*By Michael Teich*
Nike's [decision](https://cheddar.com/videos/is-kaepernick-a-no-lose-proposition-for-nike) to feature Colin Kaepernick in its latest ad campaign isn't the only sponsor controversy that's hit the NFL this season ー and Pizza Hut has filled the hole left by Papa John's withdrawal.
"It's a direct invitation to our competitors' customers, Papa John's customers, and any of our competitors, to come join Hut rewards," said Marianne Radley, the chief brand officer for the pizza chain in the U.S., in an interview on Cheddar Tuesday.
The company, a subsidiary of Yum Brands, will mark its debut as the official pizza sponsor of the NFL when the 2018-19 season kicks off Thursday, offering a new rewards program targeting football fans.
Pizza Hut took over after several missteps by Papa John's former CEO. Founder John Schnatter had [blamed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/05/09/papa-johns-tried-to-blame-the-nfl-for-bad-sales-that-clearly-wasnt-the-issue/?utm_term=.f2ecbb02fcef) players' decision to kneel for the anthem ー sparked, incidentally, by Kaepernick ー for leading to a decline in TV viewership of NFL games and his brand's meager sales. The drama didn't stop there. Schnatter [resigned](https://cheddar.com/videos/papa-johns-founder-resigns) in July from his position as chairman after he reportedly used racial slurs during a conference call. He'd given up the CEO spot in January.
While the NFL couldn't save Papa John's from declining sales, Radley said her company's strategy will yield better results by championing the real heroes of the game.
"You'll see a marked difference from the previous pizza sponsor of the NFL to the stance that we're taking," she said. "It's about celebrating the fans."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/pizza-hut-capitalizes-on-papa-johns-missteps-with-nfl-sponsorship).
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
