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The former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star broke his silence on news that his team looked to replace him with the New York Mets infielder.

This live blog is refreshed periodically throughout the day with the latest updates from the market.To find the latest Stock Market Today threads, click here.Happy Friday. This is TheStreet’s Stock Market Today for Feb. 27, 2026. You can follow the latest updates on the market here in our daily live blog.Update: 9:30 – 9:45 a.m. ETOpening BellThe U.S. markets are now opened for the day. It’s shaping up to be a rough ending to the week, as a red-hot wholesale inflation report and AI bubble talk shape today’s declines.The Dow (-1.43%), Nasdaq (-1.40%), and S&P 500(-1.08%) are all down over one percent, just a short few minutes into today’s trading. The Russell 2000 (-1.63%) is also sharing in these declines as it shows its opening print.Meanwhile, the Cboe Volatility Index (+14.6%) is advancing, sitting at 21.35.In Focus: S&P 500To speak to the gravity of the declines, here is a glimpse of the S&P 500 heat map this morning, which is showing beet red declines in technology, cyclicals, and financials.

Chicago PMI Exceeds ExpectationsChicago PMI just landed at 57.7, handily beating expectations of 52.8.Update: 9:04 a.m. ETA.M. UpdateGood morning. We’re just a few minutes away from the opening bell, with stock futures tipping to the downside. This morning’s Producer Price Index (PPI) report, worries about the AI bubble, and other business news appear to be playing a hand. These other stories are dominating the headlines:In Business News: Netflix/WBD/Skydance; In business news, Netflix is jumping in the premarket after declining to upsize its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing a path for the Ellison-backed Paramount Skydance to absorb the HBO parent in a $111 billion deal. Investors are betting that they’ve dodged a bullet by being outbid for the highly indebted media giant; plus, they’ll score a sweet $2.8 billion exit fee from WBD. All that said, here are today’s big data and earnings reports to watch:Economic Data: PPI, Chicago PMI, Construction SpendingThis morning’s Producer Price Index report wildly disappointed, showing further signs of acceleration in wholesale prices. The PPI advanced 0.5% month-over-month, while Core PPI advanced 0.8%. Analysts were looking for the two to only rise 0.3% MoM according to a consensus tabulated by TradingEconomics.We’ll touch on some of the other prevailing reports later today, but this is sure to cause waves in the market, which are flashing red in futures this morning:

Earnings Today: YPF, Sociedad Quimicia, GlobalStarFriday is generally a cold day for earnings, but a handful of firms from overseas led this morning’s biggest reports. Here are the ones which were on the docket:

The U.S. casual restaurant industry’s economic troubles in 2025 have carried over into this year.The industry faced rising labor and product costs driven by inflation, supply chain instability, consumers’ changing attitudes toward eating out, and unsustainable debt obligations that drove restaurant chains to close locations and, in some cases, file for bankruptcy.Labor and food costs risingOne major problem has been rising labor and food costs, which have risen by 35% over the last five years from 2019 to 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rising costs led to higher menu prices, which also rose by an average of 31% from February 2020 to April 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, according to the National Restaurant Association.Those higher prices have discouraged consumers from eating out at restaurants in uncertain times, as more companies begin announcing layoffs in a variety of industries.Restaurants close dozens of locationsLast year, restaurant chain, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, which had about 120 locations at the beginning of 2025, closed or vacated 40 non-performing stores on Feb. 24, 2025, because of problems with rent and/or financial performance.On The Border subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 4, 2025, with plans to sell its assets to its prepetition bridge loan lender.Restaurant operator FAT Brands said it planned to close 32 Smokey Bones, Yalla Mediterranean, and Johnny Rockets restaurants this year and also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 26, 2026.“The Chapter 11 process will provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our capital structure to support our concepts and ensure they remain at the forefront of their sectors,” FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn said in a statement.“We plan to use this process to connect with key stakeholders around a value-maximizing plan and will act prudently to remain steadfast in upholding and protecting stakeholder interests,” Wiederhorn said. Also, popular casual dining chain Bahama Breeze on Feb. 3, 2026, said it would close 28 of its locations, as the company’s owner, Darden Restaurants Inc., will permanently close 14 restaurants and convert the remaining 14 into another brand.Not every restaurant chain that closes locations files for bankruptcy. In some cases, a chain will consolidate locations and not have to file for bankruptcy.

Bristol Bar & Grille closes its original Louisville location.Shutterstock

Bristol Bar & Grille shuts restaurantIconic Louisville, Ky., casual restaurant chain Bristol Bar & Grille is an example of a consolidation, as it said in a Facebook post that it will close its original Highlands location on Bardstown Road on March 15, blaming decreased foot traffic and loss of a late-night dining culture.The restaurant chain did not file for bankruptcy.Chain plans to consolidate operations”This transition reflects a thoughtful consolidation of our operations so we can focus on stability, strengthen the core of our business, and continue serving our guests and community responsibly,” Bristol Bar & Grille said in the post.”While this location is closing, our priority remains honoring the history of the Bristol and supporting the team members who have brought this restaurant to life for five decades,” the post said. The 48-year-old restaurant was credited for starting the contemporary food scene in Louisville, according to a former Courier-Journal food editor, the company’s website said.The restaurant chain would subsequently open locations on West Main Street and North Hurstbourne Parkway in Louisville that remain open, according to the company’s website.A fourth Jeffersonville location, inside the Sheraton Hotel on the Ohio River, closed in 2018, WDRB reported.The Highlands location renovated and reopened in October 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic was subsiding, Louisville Business First reported.More closings:Bankrupt restaurant chains permanently close popular locationsMajor retail chain closes 35 stores nationwide, no bankruptcyAnother major retail chain closes warehouse operationsThe loss of the Highlands location is devastating for hundreds of Bristol Bar & Grille customers, based on their heartfelt responses to the Facebook post regarding the restaurant’s pending closure.Bristol Bar & Grille received over 360 comments at last check on its Facebook post from saddened customers.”One of my all-time favorites. So many memories and special celebrations with family and friends over 40+ years,” wrote Diane Shelton on Facebook.”I sure hope that I’m having a nightmare and that this is not real,” Michael Hayes wrote.”Such a loss for the neighborhood. You’ll be missed,” Zach Fry wrote.”SO many great memories dining here with family, friends, and the love of my life. This is heartbreaking,” Barbara Jean Nash wrote.Bristol Bar & Grille’s menu:New York Strip SteakGrilled Salmon TeriyakiBone-in Pork Chop with Maker’s Mark glazeGrilled Pork Loin DijonnaisePastasBurgersSandwichesSoupsSaladsAppetizersRelated: Favorite U.S. wine brand closes down, no bankruptcy

Europe’s smartphone market did not grow in 2025. But market power did. And it reshaped the shares enjoyed by the different market players.That implies big headline numbers for the largest players, Samsung (SSNLF) and Apple (AAPL), and speaks volumes regarding their rivalry.Shipments across Europe (excluding Russia) slipped 1% to 134.2 million units, the newest data from Omdia reveals. The peak for the region came way back in 2021, with more than 150 million units picked up from shelves. The latest figures underscore the market is stable, but it’s not yet fully recovered. It’s not my first rodeo, particularly when it comes to Europe. I’ve covered Europe’s handset cycles for years, and what stands out is the sharp decline recently. However, another pattern emerging is one of further entrenchment. When growth stalls, leaders typically hold on and widen the market share. That’s exactly what happened here: Europe’s five largest smartphone vendors continued to gain combined share, reflecting the importance of scale for long-term success in the region.In practical terms:Larger vendors increased their aggregate market shareSmaller vendors struggled for visibilityChannel leverage consolidated furtherThat dynamic almost never reverses. That is exactly why we need to break down the latest report on one of the most prosperous regions in the world.

Samsung is looking to defend its market as Apple’s record run continues.Photo by EThamPhoto on Getty Images

Samsung defends its Europe crown as rivals struggle to close the gapSamsung, in total, shipped 46.6 million smartphones in Europe in 2025. More Tech Stocks:Morgan Stanley sets jaw-dropping Micron price target after eventNvidia’s China chip problem isn’t what most investors thinkQuantum Computing makes $110 million move nobody saw comingIt represents roughly 35% of total regional volume.Related: Samsung’s update screen is sending wrong message after Google patchNow you might be thinking all of this translates into a very solid year for Samsung. Well, not quite. The absence of the Galaxy A0x lineup weighed on early shipments and this is an area where Samsung will look to improve this year. However, in the second half of the year things got much better.Recovery drivers included:Discounted Galaxy A16Robust Galaxy A56 demandBetter carrier channel executionThe Galaxy A56 ultimately finished the year as Europe’s top-shipping model.However, the way I see it, the real advantage isn’t just volume; it’s flexibility. The company spans:Entry-tier price pointsMass mid-rangePremium flagshipsFoldablesHaving a large portfolio is a huge advantage in a fragmented market such as Europe. That’s because consumer incomes vary. You’ve got high-income nations, including Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, and Denmark. For them, features matter more than the price point. On the other end of the spectrum are regions such as Southern Europe and Ukraine.When component costs rise, and if the last year is any indication, that flexibility becomes defensive armor.Apple turns a shrinking market into record share gainsAnother round of applause is for Apple. While the industry balked, the tech giant strode confidently into the future. The iPhone maker shipped 36.9 million units, up 6% year over year, capturing a record 27% market share in Europe.Related: Bank of America drops a surprising Nvidia warning before earningsGrowth centered on:The iPhone 16 refresh cycleStrong Pro Max demandThe iPhone 16e replacing discontinued Lightning modelsEurope is always one of Apple’s more premium-skewed regions. Higher average selling prices will often lead to stronger margin leverage compared with many Android competitors.But here’s what matters most: Apple’s Europe growth isn’t just about units. It’s about ecosystem density.Every incremental iPhone sold strengthens:App Store monetizationApple Music subscriptionsiCloud storage revenueServices attachment ratesWhen the hardware market is flat, the growth engine becomes recurring revenue.That’s why a 6% shipment gain is big news in a saturated market like Europe.Europe’s mid-tier battle gets tougher as HONOR breaks throughConsolidation did not eliminate the competition. On the contrary, things are getting even more heated.HONOR entered Europe’s top five for the first time, expanding shipments 4% to 3.8 million units.Related: Samsung Galaxy owners stunned by what appeared after a Google updateMeanwhile:Xiaomi shipped 21.8 million units (-1%)Motorola shipped 7.7 million units (-5%)From what I’ve seen, Europe is one of the hardest places to scale. It takes years to build up connections with retailers, get carrier subsidies, and change how people think about your brand.That makes HONOR’s arrival into the top five remarkable, but it also shows how challenging it is to get into the premium tier without long-term financing and channel support.2026 could test Europe’s smartphone pecking orderIn my view, 2025 showed stability, but 2026 may introduce new volatility; in 2026, concerns around memory pricing have created a challenging outlook.One has to remember that Europe accounts for just 10.8% of global smartphone shipments. If the supply chain tightens or component costs rise, vendors will give preference to higher-growth regions first.The biggest question is which vendors are most likely to prioritize the region if hit by price increases or supply shortages.If history is anything to go by, scale wins again.Larger vendors with:Stronger supplier relationshipsDeeper capital reservesBroader SKU coverage… will absorb cost shocks more effectively. That situation favors Samsung and Apple once again.Related: Apple just fired warning shot that could reshape 2026 iPhone cycle

Key TakeawaysAI risk is affecting company moats, according to a study by Adrian Helfert of investment firm Westwood.Four of the five classic moat pillars have almost no predictive power in today’s AI environment.Helfert says certain value-oriented stocks look attractive in this environment.Stock investors have long used economic moats as a predictor of excess returns, but the proliferation of artificial intelligence threatens companies’ sources of economic moats and lower barriers to entry. Morningstar incorporates moats, which represent companies’ durable competitive advantages, into its equity research. Yet the advent of AI has raised questions about the durability of companies’ business models.We checked in with Adrian Helfert, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at investment firm Westwood. He also co-manages the Westwood Income Opportunity WHGIX, which has performed in the top third of its Morningstar category for the past ten years. Helfert recently completed a quantitative study, to be published on SSRN, that looks at AI disruption risk and how to evaluate what it means for companies. We chatted with him about the study, what to own and what to shun, and whether the market will rise in 2026.Leslie Norton: You’ve created a way to assess AI disruption risk—an issue roiling the markets. Adrian Helfert: I created a practical way to measure how AI is changing the value of companies. Traditionally, investors estimate how long a company can earn above-average profits, meaning its “competitive advantage period” or moat. I kept that framework but added a new layer: how exposed each company is to AI disruption.I scored 460 of the S&P 500 companies on both traditional moat strength and AI risk, then used optimization techniques to see what the stock market is actually rewarding and penalizing. The surprising result: Four of the five classic moat pillars—switching costs, network effects, intangible assets, efficient scale—have almost no predictive power in today’s AI environment. The only moat that still clearly matters is physical cost advantage—real assets like supply chains, factories, mineral reserves, and regulated infrastructure. On the risk side, the market is not primarily worried about “AI replacing workers.” Instead, it is pricing two things: AI-native competitors attacking incumbents, and AI eroding proprietary data advantages. Together, those drive most of the return differences. Empirically, companies most exposed to AI have underperformed the most AI-resilient companies by nearly 26 percentage points in the first seven weeks of 2026. We now use this quantitative framework directly in valuation support. For AI-vulnerable companies, we shorten the expected life of their competitive advantage, raise their cost of capital, and apply a justified P/E haircut. The question is no longer just “how strong is the moat?” but “can AI build a bridge across it?”AI Highlights Speed At Which Profits ShrinkNorton: Let’s have a quick recap of what’s been happening in the markets over the past couple of weeks.Helfert: What’s changed is the market’s growing concern that the key AI risk isn’t near-term earnings destruction, it’s acceleration of the fade rate—the speed at which a company’s excess profits shrink over time as competitors erode its competitive advantage in the moat model. When I run the analysis, it’s pretty clear the market is pricing that disruption risk during specific repricing events. A repricing event is something like the launch of DeepSeek, or statements from Claude about reducing the need for lawyers because AI can do legal analysis, and you see the impacted companies’ securities move immediately. An example is Salesforce. Suddenly, many of the pieces of functionality I can do myself, or two guys in a shop have rebuilt it in a way that is just as functional. In AI-Related Decline, Resiliency in Utilities, Energy, Materials, DefenseNorton: What is your framework telling you now?Helfert: The data is shifting the weight of what explains market drawdowns. Historically, we leaned more on things like switching costs, network effects, intangibles, and efficient scale. But in the recent headline-driven selloffs, those factors had a much lower statistical weight than we’ve used in the past. Instead, the loss of cost advantage becomes the dominant explanatory factor in negative moves during headlines like “Claude releases a model that can do legal analysis.” This isn’t the market pricing an apocalypse. It’s pricing steady competitive compression. The fade rate is becoming more important because cheaper, more capable AI lowers barriers to entry. The market isn’t repricing companies simply because AI replaces workers. It’s repricing because AI creates new competitors and commoditizes what used to be proprietary, including data and workflows.When we look at sectors, those that are higher risk turned out to be financials, consumer discretionary, IT Services. We’re seeing impacts there now. We’re also seeing resiliency in utilities, energy, materials, defense. This is no surprise because it ties into the major input. AI isn’t just software. It’s power demand, cooling systems, grid strain, water intensity, and regional policy risk layered on top. We look at AI through all of those investable paradigms. When you look at it that way, AI starts to look like the new industrial layer. Then the question becomes: what are the toll roads to that layer? In many cases, it’s utilities, energy and increasingly, water.Norton: How should people adjust their moat investing approach?Helfert: Right now, cost advantage is a relatively small slice of the traditional moat framework, but we think it needs to be overweighted.Then there’s a technology-risk classification that historically wasn’t emphasized enough. Some companies function as a system of action, meaning they close the loop between data, intelligence, and execution, like automated inventory ordering. Others are more of a system of record. Salesforce is a good example. They sit on an enormous amount of customer data, and the security and governance around that data becomes part of the moat. We also think in terms of a judgment moat and a metadata moat. Using these classifications to model where moat erosion is most likely is becoming increasingly important in valuation. For example, automated execution workflows may be more exposed than sensitive, governed customer data. This classification system helps describe which business models are more resilient, and which are more vulnerable, as AI capabilities expand.Norton: What have you been doing in your portfolio during this time?Helfert: We’ve reduced exposure to certain software names where functionality is high but security and trust requirements are lower. Those are the areas most vulnerable to AI-enabled commoditization and faster fade rates. Moat analysis is one input into valuation, but we’re ultimately focused on company-specific upside and risk/reward. We’ve added Evercore as an advisor levered to the M&A and restructuring cycle, and EQT as a natural gas producer we like on valuation and for the potential catalyst of a phase shift in liquefied natural gas exports. We’ve also reduced exposure to Disney in part because its brand-driven, intangible moat is increasingly vulnerable to AI-enabled content commoditization and distribution disruption. That can compress the duration of its competitive advantage.Norton: What stocks would be resilient in this new universe?Helfert: When I talk about resilience in this new universe, ExxonMobil and the large-scale energy stocks have a significant moat in large-scale physical assets. Because of scale, they have cost advantages. They will use AI to their own benefit as well. Other top companies were AbbVie, which has a large-scale set of physical assets, regulatory barriers, and other healthcare names. Utilities consistently screen well in moat work. Ameren is one example of a utility that shows a strong moat profile.More broadly, water and energy are direct inputs to AI growth. That makes parts of those ecosystems more resilient, both fundamentally and from a capex cycle standpoint.We’re also going to see a significant resurgence in alternative energy. The nuclear resurgence is something that investors should be looking at because of how it can be deployed, researched and used. Nuclear is one of those areas within non-traditional energy companies with expanding earnings rates.Stay Away from IT ServicesNorton: What should investors stay away from? After all, a lot of stocks have fallen sharply already.Helfert: Information technology services. As you know, Anthropic announced that Claude could potentially start to do COBOL programming and consultancy. That’s a large part of IBM’s business. So IT services is an at-risk area.Norton: At what point do we get bullish on software or financials?Helfert: Software and financials aren’t dead. They’re still building real utility and creating value. Some will integrate AI in a way that strengthens their proposition. Salesforce is a good example. It’s been hit hard because some of what it provided around customer data is now being built everywhere. But if you want your functionality and your customer data in one trusted place, with governance, security, and accountability, there’s still a role for a scaled platform. Trust becomes a key factor. I still believe brand and platform value can persist.The software companies that can credibly say, “You can do it all with us” versus stitching together lots of small AI tools, have a better chance to survive and thrive. Most enterprises want one primary partner for a core workflow, not a dozen. So companies like Salesforce can find a bottom, especially as they adapt their architecture to deliver AI-driven capabilities across the product set. That said, I do think AI can erode pricing power in the interim, and that’s what the market is wrestling with.Norton: We’ve also had spillover of the AI angst into the private credit market. Is there a broader subprime AI concern?Helfert: I’m always looking for where the hidden leverage is, meaning the shadow system. Private credit has grown meaningfully. But there are a couple important offsets. These are generally secured loans, the portfolios are typically diversified, and there are structural buffers like risk retention/holdbacks in parts of the CLO ecosystem that help incentivize underwriting discipline. And you don’t have the same concentration of exposure sitting on major bank balance sheets the way people sometimes assume. Do I have a concern that it’s systemic, as we saw during the global financial crisis? I don’t think it’s systemic.A manager like Blue Owl [whose stock recently fell amid increasing anxiety about the health of the private credit market] can be impacted by mark-to-market concerns and pockets of risk in specific loans, but their holdings are still diversified. One other key point is that when high yield starts to break, there’s often less flexibility. In private credit, you can negotiate covenant changes. In a downturn, lenders can adjust terms to help a borrower manage through the dip, which can reduce forced defaults and disorderly repricing.Helfert’s Bullish Outlook on the MarketNorton: What’s your outlook for the rest of the year?Helfert: There are times you can point to a catalyst, and today the catalyst is productivity driven by a new technological innovation that can broaden out the market.Rates are likely headed lower. Whether that happens at the next meeting matters less than people think. What matters is the direction of travel toward a lower Fed Funds rate. If you think about “neutral,” we’re probably in the neighborhood of two to three more cuts away, depending on how labor and inflation evolve under the dual mandate. Then there’s policy stimulus in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which we expect to translate into roughly $3,000 to $4,000 in average tax refunds back to consumers. Historically, a meaningful portion gets spent. Consumption is still about 70% of the economy. And then there’s capex. When you build a data center, you’re hiring a lot of people, at least for now. And $700 billion by four companies at the top of the market cap stack alone is an extraordinary number for capital spending. We have the potential to keep growing as long as earnings remain solid. For now, they are. We’re seeing roughly 14% earnings growth for the fourth quarter in aggregate, and closer to about 9% for the non–“Mag 7” cohort. If multiples don’t move at all, that’s still a 10% higher market. I want to be involved.

US Offers $10 Million For Capture Of Sinaloa Cartel Boss Brothers

Following the Mexican Army Special Forces’ decapitation strike against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) by killing Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes – and, as we now know, with U.S. intelligence aiding the operation – the ongoing dismantling of the Mexican cartel command and control networks appears to be moving full steam ahead.

On Thursday, the State Department issued a release stating that the U.S. government would offer $10 million for the capture of two alleged Sinaloa Cartel bosses in Tijuana: brothers Rene “La Rana” Arzate Garcia and Alfonso “Aquiles” Arzate Garcia.

🚨Alert: Wanted, Dead or Alive! Two of the Sinaloa Cartel’s top Narco Terrorist! DHS is offering up to $10M in rewards for info leading to the arrests and/or convictions of Tijuana Plaza bosses René and Alfonso Arzate-García! pic.twitter.com/vVNmrnoLfZ
— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) February 26, 2026
“These rewards are offered in coordination with the DEA San Diego Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in a unified effort to bring the Arzate-García brothers to justice,” the agency said.

State claims that the brothers controlled the Tijuana drug trafficking corridor for 15 years through violence, alliances, and corruption, helping sustain cartel operations, including flooding fentanyl into the U.S.

The $10 million reward for both brothers, or $5 million per head, comes as the Justice Department unveils a new superseding indictment against René Arzate-García that now includes major narcoterrorism charges, continuing criminal enterprise, material support for a foreign terrorist organization, international drug trafficking, and money laundering.

The rewards were announced four days after Mexican special forces killed CJNG boss El Mencho.

Here’s a useful cartel control  map:

Related:

Mexico’s Cartel Decapitation Strike Fallout: “Not The End, Just The Beginning”
The broader view is that, from toppling the Maduro regime in Venezuela to dismantling Mexican drug cartels to what’s likely coming down the pipeline: regime change in communist Cuba, as well as other actions across the Caribbean and the Gulf of America by the U.S. military – these are massive moves by the U.S. government to secure the Western Hemisphere. This aims to expel China and other foreign adversaries from countries and financial networks, and to restore law and order across the hemisphere as the world fractures into a dangerous bipolar state.

After this week’s events south of the U.S. southern border…

… it may be time to revisit the Sicario crime-thriller films.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/27/2026 – 10:00

Alex Bregman made quite the interesting Boston-themed choice when it came to highlighting his new life with the Cubs.

Trade $10, get $10 for MLB futures with Kalshi.

A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.3 SIMPLE LIFESTYLE CHANGES COULD ADD ALMOST A DECADE TO YOUR LIFE, RESEARCH SHOWSThe review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.””The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.NEARLY 90% OF AMERICANS AT RISK OF SILENT DISEASE — HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW”Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.DOCTOR SHARES 3 SIMPLE CHANGES TO STAY HEALTHY AND INDEPENDENT AS YOU AGE”This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIESDoctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTERKlodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.””High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight — these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.””Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ”Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.”Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani now has the votes he needs to freeze rents in rent-stabilized apartments, which will cause all other rents to skyrocket.
Mayor Mamdani has the votes to implement his destructive socialist rent-freeze program.
The rent freeze, a day-one promise that critics said was impossible, is likely coming this June through the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), rather than the City Council or State Legislature.
As of February 2026, Mayor Mamdani reshaped the board by appointing a majority aligned with his campaign pledge to freeze rents for the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments.
This month, three board members originally appointed under Eric Adams resigned or stepped aside, allowing Mamdani to appoint six members to the nine-member board. That effectively stacked the deck for a June 2026 vote.
While the mayor cannot legally order a rent freeze, his power to appoint board members is his primary lever of control.
Critics, including landlord groups such as the New York Apartment Association, have already signaled potential legal challenges, arguing that the board must base its decision on economic data, such as inflation and building costs, rather than political mandates.
Mayor Mamdani immediately appointed six new members, including a new chair, Chantella McChill.
This gives him a decisive hand-picked majority on the nine-member board much earlier than expected. On the surface, this sounds like a victory for tenants staring at a lease renewal, but in economics, there are no solutions, only trade-offs.
Looking at the data from St. Paul and San Francisco shows that rent freezes not only hurt landlords, but also cause new construction to grind to a halt and units to be removed from the rental market.
In 2021, St. Paul, Minnesota, passed one of the strictest rent-control laws in the United States, a 3 percent cap with no exemption for new construction.
Immediately after the law passed, housing permits in St. Paul dropped by 80 percent, while permits in neighboring Minneapolis, which had no such cap, rose.
Developers and lenders argued that with frozen or capped revenue, they could not secure the bank loans needed to build. By 2022 and 2023, the city was forced to water down the law, exempting new buildings for 20 years just to restart construction.
A well-known 2018 Stanford study analyzed the long-term effects of San Francisco’s rent-control expansion in 1994. While the law kept current tenants in their homes 20 percent more often, it also incentivized landlords to exit the rental market.
Landlords reduced the supply of rental housing by 15 percent by converting apartments into luxury condominiums or tenancies-in-common to escape the regulations.
This reduction in supply drove citywide rents up by 5.1 percent for everyone else. Instead of keeping the city affordable, it accelerated gentrification by replacing middle-income rental units with high-end, owner-occupied housing.
A rent freeze not only reduces costs for renters, it also decreases income for landlords. While socialists are conditioned to view landlords as parasitic enemies, the economic reality is that they are businesspeople who operate to achieve a positive return on investment. That becomes difficult under rent control, which freezes revenue while costs continue to rise.
Last year, insurance premiums for multifamily buildings in New York rose by roughly 12 percent. Electricity prices increased by 10 percent and water by 8.5 percent in 2024, and they continued rising through 2025 and into 2026.
As a result of these cost increases and others, overall operating costs for buildings in New York City rose by 11.5 percent, while revenue to landlords increased by zero percent.
Landlords are already operating on thin profit margins, and those margins evaporate when costs increase but rent does not. The impact appears in cuts to maintenance and repairs.
Painting and plastering, such as repainting hallways or fixing non-structural cracks, are delayed indefinitely. Cleaning services for hallways and lobbies are reduced from daily to weekly or stop entirely, leading to trash buildup and odors. Landscaping and lighting, including replacing burnt-out bulbs or maintaining greenery, fall to the bottom of the list.
Boiler and HVAC service shifts from preventive maintenance to emergency repair. Instead of annual tune-ups to ensure efficiency, landlords wait until the boiler breaks before calling a technician, resulting in more frequent no-heat days for tenants.
Roof and gutter cleaning is neglected, leading to slow leaks that eventually cause mold, which is far more expensive to repair. Elevator service contracts may be reduced and routine inspections skipped, resulting in more frequent “Out of Service” signs.
Property tax accounts for about 30 percent of New York City’s budget. Building values, for resale, lending, and tax assessment, are determined largely by income potential.
When rent is frozen, potential revenue declines and building values fall. That makes it harder or even impossible for landlords to borrow against their properties.
It also makes it more difficult to buy, sell, or finance new construction. At the same time, lower valuations reduce property-tax revenue to the city government.
This creates a revenue hole. A 2025 estimate from the New York Apartment Association suggested that a multi-year rent freeze could cost the city more than $1.3 billion in lost tax revenue over four years due to declining property valuations.
From a renter’s perspective, anyone with a rent-frozen apartment will remain in that unit as long as possible. Consequently, turnover decreases, potentially dropping to near zero. The total supply of apartments available to new tenants shrinks, driving prices up.
In the end, Mamdani’s socialist policy to help renters will cause a shortage of apartments, an increase in average rents, and a collapse of services in rent-frozen buildings, while also decreasing city revenues
The post Breaking New York City: The Destructive Economics of Mamdani’s Rent Control appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.