Charlotte the stingray in a small North Carolina aquarium has been attracting visitors since she got pregnant without a mate. Businesses in Hendersonville are delighted by the influx.
The majority of European members of NATO are not spending as much on defense as they agreed to. But that may change as the European Union considers a move to a "war economy." Today, we examine what that means and what barriers to a "war economy" look like.
Joann expects to receive $132 million in new financing as part of the bankruptcyagreement. The Ohio-based company will also be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
It's Indicators of the Week, our up close and personal examination of economic headlines. Today we have three indicators from President Joe Biden's economic agenda. His budget proposals include fixes for childcare, home buying and hiking corporate taxes.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Missouri, Louisiana and five individuals who were either banned from social media during the pandemic or whose posts, they say, were not prominently featured.
Orlando Capote has been engaged in a two-decade struggle against developers and the city of Coral Gables to save his family's home. But his success comes with a price.
When you buy a bottle of rum in the United States, by law nearly all the federal taxes on that rum must be sent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's an unusual system that Congress designed decades ago to help fund these two U.S. territories. In 2021 alone, these rum tax payments added up to more than $700 million.
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands split the money according to how much rum each territory produces. And the territories produce a lot of it — especially Puerto Rico, which single handedly supplies the majority of the rum that Americans drink.
But in 2008, the U.S. Virgin Islands pulled off a coup. It convinced one of the largest rum brands in the world, Captain Morgan, to abandon Puerto Rico and to shift its operations to the tiny island of St. Croix.
This was the beginning of the Rum Wars.
On today's show, the story of how a scheme designed to help Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands turned them into bitter rivals. And how it ended up putting hundreds of millions of dollars a year — U.S. taxpayer dollars — into the pockets of big liquor companies instead.
This episode was hosted by Jeff Guo and Sarah Gonzalez. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Molly Messick, engineered by Cena Loffredo, and fact checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
The National Association of Realtors has reached a national settlement that could change the way real estate agents are paid. Critics say the current system keeps commissions artificially high.
Oleksandra Kuvshynova's parents say Fox News put their daughter in harm's way unnecessarily, then promoted a false account of her death. They also point blame at a reporter who was with her that day.
National security officials have long warned about the dangers TikTok poses as long as it is owned by a Chinese company, but the threat remains theoretical.
HOOAH! It's our first Beigie Award for 2024! The Beigie Award is back to recognize the regional Federal Reserve Bank with the best Beige Book entry. This edition's winner took us to the City of Brotherly Love, detailing how high home interest rates and low existing home sales in the area are financially affecting our buff brethren in arms: movers.
Former President Donald Trump has already said he would block the deal between U.S. Steel and its Japanese rival. Now President Biden is speaking out about it, too.