America just saw its credit rating drop. The Associated Press reported that Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA. That was “a move that spurred debate in Washington about spending and tax policies.” Fitch said the government’s rising debt burden and the country’s increasingly ugly political fights — including factors like…
You can no longer buy most types of incandescent light bulbs in U.S. stores, after an energy efficiency rule from 2007 went into effect on Tuesday, 16 years later. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, signed by former President George W. Bush, set up standards where light bulbs have to produce at least 45…
Anchor Brewing Co., the iconic San Francisco brewery opened in 1896 and purchased by Japan’s Sapporo in 2017, announced Wednesday it has stopped brewing its ales and will cease operations in the coming weeks. Anchor spokesman Sam Singer said the brewery was “losing millions of dollars a year” and had informed its 61 employees of…
Angus Cloud, the actor who starred as Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on the HBO series “Euphoria,” has died, his family announced Monday. He was 25. In a statement, Cloud’s family said that last week, “he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with…
A school board in Oklahoma recently voted to approve public funding for a Catholic virtual charter school run by local dioceses. When it opens next year, St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School, named after the patron saint of the internet, will be the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school. Its approval has…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is leading a group of lawmakers calling for an investigation into how some of the largest tax prep companies allegedly illegally shared sensitive customer data with Google and Meta, CNBC reported. A seven-month congressional investigation found evidence that TaxSlayer, H&R Block, TaxAct, and other tax prep firms sent names, phone numbers, email…
Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved a redrawn map that carved out just one majority-Black congressional district in the state, defying a Supreme Court ruling that said Alabama had to create at least two majority-Black districts. The new map, helmed by the Alabama Legislature’s Republican supermajority, increased the percentage of Black voters to around 50% in…
1 Congress breaks for August recess without path to avoid shutdown Lawmakers left Congress for their August recess at the end of this week without a clear path forward to avoid a looming government shutdown. Both the House and Senate had entered recess by Saturday, and are not due back in the nation’s Capitol until…
A federal judge on Tuesday gave Microsoft the green light to move forward with its acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard. The company still faces an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission, but U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled against the regulator’s request for a temporary injunction. Throughout the intense five-day hearing,…
Her portrayal of Fran Fine shot her to fame, but it’s her latest role as president of SAG-AFTRA that put Fran Drescher back in the spotlight. The 65-year-old actress, writer and producer was elected to lead SAG-AFTRA — the union representing more than 160,000 actors and other media professionals — in September 2021. On July…