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Business
Feds Recalling 512K Smart Space Heaters Sold Nationwide That Pose Burn, Overheating Risk Feds Recalling 512K Smart Space Heaters Sold Nationwide That Pose Burn, Overheating Risk
Feds Recalling 512K Smart Space Heaters Sold Nationwide That Pose Burn, Overheating Risk Hundreds of thousands of space heaters sold nationwide are being recalled due to fire and burn risks, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced this week. GoveeLife and Govee have issued a recall for approximately 512,500 smart electric space heaters in the US and 48,600 in Canada due to overheating, posing fire and burn hazards.  The recall involves models:  H7130 Recalled Model H7130 CPSC H7131 Recalled Model H7131 CPSC H7132 Recalled Model H7132 CPSC H7133 Recalled Model H7133 CPSC H7134 Recalled Model H7134 CPSC…

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by Zak Failla
Business
7-Eleven To Close Hundreds Of Stores 7-Eleven To Close Hundreds Of Stores
7-Eleven To Close Hundreds Of Stores Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is closing hundreds of stores in North America. Parent company Seven & I Holdings said that the 444 locations were “underperforming.” They make up about 3 percent of 7-Eleven's total of around 13,000 outlets in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Specific sites of the stores have not yet been released. In announcing the closures, the company said that 7-Eleven stores saw a 7.3 percent decline in traffic in August, saying a "pullback in consumer spending has persisted beyond prior expectations" that has affected store traffic and sales growth "as consu…

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Red Lobster Revival? Restaurant Chain Exits Bankruptcy With $60M In Funding, New CEO Red Lobster Revival? Restaurant Chain Exits Bankruptcy With $60M In Funding, New CEO
Red Lobster Revival? Restaurant Chain Exits Bankruptcy With $60M In Funding, New CEO Four months after its Chapter 11 filing, restaurant chain Red Lobster says it has exited bankruptcy led by new management. The company announced on Monday, Sept. 16 that it's been acquired by lender group RL Investor Holdings with $60 million in new funding backed by Fortress Investment Group. Damola Adamolekun, former chief executive officer at Asian fusion casual dining chain P.F. Chang’s, is now running Red Lobster. The move comes after the chain, founded in 1968, abruptly closed dozens of locations earlier this year. It still has 544 locations across 44 US states and four provinces in…

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Sweeping Change: Instagram Moves Teens Into Private Accounts 'Guided By Parents' Sweeping Change: Instagram Moves Teens Into Private Accounts 'Guided By Parents'
Sweeping Change: Instagram Moves Teens Into Private Accounts 'Guided By Parents' Millions of teenage Instagram users are being forced into private accounts with enhanced security features aimed at limiting their exposure to harmful content. Meta, the social media platform’s parent company, unveiled its “Teen Accounts” feature on Tuesday, Sept. 17, automatically placing anyone under the age of 18 into a default private account. Teens with a private account must accept new followers and people who don’t follow them can’t see their contact or interact with them. It also comes with strict messaging settings, making it so they can only receive messages from people they foll…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event
Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event There's an out-of-this-world lunar event set to begin this week.  From Monday, Aug. 19, through Wednesday, Aug. 21, the moon will appear bigger and brighter in the night sky than normal. It's called the supermoon. It's the first one of the year, but that's not why this one is special.  A supermoon occurs when the moon is full and closest to Earth in its orbit, according to NASA. That closeness makes the rocky satellite appear 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.  What makes August's supermoon so unique is that it's a blue moon. No, the light of the moon won't change co…

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by Josh Lanier
Lifestyle
'Peanuts'-Themed Corn Mazes At NY Farms Commemorate Beloved Comic's 75th Anniversary 'Peanuts'-Themed Corn Mazes At NY Farms Commemorate Beloved Comic's 75th Anniversary
'Peanuts'-Themed Corn Mazes At NY Farms Commemorate Beloved Comic's 75th Anniversary It’s your anniversary, Charlie Brown. More than 75 farms across the United States and Canada are busy preparing “Peanuts”-themed corn mazes to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Charles Schulz’ beloved comic strip this fall. Together with design company, The MAiZE Inc., the farms are growing their own unique mazes that range in size from 1.5 acres to 20 acres, and feature iconic characters like Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and Woodstock. Among the eye-popping designs are one with Snoopy atop his doghouse, Charlie Brown and friends in a pumpkin patch, and even a “Snoopy 4 Prez” maze. Par…

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by Michael Mashburn
Weather
Wildfire Smoke Drifting Into Parts Of NY: How Bad Will It Be? Wildfire Smoke Drifting Into Parts Of NY: How Bad Will It Be?
Wildfire Smoke Drifting Into Parts Of NY: How Bad Will It Be? If things looks fuzzier than usual, it wasn't your eyes focusing to adjust this morning. That was wildfire smoke is drifting from Canada into the Northeast, the National Weather Service said Wednesday morning, Aug. 14. "You may notice hazy skies today," the NWS New York office said. "It is coming from wildfire smoke, which has overspread across the area from north to south." While the smoke is expected to "stick around" for the next several days, forecasters are not expecting harmful impacts to the air quality, the NWS said. You may notice hazy skies today. It is coming from wildfire …

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Spec-Quack-ular: 'World's Largest Rubber Duck' Coming To Amusement Park In Westchester Spec-Quack-ular: 'World's Largest Rubber Duck' Coming To Amusement Park In Westchester
Spec-Quack-ular: 'World's Largest Rubber Duck' Coming To Amusement Park In Westchester A unique, six-story-tall attraction made of rubber will soon be coming to the shores of Westchester.  "The World's Largest Rubber Duck" will arrive in Rye Playland on Friday, Aug. 16, and stay through Sunday, Aug. 18, serving as the centerpiece of the park's "Second Annual Duck Days of Summer" celebration.  The 61-foot-tall duck, which aims to bring "love and joy to the globe," according to its website, will be accompanied by her 10-foot-high "baby ducking," Timmy.  The immense, 15.5-ton spectacle visits locations from California to Canada, attracting massive audiences along…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada
Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada The Costco Wholesale Corporation has announced membership hikes in the US and Canada for the first time in seven years, according to a news release by the company issued on Wednesday, July 10.  Costco opened the release sharing a June sales growth in the US of 5.6%, which is higher than the past 44 weeks of just 4.4%, the company experienced a decrease in revenue internationally.  On the heels of sharing that news, the company made the announcement about raising the membership fees in both the US and Canada beginning Sept. 1.  Annual memberships are rising $5 making them $65…

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by Jillian Pikora
Business
Updated List Of Scheduled Red Lobster Closures Includes 5 New NY Locations Updated List Of Scheduled Red Lobster Closures Includes 5 New NY Locations
Updated List Of Scheduled Red Lobster Closures Includes 5 New NY Locations Red Lobster plans to close more restaurants just weeks after it filed for bankruptcy, according to a new report. In a bankruptcy petition filed on Sunday, May 19, the company listed assets of $1 billion and liabilities of $10 billion. Days before the filing, dozens of Red Lobster locations were listed as "temporarily closed" on the company's website, including these New York locations: Kingston, Scarsdale, Nanuet, Poughkeepsie, Stony Brook In an updated list of closures reported by CNN on Thursday, June 6, five new locations in New York have been added to the list, including it…

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Red Lobster Files For Bankruptcy After Abruptly Closing Dozens Of Restaurants Red Lobster Files For Bankruptcy After Abruptly Closing Dozens Of Restaurants
Red Lobster Files For Bankruptcy After Abruptly Closing Dozens Of Restaurants Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy just days after closing dozens of its restaurants. In its bankruptcy petition filed on Sunday, May 19, the company listed assets of $1 billion and liabilities of $10 billion. The filing stated that the company "intends to use the proceedings to drive operational improvements, simplify the business through a reduction in locations, and pursue a sale of substantially all of its assets as a going concern." The company said restaurants not listed as "temporarily closed" on its website will remain "open and operating as usual during the Chapter 11 process."…

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by Joe Lombardi
Schools
How Sweet: NY Educator Named 'Teacher Of The Year' By Cookie Chain Crumbl How Sweet: NY Educator Named 'Teacher Of The Year' By Cookie Chain Crumbl
How Sweet: NY Educator Named 'Teacher Of The Year' By Cookie Chain Crumbl Forget the apple; this distinguished New York teacher is getting a cookie party. Just in time for National Teacher Appreciation Day, cookie chain Crumbl announced the winners of its “Teacher of the Year” awards, given to educators “for their extraordinary commitment to their classrooms.” In New York, the honor went to Monroe County teacher Dan Graf at State Road Elementary School in Webster. Recipients were selected from a pool of over 6,000 nominations that included testimonials from parents, students, colleagues, and friends. They were chosen from each state, the District of Columbi…

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by Michael Mashburn