For: July 25, 2025
>>Trading Week Winding Down
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings for the final time this week after stocks closed mixed on Wall Street yesterday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs while the feud between President Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average. At the closing bell, the Dow lost 316 points to 44-693. The S&P 500 gained four points to 63-63. The Nasdaq rose by 37 points to 21-057.
>>FCC Approves $8B Acquisition Of Paramount By Skydance Media
(Undated) -- The FCC has approved the acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Media for eight billion dollars. The deal will include the CBS broadcast network, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said there would be "significant changes" at CBS and noted that Skydance had agreed not to establish any DEI initiatives.
>>Astronomer People Officer Resigns After Viral Kiss Cam
(New York, NY) -- The woman seen cuddling with her company's CEO in a viral kiss cam moment at a Coldplay concert has resigned. Kristin Cabot stepped down from her job as chief people officer at Astronomer, a data management startup. The man she was with, CEO Andy Byron, resigned days ago. Both are married to other people. The company is now led by interim CEO Pete DeJoy while a new leader is found.
>>Trump Hits The Brakes On Obama-Era Semi Truck Speed Limit
(Washington, DC) -- The Trump administration is halting an Obama-era proposal that would have created a national speed limit for 18-wheelers. The plan has been in the works since 2016, when federal regulators said limiting trucks to 65 miles per hour could save hundreds of lives annually, and save truckers over 800-million dollars in fuel and emissions costs. Regulators under the Trump administration, however, claim the proposal would raise trucking costs and could make matters worse by stalling traffic and slowing deliveries. They say it would also result in more trucks being needed to ship the same amount of cargo in a given period.
>>Feds Discuss Largest Worker Fraud Case Ever
(Washington, DC) -- The Feds are warning corporate America to do their due diligence to avoid worker fraud. Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro discussed a case Thursday involving an Arizona woman who helped hundreds of North Korean IT workers illegally get remote jobs at American companies. Pirro said Christina Chapman enabled the network of North Korean workers to generate 17-million dollars in revenue that went back to North Korea. She went on to say it's time for businesses to verify their workers before the security of the country is compromised. Chapman pleaded guilty to charges and has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half-years in federal prison.
>>Four-Day Work Week Linked To Better Mental Health
(Undated) -- An international study finds that a four-day work week is linked to better mental health. The report, published in Nature Human Behavior, shows less burnout and better job satisfaction among workers with abbreviated work weeks. Researchers conducted a six-month study involving nearly three-thousand employees at more than 140 businesses in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK. The study also showed workers were more effective on the job when given a four-day work week and reported better sleep and less fatigue.
>>Concession Workers Strike Looming At Fenway Park
(Boston, MA) -- Unionized concession workers at Fenway Park could be on strike. They want higher wages and their jobs protected from automation. Aramark, the company that employs the workers, said it has a contingency plan in place if there is a strike. The Red Sox organization is not involved in the dispute. Boston hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series this weekend.
>>"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" Makes $23M In Thursday Previews
(Los Angeles, CA) -- "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is the latest superhero movie to conquer the box office. The Marvel Studios movie starring Pedro Pascal made an estimated 23-million dollars in Thursday previews, which is double the amount made at the opening of "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World" earlier this year. "Fantastic Four" is also the first movie to break the billion-views mark on social media, where fans have been watching the trailer and the red carpet premiere across TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. It's expected to make over 110-million dollars domestically in its first weekend.
>>NFL Taking In Billions
(Green Bay, WI) -- Business is booming in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers reported a league-high in 2024 national revenue sharing north of 433-million-dollars, up from 400-million. The Packers are the only publicly owned team in the league, and must report expenses and revenues, providing a window into the rest of the league. That means every NFL team took in the same haul. Each of the 32 NFL teams are now splitting more than 13-billion-dollars from national media deals.
