Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/438503
ByMartinCrutsinger The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. economy grew at a sizzling 5 percent annual rate in the July-September period, the fastest in more than a de- cade, boosted by strength in consumer spending and business investment. The resurgence in growth last quarter provided the latest evidence that the U.S. economy is steadily strengthening and outpac- ing most others around the word. The Commerce Depart- ment on Tuesday sharply revised up its estimate of third-quarter growth from a previous figure of 3.9 percent. Much of the strength came from con- sumer spending on health care and business spending on structures and computer software. It was the fastest quar- terly growth since the sum- mer of 2003. It followed a 4.6 percent annual growth rate in the April-June quar- ter. Most economists think growth is slowing to an an- nual rate of around 2.5 per- cent in the current October- December quarter. They foresee growth around 3 percent in 2015. That would be the strongest expansion since the economy grew 3.3 percent in 2005, two years before the Great Recession began. The 2007-2009 down- turn, the worst since the 1930s, cost millions of people their jobs. Since then, the economy has struggled to regain full health. Even after the re- cession officially ended in June 2009, the economy has turned in mediocre growth averaging 2.2 per- cent annually. But many analysts think growth is set to accelerate as more businesses have grown confident about hir- ing. The country is on track to have its healthiest year for job growth since 1999. In November, employers added 321,000 jobs, the big- gest one-month increase in three years. With more people work- ing and having money to spend, solid gains are ex- pected in consumer spend- ing, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. For the third quarter, consumer spending grew at a 3.2 percent rate, the best showing this year and a full percentage point higher than the estimate the government made a month ago. That upward revision was driven by higher spending on health care. Business investment spending rose at a 7.2 per- cent annual rate, 2.1 per- centage points more than the government's previ- ous estimate. Much of the new strength came from in- vestment in structures and computer software. The estimate released Tuesday was the govern- ment's third and final look at third-quarter growth in the gross domestic prod- uct — the value of all goods and services produced in the United States. 5 PERCENT ANNUAL RATE US e co nom y sh ow s st ro ng es t gr ow th s in ce 2 00 3 SETHWENIG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE A construction worker takes in the view from the communication rings on top of One World Trade Center in New York. By Mike Schneider The Associated Press ORLANDO, FLA. It's official: Florida has surpassed New York in population to be- come the third-most popu- lous state in the union. Figures released Tues- day by the U.S. Census Bu- reau show that Florida has at least 19.9 million resi- dents. The number is likely higher because the Census uses the population as of July 1 to create its estimate. New York had 19.7 mil- lion residents. Florida added almost 300,000 new residents from 2013 to 2014, or a little more than 800 new residents a day. By contrast, New York grew by only 51,000 over that time period. Florida likely reached the milestone sometime last spring, but it wasn't official until the Census said so. An Associated Press anal- ysis earlier this year showed that ex-New Yorkers repre- sented about 1 in 10 new Florida residents. Migrants from other countries made up about a quarter of Flori- da's new residents. Florida has a way to go before it catches up with California and Texas, the largest and second-larg- est states. California has 38.8 million residents; Texas has 27 million res- idents. The other states round- ing out the 10 largest in the nation are: Illinois, Penn- sylvania, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michi- gan. North Carolina slipped by Michigan for the ninth spot on the list. Six states saw popula- tion declines: Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Mexico, Alaska and Ver- mont. Fueled by an energy boom, North Dakota was the fastest-growing state in the nation, even though it is still the fourth least- populous state in the union. Its population in- creased 2.2 percent and now stands at 739,000. The other fastest-growing states from 2013 to 2014 were Nevada and Texas, which both had population increases of 1.7 percent. CENSUS Florida surpasses New York in population By Deepti Hajela The Associated Press NEW YORK U.S. Rep. Mi- chael Grimm admitted Tuesday to federal tax eva- sion, pleading guilty to charges he had fought as he won re-election last fall but that now leave his congres- sional future in question. Asked outside court if he planned to resign his seat, Grimm said no. "I'm going to get back to work and work as hard as I can," the Staten Island Republican said, shortly after he entered a guilty plea to one count of aid- ing in the filing of a false tax return. Grimm had been set to go to trial in February on charges of evading taxes by hiding more than $1 million in sales and wages while running a Manhattan health-food restaurant. After his court appear- ance, Grimm apologized for his actions, saying what he did was wrong. "I should not have done it and I am truly sorry for it," he said. During the hearing, Grimm, joined in court by two attorneys, acknowl- edged sending his accoun- tant underreported re- ceipts and using the leftover money to pay employees off the books and cover other expenses. Sentencing was sched- uled for June 8. Prosecu- tors said a range of 24 to 30 months in prison would be appropriate, while the de- fense estimated the appro- priate sentence as between 12 and 18 months. Federal prosecutors did not immediately comment after the hearing. News of the plea brought pressure from Democrats for Grimm to step down. The Democratic Con- gressional Campaign Com- mittee said in a state- ment earlier Tuesday that it was "past time for Mi- chael Grimm to go," call- ing his continued presence in Congress "a disservice to the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn and a stain on the institution." The DCCC and House Mi- nority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called on House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio, to ensure Grimm's departure. Boehner has forced other lawmakers to re- sign for lesser offenses. He quickly orchestrated the 2011 resignation of Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., a mar- ried lawmaker who re- sponded to a personal ad by emailing a shirtless photograph of himself to another woman. Boehner does not plan to comment on Grimm's situ- ation until the two discuss it, Boehner spokesman Mi- chael Steel said. Grimm told reporters he had spoken to GOP leader- ship but declined to specify with whom and what those conversations entailed. He said he would remain in of- fice as long as he was able to serve. Grim has made sim- ilar statements before. Asked in October whether he would resign if found guilty, Grimm responded, "Certainly, if I was not able to serve, then of course I would step aside." MORE THAN $1 MILLION New York congressman pleads guilty to federal tax evasion | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 8 A