
US retail sales come down from their stimulus-fueled high
CNN
US retail sales came back down to Earth in April after stimulus checks sent Americans on a shopping spree in March.
Month-over-month, retail sales were flat in April, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Stripping out car and auto parts, sales actually declined slightly, by 0.8%. The massive March advance that came on the back of a new round of stimulus checks from the American Rescue Plan was revised up to 10.7%, from 9.7% reported initially. Even though April sales were weaker than economists expected, total sales over the past three months are still up a whopping 27% compared with the same period a year ago.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











