NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are modestly lower in afternoon trading, giving up some of last week’s gains that pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 to new records. The Dow remains above 17,000 today, down about 40 points from Thursday’s early close. The broader indexes also are lower.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Truckers have started what they say is an indefinite strike against three companies at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They’ve formed picket lines outside the companies’ yards. The truckers argue they work as full-time employees, not independent contractors, and should be paid that way. Dockworkers may be faced with a decision to cross the picket lines as the truckers plan to follow vehicles into the marine shipping terminals. The twin ports serve as the main gateway for goods going to and from Asia.
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s Liquor Control Board has issued its first 24 licenses to shops to sell recreational marijuana. Three of the shops are in Spokane, while Tacoma, Bellingham and Vancouver each have two. Seattle and other cities on the list have just one each. The smallest town with a store in Winthrop in the north Cascades. It has a population of 400.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The maker of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is celebrating the opening of a new cooperage in Alabama. The facility will supply its Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee with the American white oak barrels that are toasted and charred to give the spirit its distinctive flavor and color. It is projected to employ more than 200 workers when it reaches full capacity. Under a Tennessee law enacted last year, distillers must age their sprits in unused American oak barrels if they want to label their product Tennessee whiskey.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Delta Air Lines is reducing service to Venezuela by 85 percent amid a dispute with the government over revenue trapped in the South American country. Delta says it will replace its daily roundtrip flight between Atlanta and Caracas with one roundtrip weekend flight starting Aug. 1. Other airlines are involved in similar disputes. American Airlines reduced it service to Venezuela by 80 percent last week and now only flies in from Miami.
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