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Carmen Torres

High-energy, always moving, raised in a working-class neighborhood. I talk with my hands, laugh too loud, and never stay still for long. Sales taught me how to read a room, but life taught me how to hold one.

A realistic stock photo of a hand pointing to a "Warning" label prominently displayed on a food package, with other groceries blurred in the background.

Big Food's Grocery Bill Scare: Protecting Wallets or Hiding Ingredients?

RFK Jr. wants labels on the junk. Food giants cry price hikes. Who's really paying?

An illustration of a person contemplating career moves while reading a headline about a vulnerable labor market.

When a Fed President Sounds Nervous, Hiring Managers Flinch

Mary Daly’s public worry about a “vulnerable” labor market isn’t abstract. It gives executives cover to slow hiring, tightens workers’ bargaining power, and shows up next month as quiet freezes and hesitations in real hiring rooms.

An illustration of three coffee shop workers holding icons representing demands for higher pay, steadier hours, and better staffing.

Red Cups, Empty Shifts: Inside Starbucks’ Loudest Day of the Year

Starbucks workers hijacked Red Cup Day because that’s where the attention lives. The strike is less about shutting stores down and more about making delay and union busting expensive in the only currency Starbucks can’t print: its brand.

An illustration of a fast-food franchise owner looking stressed while examining finances in a kitchen setting.

The Five Dollar Desperation Play

I watched a man count out change for a McDouble last week. Quarters, dimes, and nickels spread across the counter as the line behind him shifted from foot to foot. The cashier waited, steady as a rock. Twenty years ago, that same guy would have flashed a twenty and told