Latest / Apple News Today / It’s a crucial week for the U.S. economy. Here’s why.

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It’s a crucial week for the U.S. economy. Here’s why. · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, March 8th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, the CEO of Starbucks faces new questions from Congress about workers' efforts to unionize, a concerning trend in cancer rates among younger people, and "the art of catching frogs" and how it could help the environment.
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  But first, we're in the middle of what's probably the biggest week for economic news so far this year, with a critical jobs report coming, a budget fight, and congressional testimony yesterday and today from Fed chair Jay Powell.
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  Let's start with Powell's testimony, which had plenty of warnings to lawmakers and investors.
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  Jerome Powell: Although inflation has been moderating in recent months, the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy. As I mentioned, the latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be to be higher than previously anticipated.
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  Cue market reaction. Stocks dropped as traders got the message that the Fed is ready to get tougher, potentially hiking interest rates higher and faster to get inflation lower.
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  Jerome Powell: If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we'd be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes.
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  And a big piece of that data the Fed will be watching comes on Friday with the jobs report. It's always one of the most important market-moving indicators. And this one is higher stakes than most because the last one blew everyone's predictions away. It showed the U.S. economy posted a net gain of more than half a million jobs in January. That was way, way more than forecasters expected. Some wondered if that number was too high to trust. The headline numbers in almost every jobs report get adjusted up or down later as more information comes in. It's possible this one will be revised by a lot. The new report will provide crucial answers to how the economy's doing and influence what the Fed does next.
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  A jobs report like this, or Powell's testimony alone, would make for a huge week. But there's even more. This week, we also have President Biden releasing his budget proposal and the looming fight over the debt ceiling. Republicans are demanding deep cuts to spending before they'll allow the ceiling to be raised.
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  At another congressional hearing yesterday, "Moody's" chief economist, Mark Zandi, talked about his forecast for what would happen if the U.S. fails to raise the debt ceiling and defaults. It's pretty grim. Even a short breach would destroy nearly a million jobs and cause a recession. And a drawn-out fight could kill off more than 7 million jobs and send the stock market down 20%.
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  Lately, you hear a lot of people in finance and politics talking about the "Goldilocks economy." You know, not too hot, not too cold, just right. Getting the economy "just right" is something people often associate with the Fed. It's seen as the place that gets the job done, even if politicians are squabbling. But remember, the story of Goldilocks didn't have a happy ending. Sure, she got some free porridge, but she also gets chased away by the bears, never to return. In reality, there are a lot of factors that the Fed doesn't control, especially with a pandemic and a fractured Congress. Getting it "just right" isn't as straightforward as it sounds.
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  A quick update now on a developing story. "The New York Times" is reporting that U.S. officials have intelligence that pro-Ukrainian forces may have sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
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  The pipeline carries Russian gas to the E.U. and is a big source of revenue for Moscow. When the explosions happened last year, many in the U.S. and Europe pointed fingers at Russia. It denied involvement.
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  Some U.S. intelligence officials say pro-Ukrainian actors would have reason to attack the pipelines because of how Russia was weaponizing energy supplies against Ukraine and Europe. Ukraine's government says it was not involved in the sabotage.
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  You can follow along for the latest in the Apple News app.
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  Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will testify to Congress about the company's alleged labor law violations related to union drives by its employees. He'd refused to earlier but finally agreed to talk after Senator Bernie Sanders threatened to subpoena him.
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  Union efforts at the company have exploded in recent years. More than 300 stores in nearly three dozen states have held union elections. Most voted in favor of forming unions. National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have issued complaints accusing Starbucks of illegal anti-union tactics, including threats and firing activists. A judge recently ruled that Starbucks violated labor law during a union campaign in the Buffalo area, saying it illegally monitored, disciplined and fired employees for organizing.
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  Starbucks has repeatedly said claims of anti-union activity are false.
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  Rani Molla at "Vox" has been following the Starbucks union movement from the beginning. Workers who voted to unionize tell her how difficult it's been to actually sign a deal with Starbucks.
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  Rani Molla: Starbucks has been dragging their feet, making it so that they can't actually negotiate for a contract. They've been firing union workers. They've been intimidating. They've been holding captive-audience meetings, these meetings where they, while you're on the clock, they tell you why the union's bad, and you kind of have to listen to them.
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  Molla says stalling is in Starbucks' favor.
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  Molla: There's not much in the union law in this country that says they can't stall. They're supposed to bargain in good faith, but there's no "You have to do that within a year or two." So they're using the weak law to their advantage.
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  When Schultz testifies, he'll have to walk a tightrope. The company markets itself as one that has different values than typical corporations. But these labor accusations undercut that.
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  Molla: What I do know is that no company, at this point in time, wants to be having their CEO testifying before the Senate, saying, "Yes, we did illegal behavior. Hey, we're supposed to be a progressive company, and yet we're firing people who are trying to unionize for trying to unionize." It just really looks horrible.
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  Schultz is expected to testify in the Senate later this month.
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  More people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a younger age. A recent report from the American Cancer Society found that about one in five new colorectal cancer diagnoses were in patients under 55. That's double the rate of a quarter century ago. And when they're diagnosed, the report found they're also more likely to have advanced-stage cancer.
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  Colorectal cancer is already one of the deadliest and most common types in the United States. It's what Chadwick Boseman died of at the age of 43. Overall, cases and death rates for colorectal cancer have been on the decline. So the rise in cases among younger people is confusing and surprising to oncologists.
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  "CBS" asked the American Cancer Society's Dr. Arif Kamal about potential causes.
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  Dr. Arif Kamal: It's probably a combination of two things. One, as was mentioned, is lifestyle factors. We know there's a clear relationship between obesity, sedentary lifestyle and smoking with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. The second thing to note is, as there's an increased incidence of about 2% per year of colorectal cancer in people under 55, we also see a disturbing trend in low utilization of colonoscopy and colon cancer screening rate in those younger folks.
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  One of the reasons younger patients are diagnosed in later stages could be because doctors mistake symptoms like abdominal pain, blood in stool and unintended weight loss for something else. They may misdiagnose because they assume that these patients are too young to have colorectal cancer.
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  The recommended age to start screening has been lowered, in recent years, to 45. And those with family history of colorectal cancer or other risk factors should talk to doctors about it even sooner.
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  Would you catch and eat a bullfrog if you knew it would help the environment? If so, Utah's Department of Natural Resources could use your help. It's asking people to do exactly that as a way of managing the invasive species.
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  Bullfrogs can really mess up local ecosystems because they eat basically anything. And they can also spread deadly disease to other amphibians.
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  But Utah says they're safe for us to eat, and they're pretty tasty. It's the latest case of a conservation agency getting creative and recommending that people eat invasive species.
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  So, are you up to it? Are you ready to catch some frogs? It's not just about willpower. It takes real skill. "The Washington Post" spoke with a zoologist about what he calls "the art of catching frogs." Nighttime is best because it's easier to see light reflect off their eyes. You have to wear clothes that you're ready to get wet and muddy. And when you see one, you have to quickly grab it by the hips so it can't jump away.
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  Now most of the fun, if you want to call it that, is in the chasing. As for the eating, the Utah agency recommends dipping the legs in buttermilk, breading it and frying it. And people often say that frogs taste like the thing that comes to mind when they can't think of anything else: chicken.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around.
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  We've got a narrated article coming up next from "Vogue" that looks at 19-year-old tennis phenom Carlos Alcaraz. Last year, he became the youngest player ever to reach number one in men's tennis.
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  So sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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