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At the height of the summer of 2020s racial reckoning, bright yellow paint filled the streets just north of the White House. Overnight, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had ordered a giant street mural to say Black Lives Matter in 35-foot capital lettering. That street art became the center of Black Lives Matter Plaza, and a few months later, D.C.s City Council voted that the name and mural would become a permanent fixture of the city. Five years, two elections, and a large cultural shift later, Mayor Bowser has announced that BLM Plaza will be painted over. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference, Bowser said in a statement published Tuesday. The move is one small piece of the Trump administrations continued attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Volunteers painting “Black Lives Matter” on the street near the White House on June 05, 2020. [Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images] At a Wednesday press conference, Bowser told reporters that there were bigger fish to fry within the nations capital. She also confirmed to NBC that her decision came after talks with the White House, but she did not specify anything further. Bowsers office did not respond to Fast Companys request for comment. Republican Rep. Andy Clyde introduced legislation Monday that would withhold apportionment funds from D.C. until Mayor Bowser renamed BLM Plaza to Liberty Plaza. However, Bowser said at the press conference that her decision had been made before Clyde introduced the bill. She added that a replacement mural will focus on Americas 250th birthday, and a new name would be decided after citywide discussion. Scholars at University of Illinois once argued that BLM Plaza is an important landmark that is a powerful symbolic reinsertion of widespread social and civic support for Black struggle. They wrote that it can be dignifying for people of color to see such affirmative support in an area of the U.S. most politically prominent real estate.
Category:
E-Commerce
Mark your calendars: It’s almost time to set your clocks ahead one hour as we “spring forward” into Daylight Saving Time this Sunday, March 9, at 2 a.m. Tired of changing your clocks? You’re not alone. Both President Donald Trump and senior adviser Elon Musk have said they want to end the annoying seasonal time changes, by making Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent (meaning that after setting our clocks forward, we would not set them backward anymore). That’s in line with a 2023 YouGov poll that found nearly two-thirds (62%) of Americans want to end the practice, though only half prefer to keep DST permanent versus keeping Standard Time permanent (meaning we would not set our clocks forward anymore). As president, Trump previously indicated support for such a change, tweeting in 2019, Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me! He seemed to reiterate his stance in December, posting to Truth Social that once he was in office, “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate” the time changes, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.” (Note: It’s not clear exactly what Trump’s stance was, as he wrote about eliminating “Daylight Saving Time,” not the time changes specifically. However, given his previous stance, many have interpreted it to mean eliminating the time changes.) On X, Musk posted a similar rallying cry, saying people want to “abolish the annoying time changes!” So far, the Trump administration hasn’t moved forward on the issue. However, health experts say Trump and Musk, as well as lawmakers who support making DST permanent, have it backward. Instead, they argue, Standard Time should be made permanent. Here, we break down some arguments for sticking with Daylight Saving Time versus Standard Time permanently. Health experts say stick with Standard Time The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) also wants to do away with the time change, but supports replacing Daylight Saving Time with permanent Standard Time because it best aligns with the sun and our natural circadian rhythms. By causing the human body clock to be misaligned with the natural environment, Daylight Saving Time increases risks to our physical health, mental well-being, and public safety, said Dr. Muhammed Adeel Rishi, lead author of the academy’s position statement, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety. Research backs that up, saying the one-hour change disrupts the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, which regulates body temperature, hormone release, and alertness. That could explain why Daylight Saving Time transitions lead to a spike in traffic accidents. Sticking with Daylight Saving Time may make people happier In the 2023 YouGov poll, those in favor of making DST permanent said they preferred later sunrises and sunsets, giving them more daylight at the end of the day. The most compelling reason to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is that it seems to make people happier, with research showing seasonal increases in sun time were associated with decreased mental health distress. Where does Congress stand on the issue? Daylight Saving Time was originally adopted as a wartime measure in 1942 intended to maximize daylight hours in the summer, and has long been unpopular with lawmakers who tried to make the time change permanent with the now-stalled 2023 Sunshine Protection Act. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by then-Florida Senator Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, passed unanimously in the Senate but failed to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives because lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time. Do all states observe Daylight Saving Time? While Americans in most U.S. states change their clocks, Hawaii and Arizona are two exceptions, with both keeping to Standard Time. When is the Daylight Saving time change in 2025? Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. begins this Sunday, March 9 at 2 a.m. local time, meaning people will lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of sunlight. It always starts on the second Sunday in March, and ends on the first Sunday in November. This contrasts with the U.K. and European Union, where it begins on the last Sunday in March (Sunday, March 30 at 1 a.m.) and ends on the last Sunday in October (Sunday, October 26 at 1 a.m).
Category:
E-Commerce
Macys announced in its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2024 earnings report on Thursday that it expects another year of declining sales as the department store chain continues reshaping its footprint to focus on better-performing locations. The retailer projected fiscal 2025 sales between $21 billion and $21.4 billion, down from $22.3 billion last yearclosely aligning with analyst expectations of $21.34 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Macys net sales in the latest quarter fell 4.3% to $7.8 billion. Across the companys brandsMacys, Bloomingdales, and Bluemercurycomparable sales in the fourth quarter declined 1.1%. However, in owned and licensed businesses as well as its online marketplace, comparable sales inched up 0.2%, the highest increase since early 2022. For the full year, comparable sales were expected to decline between 0.5% and 2% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings projected between $2.05 and $2.25 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated slight comparable sales growth and earnings of $2.29 per share, the Wall Street Journal reported. Closing stores, selling assets Despite the mixed results, Macys said it saw progress with its Bold New Chapter strategy. The company previously announced plans to shutter 150 stores by the end of fiscal 2026 (January 31, 2027), leaving it with 350 locations. These remaining stores are Macys go-forward locations, in which the retailer said it would be prioritizing investment. As part of this plan, Macy’s said it closed 64 stores in fiscal 2024, which it described as “non-go-forward” locations. The closures helped Macy’s bring in more money from real estate. For fiscal 2024, Macys made $144 million in “asset sale gains,” more than double the figure from last year, when asset sale gains were $61 million. The company noted in the earnings report that removing non-go-forward Macys locations contributed to current year asset sale gains. Additionally, Macy’s delivered an update on its First 50 locations strategy. As outlined in a company earnings presentation, the strategy involved selecting the top 50 performing stores across its network to implement new retail initiatives. Its goal was to improve staffing, product displays, and customer experience enhancements. So far, these stores have performed better than the bulk of the chain. Macys First 50 locations delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, up 0.8% on an owned basis and up 1.2% on an owned-plus-licensed basis, the company said. As we enter the second year of our strategy, we plan to scale initiatives that are resonating with our customers to drive long-term profitable growth and further unlock shareholder value, said Tony Spring in Thursday’s earnings report. Macy’s stock (NYSE: M) was flat at about $13.28 in midday trading.
Category:
E-Commerce
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