___ Car seats and baby formula are regulated. Is social media next?
The U.S. surgeon general is warning there is not enough evidence to show that social media is safe for young people. Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now.” With young people’s social media use “near universal” but its true impact not fully understood, Murthy is asking tech companies to share data and increase transparency with researchers and the general public. He asks policymakers to address the harms of social media the same way they regulate things like car seats, baby formula and other products children use.
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Amazon workers upset over layoffs and return-to-office mandate plan walkout
SEATTLE (AP) — A group of Amazon workers upset about recent layoffs, a return-to-office mandate and the company’s environmental impact is planning a walkout at its Seattle headquarters next week. The lunchtime protest is planned for May 31, a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect requiring workers to return to the office three days per week. The Seattle Times reports that the plans are contingent on at least 1,000 Amazon employees from the company’s Seattle headquarters agreeing to participate. Amazon said in a statement it respects its employees’ rights to express their opinions.
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UPS strike looms in a world grown reliant on everything delivered everywhere all the time
WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time UPS workers walked of the job more than two decades ago, it crippled the shipping company. An emboldened union is threatening to do the same and this time the disruption would be far greater. The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. UPS says they deliver the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product. The Teamsters, representing about 350,000 UPS workers, say they’ll strike if there’s no deal by the time the current contract expires July 31.
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Debt ceiling talks grind on, but Republicans say there’s a ‘lack of urgency’ from White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling negotiators for President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are holed up again at the Capitol. Republicans warn there’s a “lack of urgency” at the White House to resolve the budget standoff in time to avert a potentially chaotic federal default. Democrats say Republicans are responsible for the holdup. Failure to strike a deal would be unprecedented, and certain to throw U.S. financial markets into turmoil, inflicting economic pain on households at home and abroad. They are trying to strike a budget deal to lower spending in exchange for a vote to raise the borrowing limit.
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Netflix to charge an additional $8 month for viewers living outside US subscribers’ households
Netflix has outlined how it intends to crack down on the rampant sharing of account passwords in the U.S. It’s an attempt to reel in more subscribers to its video streaming service amid a slowdown in growth. To combat password sharing, Netflix will limit viewership of its programming to people living in the same household. Those who subscribe to Netflix’s standard or premium plans — which cost $15.50 to $20 per month — will be able to allow another person living outside their household to use their password for an additional $8 per month. That’s a $2 discount from the company’s standard stand-alone plan. The company based in Los Gatos, California has 70 million U.S. accountholders.
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White House unveils new efforts to guide federal research of AI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has announced new efforts to guide federally backed research on artificial intelligence. The moves announced Tuesday come as the Biden administration is looking to get a firmer grip on understanding the risks and opportunities of the rapidly evolving technology. Among the moves unveiled by the administration was a tweak to the United States’ strategic plan on artificial intelligence research to add greater emphasis on international collaboration with allies. White House officials on Tuesday were also hosting a listening session with workers on their firsthand experiences with employers’ use of automated technologies. And the Education Department issued a new report focused on the risks and opportunities related to AI.
Energy Dept. cancels $200M grant to battery maker after GOP criticism over alleged ties to China
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has canceled plans to award a $200 million grant to a U.S. battery manufacturer amid criticism from Republican lawmakers over the company’s alleged ties to China. Texas-based Microvast was one of 20 companies to win preliminary grants totaling $2.8 billion to boost domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. The company is building a battery plant in Tennessee and was in talks with the Energy Department for a $200 million grant funded through the 2021 infrastructure law. A spokeswoman for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm confirmed Tuesday that negotiations with Microvast were canceled but did not offer a specific reason.
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Italy OKs aid mega-package for flooded north, with museum ticket surcharge to help pay for it
ROME (AP) — The Italian government has approved more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in aid for the flood-stricken region of Emilia-Romagna in the north. Premier Giorgia Meloni said the assistance approved at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday includes suspension of tax and mortgage payments through August for those who suffered flood damage. The flooding last week claimed at least 14 lives. Twenty-one rivers overran their banks and hundreds of landslides were triggered by a heavy concentration of rainfall, which couldn’t be absorbed by terrain that had been parched by a lack of rain for weeks. To help fund the aid, the government is considering temporarily raising state museum ticket prices by 1 euro ($1.1) and holding a special lotto game.
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Street traders offer a better bargain than stores as Zimbabwe’s currency crumbles
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Shoppers in Zimbabwe are increasingly turning to street traders to buy what they need as the local currency plunges in value against the U.S. dollar. The southern African nation uses both types of money. Supermarkets and other stores must charge in Zimbabwe dollars, and their prices are rising rapidly. But costs are stable on the street, where the U.S. dollar is exclusively used and not pegged to an official exchange rate that’s artificially low. The shift in shopping behavior also has stirred competition among the growing numbers of street traders, who sell everything from groceries to car parts. They’re giving things away for free and cleaning drivers’ windows.
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Stock market today: Wall Street slides as debt worries worsen
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slid on Wall Street as the U.S. government crept closer to a potentially disastrous default on its debt. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% Tuesday as Democrats and Republicans still haven’t agreed on a deal to keep the U.S. government from running out of cash. Washington is facing a deadline as early as June 1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite also fell. The stock market has remained resilient despite the debt-ceiling drama, but a worry among investors is that Washington may not feel urgency to act until markets shake enough to get politicians to move.
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The S&P 500 fell 47.05 points, or 1.1%, to 4,145.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 231.07 points, or 0.7%, to 33,055.51. The Nasdaq composite fell 160.53 points, or 1.3% to 12,560.25. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 7.67 points, or 0.4%, to 1,787.71.
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