The Fox News throne

We’re also covering:

• It was actually a good week for the economy.
• An American expat shares her regrets about moving to Germany.
• One man got sick of living in a regular country — so he founded his own.

Vying for the Fox News throne

Though best known as Bill O’Reilly’s attack dog — until O’Reilly was pushed out of the network in 2017 — Watters was also key to the launch of the right-wing Fox Nation blog, Noah Hurowitz writes for Insider. As a cohost of “The Five” and on his own 7 p.m. show, Watters delivers the network’s talking points with a grin and a touch of levity.

Now, as Fox prepares to relaunch its prime-time lineup following Tucker Carlson’s abrupt ouster in April, Watters seems to be on everyone’s shortlist to take on a bigger role at the network — and perhaps one of the network’s most coveted slots.

“The message he got under O’Reilly was that here we have a reward system, a license for being a jackass,” Erik Wemple, the longtime media critic for The Washington Post, said. “And he has ridden that idea the whole way along.”

The economy’s great week

• Americans are still shopping. Retail sales rose 0.3% from April to May. Consumers spent more across the board, including at grocery stores and car dealerships.
• Inflation is slowing, while jobs and wages stay strong. US inflation also cooled more than expected, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 0.3% increase in average hourly earnings.
• Interest rates skipped a hike. The Fed held interest rates steady at its Wednesday meeting, leaving the target benchmark borrowing rate between 5% and 5.25%.

Expat regrets, Father’s Day, & more

• “I moved to Germany and regret it.” Stephanie Vollmer moved to Germany about 18 months ago. She said she felt unwelcomed and experienced weekly microaggressions. Read her story.
• Need a gift for Father’s Day? From budget-friendly products to luxurious splurges they’d never treat themselves to, we’ve pulled together the best 56 Father’s Day gifts of 2023.
• Two blind passengers say they were ordered to leave a cruise over “health and safety reasons.” The passengers told ITV News it was “humiliating” and that they “felt like criminals.”
• San Francisco’s most prominent shopping mall went bust. It’s the latest sign that the city’s downtown has entered a new phase of economic crisis. Read more.
• A student lost a $100,000 college scholarship because she forgot to open the letter. Her story went viral on TikTok, the college saw it, and then her dreams came true.
• A San Diego man got sick of living in a regular country, so he founded his own. He has crowned himself the sultan of Slowjamastan — a 11.07-acre micronation in California.

Ghost town

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