Delta warning sign: Retail sales dipped more than expected in July
CNN
Americans shopped less than expected last month as the Delta variant swept across the country, fueling concerns that the pandemic might once again weigh on consumer spending and the economic recovery.
Sales declined by 1.1% in July adjusted for seasonal swings, the Census Bureau showed Tuesday. It was a steeper decline than the 0.3% economists surveyed by Refinitiv had predicted. It was also the second decline in three months, suggesting that the pent-up demand that fueled the recovery in the winter and spring spring may have evened out. Meanwhile, other economic data is hinting that the Delta variant might be giving consumers pause. Last week, preliminary data from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment plunged in August, dropping to the lowest level since December 2011.
Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will only have to pay $50 a month.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.
A Delaware state trooper was killed along with the suspected gunman Tuesday during a shooting at a motor vehicle agency near Wilmington, authorities said.
Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election.
A new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC’s federal court Monday challenges the Kennedy Center board of trustees’ move to add President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution.
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Some staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs are finding little to be merry about after the agency said it would eliminate tens of thousands of open, unfilled positions across the country as it looks to streamline its staffing.
Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”
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Political opposites are closing 2025 as they did 2024: on each side of America’s Donald Trump divide. But CNN’s “All Over the Map” survey did provide several interesting takeaways. Some may be instructive about the midterm election climate, at least at this beginning stage.
A 2-year-old child is among at least five people who were killed when a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, US Coast Guard officials say.
The Trump administration is suing the local government of Washington, DC, over its gun laws, alleging that restrictions on certain semiautomatic weapons run afoul of Second Amendment rights.