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Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters. Some face legal challenges. Here’s a look at some [...]
Sales rose this year during the holiday shopping season even as Americans wrestled with elevated prices for many groceries and other necessities, according to new data. Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8 percent, outpacing the 3.1 percent increase from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks many [...]
LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet long lay overturned in a field, its steel pipes bent and welded joints broken. The mangled remains of [...]
WASHINGTON — A defense bill that Congress passed on Dec. 18 includes a clause to stop two Chinese companies from selling new drones in the U.S. if a review finds they pose “an unacceptable risk” to American national security. Congress has banned federal agencies from acquiring Chinese drones, with some exceptions, and several states have [...]
Packaged food companies in the United States will have to follow new rules in order to call products “healthy,” according to changes finalized last week by the Food and Drug Administration. It’s an update of the agency’s definition originally devised 30 years ago. The move is aimed at helping Americans navigate food labels at the [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department’s efforts to curb China’s and Russia’s access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons, according to a report published last week by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Biden administration imposed export controls to [...]
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The federal government still separates some migrant children from parents while holding them after they cross the border despite changes at detention centers in Texas, according to a court-ordered monitor's final report. The heightened scrutiny of the Border Patrol's Texas holding facilities is part of broader court-appointed oversight. The report, issued [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November, according to a new Commerce Department report, higher than October’s 0.5 percent gain. Sales increased 2.6 percent at auto dealers, driving most of the gain. Economists say some of that demand likely reflected a need for new cars in parts of the southeast slammed by [...]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates are expected to remain above 6 percent for the next year, according to several economists’ 2025 housing forecasts, most of which were released during the past couple of weeks. Some of the eight forecasts on a 30-year mortgage include an upper range as high as 6.8 percent. That range [...]
Some banks and banking trade groups are suing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a finalized rule that limits overdraft fees banks can charge. The rule is part of President Joe Biden administration’s campaign to reduce junk fees that hit consumers on everyday purchases, including banking services. Banks, however, argue that without overdraft protection, desperate [...]