China protests EU’s investigation of subsidies in green industries

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “Romania and Bulgaria.”

China has accused the European Union of protectionism and “reckless distortion” of the definition of subsidies in response to a new EU investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Commerce Ministry said China had made “solemn representations” on the issue in a meeting in Brussels with the EU director general for trade defense. The investigation opened by the European Union is the latest announced against Chinese companies in the past two months. The investigation is looking into whether Chinese subsidies is giving wind turbine companies an unfair advantage for projects in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.

Lufthansa reaches pay deal with cabin crew union

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to offset inflation.”

Lufthansa and a union representing cabin crew have reached a pay deal.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Some bonuses also will be increased. The union will put the deal to a ballot of its members. The pay dispute was one of several that led to strikes and caused widespread flight cancelations in recent months.

China sanctions 2 U.S. companies over ‘support for arms sales to Taiwan’

( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in the field.”

China has sanctioned two U.S. companies over what it says is their support for arms sales to Taiwan.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Taiwan is the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary.

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VERBATIM: The announcement freezes the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China. It also bars their management from entering the country. Filings show General Dynamics operates a half-dozen Gulfstream and jet aviation services operations in China, which remains heavily reliant on foreign aerospace technology even as it attempts to build its own presence in the field.

Trump, Johnson To Hold Joint Press Conference At Mar A Lago

Senator J.D. Vance Shaping Up As Likely Trump Running Mate

McConnell Says Failure To Pass Ukraine Aid Would Be “Strategic And Moral Malpractice”

US inflation up again in March in latest sign that price pressures remain elevated

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “inflation is headed.”

Consumer price increases remained high last month, boosted by gas, rents, and car insurance.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The March figures, the third straight month of inflation readings well above the Fed’s 2% target, threaten to torpedo the prospect of multiple interest rate cuts this year.

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VERBATIM: Prices outside the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.4% from February to March. Measured from a year earlier, those core prices were up 3.8%. The report will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it weighs when and by how much to cut interest rates this year. The Fed closely tracks core prices because they tend to provide a good read of where inflation is headed.

A new version of Scrabble aims to make the word-building game more accessible

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “than 75 years.”

Scrabble is getting a bit of a makeover, at least in Europe.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Whether the new version will expand beyond Europe one day has yet to be seen. While Mattel owns the rights to Scrabble around much of the world, Hasbro licenses the game in the U.S., for example. A spokesperson for Hasbro says there are currently no plans to roll out the European updates to Scrabble in the U.S.

Congress summons Boeing’s CEO to testify on jetliner safety

A Senate subcommittee has opened an investigation into the safety of Boeing jetliners, intensifying concerns about the airworthiness of the company’s aircraft. The panel has summoned Boeing’s CEO to a hearing next week. During the hearing, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour is expected to detail safety concerns involving the manufacture and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner. The subcommittee says those concerns could involve “potentially catastrophic safety risks.” Salehpour is also expected to describe alleged retaliation he faced after bringing his concerns forward.

Delta says travel demand remains strong despite flight scares

Delta Air Lines is reporting a small profit and says travel demand is strong heading into summer. The airline’s CEO says recent flight scares seem to be having no effect on ticket sales. Delta says it earned $37 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss a year ago. It is predicting better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter too.

Pew: Republicans Making Big Gains In Party Affiliation Among Registered Voters

Politics Take Center Stage After Arizona Court Upholds 1864 Abortion Law

McConnell Throws Support Behind TikTok Bill

Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in Ohio train derailment settlement

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement. The agreement is related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company says the settlement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment. For those residents who choose to participate, the settlement will cover personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.

6 northern European nations sign a deal to protect North Sea

Six northern Europe countries bordering the North Sea have signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from an increased risk of sabotage. The Danish Ministry for Climate, Energy and Utilities calls the North Sea a hub for critical infrastructure that connects Europe. It notes there was “an increased risk of sabotage and unwanted attention from hostile actors.” The move comes after the yet-unsolved 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. They occurred in international waters but within Swedish and Danish economic zones.

Finding an alternative way to get back into the job market

( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “a successful career.”

Despite a strong job market, there are still thousands of people who have found themselves out of work across industries stretching from tech to retail to media.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Rather than trying to find another job in their old role, some workers are turning to online content creation. In an estimated $250 billion industry. According to Goldman Sachs Research, 4% of global content creators pull in more than $100,000 annually. YouTube has more than 3 million channels in its YouTube Partner Program, which is how creators earn money. But experts warn that it takes time, energy and resources to turn content creation into a successful career.

Ukraine Aid Tops Busy Week For Returning House Members

Ukraine Front And Center As House Returns From Easter Break

Lindsey Graham Veers From Trump On 15-Week Abortion Ban

Biden administration announces $6.6 billion U.S. microchips plan

The Biden administration has pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona. The proposal would also better ensure that the most-advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the funding for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing means the company can expand on its existing plans for two facilities in Phoenix. It could also add a third, newly announced production hub.

Key lawmakers float new rules for personal data protection

Two lawmakers from opposing parties are floating a new plan to protect the privacy of Americans’ personal data. The draft legislation by two lawmakers from Washington state, Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, would make privacy a consumer right. It would also set new rules for companies that collect and transfer personal data. Congress has long debated ways to safeguard personal data, but partisan disputes have doomed previous proposals.

A divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election

The first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided. The New York City-based union is running out of money and still does not have a contract two years after clenching a historic victory. Despite campaigns at several facilities in the past few years, a Staten Island warehouse still is the only site in the U.S. where the retail giant’s workers have voted in favor of union representation. Cracks emerged within the Amazon Labor Union ranks after it lost votes at two other warehouses, spurring strategy disagreements.

US employers added a surprisingly robust 303,000 jobs in March in a sign of economic strength

(   ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “interest rate hikes.”

America’s employers delivered another outpouring of jobs in March.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. With the nation’s consumers continuing to spend, many employers have kept hiring to meet steady customer demand. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.8% from 3.9% in February.

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VERBATIM: Employers added 303,000 workers to their payrolls. Last month’s job growth was up from a revised 270,000 in February and well above the 200,000 economists had forecast. The increase reflected the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure of high borrowing costs resulting from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

DA says he shut down 21 sites stealing millions through crypto scams

(   ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “a dating app.”

Authorities in New York City say they have disrupted an online fraud operation that stole millions of dollars by duping victims into making phony cryptocurrency investments.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says his office seized 21 web domains being used by scammers in so-called “pig butchering” schemes. The term refers to gaining a victim’s trust through dating apps or other sites and steering them toward bogus investments. One woman who spoke anonymously as part of the district attorney’s presentation says she lost $118,000 after a scammer contacted her through a dating app.