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Trumps big, beautiful bill has a lot of moving parts, but one thing it wont do is end taxes on Social Security benefits, as he has claimed. The bill, which passed last week, slashes Medicaid, food stamps and clean energy incentives to pay for a huge package of Republican priorities, including staffing up ICE and extending tax cuts from Trumps first term. It also makes some changes to Social Security, but the truth is more complex than what Trump is touting. In a press release last week, the White House declared that No tax on social security is a reality under the new bill. Promises made, promises kept, the White House wrote. To further muddy the waters, the Social Security Administration praised the Republican mega-bill in a mass email blast rife with misleading claims to more than 60 million Americans. For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans, Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, a former fintech CEO appointed by Trump to lead the agency, wrote. In the email, the agency claimed the new bill eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries and described it as a historic step forward for Americas seniors. The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation’s economy, the email stated. The problem? The bill doesnt actually change the tax code to end taxes for Social Security benefits. And you wouldnt know it from the grand language in the email, but the tax relief it does provide comes with an expiration date thats just a few years away. For a workhorse agency that generally stays in its lane and doesnt wade directly into political discussions, the Social Security Administration emails tone was enough to raise eyebrows among some recipients. On top of that, the departure from communication norms also set off alarms for some seniors who are wary of being targeted by phishing schemes after years of being warned about exactly that. What the bill actually does While it doesnt actually eliminate federal income taxes on Social Security benefits, the bill does add a new, temporary bonus tax deduction that many seniors over 65 can claim. It offers single filers with an income below $75,000 an additional $6,000 deduction or couples making less than $150,000 a $12,000 deduction. The deduction phases out incrementally above those levels and cuts off above $175,000 for single filers and $250,000 for couples. The new senior bonus deduction will only be in effect from tax years 2025 to 2028, unless Congress intervenes to extend it. The temporary bonus deduction can reduce overall income tax for some seniors, but it is not a direct tax cut on Social Security benefits, nor will it apply to everyone who receives Social Security. The new deduction wont apply to recipients between the ages of 62 and 64 around 5% of people who receive Social Security nor will it move the needle for high earners or Social Security recipients with an income too low to be taxed to begin with. The new bonus deduction is expected to mostly affect middle and upper middle income households that fall within its income parameters. In the short term, fewer Social Security recipients will owe taxes on their benefits, though more than 60% of them already didnt owe taxes on those benefits prior to the bill according to analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Short term thinking The new temporary deduction for seniors will give some households a tax reprieve, but like the Big Beautiful Bills other core achievements, those tax perks may come at a steep cost. Taxes to Social Security were first implemented in 1983 to improve the federal benefit programs long term health. That revenue is specifically earmarked for trusts that benefit Medicare and Social Security, which means any reduction to the tax revenue generated by those taxes takes a bite out of the program itself. The Social Security program is a lifeline for retirement-age Americans, but those benefits as we know them are hurtling toward extinction. Unless a dramatic intervention succeeds, millions of retirees expected to see their benefits shrinking by 2033. But with Trumps Big Beautiful Bill signed into law, that looming insolvency date just inched one year closer, according to new analysis.
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Longtime food and beverage exec Kirk Tanner was appointed as The Hershey Companys new CEO early on Tuesday. Tanner will be replacing former Hersheys CEO Michele Buck after she announced her retirement early this year, and will be leaving his current position as Wendys CEO to begin his new role with the chocolate company on August 18, 2025. His business portfolio includes the likes of PepsiCo, where he worked for 31 years and climbed the corporate ladder from sales associate to the tiptop as the soda giants chief executive officer. During his time with the company it saw steady, slow rising annual revenue. His 5-year stint as chief executive also had its fair share of brand-expansion like the acquisition of Rockstar Energy and Siete Foods, investing in environmental efforts like regenerative potato farming, and controversies like the brands significant effect on pollution and questionable health-washing. Trading Frostys for chocolate bars After leaving PepsiCo, Tanner spent a little over a year as Wendys CEO before he decided to amicably part ways with the company. His short time with the signature red pigtailed fast food company was marked by a focus on innovation through the expansion of menu options, including limited-time Frosty flavors, and opening new restaurants, including the 74 new Wendys that opened during the first quarter of 2025. However, his leave also comes just as investors speculate the companys stock will fall as much as 6% by the end of August, as it has seen steady decreases in shares over the last year. “It has been a privilege to lead Wendy’s, an iconic brand, and I leave with a sense of gratitude for our employees and franchisees who make the Company a truly special place,” Kirk said in a statement. “The brand is of the highest quality in the quick service restaurant industry, and I believe there is tremendous growth potential ahead for all Wendy’s stakeholders.” Leading snacking powerhouse ambition Kirks return to the packaged goods industry comes as Hershey looks to continue their expansion of non-chocolate snack foods, especially with the potential rising costs of imported cocoa beans due to Trump-administration tariffs. Kirk is a proven, high-impact leader in the food and beverage industry with a great combination of customer and consumer passion, commercial acumen and operational scale,” Mary Kay Haben, Hersheys Lead Independent Director and Chair of the CEO Search Committee said. “With a track record of driving growth in complex global businesses, Kirk brings a focused, results-driven mindset. His deep experience in snacks, beverages, M&A and innovationcombined with public company CEO and board rolesmakes him well suited to lead Hershey into the future. Following Kirks leave, Wendys current CFO Ken Cook will step in as Interim CEO on July 18 for the company. As of this afternoon, Wendys shares were slightly down by .5% (Nasdaq: WEN), while Hersheys shares were down by around 3% (Nasdaq: HSY)
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About 600 miles off the west coast of Africa, large clusters of thunderstorms begin organizing into tropical storms every hurricane season. They arent yet in range of Hurricane Hunter flights, so forecasters at the National Hurricane Center rely on weather satellites to peer down on these storms and beam back information about their location, structure and intensity.The satellite data helps meteorologists create weather forecasts that keep planes and ships safe and prepare countries for a potential hurricane landfall.Now, meteorologists are about to lose access to three of those satellites.On June 25, 2025, the Trump administration issued a service change notice announcing that the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, DMSP, and the Navys Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center would terminate data collection, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30. The data termination was postponed until July 31 following a request from the head of NASAs Earth Science Division. I am a meteorologist who studies lightning in hurricanes and helps train other meteorologists to monitor and forecast tropical cyclones. Here is how meteorologists use the DMSP data and why they are concerned about it going dark.Looking inside the cloudsAt its most basic, a weather satellite is a high-resolution digital camera in space that takes pictures of clouds in the atmosphere.These are the satellite images you see on most TV weather broadcasts. They let meteorologists see the location and some details of a hurricanes structure, but only during daylight hours.Hurricane Flossie spins off the Mexican coast on July 1, 2025. Images show the top of the hurricane from space as day turns to night. [Image: NOAA/GOES]Meteorologists can use infrared satellite data, similar to a thermal imaging camera, at all hours of the day to find the coldest cloud-top temperatures, highlighting areas where the highest wind speeds and rainfall rates are found.But while visible and infrared satellite imagery are valuable tools for hurricane forecasters, they provide only a basic picture of the storm. Its like a doctor diagnosing a patient after a visual exam and checking their temperature.Infrared bands show more detail of Hurricane Flossies structure on July 1, 2025. [Image: NOAA/GOES]For more accurate diagnoses, meteorologists rely on the DMSP satellites.The three satellites orbit Earth 14 times per day with special sensor microwave imager/sounder instruments, or SSMIS. These let meteorologists look inside the clouds, similar to how an MRI in a hospital looks inside a human body. With these instruments, meteorologists can pinpoint the storms low-pressure center and identify signs of intensification.Precisely locating the center of a hurricane improves forecasts of the storms future track. This lets meteorologists produce more accurate hurricane watches, warnings and evacuations.Hurricane track forecasts have improved by up to 75% since 1990. However, forecasting rapid intensification is still difficult, so the ability of DMPS data to identify signs of intensification is important. Dangerous situation imminent in #CostaRica & #Nicaragua as #Otto rapidly intensifies. Impressive SSMIS #microwave w/ potent #eyewall. Philippe Papin (@pppapin.bsky.social) 2016-11-24T13:23:18.000Z About 80% of major hurricanesthose with wind speeds of at least 111 mph (179 kilometers per hour)rapidly intensify at some point, ramping up the risks they pose to people and property on land. Finding out when storms are about to undergo intensification allows meteorologists to warn the public about these dangerous hurricanes.Where are the defense satellites going?NOAAs Office of Satellite and Product Operations described the reason for turning off the flow of data as a need to mitigate a significant cybersecurity risk.The three satellites have already operated for longer than planned.The DMSP satellites were launched between 1999 and 2009 and were designed to last for five years. They have now been operating for more than 15 years. The United States Space Force recently concluded that the DMSP satellites would reach the end of their lives between 2023 and 2026, so the data would likely have gone dark soon.Are there replacements for the DMP satellites?Three other satellites in orbitNOAA-20, NOAA-21 and Suomi NPPhave a microwave instrument known as the advanced technology microwave sounder.The advanced technology microwave sounder, or ATMS, can provide data similar to the special sensor microwave imager/sounder, or SSMIS, but at a lower resolution. It provides a more washed-out view that is less useful than the SSMIS for pinpointing a storms location or estimating its intensity.Images of Hurricane Erick off the coast of Mexico, viewed from NOAA-20s ATMS (left) and DMPS SSMIS (right) on June 18 show the difference in resolution and the higher detail provided by the SSMIS data. [Image: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, via Michael Lowry]The U.S. Space Force began using data from a new defense meteorology satellite, ML-1A, in late April 2025.ML-1A is a microwave satellite that will help replace some of the DMSP satellites capabilities. However, the government hasnt announced whether the ML-1A data will be available to forecasters, including those at the National Hurricane Center.Why are satellite replacements last-minute?Satellite programs are planned over many years, even decades, and are very expensive. The current geostationary satellite program launched its first satellite in 2016 with plans to operate until 2038. Development of the planned successor for GOES-R began in 2019.Similarly, plans for replacing the DMSP satellites have been underway since the early 2000s.Delays in developing the satellite instruments and funding cuts caused the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System and Defense Weather Satellite System to be canceled in 2010 and 2012 before any of their satellites could be launched.The 2026 NOAA budget request includes an increase in funding for the next-generation geostationary satellite program, so it can be restructured to reuse spare parts from existing geostationary satellites. The budget also terminates contracts for ocean color, atmospheric composition and advanced lightning mapper instruments.A busy season remainsThe 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is forecast to be above average, with six to 10 hurricanes. The most active part of the season runs from the middle of August to the middle of October, after the DMSP satellite data is set to be turned off.Hurricane forecasters will continue to use all available tools, including satellite, radar, weather balloon and dropsonde data, to monitor the tropics and issue hurricane forecasts. But the loss of satellite data, along with other cuts to data, funding and staffing, could ultimately put more lives at risk.Chris Vagasky is a meteorologist and research program manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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