The details: Judge George B. Daniels from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York cited the plaintiff's "failure to state a claim." He explained that "each of the Plaintiffs' claims fail to adequately allege essential elements of the causes of action asserted," according to CNN.
Brookstone — the retail chain known for massage chairs and electronic gadgets — has filed for bankruptcy and plans to close all of its mall locations, CNN Money reports, citing a company filing. The retailer plans to keep its website running and its 35 airport locations open.
The bottom line: Brookstone is one of the many brick-and-mortar stores that have been clobbered by the rise of online retail — primarily Amazon. In a statement, CEO Steven Goldsmith pointed to the "extremely challenging retail environment at malls" as the reason for Brookstone's demise.
Ivanka Trump said at an Axios event on Thursday that she doesn't view the media as the "enemy of the people," breaking with President Trump's repeated public statements.
Why it matters: Ivanka noted that she herself has been the subject of stories she knows to be false, but that she doesn't believe the media is the enemy.
White House adviser Ivanka Trump told Axios' Mike Allen on Thursday that paid family leave is an issue that will require bipartisan compromise in Congress to pass — and, therefore, will not happen during this session.
"We're still at zero weeks of paid leave. We're the only country in the developed world that that's true of. ... The president has called for maternity and paternity and adoptive leave and we're working to make that happen."
White House senior adviser — and President Trump's eldest daughter — Ivanka Trump sat down with Axios' Mike Allen on Thursday to talk paid family leave, the fate American workers caught in a trade war, and some of her father's most contentious policy points and comments.
The big picture: While Trump maintained a united front with her father on most accounts, she notably broke with him on his view of the media and his administration's separation of undocumented families at the southern border.
Update... President Trump tweeted this afternoon about Ivanka's media comments: "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!".
White House adviser Ivanka Trump defended the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and other products as a "temporary pain" at an Axios event Thursday, claiming that farmers will "thrive" long-term as NAFTA and other trade deals are renegotiated in the coming weeks.
"They're patriots and they know that there's some temporary pain, but that the president's fighting for them and that he's going to fix it — and that long-term, they're going to thrive...at some point you do have to right the ship. And we're not looking for — to create an uneven playing field for other countries. They're looking for fair and reciprocal trade deals."
American-made cars are among the hardest-hit products in the U.S.-China trade war, facing a 40% import tariff in China — and some automakers are weathering the storm by doubling down on Chinese operations.
Why it matters: Moving into China is a natural step for big automakers looking to crack the world’s fastest-growing car market, but tariffs provide a big incentive to accelerate those plans. Their investments in factories and in research and development on Chinese soil could give China a long-term advantage when it comes to building the electric and autonomous vehicles of the future.
A majority of business owners, including small business owners, surveyed in a new poll support additional tariffs on China, Mexico, Europe and Canada, although most expect negative effects on the economy if there's a trade war, according to new UBS polling provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: Trump has faced trade retaliation from allies and harsh criticism over his tariffs from both sides of the aisle —most recently from the conservative Koch network, but this polling paints a more nuanced picture of public opinion on the issue.
The "enemy of the people,"President Trump said Sunday, is the American media. Amid his numerous slogans, the phrase has made many people especially recoil because of its centrality in a chilling moment of 20th century history: Josef Stalin's 1930s show trials.
Why it matters: The trials demonstratedhowthe indictment of one class of people can rapidly spiral and cut across society.
Among the rally-goers at President Trump's Make America Great Again event in Florida on Tuesday were followers of a growing right-wing conspiracy theory — the QAnon crowd.
The big picture: A conspiracy theory that started in fringe online chatrooms has leaped to major political events. Whether President Trump does or does not know about the movement isn't of concern to "the anons," as they call themselves, since they often find signs of his support in almost anything.
European imports of American soybeans spiked 283% in the last year, and the United States' share of total EU soybean imports reached 37% last month, compared to just 9% in July 2017, per a new report from the European Commission.
Why it matters: The dramatic jump suggests imports were already on the rise before President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reached a handshake agreement on trade last week. According to Bloomberg, this is likely a result of the retaliatory tariffs China slapped on U.S. soybeans last month, which shook up global markets and opened up the EU as a logical trade target.
The Chinese government's response to the Trump administration's new threat to hike a proposed tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%.
"U.S. pressure and blackmail won't have an effect. If the United States takes further escalatory steps, China will inevitably take countermeasures and we will resolutely protect our legitimate rights."
— Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang to reporters
The media — and CNN specifically — was greeted by a particularly hostile crowd at President Trump's rally in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday.
The big picture: While nothing new, the video footage of Trump supporters shouting at and giving the middle finger to CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta and other media personnel was striking. As the midterm elections near — and Trump hits the road six days a week for Republican candidates — expect plenty more where this came from.
Having a college degree has generally meant higher wages and better jobs, and the pay-off continues to be significant for white Americans. But there's a penalty for African-American women: they earn less than white women having the same credentials, economic data shows.
Why it matters: As they keep raising tuition, colleges risk tipping the cost-value balance and losing minority groups. "Eventually college wouldn’t be worth it,” Lisa Barrow, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve in Chicago, tells Axios.
Note: Underlying data is inflation-adjusted to 2017 dollars. Data includes hourly wages for all wage and salary workers. Salaries were calculated out to hourly amounts by EPI. Data: Economic Policy Institute; Chart: Chris Canipe/Axios
In-theater movie subscription service MoviePass said Tuesday it will limit the viewing availability of blockbuster releases and increase service's cost to $14.95 per month within the next 30 days to accelerate towards profitability.
The details: The move comes after the company was forced to borrow $5 million to pay its bills and following a brief "service interruption." MoviePass said it has more than 3 million subscribers and is generating "incremental non-subscription revenue of approximately $4 to $6 per subscriber per quarter."
The Trump administration is considering increasing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products from 10% to 25% as it seeks to force Beijing to negotiate better trade deals, reports Bloomberg.
The details: The Trump administration imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods earlier this month, escalating a global trade war that has pitted the country against its trading partners. The move was met by retaliatory tariffs from China, aiming at states that voted for President Trump in the 2016 election. Three sources with knowledge of the plan to increase tariffs told Bloomberg it could be made public in the Federal Register coming days. However, it hasn't been finalized and may not solicit public review.
