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Economy: Plenty of growth, not enough workers, supplies
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy is sparking confusion and whiplash almost as fast as it's adding jobs.
Barely more than a year after the coronavirus caused the steepest economic fall and job losses on record, the speed of the rebound has been so unexpectedly swift that many companies can't fill jobs or acquire enough supplies to meet a pent-up burst of customer demand.
"Things exploded -- it was like a light switch," said Kirby Mallon, president of Elmer Schultz Services, a family-owned Philadelphia firm that repairs and maintains kitchen equipment for restaurants and other clients. "The labor market is just out of control. We literally cannot hire technicians … We ramped up so quickly, the supply chain wasn't ready for it.''
Economic forecasters, with little historical precedent to guide them through the aftermath of a global pandemic, are pondering questions they can't answer with any confidence:
Does robust consumer spending reflect economic strength and resiliency? Or has it been temporarily propped up by federal stimulus checks?
Was an April run-up in consumer prices a temporary blip? Or an ominous sign of accelerating inflation?
GOP aims to revive Fauci attacks after emails released
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionized by the left and villainized by the right.
But with the release of a trove of Fauci's emails this past week, Republicans' political attacks on the nation's top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.
On conservative news channels, President Joe Biden's pandemic adviser has been baselessly pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of COVID-19 to protect the Chinese government. There's no evidence of wrongdoing, but Republican calls for his resignation have grown louder, as have demands for new investigations into the origins of the virus.
"Given what we know now, I don't know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority," said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential presidential hopeful who is calling for Fauci's resignation and a full congressional inquiry.
Maine's blueberry crop faces possible climate change peril
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine's beloved wild blueberry fields are home to one of the most important fruit crops in New England, and scientists have found they are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the state.
The warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries and the farmers who tend to them because the rising temperatures have brought loss of water, according to a group of scientists who are affiliated with the University of Maine.
The scientists analyzed 40 years of data and found that the state experienced a 1.98 degrees Fahrenheit increase in average temperature, but the blueberry fields of Down East Maine experienced an increase of 2.34 degrees Fahrenheit.
That seemingly small difference is significant because rising temperatures could lead to water deficits that put the blueberries at risk, said Rafa Tasnim, a doctoral candidate in ecology and environmental science at UMaine and the study's lead author.
Lack of water could result in smaller crop sizes and blueberries that are less likely to survive to be harvested, researchers said.
"What we are expecting is the temperature is going to increase a lot and we will not get as much rainfall in the summertime especially," said Tasnim.