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Walgreens tops fiscal 2Q forecasts as private equity buyout awaits

(AP) — Walgreens delivered a better-than-expected fiscal second quarter and smaller loss a month after announcing that it would be bought by a private equity firm. The drugstore chain booked pharmacy sales gains, and its struggling VillageMD clinic business delivered a smaller balance sheet hit in the recently concluded quarter. Overall, Walgreens said Tuesday that it lost $2.85 billion compared to a $5.91 billion loss in the previous year’s quarter. Adjusted results not counting one-time items totaled 63 cents per share in the most recent quarter. Sales grew 4% to $38.59 ...

U.S. stocks dip after careening through a manic day following Trump’s latest tariff threat

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks careened through a manic Monday after President Donald Trump threatened to crank his tariffs higher, despite a stunning display showing how dearly Wall Street wants him to do the opposite. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% at the end of a day full of heart-racing reversals as battered financial markets try to figure out what Trump’s ultimate goal is for his trade war. If it’s to get other countries to agree to trade deals, he could lower his tariffs and avoid a possible recession. But if it’s to remake the economy and stick with tariffs for the long haul, ...

Buzzkill: Trump’s trade wars threaten America’s craft brewers already reeling from changing tastes

America’s craft brewers already have enough problems. Hard seltzers and cocktails are muscling into beer sales. Millennials and Gen Z don’t drink as much as their elders. Brewpubs still haven’t fully recovered from the shock of COVID-19 five years ago. Now there’s a new threat: President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including levies of 25% on imported steel and aluminum and on goods from Canada and Mexico. “It’s going to cost the industry a substantial amount of money,” said Matt Cole, brewmaster at Ohio-based Fat Head’s Brewery. Trump’ trade war “will be crippling ...

Plastics are seeping into farm fields, food and eventually human bodies, but can they be stopped?

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — In Uganda’s Mbale district, famous for its production of arabica coffee, a plague of plastic bags locally known as buveera is creeping beyond the city. It’s a problem that has long littered the landscape in Kampala, the capital, where buveera are woven into the fabric of daily life. They show up in layers of excavated dirt roads and clog waterways. But now, they can be found in remote areas of farmland, too. Some of the debris includes the thick plastic bags used for planting coffee seeds in nurseries. Some farmers are complaining, said Wilson Watira, ...

At least half of U.S. states now outlaw devices that convert pistols into machine guns

(AP) — In New Mexico, police and prosecutors backed an effort to outlaw devices that convert pistols into machine guns. In Alabama, the governor made it a priority. Lawmakers in both states — one led by Democrats, the other by Republicans — responded this year with new laws making so-called Glock switches illegal. At least half of U.S. states now have similar laws prohibiting the possession of such devices, a list that has grown over the past decade as law enforcement officers have found more of the tiny yet powerful devices attached to guns. States are mimicking federal law, ...

FAA acknowledges it must do better after deadly DC air collision

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told Congress during a hearing Thursday about a midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people that the agency must do more to ensure flying remains safe. The FAA’s artificial intelligence-led review aimed at identifying safety threats at other airports with similar helicopter-airplane congestion should be finished in a couple weeks, said Chris Rocheleau, the agency’s acting administrator. During the hearing, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board and members of Congress again questioned how the FAA ...