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Cookie Monster complaint about “shrinkflation” sparks response from White House
The nation’s snack producers aren’t getting anything past Cookie Monster. The insatiable muppet and beloved resident of Sesame Street is getting a high-level response after taking to social media to complain that his favorite treat is shrinking.
“Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller,” the googly-eyed, furry blue muppet declared on X on Monday, tapping into an economic trend of the day. “Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!”
The complaint prompted multiple U.S. senators and even the White House to weigh in on a move multiple years in the making that has seen companies scaling back on the size of products while keeping the price the same.
“C is for consumers getting ripped off,” the White House tweeted. “President Biden is calling on companies to put a stop to shrinkflation.”
Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown also chimed in, writing “big corporations shrink the size of their products without shrinking their prices, all to pay for CEO bonuses.”
“People in my state of Ohio are fed up — they should get all the cookie they pay for,” Brown added.
Cookie Monster is onto something: OREO Double Stuf Chocolate Sandwich Cookies shrank by 6% in size by weight from January 2019 to October 2023, according to a report based on Labor Department numbers.
Released by Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the findings had a range of goods getting smaller last year, led by household paper products.
Reports of shrinking product sizes have resurfaced again and again since the pandemic began as manufacturers cited supply-chain disruptions and global economic struggles.
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NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.