Biden declares “America will not default” and says he’s confident the budget deal will come through with Republican lawmakers
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has expressed confidence that the US will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default and says talks with Republicans in Congress have been productive. Biden made his remarks as he headed to Japan for a world summit. He will return on Sunday hoping to agree to a final deal. “I am confident that we can reach an agreement on the budget and that America will not default,” Biden said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. He said he and lawmakers would come together “because there is no alternative”. Spokesman Kevin McCarthy agreed, although he was more combative, saying Biden “finally backed down” and came to the negotiating table.
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The BP subsidiary agrees to a $40 million fine and measures to reduce pollution at the Lake Michigan refinery
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) — Federal officials say a BP subsidiary will pay a $40 million penalty and install technology to control the release of benzene and other pollutants at its Whiting oil refinery in northern Indiana . The measures announced Wednesday settle a civil case against BP Products North America Inc. It was filed by the US Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency. They describe the penalty as the highest ever imposed under the Clean Air Act for pollution from a structure. In addition, the company will invest approximately $197 million in improvements. Officials said the refinery on Lake Michigan near Chicago violated pollution limits.
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Twitter is deleting inactive accounts, including those of people who have died, angering those who are still grieving
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk announced last week that Twitter would “delete accounts that have had no activity at all for several years.” The move sparked outrage from people who feared they could lose tweets from now-inactive accounts, including those of deceased users. Some users reported that profiles of deceased loved ones disappeared – or the message “Account suspended” appeared in them. Musk said affected accounts would be archived, noting that releasing abandoned accounts was the reason the accounts were being deleted. However, most of the details remain unknown. In 2019, Twitter attempted to implement a similar policy and received the same backlash.
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Target is struggling with spending downturns and theft that could cost the retailer more than $1 billion this year
NEW YORK (AP) – Target reported another quarterly profit decline and issued a cautious sales and earnings outlook for the current period. The discounter is struggling with rising costs and more cautious consumers. Still, Target’s first-quarter financial results on Wednesday beat Wall Street expectations and the company reiterated its annual sales and earnings guidance. Target is among the first major U.S. retailers to report first-quarter earnings. Retail industry analysts will be watching how persistently high inflation and the credit crunch are affecting shoppers.
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Elizabeth Holmes will be sentenced to 11 years in prison on May 30 after refusing her attempt to remain free
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes remains at large until Memorial Day weekend before turning himself in to authorities on May 30. That would be the start of her more than 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in a blood test scam. A federal judge set Holmes’ revised arrest date after her attorneys suggested it in a filing filed Wednesday. This comes after a federal appeals court late Tuesday denied her request to be released from prison while she seeks to overturn her conviction on four counts of fraud and conspiracy. The penalty also includes a $452 million refund. Holmes, 39, will leave her two young children behind when she reports to jail.
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The EPA rule would enforce the cleanup of toxic waste dumped near coal-fired power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening a regulation to control and clean up toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. A Wednesday proposal would require safe disposal of coal ash dumped in hundreds of older landfills, “old” ponds and other inactive sites currently unregulated at the federal level. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the plan would hold polluters accountable for controlling and disposing of coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal that can contaminate groundwater, drinking water and air and has been linked to cancer and other health problems. The plan follows an EPA proposal last week to introduce new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.
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Minnesota lawmakers strengthen quota protections for warehouse workers
Minnesota lawmakers passed legislation that gives warehouse workers who are required to meet productivity quotas more protections, a move aimed at helping employees at companies like Amazon. The safeguards were part of a broader omnibus bill passed Tuesday night by the Minnesota Senate by a 34-33 vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 70 to 61. The bill would require employers to provide each warehouse worker with a written description of any quotas. Among other safeguards, it prohibits employers from firing workers or taking adverse action against them if they fail to meet a quota that has not been communicated to them.
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The abortion pill case goes to the Court of Appeals, on the way to the Supreme Court
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Appellate judges who have advocated abortion restrictions in the past are hearing disputes over access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion. The case will likely end up in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has already intervened to maintain the availability of the drug mifepristone while litigation continues in court. Three judges of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals listened to an argument that is expected to last at least two hours on Wednesday afternoon. It is about the initial approval of mifepristone by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and actions by the FDA to make the drug more accessible in later years. The judges will not decide immediately.
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The Biden administration is investing in carbon capture, increasing pressure on industry to report results
The Biden administration announces a $251 million investment in carbon capture and storage projects in seven states. The goal is to reduce the pollution that drives climate change. The announcement comes a week after the Environmental Protection Agency published new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which could force them to use carbon capture and storage to cut emissions. Although the EPA has said carbon capture is “sufficiently proven” to control pollution, some still question the technology’s ability to work on a large scale, including US Climate Change Commissioner John Kerry.
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The S&P 500 rose 48.87 points, or 1.2%, to 4,158.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.63 points, or 1.2%, to 33,420.77. The Nasdaq Composite rose 157.51 points, or 1.3%, to 12,500.57. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 38.32 points, or 2.2%, to 1,774.50.
