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The Trump administration is allowing work on a major offshore wind project for New York to resume.The developer, the Norwegian energy company Equinor, said Monday it was told by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that a stop-work order has been lifted for the Empire Wind project, allowing construction to resume.Work has been paused since Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last month directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction and review the permits. Burgum said at the time that it appeared former President Joe Biden’s administration had “rushed through” the approvals. Equinor spent seven years obtaining permits and has spent more than $2.5 billion so far on a project that is one-third complete.Equinor President and CEO Anders Opedal thanked President Donald Trump for allowing the project to move forward, saving about 1,500 construction jobs and investments in U.S. energy infrastructure. He also expressed appreciation to New York’s governor, New York City’s mayor, members of Congress and labor groups, as well as Norwegian officials who worked to save the project. The Norwegian government owns a majority stake in Equinor.“We appreciate the fact that construction can now resume on Empire Wind, a project which underscores our commitment to deliver energy while supporting local economies and creating jobs,” Opedal said in a statement.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said it took countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, and the involvement of labor and business interests, to emphasize the project’s importance and get Empire Wind back on track. Equinor is building Empire Wind south of Long Island, New York, to provide power in 2026 for more than 500,000 New York homes.“New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive. I fought to save clean energy jobs in New Yorkand we got it done,” Hochul said in a statement Monday.The Interior Department did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Monday.Large offshore wind farms have been making electricity for three decades in Europe and, more recently, in Asia. But the industry has struggled to grow in the U.S. due to high costs, difficulties growing a supply chain for materials and the lengthy permitting process.Trump has prioritized fossil fuels and moved against renewable energy since returning to the White House. One of his first acts was ordering a pause of offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for all wind projects. But the administration’s targeting of Empire Wind, a project already underway, took that a step further.White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement Friday that while unleashing America’s energy dominance, Trump “paused certain wind projects that are detrimental to our beloved wildlife including birds and whales.”There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While wind turbines can pose a risk to birds, wildlife conservation organizations say they support the responsible development of offshore wind because climate change is a bigger threat.Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday that lifting the stop-work order is welcome news. Empire Wind will greatly benefit the economy on Long Island and the environment for all New Yorkers, he said in a statement.Offshore wind advocates also celebrated the decision. It’s a win for workers, the industry and companies in places like Louisiana, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania, helping to build projects in the Northeast, the Oceantic Network said in a statement.Equinor said on May 9 it would be forced to abandon Empire Wind within days unless the administration relented on its order that stopped construction. Equinor was spending up to $50 million per week and had 11 vessels on standby.Equinor finalized the federal lease in March 2017, during Trump’s first term. The federal government approved the construction and operations plan in February 2024.New York aims to obtain 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. New York is getting some wind power from the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork that opened a year ago, operated by different companies east of Montauk Point, New York. 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. Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press
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An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.The Friday ruling came after the Trump administration asked for an emergency pause on a judge’s order blocking enforcement at roughly three dozen agencies and departments.A split three-judge panel in the nation’s capital sided with government lawyers in a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal employees. The majority ruled on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has said it won’t end any collective bargaining agreements while the case is being litigated.Judge Karen Henderson, appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush, and Justin Walker, appointed by Trump, sided with the government, while Judge Michelle Childs, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented.The government says Trump needs the executive order so his administration can cut the federal workforce to ensure strong national security. The law requiring collective bargaining creates exemptions for work related to national security, as in agencies like the FBI.Union leaders argue the order is designed to facilitate mass firings and exact “political vengeance” against federal unions opposed to Trump’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government.His order seeks to expand that exemption to exclude more workers than any other president has before. That’s according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which is suing to block the order.The administration has filed in a Kentucky court to terminate the collective bargaining agreement for the Internal Revenue Service, where many workers are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. They say their IRS members aren’t doing national security work.Other union employees affected by the order include the Health and Human Services Department, the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission. Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Hellmanns. Axe. Ben & Jerrys. Dove. Nutrafol. Pepsodent. Vaseline. When a brand exists within a CPG behemoth like Unilever, it can struggle to get dedicated design attention. So often, it doesntand as a result, its brand can get a bit dusty on the shelf.Thats what happened to Lipton with an identity from 2014 that hewed closer to the 1999 Burger King logo than a modern leader of the tea industry. But now, with a new owner, Lipton is launching a fresh look as it celebrates 135 years in business and expands its product line.The big business of teaLipton is the titan of tea. Its products (which include Tazo, Pukka, PG Tips, and more) are sold in more than 100 countries and make up the largest tea business in the world. Moreover, tea is big business: Fueled in part by the focus on health in the beverage category, tea is projected to grow by more than 75% to $122.59 billion in 2033. CVC Capital Partners bought the Lipton family of brands in 2022 for $5.07 billion.[Photo: Lipton]Yet in spite of those that promise, the company has been facing what S&P Global dubbed weaker-than-anticipated performance last fall. And, well, thats a design opportunity. Following the acquisition, Lipton started taking stock of its core identity, and is now rolling out its new branding, with new plans and products to boot.If you look at what Lipton did from an innovation standpoint for the five years prior to 2023, it probably wasnt very much, says Racquel Harris Mason, president of Lipton Teas and Infusions North America. And what youll see in America [now] is Lipton launching over 15 new flavors, new SKUs, in the next six months. So its really a wonderful renovation of this historical brand.[Photo: Lipton]Sir Liptons legacyWhen he founded his eponymous tea brand in 1890, Thomas Lipton was on a mission to democratize a drink that was then traditionally associated with the upper classes. And as those numbers above attest, he indeed succeeded, and brought low-cost tea to the masses by setting up alternative distribution channels to circumvent the established trade.Of course, being a global tea behemoth in 2025 presents its own design problems, with rituals and aesthetic preferences varying by culture and country. Lipton Global Chief Marketing Officer Moritz von der Linden says the companys numerous markets previously operated in a relatively decentralized environment with a fair amount of autonomy. As a result, the packs had become crowded with added elements, Liptons trademark yellow branding was waning in some territories as other colors were being brought inand ultimately the product was becoming difficult to spot on shelves.Thats where we said, we need to do something, von der Linden notes. We need to make sure that we bring this back to the brilliant basics [and] play our distinctive assets to their strengths again, making sure that everybody can recognize [Lipton] when they walk into a store from 50 meters away.So von der Linden and his colleagues set out to establish Liptons first uniform global identity, partnering with the Paris-based agency Team Creatif. The team first looked to the pastin particular, Thomas Liptons original tin boxes.[Photo: Lipton]von der Linden says their bold lettering inspired the typography of the new logo, which returns to an all-caps treatment and is intended to play off of the pride the team feels around the brand and its status in the category. As an homage to the brands legacy, the team added the founding year of 1890 to its signature cartouche label, a move von der Linden says hadnt been done in decades.If you think about a lot of brands that are appealing to Gen Z . . . these heritage brands really do mean something, Harris Mason says. My children are 26, 24 and 21, and they were like, Oh, my god, thats so cool. In a weird way, that heritage does give us a modern cool factor because of the deep authenticity of the brand.[Photo: Lipton]To give the tea a bit more of a premium feel, the team tweaked the Lipton yellow to a slightly darker shade. They also added a leaf to od at the health aspects of drinking tea. [Were] bringing nature into the package, and reminding people in this era of everything being artificial that tea has been around for 3,000 years, says Harris Mason. Its crushed leaves in a bag.That little leaf differentiates the brand away from ready-to-drink beverages. Its a small element, but in its brutal simplicity, a tea leaf makes a big difference, says von der Linden.Finally, the team modernized the logo on the whole by paring down the 3D nature of the cartouche, greatly scaling back the sun element, and selecting Arpona as a primary typeface that echoes the letterforms of the refreshed logo.[Image: Lipton]A new LiptonThe new brand is currently making its way to shelves, and should be comprehensive in all markets by the end of the year. Currently, Unilever and Pepsi still operate a separate Lipton bottled drink venture, but Harris Mason says she regularly meets with the team there, and they love the new work. (I would be very surprised if this does not get adopted, von der Linden notes.)Ultimately, their hope is that the design work will bring more people to the brandand that innovation and new products will keep them there. To that end, they have launched a Lipton black tea speciality category, and the first two entries are an English Breakfast and an Earl Grey that tastes like the usual cardamom classic, but with a hint of citrus. Those products have officially rolled out with the new branding. On deck for the summer is a fruit and herbal range, as well as zero-sugar iced tea powders. Do they have any fears that the new products may cannibalize their other brands, such as Tazo? Harris Mason says the company is very intentional about Liptons positioninga tea thats more affordable and approachable.[Its about] making sure that weve kept the core but weve also innovated to have a broader portfolio of more relevant offerings, so that we can really have a tea for everyone and live up to what Sir Thomas Lipton wanted to do in democratizing tea, Harris Mason says. Theres so much new innovation coming. Its not just a new design; its a new Lipton.
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