After repeatedly churning out disappointing economic data, banks are slashing China’s growth outlook for 2023. Many economists now say the modest 5% growth target China set in March is now at risk, with JPMorgan Chase cutting its estimate to 4.8% and Barclays going down to 4.5%. The world’s second-largest economy cut two key policy rates…

A New Jersey federal judge ordered Starbucks to pay an additional $2.7 million to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit from a former regional director against the coffee giant. Starbucks had already been ordered to pay $25.6 million in punitive and compensatory damages to Shannon Phillips after a trial in June of 2023. Court documents show…

According to the co-owner and publisher of the Kansas newspaper at the center of a controversial police raid, the items seized in the raid have been returned. A reporter for the Marion County Record confirmed the items were on their way to Kansas City, where a forensic analyst will check “that nothing was done to…

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Paul Whelan, and Starbucks was ordered to pay millions of dollars as part of a wrongful termination suit. These stories and more highlight The Rundown for Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Blinken speaks to Paul Whelan by phone Secretary of State Blinken has spoken by phone with Paul Whelan,…

Touted by the Environmental Protection Agency as “the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history,” the Inflation Reduction Act also contains a variety of concessions to Big Oil companies. Buried within the legislation is a set of provisions that ties the advancement of some future renewable energy projects to increased American oil and gas production.…

A federal judge has triggered quite a stir among legal experts. The judge ordered Southwest Airlines’ lawyers to undergo “religious-liberty training” from a controversial Christian legal group. The ruling came after he found Southwest in contempt of court in a case where a flight attendant was terminated for her anti-abortion views. Straight Arrow News contributor…

Recent floods in northeastern China killed at least 62 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. The storm, a result of a typhoon, also brought the heaviest rainfall Beijing has experienced in 140 years, testing the area’s ability to manage extreme weather conditions. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan explains the historical context surrounding the northern…

The Army, Marines and Navy are simultaneously without official leadership for the first time in history because the process that typically confirms the nominations of military higher-ups is being held up by a lone senator. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) is taking a stand against what he called “woke policies” inside the military. In December…

According to North Korean state media, the country has concluded that U.S. Army private Travis King crossed the South Korean border into the North due to “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination.” The report marks North Korea’s first public acknowledgement of the crossing, nearly a month after it happened. “During the investigation, Travis King confessed that…