>>Stocks Close Mixed
(New York, NY) -- Wall Street closed Thursday with stocks mixed. This comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over eleven-hundred points Wednesday and closed lower for the tenth straight time. It was slightly boosted today thanks to chip making giant Nvidia, which had weighed down the major average. At the closing bell, the Dow gained 15 points to 42-342. The S&P 500 lost five points to fall to 58-67. The Nasdaq fell by 20 points to 19-372.
>>Last Two Sam Goody Locations Set To Close
(St. Clairsville, OH) -- Another casualty has fallen to digital music and online streaming. Former retail giant Sam Goody is shutting down its last two remaining brick-and-mortar locations. Sam Goody once had as many as 800 locations at malls across the country. Since 2022, the only two existing stores have been at the Ohio Valley Mall in Saint Clairsville, Ohio and the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon. The Ohio location is reportedly scheduled to close in February, while a closing date has not been announced for the Oregon location.
>>Almost 40 Republicans Vote Against Trump-Backed Spending Bill
(Washington, DC) -- Almost 40 House Republican lawmakers voted against the President-elect Trump-backed government spending bill that did not pass on Thursday as a government shutdown looms. Some of the 38 who voted against it included Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mase, and Texas Representative Chip Roy. Democrats voted mostly along party lines. The bill did not reach the two-thirds margin necessary to pass, with the government set to shut down if lawmakers do not pass any legislation by 11:59 p.m. local time on Friday.
>>Amazon Strike Underway
(New York, NY) -- The Teamsters union is launching a nationwide strike against Amazon -- six days before Christmas. They're striking at Amazon facilities across the country starting and the union says it's the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history. Picket lines are up at Amazon facilities in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, the Chicago area and three locations in Southern California. They add that local unions will also be putting up picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers across the nation in the coming days.
>>Starbucks Workers To Strike In LA, Chicago, Seattle
(Seattle, WA) -- Starbucks workers are going on strike today in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. Workers United, the union that represents some 10-thousand Starbucks workers, said strikes will start this morning and spread to other stores in the U.S. each day through Christmas Eve unless a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. The coffee company and the union have been working on a deal since April but haven't come to an agreement. The union wants higher wages and staffing, along with better scheduling policies. Starbucks says the union prematurely walked away from a bargaining session this week.
>>Positive Reports For U.S. Economy
(Washington, DC) -- The U.S. economy picked up steam in the third quarter. Strong consumer spending and increased exports were the main drivers. The Gross Domestic Product grew just over three-percent from July through September. Consumer spending had a three-point-seven percent jump.
>>SEC: Trump Did Not Receive Money Transferring Stock Shares To Revocable Trust
(Washington, DC) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission says President-elect Trump did not receive any money when he transferred all of his shares in Trump Media to a revocable trust. The S-E-C says the total number of shares Trump transferred this week was just under 115-million shares. The stock closed at 35-dollars-41-cents on Thursday, making the transferred shares worth more than four-billion-dollars. According to an SEC filing, Trump "directly owned zero shares of Trump Media and Technology Group Corporation and indirectly owned" the near 115-million-shares of the corporation. Trump made similar transfers to a revocable trust prior to his inauguration for his first term, although at a far lower dollar value.
>>Big Lots Begins Going Out Of Business Sales
(New York, NY) -- Big Lots is beginning its "going out of business sales" at all of its remaining locations. The retail chain has already closed more than 400 stores since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and less than a thousand are still open. In an email to employees, its president and CEO said pending store closures could "be reversed if we successfully complete a sale." But, he added, a reduction in staff is necessary.
