RBB Bancorp Announces Senior Leadership Succession Plan and Transition TimelineVancouver duo keeps it real as Canada's 1st female-led top 40 morning radio show
Retailers coax Black Friday shoppers into stores with big discounts and giveaways NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers in the U.S. have used giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts to reward shoppers who ventured out on Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving still reigns for now as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Analysts reported seeing the biggest crowds at stores that offered real savings. They say many shoppers are being cautious with their discretionary spending despite the easing of inflation. Stores are even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Online sales figures from Thanksgiving Day gave retailers a reason to remain hopeful for a lucrative end to the year. Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier to reduce chance of injury Southwest Airlines is ending its cabin service earlier starting next month. Beginning on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson says flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet. The company says it's making the changes to reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries. For passengers, that means they will need to return their seats to an upright position or do other pre-landing procedures earlier than before. While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the catalogs arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were scaled down to save on postage and paper. Some gift purveyors are sending out postcards. In a sign of the times, the American Catalog Mailers Association rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association. Despite no longer carrying an extended inventory of goods, industry experts say catalogs help retailers cut through the noise and still hold their own in value because of growing digital advertising costs. Canada's Trudeau says he had an 'excellent conversation' with Trump in Florida after tariffs threat WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he had an “excellent conversation” with Donald Trump in Florida after the president-elect’s threat to impose significant tariffs on two of America’s leading trade partners raised alarms in Ottawa and Mexico City. It's unclear, as Trudeau headed back to Canada on Saturday, whether the conversation had alleviated Trump’s concerns. Trump’s transition team hasn't responded to questions about what the leaders had discussed at their dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he said was the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. Trump and Republicans in Congress eye an ambitious 100-day agenda, starting with tax cuts WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans swept to power on Election Day and now control the House, the Senate and the White House, with plans for an ambitious 100-day agenda come January. Their to-do list includes extending tax breaks, cutting social programs, building the border wall to stop immigration and rolling back President Joe Biden's green energy policies. Atop that list is a plan to renew some $4 trillion in expiring tax cuts that were a signature domestic achievement of Republican Donald Trump’s first term as president. It's an issue that may define his return to the White House. The ruble's in a slump. For the Kremlin, that's a two-edged sword Russia’s ruble is sagging against other currencies, complicating the Kremlin’s efforts to keep consumer inflation under control with one hand even as it overheats the economy with spending on the war against Ukraine with the other. Over time a weaker ruble could mean higher prices for imports from China, Russia's main trade partner these days. President Vladimir Putin says things are under control. One wild card is sanctions against a key Russian bank that have disrupted foreign trade payments. If Russia finds a workaround for that, the ruble could regain some of its recent losses. Iceland votes for a new parliament after political disagreements force an early election REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections. This will be Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a new era of political instability. Opinion polls suggest the country may be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement. Massachusetts lawmakers push for an effort to ban all tobacco sales over time BOSTON (AP) — A handful of Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to persuade their colleagues to support a proposal that would make the state the first to adopt a ban meant to eliminate the use of tobacco products over time. Other locations have weighed similar “generational tobacco bans.” The bans phase out the use of tobacco products based not just on a person's age but on birth year. Lawmakers plan to file the proposal next year. If approved, the bill would set a date and ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after that date forever, eventually banning all sales. Vietnam approves $67 billion high-speed railway project between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has approved the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital Hanoi in the north with the financial capital of Ho Chi Minh in the south. It is expected to cost $67 billion and will stretch 1,541 kilometers (957 miles). The new train is expected to travel at speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph), reducing the journey from the current 30 hours to just five hours. The decision was taken by Vietnam’s National Assembly on Saturday. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and Vietnam hopes that the first trains will start operating by 2035. But the country has been beleaguered by delays to its previous infrastructure projects. Inflation rose to 2.3% in Europe. That won't stop the central bank from cutting interest rates FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new U.S. tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth. The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.3 percent, up from 2.0% in October, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. However, worries about growth mean the Dec. 12 ECB meeting is not about whether to cut rates, but by how much. Market buzz says there could be a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%.
Free College Won’t Make the American Dream Attainable For the Working ClassNow that he’s stepped back into the role of being a starter, Dalton Risner is working tirelessly to make sure he’s at his best for the Vikings. ADVERTISEMENT That could be easier said than done in the short term. After starting exclusively at left guard since entering the NFL, Risner got the start at right guard for the first time last weekend with the Vikings playing the Tennessee Titans. Though he said he was extremely grateful for the opportunity, Risner also admitted there’s a learning curve now playing a new position. Not that he’s complaining about his place on the offensive line. “It was awesome,” Risner said. “I’m really happy with how I played. A few things to clean up. I think I’ll only continue to get better.” ADVERTISEMENT After rewatching the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell praised Risner for the way he competed in the trenches. “He showed some of that veteran moxie to win some downs that were some hard downs,” O’Connell said. “There are some things he’ll continue to improve with the speed and physicality of it as he finds his groove.” The biggest hurdle for Risner is getting his mind to think in reverse. He has spent so much time at left guard throughout his career that switching over to right guard has forced him out of his comfort zone. “All of it is flip-flopped,” Risner said. “It’s not an easy process.” ADVERTISEMENT It was made even more difficult last weekend with Risner going up against the combination of star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. “That’s about as good of a pair as we’re going to find in the NFL,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge up front with those guys. There are some things we could’ve done better from a technique perspective. We expect these guys to respond.” That includes Risner as the Vikings prepare for the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. As he gains more experience at his new position, his hope is that it becomes second nature to him at some point soon. ADVERTISEMENT “I don’t know how many reps it’ll be or how many games it’ll be,” Risner said. I know I’ll consistently get more and more comfortable there.” The only player listed as a non-participant on the injury report was tight end Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle). He hasn’t practiced at all this week, so his availability for this weekend is very much up in the air. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .