Target Stock Plummets

Americans are upset about Target’s Pride Month displays, and the backlash has wiped out $9 billion in market value since May 17th.

Target has boosted profits with LGBTQ-themed merchandise for a decade, but consumers have been especially bothered this year by the aggressive nature of the items: female bathing suits with “extra crotch coverage,” children’s swim skirts designed for “multiple gender expressions,” and children’s books about gender fluidity.

Shares dropped by 12% as the S&P 500 held steady, and Target’s CEO has responded by shrinking the Pride displays and moving them to the back of the store.

McCarthy, Biden Nearing Deal

President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are reportedly nearing an agreement on the government’s debt ceiling.

The two sides are now $70 billion apart in a negotiation over $1 trillion+ in spending. Rep. Garret Graves, a top Republican negotiator, says there are several hang-ups stalling a resolution—including work requirements for anti-poverty programs.

Talks continued into the night on Thursday, and it’s unclear exactly how much time is left on the clock before the Treasury Department runs out of money. 35 House Republicans wrote a letter to McCarthy urging him to “hold the line” and questioning the math behind Janet Yellen’s claim that America will not be able to pay its bills on June 1st.

Memorial Day Travel Expenses Rise

42 million Americans are traveling on Memorial Day, despite airline prices rising 11% since last year.

Hotel and food prices have also risen, putting the squeeze on families choosing to road-trip rather than fly. Although expenses are higher, more than 37 million will hit the highways—that’s up 6% since last year.

Cruise port cities in Alaska, Florida, and Seattle are among this weekend’s most popular destinations.

➤ Mexico’s President is urging Latinos not to vote for Ron DeSantis, accusing him of “playing politics with immigrants.” DeSantis has pledged to declare a national emergency over the porous southern border on his first day in office. (More)

➤ A Michigan State student is suing his former professor for compelling students to pay a $99 membership fee to an organization called ‘The Rebellion Community,’ a group that donates all proceeds to Planned Parenthood. (More)

➤ Dianne Feinstein may leave her Senate post before her term ends, and CA Governor Gavin Newsome has pledged to replace her with a black woman. Speculation is rising that his choice may be Oprah Winfrey. (More)

➤ The leader of the Oath Keepers was charged with seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6th storming of the Capitol. He’s been sentenced to 18 years in prison, although he plans to appeal the conviction. (More)

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➤ Legendary NFL coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs has expressed disagreement with the new fair-catch rule for kickoffs. He said that if changes like this didn’t stop “…you’ll be playing flag football.” (More)

➤ The Colorado Buffalos are one of the biggest winners in college football’s offseason transfer portal action. New coach Deion Sanders has massively overhauled the team after the previous 1-11 losing season. In an early meeting, he encouraged players to put their names in the portal, saying that many wouldn’t be there next year and that he was “bringing luggage” in the form of new players. More than 70 Colorado players have entered the transfer portal. (More)

➤ The Boston Celtics won their second straight game in the Eastern Conference Finals. That brings the series to 3-2 in the Miami Heat’s favor and opens the door for a miraculous Boston comeback. (More)

Market Report   5/25/23

➤ Semiconductor chip maker Nvidia shocked the financial world with the largest single-day rise of a company’s valuation in history. Yesterday morning, the company’s stock jumped 27%—representing a $200 billion shift. The sudden shift in price came after Nvidia announced a very rosy financial outlook based on chip demand to fuel the artificial intelligence revolution. (More)

➤ Germany has officially entered an economic recession: its Q1 GDP growth was revised downward to -0.5%. This second consecutive quarterly GDP shrinkage meets the official definition of a recession and puts Germany’s economy below pre-pandemic levels. (More)

➤ Money being invested in solar energy is on track to surpass oil energy investing this year: something that has never happened before. (More)

➤ AI is now being used to kill a bacterial superbug. Scientists trained software to narrow a list of potential chemicals for use in a new antibiotic from thousands to hundreds, and the accelerated process helped speed up the creation of a new drug designed to defeat the antibiotic-resistant bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii. (More)

➤ A man paralyzed more than a decade ago is walking again due to a wireless “bridge” connecting his brain and spine. The exotic biomedical device prototype observes brain wave activity and transmits electrical stimulus to previously completely paralyzed legs. (More)

➤ Thousands of new species have been discovered in the ultra-deep depths of the Pacific sea. Strange new worms, mollusks, corals, and other animals are being discovered and cataloged by a team studying the area for the mining of deep sea metal deposits. (More)

➤ The Census Bureau reports that homosexual couple households have exceeded 1% of the population for the time in their recording. Hawaii was reported to have the highest at 1.4% of the population, and South Dakota had the fewest with 0.4%. (More)

➤ The mother of presumed murderer Brian Laundrie sent her son a letter labeled “Burn After Reading.” In the letter, Roberta Laundrie writes, “If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.” She claims the letter is being taken out of context and that it was written before Brian killed his fiancé. (More)

➤ The Brady Bunch’s house can now be yours. After being completely gutted and remodeled to match the TV show’s set, the house used on the show is for sale at the low price of $5.5 million dollars. The cool staircase and orange countertops come with it; Alice does not. (More)

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Today’s Trivia

Which U.S. Senator holds the record for longest length of consecutive service?