From chips to pizza and beer, brands look to cash in on solar eclipse
CBSN
The coming total solar eclipse will last less than five minutes, but the rare celestial event is inspiring days of promotions, with fast-food chains and others offering discounts, free snacks and limited-edition solar eclipse glasses.
Some part of the April 8 eclipse will be visible to nearly all in North America, but the totality of the event will cross 15 states from Texas to Maine, with cities and locations along that path among those looking to cash in.
Places with special landing pages and promotions include Erie County, Penn., which is offering ISO-certified eclipse glasses on a first-come, first-serve basis from Friday through Monday at three highway rest stops. County fair locations throughout northwest Pennsylvania are also offering eclipse glasses with every purchase.
More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a "deferred resignation" offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for duty. But if they opt to keep their jobs, they could get fired.
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
In her first hours as attorney general, Pam Bondi issued a broad slate of directives that included a Justice Department review of the prosecutions of President Trump, a reorientation of department work to focus on harsher punishments, actions punishing so-called "sanctuary" cities and an end to diversity initiatives at the department.