Infrared contact lenses allow people to see in the dark, even with their eyes closed

Cell Press

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Study participant putting contacts in

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Credit: Yuqian Ma, Yunuo Chen, Hang Zhao

Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision goggles, the contact lenses, described in the Cell Press journal Cell on May 22, do not require a power source—and they enable the wearer to perceive multiple infrared wavelengths. Because they’re transparent, users can see both infrared and visible light simultaneously, though infrared vision was enhanced when participants had their eyes closed.  

“Our research opens up the potential for non-invasive wearable devices to give people super-vision,” says senior author Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China. “There are many potential applications right away for this material. For example, flickering infrared light could be used to transmit information in security, rescue, encryption or anti-counterfeiting settings.” 

The contact lens technology uses nanoparticles that absorb infrared light and convert it into wavelengths that are visible to mammalian eyes (e.g., electromagnetic radiation in the 400-700 nm range). The nanoparticles specifically enable detection of “near-infrared light,” which is infrared light in the 800-1600 nm range, just beyond what humans can already see. The team previously showed that these nanoparticles enable infrared vision in mice when injected into the retina, but they wanted to design a less invasive option.  

To create the contact lenses, the team combined the nanoparticles with flexible, non-toxic polymers that are used in standard soft contact lenses. After showing that the contact lenses were non-toxic, they tested their function in both humans and mice. 

They found that contact lens-wearing mice displayed behaviors suggesting that they could see infrared wavelengths. For example, when the mice were given the choice of a dark box and an infrared-illuminated box, contact-wearing mice chose the dark box whereas contact-less mice showed no preference. The mice also showed physiological signals of infrared vision: the pupils of contact-wearing mice constricted in the presence of infrared light, and brain imaging revealed that infrared light caused their visual processing centers to light up.  

In humans, the infrared contact lenses enabled participants to accurately detect flashing morse code-like signals and to perceive the direction of incoming infrared light. “It's totally clear cut: without the contact lenses, the subject cannot see anything, but when they put them on, they can clearly see the flickering of the infrared light,” said Xue. “We also found that when the subject closes their eyes, they’re even better able to receive this flickering information, because near-infrared light penetrates the eyelid more effectively than visible light, so there is less interference from visible light.”  

An additional tweak to the contact lenses allows users to differentiate between different spectra of infrared light by engineering the nanoparticles to color-code different infrared wavelengths. For example, infrared wavelengths of 980 nm were converted to blue light, wavelengths of 808 nm were converted to green light, and wavelengths of 1,532 nm were converted to red light. In addition to enabling wearers to perceive more detail within the infrared spectrum, these color-coding nanoparticles could be modified to help color blind people see wavelengths that they would otherwise be unable to detect. 

“By converting red visible light into something like green visible light, this technology could make the invisible visible for color blind people,” says Xue. 

Because the contact lenses have limited ability to capture fine details (due to their close proximity to the retina, which causes the converted light particles to scatter), the team also developed a wearable glass system using the same nanoparticle technology, which enabled participants to perceive higher-resolution infrared information.   

Currently, the contact lenses are only able to detect infrared radiation projected from an LED light source, but the researchers are working to increase the nanoparticles’ sensitivity so that they can detect lower levels of infrared light.  

“In the future, by working together with materials scientists and optical experts, we hope to make a contact lens with more precise spatial resolution and higher sensitivity,” says Xue.  

Preparation procedures for infrared contacts.

Credit

Sheng Wang

Researcher places infrared contacts in participant's eyes.

Credit

Yuqian Ma, Yunuo Chen, Hang Zhao

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This research was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Program, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the Natural Science Foundation, the CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research, the Major Scientific and Technological Program of Anhui Province, the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation, the New Cornerstone Science Foundation the Feng Foundation of Biomedical Research, and the Human Frontier Science Program. 

Cell, Ma et al., “Near-infrared spatiotemporal color vision in humans enabled by upconversion contact lenses.” https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00454-4

Cell (@CellCellPress), the flagship journal of Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Visit: http://www.cell.com/cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.  

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Journal

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2025.04.019 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Near-Infrared Spatiotemporal Color Vision in Humans Enabled by Upconversion Contact Lenses

Article Publication Date

22-May-2025

 

Why we trust people who grew up with less

Modest childhoods inspire more trust than privileged upbringings, study says

American Psychological Association

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When deciding whom to trust, people are more likely to choose individuals who grew up with less money over those who went to private schools or vacationed in Europe, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Trust is essential for healthy relationships. Without it, romantic partnerships can fail, workplaces can suffer and social divisions can grow,” said lead researcher Kristin Laurin, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia. “But what makes people trust someone in the first place?”

To find out, researchers ran a series of experiments with more than 1,900 participants. They explored whether someone's social class—either while growing up or currently—affects how trustworthy they appear to strangers. 

The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

In one experiment, participants were asked to play a trust game with what they thought were other real people but were actually fictional profiles. Each participant filled out a profile and received copies of profiles from their “group.” Some fake profiles described people who grew up with less money—like attending public school or working part-time. Others described more privileged backgrounds, such as going to private school or taking vacations in Europe.

In the game, participants (known as “trusters”) started with 10 raffle tickets for a drawing for two $100 gift cards. They had the option to transfer any number of these raffle tickets to one of the fictional players in their group (known as “trustees”). Trusters were told any tickets transferred to a trustee would then be tripled, and the trustee could decide to return any number of those tickets to the truster.

The study looked at trust as a behavior--putting oneself at the mercy of the other player. How many raffle tickets participants transferred to another player indicated how much they behaviorally trusted that player.

The study also looked at trust as an expectation—believing the other player would be trustworthy. Participants were asked “If you gave all 10 tickets to this person, they would have 30. How many do you think they would give back?”

In similar experiments, researchers adjusted the fake profiles to suggest trustees’ current socioeconomic status and asked participants to rate the morality of the other players. People tended to show more behavioral trust toward individuals from lower-income backgrounds, whether past or present. However, they only believed a player was more trustworthy when the player grew up in a lower-income household.

“Our research shows that people draw a clear line between someone's childhood and their current situation,” Laurin said. “They generally saw people who grew up in lower-class homes as more moral and trustworthy. While they sometimes acted as if they trusted people who are currently lower class, they didn’t always believe those people would honor that trust.”

These findings suggest that people might want to be strategic about how they present themselves in social situations where trust is a component. “If you’ve always been wealthy, for example, you might want to downplay that history and focus on the now, whereas if you’ve always struggled financially, making it clear that you grew up with humble roots might be more to your advantage,” she said.

Laurin noted that while the study shows a preference for trusting those from lower-income backgrounds, especially those who grew up that way, it didn’t ask whether those individuals are actually more trustworthy.

“We didn’t examine whether a person’s childhood or current class background actually influences their behavior,” she said. “That’s a question for future studies—especially to understand when trust is misplaced or when people miss chances to trust others fairly.”

Article: “Trust and Trust Funds: How Others Childhood and Current Social Class Context Influence Trust Behavior and Expectations,” by Kristin Laurin, PhD, Holly Engstrom, PhD, Toni Schmader, PhD, and Khai Qing Chua, MA, University of British Columbia; Nadav Klein, PhD, Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires; and Stéphane Côté, PhD, University of Toronto. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published online May 22, 2025.

Contact: Kristin Laurin, PhD, can be contacted via email at klaurin@psych.ubc.ca.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes  173,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.

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Journal

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

10.1037/pspi0000497 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Trust and Trust Funds: How Others Childhood and Current Social Class Context Influence Trust Behavior and Expectations

Article Publication Date

22-May-2025

 

How property owners can work to prevent flooding

Introducing a severe impacts approach to guide adaptation to pluvial floods in residential and public buildings

Linköping University

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Mattias Hjerpe, senior associate professor at the Department of Thematic Studies—Environmental Change at Linköping University and Sofie Storbjörk, associate professor at the Department of Thematic Studies—Environmental Change at Linköping University.

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Credit: Jonas Roslund

The risk of heavy rainfall and severe flooding increases with climate change. But property owners – regardless of size – often underestimate their own responsibility and are unaware of what preventive measures they can take themselves. In a new scientific article, researchers from Linköping University, Sweden, show how to go about preventive work.

Many property owners believe that it is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure that their houses do not get flooded in heavy rain. However, in many countries, including Sweden, owner-responsibility is a cornerstone of the adaption governance, and property owners are recognized as a key actor for the adaption work. 

“We need to increase awareness that the property owner has an important role and that there’s much that can be done that doesn’t involve renovating the entire property,” says Sofie Storbjörk, associate professor at the Department of Thematic Studies—Environmental Change at Linköping University.

Even large municipal property companies may be uncertain about how to go about preventive work. To find new ways of working, the research team has collaborated with four municipally owned companies in Sweden. These administer rental apartments or properties for various municipal activities in two medium-sized cities. In total, they are responsible for just over 2,300 buildings. The researchers’ proposals are presented in an article in the journal Building Research and Innovation. 

Studying flood risk maps, the researchers found that many of the buildings were located in places with a high risk of rising water levels. This was the case for about half of the rental properties and one third of the buildings used for preschools, nursing homes and similar operations. The researchers carried out on-site inspections at 604 buildings to look for design weaknesses. Among other things, it turned out that one third had openings at ground level and that up to half of the inspected buildings were at risk of wastewater getting into the basement because there were no backflow valves. Many also had open holes or cracks in the foundations or the facade.

The large number of problems made it difficult for housing companies to know how to proceed. The researchers then conducted several workshops with key actors to find new approaches. The participants had to make a list of the worst things that could happen in the case of a flood event. There were a limited number of points: injury to people, evacuation of tenants and damage to technical installations or other critical functions. These feared consequences were then linked to the weaknesses discovered in the buildings. Which of them would likely contribute to a worst-case scenario? This made it easier to prioritise the houses that should be worked on first and to assess which measures would have the best effect.

But even among the large housing companies there was a perception that the municipalities bear the main responsibility for the preventive work. The researchers then helped to analyse what the property owners themselves have the power to carry out. It turned out to be a lot. For example, they can move key operations from the basement, install watertight doors, install backflow valves, raise entrance thresholds, make sure the ground slopes away from the building, and reduce the number of hard-paved surfaces.

The researchers conclude that the best way to work is to start from the worst-case scenario and the weaknesses of the buildings concerned. They also think that it is important that both municipalities and the large housing companies are open about what measures they are taking. That would be very helpful for small property owners such as tenant-owned housing associations and homeowners. Another study published by the researchers in the journal Buildings shows, for example, that tenant-owned housing associations in Sweden greatly underestimate the risk of being affected by flooding, and that even those affected multiple times have not considered working preventively. A major contributing factor is ignorance.

“It will be much, much clearer what you can do if housing companies and municipalities start to inform people of what they have done. Then, as a layperson, you can copy it,” says Mattias Hjerpe, senior associate professor at the Department of Thematic Studies—Environmental Change at Linköping University.

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Journal

Building Research & Information

DOI

10.1080/09613218.2025.2489573 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Introducing a severe impacts approach to guide adaptation to pluvial floods in residential and public buildings

UnitedHealth falls after report it secretly paid nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers

By Reuters
 May 21, 2025 

The logo for UnitedHealth Group appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

UnitedHealth UNH.N shares fell in premarket trading on Wednesday after a Guardian report that the company made secret payments to nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers added to the troubles of the healthcare conglomerate.

The alleged action, part of a series of cost-cutting tactics, has saved the company millions, but at times risked residents’ health, the Guardian reported, citing an investigation.

UnitedHealth said in response that “the U.S. Department of Justice investigated these allegations, interviewed witnesses, and obtained thousands of documents that demonstrated the significant factual inaccuracies in the allegations.”

The company also said in an emailed statement that the DoJ declined to pursue the matter after reviewing all the evidence during its multi-year investigation.

The company’s stock has taken a beating after the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had begun a criminal investigation into the company for potential Medicare fraud, which followed CEO Andrew Witty’s abrupt departure and the withdrawal of its 2025 forecast last week.

On Wednesday, UnitedHealth shares fell more than 8 per cent before paring losses and were last down 3 per cent at $311.59.

Separately, HSBC downgraded the stock to “reduce” from “hold,” and cut the price target to a street-low of $270.

“New CEO has opportunity to start on a clean(er) slate, but we see risk to earnings growth along with policy overhang,” HSBC analysts wrote in a note.

The company named former CEO Stephen Hemsley to the top job, counting on his experience to turn around the healthcare giant and steer it through the current crisis.

The brokerage said higher medical costs, pressure on drug pricing and its pharmacy benefit management unit, OptumRx, and a potential Medicaid funding cut, can upset the company’s recovery journey.

UnitedHealth has grappled with several major challenges over the last 12 months, including a cyberattack at its tech unit that affected some 190 million people, a report of an investigation into its Medicare billing practices, and an unexpected surge in medical costs that has hurt its bottom line.

“The news is only seemingly getting worse for UnitedHealth,” said Sahak Manuelian, managing director, global equity trading at Wedbush.

“This is kind of a tough situation for investors to come in and have any kind of confidence in putting money to work, so we’ll have to kind of wait and see how this plays itself out, unfortunately,” Manuelian said.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Amazon investors again reject all shareholder proposals

Also rejected was a proposal soliciting a report on warehouse working conditions

By Reuters
May 21, 2025 


Amazon.com investors at its annual meeting again rejected all outside shareholder resolutions, including three meant to address the online retail giant’s impact on climate change.

Voters approved the reelection of 12 directors and proposed executive compensation.

Shareholders put forth eight proposals, all of which Amazon encouraged investors to vote against. Last year, there were 14 resolutions and all failed to get sufficient votes to be enacted.

Among the eight this year were a proposal that would have required additional reporting on Amazon’s overall carbon emissions, another targeting the climate impact of data centers and one calling for further disclosure about packaging materials, particularly plastic.

Amazon said its existing disclosures are sufficient and that it is working towards reducing its environmental impacts.

Two other proposals aimed at the development of artificial intelligence software were also rejected.

One resolution would have had Amazon assess its board structure to consider how it might develop AI more responsibly, while the other would have required a report on data usage and collection around AI.

Seattle-based Amazon asserted that it is a leader in responsible AI development, and so no changes are needed.

Shareholders had also proposed that Amazon create a policy ensuring the separation of its CEO and board chair roles. The company already separates the two roles between CEO Andy Jassy and founder Jeff Bezos, but not as a mandatory policy. As CEO until 2021, Bezos had also held the chairmanship.

Shareholders voted against a resolution that would have required the company to create a report on risks presented by advertising, in an effort to keep it politically neutral. Also rejected was a proposal soliciting a report on warehouse working conditions, a perennial source of criticism of the company.

Jassy, during a question and answer session, said tariffs imposed on many imported goods by the Trump administration had not impacted sales.

“We also haven’t yet seen any meaningful average selling price increases,” he said. “When you have two million sellers, they’re not all going to take the same action,” he said, noting that some had increased prices while others kept prices static.

Amazon will later provide a full tally of the investor vote in a securities filing. Shares were down less than 1% on Wednesday to $203.20.

Greg Bensinger, Reuters

Solar stocks plummet after Trump’s tax bill advances in U.S. House

By Reuters
May 22, 2025 

Shares of U.S. solar companies fell sharply in premarket trade on Thursday after the House of Representatives advanced U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, which may end numerous green-energy subsidies that have supported the renewable energy sector.

Sunrun RUN.O led the market rout, with shares falling as much as 33%, Complete SolariaSPWR.O fell nearly 22% while Enphase Energy ENPH.O, Maxeon Solar MAXN.O and SolarEdge Technologies SEDG.O dipped between 10% and 15.6%.

Shares of JinkoSolar JKS.N fell 2.3%, while First Solar FSLR.O and Canadian Solar CSIQ.O dropped 6.5% and 10%, respectively.

Trump’s budget package - which he calls “one big beautiful bill” - would eliminate funding established under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and repeal grants intended to reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions or purchase electric heavy-duty vehicles.

The bill would remove the 30% federal tax credit for taxpayers who install solar rooftop systems, posing a significant challenge to the industry.

While the industry anticipated the gradual phase-out of wind and solar tax credits, the new version of the bill accelerates this timeline, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov told Reuters.

As per the new proposed timeline, solar or wind projects must begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s enactment and finish construction by year-end 2028. Otherwise, they will no longer be eligible for tax credits.

Clean energy stakeholders now turn their attention to the Senate, where the bill is headed next before it is sent to the president, hoping it will reverse many of the proposed revisions to the IRA.

“While the bill is in the Senate, the solar and wind industries will actively lobby to reverse the new changes made by the House,” Molchanov added.

Vallari Srivastava, Reuters

Hybrid power is here: Indianapolis 500 could be dramatically reshaped by jolts of electric juice

By The Associated Press
May 21, 2025 

Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, center talks with Ed Carpenter, left, and Jack Harvey, of the United Kingdom, as the drivers gather for a photo before the start of practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves felt an immediate difference — a subtle but noticeable uptick in speed — the first time he utilized the boost of horsepower offered by IndyCar’s novel hybrid engines around the imposing oval of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The question now facing the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, along with the rest of the drivers on the 33-car starting grid for the 109th running on Sunday, is how best to capitalize on the hybrid over 200 laps spent entirely on edge.

Empty it entirely and then wait for it to recharge, which might take several laps? Save it for short bursts for passes or to defend? Perhaps use it slowly to run down the leader or build a big advantage once out front?

“There is so much more that goes into this than I think people realize or recognize,” acknowledged Indy 500 veteran Graham Rahal, whose father Bobby Rahal won the 1986 race. “It’s an interesting thing. I mean, the hybrid, it’s quite powerful here. On a single lap if you utilize it correctly, it does make a hell of a difference in lap time or lap speed.”

The genesis of the hybridization began years ago, when IndyCar manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda wanted to better align their racing programs with a shift in consumer demand toward hybrid and electric vehicles. But the project was beset by delays as engineers struggled to fit a bespoke hybrid unit into the IndyCar chassis designed more than a decade ago, and that had to meet certain requirements for weight and safety, among other things.

The result was finally unveiled before last year’s Indy 500, a design based around ultracapacitors rather than heavy batteries. It provides a quick boost to the existing 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines before recharging to be used again.

The system was introduced at Mid-Ohio midway through last year’s IndyCar season and has been in use ever since.

But it has never been used somewhere like Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where speeds at the end of each straight can hit 240 mph, and the difference between winning and losing can be measured in thousandths of a second.

“I’ve had some really interesting conversations with drivers about how of all places where the hybrid is going to make a huge difference, it’s going to be at Indianapolis,” IndyCar president Doug Boles said. “I asked why and they say, ‘Well, you think about Indianapolis, how trimmed out we are — especially in qualifying — any incremental difference in horsepower makes a difference.

“We’re going to see some exciting racing,” Boles continued, ”and the strategies that I have heard from drivers in terms of talking about how to deploy the hybrid vary wildly. It’s going to be fascinating to watch how this goes.”

It hasn’t gone without its share of problems, either, dating to an open test last month and right through practice Monday.

For one thing, the hybrid still checks in at about 100 pounds, which is significant on a car that weighs just 1,600. And all of that weight is in the back of the car, which has dramatically altered the way they are balanced and ultimately perform.

“That’s a lot of mass percentage-wise you are adding,” two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden said. “It’s almost like adding 200, 250 pounds to a stock car. If you said, ‘Hey, guys, we’re going to bolt 250 pounds to these stock cars, see what you think,’ I bet they would all go, ‘OK, this drives differently.’ And now we have to counteract it.”

Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood is among many who believe the additional weight makes cars harder to drive, and Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong said, “I do believe the window is considerably smaller, the balance window.”

Armstrong crashed in practice last Saturday and had to squeeze into the field in a backup car on Sunday.

Then there’s the fact that the hybrid unit — while mostly reliable — is still a machine, and machines can have problems. Rinus Veekay’s hybrid didn’t work at all during his first qualifying run for the final row of the starting grid, while 2008 winner Scott Dixon had his practice Monday cut short after just six laps when a warning light blinked for an overheating issue.


Nevertheless, the hybrid technology will play a part in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday. And if it comes down to the final laps, it could be a big part, as the leader tries to hold on and the chasers try to time their boost for a winning pass.

“I think it definitely adds some variables,” said Dixon, who will start on the second row. “If you’re sitting out front, you could be a bit of a sitting duck, especially if everybody is kind of recharged and ready to go behind you.

“I think the biggest thing that we’ve probably all learnt so far, you’ve got to be ready for change, is probably the biggest thing,” he added. “But I think it could ultimately change how the end of the race plays out.”

___

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press

CANADA

Stellantis blames tariffs for Daytona R/T production postponement at Windsor Assembly

By Ricardo Veneza
 May 22, 2025 



On the same day it announced a $388 million dollar investment in Metro Detroit, Stellantis has confirmed to CTV News it will postpone production of the Windsor-built Daytona R/T line for the 2026 model year due to tariff uncertainty.

On Wednesday, the company made no reference to sales performance of the all-electric muscle car in its decision making, instead pointing to the need to review the impacts of U.S. tariffs before moving forward with planned production.

“We don’t know how many [Daytona models] are going over there,” said Greg Layson of Automotive News, in reference to sales of the new model in the U.S. “It’s possible that that was the best-selling trim level of the Charger Daytona, but it’s possible it’s not.”

Several automakers have scaled back EV production and investment plans considering softer-than-expected demand in the burgeoning sector.

“We’re seeing this shift is not necessarily a reduction in total Charger volumes, but more of a shift in their focus to more of their [internal combustion]-based variants of the vehicle,” said Joe McCabe, president and CEO of Auto Forecast Solutions. “If they’re not forced to make electrified vehicles to satisfy a carbon footprint then they’re going to look at the where the money is, and they have to follow the money.”


McCabe points to Tesla as essentially the only major manufacturer turning a profit on electric vehicles, bringing into sharp relief the struggles of the Big Three and other automakers in meeting lofty government targets to electrify passenger transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against global warming.

Another challenge hampering EV sales, Layson notes, is the loss and scale back of government incentives — pointing to Ontario’s lack of an EV rebate as part of the shift sending demand into reverse.

“That hurts when you don’t have a rebate in the biggest market in the country,” said Layson. “When demand falls, production slows. That’s just the name of the game.”

In a statement from Stellantis, spkoesperson LouAnn Gosselin said, "Production of the Dodge Charger Daytona R/T is postponed for the 2026 model year as we continue to assess the effects of U.S. tariff policies. The Charger’s flexible, multi-energy STLA Large platform allows us to focus on the Charger Daytona Scat Pack’s performance as the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car, add the new four-door model to the Charger mix for the 2026 model year and lean into the new Charger Sixpack models that will launch in the second half of the year.”

The postponement at Windsor Assembly follows a pair of production pauses at the plant, at least one of which Stellantis highlighted tariffs as part of the reasoning; however, Layson doesn’t see this latest move concerning the Daytona line as a major red flag — suggesting Windsor is well positioned to ride out rough waters.

“It’s why I always say, ‘If you’re going to work at an auto factory in Ontario, it’s best to be in Windsor,’” said Layson. “It builds internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid minivans, and electric vehicles. You can do all three in that plant. And so, when the tides turn, you have something else to build.”

The move comes ahead of shift smoothing in June at Windsor Assembly, which will see alternating layoffs for workers.

While Layson sees the shift smoothing as a sign of normal summer production, he believes the overall picture brings into focus the hesitancy in the sector — pushing the return of the third shift at the plant further down the line as the White House continues to sow chaos for the industry.

“They’re [automakers] not posting any of their financial guidance for the remainder of the year,” Layson told CTV News. “So, there’s a lot of stuff we as journalists, and even analysts, don’t know because automakers are really guarded right now.”

Topeka Chamber of Commerce president visits Ottawa to strengthen trade ties

By Daniel Johnson

CTV

May 21, 2025 

A man walks past the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, Kan., June 17, 2024

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP

The president of the Topeka Chamber of Commerce will be in Ottawa this week in an attempt to strengthen trade ties amid tariff uncertainty, saying that tariffs are impacting Kansas businesses.

In an interview with BNNBloomberg.ca last week Juliet Abdel said the organization represents over 1,000 businesses in the state of Kansas. According to figures from the federal government based on 2024 data, the region exports US$2.6 billion in goods to Canada annually and imports $2.1 billion in goods from Canada each year. Meanwhile about 98 Canadian owned businesses are located in the state. According to Abdel around 20 per cent of the workforce in Shawnee County, Kansas is connected to international trade.

“What we have continued to say is, our position on these tariffs is, we view tariffs as a tax on our businesses that have to then pay for these and it’s passed on to consumers,” Abdel said.

“When consumers go to pick up an item, they’re already starting to see this 10 per cent, in some instances, on services because of this unknown.”

Abdel added that the goal is to continue to build on existing relationships during the visit to Canada’s capital. Some of the organizations she will be meeting with in Ottawa include Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, Ottawa Tourism as well as the Mayors of Ottawa and Newmarket.

“Canadians in general, while they’ve been discouraged a little bit with all these conversations governmentally, they’re very receptive from the business lens in having these conversations together,” she said.

“They know and understand that there’s been a value that’s been felt seen and is intrinsic in both of our communities and they’re very excited to continue that. They have shared that they want to continue to be a partner and of course they’ve also come out and shared their particular perspectives on what’s happening and some of them have frustrations, of course, that they feel throughout it.”

Going forward, Abdel said she is hoping to see tariff exemptions start to show up across certain industries. She added that the Topeka Chamber of Commerce has pushed to expand and support the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

‘Buy Canadian’

As trade tensions continue, some Canadians are choosing to “buy Canadian” in response. According to a Narrative Research poll from earlier this month, around 68 per cent of respondents said they are actively looking for Canadian products when shopping.

Meanwhile, some, including Loblaw CEO Per Bank, say the trend may not last.

From Abdel’s perspective, she said the sentiment appears to be largely geared toward the U.S. government and “not necessarily toward” the U.S. commerce sector.

“Everyone that we’ve talked to has been super receptive to us coming out there, has been asking those questions of what are our next steps that we can start planning for and have we considered these additional things,” she said adding that organizations are increasingly interested in discussions.

“I think that it always depends on who that is targeted toward, but it’s definitely not felt from the business organizations standpoint.”

Tourism

As trade tensions have persisted, fewer Canadians are traveling to the U.S.

Data from Statistics Canada, published last week, found that the number of Canadian residents and non-residents returning to the country by either air or automobile fell for the third consecutive month to 4.5 million in April, marking an annual decline of 15.2 per cent.

“I know that has been an industry that’s already felt some declines during this time with Canadian tourism being one of the top foreign visitors that come to the U.S.,” Abdel said.

She added that the tourism industry has downstream impacts on businesses and supply chains.

“But even from the standpoint of travellers that are coming and travellers feed our ecosystem by staying in our hotels by shopping, dining, and doing business, and those are external dollars that are coming in and investing in our community,” Abdel said.

Daniel Johnson
Journalist, BNNBloomberg.ca

U.S. states mount court challenge to Trump’s tariffs

By Reuters
May 21, 2025 

U.S. President Donald Trump smiles as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW YORK - Twelve U.S. states will ask a federal court on Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, arguing that he overstepped his authority by declaring a national emergency to impose across-the-board taxes on imports from nations that sell more to the U.S. than they buy.

A three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade will hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic attorneys general of New York, Illinois, Oregon, and nine other states. They say the Republican president has sought a “blank check” to regulate trade “at his whim.”

The states claim the president badly misinterpreted a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the tariffs. The law is meant to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats to the U.S.

Trump has said the U.S.’s decades-long history of importing more than it exports is a national emergency that has harmed U.S. manufacturers. But the states argue the U.S. trade deficit is not an “emergency” and that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs at all.

The same three-judge panel heard arguments last week in a similar case brought by five small businesses, and it is expected to issue a decision in the coming weeks.


Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said that the tariffs were raising prices for Oregon families and small businesses, and they will cost the average family an extra US$3,800 a year.

“President Trump imposed his tariffs without Congress, public input, or restraint – and claims the courts can’t review his decisions," Rayfield said. “This is a misuse of emergency powers.”

The Justice Department has said the states’ lawsuit should be dismissed because the states have only alleged “speculative economic losses” instead of concrete harms from the tariffs. It has also argued that only Congress, not U.S. states or the courts, can challenge a national emergency declared by the president under IEEPA.

A DOJ spokesperson said the department “will continue to vigorously defend President Trump’s agenda to confront unfair trade practices in court.”

After imposing tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada in February, Trump imposed a 10 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports in April, with higher rates for countries with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits, particularly China. Many of those country-specific tariffs were paused a week later, and the Trump administration temporarily reduced the steepest tariffs on China this month while working on a longer-term trade deal.

Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs have shocked U.S. markets. He has framed them as a way to restore U.S. manufacturing capability.

The states’ lawsuit is one of at least seven court challenges to Trump’s tariff policies. California has filed a separate challenge in federal court in San Francisco, and other lawsuits have been filed by businesses, legal advocacy groups and members of the Blackfeet Nation.

Decisions from the court, which hears disputes involving international trade and customs laws, can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and David Gregorio, Reuters