 |
|
|
|||||
Smoke from Canadian wildfires carried another day of poor air quality south of the border to the Midwest, where conditions in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were rated “very unhealthy” Tuesday.The fires have forced more than 27,000 Canadians in three provinces to flee their homes, and the smoke has even reached Europe.The smell of smoke hung over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area on Tuesday morning despite rain that obscured the full measure of the dirty air. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the worst of it in the Midwest on Tuesday.“As the smoke continues to move across the state Tuesday, air quality will slowly improve from northwest to southeast for the remainder of the alert area,” the agency said. “The smoke is expected to leave the state by Wednesday at noon.”The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state’s southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people, especially those with heart and lung disease, avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks while doing strenuous actions outdoors.Smoky conditions that have reached the U.S. periodically in recent weeks extended as far east Tuesday as Michigan, west into the Dakotas and Nebraska, and as far to the southeast as Georgia. Conditions at ground level are unhealthy The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow map showed a swath of red for “unhealthy” conditions across the eastern half Minnesota into western Wisconsin and northern Iowa. The map also showed purple for “very unhealthy” across much of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, where the Air Quality Index numbers of 250 and were common, though conditions started to improve slightly by late morning.The Air Quality Index AQI measures how clean or polluted the air is, focusing on health effects that might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the firesThe index ranges from green, where the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions where everyone is more likely to be affected, according to AirNow.While Minnesota officials warned on Monday that conditions in the northwest part of the state could reach the maroon category on Tuesday, conditions there were generally yellow, or moderate. There were a few scattered locations in the Twin Cities area that temporarily hit maroon on Tuesday morning. But by midday Tuesday, most of the remaining maroon spots in the region were on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.Hospitals are seeing more patients with respiratory symptomsHennepin Healthcare, the main emergency hospital in Minneapolis, has seen a slight increase in visits by patients with respiratory symptoms aggravated by the dirty air.Dr. Rachel Strykowski, a pulmonologist, said there is usually a bit of a delay before patients come in, which is unfortunate because the sooner those patients contact their doctors, the better the outcome. Typical symptoms, she said, include “increase in shortness of breath, wheezing, maybe coughing a bit more, and flares of their underlying disease, and that’s usually COPD and asthma.”What happens, Strykowski said, is that the fine particulate matter from the wildfire smoke triggers more inflammation in patients’ airways, aggravating their underlying medical conditions.Strykowski noted that this is usually a time those patients can go outside and enjoy the summer weather because there are fewer triggers, so the current ones forcing them to stay inside can feel “quite isolating.”People can protect themselves by staying indoors or by wearing N95 masks, she said. Strykowski added that they must be N95s because the cloth masks many people used during the COVID-19 pandemic don’t provide enough filtration. The Canadian fire situation Canada is having another bad wildfire season, and more than 27,000 people in three provinces have been forced to evacuate. Most of the smoke reaching the American Midwest has been coming from fires northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg in Manitoba.Winnipeg hotels opened Monday to evacuees. More than 17,000 Manitoba residents have been displaced since last week, including 5,000 residents of the community of Flin Flon, nearly 400 miles (645 kilometers) northwest of Winnipeg. In neighboring Saskatchewan, 2,500 residents of the town of La Ronge were ordered to flee Monday, on top of more than 8,000 in the province who had been evacuated earlier.In Saskatoon, where the premiers of Canada’s provinces and the country’s prime minister met Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said all of Canada has come together to help the Prairie provinces.Two people were killed by a wildfire in mid-May in Lac du Bonnet, northeast of Winnipeg.Canada’s worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. The smoke reaches Europe Canada’s wildfires are so large and intense that the smoke is even reaching Europe, where it is causing hazy skies but isn’t expected to affect surface-air quality, according the European climate service Copernicus.The first high-altitude plume reached Greece and the eastern Mediterranean just over two weeks ago, with a much larger plume crossing the Atlantic within the past week and more expected in coming days, according to Copernicus.“That’s really an indicator of how intense these fires are, that they can deliver smoke,” high enough that they can be carried so far on jet streams, said Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the service.The fires also are putting out significant levels of carbon pollution an estimated 56 megatonnes through Monday, second only to 2023, according to Copernicus. Associated Press writers Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to hike nearly all of his tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to a punishing 50% on Wednesday, a move that would hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers.Foreign-made steel and aluminum is used in household products like soup cans and paper clips as well as big-ticket items like a stainless-steel refrigerators and cars. Economists warn that the latest tariffs will significantly squeeze the wallets of both companies and shoppers alike.Here’s what we know. What’s the tariff rate on imported steel and aluminum now? Steel and aluminum imports are currently taxed at 25%a rate that both metals have faced across the board since March 12 when Trump’s order to remove steel exemptions and raise aluminum’s levy from his previously-imposed 2018 import taxes went into effect.That’s about to double. In a proclamation issued Tuesday, Trump confirmed that the U.S. will begin taxing nearly all steel and aluminum imports at 50% after the clock strikes midnight Wednesday. Steel and aluminum from the U.K., meanwhile, will continue to be levied at 25% due to a recent trade deal. Why is Trump raising these tariffs? Trump says it’s all about protecting U.S. industries. He reiterated that argument on Friday, when he first announced the 50% tariff during a visit with steelworkers in Pennsylvania, where he also discussed a “planned partnership” between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel.In his speech at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley WorksIrvin Plant in suburban Pittsburgh, Trump said that the tariff hike would “further secure the steel industry in the U.S.” Shortly after, he took the same tone when sharing plans to also raise tariffs on imported aluminum.In Tuesday’s proclamation, Trump also said that the higher tariffs would ensure that imported steel and aluminum would “not threaten to impair the national security.”“In my judgment, the increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States,” he said in the proclamation. How is the industry responding? While some analysts have credited the tariffs Trump imposed during his first term with strengthening domestic production of steel and aluminum, many others have warned that stark new levies can make it difficult for the industry to adjust.Some organizations representing metal workers also note that tariffs aren’t the only solution needed to boost U.S. manufacturing.“While tariffs, used strategically, serve as a valuable tool in balancing the scales, it’s essential that we also pursue wider reforms of our global trading system,” David McCall, international president of the United Steelworkers union said in a statement, noting that work must be done “in collaboration with trusted allies” like Canadathe top exporter of steel and aluminum to the U.S.to help “contain the bad actors.”Matt Meenan, vice president of external affairs at the Aluminum Association, added that the trade group “appreciates President Trump’s continued focus on strengthening the U.S. aluminum industry,” but that “tariffs alone will not increase U.S. primary aluminum production.”“We also need consistent, predictable trade and tariff policy to plan for current and future investment,” Meenan said. What kinds of products could be impacted by heightened steel and aluminum tariffs? A range of businesses that rely on foreign-made steel and aluminum have already begun feeling the impacts of Trump’s previously-imposed levies. But the latest anticipated hikes could drive up costs even more.Steel and aluminum are used in a range of products like washing machines, consumer electronics and cars. Much of the auto industry relies on a global supply chain. And even if you aren’t in the market to buy a new vehicle, repairs could involve parts that use imports of either metal, driving up overall maintenance and ownership costs.In the grocery aisle, steel and aluminum are ubiquitous in the packaging for many foods, including canned tuna, soup and nuts. Experts warn that hiking import taxes on these materials could led to higher grocery prices overall, further straining consumers wallets.The aluminum and metal tariffs also carry wider implications for construction and transportation as a whole, as many key building parts and materials are made with these metals. Economists further warn of spillover impacts. Even if a product isn’t directly packaged in steel or aluminum, there could be higher costs to build the shelf it’s sold on, for example, or truck used to transport it to the store. And all of that could trickle down to the consumer down the road.If foreign competition becomes “priced out” due to these new tariffs, U.S. steel and aluminum producers may also find room to raise their own prices. As a result, even companies that don’t buy these foreign metals could end up paying more.Steel prices have already climbed 16% since Trump became president in mid-January, according to the government’s Producer Price Index. And as of March 2025, steel cost $984 a metric ton in the U.S., significantly higher than than in Europe ($690) or China ($392), per the U.S. Commerce Department. Will there be any exceptions? The new 50% tariff rate will apply to nearly all steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. from other countries. But the U.K., which recently reached a sweeping trade agreement with the U.S., will see an exception.As part of trade deal reached between the two nations on May 8, the U.K. said that the U.S. had agreed to eliminate its current 25% duties on British steel and aluminum down to zero. That exemption had yet to go into effect in the weeks followingbut in his proclamation issued Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that it was “necessary and appropriate” to implement the deal, and would “accordingly provide different treatment” for these metals coming from the U.K.Per Trump’s proclamation, the duty on British steel and aluminum will now stay 25%. But that rates could be adjusted starting on July 9 if the U.S. government determines that Britain has not complied with the framework.Trump’s planned hikes for steel and aluminum tariffs for the rest of the world could spark retaliation from other trading partners. In response to levies imposed on these metals earlier in the year, for example, the European Union previously outlined countermeasures.The 27-nation bloc later delayed those actions until July 14 in efforts to ease negotiations, but said on Monday that was preparing a list of measures to enact if a trade deal with the U.S. crumbles. AP Writers Jill Lawless in London, Josh Boak and Michelle Price in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Shares in Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) jumped yesterday after the air taxi company announced a potential deal with the Saudi Arabia-based Abdul Latif Jameel. The deal could lead to Joby supplying up to 200 of its eVTOL aircraft. Heres what to know about the potential and its effect on Jobys stock price. What is Joby? Joby Aviation, better known as Joby, is a Santa Cruz, California-headquartered aviation company that is developing a fleet of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehiclesin other words, flying taxis. Joby was founded in 2009 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 via a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Prior to its NYSE debut, Joby was named one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies for 2021. While the company is developing flying taxi vehicles, one of its primary aims is to become a servicean Uber of the skies, so to speak. Because of its relatively small market cap of around $6.7 billion and interesting futuristic product (a flying rideshare service), Joby’s stock is somewhat popular with investors who lean more toward dabbling in meme stocks and small-cap stocks that have potential to see sky-high returns if their products eventually take off (no pun intended). Joby says it currently has strategic partnerships with Toyota, Delta, and Uber, and it employs more than 1,700 engineers. For its Q1 2025, which ended March 31, Joby reported a net loss of $82.4 million. What deal did Joby announce yesterday? Yesterday, Joby Aviation announced a potential deal with Abdul Latif Jameel, a business based in Saudi Arabia. Potential is the key word here. Thats because the two companies didnt actually agree to sell anything to or buy anything from one another. Instead, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU will see the companies explore opportunities to establish a distribution agreement in Saudi Arabia for Jobys electric aircraft, according to Joby. That potential distribution agreement may see Joby deliver up to 200 air taxis and other related services valued at up to $1 billion to Abdul Latif Jameel over the coming years. Joby has positioned the potential deal as a win-win for both American and Saudi Arabian business interests. This collaboration is about bringing Americas leadership in electric air mobility to the world, Joby Aviation CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in a statement announcing the deal. Joby stock rises on the news Given that Joby has recently been worth about $6 billion in total, its no wonder the companys stock jumped yesterday after it announced it was exploring a single deal worth up to $1 billion. By the close of the market yesterday, JOBY stock had risen over 7% to $8.03 per share. In premarket trading this morning, as of the time of this writing, JOBY stock is up another 2%. However, while JOBY stock has been flying high over the past two days, its important to put the stocks past performance into perspective. Despite JOBYs stock price surge in the last 24 hours, the companys stock was still down year-to-date by 1.23% as of yesterdays close. At the same time, when you look at the last 12 months, JOBY shares have had a significant return. Since last June, the stock has risen nearly 65%. Where the stock goes from here is anyones guess. However, the company has had some exciting advances in recent years. In February 2024, Joby announced that it plans to launch an air taxi service in Dubai by 2026, and in October 2024, Joby showed off one of its air taxis to much fanfare in New Yorks Grand Central Station. The company said that an air taxi could carry up to 1,000 pounds of payload/people, had a range of 100 miles, and could reach speeds up to 200 mph.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||