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A partial meltdown at Three Mile Island nearly 50 years ago pushed Gene Stilp into a life of activism, starting with a 1979 march on the Capitol he helped organize that drew 65,000 demonstrators and appearances by Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash.

At 75, Stilp is still at it — now protesting Baltimore-based Constellation’s plans to restart a reactor at the Harrisburg-area power plant, one not involved in the accident, in a deal with Microsoft. Stilp, who has lived nearby for decades, started Stop TMI Restart last fall. The group has about 32 members.

“We are two generations away from the accident that happened at Three Mile Island,” said Stilp, who accused Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, officials in an April lawsuit of failing to safeguard residents’ health and safety. “People have forgotten that nuclear power stands for dedicated dead zones with nuclear waste…People who are environmentalists have forgotten about all these things that their parents and their grandparents used to know. The new generations are not up to speed on nuclear power.” read more

By KEN SWEET, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — In the nearly six months since the Trump administration has had control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bureau’s leadership has focused almost exclusively on rolling back any punishments, fines and penalties made against companies during the Biden administration.

In some cases, companies that were supposed to refund their customers or pay a penalty for unfair or deceptive practices are no longer bound to make their customers whole. Other companies facing charges of fraud of deceptive practices saw their lawsuits dropped in the early days of the Trump administration.

Here are some of the Trump administration’s rollbacks:

Navy Federal Credit Union

The CFPB accused Navy Federal Credit Union, the nation’s largest credit union, of having unfair and deceptive overdraft fee practices. NFCU settled with the bureau and agreed to refund its members $80 million in overdraft fees. However, when the new administration took over, NFCU asked to have the order dismissed, which the CFPB agreed to do without giving a reason. Navy Federal has not said whether it would refund their members, which are mostly service men and women, families and veterans. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks slumped on Tuesday after the latest update on inflation hurt Wall Street’s hopes for lower interest rates.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, though it’s still near its all-time high set last week, as 90% of the stocks within the index fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 436 points, or 1%.

Tech stocks were an outlier, though, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to set another record thanks to Nvidia, the market’s most influential stock.

Stocks felt pressure from a report showing inflation in the United States accelerated to 2.7% last month from 2.4% in May. Economists pointed to increases in prices for clothes, toys and other things that tend to get imported from other countries. Their prices could be rising because of the tariffs that President Donald Trump has proposed on countries worldwide in hopes of getting them to open their markets further to U.S. products.

“Inflation has begun to show the first signs of tariff pass-through,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. read more

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — JPMorgan’s second-quarter profit fell to $15 billion in second quarter, but the New York bank beat Wall Street expectations. CEO Jamie Dimon on Tuesday touted another strong performance by the bank, particularly its markets division, where revenue rose by 15% to $8.9 billion.

JPMorgan earned an adjusted $5.24 per share in the period, beating the $4.48 analysts were calling for but down from last year’s $6.12 per share. Excluding the one-time items, JPMorgan earned $4.96 per share in the period.

The bank’s profit was off significantly from the same period a year ago, largely because JPMorgan cashed in $7.9 billion worth of its holdings in Visa in last year’s second quarter.

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By Anna Helhoski, NerdWallet

The GOP-led Congress is walking a political tightrope with the rollout of key provisions in Trump’s “one big, beautiful” bill, passed last week.

With next year’s midterms looming, strategic timing is everything: tax breaks to households (and corporations) begin in 2025, while most sweeping social program cuts are delayed until 2028. Learn more about what’s in the budget here.

Here’s a rundown of when the budget provisions that could most affect your household will begin:

Tax cuts and incentives

• Extension of the 2017 marginal tax rates: Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for individuals and corporations were set to expire at the end of the year, but have now been made permanent, effective immediately.
• State and Local Tax (SALT) cap increases: The SALT cap rises to $40,000, beginning in the 2025 filing year, but will revert back to $10,000 in 2028. The SALT deduction is only available to taxpayers who itemize.
• Increased standard deduction: The current standard deduction — which was doubled by Trump’s tax cuts in 2017 — is made permanent. Starting in 2025, single filers can deduct an additional $750, while married couples can deduct $1,500. The additional deduction amounts will adjust to inflation beginning in 2026. The increases phase out for those with higher incomes.
• Standard deduction increase for seniors: Starting in 2025 and expiring after 2028,, those 65 and older who earn less than $75,000 annually can deduct an extra $6,000 ($12,000 for married couples) on top of the standard deduction.
• Child tax credit: Increases — and makes permanent — the child tax credit to $2,200 for the 2025 tax year. The credit amount adjusts for inflation moving forward.
• No taxes on tips: Tipped income under $25,000 per year will be tax-deductible starting with the 2025 filing year. The provision expires after 2028.
• No tax on overtime: Overtime pay can be deducted — up to $12,500 for individual filers or $25,000 for married couples filing jointly — beginning with the 2025 tax year. The provision phases out for those with income above $150,000 or $300,000 for couples. It ends in 2028.
• Auto loan interest exemption for new vehicles: Allows a deduction of up to $10,000 in interest on loans for new car purchases. Begins 2025 and sunsets in 2028.
• Home energy tax credits: End after Dec. 31, 2025.
• Electric vehicle tax credits: End Sept. 30, 2025.
• “Trump Accounts”: Babies born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028 will be automatically enrolled in a “Trump Account” with a one-time $1,000 federal contribution.
• Section 179 deduction: Small businesses can write off 100% of equipment and certain commercial property costs in the first year, effective Jan. 19, 2025. It also raises the deduction cap on property expenses to $2.5 million, beginning Dec. 31, 2024.
• 1099-K reporting threshold restoration: Reverts the threshold for online sales reporting to $20,000 or 200 transactions per year, as it was before 2021. The provision is applied retroactively to 2022.

Social program cuts

• Medicaid work requirements: Recipients must verify 80 hours per month of work, school, work training or volunteering. States must implement the new requirements by Dec. 31, 2026.
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements: Expands work requirements to able-bodied recipients, ages 18 to 64 (up from 54). The requirements include those with children older than 6. Timing isn’t clear, but changes may begin sometime this year.
• Medicaid cuts: Medicaid funding reductions begin in 2028. The Congressional Budget Office projects nearly $1 trillion in cuts over a 10-year period; it could leave some 11.8 million people losing health care coverage.
• SNAP cuts: Up to $230 million in SNAP food assistance cuts over 10 years, beginning in 2028.
• Affordable Care Act (ACA) rule changes: Tighter ACA enrollment rules roll out between 2025 to 2028, depending on the specific provision.

Consumer protection cuts

• Funding cuts for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Funding for the CFPB is cut in half, effective immediately. The CFPB oversees the consumer finance industry.
• Current federal student loan borrower repayment plans: Existing income-driven federal student loan repayment plans will sunset by July 1, 2028. This includes forgiveness under these repayment plans.
• New repayment plan for student loan borrowers begins: Enrollment in a new Repayment Assistance Program begins July 1, 2026. It is an income-driven plan that requires a $10 minimum monthly payment for borrowers and extends the timeline for forgiveness to 30 years.
• Graduate PLUS loan program: Funding for Graduate PLUS loans program sunsets as of July 1, 2026. Lifetime borrowing for graduate studies is also capped.
• Parent PLUS loan program: Implements a $65,000 cap on Parent Plus loans as of July 1, 2026.

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