By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is seeking a swift and definitive decision on tariffs from the Supreme Court that he helped shape, saying the country would be on “the brink of economic catastrophe” without the import taxes he has imposed on U.S. rivals and allies alike.

The administration used near-apocalyptic terms that are highly unusual in Supreme Court filings as it asked the justices late Wednesday to intervene and reverse an appeals court ruling that found most of Trump’s tariffs are an illegal use of an emergency powers law. The tariffs remain in place, for now.

The tariffs and their erratic rollout have shaken global markets, alienated U.S. trading partners and allies, and raised fears of higher prices and slower economic growth.

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But the Republican president has also used the trade penalties to pressure the European Union, Japan and others into accepting new deals. Revenue from tariffs totaled $159 billion by late August, more than double what it was at the same point a year earlier.

Raising the stakes even higher, Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to decide in a week’s time whether to hear the case and hold arguments the first week of November. That is far faster than the pace of the typical Supreme Court case.

“The President and his Cabinet officials have determined that the tariffs are promoting peace and unprecedented economic prosperity, and that the denial of tariff authority would expose our nation to trade retaliation without effective defenses and thrust America back to the brink of economic catastrophe,” Sauer wrote.

He wrote that it is not just trade that is at issue, but also the nation’s ability to reduce the flow of fentanyl and efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The tariffs will almost certainly remain in effect until a final ruling from the Supreme Court. But the Republican administration nevertheless called on the high court to intervene quickly.

“That decision casts a pall of uncertainty upon ongoing foreign negotiations that the President has been pursuing through tariffs over the past five months, jeopardizing both already negotiated framework deals and ongoing negotiations,” Sauer wrote. “The stakes in this case could not be higher.”

The filing cites not only Trump but also the secretaries of the departments of Treasury, Commerce and State in support of the urgent need for the justices to step in.

The stakes are also high for small businesses battered by tariffs and uncertainty, said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center.

“These unlawful tariffs are inflicting serious harm on small businesses and jeopardizing their survival. We hope for a prompt resolution of this case for our clients,” he said.

The businesses have twice prevailed, once at a federal court focused on trade and again with the appeals court’s 7-4 ruling. Their lawsuit is one of several challenging the tariffs.

Most judges on the Federal Circuit found that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not allow Trump to usurp congressional power to set tariffs. The dissenters, though, said the gives the president the power to regulate importation during emergencies without explicit limitations.

The ruling involves two sets of import taxes, both of which Trump justified by declaring a national emergency: the tariffs first announced in April and the ones from February on imports from Canada, China and Mexico.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to impose taxes, including tariffs. But over the decades, lawmakers have ceded authority to the president, and Trump has made the most of the power vacuum.

Some Trump tariffs, including levies on foreign steel, aluminum and autos, were not covered by the appeals court ruling. It also does not include tariffs Trump imposed on China in his first term that were kept by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Trump can impose tariffs under other laws, but those have more limitations on the speed and severity with which he could act.

The government has argued that if the tariffs are struck down, it might have to refund some of the import taxes that it’s collected, delivering a financial blow to the U.S. Treasury.

By AYA DIAB

The lights are off, the house is quiet and nothing seems to be running. But electricity is silently flowing through the plugs in your home. This hidden drain is known as phantom energy.

Also called vampire energy, the wasted electricity comes from leaving devices plugged in when they’re not in use. That could range from household items such as phone chargers and microwaves to TVs and gaming consoles.

This wasted electricity accounts for about 5% to 10% of home energy use, depending on factors like the age of the equipment, according to Alexis Abramson, dean of the Columbia Climate School.

“Phantom energy depends on … what kind of systems you have and how much they’ve improved over time,” said Abramson.

For example, televisions that are connected to the internet and have smart wake features that allow them to interact with phones and other devices can consume up to 40 watts of energy during the hours of the day that the TV would normally be off, according to Matt Malinowski, director of the buildings program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. That’s almost 40 times as much as a regular television.

“The good news is there have been new, renewed efforts to tackle this,” said Malinowski.

He said advocates and manufacturers have come up with a voluntary agreement seeking to reduce the amount of energy smart televisions use when they’re in standby mode.

Phantom energy contributes to climate change because power drawn by unused devices can increase demand for electricity from sources that release planet-warming emissions. Aidan Charron, associate director of Global Earth Day, said that while the amount may seem small when a person looks at their individual utility bill, the environmental toll of phantom energy is significant when multiplied over homes across the country.

“Just take a little step of unplugging the things that you’re not using,” said Charron. “It will save you money and it’ll save emissions in the long run.”

What you can do

Some of the main culprits when it comes to draining energy are appliances that are constantly connected to electricity, such as those with a clock.

“Do you really need your microwave to tell you the time, or can you unplug your microwave when you’re not using it?” said Charron.

While unplugging devices may seem burdensome, it significantly contributes to reducing emissions.

Charron recommends starting with small steps like unplugging chargers for phones and other devices once the battery is fully charged. The next step is moving to other appliances such as unplugging an unused lamp.

If unplugging sounds too hard, regularly checking your settings and disabling any extra feature you’re not using that could be draining energy help, too. For example, smart televisions often have optional features that can be turned off so the television isn’t listening for signals from other devices while in standby mode.

“If you’re not using it, then you’re getting no benefit, yet you’re paying the price and increased the energy use,” said Malinowski.

How individual actions can make a difference

Individuals also tend to take more sustainable actions, such as unplugging devices, once they learn what they can do to decrease their household emissions efficiently. Those actions could contribute to reducing U.S. emissions by about 20% per year, which equals about 450 tons of carbon dioxide, according to Jonathan Gilligan, a professor of earth and environmental science at Vanderbilt University.

The choices individuals take in their daily lives all add up, Gilligan said, mainly because of how much the U.S. population contributes to direct greenhouse gas emissions.

“The question becomes, what can we do to try to address this?” said Gilligan. “Phantom power is one part of this.”

The more individuals decrease their footprint, the more likely it is that others will follow, too, and eventually, those actions may turn to societal norms, according to Gilligan, because individuals don’t want to feel like they’re being irresponsible.

“This is a place where psychologists find that this effect is real. If people see that other people are doing actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, they want to do that” said Giligan.

When it comes to daily choices, individuals may think what they’re doing isn’t really making a big difference. But what they tend to overlook is how they influence others around them by choosing to live a more sustainable life.

The impact may be much stronger than a lot of people realize, Gilligan said.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steady on Thursday as the countdown ticks to an update on the U.S. job market coming Friday that could clear the way for the cuts to interest rates that investors love.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 45 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.

Treasury yields were also easing in the bond market following the latest discouraging signals on the job market. One report suggested U.S. employers, excluding the government, nearly halved their hiring last month. Another said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication of rising layoffs.

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Neither number is flashing a recession, but a slowdown in the job market could push the Federal Reserve to consider cutting its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in a couple weeks. So far this year, the Fed has been keeping rates on hold because it’s been more worried about inflation potentially worsening than about the job market.

Cuts to interest rates can give the economy and job market a kickstart, but they can also push inflation higher.

“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty,” according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. She said several things could be behind the slowdown, including ”labor shortages, skittish consumers, and AI disruptions.”

A much more comprehensive report on the job market from the U.S. Labor Department will arrive on Friday, and it will likely carry much weight with the Fed. Ahead of it, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.19% from 4.22% late Wednesday.

Last month’s grim July jobs report, which included massive downward revisions for June and May, sent financial markets spiraling and prompted President Donald Trump to fire the head of the agency that compiles the monthly data.

On Wall Street, Salesforce was one of the market’s heaviest weights, even though it reported a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Analysts called the performance solid but suggested some of it may have come from one-time factors. Salesforce, which helps businesses manage their customers, fell 7.4%.

C3.ai tumbled 9% after reporting a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Chairman Thomas Siebel called the results “completely unacceptable,” while announcing a new chief executive for the company, Stephen Ehikian. He was most recently acting administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration

On the winning side of the market was American Eagle Outfitters, which jumped 31.5% after the teen fashion retailer reported more than double the profit that analysts had expected. It benefited from a frenzy of media attention in late July over its intentionally provocative advertising campaign featuring 27-year-old actor Sydney Sweeney.

The ads — which featured the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” — sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to “woke” American politics and culture.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise added 1% following its own better-than-expected profit report.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.

Indexes dropped 1.3% in Shanghai and Hong Kong but jumped 1.5% in Tokyo.

AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

By KENYA HUNTER

In the fitness class Jessie Syfko created for a nationwide gym chain, exercisers wear weighted vests that add a challenge to their workouts.

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“People start to realize how good it feels to work just a little bit harder and a little bit smarter” without actually changing what they’re doing, said Syfko, senior vice president for Life Time gyms.

Weighted vests are increasingly showing up in fitness classes and on jogging tracks, touted by social media influencers as a way to keep bones healthy, improve performance and even accelerate weight loss. They are exactly what they sound like – vests that add resistance to the torso through pockets with removable weights.

But there’s a lack of robust research on their benefits, experts say, so it’s unclear how much of the hype is justified. And some people, such as seniors or those who are pregnant, should be cautious about using them.

Here are the potential benefits of weighted vests

When you think about how exercise works, the idea that a weighted vest will help you meet fitness goals like weight loss, muscle growth or preventing bone loss might make sense on the surface. Adding weight to the vest adds resistance to your everyday activities without changing up your patterns.

The vests may, in fact, offer benefits for healthy adults, experts say – although no one should expect transformative or instant results. Jeff Monaco, a certified strength coach who teaches medical fitness at the University of Texas at Austin, said while you may not lose a lot more calories during a weighted vest exercise, resistance from the vest may result in better sports performance over time.

“There are a lot of studies looking at (the weighted vest) from a speed perspective in different athletics, like soccer, with changing direction, agility and speed and so forth,” he said.

You’ll start to see those benefits by adding about 10% of your body weight to the vest, he said. If you weigh 150 pounds, for example, that would mean adding a total of 15 pounds to the vest.

Nora Capocci wears a weighted vest during an MB360 workout class at the Life Time health club in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

But the research outside of sports isn’t as clear.

One 2020 study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina found that adults between 60 and 85 years old who wore weighted vests at times during the day when they were most active lost about the same amount of weight as those who didn’t wear them. They also lost the same amount of bone density, which happens as we age but can be slowed by building muscle.

Here’s how to use weighted vests safely

Experts urge people to use weighted vests safely.

It’s best to start out by adding between five to 10 percent of your body weight. Wearing a vest that’s too heavy can put unnecessary strain on your joints, back and hips. That extra load can throw off your posture, lead to poor form or even result in stress fractures over time.

Some people should consult with a doctor before they throw on a vest, said Dr. Elizabeth Gardner, a team physician for athletes at Yale University. They include people who are pregnant, suffer from heart and breathing conditions or have back or neck injuries.

You’ll have to use the muscles in your abdomen to use a weighted vest effectively, Gardner said, and this can be tougher for those already managing back pain.

Before starting to use a vest, Monaco said it’s always helpful to get guidance from someone who has experience with them, “just to make sure that your movements are good, your form is good, that you have enough muscular upper body, muscular strength and endurance to support that during your movements.”

But as long as you use it correctly, he said, a weighted vest can be “a good tool to have in your toolbox.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.