The Full Belmonte, 12/4/2023
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli air strikes in Khan Yunis, Gaza
“Israel's military says it has expanded its ground offensive in Gaza and is now targeting Hamas strongholds in the south. Many Palestinians told to flee northern Gaza to the south are now facing demands to flee the areas they evacuated into.
There is so much frustration and powerlessness over what’s happening, NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reports on Up First from Tel Aviv. While some Israelis say it's time to get rid of Hamas, Beardsley says the prevailing sentiment in Tel Aviv seems to be that getting back the hostages Hamas took in their Oct. 7 attack is more important than the war.
Hatem Ali/AP
Gaza's health ministry says more than 15,000 Palestinians been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7. Additionally, more than 100 heritage sites in Gaza were damaged or destroyed, according to Heritage for Peace. In Israel, officials say more than 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the war has led to the ‘deadliest month for journalists’ since the organization began collecting data more than 30 years ago. CPJ says the majority of Gaza journalist casualties since the start of the war were killed while doing their jobs.” [NPR]
“The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today in a challenge to the legality of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement. Under the terms of the deal, Purdue Pharma agreed to pay billions of dollars to those harmed by the opioid crisis. In exchange, the Sackler family would be shielded from personal liability despite owning and running the company.
The Biden administration will argue that bankruptcy courts aren't authorized to approve a release from liability for third parties who haven't declared bankruptcy like the Sacklers, NPR's Nina Totenberg reports. Some who study bankruptcy acknowledge that bankruptcy can be messy, but this is the only way to provide real compensation to victims.” [NPR]
White House warns Congress of urgent need for Ukraine war funding, saying, ‘We are out of money — and nearly out of time’
“In a blunt letter, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told congressional leaders that the United States will run out of funding for weapons and other assistance by the end of the year — a scenario that would ‘kneecap’ Ukraine in its war with Russia. The letter comes as a Biden administration request for nearly $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel and other needs remains stalled on Capitol Hill. ‘There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment,’ Young said.
Read the story at Washington Post
A former U.S. ambassador is accused of working for years as a secret agent for Cuba as he rose up the State Department ranks.
Monday, December 4, 2023 1:30 PM ET
“Manuel Rocha, a former ambassador to Bolivia, secretly aided Cuba’s ‘clandestine intelligence-gathering mission,’ U.S. authorities said in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami.”
Read more at New York Times
The Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City is shown on April 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
AP INVESTIGATION
Recordings show the Mormon church’s playbook for protecting itself from child sex abuse claims
“A former Mormon bishop who a top church official said committed ‘sexual transgression’ with his own daughter was excommunicated after making a religious confession. Recordings obtained by The Associated Press show that instead of helping prosecutors, the church used a legal playbook that keeps sex abuse secret. Within weeks, prosecutors dropped the charges. Read more.
Why this matters:
The recordings provide a record of the steps the church normally takes behind closed doors to keep allegations of child sex abuse secret.
More than half the states maintain clergy-penitent privilege, which provides a loophole for clergy who are otherwise required to report child sex abuse. As a result, some child predators who reveal their crimes to clergy in a confessional setting are allowed to remain free.
Although child welfare advocates have attempted to change or eliminate the privilege, the AP found that lobbying by religious institutions has persuaded state legislators throughout the country to maintain the loophole.” [AP News]
3 commercial ships were hit by missiles in an attack in the Red Sea
“Ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck three commercial ships Sunday in the Red Sea, while a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault, the U.S. military said. The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed two of the attacks, stating that they were aiming to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Read more.
Why this matters:
The strikes marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict.
The U.S. vowed to ‘consider all appropriate responses’ to the attack, specifically calling out Iran. Tensions have been high for years now over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
In claiming two of the attacks, a Houthi military spokesman said ‘the Yemeni armed forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea (and Gulf of Aden) until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops.’” [AP News]
Wartime attacks rise on high seas
The USS Carney transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, in October. Photo: Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/Reuters
“A U.S. Navy warship intervened after three commercial ships came under attack from drones and missiles in a Red Sea assault that was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, U.S. military officials said.
Why it matters: The attacks ‘represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,’ said U.S. Central Command, adding that the strikes were ‘fully enabled by Iran’ in response to the Israel-Hamas war.” [Axios]
Donald Trump can be sued over the Jan. 6 attack, judges ruled.
“The details: The former president is not immune from civil or criminal consequences for his attempts to stay in power after the 2020 election, two federal courts ruled Friday.
Why it matters: The decisions set the stage for a historic legal battle over the limits of presidential power that will probably end up in the Supreme Court.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Florida GOP chairman under fire as more details emerge in rape inquiry
Republican Party chair and his wife, a Moms for Liberty co-founder, part of three-way encounter with alleged victim, affidavit says
Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, on Nov. 4. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
“Leaders of the Florida Republican Party criticized state GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler as details emerged in a rape allegation by a woman with whom he and his wife previously had a three-way sexual encounter.
Ziegler is under investigation by Sarasota police but has not been charged. A search warrant affidavit obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog group, and provided to The Washington Post reveals additional details about the allegations of the assault. Police also obtained from the woman’s cellphone messages between her and Ziegler in the hours leading up to the encounter, the affidavit states.
On Oct. 2, the woman had agreed to have a sexual encounter with Ziegler that was to include his wife, Bridget, the affidavit says. But when the woman learned that Bridget couldn’t make it, she changed her mind and canceled. When Ziegler told her in one message that his wife was no longer available, she replied, ‘Sorry I was mostly in for her,’ she said in a message, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the woman told Sarasota police that Ziegler then showed up at her apartment uninvited and raped her. The woman reported the alleged assault to police two days later, and a rape kit was done at a Sarasota hospital, the affidavit states.
Christian Ziegler later told detectives that he had consensual sex with the woman, and that he had video-recorded it and uploaded the video to Google Drive, according to the affidavit, but police were not able to locate the video. Sarasota police served a search warrant to Google last month, the affidavit says. Google did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.
In a 911 call two days after the alleged assault, a recording of which was also obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability and shared with The Post, a friend of the woman asked emergency responders to check on the woman at her apartment. According to the call’s recording, the friend said the woman hadn’t shown up for work for two days. When the friend called the woman, the woman sounded ‘drunk’ and was ‘slurring her words,’ the friend told dispatchers. ‘She told me she was raped and that she’s scared to leave her house,’ the friend added, according to the recording of the call.
Bridget Ziegler, who is not named in the complaint against her husband, is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty and has worked closely with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on legislation that opponents have described as anti-LGBTQ+. Bridget Ziegler ‘confirmed having a sexual encounter with the victim and Christian over a year ago and that it only happened one time,’ the affidavit says.
News reports emerged several days ago about the allegations of rape, but more records were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request late Friday and reported by several Florida news outlets. They include details of recorded conversations via Instagram and phone calls between the woman and Christian Ziegler that detectives obtained. Police have filed search warrants for Ziegler’s phone, email and other devices. The Sarasota Police Department did not reply to several requests for comment.
Christian Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, said in a statement Thursday that his client ‘will be completely exonerated.’ Byrd and Ziegler did not respond to requests for comment Saturday about the details in the affidavit.
Ziegler, 40, said in an email Saturday to party members that he is not leaving his post. Ziegler said that he and his wife, who have three young children, are being ‘targeted,’ adding that he believed it was ‘most likely due to my wife and I being such loud political voices.’
Bridget Ziegler has not returned messages seeking comment.
The alarm within the Florida GOP comes as the party is already roiled with divisions over whom to support in the presidential primary — DeSantis or former president Donald Trump.
‘It’s certainly deeply, deeply troubling,’ said state Rep. Spencer Roach, a member of the Florida GOP executive committee. ‘I would describe this as just an absolute body blow to the Republican Party. Everyone that I’ve talked to about this is in an absolute tailspin.’
DeSantis has said Ziegler should step down from the role.
The Zieglers were seen as a rising power couple in the state, second only to Ron and Casey DeSantis in their visibility and influence in state politics.
Bridget Ziegler, 41, has crusaded to purge schools around the country of books that encourage acceptance of different sexual and gender identities or highlight discrimination against Black people. She was first appointed to the Sarasota County School Board by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 to fill a vacant seat. She has been reelected since then, and DeSantis took the unusual step last year of endorsing her and other conservative school board candidates.
Earlier this year, DeSantis appointed her to the special taxing district he and the legislature created to run the property around Disney World after the state took it over during a feud between the company and the governor. Ziegler has repeated DeSantis’s criticisms about Disney, claiming that the company’s content ‘sexualizes’ children.
As a school board member, she has ordered the removal of posters that gave information about starting Gay-Straight Alliance groups, according to another board member, Tom Edwards. She also refused to support a fellow school board member who was being called a ‘groomer’ and other slurs at a school board meeting earlier this year, Edwards said.
‘I asked her to stop it, but she said no, this is free speech,’ said Edwards, the only gay person on the board. ‘I had to shut it down because it was language that I didn’t want my LGBTQ+ students and their friends and their parents and my community to think was acceptable or true. She wouldn’t stop it, so I walked out.’
Bridget Ziegler was also instrumental in advising legislators on the Parental Rights in Education law, derided by critics as the ‘don’t say gay,’ law, which prohibits classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues. She was with DeSantis when he signed the law.
Edwards, Roach and others say one of the most striking details to emerge from the investigation is the difference between what the Zieglers profess in public, and what they are alleged to have done in private.
‘They have held themselves out to be paragons of the Christian conservative family values, a prototype,’ Roach said. ‘And I think there’s a very heavy sense of betrayal, certainly within the Republican Party.’
Some observers viewed the allegations and Bridget Ziegler’s reported confirmation of a prior sexual encounter among the three as evidence of hypocrisy.
‘This situation has really sparked not just enormous interest, but enormous criticism because it seems that there is just a stunning level of hypocrisy,’ said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
‘Even if the rape sexual assault charge ends up either not true or unable to be proven, I think for a lot of Republicans, they would just be uncomfortable with the fact that you have people who are pushing a social conservative agenda saying there’s too much sex in society, particularly LGBTQ sex, but yet have engaged in, well, a threesome,’ Jewett added.” Read more at Washington Post
House GOP prepares to launch Biden impeachment probe
“House Speaker Mike Johnson told lawmakers they would next soon turn to a vote to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden over the business dealings of his son Hunter. But it's uncertain that the House, now down a Republican member, will have enough votes for a historic impeachment measure. Proceedings against Biden are only an impeachment inquiry, not a full-scale impeachment effort. The inquiry into allegations that Biden financially benefited from his family’s overseas business dealings has yet to produce direct evidence.” Read more at USA Today
Wisconsin city files lawsuit against 'forever chemical' makers amid groundwater contamination
“Wausau, Wisconsin, is suing numerous manufacturers of so-called ‘forever chemicals,’ commonly referred to as PFAS, in an attempt to hold them responsible for widespread contamination of the city's water. The suit targets companies that manufactured the chemicals — which are used in various industrial and consumer products — for decades without informing customers of the risks. Wausau has one of the most extensive PFAS contaminations in the state, with contamination in all of its drinking water wells. The city council recently approved borrowing $17.5 million to finance a treatment system that will be installed over the course of the next year.” Read more at USA Today
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum drops out of 2024 presidential race
READ FULL STORY→ USA Today
“So much for US-China detente.
A little over two weeks after Joe Biden hosted Xi Jinping in California to tamp down tensions, defense chiefs from the US and its UK and Australian allies met just along the coast and agreed to deploy artificial intelligence to better track Chinese submarines.
Friday’s exchange of the Aukus security grouping was one of a series of recent events that show competition between the world’s two biggest economies is as fierce as ever.
China’s military slammed Washington today for sending a warship into part of the South China Sea as part of regular freedom-of-navigation operations, an act it said violated its sovereignty.
And in Beijing, Xi hosted Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russia in its war on Ukraine who is subject to US and European sanctions — and called for closer economic ties.
Strains persist in the industry and technology spheres, too.
The Biden administration has just released rules designed to block electric-vehicle manufacturers from sourcing battery materials from China.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo meanwhile made the case for more funding ‘if we’re serious’ about denying China access to cutting-edge technology. Her message to heads of chip companies losing revenue because of US export controls? ‘Such is life.’
That prompted a broadside from the foreign ministry in Beijing, which said the US should ‘stop seeing China as a hypothetical enemy’ and work to ‘deliver on the common understandings’ reached in California.
No one seriously expected a reset from the Biden-Xi summit. Both sides said the best outcome would be means of managing the competition, not ending it.
Recent developments are a test of how each side can do that.
The risk is the downward dynamic takes on a momentum of its own, all the more so in a US election year.” — Alan Crawford [Bloomberg]
Xi and Biden lead a US-China meeting during the APEC Leaders’ week in San Francisco on Nov. 15 Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Interviews reveal how miscalculations and divisions between the U.S. and Ukraine led to counteroffensive failures
“In the first of a two-part series, The Post examined the lead-up to Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The Pentagon was deeply involved in military planning for the operation, but friction and second-guessing between Washington and Kyiv raised deeper questions about Ukraine’s ability to retake decisive amounts of territory.”
Read more at Washington Post
“Israel’s military is expanding operations across the Gaza Strip, with a ground invasion in the southern region looming and renewed warnings to many of the territory’s 2.2 million residents to evacuate. A US Navy ship responded to a flurry of drone and missile attacks against commercial ships operating in the Red Sea, underscoring the potential for the conflict to widen into a broader war.” [Bloomberg]
Smoke rises from buildings in southern Gaza after being hit by Israeli strikes on Dec. 1. Photographer: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victories in three Indian state elections strengthened his party’s position before nationwide polls next year when Modi is widely expected to extend a decade in office. The Bharatiya Janata Party won a majority of the legislature seats in the states predominantly in the populous, northern and central Hindi-speaking heartland of the country.” [Bloomberg]
“UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is doing worse than his short-lived predecessor Liz Truss among the voters who last put the Conservatives in power, a study by pollsters JL Partners has found. Just 59% of those who backed the Conservatives under Boris Johnson at the 2019 election are sticking with the Tories under Sunak, putting the Labour Party firmly on course for power.” [Bloomberg]
“Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is inflaming regional tensions by reviving a long-dormant border dispute over a region roughly the size of Florida that’s controlled by neighboring Guyana. Following massive offshore oil discoveries, preliminary results in a referendum yesterday show ‘overwhelming’ support for the area known as the Essequibo to be ruled from Caracas, according to the head of Venezuela’s electoral body.” [Bloomberg]
“German Economy Minister Robert Habeck canceled a trip to the COP28 climate summit and the wider Middle East after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he’s needed at talks in Berlin to solve a budget crisis. Scholz’s three-party coalition has been grappling with the turmoil triggered by a ruling by the nation’s top court last month that called into question tens of billions of euros in funding held in special pots outside the regular budget.” [Bloomberg]
“A bombing that killed four people and wounded dozens in southern Philippines yesterday was ‘perpetrated by foreign terrorists,’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.” [Bloomberg]
“Top representatives from the European Union will meet with Xi on Thursday, at their first in-person summit since 2019, aimed at easing tensions between the bloc and Beijing.” [Bloomberg]
“Billionaire Bill Gates said the world probably won’t meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature gains below 2C, but in an interview praised COP28 for making progress on tackling climate change despite geopolitical tensions.” [Bloomberg]
Kushners host Qatari PM, Jewish biz leaders
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in Miami last year. Photo: MEGA/GC Images via Getty Images
“Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump organized a private lunch in New York last week with Qatar's prime minister and a bipartisan group mostly of Jewish businessmen and billionaires, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has been a key player in hostage-release talks between Israel and Hamas.
Why it matters: Some attendees said they came away with an improved impression of Qatar.
A source who attended Wednesday's meeting said the Qatari prime minister spoke about his country's efforts to release the hostages in Gaza, and answered several questions about Qatar's relationship with Hamas.
Sheikh Mohammed was the leading point of contact for the Trump and Biden administrations on Afghanistan when Qatar hosted a Taliban office.
Kushner and the Qatari prime minister became close during the Trump administration, when they led negotiations on ending a rift between Qatar and other Arab nations in the Persian Gulf.
The big picture: Qatar has been under increasing pressure and scrutiny by members of Congress and Jewish organizations over the nation's relationship with Hamas.
Qatar is increasing its lobbying in Washington, concerned that Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel from Gaza — an enclave Qatar has helped to support — could damage Qatar's standing with the U.S. and particularly with Congress.
Behind the scenes: The lunch was at Coco's, a members-only restaurant in the General Motors Building in Manhattan. Among the participants:
Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund.
Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL's New England Patriots.
Marc Lasry, CEO of Avenue Capital Group and former co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks.
Barry Sternlicht, chairperson of Starwood Capital Group.
Dan Senor, co-author of the new "The Genius of Israel," and former Pentagon official and adviser on Republican presidential campaigns.
Josh Kopelman, founder of First Round Capital.
Gary Ginsberg, veteran corporate executive and confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp.
Josh Kushner, Jared's brother, founder of Thrive Capital.
Lex Fridman, AI researcher from MIT who also has a podcast.” [Axios]
Behind the Curtain: U.S. not ready for robotic, AI world wars
The autonomous Roadrunner-M, billed as a "radical new class of recoverable ground-based air defense capability," was unveiled Friday. Photo: Anduril Industries
“America's ability to remain the world's most lethal military hinges on two interrelated — and vexing — mysteries, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write.
Can soon-to-retire four-star generals truly foresee the awesome power of artificial intelligence in time to break generation-old habits and shift warfare theories?
If they do, can they convince the brightest coding minds to chuck lucrative gigs at Google to build AI-powered systems for America faster or better than their rivals in China?
Why it matters: Future wars will be won with Stanford nerds, faster chips, superior computing power and precision robotics on land, sea and air. Experts tell us that because of a lethal combination of congressional myopia and constipated Pentagon buying rules, America isn't mobilizing fast enough to prevail on future battlefields.
‘We are witnessing an unprecedented fundamental change in the character of war, and our window of opportunity to ensure that we maintain an enduring competitive advantage is closing,’ retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, who then was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned in a report he wrote shortly before retiring this fall.
What's happening: Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, said at last week's Axios AI+ Summit in Washington that with cutting-edge tech being deployed in Ukraine, a drone is no longer just an uncrewed flying object. It's a ‘potent software platform’ that's a big step toward more automated war.
‘It's clear that drones and other weapons based on autonomy can replace tanks, artillery and mortars,’ Schmidt told us in a later interview. ‘The success of Ukraine and also Russia on the battlefield proves this point.’
But experts warn the U.S. is still spending too much time and money building aircraft carriers and other outmoded artifacts of analog war, because of the archaic restraints of what the late Senate Armed Services Chair John McCain called the ‘military-industrial-congressional complex.’
Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus — former top commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, and former CIA director, who's author of the new bestseller "Conflict" — told us that tanks, ships and planes must be largely supplanted over time by a massive armada of much cheaper, smaller, uncrewed, algorithmically piloted systems.
‘Humans will be on the loop rather than in the loop,’ Petraeus said. ‘You will have a human at some point say: 'OK, machine. You're free to take action according to the computer program we established for you' — rather than remotely piloting it.’
The big picture: The answers to those two big questions are being determined now, as military experts sound the alarm about ways the tectonic shift in military power is threatening America in real time. Milley's report, ‘Strategic Inflection Point,’ is a 10-page wake-up call.
‘The American homeland has almost always been a sanctuary during conflict, but this will not be the case in a future war,’ Milley wrote. ‘Robust space and cyber capabilities allow adversaries to target critical national infrastructure.’
Milley is among those warning privately that too many four-star generals — typically in their mid-50s to early 60s — are too old and too connected to conventional warfare to shift fast enough, sources tell us.
Army Gen. Erik Kurilla — commander of U.S. Central Command, which includes the Middle East — is seen as the most technologically innovative of the roughly 40 four-stars in the military today.
China — and AI — are the central focus of every future-of-defense conversation. Beijing knows technology alone can help leapfrog America, despite long being outspent by us (though the gap has mostly closed).
Take hypersonic missiles. They move so fast that no modern defense system can come close to shooting them down until moments before they hit. China is far ahead of the U.S. in the hypersonic arms race — a potential scary edge in a conflict over Taiwan or beyond.
Quantum technologies — which include ultra-precise sensors and more secure communications — promise to vastly improve military targeting and encryption.
Nimble next-gen defense startups are already vying with legacy giants. Anduril Industries — founded by Palmer Luckey, who designed the head-mounted Oculus Rift and sold the technology to Facebook — on Friday unveiled an autonomous weapons platform, Roadrunner, with a portable hangar so compact it looks like an outhouse. (YouTube)
Michèle Flournoy — former undersecretary of defense for policy, and now co-founder of WestExec Advisors — told us that while every branch of the military has an innovation hub, the risk-averse culture means these efforts ‘are still on the margins of the main acquisition and budget processes.’
‘The Pentagon has gotten very good at tech-scouting and demonstrating and experimenting and prototyping,’ Flournoy said. ‘But actually moving things into production at scale has been a challenge.’” [Axios]
AI helps U.S. in chip race
Robots at Berkeley Lab in California. Photo: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab
“AI could help reduce U.S. dependence on China for critical components of batteries, solar cells and semiconductor chips by fueling development of urgently needed new materials, Axios managing editor Alison Snyder reports.
Why it matters: China now dominates the field of materials engineering by several key metrics, including publications, employment and degrees awarded in the field.
Google DeepMind researchers reported last week that a new AI model discovered more than 2.2 million hypothetical materials.” [Axios]
“Spotify said it would cut 1,500 jobs, its third round of layoffs this year.” [New York Times]
“Alaska Airlines said it planned to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.” [New York Times]
“The Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year is ‘rizz’ — a Gen Z slang term derived from ‘charisma.’” [New York Times]
Endless Shrimp Is Financially Ruining Red Lobster
Not every deal is a good deal.
“Yes, you can, in fact, have too much of a good thing. And it appears Red Lobster is learning that the hard way.
In an earnings report call in early November, Ludovic Regis Henri Garnier, the CFO of Thai Union Group, which owns Red Lobster, announced that its Ultimate Endless Shrimp deal, which is normally a limited-time offer but was added to the daily menu in June, was exceedingly popular — so popular that it caused the restaurant chain to post an operating loss of more than $11 million in the third quarter of 2023.
‘We knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants,’ Garnier told investors, according to Restaurant Business. ‘So we wanted to boost our traffic, and it didn't work.’
To be fair, according to the earnings call, the chain of 670 restaurants did experience a 4% year-over-year growth in its number of customers thanks to the deal, but the deal's $20 price tag for patrons to get two different types of shrimp was just too little to make up the difference. So now, it's upped the price to $25.
"We want to keep it on the menu," Garnier added. "And of course we need to be much more careful regarding what are the entry points and what is the price point we are offering for this promotion."
Now, for $25, guests can choose two shrimp-centric options, and, as Red Lobster noted in a June press release, ‘When they are ready for more, they can order additional shrimp selections until their cravings are fully satisfied.’ The meal choices include Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and Garlic Grilled Shrimp Skewer. And every meal comes with a choice of side, along with the restaurant's famed Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Sadly, this shrimp debacle could be putting Red Lobster in real trouble. According to Restaurant Business, the restaurant's parent company had expected its losses to hover around $17 million earlier this year, but a better-than-expected second quarter boosted that number to just $14 million. Now, however, those losses are expected to total around $20 million. In early 2023, Thai Union had threatened to abandon Red Lobster altogether over its losses, which at the time had only hit $9.8 million.
As Thai Union's chief executive officer Thiraphong Chansiri, said in an interview in March, ‘Thai Union has never prolonged any bad businesses,’ adding that it had shut down other unprofitable factories before.” [Food & Wine]
Football Five
“The young Packers are growing up. Green Bay beat the Chiefs, 27-19, to get to .500 for the first time since Week 4.Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes -- two to Christian Watson -- and a controversial ( clearly incorrect ) no-call late helped, too. This was the most points the Chiefs have allowed this season.
The AFC playoff picture is a beautiful mess. As for winners, the Texans held on for a 22-19 win over the Broncos thanks to a late Jimmie Ward end zone interception, and theColts kept pace with a 31-28 overtime win over the Titans that included two blocked punts.
As for losers, the Browns -- starting Joe Flacco -- fell to the Rams, 36-19, and the Steelers lost to the Cardinals, 24-10. Kenny Pickett (ankle) will miss a few weeks, and Jaylen Warren says Pittsburgh took Arizona lightly. The Steelers got an "F" in our weekly grades.
Tyreek Hill had another historic performance as the Dolphins beat the Commanders, scorigami-style, 45-15.
The Lions went up 21-0 early, let the Saints back in the game and ultimately hung on for a 33-28 win. Derek Carr is in the concussion protocol.
Good morning to everyone but especially ...
MICHIGAN, WASHINGTON, TEXAS AND ALABAMA
The final year of the four-team playoff delivered its most drama ... and an enticing, controversial and exciting field: No. 1 Michigan will play No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and No. 2 Washington will face No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, four weeks from today.
How did we get here?
Friday night, Washington beat Oregon, 34-31, in the final Pac-12 Championship Game. Dillon Johnson ran for 152 yards and two scores.
Saturday afternoon, Texas walloped Oklahoma State, 49-21, with star defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat catching a touchdown pass and hitting the Heisman pose. Star wide receiver Xavier Worthy ( ankle) left and did not return.
In the evening, Alabama ended Georgia's 29-game winning streak with a 27-24 triumph as Jalen Milroe tossed a pair of touchdowns and the Crimson Tide slowed what had been an unstoppable Bulldogs attack.
In the nightcaps, Michigan rolled Iowa, 26-0, for its third straight Big Ten title, and Florida State also won. We'll get to the Seminoles in a bit.
Here are the full CFP Rankings, and here are the semifinal odds.
We'll have plenty of time to break everything down, but these are the four, and they're full of storylines. Jim Harbaugh is back and looking for his first CFP win. Washington is playing its final game(s) as a member of the Pac-12, and it'll face its former coach in Texas'Steve Sarkisian. And Alabama ... well, it's Alabama.
New Year's Day can't get here soon enough.” [CBS Sports]
Beyoncé rules box office
Image: AMC/Parkwood Entertainment
“Beyoncé's concert picture — "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," focused on the tour for her Grammy-winning album — opened at No. 1 this weekend with $21 million in North American ticket sales, AP reports.
Why it matters: The post-Thanksgiving, early December box office is notoriously slow — but "Renaissance" defied the odds. Not accounting for inflation, it's the first time a film has opened over $20 million on this weekend in 20 years (since "The Last Samurai").” [Axios]
A blind mole presumed extinct was found alive.
The creature has a shimmering golden coat. (Nicky Souness/Wild/AP)
“What you’re looking at: De Winton’s golden mole, recently rediscovered in South Africa. The critter ‘swims’ through sand and has been lost to science since 1936.
How it was found: Scientists searched sand from beaches and dunes for shed skin cells and tested their DNA. The technique could help find other species thought lost.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“Lives Lived: Myles Goodwyn was a singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Canadian classic rock group April Wine. He died at 75.” [New York Times]