By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — Economic uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s signature trade policies has led many small businesses to lay off workers, delay expansion plans or scale back production.

ValenSil Technologies, for one, was growing at a pretty good clip heading into 2025.

The Avon, Ohio-based aerosol filler expanded its manufacturing footprint, added a second shift and ramped up its workforce to 47 people, a near-tripling.

At the rate business was humming along, ValenSil was on track to bolt on a third shift, add about eight to 15 more workers, and even purchase land for further expansion.

However, not only were those plans quickly moved to the backburner, but the second shift was cut and the workforce was whittled down – not by layoffs, but via attrition.

Jim O’Connor, ValenSil’s buyer and hiring manager, attributed the production drop-off to the steep tariffs on inputs like aluminum and the heavily unpredictable nature of how they’ve been implemented. High uncertainty had stifled demand among the contract manufacturer’s clients, he said.

“We had quite a slowdown, and we were hoping things would settle out,” he said.

O’Connor firmly believes that the demand is still there, pent-up and percolating, but that clients’ planning and decision-making have been chilled by unpredictable external factors.

ValenSil serves as a microcosm of a broader shift in the US labor market to a low-hire, low-fire environment that is likely to be highlighted when the February jobs report is released Friday morning.

Hopes for any stability and settling out, however, have been quickly shaken. In the past three weeks alone there has been a major trade policy twist courtesy of the US Supreme Court, a mass layoff tied to AI; and, most recently, the biggest wildcard of them all: a new war in the Middle East.

“Those are three very different occurrence and events around the world, but (they’re) boiling down to one word: uncertainty,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at payroll company ADP, told CNN. “This is an uncertain macro and global macro environment, and we’ve seen how that uncertainty affects hiring.”

A look back with a cautious eye on the future

Friday’s jobs report, set to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. ET, will provide a critical snapshot of how the US labor market was faring before the latest shocks to the economic system.

It is widely expected to show that businesses still aren’t hiring as much as they were in recent years — but that they also aren’t laying off workers en masse. In addition to the weakened demand for hiring, there’s also been a shrinking supply of workers (due to long-term demographic shifts as aging Baby Boomers retire and reduced immigration).

Economists expect that US employers added 60,000 jobs last month, which would be a sharp cooldown from January’s estimated 130,000 jobs added. January’s stronger-than-expected total was likely buoyed by some one-time factors (notably, weaker holiday hiring that meant fewer post-holiday layoffs, and unseasonably warm weather in the early part of the month that boosted industries like construction).

The unemployment rate in February is expected to stay at 4.3%, and wage growth should continue to outpace inflation.

ADP’s most re

Happy Thursday! We begin the morning with gusty winds dying off by daybreak. A High Wind Warning and Wind Advisory are in effect inland through 9am as gusts may near 40-65mph. After our winds die off, onshore flow reestablishes and may bring a few hours of marine clouds and cool temperatures, so bundle up! We are in the wake of a cold front, meaning, this is the coolest day of the workweek. Highs rise into the 60s and low 70s.

High pressure swings back into the area Friday into the weekend, meaning temperatures rise 5-10 degrees. Skies turn mostly sunny once again, peak heating expected Saturday and Sunday. The forecast calls for 70s and low 80s, head out and enjoy!

Spring-like weather returns next week with 60s and low 70s back in the forecast. We stay around average with minimal weather pattern shifts.

The post Cool & breezy Thursday, heating up this weekend appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Sophia Peyser, David Williams, CNN

(CNN) — As Siobhan Kirchstein stepped up to the counter of the Kansas Division of Vehicles last Thursday, she was struck by how banal the moment felt, even though the circumstances that brought her there felt far from ordinary.

“Why is everyone acting like this is a completely normal day?” Kirchstein recalls thinking.

Kirchstein, who is transgender, passed the clerk a letter that had landed in her mailbox the night before. It informed her – effective Thursday morning – her driver’s license would be invalidated and she would be required to surrender it to the state.

Looking behind her, she realized several others in the room were clutching the same letter.

Hundreds of transgender and nonbinary people across Kansas received notices last week they would be required to get reissued IDs that reflect their sex assigned at birth – part of a wide-ranging new law advocates say is one of the most restrictive of its kind in the US.

The law, SB 244, was passed February 18 after the state legislature’s GOP supermajority overrode a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The bill was rushed through the legislature using an expedited process known as “gut and go,” which allows state lawmakers to slash a bill’s contents and insert large chunks of a different bill’s text.

The two-part bill defines the term “gender” as a person’s “biological sex at birth” and requires this be reflected on state IDs and birth certificates. Approximately 1,700 driver’s licenses and an unspecified number of birth certificates are estimated to be invalidated by the law, which went into effect February 26.

Nicknamed the “bathroom bounty” bill by some advocacy groups, a second provision requires trans people to use restrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in government buildings such as libraries, courthouses and schools. Repeat violations can result in fines or misdemeanor charges. It also allows anyone in the state to sue people they believe have violated the law for up to $1,000.

The law has been championed by state conservative lawmakers, including Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, who said last month, “common sense has prevailed.”

Rep. Bob Lewis, a Republican, said during a House session last month he believes the law “codifies societal norms” and ensures “public spaces used for private purposes will be single-sex and that a person’s identification documents will accurately reflect their biological sex.”

But transgender Kansans said they felt blindsided by the law’s swift enforcement and sweeping provisions, which some fear will make it increasingly difficult to perform essential tasks within the state such as applying for jobs, voting and using a public restroom.

While other states prohibit trans people from reflecting their gender identities on licenses or changing their birth certificates, Kansas’ law is the first to require trans people to reverse this change on existing documents, The Associated Press reported.

In a lawsuit filed Friday challenging the law, the ACLU said SB 244 was “meant to discriminate against and dehumanize transgender people.” The suit asks the court to temporarily bl

By Samantha Delouya, CNN

(CNN) — John Andrews, a South Carolina-based chef who runs a meal delivery service, estimates he drives over 100 miles every week to deliver fresh home-cooked meals to his clients.

“The economy is killing me on food prices. And gas prices are tough now, too,” Andrews said. “It’s kind of a double whammy. I’m working just as hard as ever, but I’m losing ground here.”

After several years of higher operating costs and softer consumer demand, gas prices are climbing as the war with Iran escalates. That’s adding pressure on small businesses, which power the US economy and account for most of the country’s jobs.

The average US gas price hit about $3.25 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA, up more than 36 cents from last month’s $2.89 average.

For companies that rely on driving and deliveries, like Andrews’, the conflict in the Middle East is already cutting into margins as gas prices climb.

Although Iran has long operated under sanctions, its oil continued flowing to buyers such as China. Disruptions to that supply are pushing global prices higher, and the impact is showing up at the pump.

Andrews, whose company offers two-portion pre-made meals, like lemon garlic chicken and pepper steak, for $17 each, said it’s only a matter of time before he raises prices, something he hasn’t had to do since inflation hit food prices hard two years ago.

“My clientele is more elderly than not, and I can’t just keep hitting them with price increase after price increase. They’re not going to accept that,” Andrews said. “But now I’m simply not making any money.”

‘Everything goes up’

Many small businesses were already under strain, even before the war with Iran started. In 2025, they were more likely to report declining revenues than rising ones compared with a year earlier, and expectations for revenue and hiring growth over the next 12 months have fallen to their lowest levels since 2020, according to a Federal Reserve small business report released this week.

In Burbank, California, Kim Williams, owner of the Enchanted Florist, carefully plans her flower delivery routes to save on gas. Over the past year, a few of her suppliers raised prices due to tariffs. On some occasions, she found lower-cost alternatives, but other times, she had to adjust the prices she charges.

“I think it’s just normal, everything goes up,” Williams said. “All of our costs have gotten greater, like insurance and workman’s comp.”

Her experience reflects a broader trend: The Fed’s study found that small businesses most often cited higher expenses for goods, services, and wages as their top financial challenge, with many passing those costs on to customers.

Nearby, Hollywood Bus Tours winds through Los Angeles’ famous movie lots and upscale neighborhoods, a must-do for many visitors. But founder Chris Leschinger has seen a slowdown. Fires in the area and a federal immigration crackdown last year have reduced tourism, leaving his 12 buses carrying fewer passengers.

“The bulk of people are from out of the country,” he said. “You sometimes get locals or staycationers, but most come from farther away.”

Gas is one of Leschinger’s largest costs. So far, he hasn’t raised ticket prices, choosing instead to absorb some of the expense.

“We’re worried not just about gas, but about the global politics that come with it,” he said. “Some people just don’t want to travel to the US. So the gas coupled with that is pretty scary.”

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Por Lauren Fox y Sarah Ferris, CNN

El representante Eugene Vindman forma parte de una generación de jóvenes demócratas que se postularon para el Congreso, en parte, debido a su experiencia en la lucha contra una guerra eterna en Medio Oriente.

Estos demócratas son algunos de los primeros y más vocales críticos de la decisión del presidente Donald Trump de llevar a Estados Unidos a la guerra con Irán, una opinión que los pone en desacuerdo con algunos de los miembros más intervencionistas de su partido.

“No derramaré ni una lágrima por el régimen iraní ni por el ayatola. Entiendo la amenaza, pero también entiendo que las guerras son fáciles de iniciar y difíciles de terminar”, declaró Vindman, veterano del Ejército con 25 años de servicio, el miércoles por la mañana frente al Capitolio de Estados Unidos, hombro con hombro con media docena de veteranos demócratas. “Este es un compromiso con la sangre y el dinero estadounidenses en un conflicto en el que no necesitábamos involucrarnos”.

“Cuando las élites en Washington hacen sonar los tambores de guerra, se golpean el pecho, hablan de los costos de la guerra y actúan con dureza, no están hablando de que lo hagan”, añadió el representante Jason Crow de Colorado, quien sirvió tres veces en Iraq.

Los líderes del partido, incluyendo al líder de la minoría de la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries, están amplificando esas voces mientras los demócratas buscan sortear las consecuencias de la rápida escalada de la guerra.

Si bien Vindman y sus compañeros veteranos demócratas saben que tienen pocas posibilidades de bloquear las acciones de Trump en el Congreso, dominado por el Partido Republicano, intentan hablar con un público estadounidense escéptico, argumentando que la administración Trump ha traicionado una promesa fundamental a pocos meses de las elecciones intermedias.

Pero es una línea difícil de seguir para los demócratas. Los líderes del partido se enfrentan a profundas divisiones dentro de sus filas, en particular entre un bloque proisraelí que se espera que desafíe al liderazgo en una votación clave en la Cámara de Representantes el jueves, que intentará limitar los poderes militares de Trump en el extranjero.

Un demócrata, el senador John Fetterman de Pensilvania, fue el único de su partido que se opuso a una votación similar en el Senado el miércoles.

Por ahora, la mayoría de los demócratas condenan firmemente la decisión de Trump de atacar a Irán sin buscar primero la aprobación del Congreso. Pero el partido pronto también se verá obligado a lidiar con la realidad de apoyar a las tropas estadounidenses en el conflicto en Irán, incluyendo preguntas sobre si gastar miles de millones de dólares más para apuntalar las operaciones estadounidenses.

Los líderes del partido están ansiosos por no repetir la historia y sembrar las divisiones que los aquejaron durante la guerra de Iraq hace más de 20 años. También saben que es solo el comienzo de un conflicto que podría durar semanas, meses o incluso más, y que pondrá a prueba la capacidad de los demócratas para mantenerse unidos.

En una reunión a puertas cerradas el martes por la noche, Jeffries se reunió con un bloque de aproximadamente media docena de demócratas pro-Israel para exponer sus argumentos a favor de respaldar la medida de poderes de guerra, y pasó casi una hora escuchando la oposición de sus compañeros, según dos personas familiarizadas con la reunión.

Pero esa reunión terminó sin que esos miembros se comprometieran a apoyar la medida.

“No me hizo cambiar de opinión”, declaró a CNN el representante Greg Landsman, uno de los asistentes a la reunión.

Horas antes, Landsman ofreció u