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Global News

Israel Pushing Boundries?

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken delivered a highly anticipated report to Congress on Friday, in regards to the Israeli military’s operations in Gaza.

In the report, it is alleged that Israel violated international humanitarian laws from January 1, 2023 to the end of April, 2024. However, the report also states that the U.S. does not have “complete information” on whether U.S. weapons were used in said actions.

The report states that “given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S. made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles… have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with [international humanitarian law].”

Meanwhile, President Biden did share in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that the U.S. has paused a shipment of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel, stating, “civilians have been killed as a consequence of those bombs.”

Nearly 35,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since Israel’s military campaign began in Gaza seven months ago. Resolution does not appear imminent. 

Economy / Finance

This Week in Earnings: Overview

It’s still earnings season, so let’s take a look at five of the most anticipated earnings set to be released this week. (Data comes from the Zacks Consensus Estimate = The average of all EPS estimates)

Home Depot (HD), Tuesday: Wall Street analysts are predicting quarterly earnings of $3.61 per share, reflecting a decline of 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Additionally, revenues are forecasted to be $36.69 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 1.5%.

The Number of stores is expected to be 2,324, which would be 14 fewer than this time last year.

Sony (SONY), Tuesday: The estimate for Sony earnings is $0.83 per share, indicating an increase of 6.4% from a year ago. 

The consensus estimate for revenues is $18.97 billion, an 18.1% decline from the prior-year.

However, Sony’s earnings have surpassed the estimate in three of the last four quarters, by an average of 22%.

It is also estimated that Sony sold 21 million Playstation 5’s during the 2023 fiscal year. 

Under Armour (UAA), Thursday: The sports apparel company is expected to release quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share, which would be a year over year change of -61.1%. Revenues are expected to be down 5.4% from the year-ago quarter.

However, the company has beaten consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters. For the last reported quarter, for example, it was expected that Under Armour would post earnings of $0.11. Yet, it actually produced earnings of $0.19, a surprise of +72%.

Walmart (WMT), Thursday: Walmart is projected to post earnings of $0.52 per share, a change of +6.1% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus sales estimate is up 4.5% from a year ago, at $159.1 billion. The retailer corporation has exceeded revenue estimates in each of the last four quarters. 

John Deere (DE), Thursday: The agricultural equipment manufacturer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $7.83 per share, which would represent a year-over-year change of -18.9%.

Additionally, revenues are expected to be $13.26 billion, which would be down 17.5% from the year-ago quarter. 

However the previous reported quarter did produce earnings 20% higher than the expectation. John Deere has now beaten the estimates in each of the previous four quarters. 

We’ll find out the realities later this week.

Sports

Knicks Heading to the Finals?

Wait, the Knicks? Really?

The Pacers evened the series at 2-games a piece last night, but there’s hope for the Knicks yet. Thanks to three Villanova Wildcats, New York Knicks fans are partying like it’s 1999 (the last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals).

For the past two decades, there has been this thought that you need to build a super team, filled with stars, in order to win NBA championships.

However, most champions of the last 20 years have been homegrown. Sure, the Warriors added Kevin Durant, but they had already won a title before that, and even set the record for most wins in an NBA season. 

The lone “super teams” to actually win championships were all spearheaded by LeBron James, a generational talent (the Heat, Cavs and Lakers). 

The Celtics with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were a super team. But Pierce was already there, and the others were traded for. That’s different from stars teaming up together in free agency, or forcing their way to go play with a certain co-star.

But maybe the Knicks are onto something with their big three of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVenczio, three former college teammates who won the 2016 national championship at Villanova.

Maybe the trick isn’t just three superstars, but three guys who had already played and won together before the NBA. A trio with immediate chemistry.

It’s something we’ve seen in recent years in the NFL, where a team will attempt to help out their young QB by also drafting one of their college teammates as well.

The Cincinnati Bengals took Jamarr Chase to pair with Joe Burrow, despite desperately needing an offensive lineman.

The Eagles brought in DeVonta Smith to help Jalen Hurts. Same with the Dolphins and Jaylen Waddle to aid Tua Tagovailoa. The Jaguars drafted Travis Etienne to assist Trevor Lawrence. 

Could this trend, after the Knicks success this year, now carry over to the NBA?

History Repeating?

For the Rangers, maybe…

When Yogi Berra said, “it’s like deja vu all over again,” he might have been talking about this…

The New York Rangers are trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 1994. They currently hold a 3-1 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, despite being an underdog in all four matchups.

Much like 1994, the Rangers won the President’s Cup this year as well. But that’s not the only similarity. 

The Knicks were on top of the basketball world in 1994 (making it to the NBA Finals), can they do the same this year?

OJ Simpson was in the news in 1994, following the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson was in the news again in 2024, following his own death recently.

The Denver Nuggets fell behind 2-0 in a playoff series in 1994, much like they have this postseason. 

There was a solar eclipse in March of 1994, and again in April of 2024. 

The tri-states experienced an earthquake in the first half of 1994, much like they did again in the first half of this year.

This Rangers team is led by a first year coach who previously led Philadelphia to a Stanley Cup appearance, much like their coach in 1994.

And just like that same 1994 squad, this version of the Rangers also began the postseason 6-0.

Sure, the Rangers just lost game 4 Saturday night. But maybe that was supposed to happen. In 1994, they swept the first round before winning round two in five games.

In 2024 they swept the first round and now, will they win round two in the fifth game?

Is history just repeating itself, 30 years later?

Entertainment

No More Drama

Diddy Steady in the Storm

Do you remember the 2001 song, “No More Drama”? Yeah, neither does P Diddy. But it was a Mary J. Blige song that she later remixed with Diddy. Now? It’s just a pie in the sky dream for the rapper once known as Puff Daddy. 

Diddy had been very quiet on social media since his homes on Star Island and in Los Angeles were raided by federal agents in March, in connection to a sex trafficking investigation. That changed last week, when the rapper posted a video on Instagram.

“Not hysterical, not frantic, not anxious, not fretful, but steady in the storm,” part of the video said. The scripture voiced by Diddy’s friend TD Jakes, a Dallas pastor and motivational speaker. 

“Looks bad, looks tough, but remains steady in the storm,” the video continues. 

Diddy might want to ask the investigators, “whatchulookinat?” (another song Combs remixed with Whitney Houston), but it might take some time to get the answers.

Nadia Shihata, who prosecuted fellow musician R Kelly, told NewsNation that “six weeks in a federal investigation is a very short time.” 

She explained that prosecutors are now building their case, which can take some time. These cases can be very complex and require a significant amount of time for fact-finding. 

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr, who was listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, addressed the situation for the first time during his Wednesday appearance on the “PBD Podcast.”

“[Lil Rod] is going after the money man, i’m sure,” Gooding claimed. “I don’t know P. Diddy’s life... I don’t know what the police are going to find.”

In the meantime, as rumors continue to swirl, Diddy’s other track “That’s Crazy” might suddenly be on your mind.

Gadgets

Mother’s Day just passed. Hopefully you got something nice for the Mom’s in your life, and not just a gift that you wanted too. 

But now that the weekend has passed, it’s time to, in the words of Tom Haverford, “treat yo self!”

Do you have to watch the TV with closed captions on? Ever have a hard time hearing your friends in a noisy restaurant? 

If so, then allow us to introduce you to XanderGlasses.

XanderGlasses are hands-free and project transparent captions, including punctuation, into your field of vision. 

It’s amazing technology.

The glasses have a tiny microphone that picks up the dialogue and transcribes it for you in real time. They offer six hours of battery life when cloud connected. So get the dessert, stay a while.  

These glasses are brand new, having just come out in November of last year.

If you can’t hear it, you can now see it! XanderGlasses caption life.