Starbucks sees room to expand with hundreds of new US stores and increased seating

NEW YORK (AP) – Starbucks said Thursday that it plans to open hundreds of new stores across the U.S. and add seating capacity at thousands of existing locations, doubling down on a strategy of emphasizing the company’s cafes as community hubs even as consumer demand for drive-thru coffee grows.

Dow to cut about 4,500 jobs as emphasis shifts to AI and automation

Dow is planning to cut approximately 4,500 jobs as the chemicals maker puts more emphasis on using artificial intelligence and automation in its business. The company said Thursday that it anticipates about $600 million to $800 million in severance costs related to the cuts. Those costs are part of a broader plan aimed at simplifying operations and streamlining.

Trump threatens Canada with 50% tariff on aircraft sold in US

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on any aircraft sold in the U.S., the latest salvo in his trade war with America’s northern neighbor as his feud with Prime Minister Mark Carney expands.

Editorials from The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and others

Jan. 19 – The Washington Post says Congress has dropped the ball regarding oversight of ICE, DHS. Geraldo Lunas Campos died at a Texas detention center on Jan. 3 while pleading for air as guards choked him, according to a fellow detainee. The local medical examiner’s office is considering classifying his death as a homicide, The Post reports.

Hong Kong company's concession for Panama Canal ports unconstitutional

PANAMA CITY (AP) – Panama’s Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that the concession held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal was unconstitutional, an outcome that advances a U.S. aim to block any influence by China over the strategic waterway.

Trump says he will announce his Federal Reserve chair nominee on Friday morning

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said he plans to announce his choice for chairman of the Federal Reserve on Friday morning, a long-awaited decision that could set up a showdown on whether the U.S. central bank preserves its independence from the White House and electoral politics.

Trump threatens tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.

Norfolk Southern's profit slips 12% amid economic uncertainty

Norfolk Southern’s quarterly profit slipped 12% amid the uncertain economy as well as unusual costs related to its efforts to merge with Union Pacific in an $85 billion deal that would create a transcontinental railroad.

US ambassador warns of China's growing manufacturing dominance

BEIJING (AP) – The top U.S. envoy to China called Thursday for fair and reciprocal trade between the world’s two largest economies and expressed concern about projections that China’s dominance of global manufacturing will grow even further in the years to come.