US screens record-setting 2.99 million air passengers in single day
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it had screened 2.99 million airline passengers on Sunday, the highest-ever number in a single day.
The agency said on Monday it expects to screen more than 32 million travelers during the 2024 Independence Day travel period that runs from Thursday through July 8, which is 5.4% higher than 2023 levels.
The TSA said it expects on Friday it will for the first time screen more than 3 million people, the busiest day expected during the upcoming holiday period. Sunday's record broke the prior high of 2.95 million set in late May, while seven of the 10 busiest travel days ever have occurred over the past month.
A group representing major U.S. airlines forecast record summer travel with airlines expected to transport 271 million passengers, up 6.3% from last year.
US to clarify enforcement of antitrust laws in meatpacking
Livestock farmers in the U.S. would have a clearer path to bringing antitrust complaints against meatpacking companies for unfair business practices under a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.
The proposed rule is the fourth introduced by President Joe Biden's administration to boost competition in the highly consolidated meatpacking industry.
Earlier rules would require fairer pay to chicken farmers, enhance transparency in poultry contracts, and prohibit retaliation against chicken farmers for raising concerns about anticompetitive behavior.
The rule proposed on Tuesday would clarify how farmers and ranchers should prove they have been harmed by alleged anti-competitive behavior of meatpackers and will better enable the USDA to enforce antitrust laws, the agency said in a press release.
US Supreme Court narrows reach of federal corruption law
The U.S. Supreme Court sided on Wednesday with a former mayor of an Indiana city who was convicted in a case in which he was accused of taking a bribe, in a ruling that could make it harder for federal prosecutors to bring corruption cases against state and local officials.
The justices ruled 6-3 to reverse a lower court's decision that had upheld the corruption conviction of former Portage mayor James Snyder for accepting $13,000 from a truck company that receivedmorethan$1millionincontractsduring his time in office.
The court's conservative justices were in the majority in the ruling authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while its liberal members dissented.
US weekly jobless claims, equipment spending data point to slowing economy
First-time applications for U.S. unemployment benefits drifted lower last week, but the number of people on jobless rolls jumped to a 2-1/2 year high in mid-June, suggesting that labor market conditions were easing amid slowing economic growth.
Ebbing economic momentum was underscored by other data on Thursday showing business spending on equipment declined in May, while a slump in exports pushed up the goods trade deficit. The stream of softer data on the heels of a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter increases the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in September.
Retail sales were tepid in May and inflation pressures subsided considerably. Economists do not see the data as suggesting that a recession was imminent.
"The U.S. economy is on track for a soft landing, just what the Fed wants to see," said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
NASA, Boeing continue evaluating Starliner's propulsion system performance
NASA said on Thursday that it would continue to evaluate Starliner's propulsion system performance along with Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab before the shuttle returns from the International Space Station (ISS). NASAandBoeingdidnotprovideanewdateonthereturn,whichhadbeensetforJune26afterapushback from the first potential date of June 14.
Lastweek,NASAfurther postponed theBoeingStarliner's returntoEarth from theISS,carryingits firstcrew of astronauts, to allow more time for review of technical issues that had been encountered.
The U.S. astronauts, Barrt "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, lifted off on June 5 as a final demonstration to obtain routine flight certification from NASA.
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https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/nasa-boeing-continue-evaluatingstarliners-propulsion-system-performance-2024-06-27/