Georgia lawmakers on Thursday approved a tax bill that is stripped of a jet fuel tax break, likely in retaliation for Delta Air Lines' decision to end its discount program with the NRA, reports the AP. The bill will now go to the desk of Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who has said he will "sign it in whatever form it passed."
Why it matters: Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle pledged to kill the tax break unless Delta fully reinstates its relationship with the NRA, tweeting on Monday, "Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back." Barring a veto from Gov. Deal, Cagle will have succeeded in punishing the city of Atlanta's No. 1 employer— a highly unusual and partisan move that is sure to receive backlash.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday that President Trump will be meeting with members of the video game industry next week "to see what they can do" about school safety.
"The video games, the movies, the internet stuff, is so violent...I have a very young son, I look at some of the things he’s watching and I say, ‘How is that possible?'"
— President Trump at Wednesday's White House roundtable
The backdrop: The President has been toying with various solutions to school safety, one of which being addressing the impact violent video games and movies have on students.
The Dow was trading around 500 points lower just hours after President Trump announced new tariffs of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are also trading about 1.5% lower.
Why it matters: Per Axios' Jonathan Swan, "[t]hese tariffs have the potential to roil markets and affect relationships with allies." The only clear winners at the moment are steel stocks, which were trading significantly higher as of 3 pm ET.
Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) responds to President Trump's announcement that he is imposing new, heightened tariffs on steel and aluminum.
"Let's be clear: The President is proposing a massive tax increase on American families. Protectionism is weak, not strong. You'd expect a policy this bad from a leftist administration, not a supposedly Republican one."
General Motors explained in a statement that the company supports "trade policies that enable U.S. manufacturers to win," after President Trump said he will announce new tariffs on steel and aluminum exports next week.
Kroger, the country's largest supermarket chain, has announced it will raise the minimum age for purchasing guns and ammunition at its Fred Meyer locations to 21, reports WSJ.
Why it matters: Kroger is the third major retailer, following Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods, to change its age policy in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. President Trump has said that he supports a bill that will raise the age minimum at the national level, but he still faces opposition from the NRA and many Republican congressmen.
"The White House is planning to make a major announcement today about whether it will impose new limits on steel and aluminum imports, ... following months of speculation about whether President Trump would follow through on trade threats and impose tariffs that could roil global markets," The Washington Post reports.
But the news comes as a big surprise to many administration officials, signaling a truly remarkable breakdown in process — and the event may not happen.
Walmart said on Wednesday that customers under 21 would no longer be allowed to purchase firearms from its stores, CNBC reports.
"In light of recent events, we've taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age ... We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way."
— Walmart statement provided to CNBC
Why it matters: This follows Dick's Sporting Goods' move earlier Wednesday to no longer sell "assault-style" rifles, and a number of other corporate decisions after the Parkland shooting. Walmart said in its statement that the company does not sell "modern sporting rifles" or handguns.
In one of the hardest times to hire skilled workers in decades, Lowe's is running a pilot program offering $2,500 to its own employees if they will learn a master trade, such as electrician or plumber.
Why it matters: After four months of 4.1% unemployment, and the possibility it could drop to 3.5% this year, most companies are still resisting forming their own training programs to skill people up. Lowe's is an example of what we may see over the coming year and longer as companies become more desperate to fill skilled vacancies.
