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US trade deficit hits record high as businesses, consumers try to get ahead of Trump tariffs

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. deficit soared to a record $140.5 billion in March as consumers and businesses alike tried to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s latest and most sweeping tariffs.

The deficit — which measures the gap between the value of goods and services the U.S. sells abroad against what it buys — has roughly doubled over the last year. In March 2024, records show, that gap was just under $68.6 billion.

According to federal data released on Tuesday, U.S. for goods and services totaled about $278.5 billion in March, while climbed to nearly $419 billion. That’s up $0.5 billion and $17.8 billion, respectively, from February trade.

Imports are flooding into the U.S. trade wars deepen abroad. Trump has threatened and imposed a series of steep in recent months — and much of March, in particular, was filled with anticipation and uncertainty leading up to what the president called “Liberation Day” on April 2, when he announced new import taxes on nearly all of America’s trading partners. With the exception of China, higher tariff rates for many countries have since been postponed — but other sweeping levies remain.

The White House insists that new tariffs will help close longstanding trade deficits (the U.S. hasn’t sold the rest of the world more than it’s bought since 1975), reinvigorate in America and generate government revenue. But economists are warning of significant consequences for businesses, households and economies worldwide under the levies that Trump has proposed.

These new tariffs are already increasing operating costs for businesses that rely on a global — which, in turn, will hike prices for a range of goods that consumers buy each day.

The recent surge in imports reflects efforts by companies across the country to bring in foreign goods before more duties kicked in. New orders for manufactured , for example, jumped 9.2% to $315.7 billion in March, Census Bureau data released last month shows.

March’s trade deficit surpasses the last monthly record of $130.7 billion reported in January — also amid tariff uncertainty after Trump took office, marking a more than $32 billion jump from December.

All of this contributed to shrinking in the first three months of the year. Last week, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. gross domestic product — or output of goods and services — fell at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, marking the first drop in three years.

Imports grew at a total 41% pace for that period, its fastest rate since 2020, shaving 5 percentage points off first-quarter growth. But that surge is likely to reverse in the second quarter, removing some weight on .

US stocks sink again as more companies detail damage they’re taking because of Trump’s trade war

SUMMARY:

  • , and Dow slip amid renewed market volatility
  • stocks like Palantir and decline after massive run-ups
  • Companies including Ford and Clorox scrap forecasts over
  • Trump’s moves and Fed rate uncertainty weigh on outlook

 

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are sinking Tuesday as AI mania on loses more steam and as more companies scrub their forecasts for upcoming profits because of uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The S&P 500 was down 0.4% in morning trading and on track for a second drop after breaking a nine-day winning streak, its longest such run in more than 20 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 134 points, or 0.3%, as of 11:02 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% lower.

Palantir Technologies was one of the heaviest weights on the market after falling 11.7%. The company, which offers an AI platform for customers, dropped even though it reported a profit for the latest quarter that met analysts’ expectations and raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.

AI-related companies have been finding it more difficult recently to convince investors to support their stocks after they’ve already shot so high. Palantir’s stock’s price remains near $110, when it was sitting at only $20 less than a year ago.

The only other stock to weigh more heavily on the S&P 500 was Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the poster child of the artificial-intelligence frenzy. It fell 0.9%.

The return to Earth for AI stocks is happening as Trump’s tariffs change the economic landscape for other companies.

Clorox CEO Linda Rendle said her company saw changes in shopping behavior during the first three months of the year, for example, that led to lower revenue. The company reported both weaker revenue and profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Clorox expects the slowdowns to continue in the current quarter, and its stock fell 2.4%.

Toymaker Mattel, meanwhile, was swinging between losses and gains after it said it’s “pausing” its financial forecasts for 2025, in part because the “evolving U.S. tariff landscape” is making it difficult to predict how much U.S. shoppers will spend over the holiday season and the rest of this year.

It was most recently up 4%. It also reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts feared.

Ford Motor said it’s expecting to take a $1.5 billion hit this year because of tariffs. Ford said it’s also cancelling financial forecasts for the full year because of “tariff-related uncertainty.”

They’re the latest companies to join a lengthening list that have yanked their forecasts for the year given uncertainty about what Trump’s on-again, off-again rollout of tariffs will do to the economy. The hope is that Trump will relent on some of his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries. Without them, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.

Regardless, all the will-he-won’t-he uncertainty around tariffs has already made U.S. households more pessimistic about the economy and could affect their long-term plans for purchases. Some companies say they’re already seeing impacts to their business from the uncertainty created by tariffs.

DoorDash fell 7% after reporting weaker revenue than analysts expected for the latest quarter, though it may have also offered a more encouraging snapshot of how U.S. households are doing. The company said order growth in its U.S. marketplace remained healthy and consistent with average growth over the last year.

Treasury yields were edging lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.35% from 4.36% late Monday.

The is beginning a two-day meeting, and it will announce its next move on Wednesday. Virtually no one expects it to do anything to its main rate, even though Trump has been advocating for cuts.

“While the possibility still exists for potential rate cuts later this year, the economic picture is complicated, and it’s too early to know if or when those cuts might happen,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion.

Lower interest rates could help goose the economy, but they could also give more fuel. And worries are already simmering that Trump’s tariffs could push inflation higher.

Markets were mixed across Europe and Asia. Indexes rose 1.1% in Shanghai and 0.7% in Hong Kong.

Trump insults Canada ahead of its prime minister’s arrival at the White House

SUMMARY:

  • Trump says U.S. doesn’t need Canadian goods, energy or defense ties
  • New PM aims to stand up to Trump’s aggressive stance
  • U.S.- tensions escalate amid threats of , annexation
  • Canada is key supplier of U.S. oil, minerals, and goods

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump gave Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, a frosty welcome to the White House on Tuesday, saying on social media just before his arrival that the United States doesn’t need “ANYTHING” from its northern neighbor.

“I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain.”

The president added that his inquiry about why the U.S. needs anything from Canada “will be, most likely, my only question of consequence.” It’s a claim that defies the underlying economic data as the United States depends on oil produced in Canada, in addition to an array of other goods that cross border trade have helped to make more affordable in ways that benefit growth.

Carney won the job of prime minister by promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump, even as he has preserved the calm demeanor of an economist who has led the central banks of both Canada and the United Kingdom.

Trump has shattered a decades-old alliance by saying he wants to make Canada the 51st U.S. state and levying steep tariffs against an essential partner in the manufacturing of autos and the supply of oil, and other goods. The outrage provoked by Trump enabled Carney’s Liberal Party to score a stunning comeback victory last month as the ongoing and attacks on Canadian sovereignty have outraged voters.

The Republican president has repeatedly threatened that he intends to make Canada the “51st state.” He said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday that the border is an “artificial line” that prevents the two territories from forming a “beautiful country.”

Trump’s openly adversarial approach has raised questions for Carney and other world leaders on how to manage relations with the U.S. Some world leaders, such as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmerengaged in a charm offensive. Others, such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were met by Trump with anger for not being sufficiently deferential.

Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said Carney shouldn’t meet with Trump.

“We’ve seen what he does. We saw what he did with Zelenskyy,” Bothwell said. “And he would sure as hell try to do the same with Carney. It’s not in Carney’s interest. It’s not in Canada’s interest.”

Trump and Carney will meet in the Oval Office and have lunch. Carney has stressed that he was elected to specifically “stand up” to the U.S. president and that Canada is “in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.” Carney said he expects “difficult” but “constructive” conversations with his U.S. counterpart.

Trump told reporters on Monday that he wasn’t quite sure why Carney was visiting.

“I’m not sure what he wants to see me about,” Trump said. “But I guess he wants to make a deal.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick further stoked doubts about their interest in repairing the relationship with Canada in a Monday interview on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” show.

Asked if the U.S. could make a deal with Canada, Lutnick called the country a “socialist regime” that has been “basically feeding off America.” Lutnick said Tuesday’s meeting would be “fascinating.”

Carney, at a Friday news conference ahead of his trip, said the talks would focus on immediate trade pressures and the broader economic and national security relationships. He said his “government would fight to get the best deal for Canada” and “take all the time necessary” to do so, even as Canada pursues a parallel set of talks to deepen relations with other allies and lessen its commitments with the U.S.

Trump has maintained that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada. He is actively going after a Canadian auto sector built largely by U.S. companies, saying, “They’re stopping work in Mexico, and they’re stopping work in Canada, and they’re all moving here.” He also said the U.S. doesn’t need Canada’s energy — though nearly one-fourth of the oil that the U.S. consumes daily comes from the province of Alberta.

The president has also disparaged Canada’s military commitments despite a partnership that ranges from the beaches of Normandy in World War II to remote stretches of Afghanistan.

Trump has said that Canada spends “less money on military than practically any nation in the world.”

“They pay NATO less than any nation,” he said. “They think we are subsidizing. They think we are going to protect them, and, really, we are. But the truth is, they don’t carry their full share, and it’s unfair to the United States and our taxpayers.”

Bothwell noted that Carney might be under little pressure to reach a quick deal as Trump has at times reversed, delayed or defanged his tariffs, such that over time Trump might be in a weaker position if talks are prolonged.

“It may not matter as much in the summer as it does today because every time he’s made one of these announcements, next week it’s, ‘Oh, I had my fingers crossed. I didn’t mean it,'” he said of Trump.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, said Carney needed the quickly scheduled meeting with Trump to address the trade war started by the U.S. Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum and tariffs on other products outside the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in some cases ostensibly to address relatively low volumes of fentanyl intercepted at the border between the two countries.

“Carney wants to show that he’s doing everything he can, including taking political risks to protect Canadian jobs in areas such as the ,” Béland said. ”If he had postponed his first meeting with President Trump for months and months, opposition parties and commentators could have accused him of being overly shy and doing a disservice to Canada because of that.”

Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports are from Canada.

Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 77% of Canada’s go to the U.S.

Disabled workers have faced prejudice. Now they face DOGE firings

SUMMARY:

  • Disabled federal workers hired under Schedule A are being laid off.
  • rolls back disability inclusion efforts.
  • Advocates fear setbacks to decades of federal disability hiring progress.
  • Laid-off workers worry about bias and lack of private-sector options.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Spencer Goidel, a 33-year-old federal worker in Boca Raton, Florida, with autism, knew what he could be losing when he got laid off from his job as an equal employment opportunity specialist at the IRS.

Because of his autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, Goidel had been able to secure his spot as one of more than 500,000 disabled workers in the under Schedule A, which allows federal agencies to bypass the traditional hiring process and pick a qualified candidate from a pool of people with certain .

His job, he said, was accommodating and enriching, and he wonders if he’ll ever get another one like that in the private sector.

“A lot of people who are disabled, they came to the federal government because it was a model employer for disabled individuals, and now they have nowhere else to go,” he told The Associated Press.

The irony, he says, is that his job was to help resolve workers’ harassment claims before they escalated into full-blown lawsuits against the government. So much for reducing waste, he says.

A model employer for disabled workers

For decades, the federal government has positioned itself as being committed to inclusive hiring and long-term retention across agencies. But as mass ripple through the federal under ‘s Republican administration, disabled employees are among those being let go.

Amid the firings, rollbacks of accommodation guidance for businesses and skepticism of disability inclusion practices, advocates and experts wonder if the government’s status as a “model employer” will hold true.

Trump has said he ended diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government because people should be hired based on work quality and merit alone.

However, under Schedule A, candidates already have to be qualified for the position with or without an accommodation. They don’t get a job solely because they have a disability.

Disability advocates point to a slew of statements from Trump administration officials that indicate they view disabled workers as a liability to the government.

Trump criticized the federal government’s inclusion efforts in January when a midair collision between a plane and a helicopter near Reagan National Airport killed 67 people. Without evidence, he blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s targeted hiring of people with disabilities for the crash, saying that only “psychologically superior” air traffic controllers should work for the agency.

How the private sector responds

Kelly McCullough, legal director at Disability Law Colorado, said the messaging from the Trump administration could affect how seriously the private sector takes on disability inclusion efforts. Recently, she said, the nonprofit has received an uptick in disability discrimination complaints.

“It does make me wonder, if the federal government is setting this example, challenging these ideas of inclusion that have (had) long-standing support from the government … is that trickling down?” she said. “Is that messaging getting to employers in other contexts?”

Trump also rescinded a Biden-era executive order that required federal agencies to create action plans to hire more diverse staff, including those with disabilities. The order calls diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, or DEIA, efforts “illegal” and says they “violate the text and spirit” of civil rights.

The Trump administration’s other actions have caused consternation, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s dismantling of the Administration for Community Living, an agency that serves disabled and aging adults. HHS officials also floated –- and walked back -– a plan to create a registry of people with autism.

Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States, which advocates for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, said she is concerned about the impact the massive reductions in the will have on government services for all Americans as well as the loss of opportunities for workers with disabilities.

“I’m really worried — where are these folks going to go? Who’s going to hire them?” she asked.

Employment gaps for disabled people have been an issue across the federal and private sectors for years. When the Department began recording disability status in its employment trends in the Current Population Survey in 2009, just 30% of disabled people between ages 16 and 64 were working at least part time. That’s compared with 71% of people without a disability.

Last year, employment rates for disabled people hit a record high of 38%, but the decades-old disparities still persisted: 75% of people without disabilities were employed that year.

Making disability hiring a federal priority

Disability hiring in the federal government became a prominent effort in the 1970s, shortly after the passing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits disability discrimination in federal agencies. Expectations to hire disabled people expanded from there.

In 2014, President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration began requiring that federal contractors meet specific goals related to hiring disabled people.

Three years later, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated rules under the Rehabilitation Act. The new rules required federal agencies to set hiring goals for people with disabilities and create plans to help them get jobs and promotions.

Anupa Iyer Geevarghese worked as a disability policy adviser at the EEOC when officials updated the regulations. She said it increased progress in ensuring that disabled people had equitable opportunities in the federal workforce. She now worries that progress will be undone as the Trump administration shows little interest in continuing inclusion efforts.

“I think, unfortunately, there are still perceptions about the knowledge, skill and abilities of people with disabilities,” she said. “As a whole, we’re still, as a community, still perceived as people who can’t do their jobs, are unqualified, who are uneducated and are incapable … we thought we had combated it, but we are still fighting that fight.”

Abby Tighe, a former public health adviser at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, was among thousands of federal probationary workers terminated in February. Tighe, 30, has a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, which may eventually affect her ability to walk independently.

“I really truly understand how other people who are using a chair or using some kind of assistance device might be really concerned about that next stage of employment when they can’t interview and hide their disability at the same time,” she said.

Laid-off federal workers with disabilities worry about the future

Some also worry that disabled federal workers may have been disproportionately hurt by the terminations. Tighe and Goidel were hired through Schedule A, which allows a probationary period of up to two years. Other federal employees typically have one year of probation.

Tighe suspects that if she hadn’t been hired through the special hiring authority, she might still have a job, given that no one else on her team was let go.

Goidel says his employment with the federal government motivated him to continue his education and pursue a master’s degree in employment law. He says the decision to slash jobs at the IRS’ EEO office will mean there are fewer federal workers able to investigate harassment claims and that could result in more litigation against the government.

The White House is promoting its efforts to provide services for disabled individuals and veterans.

In an email to The Associated Press, a White House official pointed to student loan forgiveness for completely disabled veterans and record low unemployment for people with disabilities during Trump’s first term. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, also noted that a multiagency task force was created in 2018 to focus on increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

HHS also announced plans for the Administration for Community Living to release more than $1 billion in funding to states to address nutrition, daily living assistance, chronic disease management and more.

Goidel says he hopes the Trump administration realizes what it’s losing with the layoffs.

“They’re taking away people’s opportunities, and they’re taking away people’s livelihoods,” he said. “They’re also hurting people who may need a little extra help to get over the finish line and have that upward mobility.”

Homeland Security chief says travelers with no REAL ID can fly for now, but with likely extra steps

WASHINGTON (AP) — Travelers who aren’t REAL ID compliant by the upcoming deadline this week will still be able to fly but should be prepared for extra scrutiny, the head of said Tuesday.

Kristi Noem told a Congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the requirements. She said security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday.

Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.

“But people will be allowed to fly,” she said. “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005, but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.

Tariffs could add $500M to Dominion offshore wind project

SUMMARY:

  • says costs for Coastal Virginia Offshore could rise by about $500 million due to tariffs on imported goods.
  • Virginia Beach wind farm has already incurred $4 million in tariffs this year.
  • Project on schedule for completion in 2026.

Richmond-based Dominion Energy says the cost of its $10.8 billion Coastal Virginia (CVOW) project in Virginia Beach could rise by about $500 million due to tariffs on imported goods from ‘s .

During an earnings call last week, Dominion Chair, President and CEO Bob Blue provided an update on the of the wind farm, which when completed in 2026, will consist of 176 wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. CVOW will generate up to 9.5 million megawatt-hours per year of energy, enough to power up to 660,000 homes, Dominion has said.

Looming over the project has been the ‘s recent tariffs — including 25% tariffs on steel and 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and .

“It’s difficult to fully assess the impact tariffs may have to the project’s final cost, as actual costs incurred are dependent upon the tariff requirements and rates, if any, at the time of delivery of the specific component,” Blue said.

Blue said through the end of the first quarter, the project incurred actual tariff costs of $4 million. If  current U.S. tariff policies continue through the end of the second quarter, Blue said, that number would increase to about $120 million. And if the Trump administration’s tariff policies continue through the end of 2026, when the wind farm is expected to be fully operational, it’s estimated that the cumulative tariff impact would grow to $500 million.

Last week, Blue said, Dominion made its quarterly offshore wind construction update filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, notifying the SCC that the total CVOW project cost has increased by about $120 million to align with projected tariff costs through the end of the second quarter. The total updated development cost of CVOW is now $10.8 billion, and to accommodate the increase, Dominion plans to increase residential customers’ bills by an average of 4 cents through the life of the project.

The update marks the second time this year Dominion has increased the cost estimates for the project. In February, Dominion announced the project’s cost had jumped 9%, from $9.8 billion to $10.7 billion. The price increase is due to higher onshore electrical connection costs and network upgrades assigned by regional electric grid operator PJM. That price increase resulted in customer bills rising by an average of 43 cents per month. Blue said excluding tariff impacts, the cost for project components, excluding tariff impacts, have remained in line with the prior update.

“Let me be clear, CVOW remains one of the most affordable sources of energy for our customers,” Blue said.

Blue said the wind farm is 55% complete and remains on track to deliver energy to customers in 2026. More than 80% of the project’s 176 monopiles have been completed and successfully delivered to Virginia, he added. with deliveries of the final 32 monopiles expected over coming weeks. CVOW’s first offshore substation was installed on March 10, Blue said, with the remaining two offshore substations on track to be delivered this summer and installed in the fall.

While tariffs are expected to increase the project’s cost, Blue doesn’t anticipate tariffs impacting the company’s ability to get the materials needed to complete the project.

Companies sue over Valley medical marijuana permit


Summary:

  • Seven businesses sue over permit.
  • AYR Virginia awarded conditional permit after lottery selection.
  • Lawsuit claims violations of FOIA and Administrative Process Act.
  • Hearing for consolidated lawsuits scheduled for July 11, 2025.

Several business entities are suing the state over its decision to award a conditional permit to a subsidiary of a multistate operator that will allow that company to be the only grower and dispenser of in a designated region that includes the , Charlottesville and Fredericksburg.

According to complaints filed in in November 2024, seven plaintiffs argue that the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority badly bungled the selection of a pharmaceutical processor to serve the state’s in September 2024. AYR Virginia, the business awarded the permit, is a subsidiary of a multistate cannabis conglomerate .

A hearing for the lawsuits, which were consolidated, is scheduled July 11.

“The entire process was infected by so many errors and arbitrariness that it’s hard to know where to start,” states a filing by Trulieve VA and Natures VA, which unsuccessfully applied for the permit. Other litigants are Blue Ridge Medical, Holistic Apothecary Virginia, VMCC Wellness, Pure Virginia and numerous entities connected to TheraTrue.

The authority declined to comment on the pending litigation, and AYR Wellness did not respond to inquiries from Virginia Business.

The Shenandoah region’s permit has been long delayed, meaning that patients will have to wait longer to buy medical legally near their homes. The state began issuing permits in 2018, and in other parts of the state, medicinal cannabis is a thriving industry.

PharmaCann Virginia was granted a conditional permit for HSA 1, but that permit was revoked in 2020 after the company failed to build a facility by a 2019 deadline. The HSA 1 permit was then tied up in legislation for years, until February 2024, when the cannabis authority announced it was ready to accept applications for operators to serve the region. At the time, 40 applicants threw their hats in the ring, paying $18,000 fees for consideration.

After a 33-way tie for highest score, the authority held a lottery to determine the winning entity in September 2024, using random.org, a number randomization website.

Philip Goldberg, CEO of Blue Ridge Medical, one of the entities that filed a lawsuit, called it “bizarre” that the authority didn’t use experts at the Virginia Lottery.

“It just doesn’t look like an extremely professional website,” he said of random.org. “It’s a company based out of Ireland that follows the rules of Malta.”

Noah Sullivan, a partner with Gentry Locke, is representing Blue Ridge Medical and Pure Virginia, which is connected to Pure Shenandoah, an Elkton-based, family-run CBD and hemp products business. The leaders of both companies, he said, feel strongly that the best applicant didn’t win the permit for HSA 1.

“We need to make sure that this process is fair, that is transparent, and that it’s awarded on a competitive basis, which is what the what the law requires,” Sullivan said.

The plaintiffs say that the selection process violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the Virginia Administrative Process Act. However, the authority argued in a demurrer that even if it violated FOIA statutes, the decision still would stand. The state added that “does not apply” to the cannabis authority.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth to add $65M hotel

Rivers and Chicago-based Rush Street are planning to break ground on a $65 million in Portsmouth this summer, more than two years after the casino first opened.

Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover revealed the plans for during his annual State of the City address Friday. The eight-story hotel will be located directly adjacent to the casino, overlooking the property’s water feature. It will have 106 guest rooms, including 32 suites ranging from roughly 400 to 800-plus square feet.

A lobby bar will be located near the reception area on the hotel’s first floor, where two private executive boardrooms and other amenities will also be available. Hotel guests will have immediate access to the casino’s event center, along with eight on-property restaurants and lounges, a poker room and the full-service gaming floor.

A rendering of The Landing Hotel Portsmouth's lobby. Image courtesy KOO Architecture & Interiors of Chicago and Rush Street Gaming
A rendering of The Landing Hotel Portsmouth’s lobby. Image courtesy KOO Architecture & Interiors of Chicago and

“Portsmouth is on the move — and we’re winning,” Glover said in a statement. “The Landing Hotel Portsmouth is more than just a beautiful new addition to our skyline. It’s a symbol of Rivers Casino’s positive impact on Portsmouth and our continued rise as a regional entertainment destination.”

The casino and Rush Street Gaming say the project will create roughly 200 temporary jobs and 60 permanent positions.

The hotel is expected to open in early 2027.

“A hotel was always part of the casino’s master plan, and we’re excited to be moving forward as expected,” Rush Street Gaming CEO Tim Drehkoff  said. “The Landing Hotel Portsmouth will be Rush Street’s fourth casino hotel, custom-designed for the greater Hampton Roads market.”

Chicago-based KOO Architecture & Interiors is the project’s architect.

opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. The casino earned $309.5 million in adjusted revenue in 2024, compared to $250 million in 2023.

Thousands of machinists union members go on strike at jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney


SUMMARY:

  • 3,000 machinists union members went on strike at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut
  • ‘s is Pratt & Whitney’s parent company
  • First strike since 2001, with negotiations on wages, retirement and job security having broken down
  • RTX could face a $850 million hit if stay in place

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — About 3,000 union members went on strike early Monday at jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, as negotiations over wages, retirement benefits and job security broke down.

The manufacturer is a subsidiary of Arlington County-based RTX, a and defense contractor.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were picketing at locations in East Hartford and Middletown, after about 77% of nearly 2,100 union members voted to approve their first strike since 2001, union officials said. Their contract expired late Sunday.

“Pratt and Whitney is a powerhouse in military and commercial aerospace products because our membership makes it so,” David Sullivan, the union’s eastern territory vice president, said in a statement. “This offer does not address the membership concerns, and the membership made their decision — we will continue to fight for a fair contract.”

Picketing workers lined and crossed streets near the entrances to the East Hartford and Middletown plants on a rainy Monday morning. Many of the signs said “I am on strike! against Pratt & Whitney,” while some read “Solidarity for Security” and “Together We Rise.”

Some workers said they were concerned that the company may move jobs and manufacturing out of the state to its plants in Georgia.

“They’re not giving us job security. We need time to be here,” union member Scott Westberg told WFSB-TV. “We want to be in Connecticut a long time. They’re trying to deteriorate the middle class, which is what we are. We are the blue collar.”

The company called its latest wage and retirement proposal competitive, and said its is among the most highly compensated in the region and industry.

“Our message to union leaders throughout this thoughtful process has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off and more flexibility,” the company said in a statement. “We have no immediate plans to resume negotiations at this time and we have contingency plans in place to maintain operations and to meet our customer commitments.”

The strike comes as RTX faces a potential $850 million hit on profits this year because of tariffs imposed by , if the tariff rates remain the same through the year. During its first-quarter earnings call on April 22, the company said its Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace subsidiaries would each shoulder just over $400 million of the potential tariffs hit.

RTX is predicting $83 billion to $84 billion in adjusted sales companywide in 2025. The company’s first-quarter earnings were $1.5 billion. Pratt & Whitney’s adjusted operating profit in the quarter was $590 million.

The company said its latest contract proposal included an immediate 4% wage increase, followed by a 3.5% increase in 2026 and a 3% increase in 2027. It also included a $5,000 contract ratification bonus and enhanced pension and 401k plan benefits.

Pratt & Whitney makes engines for commercial and military jets, including the GTF line for Airbus commercial jets and the F135 for the military’s F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft fleet.

In February, Pratt & Whitney won a three-year, $1.5 billion award to sustain F119 engines used for the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 .

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, both Democrats, issued a statement urging the company and union to continue negotiating. Members of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation and Democratic state lawmakers said they were supporting the union workers.

Federal Reserve likely to defy Trump, keep rates unchanged this week

SUMMARY:

  • Fed expected to keep rates at 4.3% amid political pressure
  • Trump demands cuts, falsely claims is over
  • Inflation remains above Fed’s 2% target at 3.6%
  • seen as key risk that could raise prices further
  • Powell aims to protect Fed’s independence amid criticism

WASHINGTON (AP) — The will likely keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, despite weeks of harsh criticism and demands from President Donald Trump that the Fed reduce borrowing costs.

After causing a sharp drop in financial markets two weeks ago by saying he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump subsequently backed off and said he had no intention of doing so. Still, he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said the Fed should cut rates.

They argue that inflation has steadily cooled and high borrowing costs are no longer needed to restrain price increases. The Fed sharply ramped up its short-term rate in 2022 and 2023 as pandemic-era inflation spiked.

Separately, , the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, last Wednesday suggested that should look more closely at the Fed’s spending on its facilities.

The heightened scrutiny shows that even as the backs off its threats to fire Powell, the Fed is still subject to unusually sharp political pressures, despite its status as an independent agency.

Even so, the Fed will almost certainly leave its key rate unchanged at about 4.3% when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Powell and many of the other 18 officials that sit on the Fed’s rate-setting committee have said they want to see how Trump’s tariffs affect the economy before making any moves.

Trump, however, on Friday said on the social media platform Truth Social that there is “NO INFLATION” and claimed that grocery and egg prices have fallen, and that gas has dropped to $1.98 a gallon.

That’s not entirely true: Grocery prices have jumped 0.5% in two of the past three months and are up 2.4% from a year ago. Gas and oil prices have declined — gas costs are down 10% from a year ago — continuing a longer-running trend that has continued in part because of fears the economy will weaken. Still, AAA says gas prices nationwide average $3.18 a gallon.

Inflation did drop noticeably in March, an encouraging sign, though in the first three months of the year it was 3.6%, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, well above its 2% target.

Without tariffs, economists say it’s possible the Fed would soon reduce its benchmark rate, because it is currently at a level intended to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation. Yet the Fed can’t now cut rates with Trump’s broad tariffs likely to raise prices in the coming months.

Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at BNY, said that the Fed is “scarred” by what happened in 2021, when prices rose amid supply snarls and Powell and other Fed officials said the increase would likely be “transitory.” Instead, inflation soared to a peak of 9.1% in June 2022.

This time they will be more cautious, he said.

“That’s a Fed that is going to have to wait for evidence and be slow to adjust on that evidence,” Reinhart said.

Plus, Trump’s badgering of Powell makes it harder for the Fed chair to cut rates because doing so anytime soon would be seen as knuckling under to the White House, said Preston Mui, an economist at Employ America.

“You could imagine a world where there isn’t pressure from the Trump administration and they cut rates … sooner, because they feel comfortable making the argument that they’re doing so because of the data,” he said.

For his part, Powell said last month that tariffs would likely push up inflation and slow the economy, a tricky combination for the Fed. The central bank would typically raise rates — or at least keep them elevated — to fight inflation, while it would cut them to spur the economy if unemployment rose.

Powell has said that the impact of the tariffs on inflation could be temporary — a one-time price increase — but most recently said it “could also be more persistent.” That suggests that Powell will want to wait, potentially for months, to ensure tariffs don’t sustainably raise inflation before considering a rate cut.

Some economists forecast the Fed won’t cut rates until its September meeting, or even later.

Yet Fed officials could move sooner if the tariffs hit the economy hard enough to cause and push up unemployment. investors appear to expect such an outcome — they project that the first cut will occur in July, according to futures pricing.

Separately, Musk criticized the Fed Wednesday for spending $2.5 billion on an extensive renovation of two of its buildings in Washington, D.C.

“Since at the end of the day, this is all taxpayer money, we should certainly look to see if indeed the Federal Reserve is spending $2.5 billion on their interior designer,” Musk said. “That’s an eyebrow raiser.”

Fed officials acknowledge that the cost of the renovations have risen as prices for building materials and have spiked amid the post-pandemic inflation. And former Fed officials, speaking on background, say that local regulations forced the Fed to do more of the expansion underground, rather than making the buildings taller, which added to the cost.

Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and a potential candidate to replace Powell as chair when Powell’s term expires next year, said recently that the Fed has attracted greater scrutiny because of its failure to keep prices in check.

“The Fed’s current wounds are largely self-inflicted,” he said in a speech during an International Monetary Fund conference in late April, in which he also slammed the Fed for participating in a global forum on climate change. “A strategic reset is necessary to mitigate losses of credibility, changes in standing, and most important, worse economic outcomes for our fellow citizens.”

Powell, for his part, said last month that “ is very widely understood and supported in Washington, in Congress, where it really matters.”