Trump to put import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, kitchen cabinets, furniture and heavy trucks

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is putting import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting on Oct. 1. Trump said Thursday on his social media site that foreign manufacturers of furniture and cabinetry were flooding the United States with their products and that tariffs must be applied “for National Security and other reasons.” Trump said that foreign-made heavy trucks and parts are hurting domestic producers.

Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft said it has disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action came Thursday after The Associated Press and The Guardian published reports revealing how the Israeli Ministry of Defense had been using Microsoft’s Azure platform to aid in the war in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.

Asian shares tumble after Trump says he will impose new tariffs on drugs and other goods

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares have slipped after President Donald Trump announced plans for new tariffs including 100% import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, starting on Oct. 1. U.S. futures were little changed after Wall Street stumbled to a third straight loss on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Dow shed 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.5%. All three indexes are still near their records set at the start of the week. Stocks felt pressure from reports showing the U.S. economy may be stronger than economists thought. That could make the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates several times in coming months.

Canada Post union launches strike as government moves to end most door-to-door mail

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Canadian Union of Postal Workers went on strike Thursday after the government announced door-to-door mail delivery would end for nearly all households within the next decade. Canada Post said the strike will mean mail and parcels will not be accepted or delivered for the duration of the strike. Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound earlier announced sweeping changes aimed at shoring up Canada Post’s finances. The changes include more community mailboxes and slower delivery times. The union said it was caught off-guard by the changes. CUPW said all of its 55,000 Canada Post members were on strike immediately.

Woman sues Universal Orlando over injuries from same roller coaster in which man died after ride

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A woman has sued Universal Orlando Resort, claiming she was injured on a roller coaster at its newest theme park. Sandi Streets filed the negligence lawsuit Wednesday in Orlando, a week after a man died from injuries on the same ride. Streets says she was invited to Universal's Epic Universe theme park before it officially opened in May. She claims the dual-launch coaster caused her head to shake violently, resulting in permanent injuries. The lawsuit states she has suffered disability and medical expenses. Universal has not responded to request for comment.

Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring that a proposed deal allowing TikTok to continue operating in the United States will be a qualified sale that meets national security concerns laid out by the law. Much is still unknown about the actual arrangement, but Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping “gave us the go-ahead” to proceed with the deal. Any major change to the popular video platform could have a huge impact on how Americans — particularly young adults and teenagers — consume information online.

Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen urge Supreme Court to let Lisa Cook keep her job as a Fed governor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen and other former top economic officials appointed by presidents of both parties are urging the Supreme Court to preserve the Federal Reserve’s political independence and allow Lisa Cook to remain as a central bank governor for now. The filing Thursday comes as the justices are weighing an emergency appeal from the administration to remove Cook while her lawsuit challenging her firing by President Donald Trump proceeds through the courts. The Fed board was designed to be largely independent from day-to-day politics. No president has fired a sitting Fed governor in the agency’s 112-year history.

China launches an investigation into Mexico's tariffs on imports from Asia

BEIJING (AP) — China has opened an investigation into whether Mexico's import tariffs are a trade barrier. Mexico plans to impose taxes up to 50% on over 1,400 Asian products to protect local industries. A Chinese Commerce Ministry statement Thursday said these import duties harm the interests of affected countries. The ministry also announced an anti-dumping investigation into pecans from Mexico and the U.S. Mexico faces pressure from the Trump administration to limit imports from China. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denies U.S. pressure influenced the tariff decision. It's unclear if China's investigation will lead to concrete actions against Mexico.

US economy expanded at a surprising 3.8% pace in significant upgrade of second quarter growth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy expanded at a surprising 3.8% from April through June in a dramatic upgrade of the government's previous estimate of second-quarter growth. The Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — rebounded in the spring from a 0.6% first-quarter drop caused by fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade wars. The department had previously estimated second-quarter growth at 3.3%. The first-quarter GDP drop, the first retreat of the U.S. economy in three years, was mainly caused by a surge in imports as businesses hurried to bring in foreign goods before Trump could impose sweeping taxes on them.

Amazon to pay $2.5 billion to settle FTC allegations it duped customers into enrolling in Prime

SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon has reached a historic $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission which said the online giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime memberships, and made it difficult to cancel after they did so. The Seattle company will pay $1 billion in civil penalties — the largest fine in FTC history, and $1.5 billion will be paid to consumers who were unintentionally enrolled in Prime, or were deterred from canceling their subscriptions.