Increasing Exports
Last year, Alabama companies exported more than 12 billion dollars of goods and services to other countries. While that number might sound impressive, it’s actually a 20 percent DECREASE from 2008. The global economic downturn is mostly to blame for the slump. President Obama wants to boost American exports, particularly to developing nations like Vietnam, India, and South Africa. The administration’s goal is to double American exports in five years. Last week, Francisco Sanchez came to Birmingham to talk about the export initiative. He’s the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Sanchez tells WBHM’s Bradley George that the President’s export plan is supposed to help businesses of all sizes.
1 student dead, 1 critically injured in shooting at Kentucky State University
Classes and campus activities were canceled for the rest of the week after a shooting that police said left one student dead and another in critical condition. Police said a suspect who is not a KSU student was in custody.
Millions of borrowers in Biden’s SAVE plan would start paying under new settlement
Legal challenges put SAVE borrowers in limbo for months, a time during which they were not required to make payments on their loans. That would change if the proposed settlement is approved.
Rising temperatures could have a chilling impact on young children
A study points to a new concern about the effect that heat can have on young children.
Believe it or not, this book makes taxes fascinating
The Price of Democracy tells the history of taxation from colonization to the present day. It's essential reading for anyone who cares about preserving democracy.
Ukraine’s last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas
Russia is pushing to take over all of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where one resident tells NPR that she feels her "life depends on how our guys at the front hold on."
Are we in a recession? Maybe professional Santas can tell us
Demand for professional Santas and other seasonal workers seems to have cooled. Could that be a sign we're in a recession?
