President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judgeships over a span of more than a decade, a once-bipartisan effort designed so that neither political party would have an advantage in molding the federal judiciary.
Three presidential administrations, beginning with the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have had the opportunity to appoint the new trial court judgeships, according to the legislation, which had support from organizations representing judges and attorneys.
Despite arguments from the organizations that additional judgeships would help with cases that have seen serious delays in resolution and ease concerns over access to justice, the White House said that Biden would veto the bill.
In a statement, Biden said he made his decision because the ‘hurried action’ by the House of Representatives left open questions about ‘life-tenured’ positions.
‘The House of Representative’s hurried action fails to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the new judgeships are allocated, and neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate explored fully how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships,’ Biden said.
‘The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions about need and allocation be further studied and answered before we create permanent judgeships for life-tenured judges,’ Biden added.
He said the bill would also have created new judgeships in states where senators have not filled existing judicial vacancies and that those efforts ‘suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now.
When Biden’s plan to veto the legislation surfaced earlier this month, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told ‘America’s Newsroom’ that the act is ‘the last spasm of a lame-duck.’
‘President Biden and his team don’t want to allow it to become law simply because a Republican administration would get to appoint some of the judges,’ Kennedy said.
‘I wish they’d put the country first,’ the senator added.
The legislation was passed unanimously in August under the Democratic-controlled Senate, though the Republican-led House brought the measure to the floor only after Donald Trump was reelected president in November, creating an air of political gamesmanship.
Biden’s veto essentially shelves the legislation for the current Congress.
Overturning Biden’s veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, and the House vote fell well short of that margin.
The FBI is issuing a stark warning to timeshare owners about a widespread telemarketing scam linked to a violent Mexican drug cartel. This scheme targets unsuspecting property owners, leading to significant financial losses. Here’s what you need to know and how to protect yourself.
The Dimitruks’ devastating timeshare scam experience
In late 2022, Mr. and Mrs. Dimitruk, a retired Canadian couple, received a call about selling their Florida timeshare. The scammers, aware of their specific timeshare details, promised a Mexican buyer willing to pay above market value. The fraudsters employed an intricate process involving a fake New York escrow company, ecurrencyescrow[.]llc. The Dimitruks were asked to complete forms and wire more than $3,000 for ‘administrative’ and ‘processing’ fees.
For almost a year, the scammers made additional financial demands, citing various taxes and fees. The couple even sent $5,000 to pay off their remaining timeshare balance, believing it was part of the sale process. Mr. Dimitruk, a 73-year-old retired long-haul truck driver, revealed in an interview with KrebsOnSecurity that they lost more than $50,000 to this scam. Even after this substantial loss, the scammers continued to contact them, claiming their money was waiting and urging further payments.
Cartel connections to fraud schemes
The FBI has linked these timeshare fraud schemes to the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel in Mexico. According to a July 2024 warning from the FBI and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, these scams are part of the cartel’s efforts to diversify their revenue streams and finance other criminal activities, including drug trafficking.
Since at least 2012, the cartel and other Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations have increasingly targeted U.S. owners of timeshare properties in Mexico, particularly older adults who are often more vulnerable to such scams. The proceeds from these fraudulent activities not only support the cartel’s operations but also contribute to the manufacturing and trafficking of dangerous substances like fentanyl into the United States.
How these scams work
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has expanded its criminal activities beyond traditional drug trafficking into sophisticated scams, including timeshare fraud targeting unsuspecting individuals, particularly Americans. Here are some of the methods employed by the cartel in executing these scams:
Scammers often pose as legitimate real estate agents, escrow companies or even officials from U.S. government agencies like the Treasury Department. This tactic is designed to instill a sense of trust and urgency in potential victims, making them more susceptible to fraud.
The cartel primarily targets elderly Americans who own timeshares in Mexico. These individuals are often contacted with offers to buy their timeshares at inflated values, but they are required to pay various fees upfront, such as taxes or closing costs, before any transaction can be completed. Once these payments are made, the scammers disappear, leaving victims with significant financial losses.
The CJNG operates illegal call centers where employees, often unaware of the cartel’s true nature, engage in telemarketing schemes. These centers are strategically located in regions with high unemployment rates, providing a pool of workers who may be desperate for jobs. The call centers not only facilitate scams but also serve as a means for the cartel to exert control over local populations through intimidation and violence.
The scams can involve multiple layers of deception. For instance, victims may be contacted multiple times by different scammers posing as various professionals (e.g., lawyers or real estate agents) who claim they can assist with selling their timeshares or recovering lost funds. This re-victimization often leads to further financial exploitation.
The cartel employs extreme measures to maintain control over its operations and silence potential whistleblowers. Reports indicate that workers attempting to quit these call centers have faced dire consequences, including murder, which serves as a chilling message to others considering leaving the cartel’s employment. This brutal enforcement mechanism not only protects their operations but also instills fear within communities.
The CJNG utilizes a network of fraudulent websites and domains that appear legitimate at first glance. These websites often mimic real escrow and real estate firms, making it difficult for victims to discern the authenticity of their interactions. Many of these domains have been linked back to a central hub that manages multiple scam operations simultaneously.
By understanding these operational tactics, you can better appreciate the complexities and dangers associated with scams perpetrated by organized crime groups like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. This knowledge is crucial for potentially preventing future victimization.
Protecting yourself from timeshare scams
To avoid falling victim to similar scams, it is crucial to take proactive steps to safeguard your financial interests:
Always confirm the identity of any potential buyer and the authenticity of their offer. Contact the timeshare company directly to validate any claims made by the buyer.
Conduct thorough research on any business reaching out to you. Look for reviews, complaints and verify their credentials through reliable sources.
Legitimate transactions typically do not require upfront fees for administrative or processing purposes. If a company requests such payments, exercise caution.
Avoid sharing personal or financial information over unsecured methods such as phone calls or emails. Opt for secure communication channels whenever possible.
: Avoid clicking on any links or downloading attachments from unsolicited emails. Scammers often use these tactics to steal your personal information. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
Seek advice from a real estate attorney or a trusted financial advisor before engaging in any transactions. Their expertise can help you navigate potential pitfalls.
If you suspect you’ve been targeted by a timeshare scam, don’t hesitate to promptly report it to local authorities, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov or the Federal Trade Commission. Reporting can help protect others from falling victim to similar schemes.
While the advice provided is valuable, the most crucial step in protecting yourself from such scams is to minimize your online presence. By reducing the amount of personal information available on the web, you make it significantly harder for scammers to target you. No service promises to remove all your data from the internet. However, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Here’s the deal. These timeshare scammers are clever, they’re persistent, and they’re backed by some seriously bad dudes. But don’t let that scare you into inaction. Remember, knowledge is power. By staying informed and skeptical, you’re already one step ahead of these fraudsters. Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is. And don’t be afraid to ask for help or report suspicious activity. Let’s make life a whole lot harder for these scammers and keep your hard-earned money where it belongs: in your pocket.
What additional steps do you think authorities should take to combat telemarketing scams targeting vulnerable populations? Let us know by writing us at
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Presidents have historically developed their own Christmas traditions as they make their unique marks on the White House during their terms. In recent years, Christmases have been spent in an array of places by commanders in chief, from Hawaii, to Texas to Mar-a-Lago.
President Joe Biden opted in 2021 to move his family’s Christmas celebration to the White House, rather than its usual location in his home state of Delaware. The extended Biden family reportedly attended Mass on Christmas Eve and then returned to the White House where they enjoyed a pasta dinner and had a sleepover, which are traditions in the family.
Before him, former President Donald Trump — who will soon take office again — spent Christmases in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago estate, per reports. During their holidays in Florida, Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended Christmas services at a local Episcopal church in Palm Beach, where the two married in 2005.
Former President Barack Obama established a tradition as president of spending the Christmas holiday with his family in Hawaii. As reported, the president’s Christmases in the state were relatively quiet, spent with friends and family. However, they established a tradition of visiting a local Marine base to thank soldiers for their service on Christmas Day.
Prior to Obama, President George Bush chose to spend his Christmases near to the nation’s capital at the Camp David presidential retreat. This was something first established by his father, former President George H. W. Bush. In 2008, the Bush family reportedly celebrated what was their 12th Christmas at Camp David.
Further back, U.S. presidents have held a variety of events to mark the Christmas season at the White House, some more elaborate than others. In 1835, President Andrew Jackson famously hosted an indoor ‘snowball’ fight for children at his ‘frolic’ party. The party included games, dancing and a festive dinner and ended with a snowball fight, during which the participants used specially made cotton balls.
President Franklin Roosevelt had his own tradition of reading Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ aloud after a Christmas Eve meal.
According to the White House Historical Association, there is a popular myth suggesting that President Theodore Roosevelt banned trees from being cut down and placed in the White House as decoration. This was prompted in part by the fact that the Roosevelts did not mark the holiday with a tree.
The WHHA noted that Christmas trees in every home is a relatively modern tradition.
Per the association, Roosevelt’s son Archie started his own tradition by sneaking a small tree into the White House and placing it in a closet. He decorated it before revealing the tree to his family and starting a new holiday tradition.
We are in the midst of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven industrial revolution. From self-driving cars to medical diagnostics to next-generation defense and homeland security capabilities, AI is reshaping nearly every industry.
As the U.S. races to maintain its global leadership in AI, much of the conversation revolves around natural language processing, the reshoring of the semiconductor supply chain and powering data centers. One critical component, however, remains largely overlooked: data storage — and the hard drives they contain that make scalable AI advancements possible.
In the AI era, data is everything. Massive datasets fuel the systems that predict disease outbreaks, manage supply chains, detect fraud and empower our armed forces. According to Goldman Sachs, AI is poised to drive a 160% increase in data center demand by 2030. Without a scalable, resilient data storage sector, even the most advanced AI models will prove useless. The U.S. cannot afford to treat data storage as an afterthought.
It is clear that data storage needed for scaling AI applications requires storage solutions equal to the vast explosion of data they generate. This is where hard drives excel. Hard drives, which store more than 90% of data in cloud data centers, are not only essential for managing data at scale but also play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the data informing AI models, a cornerstone of Trustworthy AI.
This reliance on robust data storage becomes especially clear in sectors where AI tools are being rapidly deployed.
The defense and homeland security sectors rely on data-intensive AI systems to make real-time decisions in life and death situations. Satellite data and surveillance feeds require massive storage capacity, and our military’s integration of AI depends on reliable and secure high-capacity hard drives. An inadequate storage infrastructure doesn’t just slow things down — it can impact mission readiness and execution, particularly as we deploy new technologies like drones that are data-dependent used to both protect the homeland and advance security interests overseas.
The private sector’s demand for data storage is also skyrocketing as AI transforms operations. Financial firms leverage AI to analyze markets and manage risk, media companies personalize streaming services, the agriculture industry optimizes crop yields through AI-driven insights, and companies manufacturing hard drives deploy AI at scale in factories to optimize and increase production by diagnosing and correcting defects in real-time. Across industries, the need for reliable storage has never been more urgent.
The U.S. must act now to secure its leadership in data storage technology. The goal should be to avoid a repeat of the semiconductor crisis — where a lack of domestic production led to urgent, costly reshoring efforts in the form of the $52 billion Chips and Science Act.
Just as chips power AI processing, hard drives provide the backbone for data storage, making them equally indispensable. By investing in and supporting the hard drive industry now, the U.S. can secure a stable foundation for AI growth and mitigate future supply chain vulnerabilities.
The U.S. government has recently initiated steps to secure this foundation but more needs to be done. A recent White House memorandum acknowledges the importance of a robust AI ecosystem and the need to bolster the private sector’s competitive advantages, from access to chips to availability of capital and computational resources.
A key area of advantage that must be maintained is the data storage industry, with the largest companies in the field driving innovation and advancing technology leadership in the U.S. and like-minded countries. As China continues to invest huge sums into data processing and storage technologies, it is imperative that the U.S. understands and supports this unique capability that is the backbone of the cloud and emerging technologies, including AI.
The defense and homeland security sectors rely on data-intensive AI systems to make real-time decisions in life and death situations. Satellite data and surveillance feeds require massive storage capacity, and our military’s integration of AI depends on reliable and secure high-capacity hard drives.
To maintain our edge, the U.S. government must consider hard drives and data storage technology as essential components in the broader critical technology ecosystem. Government incentives, future or existing, should be available for hard drive manufacturers to expand domestic capacity, strengthen supply chain resilience and encourage long-term storage and retention policies that contribute to AI trustworthiness.
Government agencies should also establish regular dialogue with industry leaders to ensure clear, aligned strategies for fostering a robust data storage sector. Much like the public support provided for the semiconductor industry, hard drive manufacturing deserves recognition and prioritization as a strategic industry essential for driving cutting-edge innovation.
As America charts its path in the AI-era, it must prioritize the infrastructure that underpins it. By recognizing and investing in this critical sector, the U.S. can build a resilient, scalable data storage backbone that advances national security, economic growth, and technological supremacy.
A top ally of President Biden is ‘disappointed’ after he vetoed a bill that would have increased the number of federal judges currently serving.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who served as a campaign co-chair for both of Biden’s recent presidential campaigns, stressed that he and his Republican colleague Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., kept bipartisanship top of mind when crafting the bill.
‘I am disappointed by this outcome, for my own state and for the federal judges throughout the country struggling under the burden of ever-higher caseloads. I’ve worked on this bill for years, and thanks to tireless bipartisan effort with Senator Young, it made it to the president’s desk. It’s highly unfortunate that it will not become law,’ Coons said in a statement on Tuesday.
He then put the blame on House Republicans for the bill’s ultimate failure, however, for voting on it after the 2024 election.
‘Senator Young and I took pains to make this a nonpartisan process, structuring the JUDGES Act so that Congress could pass the bill before any of us – Republican or Democrat – knew who would occupy the White House in 2025 and therefore nominate the new federal judges,’ Coons said.
‘The Senate did its part by passing the bill unanimously in August; the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, however, waited for election results before moving the bill forward. As a result, the White House is now vetoing this bill.’
Republicans in turn have accused Biden of making threats to veto the bill – which he issued two days before the House voted on it – to avoid giving President-elect Trump new roles to fill.
‘This important legislation garnered broad, bipartisan support when it unanimously passed the Senate in August because it directly addresses the pressing need to reduce case backlogs in our federal courts and strengthen the efficiency of our judicial system,’ Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed out in a statement after the bill passed earlier this month.
‘At that time, Democrats supported the bill – they thought Kamala Harris would win the presidency. Now, however, the Biden-Harris administration has chosen to issue a veto threat and Democrats have whipped against this bill, standing in the way of progress, simply because of partisan politics.’
The bill would have added 66 federal district judicial roles, spreading their creation out over more than 10 years to prevent a boon on new appointments for any one administration.
At the time of its Senate passage, Democrats’ morale was high after Biden ducked out of the 2024 race and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris.
It passed the Senate with unanimous consent, however, meaning no Republicans objected to the legislation’s advancement.
A Russian-born U.S. citizen who was already behind bars in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second sentence for espionage.
Eugene Spector was sentenced to a new 15-year term for his espionage conviction, according to Russian news agencies. Spector was born and raised in Leningrad, Russia, but later moved to the U.S. and became a citizen.
A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Spector in August of last year, although details surrounding the case were not made publicly available.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports of a U.S. citizen in Russia being sentenced and that it was monitoring the situation.
Spector, a former executive at a medical equipment company in Russia, was sentenced in September 2022 to three and a half years in prison for enabling bribes to an aide of former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.
The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for accepting bribes of two expensive overseas vacation trips.
Dvorkovich was a deputy prime minister under former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2012 to 2018. Dvorkovich is currently head of the international chess federation FIDE.
Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda on Monday announced they had entered into official talks to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.
In a news conference on Monday, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the companies needed greater scale to compete in the development of new technologies in electric vehicles and intelligent driving. A business integration would give the companies an “edge that will not be possible under the current collaboration framework,” Mibe said, according to a translation.
The deal would aim to share intelligence and resources and deliver economies of scale and synergies while protecting both brands, he said.
A holding company would be formed as the parent company of both Honda and Nissan, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The larger Honda will nominate most of the integrated entity’s board members. The merged group has the potential to deliver revenue of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen, he said.
Honda reported 1.382 trillion yen in operating profit for the full year to March 2024, versus Nissan’s 568.7 billion yen. The companies would have a combined value of nearly $54 billion, with Honda’s market capitalization contributing the greater $43 billion share.
Discussions are set to conclude in June 2025.
Mibe added that if approved, the integration would be a mid- to long-term project that is currently not expected to show visible progress until 2030 and beyond.
Nissan’s strategic partner, Mitsubishi, has been offered the chance to join the new group and will take a decision by the end of January 2025.
The companies are grappling with intense global competition in the EV market from the likes of Tesla and China’s BYD. The high cost of the EV transition for legacy companies has long been expected to drive industry consolidation.
Japan’s Toyota is the world’s biggest automaker by sales, followed by Germany’s Volkswagen. A Nissan-Honda tie-up would see the group overtake South Korea’s Hyundai.
The proposed deal was first reported by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper on Dec. 17.
Nissan shares spiked after the initial report of a merger. Analysts say the potential tie-up is a result of financial underperformance at the company and of the restructure of its long-standing partnership with France’s Renault.
In its most recent quarterly results, Nissan said it would cut 9,000 jobs and reduce global production capacity by a fifth.
Honda CEO Mibe on Monday said some of the company’s shareholders may feel that the deal would represent Honda supporting Nissan, but noted the merger was “based on the assumption that Nissan completes its turnaround action.”
“If Nissan and Honda fail to stand on their own feet the business integration talks will not come to fruition,” he said.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida told reporters that the discussion of integration did “not mean we have given up on a turnaround” and was instead about ensuring the company’s competitiveness for the future.
“After doing this turnaround action for future development, future growth, we need to look at ultimate size and growth. This growth will be through partnerships,” he added.
Nissan has “been struggling in the market, it’s been struggling at home, it doesn’t have the right product lineup,” Peter Wells, professor of business and sustainability at Cardiff Business School’s Centre for Automotive Industry Research, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” last week.
“There are so many warning signs, so many red flags around Nissan at the moment that something had to happen. Whether this is the answer is another question,” Wells added.
Shares of Renault closed 1.2% higher on Monday. The company directly holds a 17% stake in Nissan and owns another 18.7% via a French trust, while Nissan is a strategic investor in Renault’s EV and software entity Ampere.
In Asia trade, Nissan shares closed 1.2% higher ahead of the announcement, with Honda up 3.8% and Mitsubishi finishing 0.6% higher.
— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache and Sam Meredith contributed to this story.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing Walmart and a financial technology firm, alleging they illegally forced drivers into using costly deposit accounts to receive their pay.
The agency alleges that Walmart and the vendor, Branch Messenger, forced the drivers, who were part of Walmart’s Spark Driver gig-work platform, to use Branch Messenger’s deposit accounts to collect their compensation — and would be terminated if they did not want to use this service.
The CFPB also alleges that Walmart and Branch Messenger misled workers about the availability of same-day access to their earnings, and that drivers had to follow a complex process to access their funds.
Even when they did access their funds, the CFPB alleges, the drivers faced delays or fees if they needed to transfer the money into an account of their choice — resulting in workers paying more than $10 million in fees since 2021 to transfer earnings.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.”
Walmart said in a statement that the CFPB’s suit was ‘riddled with factual errors’ and ‘exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law.’
‘The CFPB never allowed Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during their rushed investigation,’ it said. ‘We look forward to vigorously defending the Company before a court that, unlike the CFPB, honors the due process of law.’
In a statement, Branch Messenger said the CFPB’s suit ‘misstates the law and facts’ while omitting items designed to ‘mask the Bureau’s clear overreach.’
‘Despite the company’s extensive cooperation with its investigation, the CFPB refused to engage with Branch in any meaningful way about this matter, instead rushing to file a lawsuit,’ Branch said. ‘This approach makes clear that this litigation has nothing to do with the law or protecting workers and everything to do with the media attention garnered by a lawsuit involving one of the world’s biggest retailers.’
The CFPB has announced a flurry of rules and suits this month as the Biden administration winds down and the agency’s future is clouded by uncertainty. Last week, the CFPB sued three of America’s largest banks on accusations that they failed to curb fraud on the digital payments platform Zelle. The banks, as well as Zelle’s operator, which was also named in the suit, have denied the charges.
It also sued Comerica Bank for allegedly harming consumers enrolled in the federal government’s Direct Express federal benefits delivery program. Comerica has denied the charges and is countersuing the CFPB.
The agency also announced four separate rules, including one limiting bank overdraft fees that was immediately challenged by the banking industry.
NBC News earlier reported the agency had been weighing which rules to finalize before Republicans take control of all three branches of government. The GOP has signaled plans to defang the agency, while President-elect Donald Trump has named authors of Project 2025 — which calls for eliminating the CFPB — to influential positions.
Multibillionaire Trump donor Elon Musk, who is slated for a high-level cost-cutting role, has posted on his social platform X: “Delete CFPB.”
The toy industry is headed for its second consecutive annual sales decline, but it’s got one thing propping it up: colorful, interlocking plastic bricks.
At a time when toy companies are struggling to match the massive gains of pandemic-era sales, Lego is growing rapidly. The Danish company saw revenue jump 13% in the first six months of the year and continues to snap up market share.
“When you look at toy sales, Lego has just been driving all the growth in the industry this year,” said Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM.
After coming to the brink of bankruptcy in the early 2000s, Lego has reshaped its business and diversified its customer base, helping it to elevate sales even in inflationary market conditions.
Lego has posted positive annual revenue growth in each of the past six years.
Its strategy has involved delving into the world of licensing, catering to adults as well as kids, tapping into the digital gaming world, partnering with studios and streamers to bring Lego content to consumers and building manufacturing sites close to distribution hubs to smooth the supply chain.
Recent standouts among its tried-and-true portfolio are newly emphasized “passion points,” kits that appeal to a wide variety of consumers, from those obsessed with franchises such as Star Wars and Harry Potter to car enthusiasts and animal lovers.
“Lego has consistently bucked the trend the past few years,” said James Zahn, editor in chief of The Toy Book. “When other companies go down, Lego tends to go up.”
Zahn noted that Lego’s ability to be “ahead of the curve” has allowed it to be more nimble during times of inflation, as consumers tighten their purse strings, and to navigate upheaval in the theatrical entertainment industry and even looming tariff increases.
“I think, perhaps, the overarching story here is that they really are, it seems, like they’re two to three steps ahead of everybody else,” Zahn said.
From miniature models of Emerald City from “Wicked” to a version of Wednesday and Enid’s dorm room in the Jenna Ortega-led “Wednesday,” Lego has tapped into pop culture to bring fan-favorite stories to life in brick form.
Licensing has long been an important strategy for toy companies. Pulling from existing and upcoming intellectual property from movies and television shows allows brands such as Lego to cater to an already robust and engaged consumer.
The Lego shop in Paris on Nov. 23.Stéphane Mouchmouche / AFP / Getty Images
Lego’s first licensed partnership was in 1999 when it linked up with Lucasfilm to bring Star Wars sets to the public. Some of these kits were tied to the release of “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” while others celebrated vehicles and characters from the original trilogy of films.
“Lego embraced adults, long before we started saying ‘kidults,’ and they’ve managed to continue that in new ways,” said Zahn.
Over the past two decades, Lego has worked with hundreds of other partners to translate the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters, Marvel, DC, Jurassic Park and Pixar into building blocks.
More recently, the company has launched kits such as the Sanderson sisters’ house from “Hocus Pocus” and even a “Jaws” set featuring the iconic shark taking down Quint’s boat.
“For the Lego brand, [we’ve seen] tremendous years of growth,” said Julia Goldin, chief product and marketing officer at Lego. “We made a very deliberate decision to unlock our potential with many new audiences, double down on the audiences that we already had and really ensure that we are very connected.”
Lego isn’t stopping at franchise-based sets.
The company has worked to design different types of sets that cater to new audiences, ones that might not have otherwise bought or built a Lego set, Zahn said. This includes cityscape sets featuring skylines from London to New York, brick versions of famous paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” as well as a line of botanicals.
Goldin noted that Lego is “investing in bringing in new audiences to the portfolio” and creating more products for them.
People take pictures of the lifesize Lego Technic McLaren Formula One race car in Singapore on Sept. 23, 2022.Roslan Rahman / AFP / Getty Images file
That’s why Lego has partnered with Formula 1 to create a line of F1-inspired sets that range from Duplo kits for preschool children all the way to collectible sets for adults. The partnership will also span Lego’s digital platforms, and the toy company will have a presence at future F1 auto racing events.
Goldin said previous car products, including a McLaren Lego set, performed well at retail, giving Lego confidence to delve deeper into the auto racing space.
“We always start with the audience,” she explained. “We’re always looking at, what are kids into? And we saw that F1 was one of the No. 1 most growing passions among younger kids, and also growing globally and attracting a lot of new audiences, especially women and families.”
Attracting new consumers has allowed Lego to drive revenue and helped to counterbalance softness in the theatrical realm.
Much of the toy industry’s current sales woes can be attributed to the disrupted pipeline in Hollywood production. A global pandemic followed by labor strikes left Tinsel town with fewer new releases that could have served as the basis for breakout toys.
The lack of kids movies, in particular, meant toy companies were not producing as many new action figures, roleplay items and other movie tie-ins.
But in 2023, Lego offered 780 products, around 50% of which were new items, on par with recent years.
At the same time, Lego has expanded beyond its retail shelf space.
The company has launched several theatrical features of its own, partnered with streamers such as Disney+ to bring Marvel and Star Wars content to the small screen and even launched its own vertical within Epic Games’ popular Fortnite game.
The expanding portfolio has kept Lego at the forefront of consumers’ minds, given them alternative ways to engage with the brand and driven incremental retail purchases.
“We have to remember that kids, they grow up,” said Goldin. “So there’s a new generation coming all the time. I think the next five years we’ll see even more digitalization and interactivity coming into the different experiences that we can create.”
Goldin said with Fortnite, the company aimed to go beyond sets and create an experience. Within the larger game of Fortnite, players can participate in a Lego-based world where they construct digital Lego buildings, battle against creatures, customize their online mini figure and socialize with other Lego fans.
Lego CEO Niels Christiansen has repeatedly touted the importance of meeting kids where they are, noting during previous earnings reports that the company is competing for children’s time and attention. Being relevant to them and in spaces that they already occupy has translated back to sales of physical Lego kits.
It is a similar strategy to the one Lego has employed in partnering with Disney+ for several Star Wars and Marvel animated shows and in its recent theatrical release of a feature-length animated documentary about Pharrell Williams called “Piece by Piece.”
“We felt [‘Piece by Piece’] really was something that was super original,” said Jill Wilfert, head of global entertainment partners and content at Lego.
“We want to attract a broader audience that’s going to be engaged with the brand,” Wilfert added. “So, this was something we thought would help us get there. And when we do entertainment for us, it’s really about doing those things that help us really convey the values of the brand in a super entertaining and relevant way, but it’s also something that families, people, friends, can experience together.”
Wilfert said Lego has several theatrical projects in development that could arrive on the big screen in the coming years.
In the meantime, the company plans to continue releasing episodes and shorts tied to existing shows that air on Netflix, Nickelodeon and YouTube.
Nordstrom on Monday announced it will become a private company after it agreed to a buyout deal valued at roughly $6.25 billion from Nordstrom’s founding family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool.
The company’s board of directors unanimously approved of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
As part of the deal, the Nordstrom family will have majority ownership in the company, with 50.1%, and Liverpool will own 49.9%. Common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold, according to a press release.
“For over a century, Nordstrom has operated with a foundational principle of helping customers feel good and look their best,” Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom said in a press release. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for the business. On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom thrives long into the future.”
It’s not the first time the retailer has tried to go private. A previous effort fizzled out in 2018. In September, the Nordstrom family offered $23 a share for the chain, which valued the company at roughly $3.76 billion.
Nordstrom stock fell roughly 1% in early trading. Shares of the company have shot up since a Reuters report in March that the family wanted to take the company private.
Nordstrom beat Wall Street’s sales expectations in November for the fiscal third quarter, as revenue grew about 4% year over year. But the company gave only a slightly rosier full-year sales forecast as it said it expected a soft holiday season.
Luxury clothing stores have been under pressure as retailers including Walmart, Best Buy and Target have reported that customers remain choosy when it comes to buying items that are wants, not needs, and have paid more attention to price.
Nordstrom was founded as a shoe store in 1901 before transitioning into a department store that sells a wide variety of clothing and accessories across more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.
El Puerto de Liverpool operates two other department store chains, Liverpool and Suburbia, and owns 29 shopping centers across Mexico.
