EU looks to give workers the "right to disconnect"

Oct 18, 2024
Many countries around the global have already enshrined the legal right to ignore business emails, calls and messages outside of working hours.
Roughly 20 countries currently have some sort of "right-to-disconnect" law.
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How holiday tamale makers are managing inflation

Dec 20, 2023
We talked to two Albuquerque tamale makers about handling their costs and gearing up for the festive seasonal push.
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Candy cane producers feel the bite of rising sugar prices

Dec 20, 2023
With Christmas approaching, candy canes are hanging from trees around the United States. But producing the sugar that goes in them is becoming more expensive — pushing up prices at the register.
Reporter Erin Delmore and candy store owner Dave Giambri (middle) mold candy canes.
Courtesy BBC

The scariest part of Halloween: supply chains

Oct 2, 2023
Consumers may spend a record $12.2 billion this year — that's the treat. But sellers may need tricks to bring their goods to market.
Analysts expect monster Halloween sales this year.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The big business of wacky holidays

Sep 4, 2023
Holidays, even made-up ones, can be powerful marketing tools.
Volkswagen's Cameron Batten and Marlo Anderson, the founder of National Day Calendar, onstage at a reveal of National Volkswagen Bus Day on June 02, 2023 in Huntington Beach, California.
Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Volkswagen of America

Summertime is stocking season for this toy store owner

Jul 3, 2023
Ali Cat Toys is doing the bulk of its holiday buying now, and even stocking up for next Easter season.
"Slime has started to make a comeback, believe it or not, and as much as parents may or may not want to hear" says Irene Kesselman, owner of Ali Cat Toys in Carrboro, North Carolina.
Tolga Akman/AFP via Getty Images

Wastewater workers wish for a fatberg-free holiday

Dec 26, 2022
Our sewers work overtime at this time of year.
A wastewater treatment plant in Oakland, California. Wastewater workers are urging people to be mindful about disposing of grease and oil, which can wreak havoc on sewer systems.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

As inflation hangs over the holidays, advertisers target feelings over products

Dec 22, 2022
Instead of displaying abundance of materials, ads are leaning into things like family time.
Some advertisers have shifted their focus away from the material this holiday season.
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What it means to buy a house on a block that loves Christmas

Dec 20, 2022
Residents of 34th Street in Baltimore purchased not just a dwelling, but a whole new way of life during the month of December.
Joey Zeledon (left) and Martelle Esposito work on the display in front of their home on 34th Street in Baltimore.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace