Monthly Archives: November 2025

Teddy Bridgewater Could Start Against the Arizona Cardinals

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Almost nothing has gone right for the Arizona Cardinals this season. Arizona sits in the NFC West basement with a 3-8 record. Six of those losses have been by four or fewer points, including the heartbreaking 27-24 overtime home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 23rd. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray is likely done for the year following a foot injury and a subsequent benching. To make matters worse, the rest of the teams in the NFC West are having good seasons. It has been a rough year in the desert, as hardly anything has broken in favor of the Cardinals. Well, that trend may change soon. Arizona could get some advantageous news ahead of its Week 13 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Reports Indicate That Baker Mayfield Could Miss Sunday’s Game There is a decent chance the Arizona Cardinals will not face Baker Mayfield when they play the Buccaneers on Sunday. The Tampa Bay starting quarterback missed the second half of its 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after he suffered a shoulder injury. Mayfield’s shoulder injury sparked concern that he could be sidelined for a while. If he is out, that would leave Teddy Bridgewater to start for Tampa Bay after he played the second half against the Rams. Following Mayfield’s MRI on Monday, it seems like there is a real possibility that Bridgewater could suit up for the Buccaneers. That would be an interesting twist for the Arizona Cardinals. Here is what NFL Network insider Ian Rapaport reported about Mayfield’s status on Monday: It is good news for Tampa Bay fans and NFL fans in general that Mayfield only has a low-grade left shoulder sprain. An injury like that probably means he plays multiple games in the stretch run for the Buccaneers. However, that report is far from a guarantee or even a likelihood that Mayfield plays on Sunday vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Enter Teddy Bridgewater. The Arizona Cardinals Could Play Against Teddy Bridgewater in Tampa Flying across the country to play a winning team is never easy in the NFL. It is a bit easier if that team is starting a backup quarterback. Most NFL viewers learned on Sunday that Teddy Bridgewater was still in the NFL, and that he plays for Tampa Bay. The 33-year-old Bridgewater signed the Buccaneers after he was suspended as head football coach of Miami Northwestern High School this summer. He had previously retired after the 2023 season, then rejoined the Detroit Lions at the end of the 2024 regular season. Aside from throwing for 62 yards in the second half against Los Angeles, Bridgewater has not played meaningful NFL snaps since 2022 when he was with the Miami Dolphins. While Bridgewater and Tampa Bay feel confident, one would expect the veteran quarterback to experience some rust after such limited action. Bridgewater isn’t particularly mobile anyway, so the Cardinals pass rush could have some opportunities against him. Mayfield’s shoulder sprain could open the door for an easier-than-expected road game for the Arizona Cardinals. Of course, backup quarterbacks win games all the time. But for a desperate Arizona Cardinals team that has lost three games in a row, they will take all the help they can get.
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/arizona-cardinals/arizona-cardinals-could-face-teddy-bridgewater/

Your Cancer Monthly Horoscope for December 2025

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Add These Dates to your G-Cal: December 4: Full Moon in Gemini December 8: Mars in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces December 11: Mercury enters Sagittarius December 14: Mars enters Capricorn December 16: Sun in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces December 19: New Moon in Sagittarius December 21: Sun enters Capricorn December 24: Venus enters Capricorn You’re trying to find a balance in your daily life, Cancer. The month starts off in Sagittarius season, which puts you in a busier mood. You’re juggling everyday responsibilities with more pressure at work and have this feeling like you need to be in a million places at once. The good news: The Universe is helping you learn to set better boundaries to protect your free time and energy, and also change your own habits along the way to set you up for success. A Full Moon in Gemini puts you in a sleepier mood on December 4. You’ve finally reached your limits and it’s time to start slowing down and listening to your body. If there are certain habits and patterns you’ve wanted to change, this will give you that momentum to do so. You might also be in a more private or emotional mood, reflecting on what you’re ready to release so you can create new space to call in something new. Conversations feel tense a few days later, on December 8, when Mars in Sagittarius rams into Saturn in Pisces. You might need to set a boundary with someone at work, or just feel under pressure from all of the responsibilities you’re managing. There is also a desire to spend your time freely, but some sort of obligation may pop up that requires your focus and attention. Mercury moves into Sagittarius on December 11, bringing more of your mental attention to your daily routines and habits. You’re coming up with structures and plans that set you up for success. You’re also learning lessons on asking for help or setting boundaries if you’re feeling under appreciated or exhausted by others. You might also consider adopting a fur baby, which is one way to change up your daily lifestyle! There’s more focus, and some drama, in your close one-on-one relationships on Mars enters Capricorn on December 14. The next few weeks can bring a more argumentative energy to your close connections-whether that’s with roommates, BFFs, family, or lovers. At the same time, you’re navigating issues you’ve ignored and this can help create a healthier dynamic for your future. As a bonus, contract and client work can pick up-people are eager to collaborate with you. Just know there also might be so jealous onlookers fixating on you, so work your protection magic and protect your energy! Mercury finally exits its post-retrograde shadow in Sagittarius on December 16, helping you make important decisions about your routines, habits, and wellbeing. These revelations might arrive with a reality check because, on the same day, the Sun in Sagittarius bumps into Saturn in Pisces, asking you to exercise your maturity and zapping any sense of playfulness from the day. The energy is a bit more serious and you could have annoying interactions with others or deal with small inconveniences throughout your you. Everyone’s feeling a bit grumpier today, so lead with kindness when you can. A New Moon in Sagittarius on December 19 helps you change your habits. You’re implanting new routines and letting go of old patterns that kept you stuck. This could also coincide with a change at work-a new assignment or position. You might also change up the way you care for yourself and integrate a new wellness treatment into your routine. The Sun enters Capricorn, and the Winter Solstice takes place on December 21, shining a spotlight on your relationships. Singles might meet someone noteworthy and couples are focused on creating plans for their shared future. This energy can also help you reflect on your own relationship patterns that you want to change. The month wraps up with Venus entering Capricorn on December 24, bringing more luck in love and your connections. Over the next few weeks there is more harmony and flow in all of your relationships, bringing a sense of fulfillment. This is also a fruitful time for collaborative work, meeting important people who can help you manifest some of your goals, and deepening friendships.
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a69300295/cancer-monthly-horoscope-december-2025/

How to defeat the Astral Academy bird boss in Constance

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The fight against the bird in the Astral Academy can be a tough one to get down right away. Luckily we’ve got a method that makes this boss fight much more of a walk in the park, as long as you’ve got a little bit of patience. How to beat the bird in the Astral Academy The fight begins with the bird generating several spinning circles of fire that you’ve encountered on the path toward this boss room. The fire will spawn in the direction that you’re either standing in or moving toward. This makes it difficult to try to go for attacks on the bird, so you’ll want to primarily focus on just avoiding the fire for now, but you can go for an attack if you happen to be within a close enough distance after dodging. For the bird’s next attack, it transforms into a barrage of papers that fly toward you fairly quickly, along with a line of books that either fall or fly up toward you. You’ll need to Paint Dive through the papers and the books. You don’t need to worry about landing on a platform after diving, as falling off the map will just make you respawn on the last platform you touched and won’t take any health. You can even use that to your advantage, since you do get a brief period of invulnerability after respawning. After this series of attacks ends, the bird will surround itself with sheets of paper, using them to throw paper planes at you one by one. As the bird is shooting its paper planes, it will be encircling the room, stopping briefly at each of the four corner platforms. This is where you’ll have the safest opportunity to attack. At this point, you should have the Paint Clone ability, in which you place down a painted version of yourself that can be exploded to deal damage. Place a Paint Clone at the opposite end of the room from the bird. Then, wait for the bird to move close to the clone and detonate it. This is the safest way to attack since you can easily dodge the paper planes, and the bird’s movements are extremely predictable. Once you’ve done enough damage, the bird will fly up, and a few portal hook points will spawn in the air. You’ll need to figure out the correct order to Paint Stroke through each of these portals until you get high enough to use Paint Stroke through the bird, after which, it will fall to the ground, allowing you to get a few hits in. A good way to get even more damage here is to drop a Paint Clone on the middle platform before launching through the portals, and detonate it when the bird falls down. That way, you can get your few hits in on top of the extra damage from the Paint Clone explosion. This process will repeat a few times. Just keep following the method above for each attack, and you’ll eventually see that sweet victory screen.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146947/how-to-defeat-the-astral-academy-bird-boss-in-constance

Lakers Named ‘Perfect’ Trade Candidate For 3-And-D, 20 PPG Star

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Though the Los Angeles Lakers are second in the West and have their trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves back together, there is still always room for improvement through a trade. While Los Angeles has done a lot to create this 2025-26 roster, perimeter defense and three-point shooting remain the biggest issues for the team. While James, Doncic, and Reaves all expect to lead the Lakers for at least the remainder of this season, Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick have multiple players they can move on from and upgrade. But specifically, Rui Hachimura remains a looming candidate, and according to Tyler Watts of LakeShowLife, the Lakers could target Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans as a perfect upgrade at the forward position. “The Los Angeles Lakers want to jump into title contention, and could pull off the perfect move by trading Rui Hachimura for Trey Murphy III,” he wrote on a potential Lakers-Pelicans trade. “The Pelicans are last in the Western Conference standings and headed toward the lottery. They should be open for business ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Fans may think Murphy is out of the Lakers’ price range, but getting strong value for Hachimura could change that.” Though without any national spotlight, for the second year in a row, Murphy is averaging at least 20 points per game, along with six rebounds and three assists on 46/37/94 shooting splits. The wing from Virginia is making roughly $28 million per year, but with his increasing value, his contract could be a steal. Lakers Mock Trade For Trey Murphy While Hachimura remains a consistent and solid player in his own right, it’s hard to see him as anything but a role player at best. The Lakers have made it clear they are vying for a championship now, and though a trade for Murphy could be costly, the 6’8” forward could be the missing piece. “The 25-year-old is the perfect fit for the Lakers’ timeline. He could join Luka and Austin Reaves as the franchise’s core pieces for the next decade,” Watts wrote. “This would give Los Angeles the horses to compete for a championship this season and make them a title threat into the 2030s.” Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Trey Murphy III and Karlo Matkovi Chicago Bulls Receive: Rui Hachimura New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Kevin Huerter, Maxi Kleber, two 1st round picks, two swaps, 2032 2nd round pick. The haul for New Orleans would be big, but as they are last in the Western Conference with just two wins, there’s a possibility the asking price could drop. For Chicago, they get an upgrade at the wing with someone who offers a bit more stability. But for the Lakers, adding Murphy changes the direction of the team. They haven’t shown too much interest in developing young prospects or having a top pick in general, so it is easy to see Pelinka sending out their draft capital to guarantee a roster can compete with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Denver Nuggets. “Now is the time to get [Doncic] a potential wing co-star, who is locked into a cheap contract until 2029,” Watts added. “The Los Angeles Lakers should only trade Rui Hachimura if they are getting a significant upgrade. Trey Murphy III certainly offers that.” Another Pelicans Star Could Be On The Table Though Murphy might be too rich for the Lakers’ blood, the potential of the Pelicans having a ‘fire sale‘ similar to the Sacramento Kings remains a strong possibility. While a Murphy trade might hold too much risk in this new era for Los Angeles, New Orleans might have another player whom they could make an offer for. “Is there really any trade target more perfect for the Los Angeles Lakers than Herb Jones?” Svyatoslav Rovenchuk wrote in a similar article about a Lakers trade idea for one of the Pelicans’ other top young players. “Jones is the type of 3-and-D star who would immediately raise the Lakers’ ceiling. His $13. 9 million makes him an easy player to match salaries for as well.” While the counting stats, 9. 5 points, 3. 8 rebounds, 2. 3 assists, aren’t amazing, Jones is a top-tier pest named to the All-Defensive First Team just two years ago. His 36. 2% three-point shooting percentage also wouldn’t hurt the last-place shooting Lakers, but more importantly, he would become the team’s number one wing defender. A deal for Jones would also likely include Hachimura to match the salaries, but with defense at a premium, the forward from Alabama would also have a high price tag.
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/perfect-candidate-murphy-jones-trade-rumors/

Here’s our exclusive card reveal for Riftbound: Spiritforged

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Riftbound has presented players with mighty heroes and powerful forces from across the mortal and spirit realms. Now it’s time for the League of Legends Trading Card Game to take the next step and introduce weapons. However, in this game, weapons are more than just tools for battle. The upcoming Spiritforged set brings weapons and their wielders to the forefront. Today, Shacknews brings you a new spell that will help supplement winning decks: Called Shot. Called Shot is a 0-Energy spell that can be played on your turn or in showdowns. The player looks at the top two cards of their Main Deck, drawing one and recycling the other. There’s also the potential to Repeat the effect, which is a new keyword debuting in Spiritforged. Head of Video Greg Burke has been frequenting Riftbound circles across his local game shops. Local store owner Cody Sierra said about Called Shot, “That card is actually amazing. It’s great for early or late game. The fact it’s repeatable. It seems like an auto include for a lot Chaos decks for helping curate a proper hand especially late game. It’s great also after you spend all your energy and you are ok recycling as many runes as you’d like on your opponent’s turn during a showdown.”.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146948/riftbound-spiritforged-card-reveal

Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials

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NEW YORK The Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his longtime confidante. U. S. Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress last week and signed into law by President Donald Trump in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges Richard Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer to reconsider their prior decisions to keep the material sealed. The Justice Department interprets the transparency act “as requiring it to publish the grand jury and discovery materials in this case,” said the eight-page filings, which also bear the names of Attorney General Pam Bondi and her second-in-command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The filings are among the first public indications that the Justice Department is working to comply with the transparency act, which requires that it make Epstein-related files public in a searchable and downloadable format within 30 days of Trump signing it into law. That means no later than Dec. 19. The Justice Department asked Berman and Engelmayer for expedited rulings allowing the release of the grand jury materials, which contains testimony from law enforcement witnesses but no victims, arguing that the new law supersedes existing court orders and judicial policies that “would otherwise prevent public disclosure.” In its filing Monday, the Justice Department said any materials made public could be partially redacted to prevent the disclosure of things like victims’ personal identifying information. The transparency act compels the Justice Department, the FBI and federal prosecutors to release the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during investigations into Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of young women and girls. The law mandates the release of all unclassified documents and investigative materials, including files relating to immunity deals and internal Justice Department communications about whom to charge or investigate. Berman has previously said that the grand jury transcripts in Epstein’s case amount to about 70 pages, along with a PowerPoint slideshow and call log. The only witness to testify was an FBI agent who “had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case,” Berman noted in his prior ruling. The FBI agent testified on June 18, 2019, and July 2, 2019. The July 2 session ended with grand jurors voting to indict Epstein. He was arrested on July 6, 2019 and found dead in his jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019. The same FBI agent testified before the Maxwell grand jury, which met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, the Justice Department has said. The only other witness was a New York City police detective. The Justice Department first asked Berman to unseal the grand jury material in July, doing so at Trump’s direction as the president sought to quell a firestorm after he reneged on a campaign promise to open up the government’s so-called Epstein files. Engelmayer, who presided over Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking trial, ruled first. In an Aug. 11 decision, he wrote that federal law almost never allows for the release of grand jury materials and that casually making the documents public was a bad idea. And he suggested that the Trump administration’s real motive for wanting the records unsealed was to fool the public with an “illusion” of transparency. Engelmayer wrote that after privately reviewing the grand jury transcripts that anyone familiar with the evidence would “learn next to nothing new” and “would come away feeling disappointed and misled.” “The materials do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor. They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s. They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes,” the judge said. Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 case, ruled about a week later. He concluded that a “significant and compelling reason” to deny the Justice Department’s request to unseal the Epstein grand jury transcripts was that information contained in them “pales in comparison” to investigative information and materials already in the Justice Department’s possession. Berman wrote in his Aug. 20 ruling that the government’s 100, 000 pages of Epstein-related files “dwarf” the grand jury transcripts, which he said were “merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct.”.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/24/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-grand-jury/

‘It’s a Miracle They Survived’: As Hostages Finish at Special Medical Unit, Lifelong Recovery Begins

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JERUSALEM, Israel After the October release of the remaining twenty live hostages from Gaza, they immediately received medical treatment and psychological care before being released to their families. However, that is only the beginning of their recovery. In a symbolic gesture, doctors at the Rabin Medical Center near Tel Aviv recently turned off the lights in their hostage care unit, as the last living hostage left for home. Professor Noa Eliakim-Raz told CBN News, “We have to be very careful, you know, to interpret pictures. It’s a bit more complicated than the pictures, of course. The minute they come back, the first thing we do is we actually see that there is nothing, you know, that there’s no emergency medical emergency or mental emergency.” During the last two years, doctors at the Rabin Center treated 40 returning hostages, including 5 of the last 20 that Hamas released in October. Eliakim-Raz admitted, “We hear terrible stories. We hear, really, stories that you can’t sleep at night after hearing, and some of them were kept in such small spaces they couldn’t even stretch out their hands. The food they were eating, or not eating, the variety everything affects their physical and mental state.” Professor Eliakim-Raz, who oversaw the unit at Rabin, said the medical staff had to learn and develop protocols as they went along. She noted, “And we built that. It’s new medicine. Of course, there is not a ‘hostages’ medicine. It’s not a field you learn in medical school.” The professor told CBN News that while doctors thoroughly checked their newly freed patients, just dealing with injuries from October 7th can revive the trauma, and just leaving the hospital is not the end of the journey. “Some of the returnees that returned more than six months ago are still going through medical procedures, surgeries. It can teach us about the situation; the fact that people are standing and smiling when they come back home is only a small part of the puzzle.” Alon Ohel spent two years in captivity after being wounded on October 7th, 2023. He did not receive treatment from Hamas and suffered harsh conditions in tunnels, including starvation. He recently returned to the hospital for orthopedic and “exceptional” eye surgeries. Professor Irit Bahar, chief of the Ophthalmology Department at the center, recalled, “The moment we realized that it might be possible to restore Alon’s sight, this was an emotional moment and a very remarkable one.” The surgery was a success. New York Physician Dr. Mark Siegel, an internal medicine specialist, told CBN News it’s a wonder the hostages survived. “They survive tremendous abuse, starvation, deprivation, dehumanization, injuries, broken bones, gunshot wounds, shrapnel, vitamin deficiencies, infections, respiratory infections, and diarrhea diseases, and being chained together and being mocked and tortured and abused, all of which, it’s a miracle they survived,” Dr. Siegel declared. And he stressed that the mental recovery takes longer than the physical. “Dehumanization, depersonalization, nightmares, severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder they’re being handled right now with kindness, with compassion. Their families are playing a huge role in nursing them back to health. The sensitivity that it takes to deal with someone in this condition is extremely important,” Siegel asserted. ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest news from a Christian perspective.*** Professor Eliakim-Raz helped treat the mothers and a grandmother who came out as part of the first hostages’ release in November 2023. “The resilience and strength that these mothers showed is impossible to do or to capture,” she emphasized. She praised the creativity shown by the hostages to train their brains to learn things while in captivity. “You hear incredible stories about how they train themselves to keep track of time. They know to tell you exact dates and hours of things they did in captivity. And it’s unbelievable. Everyone held on to something that gave them hope,” Eliakim-Raz observed. She adds that the suffering the hostages endured can affect their health and lives for decades. “And you can see that, not only psychological influence, but also physical influences, like they have more heart disease, more dental problems, and even premature aging, even for decades forward,” she stated. “So the body remembers.” They will need to receive further care for years, with the goal of building resilience. “The main thing is to bring them back to their life,” Eliakim Raz insisted. “And the goals are very different. And then change from one to the other for one person, going back to life is running a family, and for the other, it’s playing the piano, and for the third one, it’s going back to the army.” Families play an essential role in the rehabilitation process. Eliakim-Raz likens it almost to giving birth. “They get this person back,” she explained. “They don’t really know what to expect. It’s learning each other again. They are different, and the returnees are different. The families change, too.” She shared that the medical staff felt privileged to work with the hostages. Her hope is that Israelis as a whole will learn from this crisis the importance of being a community and working together.
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2025/november/its-a-miracle-they-survived-as-hostages-finish-at-special-medical-unit-lifelong-recovery-begins

‘Real dreams’: Tonko visits local businesses ahead of Small Business Saturday to discuss tariffs

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. While many people are thinking about Thanksgiving right around the corner, small businesses are getting ready for some of the busiest shopping days of the year. Ahead of Small Business Saturday, which last year saw an estimated 29. 4% increase in consumer spending jumping from $17 billion in 2023 to $22 billion in 2024 according to the United States Census Bureau, U. S. Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-20) paid a visit to a Spa City small business to hear a bit about how they are doing going into the holiday season, especially while facing the impact of high tariffs. “Every day is a small business shopping day, but to do it formally on that one day enables us to focus on the benefit they (small businesses) bring to the community,” Tonko said regarding Small Business Saturday. “Small businesses are based on a dream and a leap forward in good faith. As a community, we are challenged to meet that leap forward. They are the engine of our economy, and a small business citizen is a very strong value addition for the community it’s an employer, they grow jobs in the area, and it enables us to see the creative genius amongst us with locals who start these fascinating journeys. “I think it’s good to have this Small Business Saturday recognition so that we stop our busy pace during the holidays to understand these are real people who are promoting real dreams they’ve had in our community. They deserve our support and respect. They’ve gone through some unnatural consequences of late with tariff applications, with restrictions on employees, with DEI restraints, and the economic climate out there has made it tougher for people to be able to participate as readily as customers.” Tonko spent Monday morning with Allison Rose, Co-Owner, Saratoga Chocolate Co., and her staff, hearing about this local small business, which was named the #3 Best Chocolate Shop in America by the 2024 USA Today Readers’ Choice Award, and how they are handling the challenges that are facing the chocolate industry. On Tuesday, Tonko will visit DeFazio’s at 216, the newest location of Troy’s famous DeFazio’s Pizzeria, which has been a local staple since 1951, to discuss how price increases have impacted its ability to serve Capital Region residents as well. Saratoga Chocolate Co. started in 2016, with their first location opening in late 2020, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and moved into their new space this May. Rose notes that the new space is about five times bigger than their previous location, which has taken some getting used to, but has allowed them to shift the location of where they do order fulfillment and has increased their staff “enormously.” “We’re proud to be a member of the community, we’re proud to hire locally and we’re proud to have a small manufacturing operation in New York,” Rose said. “We’ve had a pretty good run since 2016 when we launched and opened our first retail store across the hallway it was supposed to be March of 2020, but we all know what happened then, so we got open at the end of 2020 and we had some good, steady years, and then the last two years were pretty bumpy again.” Rose noted that the chocolate market has seen “an unprecedented collapse” in the last two years as a result of of climate impacts and crop disease, explaining further that a black pod rot that contributed to large crop loss over a period of a couple of years in Africa (where 80% of the world’s cocoa production comes from) which has contributed to large crop loss over a period of a couple of years that then put such a pinch on supply that prices. She added that policies from the current administration, namely tariffs on imported goods, have impacted the chocolate industry, especially since this is one of the products that can’t be produced domestically but has a high demand for it, so there’s no flexibility and no equal quality substitute. “The problem is that you’re stuck, so you have nothing left to do but to pass costs through,” Rose explained. “There aren’t many cheap alternatives, even within the chocolate industry. And I, for 1, am not willing to compromise on quality. I think we’ve built a premium chocolate brand intentionally, and I’m not about to back away.” While discussing this, Tonko points out that he thinks tariffs should be strategically implemented, not on items that can’t be readily produced in the US. “I think it’s why we’ve always had Congress that was supposed to be in charge of setting the tariffs,” Tonko noted. “A broader audience talking about how ‘this is an item we can’t compete with,’ and it’s not like we’re putting a tariff on other producers that would put us at a disadvantage. It makes no sense strategically to tariff an item that we’re not producing; it’s just a senseless type of approach.” Rose also pointed out that all this contributes to feeling increased price pressure, especially when all these impacts have seen the cost go up by 68% before tariff increases, which now add an extra layer on top of that, with anywhere from a 15 to 20% increase. This is also coupled with the impact on packaging and equipment cost. Rose gave the example that all of the cellophane bags and boxes the store utilizes are primarily imported from China and things like her cocoa jars went up 32% since the last time she purchased them. Also, she says she has seen a 30% increase in tariffs on her packaging. In terms of equipment, a recent purchase of equipment from Italy, since there are not that many chocolate processing pieces of equipment manufactured within the United States, jumped from $24,000 to $29,900 strictly from tariffs alone. “It’s hitting us on all of our cocoa products and ingredients. It’s hitting us on equipment. It’s hitting us on packaging,” Rose said. “When we communicate with the customer, it’s not about increasing prices for a profit grab, it’s increasing prices to remain profitable and pay our bills. We don’t have the types of cash reserves that large companies do to be able to hurry up and buy ahead when you see the market signals coming.” These rising costs have impacted other areas of the business as well, including staffing and pay. Rose shared she has “an intense desire” to raise wages and offer benefits to her staff, but with the margins being hit as they have been over the past couple of years, it has been difficult for her to move forward in a way that will foster goodwill and employee retention. “When you’re just trying to stem the bleeding, it limits your ability to recognize the people who work really hard for you and believe in what you’re trying to accomplish. You understand that they have to do what they have to do as well, because they have a family to feed and have their own bills to pay. Rose adds that she has heard first-hand that tariffs have caused other chocolatiers to close, giving the example that within one day, a local chocolate store in Colton told her that they were closing due to price increases, specifically tariff-related, and a 100-year-old family chocolate business in the Catskills went on the market for sale. “Somebody needs to look at the chocolate industry. This is a space that we have no room, no flexibility, within and industry carveouts and smart policies that don’t disadvantage local small manufacturers and local small businesses employers are essential. It’s so important that we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work. The devil is always in the details, and while headlines are great, there’s reality. We need to talk about the reality of how these things are hitting.” Tonko added that it’s clear that these tariffs have really caused a lot of heartache for businesses, and this is part of why visits like this are important because they allow him to take back messages from local businesses like this and share the impact these tariffs are having on real people. “It’s not like we’re bringing in money because of tariffs, we’re digging into the consumer’s pocket and we’re digging into the small business person’s plan to get those dollars,” Tonko said. “ It’s our own people, business community, consumer community, paying the price, and that’s unfair. (Tariffs) need to be done strategically. “If you’re putting tariffs on chocolate that we can’t produce here, it’s a foolish application. It’s non-strategic.” And on top of all this, Tonko adds that the Small Business Administration, who try to network and make certain small businesses get assistance, has seen a 43% reduction in staff as well as several closings of district offices and while our district office might not be closed, he says closures do put pressure on the entire system to respond to the small businesses out there. “It’s curtailing a lot of the assistance that we should be providing. But some of the best we can do is to stop the foolishness. You know, many have said, myself included in Congress, that it should be a congressional application, not left to one person, one whim, where it’s done in a way that has not been strategic. And so we need to be very cognizant of things that we do that are going to impact that small business budget.” Rose adds that if the goal is to strengthen the American economy and support American business, the whole economy must be looked at and taken into consideration. “It’s important to recognize that being a small business owner is a daily recommitment to working towards a vision that you have and choosing to wake up and fight the fires, because they’re always going to come,” Rose said. “There’s always going to be something you have to deal with that day, but I know for certain that when I got into this business, I didn’t see a global pandemic, and I didn’t see an unprecedented crop failure, and I certainly didn’t see massive increases in prices from tariffs. “That’s a lot for any business to handle, and I’ve been doing it with a white knuckle grip and a lot of grit, and while I’m really tired, I love what I do, and I believe in what I do, and I just want to see smart policies that truly benefit small businesses. “I have a responsibility to my employees, I have a responsibility to my customers, I have a passion and a belief in what we’re doing, and I believe in my community. I want to see those things all benefit, and I want to see this business flourish . We just need some help and I know I’m not the only Chocolatier that feels that way.”.
https://www.troyrecord.com/2025/11/24/real-dreams-tonko-visits-local-businesses-ahead-of-small-business-saturday-to-discuss-tariffs/