Latest news with #SpiketheFineMotorHedgehog
USA Today
3 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Trade whiplash
Trade whiplash Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Ask a friend if they can spell "éclaircissement." Close out the week with Friday's news: An appeals court allowed President Donald Trump to keep tariffs while an appeal plays out. Former government workers are running for public office — and winning. A Swiss glacier collapsed in a dramatic display of the impact of climate change. Illinois toys and Trump's tariff reprieve The Trump administration won temporary reprieve Thursday after an appeals court ruled the White House can keep up tariffs while challenging a court order that had blocked them. Trade whiplash: The quick reversal came a day after the United States Court of International Trade invalidated Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose tariffs. The administration quickly appealed and won a short-term break. Trump attacked the judges who blocked his tariffs, a ruling later temporarily paused on appeal, and blamed a conservative legal group for giving him bad advice on judicial picks. Trump attacked the judges who blocked his tariffs, a ruling later temporarily paused on appeal, and blamed a conservative legal group for giving him bad advice on judicial picks. No tariff on Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog: Adding to the mix, a second federal court blocked Trump tariffs Thursday — this time for Illinois companies that import Spike, among other kids' toys. Adding to the mix, a second federal court blocked Trump tariffs Thursday — this time for Illinois companies that import Spike, among other kids' toys. White House officials have vowed to keep pressing the issue in court. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration expects the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the issue. Former federal workers are running for public office Itir Cole tried to take some time off after quitting her job with the federal government early in the Trump administration. Then her husband mentioned offhand that there was an open seat on her New Jersey town's governing body. No one else like her was running, so she did — and won her mid-May race by 49 votes. Cole is among a flood of federal workers looking to run for public office. Many say they want to continue serving Americans after leaving the government either voluntarily or through mass layoffs, as Trump dramatically downsizes the federal workforce. More news to know now What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here. Trump temporarily backs down on Harvard international student ban A Boston federal judge said at a hearing Thursday that she planned to issue a preliminary injunction that blocks the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign exchange students. The comments from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs came as the Trump administration attempted to walk back its May 22 directive that immediately revoked Harvard's participation in a federal exchange student program. Students from around the world attended commencement at the Ivy League on the same day as the hearing. The White House wants women to have more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem — men. America's birth rate has been on a steady decline since 2007, and pronatalists − both in and outside the White House − are determined to raise it. But when partners struggle to conceive, the burden is rarely distributed evenly between men and women. Fertility experts say we're missing a key component of the conversation – male infertility. Experts say male and female infertility factors often coexist, yet a high number of men do not undergo testing before their female partner begins IVF. Advocates say characterizing fertility solely as a woman's issue is part of a 'broader cultural misunderstanding." Today's talkers How understaffed is air traffic control at your airport? Air traffic controller staffing has been a major issue for the Federal Aviation Administration for years. As a result, it's been a major issue for travelers, too, even if it's not always as top of mind for the average passenger when there are delays. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the FAA is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, but those shortages aren't spread evenly throughout the system. This map shows the disparity between staffing in different facilities across the country. Photo of the day: Swiss glacier collapses, burying village Reuters reports that 90% of Blatten, Switzerland, is engulfed by ice, mud and rock after a glacier collapsed on a nearby mountain. These photos capture how the disaster unfolded.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Second federal court blocks Trump tariffs, this time for Illinois toy importers
WASHINGTON – A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from collecting tariffs from a pair of Illinois toy importers, the second court in two days to nullify President Donald Trump's top strategy for trade deals. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the administration May 29 not to collect tariffs from Learning Resources and hand2mind based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, while the case is litigated. He paused the impact of his ruling to give the government two weeks to appeal his decision. The ruling came a day after the Court of International Trade overturned Trump's tariffs imposed April 2 on numerous countries. Contreras and the three-judge panel ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) didn't grant Trump the authority to impose tariffs as he claimed. The statute "does not authorize the President to impose the tariffs," Contreras wrote in his two-page order. Learning Resources and hand2mind employ 500 people in Vernon Hills, Illinois; Torrance, California; and Amherst, New York. The companies import toys such as Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog, Peekaboo Learning Farm and Kanoodle from countries including China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and India. The toy companies say they survived COVID-19 but that the tariffs could kill them. They argued that Congress never authorized the president to impose huge tariffs on his own. 'That crushing burden is felt most immediately and acutely by this country's small and mid-size businesses, including Plaintiffs,' the lawsuit said. But government lawyers argued the IEEPA statute granted the president authority to "regulate importation," including by setting tariffs. Brett Shumate, a Justice Department lawyer, told Contreras during a hearing May 27 he should transfer the case to the Court of International Trade because of the expertise of those judges. 'If the court were to conclude otherwise, granting an injunction would kneecap the president on the world stage, cripple his ability to negotiate trade deals and imperil the government's ability to respond to future national emergencies,' Shumate said. 'Granting any form of relief against the president under IEEPA tariffs would be catastrophic for our national security and foreign policy.' A three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade overturned Trump's tariffs May 28. Government lawyers said they would appeal. (This is a developing story. Check back for details.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Second federal court blocks Trump tariffs - for Illinois toy importers
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO says he's suing Trump to halt tariffs as the "path is catastrophic"
Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg thinks the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs will be catastrophic for both his family-owned toy business and for the broader U.S. economy. That's why he's suing President Trump. Woldenberg's business has 500 employees and sells thousands of learning-based toys like Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and the Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register. Its lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses Mr. Trump and other members of his administration of overreaching the president's authority in imposing the broad-based import duties. Congress has historically held the power to authorize new tariffs or make trade deals with other nations. With the administration's higher tariffs in place, the math is dire for Learning Resources, Woldenberg said. The company's import duties are set to increase from $2.3 million prior to the Trump administration to $100 million — a roughly 4,000% increase, he said. "This path is catastrophic" At the same time, Woldenberg said he expects his company's sales to drop 25% this year as consumers scale back spending due to the economic impact of the tariffs. Prior to Mr. Trump's trade war, the CEO had forecast an 8% increase in sales. Economists on Wall Street say the tariffs will slow U.S. economic growth while boosting inflation. "This path is catastrophic," Woldenberg told CBS MoneyWatch. "Forces have been unleashed in the economy — the world economy as well as the U.S. economy — that will have consequences that will be irreparable." Learning Resources' suit asks the court to find that Mr. Trump's tariffs are unlawful and to block the administration from collecting the levies. Based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Learning Resources is a private, family-owned business founded in 1984. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the suit or the company's financial challenges caused by the tariffs. For now, Woldenberg said he's focused on figuring out how to shift manufacturing out of China, where about 60% of his products are produced. Goods imported from that nation are now facing U.S. tariffs of 145%. Because tariffs are paid by the companies that import the products, Woldenberg's business — not China — is on the hook for paying for Mr. Trump's high import duties. One question facing Woldenberg is whether he can shift production out of China fast enough to keep ahead of Mr. Trump's tariffs. In recent years, Learning Resources has added factories in India and Vietnam, but that effort has only moved the needle so far, he said. "In a two- or three-year period we moved 16% of our product from China to those markets and got things going," Woldenberg said. "That took a lot of effort, cost us a couple million dollars, at least, in out-of-pocket expenses to move it from Point A to Point B, and a huge amount of man hours on our side to essentially redevelop all those products." Despite that effort, however, the company has to date moved only about 16% of its manufacturing capacity out of China to other countries, Woldenberg said. Reshoring realities Mr. Trump maintains that tariffs will revive the domestic manufacturing sector because the costs of the import taxes will spur both American and foreign businesses to reshore their factories to the U.S. But economists — and Woldenberg — are skeptical, pointing out that such a shift would require committing hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars to building and expanding U.S. factories. "The fact that [Mr. Trump] believes in it is something that I think is irrelevant — there are people that believe in ghosts, OK?" Woldenberg said. Learning Resources' financial resources aren't deep enough to build its own factory, Woldenberg said. He noted that he's also tried to find plants in the U.S. that could make some of his products because he believed toys with a "Made in USA" label could appeal to some customers. "If we had six to 10 products that were made in America, we could go and say, 'Look! Made in America. You want made in America? Here's Made in America," he said. "We can't even find somebody to make six or 10 products." The reason, he said, is U.S. manufacturers don't have the capability to make the types of products he's selling, while the costs of manufacturing them himself would be prohibitive. "I cannot produce a factory that can produce our product at a competitive price," Woldenberg said. To be sure, some businesses have announced plans to build new U.S. plants or hire more workers in recent months. They include tech giant Apple, which in February said that it's committed to spending more than $500 billion on expanding its U.S. manufacturing capabilities over four years. But Apple "is in a different stratosphere than me," Woldenberg noted. "They also have like a dozen products. We have 2,000." Skittish workers Meantime, Woldenberg said he's committed to keeping his 500 workers employed, likening the current challenges to those his business faced during the pandemic. Now, as then, his employees are worried about the impact of Mr. Trump's trade war and whether their jobs might be at risk, he said. "Two days before we were kicked out of our office in March of 2020, I had an all-company meeting and I said, 'We define this as a community problem ... the goal is to get everybody across the river.' And we did that," he said. "No one lost an hour of pay." Woldenberg added, "I have a very strong commitment to getting them through this, and it's unwavering, and I'll do everything that I can." Even so, Woldenberg wants to see the Trump administration drop their tariff plans. "They should go back to the way things were on January 19th and figure out another plan. This one is not working," he said. Russian foreign minister on latest Kyiv strikes: "We only target military goals" Judge halts own order demanding Kilmar Abrego Garcia updates Stocks wrap up week of gains as tariff uncertainty continues
CBS News
24-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
A CEO with 500 workers explains why he's suing Trump over tariffs: "This path is catastrophic"
Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg thinks the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs will be catastrophic for both his family-owned toy business and for the broader U.S. economy. That's why he's suing President Trump. Woldenberg's business has 500 employees and sells thousands of learning-based toys like Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and the Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register. Its lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses Mr. Trump and other members of his administration of overreaching the president's authority in imposing the broad-based import duties. Congress has historically held the power to authorize new tariffs or make trade deals with other nations. With the administration's higher tariffs in place, the math is dire for Learning Resources, Woldenberg said. The company's import duties are set to increase from $2.3 million prior to the Trump administration to $100 million — a roughly 4,000% increase, he said. "This path is catastrophic" At the same time, Woldenberg said he expects his company's sales to drop 25% this year as consumers scale back spending due to the economic impact of the tariffs. Prior to Mr. Trump's trade war. the CEO had forecast an 8% increase in sales. Economists on Wall Street say the tariffs will slow U.S. economic growth while boosting inflation. "This path is catastrophic," Woldenberg told CBS MoneyWatch. "Forces have been unleashed in the economy — the world economy as well as the U.S. economy — that will have consequences that will be irreparable." Learning Resources' suit asks the court to find that Mr. Trump's tariffs are unlawful and to block the administration from collecting the levies. Based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Learning Resources is a private, family-owned business founded in 1984. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the suit or the company's financial challenges caused by the tariffs. CEO Rick Woldenberg's company, toymaker Learning Resources, is suing the Trump administration to halt its wide-ranging tariffs. Learning Resources For now, Woldenberg said he's focused on figuring out how to shift manufacturing out of China, where about 60% of his products are produced. Goods imported from that nation are now facing U.S. tariffs of 145%. Because tariffs are paid by the companies that import the products, Woldenberg's business — not China — is on the hook for paying for Mr. Trump's high import duties. One question facing Woldenberg is whether he can shift production out of China fast enough to keep ahead of Mr. Trump's tariffs. In recent years, Learning Resources has added factories in India and Vietnam, but that effort has only moved the needle so far, he said. "In a two- or three-year period we moved 16% of our product from China to those markets and got things going," Woldenberg said. "That took a lot of effort, cost us a couple million dollars, at least, in out-of-pocket expenses to move it from Point A to Point B, and a huge amount of man hours on our side to essentially redevelop all those products." Despite that effort, however, the company has to date moved only about 16% of its manufacturing capacity out of China to other countries, Woldenberg said. Reshoring realities Mr. Trump maintains that tariffs will revive the domestic manufacturing sector because the costs of the import taxes will spur both American and foreign businesses to reshore their factories to the U.S. But economists — and Woldenberg — are skeptical, pointing out that such a shift would require committing hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars to building and expanding U.S. factories. "The fact that [Mr. Trump] believes in it is something that I think is irrelevant — there are people that believe in ghosts, OK?" Woldenberg said. Learning Resources' financial resources aren't deep enough to build its own factory, Woldenberg said. He noted that he's also tried to find plants in the U.S. that could make some of his products because he believed toys with a "Made in USA" label could appeal to some customers. "If we had six to 10 products that were made in America, we could go and say, 'Look! Made in America. You want made in America? Here's Made in America," he said. "We can't even find somebody to make six or 10 products." Spike, one of Learning Resources' 2,000 products aimed at everything from helping children learn counting to developing fine motor skills. About 60% of Learning Resources' products are manufactured in China. Learning Resources The reason, he said, is U.S. manufacturers don't have the capability to make the types of products he's selling, while the costs of manufacturing them himself would be prohibitive. "I cannot produce a factory that can produce our product at a competitive price," Woldenberg said. To be sure, some businesses have announced plans to build new U.S. plants or hire more workers in recent months. They include tech giant Apple, which in February said that it's committed to spending more than $500 billion on expanding its U.S. manufacturing capabilities over four years. But Apple "is in a different stratosphere than me," Woldenberg noted. "They also have like a dozen products. We have 2,000." Skittish workers Meantime, Woldenberg said he's committed to keeping his 500 workers employed, likening the current challenges to those his business faced during the pandemic. Now, as then, his employees are worried about the impact of Mr. Trump's trade war and whether their jobs might be at risk, he said. "Two days before we were kicked out of our office in March of 2020, I had an all-company meeting and I said, 'We define this as a community problem ... the goal is to get everybody across the river.' And we did that," he said. "No one lost an hour of pay." Woldenberg added, "I have a very strong commitment to getting them through this, and it's unwavering, and I'll do everything that I can." Even so, Woldenberg wants to see the Trump administration drop their tariff plans. "They should go back to the way things were on January 19th and figure out another plan. This one is not working," he said.
