Jun 03 Biden offers tax deal to Republicans in infrastructure talks By Josh Boak, Associated Press President Joe Biden is trying to break a logjam with Republicans on how to pay for infrastructure. He's proposing a 15% minimum tax on corporations and the possibility of revenues from increased IRS enforcement of unpaid taxes. Continue reading
Jun 03 U.S. jobless claims drop to 385,000, another pandemic low By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens. Continue reading
Jun 02 Watch 9:16 Are unemployment benefits keeping Americans home? A look at US labor shortage As the economy reopens, some businesses are having trouble hiring enough workers to fully operate. In response, many states are ending pandemic unemployment programs, including the extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits set to run through Labor Day. We talked… Continue watching
Jun 02 NFL pledges to halt 'race-norming,' review concussion claims of Black players By Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of "race-norming" — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race… Continue reading
Jun 01 Biden suspends oil leases in Alaska's Arctic refuge By Matthew Daly, Associated Press The move reverses a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and revives a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife — and a rich reserve of oil. Continue reading
Jun 01 Houston seethes over being frozen out of federal flood funds By Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press Houston residents and officials are seething over a Texas agency's decision to not award the city a single cent of the initial $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funding the state was promised following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Continue reading
Jun 01 Greece, Germany kick off EU vaccination travel certificates By Derek Gatopoulos, Lorne Cook, Associated Press The certificates are being issued to people who are fully vaccinated as well as those have already contracted the virus and developed antibodies and others who have had a PCR test within the last 72 hours. Continue reading
Jun 01 OPEC to increase oil output as global economy recovers By David McHugh, Associated Press Saudi Arabia's energy minister, the de facto leader among member countries, said that there were still "clouds on the horizon" despite recovering demand and the economy rebound in many countries. Continue reading
May 31 China easing birth limits further to cope with aging society By Joe McDonald, Associated Press China's ruling Communist Party said Monday it will ease birth limits to allow all couples to have three children instead of two in hopes of slowing the rapid aging of its population, which is adding to strains on the economy… Continue reading
May 30 Watch 8:56 Asian business districts hope for recovery after shutdown, racist attacks By Laura Fong, Mori Rothman Even before COVID-19 forced non-essential businesses across America to shut down, Asian business districts like Chinatown in NYC, were already seeing a decline in revenue because of anti-Asian sentiment. More than a year later, as shops and restaurants begin to… Continue watching