Published: Nov. 27, 2024 at 1:59 PM CST
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Two months after Hurricane Helene, many homeowners and businesses have not received any aid from the federal government as the U.S. Small Business Administration's disaster loan fund ran out of money. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane reports and North Carolina business owner Jessie Dean shares her story.
Combined companies are estimated to facilitate nearly $9 billion in wholesale gross merchandise value (GMV) yearly
The petition has even grabbed the attention of Tesla and X owner Elon Musk
The Front Market has grown from a small meetup in 2016 to its first-ever event in Downtown Austin with nearly 200 vendors.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former White House aide Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture, filling out his proposed slate of cabinet picks to lead a number of executive government agencies.All of Trump’s picks appear to share one common trait: loyalty to the President-elect.But the process of appointing them isn’t over yet. All must receive Senate approval before being officially appointed to their respective jobs.Rollins’ role as agriculture chief would include oversight of policies, regulations, and aid programs for farming, forestry, food quality and nutrition.”Her commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns…is second to none,” Trump said in a statement. “Brooke has a practitioners experience, along with deep Policy credentials in both Nonprofit and Government leadership at the State and National levels.”Trump must also fill several other cabinet-level positions, including a U.S. trade representative and head of the Small Business Administration.The Senate confirmation process will start when the newly-elected Senate convenes in the new year. The nominees are typically vetted by a committee, where lawmakers vote on whether to send that person to a full Senate vote. Trump’s picks need a simple majority in the Republican-controlled chamber to be confirmed. But it isn’t necessarily easy. Controversy surrounding some of Trump’s nominees, including former attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, may spell trouble ahead. Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration over sexual assault and drug use allegations. Following his withdrawal, Trump nominated Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department.
A coffee shop in Massachusetts went viral when it began offering a free coffee to customers who enter the shop while dancing.See customers bust a move in the video aboveDarcy Roberts is the second impromptu dancer through the door of Coffee Milano Cafe on Center Street in Middleborough last Friday.A regular, she is now redeeming her free caramel macchiato.”It was off the cuff. I did that walking move,” Roberts said. “So yeah, it was just fun.”However, Roberts had no idea that video of her dancing would start a trend that many people would join in on.”I thought it was amazing that it took off so well, and so many people come around feeling a sense of happiness and joy,” Roberts said.The buzz was also great for business. The coffee shop’s social media director’s sister, who was the first of all dancers, told NewsCenter 5 that she is now mortified by the exposure.”The first girl danced and she kicked off her shoes, that was hilarious, like how do you think of that?” co-owner Josh Rashid said.”Right now on TikTok, it’s at, I believe, 67 million views,” said social media director Olivia Svenson. “In my head, I thought 80,000 views was going to be viral to me.””So, I can actually dance and get a free coffee it’s not just a gimmick?” Rashid said many people ask him. “I’m like, ‘No, you bust a move, I’m buying your coffee!'”Customers were moved by the trend.”I can’t believe with the response you know,” customer Bob Hadsell said. “It was just everybody having fun, that’s what I saw.””Everyone that comes in is asking us when are we going to do it again,” Svenson said. “Everyone is talking about it. It’s definitely bringing us together.” Rashid said that for two years, he has been feeding community goodwill. He gives shelf space to local artists like Patrick Murphy. His art is for sale at the shop.The dancing has even egged on another small business.At some point on Black Friday, the sign goes up, and they do it all over again. This time, Loan Depot in Norwell has offered to pay for every free coffee. Around 35 were given out last time.
The owners of a Colorado funeral home who let nearly 190 bodies decay in a room-temperature building and gave grieving families fake ashes pleaded guilty on Friday to corpse abuse.File video above: Authorities investigate Colorado funeral homeJon and Carie Hallford, who own the Return to Nature Funeral Home, began storing bodies in a decrepit building near Colorado Springs as far back as 2019 and gave families dry concrete in place of cremated remains, according to the charges. The grim discovery last year upended families grieving processes.Plea deals reached between the defendants and prosecutors call for Jon Hallford to receive a 20-year prison sentence and Carie Hallford to receive 15 to 20 years in prison.Over the years, the Hallfords spent extravagantly, prosecutors say. They used customers money and nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds to buy laser body sculpting, fancy cars, trips to Las Vegas and Florida, $31,000 in cryptocurrency and other luxury items, according to court records.Last month, the Hallfords pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in an agreement in which they acknowledged defrauding customers and the federal government. Under the agreement, prosecutors could request sentences of up to 15 years in prison for the couple.Even as the couple lived large, prosecutors said the bodies at their funeral home were decomposing.The bodies were laying on the ground, stacked on shelves, left on gurneys, stacked on top of each other or just piled in rooms, prosecutor Rachael Powell said. She said the family members of the bodies that were discovered have been intensely and forever outraged.The Hallfords each pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse for the bodies found decaying and two instances where the wrong bodies were buried.They also agreed to pay restitution, with the amount yet to be determined. Additional charges of theft, forgery and money laundering would be dismissed under the agreements.Crystina Pages son, David, died in 2019 and his body languished in the funeral homes building until last year.He laid in the corner of an inoperable fridge, dumped out of his body bag with rats and maggots eating his face for four years, Page said outside the courtroom after the hearing. Now every moment that I think of my son, Im having to think of Jon and Carie, and thats not going away.Sentencing was set for April 18.Six people with objections to the plea agreements had asked before Fridays hearing to address the court. They considered the length of the sentences under the plea deal insufficient given the Hallfords conduct, prosecutors said.Judge Eric Bentley said they would get a chance to speak prior to sentencing. If the judge rejects the plea agreement, the Hallfords would be able to withdraw their guilty pleas and go to trial.Carie Hallford told the judge that while she didn’t visit the building as much as Jon, I knew how bad it was and chose to do nothing about it.At the close of Friday’s hearing, Bentley revoked a bond that had allowed Carie Hallford to remain free while the case was pending. She was handcuffed in the courtroom while family members of the deceased applauded.Jon Hallford already was in custody and was in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed for the hearing.Last month, the Hallfords pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in an agreement in which they acknowledged defrauding customers and the federal government.Jon Hallford is represented by the public defender’s office, which does not comment on cases. Carie Hallfords attorney, Michael Stuzynski, declined to comment.Over four years, customers of Return to Nature spread what they thought were their loved ones’ ashes in meaningful locations, sometimes a planes flight away. Others carried their urns on cross-country road trips or held them tight at home.The bodies, which prosecutors say were improperly stored, were discovered last year when neighbors reported a stench coming from a building in the small town of Penrose, southwest of Colorado Springs.Authorities found bodies too decayed for visual identification. The building was so toxic that responders had to wear hazmat gear and could remain inside only for brief periods.The discovery of the bodies at Return to Nature prompted state legislators to strengthen what had been among the laxest funeral home regulations in the country. Unlike most states, Colorado didnt require routine inspections of funeral homes or credentials for the businesses operators.This year, lawmakers brought Colorados regulations up to par with most other states, largely with support from the funeral home industry.
Forty years ago, Michele Hoskins turned a family syrup recipe into a thriving condiments business. The centerpiece of the Michele Foods line is a syrup that was originally concocted by her great-great-grandmother as a freed slave in the late 1800s.
The Village of Hamburg is preparing for its annual Holly Jolly Weekend set to take place next weekend, November 29 and 30.
988. NOW TO A STORY OF A PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES. A YEAR AGO, THE LONG RUNNING CRAFT, VERMONT FINE CRAFT AND ART SHOW CAME TO AN END AFTER MORE THAN 70 YEARS. THE GROUP BEHIND IT, VERMONT HAND CRAFTERS, DISSOLVED, SAYING IT STRUGGLED WITH DECLINING MEMBERSHIP AND LOST REVENUE FROM WHEN EVENTS HAD TO CANCEL FOR THE PANDEMIC. WELL, THIS WEEKEND, A NEW EVENT AIMS TO FILL THE VOID LEFT BY THAT CANCELLATION AND KEEPING WITH TRADITION, ITS IN THE SAME SPOT, THE SAME WEEKEND BEFORE THANKSGIVING. ITS CALLED CELEBRATE VERMONT, AND IT COMBINES ARTS, FINE CRAFTS, SPECIALTY FOOD PRODUCERS, DISTILLERS AND WINEMAKERS. MORE. TWO EXHIBITORS WERE AT THE DOUBLETREE IN SOUTH BURLINGTON TODAY, SETTING UP FOR THE JURIED SHOW BEFORE IT OPENS TOMORROW. A NEW NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION CALLED 802 ARTS HOUSE AND THE VETERAN EVENT PROMOTERS AT STARBOARD EVENTS ARE PUTTING IT ON. THOSE ORGANIZERS SAY IT IS VITAL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO HAVE A MAJOR PRESENCE LIKE THIS IN THE BURLINGTON AREA, AS THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON KICKS OFF, MANY OF THE MORE THAN 120 VENDORS ON TWO LEVELS AT THE HOTEL ARE FAMILIAR FACES FROM THE OLD EVENT. WHO REALLY WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING NEW TAKE ITS PLACE. THERE ARE DOZENS OF NEW MAKERS AS WELL. WE HAVE REPEAT CUSTOMERS. PEOPLE COME AND LOOK FOR US. THEY DRIVE IN FROM OUT OF STATE BECAUSE THEY KNOW WERE GOING TO BE HERE. SO THE SHOW IS BIG AND THE ARTISTS DO DEPEND ON IT. YOURE BUYING RIGHT FROM THE MAKER WHO PUT THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO THAT PIECE. ITS REALLY IMPORTANT TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. THOSE ORGANIZERS SAY CELEBRATE VERMONT WILL BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR SEVERAL EXHIBITORS WHO SUFFERED DEEP LOSSES WHEN POWERFUL WINDS CAUSED DAMAGE AND FORCED THE CANCELLATION OF ANOTHER EVENT WHERE THEY WERE SET UP. OCTOBERS STOWE FOLIAGE ARTS FESTIVAL. THE NEW CELEBRATE VERMONT FESTIVAL RUNS TOMORROW THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE DOUBLETREE IN SOUTH BURLINGTON. TICKETS ARE $12 AT THE DOOR, BUT A $2 OFF COUPON
Chinas DJI makes the top-selling drones in the US – some Republican lawmakers plan to ban them. Adam Welsh, DJI’s head of policy, argues for their continued business in the US, while the FTs James Kynge examines whether the incoming American administration’s proposals are protectionist or prudent