MLB Wants 154 Games. Fine. But Winning Your Division Has to Mean Something.
Baseball wants to give back eight games a year and I’d take that deal before they finish the sentence. The playoff part of the pitch, though, is where they lose me. Here’s what MLB put in front of the players union today: a 154-game regular season starting in 2029, a best-of-seven Division Series, and a …
The Light Is Green. Put the Phone Down and Drive.
California Drivers Say Gas Stations Let an Algorithm Make Sure Nobody Undercuts Anybody
Gas stations used to compete by guessing what the guy across the street would charge. Now, according to a lawsuit filed in California, they let a computer do the guessing for all of them at once. Three California drivers sued in late June, claiming BP, Circle K, Marathon, Walmart and Albertsons, which together run more …
Trump Promised Every Adult $5,000. That’s $1.35 Trillion, and the Tariff Money Is Being Refunded.
Trump says Republicans will send every American adult $5,000 if they win the House and Senate in November. I did the math so he didn’t have to. The U.S. has roughly 270 million adults. Multiply that by $5,000 and you get about $1.35 trillion. The plan is supposedly paid for with tariffs, which is where …
I Left Marriott for Hyatt. My One Free Marriott Night a Year Proves I Was Right.
A $17 Billion Microsoft Deal Ran 62 Unpermitted Generators. The Fine Was $1.07 Million.
It took a farmer with a camera, not a regulator, to catch a $17 billion Microsoft deal running dozens of gas generators without an air permit. Here’s the story. A company called DataOne is building a giant AI data center in Vineland, New Jersey, for the Dutch firm Nebius, which supplies computing power to Microsoft …
The Fed Raised Rates Two Weeks Ago. Then Hiring Fell to 29,000 Jobs.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on September 16. Sixteen days later, the government told us employers added 29,000 jobs last month, when economists were expecting something closer to 85,000 or 90,000. That’s the timeline. Make of it what you will, but I’d make of it this: somebody pulled the brakes right before the car …
California Now Lets You Return a Used Car in Three Days. It Took Until 2026.
Until today, a used car buyer in California had no legal right to change his mind once the paperwork was signed. You could return a toaster, but a $30,000 car was yours the second you initialed the last page. That changed this morning. California’s CARS Act, SB 766, took effect October 1, and it gives …
Ticketmaster’s Own Email Said It Turns a “Blind Eye” to Scalpers. A Judge Just Noticed.
A senior Ticketmaster executive wrote that the company would turn a “blind eye” to ticket brokers breaking its rules “as a matter of policy.” That email is now Exhibit A in a federal case, and on Monday a judge said the case can go ahead. Here’s the setup. The FTC and seven states sued Ticketmaster …
Congress Funded the Government a Month Early. Two Record Shutdowns Will Do That.
The government’s funding deadline is Wednesday, and nobody in Washington is sweating it. That’s the news. Congress got it done a month early. The Senate passed a stopgap bill 90-6, the House followed 370-48 on September 1, and Trump signed it September 2. Federal funding now runs through December 11, which happens to land well …
Wisconsin Utilities Want a Higher Guaranteed Profit. WEC Just Made $1.1 Billion in Six Months.
Here’s a fun fact about your electric company: the government promises it a profit. That’s a promise, not a chance. That’s how regulated utilities work. Nobody else is allowed to string wires to your house, so the state lets the monopoly earn a set return on what it invests, and a regulator signs off on …