The Journal.

For years, Spirit Airlines soared with a low-cost, no-frills business model. This week, it came in for a bumpy landing. WSJ's Alison Sider explains how the big airlines learned to compete with Spirit––and helped put the carrier in bankruptcy.

Further Listening:

-The Love Triangle Over Spirit Airlines 

-Frontier, Spirit and the Future of Low-Cost Airlines 

Further Reading:

-How Spirit Airlines Went From Industry Maverick to Chapter 11 Bankruptcy 

-Discount Airline Spirit Files for Bankruptcy 

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Earlier this year, Canadian convenience store company Alimentation Couche-Tard put in a bid to acquire 7-Eleven. Then, management from inside 7-Eleven’s parent company, Seven & i, proposed a record-breaking buyout to counter. WSJ’s Jinjoo Lee on the drama around who will own the world’s largest convenience store chain. 

Further Listening:

-The Fight Over U.S. Steel and the Community Caught in the Middle 

-Why the FTC is Challenging a $25 Billion Supermarket Merger 

Further Reading:

-The Fight for 7-Eleven Isn’t Just About Money 

-Talk of a 7-Eleven Takeover Has Japan Worried About the Rice Balls 

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Grocery bills are going up for a lot of reasons. One has to do with how food gets on grocery store shelves. WSJ’s Jesse Newman explains a hidden layer of fees that are getting passed down to the consumer. 

Further Reading:

- The Mysterious Fees Inflating Your Grocery Bill 

- After Years of Raising Prices, Food Companies Hit Consumers’ Limits 

Further Listening:

- The Twinkie: From Bankruptcy to Billions 

- Food Fight: PepsiCo vs. Carrefour 

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The Onion, the satirical news outlet, wants to buy Infowars, the platform conspiracy theorist Alex Jones used to defame families of the Sandy Hook massacre. Onion CEO Ben Collins shares why and John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, explains what it means to Sandy Hook families and the fight against disinformation.

Further Reading:

-The Onion Is Buying Alex Jones’s Infowars Site 

-Alex Jones Files for Bankruptcy Following Sandy Hook Trial Losses 

Further Listening:

-How Much Will Alex Jones Pay for his Sandy Hook Lie? 

-What One School District Is Doing About Rising Gun Violence 

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Leaders from around the world are meeting in Azerbaijan for the U.N.’s COP29 climate conference. With Donald Trump’s recent election victory looming over the event, the U.S.’s role will be diminished. WSJ’s Matthew Dalton explains why this moment might be China’s chance to shine.

Further Listening:

-The Oil Giant Hosting This Year’s U.N. Climate Summit 

-The Fight Over Climate Change's Price Tag 

Further Reading:

-Trump Victory Leaves China Calling the Shots at COP29 Climate Negotiations 

-Welcome to Baku, a City Built on Oil Hosting the World’s Climate Conference 

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The famous investor and muti-billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is doing something unusual: selling stocks and hoarding cash. WSJ’s Spencer Jakab breaks down possible reasons why and what everyday investors can learn from his choices.

Further Reading:

- Does Warren Buffett Know Something That We Don’t? 

- A $150 Billion Question: What Will Warren Buffett Do With All That Cash? 

Further Listening:

- Charlie Munger: Curmudgeon, Sage and Investing Legend 

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After abortion access wins in 2022, Democrats made a bet that voters backing abortion on states’ ballot measures would also back Democratic candidates. WSJ’s Laura Kusisto explains why that bet turned out to be wrong.

Further Listening:

The Scramble Is on to Fill Trump’s Cabinet 

What a Republican Congress Could Mean for Trump 

Further Reading:

Voters Continued to Back Abortion Rights. It Didn’t Help Democrats. 

A State-by-State Guide to Abortion Access in the U.S. 

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The incoming Trump administration has just named its White House chief of staff and more appointments will be coming soon. WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia on who is in the running and how this transition could be different from 2016.

Further Reading:

-The Scramble Is On to Fill Out Trump’s Cabinet  

-Lutnick Consults With Musk, Kushner, Wall Street in Rush to Staff Trump White House  

-Meet the Wall Street Bigwig Who Has Become Trump’s Headhunter in Chief  

Further Listening:

-Red, White and Who? Why Trump Won and Where Democrats Go Next 

-What a Republican Congress Could Mean for Trump 

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The race is over! Molly Ball and Ryan Knutson dive into the election results to understand what the electorate is feeling. Plus, where did it all go wrong for Democrats and what will day one of a Trump presidency look like?

Further Listening:

- Red, White and Who? Playlist 

- Red, White and Who? It’s Trump. 

- Red, White and Who? An Electoral College Blowout? 

Further Reading:

- How Trump Won the Economy-Is-Everything Election 

- Trump Win Marks a Blow to Biden’s Legacy 

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Former president Donald Trump is now president-elect. But that wasn’t the only win this week for the GOP. Republicans have also secured a majority in the Senate, and they’re poised to win the House of Representatives. WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes breaks down what this Republican trifecta could look like.

Further Reading:

-Republicans Poised to Keep Control of House After Winning Senate 

-How Republicans Regained Control of the Senate 

Further Listening:

-Red, White and Who? It's Trump. 

-How Donald Trump Pulled Off a Historic Comeback 

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