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Today — 8 August 2025News - Detroit

Residents fight proposed concrete crushing facility in Wayne wetlands at public hearing

8 August 2025 at 04:06

Residents in Wayne are hoping state officials will block plans for a concrete crushing facility proposed for wetlands behind their homes, citing concerns about noise, dust and increased traffic in their neighborhoods.

"We'd probably try to find a way to leave," one resident said about the potential impact of the facility.

Watch Meghan Daniel's video report below: Residents fight proposed concrete crushing facility in Wayne wetlands

Many neighbors first expressed their opposition to the plan in May when they spoke with our 7 Investigators, and their stance remains unchanged.

"I'd be stuck in the house more than I already am. We already have a bad air quality," said Robert Schwalm, a resident of over a decade.

The city of Wayne approved the plan for the facility in 2022, leaving the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy as the final authority needed to give approval to Van Born Investments, the company behind the application.

Watch the 7 Investigators' report in May on the Wetlands below: Wayne County neighbors trying to stop concrete crushing facility from destroying wetlands

EGLE held a Zoom hearing Thursday to discuss findings from a survey conducted by contractors hired by Van Born Investments and to gather public comment before making their decision.

Tony Calo, owner of Van Born Investments, has revised his plans to preserve more of the wetlands on the property.

Schwalm says his biggest concern is air quality.

"A lot of people in my family have COPD, so it would affect a lot of us," Schwalm said.

He believes the added pollution would severely restrict his ability to enjoy his home.

"I wouldn't be able to do anything. I wouldn't be able to cut grass. There'd be dust all over people's yards," Schwalm said.

He fears the situation could become life-threatening for him personally.

"Breathing that for a couple of weeks might put me on oxygen," Schwalm said.

Previous interview: 'There's gotta be a better place.' Vincent Harder shares more about concerns over wetland development Extended interview: 'There's gotta be a better place.' Vincent Harder shares more about concerns over wetland development

Other residents who attended the hearing voiced concerns about losing more of the area's already diminishing wetlands.

"We really have to protect all the scraps, because that's all we have left," one attendee said.

Representatives with EGLE told residents they haven't made a decision yet but will consider all input from the meeting.

Previous interview: Resident Theresa Landrum: "Put people over profit." Extended interview: 'Put people over profit.' Theresa Landrum talks more about concerns over wetland development

Van Born Investments did not respond to requests for comment.

Residents still have an opportunity to make their voices heard, as the public comment period remains open until Aug. 17.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

70-year-old man dies after being found unresponsive at bottom of Wixom apartment pool

8 August 2025 at 03:06

A man has died after he was found unresponsive in an apartment pool in Wixom Thursday evening, police said.

Officials were dispatched to the Bristol Square Apartments near Beck Road and Pontiac Trail around 7:20 p.m. They were told a person was unresponsive at the bottom of the complexs pool.

The Wixom police and fire departments got the victim, a 70-year-old man, out of the pool. They performed life-saving measures. The man was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

His identity is being withheld at this time as family members are notified.

Troy police investigating several mailbox explosions, say fireworks were placed inside

8 August 2025 at 02:00

Troy police are investigating several mailbox explosions. The incidents happened in late July.

Two occurred on Davis Court and another on Hubbard Drive, according to investigators.

Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below: Troy police investigating several mailbox explosions, say fireworks were placed inside

"It was raining a lot, and I just thought that it was a loud explosion. We thought like a transformer blew up or something like the power went out or something," Sohaib Khanzada, whose neighbor's mailbox was hit, recalled.

Ron Haiasha, another next door neighbor, said, "Yeah, I did hear something, but I didn't know what it was."

"I called the association and I think one of those people here called the police," he told 7 News Detroit.

Now, they're surprised to learn at least three mailboxes were hit the night of July 26. They found out the next day that someone thought it was a good idea to place fireworks in mailboxes.

Troy police said they appear to be selected at random, not targeted.

"So unfortunately, this is not uncommon. When the summertime hits, youths, teenagers, they have time on their hands and they find amusement in damaging other people's property. It's a prank to them, but let's be clear, it's a crime," Sgt. John Julian said.

He said, in addition to destructive, it's dangerous.

"You could have flying debris damaging the house, damaging vehicles, people walking the area or even start a fire," Julian said.

And of course, it's illegal.

"Technically, mailboxes are protected by federal law, and it could be a federal offense," he said.

"No mailbox, no mail. So someone could be missing important legal notices, medication, documents and that's interfering with their mail being delivered to their house. So we just want to remind everyone listening out there: respect your neighbors, respect your community and follow the law."

Julian said Troy police does extra patrols to make sure this is not recurring.

"And we'll do follow-ups as best we can. We're asking the community to provide Ring camera footage, any cellphone footage they might have, anything that can help lead us to who might have done this," he said.

Haiasha said, "Hopefully, it won't happen again."

Khanzada echoed, "Hopefully, they catch 'em. Hopefully, it stops."

If you have any information about these incidents, call Troy police at 248-524-0777 or email troycrimealert@troypd.gov.

OpenAI launches GPT-5, a potential barometer for whether AI hype is justified

8 August 2025 at 01:47

OpenAI on Thursday released the fifth generation of the artificial intelligence technology that powers ChatGPT, a product update that's being closely watched as a measure of whether generative AI is advancing rapidly or hitting a plateau.

GPT-5 arrives more than two years after the March 2023 release of GPT-4, bookending a period of intense commercial investment, hype and worry over AI's capabilities.

In anticipation, rival Anthropic released the latest version of its own chatbot, Claude, earlier in the week, part of a race with Google and other competitors in the U.S. and China to leapfrog each other on AI benchmarks. Meanwhile, longtime OpenAI partner Microsoft said it will incorporate GPT-5 into its own AI assistant, Copilot.

Expectations are high for the newest version of OpenAI's flagship model because the San Francisco company has long positioned its technical advancements as a path toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI, a technology that is supposed to surpass humans at economically valuable work.

It is also trying to raise huge amounts of money to get there, in part to pay for the costly computer chips and data centers needed to build and run the technology.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the new model as a significant step along our path to AGI but mostly focused on its usability to the 700 million people he says use ChatGPT each week.

Its like talking to an expert a legitimate PhD-level expert in anything, any area you need, on demand, Altman said at a launch event livestreamed Thursday.

It may take some time to see how people use the new model now available, with usage limits, to anyone with a free ChatGPT account. The Thursday event focused heavily on ChatGPT's use in coding, an area where Anthropic is seen as a leader, and featured a guest appearance by the CEO of coding software maker Cursor, an important Anthropic customer.

OpenAI's presenters also spent time talking about safety improvements to make the chatbot less deceptive and stop it from producing harmful responses to cleverly worded prompts that could bypass its guardrails. The Associated Press reported Wednesday on a study that showed ChatGPT was providing dangerous information about drugs and self-harm to researchers posing as teenagers.

At a technical level, GPT-5 shows modest but significant improvements on the latest benchmarks, but when compared to GPT-4, it also looks very different and resets OpenAI's flagship technology in a way that could set the stage for future innovations, said John Thickstun, an assistant professor of computer science at Cornell University.

Im not a believer that it's the end of work and that AI is just going to solve all humanitys problems for it, but I do think theres still a lot of headroom for them, and other people in this space, to continue to improve the technology, he said. Not just capitalizing on the gains that have already been made.

RELATED STORY | ChatGPT's dark side: New report details alarming responses to teens seeking help

OpenAI started in 2015 as a nonprofit research laboratory to safely build AGI and has since incorporated a for-profit company with a valuation that has grown to $300 billion. The company has tried to change its structure since the nonprofit board ousted Altman in November 2023. He was reinstated days later.

It has not yet reported making a profit but has run into hurdles escaping its nonprofit roots, including scrutiny from the attorneys general in California and Delaware, who have oversight of nonprofits, and a lawsuit by Elon Musk, an early donor to and founder of OpenAI who now runs his own AI company.

Most recently, OpenAI has said it will turn its for-profit company into a public benefit corporation, which must balance the interests of shareholders and its mission.

OpenAI is the world's third most valuable private company and a bellwether for the AI industry, with an increasingly fragile moat at the frontier of AI, according to banking giant JPMorgan Chase, which recently made a rare decision to cover the company despite it not being publicly traded.

The inability of a single AI developer to have a sustained competitive edge could increasingly force companies to compete on lowering the prices of their AI products, the bank said in a report last month.

What comes next after gunman was subdued in Georgia Army base shooting?

8 August 2025 at 01:36

An active duty Army sergeant shot five fellow soldiers with a personal handgun Wednesday morning at Fort Stewart, a U.S. Army base in southern Georgia, according to officials.

The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Sgt. Quornelius Radford, who worked as an automated logistics sergeant assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Scripps News spoke with Chris Swecker, a former FBI assistant director and a practicing attorney in North Carolina, about what will happen next in the case.

"Since he is in custody, he will have an initial appearance before a judge, a bond may or may not be set, unlikely. Now this is the military justice system, so he probably will not be released," Swecker said. "It's a totally different legal system than the civilian justice system. He'll be in pretrial detention or pre court martial detention. There's a preliminary hearing process in the military justice system that's a little different from the grand jury process in the civilian system where you actually have an adversarial hearing where the judge advocate represents both sides. So you'll have a JAG on one side and a JAG on the other side and they will make their arguments as to whether he should be brought up on formal charges."

"In the meanwhile, he has the same rights against self-incrimination and that sort of thing as a civilian would have. But in this case since it was all military, the perpetrator, military victims that's probably going to stay within the Uniform Code of Military Justice system," Swecker said.

RELATED STORY | Officials: Army sergeant shot 5 soldiers at Georgia base with personal handgun

Radford was "immediately" subdued by other soldiers and apprehended, officials said Wednesday.

"Fortunately, no one was killed," Swecker said. "And that's probably through the heroic actions of those other soldiers. It'll be interesting to see who the intended victim was and how long this was in the works. Were there red flags? Was there a long trajectory of premeditation here? Who did he buy the gun from? Was he articulating his resentments and his feelings to the non-commissioned officers that are the first line of supervisor for these soldiers? The military should have a sort of early warning system, if you will, to detect when soldier is troubled, if you will, and maybe displaying some sort of rage or mental illness or that sort of thing and articulating the same so they can intervene and send him to get some counseling or intervention of some kind."

Watch the full interview in the video above.

Storm activity expected to stay above normal through the rest of hurricane season, NOAA forecast says

8 August 2025 at 00:41

So far the 2025 Atlantic tropical season has seen four named storms, none of them reaching hurricane strength.

But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released an updated Atlantic outlook for the rest of the season and forecasts storm activity is expected to remain above normal.

Scripps News spoke with NOAA's lead hurricane season forecaster Matthew Ronsenkrans to understand the changes in the forecast and what to expect for the rest of the season.

"We started out with 13 to 19 named storms and now we're forecasting 13 to 18. So just a slight bit down. Most things are still looking like on track. Its just been a little quieter at the beginning of the season that during most busy years," Ronsenkrans said.

What factors have kept storm development muted so far this season?

"There's been a lot wind shear in the Caribbean, which is kind of the difference between the winds at 5,000 feet off the ocean surface and 45,000 feet up in the air," Ronsenkrans said. "Those winds have been very different. So we haven't had any kind of development over the Gulf [of Mexico]. We've only had some very short-lived storms, that kind of formed right near the coast and the moved inland like [Tropical Storm] Chantal, or like Dexter and kind of just got swept out to sea."

RELATED STORY | President Trump's pick to lead NOAA commits to prioritizing staffing at agency

What is changing that could lead to more storm development through the rest of the season?

"Some of that wind shear over the Caribbean is coming down recently," Ronsenkrans said. "We're still seeing that sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic, looking at the entire North Atlantic, they're at the 93rd percentile, so the 3rd warmest on record in that period from 1981. And even the deep tropics, the waters that were cooler earlier on they've warmed faster than they would normally warm. So there are above normal as well. So a few factors have kind of moved in that positive direction compared to July time period."

Watch the full interview with Ronsenkrans in the video above.

Judge stops hazardous waste shipments to Michigan landfill from five states

DETROIT (AP) A judge has stopped government contractors in five states from sending hazardous waste to a Michigan landfill after a year of legal challenges by Detroit-area communities concerned about possible environmental impacts.

Wayne County Judge Kevin Cox said the risk was substantial and compelling and outweighed the financial harm to Wayne Disposal, a suburban Detroit landfill operated by trash giant Republic Services.

Cox's injunction, signed Tuesday, bars Wayne Disposal from accepting waste from Luckey, Ohio; Middletown, Iowa; Deepwater, New Jersey; Lewiston, New York; and St. Louis.

Those cleanup sites are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors. The waste includes materials that were produced for weapons, early atomic energy and other uses before and after World War II.

Shipments have been halted and we are working closely with our contractors to determine the next steps, Jenn Miller, a spokesperson in the Army Corps environmental division, said Thursday.

Tainted soil in Lewiston is a legacy of the Manhattan Project, the secret government effort to develop atomic bombs during World War II.

While the lawsuit in Michigan was pending, officials recently decided to send Lewiston soil to a Texas landfill to keep the project moving, Miller said.

Wayne Disposal in Van Buren Township, 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) west of Detroit, is one of the few landfills in the U.S. that can handle certain hazardous waste.

Republic Services has repeatedly said the landfill meets or exceeds rules to safely manage hazardous materials. The company said the court order was "overly broad.

Responsible management and disposal of these waste streams is an essential need, and Wayne Disposal, Inc. is designed and permitted to safely manage this material, the company said.

But critics say there are too many homes, schools and waterways near the landfill, making any leak at the site possibly dangerous.

We stood strong with our community allies speaking collectively with one voice that we do not want this type of waste in our community," said Kevin McNamara, the elected supervisor in Van Buren Township.

Trump to nominate top economic aide Stephen Miran to Federal Reserve board

8 August 2025 at 00:07

President Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate a top economic adviser to the Federal Reserves board of governors for four months, temporarily filling a vacancy while continuing his search for a longer-term appointment.

Trump said he has named Stephen Miran, the chair of the White Houses Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a seat vacated by governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who is stepping down Friday. Miran, if approved by the Senate, will serve until January 31, 2026.

The appointment is Trumps first opportunity to exert more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining independent federal agencies. Trump has relentlessly criticized the current chair, Jerome Powell, for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged, calling him a stubborn MORON last week on social media.

Miran has been a major defender of Trumps income tax cuts and tariff hikes, arguing that the combination will generate enough economic growth to reduce budget deficits. He also has played down the risk of Trumps tariffs generating higher inflation, a major source of concern for Powell.

The choice of Miran may heighten concerns about political influence over the Fed, which has traditionally been insulated from day-to-day politics. Fed independence is generally seen as key to ensuring that it can take difficult steps to combat inflation, such as raising interest rates, that politicians might be unwilling to take.

Federal Reserve governors vote on all the central banks interest-rate decisions, as well as its financial regulatory policies.

Mirans nomination, if approved, would add a near-certain vote in support of lower interest rates. Kugler had echoed Powells view that the Fed should keep rates unchanged and further evaluate the impact of tariffs on the economy before making any moves.

Trump has said he will appoint Fed officials who will cut interest rates, which he says will reduce the borrowing costs of the federal governments huge $36 trillion debt pile. Trump also wants lower rates to boost moribund home sales, which have been held back partly by higher mortgage costs. Yet the Fed doesnt directly set longer-term interest rates for things like home and car purchases.

At its most recent meeting last week, Fed officials kept their key rate unchanged at 4.3%, where it has stood after three rate cuts late last year. But two Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented from that decision. Both were appointed by Trump in his first term.

RELATED STORY | Trump visits Federal Reserve amid criticism of Powell, renovation costs

Still, even with Miran on the board, 12 Fed officials vote on interest rate policy and many remain concerned that Trump's sweeping tariffs could push inflation higher in the coming months.

Miran could be renominated to a longer term on the Fed once his initial appointment is concluded, or replaced by another nominee.

Powells term as chair ends in May 2026. Yet, Powell could remain on the board of governors until January 2028, even after he steps down as chair. That would deny, or at least delay, an opportunity for Trump to appoint an additional policymaker to the Feds board.

As a result, one option for Trump is to appoint Powells eventual replacement as chair to replace Kugler once the remaining four months of her term are completed. Leading candidates for that position include Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 and frequent critic of Powells chairmanship, and Kevin Hassett, another top Trump economic adviser.

Another option for the White House next May would be to select Waller, who is already on the board, to replace Powell, and who has been widely mentioned as a candidate.

Marco Casigraghi, an analyst at investment bank Evercore ISI, noted that the choice of Miran could be a positive sign for Waller, because Trump did not take the opportunity to nominate someone likely to become chair once Powell steps down.

After the July jobs report was released last Friday, Miran criticized the Fed chair for not cutting benchmark interest rates, saying that Trump had been proven correct on inflation during his first term and would be again. The president has pressured Powell to cut short-term interest rates under the belief that his tariffs will not fuel higher inflationary pressures.

What were seeing now in real time is a repetition once again of this pattern where the president will end up having been proven right, Miran said on MSNBC. And the Fed will, with a lag and probably quite too late, eventually catch up to the presidents view.

Last year, Miran expressed support for some unconventional economic views in commentaries on the Fed and international economics.

Last November, he proposed measures that would reduce the value of the dollar in order to boost exports, reduce imports and cut the U.S. trade deficit, a top priority for Trump. He also suggested tariffs could push U.S. trading partners, such as the European Union and Japan, to accept a cheaper dollar as part of a Mar-a-Lago Accord, an echo of the Plaza Accord reached in the 1980s that lowered the dollar's value.

As a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, Miran in March 2024 also proposed overhauling the Fed's governance, including by making it easier for a president to fire members of its board of governors.

The Feds current governance has facilitated groupthink that has led to significant monetary-policy errors, Miran wrote in a paper with Dan Katz, now a top official at the Treasury Department.

Trump honors Purple Heart recipients, including 3 who sent him medals after attempt on his life

7 August 2025 at 23:48

By MEG KINNARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump recognized nearly 100 recipients of the Purple Heart at the White House on Thursday, including three service members who gave him their own medals after an attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

Trump opened the event marking National Purple Heart Day by noting that dozens of the award’s recipients were at the ceremony in the East Room. The Republican president offered “everlasting thanks to you and your unbelievable families.”

But he had special words for the trio of veterans who sent Trump their medals after the 2024 shooting in Butler. Trump said the trio, “showed me the same unbelievable gesture of kindness.”

“What a great honor to get those Purple Hearts. I guess, in a certain way, it wasn’t that easy for me either, when you think of it,” Trump said of the attempt on his life. “But you went through a lot more than I did, and I appreciate it very much.”

After a shooter’s bullet pierced the upper part of Trump’s right ear in Butler just days before the 2024 Republican National Convention, the then-Republican presidential candidate was gifted medals from some Purple Heart recipients. The medals were presented to him at campaign events during the race’s closing months.

According to the White House, some of those Purple Heart recipients were brought to Trump’s campaign stops so that he could return their medals to them.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended, along with Chris LaCivita, Trump’s former campaign co-manager and a Marine veteran who is also a Purple Heart recipient.

National Purple Heart Day is marked annually on Aug. 7.

  • President Donald Trump departs an event to mark National Purple...
    President Donald Trump departs an event to mark National Purple Heart Day in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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President Donald Trump departs an event to mark National Purple Heart Day in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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The Purple Heart, the oldest military award still in use and is awarded to service members who are killed or wounded while engaging in enemy action or resulting from acts of terrorism. According to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, more than 1.8 million medals have been presented since the award’s inception in 1782.

Trump also highlighted the stories of valor of other Purple Heart recipients, including Army Spc. Kevin Jensen whose Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2008. Jensen pulled fellow Purple Heart recipient, Capt. Sam Brown, from the flames.

“He flew 10 feet up in the air, exploded in flames. The whole place was in flames, including, unfortunately, Kevin,” Trump said of Jansen. “He suffered deep, third-degree burns all over his body. He was in trouble, big trouble. Despite the agony, he selflessly ran to the aid of his platoon leader.”

Trump also used the ceremony to gloat about having authorized a 2020 U.S. drone strike, during his first term, that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Trump derided Soleimani on Thursday as “father of the roadside bomb.”

“Where is he? Where is he?” Trump scoffed to attendee laughter. “Where is Soleimani?”

Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP. Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed reporting.

President Donald Trump greets attendees as he departs an event to mark National Purple Heart Day in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Americans get more than half their diet from ultra-processed foods, CDC confirms

7 August 2025 at 23:07

Most Americans get more than half their calories from ultra-processed foods, those super-tasty, energy-dense foods typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, according to a new federal report.

Nutrition research has shown for years that ultra-processed foods make up a big chunk of the U.S. diet, especially for kids and teens.

For the first time, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed those high levels of consumption, using dietary data collected from August 2021 to August 2023.

The report comes amid growing scrutiny of such foods by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who blames them for causing chronic disease.

We are poisoning ourselves and it's coming principally from these ultra-processed foods, Kennedy told Fox News earlier this year.

Overall, about 55% of total calories consumed by Americans age 1 and older came from ultra-processed foods during that period, according to the report. For adults, ultra-processed foods made up about 53% of total calories consumed, but for kids through age 18, it was nearly 62%.

The top sources included burgers and sandwiches, sweet baked goods, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened drinks.

Young children consumed fewer calories from ultra-processed foods than older kids, the report found. Adults 60 and older consumed fewer calories from those sources than younger adults. Low-income adults consumed more ultra-processed foods than those with higher incomes.

The results were not surprising, said co-author Anne Williams, a CDC nutrition expert.

What was surprising was that consumption of ultra-processed foods appeared to dip slightly over the past decade. Among adults, total calories from those sources fell from about 56% in 2013-2014 and from nearly 66% for kids in 2017-2018.

RELATED STORY | Alarming number of adolescents have prediabetes, new data from CDC says

Williams said she couldn't speculate about the reason for the decline or whether consumption of less processed foods increased.

But Andrea Deierlein, a nutrition expert at New York University who was not involved in the research, suggested that there may be greater awareness of the potential harms of ultra-processed foods.

People are trying, at least in some populations, to decrease their intakes of these foods, she said.

Concern over ultra-processed foods' health effects has been growing for years, but finding solutions has been difficult. Many studies have linked them to obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but they haven't been able to prove that the foods directly cause those chronic health problems.

One small but influential study found that even when diets were matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and micronutrients, people consumed more calories and gained more weight when they ate ultra-processed foods than when they ate minimally processed foods.

Research published this week in the journal Nature found that participants in a clinical trial lost twice as much weight when they ate minimally processed foods such as pasta, chicken, fruits and vegetables than ultra-processed foods, even those matched for nutrition components and considered healthy, such as ready-to-heat frozen meals, protein bars and shakes.

Part of the problem is simply defining ultra-processed foods.

The new CDC report used the most common definition based on the four-tier Nova system developed by Brazilian researchers that classifies foods according to the amount of processing they undergo. Such foods tend to be hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in dietary fiber and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners and unhealthy fats, the CDC report said.

U.S. health officials recently said there are concerns over whether current definitions accurately capture the range of foods that may affect health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department recently issued a request for information to develop a new, uniform definition of ultra-processed foods for products in the U.S. food supply.

In the meantime, Americans should try to reduce ultra-processed foods in their daily diets, Deierlein said. For instance, instead of instant oatmeal that may contain added sugar, sodium, artificial colors and preservatives, use plain oats sweetened with honey or maple syrup. Read food packages and nutrition information, she suggested.

I do think that there are less-processed options available for many foods, she said.

Ford delays next-generation electric pickup, commercial van

7 August 2025 at 23:00

By Breana Noble, The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. is delaying the launch of its next-generation electric commercial van and electric full-size pickup truck to 2028, the Dearborn automaker confirmed Thursday.

They are the latest postponements in a wave of EV product cancellations and delays as the automotive industry realizes demand for expensive EVs with high-cost, large batteries needed to address range anxiety — and the charging network to support them — just isn’t there in the eyes of many U.S. consumers. That trend likely is set to accelerate with the Trump administration’s work to dismantle regulations around greenhouse gas emissions and incentives for EV transactions in what he has characterized as an effective “EV mandate.”

Ford nearly a year ago had said it would launch the commercial van in 2026 at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake outside Cleveland. At the time, it also had delayed the start of production by 18 months of the full-size pickup truck to the second half of 2027 at the new BlueOval City assembly plant in Stanton, Tennessee, outside Memphis. Pickup prototype production still is set to launch in 2027, Ford spokesperson Jessica Enoch said.

The company communicated about the timing adjustments to suppliers and employees in June, spokesperson Emma Bergg said in a statement.

“F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling electric truck, and E-Transit continue to meet today’s customer needs,” Bergg said in a statement. “We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability.”

Ford CEO Jim Farley has said the company won’t launch an EV until it can be profitable within a year. The Model e EV division of the company has lost $2.178 billion so far this year. The annual guidance it suspended in May, because of tariffs, for the unit had forecasted a loss of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion.

The Blue Oval has touted work by a California-based small “skunkworks” team for a new EV platform able to support a few smaller models, including low-cost offerings. The first is expected to be a midsize pickup truck in 2027, five years after the group’s creation.

The automaker is expected to share more details on platform and the changes in manufacturing it will usher in during an event on Monday at Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky, where it builds the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs. Farley has touted it as a “Model T moment” for the automaker.

“Seems they are not optimistic about notable acceleration in EV demand even a couple years from now,” David Whiston, analyst at investment services firm Morningstar Inc., said in an email. “I was hoping they’d tease the pickup truck but this news makes that less likely they’d show something.”

The truck program was known internally as “Project T3” for “trust the truck,” a rallying cry for the development team. Farley said it would “revolutionize America’s truck” to be simplified and more cost efficient. BlueOval City was expected to have capacity for 500,000 pickups annually.

Ford has sold under 16,000 F-150 Lightning trucks so far this year. It’s sold less than 5,000 E-Transit vans.

A year ago, Ford canceled plans to produce an all-electric, three-row SUV at Oakville Assembly Complex outside Toronto, Ontario, saying it didn’t expect the vehicle to be profitable because of the cost associated with the size of its battery, the most expensive part of an EV. Instead, it plans to launch Super Duty trucks there next year.

Farley on an earnings call last week emphasized a multi-energy strategy offering gas-powered, plug-in hybrid, extend-range electric and all-electric vehicles.

“We think that’s a much better move than a $60,000 to $70,000 all-electric crossover,” he said. “We think that that’s really what customers are going to want long-term. And we’re investing a lot in more durable ICE powertrains. The good news is that we’ve always built our business around flexibility of the powertrain, so our manufacturing operations can adjust to these.”

The company, he added, has reallocated some EV spending to its commercial Ford Pro division.

BlueOval City also is home to a battery plant that is a part of Ford’s joint venture with Korean battery maker SK On Ltd. Production there also has been delayed. The companies have said they’re investing $5.6 billion into the campus and creating approximately 6,000 jobs.

The JV has two other battery plant at the SK BlueOval complex in Glendale, Kentucky, outside Louisville. One is slated to start production this year, and the other’s opening has been delayed.

Automotive News first reported about the delay of the electric commercial van and pickup truck. Shares closed up 0.6% to $11.28, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell.

It’s not just Ford that has delayed EV launches. General Motors Co. has delayed launching additional production of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric trucks at Orion Assembly to mid-2026. Chrysler parent Stellantis NV also has postponed the launch of its Ram 1500 REV truck. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. also has scaled back EV investment plans from slower-than-expect U.S. demand growth.

Ford Motor Co. is delaying until 2028 the production of its next-generation full-size electric truck to be built at the new BlueOval City assembly plant in Stanton, Tenn., outside Memphis. The company is also delaying production of an electric commercial van to be built in Ohio. (Photo from Ford Motor Co.)

Historic tall ships come to Detroit for sail festival on riverfront

7 August 2025 at 22:48

Historic tall ships are sailing into Detroit this weekend as part of Sail Detroit, a maritime festival returning to the city's riverfront for the first time in more than two decades.

Four tall ships moved by Detroit's riverfront on Thursday, drawing crowds with cameras and phones eager to capture the majestic vessels.

Watch the video report below: Historic tall ships come to Detroit for the Sail Detroit festival

"They are big sailing ships. The mast reach to the sky. It is an incredible view and sight for our city," said John Jamian, director of maritime operations for Detroit Wayne County Port Authority.

The ships will remain docked outside the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority all weekend as the stars of the Sail Detroit Festival, which highlights the city's maritime history.

"That's the way they sailed in the old days. Port of Detroit, we used to have these ships. They were the cargo ships of the 1800s that called on our city and docked right here," Jamian said.

See video of the ships on the Detroit River below Tall ships arrive in metro Detroit

Visitors can view ships including Ernestina Morissey from Massachusetts, Alliance from Sutton Bay, Empire Sandy from Toronto and Pride of Baltimore II from Maryland.

Pride of Baltimore II is a 157-foot long and 108-foot tall reproduction of an 1812 Baltimore Clipper. The ship's captain says it takes 12 crew members on board to operate.

"A lot of teamwork. Everything is very physical, everything is man power. We don't have electric wenches or things of that nature," said Jeff Crosbey, captain of Pride of Baltimore II.

Despite the hard work involved, Crosbey finds sailing the vessel fulfilling.

"They're cool boats to sail. They kind of bring you back in time a little bit and give you a glimpse of where the maritime industry started in this country," Crosbey said.

Representatives with Tall Ships America, responsible for bringing the ships around the country, say seeing people engage with the crew and vessels is what the experience is all about.

"This is exactly why we partner with the Port Authority and the city of Detroit to bring these ships in and again to just highlight the rich history in Detroit," said Erin Short, the director of events and communications for Tall Ships America.

The ships can be viewed along the riverfront for free through Sunday. Those interested in touring one of the vessels can purchase tickets online.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Trump administration asks high court to lift restrictions on Southern California immigration stops

7 August 2025 at 22:28

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to halt a court order restricting immigration stops that swept up at least two U.S. citizens in Southern California.

The emergency petition comes after an appeals court refused to lift a temporary restraining order barring authorities from stopping or arresting people based solely on factors like what language speak or where they work.

The move is the latest in a string of emergency appeals from the Trump administration to the high court, which has recently sided with the Republican president in a number of high-profile cases.

The Justice Department argued that federal agents are allowed to consider those factors when ramping up enforcement of immigration laws in Los Angeles, an area it considers a “top enforcement priority.”

Trump officials asked the justices to immediately halt the order from U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong in Los Angeles. She found a “mountain of evidence” that enforcement tactics were violating the U.S. Constitution in what the plaintiffs called “roving patrols.”

Her ruling came in a lawsuit filed by immigrant advocacy groups who accused President Donald Trump’s administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Trump’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to immediately halt Frimpong’s order, arguing that it puts a “straitjacket” on agents in an area with a large number of people in the U.S. illegally.

“No one thinks that speaking Spanish or working in construction always creates reasonable suspicion … But in many situations, such factors—alone or in combination—can heighten the likelihood that someone is unlawfully present in the United States,” Sauer wrote.

Department of Homeland Security attorneys have said immigration officers target people based on illegal presence in the U.S., not skin color, race or ethnicity.

Frimpong’s order bars authorities from using factors like apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone’s occupation as the only basis for reasonable suspicion for detention.

The Los Angeles region has been a battleground for the Trump administration after its aggressive immigration strategy spurred protests and the deployment of the National Guards and Marines for several weeks.

Plaintiffs on the lawsuit before Frimpong included three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens. One was Los Angeles resident Brian Gavidia, who was shown in a June 13 video being seized by federal agents as he yelled, “I was born here in the states, East LA bro!”

He was released about 20 minutes later after showing agents his identification, as was another citizen stopped at a car wash, according to the lawsuit.

A demonstrator waves a flag during a protest in reaction to recent immigration raids on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

‘Been a rough 2 years’: Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. out for season with shoulder injury

7 August 2025 at 22:28

The Detroit Lions on Thursday put cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Rakestraw, a second-round pick in 2024, posted an Instagram story on Thursday morning that showed him either pre- or post-surgery with the caption, “Road to Be back starts soon.” The injury occurred on the first drill of Sunday’s training-camp practice in Allen Park. He went down on the very first rep of a one-on-one tackling drill and did not return.

Rakestraw wrote a message on his TikTok account on Thursday afternoon.

“I’ll be back soon. Been a rough 2 years (b)ut I’ll never question (G)od. Just want to play the game I love dearly. And show my people who I am and the kids who grew up like me it’s possible,” Rakestraw wrote. “So I’ll win in the end(,) just been a blurry road I’ve been on(,) just have to keep pushing.”

Lions coach Dan Campbell delivered a message of support when asked about the young cornerback on Monday.

“You hate it for the kid,” he said. “You hate it. It’s not his fault, just one of those tough deals. All you can do is try to get it better and rehab and come back stronger and move on. That’s all you can do.”

It’s yet another devastating blow to Rakestraw’s development and fortune since he entered the league.

Last season, Rakestraw appeared in just eight games and spent time on injured reserve with a hamstring issue. Cornerbacks Terrion Arnold, who should be returning from a hamstring injury soon, and Khalil Dorsey, who’s still rehabbing from a broken leg suffered at the end of last season, are also not currently practicing.

While Rakestraw’s indefinite absence is a blow to the team’s depth, it has gotten strong performances from veteran additions like Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox; the latter has played more safety this camp but carries ample experience as a nickel cornerback.

As of now, the Lions are still in good shape with their cornerback room.

Lions add tight end

In a corresponding move, the Lions added some competition to the tight end room, agreeing to terms with free-agent tight end Steven Stilianos, his management team announced Thursday.

Stilianos, 25, most recently appeared with the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL. He caught 15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in nine games. He finished his college career with two seasons at Iowa, where he crossed over with Lions tight end Sam LaPorta during the 2022 season, after transferring from Lafayette (FCS).

In his final season with the Hawkeyes (2023), Stilianos caught eight passes for 96 yards. He was not drafted but briefly spent time with the Tennessee Titans, for whom he made three preseason appearances in 2024.

Ultimately, he has a steep hill to climb if he’s going to contribute for the Lions’ tight end room. LaPorta and Brock Wright are firmly entrenched as the top two choices. Shane Zylstra, who’s been with the team for multiple years, has impressed with his given opportunities thus far.

Detroit Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. runs drills during an NFL football practice Monday, July 28, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (RYAN SUN — AP Photo)

Victims feeling exhausted and anxious about wrangling over Epstein files

7 August 2025 at 22:27

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JAIMIE DING

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Women who say they were abused by Jeffrey Epstein are feeling skeptical and anxious about the Justice Department’s handling of records related to the convicted sex offender, with some backing more public disclosures as an overdue measure of transparency, and others expressing concerns about their privacy and the Trump administration’s motivations.

In letters addressed to federal judges in New York this week, several victims or their attorneys said they would support the public release of grand jury testimony that led to criminal indictments against Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell — if the government agreed to allow them to review the material and redact sensitive information.

The Justice Department has asked the court to take the rare step of unsealing transcripts of that secret testimony, in part to placate people who believe that the government has hidden some things it knows about Epstein’s wrongdoing.

Other victims, meanwhile, accused President Donald Trump of sidelining victims as he seeks to shift the focus from Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he habitually sexually abused underage girls. Some expressed concern that the administration — in its eagerness to make the scandal go away — might give Maxwell clemency, immunity from future prosecution or better living conditions in prison as part of a deal to get her to testify before Congress.

“I am not some pawn in your political warfare,” one alleged victim wrote in a letter submitted to the court by her lawyer this week. “What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely.”

FILE - Virginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
FILE – Virginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Added another victim, in a letter submitted anonymously on Wednesday: “This is all very exhausting.”

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. A top Justice Department official, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, interviewed Maxwell for nine hours late last month, saying he wanted to hear anything she had to say about misdeeds committed by Epstein or others. After that interview, Maxwell was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a low-security prison camp in Texas.

Alicia Arden, who said Epstein sexually assaulted her in the late 1990s, held a news conference on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She said she would support the release of additional material related to the case, including a transcript of Maxwell’s interview with Blanche.

  • Alicia Arden, a woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual...
    Alicia Arden, a woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual battery in 1997, arrives for a news conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Alicia Arden, a woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual battery in 1997, arrives for a news conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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But she also expressed outrage at the possibility that Maxwell could receive clemency or other special treatment through the process, adding that the Justice Department’s approach had been “very upsetting” so far.

The Trump administration has faced weeks of furor from some segments of the president’s political base, which have demanded public disclosure of files related to Epstein. Epstein has long been the subject of conspiracy theories because of his friendships with the rich and powerful, including Trump himself, Britain’s Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

Last month, the Justice Department announced it would not release additional files related to the Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Prosecutors later asked to unseal the grand jury transcripts, though they’ve told the court they contain little information that hasn’t already been made public. Two judges who will decide whether to release the transcripts then asked victims to share their views on the matter.

In a letter submitted to the court Tuesday, attorneys Brad Edwards and Paul Cassell, who represent numerous Epstein victims, wrote: “For survivors who bravely testified, the perception that Ms. Maxwell is being legitimized in public discourse has already resulted in re-traumatization.”

An attorney for Maxwell, David Oscar Markus, said this week that she opposed the release of the grand jury transcripts.

“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” he wrote. “Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain.”

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment on the victims’ statements.

Alicia Arden, who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual battery in 1997, reads a statement alongside her attorney, Gloria Allred, during a news conference in Los Angeles Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

University of Michigan makes history with the nation's first collegiate para powerlifting program

7 August 2025 at 22:21

The University of Michigan is creating more opportunities for students with disabilities through its expanding adaptive sports program, which now includes the nation's first collegiate para powerlifting team.

Watch Jolie Sherman's video report: U of M adds Para-powerlifting to their adaptive sports lineup

The school's adaptive sports and fitness program, which began in 2019, already offered four wheelchair sports, including tennis, basketball, rugby, and track and field, before adding competitive para powerlifting this year.

Abbey Phillipson, who serves as both the strength and conditioning coach for Michigan's adaptive sports program and head coach of the new para powerlifting team, is proud of the groundbreaking initiative.

"Recently, we became the first ever and only collegiate para powerlifting program, which I had the opportunity to start," Phillipson said.

Phillipson has Classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is a big advocate of the adaptive sports community. In high school, she had stage 5 spondylolisthese and used a wheelchair.

"I'm actually super stretchy and elastic," she said in reference to her skin. "My body doesn't deposit collagen correctly to my connective tissues."

The U-M grad teaches her eight athletes how to bench press without using their legs, which presents unique challenges.

"We see from research that 10-20% of your bench press max strength is from the use of your leg drive. So, we always look around at each other when our legs are strapped up on the table, and we're like, we must be pretty strong," Phillipson said.

For athletes like Caden Baxter, who suffered a spinal cord injury at age 15, the program has been transformative.

"Being young when I was injured, I wanted to get back into sports immediately, I just didn't see a way," Baxter said.

That changed when Baxter got into Michigan and discovered adaptive sports, specifically wheelchair tennis. During his senior year, he became one of the first adaptive wheelchair athletes to sign an NIL deal. Now pursuing a master's in sports management, he's joined the para powerlifting team.

WEB EXTRA: Dr. Feranmi Okanlami, U-M Director of Adaptive Sports & Fitness, talks about the school's adaptive sports program WEB EXTRA: Dr. Feranmi Okanlami, U-M Director of Adaptive Sports & Fitness, talks about the school's adaptive sports program

"This is an outlet that feels very similar to all the sports I've competed in when I was young. You're still able to train, you're still able to compete, you get the community aspect of sport," Baxter said.

The training regimen is rigorous, with athletes in the gym three days a week during the school year and early mornings throughout summer.

"We'll have small breaks in November, but then we'll be right back to it, national records don't wait for you," Phillipson said.

The team attended their first competition in June, where all members qualified for nationals. Last month, Jillian Crawford became a national champion by lifting 169 pounds.

"I was just really happy because all the work I did really paid off, and I can see how there's a big difference in how I used to lift," Crawford said.

Crawford, who is entering her senior year, says adaptive sports have transformed her life and helped her find community.

"It's something that I really enjoy, and something that gave me back movement and just having fun with sport," Crawford said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Streets closing Friday for Roadkill Nights in Pontiac

7 August 2025 at 22:13

Starting at 5 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, numerous street closings will be in effect in Pontiac for Roadkill Nights, a legal drag racing event.

The event is moving back to Woodward Avenue in downtown Pontiac this year from the M1 Concourse.

These closing will be in effect from 5 a.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday:

– Woodward Avenue from Huron Street to South Saginaw Street

– Whittemore Street from South Woodward Avenue to Saginaw Street

– One lane on the west side of South Saginaw Street will be closed from Whittemore to the north/south split.

Two-way traffic will still be available to the three businesses in this area.

Southbound Woodward Avenue will be closed at West Pike Street, Orchard Lake Road, Wessen Street, Judson Street and South Saginaw Street.

These closings will be in effect from 4 a.m. Saturday through 9 a.m. Sunday:

East/west streets

– Clinton Street from Woodward to Wayne Street

– Lawrence Street from Woodward to East Alley

– Pike Street from  Woodward to East Alley

– Water Street from South Saginaw to Perry.

North/south streets

– Wayne Street from Huron to West Pike

– Saginaw Street  from Huron to Water Street

– East Alley from East Pike to Water Street.

map
This map shows street closings in effect for Roadkill Nights in 2025. Map courtesy of city of Pontiac.

Roadkill Nights is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Tickets start at $25 ($20 for Pontiac residents). Spectator shuttle buses begin running at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at United Wholesale Mortgage. Racing begins at 11 a.m. The shuttle bus stops running at 9:30 p.m.

For more information or to order tickets, visit https://www.hotrod.com/roadkillnights.

Vanilla Ice, Sugar Ray, Hoobastank among headliners at 2025 Arts, Beats & Eats

Woodward Dream Cruise revs up with activities in Oakland County

Roadkill Nights is returning to downtown Pontiac for 2025. FILE PHOTO

Businesses large and small are now staring down a 'rough and bumpy road' of new tariff increases

7 August 2025 at 22:07

Standing in the middle of one of the grocery stores his family has run for decades, President & CEO Stew Leonard Jr. is surrounded by fresh produce, dairy products and meat most of them facing new steep increases from tariffs affecting imports, which took effect overnight Thursday. Until now, hes been absorbing the cost of tariffs alongside producers to avoid having to pass on prices to his customers, but he says that can only last so long.

For the last several months, the U.S. has been charging a 10% tax on most of what we import. Overnight Thursday, the rate increased to 15 percent on goods from Europe, Japan, and South Korea, and even higher tariff rates are hitting trading partners like Canada, Switzerland and Brazil.

This means that typical items on Americans grocery lists like produce, seafood, beef, wine and spirits, and even canned food and beverages are more expensive to ship in to the U.S.  resulting in an average tax of 18.6% for imported products, the highest rate in the U.S. since 1933.

We dont want to raise prices, but I have 2,500 people working here right now and labor costs have gone up too, Leonard told Scripps News, in between greeting customers shopping at his store. Were trying to negotiate the best deals, and were scrambling, trying to source product from different countries. But were almost hanging by a thread here and were getting ready to drop! Our suppliers brought a lot of product in pre-tariffs, but thats running out.

Its a problem small business owners are facing across the country, as they make up 97% of U.S. importers, according to Small Business for Americas Future, a national coalition of business owners. The group drafted a letter from more than 100 small business owners addressed to President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scot Bessent, among other lawmakers, describing the new tariffs as an immediate and severe crisis, and calling for tariff relief that recognizes the disproportionate burden these policies place on small businesses.

Nearly half of businesses are currently absorbing some of the costs of the tariffs, while 14% of businesses are currently passing the full costs of the increases on to their customers, according to a new study on tariff risks in the supply chain by CreditSafe.

But for Legrand Lindor, the owner of LMI Textiles, which primarily distributes medical supplies out of Massachusetts, his previously agreed upon rates and contracts with various health departments does not allow him to increase prices.

I tried to buy a large amount of inventory to get ahead of it, but the tariffs beat me, Lindor told Scripps News. So Im going to have to sit on this product and probably make no money on it and pray that tariffs go down. We have such a strong relationship with our supplier and the product we produce with them is unique, so I cant really do it anywhere else, unless I undercut them and start producing the stuff myself in Asia. I dont want to do that.

Before the tariffs, Lindor says he was exploring opening his own warehouse and hiring on more employees to work for him, but without stable income, hes had to put that hope on pause.

RELATED STORY | Trump implements new tariffs, raising effective rate to highest since 1934

Even while large corporations often have resources to navigate supply chain disruptions or absorb unexpected cost increases, these tariffs are impacting their bottom lines and operations as well.

Procter & Gamble announced price adjustments on a quarter of their products, indicating the change in cost will go into effect in the next few months, citing higher raw-material and supply chain costs, investments in product innovation and the impact of recently announced tariffs. Meanwhile, Walmarts CEO Doug McMillon warned of price hikes on food, toys, and electronics on the companys earnings call Thursday.

The merchandise that we import comes from all over the world; all the tariffs create cost pressure for us, McMillon said on the call.

Tariffs on goods from Mexico and China are still pending as the White House continues negotiations on a trade deal, which only adds to anxiety for companies.

There are still some ongoing negotiations and discrepancies about the deals that have been reached, leading to continued uncertainty around the final rates. There are also concerns about the impact of the different sectoral tariffs being considered and potential secondary tariffs over Russian oil, wrote Jon Gold, National Retail Federation VP of Supply Chain and Customs Policy, in a statement. Retailers have been able to hold the line on pricing so far, but the new increased tariffs will significantly raise costs for U.S. retailers, manufacturers and consumers. While we support better trade deals, we need to negotiate clear and binding agreements that all parties will adhere to."

With prices increasing for customers, the tariffs are expected to cost U.S. households on average $2,400 in 2025, according to new estimates from the Budget Lab at Yale University. The Lab warns shoppers should be prepared to pay more for apparel and shoes, as the combined tariffs disproportionately affect clothing and textiles.

If theres a silver lining though, Leonard pointed out, its the drop in prices for lobster while hoisting a live crustacean from the seafood counter onto his shoulder.

We used to sell all our lobster to China, but with the tariffs Trump imposed, thats gone way down and increased the supply in the U.S, he said. So the price of this guy has come down a little bit. Its a bumpy road with the tariffs, but I personally hope itll all be worked out ahead of Thanksgiving.

Trump defends the US economy with charts after job reports showed warning signs

7 August 2025 at 21:59

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump unexpectedly summoned reporters to the Oval Office on Thursday to present them with charts that he says show the U.S. economy is solid following a jobs report last week that raised red flags and led to the Republican firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Joining Trump to talk about the economy was Stephen Moore, a senior visiting fellow in economics at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and the co-author of the 2018 book “ Trumponomics.”

Flipping through a series of charts on an easel, Moore sought to elevate Trump’s performance as president and diminish the economic track record of former President Joe Biden. Trump stood next to Moore and interjected with approvals.

The moment in the Oval Office spoke to the president’s hopes to reset the narrative of the U.S. economy. While the stock market has been solid, job growth has turned sluggish and inflationary pressures have risen in the wake of Trump imposing a vast set of new tariffs, which are taxes on imports.

Moore said he phoned Trump because he put together some data that shows he was correct to dismiss Erika McEntarfer as the head of the BLS. He noted that’s because reports from the BLS had overestimated the number of jobs created during the last two years of Biden’s term by 1.5 million.

“I think they did it purposely,” said Trump, who has yet to offer statistical evidence backing his theory. Revisions are a standard component of jobs reports and tend to be larger during periods of economic disruption.

The economy has seldom conformed to the whims of any president, often presenting pictures that are far more mixed and nuanced than what can easily be sold to voters. Through the first seven months of this year, employers have added 597,000 jobs, down roughly 44% from the gains during the same period in 2024.

The July jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month, while the May and June totals were revised downward by 258,000.

While Biden did face downward revisions on his job numbers, the economy added 2 million jobs in 2024 and 2.6 million in 2023.

The fundamental challenge in Biden’s economy was the jolt of inflation as the annual rate of the consumer price index hit a four-decade high in June 2022. That level of inflation left many households feeling as though groceries, gasoline, housing and other essentials were unaffordable, a sentiment that helped to return Trump to the White House in the 2024 election.

There are signs of inflation heating back up under Trump because of his tariffs. On Thursday, Goldman Sachs estimated that the upcoming inflation report for July will show that consumer prices rose 3% over the past 12 months, which would be up from a 2.3% reading in April.

Trump promised that he could galvanize a boom. And when nonpartisan data has indicated something closer to a muddle, he found an advocate in Moore, whom he nominated to serve as a Federal Reserve governor during his first term. Moore withdrew his name after facing pushback in the Senate.

Moore said that through the first five months of Trump’s second term in office that “the average median household income adjusted for inflation and for the average family in America, is already up $1,174.” Moore said his numbers are based on unpublished Census Bureau data, which can make them difficult to independently verify.

“That’s an incredible number,” Trump said. “If I would have said this, nobody would have believed it.”

President Donald Trump holds charts as he speaks about the economy in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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