Former UK Minister Johnson Doesn't Rule Out Challenging May

Former UK Minister Johnson Doesn’t Rule Out Challenging May

Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says he thinks Prime Minister Theresa May’s blueprint for Brexit will lead to “political and economic disaster” and he has refused to rule out trying to replace May.

Johnson quit the government in July, citing his opposition to the prime minister’s plan for close regulatory and economic ties with the European Union after Britain leaves.

He told the BBC Friday the plan “doesn’t take back control, it relinquishes control. It forfeits control.”

Johnson declined to rule out challenging May when he was asked repeatedly about a leadership bid, but said she is “a remarkable person. She will go on for as long as she feels it necessary.”

Johnson is due to speak at a Conservative Party convention next week, a day before May addresses delegates.

US Consumer Spending up Modest 0.3% in August

U.S. consumer spending edged up a moderate 0.3 percent in August, the smallest gain in six months, as purchases of cars and other durable goods fell. A key gauge of inflation slowed slightly after posting its biggest annual gain in six years.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the rise in spending was the weakest since spending fell 0.1 percent in February. Spending had been up 0.4 percent in July. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of economic activity.

An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve edged up 0.1 percent in August, a tiny gain which left prices rising 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, down from a 2.3 percent 12-month rise in July which had been the fastest pace in six years.

Honda Recalls Accord, Insight Vehicles for Software Problem

Honda is recalling about 232,000 2018 Accord vehicles and 2019 Insight hybrid cars in the U.S. for malfunctioning software for the rear camera display.

There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problem, Honda Motor Co. spokeswoman Tomoko Takemori said Friday.

The Tokyo-based automaker said that apart from the U.S. recall, Honda is recalling 14,000 vehicles in Canada, more than 6,000 vehicles in Germany and nearly 3,000 in South Korea for the same problem.

The software will be updated free of charge, the company said.

It said the rear camera display does not show the images properly when the driver shifts into rear in the affected vehicles, a problem that can be dangerous and does not comply with U.S. requirements.

Former Pinnacle Airlines CEO Shot Dead in Memphis

Memphis is mourning the shooting death of a civic leader. Authorities say Philip Trenary, the president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, was fatally shot on a downtown street at about 8 p.m. Thursday.

The Commercial Appeal reports that it happened on South Front Street, near where the chamber was hosting an annual road race.

Police said Trenary was pronounced dead at Regional One Health hospital. They appealed for help locating a suspect described as a black male with dreadlocks, wearing a blue shirt and driving a white four-door Ford F150.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland called it a “senseless loss.” Gov. Bill Haslam tweeted that “our hearts are broken with the news.”

Trenary was a former airline executive lauded for his community work in his adopted city.

He founded Lone Star Airlines in Oklahoma in 1984 and came to Memphis in 1997 to run a regional airline that morphed into Pinnacle, a $1 billion, 7,700-employee regional airline operator.