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Inside the black box of Amazon returns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

(The Conversation) - E-commerce may make shopping more convenient, but it has a dark side that most consumers never see.Say you order an electric toothbrush for Father’s Day and two shirts for yourself from Amazon. You unpack your order and discover that the electric toothbrush won’t charge and only one shirt fits you. So, you decide to return the unwanted shirt and the electric toothbrush.Returns like this might seem simple, and often they’re free for the consumer. But managing those returns can get costly for retailers, so much so that many returned items are simply thrown out.In 2022, returns cost retailers about US$816 billion in lost sales. That’s nearly as much as the U.S. spent on public schools and almost twice the cost of returns in 2020. The return process, with transportation and packaging, also generated about 24 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.Together, costs and emissions create a sustainability problem for retailers and the plane...

1 dead, 22 injured in shooting at Illinois Juneteenth celebration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

WILLOWBROOK, Ill. (WGN) - One person is dead and more than 20 others were injured in a shooting at a Juneteenth celebration early Sunday morning in Willowbrook, Illinois, police have confirmed. Authorities were near the celebration, which began around 6 p.m. Saturday, "monitoring the scene, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office said in a press release. Shortly before 12:30 a.m., authorities were called away from the Juneteenth celebration for a fight, but, as deputies were responding, they heard gunshots and returned to the scene. "Initially, I could see the scene coming down the street, and I knew we were going to have a significant response in the area," said Battalion Chief Joe Ostrander with the Tri-State Fire Protection District. Responding crews say they found multiple people injured after "an unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd."As of Sunday afternoon, the DuPage County Sheriff has confirmed that 22 people were injured. Injuries ...

The 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge AWD Ultimate Dark Theme Premium SUV

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

What is a XC60? The XC60 is a compact sized premium luxury SUV, now in its second generation, built in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is one of Volvo’s most popular models. Sandwiched between the smaller XC40 and the larger XC90, the Volvo XC60 offers safety, style and superb build quality, in an attractive and well rounded package.The XC60 has one of the biggest cargo areas in the compact premium luxury SUV class. It has 22.4 cubic feet of room behind the back row and 63.3 cubic feet with the back row folded down. With elegant styling, a beautiful cabin and an excellent plug-in hybrid option, it is a solid value. The 2023 Volvo XC60 is the bread & butter SUV for Volvo as it’s in the very popular compact premium luxury SUV segment.This week Volvo sent me a 2023 Volvo XC60 Recharge AWD Ultimate SUV to test drive and review. The base window sticker price for this Dark Theme edition is $66,950. The options on the test SUV are: the climate package for $750, the metallic paint f...

Consumption soft even amid deep discounts during major China shopping festival, analysts say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese consumers snapped up billions worth of items in China’s first major online shopping festival after emerging from the pandemic as merchants slashed prices, but analysts say that consumer confidence still remains weak.Chinese merchants offered customers steep discounts during the 618 shopping festival, which ran on China’s major shopping platforms from the end of May until June 18, in the hopes of shoring up sales amid a weaker-than-expected recovery in consumption.Major shopping festivals, like e-commerce retailer JD.com’s 618 and Alibaba’s Singles’ Day, are typically barometers of consumption in China, and Chinese e-commerce platforms often participate by offering discounts and incentives to consumers.Analysts say that consumption remains soft this year as China emerges from the pandemic, even as platforms including JD.com, Tmall, Taobao and Pinduoduo offered billions in subsidies.“Chinese consumer confidence remains weak due to a mix of geopolitics, c...

Parking lot party shooting leaves 1 dead and 22 people hurt in suburban Chicago

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Ill., Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)(AP/Matt Marton) Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Ill., Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)(AP/Matt Marton) WILLOWBROOK, Ill. (AP) — At least 23 people were shot, one fatally, early Sunday during a gathering in a parking lot that drew hundreds of people in suburban Chicago, authorities said.TV news video showed the strip mall lot in Willowbrook filled with debris and police tape, about 20 miles (32.1 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office described it as a “peacef...

Tour de Suisse winner Skjelmose dedicates title to Mäder, who died Friday after crashing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

ABTWIL, Switzerland (AP) — Two days after the death of Gino Mäder from injuries suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse, Mattias Skjelmose dedicated his race victory Sunday to the Swiss rider.Skjelmose maintained his lead in the overall standings and finished just nine seconds ahead of 20-year-old Juan Ayuso, who was fastest in the closing time trial.“I wanted to win for Gino, I think everyone today raced for him,” Skjelmose said. “Everyone I spoke to said he was the most wonderful person you could ever imagine.”Mäder went off the road and crashed down a ravine on a fast descent near the end of Thursday’s mountainous fifth stage. He was airlifted to a hospital.The 26-year-old Swiss rider’s death was announced less than an hour before the scheduled start of Friday’s stage, which was canceled.On Saturday, three teams including Mäder’s Bahrain-Victories declined to continue and the stage was raced as a tribute to him.Ayuso won the 25.7-kilometer (16-mile) time trial Sunday from...

NL home run leader Pete Alonso makes speedy return to Mets after wrist injury

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — National League home run leader Pete Alonso returned to the lineup on Sunday for the New York Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals after spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list with a left wrist bone bruise and sprain.Alonso was expected to miss three to four weeks after he was hit by a 97 mph fastball thrown by the Atlanta Braves’ Charlie Morton in the first inning on June 7. But Alonso, whose 22 homers are one fewer than major league leader Shohei Ohtani, said he thought last week he’d beat the timeline by a considerable margin.“Happy that it responded well to treatment,” Alonso said Sunday before the game. “I feel excellent and I’m at 100 percent everything. If I’m at 100 percent, why wait?”The stint on the IL was the second in Alonso’s five-year career. He was sidelined with a sprained right wrist from May 21-31, 2021. The 28-year-old Alonso has missed just 28 games since reaching the majors in 2019.“I kind of wanted to keep hitting those benchmark...

Walsh sheds light on exit from Biden administration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

Marty Walsh wasn’t in a hurry to leave the Biden administration.Less than halfway through the president’s term, Walsh was in a comfortable spot in the Cabinet as labor secretary. Then he got a call about an interesting opportunity: running the NHL Players’ Association.The former mayor of Boston and longtime Bruins fan was intrigued and earlier this year accepted the role as executive director. Now three months in, Walsh is trying to get to know players and what they care about most, learning about everything from the Arizona Coyotes’ arena situation to the salary cap and future international competition.“This job is more like being the mayor,” Walsh said in a wide-ranging interview during the Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas. “You wake up in the morning, you’re planning on a smooth day and there’s an issue that pops, and that’s the issue of the moment. And then when that issue’s over, there’s another issue that co...

Yankees Notebook: Nestor Cortes starts throwing, Ian Hamilton begins rehab

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

BOSTON – As the Yankees prepared for a doubleheader against the Red Sox on Sunday, Nestor Cortes threw for the first time since landing on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain.The southpaw, who last pitched on May 30, played catch on the field at Fenway Park. Prior to doing so, he told the Daily News that his shoulder has been feeling better.“We’ll see today how I respond to throwing, but exercises have been good,” Cortes said. “My everyday life has been pretty good. Taking off shirts and holding stuff up and holding weight.”Cortes had been having trouble recovering between his last few starts, and he finally told the Yankees about the issue on their west coast road trip, which ended at the start of June. Cortes attributed the problem to “general wear and tear” after landing on the IL.“It’s been better,” Cortes added Sunday when asked if he experienced irregular soreness after working out. Aaron Boo...

Two hospitalized after shoot out in Malden

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:52 GMT

A pair of people are in the hospital after a shooting in the lobby of a Malden apartment complex, according to the local chief of police.Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin told the Herald that his department responded to 10 Overlook Drive, located in the Quarrystone at Overlook Ridge apartment development, very early Sunday morning after multiple gunshots were reported.Officers arrived before 3 a.m. to find an as yet unidentified 33-year-old woman suffering from “apparent gunshot wounds,” according to a statement from the Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office. A man later turned himself into a local hospital, also with gunshot wounds from “multiple parties” firing shots inside the lobby of the complex, the DA’s office wrote.“The motive remains under investigation, however, it does preliminarily appear that one of the men was being targeted,” the DA’s office said.The target of the shooting or someone else in his pa...