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Renowned Sports Artist Selling Original Art Collection with Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle & Hundreds of Hall of Famers 2024-04-30 21:26:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Rare original artwork signed by hundreds of legendary Hall of Famers including Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron & Sandy Koufax GRANITE BAY, Calif., April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of rare original works of art and signed sports memorabilia from acclaimed artist Gary Longordo's personal collection will be available for sale to the general public. The collection includes unique items signed by some of the best Hall of Fame athletes of all time including Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Brown, Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali and many other star players from past and present. AuctionMonthly.com will be selling this incredible collection from May 5, 2024 to May 12, 2024. Auction Monthly, a Northern California sports cards and memorabilia company, was selected to manage the sale of Gary Longordo's personal art, memorabilia and sports card collection. Auction Monthly recently helped a Sacramento man sell hundreds of rare vintage Babe Ruth baseball cards found in a California closet. The most amazing part of Longordo's collection is the hundred's of original paintings signed by legendary pro athletes and celebrities. The collection includes more than two thousand lots including original sports and pop culture artwork, vintage and modern sports cards, memorabilia, collectibles, ephemera, and incredible sports items featuring legendary Hall of Famers from baseball, football, basketball, hockey, boxing, golf and other sports. The estimated value of this collection is in the high six figures. Gary Longordo is a sports and pop culture artist from Estero, Florida, who started his training in Italy. After moving to America, he worked several jobs as an artist and became one of the country's most successful forensic artists. Longordo also created celebrity cakes at a famous bakery in Wilmington, NC. He has worked with celebrity bakers, large corporations, top athletes, and professional sports teams during his long career as an accomplished artist. Longordo was commissioned by many top athletes to paint celebrity portraits. The highlights of this incredible collection are the hundreds of original Longordo paintings signed by many of the top professional athletes of all time. It is very rare to find so many high valued Hall of Fame signatures in a single collection. This is a dream collection for any fan of sports, art, music and Hollywood. In addition to sports, there are paintings of Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and movies like The Godfather. "I was blessed to be able to do what I love to do for so many years," said Longordo. More information about this incredible sports and pop culture works of art and signed memorabilia auction will be made available to the public at AuctionMonthly.com on May 5th. About Auction Monthly: Auction Monthly helps collectors sell sports cards, memorabilia and other collectibles. Auction Monthly sells many items to direct buyers and they use select auction houses for consignments. The owners of auction monthly created the company to provide collectors a better way to sell sports cards and collectibles. Collectors trust selling with Auction Monthly based on the company's reputation for achieving top prices and providing white glove customer service from start to finish. For breaking stories and new information: AuctionMonthly.com/Twitter Media Contact: 1-800-560-3272 Loading... Loading... pr@auctionmonthly.com Hi-Res Images Available SOURCE Auction Monthly

Interfor Announces Lumber Production Curtailments Across All Regions of North America 2024-04-30 21:26:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... BURNABY, British Columbia, April 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTERFOR CORPORATION ("Interfor" or the "Company") IFP today announced plans to reduce its lumber production by approximately 175 million board feet between May and September of 2024, representing just under 10% of its normal operating stance. The temporary curtailments will impact all of Interfor's operating regions, including the US South, through a combination of reduced operating hours, prolonged holiday breaks, reconfigured shifting schedules and extended maintenance shut-downs. The curtailments are in response to persistently weak market conditions. "Benchmark lumber prices have continued to weaken since the beginning of the year, from already unsustainably low levels, as available supply has outstripped product demand," said Ian Fillinger, Interfor's President & CEO. "This action will help bring Interfor's production and the needs of our customers back into balance. It will also help to keep inventory levels in check as we move into the summer." Today's announcement follows Interfor's February 15, 2024 announcement to indefinitely curtail its sawmill operations in Philomath, Oregon. The Philomath sawmill had an annual production capacity of 220 million board feet and ceased operations and shipments at the end of March 2024. The Company will continue to monitor market conditions across all of its operations and adjust its production plans accordingly. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains forward-looking statements about market conditions and the Company's production plans. A statement Interfor makes is forward-looking when it uses what is known today, to make a statement about the future. Statements containing forward-looking information in this release, include but are not limited to, statements regarding market conditions, lumber prices, lumber supply and demand, production capacity, production plans, inventory levels and maintenance shut-downs. Material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information in this report include the availability and cost of logs; competition; currency exchange sensitivity; labour availability; logistics availability and cost; price volatility; residual fibre revenue; and softwood lumber trade. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this release, and undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release are described in Interfor's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties", which is available on www.interfor.com and under Interfor's profile on www.sedarplus.ca. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are based on the Company's expectations at the date of this release. Interfor undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information or statements, except as required by law. ABOUT INTERFOR Interfor is a growth-oriented forest products company with operations in Canada and the United States. The Company has annual lumber production capacity of approximately 5.0 billion board feet and offers a diverse line of lumber products to customers around the world. For more information about Interfor, visit our website at www.interfor.com. Investor Contacts: Loading... Loading... Rick Pozzebon, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer (604) 689-6804 Mike Mackay, Vice President, Corporate Development & Treasury (604) 689-6846 Media Contact: Svetlana Kayumova, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communications (604) 422-7329 svetlana.kayumova@interfor.com

Super Micro pushes up full-year revenue forecast as it points to strong AI demand 2024-04-30 21:23:00+00:00 - Lisa Su, chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, left, and Charles Liang, CEO of Super Micro Computer, speak at the AMD Advancing AI event in San Jose, California, on Dec. 6, 2023. Super Micro shares slipped as much as 15% in extended trading on Tuesday after the server maker reported slightly less revenue than expected for its fiscal third quarter, even as it gave optimistic revenue guidance. Here's how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus: Earnings per share: $6.65 adjusted, vs. $5.78 expected $6.65 adjusted, vs. $5.78 expected Revenue: $3.85 billion, vs. $3.95 billion expected The company's revenue jumped 200% year over year in the quarter, which ended on March 31, according to a statement. That compared with a 103% year-over-year increase in the previous quarter. Net income came out to $402.5 million, or $6.56 per share, compared with $85.8 million, or $1.53 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Super Micro is bumping up its fiscal 2024 revenue guidance to $14.7 billion to $15.1 billion from $14.3 billion to $14.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected $14.60 billion. The middle of the new range implies approximately 582% year-over-year revenue growth. "We are growing customer base strongly now," CEO Charles Liang said on a conference call with analysts. Notwithstanding the after-hours move, Super Micro stock is up 205% so far this year, while the S&P 500 stock index has gained 6%. The company goes up against with legacy IT equipment providers such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise . But last year, investors were keen to bet that Super Micro could become a key provider of servers containing Nvidia graphics processing units for working with artificial intelligence models, pushing up the stock 246%. In March, Super Micro took the place of Whirlpool in the S&P 500. If not for a key component shortage, Super Micro would have delivered more during the quarter, Liang said on the call. He said he expects AI growth to remain strong for many quarters, if not years, to come. The fast growth required the company raise capital through a secondary offering this year, Liang said. Super Micro's supply chain continues to improve, said David Weigand, Super Micro's finance chief. The company is eager to sell liquid-cooled servers that can result in lower energy costs than air-cooled alternatives, Liang said. WATCH: A quiet meme stock rally? Reddit, GameStop and Super Micro surge

Federal Reserve not expected to budge on interest rates yet as inflation holds its grip 2024-04-30 21:22:00+00:00 - Consumers will have to be patient as they wait for price increases to meaningfully slow down, economists say. With annual inflation rates stalling above its 2% target, the Federal Reserve was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at between 5.25% and 5.5% — the highest level in more than a decade. Last month, the consumer price index came in at 3.5% on an annual basis, driven by rising housing costs and insurance rates, especially auto insurance. "We're just a mile a way from the finish line," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, referring to the economy reaching 2% inflation. "We're very close, but still not there. I do think that inflation will continue to moderate." The Fed has sought to slow inflation by keeping interest rates elevated. By making it more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money, including through credit cards, the Fed hopes to reduce demand for goods and services, thereby reducing price growth. So far, the results of doing this have been mixed. After a period of rapid interest rate hikes, the pace of inflation fell from more than 9% in the summer of 2022 to its current levels of between 3% and 4%. But the decline has since stalled. There are complex reasons for the lack of progress and many elements may actually be out of the Federal Reserve's control. Home and auto insurance companies continue to pass on higher costs to consumers. Meanwhile, even as many consumers struggle, post-pandemic wealth gains have left others — especially older consumers — with plenty of money to spend, despite higher prices. Whatever the case, the wait for slower inflation has left the average consumer in an increasingly dour mood. On Tuesday, the Conference Board’s monthly Consumer Confidence Index came in at its lowest level since July 2022. Consumers expressed more concern about the current labor market situation, future business conditions, job availability and income, the group said. Still, most analysts say the odds of a recession are remote. In the most recent GDP report, spending on services, which includes everything from restaurants to airfare to professional services, came in at 4% year-on-year, the fastest rate since 2021. “Don’t underestimate this economy,” economists with Wells Fargo said in a report following the release. Consumers thus appear to be sensing that the most crucial part of the economy — the jobs market — is slowing, even while prices remain elevated. Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged this complex economic environment in remarks in early March. "The outlook is still quite uncertain," Powell said. The central bank must balance its campaign against elevated inflation with ensuring the economy does not slip into a recession. Economists like Zandi aren't expecting the Fed to raise interest rates, either. Instead, the Fed will likely continue to keep rates elevated — perhaps even until after the November general election so that it does not appear to favor one candidate or another. "[Powell's] message is clear: We can’t cut rates and we’re not there yet," Zandi said. "We've still got a ways to go."

Organic bulk walnuts sold in natural food stores tied to dangerous E. coli outbreak 2024-04-30 21:20:34+00:00 - At least a dozen people in California and Washington have been sickened with E. coli food poisoning linked to organic walnuts sold in bulk in 19 states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. The nuts were sold in natural food and co-op stores such as Whole Foods and Market of Choice. Seven people have been hospitalized and two have developed a dangerous kidney disease known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Gibson Farms Inc. of Hollister, California, has recalled potentially affected walnuts with expiration dates between May 21, 2025 and June 7, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration said. Some stores may have repackaged bulk walnut pieces into clamshells or bags. The FDA has a list of stores where the walnuts were sold. The nuts are potentially contaminated with dangerous E. coli bacteria that can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms start three to four days after consuming the food. Most people recover within five to seven days. Consumers who bought organic walnuts from bulk containers should check to see if they’re part of the recall. Recalled nuts should not be sold or served, the CDC said. Wash items and surfaces that may have come in contact with the nuts using hot soapy water or a dishwasher. Contact a health care provider about any symptoms. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

I'm a millennial first-time buyer who moved into a micro home village. I had to downsize my stuff, but it was worth it for the community. 2024-04-30 21:20:32+00:00 - In 2023, Kristi Campbell moved into South Park Cottages, a micro-home community in Atlanta. Campbell owns a 628-square-foot home with one bedroom and one bathroom, purchased for $235,000. Despite the home's small size, she finds it comfortable, and enjoys being part of the village's close-knit community. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristi Campbell, a 28-year-old business consultant, who moved into micro-home community South Park Cottages in 2023. The essay has been edited for length and clarity. In 2020, I left New York after living there for seven years, pursuing both my master's and bachelor's degrees, and working as a consultant. The city is all about hustling and bustling, and I realized it wasn't necessarily for me. When the pandemic hit, I thought it was a great time to move back to East Atlanta and my parents' house where I was raised. The plan was to move out and buy my first home by November 2023. I had even saved up $10,000. In 2022, my boyfriend sent me a link to South Park Cottages' website, a Black-owned tiny home village. I absolutely fell in love. Advertisement The village's homes are newly built with a modern aesthetic. It's also close to the airport and Main Street in downtown Atlanta, where there's a strip of black-owned restaurants and stores. I put in an offer for a tiny home in November 2022 and officially closed in June 2023. I own a 628 square foot home that I purchased for $235,000 and have a 30-year fixed mortgage with a monthly payment of $2,150. South Park Cottages afforded me the opportunity to buy my first home sooner than planned — it was the official stamp for adulthood. It's nice to have a space of my own When I applied, the community was still being developed (I saw my home's construction framing and trusted the developer). It gave me an opportunity to save up more money. Advertisement Before I was even considered for a home at South Park Cottages, I had to be pre-approved for the full loan amount of the home. I chose South Park Cottages' preferred lender, along with a preferred closing attorney. The lending process for the tiny home worked like a traditional mortgage, requiring the same paperwork: The lender wanted to see my income and bank statements from the past two years to make sure I had consistent work. When I was approved, I put down a $17,500 deposit. It covered the builder's fee and an upgraded tech package for my home, which included a smart door lock, a doorbell camera, a smart refrigerator, and Bluetooth speakers. Advertisement Campbell proudly holding the keys to her new tiny home. Courtesy of Kristi Campbell When I got the keys to my home, I was overwhelmed — in a good way. I was elated to have something that I could create and that was mine. I have a one bedroom and one bathroom, a patio, a balcony, as well as a multi-use loft space that I turned into an office. Related stories I consider myself to be a maximalist, but when you move into a tiny home, you eventually realize that you actually don't need a lot of things. I have a storage unit for equipment and other supplies, but I got rid of a lot of clothes, shoes, bags, and furniture. Advertisement Despite downsizing, I still think the home is pretty spacious. On my mom's birthday in January, my entire family came over to my house, and we fit about 20 people in here. The community feels safe and welcoming South Park Cottages is predominantly Black and millennial, but it's still very diverse. For a few homeowners here, their tiny home is an investment property, while for others, it's a second vacation home. A lot of us share similar stories and backgrounds — we're first-time homebuyers, and mostly born and raised in Atlanta, though I think there are two or three people from California. It's exciting to know I can learn from people around me who are going through similar life phases. Advertisement One of my favorite things about the village is that it's really community oriented; we're all very tight knit. Neighbors look out for neighbors. We usually eat on our patios or in front of our homes and wave to each other. There's also communal areas in the village like a garden and a fire pit, where residents regularly have cookouts. And residents celebrate a lot of housewarmings as well. When you look at the community, it's like something you've never seen before in Atlanta and I love that. I plan to buy another home in the future South Park Cottages in more ways than one way changed my life. Advertisement When I moved back to Georgia, getting an apartment was never going to be part of the plan; I was determined that my next step had to be homeownership. But the home prices in Atlanta have increased dramatically over the past few years. When I was first looking for homes in the area, there were hardly any newly built ones that were affordable. The homes that were, weren't modern, and required a lot of work. I believe this South Park Cottages has made homeownership more attainable for people like me, and has given me the opportunity to create a space of my own. Campbell holding a mug. Courtesy of Kristi Campbell Right now, I think my tiny home is great for me, but I definitely see it as a stepping stone. I want to live here for another year and a half, and then purchase another home, especially because I plan to get married and have children someday. Advertisement I'm going to hold onto this tiny home and pass it onto them. It's amazing knowing that I've invested in something that will benefit me and future generations.

AMD says it will sell $4 billion in AI chips this year, stock drops on in-line forecast 2024-04-30 21:20:00+00:00 - Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD, talks about the AMD EPYC processor during a keynote address at the 2019 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., January 9, 2019. AMD reported first-quarter earnings and sales on Tuesday that were slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations, and provided an in-line forecast for the current quarter. AMD shares dropped 7% in extended trading. Here's how it did versus LSEG consensus expectations for the quarter ending in March: Earnings per share : 62 cents adjusted versus 61 cents expected : 62 cents adjusted versus 61 cents expected Revenue: $5.47 billion vs. $5.46 billion expected. AMD said it expects about $5.7 billion in sales in the current quarter, in line with Wall Street estimates of the same approximate total. That would represent about 6% annual growth. The company reported net income of $123 million, or 7 cents per share, versus a net loss of $139 million, or 9 cents per share, during the year-earlier period. Revenue was up about 2% from a year earlier. AMD shares have risen 14% in 2024, so despite meeting forecast estimates and signaling fast AI chip growth, Tuesday's results were not enough to prevent the stock from sliding. AMD said its closely-watched Data Center segment grew 80% year-over-year to $2.3 billion thanks to sales of its MI300 series AI chips, which compete with Nvidia's AI graphics processors. CEO Lisa Su said Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle use AMD's MI300X. AMD said it had sold over $1 billion of the chips since it launched in the fourth quarter of 2023. AMD expects $4 billion in 2024 AI chip sales, up from a $3.5 billion forecast in January. For comparison, Nvidia, the biggest vendor of AI server chips, reported $18.4 billion in sales — mostly AI chips — in its data center segment alone for the January quarter, the most recent for which financial results are available. Su told investors on Tuesday that the company was already working on new AI chips and successors to the current generation. "We're getting much closer to our top AI customers. They're actually giving us significant feedback on the road map," Su said. AMD also makes central processors that are often paired with advanced AI chips in servers. Su told analysts on a call that the company believed it had taken market share in the server CPU segment — likely from Intel . Su said that AMD sees "signs of improving demand" for its CPUs due to the AI server boom. AMD's weakest division was its gaming segment, which was down 48% on an annual basis to $922 million, which the company said was due to lower chip sales for game consoles and PCs. AMD makes chips for Sony's PlayStation 5, for example. AMD's gaming sales trailed a StreetAccount estimate of $969 million. AMD's original business, processors for chips and PCs, is reported as client segment revenue. AMD reported $1.4 billion in first-quarter sales, an 85% annual increase, suggesting that last year's PC slump is over. AMD's PC processors can run artificial intelligence programs locally, which would allow it to power so-called "AI PCs" that many industry participants are banking on to drive new laptop and desktop sales. The company's embedded segment, made up of products acquired as part of the Xilinx acquisition in 2022, reported falling sales, dropping 46% on an annual basis to $846 million, lagging Wall Street expectations of $942 million.

Pinterest shares soar 18% on earnings beat, strong revenue growth 2024-04-30 21:20:00+00:00 - Shares of Pinterest popped 18% in extended trading Tuesday after the company reported first-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates and showed its fastest revenue growth since 2021. Here's how the company did, compared to LSEG analyst expectations: Earnings per share: 20 cents adjusted vs. 13 cents expected 20 cents adjusted vs. 13 cents expected Revenue: $740 million vs. $700 million expected Revenue for the quarter jumped 23% from $602.6 million a year earlier. Pinterest's net loss for the first quarter narrowed to $24.8 million, or a 4 cent loss per share, from $208.6 million, or a 31 cent loss per share, a year earlier. Pinterest reported 518 global monthly active users (MAUs) for the first quarter, up 12% year over year. Wall Street was expecting MAUs 504.9 million, according to StreetAccount. Pinterest said Generation Z is its fastest-growing, largest and most engaged demographic on the platform. The company's average revenue per user was $1.46 for the period, while StreetAccount was expecting $1.40 per user. In its first-quarter release, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said the company is driving greater returns for advertisers because of its investments in AI and shoppability. "We're executing with tremendous clarity and focus, shipping new products and experiences that users want, and in doing so, we're finding our best product market fit in years," Ready said. Digital advertising companies like Pinterest have started growing again after a brutal 2022, when brands reined in spending to cope with high levels of inflation. Meta , Snap and Google parent Alphabet all reported first-quarter results last week that exceeded analysts' estimates for revenue. For its second quarter, Pinterest expects to report revenue between $835 million and $850 million, which equates to growth of 18% to 20% year over year. Analysts were expecting revenue of $827 million.

Amazon's cloud margin widens on accelerating revenue growth 2024-04-30 21:09:00+00:00 - Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services, speaks during the Bloomberg Technology Summit in San Francisco on June 22, 2023. Amazon said Tuesday that revenue from its cloud unit grew 17% year over year in the first quarter, a more rapid rate than Wall Street had expected. Revenue from Amazon Web Services came out to $25.04 billion, according to the company's earnings statement. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had been expecting $24.49 billion. The growth marked a step up from the 13% increase Amazon reported for AWS in the fourth quarter. While Amazon remains mostly an online retailer, the company has become a major entity in information technology, supplying large companies, startups and governments with computing resources, database software and networking services. AWS accounts for 17% of Amazon's $143,313 billion in overall revenue. Cloud is also a reliable source of profit for Amazon, thanks to high software margins. AWS delivered $9.42 billion in operating income, or about 62% of Amazon's total. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected $7.52 billion in AWS operating income. The AWS operating margin widened to 37.6%, the widest at least since 2014. Last week, Google and Microsoft both reported accelerating cloud growth. Amazon remains bigger than both in the market, which is becoming larger more quickly than other areas of information technology, including devices and data center systems, according to industry researcher Gartner. During the quarter, Amazon said it had completed a $4 billion investment in startup Anthropic, which is relying on AWS chips for training artificial intelligence models. Adam Selipsky, the CEO of AWS, told Axios in an interview that Anthropic offers the "leading models in the market right now" in some areas. Google, which invested in Anthropic earlier, offers its own AI models, as does Microsoft-backed OpenAI. "We've accumulated a multibillion-dollar revenue run rate already," Andy Jassy, Amazon's CEO and formerly the head of AWS, said on a conference call with analysts, speaking of generative AI. Analysts presume that Microsoft has billions in annualized cloud revenue tied to AI as well. Amazon saw further reductions in cloud optimization efforts during the quarter, after many organizations sought to make the most of their cloud spending, Brian Olsavsky, the company's finance chief, said on the call. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. WATCH: Cloud players can monetize AI quicker than other companies, says CFRA's Zino on Microsoft earnings

Trump trial highlights: Lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal takes the stand 2024-04-30 21:03:00+00:00 - Keith Davidson said that Stormy Daniels was a client who had been referred to him by Gina Rodriguez, Daniels' talent manager. Asked if he spoke to Daniels during various encounters, Davidson said, “I think I had a brief conversation with Stormy and Gina ... but most of my conversations I believe were with Gina.” He said that he sent a cease-and-desist letter for Daniels. "There was a blog post or a story posted on the website that stated that Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump had some sort of physical romantic interaction," he testified. Davidson said he spoke to Michael Cohen by phone and "before I could even get my name out, I was just met with a hostile barrage of insults." "I don’t think he was accusing us of anything, he was just screaming," Davidson said. According to Davidson, Cohen thought the story was leaked by Daniels and Davidson said he was calling because Daniels didn't want the story published. He said he was successful and had the story taken down.

Columbia protesters' demands have worked before. This time may be different. 2024-04-30 21:00:58+00:00 - Protests have rocked Columbia University's campus. Demonstrators opposing the war in Gaza want the school to divest from Israel. In 1985, protesters had staged their divestment campaign — and it worked. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement The unrest at Columbia University isn't showing signs of slowing down. Student protests are escalating there and other college campuses over the Israel-Gaza war and schools' investments in Israeli entities, with demonstrators on Tuesday breaking into a Columbia campus building and occupying it. It's a shockingly familiar scene. In the 1980s, student protesters at Columbia took over the same building and called for divestment of the Ivy League school's investments over a different cause: South African apartheid. Advertisement But while that movement was a success, protesters today may find it harder to push the school into divesting. Protests over Israel's war in Gaza rage Student demonstrators are calling for the Ivy League institution to divest from Israel and accuse the Jewish nation of killing civilians in Gaza. The protesters are specifically demanding the school sell off investments not just from Israeli companies but from those that have ties to Israel, including engineering firms Lockheed Martin and Boeing and tech giants like Alphabet and Amazon, according to NPR. Students have also called on the school to boycott Israeli universities and institutions, protect pro-Palestinian students and faculty, and make a statement condemning the war in Gaza. Advertisement The protesters swarmed the campus and set up tents. Meanwhile, Jewish leaders on campus say some students were targeted with offensive rhetoric as the demonstrations escalated. The protests, which have lasted nearly two weeks, took another turn on Monday when the school announced it wouldn't cut its investments from Israel and warned protesting students to leave or face suspension. The deadline came and went, and hours later, demonstrators broke into Hamilton Hall on the campus and barricaded themselves inside early Tuesday morning. A demonstrator used a hammer to break through a window in Hamilton Hall early Tuesday. Alex Kent; Getty Images A coalition group of dozens of organizations called Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which has helped organize the protests, said in a statement that students had renamed the building "Hind's Hall" after a Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza. Advertisement The controversial protest movement has drawn criticism and support from top political and financial figures. The White House said President Joe Biden supported the right to protest peacefully but condemned the takeover of Hamilton Hall. "Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong," a White House spokesperson said. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans have called for the school's president to resign, alleging she's failed to protect Jewish students on campus. Student protesters at the 1985 demonstrations at Columbia University. Barbara Alper; Getty Images The 1985 protests The demonstrations are reminiscent of those in 1985, when protesters and civil rights leaders were outraged over the apartheid regime in South Africa. Advertisement In 1978, the school's governing body had recommended selectively selling stocks of companies that had holdings in South Africa, according to a New York Times article at the time. Three hundred students had protested outside the meeting, calling for all the stocks to be divested, the Times reported. The school's 1978 recommendation didn't shut down the protests. In April 1985, the Coalition for a Free South Africa at the school organized a protest at Hamilton Hall, according to the Columbia Spectator. Related stories The small demonstration quickly grew to thousands of supporters, the Spectator reported. Protesters there locked and chained the doors to Hamilton Hall — the same building now occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters — and demanded the school completely divest from South Africa. The protests lasted on campus for 21 days before the students called the demonstrations off; the announcement came just minutes before a judge ordered the students to allow people access to Hamilton Hall, The New York Times reported. Advertisement Months later, Columbia's trustees voted to divest from South Africa completely. A more fraught situation On its website, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group likened itself to the protests from nearly 40 years ago. "We are a continuation of the Vietnam anti-war movement and the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa," the group wrote. But despite the similarities between the movements' tactics, the situation in 2024 may make it harder for demonstrators to achieve their goals. Advertisement In the 70s and 80s, Columbia's leadership was sympathetic to the divestment cause; students were arguing that the school didn't go far enough. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators also face a more hostile geopolitical environment. In the 1980s, apartheid was broadly condemned by the US, and in the months after the protest, President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order preventing loans and technology from being sent to South Africa. The US relationship with Israel now is far more complicated. The conflict in Gaza was sparked by Hamas' terror attacks in October 2023 that killed hundreds. Israeli authorities said Hamas fighters captured 253 people after the assault across the border. Advertisement As of now, 112 of the hostages were returned alive, but dozens are still suspected to be in captivity, Israeli officials say. The Israeli government responded to the attack with an assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel is an important ally of the US in the Middle East, and President Joe Biden has emphasized he's a strong supporter of the Jewish state. But Biden is facing pressure from progressive and young voters, who blame him for sending weaponry to Israel as the civilian death toll rises by the thousands in Gaza. Biden's administration, in recent months, has pushed the Israeli government to allow more humanitarian aid into the region and take steps to avoid civilian casualties. Israel's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has so far largely brushed off Biden's criticism and promised to launch an offensive into Rafah, a city in Gaza where over 1 million Palestinians are taking refuge. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas completely. Advertisement Meanwhile, cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled. So, too, has the prospect of divesting. Columbia president Nemat "Minouche" Shafik said school leaders and students weren't able to negotiate an end to the protest and flatly shot down the immediate divestment demands. "While the University will not divest from Israel, the University offered to develop an expedited timeline for review of new proposals from the students by the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, the body that considers divestment matters," Shafik wrote on Monday. Even then, it's unclear how effective divestment would be in changing the school's finances. The Ivy's massive $13.6 billion endowment would be challenging to sort through. Advertisement "The economy is so global now that even if a university decided that they were going to instruct their dominant management groups to divest from Israel, it would be almost impossible to disentangle," Nicholas Dirks, former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, told CNN. Divesting also means another investor would need to purchase those stocks, ultimately reallocating who supports the organizations in question. But Christopher Marsicano, an assistant professor at North Carolina's Davidson College, told Al Jazeera that divestment drives may be more effective in incentivizing political — not economic — change. "Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has already mentioned student protests at American universities publicly," Marsicano told the outlet. "It is clear that these protests have captured the attention of the Israeli government and are putting some pressure on stakeholders to support a cease-fire."

These are the most dangerous jobs in America 2024-04-30 20:59:00+00:00 - Farming, forestry, and fishing and hunting top the list of America's deadliest jobs, a recent analysis shows. Those professions have the highest rate of employee fatalities, at 18.6 deaths per 100,000 workers, the AFL-CIO found in the study, which is based on labor data from 2022 (the latest year available). Other highly dangerous jobs consisted of working in mines, quarries and oil extraction (16.6 deaths per 100,000 workers); transportation and warehousing (14.1); and construction (9.6). Overall, nearly 5,500 workers died on the job in the U.S. in 2022, up from 5,190 the previous year, according to the union's analysis. Fatalities are on the rise, in part, because some employees are afraid of potential retaliation if they highlight dangerous conditions at their job, resulting in many workers operating in an unsafe environment, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. Employee overdosing on drugs while at work, deadly violence against co-workers and suicides have also contributed to the jump in workplace deaths, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For many workers, agriculture has long been a hazardous job. Farmers and farmhands are exposed to lung-harming dust, while animal droppings also contain mold or bacteria, according to federal health data. Falls from ladders, farm machinery and grain bins pose another risk. Meanwhile, miners often work in confined underground spaces where toxic or explosive gasses, such as hydrogen sulfide or methane, can be released, and also face the risk of collapses. Not surprisingly, states with large numbers of agricultural and extraction industry workers had the highest fatality rate, with Wyoming topping the list at 12.7 deaths for every 100,000 workers, according to the AFL-CIO. Rounding out the list was North Dakota (9.8 deaths); Mississippi (6.9); New Mexico and West Virginia (6.8); and Louisiana (6.4). The AFL-CIO analysis also found that worker fatality rates among workers of color were higher than for other employees. The death rate for Latino workers in 2022 was 4.6 for every 100,000 workers, compared with 3.7 for all workers. The fatality rate for Black employees was 4.2 for every 100,000 workers, its highest level in nearly 15 years, the union said. "The recent bridge collapse tragedy in Baltimore was responsible for the deaths of six Latino immigrant laborers who were doing roadwork on the bridge at the time of collapse," AFL-CIO researchers wrote. "This incident underscores the dangerous work immigrants do every day to provide for people in the United States and the toll it takes on their families and communities when workplaces are not safe."

Trump could drive inflation higher with his second-term economic agenda, analysts say 2024-04-30 20:58:00+00:00 - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to guests during a rally at Clinton Middle School on January 06, 2024 in Clinton, Iowa. Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images Former President Donald Trump is building a second-term economic agenda that analysts say could reheat the very inflation that he has slammed President Joe Biden for creating. "I call it a ring around the country. We have a ring around the country," Trump said in a Time magazine interview released Tuesday, referring to aggressive tariffs he has promised to impose in a second term. "I also don't believe that the costs will go up that much." The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has repeatedly pledged to hike tariffs, cut taxes and encourage cheap money policy if he wins the November election. Yet economists and Wall Street analysts agree that these plans would likely drive consumer prices higher. Trump has outright dismissed this idea: "I don't believe it'll be inflation. I think it'll be lack of loss for our country," he said in the Time interview. What Trump would do Trump has pledged to raise tariffs by 10% on imports across the board, and push them even higher — to between 60% and 100% — for China and Mexico. He also wants to extend his first-term tax cuts, which raised deficits when they were first implemented and are due to expire in 2025. "I will make the Trump Cuts permanent ... and we will cut your taxes even more," Trump said at a February rally in South Carolina. Plus, Trump has signaled his intent to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and then to pressure the next Fed chair to lower interest rates. Trump allies have also been working on plans to force the Fed to consult Trump on interest rate decisions, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Analysts view these proposals as threats to inflation's rocky road back down to the commonly accepted ideal level of around 2%. "A second Trump term could bring higher tariffs, attempts to weaken the dollar, even higher deficits, deportation of illegal immigrants, and other policies that could put upward pressure on inflation," Piper Sandler analysts wrote last week. "Most of the major policy initiatives being suggested by Donald Trump's campaign would be inflationary," Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics' chief North America economist wrote Monday. "Whether it's narrowing the trade deficit via tariffs or a dollar devaluation, curbing immigration or, now we learn, compromising the Fed's independence." When it comes to tariffs, Wall Street analysts note that businesses pass on higher import costs to their customers by raising prices. Trump flatly rejected that idea in the Time interview. "A lot of people say, 'Oh, that's gonna be a tax on us.' I don't believe that. I think it's a tax on the country that's [exporting] it." Trump's tariff policies "would be a significant escalation to existing trade policy, and they would further increase costs for U.S. importers, place upward pressure on inflation and potentially strengthen the U.S. dollar," Wells Fargo analysts wrote in a report from early April. But that inflationary impact "could be partially absorbed in the near term," the Wells Fargo analysts added, explaining that many suppliers have started to diversify their inventory away from "tariff-exposed product." The Trump-era tariffs on China that nearly started a trade war had only a "marginal" effect on the economy, according to the Wells Fargo report: "The surge in consumer price inflation is primarily attributed to the pandemic's disruptions rather than the trade war's tariffs." Reached for comment, the Trump campaign said, "under President Trump, inflation was non-existent, gasoline was cheap, groceries were affordable, and the American Dream was alive and well." Inflation whiplash

House agitator Rep. Matt Gaetz is being primaried 2024-04-30 20:45:38+00:00 - Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose successful maneuvering to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year plunged House Republicans into chaos — and made the Florida Republican deeply unpopular among his GOP colleagues — is facing a primary challenger in his re-election bid. Retired Navy aviator Aaron Dimmock filed to run against Gaetz just ahead of the deadline on Friday. According to The New York Times, the treasurer for Dimmock's campaign committee also works for American Patriots PAC, a McCarthy-aligned group that in 2022 helped elect Republicans who were aligned with the then-speaker's agenda. Gaetz called Dimmock a “BLM supporting DEI instructor” and McCarthy’s “puppet” in a post on X on Monday. “I’m excited to welcome Missouri-based DEI instructor Aaron Dimmock to the campaign," he told NBC News in a statement. "Aaron is not in Kansas City anymore. This is Trump Country. Our pronouns are USA and MAGA.” (Dimmock listed a Missouri driver’s license as his identification in his filing, per NBC News.) In October, eight House Republicans, including ringleader Gaetz, joined Democrats in voting for a motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership. His ouster set off havoc among the House GOP as it scrambled for weeks to elect another speaker. As NBC reported, four of the six House Republicans who voted for McCarthy's ouster and who are also up for re-election are now facing a primary fight: Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Gaetz. All four currently represent reliably red districts, so whoever wins the respective Republican primaries are likely to carry the general election. Gaetz and McCarthy have made no secret of their mutual disdain for each other. And despite having retired from Congress in December, McCarthy has not let up on criticizing Gaetz. At a public forum in Georgetown University just weeks ago, McCarthy delivered his most direct attack on Gaetz yet as he appeared to say that the Florida Republican ousted him "to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old." Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegation, and the Justice Department closed an investigation early last year without filing charges.

Amazon reports strong 1Q results driven by its cloud-computing unit and Prime Video ad dollars 2024-04-30 20:45:13+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Tuesday reported strong results for the first quarter, driven by growth in its cloud-computing unit and a new surge of advertising dollars from its Prime Video streaming service. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said it brought in $143.31 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, a 13% jump compared to the same period last year. Net income came out to $10.43 billion, or 98 cents per share. That soundly beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations for 84 cents a share, according to FactSet. “It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and financial results,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. The nation’s biggest online retailer is coming off better-than-expected results for the holiday shopping period, when it saw strong consumer spending aided by discounts and faster shipping speeds. Amazon held another discount event in late March, right before the end of the first quarter. Aside from its core retail business, Amazon said first-quarter sales in its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services. amounted to $25.04 billion, up 17% from the same period last year. Sales in the company’s online advertising business also spiked 24%, partly driven by an influx of ad dollars coming from Prime Video. After years of giving Prime subscribers ad-free access to their favorite movies and TV shows, Amazon implemented a new policy in late January that lets viewers avoid ads only if they pay an additional $2.99 a month. Shares in Amazon.com Inc. rose 3% in after-hours trading. The company says it expects to post net sales between $144 billion and $149 billion during the second quarter. Analysts are expecting $150.2 billion, according to FactSet.

TikTok employees are reportedly being asked by US border patrol agents if they're part of the Chinese Communist Party 2024-04-30 20:43:56+00:00 - US border patrol agents have interrogated more than 30 ByteDance and TikTok employees, per Forbes. They're being asked about ties to the CCP, and the security of American user data. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced similar questions during a hearing in January. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have interrogated more than 30 ByteDance and TikTok employees traveling to the US from China, according to a report by Forbes. Employees are being asked a list of dedicated questions, including whether they have ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and what access ByteDance and TikTok have to American user data, Forbes reported, citing anonymous sources close to the matter. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Climate change could virtually disappear in Florida — at least according to state law 2024-04-30 20:37:42+00:00 - TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida, perhaps the most vulnerable state to sea-level rise and extreme weather, is on the verge of repealing what’s left of a 16-year-old law that lists climate change as a priority when making energy policy decisions. Instead, the state would make energy affordability and availability its main focus. A bill waiting to be signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would strip the term “climate change” from much of state law and reverse a policy then-Gov. Charlie Crist championed as he built a reputation for being a rare Republican fighting to promote green energy over fossil fuels. While Florida is distinct for having an enormous coastline and being flat — Miami’s average elevation is roughly 6 to 7 feet (2 meters) above sea level — the chairman of House Infrastructure Strategies Committee said it also has unique challenges and the climate change language in law makes meeting them more difficult. “We’re protecting consumers, we’re protecting consumer pricing, we’re protecting them with great reliability and we’re protecting to make sure we don’t have a lack of energy security in our state. That’s where we’re moving as far as our policies,” said Republican Rep. Bobby Payne. But critics say now is not the time to go backwards when it comes to climate change policy, including Crist, who is now a Democrat who last served in the U.S. House. “It’s disappointing to see a continuing lurch in the wrong direction, particularly when Florida, with our coastline, is probably the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, I mean if we don’t address it, who’s going to?” Crist said. “It breaks my heart.” In 2008, the bill to address climate change and promote renewable energy passed unanimously in both legislative chambers. Crist signed the bill with fanfare at an international climate change conference he hosted with guests such as then-California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Payne said the Crist-era law makes it more difficult for the state to be more flexible in meeting its energy needs. “When he invited Arnold Schwarzenegger to Miami for the environmental summit, that was a good indication that his ideologies collide with the public’s from the perspective of reliability and cost,” Payne said. After Crist left office in 2011, Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, gutted much of what Crist enacted. This year’s bill repeals what’s left of it. The bill passed the Legislature with Republican support and Democratic opposition. It was sent to DeSantis on Friday and he has until May 15 to take action. His office didn’t respond to multiple emails asking his position on it. Payne, who spent nearly four decades in the power industry before retiring, said he isn’t convinced that humanity’s energy consumption is destroying the planet. He also notes three-quarters of the state’s energy is provided by natural gas, leaving it vulnerable to market fluctuations. The enormous energy legislation he shepherded through the Legislature prevents local governments from enacting some energy policy restrictions and de-emphasizes clean energy by banning wind energy turbines or facilities off or within a mile (less than 2 kilometers) of the coast. It eliminates requirements that government agencies hold conferences and meetings in hotels certified by the state’s environmental agency as “green lodging” and that government agencies make fuel efficiency the top priority in buying new vehicles. Brooke Alexander-Gross of Sierra Club’s Florida chapter said that stripping climate change from state law won’t make the problem go away, but she isn’t optimistic that DeSantis will veto the bill. “Having that language there really encourages a lot of people to take a look at what climate change actually is and it’s disappointing to see a governor in a state like ours strip that language, which is really just a way for him and his administration to ignore everything that’s going on,” she said.

Starbucks reports weaker-than-expected fiscal Q2 results as customer traffic slows 2024-04-30 20:30:38+00:00 - Starbucks on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected sales in its fiscal second quarter as customer traffic dried up in many key markets. The Seattle coffee giant said revenue for the January-March period dropped 2% to $8.6 billion. That was far short of analysts’ forecast of $9.1 billion. It was the first time since the end of 2020 that the company saw a drop in quarterly revenue. Starbucks said its same-store sales – or sales at stores open at least a year – dropped 4%. Wall Street had expected a 1% increase, according to analysts polled by FactSet. In the U.S., customers spent more per visit, but that wasn’t enough to overcome a 7% decline in transactions. In China, the company’s second-largest market, same-store sales plunged 11%. Starbucks faced numerous challenges during the quarter, including an ongoing boycott of its stores for its perceived support of Israel in the war in Gaza. Customers in the Middle East and elsewhere began boycotting the brand in the fall after it sued Workers United, the union organizing its workers, over a pro-Palestinian message posted on a union social media account. Starbucks’ net income dropped 15% to $772 million, or 68 cents per share. Wall Street had expected an 80-cent per share profit. Starbucks’ shares dropped 10% Tuesday in after-hours trading.

Starbucks shares sink 10% as same-store sales fall, quarterly results miss 2024-04-30 20:26:00+00:00 - Starbucks on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, fueled by a surprise decline in same-store sales. "In a highly challenged environment, this quarter's results do not reflect the power of our brand, our capabilities or the opportunities ahead," CEO Laxman Narasimhan said in a statement. "It did not meet our expectations, but we understand the specific challenges and opportunities immediately in front of us." Shares of the company fell 10% in extended trading. Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: 68 cents adjusted vs. 79 cents expected Revenue: $8.56 billion vs. $9.13 billion expected The coffee giant reported fiscal second-quarter net income attributable to the company of $772.4 million, or 68 cents per share, down from $908.3 million, or 79 cents per share, a year earlier. Net sales dropped nearly 2% to $8.56 billion. The company's same-store sales fell 4% as traffic to its cafes declined 6% in the quarter. Wall Street was anticipating same-store sales growth of 1%, according to StreetAccount estimates. Across all regions, Starbucks reported shrinking same-store sales and falling traffic. "In this environment, many customers have been more exacting about where and how they choose to spend their money," Narasimhan told analysts on the company's conference call. In the U.S., same-store sales decreased 3% as traffic sank 7%. This marks the second quarter that the company's home market has struggled. Last quarter, executives blamed sluggish sales on boycotts targeting the company due to "misperceptions" of its stance on Israel. Narasimhan said the chain's lavender drinks were one of its most successful launches. Starbucks is also exploring how to meet overnight demand, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. The company conducted a pilot test, which Narasimhan said doubled business. "Building off that success, we are aggressively pursuing options to build a $2 billion business over the next five years," he said. Starbucks' international segment reported same-store sales declines of 6% as both average ticket and transactions dropped. In China, Starbucks' second-largest market, same-store sales plunged 11%, fueled by an 8% decline in average ticket. McDonald's , PepsiCo and other companies have said this quarter that low-income consumers have pulled back their spending and are looking for deals. "While it was a difficult quarter, we learned from our own underperformance and sharpened our focus with a comprehensive roadmap of well thought out actions making the path forward clear," CFO Rachel Ruggeri said in a statement. Narasimhan also said that the company now expects supply-chain cost savings of $4 billion over the next four years, revising its prior forecast of $3 billion over three years. Starbucks said it will discuss its full-year financial outlook during the company's conference call later on Tuesday. Last quarter, it said it anticipates revenue growth of 7% to 10%, global same-store sales growth in a range of 4% to 6% and earnings per share growth of 15% to 20%. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

A missing Utah cat with a fondness for boxes ends up in Amazon returns warehouse, dehydrated but OK 2024-04-30 20:25:42+00:00 - Galena, a 6-year-old house cat from Utah, likes hiding and playing with cardboard. Earlier this month, the combination of the two made for a stressful trip in an Amazon package, feverish searching, a California rescue and a tearful reunion. Her family is still waiting to “reintroduce cardboard to her again,” owner Carrie Clark said Tuesday, because they don’t want to stress her out. Clark got Galena as a kitten after her aunt rescued a pregnant feral cat. The American short hair with calico and Siamese coloring has been a constant companion and source of emotional support. “I’ve been through a bunch of health things and she and I have gone through all of that together. And she’s she just has this extra great part about her personality that’s very loving. And she can tell when you don’t feel well,” Clark said. “And she’s just really, really special to me.” So when Galena disappeared on April 10, Clark was beside herself. They searched the neighborhood, put up flyers and posted notices on Facebook lost pet pages in Lehi, Utah. “Not knowing what had happened to her was pretty excruciating,” Clark said, “I cried my eyes out for seven days trying to figure out what had happened.” Clark also ran through all the worst-case scenarios, wondering if the cat could have gotten out of the house and been nabbed by a predator or run over by a vehicle. Clark said she received a “text that changed my life” on April 17, saying that Galena’s microchip had been scanned, so Clark knew she had been found somewhere. Soon after, she got a call saying her cat was in California after being found in a box along with steel-toed boots that had been returned to an Amazon warehouse. Clark’s husband had ordered several pairs of boots, kept one and returned the rest in a large box on April 10. “We realized that that our sweet kitty must have jumped into that box without us knowing,” she said. Amazon employees knew just who to call when they found the feline — co-worker Brandy Hunter, who rescues cats, Clark said. Hunter took the cat home and to the vet the next day, where the microchip was scanned. Clark spoke with Hunter who “calmed me down and told me that my kitty was OK,” despite having spent six days in a cardboard box without food or water. “I wanted desperately to be with her,” Clark said. She and her husband flew to California the next day, reunited with Galena at the veterinarian’s office and rented a car to drive home. “We did what we needed to do because I just adore her,” Clark said. It was an intensely emotional week. “I went from hysterically laughing that she was stuck like that — we mailed our cat — you know ... just the humor part of that, to hysterically crying all within like five seconds,” Clark said. The family was lucky to get Galena back, Clark said, in part because the weather was not harsh during the time the cat was missing, the box was torn at a seam, allowing her to get more air, and because Hunter who took her to a vet and had her scanned for a microchip. Since word got out, Clark has been sharing her cat’s story, with advice to microchip your pets and to double-check your Amazon boxes before returning them. Galena is a quiet cat, Clark said. “She didn’t meow,” Clark said. “We would have loved for her to meow so we knew that she was,” in the box.