Author: Alex Trent

During a recent interview with Fox News, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took the opportunity to take aim at the Biden administration and its officials over the state of the nation’s border under Joe Biden’s leadership. In his comments, he accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of lying to Congress when he said the border was secure, saying Texas has had to step up in the federal government’s place to help secure it. Abbott’s Comments Source: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia The Texas governor took Biden and his allies to task during the interview, making specific mention of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “What…

L.L. Bean, a Maine-based outwear clothing and equipment company, has announced a reduction in its call center hours, citing changing customer attitudes that now increasingly prefer self-service and shopping online. Starting on July 15, the company will reduce its call center hours by four hours daily, with the new hours being 8 am to 8 pm. Reduction in Work Force Source: Petr Machacek/Unsplash USA Today reports that L.L. Bean’s reduction in hours for its call centers will coincide with a reduction in its workforce. However, the company has not announced how many layoffs there will be. L.L Bean has more…

American retail superstore Walmart recently settled a class action lawsuit for $45 million filed on behalf of customers back in October 2022. The lawsuit alleged that Walmart had been falsely inflating the weight of products, mislabeling bagged produce, and overcharging for clearance items. As part of the lawsuit settlement, customers who bought eligible “sold by weight” groceries during a nearly four-year time period have the opportunity to receive a settlement payment if they opt in before June 5, 2024. Lawsuit Complaint Source: Reddit The lawsuit, filed in the Middle District Court of Florida, alleges Walmart has been misleading and deceiving…

While a lot of debate occurs among scientists and the public about the effects of rising average global temperatures and ocean heat, an often not-talked-about consequence of rising temperatures is a paradoxical increase in the number and intensity of extreme cold events in Earth’s oceans. A study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change aimed to examine the impacts of extreme cold events on marine life, which the study asserts is “poorly misunderstood” and an “understudied aspect of climate change research.” “Climate change is actually really complex,” said Nicolas Lubitz, lead author of the study and a researcher at…

U.S Border Patrol reported on Friday that less than the expected number of border arrests took place in March. Typically during the spring season, there is an increase in the number of attempted crossings due to the warmer weather. However, despite this expected Spring bump, crossings fell for the first March since 2017. Some attribute the fall in arrests to increased enforcement efforts on the Mexican side of the border. Border Patrol Numbers Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Wikimedia According to the US Border Patrol, border authorities made 137,480 arrests of people entering from Mexico in March. This is a…

On Tuesday, Donald Trump is confined to a New York courtroom as a criminal trial over alleged hush money payments continues into its second day. At the same time, Joe Biden is on his own multi-day event in Pennsylvania, attempting to persuade voters in what may be the biggest battleground state for him in 2024. Trump in Court Source: Wikimedia Commons Former President Donald Trump is currently in New York awaiting jury selection in a criminal trial where he is charged with 34 felony counts. On his way into the courtroom, Trump winked at a court security officer and took…

Former President Donald Trump famously threatened to abandon countries with NATO membership if they did not commit to spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on their defense budget. Now, Canada, a country traditionally reluctant to spend on defense, is expected to announce its largest defense spending increase in recent years. This move comes amid changing attitudes about Canadian defense spending influenced by what some are calling the “Trump factor.” Spending Plan Source: Jason Hafso/Unsplash Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland expected to put forward a spending increase in defense in the upcoming budget. Canada’s defense budget will receive a…

Scientists have observed a significant number of coral reefs showing signs of bleaching due to heat stress, a troubling sign for the health of the world’s oceans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch, 54% of the Earth’s oceans now experience heat stress high enough to cause coral bleaching. In an announcement confirming the global coral bleaching event, the NOAA commented on the frequency of such events. “The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to NOAA scientists. This is the fourth global event on record and the second in the last…

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced a new budget proposal last week that would provide more than nearly $90 million in funding for assistance services that help migrant arrivals in the city, which Johnston calls “newcomers.” This funding is made possible in part by a reallocation of police and fire department resources, which will reportedly result in budget cuts for these and other government organizations. Police Budget Source: Logan Weaver/Unsplash Reportedly, the new budget changes proposed by Mayor Johnston would result in the police budget being stripped by $8.4 million. Johnston claims that his proposal was the best option to fund…

Several major news organizations have signed an open letter demanding that both Trump and Biden publicly commit to take part in televised debates before the general election in November. This letter is a strange demand, given the practice of televised presidential debates has become an American tradition for decades. However, it makes sense given the unusual reluctance that both men at different times have expressed for debate participation. Open Letter Source: Aaron Burden/Unsplash A unified group of media organizations of all stripes signed an open letter demanding the candidates to participate in debates. These groups include big names from wire,…