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The CIA is headed to the South by Southwest festival to share tips on finding innovative solutions to complex challenges. America’s preeminent spy agency will deliver a presentation Sunday on creative problem solving at the annual SXSW music festival and tech conference held in Austin, Texas, the CIA announced Monday. The typically tight-lipped agency said a CIA historian and one of the agency’s public affairs officers will deliver the talk, entitled Mission Possible: The Spies’ Guide to Creative Problem Solving.” Sundays presentation from the CIA comes during the first weekend of the event, which brings together thousands of artists, technology experts, business leaders and entrepreneurs. The agency said its tips on creative problem solving are designed to be helpful to anyone, even if their particular challenges don’t include running covert surveillance, organizing clandestine meetups or sniffing out double agents. Come learn how creative problem-solving has helped resolve complex challenges weve faced in protecting national security, and how you can apply creative thinking to your own seemingly impossible missions, the agency wrote in a social media post promoting the talk. This month’s presentation comes at a tumultuous time for America’s intelligence community. The agency recently offered buyout offers to employees as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink and reshape the federal government. Trump has long criticized Americas intelligence agencies, and his CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has promised big changes, claiming the agency has strayed from its original focus on human-collected intelligence. Ratcliffe is a former congressman and one-time director of national intelligence. David Klepper
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E-Commerce
The U.S. House and Senate have until March 14 to avoid a shutdown of the federal government. And at the moment, things are not looking good. Donald Trump is pushing Republicans to approve a massive bill that would extend tax breaks from his first term (which are set to expire later this year) to the tune of $4.5 trillion and dramatically cut spending across federal programs and services (by $2.5 trillion). House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to push through Trumps legislative agenda at the very last moment last Wednesday, but that 217-215 vote (which saw a single Republican and all Democrats opposed) could prove to be the easiest part of the process. The Senate has passed a scaled-back version of the budget bill, meaning a series of negotiations must take place to find common ground. Democrats can block the bill in the Senate with a filibuster, so theyll be in on the negotiations. But with the clock ticking on when funds run out, Republican negotiators, divided by infighting, walked away from the talks this weekend. There is, of course, the chance that lawmakers will agree to a bipartisan continuing resolution, a spending measure that will keep the government operating. That seems increasingly unlikely, however, as Washington becomes more turbulent and Elon Musk and DOGE continue to push for mass layoffs. Not to mention that the last government shutdown was during Trump’s first term: from midnight ET on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019. It was the longest (35 days) government shutdown in U.S. history. So, clearly, a full-blown shutdown doesn’t exactly faze Trump. So what happens if the government shuts down for the first time in six years? Heres what to expect, based on previous shutdownswith the caveat that this administrations first 41 days have been markedly different than any previous president’s, including Trumps first term. Will I still get my Social Security check if the government shuts down? Social Security checks are still delivered in the event of a shutdown. And Medicare services will stay in operation for at least a limited time. However, if you need a new card issued, youll have to wait until the shutdown is over and any backlog is cleared. Are my taxes still due in a government shutdown? While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be operating with a skeleton staff should the government shut down, it will continue to process tax returns, meaning you will have to file, no matter what. Will I get my tax refund if the government shuts down? In the 2018-2019 shutdown, 14,000 IRS employees opted not to show up for work without pay. And just last month, the IRS was told to fire some 7,000 workers. So, should the government shut down this timeand should that closure last for any kind of extended periodit will undoubtedly have an impact on some refunds. The best idea is to monitor the Wheres My Refund tool on the IRS website. Will a government shutdown impact mail delivery? The U.S. Postal Service is an independent agency. The shutdown will have no impact on it. There have been reports that Trump is considering taking control of the USPS, ending its independent status and making it a part of the Commerce Department. Should that happen, things become murkier, especially with the expected (and protracted) legal fight such a move would ignite. Can I visit national parks during a government shutdown? During the government shutdown in January 2018, most national parks remained open, though visitor centers, and sometimes bathrooms, were not available. Trash also piled up at many sites, with no one to clean it. During the 2013 shutdown, however, millions of visitors were turned away from parks, national monuments, and other sites. And considering that about 1,000 National Park Service staffers who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors, and perform certain safety functions were indiscriminately fired last month, this one’s a toss-up, at best. How will a government shutdown affect air travel? TSA officers and FAA air traffic controllers are deemed essential federal workers, so they continue to work (without pay) during a shutdown. During the 2019 shutdown, however, hundreds of TSA employees called out sick, which made for tremendously long lines at security stations (in some cases, as much as 90 minutes). Can I visit the Smithsonian and other federal museums during a government shutdown? While the Smithsonian has, in the past, discussed using prior year funds to stay open during part of a shutdown, odds are youll find the doors locked in the event of this year’s shutdown. Other popular attractions, including presidential libraries, will also likely be affected, as theyre overseen by the National Park Service. While animals in the National Zoo will be cared for, visitors wont be allowed in to see them. Other federal museums, such as the National Archives, will also be closed. Will Veterans Services be impacted by a government shutdown? All Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities and clinics should remain open and operational in the event of a shutdown. Though the VA was told to dismiss more than 1,400 employees last month, mission-critical positions are said to be exempt from such random firings. The VA will continue to process veterans benefits. Other services, such as education and job training, support for veteran-owned businesses, and even assistance for homeless veterans may be unavailable. Will DOGE use a government shutdown to terminate more federal jobs? Elon Musk and DOGE haent commented publicly about any possible shutdown. But there are fears that federal workers deemed nonessential in such a situation could find themselves more likely to be laid off at some point down the road. One of the biggest sticking points in current negotiations, though, is the spending and job cuts DOGE has imposed since Trump took office. Democrats are demanding guardrails in the budget bill, which will require the executive branch to carry out spending directed by Congress. We are close on top-line spending,” Democratic Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters last week. “We need to know Republicans are willing to work with us to protect Congress’s power of the purseand I welcome any and all ideas they may have on how we can work together to do just that.That is the absolute bare minimum, and it is frankly not asking a whole lot,” Murray continued. “Republicans should not be so eager to let Elon Musk cut off cancer research or clean energy jobs in their districts. They should not follow Elon toward a shutdown.
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. grocer Kroger said on Monday CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was “inconsistent” with certain company policies. The conduct is not related to financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates, the company said. The surprise ouster of the 64-year-old executive comes after the company in December terminated a two-year effort to buy rival Albertsons in a $25 billion deal, an attempt McMullen had staunchly defended as a way to fight higher prices and better compete with Walmart and Costco. Meanwhile, Albertsons has sued Kroger for an alleged breach of contract that led to the demise of the deal. Kroger, when contacted, declined to provide more details on the exit of McMullen who was its CEO for more than a decade and has been at the company since 1978 and the nature of the conduct that led to his ouster. McMullen did not respond to a request via LinkedIn for comment. “McMullen stepping down certainly puts Kroger in a vulnerable position. The company is already dealing with the aftermath of its abandoned Albertsons merger, and a leadership change at this stage can complicate things,” said Riley Beam, managing attorney at Douglas R. Beam, a personal injury law firm based in Melbourne, Florida. “For investors, the risk is obvious uncertainty.” The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company’s shares were down about 1.4% in early trading on Monday. The stock has more than tripled in value since McMullen took the helm in 2014. Following the failed merger plan in December, some United Food and Commercial Workers local unions urged Kroger’s board to replace McMullen after the company announced a $7.5 billion stock buyback plan. McMullen was trying to “distract attention from his multiple failures as CEO by announcing a massive one-time giveaway to shareholders,” the group had said. Kroger said on Monday the board was made aware of certain personal conduct by McMullen on February 21 and immediately retained an outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, which was overseen by a special board committee. The board has appointed lead director Ronald Sargent as interim CEO. A long-time director at Kroger, Sargent was previously the CEO at office supplies chain Staples for more than a decade. He also serves on the board of Wells Fargo, where he is the chair of the human resources committee. Kroger said the board has formed a search committee and appointed a firm to conduct a search for its next CEO. The company said McMullen would not be eligible to receive a bonus for 2024. He received a total compensation of $15.71 million for fiscal year 2023, according to the company’s proxy statement. Kroger, scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be slightly above the high end of its forecast range. Several prominent CEOs have also been ousted for violating company policy, including McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook in 2019 and Hewlett-Packard’s Co-CEO Mark Hurd in 2010. “If past is any guidance, there is usually no impact (on a company’s performance),” said Xu Jiang, associate professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. “The interim CEO will likely follow the previous CEO’s strategies so there is minimal disruption of Kroger’s business.” Savyata Mishra and Aishwarya Venugopal, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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