A Charged Lemonade from a Panera Bread Co. is seen on a table, Dec. 12, 2023, in New York. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- Fast casual restaurant chain Panera Bread is doing away with highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade drinks that have been at the center of multiple wrongful death lawsuits since last fall.
A spokesperson for Panera confirmed to ABC News that is has undergone a "recent menu transformation," as first reported by Bloomberg.
In an emailed statement, the spokesperson said that the company "will be focusing next on the broad array of beverages," which includes "low sugar and low-caffeine options."
The spokesperson declined to comment further to ABC News on litigation or further details on the Charged Lemonade, including when the controversial drink will be pulled from menus.
Panera has faced at least three separate lawsuits regarding its caffeinated lemonade drink since last fall.
In documents previously obtained by ABC News, the lawsuits claimed high levels of caffeine as a result of drinking Panera's Charged Lemonade led to health complications and two customer deaths.
The latest of the ongoing suits was filed on Jan. 16 and alleged the drink led to "permanent" heart problems suffered by the plaintiff.
Panera has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement last October following the initial wrongful death lawsuit, which involved 21-year-old University of Penn student Sarah Katz, who died from cardiac arrest after drinking the Charged Lemonade, a Panera spokesperson told ABC News, "We were saddened to learn last week about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz. While our investigation is ongoing, out of an abundance of caution, we have enhanced our existing caffeine disclosure for these beverages at our bakery cafes, on our website and on the Panera app."
The company issued a separate statement to ABC News in December, following a second wrongful death lawsuit involving 46-year-old Dennis Brown, who had a chromosomal disorder and avoided energy drinks due to high blood pressure, according to his family. According to the complaint, Brown had been drinking charged lemonades for six days before he died, allegedly believing they contained "a reasonable amount of caffeine safe for him to drink."
"Panera expresses our deep sympathy for Mr. Brown's family. Based on our investigation, we believe his unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company's products," a spokesperson for Panera told ABC News at the time. "We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as a previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products."
Panera did not respond to a request for comment on the third lawsuit, which was filed in January and involved a woman named Lauren Skerritt, who claimed she suffered "permanent cardiac injuries" as a result of drinking Panera's Charged Lemonade.
(NEW YORK) -- Apple unveiled new models of its iPad at an event on Tuesday, promising revamped devices at affordable prices.
"This is the biggest day for iPad since its introduction," CEO Tim Cook declared.
The announcement exemplified the current strategy at Apple: Rely on new models of its signature items, rather than transition to the next big product, analysts told ABC News.
While the world's second-largest company, in terms of market capitalization, risks dependence on longstanding products in a competitive sector, analysts say the approach allows Apple to capitalize upon its loyal customer base and popular devices while it develops new products like Apple Vision Pro, the company's mixed reality headset.
However, with a starting cost of $3,499 and a higher-powered version at around $4,000, Apple Vision Pro remains far from a price point that would make it affordable for a wide audience, says Ben Bajarin, an analyst at research firm Creative Strategies. Further, Apple has remained largely quiet in the industry-wide race toward artificial intelligence technologies and products.
"We still don't know what's next," Bajarin said. "That's what's hard for everybody," though he added, "There's still no company on the planet that has the level of consumer hardware scale that they do."
Apple did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
In its latest earnings report, Apple last week revealed a sales slump for some of its mainstay products. Smartphone sales dropped 10% over the three months ending in March, when compared with the same period a year earlier. Even more, iPad sales fell 17% over that period, the earnings report said.
In all, Apple sales fell 4% over the three-month period ending in March, when compared with the same stretch last year.
Speaking on a conference call last week, Cook attributed the decline in sales to a difficult comparison with the quarter one year earlier, when a loosening of COVID-related supply blockages triggered a sales boom. In the absence of that one-time surge, sales would have grown to start 2024, Cook said.
The earnings report set the stage for Apple's event on Tuesday, in which the company rolled out fresh models of its iPad in an effort to bolster sales.
Apple showcased a redesigned 11-inch iPad Air and a newly released 13-inch iPad Air, each of which is equipped with the M2 Chip. The 11-inch iPad Air cost starts at $599, while the 13-inch model goes for $799.
The company also released fresh models of its premium iPad Pro, describing it in an online statement as "the thinnest Apple product ever." The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999, while the 13-inch iPad Pro begins at $1,299.
Customers can order the new products online now and find them in-store next week, the company said.
Many analysts are looking ahead to the Worldwide Developers Conference next month, when Apple is expected to make a "major AI announcement," Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, said in a note to investors that was shared with ABC News.
The company may reveal plans to incorporate AI into its next round of iPhone models, potentially supercharging sales of the product, Ives said.
The combination of potential AI updates, coupled with the new iPad models, could amount to a "broader Apple hardware-driven upgrade cycle over the coming year," Ives further noted.
"We believe the seeds for an Apple growth turnaround are being planted in the field by Cook & Co.," Ives added.
Still, the strategy of improving pre-existing products rather than introducing new ones leaves Apple's long-term vision somewhat unclear, Bajarin said, while acknowledging that Apple Vision Pro – which became available for purchase in February in the U.S. only – remains in the early development stages. He also acknowledged that the buzzy product's steep price will eventually come down.
"We've gotten glimpses of what's next but everybody realizes it's not around the corner," Bajarin said. "It'll take many years to flesh that out."
In the meantime, Bajarin said, Apple will likely draw upon its massive customer base and potential AI-driven product upgrades to stabilize sales.
"I'm not concerned at all," Bajarin said. "It's not like they're losing customers to someone else. People are holding onto their stuff for longer because it's good enough."
(NEW YORK) -- In an effort to be more inclusive, The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name to Scouting America, the organization announced Tuesday.
The rebrand reflects "the organization's ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting," the group said in a release.
The Boy Scouts name change will take place on Feb. 8, 2025, the organization's 115th anniversary.
"Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be prepared for life," Roger A. Krone, president and chief executive officer of Scouting America, said in a news release. "This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting."
The announcement comes five years after the organization began including girls into scout programs. The organization said it has more than 176,000 girls in its programs, including 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
"Scouting America provides a welcoming, safe environment where youth can become the best version of themselves by learning from and respecting each other," Krone said.
(NEW YORK) -- Starbucks shares have plummeted more than 17% in value since the company revealed a sales slump in an earnings report last week.
“The brand is incredibly resilient, but it’s clearly not business as usual,” former CEO Howard Schultz said in a post on LinkedIn on Sunday.
The coffee giant is viewed by many analysts as a bellwether for consumer spending, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the nation’s economic activity. The company's latest struggles, in turn, raise a question: Is the engine of the U.S. economy faltering, or is something wrong at Starbucks?
The explanation involves a little of of both, analysts told ABC News.
The experts described consumers fatigued by a years-long bout of inflation alongside high borrowing costs. In addition, they added, Starbucks has struggled to adapt to a post-pandemic economy, and also faces backlash over controversy tied to its alleged corporate stance regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
“Consumers have less demand for expensive coffee,” Albert Wang, a professor of finance at Auburn University, told ABC News. “There are also issues at the company.”
Starbucks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In an earnings report last week, the company announced a roughly 2% decline in revenue over the first three months of this year, falling short of analysts’ expectations. Same-store sales, a measure of revenue generated at existing locations, dropped 4%.
On a conference call with analysts, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan last week attributed the sales slump in part to a generally “cautious consumer,” and noting as an example a decline in visits among U.S. customers who patronize the store only occasionally.
Narasimhan also cited additional sales headwinds, including the controversy tied to the Israel-Hamas war, as well as slower-than-expected performance in China.
Waning consumer enthusiasm, however, is hardly limited to Starbucks, analysts told ABC News.
Consumer spending in the U.S. slowed markedly at the outset of this year when compared with the final months of 2023, according to U.S. Commerce Department data released last week.
The trend coincided with stubborn inflation and a spike in credit card debt, suggesting challenges faced by consumers as they navigate rapid price increases and expensive borrowing costs.
The sluggish spending has weighed on restaurant brands beyond Starbucks. Fast-food giant McDonald’s reported a slowdown in sales earlier this month, as did KFC and Pizza Hut, both of which are owned by Yum Brands.
“When you see it happening at companies outside of Starbucks, that’s when it becomes a broader worry that you’re concerned about,” Michael Jones, an economics professor at the University of Cincinnati, told ABC News.
Starbucks, meanwhile, has encountered some specific challenges amid the wider consumer slowdown.
The company has struggled to sustain a surge in business experienced during the pandemic, when customers flocked to the Starbucks app flush with federal stimulus money and largely unable to dine at restaurants, Cait Lamberton, professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told ABC News.
“Starbucks accommodated a global challenge with a solution that worked really well for a time, but they have to fundamentally rethink the value they offer so they don’t become a quick-service fast-food place,” Lamberton said.
“Starbucks could charge a premium because it’s a little bit special,” Lamberton added of the company's pandemic pricing. “Now, they’re charging $6.50 for people to walk in and walk out 10 seconds later.”
The company has also faced negative publicity centered on a dispute with the labor union Workers United regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Starbucks sued the union in October after the labor organization, which represents food-service workers, posted a since-deleted message on X expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The message from the union subsequently triggered calls to boycott Starbucks, because some appeared to mistake the union's position for that of the company.
In response to ABC News' previous request for comment on the dispute, Starbucks pointed to a statement on the company's website.
“As the violence against the innocent in the region continues, some people are mistakenly tying these remarks to us, because Workers United and its affiliates and members continue to use our name, logo and intellectual property,” Starbucks said.
Workers United, which represents workers at roughly 400 unionized Starbucks locations, has negatively affected perceptions of the company through strikes and other labor actions, Nick Setyan, an analyst at Wedbush, told ABC News. The two sides are currently engaged in contract negotiations after reaching an agreement to restart talks in February.
“Historically, Starbucks has been billed as forward-looking and liberal,” Setyan said. “When you’re at war with a labor union, it doesn’t necessarily jibe with your brand identity.”
After acknowledging economy-wide and Starbucks-specific causes of the sales slump, Wang said the difficult times for the company may not change anytime soon.
“My expectation is that this will continue at Starbucks for an extended period of time,” Wang said. “I don’t think it will stop.”
(NEW YORK) -- At the start of 2024, the economy appeared to deliver just about everything President Joe Biden could want: falling inflation, robust growth and a forecast of interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve that might send economic output even higher.
Since then, however, the sunny outlook has darkened. Inflation has proven stubborn and output has slowed. Perhaps most notably, the Fed has cast doubt over whether rate cuts will arrive after all.
Experts who spoke to ABC News described the delay of interest rate cuts as a challenge for Biden that could make his reelection more difficult. The lack of cuts could weigh on economic output and compound the financial pain of inflation, they noted.
Moreover, if the Fed did cut rates, any benefits would likely take hold beyond Election Day. Those benefits would also be muted since key measures of economic health remain fairly strong, such as the pace of economic expansion and the level of unemployment, experts argued.
"High interest rates tamp down economic growth and that is a detriment to the president’s reelection," Matt Grossman, a professor of political science at Michigan State University who studies the role of economic performance in electoral politics, told ABC News.
"The only unknown there is the timeline," Grossman added, referring to delayed interest rate cuts. “It might be too late now to have a big effect on economic performance.”
When reached for comment, the Biden campaign directed ABC News to a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
At a meeting last week, the Fed decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady for the sixth consecutive time. The central bank said it does not anticipate cutting interest rates until it's confident that inflation is moving sustainably downward.
"So far the data has not given us that greater confidence," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday. "It is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected."
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1% but it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed's target rate of 2%.
Since last July, the Fed Funds rate has stood between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level in more than two decades.
The delayed interest rate cuts mark a blow to the Biden campaign, since the Fed’s posture illustrates the need for a continued fight against inflation, Steve Boms, founder and president of D.C.-based consulting firm Allon Advocacy.
"If you’re on the Biden campaign, you’re hoping that the rate cuts come as soon as possible because voters tend to vote based on their pocketbooks," Boms said.
Interest rate cuts would lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, potentially triggering a burst of economic activity through greater household spending and company investment.
Credit card holders could gain some immediate relief from sky-high interest rates while prospective homebuyers would see mortgage rates ease. Even a series of two quarter-point cuts at the Fed, however, would not sizably reduce such borrowing costs, Boms said.
Still, he added, the interest rate cuts would send an important signal that the administration has brought inflation under control.
"The headline of rates starting to come down could move the needle politically a little bit even if quantitatively it wouldn’t make that much of an impact on how much folks are spending on credit cards, auto loans and mortgages," Boms said.
The economy poses a political liability for Biden. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, slightly lower than his overall approval rating of 40%, according to a Gallup poll in March.
Public sentiment about the economy has improved in recent months but it remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to a University of Michigan survey.
That said, the economy has performed well on several key metrics. Economic growth has slowed in recent months but continues apace at a solid clip. Unemployment stands near a 50-year low.
The movement of interest rates prior to Election Day is unlikely to change economic factors that affect voter attitudes, such as the unemployment or growth rate, Joe Stone, a professor emeritus of economics of the University of Oregon, told ABC News.
"Most of the economic factors that would affect the election are already baked in this close to the election," Stone said.
(NEW YORK) -- Young adults and frequent users push back against the federal government forcing a sale of TikTok or banning the social media app in the United States, but older adults, infrequent users and nonusers are on board, resulting in a tilt toward support for action, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Overall, 51% in this ABC News/Ipsos poll say the U.S. government should try to force a sale of the popular app; 46% say it should not. And 53% support a ban on TikTok if it's not sold to a non-Chinese company, with 44% opposed.
A new law signed by President Joe Biden last month would ban TikTok in the United States unless it's sold to a non-Chinese buyer in nine to 12 months. As the survey question explains, critics say the app can be used by the Chinese government to improperly gather information about its users and to spread misinformation. TikTok denies this.
The poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates with fieldwork by Ipsos, finds that 34% of adults use TikTok -- 12% often, 10% occasionally and 12% rarely. The comparatively small group of frequent users is most opposed to action: 75% of them say the U.S. should not try to force a sale and 84% oppose a U.S. ban.
Others see it differently. Occasional users are divided on a forced sale, 47-51% support-oppose, while among those who use TikTok rarely or never, 56% support a mandatory sale, the poll finds. When it comes to banning the app if a sale doesn’t happen, two-thirds of occasional users are opposed, but rare users and especially nonusers are for it.
There's a clear generational split, partly reflecting use patterns. Fifty-five percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use TikTok, including 28% who do so often. Use declines with age to a third of Americans ages 30-64 and 14% of those 65 and older.
It follows that just 39% of adults younger than 30 favor a ban, rising steadily with age to seven in 10 seniors, the poll finds. Young women are especially skeptical: Two-thirds of women younger than 30 oppose a ban, compared with 52% of men in this age group. Differences by sex disappear for people age 50 and older.
The poll also finds ideological and partisan gaps. Democrats, independents and moderates divide evenly on a ban, while Republicans and conservatives are at least twice as likely to support than oppose it. Liberals oppose banning the app by a 13-point margin, 55-42%.
Partisan and ideological divisions also are reflected in vote-preference groups. Among people who support Donald Trump over Biden for president, 61% favor a forced sale of TikTok and 64% support a U.S. ban if a sale doesn't occur. Biden voters, on both counts, divide essentially evenly.
Methodology
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® from April 25-30, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,260 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points, including the design effect, for the full sample. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.
The survey was produced by Langer Research Associates, with sampling and data collection by Ipsos. See details on ABC News survey methodology here.
(NEW YORK) -- Publix and Dollar Tree shoppers should check their pantries for two types of Planters brand nuts that were recently recalled across five states.
In a company announcement dated May 3 and posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, Planters' parent company, Hormel Foods Sales, LLC, announced a voluntary recall of two Planters peanut and mixed nuts products produced at one of its facilities in April "because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes."
"Our commitment to food safety remains our utmost priority. A full investigation is currently under way to determine the potential source of the contamination," the company stated.
Details of Planters recall on honey roasted peanuts, mixed nuts
The recall is limited to two items, according to Hormel Foods: 4-ounce packages of Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts and 8.75-ounce cans of Planters Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts.
As of time of publication, the company said there had been "no reports of illness related to this recall," adding that "all retailers that received the affected product have been properly notified."
A representative for Hormel Foods told ABC News the company had "no additional updates beyond the [recall] notice at this time."
Planters product label information for recalled nuts
Impacted products can be identified by their "Best if Used By" date and UPC code.
Recalled Honey Roasted Peanuts bear the UPC code 2900002097 and a "Best if Used By" date of April 11, 2025.
Impacted Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts products bear the UPC code 2900001621 and a "Best if Used By" date of April 5, 2026.
"The 'Best if Used By Date' is located on the bottom of the Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts can and the UPC code is located on the side of the can," Hormel Foods stated in its recall announcement.
Click here for additional information and photos of the affected products.
No other varieties of Planters branded products were included in this recall.
Where recalled Planters nuts were sold
According to Hormel Foods, the recall impacts only "two retailers in five states."
"The products were shipped to Publix distribution warehouses in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina and to Dollar Tree distribution warehouses in South Carolina and Georgia," the company said Friday.
It added, "If a consumer has this product, they can discard the product or return it to the store where purchased for an exchange or full refund."
Customers with questions can contact Hormel Foods Customer Relations via the email portal on the company's website, via chat at https://www.planters.com or by phone at 1-800-523-4635, Monday through Friday, 8-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. CT, excluding holidays.
Potential health impacts, symptoms of Listeria
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause severe illness "when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body" after a person consumes contaminated food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those at higher risk include pregnant people, those aged 65 or older, or anyone who has a weakened immune system, the CDC states.
"For people who are pregnant, Listeria can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in their newborn," the agency states. "For people who are 65 years or older or who have a weakened immune system, Listeria often results in [severe illness that may lead to] hospitalization and sometimes death."
Other people can be infected with listeria, but rarely become seriously ill, according to the FDA. According to the CDC, anyone infected with listeria may experience "mild food poisoning symptoms" such as diarrhea or fever, and many recover without antibiotic treatment.
(WASHINGTON) -- In the nearly three years since President Joe Biden appointed Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency has taken on some of America's largest corporations, filing lawsuits or taking other actions to challenge Big Tech, Big Pharma and Big Business.
"The FTC has been squarely focused on making sure we're using all of our tools and authorities to protect the American people from illegal business practices," Khan told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an interview that aired Sunday.
Tasked with enforcing the nation's antitrust laws and protecting consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices, the FTC under Khan has homed in on industry giants like Amazon, Meta and biotechnology company Amgen. But not every pursuit has been successful -- an attempt to block Meta from acquiring a virtual reality startup failed, for example -- and Khan told Karl that she believes there's still much more to do.
"In many ways it feels like our work is just getting started," she said, telling Karl that it "would be an honor" to be nominated for another commissioner term after her current term expires on Sept. 24.
A Yale Law School graduate and former staffer on the House Judiciary Committee, Khan is the first person of South Asian descent to lead the agency and, at 35, is also the youngest FTC chair.
The commission has taken a more aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement under her leadership compared to decades past, but Khan said she's simply being the "law enforcer" the chair is meant to be.
"In many ways, we're undertaking a deeply conservative project, making sure we're going back to the roots of what the FTC is about, the actual text of the laws that Congress created, and making sure we're being faithful to the law on the books and the legal precedent," Khan said.
Some of Khan's critics include The Wall Street Journal editorial board, which last week published a piece titled "Lina Khan Wears Prada," criticizing the FTC's move to block a merger of two luxury fashion firms. The editorial headline seemed to be a reference to the 2006 film, "The Devil Wears Prada."
"I don't own any," Khan said, with a smile and a laugh, of the Italian fashion house, going on to defend the FTC's decisions on mergers. "Look, 98% of all deals in America go through without even a second question being asked by the American government. It's absolutely true that when we spot an illegal merger, we won't hesitate to act because if we don't do our job, the American people will lose out."
Khan has gained a reputation in her field as a fierce critic of Big Tech's dominance, and a piece she published about Amazon when she was a law student put her on the map.
That 2017 article, called "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," which was published in the Yale Law Journal and has been cited more than 2,000 times, argued Amazon was a monopoly that had "evaded government scrutiny in part through fervently devoting its business strategy and rhetoric to reducing prices for consumers."
In September, the FTC and more than a dozen states sued Amazon, alleging it engaged in illegal business practices that allowed it to "wield monopoly power."
"In what way is Amazon a monopoly?" Karl asked. "Because I can buy on Amazon, but I can also go down the street and I can buy at Walmart or I can buy at Target."
Khan said that Amazon has taken actions that ultimately mistreat customers.
"The fees that it charges to small businesses have dramatically increased over the last few years, so that now some small businesses have to pay 1 out of every $2 to Amazon. It's basically a 50% Amazon tax," she explained.
Israel's main cable provider halts Al Jazeera broadcasts, citing government ban "Our lawsuit also alleges that Amazon has been using a whole set of secret algorithms to quietly raise prices for consumers," she continued. "Our lawsuit alleges that if Amazon had not engaged in these illegal tactics, that would have allowed more rival online superstores to emerge, and that would be better for consumers who would face more price competition."
Amazon rebuked the lawsuits' claims after it was filed last year.
"The practices the FTC is challenging have helped to spur competition and innovation across the retail industry, and have produced greater selection, lower prices, and faster delivery speeds for Amazon customers and greater opportunity for the many businesses that sell in Amazon's store," Amazon said at the time.
Both Meta (formerly Facebook) and Amazon separately filed motions with the FTC requesting that Khan be recused from any decision related to their companies. She did not.
"Why did you not do that?" Karl pressed.
"The ethics laws primarily require recusal when you have some kind of conflict of interest," she said, like having stock in a company or a close family member who works for a company.
"But not a clear bias?" Karl pushed back. "I mean, you obviously had an opinion about Amazon before you took this job."
"I had done academic work. A lot of people that have the fortune of being appointed to these jobs come in through having done policy work," Khan said. "We're absolutely focused on enforcing the law without fear or favor. Well, we also don't want to kind of indulge, you know, requests that are not serious and that are being made in a frivolous way if there's no real conflict of interest."
For all the predictable critics, Khan also has fans spanning the political spectrum, from progressives like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to supporters of former President Donald Trump like Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Her Republican supporters have been dubbed the "Khanservatives."
Their support, however, doesn't surprise Khan.
"Antitrust and anti-monopoly has a long bipartisan history in our country," she said. "and it's because there's long been a recognition that in the same ways that if you concentrate power in our political sphere, that can undermine people's liberties and freedoms; if you concentrate power in the economic sphere, that can also be a major threat."
Khan said that monopoly power attracts bipartisan scrutiny, so regardless of who wins the presidential election in November and who chairs the FTC next, she believes the agency's approach under her leadership will continue.
"The bipartisan concern that we see about monopoly power, the way we see concern about people's data being harvested and surveilled, the way we see concern about financialization of health care -- these are all issues that I think will continue to attract concern no matter who's in this job," she said.
(WASHINGTON) -- Boeing officially locked out its unionized firefighters in Washington after the firefighter's union failed to come to an agreement with the company after two-and-a-half months of negotiations, primarily over pay.
This is the first time in over four decades that a group of firefighters have been on a lock out in the U.S.
"Despite extensive discussions through an impartial federal mediator, we did not reach an agreement with the union," Boeing said in a statement Saturday. "We are disappointed the union chose not to even bring our offer to its members for one final vote."
Boeing added, "We have now locked out members of the bargaining unit and fully implemented our contingency plan with highly qualified firefighters performing the work of IAFF members. Our plan ensures safe operations at our Puget Sound area sites with no impact to business operations."
The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local I-66 Union consists of 125 members in Washington state who work for Boeing and are tasked with responding to any incidents that happen on the Boeing campus.
"We're one of the only fire departments left in the country that only gets paid for 20 hours, but we're on shift for 24 hours," Boeing Firefighters Local I-66 President Casey Yeager told ABC News, saying Boeing firefighters receive a $50 bonus to stay for four extra hours.
The union said Boeing's lockdown is "intended to punish, intimidate, and coerce its firefighters into accepting a contract that undervalues their work."
"When is Boeing going to make safety a priority? When is Boeing finally going to listen?" said Casey Yeager, president of Local I-66, in a statement Saturday.
At Boeing, it currently takes 14 years to get to the top level of pay under current negotiations, the union says. Boeing wants to change that number to 19 years, according to the union. The union claims other Boeing employees reach top pay within five years.
Currently, the starting salary for Boeing firefighters is roughly $25 an hour, or $52,000 a year, which the union claims is lower than other municipal and industrial firefighters pay in Washington State. The union told ABC News that Boeing offered terms that were 20% lower than other local fire departments, including municipal and private industrial departments.
"We won't be intimidated by the bosses at Boeing. We'll stand up and fight," Edward Kelly, IAFF general president, said Saturday.
The firefighters' union said the goal in the event of a fire at Boeing is to have water or foam on any fire within four minutes, which the union says helps Boeing save billions of dollars on insurance.
In addition to emergency needs, Boeing first responders are on the ground for all airplane refueling, takeoffs, landings and medical emergencies.
They educate and train Boeing employees on safety measures on its Washington State campus, which includes anything from how to properly use fire extinguishers to how the sprinkler systems work on campus. Some of the firefighters at the Boeing site have been specially trained by NASA, to be able to retrieve the astronauts from the Boeing Starliner, a spacecraft that is designed to transport crews to the International Space Station (ISS).
"I think Boeing tends to forget that we don't have fires for a reason, because of what we do," Yeager added, accounting for their safety record.
Yeager says that the firefighters "can't staff accordingly, because our pay structure is so low right now. Instead, they've knocked our staffing levels down to what we deem is unreasonable."
Although they are fighting for better wages, Yeager says they are also fighting for safety and staffing levels while also fighting for better mental health resources.
The mental health services have temporarily been suspended while contract negotiations continue, which Yeager said impacted several of his union members who he said suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"They're not thinking about our people, they're not thinking about our families. They're thinking about the almighty dollar and how much they can save," Yeager said, referring to the company.
"It's just not safe. We can't mirror the workload that we're doing right now in a safe manner," the union president added.
Yeager told ABC News that some of his members are on public assistance and are often working other jobs to try and make ends meet.
Kjel Swedelius is one of the members who qualifies for public assistance due to his 7-year-old son who is non-verbal autistic and permanently disabled.
"Working here, I don't make enough money. So he [his son] does qualify for state assistance. I can't really have a second job to help support home life because I have to go home and help take care of him because it's 24/7 care," Swedelius told ABC News.
Swedelius said he loves his job but has considered selling his home and downsizing to make ends meet.
In a press release from Boeing, the company said the union proposed a pay progression that will allow firefighters to reach the top of pay progression within five years and it's inconsistent with other corporate and industrial fire departments. They also said the average take-home pay for the firefighter bargaining unit was $91,000. They say their "contract offer would significantly increase that figure."
Boeing told ABC News, "We've presented the union with two highly competitive contract offers that featured pay increases, outstanding healthcare coverage and one of the best 401(k) plans in the nation."
The company added that the new "compensation structure that increases pay for firefighters on a 24-hour shift schedule, but does not change any working requirements, would result in an average increase of approximately $21,000 per year."
"A lot of us got in the field knew we weren't gonna get rich but at the same time, we want to be paid evenly with our current area that we're serving," Yeager said.
A sentiment Swedulius echoed, "I really enjoy what I do here. And I really like the people I work with. So I'd love to be able to stay here. But if we obviously don't get a good contract, it won't be doable."
Boeing has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
Although the union has the right to strike at any moment, Boeing said it's been "forced to spend considerable time and resources to ensure the continuity of operations."
Kelly said the national union is supporting the local union in its ongoing battle for pay.
-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) -- A worse-than-expected jobs report on Friday offered the latest evidence of an economic slowdown that could help ease inflation and trigger interest rate cuts. The trend, however, threatens to downshift the nation’s brisk economic growth.
Employers hired 175,000 workers last month, falling short of economist expectations of 240,000 jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, which remains near a 50-year low.
The hiring in April marked a steep slowdown from the previous month and delivered the lowest monthly reading so far this year.
Economists who spoke to ABC News characterized the fresh data as a mild cooldown that may ease fears of stubborn inflation fueled by an economy running too hot.
The slowdown, they added, could help allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year without worrying about triggering a rebound of rapid price increases.
“This is the jobs report the Fed would have scripted,” Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told ABC News.
“Of course, today’s weaker numbers need to mark the start of a new slower trend for multiple rate cuts to seriously be back on the agenda -- but, by then, the new fear could be a slowing economy,” Shad added.
The major stock indexes ticked upward in early trading on Friday morning.
The cooldown in the job market matches a similar trend in another major measure of economic health: gross domestic product.
U.S. output slowed dramatically at the outset of 2024, though it continued to grow at a solid pace, U.S. Commerce Department data last week showed.
The cooldown has followed a prolonged period of high interest rates. Since last July, the Fed Funds rate has stood between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level in more than two decades.
The Fed decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady for the sixth consecutive time at a meeting on Wednesday, citing a lack of recent progress in slowing price increases.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1% but it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed's target rate of 2%.
The fresh jobs data on Friday could reassure the central bank that the U.S. has moderated its blistering growth, easing upward pressure on prices, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, told ABC News.
"Worried that the U.S. economy is overheating?” Hamrick said. “The April employment report throws a bit of cold water on that idea.”
Despite the cooldown, economists largely avoided alarm over the potential emergence of a weak jobs market.
"The April jobs report feels really good," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said in a post on X. "The job market is strong but is cooling off."
A person golfs on the first day of tourism resuming in west Maui, two months after a devastating wildfire, on Oct. 08, 2023 near Lahaina, Hawaii. Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE
(HONOLULU) -- Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law to give counties more authority to regulate short-term vacation rentals amid the ongoing state housing crisis and aftermath of the Maui wildfires.
Now, a day after the bill signing, local advocates from Lāhainā Strong are joining County Maui Mayor Richard Bissen to announce a new policy aimed at regulating and phasing out "thousands of transient vacation rentals that have not gone through the traditional permitting process."
It’s time we take a stand to house our people by phasing out illegal short term rentals.
Today, alongside Lahaina Strong, Hawai‘i’s Hoteliers and Hotel Labor Unions, we united in support of counties’ authority to phase out Short Term Rentals (STRs). pic.twitter.com/Yy9yFgcQbL
The Maui wildfires in August 2023 exacerbated the island's housing crisis, burning thousands of structures and displacing thousands of residents.
Residents have long complained about the impact of tourism and luxury home and resort development on housing accessibility, as well as the lack of affordable housing and rentals for residents.
In Lahaina, 25% of the region's housing units are listed as short-term rentals, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. To the south of Lahaina, that percentage jumps to 41.8%. To the north, it jumps to 87%.
Additionally, Hawaii residents have some of the highest housing costs in the nation -- about 2.7 times higher than the national average -- according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
In Maui Thursday, Mayor Bissen announced that he directed the Planning Commissions to consider phasing out and prohibiting the use of transient vacation rentals in the Apartment District, which allows condos, apartments and planned developments that are not hotels to operate as short-term rentals without any state or county permit.
"This was won through the struggle of our grassroots movement, which put the opportunity and need to tackle our Maui vacation rental crisis into the dialogue through relentless advocacy, public education, community organizing — and even a 174-day and counting sustained occupation of Kā‘anapali Beach," said Jordan Ruidas, founder and campaigns coordinator of Lāhainā Strong.
"Now, we call on the Maui County Planning Commissions and County Council to swiftly join us in action to ensure dignified housing for fire survivors and return our communities to local people."
(NEW YORK) -- For months, the Federal Reserve has forecasted interest rate cuts that would deliver much-needed relief for Americans burdened by high mortgage and credit card loans.
At a press conference this week, however, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cast doubt on whether those rate cuts would arrive after all, saying the Fed needs to “gain greater confidence” that inflation is headed toward an acceptable level.
The prospect of high interest rates for a longer period of time could exacerbate the financial pain already imposed by elevated borrowing costs, making loans expensive even as consumers still weather elevated prices, experts told ABC News.
Americans with savings accounts and other cash funds will continue to benefit from solid returns, though they tend to be well-off people, the experts added.
“Everyday people are suffering the most,” James Cox, a financial adviser and managing partner of Virginia-based Harris Financial Group, told ABC News. “Not only are the high interest rates gobbling up their excess income but inflation is really killing them on everyday items.”
The Fed decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at a meeting on Wednesday, citing a lack of recent progress in price increases. Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1% but it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed's target rate of 2%.
Since last July, the Fed Funds rate has stood between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level in more than two decades.
Over that period, borrowing costs have risen for everything -- from credit cards to student loans to mortgages.
By the end of 2023, Americans held more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, which marked a record high, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February.
As high interest rates persist, credit card borrowers risk ballooning costs, Jason Taylor, an economics professor at Central Michigan University, told ABC News.
As of Wednesday, average credit card interest rates stood at a staggering 20.6%, Bankrate data showed.
“Having interest rates higher for a longer period of time is going to hurt people who have a lot of credit card debt,” Taylor said.
In similar fashion, mortgage rates are likely to remain costly, posing difficulty for prospective homebuyers who’ve faced elevated loan costs for two years.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.22% over the week ending on Thursday, matching the highest level since November, Freddie Mac data showed.
When the Fed imposed its first rate hike of the current series in March 2022, the average 30-year fixed mortgage stood at just 3.85%, according to Freddie Mac data.
“It’s very difficult for a first-time homebuyer to get into a property,” Cox said. “It’s very difficult to build the American dream.”
Some people, however, would benefit from a prolonged period of high interest rates.
The rates directly benefit savers, who stand to gain from an uptick in the interest yielded by accounts held at banks. Well-off and older Americans tend to hold a larger share of their assets in savings or other cash funds.
Some high-yield savings accounts are offering interest rates of more than 5%, which far exceeds the inflation rate of 3.5%, NerdWallet data shows.
“Money is appearing out of nowhere with no risk, which just adds to your wealth,” Cox said.
He added, “Interest is like energy -- there’s an equal and opposite reaction. If you’re a borrower, the effect is horrible; if you’re a saver, the effect is fantastic.”
(NEW YORK) -- Ahead of the upcoming election in November, the popular ride-sharing service Lyft announced a partnership that its CEO said he hopes continues the company's mission to bring more people -- especially younger voters -- to the polls.
Lyft CEO David Risher told ABC News in an interview that ahead of the upcoming election, he wanted to increase the company's footprint when it comes to increasing voter turnout.
"One of the most important things you can do to keep the community active and engaged is to make sure they have easy access to the polls," Risher said in the company's Washington, D.C., office.
That includes a partnership between Lyft and Levi Strauss & Co., Showtime and MTV to launch a new non-partisan initiative to increase voting among community college students.
The new initiative, the Community College Commitment, comes as community colleges' enrollments are expected to swell over the next seven years. The National Center for Education Statistics said that by 2031, enrollment in two-year institutions is projected to increase from 4.7 million students in the fall of 2021 to 5.3 million students by fall 2031. The Community College Commitment aims to increase voter turnout by 500,000 new voters by 2028.
Starting good voting habits when you're young is important, Risher said, and one of the reasons the partnership is targeting college students.
"If you start voting when you're young, it becomes part of your life. It's a habit to build," Risher said.
The Community College Commitment works to address that effort through a Get Out The Vote community college competition, which will allow community colleges that host registration drives and voter education events to be entered into a competition to have a live on-campus concert on Oct. 29 to coincide with Vote Early Day.
Also, Lyft announced earlier this week that it will offer discounted rides to the polls on Election Day -- a move it has made in previous years as well.
For Lyft, focusing on voting access has been a decadelong effort, Risher said. Back in 2014, the ride-share company began focusing on voting access to the polls, which it says has helped more than 3 million people vote over the past decade.
"For me, it was more about doubling down on something we're already pretty good at," Risher said of the company's ability to transport people via ride-share, bikes and scooters all in one app.
Lyft has several other initiatives that the company hopes will increase voter turnout. For the election in November, Lyft will be working with several nonprofit organizations to get voters to the polls through the distribution of special ride codes to people in their respective networks who are in need of transportation. One of the nonprofit organizations is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
National Director of the NAACP Youth & College Division Wisdom Cole said in a statement to ABC News that "it is crucial that college students have access to the tools they need to bring their power to the polls."
"The reality is, many young people, especially young Black people, are disenfranchised by a lack of basic knowledge and resources," Cole said. "That's why we're proud to continue partnering with Lyft to ensure that obstacles such as transportation do not become barriers to casting an effective ballot."
In addition to ride-sharing plans, Lyft will work with partners such as the League of Women Voters, When We All Vote and VoteRiders to help riders, drivers and Lyft team members register to vote and educate them on voting ID requirements. Additionally, Lyft employees will be able to volunteer to become poll workers.
"There's a great saying, which is 'if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,'" Risher said. "So you find coalitions that can advance whatever it is you're trying to get done to impact the world."
(NEW YORK) -- Tipping has seen a shift, especially compared to pre-pandemic, when the cost of food and everything else was lower, but one man's recent experience that went viral on social media has sparked new questions around gratuities.
Mark O'Brien shared a video on Instagram showing an electronic screen that displayed the suggested tip percentages on his $27 check total. The problem he said, "15% of $27 is not $6, 18% of 27 is not $7, 20% is not $8."
The fuzzy math prompted hundreds of varied comments from viewers, with some writing that "restaurants need to pay their employees, not us," and one person arguing that "tipping is out of control."
The payment device in the video, however, displays a disclaimer that states "tip is calculated after tax and before discounts."
The unnamed restaurant said that O'Brien received a discount for the cost of an entree, which he sent back to the kitchen. And while he wasn't charged for that item, the discounted cost was included in the tipping calculations.
"This is not a scam. We have a disclaimer that alerts guests that the tip is calculated before discounts. We also allow for a custom tip for guests' convenience," a representative for the restaurant told ABC News.
O'Brien claimed the discount wasn't made clear to him.
"I just want people to be alert to it," he told ABC News about why he chose to speak out. "But definitely don't take it out on the servers for sure, because they're just trying to make a living like everybody else."
John Waldmann, founder and CEO of restaurant software Homebase, told ABC News the confusion and frustration surrounding tipping these days is not totally surprising.
"Part of the consumer frustration is the expectations and behaviors around tipping changed dramatically in the last four years," Waldmann said. "I think that that has really confused a lot of people."
(NEW YORK) -- Looking for a unique vacation destination?
Airbnb is offering customers an opportunity to stay in famous homes and places such as a re-creation of the Up house from Pixar's 2009 animated movie.
Photos show the Up house, home to the fictional Carl Fredricksen and his late wife Ellie, brought to life with photos of the couple and just like in the movie, held up by 8,000 balloons among the red rocks of Abiquiu, New Mexico.
The Up house is part of Airbnb's new "Icons" series, launched May 1, with 11 special locations. Airbnb expects to offer additional listings later this year.
"Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination—until now," Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement. "As life becomes increasingly digital, we're focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we've created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth."
Alongside the Up house, Airbnb has listings for stays at the headquarters from Disney and Pixar's Inside Out, Prince's Purple Rain house in Minneapolis, Marvel's X-Mansion from the X-Men franchise in Westchester, New York, Kevin Hart's pop-up Coramino Live Lounge and more, including a few abroad, such as the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy.
Airbnb customers can request to book "Icons," which are free or under $100, but listings are limited to "lucky guests" who are chosen to receive one of over 4,000 digital golden tickets.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News, "Good Morning America" and Pixar.
