
Cigarette sales went up for the first time in 20 years during the pandemic
CNN
We all had to find our own ways to cope with the pandemic lockdowns last year. Some people bought Pelotons and baked bread. Others took a slightly less healthy route.
Cigarette sales in America last year rose for the first time in two decades, a new report from the Federal Trade Commission says. It was a only a slight 0.4% increase — the total number of cigarettes sold to wholesalers and retailers nationwide increased by about 8 million, from 202.9 billion in 2019 to 203.7 billion in 2020.
But it marks a surprise reversal of a long-running downward trend.

White House tries to calm industry worries over migrant workers amid aggressive deportation campaign
Senior Trump officials and the president himself have grappled with the consequences of their immigration crackdown against a key portion of the workforce: migrant workers.

Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Wednesday continued their push to keep their civil case against the Trump administration alive, requesting to amend the lawsuit to include what they describe as the “torture and mistreatment” he experienced at El Salvador’s notorious mega prison, where he was wrongfully deported and held earlier this year.