By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer

It’s the last day to book a flight on Southwest Airlines without being hit with a fee to check bags after the airline abandoned a decades-long luggage policy that executives once described as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals.

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The airline announced the change in March, saying at the time that the the new policy would start with flights booked on Wednesday.

Southwest said Tuesday that it will be charging $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second checked bag. Weight and size limits will apply for bags.

Southwest had built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free. Under its new policy, people who haven’t either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline’s credit card will have to pay for checked bags.

Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares, and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers. Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag.

People who don’t qualify for those categories will get charged to check bags. The airline said in March that it also would roll out a new, basic fare on its lowest priced tickets when the change takes effect.

The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about $1.5 billion a year but cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance.

Another policy that will take effect on Wednesday is Southwest requiring passengers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires.

These aren’t the only changes at Southwest. The Dallas airline previously announced that it was leaving behind another Southwest tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years. Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year.

The airline also said last year that it would charge customers extra for more legroom and offer red-eye flights.

Southwest has struggled recently and is under pressure from activist investors to boost profits and revenue. The airline reached a truce in October with hedge fund Elliott Investment Management to avoid a proxy fight, but Elliott won several seats on the company’s board.

The airline announced in February that it was eliminating 1,750 jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce, in the first major layoffs in the company’s 53-year history.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. rose 3% at the opening bell Tuesday along with other carriers in an up day for the sector.

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ views of the economy improved in May after five straight months of declines sent consumer confidence to its lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely driven by anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

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The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose 12.3 points in May to 98, up from April’s 85.7, its lowest reading since May 2020.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market jumped 17.4 points to 72.8, but remained below 80, which can signal a recession ahead.

The proportion of consumers surveyed saying they think a U.S. recession is coming in the next 12 months also declined from April.

Trump’s aggressive and unpredictable policies — including massive import taxes — have clouded the outlook for the economy and the job market, raising fears that the American economy is headed toward a recession.

However, Trump’s tariff pullbacks, pauses and negotiations with some trading partners may have calmed nerves for the time being.

“The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board.

Trump had initially imposed a stunning 145% tariff on most goods from China, but agreed to a 90-day pause for negotiations. The U.S. also came to an agreement with the U.K. earlier in May.

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Trump and European Union leaders announced that the president’s 50% tariff on imports from the E.U., which he announced Friday, are on hold until July 9. That announcement would not have impacted the Board’s survey, which closed on May 19.

The Conference Board said the rebound in confidence this month was broad-based across all ages and income groups.

Consumers’ assessments of the present economic situation also improved, with the exception of their view on job availability, which weakened for the fifth straight month despite another strong U.S. jobs report.

However, less than 25% of respondents said they were worried about losing their jobs, compared with the 50% of respondents who said they were concerned about not being able to buy the things they need or want.

The Labor Department earlier this month reported that U.S. employers added a surprising 177,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.2%.

Write-in responses to the survey showed that tariffs are still consumers’ biggest concern. Inflation is also still weighing on their minds, though some noted that inflation seemed to be easing, along with gas prices.

Earlier in May, the Commerce Department reported that consumer prices rose just 2.3% in March from a year earlier, down from 2.7% in February. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% compared with a year ago, below February’s 3%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.

Gas prices have hovered around $3.17 per gallon this month, down from $3.59 a year ago, but up a few pennies from April.

The slowdown in inflation could be a temporary respite until the widespread duties imposed by Trump begin to push up prices in many categories. Most economists expect inflation to start ticking up in the coming months.

Robert Frick, an economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, said that while the tariff rollbacks may have boosted Americans’ confidence this month, that optimism may be fleeting.

“When prices start rising from existing tariffs in a month or two, it will be a sobering reminder that a new inflation fight has just begun,” Frick said.

The Board’s survey Tuesday also showed that Americans’ plans to spend on homes, cars and vacations also increased from April, with significant gains coming after the May 12 China tariff pause.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of a Massachusetts student who was barred from wearing a T-shirt to school proclaiming there are only two genders.

The justices left in place a federal appeals court ruling that said it would not second-guess the decision of educators in Middleborough, Massachusetts, to not allow the T-shirt to be worn in a school environment because of a negative impact on transgender and gender-nonconforming students.

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Educators at the John T. Nichols Middle School barred the student from wearing the T-shirt and an altered version with the words “two genders” covered up by tape with the word “censored” written on it.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The court should have heard the case, Alito wrote, noting that “the school permitted and indeed encouraged student expression endorsing the view that there are many genders,” but censored an opposing view.

“This case presents an issue of great importance for our Nation’s youth: whether public schools may suppress student speech either because it expresses a viewpoint that the school disfavors or because of vague concerns about the likely effect of the speech on the school atmosphere or on students who find the speech offensive,” Alito wrote.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was reasonable to predict that the T-shirt will “poison the educational atmosphere” and disrupt the learning environment.

The school district’s decision was in line with a landmark Supreme Court ruling from 1969, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, that upheld the right of public school students to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War when it did not create a substantial disruption to education.

Minnesota United at Vancouver Whitecaps

When: 9:30 p.m. CT Wednesday
Where: BC Place, Vancouver
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Betting line: Vancouver plus-125; draw plus-260; MNUFC plus-200mls

Form: MNUFC (7-3-4, 26 points) fell to third place in the West after a 1-1 home draw with ninth-place Austin FC on Saturday. Vancouver (9-1-4, 31 points) came back from a 2-0 hole within the opening five minutes to beat Salt Lake 3-2 and hold down first place in the conference.

Recent matchup: Vancouver used three second-half goals to stake a huge lead in a 3-1 win over Minnesota at Allianz Field on April 27.

Context: No match this season bothers United more than the Vancouver defeat last month. Loons players and coaches have brought it up on multiple occasions.

Quote: “We gave them a lot of space,” Joaquin Pereyra said Saturday of the Vancouver loss. “They have good players, especially on the flanks, and I think in that match, here at home, we gave them a lot of space. We’re trying to reduce that margin for error, try to put more pressure on them, and be a little more aggressive.”

Update: Head coach Eric Ramsay was reconnected to the head coaching vacancy at West Bromwich Albion in England this week, but the Welshman remains committed to MNUFC for the foreseeable future, the Pioneer Press understands.

Stats: Captain center back Michael Boxall became the 10th Loon to score this season with his header against Austin on Saturday. Five United players have two or more goals.

Scouting report: Forward Brian White scored two goals, including his first PK, on Saturday to give him 10 on the season, three off MLS leader Tai Baribo of Philadelphia.

Absences: Kipp Keller (hamstring) and Sam Shashoua (leg) are expected to be out.

Projected starting XI: In a 5-3-2 formation, FW Tani Oluwaseyi, FW Kelvin Yeboah; MF Joaquin Pereyra, MF Robin Lod, MF Wil Trapp; LWB Joseph Rosales, CB Nico Romero, CB Michael Boxall, CB Jefferson Diaz, RWB Julian Gressel; GK Dayne St. Clair.

Prediction: Unbeaten in nine consecutive matches, Vancouver has established themselves as the class of the conference through 40% of the season. They will add to their MLS-best goal differential )plus-15). Vancouver victorious at 2-1.