Replicating the average $2,071 monthly Social Security check requires roughly $991,000 invested across FDLO and VYMI, blending to a 2.5% yield.
At a 6% annual return, reaching $991,000 takes about $2,144 per month over 20 years, dropping to $1,682 at an 8% return.
Place FDLO in a Roth IRA for tax-free growth and VYMI in a taxable account to capture its foreign tax credit.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
Imagine a second deposit landing every month, the same size as the Social Security check you already count on. The average retired worker collects $2,170 a month in 2026, according to the Social Security Administration's COLA fact sheet. That comes to $26,040 a year, and that's the target.

#Social #average

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson took an ambulance ride to a local hospital after suffering an injury during Thursday night's win over the Carolina Panthers, but precautionary testing on Watson's chest came back with good news, so he rode the ambulance back to Lambeau Field and finished the game without complication.
Watson explained the wild sequence, which started with him landing hard on the football at the end of his 53-yard catch in the second quarter and ended with Watson returning in the same ambulance he took to the hospital, running back onto the field to the roar of the crowd and catching two passes after being cleared to return from the frightening injury.
From Watson in the post-game locker room: "I think I just came down on the ball, or my elbow or something. I couldn't breathe on the field, got the wind knocked out of me. Got back to the sideline and was spitting up blood, so the doctor said I had to go get a CT. I was begging him to not make me do that, but it is what it is. Everything looked good, just got a rib, that's all, all the major stuff was all good, no internal bleeding or anything like that, so I was able to get back out there."
Watson said he has a broken rib. He wore extra padding and a molding around his ribs to protect the injury when he returned.
On the Prime Video broadcast, Watson told Kaylee Hartung that he was checking the doctor's play-by-play of the game while at the hospital. He was gone from the stadium for roughly an hour while being evaluated.

#back #ambulance #hospital #game

After years of almost entirely focusing on the transfer portal, Rick Pitino is intensifying his efforts on the high school recruiting trail, and another class of 2027 prospect is landing on the Red Storm's radar.
Four-star Canadian recruit Godson Okokoh is reportedly scheduling a visit to St. John's on November 6 and 7, according to LeagueReady's Sam Kayser. It is unclear whether Okokoh will attend the Red Storm's matchup against Iona at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, November 8.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Ottawa is the 111th-ranked prospect in his class according to 247Sports' composite rankings and will compete in this year's Overtime Elite season with Bella Vista Prep, who will play as the City Reapers in the league. He flashed his rim protection and inside scoring in the Nike EYBL Scholastic division and the Under Armour Circuit last season, and also made a strong impression at this summer's NBPA Top 100 camp.
Okokoh made only one other visit this year at West Virginia on October 6. His offers include Kansas, Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Creighton, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, and Arizona State.
Earlier this year, Okokoh helped Canada pull off a shocking upset over the United States to win its first-ever FIBA U18 AmeriCup gold medal. He averaged 9.0 points and 5.4 rebounds over five games and recorded a team-high eight boards in the championship final.

#high #according #made

Count Jake LaCava among the New Mexico United players who figures to have less of a strenuous weekend.
And it has little to do with what could happen on the pitch in the club's Western Conference quarterfinal playoff match against rival Phoenix Rising FC at 4 p.m. Sunday. It's more so about what New Mexico will — or won't, rather — be doing beforehand to get there.
No traveling to the airport. No getting on a plane. Just a short drive to Isotopes Park.
"I'm personally afraid of flying," the defender said Thursday. "... I sit there and grip on for dear life, and pray for a landing. … So it takes a lot of stress off me."
Such is the benefit of being the No. 1 seed in the West and the home-field advantage that comes with it, something United secured with last Saturday's 1-0 win at El Paso Locomotive FC in the regular-season finale on midfielder Valentin Noël's fourth-minute stoppage-time goal.

#united #phoenix #rising

Heat player who will shock NBA world with breakout 2026-27 season appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's not quite championship-or-bust yet for the Miami Heat, but they're as close to that status as they can get. After all, the expectations for the Heat are through the roof after they brought in two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo via a blockbuster trade. Antetokounmpo has had so much appreciation for the Heat's vaunted culture that landing in Miami was one of the main priorities for him this offseason — with his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, doing him a service.
But at the end of the day, the Heat paid a heavy price to bring Antetokounmpo in. They parted ways with Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, and Kasparas Jakucionis to go along with three first-round picks (2026, 2031, and 2033), a first-round pick swap (2030), and a second-round pick (2033).
The Heat did a good enough job of replacing the depth they lost, as they added veterans Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson to serve as floor-spacers in a Giannis-centric offense. Getting Bobby Portis back in the Giannis trade was also an underrated part of that transaction. Moreover, they came to terms with Andrew Wiggins on a contract extension, securing the services of one of their most important role players through at least the 2027-28 campaign.
Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)

#giannis

Like a toddler, Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) seems to be growing up fast.
No longer is it the speculative aviation stock of yesterday, the company with big ambitions but zero revenue and nothing to its name but an experimental aircraft. There are still unknowns to be solved -- how to scale its business while keeping costs under control -- but if last month's flight demonstrations in Texas showed us anything, it's that Joby is getting very close to turning its air taxi dreams into a commercial operation.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 14x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our **** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Where, then, will Joby Aviation be in three years? And how much will a $5,000 investment today be worth by then?
In a nutshell, Joby wants to commercialize a passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Although it does not have regulatory approval to fly paying customers in an eVTOL, I believe it will in three years.

#missed

ARK Invest bought 2.57 million Archer shares for $11.9 million and 753,330 Joby shares for $1.3 million across three ETFs.
Joby is advancing real-world air-taxi flights through an FAA program.
Archer is expanding into defense by acquiring Boeing's Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu.
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest is doubling down on eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) stocks, buying more than 2.56 million Archer Aviation (ACHR) shares and 753,000 Joby Aviation (JOBY) shares as institutional interest in air taxis and defense aviation heats up.
Both Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation stocks edged up 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively, overnight Tuesday.

#etfs

LONDON — A British Airways passenger jet flying from London to Chicago descended 28,000 feet in just seven minutes after declaring an emergency due to an unspecified “technical issue,” the airline said Monday.
The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET).
“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in an emailed statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

#british #airways #minutes

October 4, 2026 / 7:08 AM EDT / CBS News
The FlyDubai alleged attempted hijacking was likely a lone-wolf attack, an early investigation by Israel shows, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investigation is still in full swing and all avenues are still being explored, the people familiar told CBS News.
The flight Wednesday from Dubai to Tel Aviv was approaching Israel when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the flight captain and attempted to crash the aircraft, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, passengers on board the plane and the flight captain have said.
The captain was able to fight off the co-pilot long enough to unlock the **** pit door. A group of Israeli passengers and FlyDubai staff then overpowered the co-pilot, and two off-duty pilots who were on the flight managed to gain control of the aircraft and make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

#Israel

Updated on: October 2, 2026 / 9:51 PM EDT / CBS News
Days after a FlyDubai co-pilot made a violent attempt to crash the passenger aircraft and was subdued by passengers and other crew members, questions about his motive continued to swirl.
The flight Wednesday from Dubai to Tel Aviv was approaching Israel when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the flight captain and attempted to crash the aircraft, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. The captain was able to fight off the co-pilot long enough to unlock the ***** pit door. Passengers then overpowered the co-pilot, and two off-duty pilots who were on the flight managed to gain control of the aircraft and make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
There were 174 people on board the plane. No passengers were seriously injured in the incident. The pilot sustained stab wounds in the attack. Saudi authorities said two crew members were hospitalized with unspecified injuries, and the co-pilot remained in custody on Thursday.
The co-pilot of the flight has not yet been publicly identified, although multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News on Friday that his name is Hamam al Hamami.

#aircraft

This week, we're turning the lens back to the early 2000s — when pop culture icons defined a generation — tracing the journeys of some beloved stars who've largely stepped back from the Hollywood glare. From dramatic career pivots and meaningful personal challenges to unexpected comebacks, here's a look at the stories behind the faces you once couldn't escape on your screen.
MEGA
Once famed for her bubbly on-screen persona and stunning box-office success, Cameron Diaz stepped away from acting at the peak of her career to focus on her family and personal ventures, per The Hollywood Reporter. Always stylish, Diaz became just as celebrated for her off-screen life, including authoring two best-selling health books — The Body Book reached the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list shortly after its release in 2014, as reported by Audible.
MEGA
Amanda Bynes was a comedy sensation and one of the most beloved young actresses of her generation, starring in hit TV shows and films that defined youth culture. She first rose to prominence on Nickelodeon's All That at just 10 years old before landing her own series, The Amanda Show, per Today. Despite fame and awards, her later years brought struggles with mental health and a shift away from the spotlight, including a nearly decade-long conservatorship that was terminated by a judge in 2022, according to Salon. Bynes' journey has resonated with many, offering a reminder of resilience and the challenges of child stardom.

#diaz #amanda #bynes #back

On August 6, Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) reported a record second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.60 billion, a 38% jump from the same period a year earlier, and management now expects full-year results near the top of its guidance range. Targa moves and processes natural gas and natural gas liquids out of the Permian Basin, and these numbers suggest that system is running fuller than ever.
The strength came from volume, not just price. Adjusted EBITDA also climbed 14% from the first quarter, helped by Permian gas volumes that added over 450 million cubic feet of daily throughput. Some producers held back output because Waha gas prices went negative, and Targa still set a volume record. Volumes for NGL pipelines, fractionation, and LPG exports also hit records, helped by Train 11, a new fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas, that started up early in the quarter.
Construction is also landing on time. East Driver, a new processing plant serving the Midland side of the Permian, started up late in the quarter and ahead of schedule, and the other gathering and logistics projects are tracking their plans. Shareholders get a cut too. On July 16, Targa declared a $1.25 per share quarterly dividend, 25% above the payout for the second quarter of 2025, payable August 14 to holders of record on July 31. It also spent $80 million buying back shares during the quarter.
Growth at this pace costs real money. Targa plans about $4.5 billion in net growth spending this year, and its consolidated debt stood at $19,578 million on June 30. About $3.2 billion of liquidity gives it a cushion. In July, it also extended its receivables securitization facility to July 30, 2027 and raised the size to as much as $800 million. More borrowing capacity helps, but it is still borrowing.
Not every dollar of the profit surge is as steady as a pipeline volume. Management tied the higher outlook partly to strong marketing margin and optimization work in the first two quarters, and the quarter's jump in marketing margin came from greater optimization opportunities. That kind of income can be lumpy. Meanwhile, lower natural gas prices trimmed margins in the gathering business, and the Waha curtailments showed that producers can pull back when local prices turn ugly.

#record

SCHD delivers nearly double VIG's forward yield at roughly 3% compared to 1.7%, making it the stronger cash anchor for retirees funding withdrawals today.
Despite radically different portfolios, both funds produced nearly identical 10-year returns: VIG at 243% versus SCHD's 237%.
With the 10-year Treasury at 5%, rising rates are punishing VIG's growth tilt, and SCHD leads year-to-date by a wide margin of 25% to 8%.
Two retirees, same $1 million, same 4% rule, buy one finished with $1.4 million, the other hit $0 in 12 years. Our free reader guide explains the flaw that separated them, and the income-first method built to avoid it.
Retirees weighing a dividend anchor keep landing on the same two funds: Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD) and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEARCA:VIG). They look like siblings but diverge sharply under the hood. SCHD screens hard for cash-flow quality and pays a meaningfully higher current yield. VIG buys only companies with 10-plus consecutive years of dividend increases and explicitly kicks out the highest-yielding quartile. That single rule sends the two funds toward very different portfolios, and it is showing up in the returns.

#Dividend #same #nearly #cash

On September 15, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) announced that it had bought McMillan Insurance & Bonding Inc., an Englewood, Colorado, firm that operates as Innovise Business Consultants. Gallagher did not say what it paid. On its own, the deal is a footnote. But it is one of many, and the way those deals show up in earnings is where the debate over this stock really lives.
On July 30, Gallagher reported results for the quarter ended June 30, and the top line was hard to argue with. Revenue from its combined Brokerage and Risk Management businesses grew 24%, and organic growth, which leaves out acquisitions, was 6%. That second number shows clients are staying and spending. It was not confined to one corner, either, since organic fees in the risk management arm rose 12%. Management adds that retention is strong and customers want broader help from the platform. Adjusted earnings per share climbed to $2.84 from $2.30, which means growth is reaching profit once one-time acquisition costs are set aside.
Innovise fits the pattern. It sells surety bonds and commercial insurance brokerage with a focus on manufacturing, energy, construction and real estate, and Chairman and CEO J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. said that niche expertise adds depth in Colorado. Jason McMillan's team will move into Gallagher's Denver office and work under Bret VanderVoort, who oversees retail property/casualty brokerage for the Western Zone. Buying specialists and folding them into existing offices is a repeatable playbook, and Gallagher closed 14 brokerage acquisitions in the first six months of 2026.
Now look at reported earnings, because that is where you see the cost. Diluted earnings per share fell to $1.25, from $1.40 in the second quarter of 2025, even though revenue jumped. Much of the gap between reported and adjusted results is the price of buying growth. Amortization of acquired intangibles alone weighs on brokerage net earnings by $218 million, up from $130 million a year ago, and integration costs rose as well. Adjusted figures set those aside, but they are real expenses, and they keep landing as long as Gallagher keeps buying.
Margins tell a similar story. The brokerage segment's adjusted EBITDAC margin, a stand-in for operating profit, slipped to 33.3% from 36.1%. Gallagher points to last year's interest income on cash raised for the ***** uredPartners deal, which closed in the third quarter of 2025, plus seasonality and newly added tuck-ins. That is a fair explanation. But the debt behind the deal is still here, including $9.55 billion of public debt, plus more in private placements and on a credit line. And the deal flow is thinner: brokerage acquisitions closed in the first six months of 2026 carried $107 million of annualized revenue, versus $354 million a year earlier, which puts more weight on organic growth.

#Growth

On September 10, 2026, The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ:LOVE) reported second-quarter fiscal 2027 results for the period ended August 2, 2026. Net sales rose 0.4% to $161.2 million, a record for the quarter, and the company swung to net income of $7.4 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, from a loss of $6.7 million a year earlier. Inside that $0.51 sits $0.86 of net benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds. Omni-channel comparable sales fell 1.9%.
Canaccord's Maria Ripps read the quarter as in line, with revenue and adjusted EBITDA both landing within guidance and near consensus while tariff refunds pushed gross margin and earnings above expectations; she cut the firm's target on The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ:LOVE) to $20 from $22 but held the Buy rating.
Roth Capital's Matt Koranda also called the quarter in line with consensus, though he flagged omni-channel comps trending modestly negative on soft lower-end consumer demand. He lowered the firm's target on The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ:LOVE) to $20 from $22 as well, keeping a Buy rating, and noted that management reset full-year guidance lower on a tough demand environment and modest product launch delays.
DA Davidson offered a similar interpretation of the lower guidance, arguing that the reset reflects the new CFO's approach more than a deterioration in the underlying business. The firm said the CFO, who joined during the quarter, appears to be establishing more conservative expectations that could restore a beat-and-raise pattern the stock had lacked. DA Davidson lowered its target on The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ:LOVE) to $18 from $20 while maintaining its Buy rating.
The operating case rests on the high end: configurations above $6,000 grew double digits against a tough comparison, showroom net sales rose 4.6% to $114.1 million on 14 net new locations, and Snugg helped push other products revenue up 198.2%. Lovesac ended the quarter with $68.8 million in cash and no debt.

#quarter

In late 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, and within months the bottom rung of the tech-industry career ladder started to disappear. Graduates who majored in computer science and other AI-exposed fields are increasingly missing out on the jobs they trained for, and a chunk of them are landing behind restaurant counters and retail registers instead, according to two Census Bureau papers.
An April 2026 Census paper tracked matched employer-employee records and found that hiring of workers ages 22 to 24 fell sharply in the industries most exposed to AI, while hiring in less-exposed industries held steady. Employment for early-career workers in the most AI-exposed fifth of industries dropped 12% over the ten quarters after ChatGPT's release. Lee Tucker, one of the coauthors of the paper, said "the decline in hires is the primary cause" of that rate of unemployment, not people losing jobs they already had.
That mattered most for one type of graduate. The most AI-exposed industries, Tucker found, cluster heavily around software and information-technology work, which are the very fields computer science and other highly AI-exposed majors are built to feed into.
A second paper from last week, also coauthored by Tucker, follows the graduates of the most AI-exposed decile of college majors. Their odds of holding a job one quarter after graduation fell by five percentage points, and full-quarter initial earnings dropped 13% following ChatGPT's release. A 13% earnings decline is roughly the size economists would expect from graduating into a severe recession—except there wasn't one, since the rest of the labor market held up fine.
Young grads still need to work and still have jobs, even if they've received highly exposed degrees. So the decline in earnings is less about a lack of employment and more about pursuing lower-wage occupations to make ends meet.

#graduates

On August 5, Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) reported the strongest quarterly results in company history and raised its full-year 2026 guidance. The Permian-focused midstream operator posted net income, including noncontrolling interest, of $123.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, while Adjusted EBITDA climbed to $280.8 million. Management didn't stop at celebrating the number. It used the quarter as the launchpad for a string of expansion decisions that stretch out to 2028.
The Midstream Logistics segment, Kinetik's largest, grew Adjusted EBITDA 35% year over year to $204.8 million in the second quarter, even though processed natural gas volumes held flat at 1.74 Bcf/d. That flat number actually undersells the quarter. It came despite roughly 250 million cubic feet per day of gas that had been shut in because of weak Waha-area pricing, with stronger natural gas liquid recoveries, condensate yields, and favorable commodity spreads carrying the segment instead.
Management is betting the growth continues well past 2026. In May, Kinetik reached a final investment decision on Kings Landing II, a roughly $260 million project that will lift sour gas processing capacity across the company's Delaware North complex above 700 MMcf/d and push total system capacity to 2.7 Bcf/d when it comes online in mid-2028, earlier than previously communicated. The ECCC Pipeline, which links the system's northern and southern halves between Eddy and Culberson Counties, is now in service, and right-of-way work has already begun on a follow-on expansion for 2027.
Kinetik also locked in new firm Gulf Coast access for residue gas starting in 2027 and signed fresh natural gas liquids transport agreements, both aimed at getting better prices for the gas it moves. On the back of that momentum, Kinetik raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $1.04 billion to $1.1 billion, a 7% ***** p from the guidance it issued in February.
Not every part of the business is moving in the same direction. The Pipeline Transportation segment posted Adjusted EBITDA of $83.0 million in the quarter, down 14% year over year, a decline the company attributes to last year's divestiture of its equity stake in EPIC Crude Holdings. That sale removed a source of cash flow the rest of the business now has to make up for. Kinetik also expects gas curtailments to keep running at an average of 25 million cubic feet per day through the second half of 2026, on top of the Waha-driven shut-ins that already weighed on the quarter. Its own pricing ***** umptions underline the regional problem: the company is now modeling Waha Hub natural gas at negative $0.26 per MMBtu for the full year, meaning gas in parts of the Permian is priced so low that moving it out of the basin is the whole game.

#quarter

AMD stock surged 127% YTD after Data Center revenue doubled to $6.7B, yet 24/7 Wall St. rates it HOLD at $481 on stretched valuation.
Nvidia trades at a P/E of 44 despite $89B in Data Center revenue, making AMD's triple-digit multiple look dangerously extended by comparison.
Lisa Su sees a $1.4 trillion AI accelerator market by 2030, with Helios delivering 30% more tokens per dollar than rivals.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
Our AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) call is one of the tougher ones we've made this quarter. The stock has done what few thought possible, doubling in months on the back of an AI accelerator story that is finally landing with hyperscalers.

#revenue #hold #NVIDIA

On August 5, Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) reported the strongest quarterly results in company history and raised its full-year 2026 guidance. The Permian-focused midstream operator posted net income, including noncontrolling interest, of $123.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, while Adjusted EBITDA climbed to $280.8 million. Management didn't stop at celebrating the number. It used the quarter as the launchpad for a string of expansion decisions that stretch out to 2028.
The Midstream Logistics segment, Kinetik's largest, grew Adjusted EBITDA 35% year over year to $204.8 million in the second quarter, even though processed natural gas volumes held flat at 1.74 Bcf/d. That flat number actually undersells the quarter. It came despite roughly 250 million cubic feet per day of gas that had been shut in because of weak Waha-area pricing, with stronger natural gas liquid recoveries, condensate yields, and favorable commodity spreads carrying the segment instead.
Management is betting the growth continues well past 2026. In May, Kinetik reached a final investment decision on Kings Landing II, a roughly $260 million project that will lift sour gas processing capacity across the company's Delaware North complex above 700 MMcf/d and push total system capacity to 2.7 Bcf/d when it comes online in mid-2028, earlier than previously communicated. The ECCC Pipeline, which links the system's northern and southern halves between Eddy and Culberson Counties, is now in service, and right-of-way work has already begun on a follow-on expansion for 2027.
Kinetik also locked in new firm Gulf Coast access for residue gas starting in 2027 and signed fresh natural gas liquids transport agreements, both aimed at getting better prices for the gas it moves. On the back of that momentum, Kinetik raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $1.04 billion to $1.1 billion, a 7% ***** p from the guidance it issued in February.
Not every part of the business is moving in the same direction. The Pipeline Transportation segment posted Adjusted EBITDA of $83.0 million in the quarter, down 14% year over year, a decline the company attributes to last year's divestiture of its equity stake in EPIC Crude Holdings. That sale removed a source of cash flow the rest of the business now has to make up for. Kinetik also expects gas curtailments to keep running at an average of 25 million cubic feet per day through the second half of 2026, on top of the Waha-driven shut-ins that already weighed on the quarter. Its own pricing ***** umptions underline the regional problem: the company is now modeling Waha Hub natural gas at negative $0.26 per MMBtu for the full year, meaning gas in parts of the Permian is priced so low that moving it out of the basin is the whole game.

#natural

On September 10, 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) reported fiscal 2026 results that read like a company still finding its footing after a hard year. Full year revenue fell 10.8% to $1.5 billion, and the fourth quarter alone dropped 12.9% to $293.1 million, as consumers stayed selective with discretionary spending on gifts and gourmet food. Buried under those declines, though, is a different story: inventory shrank, free cash flow improved by $55 million, and the company hit a two-year cost savings target a full year early. The question now is whether that discipline can outrun the sales slide.
1-800-Flowers spent fiscal 2026 tearing down the walls between its brands. Instead of separate teams running each brand in silos, the company shifted to functional teams built around marketing, merchandising, and the digital shopping experience, with one team now acting as store manager for every website. That shift already shows up in products: the floral business combined its florist-fulfilled and direct-ship merchandising teams, so the same popular arrangements are available either way, instead of competing against itself on one landing page. Harry & David rolled out a redesigned, mobile-first website with AI-powered search that is currently in A/B testing, and several low-traffic standalone sites were folded into harryanddavid.com to concentrate traffic rather than split it.
The financial discipline behind that reorganization is real. The company reached its $50 million cost savings run rate a full year ahead of schedule and has already lined up another $15 million to $20 million in savings for fiscal 2027, with the full benefit landing in fiscal 2028. That, combined with tighter working capital management, pushed free cash flow up $55 million year over year and cut inventory to $153 million from $177 million. Average order value rose 5.5%, third-party marketplace sales through Amazon, Walmart, and DoorDash are growing at double-to-triple-digit rates and are already contribution margin positive, and BloomNet grew 1.9% on the back of local delivery partnerships with apps like DoorDash and Instacart.
The rest of the story is bleaker. Total transactions fell 17.6% for the year, and the fourth quarter's decline was broad-based: consumer floral and gifts dropped 13.4% to $182.8 million as the company pulled back on promotional discounting, and gourmet foods and gift baskets fell 15.4% to $85.8 million, a decline made worse by the timing of Easter. Adjusted EBITDA for the year collapsed to $2.9 million from $29.2 million, and adjusted gross margin slipped 110 basis points to 38%. Even the fourth quarter's 34.7% gross margin leaned on a one-time $7 million tariff refund.

#fiscal

Congressman Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor, is recovering after the small plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing on a Wisconsin lake. Both Tiffany and the pilot swam to shore and were then taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of the crash.

#congressman #republican #governor #small

Wisconsin congressman Tom Tiffany was on his way home Saturday evening following a demanding day of parades and political events when his plane plunged into the pitch-black darkness of Lake Wausau.
As he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner in Onalaska, Wisconsin, Tiffany, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, was aboard a Beechcraft K35 when it lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport, the congressman told reporters during a Sunday news conference.
"Hang on, Tom, and buckle up because we're going to go down," Tiffany recounted pilot Len Bolt warning him moments before the emergency landing.
About 10 seconds later, the plane hit the water.
"We were down to 70, 80 miles an hour at that point, and so it was a fast-moving car crash, and all that happened to me was my head hit the dash in front of me, and that was the extent of the damage," Tiffany said. "We're just really fortunate. We're fortunate the plane didn't flip."

#wisconsin

Jai Opetaia put on a clinic on Saturday night.
Heading into his second bout under the Zuffa Boxing banner, Opetaia showed out. The undefeated star defended his Ring Magazine **** le and Zuffa Boxing **** les in a dominating display against a tough veteran. Noel Mikaelyan, his opponent, had his moments and made the fight somewhat competitive, but the Australian upped his gear and was strolling to a decisive victory before landing big in the ninth.
A crafty vet of the boxing world, Mikaelyan was using all of the tools at his disposal to frustrate the champion, but it would be his downfall.

#mikaelyan #saturday #noel

Tommy McMillen doesn't always make it look pretty but he sure knows how to put on a show as he won a back-and-forth war against Marwan Rahiki at Noche UFC on Saturday.
The featherweights battled it out over three rounds with Rahiki nearly scoring a finish in the second round and then McMillen storming back to win the third round and the fight. It was a wild affair but when the final horn sounded, McMillen had done enough for the victory with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 in his favor.
"Let's go Arizona!" McMillen shouted to his home audience. "He had a pretty good second round, busted me up a little bit but I knew I could out dog him.
"Tomorrow morning, I'm going hopt on a [plane] to Vegas and I'll be there on Dec. 12 waiting on my next victim and my next $100K bonus."
An early takedown opened the fight for McMillen but Rahiki was quick to break free and get back to the feet. The featherweights were just standing and banging with both landing some solid strikes along the way. A late pair of right hands from McMillen definitely caught Rahiki off guard as they continued blasting away at each other.

#next

Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki squared off in a Featherweight bout earlier this morning (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026) inside Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona for Noche UFC 4. After a wild and ****** fight, McMillen was named the victor.
McMillen opened the fight with an overhand right and a surprising takedown. He tried to threaten an arm triangle, but Rahiki quickly escaped to his feet. Back in the standup, the two wasted little time in throwing powerful punches. The range widened, and the two young Featherweights traded kicks. Rahiki got on the front foot and put his opponent on the defensive. His chin was really high though …
Rahiki hit the body and timed a gorgeous right hand. McMillen tied together his kicks and punches, opening a small cut by Rahiki's eye. Two hard right hands connected for McMillen, but "Freaky" fired right back. At the close of the competitive opening round, the two mouthed off at one another as the referee kept them apart.
McMillen was active to start round two, throwing a lot of volume and landing a particularly stiff jab. McMillen threatened a guillotine choke to gain top position but couldn't hold down Rahiki. Rahiki kicked the calf and then started ripping the body to great effect. McMillen's nose was bleeding, but he scored a heavy left hand that wobbled his opponent briefly.
Out of nowhere, a Rahiki counter uppercut floored McMillen! Rahiki turned up the offense and landed a bunch of cracking shots. Somehow, McMillen was able to survive and even land a big right hand of his own a minute later. McMillen started to build some offense on his fatigued opponent, including a late takedown that saw him finish the round with some submission attempts.

#round

Early big-time college football matchups are all the rage, and the Philadelphia Eagles will have representatives in Austin for one of the most talent-rich games on the early college football schedule.
Philadelphia is among 16 NFL organizations expected to have scouts present when No. 1 Ohio State visits No. 4 Texas on Saturday night at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Eagles will join the Cowboys, Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Colts, Patriots, Panthers, Lions, Chargers, Texans, Ravens, Rams, Dolphins, Jets and Browns in evaluating two rosters loaded with potential NFL talent.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is expected to become one of the most coveted prospects in the 2027 draft. His matchup against Texas' secondary will give evaluators another opportunity to study his releases, route running, and ability to produce against top competition.
The following NFL teams will have reps present at Ohio State - Texas tonight:

• Eagles
• Cowboys
• Seahawks
• 49ers
• Broncos
• Colts
• Patriots
• Panthers
• Lions
• Chargers
• Texans
• Ravens
• Rams
• Dolphins
• Jets
• Browns
Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin and Texas quarterback Arch Manning will receive plenty of attention, even from organizations without an immediate need at the position. Comprehensive quarterback evaluations remain valuable because their eventual landing spots can influence the entire draft board. Texas edge defender Colin Simmons is another prospect capable of commanding the attention of Philadelphia's personnel department. His ability to pressure the quarterback and defend the run fits the athletic profile the Eagles have consistently valued along the defensive front.

#texas #state #philadelphia #colts

Donald Trump saw home favourite Shane Lowry take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Irish Open on Saturday at the Doonbeg course which bears the US President's name.
After completing his political engagements in Dublin, golf fan Trump made a dramatic landing aboard helicopter Marine One on Ireland's west coast at a course he has owned since 2014.
Lowry's surge to the top of the leaderboard has further energised the tournament.
The 39-year-old won his home Open in 2009 as an amateur and claimed his only major on Irish soil at Royal Portrush seven years ago.
However, Lowry has one only won one individual event since.

#open #home #since #only

Barcelona star Alejandro Balde remains outside the plans of head coach Hansi Flick as things stand. This comes with the Spaniard having been knocked well down the left-back pecking order in Catalunya's capital.
Defender Balde was of course heavily linked with a move away from Barcelona during the summer transfer window.
After it was widely reported that the Spaniard had been made available for the right price, Premier League giants Manchester United were hotly tipped as a potential landing spot.
In the end, Balde stayed put, eager to fight for his place in the plans of long-time employers Barca. But as alluded to above, as of this moment, the 22-year-old has not managed to win back the trust of his manager.
As per a report from Diario Sport, following the breakout of youngster Xavi Espart, and permanent signing of João Cancelo:

#Barcelona #plans #back

It started with yelling about toilets. Steve Ballmer was so serious about turning the Los Angeles Clippers into a serious franchise for the first time in their existence that he wanted to make sure no fan ever waited in a long line to use the bathroom when the team opened its new arena. Ballmer's drive to win eventually led the Clippers to courting Kawhi Leonard in free agency, fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to a 2019 NBA championship. Leonard wanted to live in Los Angeles, yes, but he also wanted Paul George as his running mate, so the Clippers shipped out a boatload of draft picks and future two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to get him.
Leonard's people also made it known that their client wanted the type of big endorsement deals his off-putting, robotic personality couldn't land legitimately. Leonard's now infamous Uncle Dennis Robertson never tried to be subtle about his desire to secure similar off-court bags to the ones Kawhi's contemporaries like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant were landing on their own accord, and leaks of his demands circulated as soon as Leonard hit free agency.
The Clippers became so entangled in pleasing Leonard that it led to blatant salary cap circumvention, first reported by investigative journalist Pablo Torre. The NBA found enough evidence supporting Torre's claims that it hammered the Clippers with the most severe penalty in league history, stripping five future first-round draft picks, suspending executives including Ballmer, and more. That figured to be the end of the story, with the Clippers spending the next decade trying to climb out of the abyss. Torre continued to hint that there was another shoe to drop, and now that it's here, the Clippers might be in much bigger trouble than anyone first believed.
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the Clippers, according to the New York Times, and it's already issued one subpoena. While the scope of the investigation is unclear for now, the fact that the feds are watching the Clippers for under-the-table dealings potentially makes this a much bigger deal than simply breaking NBA rules.
How does breaking NBA rules amount to a federal crime by the Clippers? While there's a lot left to come out, the main idea is that the Clippers committed some level of fraud. Daktronics was a publicly traded company, the only one of the four tied up in the Leonard scandal to fit that description, while Aspiration, Lockton Insurance, and Boingo Wireless were not. Publicly traded companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to disclose big investments, and it sure feels like that never happened when dealing with Leonard.

#ballmer

Clippers, Kings predicted to battle for $19M Pistons' former first-rounder, elite versatile athlete originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Early in the summer, it was hard to tell what was going to be next for the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren as they worked through their contract negotiations. The two sides were warned that it could be a long process because of Duren's camp and other factors.
It was known that the center wanted a max contract. It was his postseason play that had Detroit skeptical about giving him everything he wanted in a contract.
"The longer Jalen Duren remains unsigned in free agency, the Detroit Pistons will be forced to reconsider whether the hassle is worth the reward. Duren's All-NBA season officially made him eligible for a five-year supermax extension, but his underwhelming play in the postseason immediately made the chances of the big man landing that payday at an all-time low," Pistons Powered's John Canady wrote.
The latest update for Duren and the Pistons is not good. Both sides currently sit at a $5 million contract rift.

#jalen #postseason #play