WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department has cut back on the inflation data it collects because of the Trump administration’s government hiring freeze, raising concerns among economists about the quality of the inflation figures just as they are being closely watched for the impact of tariffs. The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the [...]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Trump administration signaled last week that it intends to cut off federal funding for a long-delayed California high-speed rail project plagued by multibillion-dollar cost overruns, following the release of a federal report that concluded there is “no viable path” to complete even a partial section of the line. Voters first [...]
Borrowers who have defaulted on their federal student loans no longer will be at risk of having their Social Security benefits garnished, an Education Department spokesperson said. The government last month restarted collections for the millions of people in default on their loans. An estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal health officials have changed their advice to international travelers about measles, saying that Americans should be vaccinated against the virus no matter where they’re going. United States residents are recommended to get measles-mumps-rubella shots, anyway. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously emphasized the importance of vaccination for travelers [...]
Dollar General set a quarterly sales record of $10.44 billion and upgraded its annual profit and sales outlook as Americans are spending more at bargain stores and off-price retailers. Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., is notable because it is raising its expectations for the year while most traditional retailers, such as Macy’s, Target and [...]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it will hire for “mission-critical field positions” amid warnings that the National Weather Service has been cut too sharply just as hurricane season arrives. An agency spokesperson said in a statement the positions will be advertised under a temporary reprieve from the federal government’s widespread hiring pause “to [...]
The sponsors of legislation that would require Ohio counties, townships and municipalities to adopt cybersecurity programs offered a first glance of the bill to House committee members this week. Reps. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, and Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, said the bill is in response to the increased number of such attacks on cities, counties and other [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released this week by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by nearly $1.3 trillion over [...]
A specialized plane equipped with advanced sensors that the federal government deploys to chemical disasters could have helped authorities avoid needlessly blowing open five rail tank cars and burning their toxic contents after the 2023 East Palestine train derailment, a new report says. The report released earlier this week found the single-engine Cessna wasn’t called [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House earlier this week officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency. It’s a process known as “rescission,” which requires President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress to return money that had previously [...]