US consumers remained cautious about spending last month as inflation ticked higher
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation picked up last month and consumers barely raised their spending, signs that the economy was already cooling even before most tariffs were imposed. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices increased 2.5% in February from a year earlier, matching January’s annual pace. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, cor[...]
A federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing parts of President Donald Trump‘s executive orders aimed at curbing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts among federal contractors and grant recipients. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois halted the Labor Department […]
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization program as financial crimes use more tech
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS’ crime fighting arm —IRS Criminal Investigation— is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat —or CI-FIRST— the program unveiled Friday is intended [...]
Wall Street tumbles, and S&P 500 drops 2% on worries about slower economy, higher inflation
NEW YORK (AP) — Another wipeout is swamping Wall Street Friday on worries about a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a U.S. economy slowing because of households afraid to spend due to the global trade war. The S&P 500 was down 2% in afternoon trading and on track for one of its worst days of the last two years. It’s […]
Major law firm reaches deal with Trump to avoid White House order even as two other firms sue
WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent international law firm reached a deal with President Donald Trump on Friday to dedicate at least $100 million in free legal services and to review its hiring practices, averting a punishing executive order like the ones directed at nearly a half-dozen other major legal institutions in recent weeks. The deal with Skadden, […]
Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and close agencies in a major restructuring
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major overhaul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient […]
Barkin: Trump policies are creating feelings of instability
Changes in federal government policy have created a sense of instability, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Thursday when discussing the year’s economic outlook. During a lecture at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, he said that at the end of 2024, businesses were “overwhelmingly optimistic” and conditions looked “rosy.” […]
Global automakers say Trump’s tariffs will be painful for them and US consumers
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Whatever domestic economic gain comes from U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 25% tax on imported cars – and experts are skeptical – automakers around the world are bracing for a lot of pain. In Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Canada and across Europe, the world’s largest automakers employ millions of people whose livelihoods depend […]
Energy Department extends contract for operator of Jefferson Lab
The Department of Energy announced Thursday that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has approved a 12-month extension of the contract for Jefferson Science Associates to continue managing and operating the Jefferson Lab in Newport News. Jefferson Science Associates is a limited liability company created by the Southeastern Universities Research Association. Its contract was initially set […]
U.S. economy grew 2.4% in the 4th quarter after upgrade in final growth estimate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy expanded at a healthy annual 2.4% pace the final three months of 2024, supported by a year-end surge in consumer spending, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade of its previous estimate of fourth-quarter growth. But it’s unclear whether the United States can sustain that growth as President Donald Trump wages […]
Canada is not our enemy, Kaine says
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia’s junior Democratic senator, feels strongly that Canada doesn’t pose a national security threat to the United States — a contrast to President Donald Trump, who has threatened the Great White North with tariffs as retaliation for what he says are insufficient efforts at keeping drugs from coming across its border. […]
US cities located in states won by Trump would be most hurt by Canadian tariffs, an analysis finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. cities most vulnerable to a trade war with Canada turn out to largely be in the states that helped return Donald Trump to the White House — a sign of the possible political risk he’s taking with his tariff plans. A new analysis released Thursday by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce detailed […]