Gen Z looks for more financial guidance and protection amid rising debt and consumerist culture

by Alicia Tang | Mar 27, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON — “Money comes & goes, but I’ll never be in my 20’s again.” Meet the generation that has opened their wallets to this TikTok trend. They’d rather spend money now than invest for retirement or write monthly budgets. Generation Z demonstrates the lowest...

Supreme Court debates legitimacy of ATF’s ruling on bump stocks, dissecting definition of a law established during Prohibition

by Alicia Tang | Mar 12, 2024 | Featured, Politics

WASHINGTON –  The Supreme Court wrestled with how to interpret a 1934 statute during oral arguments on Feb. 28 in a case to determine whether bump stocks, used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, should be classified as machine guns.  The justices wrangled with the...

Video: Haley voters in South Carolina face tough choice if Trump becomes Republican nominee

by Alicia Tang | Feb 26, 2024 | Campaign 2024, Featured, Politics

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump easily won the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday by capturing almost 60% of the vote while former governor Nikki Haley earned 39.5% in her home state. Earlier in the day, some of Haley’s voters said they strongly...

College students feel apathetic toward voting in South Carolina Republican primary

by Alicia Tang | Feb 24, 2024 | Campaign 2024, Featured, Politics

Columbia, S.C. – Many college students are choosing not to vote in Saturday’s Republican presidential primary election in South Carolina, saying they feel unrepresented by the candidates and apathetic towards politics. In 2020, only 16.4% of S.C. voters participated...

‘First line of defense against financial turmoil’; economists call for the destigmatization of ‘discount window lending’

by Alicia Tang | Feb 15, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON – Economists promoted increased usage of the Fed’s discount window to insulate the economy from risks of financial crisis at a hearing on Thursday.  The economists stressed the importance of destigmatizing discount window lending from the Fed before the...

‘We’re in risk management mode:’ Fed chair expects no rate cuts through March

by Alicia Tang | Feb 1, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its key interest rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive meeting, with Chair Jerome Powell quashing hope of rate cuts in March. The unanimous vote by the 12-member, rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee called...

‘The very biggest problem that American families are facing’ : Lawmakers discuss federal action to tackle local exclusionary zoning policies

by Alicia Tang | Jan 18, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON – Experts push for federal action addressing restrictive local zoning that has stymied affordable housing availability at a Joint Economic Committee hearing on Wednesday.  Local rules prohibit building anything other than single-family detached homes in 75%...

Consumer protection agency plans crackdown on bank overdraft fees

by Alicia Tang | Jan 17, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the White House announced Wednesday an initiative cracking down on overdraft fees to increase transparency for consumers. A new proposed rule would force banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce expresses optimism at yearly State of Business Address

by Alicia Tang | Jan 13, 2024 | Business, Featured

WASHINGTON — The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce emphatically praised American free enterprise and innovation at the Chamber’s annual State of American Business address.  “The State of American Business is optimistic,” said Suzanne P. Clark, president and CEO...