Starbucks feeling the heat as more chains vie for US coffee drinkers

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks revolutionized the United States' coffee culture. But it’s facing unprecedented competition. And that will make it harder to win back customers it's lost to perennial rival Dunkin' and fast-growing drive-thru chains like Dutch Bros and 7 Brew. Seattle-based Starbucks was a small, regional chain when former CEO Howard Schultz acquired it in 1987 and made it a global brand. Now, other small chains are seeing explosive growth. Chinese chains like Luckin Coffee and Mixue also are getting into the mix. The chief operating officer of Starbucks says the company believes the way to stay on top is to open more cafes that offer both convenience and a comfortable place to linger.

In Minneapolis, all-encompassing immigration story tests a newsroom in midst of digital transition

With the eyes of a nation upon it, the Minnesota immigration enforcement effort has tested a local newsroom in the midst of a digital transformation — and it hasn't left the local journalists overmatched. The Minnesota Star Tribune has produced some memorable stories and images over the past month. While a two-decade downturn has hollowed out many strong regional newspapers, the Star Tribune is part of a robust journalism tradition and has invested in its product, helping to make it ready for the moment. The news has compelled changes in how it does business, with the Star Tribune website's live blog taking center stage.

From Elon Musk to the former Prince Andrew, a who’s who of powerful men are named in Epstein files

NEW YORK (AP) — Prominent political and business leaders are named in the documents released by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. Elon Musk, Britain’s former Prince Andrew, New York Giants co-owner Steven Tisch, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Google co-founder Sergey Brin are just some of the powerful men who corresponded with Epstein over the years. Many have denied having close ties to the late disgraced financier, or at least having anything to do with his alleged sexual abuse of girls and young women.

Trump nominates government economist to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is nominating the government economist Brett Matsumoto to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump previously accused the federal agency of releasing low monthly jobs numbers in order to make him look bad. There is no evidence that the Bureau of Labor Statistics sought to undermine Trump with its data releases. Matsumoto has worked as a supervisory research economist at BLS and has been serving as a senior economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

No REAL ID yet? You can still fly, but it may cost $45 without another form of accepted ID

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification are subject to a new fee starting Sunday. The non-refundable $45 charge isn't a penalty or fine, but payment for non-compliant travelers to use the Transportation Security Administration's new alternate identity verification option called ConfirmID. The process can take up to 30 minutes and doesn't guarantee passengers will make their flight if their identity can't be verified.

A chatbot entirely powered by humans, not artificial intelligence? This Chilean community shows why

About 50 members of a community outside Chile’s capital spent Saturday trying their best to power an entirely human-operated chatbot that could answer questions and make silly pictures on command, in a message to highlight the environmental toll and water usage of artificial intelligence data centers in the region. Organizers say the 12-hour project has fielded more than 25,000 requests from around the world, with more still coming in. The answers came from a rotating crew of volunteers working on laptops in a community center in Quilicura, a municipality at the urban edge of Santiago that has become a data center hub.

Trump's choice of Warsh to lead Fed could reshape the world's most influential central bank

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial markets and Congress given his appointment by a president who has loudly demanded much lower rates than many economists think are justified by economic conditions. Whether he can maintain the Fed’s long time independence from day-to-day politics while also placating Trump will be a tremendous challenge. Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump chose Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 but this year has relentlessly assailed him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.

A former Sierra Club Foundation director sues over internal racism that he says hinders its mission

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Sierra Club Foundation employee is suing the nonprofit, alleging that normal workplace interactions got twisted into an unfair harassment complaint to force him out after he called out racial discrimination internally. Pedro da Silva, 29, says he was brought on to lead an ambitious green energy investment program at the foundation, which is the charitable arm for the longstanding nonprofit. But he claims the lack of internal diversity and leaders' dismissive comments about Black employees ran contrary to the organization's progressive image. A spokesperson for the Sierra Club Foundation says da Silva's claims are “completely without merit” and that the decision to fire him was “carefully considered."

Warsh's challenge: Navigating Fed independence and Trump's demands

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin Warsh has sought the job of Federal Reserve chair, off and on, since President Donald Trump first considered him for the position nearly a decade ago. Now that he is in line for the job, the enormity of the challenge ahead of him is clear. To be effective, Warsh will have to gain the trust of the committee of Federal Reserve officials, the financial markets, and not least Trump himself. Warsh may also face a bumpy confirmation process in the Senate, where two Republicans have said they will oppose his nomination unless a recently-revealed criminal investigation of the Fed and its current chair, Jerome Powell, is resolved.

Who is Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll tap former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair to replace Jerome Powell in May. The appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, amounts to a return trip for Warsh, 55, who was a member of the Fed’s board from 2006 to 2011. He was the youngest governor in history when he was appointed at age 35. He is currently a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to serving on the Fed’s board in 2006, Warsh was an economic aide in George W. Bush’s Republican administration and was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley.