News from the South - Virginia News Feed
Trump tariffs would lower deficit but slow U.S. economic growth, nonpartisan CBO finds
by Ashley Murray, Virginia Mercury
June 4, 2025
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s tariffs would decrease the deficit over the next decade but overall shrink the U.S. economy and raise costs for consumers, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Wednesday.
Tariffs are paid to the U.S. government by domestic companies and purchasers who buy goods from abroad.
The nonpartisan CBO found that tariffs would reduce the nation’s primary deficit by $2.5 trillion from now until 2035, plus an additional $500 million saved from avoiding even more mounting interest payments on the U.S. debt.
But the office also found that tariffs would slow down the U.S. economy over the same time, in part by affecting behavior in the private sector.
For example, businesses may pull back from investment and growth when faced with higher costs. The CBO, the official financial scorekeeper for Congress, estimates that Trump’s tariffs, as they stand now, would lower the U.S. gross domestic product, or the total value of a country’s goods and services, on average by 0.6% per year through 2035.
In addition to increasing costs on supplies and other assets businesses use in production, the tariffs are expected to raise prices on consumer goods in the next couple years. The CBO projects the price index used to measure personal consumption will be 0.9% higher by the end of 2026.
While lower-income households spend a higher percentage of their income on consumer goods, the CBO projects that prices will increase the most on goods like home appliances and vehicles more likely to be purchased by higher earners.
The eight-page analysis only takes into account the effects of Trump’s tariffs as of May 13. These include the following taxes calculated on the value of imports: a baseline 10% on goods from most countries; a base of 30% on all goods from China and Hong Kong; 25% on most foreign vehicles and auto parts; 25% on steel and aluminum; and 25% on certain goods from Canada and Mexico.
The CBO released the figures in response to a request from U.S. Senate Democrats wanting to know the cost of the administration’s import taxes.
The report did not take into account any tariff changes after May 13, including Trump’s doubling to 50% the import taxes on steel and aluminum. The report also did not factor in changes that could result from a May 29 trade court decision striking down most of Trump’s tariffs — though an appeals court swiftly left them in place while the case plays out.
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
The post Trump tariffs would lower deficit but slow U.S. economic growth, nonpartisan CBO finds appeared first on virginiamercury.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents a factual and balanced analysis of the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, drawing from a nonpartisan source, the Congressional Budget Office. It acknowledges both positive (reduction in deficit) and negative (economic slowdown, higher consumer prices) consequences without using charged language or taking a partisan stance. The presentation of information is neutral and focused on economic data, appealing to a general audience without evident political lean.
News from the South - Virginia News Feed
Commanders training camp opens without McLaurin | NBC4 Washington
SUMMARY: The Washington Commanders opened training camp without star receiver Terry McLaurin, who did not report due to ongoing contract disputes. McLaurin missed the team’s conditioning test, officially beginning his holdout as negotiations continue. Team insiders express high regard for McLaurin and are working to close the gap between both sides to reach an agreement. Meanwhile, Head Coach Dan Quinn is enthusiastic about camp’s competitive spirit, emphasizing the intense matchups that push players to excel. Despite McLaurin’s absence, Commanders players are eager to build on last season’s success as camp begins with practice scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin did not report to Washington Commanders training camp as he negotiates a contract extension. Team Insider JP Finlay reports.
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News from the South - Virginia News Feed
Company seeks to overturn Va. Supreme Court’s rejection of toll increase request
by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
July 22, 2025
Toll Road Investors Partnership II (TRIP II), which operates the private 14-mile Dulles Greenway toll road, is seeking to overturn a Virginia Supreme Court’s decision last week to reject the company’s request to hike the roadway’s toll rate.
This comes after the Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the unanimous decision by the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to reject the proposal because it did not demonstrate that the proposed rates would be “reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit obtained.”
Atlas Arteria, which owns the roadway, is regulated by the SCC under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act, which allows the company to request a toll increase once per year but doesn’t permit it to negotiate those increases.
On July 11, 2023, TRIP II applied to raise tolls on vehicles, including two-axle vehicles, from $5.80 to $8.10 during peak hours and from $5.25 to $6.40 during off-peak hours, to cover its debt payments and operating expenses. Traveling the toll road cost commuters driving two-axle vehicles $1.75 and $3.50 for all other vehicles when the road opened in 1995.
Court records indicate TRIP II’s debt stood at $1.1 billion as of December 2022.
“TRIP II’s pending federal case, which was stayed in anticipation of the SCV appeal decision, will now proceed,” said Atlas Arteria in a statement. “The federal complaint alleges constitutional violations distinct from those decided by the (Supreme Court) and seeks compensatory, declarative, injunctive, and other relief, unavailable to TRIP II in the SCV appeal.”
The company said TRIP II would continue to engage with the SCC’s working group and plans to file a new proposal to raise toll rates later this year.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement on Thursday that the proposal failed to meet the basic legal standards of reasonableness and public benefit and that the high court upheld the commission’s finding that the proposed tolls were unjustified and unreasonably burdensome on the public.
Virginia law mandates that toll increases must be reasonable to drivers in relation to the benefit received.
In October 2023, the Virginia Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Counsel joined the case for TRIP II’s rate increase, along with Loudoun County.
“This is an enormous win for hardworking Virginians who are already stretched thin by rising costs,” Miyares said in a statement on July 17. “No private company has the right to exploit a government franchise to gouge commuters, especially when public alternatives exist. My office stood up to defend Virginia consumers from the largest toll increase in Dulles Greenway history, and today, common sense prevailed.”
Loudoun County leaders also celebrated the court’s decision. The toll road runs between Leesburg and Washington Dulles International Airport, situated in Loudoun County.
County leaders asked to participate in the case because they believe “decades of increased tolls on the Greenway prevent drivers from using it, which results in increased congestion on public roads in the county and forces Loudoun County to expand other roads at public expense.”
In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision, TRIP II filed its complaint in February in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District shortly after the SCC’s decision on Sept. 4, 2024. Since the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling, no additional hearings have been scheduled.
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
The post Company seeks to overturn Va. Supreme Court’s rejection of toll increase request appeared first on virginiamercury.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article presents a largely factual report on the Virginia Supreme Court’s rejection of a private toll road company’s attempt to raise tolls, emphasizing the protection of consumer interests and public benefit. The coverage highlights the Attorney General’s and Loudoun County officials’ criticisms of the toll increase as burdensome to commuters and frames the court decision as a victory for “hardworking Virginians” against corporate overreach. The tone and choice of quotes suggest a slight lean toward consumer protection and government oversight, which aligns with a Center-Left perspective, without strong partisan framing or ideological rhetoric.
News from the South - Virginia News Feed
Tropics Update: Area of interest in the Atlantic: 94-L
SUMMARY: As of July 21, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is about one-third complete, with only three named storms so far and overall quiet conditions in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. A new area of interest, Invest 94L, is located far east in the Atlantic but faces hostile conditions including dry Saharan dust and fast westward movement, limiting its development chances to about 10%. Historically, long gaps without named storms occur, with a notable 61-day lull in 1999. Tropical activity typically increases in August as conditions become more favorable. Tonight’s Hurricane Hub Live highlights ongoing monitoring and preparedness guidance.
13News Now chief meteorologist Tim Pandajis has the latest on the tropics. The National Hurricane Center is tracking an area of low pressure, known as Invest 94L, in the central Atlantic. Showers and thunderstorms have become less organized, and conditions are expected to become less favorable over the next day or so as the system moves west-northwest at 10–15 mph, according to hurricane forecasters.
Overall, things are quiet in the tropics, but we’re approaching a time when storm activity typically ramps up significantly.
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