Trade tensions flare between US and China over Huawei's AI chips
The US and China's fragile tariff truce is at risk, as Washington seeks to prevent sanctioned Huawei's AI chips from gaining a global foothold. Beijing in turn accused the Trump administration of undermining recent trade talks in Switzerland, Rebecca Choong Wilkins reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
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CNN
20 minutes ago
- CNN
Most US workers say they have unpredictable, inflexible schedules, new survey finds
FacebookTweetLink Follow After seven years as a retail associate at a big-box store in Virginia, Alicia Costello still did not have a consistent schedule week to week, and requesting paid time off was a hassle. For a while, Costello got by — until she became pregnant with her first child. Doctors' appointments had to be noted at least a month in advance, and approval wasn't guaranteed, she said. 'It's frustrating to be limited on the time that you've accrued and worked so hard for, not knowing when you can and cannot use that time,' Costello said. 'There's only so much that we can take on physically and mentally.' Needing a job that would allow her to spend more time with her family, Costello quit in April, and her experience is shared by a majority of the US workforce. Almost two-thirds of US workers struggle with volatile, inflexible work schedules, according to a new national Gallup survey, called the State of American Jobs Study, published Tuesday. Meanwhile, workers with predictable schedules enjoy more financial security, better work-life balance and more overall satisfaction with their jobs, according to the survey of 18,000 employees. 'I think one of the biggest questions on people's minds right now is, even though unemployment is fairly low, why are millions of workers still feeling so disillusioned and disengaged and struggling to get by?' said Rachel Korberg, executive director and cofounder of the Family and Workers Fund, which partnered to create the survey. 'We need to shift from a conversation that's just about job quantity to a conversation also about job quality.' Most notably, about 41% of those surveyed said they had little to no control over how many hours they work, what days they work or when they can take time off. Additionally, more than one quarter of workers said they don't know their schedule two weeks or more in advance. 'I think the important thing to underscore here is not just that everyone wants a 9-to-5 with the exact same hours all the time Monday through Friday,' Korberg said. 'It's actually about the worker having a say in their schedule.' Unpredictable schedules often involve frequent schedule changes and shift cancellations, making it difficult to plan for life events or maintain a second form of employment, according to the survey. For this reason, about 38% of those with low-quality schedules reported facing financial hardship. Many employers may cut hours in the week to be just below 40 hours so that overtime pay won't be necessary — a small adjustment that can have a big impact for low-wage workers, Korberg said. In Costello's case, she had to work 39-hour weeks. 'There was never any approval for overtime,' Costello recalled. 'That was difficult because, especially in preparation for the holidays, it would be nice to save up money and get overtime here and there.' Schedule volatility was found to be especially common among part-time workers and those without a college degree, even when controlled for age, gender, education and industry, according to the survey. 'There's an (attitude) that these employees are potentially more replaceable and may have less say in their workplace,' said Guy David, the Alan B. Miller Professor and Chair of Health Care Management at the Wharton School and professor of medical ethics and health policy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was not involved in the survey. From his own research into the working conditions of health care employees, David found those with unreliable schedules were more likely to quit. However, many employers may be unaware of just how important work-life balance has become for workers, he added. 'I think this (survey) confirms our findings and is a wake-up call for companies wishing to increase or improve retention without potentially increasing payroll,' David said. 'Newer generations especially want to have very clear boundaries.' The Covid-19 pandemic was likely a big driver in this attitude change as well, suggested Maria Flynn, CEO and president of Jobs for the Future, which also partnered to create the survey. As more companies shifted to at-home work, the labor force became more accustomed to greater flexibility. Though automated scheduling systems are widely used across industries already, in the future more companies may adopt artificial intelligence-driven systems capable of studying the needs of workers and balancing them with the demands of the company, David said. While Flynn and Korberg suggested workers communicate openly about schedule preferences with their managers, they also acknowledged the change will largely have to take place among employers. 'A good schedule helps businesses engage and retain workers, and that contributes to the bottom line,' Korberg said. 'I'm hoping companies will take note of the study and look at (whether) there (are) changes, they could make to their scheduling practices.'
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Los Angeles' image is scuffed since ICE raids and protests, with World Cup and Olympics on horizon
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This isn't the image Los Angeles wanted projected around the globe. Clouds of tear gas wafting over a throng of protesters on a blocked freeway. Federal immigration agents in tactical garb raiding businesses in search of immigrants without legal status. A messy war of words between President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire and graffiti scrawled on a federal detention center building, while videos recorded the sounds of rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades hitting crowds. In a city still reeling from January's deadly wildfires — and with the World Cup soccer championships and the 2028 Olympics on the horizon — Mayor Karen Bass has been urging residents to come together to revitalize LA's image by sprucing up streets, planting trees and painting murals so LA shows its best face to nations near and far. 'It's about pride,' she's said. 'This is the city of dreams.' Instead, a less flattering side of Los Angeles has been broadcast to the world in recent days. Protests have mostly taken place in a small swath of downtown in the sprawling city of 4 million people. As Trump has activated nearly 5,000 troops to respond in the city, Bass has staunchly pushed back against his assertions that her city is overrun and in crisis. Bass, in response to Trump, said she was troubled by depictions that the city has been 'invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals, and that now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming our federal agents. I don't know if anybody has seen that happen, but I've not seen that happen.' The series of protests began Friday outside a federal detention center, where demonstrators demanded the release of more than 40 people arrested by federal immigration authorities. Immigration advocates say the people who were detained do not have criminal histories and are being denied their due process rights. An international city Much like New York, Los Angeles is an international city that many immigrants call home. The city's official seal carries images referencing the region's time under Spanish and Mexican rule. Over 150 languages are spoken by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. About half of the city's residents are Latino and about one-third were born outside the U.S. Bass faulted the Trump administration for creating 'a chaotic escalation' by mobilizing troops to quell protests. 'This is the last thing that our city needs,' Bass said. Los Angeles resident Adam Lerman, who has attended the protests, warned that protests would continue if the Trump administration pushes more raids in the city. 'We are talking about a new riot every day,' Lerman said. 'Everybody knows they are playing with fire.' It's not the publicity LA needs as it looks to welcome the world for international sporting events on a grand scale. 'At this stage in the process, most host cities and countries would be putting the final touches on their mega-event red carpet, demonstrating to the world that they are ready to embrace visitors with open arms,' said Jules Boykoff, a Pacific University professor who has written widely on the political and economic impacts of the Olympic Games. The scenes of conflict are 'not exactly the best way to entice the world to plan their next tourist trip to the U.S. to watch a sports mega-event.' A mayor under pressure The federal raids and protests have created another dicey political moment for Bass, who has been struggling with a budget crisis while trying to recover from political fallout from the wildfires that ignited when she was out of the country. She's been careful not to discourage protests but at the same time has pleaded for residents to remain peaceful. The mayor will likely face backlash for involving the Los Angeles Police. And she needs to fight the perception that the city is unsafe and disorderly, an image fostered by Trump, who in social media posts has depicted Bass as incompetent and said the city has been 'invaded' by people who entered the U.S. illegally. Los Angeles is sprawling — roughly 470 square miles (750 square kilometers) — and the protests were mostly concentrated downtown. 'The most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful,' Bass said. 'I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the (Trump) administration.' On Monday, workers were clearing debris and broken glass from sidewalks and power-washing graffiti from buildings — among the structures vandalized was the one-time home of the Los Angeles Times across the street from City Hall. Downtown has yet to bounce back since long-running pandemic lockdowns, which reordered work life and left many office towers with high vacancy rates. Trump and California officials continued to spar online and off, faulting each other for the fallout. At the White House, Trump criticized California leaders by saying 'they were afraid of doing anything' and signaled he would support Newsom's arrest over his handling of the immigration protests. If Los Angeles' image was once defined by its balmy Mediterranean climate and the glamor of Hollywood, it's now known 'primarily for disaster,' said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney. 'A lot of perception depends on images,' Pitney added. Right now, the dominant image 'is a burning Waymo.' ___ Associated Press writer Jason Dearen contributed.
CNN
22 minutes ago
- CNN
Most US workers say they have unpredictable, inflexible schedules, new survey finds
After seven years as a retail associate at a big-box store in Virginia, Alicia Costello still did not have a consistent schedule week to week, and requesting paid time off was a hassle. For a while, Costello got by — until she became pregnant with her first child. Doctors' appointments had to be noted at least a month in advance, and approval wasn't guaranteed, she said. 'It's frustrating to be limited on the time that you've accrued and worked so hard for, not knowing when you can and cannot use that time,' Costello said. 'There's only so much that we can take on physically and mentally.' Needing a job that would allow her to spend more time with her family, Costello quit in April, and her experience is shared by a majority of the US workforce. Almost two-thirds of US workers struggle with volatile, inflexible work schedules, according to a new national Gallup survey, called the State of American Jobs Study, published Tuesday. Meanwhile, workers with predictable schedules enjoy more financial security, better work-life balance and more overall satisfaction with their jobs, according to the survey of 18,000 employees. 'I think one of the biggest questions on people's minds right now is, even though unemployment is fairly low, why are millions of workers still feeling so disillusioned and disengaged and struggling to get by?' said Rachel Korberg, executive director and cofounder of the Family and Workers Fund, which partnered to create the survey. 'We need to shift from a conversation that's just about job quantity to a conversation also about job quality.' Most notably, about 41% of those surveyed said they had little to no control over how many hours they work, what days they work or when they can take time off. Additionally, more than one quarter of workers said they don't know their schedule two weeks or more in advance. 'I think the important thing to underscore here is not just that everyone wants a 9-to-5 with the exact same hours all the time Monday through Friday,' Korberg said. 'It's actually about the worker having a say in their schedule.' Unpredictable schedules often involve frequent schedule changes and shift cancellations, making it difficult to plan for life events or maintain a second form of employment, according to the survey. For this reason, about 38% of those with low-quality schedules reported facing financial hardship. Many employers may cut hours in the week to be just below 40 hours so that overtime pay won't be necessary — a small adjustment that can have a big impact for low-wage workers, Korberg said. In Costello's case, she had to work 39-hour weeks. 'There was never any approval for overtime,' Costello recalled. 'That was difficult because, especially in preparation for the holidays, it would be nice to save up money and get overtime here and there.' Schedule volatility was found to be especially common among part-time workers and those without a college degree, even when controlled for age, gender, education and industry, according to the survey. 'There's an (attitude) that these employees are potentially more replaceable and may have less say in their workplace,' said Guy David, the Alan B. Miller Professor and Chair of Health Care Management at the Wharton School and professor of medical ethics and health policy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was not involved in the survey. From his own research into the working conditions of health care employees, David found those with unreliable schedules were more likely to quit. However, many employers may be unaware of just how important work-life balance has become for workers, he added. 'I think this (survey) confirms our findings and is a wake-up call for companies wishing to increase or improve retention without potentially increasing payroll,' David said. 'Newer generations especially want to have very clear boundaries.' The Covid-19 pandemic was likely a big driver in this attitude change as well, suggested Maria Flynn, CEO and president of Jobs for the Future, which also partnered to create the survey. As more companies shifted to at-home work, the labor force became more accustomed to greater flexibility. Though automated scheduling systems are widely used across industries already, in the future more companies may adopt artificial intelligence-driven systems capable of studying the needs of workers and balancing them with the demands of the company, David said. While Flynn and Korberg suggested workers communicate openly about schedule preferences with their managers, they also acknowledged the change will largely have to take place among employers. 'A good schedule helps businesses engage and retain workers, and that contributes to the bottom line,' Korberg said. 'I'm hoping companies will take note of the study and look at (whether) there (are) changes, they could make to their scheduling practices.'
