ReportWire

Tag: Retail and wholesale

  • California company recalls nearly 245,000 pounds of pasta tied to listeria outbreak

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    A California company has recalled nearly 245000 pounds (111130.04 kilograms) of pre-cooked pasta linked to a deadly listeria outbreak and potential contamination of dozens of products sold at grocery stores nationwide.

    Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California, recalled thousands of cases of linguine, fettucine, penne and other pastas sold to large producers of heat-and-eat meals and pasta salads on Sept. 25, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration notice posted Thursday.

    The move came after tests showed that pasta made by Nate’s Fine Foods contained the same strain of listeria found in chicken fettucine Alfredo and meatball linguine products linked to an outbreak that has killed four people and sickened 20 since August 2024. The most recent illness reported occurred on Sept. 11.

    FreshRealm, the San Clemente, California, company that produced those meals, used genetic sequencing to confirm the link to the outbreak.

    Several grocery stores have recalled products made with pasta from Nate’s Fine Foods. The FDA and the U.S. Agriculture Department have warned consumers not to eat the foods and to discard them or return them to stores for refund.

    Here are the recalls to date:

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  • Missing Virginia store cat found after hitching a ride to another state

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    Francine the calico cat is back home at a Lowe’s store in Virginia after going missing for a few weeks, hitching a ride on a truck that turned up at a sister facility in another state.

    Two employees from a Lowe’s in Richmond made the 90-minute drive early Monday to pick up Francine, who disappeared in September and recently was discovered at the company’s distribution center in Garysburg, North Carolina.

    She was back on the job Tuesday, playing with customers, posing for photos and soaking in affection.

    “Francine is one of us,” store supervisor Wayne Schneider said in a telephone interview. “She’s just amazing. What she means here to the store and the employees, you really can’t imagine the outpouring that the employees and also the customers give her daily.”

    Francine spends much of her time either at the customer service desk or in the store’s seasonal area. But things went awry in September as the store brought in items for the upcoming Christmas season. Store general manager Mike Sida said that disruption may have prompted Francine to seek comfort elsewhere.

    After store employees hadn’t seen Francine for a few days, they reviewed past surveillance video. There were glimpses of her in the appliance section and then the receiving department, where she darted into a truck. An overnight manager is then seen shutting the truck’s door and off it went to Garysburg, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) to the south.

    “And then, of course, when she got down to the distribution center, she shot off the truck,” Sida said. “That’s when we found out where she was and she was missing.”

    An animal control office set up humane traps at the distribution center, where photos of Francine were posted throughout. The center had dozens of monitoring cameras, and Lowe’s brought in thermal drones to survey the area. An Instagram account unaffiliated with Lowe’s dedicated to finding Francine grew to more than 34,000 followers.

    On Saturday, Francine was spotted on camera near the distribution center. After more humane traps were installed, a volunteer checked each trap throughout the night. Finally, one of the traps triggered and Francine’s meows could be heard.

    Schneider and Sida got in a car early Monday and drove to get Francine.

    “That ride going down, knowing that we were going to get her, was just heartwarming. Knowing she’s safe and that she’s coming back to the store to get off her two-week vacation,” Schneider said.

    Francine was a stray when she started living at the Lowe’s store more than eight years ago. Cats are common sightings around feed stores and garden centers, which contain large amounts of grain and seed that can be attractive to mice and rats. In New York City, cats are beloved fixtures of the city’s bodegas and delis.

    At the Lowe’s store, Francine “just showed up,” Sida said. “We had a bit of a mice problem. So, of course, I’m like, wow. I like this cat a lot because it’s helping me.”

    Lowe’s doesn’t have an official policy about cats in stores. Asked why Francine wasn’t taken to someone’s residence after showing up, Sida said she is loved by employees and the community.

    “Francine picked us. We didn’t pick her,” Sida said. “Later, we would embrace her being our store cat. But at the end of the day, she came to us. Where she’s at is where she wants to be. She does whatever she wants.”

    Unlike Lowe’s employees, Francine does not wear a vest. She had been previously outfitted with several collars but escaped them all. Now they plan on fitting her with a harness that includes identifying information.

    A local brewery will host a “Francine Fest” community event on Wednesday to celebrate the homecoming, while the store is planning its own team party.

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  • Walmart sets timeline for removing synthetic dyes, other additives from food brands

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart said Wednesday that it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.

    The move announced by the the nation’s largest retailer amounts to an acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods. Walmart said its goal would affect about 1,000 products, including salty snacks, baked goods, power drinks, salad dressings and frosting.

    Several of the ingredients on Walmart’s removal list, however, already are banned, not widely used or have not been used in the U.S. food supply for decades. Others were included despite no known problems or have been targeted by the Trump administration for review and possible elimination as an approved food additive, according to food safety experts.

    Walmart said the 14-month reformulation plan primarily would involve its largest private-label food brand, Great Value. Customers also can expect changes in Walmart’s Marketside and Freshness Guaranteed lines of prepared foods, and to some extent in its premium label Bettergoods products, the company said.

    In recent months, major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years. Walmart took its news a step further by identifying other kinds of food additives in its phase-out timeline.

    The chemicals and compounds the discount retailer intends to eliminate encompasses the breadth of food manufacturing. For example, Walmart’s list includes potassium nitrate, potassium nitrite and potassium bisulfite, which are used as preservatives in processed meats. It also plans to remove phthalates, a chemical used to make plastic flexible.

    Health advocates have argued that phthalates in plastic wrap, plastic packaging and plastic bottles can end up in food and beverages. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has limited but not ended their use in items that come into contact with food.

    But some of the 30 non-dyes listed by Walmart are already banned or no longer used. Simplesse, a fat substitute the company named, was phased out of the U.S. food market in 2023. Other banned additives on the list include synthetic trans fatty acids, or trans fats, which the FDA effectively phased out and then eliminated in 2023 by determining that partially hydrogenated oils no longer were recognized as safe.

    Walmart said the choice of banished additives reflected the availability of “viable and scalable alternatives” for maintaining product quality, taste and affordable pricing.

    Some of the 11 artificial food dyes the company identified, such as Red No. 4, Red No. 3, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, also are already banned or the subject or proposed bans, or haven’t been used in the U.S. for years.

    In June, Walmart’s wholesale club division, Sam’s Club, said it would remove more than 40 ingredients, including artificial colors and the artificial sweetener aspartame, from its Member’s Mark products by the end of the year.

    Walmart shoppers also are likely to see reformulated food items in the coming months, the company said. Among them: Great Value cheese dips made with paprika and annatto, a food coloring and spice that’s derived from the seeds of the achiote tree, in place of Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6, Walmart said.

    In the future, a new version of Great Value Fruit Spins Cereal will not get its colors from Red No. 40, Yellow No. 6 and Blue No. 2, but from beta carotene, annatto, blue-green spirulina and juice concentrates, according to Walmart.

    Scott Morris, Walmart’s senior vice president of private brands food, consumables, and manufacturing, told The Associated Press that 90% of Walmart’s private label foods don’t contain synthetic dyes. He said Wednesday’s news marks the biggest food reformulation in Walmart’s history but also an acceleration of a process the company initiated in the last few years.

    Customers have been asking Walmart to get rid of certain ingredients, but replacing them with more natural alternatives is complicated, Morris said. The performance of the substitutes can vary significantly depending on whether a product is shelf stable or needs to be refrigerated, he said. New versions need to be vigorously taste-tested with customers, he added.

    “Every item’s a snowflake,” Morris said.

    The main factor that prevented Walmart from overhauling its food shelves sooner was a limited availability of approved alternatives, but the market for those is increasing, he said.

    “Now’s the right time to make our declaration and be more broad with our application of the natural ingredients,” Morris said.

    The federal government is also giving artificial food dyes increased scrutiny,

    Days before Trump returned to office, the FDA banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

    In April, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency would take steps to eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry.

    ___

    Aleccia reported from Southern California.

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  • DoorDash and Kroger are expanding their grocery delivery partnership

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    DoorDash and Kroger are expanding their grocery delivery partnership.

    Starting Oct. 1, DoorDash will offer delivery from Kroger’s 2,700 U.S. stores, both companies said Monday.

    San Francisco-based DoorDash, which is the largest U.S. delivery provider, launched grocery delivery in 2020 with a handful of partners, including Fresh Thyme and Meijer.

    DoorDash first partnered with Kroger in 2022, when it started delivering flowers, sushi and prepared meals from a limited number of stores. Until now, DoorDash was only delivering sushi from 900 Kroger stores and flowers from 1,700 Kroger stores. But starting Oct. 1, Kroger’s full assortment will be available to DoorDash customers.

    Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer, said the expanded partnership will bring new customers to Kroger and simplify their lives.

    “Customers are looking for more convenient ways to shop at their local Kroger store, and delivery is an increasingly important way they engage with us,” Cosset said in a statement.

    Prabir Adarkar, DoorDash’s president and chief operating officer, said the expanded partnership with Kroger is a milestone for DoorDash, since it will be the largest grocer available on the company’s app. DoorDash used to offer grocery delivery from Walmart, but that partnership ended in 2022.

    Cincinnati-based Kroger is the largest U.S. grocery chain, with stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to Kroger stores, it operates the Ralphs, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter and Mariano’s brands, among others.

    Kroger also offers its own delivery service and partners with some of DoorDash’s delivery rivals, including Instacart and Uber Eats.

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  • How Walmart plans to prepare America’s largest private workforce for an AI-driven future

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    BENTONVILLE, Ark — As artificial intelligence and demographic changes reshape the U.S. job market, the nation’s largest private employer is trying to identify the skills its workers and the broader labor force might need for the future.

    Walmart on Thursday hosted more than 300 workplace experts and representatives from other companies participating in the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, a project to develop and fill stable jobs based on what people know how to do instead of whether they attended college.

    The retailer already has launched its own employee training and certification programs to meet Walmart’s need for truck drivers and maintenance technicians, two roles for which U.S. companies say they can’t recruit fast enough as experienced tradespeople retire.

    Walmart says it plans to offer a similar AI skills program next year through a new collaboration with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

    The Associated Press sat down with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon at the company’s sprawling headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, to talk about AI and the American workforce. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

    MCMILLON: I would say pretty much a steady state. Turnover numbers are coming down. I’m remembering what happened during the pandemic and relative to that experience, things feel much more stable now. I think the pace of change in the employment market is just smaller and easier to manage.

    MCMILLON: We continue to invest in wages. So I think that’s helping some, and that process will continue. As it relates to AI and the future of employment, I think for the most part, our folks are enthusiastic about it because they’ve seen new tools that they’re receiving that are making their jobs better. That’s helping them take fewer steps.

    And our sales are growing so much. I think people are optimistic about the future of what their life can look like.

    MCMILLON: I think no one knows how this is going to play out exactly. And the way it feels to me is that basically every job gets changed. And I think the best way to think about it is getting “plussed up.” So how can I lean in the role that I have, regardless what that role is, to adopt new tools, leverage them and make things better than they would’ve otherwise been?

    As I look across our company, we have everything from store associates to supply chain associates. Of the 2.1 million people (globally), something less than 75,000 of them are home office jobs. All the other ones are working in a store, a club, a distribution center. And I think those jobs change more gradually. We are still going to want to serve customers and members with people. The change as it relates to the home office jobs probably happens faster.

    MCMILLON: I don’t know there’ll be a moment where we all have clarity. I think the way for all of us to approach it, especially here at Walmart, is just in a very transparent, honest, human, straightforward way, talking to people real time about what we’re learning and what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. That’s the way that we plan to lead through this.

    MCMILLON: One of the biggest areas of change in the last decade is related to associates that work in our stores, picking orders for delivery and pickup for our customers. And we have something north of 200,000 people doing that job, and yet we have about the same (total) number of people working in Walmart U.S.

    How did we do that? Other tasks and other jobs changed, which enabled us to create new jobs that paid more and have fewer of the older jobs that went away. I hope what happens as we lead through this is that there will be pluses and minuses, but the net ends up being even more people because we have more ideas of how to grow.

    MCMILLON: The first thing that comes to mind is store managers. Being a store manager is such a great job and such a challenging job. And it’s a job that pays well, and it pays well for a reason. You’re interacting with the community with large numbers of people. You have a large number of associates. You have big sales numbers to deliver. And those skills that the store manager has are both human and technical. I think the skills that we have as human beings are valuable. They always have been, and that’ll be even more true in the future.

    MCMILLON: To some degree, it’s a lack of awareness. I think most Americans probably don’t know what a tech makes that helps take care of our stores and clubs and that we can help them learn how to be a tech. The same thing’s true for our drivers. So we have a need to get the word out so that people know there are some great jobs.

    MCMILLON: We’ve been able to do that so far, and I expect that we’ll continue to find great people that want to join the company and our turnover rates are down, which is helpful.

    MCMILLON: I think as we all work to learn and navigate the future towards a world where AI fulfills its promise, the best way to do that is to work together and to share information and learn together. It’ll speed up our ability to get ahead of this so that we can do a better job of setting our associates up for success. And that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do. The change that’s happening in the world is going to happen. Our choice is to lean in, learn (and) help lead so there are better outcomes for everybody involved.

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  • Listeria found in Walmart meatball meals may be linked to deadly fettuccine outbreak

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    Federal health officials are warning consumers not to eat certain heat-and-eat beef meatball pasta meals sold at Walmart stores because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria previously linked to a deadly outbreak.

    The U.S. Agriculture Department issued a public health alert late Thursday for Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce sold in refrigerated 12-ounce clear plastic trays. The products have best-by dates of Sept. 22 through Oct. 1 and may still be in consumer’s refrigerators.

    The affected meals contain the establishment numbers “EST. 50784” and “EST. 47718” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the label. They were sent to Walmart stores nationwide.

    No recall has been issued, but FreshRealm, a large food producer that distributed the products, said they advised Walmart this week to pull the meals from store shelves. Additional products may be identified, according to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

    The meals may be contaminated with the same strain of listeria that caused an outbreak tied to chicken fettuccine Alfredo sold at Walmart and Kroger stores. Three people were killed and at least 17 were sickened in that outbreak, which led to a large recall this summer.

    FreshRealm conducted tests that detected the listeria in linguine used in the meatball dish, company officials said. The strain matched the listeria identified in the chicken fettuccine Alfredo outbreak, the company said.

    “We have long maintained that the source of the listeria was likely an ingredient supplied by a third party,” the company said in a statement.

    The pasta came from Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California. The company did not immediately respond to questions.

    Listeria infections can cause serious illness, particularly in older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant or their newborns. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

    About 1,600 people get sick each year from listeria infections and about 260 die, the CDC says. Federal officials in December said they were revamping protocols to prevent listeria infections after several high-profile outbreaks, including one linked to Boar’s Head deli meats that led to 10 deaths and more than 60 illnesses last year.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Helene interrupted this town’s outdoor tourism makeover. How businesses are doing a year later

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    OLD FORT, N.C. — Morning mist is still burning off the surrounding mountains when they appear: Small groups of helmeted riders on one-wheeled, skateboard-like contraptions, navigating the pitched streets, past the 30-foot granite Arrowhead Monument on the town square.

    They are among the 400 or so people converging on this Blue Ridge foothills town for FloatLife Fest, which bills itself as “the ORIGINAL and LONGEST RUNNING” gathering dedicated to motorized Onewheel boards. Swelling Old Fort’s normal population by half, the mid-September festival is injecting much needed money and hope into a town still recovering a year after it was inundated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

    “We should definitely come back again,” says Jess Jones, a 34-year-old marine biologist from Edinburgh, Scotland. “The vibe and the welcome that we got there was really nice.”

    That the festival occurred at all is a tribute to the area’s natural beauty, and the resilience of its people.

    Signs of progress are mixed with still-visible scars from Helene in this town about 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Asheville. Most of Old Fort’s shops have reopened, even as workers continue clawing away at a debris pile downtown and some homes remain unlivable.

    Like other businesspeople in this tourist-dependent mountain region, bike shop owner Chad Schoenauer has been banking on a strong fall leaf-peeping season to help get him back on track after Helene. But many seem to assume Old Fort is still a wasteland.

    “‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were open,’” he says is a typical reaction.

    When Helene swept through, Old Fort was well on its way to remaking itself as an outdoor destination, especially after furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen laid off 325 workers when it converted its factory there into a distribution center in 2019.

    “When the Ethan Allen layoff happened, local leaders started coming together and saying, `How do we use these beautiful natural assets that we have to diversify the manufacturing economy?’” says Kim Effler, president and CEO of the McDowell Chamber of Commerce.

    Named for a Revolutionary War-era stockade, the town decided to become a world-class destination for hiking, running, horseback riding and, most notably, mountain biking.

    “We have a red clay that makes some of the best trails in the country,” FloatLife founder Justyn Thompson says. “The trails are epic.”

    In 2021, the G5 Trail Collective — a program led by the nonprofit Camp Grier outdoors complex — got the U.S. Forest Service to agree to 42 miles (68 kilometers) of new multi-purpose trails. The effort began paying dividends almost immediately.

    “For every trail that we were able to open, we saw a new business open up in town,” says Jason McDougald, the camp’s executive director.

    The collective had just completed the 21st mile (34th kilometer) of trail when Helene, in Schoenauer’s words, hit “the reset button” by washing away trails and damaging businesses.

    When the storm blew through on Sept. 27, 2024, the Catawba River converged with the normally placid Mill Creek, leaving much of downtown under several feet of muddy water.

    Schoenauer, who opened his Old Fort Bike Shop in 2021, says it took two days before he could make it to town to assess damage to the business housed in a refurbished 1901 former general store.

    “I was numb coming all the way here,” he says. “And as soon as I got off the exit, I started crying.”

    The water rose more than 3 feet (1 meter) inside the shop, leaving behind a 10-inch (25-centimeter) layer of reddish-brown mud. The beautiful heart pine floors buckled.

    Schoenauer says he suffered about $150,000 in uninsured losses.

    At the Foothills Watershed mountain biking complex along the Catawba, the storm took 48 large shade trees and an 18,000-square-foot (1,672-square-meter) track built with banks and jumps.

    “We had a septic field, a brand-new constructed septic field for the business that was destroyed,” says Casey McKissick, who spent the last three years developing the bike park. “Never been used; not even turned on yet. And it all went right down the river.”

    McKissick says the business didn’t have flood insurance because it was too costly, and the threat of a catastrophic event seemed too remote.

    The damage amounted to $150,000. Worse yet was the loss of eight months of business, including last year’s foliage season.

    “We lost that really critical fourth quarter of the year, which is a beautiful fall,” McKissick says.

    Gov. Josh Stein recently announced that travelers had spent a record $36.7 billion in the state last year. But that boom eluded the counties worst hit by Helene.

    Visitor spending in Buncombe County — home to Asheville — was down nearly 11% last year compared to 2023, according to the state Department of Commerce.

    In McDowell, tourist spending dropped nearly 3% in that same period. Effler says this June and July, foot traffic at the county’s largest visitor center was down 50% from last year.

    She blames much of that on damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is consistently one of the most-visited of the national parks. About 35 miles (56 kilometers) of the North Carolina route — including long stretches in McDowell County — aren’t slated to reopen until fall 2026.

    McDougald says nearly every trail in the Old Fort complex was damaged, with landslides taking out “300-foot sections of trail at a time.”

    They’ve managed to reopen about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of trail, but he says about that many miles remain closed.

    Schoenauer reopened his shop in December, but traffic was down by about two-thirds this summer.

    “My business, revenue-wise, has shifted more to the repair side,” he says. “People trying to still recreate, but use the bike that they have just to keep it going and have some fun.”

    The Watershed complex opened in June, but without the planned riverfront gazebo and performance stage. And they’ve moved the bike jumps to higher ground.

    “It’s changed our way of looking at the floodplain, for sure,” McKissick says.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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  • Helene interrupted this town’s outdoor tourism makeover. How businesses are doing a year later

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    OLD FORT, N.C. — Morning mist is still burning off the surrounding mountains when they appear: Small groups of helmeted riders on one-wheeled, skateboard-like contraptions, navigating the pitched streets, past the 30-foot granite Arrowhead Monument on the town square.

    They are among the 400 or so people converging on this Blue Ridge foothills town for FloatLife Fest, which bills itself as “the ORIGINAL and LONGEST RUNNING” gathering dedicated to motorized Onewheel boards. Swelling Old Fort’s normal population by half, the mid-September festival is injecting much needed money and hope into a town still recovering a year after it was inundated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

    “We should definitely come back again,” says Jess Jones, a 34-year-old marine biologist from Edinburgh, Scotland. “The vibe and the welcome that we got there was really nice.”

    That the festival occurred at all is a tribute to the area’s natural beauty, and the resilience of its people.

    Signs of progress are mixed with still-visible scars from Helene in this town about 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Asheville. Most of Old Fort’s shops have reopened, even as workers continue clawing away at a debris pile downtown and some homes remain unlivable.

    Like other businesspeople in this tourist-dependent mountain region, bike shop owner Chad Schoenauer has been banking on a strong fall leaf-peeping season to help get him back on track after Helene. But many seem to assume Old Fort is still a wasteland.

    “‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were open,’” he says is a typical reaction.

    When Helene swept through, Old Fort was well on its way to remaking itself as an outdoor destination, especially after furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen laid off 325 workers when it converted its factory there into a distribution center in 2019.

    “When the Ethan Allen layoff happened, local leaders started coming together and saying, `How do we use these beautiful natural assets that we have to diversify the manufacturing economy?’” says Kim Effler, president and CEO of the McDowell Chamber of Commerce.

    Named for a Revolutionary War-era stockade, the town decided to become a world-class destination for hiking, running, horseback riding and, most notably, mountain biking.

    “We have a red clay that makes some of the best trails in the country,” FloatLife founder Justyn Thompson says. “The trails are epic.”

    In 2021, the G5 Trail Collective — a program led by the nonprofit Camp Grier outdoors complex — got the U.S. Forest Service to agree to 42 miles (68 kilometers) of new multi-purpose trails. The effort began paying dividends almost immediately.

    “For every trail that we were able to open, we saw a new business open up in town,” says Jason McDougald, the camp’s executive director.

    The collective had just completed the 21st mile (34th kilometer) of trail when Helene, in Schoenauer’s words, hit “the reset button” by washing away trails and damaging businesses.

    When the storm blew through on Sept. 27, 2024, the Catawba River converged with the normally placid Mill Creek, leaving much of downtown under several feet of muddy water.

    Schoenauer, who opened his Old Fort Bike Shop in 2021, says it took two days before he could make it to town to assess damage to the business housed in a refurbished 1901 former general store.

    “I was numb coming all the way here,” he says. “And as soon as I got off the exit, I started crying.”

    The water rose more than 3 feet (1 meter) inside the shop, leaving behind a 10-inch (25-centimeter) layer of reddish-brown mud. The beautiful heart pine floors buckled.

    Schoenauer says he suffered about $150,000 in uninsured losses.

    At the Foothills Watershed mountain biking complex along the Catawba, the storm took 48 large shade trees and an 18,000-square-foot (1,672-square-meter) track built with banks and jumps.

    “We had a septic field, a brand-new constructed septic field for the business that was destroyed,” says Casey McKissick, who spent the last three years developing the bike park. “Never been used; not even turned on yet. And it all went right down the river.”

    McKissick says the business didn’t have flood insurance because it was too costly, and the threat of a catastrophic event seemed too remote.

    The damage amounted to $150,000. Worse yet was the loss of eight months of business, including last year’s foliage season.

    “We lost that really critical fourth quarter of the year, which is a beautiful fall,” McKissick says.

    Gov. Josh Stein recently announced that travelers had spent a record $36.7 billion in the state last year. But that boom eluded the counties worst hit by Helene.

    Visitor spending in Buncombe County — home to Asheville — was down nearly 11% last year compared to 2023, according to the state Department of Commerce.

    In McDowell, tourist spending dropped nearly 3% in that same period. Effler says this June and July, foot traffic at the county’s largest visitor center was down 50% from last year.

    She blames much of that on damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is consistently one of the most-visited of the national parks. About 35 miles (56 kilometers) of the North Carolina route — including long stretches in McDowell County — aren’t slated to reopen until fall 2026.

    McDougald says nearly every trail in the Old Fort complex was damaged, with landslides taking out “300-foot sections of trail at a time.”

    They’ve managed to reopen about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of trail, but he says about that many miles remain closed.

    Schoenauer reopened his shop in December, but traffic was down by about two-thirds this summer.

    “My business, revenue-wise, has shifted more to the repair side,” he says. “People trying to still recreate, but use the bike that they have just to keep it going and have some fun.”

    The Watershed complex opened in June, but without the planned riverfront gazebo and performance stage. And they’ve moved the bike jumps to higher ground.

    “It’s changed our way of looking at the floodplain, for sure,” McKissick says.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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  • Build-A-Bear keeps racking up market gains, despite tariffs, teetering mall traffic

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Tariffs and years of teetering mall traffic have roiled much of the toy industry. But Build-A-Bear investors are continuing to reap sizeable gains.

    Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop are up more than 60% since the start of 2025, trading at just under $72 apiece as of Tuesday afternoon. That compares to just 13% for the S&P 500 since the start of the year, and marks dramatic growth from five years ago, when the St. Louis-based retailer’s stock sat under $3.

    The toy industry overall has been “reasonably soft” in recent years, notes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData — but certain categories, including craft-oriented products, have done very well following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that’s key to Build-A-Bear’s core business model: welcoming consumers into their brick-and-mortar stores to make their own plush animals.

    That may also set Build-A-Bear apart from the malls its stores are often inside, many of which have struggled to see overall traffic rebound over the years.

    “The mall may not be a destination, but Build-A-Bear often is — because it’s often a planned trip,” Saunders said. “It’s a store within a mall that many consumers make a beeline for.”

    Build-A-Bear is still not isn’t entirely immune to macroeconomic pressures, but the company’s profit has soared to record after record in recent quarters. Last month, the retailer reported what it said were the best results for a second quarter and first half of a fiscal year in the history of the Build-A-Bear, which opened its first store in 1997. Company executives pointed to strong store performance and other expansion efforts.

    In the first half of its 2025 fiscal year, the company’s revenues hit $252.6 million and its pre-tax income climbed to $34.9 million — up 11.5% and 31.5%, respectively, year-over-year.

    The company also raised its financial outlook for the full year, despite anticipated costs of President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from around the world and other headwinds.

    “Tariffs are a real cost that we are facing,” Voin Todorovic, chief financial officer at Build-A-Bear, said in the company’s Aug. 28 earnings call — pointing to current U.S. import tax rates of 30% on China and 20% on Vietnam, where the retailer sources much of its products. Some of that has already trickled down to the cost of Build-A-Bear’s merchandise in North America, but Todorovic noted that such levies would impact the company “even more in the second half of the year.”

    Still, he and other executives pointed to preparations Build-A-Bear had made to lessen the blow, including previous inventory increases. The company also maintained that consumer-facing price impacts would be limited.

    While the retailer offers some ready-made toys and toy clothing, “what Build-A-Bear generally buys is materials,” Saunders noted. This can “hedge against tariffs much more effectively,” he explained, as they reduce labor costs and potentially allow for more flexibility on sourcing.

    Still, Saunders notes that everyone is going to be affected by tariffs and Build-A-Bear isn’t an exception. He adds that consumers will probably “eat that extra cost because they’re paying for the entertainment value.”

    Barring any significant changes, Todorovic said in August’s earnings call that tariffs are anticipated to cost Build-A-Bear under $11 million for the 2025 fiscal year. But despite that and other costs, he noted that the company is still on track to approach or slightly beat last year’s earnings.

    The company’s latest guidance expects its pre-tax income to reach between $62 million to $70 million for the full 2025 fiscal year, compared to just over $67 million reported in 2024.

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  • US bars Iran’s diplomats from shopping at Costco without permission

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    NEW YORK — The Trump administration has barred Iranian diplomats based in or visiting New York from shopping at wholesale club stores like Costco and purchasing luxury goods in the United States without specific permission from the State Department.

    In notices to be published this week in the Federal Register, the department’s Office of Foreign Missions determined that diplomatic memberships in wholesale club stores as well as diplomats’ ability to buy items such as watches, furs, jewelry, handbags, wallets, perfumes, tobacco, alcohol and cars are a “benefit” requiring U.S. government approval.

    However, the only country whose diplomats were specifically targeted is Iran. Stores like Costco have been a favorite of Iranian diplomats posted to and visiting New York because they are able to buy large quantities of products not available in their economically isolated country for relatively cheap prices and send them home.

    The move is another step in the Trump administration’s crackdown on visas, including for leaders and diplomats seeking to serve as representatives at the United Nations. While world leaders are gathering this week for the high-profile annual meeting at the international body, the new U.S. restrictions permanently apply to any Iranian diplomats representing their country at the U.N. year-round.

    The determinations, which were posted online Monday and to be printed Tuesday, said Iranian diplomats and their dependents must “obtain approval from the Department of State prior to: obtaining or otherwise retaining membership at any wholesale club store in the United States, to include but not limited to Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s Wholesale Club, and acquiring items from such wholesale club stores through any means.”

    In addition, Iranian diplomats in the U.S. must also receive permission to purchase luxury items valued at more than $1,000 and vehicles valued at more that $60,000, said Clifton Seagroves, the head of the Office of Foreign Missions.

    The items defined as “luxury goods” include watches, leather apparel and clothing accessories, silk apparel and clothing accessories, footwear, fur skins and artificial furs, handbags, wallets, fountain pens, cosmetics, perfumes and toilet waters, works of art, antiques, carpets, rugs, tapestries, pearls, gems, precious and semi-precious stones or jewelry containing them, precious metals, electronics and appliances, recreational sports articles, musical instruments, cigarettes and cigars, wine, spirits and beer.

    Earlier this month, U.S. officials said they were considering the restrictions, which Seagroves signed on Sept. 16 and 18.

    The Trump administration has already denied visas for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and his large delegation to attend the U.N. General Assembly. In addition to Iran, the administration also was considering restrictions to be imposed on delegations from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Brazil.

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  • Trump’s moves against media mirror approaches by authoritarian leaders

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    BUDAPEST, Hungary — Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history, making moves similar to those of authoritarian leaders that he has often praised.

    On Wednesday, Trump cheered ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show after the comedian made remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk that criticized the president’s MAGA movement: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.


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    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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    By JUSTIN SPIKE and NICHOLAS RICCARDI – Associated Press

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  • Cracker Barrel expects weaker sales and restaurant traffic after logo controversy

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    Cracker Barrel said Wednesday it expects lower sales and weaker customer traffic in the coming year as the controversy over its planned logo change continues to play out.

    In a conference call with investors, Cracker Barrel said traffic at its restaurants was down 1% in early August, before it announced it was adopting a more simplified logo. The new logo dropped the image of an older man in overalls leaning on a barrel and removed the words “Old Country Store.”

    But after the announcement on Aug. 18 and the outcry that followed from many longtime fans, restaurant traffic dropped 8%. Cracker Barrel said Wednesday that traffic will likely be down between 7% and 8% in the first quarter and could decline 4% to 7% for the full 2026 fiscal year.

    Cracker Barrel’s shares dropped 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

    Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said the company conducted extensive research before releasing the new logo and launching a plan to remodel its 660 U.S. restaurants. The company has since scrapped the new logo and paused the remodeling.

    Masino said the four restaurants that have been remodeled — with new paint, new lighting, more comfortable seating and other changes — will be transitioned back to their former decor. Remodels that had begun at 58 other restaurants will also be halted, she said.

    “What can not be captured in data is how much our guests see themselves and their own story in the Cracker Barrel experience, which is what’s led to such a strong response to these changes,” Masino said during a conference call with investors Wednesday.

    Masino said Cracker Barrel will continue other aspects of its plan to boost sales and attract new customers, including menu innovation and kitchen upgrades. She said marketing will lean into nostalgia and fans’ love for Uncle Herschel, the character pictured on the brand’s logo.

    The company is also continuing to grow its loyalty program. Masino said the 2-year-old program now has 9 million members and gained 300,000 new members in just the last four weeks. Masino said one new loyalty perk will be the ability to give the company feedback after every restaurant visit.

    “We’re moving ahead with a strong plan to regain traffic and the momentum we had a month ago,” Masino said. “There is a lot to be optimistic about.”

    The Lebanon, Tennessee-based company said it expects total revenue of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion in its 2026 fiscal year, which began Aug. 2. That is lower than the $3.48 billion Cracker Barrel reported in its 2025 fiscal year.

    It expects a $25 million hit due to U.S. tariffs on imported goods in the 2026 fiscal year. The company said it’s adjusting some of the products sold in its stores to mitigate that.

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  • Potbelly being acquired by gas station and convenience chain RaceTrac for $566M

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    Sandwich maker Potbelly is being acquired by the gas station and convenience story chain RaceTrac for $566 million.

    Potbelly, which was founded in Chicago in 1977, has 445 restaurants across the U.S. The company said the deal with RaceTrac will help it reach its goal of quadrupling in size to 2,000 locations. Potbelly stores are both company- and franchise-owned.

    “With RaceTrac’s resources, we will unlock new opportunity for this incredible brand while staying true to the neighborhood sandwich shop experience that makes Potbelly special,” Potbelly CEO Bob Wright said in a statement Wednesday.

    Potbelly shares jumped 32% to $17.03.

    RaceTrac was founded in 1934 and is family owned. The Atlanta company operates more than 800 locations in 14 states. RaceTrac Chairman and CEO Natalie Morhous said the company is eager to expand its stable of brands.

    RaceTrac said it will acquire all of Potbelly’s shares for $17.12 per share in an all-cash deal.

    The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

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  • Home Depot stores, long a hub for day laborers, now draw immigration agents

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    LOS ANGELES — At a Home Depot parking lot, a man patrols on a bicycle for federal immigration agents, toting a megaphone on his hip so he can blast a warning to day laborers waiting to land a landscaping or construction job.

    The workers from Mexico, El Salvador and elsewhere carry whistles to also sound the alarm, while activists swap details over two-way radios about whether cars whizzing by could be unmarked vehicles carrying officers preparing for a raid.

    Their work is cut out for them. Agents have raided the lot outside the 108,000 square-foot Home Depot store in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles at least five times this summer, rounding up some immigrants and sending others running in search of safety.

    Home Depot stores in Southern California have long been an informal job-seeking hub for day laborers in the country both legally and illegally. Now the locations have become a prime target for immigration agents.

    In fact, Home Depot was reportedly mentioned as a target for immigration raids by Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, earlier this year.

    At least a dozen Home Depot stores have been targeted, some of them repeatedly, in Southern California since the administration stepped up its immigration crackdown this summer.

    Immigrant advocates sued over the raids but on Monday the Supreme Court cleared the way for federal agents to continue conducting sweeping immigration operations for now in Los Angeles, the latest victory for the Trump administration at the high court. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “a win” for the rule of law, while advocates swiftly criticized the ruling.

    “When you undermine the civil rights of those who are more vulnerable, you undermine the civil rights of everyone else,” Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said Monday during a press conference held near a Home Depot.

    Last month, outside a Home Depot in Monrovia, a man ran onto a nearby freeway to flee immigration authorities, and was struck and killed.

    The Van Nuys location has been hit particularly hard.

    Javier, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived in U.S. states spanning from California to Kansas over the past three decades, said he narrowly escaped three raids at the store, avoiding agents by hiding beneath a truck, peeling off in his car and dashing inside among the busy shoppers.

    “They come in big vans and they all go out to chase people,” he said in Spanish, asking that his last name not be used out of fear of government reprisal.

    The store sits on property near the Van Nuys Airport that is owned by Los Angeles World Airports, a department in a city whose policies limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that her office supports the litigation against the sweeps and has trained city workers to prepare for immigration enforcement on city-owned properties.

    City councilperson Ysabel Jurado has voiced opposition to a plan for a new Home Depot in her district, contending the company hasn’t done enough to fight the raids.

    Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said “these locations should be protected by the city to the same degree the public libraries are.”

    The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

    Immigrant advocates say the country’s largest big-box home improvement retailer benefits from having an ample labor pool at the ready for contractors and should do more to protect customers, employees and day laborers.

    The Atlanta-based company, with nearly $160 billion in annual sales through Feb. 2, counts on contractors and professionals for about half its business — and that’s a key draw for largely immigrant-day laborers. Its second-ranked competitor, Lowe’s, gets about 30% of its business from contractors, relying more heavily on homeowners and DIY enthusiasts, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

    “So if you’re going for the volume, if you’re going where people are, and you can enforce things, you go to Home Depot,” Saunders said.

    The raids haven’t hurt overall sales, but the disruptions could affect specific stores by making some customers afraid to shop there, Saunders said.

    In the Los Angeles area, the company’s stores saw a 10.7% decline in foot traffic in June from a year ago and a 10% decline in July, according to Placer.ai, an analytics firm that tracks people’s movements based on cellphone usage. That’s a larger drop than the 3.8% and 2.7% declines reported at stores nationwide for the same months.

    Home Depot has repeatedly denied being involved in immigration enforcement operations. The company’s late co-founder Bernie Marcus supported Trump, though a Home Depot political action committee has donated to both Democrats and Republicans.

    The company said it isn’t told if a raid is going to take place at any of its roughly 2,300 stores.

    “We tell associates to report any suspected immigration enforcement activity immediately and not engage with the activity for their safety,” said Beth Marlowe, a company spokesperson, adding that if employees feel uneasy after a raid, they can go home for the rest of the day with pay.

    In Van Nuys, witnesses said federal agents have arrested those in the lot before appearing to ask about their immigration status. Local managers have shut the store’s automated glass doors to keep agents out, they said.

    “They’re just fishing,” said Luis, a 37-year-old day laborer who is a legal resident and grew up in the United States after arriving from Mexico as a child. He declined to use his last name fearing government reprisal.

    The trend of workers gathering outside Home Depot began with the rise of the home improvement retail store that allowed people, including contractors, to price shop and buy materials directly, said Nik Theodore, a professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

    “The basis of competition began to shift and what distinguishes a contractor from getting the bid or not more and more has to do with labor costs,” Theodore said. “Home Depot is not an innocent bystander in all of this. Their sources of success were instrumental in catalyzing this change.”

    As the trend grew so did complaints about workers congregating in store parking lots, and in 2008 Los Angeles passed an ordinance requiring similar retailers opening up to adopt plans to provide relief, such as a seating area, bathrooms and trash facilities.

    In the parking lot in Van Nuys, a non-profit runs a labor center that takes workers’ names and tracks employers who fail to pay as promised. That’s one reason workers said they keep returning even after the repeated raids.

    The other is community.

    Since the raids, Javier said he’s started considering returning to Mexico to wait out the Trump administration. In the meantime, he said he’ll keep coming to Van Nuys to find work.

    “It’s a place that becomes familiar,” he said. “Here, all of us together, we’ve become friends.”

    ___

    D’Innocenzio reported from New York. Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

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  • Elderly California jewelry shop owner shoved to floor during brazen smash-and-grab robbery

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    SAN JOSE, Calif. — An elderly California jewelry shop owner was violently shoved to the floor after a vehicle was used to crash into the store, and more than a dozen hooded and masked robbers smashed glass display cases and made off with merchandise.

    The robbery occurred about 2 p.m. Friday, according to San Jose police, who added that “multiple suspects entered the store with at least one suspect armed with a firearm.”

    Store surveillance video shows the owner standing behind a glass display case when the rear of an SUV bursts through the shop’s glass windows and door.

    About 16, mostly black-clad robbers, then rush through the busted storefront. One uses a clawlike hammer to smash the case directly in front of the shop owner.

    Another member of the group can be seen pushing the man down as he attempts to stop them from taking merchandise. Within seconds, the display cases and store shelving are emptied.

    As some of the group leave the shop, one can be seen pointing a handgun at another employee who is standing along a wall. Another robber then appears to check the employee’s pockets.

    The entire group quickly flees once a vehicle horn outside is heard blaring.

    “The suspects fled the scene in multiple vehicles prior to police arrival,” police said in a release. “The suspects are unidentified and remain at large.”

    Chris Moore, a board member of an area rental housing association, posted on the social platform X that the 88-year-old owner of Kim Hung Jewelry suffered a stroke and was taken to a hospital. The man also suffered cuts from broken glass, Moore wrote.

    Responding to Moore’s tweet, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan called the robbery “appalling.”

    “Watching this senior get assaulted made my blood boil,” Mahan wrote Saturday on X. “These people need to face the harshest possible consequences for their actions. I’ve been in touch with our police chief … and will be following the investigation closely.”

    The Associated Press left a phone message Monday seeking comment from Moore.

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  • PNC to buy FirstBank for $4.1B, expanding to Arizona, Colorado

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    NEW YORK — PNC Financial said Monday that it plans to buy Colorado-based FirstBank for $4.1 billion, giving PNC a substantial presence in the Colorado banking market as well as Arizona.

    Based in Lakewood, Colorado., FirstBank, which is also branded as 1stBank, is a midsized bank that operates 120 retail branches with $26.7 billion in assets. The bank is privately held, but the banks disclosed that the stockholders of FirstBank who collectively own 45.7% of the shares have already voted in favor of the merger.

    “Its deep retail deposit base, unrivaled branch network in Colorado, growing presence in Arizona, and trusted community relationships make it an ideal partner for PNC,” said Bill Demchak, chairman and chief executive officer of PNC, in a statement.

    PNC has been on an acquisition streak in the last few years that has made the Pennsylvania bank one of the biggest players in retail banking in the country, as PNC executives like to say “a coast-to-coast banking franchise.” PNC bought the U.S. operations of Spanish bank BBVA shortly after the pandemic for $11.6 billion. The bank has also been opening new branches in multiple markets, but particularly in the Southwest.

    The FirstBank acquisition will make PNC the largest bank in the Denver market, and will give PNC more than 70 branches in Arizona. PNC will also grow to roughly $575 billion in assets.

    The FirstBank purchase will put PNC closer in size to Capital One and U.S. Bank, who are PNC’s closest rivals. U.S. Bank, in particular, operates heavily in the Colorado and Arizona market.

    Alex Overstrom, head of retail for the bank, said PNC may consider additional acquisitions to build out its franchise.

    “We are not slowing down our organic growth but may consider opportunities as they arise,” Overstrom said, in an interview.

    PNC is typically referred to as a super regional bank, a group of large national banks that are significant in size, often hundreds of billions in assets and hundreds of branches, but are dwarfed in size by the banking giants Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, who have size and scale that the super regionals cannot replicate.

    The super regionals have been growing considerably in recent years in order to better compete with the Wall Street titans in various businesses. For example, Capital One bought Discover Financial, which jointly created the nation’s largest credit card company. Huntington Bancshares bought Detroit’s TCF back in 2021.

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  • 780,000 pressure washers recalled after reports of explosions and impact injuries

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    About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers

    NEW YORK — About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.

    According to a Thursday recall notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, power tool and equipment company TTI is recalling certain models of its Ryobi-branded electric pressure washers because the products’ capacitor can overheat and burst, “causing parts to be forcefully ejected.”

    That poses serious impact risks to users or bystanders. To date, the CPSC notes, TTI has received 135 reports of capacitors overheating in the U.S. — including 41 reports of explosions that resulted in 32 injuries and/or fractures to consumers’ fingers, hands, face and eyes. A corresponding notice from Health Canada noted that no additional incidents were reported in Canada.

    Consumers in possession of the now-recalled pressure washers are urged to stop using them immediately and visit Ryobi’s recall website to learn about how to receive a free repair kit, which includes a replacement capacitor.

    The Ryobi washers under recall have model numbers RY142300 and RY142711VNM. About 764,000 were sold in the U.S., in addition to 16,000 in Canada.

    In the U.S. these products were sold at Home Depot and Direct Tools Factory Outlet between July 2017 and June 2024, the CPSC notes, for about $300 to $400 in stores and online.

    The Associated Press reached out to TTI for further comments on Thursday.

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  • Al Sharpton to lead pro-DEI march through Wall Street on anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington

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    NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

    The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963.

    Sharpton, in a statement, called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation.”

    Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to end DEI programswithin the federal government and warned schools to do the same, or risk losing federal money.

    In response, Sharpton’s civil rights group, the National Action Network, has encouraged consumers to avoid U.S. retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity among their employees and reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people.

    Earlier this year, Sharpton met with Target’s CEO as groups called for a boycott of the retail giant, which joined Amazon, Walmart and other major retailers in foregoing DEI initiatives.

    The civil rights leader has also called for “buy-cotts” in support of companies such as Costco that have stuck by their DEI principles despite the conservative backlash.

    “Corporate America wants to walk away from Black communities, so we are marching to them to bring this fight to their doorstep,” Sharpton said in a statement ahead of Thursday’s march.

    The march is expected to start around 10 a.m. in Foley Square, located in downtown Manhattan near the African Burial Ground that’s the largest known resting place of enslaved and freed Africans in the country.

    The square is also near 26 Federal Plaza, the federal government building that’s become a symbol of Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been detaining migrants during their routine appearances at the immigration court located there. A federal judge earlier this month also ordered the Trump administration to improve conditions for migrants jailed there.

    Marchers are expected to make their way past Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull statue before the event ends with a speaking program.

    New York City mayoral candidates, including incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are among those expected to join the demonstration.

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  • More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination

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    More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled, federal officials said Thursday.

    California-based Southwind Foods recalled frozen shrimp sold under the brands Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American and First Street. The bagged products were distributed between July 17 and Aug. 8 to stores and wholesalers in nine states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington state.

    The products have the potential to be contaminated with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactions.

    Walmart stores this week recalled packages of Great Value frozen raw shrimp sold in 13 states because of potential radioactive contamination.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert after federal officials detected Cesium-137 in shipping containers sent to four U.S. ports and in a sample of frozen breaded shrimp imported by BMS Foods of Indonesia.

    The FDA advises consumers not to eat the recalled products. Traces of Cesium-137 are widespread in the environment including food, soil and air. The primary health risk is through long-term, repeated low-dose exposure, which can increase the risk of cancer.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Walmart reports solid second-quarter sales and profits despite tariffs

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. reported increases in second-quarter profits and sales Thursday as it pulls in shoppers seeking low prices for groceries and other essentials to offset worries that new U.S. tariffs may make a variety of goods more expensive.

    The nation’s largest retailer also increased its annual profit and sales outlook. Quarterly results from Walmart and other major U.S. retailers this week offer clues on how consumers are reacting to the possibility of tariff-related price increases.

    The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said it earned $7.03 billion, or 88 cents per share, for the three-month period that ended ended July 31. That compares with $4.50 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.

    Sales rose nearly 5% to $177.4 billion.

    A growing list of companies, including Procter & Gamble, E.lf. Cosmetics, Black & Decker and Ralph Lauren, told investors in recent weeks that they planned to or already had raised prices because of tariffs, though modestly.

    None of that has derailed consumer spending. Shoppers spent at a healthy pace in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships, as signs emerged that President Donald Trump’s trade policies were taking a toll on jobs.

    Some of that spending may have been shoppers buying furniture and other imported items to get ahead of expected price increases, analysts said.

    On Tuesday, Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, reported improved sales during its latest quarter as consumers remained focused on smaller projects. Like Walmart, Home Depot’s performance missed Wall Street’s expectations.

    The Atlanta-based company also said shoppers should expect modest price increases in some categories as a result of additional costs from tariffs, which are taxes on imports.

    Target, which has been struggling to reverse a persistent sales malaise, reported another quartely decline in comparable sales and said Wednesday that it would only raise prices as a last resort. Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said shoppers are looking for value and so the discounter would focus more on its store label brands, which tend to be less expensive than national labels.

    But it’s Walmart that serves as a barometer of spending given its outsized power in American retailing. The company maintains that 90% of U.S. households rely on Walmart for a range of products, and more than 150 million customers shop on its website or in its stores every week.

    Walmart said in May that prices had started to increase in late April and got higher in May. But it said Thursday that it had introduced 7,400 price rollbacks, or temporary discounts, across the aisles in the latest quarter.

    Walmart’s U.S. comparable sales — those from established physical stores and online channels — rose 4.6% in the quarter, slightly higher than the 4.5% gain in the fiscal first quarter. Groceries and health and wellness items fueled the growth, the company said., the company said.

    Global e-commerce sales rose 25%, above the 22% growth in the fiscal first quarter.

    Despite Walmart’s solid quarter, its stock price was down more than 2% early Thursday as its earnings per share came in below what analysts had expected. Analysts were expecting 73 cents per share on sales of $175.93 billion for the quarter, according to FactSet.

    Per share results, excluding effects of charges related to certain legal matters and from business restructuring, was 68 cents, Walmart said.

    The company said Thursday it expects earnings per share to be in the range of 58 cents to 60 cents for the current quarter. Analysts expect 57 cents per share, according to FactSet.

    For the year, Walmart raised its per-share estimates to a range of $2.52 to $2.62, up from a previous estimate of a $2.50 to $2.60 range. It said 2025 sales are anticipated to increase 3.75% to 4.75%, more than it projected in May.

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