Mayday Parade to celebrate 20 years with headlining show at House of Blues Anaheim

• April 24, 2025

Nearly two decades ago, Mayday Parade frontman Derek Sanders and his bandmates were hustling CDs in Vans Warped Tour parking lots, dreaming of becoming rock stars. Now they’re headlining one of their biggest tours to date.

“We’ve put more effort and love into the set for this tour than any set we’ve done before,” Sanders said in a phone interview. “We’ve put a ton of work into trying to make this a really special moment, and I’m very excited and anxious about it, but I know that once we get the first couple of shows out of the way, it’ll feel great.”

Mayday Parade kicked off its Three Cheers for Twenty Years tour on April 22 and has an upcoming stop at the House of Blues Anaheim on Tuesday, May 6. The shows will feature career-spanning sets filled with fan favorites, deep cuts and new material.

“It’s such a crazy thing because in the 20 years that have passed, I feel like I’ve always been so focused on what’s coming up, the next six months, and the next year,” Sanders said. “This tour has given me an opportunity to pause and look back at the very beginning and reflect on everything that we’ve done in this band.”

Sanders’ love for music began when he received an acoustic guitar for Christmas when he was 10. He soon met longtime friend and Mayday Parade guitarist Brook Betts when he was 12. The two childhood friends connected over their passion for music and spent time in numerous bands, dreaming of making it big.

In 2005, the two friends formed Mayday Parade after combining members of two Tallahassee, Florida, bands: Defining Moment, which Betts, Sanders, and Mayday Parade bassist Jeremy Lenzo and ex-vocalist/guitarist Jason Lancaster were a part of, and Kid Named Chicago, where they picked up drummer Jake Bundrick and guitarist Alex Garcia.

The musicians felt confident about their chemistry and were ready to advance their career as a band. During their time in other groups, they gained experience with strategies to help spread their music like gospel.

Sanders and other members of Defining Moment used to go on small tours and visit the local mall’s Hot Topic the day before a show. They would walk around with a CD player and headphones, trying to get people interested in going to see them live. They’d also sell a few CDs out of a backpack, which later turned into selling them at music festivals.

“The first festival we did, we sold over 100 CDs, and that made us stop and rethink, like, ‘Wait a second, we haven’t sold 100 CDs in a month of touring, but then in one day we sold that walking around this festival,’” he said. “That gave us the idea to follow Warped Tour with an EP, and it was successful.”

In 2006, the band recorded its first EP, “Tales Told By Dead Friends,” and sold it to the crowds of the Vans Warped Tour, where it performed an early set. By the end of the summer, the group had sold more than 10,000 copies, lighting a fuse to the band’s launch. It was also during the internet’s Myspace age where bands could share and upload music directly on a social media platform to share with fans and friends.

“Myspace was the big music social media platform at the time, and you could see on our Myspace page that the buzz was building and we were starting to get more and more plays,” Sanders said. “I remember the first time that we got 1,000 plays in a day, and we all called each other, just so excited.”

As the play numbers piled up, record labels began noticing, too, specifically Fearless Records, which signed the band in August 2006 and where the group would release its debut album, “A Lesson In Romantics,” the following year.

Since then, the band has released eight albums, including their most recent “Sweet,” the first of a three-part album, recorded with longtime collaborators and pop punk production gurus Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount. The first part, “Sweet,” combines melodic keyboards, fast-paced riffs, and lyrics driven by the emotional turmoil experienced through self-reflection.

The album is reminiscent of the band’s early days of emo and pop punk that took off in the mid-aughts, with groups like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! At The Disco finding mainstream success with poetic lyricism and lots of angst. While those groups have remained popular there has also been a nostalgic resurgence of the genres with the help of When We Were Young, Emo Nite, Sad Summer Fest and even the pending revival of Vans Warped Tour.

“Obviously, I am all about it and think it’s so cool,” Sanders said. “It was so important to me because I was in high school from 2000 to 2004, as it was breaking into the mainstream. It did seem like after that, there was uncertainty, as if it was just a flash in the pan moment. Where things stand now is proof that there’s a meaningful cultural movement, and I’m just happy to be a part of it in any way.”

One of the cornerstones of the emo music fanbase is the genre’s name itself: emotion. Of course, every genre of music is emotional in some capacity, but pop punk and emo artists approached their music by leading with vulnerability. Sanders is a champion of that in his lyricism and more recently, in general.

Last year, Sanders co-headlined Sad Summer Fest at the Observatory in Santa Ana with The Maine. On stage, he shared with the audience that for the first time, he found himself crying to one of their songs in the Mayday Parade catalog. He said he was going through a tough period and a four-year divorce and had that moment when a wave of emotion washed over him with the song “The Last Something That Meant Anything.”

“Sometimes we go through these complicated emotions, but I try not to worry, allowing myself to be vulnerable and ask for help,” Sanders said. “Everyone has friends and people who love and care about them and will be there for them when they need them. As far as the music, it’s important to put that in there. It has a lot to do with the strong attachment that a lot of people feel to our band and music. Music itself is incredibly healing and powerful, so to hear someone else sing a song and put it into music is an important part of it. An effort of ours is always to try and be real when we put that emotion in there.”

In addition to the new album, Mayday Parade was featured in a Disney compilation dubbed “A Whole New Sound,” released in September alongside other pop punk acts such as Simple Plan, Yellowcard, We The Kings and others. Sanders said that he had been trying to get the band’s previous label, Fearless Records, to do a Disney compilation for years.

The label had put together other successful compilations, including 19 different “Punk Goes …” compilation albums in which punk bands performed ’80s hits, metal, crunk and other genres. However, its most successful were the seven “Punk Goes Pop” compilations in which bands reimagined pop songs. The idea for a Disney compilation never took off, but then Disney contacted the group about the idea.

“I was so jazzed about it, and spent two weeks listening through all of the Disney catalog and trying to workshop what song we should do because it’s an amazing opportunity,” he said. “But I realized that it is a pretty daunting task and not an easy thing to do. These are beloved songs, and they have to work well through our medium to give a decent representation of our style. There were so many songs that I wanted to do and felt great about, but when I started trying to put them together, it just didn’t work. We ended up landing on Coco’s ‘Remember Me,’ and it all just came together in such a nice way. I’m super happy and proud to be a part of it.”

As for what’s next for the Tallahassee band after its two-decade celebration, Sanders said it’s not something that is at the front of mind with everything going on in the present.

“It’s tough to say because so many things could change, and who knows what’s going to happen, but we’re all super thrilled and grateful to be here doing this, so I think we’ll just try to keep it going for as long as we can.”

Mayday Parade

Where: House of Blues Anaheim, 400 Disney Way #337, Anaheim

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6.

Tickets: $53.30 at Livenation.com.

​ Orange County Register 

IMF chief urges countries to move ‘swiftly’ to resolve trade tensions that threaten global growth

• April 24, 2025

By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund urged countries to move “swiftly’’ to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability arising from President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports is causing companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending.

“Uncertainty is bad for business,’’ she told reporters Thursday in a briefing during the spring meetings of the IMF and its sister agency, the World Bank.

Georgieva’s comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook for world economic growth this year. The 191-country lending organization, which seeks to promote global growth, financial stability and to reduce poverty, also sharply lowered its forecast for the United States. It said the chances that the world’s biggest economy would fall into recession have risen from 25%, to about 40%.

Georgieva warned that the economic fallout from trade conflict would fall most heavily on poor countries, which do not have the money to offset the damage.

Since returning the White House in January, Trump has aggressively imposed tariffs on American trading partners. Among other things, he’s slapped 145% import taxes on China and 10% on almost every country in the world, raising U.S. tariffs to levels not seen in more than a century. But he has repeatedly changed U.S. policy — suddenly suspending or altering the tariffs — and left companies bewildered about what he is trying to accomplish and what his end game might be.

Trump’s tariffs — a sharp reversal of decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade — and the resulting uncertainty around them have caused a weekslong rout in financial markets. But stocks rallied Wednesday after the Trump administration signaled that it is open to reducing the massive tariffs on China. “There is an opportunity for a big deal here,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.

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Pope Francis’ doctor says pontiff died ‘without suffering, at home’

• April 24, 2025

By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ doctor has recounted the pontiff’s final moments in a pair of newspaper interviews, saying the pontiff had his eyes open and was breathing with oxygen, but unresponsive after being stricken by illness early Monday morning. “He died without suffering, at home,” the doctor said.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri coordinated Francis’ five-week hospital treatment for double pneumonia and continued to oversee the pope’s treatment after the pontiff returned to the Vatican on March 23 for two months of rest to allow a full recovery.

Alfieri was alerted at 5:30 a.m. Monday by Francis’ health care assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, that Francis had been stricken and needed to be taken to the hospital. The doctor told the Milan daily Corriere della Sera that he arrived 20 minutes later.

“I went into his room, and he had his eyes open. I noted that he did not have respiratory issues, so I tried to call him but he did not respond,’’ Alfieri was quoted by Corriere as saying, adding that his lungs were clear and he was receiving supplemental oxygen. “He also did not respond to stimuli, even painful ones. In that moment I understood there was nothing more to do. He was in a coma.’’

Alfieri said it was too risky moving Francis back to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for a complex respiratory infection that nearly killed him twice.

Two hours after falling ill, the pope died, having suffered a stroke.

“He died without suffering, at home,″ Alfieri told the Rome daily La Repubblica.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived and said the rosary over the body, accompanied by the papal household staff, Alfieri told Corriere. “I gave him a caress, as a farewell,’’ the doctor said.

Vatican News has reported that the pope managed a gesture of farewell to Strappetti after falling ill.

Alfieri became the pope’s surgeon when he needed treatment for diverticulitis in 2021. Alfieri tried to get him on a diet after the surgery.

“He had a big sweet-tooth, and sometimes would go to the kitchen at the Santa Marta hotel for a midnight snack. He put on (nearly 30 pounds) too many. At times I came off as too rigorous, because he told me, ‘Remember to live with irony.’ “

After the pope suffered several severe respiratory crises in the hospital that required decisive treatment, the surgeon said, “We knew he wouldn’t return to his former condition, and that the infection had left another scar on his lungs.”

Still, ”he improved with physical therapy. I saw him on Saturday, and I found him in good shape. I didn’t think it would be the last meeting,” Alfieri told la Repubblica.

Though Francis was ordered to rest and avoid crowds for two months to recover, Alfieri expressed understanding for the pope’s desire to return to work. “Going back to work was part of his treatment, and he never exposed himself to dangers,″ Alfieri told Corriere.

Francis couldn’t resist appearing in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, which culminated with a long drive through the Easter crowd of 50,000 on the pope mobile, with several stops to bless children. He also insisted on inviting health care workers from the Gemelli hospital to the Vatican before Easter, even though the doctor suggested they wait until the end of the two-month convalescence in June.

“I have the clear sensation now that there were a series of things he felt he had to do before dying,″ Alfieri told Corriere. ”We knew he wanted to return home to be pope until the last instant, and he didn’t disappoint us.”

​ Orange County Register 

US filings for jobless benefits inch up as labor market remains strong despite fears of downturn

• April 24, 2025

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

U.S. applications for jobless benefits rose modestly last week as business continue to retain workers despite fears of a possible economic downturn.

Jobless claim applications inched up by 6,000 to 222,000 for the week ending April 19, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s just barely more than the 220,000 new applications analysts forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have mostly stayed in a healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.

Even though President Donald Trump has paused or pulled back on many of his tariff threats, concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend what has been an historically resilient labor market.

Early Thursday, the head of the International Monetary Fund urged countries to move “swiftly’’ to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability of Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports is causing companies to delay investments and consumers to pull back spending. Georgieva’s comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook for world economic growth this year.

Like his pledge to institute tariffs, Trump’s promise to drastically downsize the federal government workforce has occupied much of the early weeks of his presidency and is still in motion.

It’s not clear when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE,” spearheaded by Elon Musk — will surface in the weekly layoffs data. However, the federal government staff reductions are already being felt, even outside of the Washington, D.C. area.

Federal agencies that have either announced layoffs or are planning cuts include the Department of Health and Human Services, IRS, Small Business Administration, Veterans Affairs and Department of Education.

Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the labor market remains healthy with plenty of job openings and relatively few layoffs.

Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 228,000 jobs in March. While the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%, that’s still a healthy figure by historical standards.

Some high-profile companies have announced job cuts already this year, including Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta.

Thursday’s report also showed that the four-week average of applications, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility ticked down by 750 to 220,250.

The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of April 12 declined by 37,000 to 1.84 million.

​ Orange County Register 

In rare criticism of Putin, Trump urges the Russian leader to ‘STOP!’ after a deadly attack on Kyiv

• April 24, 2025

By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday offered rare criticism of Vladimir Putin, urging the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

Russia struck Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. At least 10 people were killed and 90 were injured in t he deadliest assault on the city since last July.

Trump’s frustration is growing as a U.S.-led effort to get a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia has not made progress.

Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday and accused him of prolonging the “killing field” by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal. Russia illegally annexed that area from Ukraine in 2014.

Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the war that began when Russia invaded in February 2022 that recognizing occupied territory as Russia’s is a red line for Ukraine. Zelenskyy noted Thursday that Ukraine had agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Moscow’s attacks had continued.

Trump’s criticism of Putin is notable because Trump has repeatedly said Russia, the aggressor in the conflict, is more willing than Ukraine to get a deal done.

“I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “So far it’s been harder, but that’s OK. It’s all right.”

In his dealings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump has focused on which leader has leverage. Putin has “the cards” and Zelenskyy does not, Trump has said repeatedly. At the same time, the new Republican administration has taken steps toward a more cooperative line with Putin, for whom Trump has long shown admiration.

Trump is set to meet later Thursday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to discuss the war in Ukraine, U.S. tariffs and other issues.

Norway, a member of NATO and strong supporter of Ukraine, shares a roughly 123-mile border with Russia.

Gahr Støre said in a social media post Thursday that he would underscore during the talks that “close contact between Norway and the USA is crucial.”

“We must contribute to a lasting and just peace in Ukraine,” he said.

The French Foreign Ministry offered measured pushback on Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy over the Ukrainian’s stand on Crimea.

During talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter. The matter was discussed again Wednesday during talks with U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials.

“The principle of Ukraine’s territorial integrity is not something that can be negotiated,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. “This was the position taken last week and reiterated yesterday in London in a meeting of a similar format.”

Asked whether France agreed with Trump’s comments that Ukraine’s position was to blame for prolonging the war, Lemoine said Ukrainians showed they are open to negotiations while Russia continues its strikes.

“We rather have the impression that it is the Russians who are slowing down the discussions,” he said.

The White House announced Tuesday that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would visit Moscow this week for a new round of talks with Putin about the war. It would be their fourth meeting since Trump took office in January.

Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Most Americans expect higher prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs, new poll finds

• April 24, 2025

By JOSH BOAK and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ trust in President Donald Trump to bolster the U.S. economy appears to be faltering, with a new poll showing that many people fear the country is being steered into a recession and that the president’s broad and haphazardly enforced tariffs will cause prices to rise.

Roughly half of U.S. adults say that Trump’s trade policies will increase prices “a lot” and another 3 in 10 think prices could go up “somewhat,” according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

About half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the possibility of the U.S. economy going into a recession in the next few months.

While skepticism about tariffs is increasing modestly, that doesn’t mean the public is automatically rejecting Trump or his approach to trade. However, the wariness could cause problems for a president who promised voters he could quickly fix inflation.

Trump shows vulnerability on the economy

Three months into his second term, Trump’s handling of the economy and tariffs is showing up as a potential weakness. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way the Republican president is handling the economy and trade negotiations. That’s roughly in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in March.

Matthew Wood, 41, said he’s waiting to see how the tariffs play out, but he’s feeling anxious.

“I’m not a huge fan of it, especially considering China and going back and forth with adjustments on both ends,” said Wood, who lives in West Liberty, Kentucky, and is unemployed. “Personally, it hasn’t affected me as of yet. But, generally, I don’t know how this is going to come to an end, especially with the big countries involved.”

Still, Wood said he changed his registration from Republican to independent, having been turned off by Trump’s attitude and deference to billionaire adviser Elon Musk. Wood voted for Trump last year and said he’s willing to give the president until the end of the year to deliver positive results on tariffs.

About half of U.S. adults, 52%, are against imposing tariffs on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. That’s up slightly from January, when a poll found that 46% were against tariffs. Driving that small shift largely appears to be adults under age 30 who didn’t previously have an opinion on tariffs.

Trump supporter Janice Manis, 63, said her only criticism of Trump on tariffs is that he put in a partial 90-day pause for trade negotiations with other countries.

“Actually, I think he shouldn’t have suspended it,” said Manis, a retired sheriff’s deputy from Del Rio, Texas. “Because now China is trying to manipulate all of these other countries to go against us, whereas if he would have left all the tariffs in play then these countries would be hit hard. But, oh, well, things happen.”

Skepticism remains about Trump’s tariff approach

Not quite 100 days into Trump’s second term in the White House, people around the country are bracing for possible disruptions in how they spend, work and live. The U.S. economy remains solid for the moment with moderating inflation and a healthy 4.2% unemployment rate, yet measures such as consumer confidence have dropped sharply.

Trump has used executive actions to remold the global economy. He’s imposed hundreds of billions of dollars a year in new import taxes — albeit partially suspending some of them — launching a full-scale trade war against China and pledging to wrap up deals with dozen of other countries that are temporarily facing tariffs of 10%. Financial markets are swinging with every twist and turn from Trump’s tariff pronouncements.

Many Americans are not convinced this is the right approach. About 6 in 10 say Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to imposing new tariffs, according to the poll.

Stocks are down this year, while interest charges on U.S. government bonds have climbed in ways that could make it more costly to repay mortgages, auto loans and student debt. CEOs are scrapping their earnings guidance for investors and seeking exemptions from Trump’s tariffs, which hit allies such as Canada and even penguin-inhabited islands.

Trump seemed to recognize the drag from tariffs as he highlighted this week the possibility of a deal with China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had also said in a closed-door speech that the situation with China is not “sustainable.”

Widespread concern about rising grocery prices

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the cost of groceries in the next few months, while about half are highly concerned about the cost of big purchases, such as a car, cellphone or appliance. Less than half are highly concerned about their ability to purchase the goods they want — a sign of the economy’s resilience so far.

Retirement savings are a source of anxiety — about 4 in 10 Americans say their retirement savings are a “major source” of stress in their lives. But fewer — only about 2 in 10 — identify the stock market as a major source of anxiety.

“This whole tariff war is just a losing situation not only for the American people but everybody worldwide,” said Nicole Jones, 32. “It’s revenge — and everybody’s losing on it.”

The Englewood, Florida, resident voted last year for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced the incumbent president, Joe Biden, as the Democratic nominee. Jones hadn’t given much thought to tariffs until recently, and now, as an occupational therapy student, she also worries about losing her financial aid and facing high amounts of educational debt.

“Things are more expensive for us,” she said.

And most Americans still think the national economy is in a weak state.

The difference is that Republicans — who largely thought the economy was in bad shape when Biden was president — now feel more optimistic. But Democrats have become much more bleak about the country’s financial future.

“It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but we were doing fine,” Jones, a Democratic voter, said about the economy before Trump’s policies went into effect.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump will hold a rally in Michigan next week to mark his first 100 days in office

• April 24, 2025

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump will mark his first 100 days in office next week with a rally in Michigan, his first since returning to the White House earlier this year.

Trump will visit Macomb County on Tuesday, the White House press secretary said. The region is just north of Detroit, known as an automotive hub.

“President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday on social media.

The rally will take place on Trump’s 100th day in office — a traditional early milestone in which a president’s progress is measured against campaign promises. Michigan was one of the key battleground states Trump flipped last year from Democrats on his path back to the White House.

Trump has not traveled much since taking office outside of personal weekend trips. The Republican president’s only other official trip in his second term was during the first week, when he visited disaster zones in North Carolina and California and held an event in Las Vegas to promote his plan to eliminate taxes on tips.

But later this week, Trump will travel to Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, the first foreign trip in his second term.

Trump’s upcoming trip to Michigan follows a series of meetings and phone calls with the state’s high-profile Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Once a sharp critic of Trump, Whitmer has said that she hopes to find common ground with the president in his second term.

A key area of potential cooperation that Whitmer has pointed to is Selfridge Air National Guard Base, long a concern for Whitmer and Michigan lawmakers amid uncertainty over its future as the A-10 aircraft stationed there are phased out. The base is located in Macomb County, where he is set to appear Tuesday.

Trump mentioned Selfridge during an April 9 executive order signing in the Oval Office, an event that Whitmer was present for, saying he hoped to keep the base “open, strong, thriving.”

“I think we’re going to be successful, Governor. I think we’ll be very successful there,” Trump said about Selfridge.

Whitmer — whom Trump praised during his remarks — later said she was unexpectedly brought into the Oval Office during her visit. A photo captured her trying to shield her face from cameras with a folder.

Asked Wednesday if Whitmer would appear with the president in Michigan, a spokesperson for the governor said they “don’t have anything to share at this time.”

Whitmer and other Michigan officials have long advocated for a new fighter mission to replace the outgoing A-10 squadron at Selfridge.

In a 2023 letter sent during President Joe Biden’s administration, Whitmer urged the secretary of the Air Force to act, writing, “I repeat and reiterate what I stated in November and many times before over the past year: a fighter mission at Selfridge to recapitalize the A10s is the right path forward for the State of Michigan, the Air Force, and the nation.”

​ Orange County Register 

Wall Street drifts higher as companies keep piling up profits, for now at least

• April 24, 2025

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting higher Thursday as better-than-expected profits for U.S. companies pile up, though CEOs say they’re unsure about whether it will last amid uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in morning trading, following a two-day rally driven by hopes that Trump was softening his approach on tariffs and his criticism of the Federal Reserve, which had earlier shaken markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 42 points, or 0.1%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher.

ServiceNow helped drive the market higher after the AI platform company delivered a stronger profit for the start of 2025 than analysts expected. The company, whose AI agents help clients with their customer management and human resources, saw its stock jump 15% after it also gave a forecasted range for upcoming subscription revenue that was above what some analysts expected.

Southwest Airlines likewise reported stronger results for the first three months of the year than analysts expected, but its stock was flipping between losses and gains. It became the latest U.S. carrier to say the outlook for the economy looks so cloudy that it’s pulling some of its financial forecasts for the year.

CEO Bob Jordan said the company is “controlling what we can control,” and it’s cutting how much flying it will do in the second half of the year. Southwest’s stock was most recently down 0.2%.

Companies across industries have been talking about how difficult it is to give financial forecasts for the year, as Wall Street typically expects them to do, because of the on-again-off-again rollout of Trump’s tariffs.

Stocks rallied the last two days on signals that Trump may be willing to lower his stiff tariffs on imports coming from China. But the world’s second-largest economy on Thursday denied the two sides were involved in active negotiations over tariffs, saying that any suggestion of progress in this matter was as groundless as “trying to catch the wind.”

Calling Trump’s policy announcements “headline turbulence,” Tan Jing Yi of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank warned that global economies could be hurt in the long run, adding, “Sentiments swing from hopes of intense relief to inflicted economic gloom.”

This week, which began with a steep loss on fears about the trade war, has been a microcosm of the severe swings the market has volleyed through as investors struggle with how to react to conditions that seem to change by the day and by the hour. The only certainty ahead is likely that the market will keep swinging until more clarity arrives on tariffs, which many investors expect will cause a recession unless they’re rolled back.

“It’s an unhealthy market backdrop right now, and we’re trying not to react too much,” said John Belton, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds.

Households across the United States are preparing for the higher prices that economists say tariffs would bring, while the head of the International Monetary fund urged countries to move “swiftly’’ to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

In the meantime, many U.S. companies are continuing to report stronger profit for the start of 2025 than analysts expected, while offering caution and uncertainty about the year ahead.

Toymaker Hasbro was a winner on Wall Street and jumped 14.4% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said his company expects “more volatility and uncertainty” and that “consumer conditions in many markets remain subdued and similarly have an uncertain outlook.”

His company’s stock fell 2.5% after the beverage and snack maker cuts its forecast for an underlying measure of profit over 2025, citing increased costs from tariffs and subdued conditions for customers. A 25% tariff on imported aluminum for cans is among those hitting PepsiCo and other beverage makers.

In the bond market, Treasury yields continued to ease following their disconcerting run higher earlier this month. Yields usually fall when fear is dominating markets, but their surprising rise had raised fears that the U.S. bond market was losing its status as one of the world’s safest places to keep cash because of Trump’s trade war.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.32% from 4.40% late Wednesday.

It sank after a report showed slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid modest moves across much of Europe and Asia.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Mat Ott contributed.

​ Orange County Register