Tariffs Won't Put an End to the Temu and Shein Model
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Speedy delivery is good for factories. Plus: Super Bowl Sunday is for the gamblers.
Many discount shoppers were rattled this week when additional tariffs were imposed on China, along with the closing of a loophole that exempted some goods. Spencer Soper is here to say, 'Don't panic.' Plus: Go inside the fan experience of five dedicated gamblers, who say they do it for the camaraderie as much as the money. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.
Count me among the whiplashed. I went to bed late on Tuesday after helping some colleagues wrestle with an out-of-the-blue announcement that the US Postal Service would suspend inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong. Then I awoke before dawn on Wednesday to a headline that the Postal Service would resume accepting them.
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USA Today
20 hours ago
- USA Today
Is ESPN's hypothetical Trey Hendrickson trade feasible for the Lions?
Is ESPN's hypothetical Trey Hendrickson trade feasible for the Lions? Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson continues to be in a contract dispute with the team. Until the issue is resolved, Hendrickson will continue to be the subject of trade speculation. With that speculation, and with the need for extra help on the edge, the Detroit Lions will be linked to any potential trade discussion for Hendrickson. But is a trade actually feasible for the team? Before getting into that, let's discuss the hypothetical trade idea for Hendrickson to the Lions that was proposed by ESPN's Ben Solak this week. Solak proposed Hendrickson and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Lions for a 2026 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 fourth-round pick that can become a third. Solak wrote: "Lions general manager Brad Holmes has acknowledged the fan base wants a secondary edge rusher far more than he does, but I imagine a player of Hendrickson's caliber would change Holmes' calculus slightly. Hendrickson isn't the sort of run defender the Lions might prioritize, yet a pass-rush duo of Aidan Hutchinson and Hendrickson might be the scariest in the NFL. "The Lions are still legitimate Super Bowl contenders and should behave as such with aggressive veteran trades. They have plenty of cap space to extend Hendrickson, which he would demand of an acquiring team." The Lions currently have $40 million in salary cap space for 2025, but are currently projected to be about $14 million over the cap for 2026, according to Spotrac. That can easily be addressed by restructuring contracts, including that of quarterback Jared Goff, for example. Goff is currently scheduled to make $55 million in base salary. The Lions do have other players set for new contracts coming up and the money will start getting pretty high. Not the least of which is Detroit's leading edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson. In addition, safety Brian Branch is also due for an extension after this season. Tight end Sam LaPorta will also be coming up. All three have two years left on their rookie contracts -- Hutchinson had his fifth-year option picked up, Branch and LaPorta were not eligible for fifth-year options.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How much has World Cup's global party been spoiled already by Trump's tantrums, threats?
Last month, when President Donald Trump was asked about growing tension between the United States and our 2026 World Cup co-hosts, Canada and Mexico, he said with a smile, 'Tensions are a good thing. It'll make it more exciting.' Apparently there is so much tension that it has become plural. Tensions. Hey, the more the merrier. The excitement has ramped up since Trump made that comment. Back then, the tensions involved just those three countries, and just the World Cup. Trump's recently announced travel ban on visitors from 19 countries has added more tensions/excitements. Now we can also tense up excitedly about the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and even the Super Bowl in Santa Clara next year! Events like the Olympics and World Cup are world parties, and what we're doing is rearrange the schedule a bit. We're going to have the hangovers before the parties. Here's an interesting headline from Marca, Spain's daily sports newspaper: 'Trump, FIFA scandals spark movement planning to boycott 2026 World Cup.' Don't mind Spain. They're just cranky because of Trump's 20% tariffs on their exports of olive oil, auto parts and other goods. If only Spain would take a deep breath and remember that Trump's tariff policies change by the hour, so maybe better deals are ahead. Same with the new travel ban. Its effect on fans coming to America for the World Cup and the Olympics, and its implementation, are so vague and unknown that visitors from, say, Spain or Iraq might just have to get on the plane to America and hope for the best. American roulette: Maybe you come and go easily, maybe you accidentally wind up behind bars on Alcatraz. The Marca story says, 'As anger (at Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino) mounts, fan groups and some national associations are considering bold measures to demand change — including refusing to play or attend matches hosted in the U.S. unless FIFA addresses governance concerns and Trump's immigration policy is clarified.' Spain might not be the only whiny country. China doesn't seem thrilled with Trump's tariffs. Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are slow dancing one day, mud wrestling the next. Canada is steamed about Trump's tariffs and bluster over Canada becoming the 51st state. Will future Olympics and World Cup host countries slap reciprocal travel bans and restrictions on U.S. fans? The tariffs, the travel ban, the broken alliances, the global political and financial chaos, all cast a pall over America's place in global sports. The Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium in February, the World Cup games in California next summer and the L.A. Olympics in 2028 could all be negatively impacted by Trump, who threatens to withhold billions in federal funding, and to levy high fines, because of the state following its own rules to let a high school trans athlete compete in the CIF state track meet. As for the more distant future? The host of the 2038 World Cup likely will be chosen later this year. One actual scenario that has been given credibility is that FIFA could name another set of tri-hosts: New Zealand, Fiji and the U.S. Considering recent developments, what FIFA voter in his/her right mind would send Trump another World Cup? Why would tariff-squeezed New Zealand agree to join hands with America? Crazy stuff, but you have to admit, it's exciting. Tensions up the wazoo. Deeper thoughts and cheaper shots • Rick Carlisle is on his way to NBA sainthood, assuming the requirement is the performance of two miracles. His Pacers' win in the first game of the NBA Finals on Thursday night put Carlisle three wins away from his second miracle. Carlisle coached the Mavericks to a title in 2011 over the heavily favored, LeBron-led Miami Heat superteam, after the Heat took a 2-1 lead. That Mavericks title got Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd their rings. Going into this season, the Pacers had the 15th best odds to win it all (per Basketball Reference). Just saying, maybe the guy's a good coach. • Still the worst idea in basketball since the invention of the Eurostep: The Commissioner's Cup in-season tournament. The WNBA one-ups the NBA by using a different ball for Cup games, a ball with alternating black and white panels instead of the regular fire orange and white. At least they didn't embed blinking lights in the seams. How about: Cut through the gimmicks and make each tournament game win count as 1½ wins? • Let's all thank Brock Purdy for signing that low-ish contract, quickly, thus sparing the San Francisco 49ers the ghastly task of sifting through the pile of discarded quarterbacks, and maybe plucking out Aaron Rodgers. The tinfoil-helmeted veteran agreed to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers about two weeks after Purdy inked his deal, so it's possible Rodgers was the 49ers' Plan B. But Rodgers is only 41, so maybe he'll stick around the game long enough to get a third shot at a 49ers' job. • Commissioner Adam Silver is starting to talk about NBA expansion. He's not naming names, but others are, and Las Vegas is at the top of most lists. That puts more pressure on A's owner John Fisher to get his ballpark built ASAP, because MLB really wants to beat the NBA to Vegas. The A's say actual construction will begin this month. A's fans in Vegas must be heartened by the fact that the team isn't squandering all its winning luck in West Sacramento.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Deachman: Once, Canada Post was vital. Now people tell me it's irrelevant
Joanne Bateman recently received a letter in the mail from her insurance company in Winnipeg. It was postmarked 19 days earlier. According to Google Maps, it takes 19 days to walk from Winnipeg to Ottawa. One wonders if that is how the letter actually made it to this city. Perhaps it's not a surprise, then, that the 79-year-old Bateman says the ongoing labour strife between the Crown corporation and its workers won't affect her: 'Not one bit.' Canada Post, she says, is simply not important to her anymore. Tha's the problem the post office faces as management and the union CUPW grapple over a new contract for 55,000 employees. The jousting has been going on since November, 2023, and led to a 32-day strike over the 2024 Christmas period. 'I don't get much mail beyond flyers, and I only check my mailbox about once a week. I use my computer for a lot of my interactions,' said Bateman. 'I don't send cards; I send Happy Birthday emails. I don't send letters to friends; I just call or FaceTime them.' Bateman's experience isn't universal, but judging from the quick straw poll I conducted outside the the Canada Post outlet at Fairlawn Mall on Friday, it's an increasingly common one. Reliance on the post office is following the path of the dodo. Remember how upset we got when Canada Post announced in 2013 that it intended to drop home delivery in many areas in favour of community mailboxes? Nowadays, some residents are suggesting that home delivery be almost abandoned altogether. 'The federal government should still have a hand in this — every country in the world has a postal service — but they could cut it down to once-a-week delivery,' said Blake McIntyre, a Gatineau resident who noted he only receives about two letters a month in the mail, mostly from government departments. If he were slightly more advanced with his computer equipment, he could get that number even lower. McIntyre's not in favour of full-on privatization of the post office, but said there might be a solution that leans in that direction. 'Maybe the government could contract it out but still be in control of it. But the federal government can't walk away from it, not yet.' He's doubtful, though, that the corporation's stated wish to use more part-time employees at the cost of full-time ones will ever happen. 'You think those full-time union guys are going to walk back and let the part-timers take over? I don't think so.' Melanie Stanton agrees that mail delivery could drop to one or two days a week without ruffling many feathers. 'I've always used the post office, but they need to cut things to make it work,' she said. 'We don't need delivery five days a week. We just don't. 'I think there's a place for the post office, but not the way it is right now.' By contrast, Peaches Nicholas, 78, calls herself 'a Canada Post girl.' 'I can't live without it,' she told me. 'I like to communicate by mail: birthday cards, Christmas cards, anniversaries and letters. It's because I'm ancient; I'm not 21 or 22. I love opening my mail. I want Canada Post to keep on keeping on.' She relies on Canada Post, in addition to other electronic means, to keep in touch with family members in Port of Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago. But that's a costly proposition; on Friday, she sent an ordinary letter to her sister Elizabeth in Port of Spain, which cost $10. 'If I was to send it express, it would be $60.' She says it's cheaper than talking at length on the phone, and when I suggested she try What'sApp, she sighed. 'I know. But I like communicating by writing — it's warm.' Warm, but, at least in terms of cards and letters, on life support. And I suspect there are many people who are recently and uncomfortably realizing that apart from the Canadian Tire flyer that arrives in their mailbox on Mondays, say, they no longer have much of a relationship with Canada Post. 'I feel kind of guilty saying it, but I could live without Canada Post,' lamented Lorraine Walton. 'Young people don't know any different, and let's face it, out generation is going to be gone in 20 years.' Don't remind us. We know. But do Canada Post and its workers? bdeachman@ Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Postal workers protest 'final offer' from Canada Post Today's letters: Canada Post workers must be realistic about the future
