Author: Press Room

Washington — Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida withdrew her membership from the conservative House Freedom Caucus on Monday amid a divide over whether the lower chamber should allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely around the birth of their child. “With a heavy heart, I am resigning from the Freedom Caucus,” she wrote to her colleagues in a letter obtained by CBS News. Luna’s discharge petition — a maneuver that allows members to circumvent House leadership — won enough support earlier this month to force a vote on a measure that would allow new parents to designate a colleague…

Chris Bergen, who runs a commercial greenhouse business in northern Minnesota, finds himself “walking a tightrope” roughly two months into President Trump’s second term. Acute uncertainty about how the administration’s trade and immigration policies will unfold and affect the economy has made him much more cautious about any expansion plans.As one of the country’s biggest producers of bedding plants, perennials and other flowers, Bergen’s Greenhouses is exposed on many fronts.Every June, it trucks in more than six million pounds of peat moss from Manitoba. Suppliers have stopped quoting prices until they have more clarity on tariffs. The plastic flower pots…

A New Jersey state trooper allegedly shot and killed his dog, vandalized a stop sign and assaulted a local police officer.Alexander Lark was arrested Thursday in Wayne Township, New Jersey, and charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was also charged with a municipal ordinance violation for discharging a firearm, while animal cruelty charges are pending, according to the Bergen Record.Shortly before 1 a.m. on Thursday, residents at Lark’s condo complex called the police and reported hearing a “commotion” – possibly a gunshot – in one of the condos,…

This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. Stocks, especially tech stocks, had an ugly morning yesterday but rallied in the afternoon. Biotech stocks, particularly Moderna, Charles River Labs and other vaccine makers, were hit hardest, after a top Food and Drug Administration vaccine official resigned over the weekend. Email us: robert.armstrong@ft.com and aiden.reiter@ft.com.  Liberation dayTomorrow is President Trump’s “liberation day”: the moment, we are told, he will announce the substance of his…

Last month the National Association of College and University Business Officers reported that the average American endowment returned 11.2 per cent last year. Huzzah! Trebles all round.Unfortunately, this is slightly worse than what a passive global 70/30 equity/bond portfolio returned in 2024. OK, well maybe it was a weird year. Endowments and their racier asset mix must have done better in the long run, right? Nope. Over the past decade, the $874bn worth of endowments that report to NACUBO have averaged annual gains of 6.8 per cent. A global 70/30 has gained 6.83 per cent. And this is a generous…

Descrease article font size Increase article font size It’s been almost four months since a Lucasville, N.S., family was forced to move out of their Halifax-area home, after their backyard was inundated with water. They’re calling on the municipality to take immediate action as the damage to their property increases.“We’re uprooted, we’re without a home, and there’s a lot that can do to a family,” said homeowner Darren Jamieson.Jamieson says flooding delayed the installation of the new septic system, and he spent $30,000 trying to fix the situation. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and…

A new Katanning University Study Hub opened its doors last Monday, promoting further education support and accessibility in the regions.

AID AGENCIES STRUGGLING On Friday, a powerful 7.7-magnitude quake struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay.  Shortly after, Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing made a rare call for international assistance. But observers said disaster response in hard-hit areas has been hampered by various factors. These include a lack of access to aid and proper equipment, damaged roads and communications infrastructure, and the ongoing conflict.  “The earthquake has consequences in parts of the country that are not so easy to access, where control is disputed, and those areas are going to be harder to reach,” said Alexander Matheou, the…

President Donald Trump weighed in on the romance between his ex-daughter-in-law Vanessa Trump and his golf buddy Tiger Woods for the first time on Monday. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Woods reached out to the president months ago to inform him of the golfer’s romance with Vanessa, and Trump gave his blessing. “He told me about it, and I said, ‘Tiger, that’s good, that’s good. I’m very, happy for both.’ But they just let them both be happy. Let them both be happy. They’re both great,” Trump said. U.S. President Donald Trump presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to…

In SummarySince 2023, Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP has been driven by services (45%), followed by industries (27%) and agriculture (17%). Small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs contribute significantly to employment, with 84% of jobs in Africa being driven by them.Despite facing multiple challenges, African economies are projected to stabilize at 4% annual growth by the end of 2025.Small businesses represent 90% of all businesses in Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa has 44 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).In 2025, Africa’s economic growth is projected to reach 4.1%, outpacing the global average, and positioning the continent as one of the fastest-growing regions globally,…