Americans get more than half their calories from ultra-processed foods, CDC report says
Nutrition research has shown for years that ultra-processed foods make up a big chunk of the U.S. diet, especially for kids and teens.
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Gulf Today
27 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
How is the US economy doing after Trump tariffs?
The June 2025 trade figures for imports and exports indicate that the imports have fallen substantially, and the exports inched up, and the resultant narrowing of trade deficit is to be seen as good news for the American economy. But the figures that are being highlighted are for a narrow period of time, and it has to be seen whether the trend will continue for a longer period. The overall trade gap came down to 16 per cent in June to $60.2 billion. The trade deficit in goods went down to 10.8 per cent, the lowest since September 2023. American exports of goods and services stood at $277.3 billion, down from $278 billion in May. The imports fell to $337.5 billion in the month of June, consumer goods fell by $8.4 billion, industrial supplies and materials by $2.7 billion, auto and parts by $1.3 billion. The reduced trade deficit is seen as a contributory factor to the rise in GDP. The economy has expanded by 3 per cent in the second quarter after contracting 0.5 per cent in the first. This looks like clutching at straws. The trade deficit with China came down to $9.5 billion, the lowest since 2004. Imports from China dropped to $18.9 billion, the lowest since 2009. China has been the main target of President Trump's tariff fury. The question remains as to whether by unleashing punitive tariffs against all the trade partners, has Trump strengthened the American economy? The jury is out on that issue. Inflation is slightly above the mandatory 2 per cent. People are feeling the pinch of inflation. Jobs have not grown. Trump realizes that there will be pain in the transition. He is promising that in the long term, his trade policy will make the American economy strong. Trade deficit has certainly declined because imports into the country have gone down. Is it because the countries that export to America have held back because of the high tariffs, or the demand in the American markets has gone down because the Americans were not willing to buy the higher prices caused by the higher tariffs? It looks like that both the United States and its major trading partners will have to adjust to the new conditions. Reducing trade deficit may be a good thing for a short period and range. If there is local demand, especially for the industries in terms of material inputs, then the American industries will suffer. Similarly, if the import of consumer goods has fallen steeply, either the domestic producers should benefit in the long term, or the American consumers will have to cut back on their needs. It is not possible for American producers to meet the domestic consumer demand, and the tariffs make the imports costlier for the American consumer. The consequences of high tariffs will play out gradually, and they cannot be seen immediately. The long-term effects of high tariffs are likely to be harmful than beneficial for international trade as well as domestic economies. There is no denying the fact that the tariff regime in the US has been liberal. The fact that the US is the most indebted country and this is being traced to the low tariffs and the flood of imports. The connection looks plausible but it is not accurate. The reason for American indebtedness is due to internal social and economic weaknesses. The limited educational levels of most Americans and the difficulty in employing them in frontier technology enterprises. The remedy for American problems does not exactly lie in high tariffs. It lies in the social sphere. And impromptu Trump solutions do not work.
NZ Herald
32 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
US Vice-President JD Vance's UK stay causes stir, manor owner apologises for disruption
It came as Vance interrupted his holiday with a high-stakes meeting to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. The Vice-President and the Foreign Secretary held security talks on Saturday (local time) about a controversial Russian proposal under which Ukraine would permanently cede territory currently under occupation. Chevening House, the UK Foreign Secretary's Grade I-listed summer residence near Sevenoaks in Kent. Photo / Getty Images The White House is pushing for Europe to accept a deal. Security preparations In the Cotswolds, a number of people could be seen roaming the manor house's 2.4ha grounds, while a man in a black suit and tie with an earphone and a US/UK flag lapel badge stood at the entrance. Black trucks unloaded heavy duty boxes and marquees had been erected across the road at two locations, each housing a generator and chairs. A large antennae was erected behind the house, which locals mused could be a signal jammer, an anti-drone system or a telecoms tower to beat the haphazard phone reception. One resident said: 'It's humming constantly, I thought if I go near, it might improve my signal, but no luck.' Other antennae appeared on the manor house's roof. Vehicles marked with the branding of an event production company and blacked-out vans transporting people drove to and from the manor throughout the day. Workers could be seen arranging cushions on the furniture outside. A resident said the usual household staff had been relieved of their duties for the week. US Vice-President JD Vance (left) fishes with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Sevenoaks, England. Photo / Getty Images Asked about the Vice-President's impending visit, an American man moving bags of linen said with a wry smile: 'Who? I'm unsure who that is.' Vance, who is travelling with his wife, Usha Vance, and children Ewan Vance, 8, Vivek Vance, 5, and Mirabel Vance, 3, has previously had to cut holidays short and take extra safety precautions. In March, he ended his Vermont ski trip early after crowds turned out to protest a day after he 'ambushed' Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bad-tempered meeting between US President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader in the White House. When the Vances visited Rome the following month, the Colosseum was closed early to accommodate them, which infuriated other tourists. 'The Hamptons of the UK' The people of Charlbury, which is home to two acclaimed pubs, The Bell and The Bull, were on Saturday (local time) bracing themselves for the arrival of the Vice-President. The manor in which Vance will be staying is said to have been built in around 1702 for Thomas Rowney, an Oxford MP. When the Hornbys bought it, they submitted planning proposals for a basement gym, second cellar and orangery. The Cotswolds have been described as the 'Hamptons of the UK', in reference to the upmarket New York State coastal resort. The areas has offered refuge to runaway Americans such as Ellen DeGeneres and hosted events such as the multi-million dollar wedding of the daughter of Steve Jobs, the late Apple founder. The manor is in the heart of the area populated by the 'Chipping Norton set', the group of political, media and entertainment figures of which David Cameron was a prominent member. Vance, whose wife studied for her Master's degree at Cambridge University, has built a close relationship with Lammy. They met while Labour was still in Opposition, as part of Lammy's 'charm offensive' targeting Republicans close to Donald Trump.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Donald Trump Administration Aims to Kickstart a New Social Security Garnishment "Sometime This Summer" -- Will Your Benefit Be Cut?
Key Points Social Security income isn't a luxury for most beneficiaries -- it's an absolute necessity to make ends meet. An estimated 452,000 delinquent federal student loan borrowers who are currently receiving a Social Security check can soon expect a portion of their monthly payout to be garnished. However, a majority of borrowers who are in arrears on their payments may have legal options to completely waive or reduce their repayment liability. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › No government program has played a bigger role in financially supporting Americans than Social Security. In 2023, an estimated 22 million people were pulled above the federal poverty line by their Social Security income, 16.3 million of whom were aged 65 and over, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. If this program didn't exist, the poverty rate for retirees would jump nearly fourfold to an estimated 37.3%. Getting as much as possible out of Social Security isn't a luxury for most beneficiaries -- it's nothing short of a necessity. But for some of the nearly 70 million people who receive a monthly benefit from America's leading social program, their payout is facing a sizable cut. Beginning July 24, Social Security garnishment recommenced for more than an estimated 1,000,000 beneficiaries who've been overpaid. The Donald Trump administration ended the Joe Biden-era overpayment recovery rate of 10% and instituted a garnishment rate on Social Security income of 50% until the overpayment has been satisfied. Unfortunately, another Social Security garnishment is expected to be reinstated by "sometime this summer." The all-important question is, "Will your Social Security benefit be affected?" Delinquent federal student loan garnishment is back on the table In March 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the final year of President Trump's first term in the White House, the collection of federal student loan repayments was suspended. For more than five years, this suspension was never lifted, which allowed a sizable percentage of borrowers to fall into some level of delinquency. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), approximately 42.7 million Americans owe the federal government $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student loans as of April 2025. Roughly 4 million of these borrowers are between 91 days and 180 days late on their monthly payments, and more than 5 million are more than 360 days late on their payments. When Donald Trump took office for his nonconsecutive second term, he made government efficiency a primary focus. This includes collecting on the federal government's outstanding debts, such as delinquent federal student loans. Though we often think of federal student loan borrowers as being in their teens, 20s, and 30s, loans outstanding for seniors have climbed rapidly. The number of borrowers aged 62 and older jumped by 59%, from 1.7 million to 2.7 million between 2017 and 2023, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Among these aged borrowers, the CFPB estimates 452,000 are currently delinquent on their federal student loan(s) and receiving a Social Security benefit. Although the DOE announced a pause in the expected restart of garnishments at a 15% monthly rate for these 452,000 delinquent federal student loan borrowers in early June, this pause is only temporary. Per the DOE: "If you receive monthly federal benefit payments, such as Social Security benefit payments, and Railroad and Office of Personnel Management retirement benefits you may have received a letter from the Department of Treasury that listed a date when offsets to your payments was scheduled to begin. Please be aware that the Department of Education is delaying offsets of these monthly benefits for a couple of months and plans to resume sometime this summer." While the DOE and Trump administration haven't provided any specific timeline (beyond "sometime this summer") as to when this garnishment may be kick-started, a 15% garnishment rate should be expected very soon for the retired workers, survivor beneficiaries, and workers with disabilities who are among the estimated 452,000 seniors currently in default on their federal student loan(s). Delinquent federal student loan borrowers may be able to legally avoid or reduce their garnishment If there's a bit of a silver lining to be found when it comes to federal student loan garnishment, it's that beneficiaries must be left with a minimum Social Security payout of $750 per month. If you're a lifetime low earner and among the estimated 452,000 delinquent borrowers, your garnishment rate could be less than 15%. For instance, if you receive $800 per month from Social Security, the most that could be garnished is $50 each payout (leaving you with the mandated minimum of $750), which is considerably less than a 15% rate. Beyond this minimum payout mandate, which isn't a requirement of all forms of Social Security income garnishment, delinquent federal student loan borrowers receiving Social Security benefits have two perfectly legal options at their disposal to waive or reduce their liability. To begin with, individuals with qualifying disabilities may be able to completely waive their federal student loan repayment obligations via a total and permanent disability (TPD) discharge. In addition to submitting the TPD application, you'll need documentation from a medical professional certifying that you're unable to "engage in substantial gainful activity," per the application. The CFPB notes that while the DOE and Social Security Administration have automated TPD eligibility and the federal student loan cancellation process for beneficiaries who become disabled before reaching their full retirement age, responsibility for the TPD application process falls entirely onto aging beneficiaries if they become disabled after reaching their full retirement age. The other perfectly legal option available to Social Security beneficiaries who are in arrears on their federal student loan(s) is to file for a financial hardship with the DOE. Similar to TPD eligibility, everything boils down to documentation. To qualify for a financial hardship exemption, you'll need to prove to the DOE that your documented income, less the 15% garnishment rate, would be lower than your qualified expenses. Using data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, the CFPB estimated that 82% of the 452,000 Social Security recipients currently in default would qualify for a financial hardship exemption. However, statistics show that very few seniors apply for this exemption or know it exists. In other words, this is a missed opportunity for delinquent federal student loan borrowers to potentially reduce what they owe. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Donald Trump Administration Aims to Kickstart a New Social Security Garnishment "Sometime This Summer" -- Will Your Benefit Be Cut? was originally published by The Motley Fool
