Economy
A small U.S. town grew a big company. Can it weather the tariff blizzard?
A rural Minnesota town is home to the biggest tech giant you've never heard of. Now it's riding out an unprecedented kind of storm.
Stocks gain on hopes Trump will ease tensions with the Fed — and China
The Dow Jones advanced after Trump said he wouldn't fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell and on hopes of easing tensions over tariffs with China.
Trade wars grew America’s auto industry. Historians warn today’s tariffs won’t
Past success bringing foreign car companies stateside means the U.S. has more to lose and less to gain in today’s trade wars.
The global economy will be hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, IMF warns
The International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecasts for the global economy to 2.8% as President Trump's tariffs risk sparking a trade war.
Sell USA? Why Trump’s tariffs may be sparking a historic storm on Wall Street
When Trump announced sweeping tariffs this month, he called it "Liberation Day." But there are fears that it may well have been the day foreign investors started to lose faith in the United States.
How tariffs could impact the availability of baby products
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Steven Dunn founder and CEO of Munchkin a U.S.-based company selling lifestyle products for mothers, babies and children. Dunn has written an open letter to President Trump and Congress about how tariffs could harm his business and American families.
Trump calls for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s ‘termination’ in blistering attack
President Trump lashed out at Powell for not acting sooner to lower interest rates. The president's own tariffs make that more difficult, by putting upward pressure on prices.
Tariffs make sour grapes for American winemakers
American winemakers tell us why tariffs hurt their industry.
Retail sales jump as people rush to buy cars ahead of tariffs
The key driver of the economy saw the biggest increase in over two years in March, as car buyers tried to get ahead of President Trump's tariffs on imported autos and auto parts.
Why is Alabama’s workforce participation rate so low? And what’s being done to improve it?
While Alabama boasts an unemployment rate that is among the lowest in the country, its workforce participation rate consistently lags the national average, meaning a large portion of Alabamians are neither employed nor actively seeking work. This has raised concerns both about barriers to employment for individuals and about the state’s economic future.
Hong Kong post office will stop shipping parcels to the U.S. over tariffs
Hong Kong is caught in the middle of the trade disputes between the U.S. and China despite being a free port. The former British colony has trade and customs policies different from mainland China's.
Trump’s tariffs have been a source of both hope and fear among Gulf South industries
As Wall Street swings wildly under the weight of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, reactions in the Gulf South are mixed.
Are UAB officials mum about grant cuts because they fear a spiteful president?
Cuts to federal research grants could cost UAB $70 million a year, leading to layoffs and economic impacts beyond the campus. Some faculty and area leaders want UAB to be more vocal against the Trump administration cutbacks.
Data centers bring billions to Mississippi. Are the investments worth the risk?
State leaders have lauded the beginning of two new projects, but some industry experts said they come with big power demands and few permanent jobs.
Under Trump, Huntsville might finally gain Space Command. It could also lose much more
The 1,600 jobs Space Command would bring to the Rocket City might not make up for potential cuts to NASA and the Department of Defense.
Deep cuts to NIH funding would cause economic harm across Trump-friendly Alabama
Birmingham has become one of the country’s leading hubs for biomedical research. Banners downtown brag about the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s status in the top 1% of institutions for NIH funding, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars into the region.
Tourism in New Orleans remains strong despite terrorist attack. Will the trend last?
The Super Bowl is in town, and so far, fears that visitors would avoid the big game because of January’s attack on Bourbon Street have not rang true.
One-day strikes are in: Why unions are keeping it short on the picket line
Strikes can be a double-edged sword. Keeping them short can help workers gain leverage while minimizing the pain for those who don’t have it.
Here are 3 questions to ask before panic buying during a supply chain breakdown
The dock worker strike in October led to some shoppers panic buying the wrong items. Here are tips for how to prep the right way, according to experts.
It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time in McCalla: Smuckers opens biggest Uncrustables factory in the country
The facility represents a more than $1 billion capital investment from Smuckers and is predicted to bring in 750 jobs to the community.
Amazon workers in Alabama will have third labor union vote after judge finds illegal influence
Administrative law judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday ordered the third vote for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama after determining that Amazon committed six violations leading up to the second election in March 2022.
‘Five Points South is so much more than that’: residents reflect one month after mass shooting
How is the neighborhood holding up in the weeks since a mass shooting left four people dead and 17 wounded.
1 reason people don’t evacuate for hurricanes? Rising costs, and they’re getting pricier
One researcher estimates evacuations can cost residents more than five times the amount they did 20 years ago.
Lilly Ledbetter, an icon of the fight for equal pay, has died at 86
Ledbetter had worked a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for 19 years when she received an anonymous note saying she was being paid significantly less than three male colleagues.
Alabama’s construction industry is in dire need of workers. Here’s how companies are responding
Nationally and in Alabama, a construction-workforce shortage has stretched for decades. Now, as increased demand after the pandemic shows no signs of slowing and as billions of dollars in federal funding for infrastructure and manufacturing projects flows to states, the problem is growing.
How Alabama food banks are keeping rural communities fed
As the November election approaches, food insecurity is one issue that’s top of mind for residents in Alabama’s newly redrawn District 2.
‘A dream come true’: Alabama ‘grandfamilies’ are set to receive opioid settlement funds
The new state program— the first of its kind in the U.S. — will give $280,000 from opioid settlement funding to grandparents raising their grandchildren.
A plan to fix Jackson’s water system could cost all of Mississippi its food stamps
The DOJ and USDA said using a SNAP recipient’s information to distribute JXN Water’s roughly $30 discount to low-income customers would violate privacy.
Q&A: A New Orleans Dollar General employee discusses $12M settlement, store closures, more
Dollar General stocker and advocate David Williams hopes the complaint and settlement will lead to positive changes for employees.
Nissan workers in Mississippi consider another union campaign: VW ‘proved it can be done’
Pro-union workers at the Canton, Mississippi, plant say Volkswagen proved the UAW can win in the South, but other factors are in play — like the 2024 election.
What’s unique about this Gadsden restaurant? It’s more than the food
Beautiful Rainbow Café is unusual. Students with significant cognitive disabilities staff the café, and it’s one of few vegetarian-only restaurants in Alabama.
The UAW’s union dreams seemed unstoppable. Then came the realities of the South
After a historic victory in Tennessee, the United Auto Workers southern campaign is still recovering from a big rejection in Alabama. How will it recover?
