🐤 I'll tumble 4 ya

🏦 Markets: After a strong start to the week, Wall Street closed with mixed results on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite recorded some gains throughout the day, but the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both lost ground.

And even Bitcoin, which has been having quite a moment lately, saw its value decline yesterday.

We’ll have to wait and see how the latest inflation numbers and earnings reports from banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America impact the overall market later this week.

⛈️ Storm’s a-brewin’: Much of the Southern U.S. experienced a severe storm yesterday, punctuated by fierce winds and lots of rain. In some areas across the Midwest, the severe weather took the form of a blizzard that knocked down trees, tore off roofs, and resulted in an array of other types of damage. Reports surfaced in Alabama about a likely tornado, which was initially linked to at least one death and multiple people in Florida were reportedly injured. Forecasts indicated the storm would continue moving to the northeast.

📺 Must see TV: The heyday of anticipating the season premiere of a favorite TV show might be over, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some compelling content capable of building some serious buzz. One such highlight involves “Stranger Things,” which has reportedly just started production of its final season. Then there’s the news about “Superman & Lois” gearing up for its fourth season. And if you’re a fan of the Max hit “Peacemaker,” there’s a second season set in a new continuity that creator James Gunn promised “won’t be confusing.”

⚾ Deal breaker: The monumental $700 million contract between Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers was notable not just for its size but for the fact that all but $20 million of it was deferred until after the contract expires in a decade. Both sides seemed happy with the terms, but California’s controller has some concerns. Malia M. Cohen is now petitioning Congress to implement new rules that would implement limitations on such deferments, thus potentially resulting in more tax revenue for the state.

🌭 It’s a dog’s life: Few vehicles can evoke a more nostalgic reaction than the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, and now you have a chance of driving it to events nationwide. Kraft Heinz recently revealed that it is accepting applications from would-be drivers, each of whom earn a salary of $35,600. It might not sound like a lot, but the job allows for travel to at least 40 cities, local media appearances, and some social media clout — all while sitting behind the wheel of the world’s biggest rolling hot dog.

If you saw the viral video of a completely burned car and the undamaged metal tumbler its owner found inside, you already know the extreme durability the Stanley brand boasts. But does that mean it’s worth waiting outside Target overnight to get your hands on the latest release?

Maybe … at least if you’re influenced by social media.

Prepare to pay up

With more people looking for a reusable alternative to plastic water bottles and humans being naturally inclined to take part in trends, it makes sense that trendy products like Stanley’s metal cups attract lots of consumer interest. There have been similar must-have products in this segment over the past several years, but this one stands out due to the level of TikTok attention it has generated.

• The #StanleyTumbler hashtag has received more than 1 billion views
• There’s more than 65 million views for the #StanleyBrand hashtag
• One product — the “Quencher” — accounts for most of the virality

Stanley products have never been cheap (the Quencher typically retails for $45), but demand has pushed the price up much higher. The most desirable variations can be found online selling for several hundred bucks.

More than just a cup

If you’re not inclined to join the crowd, particularly when it involves spending the night in a parking lot, you might think this whole trend is silly. But there are some legitimate reasons that Stanley has been selling its heavy-duty bottles and cups for more than a century.

They’re made to last, come in a variety of sizes and colors, and — this is a big deal in today’s culture — can fit in almost any standard cup holder.

But that doesn’t guarantee the current hype will last … particularly since it’s being fueled by the notoriously fickle forces of TikTok.

Ordinarily, the breeding season for sea lions is a cause for celebration among residents of Dunedin, a coastal city in New Zealand. But this year, there’s a bit of a scheduling conflict that has already caused more than a few logistical headaches.

Season’s greetings

In the southern hemisphere, the warm summer temperatures are arriving and travelers from near and far are heading to Dunedin for a seaside vacation. Upon arrival, however, they are finding various destinations are already being occupied by sea lions.

Even though the breeding season can often last until the middle of January, it reached a late peak this year as the community saw a spike in visitors. A local golf course served as the site of two recent sea lion births and a surfing competition prominently included another sea lion as an uninvited participant.

While it might be a nuisance to people who just want to enjoy their vacation, biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe (who tries to corral the sea lions during breeding season each year) stressed that these animals are “not wanting to cause a fuss” and are just doing what comes naturally.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the “coincidence of sea lion breeding season and people having holidays is complete overlapping chaos.”

What can be done?

As it turns out 2024 isn’t entirely unique. Dunedin has been inundated by sea lions around this time in recent years, and for the most part, locals have welcomed the arrival as well as the “chaos” it brings.

Fyfe offered his professional recommendation, recalling what he told one golfer who called to complain about a mother and baby sea lion on the fairway.

“I said, ‘I’ll come right down, but leave them five minutes and they’ll be out of your way,’” he explained. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

When something tragic happens at home — the death of a loved one, a serious illness, etc. — the impact is bound to be evident at work.

That’s why a number of states are pushing for laws that will provide leave and other protections aimed at helping workers make it through tough times without worrying about whether they’ll be able to pay their bills or if they’ll have a job when they’re ready to go back.

Some notable examples

While many private companies have long offered their own solutions, state-level officials across the U.S. have argued that there should be ground rules in place that are protected by law rather than just guaranteed by individual employers.

A few of these mandates went into effect at the beginning of the year, including:

• In Illinois, unpaid bereavement leave is now extended to employees after a family member dies in a violent crime or a child dies from suicide.
• In Minnesota, employees can receive paid leave to care for an ailing relative, assist a victim of domestic violence, or for certain other reasons.

Of course, employers can go above and beyond the legal minimum in these states and elsewhere, but the new laws signal an ongoing shift toward more trauma-related workplace provisions.

What comes next

Business adviser Natalie Pierce said the current trend involves “both organizations and states recognizing that in order for employees to be fully effective when they return to work, they need more time to handle both the logistics and emotions of loss.”

Many employees have received as few as three days leave for bereavement, and employers have frequently required workers to use vacation time in the aftermath of a personal loss.

Slowly but surely, that status quo appears to be changing.