Headline News from The Associated Press
AP Headline News - May 03 2024 10:00 (EDT)
This is AP News. I'm Rita Folle Lee. It's day 11 for Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York. The AP's Donna Warder on whether we should expect him to testify in his own defense at some point. Thursday before proceedings, he claimed he can't testify. I'm not allowed to testify because of an unconstitutional gig order. We're appealing to gig order. The gag order is to stop Trump from making certain comments outside the trial. I'm Donna Warder. Employers pulled back on hiring in April. The AP's Sagar Magani with what that means. Monthly job growth had been averaging 276,000 this year. In April, employers added 175,000, a decent increase but far fewer than predicted and the smallest gain since October. It's assigned persistently high interest rates may finally be cooling the hiring pace. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%. The strong job market has been one factor in keeping inflation above the federal reserve's 2% goal. The Fed and Jerome Powell for now have put off any interest rate cuts until they get more confidence inflation is sustainably easing. I don't know how long it'll take. The economy's weighing on voters as November nears and many Americans blame President Biden for stubbornly high prices. Sagar Magani, Washington. Torrential rain is pounding southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing some highways around Houston. Some residents have been ordered to evacuate. Police moved in on a protest encampment at New York University this morning at the request of school officials. Officers also began clearing an encampment at the new school in Greenwich Village this morning. There have been weeks of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses nationwide. They've resulted in nearly 2,200 arrests. The price of gas is about 11 cents more than a month ago. This is AP news. Now to the IRS and its auditing. The IRS says that it's taken steps to address a wide disparity in audit rates between black taxpayers and other filers. A study from January 2023 involving university researchers and the Treasury Department found that IRS data-driven algorithms selected black taxpayers for auditing up to 4.7 times the rate of non-black taxpayers. Officials with the IRS said that discriminatory audits degrade trust in the tax system. Additionally, the IRS said that it plans to raise audit rates on companies with assets above $250 million to 22.6 percent in 2026. That's up from an 8.8 percent rate in the tax year 2019. Haya Punjwani, Washington. This morning China launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights. I'm Rita Foley, AP News. This country was built on a distinctly American work ethic. But today, work is in trouble. We've outsourced most of our manufacturing to other countries. And with that, we sent away good jobs and diminished our capability to make things. American Giant is a clothing company that's pushing back against this tide. They make a variety of high-quality clothing and activewear, like sweatshirts, jeans, dresses, jackets, and so much more. All made right here in the USA, from growing the cotton to adding the final touches. So when you buy American Giant, you create jobs for seamsters, cutters, and factory workers in towns and cities across the United States. And it's about more than an income. Jobs bring pride, purpose. They stitch people together. If all that sounds good to you, visit american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order when you use code Staple20 at checkout. That's 20% off your first order at american-giant.com with promo code Staple20.