Shares of the budget airline Sun Country were flying today after the carrier announced an upcoming merger with Las Vegas-based competitor Allegiant.
In a press release published on January 11, Allegiant shared its plan to acquire Minneapolis-based Sun Country in a $1.5 billion cash and stock transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Per the release, the merger will bring together a shared customer pool of nearly 22 million annual fliers across 175 cities and more than 650 routes. It will also give Allegiant access to Sun Countrys multi-year partnership delivering packages with Amazon Prime Air, which Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson told CNBC was a major part of the deal.
News of the acquisition comes as other budget carriers, like Spirit Airlines, struggle to compete in an increasingly exclusive airline industry. As of market close on Monday, Allegiants stock was down about 6%, whereas Sun Countrys shares soared by over 10%.
Budget air carriers fight an uphill battle
For small, low-cost air carriers, profitable business is a turbulent affair.
According to October data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation, a whopping 68.5% of total airline market share in the U.S. is cornered by four major companies: Delta, American, Southwest, and United. As those four powerhouses leverage their outsized financial power to battle it out over offering more and more premium perks for fliers, smaller companies are left struggling to keep up.
One example of this pattern is Spirit Airlines, the beleaguered carrier that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice since November 2024. Spirit hasnt made a profit since 2019indeed, as of late 2024, it had lost more than $2.4 billion since that time as it was unable to recover from pandemic-based losses.
The company attempted to lessen its debt load through a proposed sale to JetBlue, but that ultimately fell through in 2022 when it was challenged by the Department of Justice. In recent months, Spirit has announced its second bankruptcy, canceled all routes to 12 major cities, and furloughed 1,800 flight attendants.
While corporate mishandling is certainly partially responsible for Spirits troubles, its difficulties reflect larger hurdles for small air carriers in an industry where resources have become increasingly siloed. One way to address those issues is, as demonstrated by Spirits attempted sale to JetBlue, to merge with another company. Now, Allegiant and Sun Country appear to be attempting something similar by pooling their aircrafts, routes, and flier bases to meet traveler demands.
The combination will create a leading leisure-focused U.S. airline, the press release reads, expanding service to more popular vacation destinations across the United States, as well as international destinations, and providing more people with access to affordable, convenient air travel.
On the red carpet of the 2026 Golden Globes, several celebrities used their garments as vehicles of protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and spoke openly about their dissent against the current Trump administration.
But on the events actual stage, political commentary was noticeably absent compared with years past.
Popular American awards shows have long been criticized for primarily uplifting the voices of white, male, affluent creators. But, equally, the stages of these events have been used as platforms for public figures to speak out about current politics and social justice.
In 1973, Marlon Brando famously rejected his best actor Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards and sent Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American woman, to deliver a speech on his behalf. More recently, in 2018, Seth Meyers made numerous jokes at Trumps expense at the Golden Globes.
This year, though, political commentary on the Golden Globes stage was kept to a few passing comments and oblique references. It’s a shift that reflects a broader trend of Hollywoods elite seemingly turning a blind eye to the current state of affairs during Trumps second term.
“The most important thing in the world”
To glean any kind of political statement from last nights show, one might have needed to perform a close reading.
Comedian Nikki Glasser opened the ceremony with a vague allusion to pretty much everything happening outside of Hollywood, calling the Golden Globes without a doubt the most important thing happening in the world right now.
Others followed with similarly discreet jabs, including one comment from director Judd ApatowI believe were in a dictatorship nowneatly sandwiched within a stream of jokes.
Even when the film One Battle After Anothera satire about revolution that critiques anti-immigration groupswon multiple awards, no statement was made directly about the current administration.
Compare that tenor to 2017, when, just months after Trump was elected for his first term, one of the Golden Globes’ most viraland impactfulmoments came when Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech to publicly call out the president.
Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out, well have nothing to watch except football and mixed martial artswhich are not the arts,” Streep said.
Her speech came years before Trumps National Guard ever brutalized protestors in the streets, before the Department of Homeland Security separated thousands of children from their parents, before ICE agents starting showing up at schools and community centers across the country, and before agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good just last week.
Yet, somehow, it would have looked out of place at last nights comparatively apolitical event.
“Of course, this is for the mother”
To be fair, several celebrities did make an effort to speak up. Stars including Wanda Sykes, Natasha Lyonne, and Jean Smart wore pins reading Be Good as a reference to Renee Nicole Good. Others sported pins with the phrase Ice Out.
In a preshow interview with Variety, Sykes explained her pin: Of course this is for the mother who was murdered by an ICE agent, and its really sad.”
Mark Ruffalo also spoke more directly, telling Entertainment Tonight: Weve got, literally, storm troopers running around terrorizing. And as much as I love all this, I dont know if I can pretend like this crazy stuff isnt happening.”
In another interview with USA Today, Ruffalo added: “[Trump is] a pedophile. He’s the worst human being. If we’re relying on this guy’s morality for the most powerful country in the world, then we’re all in a lot of trouble.”
But, notably, these comments were shared on the red carpet, to be consumed by readers at disparate news outletsrather than on the main stage itself, to millions of viewers at home. When the evenings stars got their moments in the limelight, they largely opted to stay quiet.
“Am I brave, or are they cowards?”
The literal sidelining of political commentary at the 2026 Golden Globes may be disappointing to fans who want celebrities to speak out about injustices, but it’s not surprising, given Hollywoods about-turn since Trumps second term began.
Celebs like Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Barry Jenkins, and others who once strongly criticized the president have lately been quiet. Lawrence herself recently spoke on this change, stating in an interview with The New York Times The Interview podcast that weve learned election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for.
But as Refinery 29 aptly observes in a recent article, thats not entirely true. Taylor Swifts endorsement of Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election drove more than 400,000 people to the vote.gov site in 24 hours, it points out. And Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlans advocacy for Palestine aid organizations has helped raise more than $2 million to date.
Speaking to Refinery 29 after this years Golden Globes show, actress and activist Jameela Jamil refuted the idea that her own advocacy is brave.
Am I brave, or are they cowards? she said. I think theyre being greedy and weird and disappointing. Look at the billions of eyeballs on all of us collectivelythere should be no outliers of the industry who are the outspoken ones . . . out there on their own with this amount of privilee.
The Justice Department has threatened the Federal Reserve with a criminal indictment over the testimony of Fed Chair Jerome Powell this summer regarding its building renovations, Powell said over the weekend.
It is a major escalation by the administration after repeated attempts by President Donald Trump to exert greater control over the independent institution.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting the short-term interest rate, and even threatened to fire him. Powells caution has infuriated Trump, who has demanded the Fed cut borrowing costs to spur the economy and reduce the interest rates the federal government pays on its debt. That anger has not subsided even after the Fed cut interest rates in three of the final four months of 2025.
Trump has also accused Powell of mismanaging the U.S. central banks $2.5 billion building renovation project. In a sharp departure from his previous responses to attacks by Trump, Powell described the threat of criminal charges as simple pretexts to undermine the Feds independence when it comes to setting interest rates.
While there has been a limited response from Republican lawmakers, there have been several early breaks with the party.
If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none, said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on the Banking Committee, which oversees Fed nominations.
Trump is already seeking to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. The allegation was made over the summer by Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the Federal Housing Administration.
Here are some reasons why the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve is guarded so closely.
Why the Fed’s independence matters
The Fed wields extensive power over the U.S. economy. By cutting the short-term interest rate it controls which it typically does when the economy falters the Fed can make borrowing cheaper and encourage more spending, accelerating growth and hiring. When it raises the rate which it does to cool the economy and combat inflation it can weaken the economy and cause job losses.
Economists have long preferred independent central banks because they can more easily take unpopular steps to fight inflation, such as raise interest rates, which makes borrowing to buy a home, car, or appliances more expensive.
The importance of an independent Fed was cemented for most economists after the extended inflation spike of the 1970s and early 1980s. Former Fed Chair Arthur Burns has been widely blamed for allowing the painful inflation of that era to accelerate by succumbing to pressure from President Richard Nixon to keep rates low heading into the 1972 election. Nixon feared higher rates would cost him the election, which he won in a landslide.
Paul Volcker was eventually appointed chair of the Fed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and he pushed the Fed’s short-term rate to the stunningly high level of nearly 20%. (It is currently 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years.) The eye-popping rates triggered a sharp recession, pushed unemployment to nearly 11%, and spurred widespread protests.
Yet Volcker didn’t flinch. By the mid-1980s, inflation had fallen back into the low single digits. Volcker’s willingness to inflict pain on the economy to throttle inflation is seen by most economists as a key example of the value of an independent Fed.
Investors are watching closely
An effort to fire Powell would almost certainly cause stock prices to fall and bond yields to spike higher, pushing up interest rates on government debt and raising borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt. The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury is a benchmark for mortgage rates.
All major U.S. markets slid Monday at the opening bell, bond yields edged higher and the value of the U.S dollar declined.
Most investors prefer an independent Fed, partly because it typically manages inflation better without being influenced by politics, but also because its decisions are more predictable. Fed officials often publicly discuss how they would alter interest rate policies if economic conditions changed.
If the Fed was more swayed by politics, it would be harder for financial markets to anticipate or understand its decisions.
While the Fed controls a short-term rate, financial markets determine longer-term borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans. And if investors worry that inflation will stay high, they will demand higher yields on government bonds, pushing up borrowing costs across the economy.
In Turkey, for example, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan forced the central bank to keep interest rates low in the early 2020s, even as inflation spiked to 85%. In 2023, Erdogan allowed the central bank more independence, which has helped bring down inflation, but short-term interest rates rose to 50% to fight inflation, and remain high.
The Fed’s independence doesn’t mean it’s unaccountable
Fed chairs like Powell are appointe by the president to serve four-year terms, and have to be confirmed by the Senate. The president also appoints the six other members of the Fed’s governing board, who can serve staggered terms of up to 14 years.
Those appointments can allow a president over time to significantly alter the Fed’s policies. Former president Joe Biden appointed four of the current seven members: Powell, Cook, Philip Jefferson, and Michael Barr. A fifth Biden appointee, Adriana Kugler, stepped down unexpectedly on Aug. 1, about five months before the end of her term. Trump has already nominated his top economist, Stephen Miran, as a potential replacement, though he will require Senate approval. Cook’s term ends in 2038, so forcing her out would allow Trump to appoint a loyalist sooner.
Trump will be able to replace Powell as Fed chair in May, when Powells term expires. Yet 12 members of the Feds interest-rate setting committee have a vote on whether to raise or lower interest rates, so even replacing the Chair doesnt guarantee that Fed policy will shift the way Trump wants.
Congress, meanwhile, can set the Fed’s goals through legislation. In 1977, for example, Congress gave the Fed a dual mandate to keep prices stable and seek maximum employment. The Fed defines stable prices as inflation at 2%.
The 1977 law also requires the Fed chair to testify before the House and Senate twice every year about the economy and interest rate policy.
Could the president fire Powell before his term ends?
The Supreme Court last year suggested in a ruling on other independent agencies that a president can’t fire the chair of the Fed just because he doesn’t like the chair’s policy choices. But he may be able to remove him for cause, typically interpreted to mean some kind of wrongdoing or negligence.
It’s a likely reason the Trump administration has zeroed in on the building renovation, in hopes it could provide a for cause pretext. Still, Powell would likely fight any attempt to remove him, and the case could wind up at the Supreme Court.
Christopher Rugaber, AP economics writer
Americans stressed by high grocery bills have one bright spot to look forward to in 2026. Value-minded grocery chain Aldi is coming to more cities around the country, with 180 new stores set to open in the U.S. this year.
Aldi is a compelling option for grocery shoppers on a budget. Founded in Germany, the company envisioned itself as a discount grocery store from day one. Aldis aggressive U.S. expansion will meet the needs of more shoppers seeking a no-frills grocery experience without compromising on quality a niche shared by Aldi competitors like Costco and Trader Joes.
The budget grocery chain currently operates in 39 states across more than 2,600 stores in the U.S. By the end of 2026, it plans to add 180 new stores, with some states getting their first Aldi, including a new location in Portland, Maine. The grocer is expanding aggressively in the West in particular, with 50 stores planned for Denver and Colorado Springs alone over the next five years. Phoenix will get 10 new Aldi locations in 2026, with 40 planned by the end of 2030 and four new Las Vegas area stores are on the way in the next few years as well.
These strategic investments are all about making sure customers can continue to count on us for the quality, affordable groceries and enjoyable shopping experience they love, Aldi CEO Atty McGrath said in a press release. As we look ahead to our next 50 years in the U.S., well continue to earn shopper loyalty by staying true to whats made ALDI successful: keeping things simple and delivering real value.
Beyond the West, Aldi is pushing deeper into the Southeast U.S. through its 2024 acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of grocery chain Winn-Dixie. The company will continue converting many of those locations into Aldi stores, with 200 set to be finished by the end of next year.
Aldi builds its brand
As Americas fastest-growing grocer, Aldi is focused on entering new markets, but the company is also refining aspects of its brand in the process.
Late last year, Aldi began putting its own brand on its in-house products, communicating more clearly with customers that they can only buy many of the things they enjoy at Aldi. Private label is the core of what we do, Scott Patton, Aldis chief commercial officer, told Fast Company. Im not going to say we invented it; I would say weve perfected it.
More than 90% of the grocers offerings are private label, but that fact isnt always apparent to shoppers a problem the company plans to solve. The overall sentiment was, on average, customers didnt know that was an Aldi brand, Kristy Reitz, Aldis director of brand and design, told Fast Company. Now if they shop us a little less frequently, they think they can find that brand elsewhere, and in fact its a private-label brand to Aldi.
The K-shaped economy and Aldi
Aldis booming business isnt a coincidence. Its stores command a loyal following by combining high quality with affordability, but its the latter thats really weighing on the minds of U.S. shoppers right now.
According to a poll by the Associated Press last year, an overwhelming majority of American households are worried about the high cost of groceries. Around half of people polled said that the high cost of groceries was a major stressor, with only 14% reporting that they werent worried about how much they pay to stock the fridge.
No matter what you call it, rich Americans are getting richer while much of the rest of the country is struggling to make ends meet. That K-shaped economy is taking shape in a number of ways, but the crux of it is that lower and middle income consumers are wrestling with a higher cost of living taking a bigger bite out of their earnings while the wealthiest Americans, buoyed by stock market highs, just keep spending.
Because the cost of basic needs like food and housing has soared in recent years and American wages havent kept up, many people in the U.S. feel left in the lurch. That leaves a lot of potential Aldi shoppers hunting for deals on the essentials.
Other stripped down discount shopping options are also booming. Costcos share price has more than doubled since the current inflationary streak began, with shoppers flocking en masse into its warehouses to stock up on high quality, low markup goods and groceries.
Its no surprise that refreshingly non-predatory brands are inspiring small armies of devoted followers who evangelize about the good deals they find. People stressed about their grocery bills have found a safe haven with stores like Aldi and Costco and for anyone who isnt, theres always Erewhon.
Facebook owner Meta has named Dina Powell McCormick, a former Trump administration adviser and longtime finance executive, as president and vice chairman of the tech giant.
Powell McCormick previously served on Meta’s board of directors where, the company notes, she was deeply engaged in accelerating its artificial intelligence push across platforms. In her new management role, Meta says Powell McCormick will help guide its overall strategy, including the execution of multi-billion-dollar investments.
The news, announced Monday, quickly gained the applause of U.S. President Donald Trump. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, the Republican president said the move was a great choice by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and noted that Powell McCormick had served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction.
Zuckerberg said in a statement that Powell McCormicks experience in global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, made her uniquely suited to help Meta in its future growth.
Powell McCormick is a veteran of two presidential administrations and the Republican National Committee. She worked as a national security adviser at the start of Trump’s first term, and also held roles in the White House and the Secretary of State’s office under President George W. Bush. She is married to U.S. Sen. David McCormick, who served in high-level positions in the Commerce and Treasury departments under Bush before he joined hedge fund Bridgewater Associates and rose to become CEO.
And Powell McCormick has a long background in finance. She spent 16 years in senior leadership at Goldman Sachs, but was most recently vice chair, president and head of global client services at merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners. She’s also held a handful of other corporate board positions including at oil giant Exxon Mobil.
According to a securities filing, Powell McCormick had previously resigned from Meta’s board in December, eight months after joining as a director.
The addition of Powell McCormick to Meta’s management team arrived amid wider efforts from California-based Meta to boost its ties with Trump, who was once banned from Facebook. Like other powerful tech CEOs, Zuckerberg has dined with the president at the White House and doubled down on U.S. investment promises worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Last year, the company also appointed Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White to its board, another familiar figure in Trump’s orbit.
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP business writer
AP Reporter Marc Levy contributed to this report.
Iran hasn’t changed its flag, but the emoji for it has changed on X, the social network previously known as Twitter.
Iran’s tricolor flag features green, white, and red horizontal stripes, with the country’s national emblem displayed in its center white stripe. But some opposition groups use a historical flag that instead shows a golden lion holding a sword in front of a sun.
Since ongoing anti-government demonstrations erupted in Iran in December, that lion-and-sun version of the flag has been used as a symbol of protest around the world, including in demonstrations over the weekend in Los Angeles and London, where one protester held the flag at the Iranian embassy after taking down the national flag.
Now it’s also on X.
[Images: x.com/Twemoji]
After an X user asked the site’s head of product, Nikita Bier, to update the flag last Thursday, Bier responded, “Give me a few hours.” The updated emoji appeared first on the web browser version of the site before rolling out to iOS devices.
Other emoji vendors like Google and Facebook still use the standard emoji of Iran’s national flag, so the lion-and-sun flag isn’t available on most platforms, and it’s also not available for X on Android devices.
The change on X, though, meant that accounts tied to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly found their bios displaying an emoji that could be construed as anti-regime. Iran’s foreign ministry has since removed the emoji from its bio.
X previously used default Apple emoji on iOS, but since 2023, it has used its own native emoji, according to Emojipedia. X last redesigned an emoji in 2024, when it changed its pistol emoji from a green water pistol back to an actual pistol.
Protests in Iran began on December 28 over deteriorating economic conditions. They have reached every province in the country. At least 572 people have died, and more than 10,600 people have been detained, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization. X users in the country haven’t had much of a chance to use or sound off about the new emoji, as Iran shut down internet access and telephone lines last Thursday.
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.
When assessing home price momentum, ResiClub believes it’s important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate pricing softness or weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings beyond seasonality could suggest a market that is heating up.
Since the national Pandemic Housing Boom fizzled out in 2022, the national power dynamic has slowly been shifting directionally from sellers to buyers. Of course, across the country that shift has varied.
Generally speaking, local housing markets where active inventory has jumped above pre-pandemic 2019 levels have experienced softer home price growth (or outright price declines) over the past 36 months. Conversely, local housing markets where active inventory remains far below pre-pandemic 2019 levels have, generally speaking, experienced more resilient home price growth over the past 36 months.
Where is national active inventory headed?
National active listings are on the rise on a year-over-year basis (+12.1% between December 2024 and December 2025). This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year. Some sellers markets have turned into balanced markets, and more balanced markets have turned into buyers markets.
Nationally, were still below pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels (-5.5% below December 2019) and some resale markets, in particular chunks of the Midwest and Northeast, still remain tight-ish.
While national active inventory is still up year-over-year, the pace of growth has slowed in recent monthsmore than typical seasonality would suggestas some sellers have thrown in the towel and delisted in weak/soft markets.
December inventory/active listings total, according to Realtor.com:
December 2017 -> 1,127,799
December 2018 -> 1,185,865
December 2019 -> 1,033,887
December 2020 -> 612,300 (Pandemic Housing Boom overheating)
December 2021 -> 445,303 (Pandemic Housing Boom overheating)
December 2022 -> 680,925
December 2023 -> 714,176
December 2024 -> 871,509
December 2025 -> 976,833
If we maintain the current year-over-year pace of inventory growth (+105,324 homes for sale), we’d have 1,082,157 active inventory come December 2026.
Below is the year-over-year active inventory percentage change by state.
window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});
While active housing inventory is rising in most markets on a year-over-year basis, some markets still remain tight-ish (although it’s loosening in those places too).
As ResiClub has been documenting, both active resale and new homes for sale remain the most limited across huge swaths of the Midwest and Northeast. Thats where home sellers next spring are likely, relatively speaking, to have more power than their peers in many Southern markets.
In contrast, active housing inventory for sale has neared or surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels in many parts of the Sun Belt and Mountain West, including metro area housing markets such as Punta Gorda and Austin.
Many of these areas saw major price surges during the Pandemic Housing Boom, with home prices getting stretched compared to local incomes. As pandemic-driven domestic migration slowed and mortgage rates rose, markets like Punta Gorda and Austin faced challenges, relying on local income levels to support frothy home prices.
This softening trend was accelerated further by an abundance of new home supply in the Sun Belt. Builders are often willing to lower prices or offer affordability incentives (if they have the margins to do so) to maintain sales in a shifted market, which also has a cooling effect on the resale market: Some buyers, who would have previously considered existing homes, are now opting for new homes with more favorable dealswhich then puts some additional upward pressure on resale inventory.
window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});
At the end of December 2025, 17 states were above pre-pandemic 2019 active inventory levels: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. (The District of Columbiawhich we left out of this analysisis also back above pre-pandemic 2019 active inventory levels too. Softness in D.C. propers predates the current admins job cuts.)
window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});
Big picture: Over the past few years weve observed a softening across many housing markets as strained affordability tempers the fervor of a market that was unsustainably hot during the Pandemic Housing Boom. While home prices are falling some in pockets of the Sun Belt, a big chunk of Northeast and Midwest markets still eked out a little price appreciation in 2025. Nationally aggregated home prices were pretty close to flat in 2025.
window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});
Below is another version of the table abovebut this one includes every month since January 2017.
window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});
There are many made-up celebrations these days, but at least National Pizza Week delivers something tasty.
Coming in hot on the heels of so-called quitters day, when many people abandon their New Years resolutions, pizza shops around the U.S. will be tossing around some deals that could save customers some dough. Of course, many people dont need an excuse to eat pizzaon any given day, about 11% of Americans do so, according to a study released in 2024 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Americans grappling with the high cost of living got some relief as inflation cooled in November, but that doesnt mean that food prices have come downand particularly for families, some of these promotions can be very helpful in stretching their budgets.
Several of the national chains will be serving up for National Pizza Week, which runs through Saturday.
DEALS SPECIFIC TO NATIONAL PIZZA WEEK
A few pizza chains with locations around the U.S. are running specials that are specifically tied to National Pizza Week, and may require membership in their loyalty programs to take advantage.
At Chuck E. Cheese, for example, members of its fun pass get an exclusive deal: $5 for a large one-topping pizza through January 15. Meanwhile, California Pizza Kitchen is offering members of its loyalty program $5 pizzas with any $25 purchase.
Caseys is offering 25% off any pizza through January 17, though you will need to know the (very intuitive) code PIZZAWEEK to score this deal and Papa Murphys has a similar deal of 30% off regular-priced pizzas with the code PZWK26. Finally, Marcos Pizza is running a promotion for takeout orders this week of $3 off any large specialty pizza, with no code required.
OTHER PIZZA DEALS
Its sometimes hard to know what full price is for many food items at the largest pizza chains because they seem to always be running some sort of deal or other. And, indeed, the three pizza chains with the most locations in the U.S.Dominos, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesarsall have some deals on pizza that are running this week, though dont appear to be explicitly tied to the National Pizza Week festivities.
At the 7,000-plus Dominos locations in the U.S., you should come hungry to score some of its best deals. For $6.99 each, customers can get a mix-and-match deal and choose any two itemslike medium pizzas, sides, and dessertsfor $6.99 each. For $7.99 each, you can instead opt for a one-topping pizza and an eight-piece order of wings or boneless chicken if you do carryout. For $9.99 each, you can choose from any two or more of its line of specialty pizzas. Finally, for $19.99, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based chain is promising the perfect combo meal that includes two medium one-topping pizzas and two orders of 16-piece bread bites.
Pizza Hut is in the midst of a comeback of sorts with an assist from former NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady, who has been on TV commercials touting the chains Big New Yorker pizza, a 16-inch pizza thats currently on special for $10. Meanwhile, for $6.99, customers can opt for a hut box deal that includes choice of an entreea personal pan pizza, chicken wings, or a meltalong with a side of either fries or wings. The Plano, Texas-based chain also offers bigger meal deals, starting at $19.99, that might be enough to feed a family and include a mix of pizzas, sides, and choice of a dessert.
Finally, Little Caesars is also running several promotions this week with prices that undercut its competitors. For $4.99 each, you can customize two one-topping pizzas from the Detroit-based chain through January 18. You can also score 15% orders of $15 or more or 20% off orders of $20 or more this week. However, to take advantage of all of these deals, you will need to know the deal-specific codes, which can be found on its website.
The Trump administration’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared on Monday to be emboldening defenders of the U.S. central bank against the efforts of President Donald Trump to control the Fed.
The backlash reflected the bigger stakes of a contest about the fate of the Feds independence, the balance of power within the federal government, and the path of the U.S. economy. Trump has long publicly lashed out against Powell for not slashing the Fed’s benchmark interest rates to his liking, but the prospect of a criminal indictment was a step too far for an institution that has an outsized influence on both inflation and the job market.
Several Republican senators have condemned the Department of Justice’s subpoenas of the Fed, which Powell revealed Sunday and characterized as pretexts to pressure him to sharply cut interest rates as Trump has demanded. Powell also said the Justice Department has threatened criminal indictments over his June testimony to Congress about the cost and design elements of a building renovation.
Trump has repeatedly used investigations which might or might not lead to an actual indictment to attack his political rivals, including Fed governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and James Comey, the former FBI director.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump did not direct his Justice Department to investigate Powell.
One thing for sure, the president’s made it quite clear, is Jerome Powell is bad at his job,” Leavitt said. “As for whether or not Jerome Powell is a criminal, that’s an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out.
A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists on Monday compared the Trump administration’s actions to moves made in more impoverished countries. Some analysts said that the financial market’s muted response reflects a widespread belief that Powell could successfully fend off the allegations that his description to lawmakers of the Fed’s $2.5 billion project was criminal.
I think this is ham-handed, counter-productive, and going to set back the presidents cause, said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and former top adviser to President Barack Obama. It could also unify the Feds interest-rate setting committee in support of Powell, and means the next Fed chair will be under more pressure to prove their independence.
The subpoenas apply to the price tag of renovating Fed buildings, including its marble-clad headquarters in Washington, D.C. They come at an unusual moment when Trump was teasing the likelihood of announcing his nominee this month to succeed Powell as the Fed chair, after Trump last summer played down the idea that the Fed’s renovation costs were a fireable offense.
While Powell’s term as chair ends in May, he has a separate term as a Fed governor until January 2028. Trumps moves could make it more likely that Powell will stay on the Feds governing board after his term as chair ends in May in order to defend the Fed’s independence from politics in making its decisions on interest rates, Furman said.
While an interest rate cut was already considered unlikely at the Feds next meeting in about two weeks, the news of the Justice Department investigation likely means that the Fed would avoid cuts at the next meeting in order to send the message that it cannot be pressured by politics, economists said.
Powell quickly found a growing number of defenders among Republicans in the Senate, who will have the choice of whether to confirm Trump’s planned picks for Fed chair.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Banking panel, said late Sunday in response to the subpoenas that he would oppose any of the Trump administrations nominees for the Fed, including to replace Powell.
If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none, Tillis said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, backed Tillis approach Monday.
After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, its clear the administrations investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion, Murkowski said. She voted against the White Houses nomination of Stephen Miran to the Feds board in September, which was barely approved by a 48-47 vote. Miran continues to be Trump’s chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, although he is on leave due to his post at the Fed.
Trump has for the past year sought to pressure Powell into having the Fed slash its benchmark interest rates a move that reflects a fundamental break over whether inflation still poses any risk to the U.S. economy.
Powell maintains that inflation is still elevated in the aftermath of Trump’s tariffs and has moved cautiously, whereas Trump claims that inflation is no longer a worry and rates should be dramatically slashed.
I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment, Powell said in a Sunday night video disclosing the subpoenas. Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats.
If Powell stays on the board after his term as chair ends in May, the Trump administration would be deprived of the chance to fill another seat on the board.
Powell has declined at several press conferences to answer questions about his plans.
Asked on Monday by reporters if Powell planned to remain a Fed governor, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council and a leading candidate to become Fed chair, said he was unaware of Powells plans.
Ive not talked to Jay about that, Hassett said.
Powell, jettisoning the cautious approach he has taken since Trump began attacking him last year for not cutting rates sharply enough, said on Sunday the subpoenas were a pretext to force the Fed to cut its key short-term interest rate.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, a frequent Powell critic, said Monday that he does not hink that the Fed chair is a criminal and said he hopes that this criminal investigation can be put to rest quickly, according to CNBC.
The bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists said in their Monday letter that the White Houses legal actions and the possible loss of Fed independence could hurt the broader economy.
This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly, the statement said. It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.
The statement was signed by former Fed chairs Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Alan Greenspan, as well as former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin.
Still, Trump’s pressure campaign had been building for some time. The president relentlessly criticized and belittled Powell, attempting to blame him for some of the discontent over the economy that followed the president’s own tariff announcements.
Trump appeared to preview the shocking news of the subpoenas at a Dec. 29 news conference. The president said his administration would probably sue Powell for gross incompetence on the cost of renovations, calling it the highest price of construction per square foot in the history of the world.
Hes just a very incompetent man, Trump said. But were going to probably bring a lawsuit against him.
Christopher Rugaber and Josh Boak, Associated Press
Indonesia and Malaysia are the first two countries to ban Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok, after the generative AI essentially flooded the social media platform X with lewd, sexually explicit images of young girls and women that were made without their consent.
Musk folded the generative AI tool into X when he took over Twitter, promising “free speech.” However, critics say it is instead an example of how generative AI, without clear guardrails and regulation, can result in harm.
Here’s what to know.
What’s happening with Grok?
In short, users are typing simple prompts into the AI tool on X to digitally undress girls and women, some of which appear to be minors, triggering the chatbot to remove clothing from the real photos and even placing the subjects in sexually suggestive poses.
These deepfake images could violate laws at home and abroad, and have prompted a global public outcry, according to CNN.
How have countries besides Indonesia and Malaysia responded?
On Monday, the U.K.’s independent online safety watchdog, Ofcom, launched a formal investigation into whether the chatbot’s explicit images violated its rules to protect the country’s citizens from illegal content.
Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning,” an Ofcom spokesperson said in a statement.
“Platforms must protect people in the U.K. from content thats illegal in the U.K., and we wont hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where theres a risk of harm to children. Well progress this investigation as a matter of the highest priority, while ensuring we follow due process.”
What has Elon Musk said?
Despite calls from the general publicincluding from a recent target of Grok’s misuse, conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, who is said to have fathered one of Musk’s childrenX has not disabled Grok or stopped it from generating the lewd images.
On January 3, Musk responded on X: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”in effect, passing the blame onto its own users. This prompted a slew of comments on the post, which has been viewed by some 3.8 million users, including: “please start by addressing the inappropriate images of minors if you truly care,” more calls for Musk to “clean up your site,” as well as AI-generated images of Musk in bikinis.
Last week, X said Groks image generation tool would be available only to paying users, according to The New York Times.
