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(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Production workers across two Ford plants in Louisville, Kentucky, voted against a tentative agreement that ended a weekslong strike, a local chapter of the United Auto Workers said on Facebook late Sunday night.

By contrast, skilled trade workers at the two plants voted in favor of the agreement, leaving the members of UAW Local 862 split on the deal depending on their respective jobs.

Neither UAW Local 862 nor Ford immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Production workers who belong to the chapter voted down the agreement by a margin of 55% to 45%, while skilled trade workers voted in favor of the deal by a share of 69% to 31%.

Members of the chapter work at the Louisville Assembly Plant and the Kentucky Truck Plant, a major Ford factory that employs 8,700 workers who went out on strike nearly four weeks before the two sides reached an agreement. In all, some 12,000 workers belong to UAW Local 862.

The Louisville-area chapter accounts for roughly 20% of the 57,000 members of the UAW who are set to vote on the tentative agreement with Ford. A majority of the members must vote in favor of the agreement in order for it to be ratified. If members vote the agreement down, the strike will resume.

A targeted strike against the Big 3 U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Jeep and Chrysler — ended earlier this month after each of the companies reached similar agreements with the union. The tentative deals included a roughly 25% raise over four years, as well as significant improvements on pensions and the right to protest the closure of plants.

Since reaching the agreements, UAW President Shawn Fain has touted them as a major victory for the union and the broader labor movement.

“The workers run the economy,” Fain said in an address to members of the UAW at a car plant in Illinois on Thursday. “And we the workers have the power to shut this economy down if it doesn’t work for the working class.”

President Joe Biden, who spoke at the event wearing a red T-shirt emblazoned with the UAW logo, described the tentative deal as a model that he hoped would fuel a wave of unionization across the auto industry.

“I’m a little selfish,” Biden said. “I want this type of agreement for all auto workers.”

However, the tentative agreement falls short of some ambitious demands made by Fain at the outset of the strike in September. Initially, the union called for 40% wage increases over the 4-year duration of the contract as well as a four-day workweek at full-time pay.

Ultimately, the union agreed to a 25% accumulated wage increase and set aside its demand for a four-day workweek.

Still, labor experts who previously spoke to ABC News said that Ford workers would likely approve the deal, since the initial demands were understood to be a strategic overreach meant to ensure that a compromise left the workers in a strong position.

“There’s probably a small risk of the deal being rejected,” Robert Bruno, director of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at Illinois University, told ABC News. “I think the membership probably understands that this was a fantastic effort.”

“There’s a lot of strategy involved in setting those initial targets,” Bruno added. “And there’s an understanding that at some point they’ll probably find some compromise position.”

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(NEW YORK) — It’s a phenomenon that’s taking over electric vehicles: “Screen fatigue.”

Drivers now traverse layers of screens to switch radio channels or turn on the heated seat. Digital dashboards seemingly extend for miles. Buttons and knobs are scarce — even obsolete.

“A lot of EVs have gone the way of screens or capacitive switches,” Ed Kim, a veteran automotive analyst at AutoPacific, told ABC News. “Buttons cost money and cost is a major issue because batteries are so expensive.”

He added, “There is growing evidence by some consumers of ‘screen fatigue.'”

According to a recent J.D. Power study, built-in infotainment systems are making motorists unhappy. These systems “are a prime example of a technology not resonating with today’s buyers,” the study said.

Less than half of owners prefer to use their vehicle’s built-in system for common functions like phone calls, voice recognition and navigation, J.D. Power found. Moreover, only 56% of owners prefer to use their vehicle’s built-in system to play audio, down from 70% in 2020, the study said.

“Tesla has gone toward the minimalist direction and many legacy automakers have followed suit with fewer buttons and knobs,” Jared Rosenholtz, editor at large at the blog CarBuzz, told ABC News.

The minimalism trend may be over. Several automakers are building electric models that mimic the luxuries (and buttons) found in their gas-powered equivalents. A #savethebuttons campaign has even started to gain followers on social media.

Andre Ravinowich, Genesis’ senior manager of product planning, said it would be difficult to tell apart the Electrified GV70 from the internal combustion engine facsimile. The sport utility vehicle “doesn’t scream at you that it’s an EV,” he said, adding that the only clues are the grille, charge port and unique stitch pattern in the SUV’s leather.

Ravinowich said the company chose buttons and knobs that assisted the driver — not distracted them — and designed interiors that amplified the brand’s “beauty of white space” ethos.

“An EV is still a luxury vehicle and needs to be refined and elegant,” he said. “It’s not a good experience to dig through two layers to change the heat inside the car.”

Kim praised Genesis for its “fantastic interiors,” adding that Audi’s Q8 e-tron SUV and the Porsche Taycan deserve credit too for their premium materials. These brands have not sacrificed interior quality to offset expensive powertrains, he noted.

Rosenholtz called out the BMW i7 electric sedan for its long list of sublime amenities.

“The BMW i7 is easily my favorite EV interior right now,” he told ABC News. “You can get it with cashmere seats. It’s available with a 31-inch theater screen in the back where you can watch Netflix and recline with a built-in footrest. Unless you hit the start button, there would be no way to tell from the driver seat if you were in a BMW 7 Series or an electric i7.”

Alex Dabrowski, the i7’s product manager, said many customers are choosing the pricey rear executive lounge seating package that includes massage and ventilated seats that recline.

“We went all out with interior design and upholstery choices and fit and finish,” he told ABC News. “The i7 at its core is a premium luxury sedan. At the end of the day, the i7 is still a 7 Series, the flagship of the BMW portfolio. The i7 just happens to be electric.”

Moreover, the i7 comes with automatic door technology that opens and closes the front and rear doors with the push of a button.

“The i7 provides a sense of calm for the driver,” Dabrowski said.

Porsche is already reversing course, adding back switches in its latest Cayenne model. Porsche’s director of user experience, Ivo van Hulten, conceded earlier this year that the German company may have pushed the no-button tide too far with the Taycan.

“Maybe [the Taycan interior] was so digital that for this generation we learned that we want to add a little bit more analog flavor again,” he told The Drive.

The lack of buttons and premium interiors may not matter to all drivers, though. Kim noted that price and range continue to impact sales of EVs, which have been waning in recent months. Ford, Hyundai, Lucid and Tesla have been cutting prices or offering rebates to attract buyers.

“Price is absolutely an enormous issue. It’s the No. 1 reason why people do not get an EV,” Kim said.

He argued that recent headlines on the falling consumer demand for EVs are misleading.

“We are seeing some hints of incentives on EVs, but growing inventories are happening across the board, even with ICE vehicles,” he said. “EV sales are where we’ve been forecasting and still growing very rapidly.”

Drop-down theater systems, extra-plush headrests, gorgeous ambient lighting and a return of buttons may still not be enough to close the gap between Tesla, the No. 1 seller of EVs, and the competition, Rosenholtz said.

“There are several EVs that are less expensive and have superior interior quality than a Tesla but they do not go as far on a charge,” he explained.

Kim said automakers now have proof that EVs can be high tech, glamorous and come with all the gadgets that drivers depend on daily.

“Consumers are tired of having to do everything via the screen,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — As Thanksgiving approaches, millions of Americans are gearing up to hit the highway or head to the airport — and some airlines are expecting their busiest Thanksgiving ever.

Here’s what you need to know:

Thanksgiving travel by air

AAA projects 4.7 million travelers will fly over Thanksgiving — a 6.6% increase from last year. This would mark the highest number of people flying for Thanksgiving since 2005.

The busiest and most expensive days to fly before Thanksgiving will be Tuesday, Nov. 21, and Wednesday, Nov. 22, according to AAA.

The best day to go to the airport for Thanksgiving is Monday, Nov. 20, when flights will be 12% cheaper than on Nov. 22, according to Expedia.

The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 30 million passengers during its Thanksgiving travel period, which runs from Nov. 17 to Nov. 28.

“We expect this holiday season to be our busiest ever. In 2023, we have already seen seven of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “We are ready for the anticipated volumes and are working closely with our airline and airport partners to make sure we are prepared for this busy holiday travel season. We will also do our best to maintain wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck® lanes and under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes.”

The most popular domestic destinations for Thanksgiving this year are New York City, Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida, according to Hopper. Internationally, the most popular cities are London, Tokyo and Paris.

The cheapest days to return home will be Friday, Nov. 24, or Monday, Nov. 27, according to Hopper.

United Airlines said it expects to have its busiest Thanksgiving ever, with over 5.9 million passengers — a 13% increase from last year.

United anticipates that Sunday, Nov. 26, will be one of its busiest days since before the pandemic, with more than 517,000 people expected to fly.

Due to remote work, United said its holiday travel period has extended. United said the demand for flying the Monday before Thanksgiving is up nearly 10% from 2019, while demand for flying the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is only up 3%.

American Airlines said it predicts a record 7.8 million passengers over Thanksgiving.

American said Sunday, Nov. 26, and Monday, Nov. 27, will be its busiest days.

Thanksgiving travel by road

AAA projects that 55.4 million people will drive 50 miles or farther from home for Thanksgiving — a 2.3% increase from last year. This marks the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.

The busiest day on the roads is expected to be Wednesday, Nov. 22, according to transportation analytics company INRIX. Drivers should leave home in the morning or after 6 p.m. to avoid the heaviest traffic, INRIX said.

On Sunday, Nov. 26, the worst traffic is forecast to be between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The best time to hit the road will be before noon, according to INRIX.

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(NEW YORK) — When Tori Mccun found out that her father had suddenly died in June, grief and stress sapped her resolve to write a eulogy, she said. Despite the misgivings of her three sisters, Mccun turned to ChatGPT.

Mccun, 31, a data management specialist at Bloomberg, prompted the textbot to ask questions about her dad, eliciting memories from her and her siblings which she fed back into ChatGPT for a draft speech, she said. After some fine-tuning, Mccun delivered the eulogy and received a glowing response.

Her sisters are still uneasy about the decision to use ChatGPT, Mccun said.

“Engaging something so non-human in such a human moment is hard for people to comprehend,” said Mccun, who lives in New York City.

The disagreement between Mccun and her siblings exemplifies a wider cultural moment. ChatGPT has exploded over the past year, and using the technology has tested norms and raised questions around the importance of authenticity for some of life’s emotional moments, such as wedding vows, apologies and eulogies, according to experts in technology and ethics who spoke with ABC News.

In the coming years, AI could reshape conventions around emotionally charged messages, the experts said.

Generative AI, a category of digital tools that create written or other content, has surged in use since the release of ChatGPT to the public a year ago. The chatbot now boasts more than 100 million weekly users, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on Monday.

To be sure, generative AI tools are open to the internet with few guardrails and users who input content into them, including details about loved ones, potentially open themselves up to false information and identity theft.

ChatGPT scans billions of pieces of digital text and uses an algorithm to string words together in response to a human prompt. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The use of ChatGPT for sensitive messages has occasionally stoked controversy. In February, Vanderbilt University apologized for the use of ChatGPT to compose an email to students about a mass shooting at another university.

When venture capitalist Vinod Khosla told 600,000 followers on X last month that he had used ChatGPT to write a rap song for his daughter’s wedding, the post drew both praise and derision.

The phrase “ChatGPT apology” has become social media shorthand in reference to apparently inauthentic expressions of public remorse.

The individuals ABC News spoke to for this story, who said they used ChatGPT for these types of emotional messages, said the technology allowed them to overcome the anxiety induced by a blank page and the expectation of eloquence in high-pressure moments. Startups have launched customized AI tools that help compose intimate notes such as wedding vows.

Melissa Buckley, the owner of a cosmetics business in Reading, Pennsylvania, said she used ChatGPT last month for help writing the script of a 3-minute video congratulating her stepson on his marriage.

“I was really busy at the time because we were moving offices,” Buckley told ABC News. “I just didn’t have the mental capacity to sit down and think about what I wanted to say.”

After providing ChatGPT with details about the task and her stepson, Buckley said the tool produced an AI-written speech from which she pulled out key points and recited them in her own words, she said. The video, she noted, was well received.

“There’s a little bit of stigma that I shortcutted it but it really wasn’t a shortcut,” Buckley said. “ChatGPT is only going to give you what you put into it. If you give it more specifics, that means you personally took the time to put the thought into it.”

Andrea Lynch, who sells eulogy-writing kits with advice for the use of generative AI, said she considers the technology an aid rather than a replacement. She advises clients to adapt the AI-written draft with their own speech patterns.

“I’ve realized that it’s not a substitute for a human being,” Lynch told ABC News. “I think if somebody is really searching for a way to communicate a sentiment and struggling to find the right words, particularly in times of high emotion, they sometimes could use some help.”

But one study suggests that the use of AI in personal messages draws skepticism from recipients. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel found that the use of AI for help writing apologies is perceived as less authentic and reduces the likelihood that the author will be forgiven.

The researchers presented participants with a scenario in which a colleague who speaks a different first language uses AI tools, such as translation or sentence completion, to help compose an apology. When given identical apologies, participants who were told that the writer had used the AI tools were less likely to believe that it conveyed genuine emotion.

Omri Asscher, a co-author of the study, said he suspects that the same perception of phoniness would apply to other messages like eulogies and wedding vows.

“The machines are perceived as less capable of doing that emotional work,” Asscher said. “They’re perceived to be faulty in terms of their moral authenticity.”

Differing opinions about the use of ChatGPT for intimate messages touches on a tension between two competing objectives fulfilled by them, Alice MacLachlan, a philosophy professor at Toronto-based York University who specializes in the ethics of apology, told ABC News.

Such communications are expected to be heartfelt expressions of direct emotion but also carefully crafted pieces of writing replete with rhetorical flourish, MacLachlan said.

“On the one hand, if I’m asking AI to write an apology for me, it’s not from my heart — it’s from the mixed-up word salad of a generative language collector,” MacLachlan said. “On the other hand, there’s a sense that an apology is something we craft. We want to do a good job of it.”

Ultimately, generative AI could reshape the way we view intimate communications, just as it has made college professors rethink what they glean from student essays, MacLachlan said.

While using these tools for heartfelt speeches may cause rifts between loved ones, it could also allow less-adept writers to better articulate their deepest feelings, she added.

“It’s unclear anymore how much we can use authored text as a measure of something, whether it’s a learning objective, a change of heart or a declaration of love,” MacLachlan said. “But I like the idea that language has power and that power might be shared more equitably.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden called for unionization across the auto industry and embraced the broader labor movement in an address to members of the United Auto Workers at a car plant in Illinois on Thursday.

Biden, who wore a red T-shirt emblazoned with the UAW logo, hailed the union workers for carrying out a 46-day strike against the automakers that ended with tentative deals last month.

“These deals are game-changers not only for UAW workers but for all workers in America,” said Biden, who in September became the first U.S. president to join workers on a picket line when he visited a UAW protest in Michigan.

“I want to thank you for your commitment to solidarity,” he told the workers on Thursday. “You’re changing the face of the country economically.”

The tentative deals, which must be ratified by union members at each of the respective carmakers, resolved an at-times contentious work stoppage that thrust UAW President Shawn Fain into the national spotlight and drew overwhelming support in public polls.

Tentative agreements struck with Ford, Stellantis and GM each called for a roughly 25% raise over four years, as well as significant improvements on pensions and the right to protest the closure of plants.

The event arrives roughly a year before the 2024 presidential election, which polls suggest is likely to be a repeat of the 2020 contest between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The economy and inflation are top issues for Americans, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Sunday.

Republicans are more likely to be trusted to do a better job on these two issues, according to the poll: Americans trust Republicans to do a better job handling the economy over Democrats (35%-25%). On inflation, they trust Republicans to do a better job (35%-21%).

As part of its tentative contract ending the strike, Stellantis agreed to reopen the assembly plant in Belvidere, where Biden spoke on Thursday.

Roughly 1,300 workers at the plant lost their jobs when the factory idled in February. Ultimately, the deal to reopen the plant could create 3,000 jobs in Belvidere.

During contract negotiations, Biden said he called Stellantis officials to emphasize the importance of the Belvidere facility. “I got on the phone and let them know personally,” the president said.

Biden commended Fain for his leadership throughout the six-week strike. “Shawn, you’ve done one hell of a job, pal,” Biden said.

“When I called Shawn to congratulate him on this historic deal with the Big 3 automakers, he told me the credit goes to the workers,” Biden added. “It doesn’t hurt to have a leader with a backbone like a ramrod.”

Speaking on Thursday before Biden’s remarks, Fain shared his embrace. He praised Biden for the role his administration played in negotiations between the union and the carmakers. Fain and Biden met privately before speaking at the rally.

“I’m honored to be here today with the president of the United States,” Fain said on Thursday. “I’m grateful for the work shown by the White House throughout this fight.”

“This is a team effort,” Fain added. “They went to work with us and the companies.”

Biden sought to focus on the economy with the friendly crowd at the auto plant but faced a protester at the outset of the remarks who called on the White House to back a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

In recent days, Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impose a three-day humanitarian pause but has declined to back a cease-fire. Israel agreed to daily four-hour pauses in the fighting, the White House said on Thursday.

“President Biden, you need to call for a cease-fire in Gaza,” a crowd member yelled.

A chorus of boos rose up from the audience in response to the protest, but Biden called on the crowd to remain calm. “Let her go,” he said. “It’s OK.”

Chants from the crowd then drowned out the protest. “We love Joe,” they said. “We love Joe.”

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(NEW YORK) — WeWork, the office-sharing company that experienced a dazzling rise and sudden decline that came to symbolize the excesses of business startup culture, filed for bankruptcy on Monday.

In 2019, the company was valued at $47 billion. By last week, that figure had plummeted to $45 million, with shares of WeWork’s stock falling more than 98% since the beginning of the year.

Creditors holding 92% of the company’s secured debt agreed on a restructuring plan that would include cutting back its portfolio of office leases, WeWork said in a statement on Monday.

“Now is the time for us to pull the future forward by aggressively addressing our legacy leases and dramatically improving our balance sheet,” WeWork CEO David Tolley said in the statement.

Popularized by a charismatic co-founder and fueled by an era of cheap borrowing, WeWork expanded the old-fashioned business of commercial real estate into a vision of transforming the way people work, replete with chic offices offering free beer on tap.

The company met its undoing, however, when a debt-fueled spending spree on leasing office space ran up against insufficient demand from businesses and freelancers, experts told ABC News. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many office employees worldwide to work from home, only made things worse.

Here’s what caused the WeWork bankruptcy, and what its implications could be.

What is WeWork’s business model?

WeWork’s business model rested on the proposition that the company could lease and refurbish office space, and then rent the properties to companies and freelancers at marked-up rates, Samuel Rosen, a professor of finance at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, told ABC News.

“WeWork is kind of a middleman,” Rosen said. “They take out a giant portfolio of real estate leases, rent it out and make a profit.”

The company currently offers office space at 660 currently open or soon-to-come locations in 119 cities worldwide, according to its website.

As part of its appeal to tenants, WeWork gained a reputation for lavish spending on stylishly designed spaces with worker amenities such as free kombucha and beer, hammocks, and rock-climbing walls.

What’s behind WeWork’s collapse?

WeWork took on tens of billions of dollars in debt to amass its large portfolio of leased office space. As of 2021, Japanese venture firm SoftBank had invested $17 billion in the company, Bloomberg reported.

However, demand for shared office space never reached the level necessary to match the large acquisition WeWork made. That lack of tenants in turn meant WeWork couldn’t offset those losses or make their sizable rent payments on the office space they’d leased, Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan who has studied WeWork, told ABC News.

“They mistakenly thought that signing leases gave them tons of assets,” Gordon said. “There’s tons of empty office space, so having nailed down office space made no sense.”

Since WeWork had taken on debt to fund its lease portfolio, the underperformance gradually pushed the company into bankruptcy.

“It’s the combination of a business model that wasn’t as profitable as originally projected, and a lot of debt,” Rosen said.

What are the implications of WeWork’s bankruptcy?

The bankruptcy of WeWork offers a cautionary tale regarding a period of low interest rates in the 2000s and 2010s that spurred a flood of investment into startups as investors sought novel ventures that could deliver high returns, Gordon said.

When borrowing expenses are low, he added, investors bring less scrutiny to where they put their money.

“It’s a testament to how damaging near-zero interest rates are to the market mechanisms that allocate capital,” Gordon said. “Near-zero interest rates make capital get allocated stupidly.”

Since last year, however, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates at the fastest pace in more than two decades, making borrowing more expensive for businesses and consumers alike.

Christopher Kayes, a professor of management at the George Washington University School of Business, said in a statement: “The fall of WeWork signals that the excesses of the last decades are being put to rest.”

“The cheap money that enabled the financing of companies like WeWork to thrive was the match in the powder keg,” Kayes added.

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(NEW YORK) — Starbucks will raise the hourly pay of U.S. retail employees by 3% at the outset of next year, the company announced on Monday.

The Seattle-based coffee chain operates roughly 17,000 stores in the U.S., providing employees between $15 to $24 per hour in wages and a full benefits package that reaches as much as $27 an hour, Starbucks said.

Starting on Jan. 1, hourly retail employees will receive a raise of at least 3%. Further, workers with two to five years of employment at the company will gain a 4% raise and those with more than five years of experience will earn at least a 5% raise, the company said.

“Investing in our partners is what drives our success,” Sara Trilling, executive vice president and president of Starbucks North America, said in a statement on Monday. “It’s what makes us all partners. And an important way we do this is by investing in our partners’ journey, to bridge to a better future at Starbucks and beyond.”

In addition to the pay increase, Starbucks will reduce the minimum number of days an employee must work in order to qualify for paid vacation benefits, the company said.

The minimum pay raise of 3% falls short of the annual pace of inflation, which stands at 3.7%.

The announcement arrives amid an ongoing union campaign at Starbucks stores nationwide. Since 2021, a union called Starbucks Workers United has organized more than 350 stores employing roughly 9,000 workers.

Alex Yeager, a worker at a Starbucks store in Albany, New York, who belongs to the union, said in a statement to ABC News that he expects the company to provide the raise only at non-unionized stores.

“Once again, Starbucks is responding to our bargaining demands, but they’re implementing them in nonunion stores and denying these new benefits to workers in stores that are unionizing or already voted to join the union,” Yeager said, noting that the union has filed charges with the federal government over previous instances of such conduct by the company.

“This is against the law, and there are already several consolidated charges from the National Labor Relations Board for benefit packages Starbucks has denied union workers — such as credit card tipping — since we started our campaign,” Yeager added.

A labor board judge ruled in September that Starbucks had illegally provided previous pay increases and benefits to non-union employees without offering them to unionized workers. Bloomberg first reported on the ruling.

Starbucks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment about the union’s allegation that the pay increase would only be provided to workers at non-union stores.

In its announcement on Monday, Starbucks said: “The company recognizes changes to wages, benefits, and/or terms and conditions may not be unilaterally implemented for partners in stores with organizing underway and may be subject to collective bargaining in good faith for partners in stores with certified union representation.”

In recent months, Starbucks and the union have publicly clashed over a host of issues, including the Israel-Hamas war.

The company sued Starbucks Workers United last month after the labor organization posted a since-deleted message on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The message from the union triggered calls to boycott Starbucks, when some appeared to mistake the union’s position for that of the company.

Weeks later, the union posted an additional statement on X standing with Palestinians while condemning the deaths of innocent civilians.

“We are opposed to violence, and each death occurring as the result of violence is a tragedy,” the statement said. “We absolutely condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia.”

The union also filed a countersuit against Starbucks, calling its lawsuit an attempt to damage the union and undermine its organizing efforts.

“We strongly disagree with the views expressed by Workers United, including its local affiliates, union organizers and those who identify as members of ‘Starbucks Workers United’ — none of these groups speak for Starbucks Coffee Company and do not represent our company’s views, positions, or beliefs,” Sara Kelly, executive vice president and chief partner officer at Starbucks, said in the statement.

 

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(NEW YORK) — Tyson Foods is voluntarily recalling almost 30,000 pounds of its dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets due to possible contamination of foreign materials, specifically metal pieces, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Saturday.

The specific items subjected to the recall are for 29-ounce plastic bag packages containing “fully cooked fun nuggets breaded shaped chicken patties” with a best by date of Sept. 2, 2024, according to the USDA. The products were distributed and sold in Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin and bear establishment number “P-7211” on the back of the package.

Tyson alerted USDA after receiving complaints from consumers who found small metal pieces in the products, said the agency, which added there has been “one reported minor oral injury” associated with consumption of the food, but no other additional injuries reported so far.

Tyson Foods did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Officials from USDA expressed their concern that some consumers may have some of the chicken nuggets stored in their freezers and are urging them not to consume the products, return the items to the place of purchase or throw them out.

In a press release posted on its website, Tyson Foods said some of its consumers reported they found “small, pliable metal pieces in the product” and the company decided to recall the products “out of an abundance of caution.”

The company also advised purchasers to cut the UPC and date code from the packaging, discard the product and call or text 1-855-382-3101.

Last year, Tyson Fresh Meats recalled about 93,697 pounds of raw ground beef products, saying the items may be contaminated with “extraneous materials, specifically reflective mirror-like material,” USDA announced. At the time, the agency and company told consumers not to eat the contaminated ground beef, however, there were no confirmed reports of injury or illness from the recalled beef.

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(NEW YORK) — Despite a gradual slowdown in investment opportunities for Black businesses, Daymond John is determined to rewrite the narrative through Black Entrepreneurs Day.

John, CEO of FUBU and co-star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” started Black Entrepreneurs Day in 2020 to celebrate innovation and enterprise in the Black community. Black Entrepreneurs Day, which held their annual event Wednesday, says it has awarded more than $750,000 in business grants since 2020.

“The need for resources and community support for our Black businesses remains paramount. I salute our partners who year after year, support our mission to educate and inspire Black entrepreneurs around the globe,” John told ABC News.

In 2020, following George Floyd’s death, Black founders raised a record $4.3 billion in venture capital and corporate investments. However, amid increased market uncertainty, financing for Black businesses dropped by 45%, outpacing the 36% decline in overall VC funding in 2022, CNBC reported.

Nine entrepreneurs were selected to win $25,000 each during Black Entrepreneurs Day’s star-studded event at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. New York City Mayor Eric Adams presented John with an official Black Entrepreneurs Day proclamation.

The winners, representing industries ranging from food to financial services and lawn care, won more than $200,000 through the NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant. Applicants were required to share their visions for their businesses, describe the challenges they’ve faced so far, and explain how they plan to use the grant funding in full.

Ashley Sutton, the Salesforce-sponsored recipient of a $25,000 grant, said she has big plans to revolutionize the greeting cards industry.

“I wanted to dive in headfirst with something that had a personal meaning to me. I wanted to disrupt this $7 billion industry that hasn’t been innovated since pop-ups and music,” Sutton told ABC News.

Sutton created Hustle & Hope in 2019 to do just that. Sutton said her love for greeting cards bloomed through her family’s tradition of giving her special notes for every occasion.

Using her 13 years of marketing expertise, she came up with the idea to merge the digital and physical experience by embedding downloadable guides into her inspirational cards through QR codes. The resources cover a wide range of topics including celebrations, self-care strategies, and dealing with rejection– something Sutton said she is very familiar with as a full-time entrepreneur.

This investment will allow her to expand the Hustle & Hope team and hire an intern, Sutton said.

‘”If I kept track of every ‘no’ I’ve ever gotten, I could probably fund my business,” Sutton said. “But it’s just this unwavering belief in myself. And holding on to this quote from my mom, ‘No means next.’ That keeps me going.”

Lawrence Phillips, another recipient of Black Entrepreneurs Day, said burnout led him to take a risk and quit his lucrative consulting job to travel the world at the height of his career. While navigating 30 countries across seven continents, he said he often found himself nervous about visiting certain areas as a Black man.

“I really could never find a platform that would tell me, from city to city, what it would be like traveling while Black,” Phillips said to ABC News.

By 2018, he launched Green Book Global, a travel platform where users can book trips, read and write reviews, and join a premium membership with discounts and cash-back rewards. Phillips said he drew inspiration from “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a critical Jim Crow-era guide designed to help Black travelers find safe places accommodations, restaurants, and other services in the United States.

Green Book Global was handpicked by Hilton to receive a $25,000 prize. With this grant, Phillips is all set to overhaul the Green Book Global mobile app and website to make the user experience more seamless.

“Our goal is to increase the confidence and reduce the anxiety of black travelers,” Phillips said. “People don’t always have that many vacation days. They have maybe one or two big trips a year. They don’t have time to have a bad experience. They’re probably going to spend a lot of money, so they want to be sure whatever they encounter is a positive experience.”

He’s excited to build out the company’s community features so users can directly message each other and grow stronger bonds over their excitement for travel.

“It’s empowering, and it adds life to the reviews when you get to know the people behind the posts,” said Phillips. “It’s our hope to drive the company forward and [we] can’t do anything without our community.”

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(NEW YORK) — A gangbusters job market showed pronounced signs of a slowdown last month, a government report on Friday showed. The fresh data elicited predictions from some economists that hiring could stall by the middle of next year.

The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in October, which amounts to solid growth, but only half of the jobs gained during the previous month, the data showed.

Even placed within a wider context, the hiring gains marked a significant drop from the monthly average over the past year.

The unemployment rate last month clocked in at 3.9%, an increase of half a percentage point from a recent low in April. Since that month, an additional 850,000 people are out of work, the report found.

“The job market slowed meaningfully in October,” Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, said in a statement on Friday, adding that the assessment was backed by “all of the key indicators.”

The new data “explains why job seekers and new hires are feeling more stressed out than they have in over a year,” Pollak noted. “Rising financial strain, paired with declining worker leverage, are taking their toll.”

A slowdown in job growth took hold across wide swathes of the U.S. economy, including leisure and hospitality as well as professional and business services.

The apparent loss of momentum applies to the months preceding October, government data showed, noting a downward revision of the hiring estimates for August and September by more than 100,000 jobs.

Lydia Boussour, a senior economist at consulting firm EY, dubbed the job market’s recent performance an “autumn chill.”

The trend will extend beyond fall, Boussour said, predicting that the unemployment rate would jump to nearly 4.5% by the end of next year.

Preston Caldwell, chief U.S. economist at Morningstar, said he expects the 34-month streak of U.S. job growth to end by the middle of 2024.

The slowdown in hiring last month still amounts to robust job gains. Moreover, in some key sectors, such as health care and government, jobs added in October exceeded the average monthly gains over the past year.

Plus, the overall cooldown in October owes in part to a major auto workers’ strike that remained active last month, accounting to more than 33,000 job losses reflected in the data released on Friday.

Some economists said it remains unclear whether the significant slowdown last month is a one-off blip or a wider trend.

“One tepid jobs report does not a trend make,” Jason Schenker, president of research firm Prestige Economics, said in a statement.

Still, Schenker described the jobs report on Friday as “disappointing,” saying that he expects “more weakness likely lies ahead.”

The jobs data arrives two days after the Federal Reserve opted to leave interest rates unchanged despite stubborn inflation that has fallen from a peak last summer but stalled in recent months at level well above the central bank’s target.

Since last year, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate at the fastest pace in more than two decades, seeking to slash price hikes by slowing the economy and reducing consumer demand.

In theory, the economy should eventually falter as it becomes more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow. But the economy has largely resisted a cooldown.

Gross domestic product data released last week showed that the U.S. economy expanded at a 4.9% annualized rate over three months ending in September. That breakneck pace more than doubled growth over the previous quarter and reinforced other recent indicators of sturdy performance.

Observers, however, point to a rapid rise in U.S. government bond yields over recent weeks as evidence that the Fed’s rate hikes have elevated long-term borrowing costs for consumers seeking mortgage loans and corporations pursuing funds to expand their businesses.

Pollak, of ZipRecruiter, attributed the cooldown in hiring to the interest rate increases and the spike in borrowing expenses.

“The good news is that this slowdown is not due to economic fundamentals, but rather due to careful orchestration by the Fed,” Pollak said. “If it turns out that the Fed and bond markets have gone too far, the Fed holds the keys to turning that around.”

 

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