https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/28/dc-chipotle-child-labor-settlement/

gift link: https://wapo.st/3Pga2wY

D.C. alleges that Chipotle broke child labor law 800 times in the past three years by failing to adhere to restrictions on how much employees under 18 can work



Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay the District $322,400 and adopt new workplace protocols to resolve allegations that the fast-food giant violated D.C.’s child labor laws at least 800 times over the past three years, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb (D) announced Monday.

Schwalb’s office said it found hundreds of instances dating to April 2020 in which Chipotle allowed children under 18 to work after 10 p.m., work more than eight hours in a single day, work more than 48 hours in a week or work more than six consecutive days in a week. All of those are violations of the city’s labor laws, according to the settlement agreement.

The settlement says that Chipotle denied D.C.’s allegations and noted the agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing. A Chipotle spokesperson did not immediately return an email and phone call requesting comment.

Chipotle, which operates 20 restaurants in the city, agreed to provide training on complying with the law to general managers and apprentice-level employees. The company must personally review the city’s child labor policy with all newly hired minors moving forward, the settlement says.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/22/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html



New York
CNN
—
The Chinese economy has hit a rough patch. That might be the catalyst needed to finally cure the West of its inflationary woes.

What’s happening: Chinese consumer spending, factory production and investments in long-term assets like property or machinery all slumped last month. Youth unemployment has hit record highs while an ongoing real estate and debt crisis has investors fearing the worst.

On Monday, the Chinese government surprised investors by deciding not to cut an important interest rate that influences mortgages. Economists say the move will make it tough to revive confidence in the country’s real estate sector, and they’ve been downgrading their forecasts for Chinese growth this year.

The world’s second largest economy, responsible for almost one-fifth of world GDP, is decelerating, and that has serious and direct implications for the rest of the world.

“All else equal, a flagging Chinese economy may be one of several catalysts that could lead to recession later this year or early next,” wrote Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds, strategists at investment management company Glenmede, in a note Monday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/17/ron-desantis-awkward/



After watching awkward videos of Ron DeSantis, Derek Guy had a horrifying realization.

Guy, a fashion writer known as the “Menswear Guy” to his large following on social media, had noticed people on X, formerly known as Twitter, making fun of the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful for throwing off weird vibes on the campaign trail. Some of these moments have been captured on video, as things tend to be during a presidential campaign: DeSantis struggling to make small talk with voters; bursting into strange paroxysms of wide-mouthed laughter; appearing to sugar-shame a child drinking an Icee at an Iowa fair.

“What’s your name?” DeSantis asked a voter in a recent clip from a New Hampshire diner.

“Tim,” the man responds.

“Okay,” says DeSantis.

In another video, from a party after the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Dinner, DeSantis stands ramrod straight, taking gulps of beer and checking the time on his phone and telling potential voters that normally he would already be asleep.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/15/business/janet-yellen-magic-mushrooms-china/index.html

New York
CNN
—
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ate a “magic mushroom” on a recent trip to Beijing, but the aftereffects don’t sound that special.

CNN’s Erin Burnett spoke to her Monday, asking about the “mushroom experience” that set off a social media frenzy and dramatically boosted business for a Yunnan restaurant chain, where Yellen ate the local jian shou qing.

“There was a delicious mushroom dish. I was not aware that these mushrooms had hallucinogenic properties. I learned that later,” Yellen said about the group dinner that clarified that she didn’t organize nor did she do the ordering.

She didn’t have any strange visions, the “Erin Burnett OutFront” anchor joked. Yellen then said that she had “read that if the mushrooms are cooked properly, which I’m sure they were at this very good restaurant, that they have no impact.”

“But all of us enjoyed the mushrooms, the restaurant, and none of us felt any ill effects from having eaten them,” Yellen said.

https://www.arlnow.com/2023/08/12/breaking-numerous-crashes-block-i-395-after-tractor-trailer-hit-and-run-suspect-steals-arlington-ambulance/



(Updated at 11 p.m.) A suspect in a truck crashed into multiple vehicles on I-66 and I-395, then led police on a wild chase in a stolen Arlington ambulance.

The incidents started shortly after 3:30 p.m., with reports of a stolen Freightliner truck striking vehicles on I-66 in the Rosslyn area and again on northbound I-395 just before the 14th Street Bridge. I-395 was blocked by the crashes and at least two people were hurt, including one with reported significant injuries.

The same hit-and-run suspect then allegedly stole another truck before hopping in and stealing an Arlington ambulance around 4:15 p.m. Medics tried to pull the suspect out of the ambulance but he drove off, leading Virginia State Police — followed by Arlington police — on a chase through parts of Crystal City and Pentagon City. The suspect struck numerous vehicles on the northbound HOV lanes of I-395 as he fled into D.C., according to Virginia State Police.

Eventually the ambulance was stopped on I-395 in southwest D.C. and the suspect taken into custody, according to Virginia State Police.

https://twitter.com/STATter911/status/1690477210635816960

https://twitter.com/STATter911/status/1690511384121913344

https://twitter.com/STATter911/status/1690550030439002112

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/10/trump-dc-trial-change-of-venue/

The former president cites D.C.’s “filth and decay” as evidence he needs a change of venue. Legal precedent isn’t on his side, and city leaders say his insults are untruths.



The dark imagery invoked by Donald Trump during his brief visit to the nation’s capital last week — “the filth and the decay … broken buildings” — renewed the stereotype of collapsing American cities as a means of calling for his federal indictment to be moved out of the District. It also reignited his hostile relationship with a city he said needed to be taken over by the federal government when he occupied the White House.

Trump rarely ventured out into the District during his four years as president, other than to travel to the downtown hotel that bore his name at the time, and he did not attempt to win the hearts and minds of D.C.’s overwhelmingly Democratic voters through political rallies or meetings with city leaders. He received less than 5.5 percent of D.C.’s popular vote in 2020, and 4 percent in 2016. He and his lawyers cite such numbers in floating the idea of a change of venue for his trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election, as well as his idea for a federal takeover of the District, which he again raised on Truth Social in recent days.

“No way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial, in Washington, D.C.,” the 77-year-old Florida man who summers in New Jersey said last week. “There are many reasons for this, but just one is that I am calling for a federal takeover of this filthy and crime ridden embarrassment to our nation.”

The former president also falsely claimed that homicides in D.C. “just shattered the all-time record” and “other violent crimes have never been worse.”

https://dcist.com/story/23/08/08/dca-reagan-national-airport-runway-repaving-project/



Every night while we’re asleep a crew is racing against the clock to repave Reagan National Airport’s main runway. It’s a nightly show as hundreds of workers and construction vehicles race to finish before the day’s first flight takes off.

Work started in April and will take two years, with a pause in the winter months. National Airport’s runway was last repaved over a decade ago and it’s near the end of its life because of wear and tear.

At many other airports, this repaving process isn’t too big of a deal. At Dulles, for instance, they could close one runway and have three others to use.

But National doesn’t have that luxury. It’s landlocked and has one main runway and one secondary runway that are suitable for large aircraft. They need them both open every day

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/08/07/dc-weather-alert-severe-thunderstorms-wind/

The National Weather Service has a declared a rare Level 4 of 5 risk for the area, the first since 2013.

What to know
Widespread storms with the potential for damaging winds, tornadoes, hail, torrential rain and frequent lightning are expected between 4 and 8 p.m. — with the Beltway area most at risk between 5 and 7:30 p.m. The National Weather Service has issued a Level 4 out of 5 risk for severe storms for the first time in about a decade.

A tornado watch is in effect until 9 p.m. A watch means ingredients are in place for severe storms with destructive winds and possibly tornadoes, but that’s not a guarantee and you should stay alert. If a warning for a tornado or a destructive thunderstorm is issued for your location, you should shelter in an interior room, away from windows, at the lowest level of a strong building.

Power outages are likely; charge devices and secure or bring inside loose outdoor items ahead of the storms. Avoid travel during the storms.