BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump last week ordered federal government officials to consolidate wildland firefighting into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes. The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments. [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer sentiment increased in June for the first time in six months, the latest sign that Americans’ views of the economy have improved as inflation has stayed tame and the Trump administration has reached a truce in its trade dispute with China. The new preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer [...]
Meta is making a $14.3 billion investment in artificial-intelligence company Scale and recruiting its CEO Alexandr Wang to join a team developing “superintelligence” at the tech giant. The deal announced last week reflects a push by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to revive AI efforts at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram as it faces [...]
SEATTLE (AP) — President Donald Trump last week pulled the federal government out of an agreement with Washington, Oregon and four American Indian tribes to work together to restore salmon populations and boost tribal clean-energy development in the Pacific Northwest, deriding the plan as “radical environmentalism” that could have resulted in the breaching of four [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell modestly for the second straight week, but home borrowing costs remain elevated. The long-term rate inched back to 6.84 percent from 6.85 percent a week ago, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.95 percent. Mortgage rates are influenced by [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that would solidify federal policies cracking down on the synthetic opioid fentanyl and its analogs in a bid by lawmakers to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. The HALT Fentanyl Act makes permanent a 2018 emergency rule that classifies knockoffs of fentanyl as Schedule I controlled substances, [...]
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — JetZero Inc. announced plans to build its first manufacturing plant for a next-generation passenger jet in central North Carolina, a project that if successful would create more than 14,500 jobs there in a decade. The California-based startup intends to build the factory at Greensboro’s airport, investing $4.7 billion. The planned hirings [...]
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — More than 2 million acres of federal lands would be sold or transferred to states or other entities under a budget proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, reviving a longtime ambition of some to cede lands to local control after a similar proposal failed in the House. Lee, who chairs [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a resolution that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The state quickly announced it was challenging the move in court, with California’s attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the lawsuit before Trump’s signing ceremony ended at the White House. [...]