Study: Vacation rental plan could impact Maui economy
HONOLULU (AP) — An unprecedented proposal from Maui’s mayor to phase out vacation rentals would alleviate a severe housing shortage aggravated by the 2023 wildfires, but also would shrink the economy, University of Hawaii economists said in a report published this week. Mayor Richard Bissen introduced the policy idea last year to boost Maui’s limited [...]
Bill would create regulations for short-term pay advance providers
A West Chester lawmaker said he believes Ohioans who are paid on-demand via an employer’s agreement with an earned wage access provider or who seek a short-term advance in pay through a smartphone app would benefit from some regulation of these services. Republican Sen. George Lang said the state currently has no oversight of the [...]
Nation had 7.6M job openings in February
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted 7.6 million job openings in February, according to a new federal report. The number of vacancies fell slightly from a revised 7.8 million in January and from 8.4 million a year earlier, the Labor Department reported earlier this week. Openings have fallen steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March [...]
Growing number of states outlaw devices that convert pistols into automatic guns
In New Mexico, police and prosecutors backed an effort to outlaw devices that convert pistols into automatic weapons. In Alabama, the governor made it a priority. Lawmakers in both states — one led by Democrats, the other by Republicans — responded this year with new laws making so-called Glock switches illegal. At least half of [...]
Norfolk Southern takes firms to court over settlement costs
Norfolk Southern wants two other companies to help pay for the $600 million class-action settlement it agreed to over its 2023 train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and the toxic chemicals that were released and burned. The railroad filed the motion that is set to go to trial this week to force the railcar owner [...]
Rocket buying Mr. Cooper in $9.4 billion all-stock deal
The mortgage company Rocket is buying competitor Mr. Cooper in an all-stock deal valued at $9.4 billion, just weeks after acquiring real estate listing company Redfin. Rocket Cos. said that bringing Mr. Cooper Group Inc. into the fold will create a business representing one in every six mortgages in the United States and give it [...]
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and artificial intelligence increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS’s 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 [...]
Yum Brands CEO Gibbs announces plan to retire in 2026
Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs announced that he plans to retire from the company in the first quarter of 2026. Gibbs, 62, is a 36-year veteran of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands, which is the world’s largest restaurant company. Yum owns the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill brands and has 61,000 restaurants [...]
Immigration officials seek more social media data
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — American immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. The Department of Homeland Security issued a 60-day notice on [...]