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Officials cut ribbon on Greenlink’s new facility [Video]
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Small Business Funding

Officials cut ribbon on Greenlink’s new facility [Video]

ITS POTENTIAL. 23A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AS GREENLINK NEW OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY OPENS. RETENTION HAS BEEN REALLY HARD, RETAINING GOOD TALENT, DRIVERS, MECHANICS, PEOPLE ARE EXCITED. THE MORE THAN $50 MILLION STRUCTURE AND SEVERAL MAINTENANCE BAYS, A TRAINING AREA AND ALLOWS FOR AN EXPANDED FLEET. WEVE NEVER HAD COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS, AND THATS A CLEAN ENERGY FUEL THAT WEVE WANTED TO EXPAND TO. IT OFFERS A LOT OF FEATURES THAT ELECTRIC DOES NOT. ADVOCACY GROUP GREENVILLE CONNECT SAYS IT COULD ALSO LEAD TO EXPANDED AND MORE FREQUENT SERVICE. WHEN WE ASKED PEOPLE WHY THEY DONT RIDE THE BUS, WHAT WE FIND IS THAT THEY REALLY WANT TO RIDE THE BUS. THEY THINK ITS GREAT AND THEYRE GLAD ITS HERE, BUT IT DOESNT COME OFTEN ENOUGH AND IT DOESNT GO EVERY PLACE THEY WANT TO GO. THEY ALSO SAY EXPANSION DEPENDS ON MORE OPERATIONAL FUNDING FOR GREENLINK, BUT THE COUNTYS BUDGET HAS BEEN A FOCUS FOR THE INCOMING COUNCIL MEMBERS. I DO KNOW THAT THE BUDGET IS A CONCERN, SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT UNDER THE HOOD. AND IF THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS TO ME, THEN THE JOB FOR US TO DO IS TO FIND OUT HOW WE ACQUIRE THAT FUNDING IN OTHER WAYS. TRANSIT OFFICIALS SAY GREENLINK IS CRITICAL TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK. ONE OF THE TOP FIVE BARRIERS WAS A LACK OF TRANSPORTATION. SO ULTIMATELY, IF YOU WANT TO BOIL IT DOWN, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GOOD ECONO

Trump rejects bipartisan plan, risks shutdown [Video]
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Small Business Funding

Trump rejects bipartisan plan, risks shutdown [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to engineer a new plan before Friday’s deadline to keep government open.Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.The president-elect made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined the some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation’s debt limit something his own party routinely rejects. Anything else is a betrayal of our country, they wrote.Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure, which would have also provided some $100 billion in disaster aid to states hammered by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government, said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.Jeffries said an agreement is an agreement, and by backing out of it “the House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people.”Already, the massive 1,500-page bill was on the verge of collapse, as hard-right conservatives rejected the increased spending. They were egged on by Trumps billionaire ally Elon Musk, who rejected the plan almost as soon as it was released.Rank-and-file lawmakers complained about the extras, which included their first pay raises in more than a decade a shock after one of the most unproductive, chaotic sessions in modern times.Even the addition of much-needed disaster aid, some $100.4 billion in the aftermath of hurricanes and other natural calamities that ravaged states this year, plus $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers failed to win over the budget-slashing GOP. A number of Republicans had been waiting for Trump to signal whether they should vote yes or no.This should not pass, Musk posted on his social media site X in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.One lawmaker said office phone lines were flooded with calls from constituentsMy phone was ringing off the hook, said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky. The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk.The outcome comes as no surprise for Johnson, who, like other Republican House speakers before him, has been unable to persuade his majority to go along with the routine needs of federal government operations, which they would prefer to slash.He met behind closed doors late into the night at the Capitol with GOP lawmakers trying to figure out a way out of the bind. Vance joined them until nearly 10 p.m., his young son in pajamas in tow.”We had a productive conversation, Vance said as he and his son exited the speakers office, declining repeated questions about the details.Were in the middle of these negotiations, but I think well be able to solve some problems here.It all shows just how hard it will be for Republicans next year, as they seize control of the House, Senate and White House, to unify and lead the nation. And it underscores how much Johnson and the GOP leaders must depend on Trumps blessing to see any legislative package over the finish line. Musk, who is heading the his new Department of Government Efficiency was leading the charge against it, warned that Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!It’s not an idle threat coming from Musk, the world’s richest man, who helped bankroll Trump’s victory and can easily use his America PAC to make or break political careers.Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said this is the problem with an oligarchy a handful of wealthy people run everything and everyone is supposed to live in fear of them.”Senators from both parties were watching from across the Capitol with dismay.Is this going to be the norm? Is this going to be how we operate? said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., putting the blame on Johnson.Democrats, who negotiated the final product with Johnson and Senate GOP leadership, will be expected to provide enough support to help ensure passage, as is often the case on big, bipartisan bills. “Republicans need to stop playing politics,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.However, Trump’s new demands on the debt limit pose a daunting test for Johnson, who has worked hard to stay close to the president-elect even texting with Musk and DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy only to have him turn against his hard-fought plan.Trump posted later that he was insisting on raising the debt ceiling: I will fight till the end.The nation’s debt limit expires 2025 and Trump appears to want the issue off the table before he returns to the White House, a reasonable idea but one that typically is tough to negotiate.The last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, worked for months with President Joe Biden to raise the debt limit. Even though they struck a bipartisan deal that cut spending in exchange for additional borrowing capacity, House Republicans said it didnt go far enough, and it ended up costing McCarthy his job.Now, Trump is looking for Johnson to pass a debt ceiling extension some 48 hours before a partial government shutdown.Meanwhile, the bipartisan package that Trump rejected extended existing government programs and services at their current operating levels for a few more months, through March 14, 2025.The stopgap measure is needed because Congress has failed to pass its annual appropriations bills to fund all the various agencies in the federal government, from the Pentagon to health, welfare, transportation and other routine domestic services.But the inches-thick bill goes beyond routine funding and tacks on several other measures, including federal funding to rebuild Baltimores Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when struck by a cargo ship. Another provision would transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which could potentially lead to a new stadium for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called it essentially a junk sandwich, using a swear word.And then there’s the pay raise.The bill would have turned off a pay-freeze provision and that could allow a maximum adjustment of 3.8% or $6,600 in 2025, bringing lawmakers’ annual pay to $180,600, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Members of Congress last got a raise in 2009.___Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Matt Brown and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

US effort to curb China’s and Russia’s access to advanced computer chips ‘inadequate,’ report finds Boston 25 News [Video]
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Small Business Funding

US effort to curb China’s and Russia’s access to advanced computer chips ‘inadequate,’ report finds Boston 25 News [Video]

The U.S. Commerce Departments efforts to curb Chinas and Russias access to American-made advanced computer chips have been inadequate and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons

AI Governance Leader ModelOp Experiences Significant Growth in 2024 with Customer Expansion and Multiple Prestigious Awards | PR Newswire [Video]
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Small Business Funding

AI Governance Leader ModelOp Experiences Significant Growth in 2024 with Customer Expansion and Multiple Prestigious Awards | PR Newswire [Video]

From completing its $10 million Series B equity financing to being awarded the 2024 AI Breakthrough Award for “Best AI Governance Platform” and achieving inclusion on Inc.’s Best in Business

U.S. stocks drop amid Fed’s rate cut signals [Video]
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U.S. stocks drop amid Fed’s rate cut signals [Video]

U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought.The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year from the summer, to pull further from its all-time high set a couple of weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,123 points or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%.The Fed said Wednesday its cutting its main interest rate for a third time this year, continuing the sharp turnaround begun in September when it started lowering rates from a two-decade high to support the job market. That cut, though, was widely expected.The bigger question centers on how much more the Fed will cut next year. A lot is riding on it, particularly after expectations for a series of cuts in 2025 helped the U.S. stock market set an all-time high at least 57 times in 2024.Fed officials released projections on Wednesday showing the median expectation among them is for two more cuts to the federal funds rate in 2025, or half a percentage points worth. Thats down from the four cuts expected just three months ago.We are in a new phase of the process, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the central bank quickly eased its main interest rate since September by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%.Asked why Fed officials are looking to slow their cuts, Powell pointed to how the job market looks to be performing well overall and how recent inflation readings have picked up. He also cited uncertainties that will require policymakers to react to upcoming, to-be-determined changes in the economy.While lower rates can offer a boost to the economy by making it cheaper to borrow and boosting prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation.Powell said some Fed officials, but not all, are also already trying to incorporate uncertainties inherent in a new administration coming into the White House. Worries are rising on Wall Street that President-elect Donald Trumps preference for tariffs and other policies could further juice inflation, along with economic growth.When the path is uncertain, you go a little slower, Powell said. Its not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.One official, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, thought the central bank should not have even cut rates this time around. She was the lone vote against Wednesdays rate cut.The reduced expectations for 2025 rate cuts sent Treasury yields rising in the bond market, squeezing the stock market.The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.50% from 4.40% late Tuesday, which is a notable move for the bond market. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, climbed to 4.35% from 4.25%.On Wall Street, stocks of companies that can feel the most pressure from higher interest rates fell to some of the worst losses.Stocks of smaller companies did poorly, for example. Many need to borrow to fuel their growth, meaning they can feel more pain when having to pay higher interest rates for loans. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks tumbled 4.4%.Elsewhere on Wall Street, General Mills dropped 3.1% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The maker of Progresso soups and Cheerios said it will increase its investments in brands to help them grow, which pushed it to cut its forecast for profit this fiscal year.Nvidia, the superstar responsible for a chunk of Wall Streets rally to records in recent years, fell 1.1% to extend its weekslong funk. It has dropped more than 13% from its record set last month and fallen in nine of the last 10 days as its big momentum slows.On the winning end of Wall Street, Jabil jumped 7.3% to help lead the market after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The electronics company also raised its forecast for revenue for its full fiscal year.All told, the S&P 500 fell 178.45 points to 5,872.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,123.03 to 42,326.87, and the Nasdaq composite skidded 716.37 to 19,392.69.In stock markets abroad, Londons FTSE 100 edged up by less than 0.1% after data showed inflation accelerated to 2.6% in November, its highest level in eight months. The Bank of England is also meeting on interest rates this week and will announce its decision on Thursday.In Japan, where the Bank of Japan will wrap up its own policy meeting on Friday, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%. That was despite a 23.7% jump for Nissan Motor Corp., which said it was in talks on closer collaboration with Honda Motor Co., though no decision had been made on a possible merger. Honda Motors stock lost 3%.Nissan, Honda and Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. agreed in August to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to dramatic changes in the auto industry.___AP Writer Zimo Zhong contributed.

Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay, counter China’s power [Video]
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Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay, counter China’s power [Video]

The Senate passed a defense bill Wednesday that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boost overall military spending to $895 billion while stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children of military members.The annual defense authorization bill usually gains strong bipartisan support and has not failed to pass Congress in nearly six decades, but the Pentagon policy measure in recent years has become a battleground for cultural issues. Republicans this year sought to tack on priorities for social conservatives to the legislation, contributing to a months-long negotiation over the bill and a falloff in support from Democrats.Still, all but a handful of Senate Democrats as well as nearly all Republicans voted for the bill’s final passage, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden.The bill “isn’t perfect, but it still includes some very good things that Democrats fought for, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a floor speech. It has strong provisions to stand up against the Chinese Communist Party here on a national security basis.In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill last week after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban the military health system from providing transgender medical care for children. The legislation easily passed by a vote of 281-140.Senate Republican leaders argued that its 1% increase for defense spending was not enough, especially at a time of global unrest and challenges to American dominance. Senate Republicans had argued for a generational boost to defense spending this year, but are planning another push for more defense funding once they control the White House and Congress next year.The annual defense authorization bill directs key Pentagon policy, but it would still need to be backed up with an appropriations package.Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a floor speech this week that without the topline increase major bill provisions like a pay raise for enlisted servicemembers will come at the expense of investments in the critical weapons systems and munitions that deter conflict and keep them safe.The legislation provides for a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others. Lawmakers said those were key to improving the quality of life of service members at a time when many military families rely on food banks and other government assistance programs to make ends meet.It includes major quality of life improvements, enhancing things like childcare, housing, medical services, employment support for military spouses and much more, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.The legislation also directs resources towards a more confrontational approach to China, including establishing a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan in much the same way that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It also invests in new military technologies, including artificial intelligence, and bolsters the U.S. production of ammunition.The U.S. has also moved in recent years to ban the military from purchasing Chinese products, and the defense bill extended that with prohibitions on Chinese goods from garlic in military commissaries to drone technology.The Chinese foreign ministry responded to that move last week by calling the bans laughable.I dont think it could ever occur to garlic that it would pose a major threat to the U.S., said Mao Ning, a ministry spokeswoman. From drones to cranes, from refrigerators to garlic, more and more Chinese-made products have been accused by the US of posing national security risks. But has the US shown any reliable evidence or rationale to back up those accusations?But in Congress, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been mostly united in their stance that China is a rising threat. Instead, it was culture war issues that divided lawmakers on the bill, which took months to negotiate.The Republican-controlled House had passed a version of the bill in June that would have banned the Defense Department’s policy of reimbursing costs for service members who travel to another state for an abortion, ended gender affirming care for transgender troops and weeded out diversity initiatives in the military.Most of those provisions did not make it into the final package, though Republicans are expecting Donald Trump to make sweeping changes to Pentagon policy when he enters office in January.The bill also still prohibits funding for teaching critical race theory in the military and prohibits TRICARE health plans from covering gender dysphoria treatment for children under 18 if that treatment could result in sterilization.For some Democrats, the ban on treatments for transgender children care they said could be life-saving was a red line.In a floor speech, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said she has always voted for the NDAA, but would not do so this year. She said that the policy change for transgender children would affect between 6,000 and 7,000 families, according to estimates her office has received.The NDAA has embodied the idea that there is more that brings us together than separates us, that our service members and national defense are not to be politicized. That we put our country over a party when the chips are on the table,” she said. Unfortunately, this year that was ignored all to gut the rights of our service members to get the health care they need for their children.