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First quarter GDP gets a big boost from business spending.
We have firms that are extremely focused on AI investment, and they're driving most of the momentum.
And the U.S. National debt now exceeds GDP, a once unthinkable threshold.
Plus, the House approves a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, but not ICE.
It's Thursday, April 30th.
I'm Alex Osala for The Wall Street Journal.
This is the PM edition of What's News.
Top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
A piece of important economic data came in today.
GDP.
It rose at a 2% rate in the first quarter.
That's better than the half a percent from the end of last year when government shutdown was a big drag.
But the first quarter was still a bit lower than economists expected.
To dig into what's behind the numbers, I'm joined now by Greg Dacko, chief economist at EY Parthenon.
Greg, the economy's main engine, of course, is consumer spending.
That softened in the first quarter to 1.6% from 1.9% in the fourth quarter.