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Kashar, or Credit? |
I just paid my taxes via direct debit, thank you very much, and you're very welcome to them, America. Meanwhile, Kashar is a Balkan-style pasta filata cheese, made by Parish Hill Creamery in southern Vermont. During maturation, it is rubbed and polished with olive oil that gives it an edible, kinky rind. In other words? It's a whole lot like this newsletter. Today's cheddlines are full of examples of people paying the piper. |
Today's Cheddlines You Need2Know |
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Will you take a check? |
—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor |
P.S. Our 'gram shows a drone operator finding a lost puppy in the snow. |
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Quote of the Day |
| ❝ | | | I don't think everybody that steals is a bad person. Sometimes people are just down on their luck. | | | | — Judge Jeffrey Clothier |
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Should You Check Your 401(k) Today? |
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(nope) |
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said late last week that her government wouldn't rule out filing a civil lawsuit against Google if it maintains its stance of calling the stretch of sea between northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States the "Gulf of America," per President Donald Trump's recent order. |
Sheinbaum has repeatedly defended the name Gulf of Mexico, saying its use dates to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations. Before that, it was called the Gulf of New Spain or the Spanish Sea. At some point it was also called the Primordial Soup, but I don't hear anybody lobbying for it to be called that. Fun fact: Los Estados Unidos de México has more coastline on the Gulf than the United States of America does. |
Sheinbaum said Trump's order is restricted to the "continental shelf of the United States" because Mexico still controls much of the Gulf. "We have sovereignty over our continental shelf," she said, sounding like somebody clutching at paper straws, which are also in disfavor with the Trump administration. |
Google said last month that it maintains a "long-standing practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources." The firm is also expected to benefit from the Trump administration's likely laxer attitude, compared to the Biden administration's, toward its monopoly over search practices. |
As of Thursday, how the Gulf appeared on Google Maps was dependent on the user's location and "other" data. If the user is in the United States (of America), the body of water appeared as Gulf of America. If the user was physically in Mexico, it would appear as the Gulf of Mexico. In many other countries across the world, it appears as "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)." From the Campbell's factory, it's called the Waves of Warhol. |
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The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk's Tesla to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration. |
Apparently, the administration is nervous about it looking bad to give the world's richest man a $400 million contract at the same time as that same man is deciding how to lay off a sizable chunk of the federal workforce. Although it's unlikely Musk will miss the money: $400 million is one-957,000th of his net worth. |
A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only company that expressed interest in the contract back in May 2024, when Joe Biden was president. Thanks, Obama! |
While it was in its planning phases, the deal with Tesla was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. Musk's companies obtain hundreds of millions of dollars each year in government contracts. For example, SpaceX has secured nearly $20 billion in federal funds since 2008 to ferry astronauts and satellites into space. Tesla had already received $41.9 million from the U.S. government, including payment for vehicles provided to some U.S. embassies. |
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From @cheddar |
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U.S. retail sales dropped sharply last month, in part because cold weather kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores. Retail sales fell 0.9% in January from the previous month, the Commerce Department said, after two months of healthy gains. It was a much bigger drop than economists expected and the biggest decline in a year. |
This news is a Rorschach blot about the economy, however. If you think the economy is doing badly, then the retail figures confirm it. If you think the economy is doing well, then the retail numbers are an anomaly. |
The average temperature in January was the lowest since 1988 and was particularly disruptive in the more temperate South. The Los Angeles fires may have also impacted spending. The data do not show that Americans rushed to buy goods in January to get ahead of President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs, as some analysts had expected. However, sales were revised higher for December. Many consumers may have just cut back in January after splurging during the holiday season. |
The tail-off in sales may provide some measure of reassurance for the Federal Reserve, after a very hot read on inflation for January, that the economy may not be overheating. In addition to cold weather, the sales decline could in part point to fading consumer confidence as was reflected in a pair of recent surveys by the Conference Board and University of Michigan. Still, hiring and wage growth have been steady, suggesting the economy is still expanding. Last week the government reported that the unemployment rate fell for the second straight month to a low 4%. |
It's anybody's guess what any of this means! |
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A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters, ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring arrives. Judge Jeffrey "Never Nude" Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart and rewards shoppers who could see higher prices, or possibly lose stores, if thefts continue. The car washes will be free. |
"I don't think everybody that steals is a bad person. Sometimes people are just down on their luck," said Judge Clothier, who was recently elected to Haberdasher Genesee County District Court. "But there's going to be consequences when you break the law." |
Unless, you know, you're the mayor of New York. |
Clothier told the Associated Press that he began ordering "Walmart wash" sentences this week for misdemeanor shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township, 50 miles north of Detroit. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars at weekend events at that location in March and April. |
The judge said Walmart is "on board" and will provide water and supplies. He also plans to head down and wash cars with the convicted, because this emperor is wearing Clothiers. |
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At 100 years old, the Goodyear blimp is still in the sky (although the photo above pictures it on the ground). And the 246-foot-long airship was, at press time, slated to be in the background of the Daytona 500 on Sunday — roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway — to celebrate its latest and greatest anniversary tour. |
Even though drones are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a blimp-sized niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event. |
"It's great to show the pack racing," Fox Sports director Artie Kempner said, adding that he expected to use aerial shots from the blimp about 50 times during Sunday's race. |
The Goodyear Blimp has been a regular at major sporting events since flying above the 1955 Rose Bowl. A few years later, it became a service vehicle for television coverage while simultaneously functioning as a highly visible advertising platform. It's been at every Daytona 500 since 1962. |
Meanwhile, Michelin launched its restaurant guide to garner publicity in the early 1900s. I know this because in 2012 I wrote a piece about the history of the company under a pseudonym, "Barry Drew," for the British "Commercial Motor" magazine. I'm not saying Michelin is better than Goodyear, you understand. It's just more a lot more sophisticated and makes better tires. #NotFinancialAdvice |
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