WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issued the following Beige Book on April 23, 2025: * * * Summary of Economic Activity On balance, the Fifth District economy grew mildly in recent weeks. Reports on consumer spending were mixed with some businesses seeing sales pick up as weather improved but others seeing sales decline due to declining consumer confidence and job security fears from federal workers. Residential and commercial real estate activity increased slightly th  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- NASA issued the following news release: * * * NASA Invests in Future STEM Workforce Through Space Grant Awards NASA is awarding up to $870,000 annually to 52 institutions across the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico over the next four years. The investments aim to create opportunities for the next generation of innovators by supporting workforce development, science, technology, engineering and math education, and aerospace collaboration nationwide.  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- NASA issued the following news release: * * * NASA's Chandra Diagnoses Cause of Fracture in Galactic "Bone" Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic "bone" in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes. The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar. Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive st  more