Hard Numbers: BC port strike delayed (for now), Senators demand real cash for artificial intelligence, US inflation chills, Toronto squirrel drives power grid nuts

72: The union representing longshoremen at the port of Vancouver has postponed issuing a 72-hour strike notice, creating extra time to avoid a work stoppage at one of North America’s busiest marine hubs. Still, talks between the longshoremen’s union and port bosses remain at an impasse over wage increases. The stakes are high: A two-week Canadian port workers strike last summer interrupted the flow of more than $7 billion worth of trade. Authorities in Alberta, worried about the impact on agricultural and mining exports, have urged Ottawa to intervene.

32 billion: What’s it gonna cost to keep the US ahead of China in the race to dominate artificial intelligence? At least $32 billion more for now, according to a new bipartisan call for Congress to pump more cash into non-defense uses of AI. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hoped lawmakers would agree on more AI funding by the end of the year.

3.4: Consumer prices in the US grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in April, down from 3.5% a month earlier. The main culprits were jumps in the costs of housing and gasoline, while prices for many foodstuffs — in particular eggs — fell. The declining rate of inflation gave fresh hope to investors eager for the Fed to start cutting rates later this year.

6,500: Toronto authorities managed to restore power to 6,500 residents after a three-hour outage this week caused by a squirrel that “came into contact” with grid equipment. We regard this as a copycat (copysquirrel?) crime, following the outages unleashed by raccoons in February.