Nation and world news in brief for Tuesday, April 16,2024
Retail sales surge 0.7% in March as Americans seem unfazed by higher prices with jobs plentiful
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans increased their spending pace in March at a better-than-expected pace from the previous month, underscoring how shoppers remain resilient despite inflationary pressures and other economic challenges. Retail sales rose 0.7% last month after being up a revised 0.9% in February, according to the Commerce Department’s report on Monday. Sales fell a revised 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather. Excluding gas prices, which have been rising, retail sales were still up a solid at 0.6%. The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spendirng and doesn’t include many services, including travel and hotel lodges. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered an uptick of 0.4%.
Biden administration agrees to provide $6.4 billion to Samsung for making computer chips in Texas
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas. The funding announced Monday by the Commerce Department is part of a total investment in the cluster that, with private money, is expected to exceed $40 billion. The government support comes from the CHIPS and Science Act. President Joe Biden signed the act into law in 2022 with the goal of reviving the production of advanced computer chips domestically. Samsung would develop a cluster in Taylor, Texas, and expand an existing facility in Austin.
Trump Media stock slides again to bring it more than 66% below its peak as euphoria fades
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock price for Donald Trump’s social media company is sliding again. Trump Media & Technology Group closed Monday down 18.4% as more euphoria fades off the stock. It’s a sharp, more than 66% comedown after the owner of Truth Social merged with a shell company to get its stock trading on the Nasdaq. Part of the decline may be due to criticism that the stock price simply went too high. But another part may be because of action Trump Media took Monday. The company filed documents with regulators to open the door for the future potential sale of millions of shares.
Owners of a Colorado funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found are charged with COVID fraud
DENVER (AP) — Federal authorities have indicted the owners of a Colorado funeral home on criminal charges for fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds from the U.S. government. The husband and wife already face state charges of corpse abuse after 190 decaying bodies were discovered in their funeral home’s storage building last year. The new charges Monday against Jon and Carie Hallford underscore their alleged lies, money laundering, forgery and manipulation over the past four years that devastated grieving family members. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak has scheduled a Thursday hearing to decide if the couple should remain in custody. The couple’s attorneys say they should not be detained pending trial but a federal prosecutor says they’re a flight risk.
Israeli military tells Palestinians not to return to north Gaza after witnesses say troops killed 5
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military has renewed warnings for Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza. A day earlier, witnesses and medical officials said Israeli troops opened fire and killed five people among throngs of displaced residents trying to walk back to their homes in the devastated area. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven out of the north by Israel’s offensive soon after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Even though much of the north has been flattened, many say they want to return, sick of conditions in displacement. Israel says it’s still fighting remnants of the Hamas militant group in the north.
Tesla plans to lay off 10% of workforce after dismal quarterly sales, multiple news outlets report
DETROIT (AP) — After reporting dismal first-quarter sales, Tesla is planning to lay off about a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs, multiple media outlets reported Monday. CEO Elon Musk detailed the plans in a memo sent to employees. The layoffs could affect about 14,000 of the 140,473 workers employed by the Austin, Texas, company at the end of last year. Musk’s memo said that as Tesla prepares for its next phase of growth, it needs to look at every aspect of the company for cost cuts and increased productivity, The New York Times and CNBC reported. News of the layoffs was first reported by electric vehicle website Electrek. Shares of Tesla fell nearly 3% in Monday morning trading after the news broke.
