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Tag: food and beverage industry

  • Beloved ‘Weinerman’ statue returned to West Virginia restaurant | CNN

    Beloved ‘Weinerman’ statue returned to West Virginia restaurant | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A West Virginia restaurant is celebrating after its beloved “Weinerman” statue was returned.

    The statue was stolen from Dairy Winkle, a restaurant in Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia, according to a January 19 news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

    The business suffered a fire on January 11. The restaurant owner reported that in the days after the fire, someone broke into the building and stole the statue.

    The treasured statue depicts a smiling anthropomorphic hot dog licking its lips and squeezing bottles of ketchup and mustard. The sheriff’s office described the figurine as a “cherished novelty of the business” with a value of $1,000.

    Sheriffs received a tip about the statue’s whereabouts and found it. The statue was safely returned, undamaged, to the Dairy Winkle, according to the news release.

    On Facebook, the restaurant’s owner expressed gratitude for the officers who helped return the statue. “Weinerman had been found and had been safely returned to the DairyWinkle,” reads the post. “Thank you to the officers who returned him home.”

    A suspect has not been identified and an active investigation is underway, according to the sheriffs’ news release.

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  • As egg prices rise, so do attempts to smuggle them from Mexico, say US Customs officials | CNN

    As egg prices rise, so do attempts to smuggle them from Mexico, say US Customs officials | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    High prices are driving an increase in attempts to bring eggs into the US from Mexico, according to border officials.

    Officers at the San Diego Customs and Border Protection Office have seen an increase in the number of attempts to move eggs across the US-Mexico border, according to a tweet from director of field operations Jennifer De La O.

    “The San Diego Field Office has recently noticed an increase in the number of eggs intercepted at our ports of entry,” wrote De La O in the Tuesday tweet. “As a reminder, uncooked eggs are prohibited entry from Mexico into the U.S. Failure to declare agriculture items can result in penalties of up to $10,000.”

    Bringing uncooked eggs from Mexico into the US is illegal because of the risk of bird flu and Newcastle disease, a contagious virus that affects birds, according to Customs and Border Protection.

    In a statement emailed to CNN, Customs and Border Protection public affairs specialist Gerrelaine Alcordo attributed the rise in attempted egg smuggling to the spiking cost of eggs in the US. A massive outbreak of deadly avian flu among American chicken flocks has caused egg prices to skyrocket, climbing 11.1% from November to December and 59.9% annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    The increase has been reported at the Tijuana-San Diego crossing as well as “other southwest border locations,” Alcordo said.

    For the most part, travelers bringing eggs have declared the eggs while crossing the border. “When that happens the person can abandon the product without consequence,” said Alcordo. “CBP agriculture specialists will collect and then then destroy the eggs (and other prohibited food/ag products) as is the routine course of action.”

    In a few incidents, travelers did not declare their eggs and the products were discovered during inspection. In those cases, the eggs were seized and the travelers received a $300 penalties, Alcordo explained.

    “Penalties can be higher for repeat offenders or commercial size imports,” he added.

    Alcordo emphasized the importance of declaring all food and agricultural products when traveling.

    “While many items may be permissible, it’s best to declare them to avoid possible fines and penalties if they are deemed prohibited,” he said. “If they are declared and deemed prohibited, they can be abandoned without consequence. If they are undeclared and then discovered during an exam the traveler will be subject to penalties.”

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  • Denny’s says safety is top priority after fallen restaurant sign kills 72-year-old Kentucky woman | CNN

    Denny’s says safety is top priority after fallen restaurant sign kills 72-year-old Kentucky woman | CNN

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    CNN
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    A 72-year-old woman died Thursday afternoon after a Denny’s sign fell and crushed a car in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, according to police.

    A spokesperson for the restaurant chain said the company is working with authorities to assess the situation.

    “Denny’s is aware of the incident that took place at our Elizabethtown location on Thursday. Safety is our top priority, and we are working with the authorities to better understand what led to this situation,” Denny’s said in a statement provided to CNN.

    “Our thoughts are with all of those involved,” the statement said.

    All three people inside the vehicle had to be extracted – two adult females and one adult male, said Elizabethtown Police Public Information Officer, Chris Denham. Elizabethtown is about 45 miles south of Louisville.

    “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Denham told CNN affiliate WAVE. “It’s certainly very windy out here and I’m certain that did have a factor and was involved in this.”

    There was a wind advisory in effect Thursday afternoon, with gusts peaking from 45 to 55 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

    The woman killed was identified Friday as 72-year-old Lillian Curtis, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said in a media release obtained by CNN.

    The cause of death was listed as “blunt force injuries” when the restaurant sign fell on the vehicle, according to the release.

    In an update Friday afternoon, the Elizabethtown Police Department told CNN that Curtis was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle at the time. The vehicle was not Curtis’ and the other two passengers in the car were her daughter and husband, police said.

    The 72-year-old woman was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital in critical condition and later died, according to police.

    The two other adults were transported to Baptist Health Hardin with non-life-threatening injuries, Denham said.

    The investigation is ongoing, Denham said.

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  • Egg prices exploded 60% higher last year. These food prices surged too | CNN Business

    Egg prices exploded 60% higher last year. These food prices surged too | CNN Business

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    Minneapolis
    CNN
     — 

    Eggs, milk, butter, flour … if you were making pancakes last year, it would have cost you. Food prices surged in 2022.

    Grocery prices remain stubbornly high (and nearly double the rate of overall inflation) at 11.8% year over year, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Blame Russia, the weather, disease and a host of other factors.

    “Even though we’re seeing inflationary pressures ease, we still have a war in Ukraine,” said Tom Bailey, senior consumer foods analyst with Rabobank. “Fertilizer costs have improved, but they still remain very high. Energy costs have improved, but they still remain relatively high. Labor costs still remain a problem — and the list goes on.”

    Weather and disease are heavily affecting certain products’ prices, too – and none have been more rotten than egg prices: They’re up 59.9% year over year, a rate not seen since 1973, when high feed costs, shortages and price freezes caused certain agricultural products to soar in price. Since early last year, a deadly avian flu has devastated poultry flocks, especially turkeys and egg-laying hens. That was compounded by increasing demand and higher input costs, such as feed.

    As a result, people like Jim Quinn are shelling out upwards of $6 and $7 for a dozen eggs.

    Quinn has run daytime eatery The Hungry Monkey Café in Newport, Rhode Island, with his wife, Kate, since 2009. As a breakfast and lunch joint, it leans heavily on eggs for the majority of dishes on its menu — and especially for the 15-egg King Kong omelet novelty food challenge at the restaurant.

    Even though eggs and seemingly every other ingredient have risen in price during the past year, Quinn and The Hungry Monkey have chosen to eat the cost.

    “I’m trying to hold the line on the prices without having to increase them,” Quinn said. “It makes it extremely challenging for a mom-and-pop [business].”

    He added: “We’re just trying to stay alive and hope that things will come down.”

    But there’s good news on the horizon. The cost of food is still hard to swallow, but the latest Consumer Price Index shows that those price increases — by and large — are at least growing at slower rates.

    In December, “food at home” prices increased 0.2% from the month before. That’s the smallest monthly increase since March 2021.

    The expectations are for food price increases to continue to moderate, Bailey said.

    “I suspect over the next 12 months we will see improvements in supply, improvements in the conditions that have been challenging across most of our food categories,” he said, “and we’ll finally start to see prices, at least upstream, really starting to come off. And then maybe it’s 2024 where we could eventually see some deflation for food.”

    Here’s a look at how prices are trending across certain food categories in December, according to BLS data:

    Eggs: +59.9% annually; +11.1% from November

    Butter and margarine: +35.3% annually; +1.7% from November

    Lettuce: +24.9% annually; +4% from November

    Flour and prepared flour mixes: +23.4% annually; -1% from November

    Canned fruits and vegetables: +18.4% annually; +0.3% from November

    Bread: +15.9% annually; +0.2% from November

    Cereals and cereal products: +15.6% annually; -0.3% from November

    Coffee: +14.3% annually; +0% from November

    Milk: +12.5% annually; -1% from November

    Chicken: +10.9% annually; -0.6% from November

    Baby food: +10.7% annually; -0.2% from November

    Fresh fruits: +3.4% annually; -1.9% from November

    Uncooked ground beef: +0.7% annually; -0.1% from November

    Bacon and related products: -3.7% annually; -2.9% from November

    Uncooked beef steaks: -5.4% annually; +0.9% from November

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  • What got really expensive this year, and what got cheaper | CNN Business

    What got really expensive this year, and what got cheaper | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    It’s been a tough year for US consumers, who battled decades-high inflation for the majority of the year and even saw gas prices hit $5 in June.

    The latest inflation data, not adjusted for seasonal swings, shows price hikes have now slowed to 7.1% for the year through November, after hitting a pandemic-era peak of 9.1% in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    From November 1 to December 24, shoppers still had to dig deep for gifts, with retail sales jumping 7.6%, unadjusted for inflation, compared to the same period last year, according to the Mastercard Spending Pulse, which tracks retail sales, excluding automotive sales. Holiday meals were also more expensive, and food prices outpaced inflation throughout the year.

    But while some items saw massive double-digit increases in 2022, others were a deal. Here’s how prices changed this year.

    Consumer demand for big-ticket electronics has fallen recently, leading stores to discount.

    In the year through November, several major electronics got cheaper: Smartphone prices plunged 23.4%, TV prices dropped 17% and computers got 4.4% less expensive.

    The price of major appliances fell 1%.

    Earlier in the year, chains like Best Buy and Walmart stocked up on merchandise, preparing for supply chain shortages and what they projected to be robust consumer demand. But their plans were derailed by inflation and slumping consumer confidence.

    Plus, many consumers had already made large purchases or upgrades while stuck at home early in the pandemic.

    Overall inflation outpaced the increase in apparel and other items.

    Apparel prices rose, but slowly. Clothing increased 3.6%, while footwear rose 2.3%. Sporting goods increased 2.7% and toys 0.6%.

    The increases made these items a relative bargain, as they were all outpaced by overall inflation.

    “In toys, sporting goods, apparel, categories like that, prices have come down more aggressively,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in an interview on CNBC in December. “We’re still inflated but we’re not inflated nearly as much as we are in the other categories.”

    Here, again, many retailers misjudged consumer demand and so had excess inventory pile up. To clear out merchandise and entice shoppers to buy, stores ramped up promotions. This kept prices in check.

    Airfare prices spiked as demand roared back.

    This year, demand for air travel roared back after falling to an all-time low in 2020. Plane ticket prices jumped 36% annually in the year through November.

    In March, Delta president Glen Hauenstein called the spike in demand “unprecedented,” adding “I have never seen … demand turn on so quickly as it has after Omicron,” the Covid-19 variant that caused cases to spike last winter.

    Many airlines reported record revenue in April, May and June thanks to high airfares and full planes as travelers returned in full force two years into the pandemic.

    On the ground, travel got more expensive, as well. Gasoline prices were up 10.1% for the year, but are now off their record highs. Volatility in gas prices was largely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and geopolitical maneuvers that used oil supply as a tool.

    Still, the national average could still climb back above the $4-a-gallon threshold as soon as May, according to GasBuddy projections shared with CNN.

    GasBuddy, an app that tracks fuel prices, doesn’t anticipate another year of extreme volatility, however.

    Food inflation was higher than overall inflation in the year through November.

    In the year through November, food got 10.6% more expensive, outpacing overall inflation.

    In that period, several individual grocery items got even pricier for a variety of reasons.

    Egg prices shot up a massive 49.1%, due to a supply shortage caused by a deadly avian flu, coupled with high demand.

    Margarine got 47.4% pricier because of price swings in the vegetable oil market caused largely by the war in Ukraine, while butter got 27% more expensive after a contraction in the global milk supply.

    Another staple, flour, got 24.9% more expensive due to the war in Ukraine’s impact on the global grain market and high transportation costs in the United States. Even lettuce saw a 19.8% increase, due to crop disease in California.

    Overall, grocery prices jumped 12% in the period, with many consumers accepting the higher prices as thriftier alternatives to restaurant meals, which also grew more expensive, though at a slower clip. Food away from home became 8.5% more expensive in 2022, with many restaurants hiking up menu prices in order to mitigate their own higher input costs.

    — CNN’s Matt Egan and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

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  • The best food marketing stunts of the year | CNN Business

    The best food marketing stunts of the year | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Comically oversized snack foods. A cocktail infused with processed cheese. And a fine dining establishment for feline lovers.

    In 2022, there were plenty of restaurants, food manufacturers and at least one artist collective that tried to break through with their shenanigans.

    These food stunts were often outrageous and sometimes regrettable. But only a few unleashed items that made us say, “wait, what? Why would you do that? Who would eat that?” And, occasionally: “that actually sounds pretty good.”

    Here’s what caught our attention this year.

    Over the summer, Kraft Heinz

    (KHC)     introduced a new cocktail: The Veltini, a martini made with Velveeta-infused vodka, olive brine and vermouth, garnished with Velveeta-stuffed olives and Velveeta-stuffed shells. The concoction was available for a limited time at BLT steakhouses in New York, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and elsewhere.

    The drink was part of Kraft Heinz’s broader efforts to reinvigorate the Velveeta brand after it saw sales of the processed cheese jump during the pandemic. To help Velveeta stage a comeback, the brand launched a new ad campaign, made tweaks to its logo and sold a cheese-scented nail polish.

    The Veltini made a splash, even though (or perhaps because) those brave enough to try it were unenthused.

    One Washington Post writer said it looked “like a deranged cheese monster, with olives as beady eyes and a dripping Velveeta cheese rim as a lopsided mouth.” The Today Show’s Hoda Kotb tried it on air, reluctantly, and was not a fan. “Yuck,” she said, “No, girl, no.” Her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, said it wasn’t bad.

    This cereal is supposed to be eaten with orange juice.

    To be clear, this isn’t orange juice cereal: It’s cereal designed to be eaten with orange juice instead of milk. OJ-maker Tropicana sold the honey almond cereal for a limited time in May in honor of National Orange Juice Day.

    The brand acknowledged that people might not be into the combination. “Whether you hate it or love it, you won’t know until you try it,” Tropicana said. “It may not be for everyone.”

    One reviewer who gave the franken-breakfast a shot described it as “​​not bad,” adding “I can’t imagine eating a bowl of this every day.”

    Plus, she said, it didn’t taste like it was supposed to go with orange juice specifically. “There’s absolutely nothing different from other cereals.”

    Oscar Maye's

    In August, Oscar Mayer, also owned by Kraft Heinz, introduced the “Cold Dog”: A hot-dog flavored popsicle. The item was sold for a limited time at Popbar locations in New York City, New Orleans and elsewhere.

    The idea came from a June Instagram post by Oscar Mayer which asked followers whether the idea was “genius” or “stupid.” Comments on the post range from horrified to intrigued. Enough people were interested to give Oscar Mayer the green light.

    “After the overwhelming fan excitement for our beloved Cold Dog, it was a no-brainer to make this hot dog-inspired frozen pop a reality,” Anne Field, an Oscar Mayer spokesperson, said in a press release at the time.

    So how did it taste? In at least one reviewer’s opinion, pretty good.

    “I was beyond skeptical of how they could make a hot dog popsicle taste good. And somehow, they managed to do it!” according to a writer at Delish, who noted that Popbar uses gelato as the base for its pops. “The gelato is extremely creamy and has a strong smokey flavor that balances out the popsicle’s delicate sweetness. The sweet ‘mustard’ drizzle makes it taste more like a proper ice cream.”

    A Big Cheez-It is 16 times larger than a regular Cheez-It.

    In late June, Taco Bell tested out an item called a “Big Cheez-It Tostada.” As the name implies, it’s a tostada which used a Big Cheez-It — specifically, a Cheez-It 16 times larger than a regular one — as its base. The chain also tested out a “Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme,” which included the giant Cheez-It within the wrap.

    The items were available for a limited-time at one Taco Bell location. On July 3, within a week of the launch, Taco Bell reported that the items had already sold out. “The Big Cheez-It Tostada and Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap are in such Big demand that our limited offer is no longer available,” the chain said.

    Reviewers who tried the item were mixed. “Very cheesy, mmm” said one. Another concluded that “it’s not bad, it’s just weird.” Some noted that the Cheez-It, big though it may be, was not strong enough to maintain the weight of the toppings.

    A large Cheez-It was also utilized by Pizza Hut in 2019, when the pizza chain introduced its stuffed Cheez-It pizza. The limited-time item included “four baked jumbo squares” stuffed with cheese or pepperoni and cheese, and came with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

    We're gonna need a bigger boat.

    Unlike the Big Cheez-It Tostada, the Big Froot Loop is an unauthorized creation, made by the artist collective MSCHF.

    The loop weighs nearly half a pound, is 930 calories and recently went on sale for $19.99. MSCHF tried to make the big loop taste as much as possible like the real thing, according to MSCHF’s co-founder Daniel Greenberg.

    “We look at things in culture and figure out how to make a twist on it,” Greenberg previously told CNN. The thinking behind the project was straightforward: “Let’s make a big f—ing fruit loop and that was it.” According to the MSCHF site, the item, which went on sale December 19, is already sold out.

    Kellogg’s, which makes actual Froot Loops, was not into it.

    “Kellogg Company does not have a relationship with MSCHF and we were not involved in the creation of the Big Fruit Loop,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner previously told CNN in a statement. “The campaign does not accurately depict the Kellogg’s brand.”

    Bahner added that “given the trademark infringement and unauthorized use of our brand, we have reached out to the company seeking an amicable resolution.”

    A dish at

    Over the summer, Fancy Feast invited people to answer the question: What does cat food taste like? Well, sort of.

    The cat food maker briefly opened a restaurant called “Gatto Bianco by Fancy Feast” in New York City in August. Gatto Bianco was open for just two nights, with four seatings per night.

    The restaurant dishes drew inspiration from Fancy Feast Medleys, cat food that is itself inspired by human food like salmon primavera and turkey florentine. The restaurant’s menu was created by Amanda Hassner, in-house chef for Fancy Feast, as well as restaurateur Cesare Casella, a Michelin star winner, according to a Fancy Feast press release.

    “Food has the power to connect us to others in meaningful ways and take us to places we have never been,” Hassner said in a statement at the time. “The same is true for our cats.”

    Hassner added that “the dishes at Gatto Bianco are prepared in ways that help cat owners understand how their cats experience food — from flavor, to texture, to form.” On the menu, according to OpenTable, were baked sea bass, spare ribs, salmon, braised beef and for dessert, panna cotta, almond cake and affogato.

    A Mashable reporter dined at the exclusive restaurant and reported that “the food is tasty,” and the atmosphere feline. “The design of the restaurant itself is practically an Instagram installation for the cat-obsessed, complete with ornate cat wallpaper, gold-embellished Fancy Feast cloth napkins, and cat art (as in, artwork of cats, not art made by cats).”

    Papa Bowls are all topping, no crust.

    As a permanent addition to the Papa Johns menu, the no-crust, toppings-only Papa Bowls are technically not a stunt.

    But the menu offering was so polarizing when it launched in August that we had to give it a nod.

    The bowls were devised to help combat pandemic-induced pizza fatigue by giving Papa Johns customers an option that was, let’s say, pizza adjacent. The company also hoped that the bowls would eliminate the “veto vote,” when a restaurant is ruled out because it doesn’t have enough options for everyone in the dining party.

    The bowls come in three varieties: Chicken Alfredo; Italian Meats Trio with pepperoni, sausage and meatballs; and Garden Veggie. There’s also a build-your-own option.

    The announcement made quite a splash. Comedian Jon Stewart, who has made repeated jabs at Arby’s, said he owed an apology to the chain upon seeing news of the Papa Bowl. At least one YouTube reviewer panned the bowls, saying it was gross and slimy. But some people thought it was a good idea.

    And during a November analyst call, Papa Johns CEO Rob Lynch said the bowls are “performing well and in line with our expectations.”

    — Zoe Sottile and CNN’s Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.

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  • How much should you tip your barista? | CNN Business

    How much should you tip your barista? | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    A new checkout trend is sweeping across America, making for an increasingly awkward experience: digital tip jars.

    You order a coffee, an ice cream, a salad or a slice of pizza and pay with your credit card or phone. Then, an employee standing behind the counter spins around a touch screen and slides it in front of you. The screen has a few suggested tip amounts – usually 10%, 15% or 20%. There’s also often an option to leave a custom tip or no tip at all.

    The worker is directly across from you. Other customers are standing behind, waiting impatiently and looking over your shoulder to see how much you tip. And you must make a decision in seconds. Oh lord, the stress.

    Customers and workers today are confronted with a radically different tipping culture compared to just a few years ago — without any clear norms. Although consumers are accustomed to tipping waiters, bartenders and other service workers, tipping a barista or cashier may be a new phenomenon for many shoppers. It’s being driven in large part by changes in technology that have enabled business owners to more easily shift the costs of compensating workers directly to customers.

    “I don’t know how much you’re supposed to tip and I study this,” said Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University and one of the leading researchers on US tipping habits.

    Adding to the changing dynamics, customers were encouraged to tip generously during the pandemic to help keep restaurants and stores afloat, raising expectations. Total tips for full-service restaurants were up 25% during the latest quarter compared to a year ago, while tips at quick-service restaurants were up 17%, according to data from Square.

    The shift to digital payments also accelerated during the pandemic, leading stores to replace old-fashioned cash tip jars with tablet touch screens. But these screens and the procedures for digital tipping have proven more intrusive than a low-pressure cash tip jar with a few bucks in it.

    Customers are overwhelmed by the number of places where they now have the option to tip and feel pressure about whether to add a gratuity and for how much. Some people deliberately walk away from the screen without doing anything to avoid making a decision, say etiquette experts who study tipping culture and consumer behavior.

    Tipping can be an emotionally charged decision. Attitudes towards tipping in these new settings vary widely.

    Some customers tip no matter what. Others feel guilty if they don’t tip or embarrassed if their tip is stingy. And others eschew tipping for a $5 iced coffee, saying the price is already high enough.

    “The American public feels like tipping is out of control because they’re experiencing it in places they’re not used to,” said Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute and its namesake’s great-great-granddaughter. “Moments where tipping isn’t expected makes people less generous and uncomfortable.”

    Starbucks has rolled out tipping this year as an option for customers paying with credit and debit cards. Some Starbucks baristas told CNN that the tips are adding extra money to their paychecks, but customers shouldn’t feel obligated to tip every time.

    One barista in Washington State said that he understands if a customer doesn’t tip for a drip coffee order. But if he makes a customized drink after spending time talking to the customer about exactly how it should be made, “it does make me a little bit disappointed if I don’t receive a tip.”

    “If someone can afford Starbucks every day, they can afford to tip on at least a few of those trips,” added the employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

    The option to tip is seemingly everywhere today, but the practice has a troubled history in the United States.

    Tipping spread after the Civil War as an exploitative measure to keep down wages of newly-freed slaves in service occupations. Pullman was the most notable for its tipping policies. The railroad company hired thousands of Black porters, but paid them low wages and forced them to rely on tips to make a living.

    Critics of tipping argued that it created an imbalance between customers and workers, and several states passed laws in the early 1900s to ban the practice.

    In “The Itching Palm,” a 1916 diatribe on tipping in America, writer William Scott said that tipping was “un-American” and argued that “the relation of a man giving a tip and a man accepting it is as undemocratic as the relation of master and slave.”

    But tipping service workers was essentially built into law by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which created the federal minimum wage that excluded restaurant and hospitality workers. This allowed the tipping system to proliferate in these industries.

    In 1966, Congress created a “subminimum” wage for tipped workers. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees has stood at $2.13 per hour — lower than the $7.25 federal minimum — since 1991, although many states require higher base wages for tipped employees. If a server’s tips don’t add up to the federal minimum, the law says that the employer must make up the difference. But this doesn’t always happen. Wage theft and other wage violations are common in the service industry.

    The Department of Labor considers any employee working in a job that “customarily and regularly” receives more than $30 a month in tips as eligible to be classified a tipped worker. Experts estimate there are more than five million tipped workers in the United States.

    Just how much to tip is entirely subjective and varies across industries, and the link between the quality of service and the tip amount is surprisingly weak, Lynn from Cornell said.

    He theorized that a 15% to 20% tip at restaurants became standard because of a cycle of competition among customers. Many people tip to gain social approval or with the expectation of better service. As tip levels increase, other customers start tipping more to avoid any losses in status or risk poorer service.

    The gig economy has also changed tipping norms. An MIT study released in 2019 found that customers are less likely to tip when workers have autonomy over whether and when to work. Nearly 60% of Uber customers never tip, while only about 1% always tip, a 2019 University of Chicago study found.

    What makes it confusing, Lynn said, is that “there’s no central authority that establishes tipping norms. They come from the bottom up. Ultimately, it’s what people do that helps establish what other people should do.”

    You should almost always tip workers earning the subminimum wage such as restaurant servers and bartenders, say advocates and tipping experts.

    The option to tip at coffee shops has become ubiquitous.

    When given the option to tip in places where workers make an hourly wage, such as Starbucks baristas, customers should use their discretion and remove any guilt from their decision, etiquette experts say. Tips help these workers supplement their income and are always encouraged, but it’s okay to say no.

    Etiquette experts recommend that customers approach the touch screen option the same way they would a tip jar. If they would leave change or a small cash tip in the jar, do so when prompted on the screen.

    “A 10% tip for takeaway food is a really common amount. We also see change or a single dollar per order,” said Lizzie Post. If you aren’t sure what to do, ask the worker if the store has a suggested tip amount.

    Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, which advocates to end subminimum wage policies, encourages customers to tip. But tips should never count against service workers’ wages, and customers must demand that businesses pay workers a full wage, she said.

    “We’ve got to tip, but it’s got to be combined with telling employers that tips have to be on top, not instead of, a full minimum wage,” she said.

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  • Mark, Albania’s last ‘restaurant bear,’ arrives at sanctuary after over 20 years of captivity | CNN

    Mark, Albania’s last ‘restaurant bear,’ arrives at sanctuary after over 20 years of captivity | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    After over twenty years in captivity, Mark, the last of Albania’s “restaurant bears,” has safely arrived at his new home, an animal sanctuary in Austria, according to the animal rescue group Four Paws International.

    So-called “restaurant bears” have historically been kept in tiny cages near restaurants or hotels, where they served as an attraction for tourists, according to Four Paws. In 2016, the nonprofit launched the “Saddest Bears” campaign in an effort to relocate the more than 30 bears being used as entertainment in the country.

    Mark, a 24-year old brown bear, is the last known “restaurant bear” in Albania, according to a news release from Four Paws, although there are other bears in captivity in poor circumstances in the country. He was rescued on December 7 and arrived at his new home, “BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach” in Austria on Friday.

    When Four Paws first encountered Mark, the animal was suffering from severe health problems. He was overweight, had broken teeth and displayed “abnormal” behaviors like pacing due to the lack of stimulation in his cramped cage, Four Paws said in a previous news release.

    The bear embarked on a 44-hour journey to his new home, according to the organization. He traveled through North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary before finally reaching the sanctuary.

    But he was “calm and relaxed” during the trek, according to Four Paws.

    “We made regular stops for our accompanying vet to check on him and fed him with fruits and vegetables,” Magdalena Scherk-Trettin, who coordinates Four Paws’ wild animal rescue and advocacy projects, said in the release. “After receiving an inappropriate diet of restaurant leftovers and mainly bread for two decades, he was a little reluctant about the vegetables, but munched happily on the grapes we gave him.”

    Mark was slow to explore his snowy new habitat, according to Four Paws. He hadn’t stepped outside a cage in over twenty years. He’ll stay in a smaller outdoor enclosure for the time being until he adjusts to his new environment and moves to a larger enclosure.

    The sanctuary in Arbesbach has operated since 1988, according to its website. Mark will join three other rescued grizzly bears who live on 14,000 square meters of “natural surroundings.”

    “With Mark’s rescue we ended the cruel practice of keeping him next to a restaurant to attract and entertain visitors,” Four Paws’ president Josef Pfabigan said in the release. “We are now one step closer to a world where people treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding.”

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  • Julius’ Bar, the site of an essential 1960s LGBT protest, is officially a historic landmark | CNN

    Julius’ Bar, the site of an essential 1960s LGBT protest, is officially a historic landmark | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Julius’ Bar, one of New York City’s oldest LGBT bars and the location of a crucial 1960s protest, has been officially recognized as a city landmark.

    The bar was officially recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on December 6th, according to a news release from the New York City government.

    The city called the bar “one of the city’s most significant sites of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) history” in the news release.

    Julius’ was the site of the 1966 “Sip-in,” a protest against homophobic discrimination – although at the time, the bar wasn’t an explicitly LGBT space. Four men named Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and Randy Wicker staged the event to protest the persecution of gay men for drinking in public, according to the National Park Service. Bars and restaurants could be raided for “disorderly” conduct, which included men flirting and kissing, says the service. So bars often refused to serve clients who they knew were gay.

    At Julius’, the men announced they were gay – and the bartender refused to serve them, saying it was illegal. The men successfully brought a court case challenging that interpretation of the law. And in 1967, “the courts ruled that indecent behavior had to be more than same-sex ‘cruising’” kissing or touching,” says the National Park Service. “Gays could legally drink in a bar.”

    Julius’, located in New York City’s West Village, is a crucial piece of the city’s history: The bar has been open since the 1860s, according to the National Park Service. And today, it openly describes itself as a gay bar on its social media.

    “The ‘Sip-In’ at Julius’ was a pivotal moment in our city and our nation’s LGBTQ+ history, and this designation today marks not only that moment but also Julius’ half-century as a home for New York City’s LGBTQ+ community,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the city news release. “Honoring a location where New Yorkers were once denied service solely on account of their sexuality reinforces something that should already be clear: LGBTQ+ New Yorkers are welcome anywhere in our city.”

    Council member Erik Botcher thanked the activists who pushed for the landmark designation in the release.

    “As a gay man who enjoys countless freedoms that were unimaginable in their time, I owe enormous debt to the activists who made Julius’ Bar the site of their protest.” Bottcher said in the release. “Landmarks should tell the history of all New Yorkers, including those from marginalized communities.”

    And the landmark status will help ensure the historical site is preserved for decades.

    “The Commission’s designation of the Julius’ Bar Building today recognizes and protects the site of the 1966 ‘Sip-In,’ an important early protest against the persecution of LGBTQ+ people that drew vital attention to unjust laws and practices and paved the way for future milestones in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights,” said Sarah Carroll, the landmarks preservation commission chair, in the release.

    “This building represents that history and has remained an important place to commemorate it,” she went on.

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  • A bartender who found a place to shine. A non-profit worker with a ‘huge heart.’ These are the victims of the Colorado club shooting | CNN

    A bartender who found a place to shine. A non-profit worker with a ‘huge heart.’ These are the victims of the Colorado club shooting | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    As Colorado Springs residents and leaders wrap their arms around the 17 people injured and others traumatized in the Club Q shooting, loved ones are remembering five patrons who did not survive the attack on the beloved LGBTQ nightclub.

    The Colorado Springs Police Department identified the five victims as:

    • Raymond Green Vance (he/him)
    • Kelly Loving (she/her)
    • Daniel Aston (he/him)
    • Derrick Rump (he/him)
    • Ashley Paugh (she/ her)

    Some of the victims worked at Club Q, while others were there to enjoy the evening festivities.

    Here are their stories:

    Derrick Rump’s sister, Julia Kissling, confirmed his name to CNN and one of its affiliates.

    Rump – who was a bartender at Club Q – had “found a community of people that he loved really much, and he felt that he could shine there – and he did,” Kissling told CNN affiliate WFMZ. “He made a difference in so many people’s lives, and that’s where he wanted to be.”

    Tiara Kelley, who performed at the club the night before the incident, told CNN Rump and his coworker Daniel Aston were polar opposites in many ways, but worked well together.

    “They were just amazing, and every bar should have a Daniel and a Derrick,” Kelley said.

    Derrick Rump, left, and Daniel Aston worked the bar at Club Q, loved ones say.

    Aston’s parents confirmed his identity to The Denver Post. The 28-year-old was a bar supervisor at Club Q, said bartender Michael Anderson, who had known Aston for a few years and considered him a friend.

    The night of the shooting, Anderson saw the gunman and ducked behind the bar where he and Aston worked as glass rained down around him, he told CNN on Monday. He thought he was going to die, said a prayer and as he moved to escape the scene, he saw two people who he didn’t know beating and kicking the gunman, he said.

    Anderson was crushed to learn Aston hadn’t made it out of the bar, which Colorado Springs’ LGBTQ community considered a safe space.

    “He was the best supervisor anybody could’ve asked for. He made me want to come into work, and he made me want to be a part of the positive culture we were trying to create there,” Anderson said.

    He added that Aston was an “amazing person. He was a light in my life, and it’s surreal that we’re even talking about him in the past tense like this.”

    Aston moved to Colorado Springs two years ago to be closer to his mother and father, parents Jeff and Sabrina Aston told The Denver Post. The club was a few minutes from their home, and after one of Daniel’s friends told them he’d been shot, they rushed to the emergency room – only to find he’d never arrived.

    Daniel Aston was 4 when he told his mother he was a boy, and it was another decade before he came out as transgender, his mother told the newspaper. He thought himself bashful, but that wasn’t the case, she said. He never knew a stranger, even as a kid.

    “He had so much more life to give to us, and to all his friends and to himself,” she told The Post.

    “He always said, ‘I’m shy,’ but he wasn’t. He wrote poetry. He loved to dress up. He got into drama in high school. He’s an entertainer. That’s what he really loves.”

    Ashley Paugh was one of five people killed in Saturday's shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub.

    Ashley Paugh’s family released a statement on her behalf Monday saying they were “absolutely devastated.”

    “She meant everything to this family, and we can’t even begin to understand what it will mean to not have her in our lives,” the statement read.

    Paugh was a mother, and her daughter Ryleigh “was her whole world,” the statement read, adding that Paugh was big on family.

    “She loved her dad, her sister, and her family; Ashley was a loving aunt, with many nieces and nephews who are devastated by her loss,” the statement read.

    Paugh had “a huge heart,” which she was able to show through her work at Kids Crossing, a nonprofit that looks to help find homes for foster children, according to the statement.

    “She would do anything for the kids – traveling all over southeastern Colorado, from Pueblo and Colorado Springs to Fremont County and the Colorado border, working to raise awareness and encourage individuals and families to become foster parents to children in our community,” the statement read, adding that Paugh worked with the LGBTQ community to find welcoming foster placements.

    Paugh also loved the outdoors through activities like hunting, fishing and riding four-wheelers, the statement read.

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  • Fact check: Trump responds to special counsel news with debunked claim about Obama and the Bushes | CNN Politics

    Fact check: Trump responds to special counsel news with debunked claim about Obama and the Bushes | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    In former President Donald Trump’s first extended response to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Friday announcement that he had appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation into Trump’s retention of government documents after he left office, Trump defended himself with dishonesty – repeating his false and thoroughly debunked claims about how other ex-presidents handled official records.

    Trump, speaking Friday night at a gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence, asked why there is not an investigation into “all of the other presidents that preceded me,” including but not limited to Republicans George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He claimed that these previous presidents “kept documents,” and he continued: “In one case, they had it in a Chinese restaurant with broken windows. And in another case they had a Chinese restaurant connected to a bowling alley. This is where the documents were kept. They took documents with them. President Obama took documents.”

    Merrick Garland announces special counsel to oversee Trump investigations

    Facts First: Trump’s claims are, again, false – and they have been debunked by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) itself. As NARA explained in an August statement, Barack Obama did not take the presidential documents Trump claimed Obama had taken. Rather, NARA itself moved documents from the Obama administration to a NARA-managed facility in the Chicago area, near where Obama’s presidential library is being built. NARA similarly explained in a statement in October, after Trump added other past presidents to the baseless narrative, that neither of the Bushes took the documents Trump claimed they had taken. Again, it was NARA that took the Bushes’ presidential documents to facilities that NARA managed near the future locations of their presidential libraries.

    In other words, there is no equivalence between Trump’s situation – in which he allegedly took hundreds of classified documents, plus numerous other presidential records, to the Mar-a-Lago resort and residence – and the situations, or really non-situations, of his predecessors.

    Trump used the Friday speech to deliver a variety of other criticism of Garland’s decision to appoint the special counsel, veteran prosecutor Jack Smith. Smith will also oversee a second criminal investigation that involves Trump, that one into whether anybody “unlawfully interfered” with the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election or with the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College “on or about” January 6, 2021. (Smith won’t oversee the investigations or prosecutions of people who physically breached the Capitol that day.)

    Trump’s suggestion that past presidents’ documents were stored in an insecure manner is also false.

    The facility where George H.W. Bush’s presidential documents were temporarily stored, in College Station, Texas, was indeed a former bowling alley connected to a former Chinese restaurant. But by the time Bush’s records arrived, the building had been turned by NARA into a professional archiving facility with extensive security measures and no more bowling lanes or equipment.

    Though Trump has repeatedly claimed or suggested that the College Station facility was not secure – this time he said it had “broken windows” – this narrative is baseless, too. In its October statement, NARA said that all of the temporary facilities where it stored past presidents’ documents “met strict archival and security standards.” NARA said that “reports that indicate or imply that those Presidential records were in the possession of the former Presidents or their representatives, after they left office, or that the records were housed in substandard conditions, are false and misleading.”

    You don’t have to take NARA’s recent word for it. The Associated Press reported in 1994: “Uniformed guards patrol the premises. There are closed-circuit television monitors and sophisticated electronic detectors along walls and doors. Some printed material is classified and will remain so for years; it is open only to those with top-secret clearances.”

    Finally, it is not a revelation that the facility had a colorful past as a restaurant and alley; NARA officials publicly joked about this at the time. It’s normal for NARA to lease large buildings that formerly had some other purpose. The Washington Post reported in 1993: “There aren’t any lanes anymore. No gutters, no pins, no beer. Thanks to a rush remodeling job after last November’s election, there are a few simple offices, a massive, fire-resistant vault and row after row of steel shelves filled with cardboard boxes and wooden crates.”

    Trump has continued making these false claims about his predecessors not only despite the NARA statements debunking them but despite numerous fact-checks from major media outlets. He also made the claim about Obama supposedly taking documents in the Tuesday speech in which he announced his 2024 presidential candidacy; CNN fact-checked it then, too.

    PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 08: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during an election night event at Mar-a-Lago on November 08, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump spoke as the nation awaits the results of voting in the midterm elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    Legal experts in new report conclude there’s a ‘strong basis’ to charge Trump

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  • Corporate entertaining has come roaring back | CNN Business

    Corporate entertaining has come roaring back | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Samuel Roe, regional sales manager for Terlato Wines, had business associates visiting a few weeks ago and called a friend at one of the most expensive rooftop eateries in New York to ask if his group could get a table.

    He got a reservation, he said, but also a request: “Make sure to spend money.”

    Executives with corporate expense accounts who used to order $200 bottles of wine are “showing off” and ordering $1,000 ones these days, Roe explained. His friend didn’t want to get in trouble for bringing in a less-profitable party. The restaurant’s private room goes for $12,000 a night. Lately, it is always booked.

    Boosted by a Covid-era tax break-window that closes at the end of the year — and under pressure to cement ties and reassure clients — companies are now spending big on wining and dining current and potential customers.

    “The last two to three years have been incredibly difficult,” said Thomas Donohue, chief marketing officer for Culinary Solutions, a Sterling, Virginia food company whose partners and clients include Starbucks

    (SBUX)    , Hilton

    (HLT)     and American Airlines

    (AAL)    .

    “We wanted to reconnect with these people, we needed splash, engagement,” he saId. The company, which has operations globally, needed something that would make clients “want to get on a plane from Singapore, from Japan” to attend.

    On Jan. 26 Culinary Solutions is hosting elaborate events with celebrity chefs in Washington, DC, Reims, France and Bangkok to celebrate “sous vide” day, the French cooking technique the company specializes in.

    Donohoe declined to disclose costs but noted that in France, “there may be a castle and Champagne caves.”

    The wining and dining surge began last summer and accelerated when many Wall Street workers were ordered back to the office in the fall, said chef Eric Ripert of New York seafood eatery Le Bernardin, a three-star Michelin restaurant that is one of the city’s most expensive.

    “It’s just like when kids go back to school and don’t want to, but then they get excited,” he said. “It’s just like that but with adults. And tequila.”

    Corporations, hedge funds, and especially real estate companies “are realizing the recovery is another year or so away,” said New York event planner Lawrence Scott. “They figure the only way they are going to stay in the biz is entertaining.”

    Events are smaller, say 60 guests instead of 200. “They’re inviting the [clients] who will keep their boats afloat.”

    Le Bernardin’s private rooms have been largely booked for the holidays since late September, Ripert said. And in the restaurant, guests typically opt for the $298 chef’s tasting menu — $468 with wine pairings. Business has specifically been boosted, Ripert’s managers tell him, by the soon-to-expire tax break.

    Dubbed the enhanced deduction, “for 2021 and 2022 only, businesses can generally deduct the full cost of business-related food and beverages purchased from a restaurant. Otherwise, the limit is usually 50% of the cost of the meal,” according to the IRS.

    This kind of spending, of course, is in direct contrast to what most consumers are doing when they’re paying for meals themselves: cutting back sharply. Inflation and gas costs are historically high and recession worries are mounting.

    Meanwhile, the restaurant industry is still struggling with “staffing, food costs and supply issues,” said Food-TV celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan, who owns Indian, Chinese and American restaurants in the Nashville area.

    But companies feel they have to spend to compete and to keep their relationships upbeat, especially after years of lockdowns and Zoom meetings.

    “Everything changed after Covid,” said R. Couri Hay, publicist in New York. “People don’t want to go out anymore, they got lazy. They started to edit events – and when they do go out, they say ‘Wonderful you’re still here, you’re still alive!’ ”

    In particular, companies are scrambling to attract younger guests and the next generation of businesses, Hay said. “They think: You’ve got to do an extravaganza.”

    During the pandemic, group dinners or parties were rare. At first charity events started returning, then weddings. After that, according to restaurateurs and event planners across the country, came bar and bat mitzvahs.

    But now it is bankers, watch manufacturers, real estate investors and executives launching new projects, with manufacturers, retailers and “tech bros” also throwing the more expensive dinners and lavish parties.

    Bill Laurie, an auto-technology supplier, has begun taking current and prospective clients out to dinner again at top Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan restaurants at costs of up to several hundred dollars per person. “It’s not extravagant if you do it right,” he said.

    In this post-Covid era “people want to feel attended to,” Laurie said. And the hospitality goes beyond spending money on them to asking them what they think of the market, or about their family, he said.

    Certainly, there may be some businesses taking a generous view of the IRS rules. The deduction, which was meant to help support restaurants during the pandemic, only applies to restaurant meals, and only if a member of the client company is present. And businesses can’t deduct expenses for meals that are “lavish or extravagant.”

    But, according to the IRS, “an expense isn’t considered lavish or extravagant if it is reasonable based on the facts and circumstances.”

    That definition leaves a lot of wiggle room.

    “Meal expenses won’t be disallowed merely because they are more than a fixed dollar amount,” according to the IRS, “or because the meals take place at deluxe restaurants, hotels, or resorts.”

    But even in this more accommodating environment, client expectations have to be managed, Laurie said. Because of inflation, he can no longer say, “order anything on the menu.”

    Now he says, “even if caviar is on the menu, caviar is not on the menu.”

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  • James Corden breaks his silence about that restaurant ban | CNN

    James Corden breaks his silence about that restaurant ban | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    When it comes to all that drama surrounding being temporarily banned from a famous New York City restaurant, James Corden finds it all “so silly.”

    In an interview with the New York Times to promote his forthcoming Amazon series “Mammals,” Corden commented on another patron at the restaurant where he was dining with the Times reporter having words with her server about not liking her eggs.

    “Happens every day,” Corden said. “It’s happening in 55,000 restaurants as we speak. It’s always about eggs.”

    “Can you imagine now, if we just blasted her on Twitter? Would that be fair?,” he added. “This is my point. It’s insane.”

    Earlier this week, the late-night host was briefly “86’d” from Balthazar by its owner, Keith McNally, who posted on Instagram that Corden was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”

    One of the incidents he cited was Corden allegedly throwing a fit after “a little bit of egg white” ended up in an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese that his wife had ordered.

    Soon after McNally posted that, Corden had called him and “apologized profusely,” according to the restauranteur, and all was resolved.

    “I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level,” Corden told the Times, adding that he wouldn’t have canceled the interview over the awkwardness of having to discuss it.

    “I was there. I get it,” he added.

    “I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly,” Corden said. “I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”

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  • Billions of snow crabs have disappeared from the waters around Alaska. Scientists say overfishing is not the cause | CNN

    Billions of snow crabs have disappeared from the waters around Alaska. Scientists say overfishing is not the cause | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The Alaska snow crab harvest has been canceled for the first time ever after billions of the crustaceans have disappeared from the cold, treacherous waters of the Bering Sea in recent years.

    The Alaska Board of Fisheries and North Pacific Fishery Management Council announced last week that the population of snow crab in the Bering Sea fell below the regulatory threshold to open up the fishery.

    But the actual numbers behind that decision are shocking: The snow crab population shrank from around 8 billion in 2018 to 1 billion in 2021, according to Benjamin Daly, a researcher with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

    “Snow crab is by far the most abundant of all the Bering Sea crab species that is caught commercially,” Daly told CNN. “So the shock and awe of many billions missing from the population is worth noting – and that includes all the females and babies.”

    The Bristol Bay red king crab harvest will also be closed for the second year in a row, the agencies announced.

    Officials cited overfishing as their rationale for canceling the seasons. Mark Stichert, the groundfish and shellfish fisheries management coordinator with the state’s fish and game department, said that more crab were being fished out of the oceans than could be naturally replaced.

    “So there were more removals from the population than there were inputs,” Stichert explained at Thursday’s meeting.

    Between the surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022, he said, mature male snow crabs declined about 40%, with an estimated 45 million pounds left in the entire Bering Sea.

    “It’s a scary number, just to be clear,” Stichert said.

    But calling the Bering Sea crab population “overfished” – a technical definition that triggers conservation measures – says nothing about the cause of its collapse.

    “We call it overfishing because of the size level,” Michael Litzow, the Kodiak lab director for NOAA Fisheries, told CNN. “But it wasn’t overfishing that caused the collapse, that much is clear.”

    Litzow says human-caused climate change is a significant factor in the crabs’ alarming disappearance.

    Snow crabs are cold-water species and found overwhelmingly in areas where water temperatures are below 2 degrees Celsius, Litzow says. As oceans warm and sea ice disappears, the ocean around Alaska is becoming inhospitable for the species.

    “There have been a number of attribution studies that have looked at specific temperatures in the Bering Sea or Bering Sea ice cover in 2018, and in those attribution studies, they’ve concluded that those temperatures and low-ice conditions in the Bering sea are a consequence of global warming,” Litzow said.

    Temperatures around the Arctic have warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet, scientists have reported. Climate change has triggered a rapid loss in sea ice in the Arctic region, particularly in Alaska’s Bering Sea, which in turn has amplified global warming.

    “Closing the fisheries due to low abundance and continuing research are the primary efforts to restore the populations at this point,” Ethan Nichols, an assistant area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told CNN.

    Stichert also said that there might be some “optimism for the future” as a few, small juvenile snow crabs are starting to appear in the system. But it could be at least three to four more years before they hit maturity and contribute to the regrowth of the population.

    “It is a glimmer of optimism,” Litzow said. “That’s better than not seeing them, for sure. We get a little bit warmer every year and that variability is higher in Arctic ecosystems and high latitude ecosystems, and so if we can get a cooler period that would be good news for snow crab.”

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  • Food prices are still surging — here’s what’s getting more expensive | CNN Business

    Food prices are still surging — here’s what’s getting more expensive | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Prices at the grocery store continued to soar last month, adding even more pressure to shoppers’ wallets.

    The food at home index, a proxy for grocery store prices, increased 0.7% in September from the month prior and a stunning 13% over the last year, according to new government data released Thursday.

    Just about everything got more expensive in September.

    Fruits and vegetables surged 1.6% for the month, while cereals and bakery products rose 0.9%. Other groceries increased 0.5% in September, following a 1.1% increase in August.

    Meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 0.4% over the month and beverages increased 0.6%.

    Prices on many of these items are up double digits annually.

    A number of factors have contributed to the surge in prices. Producers say they’re paying more for labor and packaging materials. Extreme weather, including droughts and flooding, and disease, such as the deadly avian flu, have been hurting crops and killing egg-laying hens, squeezing supplies.

    “The environment clearly is still very inflationary with a lot of supply chain challenges across the industry,” Pepsi

    (PEP)    CEO Ramon Laguarta said on an earnings call Wednesday. The company’s prices increased 17% annually.

    Meanwhile, demand is high. Consumers may be able to pull back on some discretionary items, but they have to eat. Many people are still working from home and consuming more of their meals there than they did before the pandemic.

    This imbalance between supply and demand means companies can pass along higher prices to shoppers without sales plunging.

    But higher prices at the grocery store are forcing customers to make some trade offs.

    Many shoppers are buying fewer products, switching to cheaper private-label brands and pulling back on discretionary items.

    More than one million new households have shopped at discount grocery chain Aldi for the first in the past year, according to the company.

    Walmart

    (WMT)     said recently that high levels of food inflation are impacting customers’ ability to purchase discretionary goods such as clothing and furniture.

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  • Brad Pitt’s rep calls Angelina Jolie’s latest allegations about 2016 airplane incident ‘completely untrue’ | CNN

    Brad Pitt’s rep calls Angelina Jolie’s latest allegations about 2016 airplane incident ‘completely untrue’ | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A countersuit filed Tuesday by actress Angelina Jolie against her ex-husband Brad Pitt includes more information about an alleged physical altercation between the former couple that took place on a plane in 2016.

    In a statement to CNN, a representative for Pitt called the latest allegations “completely untrue.”

    Jolie and Pitt are battling over Jolie’s sale of her stake in their joint French winery, Chateau Miraval. Jolie sold her half of the winery in 2021 to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.

    Pitt sued Jolie in February, claiming that he and Jolie had an agreement that neither would sell without the other’s consent.

    Jolie claims in her countersuit that there was never any such agreement and that she sold her portion of the winery in an effort to have “financial independence” from Pitt and to “have some form of peace and closure to this deeply painful and traumatic chapter of her and their children’s lives.”

    In the court documents, obtained by CNN, Jolie also shares more details about an alleged incident on a private plane on September 14, 2016, five days before she filed for divorce.

    In a section of Jolie’s counterclaim titled “Why Jolie separated from Pitt,” the document alleges that, before arriving to the airport, Pitt got into an argument with one of their six children, who at the time were between the ages of 8 and 15. The filing goes on to allege that on the plane Jolie asked Pitt “what was wrong?” and that Pitt went on to verbally attack her and then an hour and a half later “pulled” her into the bathroom, “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall.”

    The claim also alleges, “Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face. Some of the children pleaded with Pitt to stop. They were all frightened. Many were crying.”

    In a statement provided to CNN on Tuesday, a representative for Pitt said: “(Jolie’s) story continues to evolve each time she tells it with new, unsubstantiated claims. Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do. These new allegations are completely untrue.”

    CNN previously reported some of these details from a heavily redacted FBI report in August.

    Pitt was not arrested or charged in connection with the incident after the FBI completed an investigation in 2016.

    “In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. No charges have been filed in this matter,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement to CNN at the time.

    “All parties have had this information for nearly six years and was used in previous legal proceedings. There is nothing new here and serves no purpose other than being a media stunt meant to inflict pain,” a source close to Pitt said of the August report.

    CNN has reached out to representatives for Jolie regarding the most recent court filing, which states that during the plane incident, Pitt allegedly “lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him. To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane’s seats injuring Jolie’s back and elbow.”

    The court documents also claim that the children “rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other” and that Jolie and the children “sat still and silent under blankets. Nobody dared to go to the bathroom.”

    For this reason, the legal documents state, Jolie and her six children have not been able to return to Chateau Miraval due to the “pain Pitt inflicted on the family that day.”

    Many of the details in Jolie’s countersuit echo those made in a countersuit filed last month by Nouvel LLC, Jolie’s former company.

    In his earlier claim, Pitt had alleged that Jolie “did nothing to drive (the) growth” of the business, which he turned into a “multimillion dollar international success story.”

    In its countersuit, Nouvel disputed this, saying “Pitt refused to grant Jolie or Nouvel equal access to Chateau Miraval’s records or an equal voice over management,” effectively “holding the most significant part of her net worth hostage.”

    Jolie’s countersuit adds that “like other couples,” the two “divided their responsibilities and generally split costs.”

    “Jolie made her career as an actor and director secondary to her primary responsibility of raising the children. She also oversaw the day-to-day running of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to which she not only contributed substantial amounts of time but also substantial amounts of cash (over twice what Pitt contributed),” the document states. “Pitt continued with his Hollywood career and took primary responsibility for renovating the chateau.”

    She also claims that she repeatedly tried to sell her stake in the winery to Pitt, as recently as last year and that Pitt was going to buy her portion for $54.5 million in February but that Pitt “demanded” she sign a broad non-disparagement clause “that would prohibit Jolie from discussing outside of court any of Pitt’s personal conduct toward her or the family,” inherently including the allegations of abuse from the 2016 incident.

    Jolie claims that she refused to sign this clause and called it “an abusive and controlling deal-breaker.”

    The counterclaim asks the court to declare Jolie’s sale of her stake final so that the actress can “move on from the winery and chateau.”

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  • How Spam became cool again | CNN Business

    How Spam became cool again | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Spam is cool.

    The 85-year-old canned block of meat has undergone a cultural reinvention.

    Hormel

    (HRL)     has sold a record amount of Spam for seven straight years, and 2022 is on pace for another such milestone. The conglomerate behind Skippy and Jennie-O turkey says it can’t make Spam fast enough and is increasing production capacity.

    Spam is a trending ingredient on TikTok and on the menu at fine-dining restaurants in coastal cities. In 2019, a limited-edition Spam pumpkin spice flavor sold out in minutes. (You can still buy it on Ebay, where it goes for up to $100 per can.)

    What is behind this phenomenon? Why does this slab of cooked pork that has long been stigmatized as fake meat, linked to wartime rations and hilariously spoofed on Monty Python now have cachet with foodies?

    Spam’s popularity in Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Island cuisine has influenced its growth in the United States. As more immigrants came to the United States and fusion dishes and ethnic cuisines entered the cultural mainstream, Spam has reached new, younger foodies, say Hormel, food analysts and researchers.

    Edgy and clever advertising campaigns also have helped Spam attract a broader customer range than the Baby Boomers who grew up eating it, sometimes reluctantly.

    “Spam has undergone a reputation makeover,” said Robert Ku, an associate professor of Asian and Asian American studies at Binghamton University and the author of “Dubious Gastronomy: Eating Asian in the USA.” “A lot of celebrity chefs have been Asian and Asian American, and reintroduced Spam to a new audience.”

    More than 100,000 visitors stream into the Spam museum every year in Austin, Minnesota, with stories to tell about Spam and recipes to share, said Savile Lord, the manager of the museum in the brand’s hometown. Visitors most often ask her and other museum “Spambassadors” how Spam got its name and what the heck is in it.

    Spam first hit shelves in 1937 as a 12-ounce, 25-cent, convenient and long-lasting protein in a tin can during the lean years of the Great Depression. Spam contained nothing but pork shoulder, chopped ham, water, sugar and sodium.

    It was a concoction of George Hormel and his son, Jay, meatpackers in Austin. The Hormels had been working on the “problem of canning a nonperishable pork product for a good many years and at last we solved it,” Jay told The New Yorker in 1945.

    They offered a $100 prize for the best name for the food. It needed to be short for display purposes and to fit on one-column newspaper advertisements. It also had to pronounceable in any language.

    The brother of a corporate executive threw out “Spam,” a combination of “spice” and “ham,” at a party, and Hormel “knew then and there that the name was perfect.”

    From the beginning, Spam was marketed as a time-saver and a food for any meal: Spam and eggs. Spam and pancakes. Spam and beans, spaghetti, macaroni and crackers. Spamwiches.

    A pie made with Spam-brand canned meat, potatoes, scallions, and cream of mushroom soup during the 1950s or 1960s.

    “Never have you imagined a meat could turn into so many interesting uses. Morning, noon or night – cold or hot – Spam hits the spot!” read one early advertisement. Spam was a “miracle meat,” the company told consumers in newspaper spots and radio ads.

    And then came the United States’ entrance into World War II in 1941, the decisive moment in Spam’s growth.

    At many Pacific outposts, which had little refrigeration or local sources of meat, American and Allied troops relied on the canned meat that could be stored away for months and eaten on the go.

    Hormel says more than 100 million pounds of Spam were shipped overseas to help feed the troops during the war. Uncle Sam became known as Uncle Spam, much to the dismay of troops forced to eat it every single day.

    “During World War II, of course, I ate my share of Spam along with millions of other soldiers,” Dwight D. Eisenhower later wrote to Hormel’s president. “I’ll even confess to a few unkind remarks about it – uttered during the strain of battle.”

    For the citizens of conflict-wracked countries in the Pacific struggling with hunger and famine during the war and rebuilding years, however, Spam was a symbol of access to American goods and services. Sometimes, it was the only protein source available. After US troops left, Spam remained, becoming an ingredient in local dishes.

    “Spam became part of Asian culture,” said Ayalla Ruvio, a consumer behavior researcher at Michigan State University who studies identity and consumption habits. “It represented a piece of America. It’s like Coca-Cola or McDonald’s.”

    American troops also introduced Spam in Korea during the Korean War in the early 1950s, and Budae Jjigae (Army Stew) became a popular Korean dish. Spam also remains a common ingredient in dishes almost anywhere US soldiers were stationed, such as Guam, the Philippines and Okinawa, Japan.

    In Hawaii, where the US military has long been a major presence, more Spam is consumed per person than any other state. It’s stacked on a block of rice and wrapped in seaweed to make Spam musubi and sold at fast-food chains like McDonald’s in Hawaii. There’s even an annual Waikiki Spam Jam festival.

    Many US soldiers returning from World War II vowed never to eat Spam again, and the brand became linked to rationing and economic hardship. But Spam has appealed to new consumers in the United States in recent years.

    Spam musubi, a common Japanese lunch dish that was created in Hawaii.

    “When I first started getting into the brand, we started to notice this transition to a stronger multicultural set of consumers,” said Brian Lillis, who has been product’s brand manager for six years. “They brought with them the traditions of utilizing the product in their home country or where maybe their ancestors came from.”

    Hormel has worked with chefs at Korean, Taiwanese and Vietnamese restaurants to get Spam on menus. As more people have been introduced to these dishes, they go home and try to make their own versions, Lillis said.

    Spam highlights its versatility in dishes on social media and TV advertisements. There are ads for Spam and eggs, as well as Spam fried rice, Spam musabi, yakitori, and poke.

    Spam has made a comeback in the United States because Asian and Asian American chefs such as Chris Oh have tried to reinvent it in their own ways, said Ku, the Binghamton University professor. “They brought some of the culinary influences of Asia and the Pacific and upscaled it.”

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  • Several shark species are facing extinction. Here’s how you can help | CNN

    Several shark species are facing extinction. Here’s how you can help | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Older than dinosaurs and trees, sharks have endured a lot throughout their 450 million years on Earth. They’ve even survived five mass extinctions, including the asteroid that wiped out 75% of life on the planet. But many species of these aquatic apex predators are now in danger of dying out forever.

    “Sharks are in crisis globally,” says the WWF. Overfishing (hunting for their meat, fins, and other parts before they can reproduce fast enough) is their biggest threat along with unintentionally getting caught in fishing gear and the effects of climate change.

    Of the thousand known species of sharks and rays (sharks’ closest living relatives), over a third of them are at risk of extinction. And since sharks are “indicators of ocean health,” as sharks go, so does the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.

    From gathering data to educating the public to advocating for underwater life, many conservation groups are on a mission to protect these prehistoric creatures before they are lost to history. Click here to support their work or keep reading to learn how they’re taking action.

    Research is key to conservation. Scientists rely on this information to inform wildlife and habitat management and conservation plans while advocates use data to develop and recommend policy to public officials. This research can also be used for public safety purposes as well as to educate future generations that will inherit the planet.

    Often conducted in remote and dangerous environments, shark research requires time and money. But that work is paying off as researchers continually identify new species of sharks, such as those that can walk on the ocean floor and glow in the dark.

    These research-oriented organizations are exploring the world’s reefs, seas, coastlines, and oceans to ultimately benefit shark conservation:

    • Atlantic White Shark Conservancy – Based on the southern tip of Cape Cod, the conservancy’s main mission is white shark research and education. Offering expeditions to see the animals in their natural habitat, educational Shark Centers open to the public, and youth science programs, the non-profit also runs the Sharktivity app where user-reported shark sightings help researchers learn more about shark travel and behavior and keep sharks and humans safe from each other.
    • Beneath the Waves –– Since 2013, Beneath The Waves has used science and technology to promote ocean health and conservation policy. Their threatened species initiative collects research on sharks using tools such as tags, sensors, drones, and satellites to better understand shark biology and movement. The non-profit launched the first long-term study of large-scale shark sanctuaries and discovered deep-sea “hotspots” for sharks in the Caribbean.
    • MarAlliance – Headquartered in Houston, MarAlliance conducts research in tropical seas to support wildlife conservation in places such as the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean, and Caribbean Sea. Their work includes identifying potential sites for marine protected areas from fishing, training local fishing communities, and monitoring population levels of threatened marine life, like some species of sharks.
    • Mote Marine Lab and Aquarium – Founded in 1955 on Florida’s west coast, Mote Marine Laboratory has been “obsessed” with sharks since their beginning. Today, their Sharks & Rays Conservation Research Program is one of 20 marine research programs studying human and environmental health, sustainable fishing, and animals such as manatees and dolphins. Mote also runs an aquarium equipped with a 135,000-gallon shark tank viewable on a live stream.
    • Fins Attached – While the Colorado-based non-profit aims to protect the health of the entire ocean, much of its research focuses on sharks since their position at the top of the marine food chain influences the health of the entire ecosystem. Fins Attached has produced many publications on shark research and allows donors to join some research expeditions, all with conservation and education in mind.

    Unfortunately for sharks, NOAA says, “What makes them unique also makes them vulnerable.” Some species of sharks, like great whites, are slow to reproduce: they can take decades to reach breeding age, have pregnancies last up to three years, and produce small litters. And warming waters are shifting some of their migration patterns beyond protected areas, putting them at risk of fishing.

    All of it is hurting their numbers. A 2021 report showed over the last 50 years, global shark and ray populations have fallen more than 70%.

    Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, oceanic whitetip shark numbers in the Pacific Ocean have fallen an estimated 80 to 95% within the last 30 years, according to NOAA.

    “If we don’t do anything, it will be too late,” says biologist and study co-author Nick Dulvy. “It’s much worse than other animal populations we’ve been looking at,” adding the downward trend for sharks is even steeper than those for elephants and rhinos, which are “iconic in driving conservation efforts on land.”

    While the study found we may approach a “point of no return,” there are encouraging signs that conservation efforts are starting to work for white sharks and hammerheads thanks to government bans, policies, and quotas.

    There is still a long way to go, however, so many conservation organizations like these are dedicated to rescuing and protecting these vulnerable creatures:

    • PADI AWARE Foundation – The world’s largest scuba diver training organization, PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) officially launched its global conservation charity in 1992 to promote cleaner and healthier oceans. One of its goals is to reduce the amount of sharks and rays threatened with extinction by 25%. Data collected from its new Global Shark & Ray Census will help with ongoing and future efforts to protect vulnerable species.
    • Galápagos Conservancy – Some 600 miles west of Ecuador lies one of the world’s most famous and unique ecosystems: the Galápagos Islands. As the only American non-profit solely devoted to protecting and restoring the archipelago, the Galápagos Conservancy is working to rewild and save endangered species, including sharks. The organization is helping research breeding areas of scalloped hammerhead and blacktip sharks and supporting efforts to learn more about the high concentration of whale sharks that congregate in the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
    • Shark Advocates International –– Founded by veteran shark advocate Sonja Fordham, Shark Advocates International is a project of The Ocean Foundation. The non-profit promotes science-based shark conservation policies such as fishing limits, species-specific protections, and finning bans at the local, national, and international level.
    • WildAid –– Known for its high-profile media campaigns, WildAid fights the global illegal wildlife trade by changing consumer attitudes through awareness of the multi-billion dollar industry. Its anti-shark fin campaign in China featuring NBA legend Yao Ming has been especially successful, seeing an 80% drop in shark fin consumption in the country. Through its WildAid Marine Program, the non-profit also helps protect sharks around the world, including the Galápagos Marine Reserve, home to the densest shark population on Earth.
    • Wildlife Conservation Society – Founded in 1895, the Wildlife Conservation Society is one of the oldest organizations of its kind. In addition to operating world-famous parks like the Bronx Zoo, WCS runs long-term wildlife protection projects across the world, including an initiative to develop and implement policies to help protect sharks from overfishing in low-income, ocean-dependent countries.
    • WWF – With five million supporters, projects in nearly 100 countries, and one iconic panda logo, the World Wildlife Fund (known outside of the US and Canada as the World Wild Fund for Nature) is one of the largest and most well-known conservation organizations on the planet. WWF has partnered with the international wildlife trade monitoring non-profit TRAFFIC for a joint shark conservation program with local projects all over the world.

    It’s not just sharks that are vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the water – the entire marine ecosystem is at risk due to unsustainable fishing practices, climate change, and pollution, which has reached “unprecedented” levels within the last 20 years.

    The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest concentration of ocean plastic in the world, is now twice the size of Texas. Scientists are seeing the highest ocean surface temperatures on record this year along with a “totally unprecedented” marine heat wave in the north Atlantic Ocean. Researchers warn all coral reefs on Earth could die out by the end of the century.

    Experts say it’s not too late to reverse course, but the window to do so is shrinking. A report in the journal Nature found marine wildlife to be “remarkably resilient” and could recover by 2050 with urgent and widespread conservation interventions.

    Organizations like the ones below are committed to protecting the health of the entire ocean and all life within it:

    • Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute – Started in 1963 by one of the founders of SeaWorld, HSWRI’s mission is to conserve and renew marine life for a healthier planet. Although the non-profit institute exists as an independent entity, it still collaborates with the for-profit park on scientific research and both act as “first responders” to rescue marine wildlife.
    • Ocean Conservancy – The Ocean Conservancy’s roots date back to the 1970’s when it campaigned to save whales and other vulnerable animals. It later expanded its mission to protect the broader ecosystem, holding its first International Coastal Cleanup in 1986, and since then has collected more than 348 million pounds of trash with the help of 17 million volunteers. Other current programs include advancing ocean justice, addressing climate change, advocating for ocean health funding and legislation, and promoting sustainable fishing.
    • The Ocean Foundation – Working in 45 countries across six continents, the community foundation operates conservation initiatives focused on climate resilience, ocean literacy and leadership, ocean science equity, and sustainable plastic production and consumption. The non-profit also offers training, research and development, and support for coastal communities.
    • WILDCOAST – Known as COSTASALVAJE in Spanish, WILDCOAST’s work spans 38 million acres primarily across California and Mexico to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife. The non-profit works to protect shorelines, coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, and coral reefs and establish protected areas for threatened sea turtles and gray whales.
    • Wild Oceans – Focused on the future of sustainable fishing, Tampa-based Wild Oceans is the oldest non-profit in America dedicated to marine fisheries management. The non-profit’s Large Marine Fish Conservation initiative focuses on conserving big fish such as marlin, swordfish, tuna, and sharks – “the lions, tigers and wolves of the sea” – to keep the entire ocean food web and habitat healthy.

    Click here to support these organization’s work and help save sharks before it’s too late.

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