Latest news with #JohnMcDonald
West Australian
03-06-2025
- Health
- West Australian
‘No longer feasible' to eradicate tomato brown rugose fruit virus as efforts turn to management
Government bureaucrats and farmers have given up hope of eradicating a highly-contagious virus affecting tomatoes and capsicums, instead turning their focus to 'long-term management'. WA is free of tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which was detected in greenhouse-grown tomatoes in South Australia in August 2024 sparking a rapid biosecurity response. The virus can cause yield losses of up to 70 per cent and reduce marketable fruit yield by up to 15 per cent, easily overcoming resistance genes in tomato and capsicum plants. Symptoms include pale or yellow, mosaic and mottled leaves, rotten-looking spots on the flower stalk, fruit with yellow or brown wrinkled spots, or deformed fruit. A national management group — set up to consolidate efforts — announced last week its focus would turn to long-term management rather than eradication as its prevalence increased. In a statement, the group said there had been 'growing evidence' of seed-borne introductions, undetectable low-level infections, which had posed issues for eradication efforts. 'It is no longer technically feasible to eradicate tomato brown rugose fruit virus from Australia,' the statement said. 'This decision is based on the technical considerations of the Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests and engagement with production nursery, capsicum, processing and fresh tomato industries on the potential to manage the pest.' Industry and governments are now scrambling to determine how to support farmers to manage and reduce the impacts of the virus, which affects fresh tomato growers and production nurseries. Greenlife Industry Australia research director John McDonald said the shift was necessary but has called for 'urgent clarity' on plant and product movements to avoid supply chain disruption. 'We welcome the move to long-term management, but decisions on plant and product movement must follow quickly,' he said. 'Clarity is urgently needed to avoid prolonged disruption across the nursery production and tomato supply chains. 'GIA is advocating for evidence-based, technically justified, cost-effective solutions that support both containment and continuity of trade. 'The virus is effectively managed internationally by industry across all major continents which we can rapidly take learnings from and apply in Australia.' WA slapped a ban on South Australian tomatoes late last year after the discovery of the virus authorities say likely entered the country via infected seeds. Impacted businesses can expect continued biosecurity controls at infected sites, no mandatory destruction of plant material, national co-ordination of trade and movement protocols, and the potential development of a transition to management plan.
E&E News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- E&E News
Democratic NY lawmaker readies clean car delay proposal
ALBANY, New York — An upstate Democrat wants to delay a mandate for car makers to sell more electric passenger vehicles. Assemblymember John McDonald said he'd introduce a two-year delay of the regulations, citing consumer cost concerns and the potential loss of federal tax incentives. 'The reality is, if the federal government is truly going to eliminate the $7,500 rebate, that makes it very difficult for the average person to really make that decision on electric vehicles,' McDonald said. 'It doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to march toward that goal, but instead of going 70 mph, we might need to go 45 for a bit, maybe take a couple years to still get to the same destination.' Advertisement Car dealers and automakers have been lobbying to delay the regulations, which follow California's clean car rules. The state-level program already faces an existential threat in Washington.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Three men appear in court over death of mother, 62, killed in golf course 'hit and run' in front of her helpless husband
Three men charged with the manslaughter of a woman who was killed at a golf course by a van that was being followed by police have appeared in court. Suzanne Cherry, 62, died in hospital four days after she was hit by the grey Nissan, which had been involved in a police pursuit, at Aston Wood Golf Club on the edge of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. John McDonald, 51, Johnny McDonald, 22, and Brett Delaney, 34, appeared via videolink from HMP Dovegate during a preliminary hearing at Wolverhamton Crown Court. Ms Cherry, a company director and mother-of-three from Aldridge, West Midlands, was airlifted to hospital after being hit by the van on April 11. Two police cars had been following the van after receiving reports of suspicious activity, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said. However, they stopped chasing the vehicle when it went off-road and up an embankment at the golf club, where it hit Ms Cherry. John McDonald, from Bloxwich, Walsall, who has also been charged with assault by beating, Johnny McDonald, of Dudley, and Delaney, from Darlaston, Walsall, sat together in a prison conference room during the brief hearing this lunchtime. The defendants spoke only to confirm their names and were told by Judge Chambers that the next hearing they face will be at Stafford Crown Court where they can enter their pleas to the charges they face. Adjourning the case until a plea and directions hearing on May 23, Judge Chambers told the defendants they would at that point 'be asked if you plead guilty or not guilty to these charges.' The judge added: 'You have an absolute right to trial. 'In the meantime, you must remain in custody.' On Sunday, Ms Cherry's husband Clinton Harrison described how he watched in 'helpless horror' as her life was 'snatched away in an instant'. He had been on the first tee with his wife when she was hit. Paying tribute to his wife in a statement released by police, Mr Harrison said: 'On Friday 11 April, while enjoying what should have been the safest of one of Suzanne's many activities, I watched in helpless horror as the life of my beautiful wife and our future together was snatched away in an instant. 'Suzanne had an amazing and infectious zest for life which touched everyone who was fortunate enough to know her. 'She was unselfish, always ready to encourage with love and support those around her to achieve more than they themselves thought possible.' He said his wife left a 'legacy and an unfillable void' in the lives of her mother Maureen, her three adult children, two step-children and 'countless others from her work, her sporting activities and social circle'. Mr Harrison said: 'Sue was loved, and will be painfully missed by her entire family and friends, we ask that our privacy at this difficult time be respected.' The incident happened at around 10.25am on Friday, April 11. Officers had first started following the van in Kingstanding, Birmingham, the IOPC said. The police watchdog is continuing to investigate the circumstances prior to the collision when West Midlands Police officers were responding to the vehicle being involved in reports of suspicious activity. The defendants were charged on Monday, and made their first court appearance at North Staffordshire Justice Centre. A charge of failing to stop a vehicle when directed by a constable against John McDonald has been withdrawn.
Wall Street Journal
04-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Banks Don't Pay Tariffs, but Tariffs Will Cost Them
Bankers don't import or export sneakers or cars. But that doesn't mean they are immune to tariffs. In fact, American lenders face a potential triple-whammy from the new trade regime announced by President Trump on Wednesday. The big threat is that a trade war leads to recession, or absent that, far slower economic growth. Bank revenues will tumble as customers, both consumers and companies, dial back on borrowing. They could also find it tougher to pay back their debts. Meanwhile, a moribund economy could put downward pressure on long-term interest rates, even as inflation proves persistent and keeps short-term rates high. This would further squeeze bank profits. Amid all this uncertainty, dealmaking is likely to slow, and corporate investment could tumble, eating into Wall Street fees. No wonder the new tariff announcements torpedoed shares of big U.S. lenders. On Thursday, the KBW Nasdaq Bank index had its worst one-day drop, nearly 10%, since March 2023, in the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Big banks have erased all of their gains since the November election, when they rallied on hopes for a rebound in dealmaking and business activity. The threats will be a hot topic for investors later next week when JPMorgan Chase JPM -7.01%decrease; red down pointing triangle, Wells Fargo WFC -9.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Morgan Stanley MS -9.51%decrease; red down pointing triangle report first-quarter earnings. U.S. banks 'aren't in the direct line of fire for tariffs, but they make their living lending and doing business with all the companies that are in the line of fire,' says Truist Securities bank analyst John McDonald. 'The second-order impacts on consumers are critical for banks as well.' Big U.S. lenders are highly exposed to the fortunes of consumers via their credit-card portfolios. Recent data show that consumers have grown their average household card borrowing to levels not seen in several years. In some segments, consumers have also fallen further behind on their payments. This has rightly raised concern about the American shopper's vulnerability to economic shocks. So consumers' budgets might be stretched further by the costs of tariffs through higher goods prices. Lenders could be among the first to feel that through missed payments, in addition to lower spending volume on those cards. Banks might also be first to show signs of strain in another way. Because of their accounting practices, banks essentially act as an early warning system for consumer health. Lenders must account for potential future losses to their loans over their lifetime. So economic data that points to slower growth can lead banks to take big loan-loss provisions that hit earnings well before consumers actually start to show visible distress. Consumers aren't the only risk. Companies are, too. Even if many companies succeed in passing along higher tariff costs to consumers, their revenues are likely to suffer. That could lead to less demand for new loans, which, in turn, could send a chill through boardrooms. Executives and directors might shy away from activity such as mergers and public offerings, hitting banks' fee income. Declining consumer and business activity could be made worse if banks have trouble squeezing profit out of the loans they do make. A diminished economic outlook causes long-term rates to fall. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on Thursday to around 4.03%, their lowest level since last October. Typically, if the economy is starting to weaken, the Federal Reserve lowers short-term interest rates. That helps banks to reduce deposit rates, the main funding source for many. This can take pressure off their profit margins, or the difference between what they pay to borrow money and what they earn by lending it out. Tariffs could throw a wrench into things. If they drive inflation higher, the Fed may have to stand pat on rates. In that case, banks would be hard-pressed to lower deposit rates and their profits could be crimped. The pain, however, might not be shared equally among banks. Wall Street banks with big trading desks might get a boost from market volatility, particularly from stock trading. Average U.S. equity-trading volumes rose year-over-year in January, February and March, according to data compiled by Morgan Stanley analysts. Even so, in the past there have been 'good' periods of volatility—in which investors are eager to place bets and trade in and out of markets—and 'bad' ones. The latter are often driven by political uncertainty that leads active traders to move to the sidelines. The last time bank stocks were down so sharply, they were the ones causing economic panic. Now, they are its victims. Write to Telis Demos at
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Watchung business hit by gunfire, police investigating
WATCHUNG – Police are investigating following reports of shots fired Monday night. Watchung police responded around 9:39 p.m. Monday to a business on westbound Route 22 where officers found evidence of gunshot damage to the building of the business, said Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald. No injuries were reported, the prosecutor said, and the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Watchung Borough Police Department at 908-756-3663 or via the STOPit app. Email: alewis@ Alexander Lewis is an award-winning reporter and photojournalist whose work spans many topics. This article originally appeared on Watchung NJ business hit by gunfire, police investigating
