The White House is set to release President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget Friday, a sweeping blueprint that could boost Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, the largest of its kind in decades, as the U.S. focuses on military investments rather than other domestic programs.Even before the U.S.-led war against Iran, the Republican president had indicated he wanted to bolster defense spending to modernize the military for 21st-century threats. Separately, the Pentagon last month proposed $200 billion for the war effort and to backfill munitions and supplies.Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the Iran war, signaled…
Author: Staff Writer
Across the U.S., the realities of healthcare affordability are reaching a breaking point, with premiums and out-of-pocket costs straining household budgets and forcing some families to consider going without coverage or delaying care, simply because they cannot pay. This isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about everyday decisions: skipping preventive visits, postponing prescriptions, or weighing health needs against rent and groceries. As healthcare costs grow while federal funds and subsidies shift, our systems are under duress, and people are being forced to make impossible choices. In this context, the question for business leaders, in healthcare and beyond, is…
Baltimore, known for being a leader in medicine and technology as well as for its fiercely community-driven residents, is one of many cities trying to determine how to grapple with some of AI’s most pressing issues. And recently, the city has been sounding the alarm. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and work. In many ways, the tools are wildly helpful—solving business problems, advancing medicine, and even helping solopreneurs thrive without a team. However, the technology comes with some worrisome drawbacks and, given the lack of federal oversight, the risks are beginning to reshape local politics. That seems…
This week, the labor movement in architecture scored a win. Sage & Coombe Architects, a women-led firm based in New York City, unanimously approved a collective bargaining agreement. It’s the second American practice to ratify a contract, after Bernheimer Architecture in 2024. “This contract, the second in the industry, sets a standard for workers at Sage and Coombe and beyond,” Architectural Workers United (AWU), a group that has been helping firms organize, announced on April 1 via Instagram. The agreement’s details have yet to be made public. The milestone marks a significant move in the design industry’s unionizing efforts, especially…
When the server walked past our table, my hand shot upward like a high schooler eager to answer the teacher’s question. “Can we get two more of the same, please?” I asked upon getting his attention. “Another round of espresso martinis? I got you, boss.” Leona grinned and nodded in approval, as expected. We go back like four flats on a Cadillac. From study buddies back at the G.O.A.T. HBCU to marketing professionals putting in work for thriving companies, we’ve remained a two-person support system. It’s a celebration every time we link up. So it’s only right that we throw…
The latest polling coming out of the United States on the war with Iran should be a wake-up call to anyone paying attention. This is not a divided country cautiously debating foreign policy. This is an overwhelming rejection. The people do not want this war, and the data is not even close. A new CNN poll shows that 66 percent of Americans disapprove of the war, with just 33 percent approving. Even worse, only about one-third believe there is any clear plan behind the conflict. At the same time, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 66 percent of Americans want the…
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees, and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies. The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives, even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trump’s demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand…
The latest polling data coming out on the Democratic Party is not just bad. It is historically weak, and what is even more telling is that the erosion is coming from within their own base. This is not the opposition attacking them. This is their own voters losing confidence, and that is always the beginning of a political fracture. Recent polling shows the Democratic Party sitting at a net favorability of roughly -20, with more than 55% of Americans viewing the party unfavorably. At the same time, even among Democrats themselves, enthusiasm has collapsed compared to prior cycles. An AP-NORC…
Emily, the Chief Revenue Officer at a global financial services company, learned something about her CEO she cannot unknow. She recently discovered that her CEO is having an affair. The relationship appears private and consensual. It does not violate company policy. She knows his spouse well; their children play on the same basketball team, and his spouse coaches it. The proximity is unavoidable. On Monday morning, she listens as he outlines priorities for the quarter. The strategy is sound. The numbers are holding. But she hears him differently now. This is the same CEO who regularly speaks about integrity and…
China has just taken another decisive step toward the future of money, and once again, the West is pretending this is simply about “payment efficiency.” The People’s Bank of China has now expanded its digital yuan program by adding 12 additional banks, bringing the total number of participating institutions to 22. China launched the digital yuan back in 2019, and despite already having dominant digital payment systems like Alipay and WeChat Pay, they continue to push forward aggressively. The reason is simple. Those systems are private. The digital yuan is not. This is a direct liability of the central bank,…