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The Department of the Air Force announced it had given the OK for SpaceX to move forward with its Starship and Super Heavy launch pad plans at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37.

A “record of decision” on the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Canaveral site was posted to the Air Force’s website late Monday for what has been a nearly two-year approval process.

The decision states the Space Force will execute a property agreement for the site with a primary purpose to support national security missions, but allow for civil missions as well. It says Space Launch Delta 45 would need to set up requirements for Starship launches on the Eastern Range before any launches could happen, though.

The company posted an update late Monday confirming the approval and noting construction is already underway.

The Space Force had already allowed SpaceX to remove the former United Launch Alliance launch infrastructure that supported the now-retired Delta IV Heavy rockets. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — From corporate executives to Wall Street analysts to Federal Reserve officials, references to the “K-shaped economy” are rapidly proliferating.

So what does it mean? Simply put, the upper part of the K refers to higher-income Americans seeing their incomes and wealth rise while the bottom part points to lower-income households struggling with weaker income gains and steep prices.

A big reason the term is popping up so often is that it helps explain an unusually muddy and convoluted period for the U.S. economy. Growth appears solid, yet hiring is sluggish and the unemployment rate has ticked up. Overall consumer spending is still rising, but Americans are less confident. AI-related data center construction is soaring while factories are laying off workers and home sales are weak. And the stock market still hovers near record highs even as wage growth is slowing.

It also captures ongoing concerns around affordability, which is much more of a concern for middle and lower-income households. Persistent inflation has received renewed political attention after voter anger over costly rents, groceries, and imported goods helped Democrats win several high-profile elections last month. read more

Once the haze clears from Thanksgiving sales, you might feel like a triumphant bargain hunter — or maybe you’ll be panicking over your receipts. Either way, you’re not alone.

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  Starbucks to pay $35M to NYC workers in settlement as ongoing strike draws pols to picket line

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  Bitcoin tumbles below $85,000 in crypto rout

“Retailers have been pushing people to shop earlier and harder for years,” says Melissa Caro, a certified financial planner based in New York City and founder of digital platform My Retirement Network. “It’s incredibly normal to overshoot a bit on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.”

In fact, holiday shoppers plan to spend $1,107, on average, for gifts this year, according to a NerdWallet study, which is $182 more than last year’s average. read more

Since it started as a hashtag in 2012, GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, has become one of the biggest fundraising days of the year for nonprofits in the U.S. This year, nonprofits face uncertainty about how donors may respond to a range of changing factors.

High prices may affect how much small dollar donors give this year or how many charities they will support. But President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation, which passed in July, also included a new charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples for the majority of tax filers. That could incentivize more households to give.

For larger donors, a strong stock market usually indicates they will give generously. These major donors also make up an increasingly important share of overall charitable donations and are more likely to give than less economically well off households, according to a study from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in partnership with Bank of America. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks will pay about $35 million to more than 15,000 New York City workers to settle claims it denied them stable schedules and arbitrarily cut their hours, city officials announced Monday, hours before Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited striking baristas on a picket line.

The development came amid a continuing strike by Starbucks’ union that began last month at dozens of locations around the country.

The workers want better hours and increased staffing, and they are angry that Starbucks hasn’t agreed on a contract nearly four years after workers voted to unionize at a Buffalo store. Union votes at other locations followed, and about 550 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned stores are now unionized. The coffee giant also has around 7,000 licensed locations at airports, grocery stores and other locales.

Workers and the company dispute the extent and impact of the strike, but Mamdani, Sanders and some state and city officials sought to amplify the baristas’ message by mingling with scores of strikers and supporters outside a Starbucks shop in Brooklyn. read more