Trump says he's considering taking $3 billion in grants from Harvard and giving it to trade schools

Trump says he's considering taking $3 billion in grants from Harvard and giving it to trade schools

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he is considering taking $3 billion of grant money away from Harvard University and giving it to trade schools across the United States. His comments, which were made on Truth Social, come less than a week after his administration blocked Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students. (Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Toby Chopra)

byRoger Fisher

in

May 26, 2025

Trump says he's considering taking $3 billion in grants from Harvard and giving it to trade schools

Trump says he's considering taking $3 billion in grants from Harvard and giving it to trade schools WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President...

Read More

Volvo Cars cutting 3,000 jobs to reduce costs

Volvo Cars cutting 3,000 jobs to reduce costs

Sweden-based Volvo Cars is eliminating 3,000 positions as part of a cost-cutting program as the automotive industry faces challenges from trade tensions and resulting economic uncertainty. The company said Monday that around 1,200 of the job reductions would come among workers in Sweden, with another 1,000 positions currently filled by consultants, mostly in Sweden, also slated for elimination. The rest of the job losses would be in other global markets. Most of the jobs being cut are office positions. "The actions announced today have been difficult decisions, but they are important steps as we build a stronger and even more resilient Volvo Cars," said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars president and CEO. "The automotive industry is in the middle of a challenging period. To address this, we must improve our cash flow generation and structurally lower our costs." The company, owned by China's Geely, has 42,600 full-time employees. Carmakers around the world are facing several headwinds, among them higher costs for raw materials, a diminished European car market, and U.S.President Donald Trump's imposition of 25% tariffs on imported cars and steel. Volvo Cars has its main headquarters and product development offices in Gothenburg, Sweden, and makes cars and SUVs in Belgium, South Carolina and China.

byRoger Fisher

in

May 26, 2025

Volvo Cars cutting 3,000 jobs to reduce costs

Volvo Cars cutting 3,000 jobs to reduce costs Sweden-based Volvo Cars is eliminating 3,000 positions as part of a cost-cutting program as th...

Read More

Some small businesses are swearing off tariff price hikes. It's costing them.

Some small businesses are swearing off tariff price hikes. It's costing them.

When Jeremiah Chamberlain and his wife, Harriet, started their 3D-printing business in March last year, tariffs weren't high on their list of challenges to prepare for. "We didn't expect to have this type of panic arise," said Chamberlain, the owner-operator of Corvidae Creations in Hammond, Louisiana. But in the months since President Donald Trump took office andkicked off a freewheeling global trade war, Chamberlain has spent a few thousand dollars more on 3D printers from China. Chinese-made goods currently face a U.S. tariff rate ofat least 30%,down temporarily from 145%just weeks ago. Chamberlain has already ditched a Chinese supplier after it raised the cost of bulk filament orders from $14.99 to $17.99 per roll. Leaning only on American and Canadian filament vendors has actually saved money, Chamberlain said, allowing him to lower some prices — and the Chinese firms wound up walking back some of their own price hikes anyway. But he's had to do without certain color options since making the switch. "The whole point of it, when we went into the toy production, was to make a durable, affordable toy for families and children," he said, referring to his lineup of dragons, possums and dinosaurs. "Nothing's going to make me raise prices unless it's a matter of me having to shut the business down totally." The company is one of many across the country promising not to raise prices on customers despite Trump's import taxes. Some large corporations,like Home Depot, have ruled out price hikes for now, saying they have the flexibility to adapt. Others, includingNikeandWalmart, plan to raise some prices, while Target this week called doing soa "very last resort."Many other businesses are trying to hold firm, too, asconsumers grow more pessimisticand hunt harder for bargains. The online clothing and home goods seller Quince recently told customers it's committed to keeping prices steady "for as long as we can," despite sourcing many items from China. A White House spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. Main Street shopsand other small operators say they feel boxed in by the trade war. Some have been trying in the meantime to leverage"anti-tariff" promotionsand other sales gambits. Many see theever-changing U.S. dutiesas an existential threat that they'll need customers' help to survive. In a Main Street Alliance survey of small-business owners this spring, 81.5% said they'd have to raise prices to handle tariffs, and 31.5% said they'd lay off workers. "When you go back and forth from 10% to 140% to 30%, and now you've got a blanket ambient tariff regime, it is impossible to plan," said Richard Trent, executive director of the advocacy group, which represents over 30,000 small businesses. "Small-business owners are operating on such thin margins. The least that we could do is give them a modicum of stability." Some entrepreneurs see their duty to customers much the same way. "I won't be raising prices," said Carla Minervini, who runs All Fired Up, a pottery studio in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. "I cannot do that to my community." Like Chamberlain, Minervini is doing her best to adapt. She has reassessed her product assortment and is working to sub in smaller versions of certain pieces or find alternatives in different shapes. She also stocked up on materials earlier this year, anticipating price increases from tariffs. Her main supplier — which is based in the U.S. but imports items from China — announced a 7.25% across-the-board price hike starting in June, she said. Another supplier flagged coming increases, too, but hasn't indicated when or by how much. Minervini is unwavering, though. "I would sell everything off and close my business and make a new life for myself before I would increase my prices," she said. For Dan Jones and his wife, Ashley, tariffs have meant fewer hands helping with Jeans Day Apparel, the clothing company they co-own in McCordsville, Indiana. The business — currently a side gig alongside the Joneses' full-time jobs — sells custom tees, pants and accessories for schools, sports teams and events. Jones said costs for supplies like ink, printing paper and clothes have gone up 3% on average since March. But rather than raise prices, he and Ashley let go of the handful of high schoolers who typically help out part time to make apparel for $12 to $15 an hour. "We have to be able to cut costs somewhere, and labor is the easiest place," he said. The trims mean more work for Dan and Ashley, eating into their family time and pushing back plans to move the company out of the garage and into a storefront. "We just don't know what the future looks like," he said. "It's the unknown that's very scary." Amy Grows, a retired U.S. Forest Service forestry technician and owner of Camas Creek Soap Company in Sagle, Idaho, doesn't want to impose across-the-board price hikes. "I don't think I need to do that to people," she said. "It's just soap." To keep her bars at about $6 apiece for as long as she can, Grows joined the wave of businesses and consumersthat stockpiled goodsearlier this year, hoping to get ahead of tariffs. But her suppliers have already warned of potential price increases, so she plans to reduce the varieties of soap she makes by around 25%, focusing on top-selling items. She's also swapping out palm and olive oils for cheaper alternatives wherever she can. "I'm trying to make a little money for me and give people a good product that they can afford," Grows said. Last month, all four of Amelia Morgan's U.S. suppliers announced 20% price hikes on the plaques, trophies and other components her awards business depends on. Recognitions Awards and More, based in Aviston, Illinois, can't eat the added costs of those materials for long, Morgan said. She has held off on raising her own prices for weeks but expects she'll need to finally give in sometime next month. "We've got people who depend on us to be able to pay the mortgage, be able to buy groceries, make car payments," Morgan said of the six workers she and her husband employ. "We have to make sure that we stay profitable."

byRoger Fisher

in

May 26, 2025

Some small businesses are swearing off tariff price hikes. It's costing them.

Some small businesses are swearing off tariff price hikes. It's costing them. When Jeremiah Chamberlain and his wife, Harriet, started t...

Read More

The Army's ultimate memorial honor: horse-drawn Caissons funerals to resume at Arlington

The Army's ultimate memorial honor: horse-drawn Caissons funerals to resume at Arlington

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY — At 6:30 a.m., the scrape of manure shovels and the shuffling of horse hooves echoed through the red-brick stable at Ft. Myer. Soldiers from caisson detachment in blue jeans, black shirts and white cowboy hats mucked out stalls. Kennedy, Lance and Truman – statuesque, dark horses – poked their heads between steel bars, eyes wide. The unit is in its final days of practice, preparing for the return June 2 of carrying deceased troops by horse-drawn caisson wagon to their graves, a tradition that dates to the 19thcentury. USA TODAY had access to the soldiers, facilities and horses of the caisson detachment, part of the Army's 3rdInfantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," during one of their final rehearsals. "It's been two years since we've taken part in a funeral," said Lt. Col. Jason Crawford, a veterinarian and former rodeo rider who commands the unit. "We're getting that muscle memory back." For decades, soldiers had been providing funeral services at the cemetery with caissons, wagons that once hauled supplies to the front and brought fallen troops home. That stopped in May 2023 after two of the unit's horses, Mickey and Tony, died after gravel they'd eaten fouled their guts. An Army investigation found four horses had died in a year, the Army's herd had grown old and their training and facilities were outdated. Since then, the Army has spent more than $28 million to upgrade stables, rehabilitate horses, buy new, younger ones, and hire experts to advise on their care and training. Their equipment, from rubber mats to cushion their hooves to custom-made saddles for their backs, has been improved, too. More:Horse-drawn Army caissons to roll again for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery The caisson detachment passed its first major test in January, carrying the casket of former President Jimmy Carter to the White House during his state funeral. In the following months, soldiers acclimated the horses to Arlington National Cemetery's winding, hilly roads and the vehicles and people who visit the nation's premier military burying ground. With two squads of soldiers and horses trained, Army officials believe they can conduct two caisson funerals per day. That number will increase as more soldiers and horses are trained. It hasn't all gone smoothly. Earlier this spring, something spooked the horses, and a few bolted about 100 yards before they could be controlled. A soldier's leg got broken and one horse required rest to recover from the chaos, said Maj. Wes Strickland, an Army spokesman. Nor, in the opinion of an influential senator, should the Army have paused the time-honored tradition. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, a veteran of the Old Guard who helped conduct army funerals as a young officer, said in an interview that while it was appropriate to improve the caisson program he was "saddened and frustrated" that the funeral tradition was suspended for two years. "The caisson platoon has operated for decades without shutting down and frankly, horses have been pulling wagons since the dawn of history," Cotton said. "This is not a complicated task." The Army needs to care for the horses properly and accept that some will be injured or killed, he said. "We have to be realistic that horses are going to pass away and horses are going to be injured," Cotton said. "That's just the nature of the work they do. Just like elite horses on racetracks, we want to care for these horses. And I can promise you that no one cares for these horses better than the young horsemen soldiers who have trained with them and lived with them for years." The unit's soldiers do appear diligent about their horses' care. They shovel poop from the stalls into wheelbarrows, sweep the last wood chip from the aisle and set down fresh bedding. No grousing, instead soft, soothing words to the horses and pats on their flanks. Sgt. Natalee Silva, 23, went through the morning ritual: cleaning the stall, filling water bowls, stocking up hay and inspecting the horses for any bumps or cuts. She grew up in Gillette, Wyoming around horses, and enjoys spending time with them. Lance is her favorite. "Me and him have a connection," she said, scratching Lance's neck where she once found a tick. Across the way, Truman sprawled out on a bed wood shavings. "He knows he'll be working in a few hours. You have to be patient with him; he can be a morning grouch," said Private 1stClass Joshua Allen, 19, from Houston. "We'll be getting him ready for the mission soon." Soldiers like Allen and Silva apply for the caisson detachment. About half the candidates make the cut after interviewing, slinging a bale of hay, and displaying calm with horses. Then training begins: a 12-week basic horsemanship course followed by six-week boot camp at an equestrian sports facility in Ocala, Florida. Experience with horses is great but not required, said Sgt. 1stClass Trevor Carlin. About two-thirds of the unit's soldiers, including Allen, didn't grow up around them. He looks for soldiers who ask questions and want to learn. Core strength is key, too. Carlin said, as soldiers need to guide their horses while keeping erect posture. "We need very independent, super-fit soldiers," said. A soldier like Staff Sgt. Isaac Melton. He led the rehearsal, riding ahead on what is called the section horse. That's Truman, age 5, who was last seen lounging in his stall. Now Truman stood tall, a gold heart on his breast plate. All business. "Truman and I have similar personalities," said Melton, 34, from McKenzie, Louisiana. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall adjoins Arlington National Cemetery. Melton brought Truman and the caisson team through the gate into the shade of oak trees that tower over row upon row of white marble tombstones. Six horses, three with riders, tow the caisson. At a moderate walking pace, the horses clip-clopped up the hill past Arlington House, the 19thcentury home built as a memorial to George Washington and later inherited by Robert E. Lee. Tourists snapped photos and the horses pressed on. Melton stopped the procession on a shady stretch, a designated rest stop with green metal hitching posts for the horses. The unit is ready to conduct funerals, he said. "One hundred percent," Melton said. "We've been training for a long time and have left no stone unturned. Every day the horses settle in a little more. They're in their own vibe." At the stable after the practice run, under fans suspended from its gabled roof, soldiers washed down the horses. They cleaned and stowed equipment and Kennedy gnawed at fresh hay. Cotton, who as an officer oversaw funerals, said the caisson ceremony holds special meaning for relatives of the fallen. The first funerals with caissons will be limited to troops killed in action, recipients of the Medal of Honor or Prisoner of War Medal and high-ranking service members. About 25 service members whose families have waited during the two-year pause will also be carried to their graves by caisson. "It's something that I think solemnifies the moment even more for those families," Cotton said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ultimate Army honor: Caisson funerals to resume at Arlington Cemetery

byRoger Fisher

in

May 26, 2025

The Army's ultimate memorial honor: horse-drawn Caissons funerals to resume at Arlington

The Army's ultimate memorial honor: horse-drawn Caissons funerals to resume at Arlington ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY — At 6:30 a.m., the...

Read More

Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners

Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners

In early April, President Donald Trump gathered dozens of hard-hat-clad coal miners around him in the White House East Room. He joked about arm-wrestling them and announced he was signing executive orders to boost coal production, "bringing back an industry that was abandoned," and to "put the miners back to work." Trump said he calls it "beautiful, clean" coal. "I tell my people never use the word 'coal' unless you put 'beautiful, clean' before it." That same day, the Trump administration paused implementation of a rule that would help protect coal miners from an aggressive form of black lung disease. Enforcement of the new protections is officially halted until at least mid-August,according to a federal announcementthat came a few days after a federal court agreed to put enforcement on hold to hear an industry challenge. But even if the rule takes full force after the delay, the federal agency tasked with enforcing it in Appalachia and elsewhere may not be up to the task after sweeping layoffs and office closures. Deaths from black lung — a chronic condition caused by inhaling coal dust —had been in declinesince the introduction offederal regulationsover a half-century ago. But in recent decades,cases have risen precipitously. By 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the lungs of about 1 in 5 coal miners in central Appalachia showed evidence of black lung. It is being diagnosed in younger miners. And the deadliest form, progressive massive fibrosis, has increased tenfold among long-term miners. Silica is the primary culprit. Exposure to it has increased since mining operations began cutting through more sandstone to reach deeper coal deposits. The stone breaks into sharp particles that, when airborne, can become trapped in lung tissue and cause a debilitating, sometimes fatal condition. The new rule was set to take effect in April, cutting the allowable level of silica dust in the air inside mines by half — to the limit already in place for other industries — and set stricter guidelines for enforcement. Years in the making, advocates for miners heralded the new standards as a breakthrough. "It is unconscionable that our nation's miners have worked without adequate protection from silica dust despite it being a known health hazard for decades,"acting Labor Secretary Julie Susaid when the rule was announced last spring under the Biden administration. The rule pause came on top of another blow to mine safety oversight. In March, the Department of Government Efficiency, created by a Trump executive order, announced it would end leases for as many as three dozen field offices of the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration, with the future of those employees undetermined. That agency is responsible for enforcing mining safety laws. Then in April, two-thirds — nearly 900 — of the workers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, were fired. As a result, NIOSH's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, which offered miners free screenings from a mobile clinic, ceased operations. An announcement by MSHA of the silica rule delay cited the "unforeseen NIOSH restructuring and other technical reasons" as catalysts for the pause but didn't mention the federal court decision in the case seeking to rescind the rule. Separately, on May 7, attorneySam Petsonkfiled a class-action lawsuit against Health and Human Services and its head, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to reinstate the program. His client in the case, Harry Wiley, a West Virginia coal miner, was diagnosed with an early stage of black lung and applied to NIOSH for a transfer to an environment with less dust exposure but never received a response. He continues to work underground. On May 13, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a preliminary injunction to reinstate the surveillance program employees. The next day, Kennedy said the administration wouldreverse the firings of 328 NIOSH employees. That day, they were back at work. "Remaining in a dusty job may reduce the years in which Mr. Wiley can walk and breathe unassisted, in addition to hastening his death," Berger wrote. "It is difficult to imagine a clearer case of irreparable harm." MSHA officials declined to respond to specific questions about the silica rule or plans to implement and enforce it, citing the ongoing litigation. In an emailed statement, Labor Department spokesperson Courtney Parella said, "The Mine Safety and Health Administration is confident it can enforce all regulations under its purview. MSHA inspectors continue to conduct legally required inspections and remain focused on MSHA's core mission to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners." Wes Addington is quick to say a career in the mines isn't necessarily a death sentence. He comes from generations of miners. One of his great-grandfathers worked 48 years underground and died at 88. But Addington also said protecting the safety and health of miners requires diligence. He's executive director of theAppalachian Citizens' Law Center, a Whitesburg, Kentucky, nonprofit that represents and advocates for miners and their families. A study the center conducted found that staffers at the MSHA offices scheduled to close performed almost17,000 health and safety inspectionsfrom January 2024 through February 2025. Addington said NIOSH provided the data to document worsening conditions over the past few decades. Addington's organization has advocated for the new silica rule for 17 years. "We didn't think it was perfect," he said. He would have preferred lower exposure limits and more stringent monitoring requirements. "But, as it was, it was going to save lives." The cuts to the agency, Addington said, could affect every American worker who might be exposed to harmful elements in the workplace. NIOSH approves respirators prescribed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. With fewer inspectors, miners are "more likely to get hurt on the job and those injuries could be fatal," he said. "And if you're a miner that's lucky enough to navigate that gantlet and make it through a 20-, 25-year career," Addington said, "the likelihood that you develop disabling lung disease that ultimately kills you at an early age is much increased." The black lung clinic atStone Mountain Health Servicesin southwestern Virginia has diagnosed 75 new cases of progressive massive fibrosis in the past year, according to its medical director, Drew Harris. "People are dying from a dust-related disease that's 100% preventable, and we're not using all the things we could use to help prevent their disease and save their lives," Harris said. "It's just all very disheartening." He believes it would be a mistake for Kennedy to reorganize NIOSHas he has proposed, shifting the surveillance program team's responsibilities to other employees. "It's a very unique expertise," Harris said. The agency would be "losing the people that know how to do this well and that have been doing this for decades." Rex Fields first went to work in the mines in 1967, a year before anexplosion killed 78 minersnear the small town of Farmington, West Virginia. His wife, Tilda Fields, was aware of the hazards her husband would encounter — the safety issues, the long-term health concerns. Her dad died of black lung when she was 7. But it meant a well-paying job in a region that has forever offered precious few. Rex, 77, now lives with an advanced stage of black lung disease. He's still able to mow his lawn but is easily winded when walking uphill. It took him several weeks and two rounds of antibiotics to recover from a bout with bronchitis in March. Throughout his career, Rex advocated for his fellow miners: He stepped in when he saw someone mistreated; he once tried, unsuccessfully, to help a unionization effort. For these efforts, he said, "I got transferred from the day shift to the third shift a time or two." Today, the Fieldses lobby on behalf of miners and share information about occupational dangers. Tilda organized a support group for families and widows. She worries about the next generation. Two of the Fieldses' sons also went into mining. "People in the mountains here, we learn to make do," Tilda said. "But you want better. You want better for your kids than what we had, and you surely want their safety." KFF Health Newsis a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs atKFF— the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byRoger Fisher

in

May 26, 2025

Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners

Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners In early April, President Donald Trump gathered dozens of...

Read More