Granted: Louisiana education officials say 67 school systems will share in more than $10 million worth of grants aimed at improving struggling students’ reading and writing skills. In a news release, the state education department says the money comes from a $55.5 million “Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy” grant Louisiana received from the federal government last year. Read the full story.
Healthier options: PepsiCo has agreed to buy home-carbonation company SodaStream International for $3.2 billion, the latest move by the cola giant to diversify away from sugary sodas and salty snacks, The Wall Street Journal reports. Israel-based SodaStream is a maker of countertop water-carbonation machines. Its devices let people carbonate tap water and other beverages at home by filling a reusable bottle and then flavoring it. Read the full story here.
Letter writing: Reuters reports that a broad cross-section of U.S. businesses have a message for the Trump administration: new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports will force Americans to pay more for items they use throughout their daily lives, from cradles to coffins. Six days of public hearings on the proposed duties of up to 25% will start Monday in Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s and the U.S. Trade Representative’s efforts to pressure Beijing for sweeping changes to its trade and economic policies. In more than 1,400 written comments submitted for the hearings, most businesses argued that the tariffs will cause harm. Read the full story.
