The Justice Department announced Friday that TikTok will pay 300-million dollars immediately to the U.S. government, with an additional 100-million due after a court order vacates an earlier consent decree entered against TikTok's predecessor "Musical.ly" 

>>AI Companies Accused Of Hoarding And Destroying Books 

(Undated)  --  Over a dozen public interest and consumer advocacy groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate AI developers for destroying books used to train their language models.  In a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Friday, the Demand Progress Education Fund and other groups said AI companies are buying books in bulk and destroying physical copies.  The letter says in some cases, the destroyed books are among the last surviving copies of original works.  The group argues that  could make it harder for the public and other AI companies to access essential source material.  They also claim the practice violates Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bars unfair or deceptive acts in commerce. 

>>Experts Warn Used Car Buyers About VIN Cloning

(Undated) -- If you're shopping for a used vehicle, experts say there's a growing scam you should know about. It's called VIN cloning, and it happens when criminals copy the vehicle identification number, or VIN, from a legitimate car and place it on a stolen or damaged vehicle. The practice can make a car appear clean on paper even if it has a hidden history. iSeeCars reports buyers may not learn they've purchased a cloned vehicle until police seize it, an insurance claim is denied, or registration problems arise. Experts recommend comparing VIN numbers in multiple locations on a vehicle and checking history reports before making a purchase. They also say deals that seem too good to be true often deserve a closer look.

>>Walmart To Let Shoppers Use Tap-To-Pay Methods 

(Bentonville, AR)  --  Walmart will soon let customers make purchases with tap-to-pay methods including Apple Pay.  The retail giant said Friday that starting on August 24th, customers at select Walmart stores will be able to choose a tap-to-pay option at checkout.  The company said it plans to roll out tap-to-pay at all Walmart and Sam's Club locations by the end of 2026. 

For: August 20, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday.  It comes as bond yields have fallen after the Treasury Department said it's going to at least double the size of its government debt repurchases.  It also follows yesterday's release of the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting.  They show some central bank officials leaning toward an interest rate hike if inflation does not show signs of improvement.  Elsewhere, Moderna's shares have jumped after an experimental cancer vaccine showed promise in a late-stage trial.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 119 points to 53-463.  The S&P 500 gained 16 points to 77-07.  The Nasdaq rose 41 points to 26-331.

>>National Debt Surpasses $40T

(Washington, DC)  --  The national debt is now more than 40-trillion-dollars.  The Treasury Department said the number was surpassed Tuesday afternoon.  It comes earlier than analysts had expected, in part because of billions not realized after some of President Trump's tariffs were invalidated by the courts.  The current federal debt limit is 41-point-one trillion dollars, at which point Congress would need to raise the debt ceiling.

>>Poll: More Americans Concerned Over Use Of AI

(Washington, DC)  --  More Americans are growing concerned over the use of artificial intelligence of daily life. That's according to a new Pew Research survey, which showed that 52-percent of respondents saying they're more concerned than excited about AI. That matches the all-time high seen in the 2023 survey. Less than 10-percent said they're more excited about AI than concerned, the lowest number ever recorded in the survey.

>>Indianapolis Puts Moratorium On New Data Center Developments, Denver Weighs Next Steps 

(Indianapolis, IN)  --  Indianapolis has placed a moratorium on new data center developments.  The Metropolitan Development Commission approved the measure Wednesday, and it took effect immediately.  The moratorium will remain in place through the end of 2027 while the city researches the potential impacts of data center development and develops new regulations.  Officials also plan to create an advisory committee and conduct community engagement before making recommendations.  Elsewhere, Denver, Colorado is forming a working group to determine how data centers will be regulated.  The city has implemented a data center moratorium until May of 2027.  The city council and the mayor's office plan to form a group of experts and community members to discuss and create recommendations for future regulations.