TV News LIES

A Myanmar-born perfume entrepreneur and missionary has snapped up nearly half of the oil and gas leases offered by the Trump administration since August, saying the coronavirus pandemic created an opportunity to buy them cheaply.

Levi Sap Nei Thang, who boasts a large social media following and said she is a Christian guided by meditation and prayer, spent more than $1 million bidding on federal drilling leases in 11 states in August and September, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management sale documents.

The more than 100 leases cover nearly 87,000 acres (35,000 hectares), or 47% of the acreage offered at BLM auctions over five weeks in August and September, according to the documents.

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Hobbled by the pandemic and facing the same long-term challenges as other casual dining chains, Ruby Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Wednesday.

The company hopes to use the debt-cutting process to improve its finances and stay in business, saying in a statement that it had "reached an understanding with its secured lenders to support its restructuring."

But CEO Shawn Lederman said in a court filing the company will permanently close 185 restaurants that had shut their doors during the coronavirus pandemic. That leaves the chain with 236 company-owned and operated locations, as well as an undisclosed number of locations run by 10 franchisee groups.

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Ralph Lauren Corp said on Tuesday it would cut 15% of its global workforce by the end of this fiscal year as the luxury retailer strives to lower costs and ride out the impact of COVID-19 on sales and shopping habits.

The New York-based fashion house, which has 530 stores globally, said the changes would see it move more business online.

The company did not say how many or what type of jobs could go, but based on its last reported total workforce of about 24,900 employees, the changes could impact more than 3,700 employees.

“The changes happening in the world around us have accelerated the shifts we saw pre-COVID, and we are fast-tracking some of our plans to match them,” Chief Executive Officer Patrice Louvet said.

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On Friday, MGM Resorts International told its staff it would lay off 18,000 of its furloughed employees in the US starting on Monday.

According to a letter sent from CEO Bill Hornbuckle to MGM Resorts employees, the company employed 52,000 full-time and 18,000 part-time workers in the US as of late last year, Reuters reported.

"Federal law requires companies to provide a date of separation for furloughed employees who are not recalled within six months. Regrettably, August 31, marks (that) date," Hornbuckle said.

Hornbuckle said that laid off employees will remain on the company's recall list and will retain benefits and seniority if they are rehired by the end of next year.

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Trump’s executive order and presidential memoranda, introduced on Saturday, would temporarily extend enhanced unemployment benefits at a reduced amount of $400 a week, defer payroll taxes for some workers, suspend federal student loan payments and potentially provide eviction relief. Even if he can overcome the legal questions surrounding his actions, the efforts may not pack much punch, economists say.

Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, calculated the orders could provide just over $400 billion in total relief. JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli wrote in an email note on Monday that the initiatives could contribute “less than $100 billion” in stimulus.

That’s versus the $1 trillion aid package proposed by the Republican-led Senate or the more than $3 trillion aid bill passed by the Democrat-led House of Representatives.

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