URL: NPR

Business News

Saturday, December 28, 2024

• Big Lots reaches deal to keep hundreds of U.S. stores open
  Big Lots said Friday it will be sold to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, a firm that specializes in distressed companies.
  
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says U.S. could hit debt limit in weeks
  Yellen told Congress her agency will need to start taking "extraordinary measures," or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, as early as Jan. 14.
  
• 'We are not California': New Jersey dealers push back on electric truck rules
  Vehicle dealers are pushing back on rules that would increase the number of electric trucks sold in New Jersey. It could be a preview of a brewing fight over state rules about cars. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on December 23, 2024.)
  

Friday, December 27, 2024

• Trump asks the Supreme Court to delay the start of the TikTok ban
  President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
  
• Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies at age 78
  Greg Gumbel, a longtime CBS sportscaster, has died from cancer, according to a statement from family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78.
  
• The Rest of the Story, 2024
  After the gift exchange comes another great holiday tradition: returns season. Once again, we are joining the fun in our own Planet Money way. We are returning to stories from years past to see what's changed since we last reported them. It's an episode we call The Rest of the Story.
  
  We have updates on zombie mortgages, student loan forgiveness, Argentina's economy under its self-described anarcho-capitalist president, and the best place in the world to give birth to twins. Plus, a return to... returns.
  
  So while you're looking for that holiday sweater in a better size, or waiting in line to trade in your Dutch oven for an air fryer, take a listen to all our latest little audio gifts. And see you in 2025!
  
  This episode was hosted by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, and edited by Keith Romer and Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
  
  Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
  
• Claim of dementia could derail former Abercrombie CEO's sex trafficking case
  Can his legal team's claims that he has late-onset Alzheimer's disease and dementia put a pause in the sex trafficking trial of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries?
  
• Delta apologizes — again — after another stowaway boards a flight without ticket
  The incident marks the second time in less than a month that an unticketed passenger was discovered on a Delta Air Lines flight, this time en route to Hawaii.
  
• Top global TikToks in 2024: Mr. Bean disciple, lip-synch for their life, baby hippo!
  Scenes from some of the most popular TikToks from the Global South in 2024: a dancing teen from the Philippines; an homage to Mr. Bean, that cute baby pygmy hippo.
  
• Some credit card companies may be devaluing rewards illegally, CFPB says
  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said some credit card companies may be devaluing points and airline miles illegally. NPR's Sarah McCammon talks to Nick Ewen of The Points Guy.