Rick Casey: Just Who Is Tearing Down Texas?

Though eyes are laser-focused on the 2024 presidential election, which could elect the first female President of the U. S., thirty-four Senate seats are also set to be contested this Election Day. Control over the chambers of Congress could help or hinder the President-elect from setting forth their agenda for the country.

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May. TGI Fridays closed nearly 50 locations abruptly in October, then filed for bankruptcy in early November. Hooters shut down dozens of stores in June, while Buca di Beppo declared bankruptcy in August. Even budget standby Denny’s said in October that it would close about 150 stores in the next two years, citing “choppy economic conditions” and the fast pace of inflation for food away from home. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Sit-down chain restaurants may be the quintessential American business, beginning with the expansion of Howard Johnson’s after World War II as families got in the car and started to travel.

Everyday anxiety can lead to sleepless nights—so ratchet that up to existential fear about the future of democracy, and it’s probably safe to assume you’re not going to get much shuteye on Election Night. According to a recent American Psychological Association survey, 25% of adults have already lost sleep over the U.

Abortion rights are on the ballot in 10 states, but their presence looms especially large in Florida. Last year, Governor Ron DeSantis, with the approval of the Republican-majority state legislature, signed a six-week abortion ban into law. In response, Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF) sponsored the Right to Abortion Initiative, which is on the ballot as Amendment 4.

Today’s best AI models, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, come with conditions: their creators control the terms on which they are accessed to prevent them being used in harmful ways. This is in contrast with ‘open’ models, which can be downloaded, modified, and used by anyone for almost any purpose.

Since his first campaign announcement in 2015, Donald Trump and the GOP have sought to appeal to some Americans’ worst fears, scapegoating immigrants for every problem facing the nation. If his rise to power hinged on this ugly rhetoric, it has only gotten worse over the years. In the 2024 election, immigrants have been portrayed as barbarians who eat cats and dogs—or as animals themselves.