Health

Trump administration’s data deletions set off ‘a mad scramble,’ researcher says

Feb. 04, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers are in what one described as “a mad scramble” to sort out what public data the Trump administration has deleted from government websites and electronic publications. Late last week, federal agencies took down scores of government webpages as staffers hurried to comply with President Donald Trump’s order rolling back protections for transgender people, which required the removal of “gender ideology” language from websites, contracts and emails. Some of the sites were back online Monday, but data analysts say it’s not clear exactly what was removed or changed. “You go looking for something and it’s just not there,” said Amy O’Hara, a Georgetown University researcher who is president of the Association of Public Data Users. Social science researchers and other federal data users on Monday described feeling like a five-alarm fire was triggered when they discovered late last week that vital federal datasets were inaccessible.

Health

Merck 2025 sales forecast underwhelms as it pauses Gardasil sales in China

Feb. 04, 2025

Shares of Merck slid Tuesday after the drugmaker surprised Wall Street with a lower-than-expected 2025 sales forecast due partly to a pause in shipments of one of its top-selling products to China. The drugmaker plans to temporarily pause shipments of its Gardasil vaccine to China at least through the middle of the year. Chairman and CEO Robert Davis told analysts the pause will help pare inventory and support the drugmaker’s commercialization partner in China, which owns the inventory. He said market dynamics in China that include a soft economy and weak consumer demand remain challenging. Gardasil sales have slumped there for a few quarters. Davis said they need to see inventory come down “meaningfully.” The International Monetary Fund last month forecast that China’s economy, the second-largest in the world, would decelerate from 4.8% last year, to 4.6% in 2025 and 4.5% in 2026. A collapse in the Chinese housing market has undermined consumer confidence.

Business

Honda's new EV production revolution begins with $1 billion investment in Ohio

Feb. 04, 2025

MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Honda Motor is launching the next generation of its manufacturing in a historically unusual place for the 75-year-old Japanese automaker: Ohio. Honda is in the midst of completing more than $1 billion in new investments — upped Wednesday from an initially announced $700 million — in the state this year. Upgrades most notably include installing six “giga presses,” which were made well-known by Tesla, and a new “cell” manufacturing system for its upcoming electric vehicle battery cases. The company’s emerging EV hub in Ohio, including a separate $3.5 billion battery plant, will be the flagship for Honda’s global manufacturing operations. That includes its Marysville Auto Plant being capable of producing traditional vehicles, hybrids and EVs on the same assembly line, officials said during a daylong tour of the operations.

Business

New tariffs could raise home prices and sideline potential buyers

Feb. 04, 2025

The U.S. housing market was already struggling under the weight of high mortgage interest rates, a low supply of existing homes for sale and historically high home prices. Now tariffs on building materials are adding even more pressure. Roughly 30% of softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. is imported, largely from Canada. Wallboard, known as gypsum, is imported from Mexico. The 25% tariff President Donald Trump levied on goods from the two key trading partners will make those products that much more expensive. The Mexico tariffs were postponed for a month Monday, but they are still on the table in the future.

Business

Tariffs may have 'slammed shut' the window for interest rate cuts in 2025, economist says

Feb. 04, 2025

Tariffs set to take effect Tuesday may mean consumers won’t get a reprieve from high borrowing costs this year, according to economists. President Donald Trump signed orders on Saturday to impose tariffs on the three largest trading partners with the U.S.: 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and a 10% tariff on China. Economists expect such tariffs — if implemented and kept in place — to raise prices for U.S. consumers. That upward pressure on inflation — at a time when it hasn’t yet fallen back to target — may push the Federal Reserve to pause its campaign to lower interest rates for the foreseeable future, economists said.

Business

Millennials reimagine retirement: 'The end game might not be ... sitting on my Adirondack chair'

Feb. 04, 2025

By many measures, millennials are doing considerably well financially. Still, fewer younger adults are thinking about retiring in the traditional sense one day. “Retirement is becoming more deprioritized,” said Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo. “Ten or 15 years ago that was always the number one goal,” he said. Now, “actually living one’s life in the moment is a bigger priority.” Although this cohort is very focused on building wealth, “the end game might not be no longer working and sitting on my Adirondack chair,” he said. “That just might not be it.” More than one-third, or 37%, of Americans want a retirement that looks different from previous generations, according to a 2024 report from Edelman Financial Engines.

Business

White House says Elon Musk is serving as a 'special government employee'

Feb. 04, 2025

WASHINGTON— Elon Musk is serving in the Trump administration as a "special government employee," according to a White House official. It’s a designation that means Musk, the tech tycoon and fierce Trump ally whom President Donald Trump has launched on a cost-cutting mission across the federal government, is working as neither a volunteer nor a full-time employee. Special government employees are asked to abide by conflict-of-interest requirements and ethics policies that are typically less onerous than they are for federal employees. As temporary positions, they bypass some of the disclosure obligations required of full-time roles. A person familiar with the role said that such employees can work up to 130 days in a calendar year and that the days can be split up (i.e., Musk can work half a day and it will count as only half a day).

Business

Trump and leaders of Canada and Mexico say tariffs will be delayed one month after talks

Feb. 03, 2025

Days after he announced a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump agreed to delay them for one month after the leaders of Canada and Mexico announced moves to ramp up security at their borders — averting, at least for now, tariffs that could have driven up prices for U.S. consumers and stalled the countries' economies. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media Monday afternoon that Canada would spend $1.3 billion on a plan to reinforce its border with new helicopters, technology and personnel, as well as additional resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. Canada had announced its $1.3 billion border and immigration investment at the end of last year. Trump soon posted, as well, focusing on fentanyl and emphasizing that tariffs would be "paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured."

Sports

WWE touts historic Royal Rumble numbers as more than 70,000 attend event

Feb. 03, 2025

The WWE on Monday touted historic numbers around the Royal Rumble, which saw Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair win the men’s and women’s marquee matches over the weekend. The Royal Rumble took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, transforming the home of the Indianapolis Colts into a pro wrestling spectacle. The company announced it was the "most-successful and highest-grossing Royal Rumble" in its history.

Sports

WWE legend Triple H reflects on surprise Hall of Fame announcement

Feb. 03, 2025

Paul "Triple H" Levesque was surprised at WWE HQ last week when CEO Nick Khan and legends Shawn Michaels and Undertaker revealed he would be the first member of the 2025 Hall of Fame class. Levesque will go into the Hall of Fame as a solo wrestler. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the D-Generation X tag-team with Michaels, who were both integral parts of the "Monday Night Wars" against World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s.