 |
|
|
|||||
The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday that the president’s White House ballroom construction project must continue for unexplained national security reasons and because a preservationists’ organization that wants it stopped has no standing to sue.The filing was in response to a lawsuit filed last Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation asking a federal judge to halt President Donald Trump’s project until it goes through multiple independent reviews and a public comment period and wins approval from Congress.The administration’s 36-page filing included a declaration from Matthew C. Quinn, deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service, the agency responsible for the security of the president and other high-ranking officials, that said more work on the site of the former White House East Wing is still needed to meet the agency’s “safety and security requirements.” The filing did not explain the specific national security concerns; the administration has offered to share classified details with the judge in a private, in-person setting without the plaintiffs present.The East Wing had sat atop a emergency operations bunker for the president.Quinn said even a temporary halt to construction would “consequently hamper” the agency’s ability to fulfill its statutory obligations and its protective mission.A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday in federal court in Washington.The government’s response offered the most comprehensive look yet at the ballroom construction project, including a window into how it was so swiftly approved by the Trump administration bureaucracy and its expanding scope.The filings assert that final plans for the ballroom have yet to be finalized despite the continuing demolition and other work to prepare the site for eventual construction. Below-ground work on the site continues, wrote John Stanwich, the National Park Service’s liaison to the White House, and work on the foundations is set to begin in January. Above-ground construction “is not anticipated to begin until April 2026, at the earliest,” he wrote.The National Trust for Historic Preservation did not respond to email messages seeking comment.The privately funded group last week asked the U.S. District Court to block Trump’s project.“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit states. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”Trump had the East Wing torn down in October as part of his plan to build an estimated $300 million, 90,000-square-foot (27,432-square-meter) ballroom able to accommodate about 1,000 people before his term ends in January 2029. He says presidents before him long have wanted an event space larger than the rooms currently at the White House, and says the ballroom would end the practice of entertaining visiting foreign dignitaries in large, temporary pavilions on the south grounds.The Trust asserts that the plans should have been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and Congress before any action was taken. The lawsuit notes that the Trust wrote to those entities and the National Park Service on Oct. 21, after East Wing demolition began, urging a stop to the project and asking the administration to comply with federal law, but received no response.The lawsuit cites several federal statutes and rules detailing the role the planning and fine arts commission and lawmakers play in U.S. government construction projects.The administration argued in its response that the president has the authority to modify the White House and included the extensive history of changes and additions to the Executive Mansion since it was built more than 200 years ago. It also asserted that the president is not subject to the statutes cited by the plaintiffs.Department of Justice attorneys said in the filing that the plaintiff’s claims about the East Wing demolition are “moot” because the tear-down cannot be undone. The administration also argues that claims about future construction are “unripe” because the plans are not final.The administration also contends that the Trust cannot establish “irreparable harm” because above-ground construction is not expected until spring. It argues that the reviews sought in the lawsuit, consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, “will soon be underway without this Court’s involvement.”Trump’s ballroom project has prompted criticism in the historic preservation and architectural communities, and among his political adversaries, but the lawsuit is the most tangible effort thus far to alter or stop his plans for an addition that itself would be nearly twice the size of the White House before the East Wing was torn down.In 2000, the National Park Service’s Comprehensive Design Plan for the White House first identified the need for a larger event space to address an increase in visitors and to provide a venue suitable for major events, according to the administration’s filing. Darlene Superville, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Vega Farms, a California-based food producer, has voluntarily recalled Vega Farms-branded in-shell eggs due to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 60 people and led to more than a dozen hospitalizations. Heres what you need to know about the outbreak, impacted products and retailers, and what to do if you have the recalled eggs in your possession: How many people got sick? In a notice posted on Friday, December 12, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warns businesses and consumers to avoid eating, serving, or selling recalled in-shell Vega Farms eggs. According to the agency, 63 California residents have reported illnesses linked to the Salmonella outbreak, and 13 people have been hospitalized. Fortunately, no deaths have been reported. During an inspection, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and CDPH collected egg and environmental samples from Vega Farms. Multiple samples tested positive for Salmonella. At least one sample matched the strain found in sick individuals. Which products are impacted by the recall? Here are more details about the recalled product: Brand: Vega Farms Product description: Brown eggs Julian Date (3-digit number from 001 to 365 corresponding to the day of the year): 328 and prior Sell-by dates: 12-22-25 and prior Retail package sizes: 1-dozen cartons; 30-egg flats Food service packaging: 15-dozen cases (contains 6 flats of 30 eggs each) The CDPH has images of the product labels on its website. Where were the recalled eggs sold? According to the CDPH, the recalled Vega Farms eggs were distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, co-ops, and at farmers markets in the Sacramento and Davis areas of Northern California. State health officials have published a retail distribution list with a handful of impacted retailers. Cafe Bernado, 234 D St., Davis, CA 95616 Cafe Bernado, 2730 Capitol Ave., Sacramento, CA 95816 Cafe Bernado, 515 Pavilions Ln., Sacramento, CA 95825 Davis Foods Co-op, 620 G St, Davis, CA 95616 Paragarys, 1403 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95816 Ristorante Piatti, 571 Pavilions Ln.k Sacramento, CA 95825 Sacramento Foods Co-op, 2820 R St., Sacramento, CA 95816 Sage Market, 201 Sage St., Davis, CA 95616 Segundo Market, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 Taylors Market, 2900 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95818 Tercero DC, 237 Tercero Hall Circle, Davis, CA 95616 UC Davis Cuarto Market, 550 Oxford Circle #1ST, Davis, CA 95616 Dont consume the recalled product Recalled products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase for a refund. Businesses shouldnt sell recalled products. What’s more, any items or surfaces that have come in contact with the recalled product should be washed and sanitized. If youve become sick after eating recalled eggs, contact a healthcare provider. If you see the recalled product for sale, call the CDPH Complaint Hotline at 800-495-3232 or submit an online report through CDPHs Food and Drug Branch. If you have any questions about the recall, you can call Ramsi Vega at (530) 400-9505 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. What is Salmonella infection? Salmonella infection is a bacterial disease. Humans usually become infected through contaminated water or food, according to the Mayo Clinic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Salmonella infection symptoms typically begin six hours to six days after infection. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Illness typically lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without medical treatment. However, some people are more likely to get very sick and may require medical treatment. This includes children under 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems. Why does this sound familiar? Salmonella-related egg recalls have been in the headlines a lot this year. Although this latest recall is limited to California, others have impacted nationally distributed products. In October, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that more than six million eggs from an Arkansas-based food producer were recalled due to Salmonella concerns. And over the summer, nearly 100 people across 14 states were sickened by Salmonella linked to eggs.
Category:
E-Commerce
On a recent December day, Mark Latino and a handful of his workers spun sheets of vinyl into tinsel for Christmas tree branches. They worked on a custom-made machine that’s nearly a century old, churning out strands of bright silver tinsel along its 35-foot (10-meter) length.Latino is the CEO of Lee Display, a Fairfield, California-based company that his great-grandfather founded in 1902. Back then, it specialized in handmade velvet and silk flowers for hats. Now, it’s one of the only companies in the United States that still makes artificial Christmas trees, producing around 10,000 each year. Tariffs and trees Tariffs shone a twinkling light this year on fake Christmas trees and the extent to which America depends on other countries for its plastic fir trees.Prices for fake trees rose 10% to 15% this year due to the new import taxes, according to the American Christmas Tree Association, a trade group. Tree sellers cut their orders and paid higher tariffs for the stock they brought in.Despite those issues, tree companies say they aren’t likely to shift large-scale production back to the U.S. after decades in Asia. Fake trees are labor-intensive and require holiday lights and other components the U.S. doesn’t make, said Chris Butler, CEO of the National Tree Co., which sells more than 1 million artificial trees each year.Americans are also very price-sensitive when it comes to holiday décor, Butler said.“Putting a ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ sticker on the box won’t do any good if it’s twice as expensive,” Butler said. “If it’s 20% more expensive, it won’t sell.” Americans prefer fake trees About 80% of the U.S. residents who put up a Christmas tree this year planned to use a fake one, according to the American Christmas Tree Association. That percentage has been unchanged for at least 15 years.Mac Harman, the founder and CEO of Balsam Brands, which sells hundreds of thousands of Balsam Hill trees each year, said Americans like to set up their trees on Thanksgiving and leave them up for weeks, which dries out fresh-cut trees. Others prefer fake trees because they’re allergic to the mold spores on real trees, he said.Americans also like convenience; 80% of the fake trees sold each year have the lights already strung on them, Butler said.That preference is one reason artificial tree production shifted away from the U.S., first to Thailand in the early 1990s and to China about a decade later. Winding lights around the branches is time-consuming and tedious, Harman said.“Where are we going to get 15,000 people in America who want to string lights on Christmas trees?” Harman said. Labor-intensive work It takes an hour or two to make an artificial Christmas tree, from molding and cutting the needles to tying branches together and attaching the lights, Butler said. Workers in China, where 90% of fake trees are made, are paid $1.50 to $2 per hour, he said.Harman said the workers who wrap the lights on Balsam Hill’s trees are so efficient “it’s like watching an Olympian.”One of Balsam Brands’ Chinese partners employs 15,000 to 20,000 people; another in Indonesia has up to 10,000, he said. Many are seasonal workers, since orders for Christmas décor slow down between October and February.Balsam Brands, which is based in Redwood City, California, studied whether it could make faux trees in Ohio during the first Trump administration, when President Donald Trump threatened but eventually delayed tariffs on imported Christmas décor, Harman said.The company hired consultants and considered automating some work. But it concluded a tree that currently sells for $800 would cost $3,000 if it was made in the U.S. Harman said Balsam couldn’t even find a U.S. company to make the pair of gloves it includes in each box for fluffing out branches. American-made trees Lee Display employs three or four people for most of the year, adding more during the holiday rush to help with installations and displays. About half its business is making custom displays for companies such as Macy’s, while the other half is selling directly to consumers.Latino said he likes that he can produce an order quickly instead of waiting for it to ship from overseas.“You have more control over it. I like to think that everything here is either my fault or my mistake or my careful planning and skill,” he said.The tariffs still affected Lee Display. Latino’s son James, who leads business development and marketing, said the company didn’t import lights or decorations from China this year and relied on items it already had in stock. It’s getting low on lights, so next year it will have to pay more to import them, he said. Responding to tariffs Some artificial tree companies are branching out so they’re less reliant on China. National Tree Co., which is based in Cranford, New Jersey, moved some manufacturing to Cambodia in 2024, and could source all its trees from outside China by next year if it wanted to, Butler said.But diversifying their suppliers didn’t make those companies immune from the impact of tariffs either. In April, the Trump administration threatened a 49% tariff against products from Cambodia. That rate was eventually reduced to 19%. Tariffs on artificial trees from China also bounced around but now average 20%, according to the American Christmas Tree Association.Butler said his company imported fewer trees this year and also raised prices by 10%. He said he used a lot of the money to offer customer discounts since demand was weak because of consumer worries about the economy.“It’s a discretionary item. People say, ‘I can wait one more year,'” Butler said.Balsam Brands cut its workforce by 10%, canceled travel, froze raises and even stopped serving lunch in the office once a week to absorb the impact of tariffs, Harman said. It also raised tree prices by 10%.Harman said his sales are down 5% to 10% this year in the U.S. but up 10% or more in Germany, Australia, Canada and France. That tells him tariffs have decreased U.S. demand.“If a merry Christmas is measured in how many decorations people put up, by that measure it’s going to be a slightly less merry Christmas,” he said. AP Video Journalist Terry Chea contributed from Fairfield, California. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||