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Eater
2 hours ago
- Business
- Eater
Longtime Midtown Seafood Restaurant Lure Is Closing
Henna Bakshi is the Regional Editor, South at Eater and an award-winning food and wine journalist with a WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Level 3 degree. She oversees coverage in Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, the Carolinas, and Nashville. Lure Saltwater Kitchen and Bar is closing in Midtown after its final service on August 30. It will serve some of its classic seafood dishes for the next month to honor its 14 years on Crescent Avenue. The establishment is owned by Fifth Group Restaurants, which also owns Ela, La Tavola, South City Kitchen, Ecco, and Alma Cocina. 'We're incredibly proud of what Lure has been providing and are deeply grateful to the guests and teams who made it so special,' said Steve Simon, founder and CEO of Fifth Group Restaurants, in a statement. 'As we look to the future, we'll evolve with our guests' desires and invest in exciting new opportunities.' Lure employees will be absorbed by Fifth Group's other restaurants. After August 30, the space will remain open for private events until the end of the year. 'We are humbled and filled with gratitude for the love this city has shown us,' says Lure's Instagram post. 'To all of the guests and team members who have made Lure such a special place, we want to say thank you. But ideally, not in a social post… We'd rather say it in person over a Tackle Box and a Supressor Spritz.' The restaurant is listed for sale for $550,000. Eater Atlanta All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Vox
8 hours ago
- Business
- Vox
The Trump administration attack dog you should pay attention to
is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He's worked at Vox since the site's launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker's Washington, DC, bureau. Bill Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, tasked with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty The Trump administration's loudest attack dog of late holds an unlikely position: director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA's 37-year old director, Bill Pulte, has been pounding the drums to get Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell fired. He's publicly pressured Powell on social media, he gave Trump a draft letter that would have ordered Powell's firing, and he's tried to establish a pretext Trump could use to fire Powell. But Pulte has also played a broader role in Trump's retribution campaign. He's used his position to try and get two of Trump's Democratic enemies — Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James — prosecuted for mortgage fraud. Some of his allies hope this is just the start, and that even bigger things lie in Pulte's future. 'Bill Pulte would be an exceptional pick to run the Federal Reserve,' venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya posted on X last week. 'Attack dog' is an unusual role for the director of the FHFA, who is charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the government-backed companies crucial to the functioning of US mortgage markets. (Vox requested comment from Pulte through the FHFA for this story, but received no response.) The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But it's a good fit for Pulte. The grandson of the founder of a major home-building company, Pulte has demonstrated a remarkable knack for getting attention and building his public profile. He has 3 million followers on X, and his posts there have started to move markets, according to Bloomberg. Pulte has his enemies in the administration; the Wall Street Journal recently reported his anti-Powell campaign has 'irritated' some senior officials. One person is quite happy with him, though. After that Journal story was published, Trump posted that Pulte was doing an 'outstanding job,' and added: 'KEEP MOVING FORWARD, WILLIAM, DON'T LET THE RADICAL LEFT WEAKLINGS STOP YOU!' Who is Bill Pulte, and how did he get millions of social media followers? Housing is the Pulte family business. Pulte's grandfather, also named Bill, founded what eventually became one of the largest home-building companies in the US, PulteGroup. The younger Bill was barely done with college when, in 2011, he founded a Michigan-based private equity fund focused on the housing industry. The board included such local luminaries such as Rick DeVos (son of future Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos) and Scott Romney (brother of Mitt Romney). Grandpa Pulte died in 2018. The following year, then-31-year-old Bill got his first taste of national fame by going viral for giving people money. Pulte gave or offered to give sometimes hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands or even tens of thousands, and he posted on Twitter about it. He called this 'Twitter Philanthropy.' (He insisted he was not giving away his inheritance money, but rather money he'd independently made.) Some of the giveaways were for people posting stories about why they needed help, others were purely random — but the common thread was that, if you wanted a shot at the cash, you needed to follow or retweet him on Twitter. (Following him was necessary so he could send you a direct message if you won, he explained.) In July 2019, Pulte said he'd give $30,000 to 'a veteran on Twitter' if President Trump retweeted him, and the president did so. All this proved highly successful at increasing Pulte's Twitter following, which rose from the low tens of thousands to 2 million in early 2020. But his relationship with the company his grandfather founded deteriorated. He lost his seat on PulteGroup's board of directors, after the board unanimously voted not to renominate him. The meme stock saga and online feuding With the novelty of Twitter Philanthropy worn off, Pulte found a new focus for his self-promotion: the meme stock craze. Pulte particularly cultivated the beleaguered Bed Bath & Beyond investors, many of whom hoped this wealthy and successful philanthropist would somehow find a way to get them back the money they'd lost. In January 2024, Pulte released a statement saying the 'Pulte family' would purchase Bed Bath & Beyond bonds so they could 'demand answers' for wiped-out retail shareholders. The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, which he is not involved with, wanted to be excluded from this narrative, and released a statement distancing themselves from him. Pulte fired back with an X post calling his aunt, Nancy Pulte Rickard, who heads the foundation, 'a fake representative of the Pulte Family.' He added that his aunt 'is angry she wasn't in my grandpa's will when I, the namesake, was in the will.' As it became clear that there would be no miraculous recovery for $BBBY shareholders, Pulte amassed his share of dedicated online haters, who mocked him as 'Ploot' and chronicled what they saw as his strange behavior on subreddits like /r/GME_meltdown. These haters would soon watch agog as Pulte, who they viewed as a 'fraud and weirdo,' suddenly scored a powerful position in the federal government. This, one Redditor wrote, was 'an absolutely wild plot twist.' Pulte and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Through all this time, Pulte's public persona hadn't been particularly political. But he figured out a good way to gain entry into Trumpworld — by, again, giving people money. He gave $500,000 to a pro-Trump Super PAC in 2022. He'd also donated to Turning Point USA, the young conservatives' group co-founded by Charlie Kirk. (Kirk is a close ally of Donald Trump Jr.) After Trump won in November 2024, the New York Post floated Pulte as a potential Housing and Urban Development secretary, quoting a 'source' calling him 'probably overqualified' and stressing those past donations to vouch for his loyalty to Trumpworld. Trump nominated him for FHFA director instead, and before his confirmation hearings, he deleted tens of thousands of his old tweets, to Senate Democrats' annoyance. Shortly after he was confirmed in March, Pulte posted on X: 'You didn't really think I'd stop tweeting did you'. The FHFA job is a consequential one. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed under government conservatorship during the 2008 financial crisis, but the Trump team is now planning to reprivatize them. It is unclear how involved Pulte is in these discussions (one report claimed he'd been 'largely cut out'). Pulte has, however, been quite quick to use his position to go after Trump's enemies — specifically, James, the New York attorney general, and Sen. Schiff, who have for years been leading figures in Democrat-led investigations of Trump. Pulte took public credit for the Schiff investigation, posting on X: 'Fannie Mae's Financial Crimes Division concluded that Mr. Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.' A confidential Fannie Mae memo alleging misconduct by Schiff — a memo addressed to Pulte — was provided to the Washington Post earlier this month. Both Schiff and James have denied any wrongdoing and said they are being targeted politically, and it remains to be seen whether DOJ will charge them. Federal prosecutors pursuing complex corruption cases against public officials have long found the mortgage fraud statute to be a useful tool — it's relatively easy to prove, and it carries a steep, 30-year maximum sentence. (According to David Simon, federal prosecutors in Baltimore called it the 'Head Shot.') But it's not yet clear whether they have enough to make and sustain either case. With Powell having earned Trump's ire for his reluctance to lower interest rates, Pulte started going after him, too. For the past two months, he's been publicly criticizing the Fed chair and urging him to resign. Since the law only permits Trump to fire Powell 'for cause' — meaning 'inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office' — Pulte has been laying the groundwork for that. He's been arguing that the expensive renovation of the Fed's headquarters is a 'scandal' that merits Powell's firing for misconduct. 'I remain optimistic Jerome Powell will do the right thing, and as early as next week,' Pulte posted Friday on X. Could Trump be considering replacing Powell with Pulte himself? So far, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett is said to be the frontrunner. And a Pulte nomination may not be received kindly by the Senate or the markets. But maybe Pulte can post his way into the job. After all, social media has gotten him this far.
Vox
20 hours ago
- Business
- Vox
Trump's new EU trade deal, briefly explained
President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as he announces a trade deal with the EU on July 27, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland.This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The US and the European Union have arrived at a new trade deal, just days before President Donald Trump's threatened deadline to impose substantial new tariffs. What's in the agreement? Only the broad strokes of the deal have been announced so far, but it sets a new tariff rate of 15 percent on many imports from the EU, half the 30 percent rate that had been threatened. It also includes a promise of mutual tariff-free trade on some products, including aircraft and some generic drugs, and a European commitment to buy $750 billion in US energy over the next three years. Other points are still under negotiation, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, including whether European wine and other spirits will receive an exemption from the 15 percent tariff. How is Trump's trade war faring elsewhere? Earlier this month, Trump sent a new round of tariff demand letters to US trade partners, with a new deadline of August 1 (this Friday) to reach a trade deal and head off drastic tariffs. Since then, the US has reached a number of new agreements, including a deal with Japan last week — but many more are still outstanding. Among those is a deal with China, which negotiators met to discuss on Monday; a mutual suspension of tariffs between the two countries is set to expire on August 12, but is likely to be extended an additional 90 days as talks continue. The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. What else should I know about the tariffs? Hovering over all Trump's tariff threats and trade deals is the question of whether any of this is legal. One court, the US Court of International Trade, already ruled against the tariffs in May; now, an appeals court will hear the case on Thursday, and it will likely wend its way to the Supreme Court after that. And with that, it's time to log off… I greatly enjoyed the latest entry in my colleague Benji Jones's unofficial 'wildlife motion cameras' series, about artificial watering holes in the jungles of Guatemala (and don't miss his earlier piece, about animals along the US-Mexico border, here).
Vox
a day ago
- General
- Vox
Am I actually 'too sensitive'?
Everything could be going fine until one inconsequential comment, one offhand remark ruins your day. Your mother casually criticizes you. A coworker offers unsolicited feedback on a presentation. A friend asks for everyone's opinion on where to host their birthday dinner, except yours. The infraction rolls over and over in your mind: What did they mean by that? I'm an idiot, right? Why would they do that? Hours, days, even weeks can pass and, still, you can't seem to shake what is arguably a minor slight. You ask yourself, Am I being too sensitive? Well, are you? Mark Leary, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, says sometimes, seemingly insignificant snubs are effective at getting under our skin because they send a signal that we don't matter. 'It conveys that I don't have a whole lot of relational value to you,' he says. 'You don't value your connection with me, because if you did, you'd treat me better than this.' Certain people are more sensitive to these upsets than others, Leary says, while others can easily brush them off. Vox Culture Culture reflects society. Get our best explainers on everything from money to entertainment to what everyone is talking about online. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The eternally-sensitive among us are equipped with, essentially, more emotional information-tracking sensors, according to Kelly Guynes, a licensed clinical social worker and the clinical director at the DBT Center of Houston. 'The more 'sensors' you have,' she says, 'the more data you're getting, meaning you feel the world more deeply, more intensely.' As a result, you may be more emotionally reactive. A movie that a friend thinks is merely sad could leave you in tears. You can ruminate for hours about an eyeroll from an acquaintance at a party. 'The world keeps going and I'm getting hit and hit and hit, so I never have the time, or even have learned any skills, to bring myself back to a baseline.' Without effective coping strategies, a lifetime of mini-hurts can compound. 'Maybe one friend hasn't texted me back yet, and I'm ruminating about it, and then my coworker gives me some constructive criticism, and then the vet bill was way more expensive than I thought it was going to be,' Guynes says. 'The world keeps going and I'm getting hit and hit and hit, so I never have the time, or even have learned any skills, to bring myself back to a baseline.' Being more attuned to our emotions isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if you're constantly offended or walking around with hurt feelings, it may disrupt the ability to connect with others. Your triggers may be totally perplexing to those who aren't inside your head. So, why do some people have heightened emotional awareness? What can they do about it? The role of nature and nurture The degree to which someone is emotionally sensitive can be completely out of their control. Some people are genetically predisposed to bigger feelings and have an extremely sensitive temperament, Guynes says. As a baby, they may have been harder to soothe and more affected by light, sound, and people. They may grow up into highly sensitive people — a personality trait associated with greater emotional and environmental reactivity. They're more attuned to noises, smells, and temperature, as well as social cues. (There is an online self-assessment, developed by the psychologist who first began studying highly sensitive people, to determine where on the sensitivity scale you fall.) They probably have been told at one point or another to grow thicker skin or that they're overreacting, says Audrey Kao, a therapist and registered social worker. But life experiences also impact the way you interact with and perceive others. A history of neglect or trauma as a child and past experiences of rejection may cause someone to develop rejection sensitivity — the expectation and anxiety around being burned again in the future. When a friend makes a joke at your expense, these fears are activated, 'and any behavior that remotely resembles rejection is going to be perceived as rejection,' says Ozlem Ayduk, a psychology professor at University of California, Berkeley. The desire to matter Because value and acceptance are at the root of a sensitive person's hurt feelings, they may be overly motivated to make a good impression on everyone they encounter. Some people crave the approval of many, from strangers online to their closest confidants. Others are perfectly satisfied knowing they can't please everyone and only care about the opinions of a smaller group of treasured connections. The more someone yearns for acceptance from another person, 'the more you're going to have your antennas up for any indication that other people may not care,' Leary says. Therefore, your ego might be more easily bruised when the barista doesn't remember your name because it's important to your self-worth that you're significant to them. The reality is, we can't be adored by everyone. Instead, Leary says, it can be helpful to be more discerning about whose opinions really matter. How valued and accepted you believe you are influences your reactions to perceived social slights. When people feel valued and cared for, they're better able to brush off, for instance, snide remarks from their in-laws. 'But if you perceive that your relationships and connections in your life are tenuous,' Leary says, 'you're going to be a little bit more worried about indications that you're running out of connections with other people.' Those with low self-esteem might already feel undervalued and these comments only confirm their insecurities. 'We're going to take that comment more to heart,' Kao says, 'because it feels more personal.' How to be a little less sensitive If you suspect that your sensitivity is preventing you from having healthy relationships — because others are always upsetting you or you're afraid they might reject you — you may want to learn some strategies to blunt the pain. Because those sensitive to rejection are primed to see slights everywhere, they may jump to worst-case scenarios and, for lack of a better term, overreact, Ayduk says. But every social cue can't possibly be a sign of someone's negative feelings about you. If you believe every interaction is potentially threatening, you're way more likely to read it the wrong way, Ayduk says. Emotional and rejection sensitivity are sometimes self-fulfilling prophecies, Ayduk says. If your feelings are constantly hurt by benign comments, people might stop hanging out with you, only reinforcing your fears. Ayduk is currently studying whether it's possible to break this cycle with a little self-awareness. If you know that your sensitivity can actually push people away, can you change? 'I don't know the answer yet,' Ayduk says, 'but I think just knowing is probably not enough. But knowing and then learning some skills,' like not assuming the worst, may potentially help. Reality may not be as calamitous as the story you've drafted in your head. According to Ayduk and Leary, it's helpful to remind yourself that you have a tendency to jump to the worst possible conclusion: that your friend hates you, that your neighbor thinks you're rude, that acquaintance would rather do anything else than talk to you at a party. Reality may not be as calamitous as the story you've drafted in your head. 'Maybe my mom's just having a bad day, and she doesn't feel good,' Leary says. 'But when she snaps at me, I assume it has something to do with our relationship, and it may have nothing to do with that at all.' Then, ask yourself if the perceived wrongdoing is significant in the long run, Leary says. Is your mom's short temper fleeting or is it an indication of a larger issue in the relationship? Sure, she shouldn't have snapped, but maybe this is a rare occurrence. In which case, you may decide it's not worth bringing up your hurt feelings with her. 'This is not an effort to eliminate entirely your concerns,' Leary says. 'It's just a way to try to make sure that you're not over-blowing it [out of proportion] before you think about how you should respond.' Thinking through the significance of the rebuff allows you to slow down and take a considered approach if you do decide to say something. Airing your concerns like an adult features a few gold standards you've likely heard about by now: Use 'I' statements, calmly explain why you're hurt, invite the other person to weigh in. All that applies here, too. It's much better to say, 'I've noticed you snapped at me a few times over the past few days. Is there something I'm doing wrong?' rather than, 'Are you really going to lash out at me again? I'm done.' How the other person responds is on them. They might not have realized they hurt your feelings. They may also accuse you of overreacting. If they're a more distant relation — like an acquaintance or coworker — you might need to be more guarded around them in the future and try to move on, Kao says. For closer ties, the dismissal of your feelings can be incredibly deflating, she continues. 'It's fair game to say to them,' Kao says, ''That's really invalidating and it makes me feel like my feelings are unimportant and I need to feel like my feelings are important to you.''
Vox
4 days ago
- Politics
- Vox
The dire state of Gaza negotiations, briefly explained
Palestinians carrying pots and pans are seen on July 23, 2025, in Gaza City, where residents are struggling to access food due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and attacks. Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is stepping back from ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, even as a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza adds to the urgency of reaching an agreement. What's the latest? The latest round of talks was cut short on Thursday after US and Israeli negotiating teams were recalled from Doha, Qatar. On Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters that 'Hamas didn't really want to make a deal' and would be 'hunted down.' What are the sticking points? The specifics are unclear, but US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not 'acting in good faith' in negotiations. Previously, Hamas's desire for assurances about a permanent end to the conflict has been an issue for Israel. How have earlier negotiations gone? In January, shortly before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire, which included the release of Israeli hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. The deal unraveled two months later, in March, and conditions in Gaza have only grown worse since then. The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. What's happening in Gaza right now? Gaza is home to more than 2 million Palestinians living in the most dire circumstances imaginable; the World Food Program said this week that a third of the population has been unable to eat for multiple days in a row, and children are dying of starvation. More than 1,000 Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli troops while attempting to access food aid in recent months, according to the UN. What's the big picture? If the Trump administration so chose, there's almost certainly more the US could do to incentivize Israel to reach a ceasefire deal, or at least allow more aid to be distributed in a way that doesn't further endanger Palestinian lives. But the collapse of negotiations this week suggests no such effort is coming, even as Gaza totters on the brink of famine. And with that, it's time to log off… Hi readers — this was a bleak way to end the week, and it can be hard to know what to put here that doesn't feel grossly inadequate. But let's end with some straightforwardly good (and fluffy) conservation news.
