10 Items From the Week | 20 Jan 25
News from the past week, and a few other things.
👋 Hello Reader, I hope you had a great week.
Of the things that crossed my desk this week, here are a few that stood out.
1. See the Full List of Trump’s Day-One Executive Orders
Donald Trump is set to enact a sweeping set of executive orders after taking office. Here’s the list so far: Immigration: Trump will sign 10 immigration-related executive orders soon after he is sworn in, including one that would move to end recognition of automatic birthright citizenship. DEI and Gender Identity: The new administration plans to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government and to institute a policy recognizing individuals’ biological sex rather than their expressed gender identity. Trade: Trump will direct federal agencies to study trade policies and evaluate U.S. trade relationships with China and America’s continental neighbors—but stopped short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office. Energy: Once president, Trump plans to declare a national energy emergency–and action that will enable the federal government to slash permitting requirements for energy projects, fast-track power-plant construction and loosen curbs on fossil-fuel exports. Renaming Landmarks: Trump plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali. The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America, and Mount Denali will once again be called Mount McKinley. One caveat: Specific details haven’t been released.
2. U.S. Deaths Expected to Outpace Births Within the Decade
The Congressional Budget Office forecast sharply lower population growth in the U.S. over the next three decades than it projected one year ago, reflecting lower rates of immigration and fertility. As a result of the changes, deaths are expected to exceed births in 2033, seven years earlier than the nonpartisan agency projected a year ago. Immigration is also projected to fall, and as a result the populace is likely to be older and smaller in 2054 than previously expected. That would have important implications for everything from economic growth to fiscal policy. In an annual demographic outlook, released Monday, the CBO raised its population estimate for 2025 to 350 million from 346 million, but lowered its estimate for 2054 to 372 million, 11 million fewer than a year ago. That means the population is projected to grow 6.3% over the next three decades instead of 10.5%.
3. The Federal Budget: Serious Issues and Unserious Politics
There are serious issues with America’s federal budget. Very serious issues. Where to begin? Let me first start with the process of budgeting, that process of drafting a plan for raising revenue and spending it. Congress often does not adopt a budget. In 2024, the House of Representatives passed a resolution; the Senate did not. For his part, President Joe Biden delivered his budget late. These days, Congress tends to go through the bother of passing a budget only so that whichever party holds a majority can ram policy changes through the reconciliation process (which can evade filibuster in the Senate.) Next, there are the spending bills themselves. The 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act would have Congress adopt a budget and enact all 12 appropriations bills before September 30. That rarely happens. None of the fiscal year 2025 spending bills were signed into law in 2024. As I write in January 2025, the country is under a continuing resolution adopted in December of 2024, which simply extends the previous continuing resolution, which extended the resolution adopted when Congress and the president could not sign the bills by September 30. Failing to enact the spending bills has costs. It creates waste in the form of forcing agencies to spend time preparing for a government shutdown rather than the work they are supposed to do. It means that programs that are not working keep getting tax dollars, and that agencies that have legitimate needs for additional dollars (e.g., due to inflation or new tasks to complete) do not get them. No discussion of the budget’s procedural troubles would be complete with mention of tax policy, which raises revenues. The code is a baroque mess because it is largely the product of lobbying. Nobody can argue that it collectively makes sense as a matter of principle or policy. But what’s really astonishing is that tax policy is crafted largely separate from the annual debates over spending, according to a former head of the House’s tax policy committee. Is it any wonder our revenues and expenditures are grossly out of kilter? And speaking of which, there is the budget itself. With each passing year, it increasingly consists of transfer payments—moving money from some individuals and companies to others. Most federal spending today goes to the entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and the like. By law, these programs grow automatically in cost every year, and they do not have a dedicated funding stream that is structured to grow with them. So, for example, Social Security is predicted to empty its trust fund by 2035. When that happens, Social Security checks will be reduced by 17 percent immediately, and by a higher percentage over the ensuing years.
4. Fake Job Postings Are Becoming a Real Problem
It’s a common feeling when looking at a job listing online: the title is perfect, the pay is right, and the company seems like a solid place to work. But you also wonder if that job is real. Lots of job seekers have a story about the postings that linger online but never seem to get filled. Those so-called ghost jobs—the roles that companies advertise but have no intention of filling—may account for as much as one in five jobs advertised online. That’s according to an analysis of internal data by Greenhouse, a hiring platform that examined its clients’ job postings and hiring action over the past year. Greenhouse and LinkedIn recently have begun tagging job listings as verified to give workers better information amid the rash of ghost listings.
5. Balance of Power Shifts Back Toward Bosses
On the surface, the job market looks as strong as ever. Beneath the surface, workers are getting a very different message: Their bosses are back in command. Big companies are tightening remote-work policies, shrinking travel budgets and cutting back on benefits. On Friday, JPMorgan Chase told employees that most hybrid workers would have to come back to the office five days a week starting in March. Amazon.com ordered employees back to the office full-time starting this month, and Dell Technologies did the same for its sales team last fall. Companies are slashing perks such as college-tuition assistance and time off for a sick pet. The moves show how the balance of power between employers and employees has shifted as the labor market has gone from white-hot to merely solid. From 2020 to 2022, pandemic labor shortages pushed wages up sharply, and those who left one job could easily find another. The rate at which workers quit surged, and unemployment fell in early 2023 to 3.4%, the lowest in more than 50 years. Unemployment has since risen to 4.1% in December. Meanwhile, the ratio of vacant jobs to jobless workers has fallen from a record of 2 in 2022 to 1.1 in November. The job market is still, by any metric, healthy. Indeed, vacancies have risen since September. Jobs grew by a surprisingly strong 256,000 in December from November and gains averaged 186,000 a month in 2024. But 76% of the job growth in the past year has been in healthcare and education, leisure and hospitality, and government. In fields such as finance, information, and professional and business services, job growth has been far weaker.
6. Sometimes Being an Adult Means Hating Your Job
We humans are insatiable. We don’t just want a paycheck. We want a job that excites us, one that allows us to be who we think we’re meant to be. And careers are quite path dependent. Take a step in one direction and everything from the skills you develop to the network of people you’ve formed will nudge you to move further along that same path. Often the longer you stay on a path you hate, the harder it is to change careers. So say no to the well-paying opportunity in a field you hate if it would be especially hard to segue into a different field. But path dependence isn’t inevitable. Countless people start their careers in one field and end up in another. Short term discomfort, even short-term misery, can lead to long-term happiness. Drudgery can also lead to things more important than happiness. In other words, there are lots of reasons to take a job you’re not wild about. Here are five. 1. Taking a crummy job can help you land a better job. 2. When you’re just starting out, you have little idea about what kind of job you’d like. 3. There’s nothing like working at a job you hate to motivate you to find a job you like. 4. You are not your job. 5. A crummy job is a blessing when you’re working for a higher purpose.
NOTE: Let me first make two things clear: 1) I like my job and the people I work with, 2) that hasn’t always been the case for other jobs I’ve had.
I think there can be a misconception (primarily among younger people) that work should be fun and fulfilling, and if it’s not, then you’re in the wrong job. I believe this is primarily due to the “follow your passion” philosophy of the past couple of decades.
The problem is, at a foundational level, we have jobs to pay bills—primary among those are for food and housing. Meanwhile, at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is “Self-actualization;” ideally, yes, jobs are also fulfilling at this higher level, but this is not always the case, and that’s OK.
I have delivered papers, cooked fast food, cashiered, cleaned bathrooms, and done other menial jobs. None of these were necessarily fun, nor was I passionate about them. Sure, I could find some way to spin it to be fun, but work is still work. Work can be difficult. Work can be unfulfilling. Work is not always exciting. But when it pays the bills, perhaps work is doing what’s supposed to. It doesn’t mean that your life is worthless or that you are doing something wrong in life.
Life has many moments that are unfulfilling. In fact, I’d argue that at least 20% of life is just doing mundane “life maintenance” type of tasks that are not fun—things like grocery shopping, taking out the trash, renewing registration, resetting passwords, navigating bureaucracy and broken systems, and fixing broken things.
Lastly, I do think that the headline is a bit deceiving—being an adult doesn’t mean that you have to hate your job, rather it means knowing that your job isn’t always going to be great. Even the job you’re most passionate about will have moments, days, or weeks, where the work itself is not fun. And if it’s not the drudgery of the work that drives you crazy, it could be the people you work with. Regardless, I get the author’s point.
7. America’s Bourbon Boom Is Over. Now the Hangover Is Here.
America’s bourbon boom is over and businesses big and small are starting to hurt, with distillers cutting jobs and shelving expansion plans. Liquor sales soared during the pandemic as Americans flush with cash splashed out on booze, making cocktails at home and drinking more frequently. Now drinkers are cutting back, plowing through bottles they accrued in recent years and trading down to cheaper brands. The growing popularity of anti-obesity drugs, cannabis and low- and no-alcohol drinks is increasingly hurting sales, too. The U.S. Surgeon General recently said alcohol should carry cancer warning labels, a recommendation that if enacted could hurt sales for an industry already contending with a pullback in drinking by younger people. Sales volumes of U.S. whiskey—including bourbon, Tennessee and rye—dropped 1.2% in 2023, marking the first fall since 2002, according to industry tracker IWSR. That drop steepened last year, with volumes down 4% in the first nine months of 2024. Liquor makers of all stripes are contending with waning demand: In 2023, the volume of spirits sold in the U.S. declined for the first time in nearly three decades, IWSR said. However, makers of aged spirits have the added challenge of taking a punt on future demand by laying down barrels to age years in advance.
8. The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is growing
In many ways, there has never been a better time to be born African. Since 1960, average life expectancy has risen by more than half, from 41 years to 64. The share of children dying before their fifth birthday has fallen by three-quarters. The proportion of young Africans attending university has risen nine-fold since 1970. African culture is being recognised worldwide; in the 2020s African authors have won the Booker prize, the Prix Goncourt and the Nobel prize for literature. This year the g20 will hold its first summit on the continent, in South Africa. All of this progress augurs well for the world’s youngest and liveliest continent. And not since prehistory has there been a time when people were more likely to be born African. The total population of its 54 countries has doubled in 30 years, to 1.5bn. The un predicts it will double again by 2070. Most of the population growth expected over the rest of the 21st century is expected to take place in Africa. These new generations are already leaving their mark. Political parties that trace their roots to the independence struggles of the 20th century are losing support from a generation of better educated and digitally connected Africans. In the past decade nearly 30 incumbents have lost general elections. Demography, urbanisation, politics and consumer technologies mean the continent is undergoing profound social change. But that change is not being supported by economic transformation. Instead, African economies are falling ever further behind the rest of the world. On current trends Africans will make up over 80% of the world’s poor by 2030, up from 14% in 1990.
9. The Bomb Is Back as the Risk of Nuclear War Enters a New Age
At the end of the Cold War, global powers reached the consensus that the world would be better off with fewer nuclear weapons. That era is now over. Treaties are collapsing, some nuclear powers are strengthening their arsenals, the risk is growing that nuclear weapons will spread more widely and the use of tactical nuclear weapons to gain battlefield advantage is no longer unimaginable. The path to resurgent fears of nuclear war began in 1945, with the first nuclear test blast at the Trinity test site in New Mexico.
NOTE: I’m currently reading the book, “Nuclear War” by Annie Jacobsen. It’s an absolutely great read that provides a fictional account of what would happen in the minutes following a nuclear attack on the US. It’s very well researched and engaging. Good read for sure! Thanks to Brig Gen (Ret) Shawn Campbell for the recommendation.
Article contains many other great graphics than just the ones below.
10. The truth behind your $12 dress: Inside the Chinese factories fuelling Shein's success
The hum of sewing machines is a constant in parts of Guangzhou, a thriving port on the Pearl River in southern China. It rattles through the open windows of factories from morning until late at night, as they finish the t-shirts, shorts, blouses, pants and swimwear that will be shipped to fill wardrobes in more than 150 countries. This is the sound of Panyu, the neighbourhood known as the "Shein village", a warren of factories that power the world's largest fast fashion retailer. "If there are 31 days in a month, I will work 31 days," one worker told the BBC. Most said they only have one day off a month. The BBC spent several days here: we visited 10 factories, spoke to four owners and more than 20 workers. We also spent time at labour markets and textile suppliers. We found that the beating heart of this empire is a workforce sitting behind sewing machines for around 75 hours a week in contravention of Chinese labour laws. These hours are not unusual in Guangzhou, an industrial hub for rural workers in search of a higher income; or in China, which has long been the world's unrivalled factory. But they add to a growing list of questions about Shein, once a little-known Chinese-founded company that has become a global behemoth in just over five years.
And Here Are a Few Others
A few other items that crossed my desk.
World
Conflicts to Watch in 2025
CFR’s Preventive Priorities Survey (PPS) polls hundreds of foreign policy experts every year to assess thirty ongoing or potential violent conflicts and their likely impact on U.S. interests. This year could be the most dangerous in the PPS’s seventeen-year history: experts predict that more contingencies have both a high likelihood of occurring and high impact on U.S. interests than ever before. Wars in Gaza and Ukraine, confrontations in the West Bank and at the U.S.-Mexico Border, and hostilities between Iran and Israel were of the greatest concern. Deteriorating security conditions in the Middle East top this year’s list, followed by threats to the American homeland (domestic political violence, cyberattacks, and a security crisis at the southern border), Russian aggression in Ukraine and eastern Europe, and Chinese provocation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Severe humanitarian crises in Haiti, Sudan, Somalia, and elsewhere rose in the rankings of this year’s survey relative to previous years.
East Asia
South Korean president arrested, accused of leading insurrection
South Korean authorities arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol early Sunday, days after he was detained by investigators in relation to his botched attempt to impose martial law last month. He has been accused of leading an insurrection and abusing his power. Yoon, who was suspended from office following his impeachment last month, is the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested. The arrest warrant, issued by a Seoul court, means Yoon will remain at the Seoul Detention Center, where he is being held for up to 20 more days. If prosecutors indict him during that period, they can hold Yoon for several more months.
Southeast Asia
Vietnam’s Communists Join Musk, Milei in Slashing Government
As Elon Musk and Argentina’s Javier Milei champion ambitious plans to dramatically slash the size of government, a similar effort is getting underway across the globe from political leaders with a completely different ideology: Vietnam’s Communist Party. In what amounts to the biggest overhaul of the state since adopting pro-market reforms in the 1980s, Vietnamese officials are targeting a roughly 20% reduction in the size of ministries, government agencies, and civil service workforce. It’s being pitched as essential medicine to remedy a bloated bureaucracy, reduce red-tape and cut unnecessary costs from local governments on up. The plans would see five ministries abolished and the merger of ministries such as finance and planning and investment. Four government agencies, including the State Capital Management Committee, will be eliminated. Five state television channels, 10 newspapers and 19 magazines will be scrapped.
Government
Biden Commutes Drug Sentences of Nearly 2,500 People
President Biden said Friday he was commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, taking another significant clemency action as he continues to review additional pardons and commutations before leaving office. Biden said the commutations were for people who were serving “disproportionately long sentences” compared with what they would receive under current law. He said it would provide relief for sentences based on “discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes.” Last month he commuted the sentences of 37 death-row inmates, all convicted of murder. They will serve life imprisonment without parole. Biden also granted clemency to 1,500 people with federal convictions. Biden said that with the latest action he had issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history. Before Friday’s announcement, Biden had issued 65 pardons and 1,671 commutations, according to a list on the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website. Donald Trump issued 144 pardons and 94 commutations in his first presidential term, while President Barack Obama issued 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations over two terms, the site said. Pardons and commutations are different forms of clemency. A pardon is an “expression of the president’s forgiveness” and removes any civil disabilities, such as restrictions on voting, associated with a conviction, according to the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website. A commutation reduces a sentence totally or partially but doesn’t remove civil disabilities related to the conviction.
Biden issues pre-emptive pardons for Jan. 6 committee and witnesses, Anthony Fauci and Mark Milley
With just hours remaining in office, President Joe Biden issued a slew of pardons Monday morning to pre-emptively protect people President-elect Donald Trump had threatened. Biden pardoned former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, members and staff of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before that committee.
Economy
Food Prices Are Rising Again
The specter of rising food prices is back. The cost of groceries in the U.S. increased 1.8% from a year earlier in December, rising at the fastest pace in more than a year, according to Labor Department data released last week. The cost of food overall was 0.3% higher in December, after increasing 0.4% in November. There isn’t one factor. Bird flu is killing chickens, cutting egg supplies and sending wholesale prices to a record. Extreme heat and dry weather in the world’s coffee-growing regions have sent the cost of brews surging. Chocolate and cereal makers have raised prices for their products, too. It is a problem for consumers, who are still acclimating to a stretch of bruising inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic. Shoppers are picking up more store-branded groceries and scouring multiple stores for the best deals. Grocery prices in December were roughly 28% higher than they were five years ago, according to the Labor Department.
Even Harvard M.B.A.s Are Struggling to Land Jobs
Landing a professional job in the U.S. has become so tough that even Harvard Business School says its M.B.A.s can’t solely rely on the university’s name to open doors anymore. Twenty-three percent of job-seeking Harvard M.B.A.s who graduated last spring were still looking for work three months after leaving campus. That share is up from 20% the prior year, during a cooling white-collar labor market; the figure was 10% in 2022, according to the school.
Real Estate
Mortgage Rates Surpass Seven Percent
Mortgage rates ticked up for the fifth consecutive week and crossed seven percent for the first time since May of 2024. The underlying strength of the economy is contributing to this increase in rates. Despite rising rates, Freddie Mac research highlights that consumers can save money if they shop for several different lender quotes.
Why Bond Yields Are Surging Around the World
Government-bond yields have surged across the developed world in recent weeks, jarring stocks and pressuring indebted countries. The worldwide bond rout threatens to complicate the efforts of central banks that have been cutting short-term interest rates. Rate cuts aim to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. But the rise in yields is instead making it costlier to borrow, “tightening financial conditions” in Wall Street parlance. The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate rose to 6.9% last week. Here’s what is behind the surge, and what it means: Most analysts believe the U.S. has been driving the recent bond-market selloff. Yields on U.S. Treasurys, which rise when bond prices fall, got their first big boost in October with the release of strong monthly jobs data that wiped away fears of a looming recession. Then Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election promising policies that many investors believe are inflationary, and Federal Reserve officials shifted their forecasts to fewer rate cuts in 2025. The bad news: Yields might also be rising for some less-good reasons, including growing uncertainty about the longer-term outlook for interest rates and inflation.
Return-to-office orders might not be enough to save commercial real estate from more pain
At the end of last week, JPMorgan Chase told employees that it would enforce a five-day in-office mandate, sparking a companywide pushback against the perceived infringement on work-life balance… even inspiring some employees to evaluate forming a workers’ union, Barron’s reported. JPMorgan isn’t the first industry titan to lay down the law on full-time office attendance, with Goldman Sachs and Amazon already tightening their rules, but the internal response indicates an ongoing sentiment in America: many just don’t want to go back to their desks full time. Office vacancies hit another record high at the end of last year, according to the latest tally from Moody’s, with ~20.4% of office space in the top 50 US metro areas now estimated to be empty.
Cyber
NOTE: My response to the following two articles: 🤦♂️
For TikTok Refugees, a Wry Welcome on a Chinese App
As a TikTok ban looms, hundreds of thousands of Americans casting about for a new video-sharing app have migrated to Xiaohongshu, a social media platform that translates as “Little Red Book,” the American nickname for a classic compendium of quotations from Chairman Mao. It has all played out like a global practical joke on the American government: Threatened with exile from TikTok over concerns of Chinese interference, its users have simply scrolled to a different Chinese app, one whose name evokes the Chinese Communist Party.
What You Need to Know About Lemon8 and How It's Different From TikTok
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that effectively bans the social media app TikTok in the US starting Sunday. So unless a US buyer intervenes, the app might be a thing of the past in the states. But there's another app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance that's making waves. Lemon8 is the top Lifestyle app in Apple's App Store, and it has more than 10 million downloads in the Google Play store. "Lemon8 is a lifestyle community focused app powered by TikTok, where you can discover and share authentic content on a variety of topics such as beauty, fashion, travel, food, and more," the app's description reads in both stores.
Health
US bans popular red dye from foods — 35 years after it was banned in cosmetics
The FDA today has issued an order [Jan 15] that will ban Red No. 3 from food products and ingested drugs. The dye, which was approved for use in 1907, has been banned in cosmetics and topical drugs since 1990 over evidence that it can cause cancer. Its use in food is already banned or restricted in Australia, Japan, and countries in the EU. Red No. 3. is commonly found in candy, gum and cookies, including Brach’s candy corn, Betty Crocker sprinkles and strawberry Ensure. “The widespread use of red dye No. 3 is particularly concerning since it is found in many products marketed to children who are especially at risk of developing health problems from exposure,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “These food dyes only serve one function in food, to make them look pretty so you and I want to buy it, it’s a marketing tool,” Thomas Galligan, who works at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, added to NBC. In fact, the FDA previously announced that intended to ban it in food in 1992 but ultimately did not take action because of the resources that would be needed to remove its authorization. The federal ban comes over a year after The California Food Safety Act, in which Red No. 3 and three other food additives were banned in the state. That law, too, will not be implemented until 2027.
Younger Women Are Now More At-Risk for Cancer Than Men
The face of cancer in the U.S. is getting younger—and more feminine. Cancer rates for women in the U.S. have risen over the past half-century, particularly among women under age 65 diagnosed with breast cancer, the American Cancer Society said Thursday. Men, meanwhile, have experienced a decline in cancer rates compared with prior decades.
Food & Drink
McDonald’s is still trying with its beverage-first concept, CosMc’s
No doubt you remember where you were on December 7, 2023, the day McDonald’s introduced its beverage-first, mostly Texas-based spin-off chain, CosMc’s. But now, just over a year on, the fast-food icon is revising the restaurant concept slightly, shutting down three of its biggest locations and opening two smaller ones. While the chain has been almost exclusively confined to the Lone Star State in the trial phase (the first store opened in a Chicago suburb; the subsequent six have all been set up in Texas), McDonald’s execs are clearly keen to continue their “journey through the beverage galaxy” in search of profit pools. Though it may not feel like it, Mickey D’s closing stores in America has become a lot more common, with the 85-year-old chain’s restaurant tally stalling in recent years.
Art
Overlooked No More: Karen Wynn Fonstad, Who Mapped Tolkien’s Middle-earth
In 1977, Karen Wynn Fonstad made a long shot cold call to J.R.R. Tolkien’s American publisher with the hope of landing a dream assignment: to create an exhaustive atlas of Middle-earth, the setting of the author’s widely popular “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” To her surprise, an editor agreed. Fonstad spent two and a half years on the project, reading through the novels line by line and painstakingly indexing any text from which she could infer geographic details. With two young children at home, she mostly worked at night. Her husband left notes on her drafting table reminding her to go to bed. Her resulting book, “The Atlas of Middle-earth” (1981), wowed Tolkien fans and scholars with its exquisite level of topographic detail; the most recent paperback edition is in its 32nd printing. The first edition of “The Atlas of Middle-earth” contained 172 maps, which Fonstad drew by hand. Each was accompanied by reflections on her methodology and assumptions, along with topics like the bedrock morphology of the Shire, settlement patterns in Gondor and plate tectonics in Mordor. A 1991 revised edition incorporated details from nine volumes of “The History of Middle-earth,” a trove of formerly unpublished Tolkien material edited by the author’s son Christopher. The revised atlas, still in print, has been translated into nearly a dozen languages.
Have a great week!
The Curator
Two resources to help you be a more discerning reader:
AllSides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news
Media Bias Chart - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/
Caveat: Even these resources/charts are biased. Who says that the system they use to describe news sources is accurate? Still, hopefully you find them useful as a basic guide or for comparison.