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Colleges revise rules on campus protests in preparation for possible demonstrations

NEW YORK (AP) — As students return to colleges across the country, administrators are preparing for a possible resurgence in activism against the conflict in Gaza, and some schools are adopting rules to limit the kind of protests that swept campuses last spring. While the summer break provided a respite in student demonstrations against the [...]

By |2024-08-21T11:09:27-04:00Tuesday, August 20, 2024|

Retail sales increased 1 percent last month

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans stepped up their spending at retailers last month by the most in a year and a half, according to a new federal government report. The Commerce Department last week reported that retail sales rose 1 percent from June to July, the biggest such increase since January 2023, after having declined slightly [...]

By |2024-08-20T15:05:28-04:00Monday, August 19, 2024|

Consumer prices 2.9% higher than a year ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose 0.2 percent from June to July. Measured from a year earlier, prices rose 2.9 percent, down from 3 percent in June. It was the mildest year-over-year inflation figure since March 2021. The federal government said nearly all of the increase [...]

By |2024-08-19T15:06:07-04:00Friday, August 16, 2024|

Small businesses near tourist destinations say visitor spending back to pre-2020 levels

NEW YORK (AP) — Small businesses along popular vacation destinations such as boardwalks and piers say the number of tourists flocking to the waterfront is back to normal, meaning pre-2020 levels, but while some people are spending freely, other vacationers are sticking to carefully planned budgets. Sean Bailey, marketing manager of the SkyWheel observation wheel [...]

By |2024-08-16T10:05:47-04:00Thursday, August 15, 2024|

As colleges face several economic challenges, some are eliminating majors and programs

Christina Westman said she dreamed of working with Parkinson's disease and stroke patients as a music therapist when she started studying at St. Cloud State University. Her schooling, however, was upended in May when administrators at the Minnesota college announced a plan to eliminate its music department as it slashes 42 degree programs and 50 [...]

By |2024-08-16T10:07:56-04:00Wednesday, August 14, 2024|

Western Wisconsin is a battleground region up and down the ballot for upcoming elections

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — For a brief moment last week, the fierce competition for swing voters in swing-state Wisconsin converged on the tarmac of the tiny Chippewa Valley Regional Airport. Minutes after Vice President Kamala Harris landed with her new running mate Tim Walz for their first campaign stop in the state, Republican vice [...]

By |2024-08-14T11:46:36-04:00Tuesday, August 13, 2024|

Refinance applications rise nearly 60%

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A recent pullback in mortgage rates is spurring more homeowners to refinance their home loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association's refinance index, which tracks home loan application volume, surged 16 percent two weeks ago from the previous week to its highest level in two years, the association said Aug. 7. Refinance applications [...]

By |2024-08-13T15:07:13-04:00Monday, August 12, 2024|

Federal funding fueling wave of dam removals

BOONE, N.C. (AP) — On the whooshing Watauga River, excavators claw at the remains of Shulls Mill Dam, pulling concrete apart piece by piece and gradually opening a waterway kept in check for nearly two centuries. Removal of this privately-owned hydropower dam in western North Carolina will be a boon for rafters, kayakers and tubers [...]

By |2024-08-12T11:07:07-04:00Friday, August 9, 2024|

Economy’s behavior continues to befuddle analysts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The turmoil that rattled global financial markets in the past week reflects a fear that the Federal Reserve may have held its key interest rate too high for too long, heightening the risk of a recession. Economists and Wall Street traders now expect the Fed to cut its benchmark rate, which influences [...]

By |2024-08-09T13:54:21-04:00Thursday, August 8, 2024|

Many drugstores adjust to market changes

Drugstores are testing smaller locations and more ways to offer care as price-sensitive shoppers look elsewhere for health-care products and services. Customers may see Walgreens stores that are one-fourth the size of a regular location or CVS drugstores with entire primary clinics inside. If those experiments succeed, the new stores might improve access to care [...]

By |2024-08-09T13:56:42-04:00Wednesday, August 7, 2024|
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