NPR Topics: News

The economy slowed a bit -- but Americans continued to spend

9 hours agoCenter

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the spring, according to the Commerce Department. That's a modest slowdown from the previous quarter — but consumer spending picked up steam.

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WSJ disgusted as Trump economy becomes 'nothing to brag about'

Raw Story

6 hours ago

WSJ disgusted as Trump economy becomes 'nothing to brag about'

President Donald Trump got a tongue-lashing from the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board over the latest dismal economic numbers."The U.S. economy grew a tepid 1.5% during the second quarter, driven by consumers and AI investment," wrote the board. Meanwhile, net exports "subtracted a point" from GDP, and government spending was down too — though the board was less concerned about that.The economy is "shrugging off" the war in Iran, at least, the board noted — but that's "nothing to brag about."The fundamental issue, the board continued, is Trump's ongoing obsession with tariffs, an issue they have slammed him for frequently as dragging his economy down."Mr. Trump thinks that, with the stock market hitting records and the economy avoiding recession, his tariffs are working wonders," said the board. However, the economy is "underperforming by half" if Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s 3% GDP target is the benchmark. "Last year’s tax bill and deregulation would be driving faster growth if not for Mr. Trump’s border taxes that raise costs and uncertainty for business."Through all of this, the board said, inflation remains persistently high, and the tariffs are contributing to it."Some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent fans tell us they wish he’d drop his tariff fixation and return to the supply-side policies that produced broad-based prosperity during his first term," the board lamented. For that matter, they added, "most Americans probably do too."

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Trump adviser confronted with brutal poll after touting 'amazing' economy

Raw Story

8 hours ago

Trump adviser confronted with brutal poll after touting 'amazing' economy

A top economic adviser to President Donald Trump argued Thursday that the economy was "amazing" despite a recent poll showing that most Americans don't agree.Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council director, told CNN anchor Pamela Brown that Trump's economy was benefiting Americans. But Brown pushed back on that, citing recent polls that showed the opposite."You said just a moment ago, Kevin, that consumers are optimistic," Brown said. "But we have this poll where 77% of Americans say economic conditions are overall poor. That is the lowest of Trump's second term so far. Is this the 'amazing' economy the administration thought you'd all be boasting about when the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' was passed more than a year ago?"Hassett argued the numbers back him up."Right now the economy does look amazing to me," Hassett said. "The inflation is going down. The unemployment rate is low. Initial claims are like almost no one's getting fired, and final demand was up about 4%, which is about what my friend Howard Lutnick was predicting back then. It was the sort of surge in imports of capital goods that I think caught people a little bit by surprise."He claimed that there was "strong growth." "One of the things that I can say as an economist is that there's a big economic literature that says that in the end, people vote based on what's in their pockets," he added. Hassett tried to argue that the economy was worse off under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden."And so I think that the real incomes growing right now are really a positive sign politically and much more positive than something I would see at a poll," he said.

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Trump announces pathway to replace 'unqualified illegal alien' truckers with American heroes

Blaze Media

9 hours ago

Trump announces pathway to replace 'unqualified illegal alien' truckers with American heroes

President Donald Trump says thousands of illegal alien truck drivers put Americans at risk on U.S. highways — but he has a solution.Trump spoke at the White House on Thursday, providing plenty of context for his new program that hopes to encourage former military members to get back on the road.'They don't speak the language for the most part. ... They don't want to learn the language.'The president cited tens of thousands of illegal commercial driver's licenses being distributed across the United States, which have resulted in the deaths of Americans in recent months.One such case of an Indian truck driver, who is an illegal immigrant, was directly criticized by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who took the state of California to task over the alien's ability to get a CDL."For many years, American highways and roadways have been terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens dangerously driving big rigs," Trump said from the podium. "They don't speak the language for the most part. Many of these illegal aliens don't even come close. They don't want to learn the language," he added.Trump then announced a new pathway for American veterans to replace the illegal truckers who are taking up space on the road. The government program is titled Freedom Haulers, and it will fast-track the licensing of veterans who have experience with air brakes, trailers, and the like from their time in the military."We want veterans to take the wheel of big rigs and secure the economic supply lines of the country you swore to defend," the federal website reads.RELATED: ROAD RULES REFRESH: Forgot how to drive? Let Uncle Josh bring you up to speed. The program promises up to 100% of tuition coverage for approved CDL programs that can result in annual salary of $70,000 for truckers.The administration also stated that after annual earnings of truckers were down 3% under President Joe Biden, they have risen by 7.42% under Trump, which will provide great opportunity for the 25% of military veterans who are truckers."Any American who has driven a heavy truck for our military will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver's license. ... We're going to make it as easy as possible for the veterans," the commander in chief explained.RELATED: TATTLETALE EXPRESS: School buses may soon become America's largest mobile surveillance network Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images The president also claimed that federal authorities had "already removed more than 24,000 non-English speakers from behind the wheel.""We've also forced states to cancel more than 28,000 commercial driver's licenses unlawfully issued to illegal aliens. They were given illegally," Trump added.Secretary Duffy firmly stated on Thursday, "Illegal alien truckers are OUT, and American Veterans are IN.""Thank you, [President Trump,] for putting OUR safety first," Duffy added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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WSJ.com : U.S. News

9 hours ago

Opinion | The Tepid Trump Economy

Growth fell in the second quarter, despite the AI business spending boom.

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Even mobsters answer questions: Why Fauci's hearing showed blatant 'disrespect' for the American people

Blaze Media

12 hours ago

Even mobsters answer questions: Why Fauci's hearing showed blatant 'disrespect' for the American people

Anthony Fauci spent years commanding Americans to “trust the science.” But when faced with real questions about his approach to the pandemic, the longtime public health bureaucrat had almost nothing to say.The health “expert” accused Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of having an “obsession” with calling for his prosecution, before going on to invoke the Fifth Amendment a whopping 111 times.“Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion,” Fauci said.But BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere believes Paul’s obsession is actually the right kind of obsession to have.“That’s not an obsession that’s unhealthy,” Stu says. “Being obsessed with fitness is not unhealthy. Being obsessed with eating right is not unhealthy. Being obsessed with making sure we hold people accountable for horrible things that occurred to the people of this country is not an unhealthy obsession.”Stu also calls Fauci’s refusal to answer questions “unbelievable” and disrespectful.“You have no respect for the legislative branch of government. The whole point — your entire career — is a long series of decisions made as essentially a technocrat without responsibility to the legislative branch,” he says.Even when Fauci was asked simply whether or not there was a folder in front of him, he pleaded the Fifth.“Even in mob hearings, they’ll answer some stuff,” co-host Dave Landau adds. “Yeah, he’s so guilty he’s not going to answer anything,” Senator Josh Hawley also had a chance to go after Fauci — and he did not waste it.“Let’s just get one thing straight. You don’t have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you’ve been pardoned, as you very well know, as the Supreme Court has been clear for a century and more,” Hawley said, as Fauci looked on in silence.Hawley pointed out that Fauci’s lawyers were sitting behind him “shifting nervously in their chairs” after he brought up his pardon.“This isn’t about the Constitution. This isn’t about the law. This is about contempt. Contempt for this body and contempt for the American people. But I think I know why you’re doing it,” he said.“It’s because you don’t want to answer questions. It’s because you did all kinds of terrible things. It’s because during the pandemic, you got rich, didn’t you? You got rich while people were dying — hundreds of thousands of Americans, over a million in the end. And you were getting rich,” he continued.“And not only were you doing that,” he added, “you were using federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes for you personally. Cash prizes totaling over a million dollars. You did all of that during the pandemic, didn’t you?”Fauci then, unsurprisingly, invoked the Fifth Amendment again.“I mean, look,” Stu says, “if he answers them, he’s going to lie anyway. But he knows that he’s going to lie. He’s not going to tell the truth. And if he does that, then he opens himself up for even more.”Want more from Stu and Dave?To enjoy more of Stu and Dave's lethal blend of wit, humor, and insightful commentary subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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Fairfax Schools Spend How Much on Lawyers?

RealClearPolitics - Homepage

12 hours ago

Fairfax Schools Spend How Much on Lawyers?

In just seven years, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has spent nearly $60 million on lawyers.

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Elon Musk Plans at Least $100 Million in Midterm Spending to Help Republicans

NYT > U.S. > Politics

13 hours ago

Elon Musk Plans at Least $100 Million in Midterm Spending to Help Republicans

Elon Musk, a year after a huge blowup with President Trump and the Republican Party, is said to be planning to spend in at least eight states to help them in November.

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Trump Silent as Iran War Delivers Brutal News on Economy

The New Republic

16 hours ago

Trump Silent as Iran War Delivers Brutal News on Economy

U.S. economic growth dropped to 1.5 percent in the second quarter, down from a 2.1 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. Economists were expecting a GDP growth rate of 1.8 percent, but thanks to President Trump’s Iran war, disastrous tariffs (including new tariffs levied on more than 50 countries last week), and cuts to government spending, we are, once again, not doing as well as Trump claims.“Americans are feeling gloomy: consumer confidence remains in the doldrums as households worry about rising costs,” The Economist reports. “Although annual inflation slowed to 3.5 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May, thanks largely to a temporary fall in petrol prices, renewed fighting has since pushed oil prices higher again.”Regular gasoline came in at an average of $4.22 a gallon in the second quarter, a dramatic increase from less than $3 a gallon before the U.S. and Israel began the war on Iran in February. Now that the shaky U.S.-Iran ceasefire is dead, Americans are bracing, once again, for painful prices at the gas pump. These latest figures reaffirm that the main concern right now for Americans is cost—of just about everything. Even Fox News recognizes that voters are unhappy with Trump’s economy and want “major change.” And by “major change,” we do not mean more tariffs. Plus, the Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady for a fifth consecutive meeting on Wednesday. New Fed chairman Kevin Warsh acknowledged that there’s no quick fix to ease the cost of living, telling reporters there is no “magic wand” to bring prices down. In other words, Americans are getting the worst of both worlds: an economy that’s slowing down while prices keep climbing.But of course, in Trump’s own words, he “doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situation” when making decisions about the war in Iran.

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The economy slowed a bit -- but Americans continued to spend

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The economy slowed a bit -- but Americans continued to spend

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