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Recently, there has been a rise in reports from consumers that some physical retail stores are running low on pennies, making it difficult for cashiers to give customers exact change. This week, many social media users reported that one of America’s largest grocery store chains, Kroger, was asking customers to use exact change. This has led many to wonder if there is a national penny shortage. The answer is more complex than just a simple yes or no. Heres what you need to know. What’s happened? Numerous reports this week said customers at Kroger stores were greeted with signs asking them to provide exact change when paying in cash. Among the reports was one from the Cincinnati Enquirer, which said that these signs were posted at the company’s 103 stores in the Cincinnati/Dayton Division. “The U.S. Treasury has stopped production of pennies, which is now impacting supply,” the signs read. “If using cash for payment, please consider providing exact change.” Reached for comment by Fast Company, a Kroger spokesperson confirmed the move. “We continue to assess the impact of the U.S. Treasurys decision to end penny production,” the spokesperson said. These signs, along with a growing number of other reports on social media, have contributed to speculation about an American penny shortage. Is there a penny shortage? Without a doubt, the availability of the penny seems to be decreasing. However, according to the American Bakers Association (ABA), there isnt currently a penny shortage in the traditional sense. Rather, there is a slowing of the circulation of pennies throughout Americas banks and retailers. And theres a reason for this. In February, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he had instructed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop producing new pennies. For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents, Trump wrote, adding, Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time. And the Treasury did as Trump instructed. As the ABA notes, the U.S Mint, which is responsible for minting Americas currency, reportedly stopped production and delivered their last shipment of new pennies in August. That means no new pennies have been minted in two months. Still, the ABA estimates that there are about 250 billion pennies still in circulation. So why are they reportedly getting harder to come across? Its because many people dont like carrying around the 1-cent coins. They take up too much space in a wallet or purse, so people just tend to leave them in drawers, jars, or car cupholders. This means that, unlike most dollar bills, a significant amount of the existing pennies that are out there dont reenter circulation. When no new pennies are being minted, and enough existing pennies arent reentering circulation, it can lead to an absence of an adequate amount of change at banks and in cash registers. This is responsible for the penny shortage some retailers and customers are now beginning to see. Why does Trump want to get rid of the penny? Its not just Trump who wants to get rid of the penny. A YouGov poll from earlier this year found that more Americans now support eliminating the coin rather than saving it. Pennies can be inconvenient. You need need a hundred of them or more just to buy something simple, like a can of soda. And carrying a hundred pennies around in a purse, wallet, or pocket can be cumbersome. As for Trump, he is correct that the penny coin actually costs more than 1-cent to make. A 2024 report from the U.S. Mint revealed that the U.S. government lost more than $83 million in 2024 producing the penny. This is because though the penny has a face value of only 1-cent, it had a total unit cost of $0.0369 per coin in 2024. Thats over 3.5x its face value. In other words, the penny is both disliked by some consumers and doesnt make financial sense from a minting standpoint. No wonder so many people want to see it go. Can Trump actually kill the penny? While the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Mint have followed Trumps instructions to stop producing the penny, the penny remains legal tender in America. And most experts seem to agree that Trump cant just end the pennys life by dictate. As New York Magazine noted in May, killing off the penny likely requires an act of Congress, since Congress controls the specifications of Americas currency. However, both houses of Congress have reportedly introduced bills to kill off the penny since Trump issued his decree. The ABA itself notes that the decision to eliminate the penny lies with Congress and the President, as the Constitution gives Congress the authority to coin money. But it adds that The banking industry is prepared to support whatever policy is enacted and will ensure a smooth transition if the penny is officially phased out. Can I still get exact change if there are no pennies available? Given that so many items in America are priced at one penny short of a whole dollarbefore taxits no surprise that if there is a penny shortage, stores may have trouble giving consumers their exact change. But if this is indeed the case, the ABA says that banks and retailers may temporarily round cash transactions to the nearest five cents since nickels are widely available. This means the customer may save a few centsor pay a few cents moredepending on which way the rounding goes. However, the price of online transactions, as they are all electronic, shouldnt be impacted at all.
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U.S. President Donald Trump lavished praise on Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing deals on trade and rare earths. Takaichi, a protegee of Trump’s late friend and golfing buddy Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, applauded Trump’s push to resolve global conflicts, vowing to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt. Both governments released a list of projects in the areas of energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals in which Japanese companies are eyeing investments of up to $400 billion in the U.S. Tokyo pledged to provide $550 billion of strategic U.S. investments, loans and guarantees earlier this year as part of a deal to win a reprieve from Trump’s punishing import tariffs. Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more towards its security in the face of an increasingly assertive China, calls that Takaichi sought to head off by promising to fast-track plans to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP. “Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers,” Trump told Takaichi as they sat down to discussions, accompanied by their delegations, at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace. “I’d also like to congratulate you on being the first woman prime minister. It’s a big deal,” Trump added. TAKAICHI INVOKES ABE LEGACY Takaichi repeatedly referred to Abe’s affection for Trump and gifted him the former prime minister’s putter encased in glass, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold-leaf golf ball, photographs posted on X by Trump’s assistant Margo Martin show. Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his 2016 election victory and the two went on to forge a close bond over several rounds of golf in the United States and Japan. Over a lunch of U.S. rice and beef, and vegetables from Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, she presented Trump with a map of major investments Japanese firms have made in the United States since his last visit in 2019. Japanese companies on the list of possible future investors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Softbank, Hitachi, Murata Manufacturing and Panasonic, among others. Japanese carmaker Toyota would also open auto plants in the United States to the tune of $10 billion, Trump said. Toyota did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DEAL ON CRITICAL MINERALS Trump praised Japan’s efforts to buy more U.S. defense equipment, while Takaichi said his role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, was an “unprecedented” achievement. They signed a deal to bolster supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, as their nations seek to reduce China’s dominance of some areas of key electronic components. After lunch, Trump met relatives of people abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 1970s. While some were later repatriated, Japan continues to press Pyongyang for a full accounting of all the abductees and the return of any who remain alive, a cause championed by Abe. “The United States is with them all the way,” Trump told reporters after greeting the families. He has repeatedly said he was open to meeting North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Un during his five-day Asia visit. The U.S. leader began his trip in Malaysia on Sunday, before traveling to Japan late on Monday to receive a royal welcome at the Imperial Palace. He hopes to cap off his trip, his longest overseas journey since returning to the White House in January, by agreeing a trade war truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday. VISIT TO U.S. NAVAL BASE Takaichi’s efforts to invoke Abe’s legacy to forge a bond with Trump could help bolster her weak political position at home and help her navigate Trump’s at times erratic decision-making, analysts said. Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament’s lower house. Trump and Takaichi later flew on his presidential helicopter to the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington, docked at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo. There Trump delivered an hour-long speech that ranged from topics such as the U.S. southern border and inflation to American football and the possibility of deploying “more than the national guard” to “troubled” U.S. cities. Flanked by two fighter jets, Trump ushered Takaichi up on stage before 6,000 U.S. sailors. “This woman is a winner,” he said, before Takaichi thanked the forces for helping defend the country and the region. Japan hosts the largest concentration of U.S. military power abroad. Delivery would begin this week on Japan’s long-awaited order of U.S. missiles for F-35 fighter jets, Trump added. “I told the president that I want to work with him to build a new chapter in the Japan-U.S. alliance that will make both countries stronger and more prosperous,” Takaichi told reporters after returning to Tokyo. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is due to hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi on Wednesday. Trump will meet business leaders in Tokyo later on Tuesday, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea to meet President Lee Jae Myung ahead of his Thursday summit with Xi. Trevor Hunnicutt, Tim Kelly and John Geddie, Reuters
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A shortage of air traffic controllers caused more flight disruptions Monday around the country as controllers braced for their first full missing paycheck during the federal government shutdown.The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing-related delays on Monday afternoon averaging about 20 minutes at the airport in Dallas and about 40 minutes at both Newark Liberty International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The delays in Austin followed a brief ground stop at the airport, meaning flights were held at their originating airports until the FAA lifted the stop around 4:15 p.m. local time.The FAA also warned of staffing issues at a facility in Jacksonville, Florida, that could cause some problems.Just last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had predicted that travelers would start to see more flights delayed and canceled as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the shutdown, which is nearing the one-month mark.During a weekend appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures,” Duffy said more controllers were calling in sick as money worries compound the stress of an already challenging job.“And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin,” Duffy said.Earlier Monday, flights were also briefly delayed at Los Angeles International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. The disruptions emerged a day after the FAA had issued a temporary ground stop at LAX for about two hours due to a shortage of controllers. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said about 72% of the flights scheduled Sunday at LAX took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times.Most controllers are continuing to work mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said Monday. That leaves little time for a side job unless controllers call in sick to the FAA.Union members were expected to gather Tuesday at major airports across the U.S., including in New York City and Atlanta, to pass out leaflets to passengers detailing how the shutdown is negatively impacting the national aviation system and the workers who keep it running safely. The action coincides with controllers’ first full missing paycheck since the shutdown began.Some U.S. airports have stepped in to provide food donations and other support for federal aviation employees working without pay, including controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents.Before the shutdown, the FAA was already dealing with a shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers. Nick Daniels, president of NATCA, has said the agency had reached “the lowest staffing we’ve had in decades of only 10,800.” Rio Yamat, AP Airlines and Travel Writer
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